THe Angler and tHe FisKerman 17 



There is great need of enlightenment in the common 

 ethics of angling. Many persons are under the im- 

 pression that quantity rather than quality makes the 

 Angler's day. 



According to their view of the pursuit, fishing is 

 judged by figures, as in finance glory to the man 

 with the biggest balance. This is not so, because with 

 this view accepted, Rockefeller would shine above 

 Christ, Shakespeare, and Lincoln. 



The mere catch the number of fish taken is only 

 one little detail; it is not all of angling. If it were, the 

 superior fisherman would be the man who got his fish 

 in any manner. 



Some of our greatest Anglers purposely never excel 

 in the matter of numbers. The Angler's true qualities 

 are based on the application of correct tackle, correct 

 methods in fishing, and a correct appreciation of the 

 pursuit, the game, the day, and the craft. 



'Tis the day and the play, not the heads and hides 

 that count. 



An ancient writer says of the royal hounds: "The 

 hunter loves to see the hounds pursue the hare, and he 

 is glad if the hare escapes. " So it is in angling; we do 

 not wish to catch all the fish we can take in any fashion. 

 We want to take some of them in a proper manner 

 with appropriate implements. 



"I can catch more trout with the angleworm and 

 more bass with the trolling spoon than you can with 

 the artificial fly, " says Robert. 



"Of course you can, Robert, " say I, " and you could 

 catch still more if you spread a screen across the tiny 

 stream or set a trap, or if you used a set line with a 

 hundred hooks, just as the target shooter might more 

 readily puncture the circle with a charge of shot than 



