268 CANADIAN TURF RECOLLECTIONS 



CASTING BY MOONLIGHT FOR BASS. 



I suppose the average bait caster knows very little of 

 casting by moonlight, but to my mind this is one of the 

 most pleasurable ways of fishing. The very weirdness 

 and uncertainty constitute its chief charm, for the more 

 uncertain a thing, the greater the satisfaction when it is 

 accomplished. 



Confirmed fly casters often ridicule the bait caster with 

 the stubby rod, but I have used both, and it takes fully 

 as much skill and practice to manage the short rod as the 

 long whippy one, and bait casting offers a much larger 

 field and greater variety of fishing than fly casting. A 

 surface bait should always be used, as a bass strikes at 

 the commotion made by the bait, not because he is hun- 

 gry, but merely because he wants to fight. 



I have had some pleasant experiences angling by moon- 

 light in the rapids on the Trent River below Healey Falls. 

 I know of nothing more enjoyable on a warm evening 

 than wading by moonlight, fly-fishing for bass. The 

 River Trent at the point I allude to is a rushing stream 

 of water whirling along in foam-crested ripples at the 

 rate of seven miles per hour. The river is not more than 

 forty yards in width and from either shore it is possible 

 to wade out an average distance of fifteen or twenty feet 

 without being above the hips in water, great caution, 

 however, is necessary on account of the smooth and slip- 

 pery condition of the river-bed. All of which adds to the 

 excitement of the sport. I have fished that stream many 

 times when the moon was temporarily obscured by a 

 passing cloud, which made it impossible to distinguish 

 the top of my rod, much less the line. I have hooked 

 many a good fish when it was impossible to follow his 

 movements beyond the occasional break of the water 

 made in his mad plunges to avoid the tantalizing barb. 



