STRATEGY 165 



region offer some of the best of large mouthed bass fly 

 fishing. These lakes are overflowed timber and pasture 

 lands full of dead trees, stumps, lily pads and weeds, 

 making ideal breeding and feeding places for these 

 fish. Before the law prohibited the sale of black bass 

 one often would see Illinois river market fishermen 

 using fly rods. 



For fishing such weedy waters a weedless fly (with 

 inverted wings or with horse hair or wire weed guards) 

 should be used. The boat is kept forty or fifty feet out 

 from the edge of the weed bed and the angler casts 

 his fly in the " pockets " among the weeds or directly 

 on the weeds. A rather sturdy rod is needed for this 

 work as the fish is literally dragged over the weeds 

 into open water before he can " duck " under the sur- 

 face and foul the leader. Fishing in fairly weedless 

 waters especially if the water is roiled, as it is apt to 

 be, the addition of a spinner to the fly is advisable. 



Submerged weed beds, with the tops of the weeds 

 a foot or so under the surface, often yield well early 

 in the morning or 'long about dusk. Sometimes such 

 waters must be whipped to arouse the ire of the green 

 gentlemen. Other good places to look for rising fish 

 are: the mouth of a stream entering the lake or at the 

 outlet ; where there are " spring holes " in shallow 

 water ; where drift wood has accumulated ; under over- 

 hanging trees. As in fishing a stream, do not over- 

 look any place that offers cover for a fish. Put your 

 line on the water straight so you can strike quickly 

 a lake bass often strikes immediately the fly touches 



