B A I T F ISHING FOR* BLACK BASS 



i 



Seasonal Conditions 



In the opinion of many anglers backwardness of 

 spring and a previous severe winter improve the 

 fishing chances of summer for many if not all 

 the so-called game-fishes. The reason for this, in 

 the opinion of old Waltonians, is that the severity 

 of the winter has destroyed the larvae of many 

 insects, and the cold and, late spring retards the 

 spawning of the cyprinoids and other small fish 

 that reproduce their kind in March, April, and 

 May. The principal food of the black bass con- 

 sists of larva?, matured insects, and small fish, such 

 as the daces and shiners; hence the smaller the 

 quantity of natural food the greater the eagerness 

 of the fish to take the lure. Be this argument 

 fallacious or otherwise, it is a matter of experience 

 with many old anglers that late springs are fol- 

 lowed, as a rule, by well-filled creels. 



39 



