THE BASSES: FRES H w ATER AND MARINE 



thumb-stalls, " chum " knife and spoon, and a gaff- 

 hook of the best quality and workmanship. 



Menhaden is the bait almost universally used, but 

 the tail of a lobster without any remnants of shell 

 is sometimes substituted for menhaden. In South- 

 ern waters a silver mullet five or six inches long, 

 hooked through the lips, or some other fish of 

 silvery color, has been successfully employed in 

 casting. The supposed advantage of the men- 

 haden is that its oil, which floats off upon the 

 water, attracts the bass to the anglers' stand, but 

 the attraction may really be due to the fragments 

 of fish which are thrown out in chumming. 



Some anglers attain great skill in casting men- 

 haden bait and claim to reach a distance of 120 

 yards, which is far greater than the average dis- 

 tance of the cast. In making the cast tie line is 

 reeled up to about two feet from the tip, and one 

 hand grasps the rod above the reel and the other 

 below it, the thumb of the lower hand, with its 

 protecting thumb-stall, controlling the line so that 

 it travels at exactly the same rate as the bait, which 

 must be delivered with great accuracy at the end 

 of the cast. The motion of casting is a peculiar 

 one and is acquired only after long practice. It 

 is really more like throwing than the overhand cast- 

 ing. The cast may be made with either hand, the 

 body being turned to one side or the other as occa- 

 sion requires. The one great essential is to deliver 



