28 Bass, Pike, and Percb 



quick succession, when he should be given line 

 slowly. The angler, with thumb on the spool of 

 the reel, can feel every motion of the fish. When 

 he pulls steadily and strongly and increases his 

 speed, the hook should be driven in by striking in 

 the opposite direction to his course, or upward. 

 A vigorous " yank " is not needed. With the 

 strained line a movement of the tip of the rod a 

 foot or two is sufficient with a sharp hook. 



If fishing from a boat, where the angler is 

 more apt to be seen, it should be kept in deep 

 water and the casts made toward the haunts of 

 the bass in shallow water. Should the hooked 

 bass break water on a long line, the slight 

 straightening of the bent rod that ensues will 

 tend to keep it taut, and there is nothing more 

 to do. On a short line, however (the bend of 

 the rod being maintained), he should be followed 

 back to the water by a slight lowering of the tip, 

 but it should again be raised as soon as he 

 touches the water. The critical moment is when 

 he is apparently standing on his tail, shaking him- 

 self, with wide-opened jaws. If he is given any 

 slack line at this time, the hook is likely to be 

 thrown out. 



Lowering the tip to a leaping fish is a good 



