ARTIFICIAL BAITS. 309 



burnished, while the former is generally painted, and usu- 

 ally of a red color. They are made of tin or brass, and 

 often plated with nickel, silver or gold; but so long as 

 spoon-baits are brightly burnished, it matters not what 

 the material is, for the Black Bass is not a judge of 

 metals, but will grab at any thing bright and in mo- 

 tion. 



The depending hook or hooks may be plain, or dressed 

 with a tuft of feathers or braid, called, by courtesy, a 

 "fly;" but these fanciful additions, while pleasing to the 

 angler's eye, do not enhance the "taking" qualities of 

 the lure, for it is the flashing and glancing of the revolv- 

 ing spoon that attracts the fish; and it can not be made 

 more effective by these ornamental appendages, or, as I 

 have sometimes seen, by the addition of a live minnow, 

 or a strip of fat pork! 



One or two brass swivels should always be attached to 

 the spoon-bait or line, to prevent twisting or kinking. 

 Particular attention should be paid to the hooks of troll- 

 ing-spoons, for many of them are of inferior quality, 

 though the American spoons are, as a rule, furnished 

 with better hooks than the English baits of the same 

 grades. 



As a rule, most persons use too large spoons for Black 

 Bass, using generally Pickerel baits. For the Black Bass, 

 the spoon should be no larger than the bowl of an ordinary 

 sized tea-spoon, for trolling with the hand-line; and when 

 trolling with the rod, they should be still smaller. 



Abbey & Imbrie's new Fluted Spoon-Bait is a very 

 finely finished and attractive bait ; it is of the same shape 

 as the original spoon, but with a fluted section, which adds 

 very much to its attractiveness when spinning; the hooks 



