CHAPTER VIII. 



Bait Casting 



VERY angler has a favorite method of 

 fishing; he may be a fly-caster, or he 

 may be a. still fisherman, but probably 

 nine-tenths of present day anglers who 

 fish for black bass, pickerel, etc., are bait- 

 casters, using either live bait, or the artificial 

 baits before described. 



Except in places where deep water is found 

 near the shore or bank, and when fishing from a boat, the 

 angler knows that he will get the most fish by getting his 

 bait out several rods from him, where the water is deeper, 

 or where the fish, not being able to see him, have not become 

 frightened. The way of the still fisher is to use a long 

 cane rod, say fifteen or twenty feet long, and a line nearly 

 as long as the rod. With this outfit he may be able to 

 reach out thirty feet from shore. But neither the line nor 

 the rod can be conveniently lengthened, and the length of 

 the cast is limited to the combined length of rod and line, 

 at the best. This is a serious handicap, for the best places 

 are always out of reach, and as fishermen in general are 

 ambitious, is it any wonder that the mode of casting the 

 bait from the reel was discovered and perfected as it is today. 

 Formerly live baits, minnows, small frogs, helgramites, 

 crawfish, etc., were much used, but now the artificial baits 

 are gradually taking their place. This is not because the 

 one method is unsportsmanlike, but because it is more con- 

 venient and more enjoyable to fish with an inanimate bait, 

 and many denounce the use of live bait as cruelty. 



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