and is an excellent bait for bass at any season of the 

 year. Minno.ws are used by most of the Potomac 

 River fisherman because they are plentiful. They are 

 usually caught with the old-time bow net, fed with 

 corn meal or dough, attached to the end of a long 

 pole. They do not survive captivity any length of time 

 and easily succumb to the piercing of the hook. When 

 used they should be run through the tail. The smelt 

 are taken in large numbers in the lower Potomac and 

 transported by rail in buckets for bass fishing. They 

 perish rapidly, requiring frequent replenishing of 

 water to keep them from dying, although if a piece 

 of ice is allowed to melt slowly an'd drip into a bucket 

 it tends to keep up the supply of oxygen and maintains 

 the fish alive. There are buckets made with air pumps 

 attached for reviving this delicate bait, but they are 

 not a general success. In the fall of the year the sand 

 toad, which comes forth in great numbers on sandy 

 bottoms after sundown, makes an excellent bait for 

 the still fisherman. That is the individual who sits 

 on a rock and waits for a strike. The toad must be 

 weighted with a sinker in order to keep it beneath 

 the water. There are periods when the river is clear 

 and low and fly fishing may be had, but opportunities 

 for this kind of sport are not many and it is not 

 readily taken ^by the younger class of fisherman of 

 the Potomac. The man who casts has generally 

 abandoned the spoon with its gang hooks. It is 

 regarded as unfair and unsportsmanlike. The single 

 hook and spoon are used to some extent. The most 

 modern device invented by the man who casts, is made 

 from fat pork, the rind of the pork furnishing the 

 outside of a bait cut in the shape of a minnow, the 

 eyes and fins being marked thereon in ink. A small 



37 



