102 THE SMALL-MOUTHED BASS 



11. Concerning the theory that fish bite better at day- 

 break, I am not in a position to give much information. 

 Only once was I induced by a barbarian to rise at 3 a.m. 

 to see the sun rise, and to go fishing; and my experience on 

 that occasion leads me to believe that fish sleep in the early 

 morning, and do not begin to feed before ten or eleven 

 o'clock; at least, I prefer to believe that such is the case, 

 and therefore advise all anglers to beware of the habit of 

 early rising, which is just as demoralizing and as objection- 

 able as that of intemperance in eating or drinking. 



12. The boat, or punt, from which one fishes, should be 

 painted dull lead or green, as nearly as possible the colour 

 of the water; this is important on a bright day, although 

 not so necessary in cloudy weather. 



Fish are very easily frightened at times, and the ap- 

 proach of a boat with a white or varnished bottom will often 

 scare them away. 



Pure dry white lead, lamp-black, boiled linseed oil, and 

 a small quantity of green paint, can be mixed to obtain the 

 proper shade. 



13. Sounds travel easily through water, so that the less 

 noise one makes, when angling, especially in calm weather, 

 the better the chance of catching fish. 



14. In anchoring a boat, use an ordinary stone and a 

 piece of clothes-line attached to the painter of the boat. 



In rivers or lakes w^ith mud bottom there is no difficulty 

 in anchoring, and the stone or anchor may be easily lifted 

 when one wishes to change his position; but, when the bot- 

 tom is broken, very often the anchor becomes wedged be- 

 tween rocks, and there is no remedy but to cut the line. 

 This is a common occurrence in rocky lakes, so that an angler 

 should always be provided with a jack-knife, or he may 

 find himself in a very uncomfortable position in rough 

 weather. 



15. Fish should be killed as soon as caught by breaking 



