334 Book of the Black Bass. 



I have noticed that fish usually bite better just before a 

 shower ; especially if the weather be murky and warm, and 

 I think this can be accounted for in this way : It is gen- 

 erally quite calm, for a longer or shorter time previous to 

 a summer shower, and the water being still, the fish do 

 not bite, as they see the angler too distinctly — and this 

 is why some have said that it is not a good time to fish 

 hefore a rain — -but immediately preceding the shower, a 

 brisk breeze usually springs up, rippling the water, and it 

 is at this time that fish seem to become possessed with a 

 sudden impulse to feed, not on account of the impending 

 rain, however, as many suppose, but because the angler is 

 hid from view by the ruffling of the water. Sometimes this 

 breeze accompanies the rain, and at other times follows the 

 rain, and in either case the fish will bite best while the 

 breeze continues. When a shower is followed by a calm, 

 fish, of course, will not bite, in clear water, and as this 

 often happens, it follows that some anglers hold to the 

 opinion that they never bite after a rain. 



I have tried to impress the reader, all through this chap- 

 ter, with the importance of keeping out of sight of the 

 fish as much as possible, for therein lies the greatest secret 

 of success in angling ; and fish wiU be found to bite better, 

 always, when conditions are such as to favor the screening 

 of the angler from their ever-watchful eyes, and, when, at 

 the same time, the water is sufficiently clear to enable 

 them to discern the bait on or beneath the surface. 



In fly-fishing, especially, must this caution be exercised 

 to its fullest extent, for the casts being necessarily much 

 shorter than in bait-fishing, the angler is more liable to be 

 seen; and herein lies the foundation of the opinion, enter- 

 tained by many, that black bass are more uncertain to rise 

 to the fly than the brook trout. I hold that black bass. 



