376 Book of the Black Bass. 



w aved by the angler in casting, and which, at first sight, 

 would seem to be plausible enough; but upon mature con- 

 sideration, and with all due deference to so eminent an 

 authority as Mr. Francis, I am convinced that there is not 

 much in it, and that instead of proving the matter he 

 seemed to be rather begging the question. 



The theory of angling, like the theory of mediciae, is 

 rather an uncertain subject, and opposite positions can be 

 taken and seemingly maintained upon almost any question 

 of either science, until the crucial test of practical experi- 

 ence proves their truth or falsity. The fact is, that fish 

 are not frightened by flashes of Kght or the reflections of 

 bright objects, but, on the contrary, are attracted by them; 

 any one who has ever fished by torchlight, or trolled with 

 a bright metal spoon, can testify to this, and there is a 

 method of fishing practiced by the Chinese, by means of a 

 board painted white and attached to a boat at such an an- 

 gle as to reflect the light of the moon upon the water, 

 when the fish, attracted by this, jump upon the board as 

 the boat is moved along. 



That fish are not much disturbed, if at all, by the flash- 

 ing of a polished fly-rod, per se, can be easily proven by 

 any one who, being securely hid behind a clump of bushes, 

 can wave his rod as " wildly " as necessary without alarm- 

 ing them to an extent to frighten them away or prevent 

 their biting; indeed, the unnatural shaking or disturbance 

 of a bush near the brink, by the careless angler, will alarm 

 the denizens of the stream more than the most highly-var- 

 nished and brightly-mounted rod ever made, when waved 

 over the stream by an angler who keeps himself hid from 

 \\ew, and herein lies, to my mind, the key to this whole 

 matter. 



It is the angler who scares the trout, and not his rod; 



