NEW ARTIFICIAL NATURE LURES 



the result (each one to be described in detail in its 

 proper place) : 



Floating minnows with quivering fins. Craw- 

 fish with a pliable tail. Helgramite that floats, 

 with movable legs. Frogs that both float and swim. 

 Grasshoppers that can be made to skip on the wa- 

 ter. Caterpillars that float. Dragon-flies used as 

 a dry fly. 



FEATHER MINNOWS FOR BASS, PIKE AND TROUT 



My first efforts after the completion of the work, 

 "Natural Trout Insects and Their Artificial Imi- 

 tations," was to make a new minnow, to be cast hke 

 a fly and reeled in like a minnow. I then deter- 

 mined, for my own satisfaction, to continue in the 

 effort to get something new, and true to nature, in 

 the shape of a feather minnow for bass — one 

 weighted for bottom fishing, and one light for sur- 

 face fishing. In recent years it has been my im- 

 pression that minnows (certainly the best all-round 

 natural bait for game fishes) have not yet been per- 

 fectly imitated so as to be a universal success for 

 either bass or trout. 



A hard substance, like wood, metal, or quill, sur- 

 rounded by a fierce array of treble hooks, would not 

 allure me, were I a bass or a trout, in place of a soft, 

 fleshy young fish. Before describing the feather 

 lure, I must explain that in the trials I have made 

 of the artificial minnows now on the market they 



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