196 Fisumyvc iv American WATERS. 
Of the varieties of angle-worm, that with rings, from five 
to six inches long, and about the size of a wheat-straw, is the 
best. Place the lot dug for fishing in cold water a little salt- 
ed, and leave them in five minutes; then take them out, and 
place them on a dry board for ten minutes. To farther scour 
them, place them in swamp-moss which is damp, but not 
wringing wet; let them remain over night, and next morning 
go a-fishing. 
The grub-worm is best in streams after a shower, because, 
being white, it shows best in discolored water. But the best 
bait of all for trout, to my notion, is a live shiner. Large 
trout will take it in preference to any other bait. As trout 
do not usually bite freely previous to a shower, 1t is best to 
hait-fish in the rain, or just after it has ceased. Fish know 
by instinct when it is going to rain, and they fast until it be- 
gins, because they expect the rain to swell the stream and 
bring down to them all sorts of delicacies; therefore, as soon 
as it commences to rain, they take any thing offered which 
they can swallow. 
It is the angler’s duty and pleasure to study all the pecu- 
liarities of weather, with the habits and haunts of trout, and 
to practice upon them; for as the bait-fisher does not usu- 
ally whip all the surface of the water, but selects his places 
to drop his bait, it is necessary to know on which side of a 
rock or log it is natural for the trout to le in wait for bait. 
The successful bait-angler studies also the condition of the 
water, and selects his favorite pools, while the fly-fisher looks 
for a gentle wind that will carry his flies off, and trusts to his 
skill and good fortune for attracting sport. 
Fly-fishing possesses its peculiar advantages. As a means 
of exercise, it reaches just the degree to brace the muscles, ex- 
ercise the temper, enliven the spirits, and produce the alter- 
nations between hope and despair characterized as sport. It 
encourages fine address and graceful attitudes, produces ear- 
nestness and even enthusiasm, and while the practice in minu- 
ti is not so close as to pin the mind to earth, every sound of 
