BAIT CASTING IN FLORIDA 



By BILLY BASS 



LOR ID A is truly 

 the bait caster's par- 

 adise. Not only docs 

 this state a ff o r d 

 pleasure to the de- 

 votee of the modern 

 art of bait casting 

 every month in the 

 year, but the varieties of fish which are 

 successfully lured with artificial wooden 

 minnows far exceed those of any other 

 portion of America. 



Unfortunately, however, for the win- 

 ter tourist, or "snow ball," the best fish- 

 ing months are during the spring. Even 

 into June and July, especially is this 

 true of the majority of sea fishes. 



The large mouth black bass (Micro p- 

 terus salmoides), which in these wa- 

 ters attain the enormous weight of over 

 twenty pounds, and which are generally 

 though erroneously supposed by a large 

 majority of Northern brother anglers 

 to lack the gamey instincts and fighting 

 propensities of their cousins inhabiting 

 the cooler waters of the North, are de- 

 cidedly more vicious and afford better 

 sport in June and July than during the 

 winter. 



Practically in all of the clear fresh 

 water lakes and streams are found the 

 black bass and bream or blue gill, while 

 in most of the so-called cypress waters, 

 slightly tinctured by the roots of cypress 

 trees, are found in addition, pike — lo- 

 cally known as jack-fish — and the ever 

 dreaded dog or mud fish. 



The blue gills are about twice as 

 large as those of the North and are 

 readily taken with even the largest 5- 

 treble sinking wooden minnows by sim- 

 ply replacing the rear treble with a 

 number 3 or 4 single hook and baiting 

 it with a worm. The large minnows 

 attract their attention and being of a 

 somewhat fighting disposition, attack it 



and upon spying the worm invariably 

 take il in a savage manner. 



The advantage of angling in this 

 manner for these fish is that bass, which 

 invariably strike wooden minnows al the 

 sides, are frequently taken on bream 

 grounds and not one in ten will be lost 

 by the change in rear hooks. 



For bass in "cypress" waters, except 

 on still, bright days, no lure has proven 

 so successful as the double spinner, 

 white belly, surface minnow, equipped 

 with a 3-0 rear and 4-0 specially shaped 

 treble lining underneath with the points 

 of hooks at or near the center of the 

 body. This bait is also most successful 

 on cloudy days, even in crystal clear 

 waters, except during the summer. One 

 day with another, however, in clear 

 water, underwater minnows with side 

 and rear trebles are productive of best 

 results. Ordinarily those with white 

 belly and mottled greenback, commer- 

 cially known as "fancy back" or with 

 "rainbow" sides and dark back prove 

 the best killers. Like trout bass, how- 

 ever, are fickle and some days minnows 

 of medium shades of yellow with care- 

 fully blended sides and darker backs 

 arc more luring than either of the 

 former, while again, bright aluminum 

 with darker sides and backs prove most 

 successful. 



In the selection of lures, in addition 

 to the foregoing, strength and durabil- 

 ity should be carefully considered, for 

 Rorida bass, as well as many species 

 of sea fishes which readily take these 

 bait, grow to sizes and weights suffi- 

 cient to rend many artificial minnows 

 on the market. An invaluable feature 

 in the construction of any lure is that 

 the trebles be so attached as to hold the 

 points of hooks away from the body, 

 which greatly increases the hooking 

 qualities. Another important point is 



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