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FOREST 'AND 1 STREAM. 
f April 11, 1896. 
BAIT-CASTING WITHOUT FRILLS. 
The above heading is not intended as a mere excerpt 
from the vocabulary of popular slang. On the other 
hand, it is an attempt at compactness which, transcribed 
with more verbosity, "implies that the art of taking game 
fish can be acquired with the scientific accompaniment of 
light and effective tackle within a moderate outlay. The 
majority of writers on the pleasures of angling have too 
frequently assumed that skill necessarily accompanies an 
expensive outfit. Publishers have winked at these state- 
ments because it pleases dealers, who in return respond 
with profitable advertising. But the millionaire will not 
reBent the impeachment of his purse, but will submit to 
the imposition in considering he is paying for the privi- 
lege of a monopoly. Hence it would seem that one of 
four things exists — that prominent writers are ignorant of 
the resources of the angling art, belong to the favored of 
wealth, are bidding for favors, or are not dealing honestly 
with the subject. 
I was brought to an appreciation of the situation by an 
incident that occurred last summer. An acquaintance 
who enjoys a good enough salary in a Western city to 
give himself and family the comforts and moderate lux- 
uries of a home had been in boyhood a simple pole-and- 
line slinger after the manner of youth. As with many 
others, business and family cares had detracted his atten- 
tion until at length, finding some leisure hours coming 
his way, the old boyhood love returned. The angling 
literature current in newspaper, magazine and book 
form impressed upon him the extent of his rustiness in 
the sport and bespoke an exaltation of ethics commen- 
surate with extravagant outlay if he hoped to come 
within the pale of scientific sportsmanship. The figures 
■of $50 for a bait rod, ditto for a fly -rod, $20 for a multi- 
plying reel, $10 for a "click," $15 for a book of flies and 
leaders, $10 for a tackle box, 15 cents a foot for lines, be- 
sides a small fortune in landing nets, creels, waders, 
boats, etc., etc., etc., showed an elevation of the art as 
commanding as high-priced. It was while he was trying 
to reconcile some sort of expenditure akin to the above 
with his bank account that I happened one day to ask him 
to go after bass with me. 
' But I haven't got any tackle," he said, "and, look 
here, I don't know whether I shall get any this season, as 
the outfit costs such a confounded pile. 1 have been look- 
ing over this catalogue, and it states that only first-class 
goods will give satisfaction, which also accords with 
's book on angling." 
"Yes, I see, it does come high; but then you know one 
must pay roundly to be considered eligible to the good 
opinion of the fraternity. However, I can fit you out for 
an afternoon's sport." 
"But I don't know anything about casting, you see, so 
I will be a nuisance." 
"Well, never mind about that. It is not the most dif- 
ficult thing in the world to toss a frog a few feet, which 
perhaps I can convince you, at least let me show you 
something of the method, and then if you have fishing 
instinct you will speedily take kindly to the sport." 
One hazy midsummer Saturday we were afloat on a 
lovely Minnesota lake, where the bass were abundant, 
rowing to a favorite spot at a contraction of the lake, 
where a wooded point jutted out, half encircling a bay 
whose inner crescent was fringed with lilypads and an 
outward barrier of rushes, extending toward the open ex- 
panse of water. Here we rested, while I unpacked the 
tools. I had brought two types of weapons to illustrate 
my proposed exordium on the discrepancy between cost 
and sport. 
Oae rod was a plain jointed lancewood that had seen 
some five seasons of active conflict and had never failed, 
and probably cost not to exceed $3.50. It was furnished 
with a nickeled open or skeleton reel listed at $2, and a 
braided line in which a quarter of a dollar may have been 
invested. The other rod, which by the way had been 
presented to me by a loving friend, was one of those 
symphonies in split-bamboo, : silver and jet; the reel 
was a rapid multiplier as elaborate as jeweled bearings 
and aluminum construction would furnish, while the 
snaky black line was one to delight the most fastidious. 
The latter outfit probably represented a numerical value 
expressed in one figure and two ciphers. I never in- 
quired the price for reasons obvious to any one who has 
been the recipient of a gift. 
In external appearance and detail of finish the two sets 
were markedly different, but in the "hang" of the rods, 
that delicacy of balance so pleasing to the angler, there 
was little choice. When the "symphonic poem" was 
rigged ready for business my friend's expression of de- 
light paid tribute to his appreciation of the beautiful. 
"It's a dandy," meaning the bamboo. 
"Yes, but the lance is a daisy." 
"Correct; still it's cheaper," feeling both rods, "and it 
don't seem to be quite so stiff as the dandy." 
"Probably; but you will soon see the discrepancy don't 
count." 
I did not want to underrate the beautiful gift of my 
friend, while on the other hand years of associations with 
the older rod in many a plucky battle had wedded it to 
my affections. It had survived when a varied assortment 
of other rods had been laid aside, and although one of the 
cheapest, in cost, I had owned, it was also meritoriously 
one of the best. But I had a theory to put in practice 
that day, so said but little concerning merits, leaving the 
candidates to tell their respective stories and sing their 
own praises in deeds. Diving into the frog basket I in- 
quired: "Which rod will you try first?" 
"O, neither. I'd break them before I learn to cast that 
frog from so delicate a structure. Let me see you throw 
and I'll try and 'catch on.' " 
"Well, then, notice that here is a half -grown batrachian, 
not too small to entice a hungry bass and hardly enough 
to stand the strain. Casting is fun for the angler, but I 
imagine is a serious business to a frog. One gets careless 
sometimes and don't thumb the reel in time, and then 
there occurs a crack-the whip sort of action and froggy 
goes spinning away on his own hook, so to speak. So he 
must be strongly secured either by binding him with a 
thread to the hook, as well as inserting the latter, or by 
putting him in this little harness I have here. I use a 
big hook, which fly fishermen will stare aghast at, but a 
• 4-pounder in this lake has a name that does not belie his 
; appearance, and you want a hook that will catch some- 
where and hold in his big maw, and besides fly-casting 
and bait-casting are not analogous methods. 
"Now observe that the frog is reeled up within a foot or 
ifcwo of the tip. You can cast sitting or standing, to the 
right or left, but the knack is in swinging the rod so the 
frog does not go out around the tip. You do not usually 
cast directly in front, but toward a point nearly in line 
with the shoulders. If you wish to take a right hand 
cast lay the rod arm, unless you are left-handed, across 
the left breast and swing the rod upward and to the right, 
but don't let the tip travel much ahead of the hand or the 
frog will circle around and land on your head. Do you 
see that bubble — how far is it? No, not 100ft. , call it three- 
quarters of the distance. 
"Well, here goes." Zip, splashl and no rise, "See, I 
watch the frog in its flight, and as it touches the water 
my thumb presses the coil of line and the reel is checked; 
otherwise there would occur language unbecoming any 
one but a disgusted angler with an entangled mess of line 
on his reel. Now I'll reel in slowly and see if — well, here 
is the frog and no strilre recorded yet. 
"Note that little clump of weeds some 40yds. to the left. 
Looks inviting. Whir — bang! Blamed if he isn't a good 
one. No use waiting for him to swallow that frog; he's 
got the hook sure. It's all on account of his greediness in 
catching froggy on the fly, as it were, the moment it 
touched the water. Well, we will put on the breaks and 
see how he looks. Dandy, ain't he? And he is on a daisy 
rod. 
"Cast your eye on to this 9oz. pole and I'll show you 
what it's made for. Bend? Well, I should smile. But 
look at the tough. Reckon he feels the spring of the old 
lance and proposes to hunt for cover among those ticklish 
reeds. Now mind the rod while I point the butt at him. 
Keep your seat; don't jump overboard, for it won't break. 
I've seen the tip lie alongside of my wrist a good many 
times before; but ain't he gritty, that is, the bass? Ah! 
here he comes. Cunning, but stupid, for he is rushing 
toward arms ready to embrace him, and I can reel about 
as fast as he can swim, and — biff! Thought he'd have to 
make another kick out of water. It's a good kick, but 
not high enough to loosen the grip of that big plebeian 
hook. So he seems to think, for he sulks and wants to 
rout in the mud, and — gives it up. Get out the landing 
net and take him in out of the wet." 
"Jewhittaker!" gasps my companion, "he must weigh 
lOlbs. What a monster! But where are your scales?" 
"I never carry scales except when I am alone; they are 
too exasperatingiy truthful for anything but private con- 
sultation; but if I should give a guess on the accuracy of a 
fisherman's judgment when he is showing off before a 
pupil, I would brace my modesty up sufficiently to hazard 
that he will fall within- 51bs. — mebby over 4." 
"But he is 2ft. long." 
"Well, that depends on whose feet you adopt as a stand- 
ard of measurement. But are you ready to try a cast?" 
"No; you rig a frog on the dandy and throw again." 
"All right, mark a cast to the right. Pass the rod arm 
toward the left shoulder, start thefrog without a jerk, let 
the tip and hand fall into the trough of a curve of versed 
sines, flattening out to a straight at the finish, keeping the 
bait under the tip as it starts on its flight to the mark. 
Thumb the reel, so. Splash! No strike. Reel in slowly 
for general results. None, not even a pike. Cast again 
to the left, reversing the position of the rod arm. The 
dandy don't seem to be in it — no — yes. Well, I'll feel him 
with a turn of the wrist; and, by jingo! he is hooked. 
"Clap your eyes on to the rod and see how it takes the 
strain. You will notice it don't yield from tip to hand 
piece with the lissom grace of the other rod. But it is 
quicker in its resilient action, which presupposes a stiffer 
backbone, but resistance to fracture is not greater. See, 
the bass has turned for deep water; wonder what the 
beggar means that he don't hunt for salvation among the 
reeds. Well, as long as he don't try to shovel up this 
tangled bottom I'll give some line to impart agility and 
confidence in the break for liberty. Hear that reel 
scream. Beats a Paderewski solo, eh? Wonder what 
Mieropterus thinks about it, if his auricular apparatus is 
of any account. But they say fish don't hear very much, 
so he misses one of the best pieces in the entertainment. 
"Mind the rod now while I clamp on the reel and big- 
mouth luffs on to the other tack, if he don't miss stays, 
and I reckon he won't from the headway he has on, in 
sawing the water with that little black thread, and you 
will see what the bamboo is capable of doing. Yes, it is 
a dandy, but excuse me from further eulogy on the rod's 
merits until this fight is over. A fellow at the butt can't 
calmly deal with nice points of comparison, or philoso- 
phize on ethics, while that little fiend at the other end of 
the line is stirring things up in such fashion. An in- 
structor and moralist should punctuate his arguments 
with fervor, but moderation and dispassionate eloquence 
should prevail. 
"Just now I'm fishin' and gettin' hot, and — Mind that 
oar! Great Izaak! The cuss is towing the boat around 
and making for the reeds! That won't work, Mr. M. 
salmoides, the spring of that tip is bound to hold you 
level if you weigh a ton, and durned if I don't think you 
do. What! Give it up? Well, then jump right in here 
alongside of your brother. 
"Say, did I say anything unbecoming a fisherman?" 
"No. nor a Sunday-school teacher either — that is, one 
who is placed under similar conditions." 
"Well, the verdict?" 
"Easy enough: the bass is a whopper — big as the other, 
and the rods are both of them dandies and daisies. 
Both fill the bill, I think, so far as good sport is concerned, 
and the cheaper one seems to be in it along with the 
costly one." 
"Thanks on behalf of the rods and tackle. Now I'll rig 
on a frog and you try a cast." 
"Excuse me, please. I will not make any attempt with 
those tools after their exploits to-day. But I wish you 
would help me in selecting an outfit within what I see can 
be done on a moderate amount, and then I'll essay first 
trials with my own weapons. But who invented bait-cast- 
ing, anyhow?" 
"S h-h! Don't speak so loud, or we will be heard in 
Chicago. Those chaps in the Windy City (pet name, by 
the way) have been imposing on Forest and Stream's 
staff correspondent and making believe they have a 
"cinch" on the patent. Now, when we reach your home 
and go down cellar to open the ventilator, and are there- 
by safe from eager ears, where they will not hear even 
the drawing of a small cork, I'll whisper something that 
I had from good authority on an angler's word of honor. 
But mum is the word, or when you go to Chicago next 
summer you will find yourself in trouble with those jeal- 
ous though modest egotists who angle along the Fox and 
Calumet." Cayuga. 
New Jersey Trout. 
Asbtjry Park, N. J.. April 4. — Disconsolation reigns in 
the camp of the New Jersey trout fisherman. So far as I 
have learned not a line has as yet been cast to ensnare the 
spotted idol of the creek. Much preparation had been 
made and anticipation ran high among the craft here- 
about, but the inclement weather and swollen conditions 
of the streams have held the most ardent in abeyance. 
Some good catches of white perch have been made, how- 
ever, in some of our estuaries and lakes, and that sport 
had under proper conditions is not to be despised. The 
next few weeks will witness the opening of salt-water 
fishing, and we will see what the season has in store for 
us. Leonard Htjlit. 
Wisconsin Nets are Nuisances to be Destroyed. 
Oshkqsh, Wis. — Editor Forest and Stream: The 
Supreme Court has declared the law that allows game 
wardens to take up and burn fish nets when found in the 
water constitutional.' This will take the heart out of the 
fishermen on Lake Winnebago, who were looking for the 
law to be declared unconstitutional, so that they might 
get pay for the fifty miles of nets burned by the wardens. 
Agamok. 
Mmnel 
FIXTURES. 
BENCH SHOWS, 
April 14 to 17. — Philadelphia Kennel Club's show, Philadelphia, Pa. 
Dr. Alexander Glass, Sec'y. 
April 20 to 23 — New England Kennel Club's twelfth annual show. 
D. E. Loveland, Sec'y. 
April 21 to 24.— Southern California Kennel Club's show, Los Angeles, 
Cal. F. W. Ingalls, Sec'y. 
April 25 to 2?.— Mohawk Kennel Club's show, Cohoes, N. Y. Wm, T. 
Ford, Sec'y, Cohoes, N. Y. 
May 6 to 9.— Pacific Kennel Club's fifth annual show, H. W. Orear, 
Sec'y. 
May 13 to 16.— Seattle Kennel Club's third annual show. C. B. 
Yandell, Sec'y. 
Sept. 7 to 11. — Toronto Exhibition Association's eighth annual show, 
Toronto, Can. C. A. Stone, Sec'y of bench Bhow. 
Sept. 22 to 25.— Milwaukee Kennel and Pet Stock Association's 
second annual show. W. W. Welch, Sec'y. 
FIELD TRIALS. 
Sept. 2.— Morris, Man.— Manitoba Field Trials Club. John Wootton, 
Sec'y. 
Sept 9.— Kennedy, Minn.— Continental Field Trial Club's chicken 
trials. P; T. Madison, Sec'y, Indianapolis, Ind. 
Oct. 9.— Brunswick Fur Club's annual meet. Bradford S. Turpin, 
Sec'y. 
Oct. 26.— Hempstead, L. I— Natioonal Beagle Club's trials. Geo. 
W. Rogers, Sec'y, 250 W. Twenty-second street, New York. 
Oct. 28.— Greene county, Pa.— The Monongabela Valley Game and 
Fish Protective Association's second annual trials. S. B. Cummings 
Sec'y, Pittsburg. 
Nov. 2 — Bicknell, Ind.— Continental Field Trial Club's quail trials. 
P. T. Madison, Sec'y. 
Nov. 16.— Newton, N. C. — E. F. T. Club's trials. S. C. Bradley, Sec'y, 
Greenfield Hill, Conn. 
Nov. 17.— Chatham, Ont.— International Field Trial Club's trials. 
W. B. Wells, Sec'y, Chatham, Ont. 
Nov. —.—Newton, N. C— U. S. F. T. Club's fall trials. W. B. Staf- 
ford, Sec'y. 
BATTERY A'S COON HUNT. 
Washington, D. C. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
Several members of Battery A, D. C. N. G, were sitting 
around the armory smoking and talking when a pause 
ensued which was broken by Lieut. Marron saying: 
"Say, fellows, ever been on a coon hunt?" A chorus of 
voices broke in, "No! what's it like?" says one. "Any 
fun in it?" says another, and a third exclaimed: "I'll take 
it in, fun or no fun." 
"Well," said Lieut. Marron, "I've got an invitation to 
go on one from Ed. Thorn and bring friends." 
"Who's Ed. Thorn?" 
"Why, he is a prosperous young farmer and lives about 
twelve miles from here." 
The preliminaries were soon settled and Saturday, Dec. 
14, 1895, was the day fixed for a start. A good team was 
secured and the wagon loaded with everything needful 
for a pleasant trip. The following comprised the party : 
Senior Lieut. Albert Robbins, Lieut. Marron, Sergt. Mur- 
ray, Corporal Chase, privates Gus Marron and Joe Gates. 
Nothing of consequence took place on the trip down. 
Arriving at the house, everyone was soon acquainted 
and all were especially introduced to Mr. Jack Loggins 
(a local colored politician), whose dogs Burr and Dash 
were to be used on the hunt. It is said that Uncle Jack 
in a game on a Saturday night can clean up all the coons 
on Eleventh street, S. E,, and thence to Piscataway, and 
go to church next morning with the dignity of a United 
States Senator when voting for an increase of pay. 
Mr. Albert Jenkins, John Jenkins and Jimmy Edlin 
were on the ground as invited guests. John Jenkins had 
a poodle dog which he called Miller. Just why he was 
called Miller no one but John knew, for he was of a dark- 
ish gray color and much resembled a coon. Miller fol- 
lowed his master to the hunt, who threw several stones 
at him and had the supposed satisfaction of seeing him 
recross the branch apparently returning home. Alaa! 
poor Miller's affection for his master cost him his life. 
Everything being in readiness for the start, Thorn ap- 
proached Sergt. Murray with a guano sack containing a 
grubbing hoe, pick, axe, shovel and a coil of rope, saying, 
"Sergeant, you seem to be the strongest of the party. 
You had better bring this with you." 
For a moment Jim's countenance became a study, and 
he looked as if he was sorry he had come. "Never 
mind," says Thorn, "we can send for them if we need 
them," and Jim is wondering yet whether Thorn was in 
earnest or not. 
"Now, Jack, we'll proceed to hunt the Didelphys vir- 
■ginianus and the festive Procyon lotor" said Lieut. Mar- 
ron. 
"Lieutenant," said Jack, "if you'se gwine to hunt birds 
and sich you'd better wait till mornin', 'ca'se them dogs 
is only broke to coons and possums," and the party pro- 
ceeded to Tinker's Run to hunt coons and possum. They 
had not gone far when the dogs broke into a full cry and 
every one went tearing through the bushes and briers, the 
countrymen in the lead, yelling and shouting to the dogs, 
"Hark! Harkl Hark to 'em! Sick 'em! Whoop 'em 
up!" etc. 
The excitement was intense, and artillerymen and 
countrymen vied with each other to be in at the death 
fight. 
The dogs were soon come up with and such a fight was 
