356 
V ORES T A \ 1) S T R E A M 
July, 1919 
Vacation in the Pine 
Scented Lakelands 
of Canada 
In the “Highlands of Ontario,” 
that wonderful region of scenic 
beauty, you can Fish, Swim, 
Golf, Canoe, ^ Camp, Hunt — 
spend a vacation you will never 
regret or forget. Mirror -like 
lakes set in the grandeur of 
forests of pine and balsam. 
The purest of air, 1,000 to 
2,000 feet^ above the sea, and 
hay fever is unknown. 
Famous Playgrounds for 
Outdoor Men and Women 
“Algonquin Park” — “30,000 
Islands of Georgian Bay” — 
“Kawartha Lakes”— “Muskoka 
Lakes” — “Timagami” and the 
“Lake of Bays.” Modern 
hotels — or “rough” it if you 
prefer. Any Grand Trunk 
Agent will gladly plan your 
trip for you. Write any of 
the following for descriptive 
literature: 
C. G. Orttenburger, 907 Merchants Loan &. Trust B!dg., 
Chicago, Ih. 
W. R. Eastman, Room 510. 294 West Washington St., 
Boston. Mass. 
H. M. Morgan. 1019 Chamber of Commerce Building, 
Buffalo. N. Y. 
J- H. Burgis. 819 Dime Bank Building, Detroit, Mich. 
A. B. Chown. 1270 Broadway, New York Ci^. N. Y. 
For adult’s, boy’s or girl's camp sites apply to H. R 
Charlton. General Passenger Department. Montreal. 
J-JERE is a book that 
snouldbe in every sports- 
man’s library. Illustrated by 
Briggs the famous 
cartoonist. A live 
entertaining tale of 
fishing, backin the 
boyhood days. 
5th Edition 
THE DA YS OF 
REAL SPORT-FREE 
Tells how to lure game fish. Gives 
many practical hints and helps on 
casting and angling. Write for it. 
SOUTH BEND BAIT CO. 
10298G>lfax Ave., South Bend, lad. 

THE WAYS OF ANGLERS 
TO POSSESS THE SKILL TO DROP A FLY IN A CERTAIN SPOT 
IS OF MORE VALUE THAN TO BE ABLE TO MAKE LONG CASTS 
By W. E. WOLCOTT 
HERE are in these 
days many expert and 
enthusiastic anglers, 
and may their num- 
bers increase, who 
maintain that the art- 
ificial fly is the only 
lure that should be 
used in fishing for 
speckled trout. Most 
of them claim that 
they can make as good 
catches at all times 
and under almost any conditions as the 
bait-fisherman can, and that frequently 
trout will take a fly when all other lures 
are ignored. Not a few of the enthus- 
iasts go so far as to say that if they 
cannot catch trout with a fly, they will 
not catch them at all. Beyond a doubt 
fly-fishing is the neatest and most sports- 
manlike method of taking trout, and it 
has fittingly been termed the poetry of 
angling. 
A lthough fly-fishing is one of the 
most fascinating of outdoor pas- 
times, there is a large class of proficient 
anglers who do not believe in restricting 
their resources to this mode of luring 
the speckled beauties. They are skillful 
in handling the fly and disposed to give 
it the preference when they think noth- 
ing will be lost by so doing, but they do 
not hesitate to resort to the use of bait 
when conditions appear to warrant such 
a course. Such anglers may very ap- 
propriately be styled eclectic fishermen. 
They admit that better results can often 
be obtained with artificial flies than with 
anything else, but they also know that 
sometimes the trout will refuse to come 
to the surface of the water after them, 
and perhaps sinking the flies may prove 
equally ineffectual. At such times the 
eclectic angler will not disdain to try 
some other means of tempting S. fonti- 
nalis, preferring to sacrifice sentiment 
so far as articificial flies are concerned, 
rather than return home with an empty 
creel. 
I T is in fishing for big speckled trout, 
if we believe what the eclectic angler 
tells us, that the bait most frequently 
accomplishes what the artificial fly has 
failed to do. That large trout are some- 
times taken with a fly cannot be denied, 
but many fishermen who profess to know 
what they are talking about, declare 
that as a rule bait is preferable. In 
other words, they say that the big trout 
which rises to a fly will almost invariably 
take a bait equally as well, if a tempting 
morsel is properly presented, and they 
claim to have learned by practical ex- 
perience that good fish can sometimes be 
taken by using a small minnow, a chub’s 
tail or even angle-worms where fly-fish- 
ing in the same spot has proved ineffec- 
tual. Maybe the larger trout are so lazy 
they prefer the bigger lure. 
I T is rarely essential to make extremely 
long casts while trout fishing in Ad- 
irondack waters. It is better for the 
angler to approach as near as caution 
will permit to the place where he has 
seen a trout rise or where he believes one 
to be lying, before making his cast. To 
possess the skill to drop one’s flies gently 
in the precise spot where it is desirable 
to have them fall, is of far more practical 
value in every-day fishing than the abil- 
ity to break the long-distance casting rec- 
ord. Most experienced fly-fishermen will 
probably agree that it is best, just and 
equitable that in fly-casting tournaments 
the test of skill should hinge upon the 
dexterity of a competitor in accurately 
placing his flies at a given distance, say 
from 40 to 75 feet, rather than the abil- 
ity, perhaps in a measure because of the 
construction of rod or line, to hurl them 
a little further than any one else. For 
ordinary fishing on the rifts of Adiron- 
dack streams, 40 feet of line is ample, 
and more often a less amount is required. 
Occasionally on a bright day, while fly- 
casting on a shallow lake or over a cold 
bed of spring hole, it may be desirable 
to use more than 40 feet, but even then 
great care should be exercised not to let 
out more than is absolutely necessary. 
The angler who attempts to swing more 
line than he can readily handle will in- 
variably find himself seriously handi- 
capped in fishing not only because of the 
extra risk which he takes of having his 
flies entangled in the shrubbery or the 
branches of overhanging trees, but on ac- 
count of his inability to drop his flies in 
the exact place where he wishes to, and 
the additional fact that any undue slack- 
ness in the line will render the hooking 
of a trout difficult. 
O NE of the most important lessons to 
be learned by the beginner in ang- 
ling for brook trout is how to hook the 
fish when he rises to the lure. The trout 
must be fastened promptly, especially in 
fly-fishing. This does not mean to yank 
him out of the water, but simply to set 
the hook firmly into his jaw. Do not 
wait until the trout has time to discover 
that a fraud has been perpetrated as 
the hook will be instantly ejected. It is a 
pretty safe rule to strike the trout as soon 
as you realize he has struck your fly. To 
properly fasten a trout the so-called 
“wrist-knack,” which all successful fly- | 
fishermen must acquire, is very import- i 
ant. Proficient anglers, men of acknowl- 
edged literary ability have essayed to 
impart to the world at large the real 
secret of the wrist knack, but while their i 
descriptions appear graphic to the ini- 
tiated the tyro often finds it extremely 
hard to put what they say into practical 
operation. It is equally difficult for the 
expert angler to show the beginner just 
how the act is performed and illustrate 
it and explain it so clearly that he can- 
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 369) 
