August, 1919 
FOREST AND STREAM 
405 
With lightning-like movement the lead is shot out two hundred feet, depositing the 
baited hook just where the green water is tumbling into the basin 
conditions under which the bass is usu- 
ally taken precludes the use of the very 
light rod and fine line. Ordinarily the 
contest is in swirling tide ways or in 
the pounding surf, which calls for the 
bait being presented at the bottom and 
held there by the consequently heavy 
sinker. This makes a rod of consider- 
able weight necessary which is a barrier 
to sprightly acrobatics on the part of the 
quarry. That the Bass will occasionally 
rise to the fly seems to be accepted but 
under conditions which must be observed 
with fidelity, in the early morning hours 
before sunrise, or at sunset when quiet 
is on the waters and no wind moving. 
Those who have tried have been occasion- 
ally successful. There is no doubt that 
at the same time had a light rod wdth 
a spinner been in play the same fish 
would have been taken together with 
several of his congeners. Not that the 
use of the fly is to be decried, but with 
this fish the spinner and worm is de- 
cidedly more deadly, or to use a more 
sportsmanlike phrase, more certain of 
success. 
T he proper method for river or bay 
fishing is a good light boat, with 
trolling equipment as follows : 
A light rod wdth sufficient weight to strike 
against or take up the slack against the 
momentum given by the motion of the 
boat, a nine-thread line and a good, 
active multiplying reel. A gut leader 
of from two to three feet in length 
should be used and at least two-ply. 
which should be of a mist color and of 
good quality, attached to one eye of a 
box swivel; to the other end or eye the 
line should be fastened. The use of the 
swivel should never be neglected as the 
entire trolling outfit frequently revolves 
and without the swivel attachment the 
line soon becomes unlaid or unstranded 
and consequently ruined. There is on 
the market a keel sinker, made so that 
below the part to be fastened to the 
line a flat depth of lead extends. This 
in trolling is invaluable as it not only 
prevents the line from revolving but 
carries the bait dowm rapidly and its 
edge formation offers but little resistance 
to the water. The hook should be a 
4-0 or 5-0 O’Shaugnessy, why it is that 
this particular type of hook is so deadly 
to the bass is not fully understood. 
However, your experienced bass fisher- 
man will accept no other type. For bait 
there is positively nothing which com- 
pares with the white worm or blood 
worm, as it is usually termed. Two or 
three good-sized worms should be strung 
on the hook wdth much of their lengths 
left hanging. Between the leader and 
hook, however, a small, free acting spin- 
ner should be attached. This is posi- 
tively the most killing lure known and 
will take fish if they are to be obtained. 
The boat should be moved just fast 
enough to keep the bait free from the 
bottom, and as much of the time as pos- 
sible against the tide. Where rocks are 
known to exist they should be worked 
over several times, until success crowms 
the effort or assurance is had that the 
fish are not there. Grassy points should 
also be carefully worked out keeping the 
bait close in, no matter if the water is 
quite shallow, as the bass frequently 
lurks in most unexpected places. So 
many times, when arms are aching from 
continuous rowing and patience is about 
played out, whir-r-r-r — the rapidly vi- 
brating click, that “alarm clock” to the 
fisherman, gives notice that a fish is hung 
and at once the fatigue is forgotten and 
nerves are atingle wdth excitement. If 
you are covering fairly deep water the 
first rush is sounding to the bottom; then 
off fifty, eighty, perhaps a hundred feet 
as swift as the flight of an arrow; then 
comes a splash at the surface. You can 
scarcely realize that it is your fish, so 
swiftly have the movements been made 
and in that move, if the hook is not 
well set, your relationship ends for all 
time, as the splash you heard was not 
accident but design. 
Could you have been closes* you would 
have seen the thrashing of the head to 
throw the hook from the jaw, but be- 
ing unable to do so, again he sounds 
and runs and if the hand of experience 
is holding the rod full play is given the 
captive until exhausted, but not con- 
quered in spirit, he is slowly led to the 
gaff or landing net, without which no 
fisherman should ever hold argument 
with a game fish from a boat. 
W HILE the bass are not nearly as 
abundant as formerly still it 
may be said with assurance that 
they are holding up as well against the 
indiscriminate slaughter as any other 
species. This may be accounted for by 
the fact that he is at all times an 
inshore ranger and is not affected by 
the “pound nets,” besides legislation has 
been passed in all the coast states look- 
ing to the conservation of the species. 
Another great safeguard to the bass is 
the fact that they spawn in bays and 
rivers and never in the open ocean, so 
the small fry remain in inland waters 
until quite able to care for themselves 
and it is no stretch of the imagination 
to contend or believe that much of their 
lives are spent at or near their place of 
birth. Like all other species the scarcity 
or abundance of this fish depends largely 
on the food supply at a given point. The 
bass is at all times fastidious in his 
manner of feeding. What will be taken 
greedily at one time will not tempt them 
at another, so it is always well when surf 
fishing to have two or more kinds of 
bait in readiness. The baits usually re- 
lied on are bloodworms, shedder crabs, 
squid or ink fish, and skimmer clams. 
When neither of these secure results it 
is quite safe to assume that bass are 
not present in the water or are absolutely 
not feeding. They will, however, take 
the metal squid during the autumn 
months when the surf mullet is about, 
but strange to say while they persistently 
pursue the latter fish they rarely will 
strike one when on the hook. 
If we claim that trout and salmon 
fishermen are immaculate in their ideas 
of proper outfitting, the same must be 
applied to the bass fishing enthusiast. 
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 440) 
