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leader material from which you may tie others. 
If you have not learned to tie your own leaders 
it would be a fine thing to learn, especially if 
you are going into a wild country far from any 
post. Remember to stock up on good, acceptable 
flies. Wild waters contain wild fish; the are not 
of the super-civilized kind we often have to 
match skill and cunning against. Gaudy-colored 
flies should be included as well as drab-colored 
ones. 
Excellent solid-wood for experimental rod 
construction can be had in the well-known 
dagama material. Well-known experts regard 
this as the equal to green-heart, this latter being 
one of the best woods for rod purposes. The 
dagama wood makes for a remarkable degree of 
resiliency and pliancy. It is far superior to 
lancewood, the fault of the latter being a leaning 
toward whippiness, and a set to it when it gets 
old. In the dagama wood there are not so 
many knots. The lancewood rod is one that 
you have to trust for better or worse. Assured¬ 
ly it cannot compare with a rod in the dagama 
material, which may be purchased for from ten 
to twelve dollars. At the above price, a dagama 
rod is far better than a handmade rod of bamboo. 
There is much in testing out a fly-rod. When 
the line is threaded through the guides it should 
not feel heavy at the tip. The rod should have 
a perfect bend from reel to tip. With the guides 
held up on the rod, bend it, and after it slips 
back into its original shape, note if it has a set 
'to it. It should spring back promptly into its 
/perfect shape, after the test. After testing the 
rod for a sag to the tip witn the guides up, then 
test it with the guides down, and so work it back 
;and forth till you are assured that the backbone 
is sufficient to warrant holding a good fish. Set 
that your rod has the proper balance. In the 
Hands of a coal-passer a heavy rod of seven 
ounces may not seem much, but to the man right 
out of the office such a thing may be an encum¬ 
brance. There are some men truly who want 
heavy rods so that they can cast right in the teeth 
of the east wind. Suit your rod to your 
strength. This is by no means advocating two- 
ounce and three-ounce rods for rough stream 
fishing. In such cases a strong rod is a neces¬ 
sity; a fragile wand of three ounces is identified 
with more convenient conditions of the immortal 
pastime. 
The experienced angler who has fished and 
studied his fish carefully, knows that trout are 
best circumvented, when he uses the greatest de¬ 
gree of caution in approaching his quarry. To 
keep as much as possible out of sight from a 
pool, is an absolute rule in trout fishing. The 
slightest disturbance will often put the fish on 
their guard, where, caution being used, they may 
be taken one after another. In fishing a stream, 
then, the question is: Which way shall I fish, up¬ 
stream or down? However it may be, this point 
should be noted. The shadow from your body 
should always be behind you. A shadow cast 
before is often a timely enough warning, and the 
fish will shoot back to cover like veritable 
streaks of lightning. Where the sun is bfore 
one the fish naturally are fooled, and one is aided 
vastly in placing his flies with greater freedom 
at his command. But as to the question of 
whether one should fish up-stream or down, there 
has been much conjecture and debate among 
members of the brotherhood. Down-stream fish¬ 
FOREST AND STREAM 
ing is favored for this reason: The water flow¬ 
ing away from you, your flies are carried always 
away. With the water coming toward you the 
flies, if allowed the least release, will be carried 
toward you, and it is then quite impossible to 
gather up the line save by beginning all over 
again. The great point, therefore, in favor of 
the flowing away from your cast, is that you can 
rest at times, by letting the flies lie on the water, 
a system that is often productive of some bril¬ 
liant catches. However, try both. Fish down¬ 
stream in the morning and up in the afternoon. 
When you strike a wide pool, fish thoroughly, 
close in at first, and then gradually outward, 
searching out all dark nooks and corners, always 
remembering to have yourself as concealed as 
possible. 
Lake trout are, as a rule, easily taken in the 
spring, by means of moderate trolling tackle 
with bait or spoons. When the temperature of 
the water becomes more heightened the lake 
trout are susceptible to the change, and invariably 
retreat to the deepest holes they can find. Then 
deep fishing or trolling for them is necessary. 
Many a man has been absolutely unsuccessful by 
trolling along the surface for them in the sum¬ 
mer. One must fish very deep. The best lure is a 
live minnow in collaboration with an Archer Spin¬ 
ner. It will, nine out of ten times, be the best, and 
should be marked down and included in your 
outfit. One must use well-tested lines for lake 
trout—tested, to, say, sixteen pounds. Whether 
Kingfisher or Cuttyhunk, it does not much mat¬ 
ter, though the former is usually given signal 
preference among knowing anglers. Braided- 
copper-wire lines may be purchased. Some think 
these are excellent and far better than the linen 
or silk lines, but while some are thus suited, 
others see it differently, and there you are. The 
braided copper wire sinks of its own weight. 
However, if you want to sink it faster, sinkers 
must be used. An eight-ounce rod is not toe 
heavy for lake trout trolling. But do not forget 
the famous Archer Spinner and the live minnow 
system. They are excellent. To land lake trout, 
muskellunge or large pickerel on light tackle, 
furnishes much sport. One should carry a twen¬ 
ty-two calibre rifle, or pistol, to shoot the quarry 
when it is gotten near to the boat or canoe. 
Be sure and get a suitable reel for your fly- 
rod. The amateur instantly conceives the no¬ 
tion that any old winch will do. just so it turns 
around, and will receive the line as it is taken 
in. The reel should be suited to the weight of 
the rod. A too-heavy reel on a fragile wand will 
he noticeable instantly. One who has become 
addicted to that passion called angling will in¬ 
stantly feel out of place, picking up such a rod 
and reel for work. Your rod. as I have afore¬ 
mentioned. should balance perfectly. There is 
one reel that is used extensively for fly-fishing, 
and that is the single-action reel. Any reel with 
an outstanding handle eventually becomes a 
prime nuisance for the line will consistently foul 
on it, and it will not only cause exasperation 
in unknown quantities, but you often lose a cap¬ 
tured fish on that account when slack line will 
accumulate while you are disengaging your line. 
By no means use a quadruple-multiplying reel 
for your trout fishing. 
The automatic reel is one of singular im¬ 
portance. Working the line with your left hand 
the fish can always be kept on a taut line, 
while with the finger of the right hand by touch¬ 
ing the regulating clip the line is eaten up with¬ 
out any pausing whatever. For this reason the 
automatic is a good reel to have, but many per¬ 
sons cannot become reconciled to them after hav¬ 
ing used other reels. The beginner often finds 
it hard to reel in a fish that is captured, using the 
average reel. The process is often slow, and one 
must use pains. There are many ways of doing 
this, some turning the reel up when reeling in, 
others allowing the reel to be down, pressing the 
butt of the rod against the knee, bending the rod 
in. But at all times the line must be held taut. 
After a day on the stream, be sure and dry 
your enamelled line thoroughly with a cloth, or 
some preparation by which longevity Is assured, 
such as graphite. At the end of the season spool 
it tightly. 
Flies at the end of the season should be 
sorted out carefully and placed in some air¬ 
tight receptacle away from moths and other in¬ 
sects. Good flies come high, and it pays to be 
economical. 
You should have in your tackle box what is 
known as a pocket oiler. This is to preserve your 
reel. A few drops in it once in a while will 
make it more smooth, and the reel will last 
longer. Never take apart a reel that is a “non- 
takapart.” A reel of this sort, once taken part, 
never acts right again. 
Always dry your bait-casting line thoroughly 
when in from the lake or stream. When allow¬ 
ed to be wet upon the reel, it naturally begins to 
weaken, and cannot last half the time in compari¬ 
son to one that has been taken care of. Stick 
your hook in a convenient tree, wind off all the 
wet line, wave it through the air two or three 
minutes, and it is dry. 
If for some reason or another you have been 
losing fish, and do not know what is the mat¬ 
ter, you had better look over your hooks, 
especially if you have one of the weedless 
variety, when using frogs for bait. A dulled 
point loses many fish. A file brought into ser¬ 
vice now and then will assure success. 
Change water often on your minnows. A pinch 
of salt in the water will give them new life. 
Try it and see. 
STOCKED TOO EARLY. 
It seems doubtful whether the adult brook 
trout liberated in the Quaboag River recently 
will do that stream any permanent good, said a 
recent dispatch from Palmer, Mass. Since the 
trout were liberated a good many have been 
taken from the stream by various fishermen. 
While it is impossible to say that any of the fish 
recently caught are a part of those liberated by 
the Fish and Game Commission, it seem probable. 
Practically no trout were caught in the river this 
season before these fish were put it. Since that 
time many have been caught, nearly all adult 
trout. 
So far as stocking the stream is concerned, it 
would have been much more effective if the trout 
had been liberated after the close of the fishing 
season. They would have had one year in which 
to breed and could have been taken next season. 
However, those who have been fortunate in tak¬ 
ing good fish from the stream this year are well 
satisfied with the way the commission has 
managed. 
