618 
FOREST AND STREAM 
brothers of the angle are out with their bait 
and large-size hooks, but I doubt it. Further¬ 
more, so many of our small stocked streams are 
so hedged in by concealing bushes, forming some¬ 
times a most intricate network, that it is little 
short of impossible to work a fly there with any 
degree of success. 
On such streams, therefore, the bait must be 
used if salvelinus fontinalis is to be had. There is 
a wide variety of bait to use, chubs, shiners, angle- 
worms, grubs, and newts, not to mention many 
other varieties of squirming and crawling creat¬ 
ures. When fishing in big rivers the use of the 
chub, or shiner, bait, is not amiss. The most 
attractive and glittering portion of the fish is 
cut in the form of a strip, and is hooked on to 
imitate a minnow. As aforementioned, the big 
fish now lie deep down and are more or less 
inactive. The bait is cast in at the head of the 
pool, and is allowed to be washed into the deep 
holes. 
To assure the line properly sinking to the bot¬ 
tom, one or two split shot are inserted on the 
line. One must use care when fishing trout in 
this manner, for it takes the fish a certain time 
before they get the bait into their mouths, as 
they have no exceptional sprightliness about them 
in the early spring. Let your fish get a good 
hold on the bait, and then set your hook hard. 
Keep a taut line, and play him with ease and 
deliberation, much the same as when using the 
fly. The playing part of bait fishing is practically 
the same as identified with the other process. 
Exert your patience and do not become dis¬ 
couraged. Trout, along with bass, are very queer 
people of the streams, and are not generally un¬ 
derstood in their actions. 
The angleworm, of course, comes in for special 
mention. As regards the use of a leader, while 
one is not exactly necessary, still a bait leader 
is a good thing, largely for the reason that wet 
flies may be inserted at the other two loops with 
success. It certainly is not unwise to have on 
your leader a wet fly of attractive design, one 
of gaudy coloration being preferable if the water 
is more than ordinarily soiled. A sunken wet 
fly, in collaboration with the angleworm, is sure 
to work well, as experience will teach, and will 
register many catches, providing perseverance is 
shown. For be it said that a sunken wet fly is 
often as productive of captures as the same fly 
touched but lightly on the surface. Need I ask 
older anglers to verify this, or is it generally 
accepted by the clan? 
Fish carefully from pool to pool. The big 
trout will be found beside obstructions, projec¬ 
tions, rocks, logs and under shady, overhanging 
banks. In more shallow water the smaller fish 
may be found. Approach your stream cautious¬ 
ly, creeping up to the bank and remaining in 
careful concealment, whip out your baited hook, 
and let the water wash it in. When the hook 
has reached its termination draw it back and re¬ 
peat the process. Never leave a place till you 
have thoroughly examined its probabilities. It 
is a very good plan, especially in the spring, when 
much stuff is taken into the stomach of the trout 
that comes down with the stream, to cut open 
a few of the first fish that are captured, to find 
out what they have been feeding upon. Then 
use bait in keeping with the suggestion. 
The tackle for bait fishing is one much dis¬ 
cussed. Preference goes to a rod having quite 
a bit of backbone to it, and it should have suffi¬ 
cient weight to control any unlooked-for hap¬ 
pening. While one may fish with a light rod 
without trouble, still a heavier rod has the lead¬ 
ership. Understand, I am not going to be a 
crank. 
For instance, there are men who have only 
one rod. Then use your one rod. There are 
an awful lot of us, after all, who have only one 
weapon. The Bristol fly rod, of clock-spring 
steel, is excellent for all-round fishing. It has 
not the same resiliency and pliancy of the hand¬ 
worked bamboo, but it is a rugged little fighter 
that will stand the test of time and practice. 
The enamelled line should find entrance into 
the outfit, whether you are bait-fishing or fly¬ 
fishing. The oiled silk line may work all right, 
and I do not condemn it; it has not the perfec¬ 
tion of the enamelled line, which works easily and 
deliberately through the guides without any loss 
of time or energy. Also, it saves much exasper¬ 
ation. Professional recommendation runs to 
Size E, and the level-calibered line is quite as 
good as the tapered, it being a matter of in¬ 
dividual preference, or the pocket-book. Twenty- 
five yards of any line is quite sufficient. Either 
a single-action reel or an automatic will prove 
equal to any circumstances. The automatic reel 
has much to its credit, in that it never allows 
of a slack line, and with it a fish may be worked 
in very skillfully. 
Select your hooks carefully. Number two 
may be rather large to suit some; number five 
is better, and from there on to number eight 
will fill the bill. Light-weight leaders have no 
place in bait-fishing. Bait leaders often come 
under the term “heavy trout,” and are recom¬ 
mended. But as I have said, it is not abso¬ 
lutely necessary to use a leader. 
It would be quite out of place in this article, 
bearing on trout fishing in the spring, not to 
mention the use of spinners. Rarely do we see 
any encouragement to their use in the columns 
of the outdoor press, and because of their unique¬ 
ness, and at the same time their capability, I 
shall give attention to them here. Correctly 
manipulated, the spinner is prolific of some phe¬ 
nomenally portentious catches. The spinner and 
fly are in their element in wild waters, in swift 
pools below some strong water. Cast in there, the 
water sets them in motion, and they prove so at¬ 
tractive that even the wisest trout at times are 
taken in. Trout spinners, or spoons, come in 
small sizes, it all depending upon the manufac¬ 
turer. Some spinners are so made that the fly may 
not be taken off but must serve as it is. These 
have their drawbacks. Then again we have the 
spinner parts interchangeable, and with eyed- 
flies in our possession we may put on whatever 
fly we like. If we find a standard fly failing 
to make a catch, it is removed and a better one 
substituted. 
The detachable spinner is the best of them all 
for this reason. No outfit is complete without 
it especially if there are streams having much 
wild water. Trout spoons or spinners come in 
various styles. Thus we have the tandem and 
the single spoon, either gold-plated or nickle- 
plated, to suit our taste. The Hildebrandt com¬ 
pany puts out some of the best spinners in the 
country, and the reader of this article who is 
interested should give them careful attention. In 
the Hildebrandt style those coming in sizes o to 
number two are well-fitted for use with the fly- 
rod. From three to three and a half, use for 
bait-casting. My personal recommendation goes 
to their standard number one, gold-plated. I 
have found this to be an exceptionally good con¬ 
trivance. Their other style, the Slim Eli, is also 
good. 
Upon these spinners your flies may be inserted, 
and you can try them out to your heart’s con¬ 
tent. Used in roily water or “white water,” along 
with such bait as cut chub or angleworm, they 
are in their element. It should be remembered 
that these spinners will work only in strong 
water, where the force of the current properly 
turns the spoon or spoons. One must gauge his 
weighing process according to the strength of the 
stream. Two split shot will, as a rule, suffice. 
The bait may be started at the head of a pool 
and allowed to float down until the furthermost 
destination is reached, when it is drawn in, the 
trouter being careful to include the best places. 
Flies, by this submerged system, can well be 
used in collaboration with spinners, and I here 
recommend the process. In clear water those of 
a subdued coloration are given signal preference, 
but where the water is roiled those of a gaudy 
hue work better. The Ibis is a splendid fly for 
this; the Hackles work nicely, as do the Palmers, 
the Professor and the March Brown, all coming 
in the eyed-style, so that they may be inserted 
on the spinners. With the use of the spinners 
in the riffles one is able sometimes to catch a 
great number of trout. But the smaller fish are 
always found in the riffles which is, of course, 
the drawback. 
When using the spinners, always keep well in 
concealment. Your success in trout fishing rests 
upon this singular foundation. Work your way 
smoothly. Try not to let your shadow be cast 
ahead of you, for it instantly alarms the trout. 
Make no noise. Wade easily, never splashing in 
the water. 
THE TROUT’S BEAUTY. 
You may sing of the glory of jewels, 
Of the flash of the diamond’s ray, 
Of the lights that glow in the western sky 
At the close of some perfect day. 
You may sing of the splendors of daybreak, 
Of the tint of the tropic skies, 
Of the morning glow o’er some distant sea 
Where the drift of the cloud-bank lies. 
But for me there’s a far richer beauty 
With a wealth of color more rare 
Than the play of the fairest earth-won gem, 
Or the lights of the ’lumined air. 
A rich beauty, the rarest in Nature, 
Or the wealth of an artist’s dream, 
That is found in the glory of color 
Of a trout from some crystal stream. 
Frank Merton Buckland. 
ADVOCATES FLY FISHING. 
Fish Commissioner William A. Leisenring, of 
Mauch Chunk, said recently. “In fishing with 
fly, the trout is generally hooked in the mouth. 
He seldom swallows the hook, and for this rea¬ 
son receives slight injury, so that those under 
legal size have a likely chance of living after 
returned to the water. I would like to see every 
trout fisherman a fly fisherman.” Mr. Leisen¬ 
ring is one of the ablest fly casters in the State. 
He has been a leader in the systematic stocking 
of Carbon County streams. 
