FOREST AND STREAM 
1005 
paying out line until there is something between 
ten and fifteen yards gone from the reel. Now 
rest on the oars with the rod extending well over 
the stern, pull off about three feet of line from 
the reel into the bottom of the boat, and let the 
wind do the rest. 
Watch the tip of the rod to determine whether 
it is bottom or a fish that the hook connects with, 
this is something that really has to be learned by 
instinct. 
Presently the rod will bend down slowly but 
surely, then ease up and straighten with a jerk, 
a sure sign of bottom. Give a stroke with the 
oars and watch it again. If the performance is 
repeated, reel in a little line, as very likely the 
water is too shallow for the length of line out. 
When the right length is determined upon, 
which will mean when the bait touches only 
every five minutes or so, tie a tiny piece of cord 
around the line to mark the depth and sit back 
and take things easy, only using the oars when 
the boat becomes stationary. 
Very soon the difference between the bottom 
and the fumbling of a fish at the bait will be seen. 
With a fish the rod tip will tremble very slight¬ 
ly at first, remain quiet for a second, then give 
a few spasmodic jerks that shake the rod from 
tip to butt, once more remaining quiet. On a 
sudden it will bend sharply over until the tip 
touches the surface of the water and the loose 
line begins to run rapidly from the boat. 
If the fisherman be wise it is only now that he 
will reach for the rod, and with about six inches 
of loose line left, strike and strike hard, for a 
bass will not start away with food until it is well 
down in its gullet, a fact that a live bait fisher¬ 
man soon learns to his sorrow, for many a good 
fish is lost through striking prematurely. 
This method of fishing should prove to be a 
grand success during at least the first two weeks 
of the open season, when it will very likely be 
discovered finally that the fish have lost all their 
appetite for worms, gorged on them by that time, 
no doubt, and one might fish for a week in this 
way with never a fish to show for it, except, per¬ 
haps, a perch or a pickerel or two. 
Minnows can also be used to good advantage 
under these same circumstances and conditions. 
Use the same rig, with the addition, if it be 
thought necessary, of a few split shot to get the 
bait deep enough, for large minnows will keep 
the hook on a higher level than will a small one. 
Select as a preference the deep water off some 
rocky shore or headland, and if the wind be fair¬ 
ly gentle try to drift the whole length of it in a 
zig-zag course, into shore and out again at long 
angles. 
Keep the oars as clear of the water as pos¬ 
sible, only giving a quiet and gentle stroke now 
and then to start the boat in the right direction, 
naturally making as little commotion in the water 
as possible. 
Fish do not seem to mind the drifting of a 
boat over head so long as there is no disturb¬ 
ance connected with it, any more than they do 
the drifting of a log. 
After the deep shore has been worked over 
twice in this way and there be no results, look 
about and find a shore of the opposite character, 
grassy, comparatively level banks and water from 
ten to twenty feet in depth. 
When one realizes that the nature of the bot¬ 
tom is, as a rule, the same as the land immedi¬ 
ately adjacent to the water line it is easy to select 
any style bottom desired. 
As a matter of fact, this method of drifting 
can be applied to the use of any kind of bait that 
is at all practicable in the early part of the sea¬ 
son. Worms, minnows, crawfish and helgra- 
mites can be used with more or less success, but 
the bait par-excellence is, beyond a doubt, night 
crawlers, and “drifting” with them will net at 
least sixty per cent, more fish than still fishing. 
In river fishing these same methods can be 
used with even greater success. Hold the boat 
with the bow to the current and allow about 
twenty feet of line to drift over the stern. Use 
one or two split shot as occasion seems to demand. 
A few strokes of the oars now and then will 
keep the line straightened and every nook and 
cranny into which the current goes may be 
searched out, usually with a good catch of bass 
as the result. 
The Camp Cook’s Best Friend 
is a good supply of Heinz pure foods. There’s one or more 
that goes right with every kind of camp fare. 
Heinz 57 Varieties 
give you the most food in the least space and purest form. 
Easy to pack and carry, and easily opened. All ready cooked— 
just heat and serve. When you 
Heinz Baked Beans 
Always welcome, hot or cold. 
Heinz Spaghetti 
Deliciously cooked with tomato 
and cheese sauce. 
Heinz Cream Soups 
Tomato, celery, pea—the best 
soups with the most appetizing 
flavors. 
make out your list remember: 
Heinz Ketchup 
Everybody likes it. 
Heinz Evaporated Horse¬ 
radish 
A fine relish 
Heinz Peanut Butter 
Keeps sweet indefinitely in the 
hottest weather. 
Heinz Pickles, Preserves, 
Jellies, etc. 
All good grocers sell them. Send for list of the 57 Varieties. 
H. J. HEINZ COMPANY, Pittsburgh, Pa. 
All Heinz goods sold in Canada are made in Canada 
Real Luck Lies in Your Reel 
MEEK REELS for 30 yrs. have 
mi i — stood first with the 
rSV. “big catchers. ” Stand first in quality, 
service and satisfaction. Won more 
trophies, by over 2 to 1, than all 
\Av J \ other reels combined. Write for 
Catalogue E 
B. MEEK & SONS 
;V^F==aL Louisville, Ky. 
allk 1 ’O’ -»• - . i » jPi 
