214 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[Aug. 5, 1911. 
I tried these flies with the standard size. . I 
began to use them in the first fishing, when the 
water was so cold that I had to quit wading 
from time to time in order to run up and down 
the bank to get warm again. The results were 
favorable even with the trout which had not yet 
grown shy with the season’s fishing. I could not 
say, however, that the midges were better than 
the larger flies in this eariy fishing. I caught 
good fish on both types. 
But very quickly after the heavy fishing of the 
season began I found myself using the small 
flies more and more. I whipped down the West 
Canada behind skilled fishermen—far abler than 
I was in the use of large, flies. But the little 
flies would raise the trout when the large flies 
would not start a fish in some of the pools. I 
tried the large flies over and over again, be¬ 
cause I feared to lose a “big un” on the little 
hooks. Then I would put on the little flies and 
results would be instantaneous. 
This was in the ordinary fishing on the rifts. 
The only difference that I could detect in the 
two sizes of flies was the apparent fact that in 
very swift water the fish would miss the little 
flies, and the large trout (over a pound and a 
half) did not seem to think the little flies were 
worth going after. But the fish up to a pound 
would take the little fly much oftener than they 
would large ones. Even when the fish were tak¬ 
ing some large fly and' refusing the artificial 
offerings, they frequently snapped at a midge 
to the exclusion of any other fly book offering. 
Later in the season, when the fishing on the 
rifts was over with, the midges had everything 
their own way, as compared with the other flies. 
I have tried the large flies with great patience 
for a long time without avail. Then on putting 
on a cast of the tiny flies many of the fish were 
drawn to the surface. The evidence was so con¬ 
clusive that I could not doubt the great super¬ 
iority of the tiny flies in attracting the fish that 
had sought the comfort of spring brook mouths. 
Of course, they would not always come, but in 
the evening or early in the morning a few nice 
fish would be had. 
Nor is this true of the rapid streams alone. 
My experience on lakes has been limited, but 
on the few occasions when I have tried the lake 
fishing I found the fish willing to take a midge 
if they would touch any surface lure at all. As 
every one whd has caught brook trout in lakes 
knows, there are intervals during the summer 
when the fish come to the surface and take flies 
through the glassy surface, especially just at 
dusk. I have taken a fine mess in mid-summer 
from a small lake where “the fish stop biting 
as soon as the ice is all out.” 
The idea that the small hook will not hold a 
trout as well as a large one deserves some con¬ 
sideration. It stands to reason that the tiny wire 
will cut through the jaw of a fish more quickly 
that a large wire hook. I- think that the midge 
hooks do cut considerably more and tear out 
oftener. I know that the two or three times 
I have used a heavy rod—a seven-ounce one 
that was pretty stiff—the midges raised the trout 
all right, but I could not hold them. 
The secret is to use a Small rod, one that 
weighs not to exceed five ounces. I know how 
strenuously fishermen say that this is too light 
f ~>r heavy fishing, but Adirondack stream trout 
f.shing is not heavy fishing. It is the lightest, 
daintiest fishing there is, if one wishes to make 
it so. It is a genuine sport. I think that I 
would rather take chances on losing the very 
large trout that one sees two or three times a 
season than forego a large part of the fun the 
quarter-pound, half-pound and pound trout give 
one on light tackle. 
It is true that the difficulties in the hard winds 
are increased when one uses the light rod. One 
cannot straighten the line out to his satisfac¬ 
tion, perhaps not display the nice accuracy that 
is possible with a heavy rod and line. But this 
is counterbalanced by the very fact that it is 
in surmounting the difficulties that much of one’s 
pleasure is had. 
Certainly, however, the light rod and delicate 
leader are necessary for getting the best service 
out of a cast of midges. With the tackle all 
light one must work for his fish with great care, 
and play it rather than derrick it out of the 
T O a man who is really fond of the angling 
art, but who has lived in a country where 
the best fishing sport to be had consisted 
of setting a trot line for mud cat or catching a 
string of small sun perch, a trip down the White 
River where there is really an abundance of black 
bass of a very satisfactory size, is a revelation. 
Since I was a small boy I have been regularly 
seized with the fishing mania, and nothing has 
ever really satisfied me outside of a jaunt into 
the woods for a day or two along some muddy 
stream where I could fish for cat or perch with 
occasionally a carp thrown in, and where I could 
fight gnats and flies all day and mosquitoes all 
night. 
It is peculiar how a desire to go after the 
finny denizens takes hold of a man just about so 
often. I have had all kinds of fun out of the 
above kind of fishing, to which should be added 
the cleaning and cooking of your day’s catch, 
eating out of a tin can and being generally dirty 
and disreputable. I have found that when I get 
tight around the neck, the only relief for me is 
to go on a fishing jaunt and take the dirt cure. 
Since my trip down the White River I do not 
know whether I am spoiled for my native fish¬ 
ing or not, but when I think of the great sport 
I had in June on the White River in Arkansas, 
I begin to hope that it will be my luck to take 
such a trip as this again. 
A party of four started to float down the 
White River about 4 o’clock on the afternoon of 
June 4. We took with us three guides. By this 
arrangement we were able to float with two 
men and a guide in each boat, and the third 
guide bringing up the rear with the camping out¬ 
fit and the commissary supp’ies. We pitched 
camp the first night a few miles below Branson, 
Mo., on one of the,numerous gravel bars for 
which this river is famous. After a comfort¬ 
able night we got an early start the next morn¬ 
ing, and from that time on to the end of our 
journey at Cottar, Ark., we floated over a sec¬ 
tion of the river that really teemed with black bass 
weighing from three-quarters to four pounds. 
water. The limber rod yields and does not tear 
out the tiny hook, and in the long run one’s 
catch is as good with the little flies and rods 
as with the large. I have landed trout that 
went over two pounds out of swift water on 
a No. 12 hook with a 4J/2-ounce rod. I do not 
ask for any more than that, and when I have 
had the advantage of midges I have actually 
caught more and larger trout on the average 
than men who fished ahead of me in the stream.. 
For those who have always used a large fly 
and heavy rod (over six ounces) there is a new 
experience and pleasure to be had in the very 
light fly-fishing. The expense is not great. I 
used a $6 rod for eight or nine years, and this 
spring I bought a $5 split bamboo which was 
extensively advertised and found it served me 
well the ten or twelve days that I found time 
to go out for a few hours. 
The boys had a good deal of fun with me 
when I got my first catch. I had been practic¬ 
ing up a little on how to cast a wooden minnow 
to just the right spot, and the general verdict 
of my friends was that I was evidently suffi¬ 
ciently fond of the angling art in a general way 
to make a success of bass fishing. My first catch 
consisted of a double. The fish gave me a good 
fight, and as this was something entirely new to 
me, I of course got very excited and my excite¬ 
ment and the pleasure of my friends at my ef¬ 
forts reached its height when in some manner 
my reel came loose from my rod and dropped 
down in the boat. I have no really clear idea 
how I did land those two fish, but the boys tell 
me that I went after my line in hand-over-hand 
fashion, and I was of course very much pleased 
to think that my first strike did not get away 
from me. From that time on I was one of the 
busiest fishermen anyone ever saw, and the bass 
struck at my minnow often enough to keep the 
excitement at a high pitch. 
After a day or two I was convinced of the 
fact that bass fishing requires considerable work 
and the entire party was very glad that we took 
a sufficient number of guides with us to elimi¬ 
nate the necessity of our getting in and pitching 
camp and doing the number of onerous duties 
that are necessary 011 a fishing trip. After a day 
of fishing we could step out on a gravel bar, 
take our chairs up in the shade of the bluff and 
sit around and smoke and talk until supper was 
ready or have a game of pitch. The members 
of the party were splendid pitch players and we 
had some rather exciting games while the savory 
odor of frying bass was wafted to our nostrils. 
The White River is one of the most beautiful 
streams that it has been my good fortune to 
visit. The water is as clear as crystal, and it 
is quite entertaining to see the fish swimming 
in the river and especially to catch a half dozen 
big black bass which you have been watching 
chase a fifteen-hook minnow to within six feet 
of the boat. Of course a man on a camping trip 
usually develops an appalling appetite, and all 
Down the White River 
By ROY W. SHORT 
