298 
FOREST AND STREAM 
JULY, 1917 
and one surface lure. The underwaters are 
three inches long with three treble hooks. 
Colors: (i) white with red and green 
spots, (2) rainbow striped, (3) solid red. 
Color is the last thing I would consider 
when buying a casting bait. When choos¬ 
ing an underwater, I would take light 
color if. offered my choice, for I can see 
a light colored lure at a greater distance 
under water than I can see a dark col¬ 
ored one. Perhaps the bass can too. When 
it comes to a surface lure, I will take any 
color if the lure is so constructed that it 
will kick up a fuss on the surface. It is 
the jump, splash and splutter that gets the 
strikes with a top-water lure. 
The underwater t baits that I use are 
shaped like a minnow and have a nickel 
spinner at the nose and one at the tail. 
One spinner whirls in one direction and the 
other in the reverse. This keeps the lure 
from revolving and twisting the line. I 
have used lures that required a swivel and 
I am now swivel-shy. Swivels get clogged 
with weeds. A twisted and kinked line 
don’t cast very well, in fact it don’t cast 
at all. I pay 75 cents a piece for under¬ 
waters. I carry three and find that enough. 
It is possible that you might lose one or 
two, but if you lose all three it would seem 
to me that you were fishing where snags 
were plenty, and you had better put on the 
floater. 
At present the artificial bait manufac¬ 
turers are attempting to out-do each other 
in producing diving, wiggling and dodging 
lures. The idea is good, but in practical 
use I quickly learned that these lures gen¬ 
erally dodged in the wrong direction or at 
the wrong time when I was guiding them 
through a narrow strip of water amongst 
lily pads. The tendency to pass a weed 
stem on the side opposite to that the line 
took, seemed well developed. For open- 
water casting they are all right, but around 
our part of Connecticut our lakes have 
many patches of weeds and lily pads and 
many stretches of open water; so you 
would be changing baits all the time. And 
you never get a strike when the lure is 
in the boat. I prefer a bait that will reel- 
in perfectly straight; if I want it to jump 
or wiggle I can do that with the rod or 
reel. 
One surface lure is all I carry. The one 
I have here is 4inches long with three 
treble hooks, two underneath and one at 
the tail. The color is white with a red 
snout. I do not care anything about the 
color whatever, but there is a sloping nickel 
collar just back of the snout, and by giv¬ 
ing the rod-tip slight flirts when reeling in 
this lure, a good commotion is created on 
the surface—enough to scare any bass. 
Only it doesn’t seem to scare ’em. I’ve had 
bass strike so hard that they knocked it 
right out of the water. This lure cost $1. 
I have a small scale that weighs up to 
15 pounds by 2-ounce graduations. While 
it does not help me catch fish, I like to 
know what each fish weighs; and it comes 
in handy to weigh the three-pound bass that 
other people catch. It is surprising how 
those fish shrink when hung on a scale. 
I always carry two or three Number 4 
nickel spoon-hooks. I never liked a spoon- 
hook, but a ten-cent one will catch as many 
pickerel as anything else you try. Use a 
sinker to get necessary casting weight. 
My landing net is collapsible and an 18- 
inch bag holds it. I made the handle in 
two 16-inch sections so as to have it pack 
conveniently and still be long enough to 
dip the fish handily. Take a fish bag or 
a “keep ’em alive” stringer with you; then 
if you get a big one after catching a couple 
of other fair ones, you can liberate the 
smaller and not have them dead on your 
hands. 
You have pretty well examined my outfit. 
A duplicate would cost you from $12 to 
$LS- More people can afford that amount 
than four times that much. It will do 
good work, too. 
TROUT HABITS, LURES AND THEIR USE 
III. THE LORE OF ALL THE EXPERTS WILL NOT SUFFICE UNLESS 
YOU SUPPLEMENT IT BY STUDYING THE WATER FOR YOURSELF 
By GEORGE PARKER HOLDEN 
T HE Englishman, David Foster, had 
some definite ideas upon our subject. 
He held that there are two main va¬ 
rieties of flies furnishing fish food: the 
erect-winged, or Ephemcridae, and the flat¬ 
winged— Phryganidae, Muscidae, etc. Of 
the latter there are many varieties, some 
land and some water flies. The water flies 
are of greatest use to the angler. They 
rise to the surface to fulfill the procreative 
function and live but a few days, sporting 
on or near their native element. Of the 
up-wings there are four species: Olive 
Duns, Iron Blue Duns, Large Browns 
(March Brown, Turkey Brown), and the 
May-fly, or Green Drake. The prevailing 
temperature of the atmosphere and water 
at the time of the larvae and pupa arriv¬ 
ing at maturity influences the color of the 
insect, says Mr. Foster. Of one race but 
many colors, all the Duns are the progeny 
of the Red Spinner, and all that live to 
maturity become spinners. 
The Olive Dun comes in February, when 
it is known as the Blue Dun. It has a 
lighter body a few weeks later, when the 
weather is warmer, and is called the 
Cocked-wing Dun. By the first of April 
it is of a general olive color with a yellow- 
ribbed body. According to other changes, 
it is variously known as the Yellow Dun 
of April (light and dark), Pale Blue Dun, 
Yellow Dun of Mav. Hare’s Ear Dun, Pale 
Evening White, Common Yellow Dun, 
Golden Dun, July Dun, Dull Blue Dun, 
Pale Evening Dun. 
The Iron Blue Dun is a species-distinct 
from the Olive Dun, and only about half 
the size. Jennie Spinner is the source of 
the Iron Blue Dun Range. 
Such well-known standard flies as the 
Red-fly, Cinnamon, Willow, Grannom, 
Alder, Stone, Blue Bottle, Oak, and Sand¬ 
flies are copied more correctly in a flat¬ 
winged, and some in a flat spread-winged 
style, than in the erect-winged form, which 
is correct only for the ephemerals. There¬ 
fore to use a cock-winged copy (in the 
dry fly) of living flat-winged insects is.cer¬ 
tainly absurd. 
Some of Mr. Foster’s indications for 
the use of particular flies are: 
Use smaller flies later in the season. 
Red Hackle, when water is slightly col¬ 
ored by rain. 
Black Gnat is intermittent through the 
whole season; most killing in cold, blus¬ 
tery, stormy weather. 
March Brown and variations, good at all 
seasons. 
Blue Dun, one of the best in use. Ap¬ 
pears in March and continues through the 
season, though varying in color; is deeper 
blue in early Spring. 
Iron Blue Dun, from middle of May to 
third week in June. Is in force on 
cold days during gleam of sunshine. 
Alder in May and June; best toward 
evening. 
Red and Black Ants are late-season flies. 
Pale Dun is a Summer fly. 
Whirling Blue Dun is a good evening fly. 
Green Drake, well along in June; Gray 
Drake also, but better nights. 
\ ellow Sally in May, June and July. 
Cowdung for all seasons; windy days, 
through meadows. 
Hare’s Ear in April and May. 
I T must be remembered that British writ¬ 
ers speak of European stream and 
weather conditions, and of the brown 
trout (salmo fario), the native trout of 
Europe. American anglers are indebted 
to Louis Rhead for a careful study of the 
entomology of American trout streams. In 
April, says he, unless the weather is un¬ 
usually mild at the opening of the season 
(April 15th) insects are small and scanty. 
Few trout rise before May first. Warm 
April days induce the rise of the female 
Shad-fly, Brown Drakes, Soldier Drake, 
and Needle Tail. Use Drakes dry, on the 
surface; the other two, fish wet. 
May : This month sees about three large 
Drakes and four Duns, also a few large 
Spinners. If warm and mild by May first, 
the Brown Drake (dry) is good. If cold, 
use the female; fishing wet, the Shad-fiv 
for tail and Needle Tail for dropper. The 
Shad-fly is abundant from early May until 
June 15, and the Brown Drake (March 
Brown) is on the wing at the same time 
and places. Normal weather in May 
brings an abundance of flies and trout are 
bold and voracious, feeding all day and 
night. The Large Green Drake appears in 
growing abundance toward May 15, next 
in value being the Brown Drake, Sandy, 
Black Gnat, Yellow Sally, Alder. Golden 
Spinner. The Shad-fly (male and female) 
