10. Strategy

THE WAY OF A BASS FISHERMAN WITH A FLY ROD AND THE WAY OF
A BASS WITH A FLY

WADING A STREAM IDEAL FISHING

The ideal way to fish a bass stream, if its depth and bottom will permit, is to wade. Some one has said that Art is the beautiful way of doing things. Certainly then, wading the stream is the artist's way of fishing for Micropterus. It has all the charm of trout fishing and all of its thrills and seldom is so lonesome since many of our bass streams are in settled districts. One often fishes a stream and is never out of hearing of the cow bells and the barking of friendly farm dogs but is in the wilderness nevertheless. When the angler wades he becomes a part of the stream and its life and the more he fishes a fine stretch of water the friendlier it becomes.

Bass and Flies

One reason I believe bass fly fishermen are not as generally successful as their trout fishing brethren is because the bass fisher, as a class, has not put as much study into his fish, his waters and his methods. This is not to be wondered at when you consider that fly fishing for bass is, compared with trouting, in its first tooth stage. In other words, if some anglers loudly proclaim that the east wind bloweth when they are bassing with flies it is due, not to the bass but to the angler.

True one seldom gets the big, old, granddaddy bass of 'em all on a fly, neither do the bigger trout come to the net by the same route, but the average of the stream or lake can be caught on flies and are on certain waters. Is it entirely because of certain local peculiarities of fish, water or conditions that fly fishing for bass is practiced so successfully on such widely separated waters as, to mention a few: the upper Mississippi and Illinois rivers in the Middle West; the Susquehanna, Potomac and Delaware in the East; the Current and St. Francis in the Ozarks; the Belgrade Lakes in Maine? I think not. Bass fly fishing has long been practiced and studied in these places, hence the success.

Aside from its beauty and charm wading a stream makes for success. In the first place a stream that is of wadable depth is ideal for fly fishing and the angler, moving slowly and quietly, with only a portion of his body above water is, as old Dennys put it, less likely to “offend the fearful Fish's eye."

As a general rule the trout fisher can go a-fishing earlier with his flies than the angler who fishes for bass in northern North America. A great many of our good bass streams are in civilized territory and the Spring rains, plus the drainage of farm lands, usually roils the water. If one must have bass then most success will be had if he will dangle an angle, baited with worm, helgramite or craw, in the deep holes.

As the season advances fly fishing improves but June usually finds the bass busy with family affairs and they should not be bothered even if the law permits. July is usually a good month on all streams and on the larger ones this month and August often produce best of all  and just when the lakes are yielding least. Very low water, however, often drives the fish into the holes on small streams during the “dog days."

September, the month Eastern and Midwest trout fishermen close up shop, is usually excellent except the week of the equinoctial storm. October  brown October  also yields well, and the seasons we have “a late Fall”fishing continues good even well into November. Local conditions also must be considered.

The ideal fly fishing day is a dark, overcast one, just before a rain, or better still, when it merely suggests or threatens to rain and doesn't with enough breeze to ruffle the surface of the water. Next best is what the average person would call a "nice day “when the sun shines, the sky is blue and friendly and streamside posies and tree tops nod to fitful breezelets that put a slight ripple on the stream.

The best time of the day is undoubtedly the early morning hours, from dawn until eight or nine o'clock and from four in the afternoon until sundown or even until after dark. During cloudy days the noon hours often produce well. However, most of us fish the day through and perhaps it doesn't add much to the heft of our creels but it adds lightness to our hearts and uplift to our spirits and there is always the anticipation of the luck the evening fishing is going to bring us  unless, perchance, it is the last day and we must quit untimely to catch the 5:15 for home. Then we are out of luck as the fish invariably begin to rise well as the quitting hour approaches 'twas ever thus as the poets say! But never mind: other days are coming and for that matter if the fish become too challenging one can always “miss “a train and send a telegram of explanation later. Such things have happened! In fact, I know bald-headed men who have, choosing love before duty, thus played truant from home and business under these circumstances.

Thunder and lightning storms are unpropitious for good fishing but a gentle shower often turns the tide in our favor and sets the fish to rising.

The direction of the wind has little to do with the success of a day on a stream as the wind comes from all directions if the river is at all winding. The proverbial east wind may have local influences, in England or on our east coast, but otherwise is not objectionable and the phases of the moon have little to do with fishermen's luck or the whimsical mood of Micropterus, except that the bass may do their feeding on moonlight nights and be indifferent during the day. In this case the angler, well prepared for mosquitoes and with heavy tackle, can do his fishing after sundown.

WHERE TO CAST

The swift, gravelly, sandy or rocky stream is the home of the small mouthed bass and there is some similarity between fishing for him and for trout. Both fishes seek cover and food but the bass never hangs poised in fast broken water like the trout. He may dash into the rapids after food, if hungry, but he won't stay there. Of course during a freshet when the fish work up stream they go through the rapids but are seldom taken on flies  maybe because fly fishermen so seldom fish there at such times. When the water is rising the eddies at the edge of swift water often yield well as the fish lie there on the watch for surface food. The bars formed by eddies behind or below obstructions are often favorite hunting places for bass feeding on minnows.

At a normal stage of water a bass will often lie on the down stream side of a boulder in quick water where the current has scooped out a hole in the bed of a stream and here you will often “connect “with a big one. This hole usually shows as a big, dark patch on the stream bed and it is good strategy to first cast up to its edges before floating a fly directly through it.

In the average river most bass will be taken near the shore line. Overhanging banks, trees or bushes that lean over and admire themselves in the reflection of the surface; docks, piers, fallen trees, partially or totally submerged stumps (river men call 'em "dead heads") wing dams, boulders, brush heaps  anything that obstructs the flow offers cover for a feeding fish and never should be passed by the fly fisher without a speculative cast or two.

Stretches where the water runs swift and smooth and almost wader-top high should be fished thoroughly by casting in all directions  the casts radiating from you like the spokes of a wheel from its hub, as suggested by Dr. Henshall. Don't neglect the water immediately above or below a rapid or at the foot of a “shoot “where the stream narrows and speeds up. Beds of grass, isolated clumps of weeds, sharp turns or where another stream comes in are also likely places. Ordinarily it does not pay to spend much time casting over “deepish,”still water. Where a sizable obstruction juts out into the stream look for a bass on the down stream side, just around the corner. Farther in, in the eddy, you will find our friend “Spots,”the so-called “pickerel."

Where the stream runs swift along bare or rocky banks drop your fly on the shore and twitch it off into the water  sometimes very effective. Such stretches can also be whipped: making a number of casts and merely permitting the fly to “tick “the water, then finally allowing it to fall and retrieve in the regular way  often sets 'em crazy when they are otherwise indifferent. Where the river suddenly becomes shallow, frequently above or below an island, makes a nice play spot for minnows, a fact well known to hungry bass.

It must be borne in mind that local conditions, especially as regards food, often influence the lurking places of the fish. I know one stream where the most success is had by casting in very shallow swift water in mid-stream, but it is an exception. Where this condition prevails the rapid is in a stream which for the most part is slow and weedy. Small mouthed bass don't like rapids but they like dead, dirty water less. A village fool once found a lost horse for which a large reward was offered. When asked how he did it he replied: “Well I just thought where I would go if I were a horse and I went there and found him.”Use the same “simp “sleuthing methods when seeking bass: go where there is food and cover and travel your flies where food would naturally drift.

Methods

Much depends on the angler. If he rushes along making a fitful cast here and there in what he believes to be likely spots and tries to fish the whole river in half a day he may catch fish; usually he doesn't. But look out for the “old hand “who casts with deliberation and takes his time  he always gets more fishing and nearly always more fish than the “hustler “type of angler.

In casting for bass the experienced angler regulates the length of his cast according to prevailing conditions. On a darkish day or when there is a good riffle on the water thirty feet or so is enough line but on bright, still days or in very clear water forty or fifty or even sixty feet will get the most rises. In any event it is poor policy to tire oneself by attempting to cast the extreme lengths. Early or late in the day, in bright weather, it is a good plan to cast toward the sun whenever possible to avoid long shadows and when the sun is high and bright the canny angler saves the likeliest spots for the few, fleeting intervals that a friendly fleece of clouds hides the sun.

Whatever length of line one casts he should cultivate a high back cast, take care that he doesn't hang his flies in the brush and put his casts down straight and quietly. Whether to fish down or up stream is something for each angler to decide for himself. Bass fishermen, when wading, usually fish down stream casting diagonally across, permitting the fly to sink and retrieving it “steady by jerks “as an old river hand once put it. Some anglers “flutter “their flies on the surface for a moment before they sink by manipulating the rod but this is generally unnecessary when fishing a stream.

Well here at last, young Venator, is the getting in Mace. For a while you had better merely follow and observe me and thus you will sooner “get the hang “of this merry business of taking basses on fraudulent feathers. We will keep to the left bank going down stream, and thus avoid the necessity of casting left handed.

That gray gaunt tree lying there in the swift water near the other shore might shelter a bass. Note that black hole under it in the bed of the stream; surely a likely spot. I won't take a chance on scaring him by casting toward his lair but will cast down stream on this side until I have enough line out to reach the tree. Then, at the end of my last back cast, I will turn and drop this Yellow May where he can get it  if he's there and in ye mood. What! No rise ? Very well, I'll just work along the log, letting the current carry the fly past it. Well! Maybe he doesn't like the Yellow May and we'll try this number 4 Brown Palmer. Come on, son, we'll be movin' along  that fish doesn't know good fishing when he sees it!

That old brush heap ought to be good for something. Sure enough, a rock bass! But we will put him back to propitiate the river gods and the spirits of departed anglers who brood over this beautiful stream when the wind is South.

Those overhanging willows ought to give us a real fish  a “keeper.”We will get above 'em and float a fly down under the drooping branches. Very well, Mr. Bass; stay there; we will call again some other day when you are in a more hospitable frame of mind! There's a cluster of partly submerged tree stumps a bit farther down; come on, let's give 'em a trial.

Now we will lengthen our line as we did at the fallen tree as there is no likely water between us and the stumps. There! Did you see him take after it! Why didn't I stop the retrieve and let him take it? Because it's poor policy and would have aroused his suspicion and if I had continued to retrieve my rod tip would have been up so high that I probably would not have hooked him  you are in no position to strike with your rod any higher than fifty degrees. The young angler's temptation is to hurriedly make another cast directly at the fish returning to his lair. Not us. We will make another cast down stream and give him a chance to get back to his hole. Now we'll try again. He is suspicious and merely chases the fly so we will offer him a change of diet by hooking on a new fly and a spinner. I'll put this little gold one on. Foolish fishes, like foolish folks, are attracted by the glitter of gold and for it give up their liberty and even their lives. But what can it give them that compares with freedom and the joys of going a-fishing! Now, Mr. Bass, try that! Ho! Ho! He merely chases it so we will follow my friend Peet's advice. He says if he rises a fish and fails to hook him on a wet fly he switches to a floater, or vice versa, and always gets another rise. Now, floater; do your duty. There! I have him hooked. He's a nice one, too. Now observe how I play him. Note that I keep the tip up just enough to keep a good bend in the rod. See, I strip in what slack he gives me and pay it out again slowly when he appears to be pulling too hard for the probable strength of my leader. Now he leaps but the spring of the rod keeps the line taut although I watch my knitting and see that he does not fall on the stretched leader. If he had I would have lowered the rod tip and given him some slack. He's getting tired and I slowly and firmly work him up stream of me. Still keeping a good curve in the rod I reel in the slack line. Then I pinch the line against the rod, submerge the net, and let him float over it. There! Almost two pounds of fighting fish licked to a frazzle! I hug the rod to my bosom, remove the hook and kill the fish  we are at least sure of our dinners.

There are several points on hooking, playing and landing a fish that are worth explaining. Sometimes, especially in fast water, a fish will hook himself but ordinarily it must be done by the angler. This little trick, called “the strike,”is something to which young anglers should give some study. With an ordinary bass rod the best method of striking is tightening the line by a twist of the wrist from the left to the right. With a whippy rod best results will be had by sweeping the rod tip downward smartly. When there is slack in the line or near the end of the retrieve it is best to strike both with the wrist movement and by a short tug on the slack held in the left hand. An expert can execute both movements simultaneously with just the correct amount of force and do it instinctively. Always strike when you see the flash of the fish or when you hear him swirl; don't wait to feel him "bite.”If you fail to hook him don't be in a hurry to cast for him again  make a cast or two in another direction or change your fly.

When you hook your fish don't be too anxious to land him. Maintain a good curve in the rod partly from the side to avoid raising the tip too high so you are in a position to take in slack quickly if the fish “rushes”you. Handle him firmly, but not too firmly, and keep him away from snags, sharp stones and other debris. Give him no slack but let him have his head a little if he appears to be pulling too hard for your leader. When he is tired by the constant bend of the rod then get the net ready but don't make the all too common mistake of jabbing at the fish with the net  why try to catch a fish you have already caught? Get the fish up stream of you and merely submerge the net and lead him over it.

Just a few more hints and I am done. When casting with a spinner or other heavy lure retrieve in the regular way but on the last pull do not bring it to the surface and make the back cast one continuous movement. Better for your rod and wrist if you will bring it to the top o’ the water and then “pick it off “the surface on the back cast. Even giving a little jerk with the line in your left hand as you start the back cast will help.

To make a spinner effective it must be retrieved against or partially against the flow of the stream, hence it should be cast down stream or diagonally across and down. When casting with a cork bodied fly it is customary to cast it up and across and strip in the slack with the left hand as it floats down to you. Does the splash of one of these bulky flies scare the fish? Sometimes but not often. The bass is not a shy fish and has a big bump of curiosity. He is something like the fighting forbears of the Irishman who was asked whom his ancestors sprung from. “They sprung from nobody,”he said; “they sprung at 'em.”Any large fly is hard to cast in a high wind but a windy day has one compensating feature: the wind ruffles the water, making long casts unnecessary.

Now, young Venator, I have imparted all I can to you and I regret that you haven't a more competent teacher. I am going to sit on yonder log and smoke while you go on down stream a ways. Be careful you don't hang up your flies, for fishes do not roost in trees  and good luck!

FLOATING A STREAM

Streams too deep to wade or with soft bottom or treacherous holes are fished from a boat which is a method having many attractions  a lazy man's and restful system.

While I have had many a pleasant day fishing from a canoe the ideal river boat, from the comfort standpoint at least, is a flat bottomed one of shallow draft and generous width and stability. Such a craft permits one to move about and allows what base ball fans call “the 7th inning stretch.”• However, unless one owns a boat he takes what the boat man has to offer and makes the best of it.

The ideal way to float a bass stream is with a companion and a hired boatsman who guides the craft and who otherwise makes himself useful. He should “know the river “if you don't and engineers the trip so you reach your destination on time and so as to be near a spring when it is time to “bile the coffee pot “at noon. A good river man is a priceless jewel and among them I number some of my best friends.

If a boatsman is not hired a third angler can join the party and each man handles the boat alternately, but three men fishing from a boat at one time should be avoided. In a pinch one or two men can fish down stream by dragging a light anchor but this should be avoided if possible.

A pal and I often combine wading and floating in one stream. We put the boat on a wagon and put it in the river where the road crosses it. Then we don waders and fish down stream, the boatsman fetching up in the rear with the boat. When we want some duffle or have a fish to put in the bag we simply walk back or wait for the boat. The end of the day finds us at the main river and a launch picks us up and tows us back to the camp.

One fishes the same places when casting from a boat as he does when wading. The boat is kept out in the stream and the angler casts toward shore, the boatsman driving a paddle, or better still a garden rake, into the bottom, or dropping anchor if in very deep water, until the likely spot is thoroughly fished. One usually casts a little longer line when floating although I do not believe that a boat tends to scare a fish if the anglers are quiet. You may talk and shout as much as you ^lease as sounds above the water are unheard by the fish  something a friend with whom I go trout fishing apparently does not believe. Anyway he says my singing scares' the trout. I have never learned whether this was a comment on my singing or a compliment on the hearing ability of the trout! But be careful about scuffing the feet on the bottom of the boat or knocking the oars against it as such sounds carry great distances under water.

A river can be fished by hauling the boat upstream a day's float; by going down one side of the stream and working up the other; by floating down to a trysting place and being hauled back at night or, on the last day, floating to the next town and shipping the boat back. On some large rivers best success is had by fishing up stream.

Casting from a boat sometimes is difficult for the man used to wading. Striking the water behind on the back cast perhaps does no more harm than to slow up the cast a trifle but it looks “bunglesome “and a high back cast avoids it. When the young angler finds himself “tipping “the water behind him he can keep his fly up by slightly raising the casting arm at the end of the back cast.

Sometimes on these deep rivers fly fishing is profitless as the bass congregate in the deep holes. A question arises: under these conditions is the true fly fisher justified in using a worm or other lowly bait. In my opinion it depends on how much he wants fish. If, for example, the “missus “has threatened to buy no meat for the next day and has hinted that an empty basket means no more trips for the season, then the canny angler will use anything short of dynamite and all of us, to a man, will voice him the time-honored anglers' bywords: good luck!

FISHING A LAKE

In no other branch of angling is a thorough working knowledge of fish habits, water and weather conditions so essential to success as fly fishing for bass on a lake. In other words, the successful lake fly fisher must know his business and be quick to take advantage of favorable conditions.

I believe that a fly fisher can catch bass on a lake almost any time the bait caster who uses surface baits can get fish  if he is a good fisherman. The bass are then feeding in the shallows or on or near the surface and that alone is a big advantage. Bass are most often found in low water early or late in the season and with a little cloudy weather and a good riffle on the water at these times the fly fisher has the most propitious circumstances. In mid-season in the full glare of the sun, with the lake's surface like a mill pond, the conditions are most unfavorable and the wise angler will then still fish, pitch horse shoes or go swimming until evening. Then, protected by head net and mosquito dope, he can carefully work along the shores and shallow places with some hope of success. After sundown is the best time of all for fly fishing a lake in mid-summer. At other times the best hours are very early or late in the day.

The habits and preferences of the basses should not be forgotten. One should look for small mouths on the rocky ledges, on the sand or gravel bars or where there are currents. If you do not know where these are located, and the services of a guide are not available, an hour or two exploring with a sounding line is a good investment. Look for shallows especially off or near points, islands or other outcroppings and when you find them “mark down “each one by lining it up with dissimilar objects on two shores and enter the observation in a note book.

Keep your boat out in deep water and cast in to such places. If the fish show any inclination to come to the surface for your flies it is a good plan to fish there as it is more enjoyable to see the fish strike. Use either the cork bodied flies or the regular ones dried between casts by “false “casting  whipping it back and forth through the air. “Flutter “your fly on the surface and retrieve slowly. When the fish are feeding deep I have had the most success with either a large (about number I or I-o) Silver Doctor fly, with one or two split shot pinched on the leader a few inches above the fly, or by using a number 2 fly or the same pattern with a number 1 (Hildebrandt scale) silver spinner, letting it sink well before starting to retrieve. When fishing near an island or point, especially in the evening, casting a weedless fly (to avoid getting hung up) on the shore and then twitching it off into the water often gives excellent results; also useful where sizeable rocks jut out of the water.

The large mouthed bass, preferring shallow water, is usually more easily taken in lakes than dolomieu but it is often necessary to fish in the weeds.

The shallow, weedy “lakes”of the Illinois river region offer some of the best of large mouthed bass fly fishing. These lakes are overflowed timber and pasture lands full of dead trees, stumps, lily pads and weeds, making ideal breeding and feeding places for these fish. Before the law prohibited the sale of black bass one often would see Illinois river market fishermen using fly rods.

For fishing such weedy waters a weedless fly (with inverted wings or with horse hair or wire weed guards) should be used. The boat is kept forty or fifty feet out from the edge of the weed bed and the angler casts his fly in the “pockets “among the weeds or directly on the weeds. A rather sturdy rod is needed for this work as the fish is literally dragged over the weeds into open water before he can “duck “under the surface and foul the leader. Fishing in fairly weedless waters especially if the water is roiled, as it is apt to be, the addition of a spinner to the fly is advisable.

Submerged weed beds, with the tops of the weeds a foot or so under the surface, often yield well early in the morning or 'long about dusk. Sometimes such waters must be whipped to arouse the ire of the green gentlemen. Other good places to look for rising fish are: the mouth of a stream entering the lake or at the outlet; where there are “spring holes”in shallow water; where drift wood has accumulated; under overhanging trees. As in fishing a stream, do not overlook any place that offers cover for a fish. Put your line on the water straight so you can strike quickly  a lake bass often strikes immediately the fly touches the water and you have no swift water in a lake to help you hook him.

OTHER STILL WATERS

In many sections of the United States and Canada, where there is a limestone formation, there are hundreds of abandoned quarries that have become filled with water and have been stocked with bass. Some of these “quarry holes “are only a cast or two across while others are what boys would call "young lakes.” Most of them are very deep and the cold spring water breeds fish of wonderful fighting and table qualities.

Because of the deep water the fish can retire to a depth beyond the influence of the weather and feed the year 'round, hence quarry bass are proverbially large. Also, as every one who has tried to catch them knows, they are extremely shy which is another reason why they get to be “big fellers."

In fishing waters of this kind the advantage is all with the fish. The water is almost as clear as the atmosphere and the edges are high so any one angling from the bank stands outlined against the sky in plain sight of the fish. When quarry fishing the angler ought to have a portable boat or canoe or fish only on dark days or better at night and then, if the moon is out, he should fish towards it. I know nothing that equals a quarry bass to take the conceit out of those individuals who admit they know “all about fishing."

Large flies and long casts are the rule when “quarrying for bass “and the party should consist of not more than two persons and they should follow the advice: “Study to be quiet."

The same directions should be observed when fishing ponds known to contain bass.

 WET FLY TROUTING

Beyond doubt the best way to learn the rudiments of trouting is to go out with an “old hand.”In this way the novice will pick up many hints that will be of value when he attempts it alone.

Hundreds of volumes have been written covering all phases of trout fishing so we will merely review the subject here for the benefit of the beginner and inexpert who are not fortunate enough to be taken in hand personally by an experienced fly fisher.

To fish up stream or down is a much debated subject. Both systems have their advantages and disadvantages. Fishing down is less work; it assures a taut line and gives the wader a better view of the stream's bed in rough water. But it scares more fish as you come down to the trout that lie heading up stream and the sediment you stir up goes ahead of you and warns the fish.

Up stream fishing adds to one's chances of hooking a rising fish, providing the line is taut, and not as long casts are required as you approach the fish from behind. But this upstream fishing entails more work. Wading is more difficult against the current and the angler must always be casting or stripping in line. This can be avoided, somewhat, if the casts are made diagonally up and across stream. The majority of anglers are agreed, I believe, that the best system is to fish fast water down and slow water up, making sure to fish the pools first from below.

There are ten good casters to one good wader. “Take your time and make haste slowly “is good advice to trout fishers. Cast in all the likely places, not just the choice spots. Work all the white water you can find. If brown trout are present look for them in the eddies above big boulders but brooks and rainbows will be scattered about in the fast water; the broken water immediately below dams is a good place for the beginner to start his trout fishing career. Move carefully so as not to make noise. Sing or whistle if you feel like it but avoid scraping your hob nails on stones or gravel  such sounds carry a great way under water. Throwing a long line is not necessary when fishing the rapids  thirty feet is ample under ordinary conditions.

The smooth stretches of swift, unbroken water requires careful and quiet fishing. Such places often shelter big fish, especially on bright days. Drop your flies gently close to the bank where there are dark pockets; around fallen trees and other debris for such a place is where lone lunkers love to lie in wait for food to come down to them.

It is good strategy, especially when fishing strange waters, to start out with three flies on the leader, then switch to one when you find a pattern and size they like. Sometimes permitting the fly to sink well produces; again the trout prefer it on or near the surface. When you come to a pool fish all you can reach of it from below. Then make a detour through the brush and fish the rest from above. Pool fishing requires longer casts and more delicate casting but larger fish are the rule.

Hooking a fish in rough water requires little action on the part of the angler  just a slight lifting of the rod. In other places the fly fisher must “strike “his fish. This is done by a slight twist of the wrist. . In fact the failure to hook rising fish is the most discouraging part of trout fishing to the novice. It calls for alertness and a little knack  a canny wrist the Scotch say  that will come with experience. A young trout fisher never strikes too quickly and he should train himself to keep a taut line at all times and to strike immediately he sees the flash of a fish. If the fish rises and misses the fly, rest the water for a full minute before casting again. If the fish is pricked leave that spot for a few minutes; then come quietly back and try again. My experience is that a pricked trout will often strike again if left alone for a while.

It is when playing for a certain fish that mishaps always occur. If you should get hung up in a tree during such a critical period, don't get impatient and try to release it by main strength. Wait a minute for the leader to dry a little; then a slight tug will often free it.

When a trout is hooked play him. Don't be too anxious to get him into your basket. Keep a good bend in your rod and make him fight for all the line he gets but if you attempt to “horse “him in he will pull out the hook or snap the leader nine times out of ten. Remember that an ordinary trout hook is a pretty small affair. When the fish shows signs of tiring play him some more; then swing him up stream of you, put your net down and let the fish back or float into it.

The time of day has less to do with successful trout fishing than in taking bass as trout are more often found in fast water where the visibility is poor. I have never had any particular success in early morning fishing and a hot breakfast should never be sacrificed for your eagerness to be up and at 'em. The evening fishing is worth looking forward to. It is then that the big hatches are on, in mid-season, and when large trout come out to feed in earnest. There is only one disadvantage in evening fishing and that is the pestiferous mosquito. Head net, gloves and smoking help but some dope is usually necessary. The famous one-two-three formula of Nessmuk is good: one part pennyroyal, two parts castor oil, three parts pine tar. Simmer together and bottle. A favorite in the middle west and one I can recommend from personal experience is: equal parts of oil of tar, oil of cedar, olive oil and citronella. Smear it on face, hands and neck. It is dirty, messy stuff but mosquitos and black flies stay away from it and it is healing to sunburn.

Early in the spring, when snow water is running into the stream, fly fishing is almost useless  with some notable exceptions. May, June and July are the prime trout months in most waters south of Canada. In late summer small streams get very low and clear, requiring extra precaution on the part of the angler to keep himself and his equipment as much in the background as possible. Fine leaders and small flies are the rule for this clear water fishing. The anglers should cast toward the sun to avoid making shadows; he should drop his flies as gently as possible and fish the shady side of the stream. The expert under these conditions is quick to take advantage of every opportunity such as casting under the shade of overhanging trees, fishing when a cloud momentarily hides the sun or when a breeze ruffles the surface of the stream.

In summer fishing the angler should keep plenty of grass in his basket and keep his catch as cool as possible. When he stops to smoke or to gossip a while with some passing brother of the angle he should get out his knife and open his fish, but not wash them.

DRY FLY TROUTING

The theory of dry fly fishing is to float a fly, tied in exact imitation to a natural insect, over a spot where you have reasons to believe that a trout is feeding. In England, where the dry fly system originated, it is customary to “fish the rise “or for trout that are seen to be feeding, but in this country dry fly anglers fish all likely spots.

The dry fly idea is not entirely new in this country. Thad. Norris and other early American experts often fished on the surface but of course they were not acquainted with the highly specialized tackle and methods in use to-day. For a long time it was considered that most American trout streams were unsuited to dry fly fishing because they are swifter and rougher than the chalk streams of England but many anglers have learned that even fast water can be “fished dry “and they maintain that in case the fly is sucked under it is just as effective as any wet fly can be. Dry fly fishing is now an accepted angling method with the majority of American trout fishers and even confirmed wet fly men often carry a few dry flies tied to tapered leaders for fishing certain parts of their favorite streams. Ideal dry fly water is that which flows smooth and swift, just such water as many wet fly fishers pass by as unprofitable. Such water should be “checker-boarded “with casts before the angler moves up to fish new water, special attention being given to the spots along the bank where big fish would find cover and to fish that are seen to be feeding. In addition to rod, reel and tapered line greased with deer fat, the dry fly fisher should be equipped with tapered leaders. These should be of high quality gut, tied with small knots. A good one is one of nine feet in length and tapering from extra stout to 3X fine. At least an extra leader should be soaking in the leader box as well as a number of 12-inch strands of the same size as the extreme end of the leader. These are to be used as “points “to tie to the end of the leader as the original end is clipped off from changing flies.

Only one fly is used in dry fly fishing and this is tied directly to the end of the leader, using the turle knot. Flies for dry fly fishing are usually number ten 01 twelve and are tied with hard bodies and with wings and hackles designed to increase their buoyancy. In addition the flies are usually treated with an oil to increase their floating qualities. Atomizers and bottle equipped with brushes are furnished by the tackle shops to carry and apply the oil but I prefer two pieces of saturated felt carried in a “vanity box “such as the ladies use to “powder their noses "; an ordinary tin salve box will do. I have my oil box equipped with a ring to which I fasten a key chain, the other end going on a button of my wading jacket. I carry scissors the same way. Only the body and hackles of dry flies need be oiled.

The dry fly fisher always fishes up stream. He wades carefully and slowly. When he extends his line for the first cast neither the line nor fly is permitted to touch the water until the fly is traveling through the air three or four feet beyond the point where he expects to get his fish. Then it is permitted to alight gently on the water and to float over the likely spot, care being taken to make it float as life-like as possible and to avoid drag of line or leader pulling it under or upsetting it. If no rise is forthcoming the fly is floated a few feet farther down when it is picked off the water and more false casts are made to extend the line for another attempt and to dry the fly. During this whipping the line back and forth the angler cautiously advances a few feet to cast over fresh water, providing he believes that the spot he last floated his fly over is barren of possibilities.

The dry fly fisher must at all times keep in mind the fact that he is imitating nature as closely as possible. His flies are almost exact duplicates of the living insect and he must make his fly float as naturally as he knows how. When the fly is on the water the slack line is slowly taken in by the caster's left hand, or rather the fingers of the left hand, but at no time should the line pull on the fly which should be floated solely by the current. While I have taken trout on flies that were handled in an unnatural manner the true-to-nature-idea is a good one for the dry fly fisher.

The drag is the dry fly man's greatest enemy and there are several kinds. There is the drag caused by taking in slack too fast; there is drag imparted to the fly by the wind catching line or leader and worse than all is the drag caused by the fly being near the bank in rather slow water and the line being farther out in the stream where the full force of the current acts on it. The first can be avoided by a little care; the second is never serious except on the windiest day when dry fly fishing both unpleasant and unprofitable. The drag of the current is by casting so that there is an upstream belly in the line or by straight ahead casting to avoid getting the line in fast water.

Next to floating the fly naturally the greatest problem lies in hooking the fish. You do not keep a taut line in dry fly fishing to avoid the drag and when a fish does rise he has time to taste the fly, learn its true nature and let go of it if the angler is not on the alert at all times. For this reason the dry fly fisher should follow the keep-your-eye-on-the-ball rule of the golfer and watch for the flash of a rising fish. If a fish rises and is not hooked let the fly float down a ways before lifting it for another series of false casts  three are enough in most instances  and then try him again. If he refuses to rise offer him another fly; it is not unusual to offer one fish three or four patterns of flies before you get one that strikes his fancy. Generally the dry fly man watches carefully to see what insects are hatching and which ones the trout are feeding on; then he puts one on that imitates it.

Besides being an effective method of adding heft to one's basket dry fly fishing has many charms. The dry fly man fishes alone and while he loses in sociability he more than gains in the intimate contact he establishes with nature at her best. As he goes slowly and quietly up stream plying his art he sees many wonderful sights and hears many sounds that are denied the folks who would rather catch dollars than fish; who prefer man-made towns to the peaceful quiet of the streamside.