Black Bass

One reason why they do not take the bait so well just before the rain is because of the lull that takes place, causing the water to become flat and still, so rendering objects, especially the angler, more distinct. The bass is a very wary fish, and requires but little to make them uneasy and shy. Night and morning is the best time for bait fishing, unless the weather be cold; then from about 3 to 6 p. m. For fly fishing, two hours after sunrise and one hour or two before dark will be found the most tempting time.

In lake fishing it is always best to run out to the deep water and fish in towards the shallows or feeding grounds, as the boat being in the deeper water is not so conspicuous to the fish in the shallows. When a bass is hooked, I always work toward deep water, so as to play the fish freely and avoid snags, rocks, weeds, etc.

If fishing from a bank, I get as near the level of the water as possible, and when a fish is hooked, I head at once to the deepest water practicable.

I find it a good plan to let the bass have the bait from two to ten seconds, according to the way he takes it; then strike at once, giving him line freely, but keeping the thumb on the reel as a drag. Click reels are an abomination. I never jerk the rod, but hook with a twist of the wrist, remembering the golden rule that from the moment a bass takes the bait until he is landed the line must be kept tight, as one second of slack line will lose him. The point of the rod I keep bent by the pull of the fish, which is made to fight for every inch of line. I reel in whenever practicable and kill the fish on the line.

I never let a fish get among the weeds; I coax him off if possible, but if this is not practicable, I give him the butt, and either get him away or break the pole, which is preferable to losing the fish by weeds or snags. When thoroughly exhausted, I land him, of course, but am never in a hurry. If a pole net be used I sink it under him and gently lift it until the fish falls into it.

In order to appreciate black bass fishing to the full, considerable attention most assuredly must be paid to suitable tackle. Any boy may catch sun-fish, suckers, or trout with a bean pole, a piece of cord for a line and a rude nondescript bait. Black bass are a fish of an entirely different type, and the day when a black bass rod was considered to mean one weighing two pounds and measuring sixteen feet, with a chalk line, and a reel like a small clock, is delegated to the far off past of ten years ago. Some few of the old anglers made their own rods, and scored heavily in their takes of fish, to the wonder and amazement of the other fishermen who still adhered to the old heavy pattern.

My idea of the best rod for black bass fishing is the happy medium between the trout fly rod, and the trout bait rod. The one I generally use is eight feet three inches long, weighs nine ounces, is three-jointed, the balance perfect, and the bend true from tip to butt. It was made by H. H. Kiffe, 318 Fulton street, Brooklyn. I have killed many bass with this rod during the past two seasons, some weighing as high as four pounds, and have also caught pickerel weighing eight pounds with the same pole. The butt is white ash, and the second joint and tip finely selected lancewood. The butt has a wound grip, and the metal tip is of the four-ring pattern, the strongest and lightest made. I prefer standing guides. Some people prefer Greenheart or Wasahba for tips, but lancewood or red cedar is the best, I think.

The great fault in many rods is want of "back," which results from a too slender butt. This produces a double action in the rod, and prevents a clear satisfactory cast. In England this quality was made a specialty for salmon rods some years ago, it being supposed that it increased the length of the cast. Recent experiences proved this to be a fallacious idea, and such a rod required quite an education to use with any degree of accuracy.

If a man can throw a minnow thirty yards with any degree of accuracy, he should be well satisfied, as that is more than sufficient for average bass fishing.

A peculiar, but, I think, mistaken idea is that a rod should be in proportion to a man's size. One can understand this idea in regard to a gun for which a man should be measured as for a coat, but with a rod it is different, and should be made to vary with the type of fishing practised. The difference in weight being only a few ounces exposes the foolishness of this theory. All that matters is the question of balance; if that is all right, the size or weight matters very little.

A more important point is, that a cheap rod is always a dear rod, in price alone. As in anything else, work and quality of material go for everything, and if a good sound rod is required, a fair price must be paid to some good maker for it.

The line is a most important item, and it is always best to give a good price for a hand made line turned out by a good firm. The braided line to me is the perfection of excellence. I do not like a tapered line at any price. Next to the silk line I prefer the silk grass lines of the Japanese.

The finest hooks in the trade are made in England, where special attention has been paid to this industry for over two hundred years, the town of Redditch being supported almost exclusively by the hook factories. The best are the "Sproat," "Cork-shaped Limerick," "Round Bend Carlisle," and "Hollow Point Aberdeen." The hook is of the most vital importance to the fisherman, and the best shape is that where the point of the barb is turned round towards the shank. First class hooks are always japanned or black; the inferior ones are blued, and these, if subjected to a heavy strain will straighten right out. The black bass is extremely liable to cause this, as it always struggles hard both in and out the water from the moment of hooking to the final gasp. A hook with the proper bend will never pierce foul, but will strike right through the mouth, never springing out.

Regarding flies, every man has his own opinions and fancies. My own favorites are the "Marston," "W. H. Hammett," "Keader," "Silver Ibis," "Vermont," "Imperial," "La Belle," "Royal Coachman," "Blue Jay" and "Claret," made by C. F. Orvis, of Manchester, Vt.

As to spoons, most people use far too large a spoon for bass, I am sure; even the dealers do not recognize this fact, and are continually pressing pickerel spoons upon their customers who do not happen to know better. My idea of a bass spoon is one no larger than one-third of an ordinary teaspoon for the hand-line, and for rod use one even still smaller.

Artificial insects may be used in surface fishing, but only the most skillful anglers should expect success, as the manipulation of them requires exceedingly delicate service.

I believe that the black bass will eventually become the game fish of the country. Trout streams are drying up by reason of trees being cut down; mills and factories being erected, and dams holding the water half stagnant during half the year. This must eventually deal a death blow to the trout, and even now the votaries of black bass fishing outnumber those of the trout ten to one.

One last piece of advice I offer you, is to always reel the line carefully after fishing, as a man would clean his gun after shooting. Guide it to its place with the thumb, and run it from side to side of the reel like cotton on a spool. This will let it dry evenly and prevent all bunching and snarling. It is just as easy to do this as not, and the habit once gained will become a mechanical act, and save you lots of trouble and time before and afford you good pleasure after you begin fishing.