VII

FISHING

Proper tackle for all purposes—­How to catch bait—­The fly fisherman—­General fishing rules

Fishing is one sport of boyhood that we never outgrow our love for.  Some of the most enthusiastic fishermen are gray-haired men.  We often hear about the boy with the bent pin and the piece of thread who catches more fish than the expert fisherman with modern, up-to-date tackle, but I doubt if it is so.  As a rule the better our tackle the more fish we shall catch.  If the country boy catches the most fish, it is simply because he is better acquainted with the places where the fish hide or feed.  He knows their habits better and the best kind of bait to use.  A lover of fishing should take a personal interest in his equipment and should desire to have the best he can afford.

The chief requirement of a successful fisherman is patience.  Next to that is a knowledge of the waters fished in and the habits of the fish and how to attract them.  A man or a boy who will sit all day in the hot sun waiting for a bite is not always a good fisherman.  He must use common sense as well as patience.

A game fish may be defined as one that will make a good fight for its life and that is caught by scientific methods of angling.  Almost any fish will struggle to escape the hook, but generally by game fish we understand that in fresh water the salmon, bass, or trout family is referred to.  Pickerel and pike are also game fish, but in some sections they are considered undesirable because they rarely rise to the fly, which is the most scientific method of fishing.

A fisherman who is a real sportsman always uses tackle as light as he can with safety and still have a chance of landing the fish.  If the angler will take his time he can, with skill, tire out and land fish of almost any size.  Tunas and tarpon weighing over a hundred pounds are caught with a line that is but little thicker than a grocer’s twine, and even sharks and jewfish weighing over five hundred pounds have been caught in the same way.  Sometimes the fight will last all day, and then it is a question whether the fisherman or the fish will be exhausted first.

[Illustration:  Fishing is the One Sport of Our Childhood That Holds Our Interest Through Life]

In selecting our tackle, we must always keep in mind the kind of fish we expect to catch.  For general, fresh-water use, except fly casting, an eight-foot rod weighing seven or eight ounces will fill most purposes.  A fly rod should be a foot longer and at least two ounces lighter.  The best rods are made of split bamboo, but cheap rods of this material are not worth having.  The best cheap rods (i.e., costing five dollars or less) are either lancewood or steel.  See that your rod has “standing guides” and not movable rings.  Most of the wear comes on the tip, therefore it should if possible be agate lined.  A soft metal tip will have a