Bass, Pike, Perch, and Others

by James A. Henshall

The enamelled, braided silk line is the only one suitable for casting the fly, and there is no better. A level line will answer, but a tapered one is better adapted for long casts. It may taper toward one end or both ways from the centre, the latter being preferable. From twenty-five to thirty yards is sufficient for all emergencies. It should be thoroughly dried every day it is used. A convenient way is to wind it around the back of a chair.

Leaders may be from three to six feet long, accordingly as one or two flies are used in the cast. It should be composed of single, clear, round silkworm-gut fibre, tapering from the reel line to the distal end. It should not be tested to a greater weight than two pounds, as testing silkworm gut weakens it very materially. It may be stained or not, though there is no advantage in coloring it; I prefer the natural hue. There should be a loop at the small end, and one three feet above it, for attaching the snells of flies. Before using it, it must be soaked in water until soft and pliable. Extra leaders may be carried in a box between layers of damp felt, so as to be ready for emergencies. The best and smallest and most secure knot for tying the lengths of gut together in making the leader is a simple half-hitch, like tying a single knot in a piece of string. When thoroughly soaked, the two ends to be tied are lapped a couple of inches, and a single knot, or half-hitch made in them, pulling the knot tight, and cutting off the loose ends closely.

Snells should be three or four inches long, of good single gut, the shorter length for end fly. If the flies are made with a loop at the head, the snells for same should have a loop at each end for attaching to both fly and leader. If flies are made on eyed hooks, the snell should have but one loop for the leader, and a free end for tying to the eye of hook. The best knot for the purpose is made by passing the end of snell through the eye of hook, then around the shank just below the eye, and then between the shank and snell and draw tight, forming a jam knot. Where the snell is tied to the fly, it should likewise have a loop for attaching to the leader. It should also be reinforced by a piece of gut an inch long at the head of the fly to strengthen it and prevent chafing. Snells, whether separate or tied to flies, should be carried like leaders between layers of damp felt.

Most flies made for black-bass fishing are too large. The largest trout flies tied on hooks Nos. 4 to 6 are big enough. As just mentioned, they are tied directly to the snell on tapered hooks, or made with a small gut loop at the head of the fly, which is much the best way. Since the introduction of the eyed hook, or rather a revival of it, for trout flies, they are now utilized for bass flies also. As between the Pennell hook with turned-down eye and the Hall hook with turned-up eye, there is not much choice. Both patterns are based on the old Limerick hook. I prefer the Sproat or O'Shaughnessy to either, with gut loop at the head of the fly.

If the black-bass is not color-blind, he seems to have a penchant for brown, gray, black, and yellow, as flies embodying these colors seem to be more attractive to him than others. One can judge in this matter, however, only from experience. And even then the deduction of one angler is often at variance with the inference of another.

The most successful bass flies, like salmon flies, are not made in imitation of natural insects. This is true also of some of the "general" trout flies that have proved particularly pleasing to the black-bass, as the professor, grizzly king, king of the waters, Montreal, coachman, etc. True, the black, gray, red, and yellow hackles, which are supposed to be imitations of caterpillars, are very useful on nearly all waters; but their resemblance to any known larval forms is very slight.

There is a well-known rule in regard to the size and color of flies to be used at particular states and stages of the water, and in accordance with the time and character of the day. It is to use small and dark flies on bright days, with low and clear water; and larger and brighter flies on dark days with high or turbid water, and at dusk. This rule is hoary with age. It has come down to us through past centuries with the indorsement of thousands of intelligent and observant anglers, and should be respected accordingly. It is in the main reliable and trustworthy. Of course there will occur exceptions to prove the rule. And some iconoclastic anglers at this late day, in view of the exceptions, declare that it is entirely valueless as a guide; but they offer nothing better. It is true, nevertheless, and a safe rule to follow.

FLY-FISHING

To be a successful fly-fisher for black-bass the angler must know something of the habits of his quarry, or at least of its haunts and favorite places of resort. On streams these places are in the eddies of rocks or large boulders, in the deeper water above and below riffles, under shelving banks and rocks, among the submerged roots of trees on the bank, near weed patches, driftwood, and logs, and in the vicinity of gravelly bars and shoals. Except in cloudy weather the angler may rest during the noon hours, as the most favorable time is in the morning and late afternoon until dusk. If wading, the angler should fish down-stream, and when the shadows are long, should endeavor to keep the sun in front. He should move slowly and cautiously, making as little noise as possible, casting to the sides and in front over every likely spot. Casts of thirty or forty feet are usually sufficient. The flies should be allowed to float down-stream, with tremulous motions, sidewise, to imitate the struggles of a drowning insect, and then permitted to sink several inches or a foot at each cast.

Whipping the stream is sometimes quite successful where the bass does not respond to ordinary casting. This is done by casting in quick succession and repeatedly over one spot, allowing the flies merely to touch the water, until several such casts are made, when they should be permitted to sink, for a few seconds, as before. In making up the cast, two flies should be selected of different combinations of colors, as polka and professor. If necessary, changes should be made until two are selected that seem to meet the fastidious fancy of the fish.