SOME USEFUL HINTS
A good bait for large fish is a strip cut from the under side of a small pickerel, perch, or sunfish, which is placed on the hook as shown in Fig. 14.
Baits, and Where to Find Them
As a rule, the young fisherman naturally considers the angle-worm to be the only bait he need have when he goes fishing, and, taking a spade, he seeks a moist, loamy spot in the garden and proceeds to fill his box. But there is a choice even in worms, and those of a clear, dark, amber color are the best.
Just at night, and after a soft, warm rain, worms of the size of a lead-pencil will be found crawling over the ground. These are excellent bait for bass, chub, perch, and large trout early in the season. If you step very lightly, so as not to jar the ground, you can easily pick up a box of these large fellows.
It is well enough to have worms with you on all occasions, but there are many other baits. Frogs, crabs, grubs, dobsons, minnows, June-bugs, grasshoppers, and crickets, as well as artificial baits, are more successful lures with certain fish. A few words telling where to find these baits and the proper manner of keeping them fresh and lively may prove of value.
Frogs are most plentiful on the shores of ponds or streams filled with plant growth, and in low, moist places in meadows. In searching for them in grass, wait till you see one jump, then catch it in your hands. They are not so easily gotten from the shores, as they are apt to take to the water at the first alarm.
Crabs are usually found under stones along the shores of a stream or pond, and in some localities in low, moist places in grass-lands. Seize the crab back of the pincers and it cannot nip you.
Dobsons are only found under mossy stones in swift-running waters. They are of a dark-gray color, have many legs, and when fully grown are about three inches long. The head is shield-shaped and armed with good, stout pincers, so handle the dobson as you would a crab. The best way to get a supply of dobsons is to have some one hold one edge of a fine-meshed net on the bottom of the stream while you turn over the stones above the net with a hoe. The dobsons, loosing their hold on the bottom, will be carried by the current into the net. Put frogs, crabs, and dobsons into a pail with plenty of grass and some water. If you are to keep them for some time change the water occasionally.