TROLLING WITH THE HAND-LINE.

Trolling with the hand-line is a very tame and simple mode of angling; in fact, is the most simple method practiced, there being no skill, whatever, required in luring or in manipulating the Bass after he is hooked. It is a very questionable style of sport, at best; and, considered in this light, is exceedingly flat, and savors strongly of pot-fishing. It is indulged in on lakes, ponds and broad rivers, mostly by boys, and those unfortunates who can not, or will not, learn to handle the rod.

With a good breeze and a fast-sailing boat, trolling for Blue Fish, Sea Trout, Spanish Mackerel, and other marine fishes, with hand-line and squid, is fine sport; but, on the bosom of a quiet lake, trolling for Black Bass, with handline and spoon, is a cruel pastime, and a wanton destruction of a noble fish. It is only excusable when in camping out, without suitable tackle, and when, like the boy digging at the tenantless woodchuck hole, one is "out of meat," which, in Southern parlance, constitutes "a groundhog case," in which event, perhaps, the end justifies the

means.

The necessary tackle for this mode of angling consists of a strong hand-line of linen or cotton, from fifty to seventy-five yards long; braided lines are to be preferred, as they do not kink. The line should be large enough to prevent cutting the hands, and, at the same time, to withstand the dead strain of a lively fish. Sizes C, or No. 2, and D, or No. 3, are the best and most suitable.

Any of the numerous revolving spoon-baits, or spinners, will answer with or without the so-called "fly," or tuft of feathers, or braid; for the bright metal spoon is what lures

the Bass, and it can not be made more attractive for handtrolling by the addition of feathers, braid, etc.

Abbey & Imbrie's New Fluted Spoon, No. 4; J. H. Mann's Perfect Revolving, No. 20, Oval, No. 16, Kidney, No. 6, and Egg, No. 33; and L. S. Hill's Improved Spoon, Nos. 1 and 2, are all excellent trolling-baits for hand-lines.

The ordinary original tin or brass spoon, with single hook soldered on, is about as good as any of the later inventions. A single hook is certainly preferable to the groups of two or three, usually attached to spoon-baits; the latter often being crushed or broken by the jaws of a large fish.

Small spoons are more successful than large ones, for Black Bass. In the absence of a spoon-bait, the floor of the mouth of the Pickerel, cut into the semblance of a fish, is tough, white and glistening, and is a good substitute; a similar strip, cut from the belly of the Dog Fish, also answers a good purpose. One or two swivels should always be used with trolling-bait; a sinker is seldom nec

essary.

With this simple outfit, early in the season, before the aquatic weeds and grasses are fully grown, this mode of fishing is quite successful. The method of procedure is as follows:

The angler sits in the stern of the boat, and, while the oarsman rows at a moderate rate of speed along and over the feeding-ground, he runs off forty to sixty yards of line; the spoon, revolving gracefully beneath the surface, proves an effective lure. A violent jerk on the line announces the fact that an unfortunate Bass has "hooked himself;" often he will leap into the air, vainly endeavor

ing to shake the glittering deception from his jaws, but his efforts usually only serve to fix the several hooks more firmly in his mouth, and, provided he does not crush them, or tear them out and escape, he is "hauled in," hand over hand, by muscle and main strength, without a single chance for his life-dragged to an ignoble death by a hand-line and spoon. This may do for the Pickerel ; but, oh, gentle reader, an' you love me, spare the Bass this indignity!

CHAPTER XXV.

SKITTERING AND BOBBING.

“Then, if you get a grasshopper, put it on your hook, with your line about two yards long; standing behind a bush or tree, where his hole is, and make your bait stir up and down on the top of the water."-IZAAK WALTON.

SKITTERING.

"SKITTERING" is best practiced with a long and light natural cane-rod, from twelve to fifteen feet long, and a strong line of nearly the same length. No reel is used, for, like "bobbing," this mode of fishing is only successful in grassy and weedy situations, where the water is comparatively shallow, notably, in the lagoons and bayous of the extreme South, and where the fish must be landed as soon as possible after being hooked. To the end of the line is attached a small trout-spoon, or the skittering-spoon, which is still smaller, being the smallest revolving spoon made.

The modus operandi is as follows: The angler stands in the bow of the boat, which is paddled or poled by the boatman as noiselessly as possible, just outside of or along the channels of clear water, among the patches of rushes, lily-pads or bonnets. The angler, by means of the long rod and short line, skitters or skips the spoon along the surface of the water with a jerky or vibratory motion,

causing it to spin and glance close up to the edges of the weeds, where it is viciously seized by the Bass, who has been lying in wait among the water lettuce, or under the broad pads of the water-lily, for just such an opportunity.

The angler has now no time to loose, but must rapidly draw the Bass along the surface of the water to the boat, into which he must be lifted at once, for he is as good as gone if he gets below the surface, among the weeds; nor must the Bass be allowed to leap into the air with so short a line, but he must be dragged quickly along the surface, with his head above the the water, until the line can be taken hold of close to the hook, or the finger hooked in the gill-opening, and the fish dextrously lifted over the side of the boat.

In such situations, skittering is exciting sport, and is not without its attractions. The bright glancing spoon, the expert and skillful management of the rod, the mighty rush and splash of the Bass as he snaps up the shining bauble, and his subsequent lashing and floundering as he is irresistibly drawn toward the boat, vainly endeavoring to get either in or out of the water, and the final adroit manner of landing him, go far toward making this a legitimate sport, as it undoubtedly is, in the localities mentioned, inasmuch as reel-fishing can not be practiced for reasons before given.

BOBBING.

"Bobbing" is another style of angling peculiar to the section of country just mentioned, and though it can not be regarded as so artistic or legitimate, it is far more kill