Green Mantle.-Body and hackle, bright green; wings and tail, mottled, mallard. Henshall.-Body, peacock herl; hackle, white hairs from deer's tail; tail, two or three long fibers of peacock-tail feathers; wings, light drab (dove). Oconomowoc.-Body, creamy yellow; hackle, white and dun (deer's tail); tail, ginger; wings, cinnamon (wood-. cock). The White Moths, or Millers, are excellent flies for moonlight evenings, or at dusk. They may be pure white, or all white with yellow body, or all white with gray wings. The bodies should be made full and fluffy. The hackles, or palmers, are made with various-hued bodies, as black, green, red, or yellow, or peacock herl, with either black, red, brown, yellow or gray legs. A pure white hackle is very killing about dark. A most excellent hackle is made from the hairs of a deer's tail, somewhat in the fashion of the "bob," so extensively used in Florida and Texas. The three "typical" hackles of Mr. H. CholmondelyPennell, and which he uses to the exclusion of all other flies, are described as follows: Green.-Dark-green body; very dark-green hackle for both legs and whisk. Brown.- Body, dark orange; fiery or cinnamon-brown hackle for legs and whisk. Yellow. - Body, golden yellow; darkish golden-olive hackle for legs and whisk. These flies are admirable for Black Bass, however they may be for Trout, and the angler who carries but a limited assortment in his fly-hook should include these "hackles," in various sizes; they will not disappoint him. As I have described quite enough for the beginner, and, perhaps, too many, I will only allude to some by name, which will often be found equal to the above, and, for some waters, superior: Bumble Bee, Jungle Cock, Hoskins, California, Moosehead, Widow, Academy, Blue Jay, Page, Yellow Sally, Blue and Drab, Pheasant, Raven, Claret, Tippulium, Davis, Tanner, White and Green, Motley, Premier, Black and Tan, Black and Gold, Purple Bass, Fire Fly, Little Egg, Gray Coffin, Brown Coflin, Sand Fly, Stone Fly, Hawthorn, Dark Mackerel, etc., etc. It will be seen that.the angler has quite an extensive list to choose from, for most of the flies named are kept in stock by our best dealers. As a rule, the smallest bassflies should be selected for general fishing; and those of subdued tints will be found the most successful, saving on the exceptional occasions already referred to. As has been already mentioned, most of the flies named are patterned after trout-flies of the same names; and, while some of the latter are large enough, quite a number are too small, and must be enlarged somewhat for bass-flies. But there are flies, and enough, to suit those of every taste, even should the angler be so fastidious and dainty as "Ye Sunberry Fisher," as described by Punch: "Ye Sunberrye fysher has flies of all feathers, Black midge and marlow bug-all round his hat." CHAPTER XV. ARTIFICIAL BAITS. "And therefore I have, which I will show to you, an artificial minnow that will catch Trout as well as an artificial fly; and it was made by a handsome woman that had a fine hand, and a live minnow lying by her."—IZAAK WALTON. TROLLING-BAITS-SPOON-BAITS. THE most commonly-used trolling-bait for Black Bass is the spoon-bait or trolling-spoon. It is now made of all shapes, and many sizes; but all are made upon the same general principle, and are merely variations of the original trolling-spoon, which was fashioned like the bowl of a spoon, a single hook being soldered to one end, and a hole drilled in the other end for attaching the line. By trailing or trolling such a spoon at the end of a line from a moving boat, it revolves gracefully beneath the surface of the water, the burnished surfaces flashing at each revolution, and proves quite an effective lure. Manufacturers vie with each other in producing novel shapes and so-called improvements, but there is nothing better than the original spoon-bowl with a single hook. The double and triple hooks, usually attached to the modern spoons, are liable to be crushed and broken by the jaws of a large fish, if hooked in a position favorable to this contingency. Trolling-spoons are all made with a concave and a convex surface; the latter surface being brightly polished or burnished, while the former is generally painted, and usually of a red color. They are made of tin or brass, and often plated with nickel, silver or gold; but so long as spoon-baits are brightly burnished, it matters not what the material is, for the Black Bass is not a judge of metals, but will grab at any thing bright and in motion. The depending hook or hooks may be plain, or dressed with a tuft of feathers or braid, called, by courtesy, a "fly;" but these fanciful additions, while pleasing to the angler's eye, do not enhance the "taking" qualities of the lure, for it is the flashing and glancing of the revolving spoon that attracts the fish, and it can not be made more effective by these ornamental appendages, or, as I have sometimes seen, by the addition of a live minnow, or a strip of fat pork! One or two brass swivels should always be attached to the spoon-bait or line, to prevent twisting or kinking. Particular attention should be paid to the hooks of trolling-spoons, for many of them are of inferior quality, though the American spoons are, as a rule, furnished with better hooks than the English baits of the same grades. As a rule, most persons use too large spoons for Black Bass, using generally Pickerel baits. For the Black Bass, the spoon should be no larger than the bowl of an ordinary sized tea-spoon, for trolling with the hand-line; and when trolling with the rod, they should be still smaller. Abbey & Imbrie's new Fluted Spoon-Bait is a very finely finished and attractive bait; it is of the same shape as the original spoon, but with a fluted section, which adds very much to its attractiveness when spinning; the hooks |