Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-04-26

chiefly on worms, bugs, flies, beetles and the
like, but when hard pressed they will COB
Bile little fishes. In fact they won't object tc
baby water snake, as we know from tn,
fact that such dainties have been found il
trout stomachs. AS the trout appetite is al
ways keen, and as food is scarce early in tLt
season, they will jump at almost any kind Of
bait. A little later, however, when they
find plenty of food that does not conceal the
hook, it requires the skill of an expert tc
lure the beauties from the water.
There is no better bait for the novice tc
use at the beginning of the reason than the
common red angle-worm. He would catch
no trout in his initial venture il he were to
use the ny, and it is discouraging to fish
where the fishing is good without catching
any hsh. Trout-6shing with bait is some
thing in the nature of an objectionable sin
in the eyes of skilled fisherman, but first
lessons are essential in all arts. You can
hardly blame a boy on his first hunting ex-
pedition ii he rests his gun on .fence-rail,
shuts both eyes and blazes awaysat a bird
sitting on the limb OF tree only rod away.
The expert gunner will not shoot at q bird
except ''on the wing" (when in the act of
fying). but the boy might waste the pro-
duct of a powder-mill and q shot tower be-
fore he would kill game on the wing In his
early lessons.
How to Cast the Fly.
Supposing you have passed the angle
worm period Of trout fishing, and are ready
for the sportsman-like fly, here are some
hints that would be useful: Array yourself
in a suit of valueless clothes as colorIess as
possible. For root gear you want pair of
wide, low-cut shoes with low and fat heels.
Boots are delusion and q snare, for slip
on a smooth stone will handicap you with a
quart or two of water in each boot. Start
at the mouth of the trout stream and wade
right along where the water is not deep. 1t
will feel cold al first, but YOU will soon like
it. You can't well get along without wad-
ing, becsose of overhanging trees in places,
dense underground on the banks, rocks and
flood debris,
You want very light rod. fine line and
t1y selected from your book" which in
color comes nearest to the natural flies about.
A u rod is just as good as $40 one. You
Will have no use for a reel, and you want no
bright ferrules or anything else shining
about your outfit. The. trout has a very
keen eye and must not see you. If you want
to make a record" in the number of your
catch start directly alter daylight. The two
hours following daylight are worth all the
rest of the day, excepting about an hour
just before dark, tor it is then that the trout
does its feeding. Fish up stream only,
dettly casting your line ahead so that your
fy may fall on the water as softly as would
the natural insect. In running water, as
soon as your fly floats down to you take a
few steps forward and cast ahead again.
Do Not Get Buck Fever.
If you see still and deep water ahead
make scareful cast and let the fly remain a
minute, meanwhile just giving your rod
enough to give the fly SEM
blance of life. When you feel the sudden
tremor in the rod which tells YOU the fly
has found a customer, don't get what in
deer hunting is called "buck fever" Don't
get excited and violently toss rod, line and
possibly fish over your head. If you should
make this almost invariable blunder of the
novice you would probably have to climb q
tree to get the fish and rescue your tangled
tackle. The instant you feel tie fish at
your fly give your rod quick pull of only
a few inches. This will hook the game"
and you can land it leisurely. Don't mis-
take the little cascades and rapids for bad
fishing water. You can hardly imagine the
sharpness of vision and quickness of move
ment that characterize the trout, and some
times in the swift and tumbling water a
trout will have the fly the instant it touches
the water.
When you have reached the head Of the
trout stream You might as we'll put up your
tackle. Trout almost invariably lie with
their heads up stream, in running water,
and fishing downward you wouldn't catch
enough to compensate for the trouble, But
on your return go down to where the brook
empties into the larger stream, and you will
probably find a hole several feet deep.
Bait Useless for These Fellows.
Down at the bottom you may see two or
three old trout foot or more long. You
may at first think you have wasted your
time on the little fellows of six or eight
inches, but you will change your mind after
you have attempted to capture these big
ones. They will not pay the slightest atten-
ton to anything of fly or bait kind. But if
d country boy should happen along just
then, and though you might have a quarter
to spare, perhaps he would show you trick
that you never dreamed OF. he would take
one of your fly leaders, make a slip moose.
after first cutting off the fly, and attach the
moose to piece of line.
Then with degree of patience worthy of
Job and the possible quarter he would work,
maybe an hour, to gradually get the loop
around the big fish. If he succeeded, the
boy would suddenly make lightning.like
movement, catch the fish behind the gills
with the moose, drop it before you and wait
for his quarter. But it would be folly for
you to attempt that trick. You would only
weary yourself and amuse the fish.
How Far One Travels in an Hour.
Have you ever thought of the distance
you travel while you are out on an hours
stroll? Possibly you walk three miles with
IN the hour, but that does not by any means
'epresent the distance you travel. The
,arth turns upon its axis every "a hours.
For the sake OF round figures we will call
he earth's circumference "a, 900 miles, and 50
you must have travelled, during your hours
troll, 1000 miles in the axiai turn Of the
,arth. But that is not all. The earth
makes journey around the sun every year,
Ind long bus rapid trip it is. The distance
II our plane. from the sun we will put at
2, 900, 900 miles, The radius of the earth's |
the diameter of the circle-as we |
Will call it. The whole diameter is there. |
ore 1S4, ,000, 900 miles, and the circumfer- |
nee. being the diamete- multiplied by |
1416, is about 57S, 900, 000 This amazing |
distance the earth travels L its yearly Jour- |
ley, and dividing it bv 365 we find the |
aily speed about 1, $50, 900. Then to get the
distance you rode around the sun during
our hours walk divide again by "a and |
he result is about &c, 900 miles.
But even this is not the end of your
our's trip. The sun, with his entire brood |
f planets, is moving in space at the rate
f 160, 900 miles in year That is at
he rate of little more than 438, 900 miles a
ay, or 1S,25O miles an hour. So, adding
our three miles of leg travel to the hours
xial movement of the earth, this to the
arth's orbital journey, and that again to
be earth's excursion with the sun, and you
nd you have travelled, in the hour. IS. .2h3