The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-04-19

good plan to fiirt the bait between the branches by holding the baited hook in the left hand, and, with the rod held lightly making it bend in half circle, then suddenly let go the bait, shooting as near the desired spot as possible After a little practice, this trick can be played with excellent results My first teacher on a trout stream, by long practice, could place a worm In any given spot desired within half an inch, every time. He would have six feet of line from an eight-foot rod, stealthily creep up, and gauge with his eye sthe exact distance he wanted to reach, have often used this flicking method with success in fly fishing, when ob- stacles were so great that casting was out of the question. But the motion re- quires some little practice to do 1t ac- curately and avoid the branches. Fish, trout especially, love to lie in shady spots, beneath laurel bushes and other impediments that make it difficult for the angler to reach them and they will seldom let him get nearer than twelve feet, but dart away upstream if pos- sible.
 On coming to one of those many plank bridges which cross the brooks, it is best to leave the water going around the bridge, and up stream, under it. using the flicker to avoid frightening the fish, which always lie with head upstream. Under these dark bridges there usually lie number of trout, and, if not scared away, they can one by one, be taken.
 In these small brooks one of the most important things to remember is to keep out of sight. Trout dash away a distance of fifty feet in no time, and it is no use to follow, and the only way is to leave them for another visit later on. As we wade downstream and cover every part, they often lie in most unlikely places-in low, ripping water, where the pebbles are above the surface, they may at times be found in only four inches of water, some times good-sized fish, so that the bait should be hoated in every direction by the force of the running water In places of this kind 1t is well to have a longer line out, especially in open and sunny spots, At every short distance examine the hook to see that the joint is not blunted or broken by the stones, and the bait at all times must be alive and well placed on the hook
 The angler must be on the alert every minute, though no strike is nec- essary in bait fishing for brook trout. They firmly hook themselves every time they go at the bait, but the line should instantly be frightened. Then their chances of getting away are re- duced to a minimum.
 Some seasons ago I had the privi- lege of fishing the upper Mongaup in private water for about mile. Only eight feet wide and two feet deep, the water rushed along rapidly through a continuous line of laurel bushes which made it necessary to use bait. Had the fish not been a good size (nearly all fourteen inchesl 1 could have filled my basket in half an hour: as it was, every fish I hooked darted off at a lively gait, making it necessary to give line, as we'll as follow on; So that the mornings s catch of twelve fish averaged twenty minutes splendid play for each fish, and can safely say not one gorged the bait, all being hooked on the lips.
 It is a rare thing to find large trout in well-fished brooks, unless they lie in the deep pool of 8 waterfall or one made by fallen tree trunks, These old fellows are wary. They always go for the bait once, get hooked, and get off by some trick known only to them selves till some day an experienced angler comes along. Knowing just where they lie, he prepares according ly. I once hooked a large rainbow trout six times before landing flim-so clever and expert had he become. He would make a sudden dart, take the bait clean off before I had time to re- spond, and never venture second time on the same day, and after all hooked him on the fly. He was beautifully marked, measuring eighteen inches. He had no doubt grown up in this pool not more than ten feet square but quite six feet deep.
 All anglers, experts or duffers, are greatly indegbted to the sctate authori- ties for stocking the waters so plenti- fully. Even If a brook is not stocked they will run up from the larger streams which are stocked I do not advocate fishing as soon as the season opens; it is better to wait week or two-till the first to the fifteenth of May, when the water Is perfectly clear and the snow water has run off. Snow flurries and ice remain longer than in lower altitudes-though 1t Is true brooks clear much earlier than the larger rivers. In both eases the cream of trout fishing is from May to June Fly fishing is best during the month of June. The water does not begin to fall low until June 15 and ear ly July. After that date little brook fishing can be done The large fish have been taken by long succession of anglers, or they have dropped down to deeper pools in the larger streams to feed on flies or young mlnnows.
 My plan of going to the same streams year after year has both good and bad points. l know, like a book. where they lie, and where each pool is, and that each pool Is dominated by fish till he is captured, when after a day or so another fish takes his place-to be in time captured likewise. We get to love certain pools as we go down stream-pools where we had luck pre- ceding seasons, and expect to have it apa in. and we also know we'll where 10