Sparkplug, my dapple grey mare, pulled down on the reins and drank deeply from the cold water of Broad Creek. The other horses of the string followed suit and it was hard to get them moving again. The day was very warm and bright and the animals had traveled 14 miles across Yellowstone Park’s Mirror Plateau under full loads. I guess those horses really deserved a breather.

After crossing the Creek and following it for a hundred yards or so, our outfitter, Gene Wade of Cooke City, Montana, announced that we would set up camp next to the creek. Then he also suggested that we could start fishing right beside the camp. But after all the commotion of splashing and drinking by the horses, I figured that every trout for a mile upstream and down would have been spooked.

But Gene seemed able to read my mind. “Don’t worry about these trout,” he said. “They haven’t learned about horses and fishermen yet. I doubt if a handful of anglers have visited this whole stream this year.”

After pitching camp, Gene proved his point by riding across a pool and then turning back around to cast a dry fly into it. As soon as the fly touched the water, a 1 1/2 pound cutthroat trout rose to the surface and sucked in the fly. The battle that ensued, with Gene trying to control his mount and land the fish simultaneously, was one of the funniest antics that I have ever seen.

But that is only one of the beautiful things about pack trips. The fish in the back country just haven’t learned about fishermen yet. If Gene Wade can ride across a pool and then catch a fish he almost trampled – well, an average fisherman using reasonable caution can catch all the fish he wants. Of course not all back country trout are as naive as the Broad Creek cutthroats. But they’re a lot less educated than the fish near the average fisherman’s home.

The best way to reach these unsophisticated trout is by pack trip or trail ride. Pack trips are horseback expeditions into wilderness areas. Since the areas are unaccessible by road, all provisions must be packed in on horseback. The trips generally involve riding into a chosen area and making a base camp. Each day then, the fisherman rides out and fishes the surrounding lakes and streams. The advantage of pack trips is that by spending half a day or a day, the angler is able to fish waters which are out of reach for all other fishermen except possibly back-packers.

A pack trip into wilderness country can be one of the most rewarding trips an outdoorsman ever takes. But the excellent fishing is only part of the fun. The fishing itself is done amid some of America’s most spectacular scenery. The lakes and streams are generally situated in verdant meadows or on the edges of cathedral-like woods. Snow capped mountains offset the entire scene. After living eleven months of the year in the city, camp life in the mountains can be a perfect retreat and escape.

The pack trip is ideally suited for either family groups of fishing partners. During the summer the weather is usually mild enough for the women in the family to appreciate.  The hardships are not so great that an active family cannot generally adapt to camp life. Furthermore, a wilderness pack trip provides the family with a great opportunity to be together. Pack trips can also provide fishing partners with an experience that they’ll be talking about for a long time afterwards.

In order to have a successful pack trip, the fisherman must take certain personal items along with him. Every fisherman and every pack trip requires slightly different clothing.

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Another basic bug is the wounded minnow imitation which has a rounded or bullet-shaped  face and which does not make a commotion or popping noise when retrieved. Instead it is quiet. Usually the tails are of deer hair or hackle. This type was far more popular in the earlier years of bass bugging than it is now.

A third type is that one fashioned wholly from deer hair, flared out by the tyer to make a very solid-feeling body. Some of these are made with fan wings and given an action similar to the dying flutter of a large insect on the water. Others are equipped with Z-shaped trailing legs to imitate a small frog. All were (and are) very, very effective. The main drawback is they ride high on the surface in the beginning, but gradually lose buoyancy and finally sink altogether. They are the hardest of all to cast. Not too many are available on tackle shelves anymore because they are expensive and time- consuming to make, as compared to the hard-bodied poppers.

All bugs should be fished very slowly. I have had bass rush crazily after bugs as they were hurriedly skittered or even being lifted from the water. But mostly the retrieve which kills is practically none at all. Cast out the bug to a likely spot and then let it work for you right there as long as possible – just by flipping the rod tip gently at intervals.

It is hard to resist making a popper pop – loudly as most can do. It’s an exciting sound. But I have had far better luck when moving the bug just enough to broadcast circles all around it. Some of the surface strikes which this provokes shouldn’t happen to anglers with weak hearts. I have been bass bugging for a quarter century now and still am not 100% prepared for the strike when it comes.

Experienced bass fishermen will already know the following, but probably this basic information should be included for any beginners interested in bass bugging. Stick to short casts at first – and only gradually extend the casts as you gain accuracy. In many waters containing vast shallow areas, wading is a good way to go bugging. It is a great technique for thoroughly covering water and the freedom from paddling or rowing enables the fishermen to concentrate on his fly casting alone.

Where wading isn’t practical, a light maneuverable boat usually is. Most bugging will be confined to shallow, inshore or protected waters and the need for a larger boat is small. A good accessory for bass flyrodding is a small electric motor for quietly maneuvering into tight places.

Good places for beginners to get a start in bass bugging are the numerous farm and ranch ponds which dot the American landscape. Most of these contain bass, in numbers if not in great size, and they are easy to fish. These small impoundments offer any angler good laboratories in which to test tackle and develop good techniques.

As my forgetful friend Lew Baker has always admitted, after that pioneer trip so long ago: “A fisherman hasn’t really enjoyed bass fishing until he’s done it with the light rod.”

Lew ought to know; he learned the hard way.

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The same bass is lurking again and again and this time a tiny bug falls overhead. But it falls so lightly that the bass is alerted rather than frightened – and so he gives it a closer look, maybe just as the angler twitches it slightly. On impulse or from hunger, the bass might grab it. If not immediately he could be tempted on the second or third casts.

Of course that is only theory – maybe even far-fetched theory – but bugs seem to work far better than bigger baits when the fishing pressure is high.

The best water for bugging, at least here in the Midwest, is either very weedy of full of obstacles. You look at it and your first impulse is to tie a weedless spoon onto a casting outfit and to start throwing it into the lettuce. Certainly that works – very, very well sometimes. But if it doesn’t, try going back over the same area with bugs.

I realize there are problems with snagging when you cast a bug in weedy areas. But practice develops pinpoint accuracy and eventually any fisherman is surprised at how well he soon learns to drop his bug into the tinest bits of open water. It isn’t even necessary to have open water for practice; you can spend spare moments developing casting accuracy right in your own backyard.

That brings us around again to the matter of using heavy level leaders. For one thing you have better control of a heavy bug casting. But more important than that, you can better horse a good bass right out of weedy spots, after it strikes. With the lighter leaders so necessary for trout, you would only lose most of the bass you hook.

Last summer I went fishing with my son Bob at one of the Muskingum chain lakes in eastern Ohio. We carried along a tent and pitched it as close to the lakeshore as the local camping rules permitted. Then we launched my square-ended cartop canoe and set out to catch our dinner.

But for dinner we had to settle for hamburger; nor could we catch anything for breakfast. If there was any consolation at all, it was that no other campers in the compound were doing any better. I thought about striking the tent and looking elsewhere – except that I have a stubborn streak a mile wide. So I went swimming and then sat in the sunshine to mull it over. Bob joined me.

“I have never seen this place so weedy,” the lad said, “So early in the year.”

“And I’ve never found the water quite so warm,” I added.

“Then let’s just forget about fishing,” Bob continued, “Until well after dark for a change.”

“You are reading my mind,” I said.

“Maybe I’m just a chip off the old blockhead.” Then Bob went swimming, too.

That evening we waited until all the campers were back in camp, boats pulled out on shore and steaks cooking on charcoal grills all around us. Somebody nearby started strumming a guitar. That’s when we quietly launched our own boat, cranked up the small outboard and motored to the opposite side of the lake. There Bob began casting a weedless spoon. I had rigged a flyrod and began to toss a small popping bug. Bob didn’t say anything, but I could practically “feel” him wondering how I would keep from snagging constantly.

In the beginning, before my eyes were fully accustomed to the darkness I did snag frequently. Sometimes I would retrieve long stringers of weeds and sometimes we would have to pry the bugs loose from lily stems by hand. To make it seem worse, Bob quickly hooked and boated a one-pounder with his spoon and casting outfit.

But suddenly things changed. By making shorter casts and with night vision improving, I had a couple of strikes which were missed. But the third bass hung himself and I horsed him right onto the stringer.

Ten minutes later there was another upheaval under my bug – only this bass wouldn’ t be horsed I leaned into my outfit for all it would stand, but except to lurch upward and out of the water in a wild leap, the bass was too strong to be budged. While I just held on, Bob paddled back into the weeds and we were able to “dig” out my fish. The flashlight proved useless because it was knocked overboard early in the melee. But somehow we boated the bass which, on scales later on, didn’t quite make four pounds.

The score up until about midnight was five bass to one if favor of the bug over the spoon. It is true that one inning does not constitute to a ball game, but that was a dramatic example of the bug’s effectiveness on a busy, weedy body of water.

One of the wildest nights of freshwater fishing I’ve ever known occurred on an alcohol-clear lake in central Ontario. This lake contained a fringe of vegetation around the shoreline, but mostly it was very thin as compared to Ohio or southern shorelines. Here again fishing had slowed down to almost nothing, except for a few smallmouths taken in deep water on nightcrawlers. That I went fishing at all must be blamed mostly on the unlucky trend of the poker game going on back in camp.

Fishing alone along the shore, I first tried tossing surface plugs with a spinning outfit. With these I had two strikes, landed one smallmouth and might have had much more action except that two sets of treble hooks were too much to get through the vegetation. Since my flyrod was already in the boat, I picked it up and knotted a popper to the leader.

That was like flipping a switch. Either the bass just started to strike at that moment – or the bug was the medicine they wanted. Take your choice. Before I gave it up, I had landed 11 bass, but kept only the five biggest. These weighed a total of 21 pounds and as you might suspect, broke up the poker game.

There are three basic kinds of bass bugs and many variations of all three. Best known and most frequently used today is the popper. These are solid-bodied (cork, wood or plastic) bugs with either flat or dished out faces which make popping or gurgling noises when twitched. The actual shape of the body varies greatly to imitate anything from frogs to grasshoppers, but mostly nothing natural at all. The tails and/or wings can be anything from rubber bands or bucktail to feathers and fur. My own favorite bugs are those with fluttering rubber skirt tails. I suppose you could call them miniskirts. Like the imports from jolly old England, they attract attention.

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Status Indians do not require an angling license. They are exempt from angling regulations including seasons, limits, and gear restrictions when fishing for food. Proof of status is required when checked by a Natural Resource Officer or RCMP Officer.

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• Indian Valley Reservoir   Indian Valley Reservoir Indian Valley Reservoir is located in: Ukiah, CA Phone: (707) 468-4000 About the Lake:  Indian Valley Reservoir is a popular destination for boaters, hunters and fishers....

The following people may angle without a license.

• Any person under the age of 16 who has permanently resided in Manitoba for at least six months.
• Any Canadian resident or non resident under the age of 16. The person must fish with a license holder, or someone exempt from holding a license, and their catch must be applied to the limit of that person. A Canadian resident or nonresident under 16 who wishes to have a separate limit must buy a license.

Manitoba youth under the age of 16 have all the rights and privileges of those holding a Regular License, including their own regular limit of fish. All other regulations apply. Proof of age is required when checked by an Officer.

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Fees (includes GST)                                                                         Conservation                                            Regular

Resident Senior (Manitobans 65 and over)                              Free                                            See Resident regular license

Resident (Manitobans age 16-64)                                                $13.94                                                      $19.83

Canadian Resident (age 16 and over)                                         $22.77                                                     $42.40

Nonresident (age 16 and over)                                                     $32.59                                                      $57.12

A “Manitoba Resident Seniors Conservation License” is for Manitoba seniors (65 and over) who have permanently resided in Manitoba for at least 6 months and is valid for a conservation limit of fish. Manitoba seniors wanting a regular limit of fish must buy a regular resident license.

Licenses are valid from May 1, 2010 until and including April 30, 2011, but are not valid until they are signed. The time of license validity has no impact on season dates. Licenses are not transferable or refundable. If a license is lost another must be purchased.

All persons, except those exempted, who engage in angling, dip netting, seining, minnow trapping, spear fishing, and bow fishing, must have a Manitoba Angling License on their person.

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Costs of a pack trip can be cut if you can do the camp chores and handle horses yourself. This way an outfitter can pack you and your gear into a good area (where there is fishing), leave you there, and then pick you up later at a specified date. This can be the most adventurous type of all pack trips and it can generally save you more than one-half of ordinary costs.

Preparation for a pack trip has not ended  as soon as you have decided what equipment that you are going to take. If you’ve been tied down in the office too long, you may need to do some physical training before your trip begins. Pack trips can be tailored somewhat to suit the individual’s physical condition but you’ll get more out of the trip if you’re in good physical shape at the outset. Exercise before the pack trip can mean the difference between fishing an alpine lake that is inaccessible on horseback or doing camp chores without pulling a tender muscle.

Training for a pack trip may start months in advance for some fishermen while others may need only to ride Junior’s bicycle a few times a week. If you notice a sagging around your waistline, begin training moderately and then work up from there. Try to find exercises that will keep your interest such as swimming, hiking, or golfing. It’s often not necessary to search for activities. Walk to the drug store instead of driving. Avoid elevators by walking up and down the stairs. Push yourself away from the dinner table before dessert.

Horseback riding requires special attention. No fisherman, no matter what his condition, should take a pack trip without having previously done some riding. Riding long distances through the mountains exerts a strain on long distances through the mountains exerts a strain certain muscles that are otherwise neglected. Saddle soreness is a painful experience than can nearly immobilize a person for the duration of the trip. Spending some time training on the local riding before the trip begins is a good way to avoid misery later on.

A well prepared pack trip can offer you fishing memories that you will certainly cherish for a long time. You may enjoy it so much that you should not be surprised if your outfitter talks you into coming back out and hunting with him in the fall.

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Man might consider, a pair of hiking boots, hip boots or waders, a couple pairs of durable pants, several changes of socks, wide brimmed hat, two warm shirts, jacket, and rain gear. I cannot over-emphasize the importance of having a good raincoat. Once it starts to rain in the mountains, it may last for days. The fisherman should always have a raincoat easily accessible in a saddle bag in case of such soggy conditions.

I once made a pack trip into the Beartooth Mountains of Montana with a family of Chicagoans who had been planning the trip for a long time. Unfortunately the man had never really “roughed it” before and he wasn’t properly equipped for the trip. The whole family was very well dressed, however, only that is not enough. The father sported fancy riding pants, tooled alligator leather cowboy boots, Stetson hat and pearl-handled revolver hanging on his hip. In order to fully capture that “cowboy look,” he even rolled his own cigarettes.

But among the gear he failed to bring were good quality sleeping bags for himself and his family. He bought the cheapest he could find. As a result the family was cold all night and they were the first ones sitting around the campfire in the morning. The father was also in poor physical condition and soon became miserable. Finally he demanded that a helicopter fly him out. It was  necessary to take the man back to town several days sooner than the trip was scheduled to end. That ruined the adventure for everyone.

The outdoorsman’s fishing gear should include both a spinning outfit and a fly fishing outfit. If you haven’t fished too much before the trip, it is wise to work on your form and accuracy in the back yard before the trip begins.

A neighbor of mine practiced using his spinning and fly fishing tackle in the back yard every evening for about a month before his pack trip in Montana began. He practiced throwing a lure into his wife’s clothes basket from all angles, including casting from spots directly beneath trees and shrubs. He also perfected such fly fishing techniques as the overhead cast, side cast, hook cast, roll cast, and reverse cast. After his pack trip was over, the pictures of the fish he caught were proof of the value of practice.

Besides the fishing outfits themselves, the fishermen should have a good selection of dry and wet flies and spinning lures. Favorite western flies include such patterns as the Muddler, Joe’s Hopper, Adams and Blonde Wulff. The spinning lure assortment should include wobbling spoons and spinners of about 1/4 ounce. The outfitter is usually acquainted with the likes and dislikes of the trout in his territory and can give good advice about your selection of lures.

The fisherman should bring along extra rods and reels in case any equipment is lost or damaged enroute to camp. The four-piece dual purpose rod which can be used with both fly reels and spinning reels makes an excellent spare. Other spare items which the angler should carry include fishing line, fly readers, rod tips, and rod guides.

All of the camping equipment is generally supplied by the guide except for sleeping bag, mattress and personal items which the angler himself is expected to supply. However, it is necessary to contact the outfitter in order to get the most out of the pack trip. There are other items which the fisherman should take along. Mosquito repellent heads the list. Without it, the little demons can make the most beautiful day become unbearable. The fisherman should also take along other items that fit his own special interests. These might include a varmint rifle for hunting marmots, a tree or bird identification book, binoculars, a gold.

A camera, whether a simple snapshot camera or professional model, should be carried by every fisherman. The camera, like the raincoat and insect repellent should accompany the angler everywhere during the trip. While riding out, the fisherman should carry his camera and other important items such as his lunch and raincoat with him in his saddlebags.

The alert cameraman takes advantage of many photographic opportunities which will set his collection of pictures apart from the usual smug shots of an angler holding his catch. Try to catch that expression of genuine excitement in the angler’s face. Shoot some landscapes of the fishing country. When out fishing, have your camera preset and ready to use. Using fast shutter speeds, try to get all the action of your buddy hooking a fish, playing fish, casting, netting fish, fish jumping and so forth. Take pictures of the guides doing camp chores. Pictures of the cook preparing a meal are different and interesting. Also try to take good pictures of your camp in the wilderness setting. You will always be glad you did.

A Western pack trip can be a wonderful experience but it can also be an expensive disaster. The final success of your pack trip depends a great deal upon the planning. Planning includes deciding where you want to go and who you will choose to guide you. Other smaller arrangements such as securing a fishing license must also be taken care of. In order to be reasonably sure of success, the fisherman should begin planning for his pack trip a year or more in advance. Start with these primary considerations.

Do you want really big fish or do you simply want a pleasant trip which doesn’t involve riding long distances over rugged country? How much time and money can you afford? Are you an experienced enough outdoors man to make the pack trip with minimum guidance.

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Sparkplug, my dapple grey mare, pulled down on the reins and drank deeply from the cold water of Broad Creek. The other horses of the string followed suit and it was hard to get them moving again. The day was very warm and bright and the animals had traveled 14 miles across Yellowstone Park’s Mirror Plateau under full loads. I guess those horses really deserved a breather.

After crossing the Creek and following it for a hundred yards or so, our outfitter, Gene Wade of Cooke City, Montana, announced that we would set up camp next to the creek. Then he also suggested that we could start fishing right beside the camp. But after all the commotion of splashing and drinking by the horses, I figured that every trout for a mile upstream and down would have been spooked.

But Gene seemed able to read my mind. “Don’t worry about these trout,” he said. “They haven’t learned about horses and fishermen yet. I doubt if a handful of anglers have visited this whole stream this year.”

After pitching camp, Gene proved his point by riding across a pool and then turning back around to cast a dry fly into it. As soon as the fly touched the water, a 1 1/2 pound cutthroat trout rose to the surface and sucked in the fly. The battle that ensued, with Gene trying to control his mount and land the fish simultaneously, was one of the funniest antics that I have ever seen.

But that is only one of the beautiful things about pack trips. The fish in the back country just haven’t learned about fishermen yet. If Gene Wade can ride across a pool and then catch a fish he almost trampled – well, an average fisherman using reasonable caution can catch all the fish he wants. Of course not all back country trout are as naive as the Broad Creek cutthroats. But they’re a lot less educated than the fish near the average fisherman’s home.

The best way to reach these unsophisticated trout is by pack trip or trail ride. Pack trips are horseback expeditions into wilderness areas. Since the areas are unaccessible by road, all provisions must be packed in on horseback. The trips generally involve riding into a chosen area and making a base camp. Each day then, the fisherman rides out and fishes the surrounding lakes and streams. The advantage of pack trips is that by spending half a day or a day, the angler is able to fish waters which are out of reach for all other fishermen except possibly back-packers.

A pack trip into wilderness country can be one of the most rewarding trips an outdoorsman ever takes. But the excellent fishing is only part of the fun. The fishing itself is done amid some of America’s most spectacular scenery. The lakes and streams are generally situated in verdant meadows or on the edges of cathedral-like woods. Snow capped mountains offset the entire scene. After living eleven months of the year in the city, camp life in the mountains can be a perfect retreat and escape.

The pack trip is ideally suited for either family groups of fishing partners. During the summer the weather is usually mild enough for the women in the family to appreciate.  The hardships are not so great that an active family cannot generally adapt to camp life. Furthermore, a wilderness pack trip provides the family with a great opportunity to be together. Pack trips can also provide fishing partners with an experience that they’ll be talking about for a long time afterwards.

In order to have a successful pack trip, the fisherman must take certain personal items along with him. Every fisherman and every pack trip requires slightly different clothing.

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Another basic bug is the wounded minnow imitation which has a rounded or bullet-shaped  face and which does not make a commotion or popping noise when retrieved. Instead it is quiet. Usually the tails are of deer hair or hackle. This type was far more popular in the earlier years of bass bugging than it is now.

A third type is that one fashioned wholly from deer hair, flared out by the tyer to make a very solid-feeling body. Some of these are made with fan wings and given an action similar to the dying flutter of a large insect on the water. Others are equipped with Z-shaped trailing legs to imitate a small frog. All were (and are) very, very effective. The main drawback is they ride high on the surface in the beginning, but gradually lose buoyancy and finally sink altogether. They are the hardest of all to cast. Not too many are available on tackle shelves anymore because they are expensive and time- consuming to make, as compared to the hard-bodied poppers.

All bugs should be fished very slowly. I have had bass rush crazily after bugs as they were hurriedly skittered or even being lifted from the water. But mostly the retrieve which kills is practically none at all. Cast out the bug to a likely spot and then let it work for you right there as long as possible – just by flipping the rod tip gently at intervals.

It is hard to resist making a popper pop – loudly as most can do. It’s an exciting sound. But I have had far better luck when moving the bug just enough to broadcast circles all around it. Some of the surface strikes which this provokes shouldn’t happen to anglers with weak hearts. I have been bass bugging for a quarter century now and still am not 100% prepared for the strike when it comes.

Experienced bass fishermen will already know the following, but probably this basic information should be included for any beginners interested in bass bugging. Stick to short casts at first – and only gradually extend the casts as you gain accuracy. In many waters containing vast shallow areas, wading is a good way to go bugging. It is a great technique for thoroughly covering water and the freedom from paddling or rowing enables the fishermen to concentrate on his fly casting alone.

Where wading isn’t practical, a light maneuverable boat usually is. Most bugging will be confined to shallow, inshore or protected waters and the need for a larger boat is small. A good accessory for bass flyrodding is a small electric motor for quietly maneuvering into tight places.

Good places for beginners to get a start in bass bugging are the numerous farm and ranch ponds which dot the American landscape. Most of these contain bass, in numbers if not in great size, and they are easy to fish. These small impoundments offer any angler good laboratories in which to test tackle and develop good techniques.

As my forgetful friend Lew Baker has always admitted, after that pioneer trip so long ago: “A fisherman hasn’t really enjoyed bass fishing until he’s done it with the light rod.”

Lew ought to know; he learned the hard way.

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The same bass is lurking again and again and this time a tiny bug falls overhead. But it falls so lightly that the bass is alerted rather than frightened – and so he gives it a closer look, maybe just as the angler twitches it slightly. On impulse or from hunger, the bass might grab it. If not immediately he could be tempted on the second or third casts.

Of course that is only theory – maybe even far-fetched theory – but bugs seem to work far better than bigger baits when the fishing pressure is high.

The best water for bugging, at least here in the Midwest, is either very weedy of full of obstacles. You look at it and your first impulse is to tie a weedless spoon onto a casting outfit and to start throwing it into the lettuce. Certainly that works – very, very well sometimes. But if it doesn’t, try going back over the same area with bugs.

I realize there are problems with snagging when you cast a bug in weedy areas. But practice develops pinpoint accuracy and eventually any fisherman is surprised at how well he soon learns to drop his bug into the tinest bits of open water. It isn’t even necessary to have open water for practice; you can spend spare moments developing casting accuracy right in your own backyard.

That brings us around again to the matter of using heavy level leaders. For one thing you have better control of a heavy bug casting. But more important than that, you can better horse a good bass right out of weedy spots, after it strikes. With the lighter leaders so necessary for trout, you would only lose most of the bass you hook.

Last summer I went fishing with my son Bob at one of the Muskingum chain lakes in eastern Ohio. We carried along a tent and pitched it as close to the lakeshore as the local camping rules permitted. Then we launched my square-ended cartop canoe and set out to catch our dinner.

But for dinner we had to settle for hamburger; nor could we catch anything for breakfast. If there was any consolation at all, it was that no other campers in the compound were doing any better. I thought about striking the tent and looking elsewhere – except that I have a stubborn streak a mile wide. So I went swimming and then sat in the sunshine to mull it over. Bob joined me.

“I have never seen this place so weedy,” the lad said, “So early in the year.”

“And I’ve never found the water quite so warm,” I added.

“Then let’s just forget about fishing,” Bob continued, “Until well after dark for a change.”

“You are reading my mind,” I said.

“Maybe I’m just a chip off the old blockhead.” Then Bob went swimming, too.

That evening we waited until all the campers were back in camp, boats pulled out on shore and steaks cooking on charcoal grills all around us. Somebody nearby started strumming a guitar. That’s when we quietly launched our own boat, cranked up the small outboard and motored to the opposite side of the lake. There Bob began casting a weedless spoon. I had rigged a flyrod and began to toss a small popping bug. Bob didn’t say anything, but I could practically “feel” him wondering how I would keep from snagging constantly.

In the beginning, before my eyes were fully accustomed to the darkness I did snag frequently. Sometimes I would retrieve long stringers of weeds and sometimes we would have to pry the bugs loose from lily stems by hand. To make it seem worse, Bob quickly hooked and boated a one-pounder with his spoon and casting outfit.

But suddenly things changed. By making shorter casts and with night vision improving, I had a couple of strikes which were missed. But the third bass hung himself and I horsed him right onto the stringer.

Ten minutes later there was another upheaval under my bug – only this bass wouldn’ t be horsed I leaned into my outfit for all it would stand, but except to lurch upward and out of the water in a wild leap, the bass was too strong to be budged. While I just held on, Bob paddled back into the weeds and we were able to “dig” out my fish. The flashlight proved useless because it was knocked overboard early in the melee. But somehow we boated the bass which, on scales later on, didn’t quite make four pounds.

The score up until about midnight was five bass to one if favor of the bug over the spoon. It is true that one inning does not constitute to a ball game, but that was a dramatic example of the bug’s effectiveness on a busy, weedy body of water.

One of the wildest nights of freshwater fishing I’ve ever known occurred on an alcohol-clear lake in central Ontario. This lake contained a fringe of vegetation around the shoreline, but mostly it was very thin as compared to Ohio or southern shorelines. Here again fishing had slowed down to almost nothing, except for a few smallmouths taken in deep water on nightcrawlers. That I went fishing at all must be blamed mostly on the unlucky trend of the poker game going on back in camp.

Fishing alone along the shore, I first tried tossing surface plugs with a spinning outfit. With these I had two strikes, landed one smallmouth and might have had much more action except that two sets of treble hooks were too much to get through the vegetation. Since my flyrod was already in the boat, I picked it up and knotted a popper to the leader.

That was like flipping a switch. Either the bass just started to strike at that moment – or the bug was the medicine they wanted. Take your choice. Before I gave it up, I had landed 11 bass, but kept only the five biggest. These weighed a total of 21 pounds and as you might suspect, broke up the poker game.

There are three basic kinds of bass bugs and many variations of all three. Best known and most frequently used today is the popper. These are solid-bodied (cork, wood or plastic) bugs with either flat or dished out faces which make popping or gurgling noises when twitched. The actual shape of the body varies greatly to imitate anything from frogs to grasshoppers, but mostly nothing natural at all. The tails and/or wings can be anything from rubber bands or bucktail to feathers and fur. My own favorite bugs are those with fluttering rubber skirt tails. I suppose you could call them miniskirts. Like the imports from jolly old England, they attract attention.

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By October, much of the fishing action has switched to the spawning rivers themselves, most of which are open to sport fishermen under very liberal regulations. In certain sections of streams, a somewhat restricted form of snagging is permitted, although the law calls it “accidental foul-hooking.” Officials figure it’s better for sport fishermen to utilize the salmon than have them spawn, die and go wasted. Michigan’s fishery program depends mostly on hatchery-raised fish stocked each spring, and though natural spawning adds to the production, it isn’t absolutely necessary for good salmon fishing.

The regulations governing this brand of snagging, along with the streams open to it, are spelled out in the annual fishing digest provided with the fishing license.

From south to north in the Lower Peninsula, these are the streams which host spawning runs and are generally open to fishing: St. Joseph, Kalamazoo, Grand, Muskegon, Pere Marquette, Big Manistee, Little Manistee (open for steelhead fishing only above the state harvest weir) and Platt (closed until late fall). Other stocked streams are too small to be open to general fishing pressure, although the river mouth areas are usually open. The Menominee, White fish, Carp, Big Cedar and Manistique Rivers in the Upper Peninsula are most often open, too.

Along Lake Superior, most of the fishing action continues offshore at the river mouths throughout the season. The better spots include (from east to west): Grand Marais (Sucker River), Munising (Ana River), Marquette (Chocolay), Big Huron Bay (Big Huron), Keweenaw Bay and Black River Harbor (Presque Isle).

Salmon seem little inclined to take artificial lures during spawning runs, so most anglers use such bait as spawn sacks (salmon eggs tied in small nylon bags), nightcrawlers and wigglers, all available in local bait stores. These are usually fished right on the bottom with enough split shots to keep them rolling on the bottom of holes where salmon rest in their passage upstream. Some fluorescent-orange or yellow lures work at times, but most fishermen finally resort to snagging. Where dams block upstream passage, snagging a limit of five salmon isn’t hard.

If you’d like a crack at a really big chinook, your choices are still somewhat limited. Most big kings were taken last season at the south end of Manistee Lake where the Little Manistee River enters. There was literally a carpet of boats at the spot, nearly everyone still-fishing on the bottom with spawn or nightcrawlers. To actually land one of the 30-pounders in that maze was quite an experience.

The Muskegon River hosts plenty of big chinooks, too, but after they pass through Muskegon Lake most are taken by snaggers from holes along the way to Croton Dam upstream.

Up-to-date salmon fishing information is available seven days a week from the state’s “hotline” number in Lansing. The state’s “Michigan Campground Directory” is a free pamphlet listing every public campground in the state (write Publications Room, Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources, Stephens T. Mason Bldg., Lansing).

Tourist accommodation information is available from the West Michigan Tourist Association (107 Pearl St. N.W., Grand Rapids, Mich. 49502) or the Upper Peninsula Tourist Association (Box 1188, Iron Mountain, Mich. 49801).

Michigan Fishing licenses cost $3.