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Show When to Fish? We have proclaimed often In this department that the time to go fishing fish-ing is "any time you can get away to go." Naturally, there are many who won't subscribe to that, pointing point-ing out that weather conditions too frequently determine whether or not a man may go fishing. That is true, of course; and we don't mean a man should always go fishing in freezing weather, a roaring gale or when the rain is streaming down in torrents. However, How-ever, there are times when what would be considered "bad weather" for fishing pays off handsomely. It did for us and a couple of companions com-panions only a few weeks ago when, with streams high and muddy, we set out to a nearby pond to do some panfishing. Our companions were equipped with minnows and worms. We toted a fly rod and some No. 14 trout flies. When we reached the pond, the day, which already had started out , windy, turned into one wherein the wind was almost of gale proportions. propor-tions. The wind waves on the pond were almost a foot high and white-caps white-caps were running. The wind was so strong that a fly rod, held vertically vertical-ly in the air, took a bend as if a heavy fish were on. On that particular day and under those specific conditions, we would have wagered that our flies would not have enticed a single strike all day; and our companions agreed with us. Despite the velocity of the wind, we were able to lay a respectable length of line occasionally and to our amazement whenever we did, we got a strike. The bream and crappie were hitting furiously at flies which one would have thought they couldn't even have seen in that kind of water. The men using minnows and worms caught three fish between them! We point this incident up here to bolster a contention we have made before, that no one will ever get angling down to an exact science. AAA About "Lead" By now, the nimrods in many states will be out after rabbit, quail grouse and other upland game. There will be many hits, many misses, and those who miss will always al-ways be wondering "how come?" The answer is not a simple one. Millions of words have been written and spoken on this subject and there has been much discussion as to whether good wing-shooting can be taught. It can be taught, of course but only to a degree. That instinct in a hunter which makes him swing his gun muzzle the right distance ahead of a flying bird or a hurtling hare is a mystical something which cannot be completely gleaned from books. The only answer, as we believe any honest instructor would tell you, is sufficient practice in the field to become a good wing-shot by instinct. But, with our waning fowl and game supply, the modern hunter hunt-er doesn't have the chance to "get good" that his dad and granddad had. The next best thing, then, is skeet and trapshooting. These are only substitutes and we do not guarantee guaran-tee that religious application to trap or station will make you a good gunner; but it will help to some extent. ex-tent. Learning to "lead," vhich is the secret of successful, wing-shooting, must be done in the field for best results; and, in the end, wing-shooting is an instant reaction to the three factors of speed, distance and alignment which must be correlated properly if the bird is to be downed or the bunny stopped. AAA Boys & Guns The question of when to give his son a gun and when to turn the youth loose in the field with it is a recurrent and serious one for ail fathers who sincerely want their offspring off-spring to enjoy the pleasures of hunting. And, it is one which each father must decide for himself; but there are a few guideposts which, if kept in mind, might simplify the problem. prob-lem. They are: If there is any doubt about the boy's sense of responsibility and awareness of safety, don't let him take the gun out unless yon, or some other adult is along. Try to instill by repeating as often of-ten as possible the cardinal rules of gun-handling safety into the boy. Don't let the boy take his gun out with just other fellows of his own, or even older, age along. A A Weight of Reel The weight of a fly reel, In the classic specifications, should be oni and one-half times the weight of the fly rod. That's what sportsmen used to think. But after the trial and error method proved the fallacy of that thinking, fly rod users came to the commonsense conclusion that the reel should weigh whatever it takes to make the assembled outfit feel "right" in the hand balanced so as to perform a maximum of service with a minimum of fatigue |