tted inside of another, the inner one being made of wire mesh to
permit the free circulation of the water. This enables us to change
the water frequently without handling the fish. When we reach a place
where fresh water is obtainable, we simply remove the inner pail, pour
out the stale water from the other pail, and fill it as quickly as
possible. To keep bait alive in warm weather we must change the water
frequently. Another method where fresh water is not available, as on a
long drive, is to aerate it by pouring from one pail to another. It is
an excellent plan to place a piece of ice on top of the minnow pail.
With this arrangement, it will not be necessary to give them fresh
water for a long time.

[Illustration: An excellent device for catching minnows]

The simplest way to catch minnows is with a drop net. Take an iron
ring or hoop such as children use and sew to it a bag of cotton
mosquito netting, half as deep as the diameter of the ring. Sew a
weight in the bottom of the net to make it sink readily and fasten it
to a pole. When we reach the place which the minnows frequent, such as
the cove of a lake, we must proceed very cautiously, lowering the net
into the water and then baiting it with bits of bread or meat, a very
little at a time, until we see a school of bait darting here and there
over the net. We must then give a quick lift without any hesitation
and try to catch as many as possible from escaping over the sides. The
minnow bucket should be close at hand to transfer them to and care
must be used not to injure them or allow them to scale themselves in
their efforts to escape. The common method of capturing minnows is to
use a sweep net, but it takes several people to handle one properly
and for our own use the drop net method will probably supply us with
all the bait that we need.

Fish are very fickle in their tastes. What will be good bait one day
will absolutely fail the next and sometimes even in an hour this same
thing will take place. Why this is so no one has been able to explain
satisfactorily, but that it is a fact no fisherman will deny. We
should therefore have as great a variety of bait in our equipment as
possible. Worms, crawfish, minnows, frogs, grasshoppers, grubs and
helgramites are all good at times in fresh water, as well as various
kinds of artificial baits, spoons, spinners, and rubber lures.

[Illustration: A trolling spoon]

Sometimes fish will take very unusual baits. Black