Minnow fishing, although barred on many streams, has much to be said for it, if it be practised judiciously and at certain times of the year, as it accounts for many of the larger fish whose cannibal habits have grown in proportion to their years, and whose demise can in no way be regretted. It may, therefore, fairly be said that the majority of Northern rivers are benefited by a limited use of the minnow. But its use must be limited, for it does a stream a great deal of harm, if, from one end of the season to the other, it is daily raked with minnows, natural and artificial, of all shapes and sizes. Besides, the practice is unfair to those who wish to fish the fly, as trout are usually put down for some considerable time after a minnow has been spun over them.

It is, moreover, a mystery why any man should wish to fish the minnow during the early part of the year when trout rise readily to the fly. Spinning should therefore be restricted to times of flood, as hereafter described, and to the latter part of the season, excepting September.

When fish begin to come somewhat shyly at the worm during July and August—fished in the method previously described—they are frequently in the right mood for a minnow. At such times the waters are usually low and clear; it therefore requires considerable dexterity to achieve success, and there is no doubt that the minnow, fished under such conditions, is a sporting method of angling; although it is a greater pleasure to land a pound trout on a 00 hook than to kill a two pounder on the heavier tackle required for minnow fishing.

With the evolution of the casting reel—its yearly improvements and new inventions, all in aid of long distance casting—there is reason to think that minnow fishing has been popularized at the expense of the skill shown by the old-fashioned school, which, using a short line and possessed of a good knowledge of the habits of its quarry, lured many an old cannibal from under the tree roots, from behind some boulder, or from the depths of an eddy, old villains that had battened for years upon the young stock of the river.

One sees now, not without regrets, little of the old manner of fishing the minnow, but far more of the method in which the minnow is thrown as far as possible across stream, and then worked back to the angler with very little idea of its being properly presented. The modern method appears to require but little skill, knowledge or ingenuity, and it is by a long way the nearest approach to “chuck and chance it” of any of the methods of fishing described.

The long-distance casting reel has its uses, but in minnow fishing, as in all other branches of angling, the man must adapt himself to circumstances, and if he does so he will find that it is not always necessary to throw a long way.

Out of all the reels on the market it would be presumptuous to say that such and such a reel is best. Each has its advocates, and while one man will swear by a certain make, the next may swear at it.

The rod should be short, 8 ft. 6 ins. or 9 feet, and fairly stiff, though not too stiff. If a preference may be expressed, it is for a rod that just gives slightly as a minnow is drawn across the current, and for light spinning the split-cane fly rod frequently serves very well.

The line to use with the majority of reels is made of fine waterproof silk, as it does not kink so readily as an undressed one, but there are certain reels on the market with which it is an absolute necessity to use undressed lines, and for many it is claimed that their mechanism can be so adjusted as to do away entirely with kinking.

Out of the many varieties of mount for the natural minnow there is none so popular in the North (and deservedly so) as the “Ariel.” It is easily baited; the lead (which can be had in various weights) is pushed into the body of the bait, the bottom hook is put through the back just above the tail, and the gut is then drawn tight until a slight bend is imparted to the minnow; the other hooks are then put into either side so as to hold the bait in position. There is one point of importance which must be carefully watched in baiting the tackle. The fore part of the minnow must be perfectly straight; if this is not so and there is a curve in that part of the body, instead of spinning cleanly, the minnow will come towards the angler with an intoxicated wobble, which is fatal to good results.

The variety of artificial minnows offered to fishermen is truly bewildering, and life is far too short for the writers to have tested even a tithe of them; but there is one which has invariably proved a killer in a coloured water, and that is the “Devon.” It is sold in all sizes from one inch upwards and in a variety of colours. The virtues of this minnow lie, in all probability, in its particularly brilliant spin, and it is the writers’ practice always to have two or three sizes handy, in gold, brown and blue.

To them it is a proven fact that the artificial is never so good as the natural; for a trout if he once runs at an artificial, but is not hooked, will seldom come again. Whereas with a natural minnow, once the trout has tasted blood, he often cannot resist the temptation to have a second go, unless he has been badly scratched; and in some instances, he will come again and again until finally hooked. There are, however, times when natural minnows seem more difficult to get than trout; and for a clear water on such occasions, a light Phantom, or one of the many excellent reproductions of the minnow sold by fishing tackle houses can be used.

The trace should be from three to five feet in length, the former being long enough for a coloured water, and the latter short enough for the clearest conditions. It should, for average use, be of finest undrawn gut, though when using very small minnows in a low clear water, a much finer quality is to be recommended.

To obviate kinking of the cast and line, and to get a nice free spin, it is, of course, necessary to use swivels on the trace. Of these the angler should always carry a supply of various sizes, and at least two should be put on to the cast. The writers’ practice is more often than not to use three, increasing slightly in size as the distance from the minnow increases. And in preference to the use of lead on the trace, they are always for having it concealed in the body of the minnow whenever possible.

The most silvery natural minnows are undoubtedly the best. They should be from an inch and a quarter to two inches in length, and they are perhaps better used fresh than in any other condition. If they are put into a bottle three parts full of water, corked, and carried in the pocket, they may be kept alive the whole day, if the water be changed occasionally.

If the angler is anxious to keep the weight of his impedimenta down to a minimum, salted minnows take up far less room than live ones and are naturally much lighter, and it is doubtful whether they are appreciably inferior to fresh ones. But preserved minnows, which have been kept in a solution of formalin, are certainly not so good as fresh or salted ones, as trout never seem to want to try a second bite, when they have been missed the first time.

Minnow fishing as practised in a coloured water is comparatively easy, and does not call for any great amount of dexterity. That branch of the sport, therefore, may be dealt with first, with the prefatory remark that the minnow at such times should be used judiciously and sparingly and with a view to removing the cannibals from the river.

When a fresh is running, the minnow is used to best advantage when the river begins to rise and again as it subsides, that is when it wears the complexion known as “porter colour.” If on such occasions the angler sees an odd fish or two rise in some eddy or back wash, he may count the risers his if he spins with any skill at all.

If the angler knows of the stronghold of some monster trout grown ugly and big on a diet of trout, minnows and bottom food, let him hasten thither with all speed if a fresh comes down the river, and fish very carefully round the ancient’s precincts, as in all probability he will come from out his keep to seek for food round the edges of the stream, and to seize any fry which he sees carried down by, and struggling against, the rush of the water.

To fish a coloured water, the angler must throw his minnow well across stream and then bring it round to his own side in a series of short pulls, occasionally, where the current is strongest, allowing the force of water to carry it a foot or two down stream, imitating more or less what one would imagine the actions of some small fish would be that had got into heavy water. And as trout will often follow a minnow from one side of the river to the other before taking it, and as in flood time they are to be found under the banks very close to the edge, it is imperative that the angler should not lift the minnow out of the water until he has worked it well up under the bank on which he stands, and thoroughly searched the edges. It is impossible to lay too much stress on this point, as it will be found that almost eight fish out of ten take the minnow close to the edge, just as they become afraid that they may lose their prey.

All slack waters, eddies and places out of the rush of heavy water, where trout seek shelter in time of flood, should be fished; and, if it be possible to cast the minnow upstream and to work it down, the reward will be greater than that gained by the man who will not take the trouble to fish as recommended.

The next point to consider is the strike, and it is in minnow fishing that the angler’s self-control will be most highly taxed. As soon as he feels a trout touch the minnow, he will be tempted to strike—the novice will probably give a startled jerk and ruin his chances—but not until a trout has got a good hold on the minnow should any strike be given; and then it should be more of a firm steady strain than what is generally known as a “strike.”

Minnow fishing in a clear water is very much more artistic, and at the same time more difficult, than the methods previously described, for it calls for precise and delicate casting, and requires an intimate knowledge of the habits of trout. In the blazing days of late summer it is very exhilarating to fish the minnow up some small clear tributary stream or brook, at the most only a few yards wide; and to do so successfully requires consummate skill.

In fishing waters of this description it is imperative that the minnow be thrown directly upstream and then rapidly spun down. This latter point must be attended to, otherwise the minnow coming down more or less with the current, will not spin. The main stream, places under banks, about submerged tree roots, and behind boulders, and the heads of rapid streams, should all be carefully searched, and when the angler observes a trout rush from its place of concealment at his minnow, he must keep a firm hold upon his nerves and simply continue steadily to spin without himself otherwise moving.

A trout bent upon the capture of a minnow becomes very unwary and will frequently follow his prey almost to the feet of the angler, and, if the angler remains as still as his spinning will allow, will often seize the bait at the last moment. It is very necessary therefore to fish a cast right out.

It is also wise in the main to adapt the size of the minnow, be it natural or artificial, to the size of the water to be fished; and it should always be remembered that a minnow is better too small than too large. When fishing small tributary waters, or even thin water on the main river, the weight of the lead or sinker may be materially reduced, and a small minnow should be used.

When fishing the main river under low clear water conditions, upstream methods must be rigidly adhered to, and the beginner may here be warned, above all things, not to get into that mechanical method of fishing the minnow now so prevalent, which is satisfied with long casts across the river and recovery of line without any definite object in view, except to get the minnow from one side to the other.

If a boulder resists the onward flow of the current near the far bank, throw the minnow so that it drops gently into the water a foot or more above the boulder; then spin down past it. If nothing happens then, try the other side of the rock. Should the water undermine the far bank, drop the minnow in at the top of the run and spin down it; in fact try every place, including the thinnest of water, that could contain a fish, and use all the knowledge and intelligence you have; for you will need it all, if you are to get any success in low clear water.

When a reach of quiet steady-flowing water is ruffled by a wind, it will often yield good results to a minnow carefully fished. The edges should be thoroughly worked and the angler should never fail to spin his minnow alongside all patches of weed, as in such places minnows frequently congregate, and a feeding trout knows where to find them.

Another type of spinning is afforded by a long reach of rapid water that is broken up all over by boulders of every possible shape and size. In such water the trout will not follow the minnow far; they will either seize their prey as it passes them, or turn round and make a sudden rush at it before it can get many inches below. Therefore it is best to fish the minnow here with a short line and to spin the bait briskly down past each boulder. For such water the longer fly rod will be found to be the better weapon. The minnow is also sometimes useful when a gale of wind in the middle of summer puts fly fishing out of the question.

To be able to command success with the minnow, either in clear water or in brooks, is an accomplishment worth striving for. It is a sport that gives the fisherman excitement in plenty, as the whole actions of the trout are seen from beginning to end. And it is impossible to describe adequately the fascination which holds the angler whose eyes are riveted upon a fish rushing down upon his minnow, nor to tell the difficulty of refraining from incontinently snatching away the minnow from a fish in the act of seizing it.

Although minnow fishing has many attractions, when followed in times of bright skies and low waters, it is perhaps more open to abuse than any other of the fair methods of angling. For not only does the indiscriminate use of the minnow, especially with the long-distance casting reel in the hands of a persevering man—not necessarily a very skilful one—work havoc amongst the fish, but it spoils the sport of others, as a spun minnow usually puts fish down for some considerable time. Therefore, in Club waters particularly, a man should be careful and circumspect in the use of the minnow. For while its judicious use will do good in removing fish that can well be done without, and will sometimes provide a dish of trout when the fly is at a discount during the heat of the day, say, in August, its use out of season will call down many hard words. And while it is possible for one to work rapidly downstream, raking the whole river across and across and thus spoil the sport of all others on the water, a sportsman will choose his reach, fish it quietly upstream, and leave his brethren of the fly in peace and undisturbed enjoyment.