There are many things about angling that are inexplicable by any reasonable standard. Many old time fishermen say, for instance, that when a heavy mist is on the river fishing will not be good. Over the years this has proved to be true; why it should be so is absolutely unclear to me. The only connection between mist and fishing is the following weather. When the sun rises or sets in mist the air will be clear and bright, always a tough time to take fish. I don't believe that anybody can predict when fish will feed. About all we can do is use common sense and work the way conditions dictate. Now and then, in traveling around the country, I meet an angler like Abner, who has positive opinions about his fishing and backs them up with results. I think the most unusual aspect of the Abner's method of weed bed fishing is his meticulous approach.

I proved one thing to myself quite conclusively: When fishing from shore, you must change your techniques accordingly, getting away from the rules you've learned when angling from a boat. Shoreline methods differ.Of course it isn't often that you must resort to this belly-rubbing approach. But sometimes it pays to go to the extremes. The angler who catches fish from shore must size up the water he's fishing and plan his strategy before he ever ties a bait on the business end of his line. In this hurry-up age of boats and motors, shore fishing is almost a lost art. Certainly it is a neglected one. Yet there are many waters which only can be fished from land, and others that will produce for the bank-walking angler if he adequately adapts his methods to the task at hand.and others that will produce for the bank-walking angler if he adequately adapts his methods to the task at hand.

The purpose of lures is to get fish to strike them. Without lures or natural bait, a fish would dismiss a hook as just one more piece of underwater debris. But to a fish, the hooks are probably not even seen in its interest in the lure and what it represents.Of course, no one can really know what a fish thinks, how it sees underwater and what it looks for as it searches for food. Indeed, the, various species of fish require different foods, thus requiring markedly different lures for all styles of fishing. This is an illustrated guide to basic types of lures: how they work, what they're designed to attract and catch.

Not even a nearsighted angler wearing rose-colored sunglasses would call the blackfish handsome. Before he could qualify for such a compliment, the blackfish, alias tautog, would need the services of a masseur to streamline his chunky chassis. Then he'd have to move into the painting department where, after his rough skin was sanded, gayer hues would be applied to his sides of faded tar. Even then, the blackfish would present a ludicrous appearance without the services of an orthodontist to straighten his buckteeth. These shortcomings, however, haven't lowered the blackfish's popularity among the thousands who angle for him.

Go FISHING," said the doctor, leaning one elbow on his desk and pointing a finger at me. This was his answer to the rather plaintive appeal of a patient with a coronary artery disease (sclerosis) for some form of recreation and entertainment that wouldn't put him back in the hospital.

But I had never gone fishing in my life, and I always knew that I wasn't the kind of a guy who could sit for hours, or even half hours, in the same place and keep looking at the same scenery. Yet, here was a heart specialist, a leader in his special field, telling me to go fishing. Frankly, I felt let down.

"How come, Doctor?" I asked, "What's so good about fishing?"

LAST summer I visited an old fishing buddy in Newport News Virginia, and told him about the fun I'd been having spinning in salt water. "Think it would work around here?" he asked. "Public bass water is scarce in these parts now, and I'm about ready to try saltwater fishing."

"Sure it will work," I said. "The James River, the York River, the Back River, and Chesapeake Bay are supposed to have lots of fish, and if there are lots of fish, spinning is bound to get some of them."

"What about tackle?" he asked. "All I have is a fresh-water outfit."

"That's all you need," I assured him. "I don't have any salt-water spinning tackle either."

That afternoon we drove to a spot on the Back River where my bass fishing friend had arranged to borrow a skiff. We putted out to the channel, anchored and began casting bucktails. Fifteen minutes of casting did not produce a strike, but this didn't worry us, as we were not familiar with the water and realized that we'd have to seek out the fish.With this in mind, we pulled up the anchor and allowed the boat to drift with the tide as we continued casting. Suddenly my friend let out a whoop...