THE MASCALONGE 



which may be fastened a green frog by the nose. 

 This is generally held well in the stern of the boat, 

 which is being rowed at about two to three miles 

 an hour. Pay out twenty yards of the line, and, 

 with your finger on the reel, troll slowly down the 

 deeper part of the river or lake. When the fish 

 first bites, there is very little action ; he seems to 

 take the bait as a surprise, and, for a moment or 

 two, follows peacefully in the wake of the boat, at 

 which time a sudden jerk will fasten the hooks 

 firmly in his jaws. Then be prepared for his first 

 rush', which, if he be a good-sized fish, will be sud- 

 den and very trying to the nerves of a novice. 



Before he stops, he may take away a hundred 

 yards of your line, when he will suddenly turn and 

 double himself, making for the boat with all the 

 speed he formerly employed in getting away from 

 it. Here the skill of the oarsman comes in. The 

 moment the line is seen to be approaching the 

 boat, and while the fisherman keeps it as taut as 

 possible by reeling the slack up rapidly, the oars- 

 man should row away from the fish as fast as he 

 can, taking care not to get into shallow water, or 

 near any sunken logs, trees, or driftwood, as one of 

 the favorite efforts of the fish is to get the line 

 wound up in the branches of some drifting tree, or 

 something at the bottom of the water. 

 35 



