THE LAKE TROUT. 26l 



stant excitement of the chase. Back and forth, "down the 

 middle and back again," we "chassez-ed" and "allez-ed," the 

 yacht meantime becoming infected with the spirit of the 

 chase, and fishing across our tracks, the cook, even, having 

 "rigged a cast" of a big hook adorned with a bit of red flan- 

 nel, which proved quite sui^ciently "taking." The others 

 were disposed at first to laugh at my eight-ounce rod and 

 light line, and to assert that they would have "more fun" 

 than I; but after they had seen the process of "playing" a 

 fish, and bringing him to gafi, they concluded that although 

 I might not catch quite so many, I was having my full share 

 of sport. The "midshipmite" was most successful in qiiaiitity, 

 but as afterward in our hours of ease, he was heard slangily 

 to asseverate that "there were no flies on" the Marquette 

 girls, we concluded that his taking ways proved him a "spoon" 

 of the first water. In the matter of quality I felt myself 

 abundantly satisfied. The biggest fish of the trip fell to my 

 rod — a rousing i8-pounder, which met me with the veritable 

 "laker" tactics, sounding at once, and playing low as long as 

 he had any fight in him. I should think that it took me 

 about fifteen minutes to bring him to gaff, up to which he 

 was led without trouble. My other noteworthy fish scaled 

 eleven, thirteen and one-half, fifteen and sixteen pounds, 

 and there were a number that ranged in weight from nine 

 down to two and one-half pounds. Our total catch for the 

 evening and the morning was 151 fish, weighing in all 550 

 pounds. We quit the sport at 1 1 o'clock so as to make sail 

 and reach Marquette if possible before night-fall. I may 

 remark in passing that the uncertainty of a yachtsman's life 

 was shown in that unfulfilled expectation. The wind died 

 away, the threatening clouds came up, and we sailed igno- 

 miniously into the harbor the next morning in the midst of a 

 dense and driving mist — forty-five miles in twenty hours! 

 It might have been worse, but for that invaluable "main 

 brace" and its exacting condition. 



