274 FISHING WITH THE FLY, 



during some future contest, when a trifle will turn the 

 scales ; reels are taken apart and carefully oiled ; rods 

 sent to the maker for a new coat of varnish, and, per- 

 haps, a few new whippings for the guide rings ; fishing 

 shoes, although they have a row of holes just above 

 the soles, get an extra dressing of oil to keep the 

 leather soft ; and an inventory of the wardrobe is taken 

 and old garments are selected that appear for the time, 

 considering the use they are to serve, far more faultless 

 than when first sent home by the tailor. "About 

 these days " your business letters, if written to people 

 into whose souls the love of angling has entered, may 

 terminate as follows : 



"P. S. — What are the prospects for the spring fish- 

 ing in your neighborhood ? Did the late freshets of 

 last fall destroy the trout eggs deposited in the streams 

 about you?" or, "Did the unusual severity of the 

 winter cause destruction to the trout spawn in the 

 headwaters of your brooks ? " 



Some evening when the " fever is on " you will write 

 to a guide up in the North Woods, some honest, faith- 

 ful fellow that you have known in all weathers for 

 many seasons : 



"Be sure and take a boat over to Mahogany Pond, 

 (that is not the name of it, for its title is taken from a 

 domestic wood that grows on its shores), before the 

 snow goes off and keep me informed as to the condition 

 of things, for I wish to start and be with you as soon as 

 the water is free from ice. I shall bring a friend with 



