Fishing a New Scctiofi of the Gatineau Region 



35 



Mason's Lake — Fishing Fronn Shore. 



8 lbs. weight, in the waters of the Illi- 

 nois river, near Peoria, was recorded. 

 My companion was one of the two that 

 was in the boat, and manoeuvered to 

 keep the fish from the reeds and in 

 deep water. Finally he was captured, 

 and the Lotus club, of wh^'ch they were 

 members, had the fish set up as a 

 trophy, of which The Angler gave the 

 record. 



We changed our ground several 

 times during the afternoon, and secured 

 some very fine fish of from 2^^ lb. to 5 

 lb. each, and were fully satisfied with 

 our sport. 



Up to this time, during a long life of 

 fishing experiences, I had been regard- 

 less of fishing for any of the coarser 

 kinds of fish (except when deep-sea 

 fishing) ; on this occasion, however, I 

 was compelled to admit that the sport 

 given by a black bass of from 4 to 5 

 lbs., equalled that of a grilse or trout of 

 equal weight. 



Had they taken the fly, the sport 

 would have been much more enjoyable, 

 for the powerful fish gave sport worthy 

 of the keenest fisherman's skill in 

 capture. 



At the close of the afternoon we 

 were well satisfied with our sport, and 

 when Montcrief came to take charge of 

 the boat he was pleased to find we had 

 secured some good fish. 



The evening was passed very agree- 

 ably, our hosts doing everything to 

 make us comfortable. They have lived 

 here the greater part of their lives, and 

 had made a very pleasant home for 

 themselves in the wilderness, and their 

 farm was well stocked. 



Montcrief has given us a history of 

 the settlement of the country, and of 

 the settlers. The books scattered 

 around the sitting-room table tells of 

 John Knox and the Scottish worthies, 

 while old portraits tell us of their love 

 of country and of their kin, for they are 

 truly Scotch. 



Following in the wake of the lumber- 

 men, they have ever found a ready 

 market for all their produce, and have 

 realized the truth of the old song : 

 "There's health for honest labor," for 

 verily their doctor's bills are almost nil. 



In speaking of the difficulties of 

 travelling in the past, with the facili- 

 ties afforded at the present, I am re- 

 minded of an occurence that happened 

 some years ago, when the region was, 

 as it were, an undiscovered land. 



Some fifteen years ago two gentle- 

 men called at my office in Ottawa with 

 a letter of introduction from the late 

 Hon. D. Price, M. P. and Senator 

 from the Saguenay district. He had 

 commended them to my good offices 

 and had asked me to facilitate the ob- 

 ject of their visit, which was to hunt 

 and fish on the upper reaches of the 

 Ottaw^a and the Gatineau rivers. They 

 had been at the Little Saguenay salmon 

 fishing, and were wending their way up- 

 wards to Ottawa with the view to fur- 

 ther sport in fin, feather and fur be- 

 fore returning to their home on the 

 Hudson. 



I told them they could not have 

 sought for information from any one 

 less acquainted with the upper reaches 



