20 FOURTH OR MILTIMORE LAKE. 



dense to afford to fishes cover and secrecy, without 

 seriously impeding their movements." 



That bane of the angler the dogfish will be met 

 with pretty frequently in Fourth Lake. How annoying 

 it is to have one's hopes raised by an unusually heavy 

 strike, followed by a period of hard play, only to have 

 the supposed big bass turn out an enormous dogfish. 

 Speaking of dogfish reminds me of the first dogfish I 

 ever captured, many, many years ago. 



It was on the Little Calumet River a little below 

 Miller's, and a momentous trip it was for me, being the 

 first time I had ever gone fishing in downright earnest, 

 and I knew very little about it. My tackle consisted 

 of ^ light rod, fine casting line, and small Limerick 

 hook, baited with a bunch of juicy squirming worms. 

 I had hardly cast my line into the water before I ex- 

 perienced such a determined, regular come-along, busi- 

 ness-like pull as to make me wonder what the dickens 

 had happened. I became dimly aware of hooking 

 something, but what it Avas couldn't give the slightest 

 guess. Then commenced a full fifteen minutes' strong 

 battle between something which, while resisting all 

 my efforts to raise it from the bottom, made a cease- 

 less, steady detour of the deep pool before me. At the 

 expiration of this period of time it evidently thought 

 a little rest would be acceptable, for without further 

 ado it quietly rested upon the bottom, and the utmost 

 tension I desired to exert with my light tackle failed 

 to shift it in the slightest, so I placed the rod upon the 

 ground, and after a little search found a snake-rail 

 fence; from this I took a rail about thirty-five feet long, 

 and succeeded in reaching sufficiently far into the 

 water to dislodge my captive and send him careering 

 around the pool again. After a short period he rested 

 again, and again I prodded him into action with the 

 rail. For about four hours this circus went on; it was 

 fifteen minutes' action and five minutes for recreation, 

 alternately, until I began to wonder whether such a 



