CROOKED LAKE. 31 



the more humidity there is in the atmosphere the better 

 fish take the bait. The moon unquestionably exercises 

 a great influence on the feeding habits of fish. As the 

 moon approaches its full fish display less inclination 

 to feed during the day, and as the moon wanes fish 

 will be found to give better sport to the angler. 



Through the warmer months fish will seize a bait 

 nearer the surface than duning the colder ones, and 

 after the first spell of chilly weather, generally about 

 the latter end of October or commencement of Novem- 

 ber, the bait must be sunk deeper in the water to en- 

 sure its being taken. 



No living thing is so susceptible to the immediate 

 influence of heat and cold as a fish. Change of tempera- 

 ture will at once influence its feeding humor. Fishes 

 are cold-blooded and it takes heat to stir them into 

 activity, whereas cold engenders torpidity and inaction 

 with less desire for food. 



One of the oldest and most familiar frequenters of 

 Crooked Lake is Cook County Commissioner James 

 Munn, who has taken probably more large catches 

 from its water than any other angler living. It was 

 while fishing Crooked and the surrounding lakes that 

 Mr. Munn first conceived the idea of the weedless 

 hook which now bears his name. I know that many 

 anglers have an antipathy to a weedless hook, on gen- 

 eral principles, but there is, unquestionably, excellent 

 fishing water in the lake region, teeming with large 

 fishes, which it would be impossible to fish without a 

 weedless hook; and my experience of the Munn 

 weedless is that it allows a man to make big catches 

 in such places which would be inaccessible to the 

 ordinary uuguarded hook- 



I had an aunt once, an Irish lady who by some means 

 or another had slipped into our family before I was 

 born. Her name was Fatima O'Dowd, a jovial, dear, 

 good-humored old lady, possessing a rich brogue and an 

 extensive unentailed estate in North Donegal. With- 

 out intentional disrespect, we boys and, in fact, all the 

 3 



