Fly-Fishing among the Ice-Cakes 



WHILE the T.B.M. is still enjoying musical 

 comedy, dinner-parties, bridge and billiards as 

 his chief recreations, and long before he dare 

 to seriously overhaul his fishing tackle in the presence of 

 his jeering family, the sport of fly-fishing for salmon is 

 well under way on the Medway River in Queen's 

 County, Nova Scotia. 



The season opens February ist. Its advent is often 

 celebrated by cold, snowy, blustery weather. Upon 

 such days the salmon are unmolested. The first quiet, 

 sunny day following, however, a few of the old-timers 

 limber up their fourteen-foot rods and drop a fly in any 

 running water that King Frost has overlooked. The 

 first salmon are usually shipped to Boston or Halifax, 

 where they claim their rightful place at some kingly 

 banquet. The early fishermen are nothing if not thrifty. 

 A fifteen-pound salmon at seventy-five cents a pound — 

 well, you can figure it for yourself. 



The tackle used for this winter fishing must be strong 

 and tough. A winter salmon will weigh anywhere from 

 nine to twenty pounds. They are in perfect condition, 

 and are as resilient as tempered steel and resolute as a 

 bull terrier. After being hooked they will often dart 

 under the ice, and the line will have to stand not only 

 punishing strain, but chafing on the edge of the floes. 

 The fishing is usually done in a current of from three to 

 seven miles an hour. Many a salmon breaks away with 

 the help of a floating ice-cake. The line is often glazed 



20I 



