i88 LAKE AND STREAM GAME FISHING 



the water. Just then I changed seats with my part- 

 ner and the old rascal took advantage of me and 

 made a run with about fifty feet more of line, and 

 then straight down to the bottom, which is a mass of 

 weeds in Lake Mandaline. He rooted down under 

 what seemed to be a ton of weeds as I cleared them 

 off the line and worked him into the open water. I 

 had him within fifteen yards of the boat when he 

 made a leap of at least six feet up into the air and 

 shook himself like an angry bull-pup, making the 

 No. 7 Skinner spoon rattle like a telephone bell as it 

 pounded a tattoo on his teeth. 



" As I took in the slack he made jump after jump 

 out of the water and he darted and plunged in all 

 kinds of figures trying to snag the line. It was a 

 furious fight for nearly an hour before I could bring 

 him to gaff. My pard made an honest effort to gaff 

 the big fellow, but only succeeded in scraping his 

 side, which livened him up for a spurt that tore fifty 

 feet of line off my reel. I worked him alongside 

 again and with the rod in the left hand gave him the 

 gaff myself. 



" With one last effort for freedom he shook with 

 force enough to break the gaff hook, but he dropped 

 into the boat and I closed in on him for a little per- 

 sonal embrace. I caught this musky with a No. 7 

 Skinner spoon hook, a silk musky line and an old 

 Bristol rod, that is really a veteran, and a much older 

 and very dilapidated tournament casting reel." 



