FROM STRIKE TO GAFF 195 



hour's liberty, the line was located and the old pike 

 successfully landed. Bill Kuss of Chicago who lost 

 and found this rascal tells the story in this way : 



" Early in July, while making the rounds of some 

 of our smaller lakes just northwest of Chicago, I 

 stopped at Wooster Lake, one mile directly west of 

 Long Lake station. 



' There was a thick layer of * shredded wheat ' 

 moss running about 300 yards from the shore into 

 the lake, and just outside of this moss the water was 

 quite deep, about thirty feet. As there was no wind 

 I had no trouble in finding out at once that there 

 was a slight current, and, in fact, this entire end of 

 the lake was moving. 



" I had confidence in this moving water, although 

 it was terribly muddy, and within half an hour I 

 landed three fair sized bass and had a number of 

 ' strikes.' Then I got a ' strike ' that for a moment 

 took my breath away. I set my hook deep into that 

 fellow and he started off like a shot straight for the 

 moss bank. My thirty-three yards of No. 6 was 

 nearly all out when he struck and there was only a 

 little left to hold him with, but it didn't seem to make 

 any difference, for there was no holding him in, as 

 he kept on going. 



LINE SNAPS PIKE HEADS TO WEEDS 



* Yes, the line snapped at the reel. There being 

 no wind and the water as smooth as glass I could 



