Unquestionably the muskallonge is the hardiest fighter of 

 all inland lake fishes, for the muskallonge not only has seem- 

 ingly unlimited amount of courage, but also usually carries 

 plenty of poundage to aid him in his battles. Near cousin to 

 him in his qualities and size is the Northern pike, that other 

 larger member of the pike group, which often reaches a 

 weight of twenty-five pounds and has gameness enough to 

 test the skill of any angler. But the muskie and Northern 

 pike are not to be found in all lakes. When busy with her 

 scattering hand ages ago Nature seemed to choose certain 

 fixed localities for the implanting of these pirates of the lakes 

 and rivers and these fishes have not spread to any great de- 

 gree since. Many lakes of the Middle West are known as 

 muskallonge lakes, or Northern pike lakes, and as these 

 happen to be rather removed from the trails which the ordi- 

 nary fisherman follows, these fish are sought only by anglers 

 who make their capture a specialty. 



Trout Streams on the North Shore. 



Trout fishermen, too, are specialists, for although small 

 brook trout may be caught by almost any child in any one 

 of a thousand streams, the real prizes of the family are only 

 to be found in the streams of the north shore, .and are thus 

 far removed from the reach of the common, everyday angler. 

 Wall-eyes, sand pike and yellow perch abound in numerous 

 lakes and rivers, but these perches are not gamy in a fighting 

 way, and thus we must turn to the sunfish family for sport 

 of many variations and novel thrills. In this group we find 

 the many varieties of sunfishes, the crappie and calico bass, 

 and the rock bass, all easy of capture and furnishing a food 

 fit for any table. Then, as if Nature had meant to give the 

 lie to any who might consider the sunfishes unworthy of no- 

 tice from a fighting standpoint, come the small mouth and 

 large mouth bass, without a question the hardest battling 

 fishes of their size and poundage to be found. 



Why Bass Don't Bite Early. 



During the past few years early bass fishing has not been 

 particularly good. We had become accustomed to expect 



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