WISE TKOUT BELOW THE DAM. 



181 



CHAPTER m. 



MIDDLE DAM CAMP. 



THIS camp is situated at the head of Rapid River, and at 

 the foot of Mollychunkemunk Lake, being the next lake east 

 of the Umbagog, in a chain of a dozen lakes, in the State of 

 Maine, which head near the mountains separating that state 

 from Canada. Rapid River falls into Umbagog Lake, and as 

 this is a famous trouting region, I give a view of the camp, 

 where the angler luxuriates on brook trout and spruce par- 

 tridges, and rests from his day's labor on a spring-bed. Trout 

 of nine pounds' weight each have been taken there, though I 

 never took one which scaled much over six pounds. It was 

 here that I met a new experience in the character of trout, 

 and think it worth relating for the benefit of anglers. 



While I believe that trout are not generally so discrimin- 

 ating in the selection of artificial flies as to evince acuteness 

 of vision, yet I have experienced that at certain waters, when 

 the streams are low and clear, a copy of the living fly is more 



