130 FISHING WITH THE FLY. 



saw us packing up and preparing to return once more 

 to civilized life and " the busy haunts of men." 



I am afraid to say how many trout we had at the 

 finish, but I know that we packed in ice more than 

 three hundred pounds weight to take home with us ; 

 and gave away, almost alive from the corral, nearly as 

 many more to the captain of the steamer, thereby call- 

 ing down upon our heads the earnest blessings of pas- 

 sengers and crew. 



I find, on looking over this MS. that I have forgotten 

 to say that we discovered several places along the chan- 

 nel edge of the island where most excellent trout-fish- 

 ing could be had from the shore ; and that, by the ad- 

 vice of local fishermen, my friends tried the " hearts " 

 of killed trout as bait, and found such very effective. 

 This " heart " is a piece of flesh which lies inside the 

 pointed part of the fish's belly which runs between the 

 gill covers. It looks much like a genuine heart, and 

 pulsates for several seconds after being removed from 

 the fish. I suppose that it is in fact a real heart. 

 Never once did this bait fail to attract a bite ; but, of 

 course, not many hearts could be obtained, as we ex- 

 tracted the delicate morsel only from such fish a$ were 

 required for immediate consumption. 



We finally bade farewell to our two weeks' elysium, 

 with sorrowful feelings, but before the lapse of twenty- 

 four hours, kind and loving thoughts of wives, little 

 ones, and home re-asserted themselves, and we landed 

 at Collingwood in jubilant spirits and vigorous health, 



