ioo Sporting Sketches 



lick one of us but come to think of it, there was 

 no provision in our by-laws for the impossible ! 

 When we took him fishing, he presently was con- 

 vinced that what he knew about trout wasn't a cir- 

 cumstance to what we knew about fish. 



And such fish as they were! Strings upon 

 strings of captives large and small, tied here, lugged 

 kicking there, by happy, sun-browned, bare-footed 

 boys, who found no weariness in miles of wading, 

 perching, prying along the banks stealing marches 

 on each other, using every resource of knowledge 

 and ready adaptability in order to finish " high hook " 

 at the close of the day. The boys were no minnow 

 fishers, and few indeed were the blank days. Fine 

 fish, up to five pounds in weight, rewarded the 

 youthful toilers ; indeed, not seldom a few plump 

 bass stopped awkward questions concerning truancy 

 and saved certain jackets from vigorous dustings. 



As a course before the fish, two forms of life may 

 be discussed. Both were very interesting, the one 

 as bait, the other as an unfathomable mystery. The 

 bait was the crayfish, the miniature lobster of fresh 

 water. Abundant in shallow water near the banks, 

 in creeks, ditches, and certain bush-ponds, the cray- 

 fish, at times, is deadly bait for the basses and a 

 few other species. The boys preferred crayfish of 

 medium size, and instead of spitting them crosswise 

 upon the hook, as is commonly done, they forced 

 the hook in at the mouth and out through the tail. 

 So hooked, and allowed to sink quickly, the bait 

 gives an irresistible imitation of the live crayfish's 

 backward, wavering rush to shelter.-. 



The best thing for securing such agile bait is a 



