132 Sporting Sketches 



sionary work is peculiarly effective. Never a one of 

 them all be it bird, beast, or bug ever requires 

 a second course of his potent pedagogy. 



The man who knows his craft as he should thor- 

 oughly understands all these minor points. He 

 knows what the large and small mouth black bass 

 will take, and why, and when. He knows that the 

 fish seldom, if ever, feed freely before the sun has 

 got well above the trees, and that from about seven 

 o'clock till eleven is the best of the morning. Why 

 then the early start, do you say ? Oh ! well, it en- 

 ables one to dodge all work about the place, to enjoy 

 the best part of the day on the water, and to secure 

 certain requisite baits. Some half mile from the 

 starting-point the canoe halts, where a small stream 

 flows into the river. Here is a tiny bay, already 

 golden with sunlight, and a trifle up the stream is 

 much water-logged rubbish. A can and minnow- 

 tackle are produced, and, while the old dog goes 

 prowling after a possible woodcock, I take a dozen 

 plump shiners. The next move is for crayfish. These 

 are found under the sunken stuff, but the taking of 

 them is an art known only to the experienced. Frag- 

 ment after fragment of rotten wood is cautiously 

 raised and every now and then a " nipper " is exposed. 

 The hand steals toward a victim, which is deftly se- 

 cured. These lobsters of fresh water bite a bit, or nip, 

 or whatever their pinching process may be termed, 

 but they inflict no serious damage. Now and then 

 one takes hold along the soft side of a finger, but 

 rarely is the skin broken. A dozen are soon secured 

 and then the trip proper is resumed. 



I now have these baits, worms, minnows, and 



