THE PERCH OF STILL WATERS 251 



the boat's baler was brought into requisition for the 

 purpose, and ultimately the fry were turned alive into 

 a canful of water. 



I remember as if it were yesterday one such 

 morning in August, how, after catching the fry, we 

 returned to the yacht, made sail, and reached some 

 five miles up the lake to a wild, desolate bay. There 

 we anchored, and the men rowed me to a spot they 

 knew of by the side of a weed-bed, where we dropped 

 the killick-stone and came to an anchor. We fished 

 with two rods, the man and I, both using paternosters 

 with two No. 7 hooks which were quite large enough 

 for the delicate mouths of the bait. 



How the perch bit ! Before even our leads 

 touched the bottom we both had fish on ; and very 

 soon so plentiful were they that on hooking one we 

 purposely played it as deeply as possible until the 

 second bait was taken. Thus, more often than not, 

 we brought up a brace of perch at each reeling-in of 

 the line. 



The sport ended as suddenly as it had begun. 

 I think there was a change of wind, or some peculiar 

 atmospheric action which affected the fish. I re- 

 member having a curious feeling that something had 

 happened ; a noise had ceased that I had been hearing 

 some murmuring whisper of the lake had suddenly 



