372 



Trout-Fishing in the Rangeley Lakes. 



CATCHING A FIVE-POUNDER. 



the operation, had in a large car at the mouth of Bema Stream over 

 two hundred of these famous trout weighing from one pound to six 

 pounds each, — a sight which could not be paralleled in any other 

 waters in the world. 



The camps at Bema look out over the broad expanse of the bay 

 which opens toward the north-west, and are very prettily situated. 

 The very remoteness of the camp secures its freedom from the visits 

 of miscellaneous tourists, while the beauty of its location and the 

 excellent fishing to be found in its immediate neighborhood amply 

 justify the wisdom shown in its selection by the gentlemen who con- 

 trol it. They and their immediate friends here enjoy a coveted 

 seclusion and keep clear of intruders by a lease of three miles of the 

 shore which covers the entire southern end of Bema Bay. Its posi- 

 tion, however, exposes the bay in its front to the north-west gales 

 which prevail to a greater or less extent through the whole season. 

 Those who are accustomed to wait for the traditional "fly breeze" 

 will receive with incredulity the statement that the largest trout have 

 been taken in these waters when a north-west gale was driving the 

 spray from the white-capped waves, and when the persevering 

 angler found a seat in the bottom of his boat the most comfortable 

 position from which to cast his fly, if, indeed, the fly can be said to 

 be "cast" when the wind carries the line so straight from the rod 

 that it is difficult to keep the fly on the surface of the water. Yet 

 the keen-eyed trout, at this very time, rushes the most unwarily 



