PLEASURES OF ANGLING. 



coveted. The best results are attainable in the 

 spring when the water is falling, and in the sum- 

 mer when it is rising. I have fished in vain in 

 August through a whole day, at the outlets of 

 favorite streams, where, after a rain, I have taken 

 trout in great numbers. A sharp summer shower, 

 by raising the brooks, brings down the feed from 

 the upper waters, and the trout, who know when 

 it rains as well as the angler, concentrate to gather 

 the harvest sent to them. He is fortunate who is 

 at hand to avail himself of such occasions. 



In all this region the ice usually disappears from 

 the lakes between the middle and close of April, 

 and I have sometimes started out on the first of 

 May to begin my spring's fishing. But this year 

 it was the 9th of May before the ice succumbed, 

 and the 15th found the snow still intact on the 

 shaded hill-sides and through all the valleys. It 

 was tedious waiting; but there is an end to all 

 things, even to a tardy spring and the chilling 

 relics of a long winter. 



As soon as the ice leaves, you may hope for suc- 

 cess in trolling. Lake-trout are a gamey fish, and 

 their capture affords exciting sport to those who 

 like it ; but it has always seemed to me monoton- 

 ous and unartistic. Given a proper length of line, 

 weight of sinker, strength of rod, and an intelli- 

 gent guide, an expert seems to have no advantage 

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