10 



pound bass, not counting other fish and small bass 

 which I tossed back. I used one of Chubb' s 

 ordinary silk trolling lines and one of Abbey's 

 spoons, which, by the way, to my fancy spin more 

 freely and better than any others I have used. This 

 I worked sometimes from a small bark canoe and 

 sometimes from a wooden one, which I keep at the 

 farm, and use to paddle up and down the stream 

 between the willows and the bridge, or upon the 

 lake itself. 



Many men prefer a boat and oars, but I find a 

 ligh t canoe infinitely preferable. The double paddle 

 makes less splash than the oars, and if one can 

 use the Canadian single blade, it does not make 

 any noise at all. Added to this it is easier man- 

 aged, one sees where one is going, and it can be 

 lifted with one hand from stream to lake, and lake 

 to stream. 



The fish under the bridge are very tempting, 

 but also very wary, and the residents say they 

 are but seldom caught from' the bridge itself. One 

 day I cast a yellow-body fly, (a clumsy affair, 

 but the best I had, having lost my fly book on the 

 cars) and as it fell on the water I let it drift under 

 the bridge, more in carelessness than by intent, 

 and as it reached the rich bank of green weeds out 

 of my sight, I felt the tug and magnetic vibration 

 that every angler knows so well. Quick as a flash 

 I dropped from the bridge to the bank, ran knee 

 deep into the stream, and fighting the fish clear of 

 the structure and reeds, landed a three-pound five- 



