CONDITIONS WHICH GOVERN THE BITING OF FISH. 367 



tamarack pole, and, upon investigation, I found that there 

 was a short line and hook attached. My plans were soon 

 formed. I went to a small hole of water, that I had pre- 

 viously observed, which was left after the drying up of the 

 outlet of a marsh at the lower end of the lake, and in 

 which I had seen a great many small minnows, an inch or 

 two long. Dipping up a lot in my handkerchief, I took 

 it by the corners and proceeded along the shore, dipping 

 up water occasionally to keep the bait alive. On the bar 

 I scooped a hole in the sand for the bait, filled it with 

 water and went to fishing. The novelty of the situation, 

 and my curiosity as to the result of the experiment, quieted 

 my conscience and justified the employment of such prim- 

 itive measures. Baiting the hook, I waded into the surf 

 as far as I could with ordinary boots for, being early in 

 the season,, the water was quite cold I was soon pulling 

 out the Bass, and took in this manner, with a short pole 

 and six feet of line, fifteen splendid Bass. 



In angling, it may be safely accepted as a truism, that 

 any wind is better t^an no wind ; a gale being better than 

 a perfectly still day, especially when the water is clear. 

 The reason for this is, that the surface of the water being 

 agitated and ruffled by the breeze, the fish are not so apt 

 to see the angler. 



An east wind is popularly regarded as an unfavorable 

 wind for fishing, but it is not necessarily so. The opinion 

 is of English origin, for in the humid climate of Great 

 Britain an east wind is exceedingly raw, chilly, and disa- 

 greeable, and is held to be productive of all manner of 

 evils, being particularly dreaded by sufferers from rheuma- 

 tism, neuralgia, or gout. The anglers of England, of 

 course, share in this common detestation of an east wind, 



