56 THROUGH CANADA 



have multiplied enormously in the park, and the 

 water lilies and other lake flora have suffered in 

 consequence. The lake is a gem, with rising slopes 

 of forest in the background ; and although it was 

 only August, precocious sugar-maple trees had 

 blazed into red here and there and anticipated the 

 glories of the Canadian autumn. 



We procured bait for our fishing expedition, close 

 in shore, where minnows and perch fry swarmed. 

 The trout in the lake are the grey species, which 

 during the hot weather take to the deep water and 

 can only be caught by trolling or still fishing from 

 an anchored boat. I used a trolling rod and reel 

 with a silk Hnc and gut trace. Towards the centre 

 of the lake the water is deepest, and as we fished up 

 and down it was satisfactory to have the calm placidity 

 of the surface agitated by the struggles of a trout 

 now and then, that had seized the bait and paid the 

 penalty by becoming fast hooked. I eschewed 

 heavy sinkers, and the movements of the fish were 

 not unduly hampered. 



The common method of catching them, judging 

 by what I saw, is by means of a solid copper wire, 

 which does not give the fish a chance of making a 

 fair fight, and from a scientific angling point of view, 

 I think, ought to be regarded as a reprehensible form 

 of tackle. The wire in question is usually lOO 

 yards long, and although thin, possesses consider- 

 able rigidity. A silk or hemp line yields to every 



