There is a fisherman's rule, I 

 believe, that for a ame fish, an 

 ounce of tackle to a pound of fish 

 is fair sport. I had caught my first 

 game fish with less than half of this 

 allowance. Nearly eighteen pounds 

 of muscalonge and exceedingly lively 

 weight at that, with an eight- ounce 

 rod and very light hooks and eyes 

 I mean the gloriosa, suprema, none- 

 such adjuncts. 



And behold now the wonder: I 

 seemed to hold the Open Sesame and 

 the fish fairly begged to be caught. 

 A fourteen * pounder ' was added 

 in another hour's work, and a care- 

 less twelve- pound muscalonge got 

 on the hook before I could get home. 

 We put it back none the worse, as we 

 had enough food for camp use and 

 no wish to be called by a little name 

 of three letters that begins with h 

 and ends with g. 



In this wise did I learn the angler's 

 secret, and to faintly appreciate how 

 one might become enthralled with 

 the piscatorial symphony; and freed 

 from a self-appointed obligation, once 

 more returned to me the beauty of 

 an autumn evening. Again the 



