For those who preferred still fishing, we had another system, which 

 worked equall}^ as well. A dozen tame ducks, each having a line attached 

 to one leg, would be j^laced in the water at some suitable point, and when 

 a fish seized the hook the duck would swim directly for the boat. Some- 

 times the struggle would be a severe one, but with the aid of the boatman 

 the duck could always be depended upon to win. Unfortunately, we never 

 obtained a patent on either process, and I expect it has been adopted by 

 many other hotel proprietors throughout the country. 



FISHING ON A FOG BANK. 



Mr. Frank B. Stevens, of Boston, referring to a peculiar incident in 

 his fishing career, said : My favorite branch of angling has been that of 

 sea fishing along the Massachusetts coast. Striped bass fishing and blue 

 fishing furnish excellent recreation for me. The heavy fogs have at times 

 interfered, to some extent, with my sport, especially when out a short dis- 

 tance at sea m a light skiff or sailing boat. However, I survived the dan- 

 gers of the sea, and in reality the greatest peril I ever encountered was 

 when surf fishing for striped bass and casting from the shore, my position 

 being upon a high ledge of rocks. The fog, which was almost impen- 

 etrable, had crept down gradually until I could scarcely see the curling 

 waves which dashed in against the rocks below my feet. 



I was perfectly familiar with the locality and continued the sport, but 

 as the fog grew more dense I shifted my position, drawing close to the 

 edge of the rocks, the ledge seeming to extend farther into the surf at this 

 point than I had formerly supposed. Working my way gradually for- 

 ward and keeping close to the extreme edge, I finally secured a strike, 

 and wa? playing my fish scientifically, when the sun shining through a 

 rift in the clouds began to dispel the dense fog. As the fog began to 

 disappear over the bay and roll inland, I was astonished and alarmed to 

 find that in my eagerness to keep close to the edge of the rocks overlook- 

 ing the surf, I had gone entirely beyond the rocky cliff and was standing 

 upon the edge of the fog bank nearly a hundred yards from shore. The 

 waves were rolling heavily over the rocks below, and it was only by the 

 greatest exertion that I scrambled back, managing to keep pace with the 

 receding fog bank until I i*eached the rocks again. I lost my fish, of 

 course, but was glajJ to escape with my life. 



