238 A SPORTING PARADISE 



so protracted ; but I wouldn't be afraid of 

 the largest veteran in the lake, and all fishermen 

 who aim for sport will assuredly troll with 

 the rod. 



" Our time was limited, far too short, and, in 

 a word, a day and a half on Crane Lake gave us, 

 without counting bass, ten maskinonge, whose 

 weight aggregated 1 10 Ibs. (on the scales), an 

 average weight of 1 1 Ibs. per fish." 



The lower reaches of these two famous lakes 

 can be travelled via Lake Muskoka and Bala. 

 The route lies along the Moon River, where 

 maskinonge are said to be the heaviest in Canada, 

 and it is true some monsters have been hooked 

 there. I once travelled alone in mid-winter from 

 Bala to Georgian Bay, spending one night in an 

 old lumber shanty, and another in an Indian 

 wigwam. The travelling then was good, and 

 my Indian pony carried me swiftly over the deep 

 frozen snow. The wolves rather alarmed me at 

 night, but otherwise my trip was without much 

 danger. 



We spent the latter portion of our sojourn 

 on Blackstone Lake with the Van Doughnuts 

 (as we call them). Van Doughnuts is one of the 

 keenest sportsmen I have ever met, and this 



