FISHING IN MUSKOKA, ETC 251 



but immediately it is over he should be tightened 

 up again. The general theory is to give the 

 fish all the strain the tackle will bear at first, 

 and when this is done, in nine cases out of ten 

 the first ten seconds will decide his fate. 



The gaflF should be of good steel, and not 

 made with a screw, but with a long flattened 

 shank to tie on. There is a great deal in having 

 a good man to gaff". The sons of Van Doughnuts 

 are excellent gaffers and all-round fishermen. 



The great charm of fishing in the Muskoka 

 lakes consists in the many resources of sport 

 open to one. If the fish will not bite, we troll, 

 and though perhaps this may appear poor sport, 

 yet the novice will find a fish weighing 30 Ib. 

 with plenty of fight will test his skill with a 

 limber rod to the utmost. 



I cannot recall any instance of the lake fish 

 rising to artificial flies, but had we been here 

 some two months earlier we might have tested 

 them better. Green frogs and small fry are 

 eagerly taken by pickerel, bass, and maskinonge. 



In a general way the best attendants the angler 

 can have in Canada are the Indians. In the first 

 place, they know where fish lie, and, in the second 

 place, these people are all born sportsmen ; they 



