Tragic Fishing Moments 



place on Big Sand. My friend, Edgar Johnson 

 (long since dead but of blessed memory) and I 

 caught small mouth bass and muskies and, on the 

 side, made a trip to Alvoy creek for trout, and to 

 Smokey Lake for large bass. 



The rod I used on that occasion was an eight and 

 one-half ounce, eight foot split bamboo " Chubb." 

 The trip was planned for muskies, so the only hooks 

 we carried were No. 8 and No. 9 Skinner spoons. 

 Tiring of the muskies ( for it was a poor day when 

 we could not hook half a dozen of them at least) 

 we wanted a try at some of the big bass we could see 

 in the deep holes in Smokey Lake. I took the three- 

 hook gang off one of the spoons and broke off two of 

 the hooks, which, baited with part of a muskie's gullet, 

 was the lure with which we still-fished for bass. 



I happened to have along one-half dozen small flies 

 which we used for the trout. I believe a hook fastened 

 to a chip or a piece of bark would have been lure 

 enough for the bass they were that plentiful and 

 ravenous. My friend and I brought back two sixteen 

 pound muskies, twenty-four brook trout and three 

 small mouth bass that weighed seventeen pounds three 

 days after being caught. Some fishing! Say, boys, if 

 twenty-five years ago Wisconsin had had in force the 

 game and fish laws that now exist, her lake region 

 would have ben a fisherman's perpetual paradise. 



I have never knowingly taken an unfair advantage 

 86 



