BlonllNG. THROUGH THE ICE. 
BOUT the middle of March, in Aroostook waters, the 
A trout in his darkened home beneath the thick ice, 
begins to frisk about and show a fresh appetite. A few can 
be caught at almost any time during the winter, by cutting 
holes through the ice over the quiet, deep places near the 
incoming streams, in the coves and at the inlets of the lakes, 
but they do not take the bait readily until spring. This is as 
it should be; they should be left in undisturbed quiet when 
they say to us so plainly: ‘* we are having a rest.” From the 
first of winter when the ice forms, until the lakes and streams 
are again opened by the warm rains and the sunshine, they 
are in poor condition from spawning, and feeding but little 
while lying upon the bottom, just under the mud and sedi- 
ment, where the water in winter 4s much the warmer, though 
in the summer quite the cooler. 
By cutting a hole through the ice in shoal, or even quite 
deep water, if it is clear, on a bright day, and kneeling down 
with eyes close to the water and your overcoat thrown over 
your head, the bright light excluded except a small ray at one 
place, then watching the bottom closely and keeping the bait 
