56 Union Bay 



fish without handicapping the fish when it is hooked. A light 

 rod, a clean cast, and a big bass on the line strikes me as top- 

 ping any other kind of sport." 



I pointed to a thermometer in his tackle box. "Do you 

 carry that for any special purpose?" 



"Yes, sir. It's no good at this time of year but it's my fish- 

 ing guide in cold weather. I've found out that you can't catch 

 smallmouth bass around here if the water temperature is 

 below forty-five degrees. If it gets below forty the bigmouths 

 quit, too. I figure they get kind of dormant in the colder 

 water and so I save myself lots of fooling around." 



"This is a swell boat." I said. "Local built?" 



"I built it in my back yard." 



"Your own design?" 



"Only in a way. I took what I thought were the best points 

 of two or three craft and combined them. This is the result." 



He told me how carefully he had selected his material, 

 how he had bought most of his fittings at surplus stores, and 

 if he found them too expensive had made them himself. He 

 had rebuilt a second-hand marine engine. The result of the 

 economies was a boat at half the price he would have had 

 to pay on the market. 



"I got my money back in less than two seasons," he said, 

 "from the savings in boat rental's and auto expenses, and on 

 ferry trips I used to take when I went after salmon. Now I 

 stay close to home, and by figuring the best kind of gear and 

 knowing just where to find the fish I make out all right. I got 

 this one just before I tied up to the boom." He showed me a 

 big-mouthed bass that would weigh about three pounds. 



The man interested me. The aptitudes he applied to his 

 fishing should tell me something about the nature of his 

 work. He was a strange combination, this man who had the 

 ability to overhaul an old engine, to make his own fittings, 

 and to design and build his boat. I had seen many good fish- 

 ermen, among them the best of dry-fly casters, but I had 



