172 Bass, Pike, and Perch 



perch from Genesee Lake was a handsome sight, 

 and the fish were unusually sweet and savory. 

 During the winter the residents catch yellow- 

 perch through holes cut in the ice in great num- 

 bers, in all of the lakes mentioned. It was here 

 that I devised my " Oconomowoc " bass fly with 

 creamy yellow body, hackle of hairs of deer's tail, 

 cinnamon (woodcock) wings, and tail of ginger; 

 but for the perch of Genesee I found that with 

 a tail of scarlet wool it was more effective. 

 Many a two-pound perch responded to that lure, 

 in days long gone, and as Thoreau says, " It is a 

 true fish, such as the angler loves to put into 

 his basket or hang on top of his willow twig on 

 shady afternoons," 



