338 Book of the Black Bass. 



made a good catch under peculiar circumstances. On this 

 occasion I was " frogging," as this lake at that time was 

 famous for the quantity and quality of its bull-fro^. 

 After spearing a " good mess " of greenbacks, I was stand- 

 ing on a sand-bar, which divides the lake into two parts 

 during low water, and was idly watching the waves rolling 

 up on the bar, which were being driven with great fury 

 by a strong south-west wind. I chanced to see several 

 black bass, evidently feeding in the surf; and I then be- 

 gan devising ways and means for their capture. 



Near by, was a water-logged boat, in which I saw a 

 tamarack pole, and, upon investigation, I found that there 

 was a short line and hook attached. My plans were soon 

 formed. I went to a small hole of water, that I had pre- 

 viously observed, which was left after the drying up of the 

 outlet of a marsh at the lower end of the lake, and in 

 which I had seen a great many small minnows, an inch or 

 two long. Dipping up a lot in my handkerchief, I took 

 it by the corners and proceeded along the shore, dipping 

 up water occasionally to keep the bait alive. On the bar 

 I scooped a hole in the sand for the bait, filled it with 

 water and went to fishing. The novelty of the situation, 

 and my curiosity as to the result of the experiment, quieted 

 my conscience and justified the employment of such prim- 

 itive measures. Baiting the hook, I waded into the surf 

 as far as I could with ordinary boots — for, being early in 

 the season, the water was quite cold — I was soon pulling 

 out the bass, and took in this manner, with a short pole 

 and six feet of line, fifteen splendid bass. 



In angling, it may be safely accepted as a truism, that 

 any wind is better than no wind ; a gale being better than 

 a perfectly still day, especially when the water is clear. 

 The reason for this is, that the surface of the water being 



