3 86 



RECREA TION. 



to shoot fish in the water from the guides 

 at Spider lake. 



Monday and Tuesday we killed a few 

 ducks, but no fish. Wednesday, my broth- 

 ers proposed to give us some unusual sport 

 in muskalonge fishing, in an unnamed lake 

 which they knew of. 



We reached the lake after 6 miles and 6 

 hours of tugging, pulling and pushing the 

 boats. At the camping ground we found 

 written on a log, the statement that 4 men 

 from Chicago had, in 2^2 hours, caught 75 

 pounds of muskalonge. 



Johnson, Smith and I started out imme- 

 diately, it being about 6 o'clock, and in 

 one hour took 7 fish, averaging 8 pounds 

 each. 



The lake covers 2 square miles, and is en- 

 tirely filled with wild rice, except about 10 

 acres in the center. That place seemed 

 fairly alive with muskalonge. 



I rowed while J. and S. cast from either 

 end of the boat. Johnson had hardly 

 hooked a fish before Smith had one on his 

 spoon. 



The wind was blowing hard, and it was 

 difficult to manage the boat and shoot the 

 fish at the same time; but our first experi- 

 ence on " Lice " lake, as the Indians call it, 

 was a complete success. The other boys on 

 shore shot a few mallards. 



Thursday morning, we caught 6 more 

 fish, before breakfast. After breakfast my 

 brother Earl agreed to row me around. I 

 took a split bamboo rod, fine silk line, and 

 No. 7 Skinner spoon. For an hour we had 

 no luck; then it clouded over, and the fish 

 began to strike. 



The first was hungry and jumped 2 feet 

 out of the water as he shot by the hook. 

 The second attempt was more successful, 

 and I soon had him in the boat. We caught 

 another dozen, and then quit, as we were 

 20 miles from the railroad, and wished to 

 take our catch home in good condition. 



We took in all 25 out of this lake, aver- 

 aging 10 pounds in weight; and more sav- 

 age and gamy fish never swam. 



They lay near weeds o- lily-pads growing 

 out of the water, watching for anything 

 smaller than themselves. Mr. Johnson 

 caught one that had swallowed a 1V2 pound 

 sucker. 



In casting from the boat, I would some- 

 times strike so near a lily-pad as to think I 

 was going to get caught in it, I would give 

 my spoon a quick jerk, as it struck the 

 water, and before it jumped from it again, 

 have a 10 or 12 pounder break the water 

 with the hook in his mouth. 



My record with the trout was 5 fish out 

 of 9 strikes in the last dozen we caught. 

 The 4 I lost were more than the other boys 

 lost out of 20 strikes. 



Unless a muskalonge has the spoon well 

 in its mouth, it is hard to hook it deep with 

 a light rod, as the outer rim of the mouth 

 is very hard. 



I never expect to find muskalonge in bet- 

 ter humor. They had shed their summer 

 teeth, and had their appetites with them. 



My brothers remained at camp about a 

 month after I left, and visited the lake 

 again. They wrote me that in 2 hours they 

 caught 7 fish weighing over 50 pounds. 



AS TO WHITE BASS. 



Waunakee, Wis. 



Editor Recreation: I am a reader and 

 great admirer of Recreation. Occasion- 

 ally I find cause for audible smiles in the 

 theories advanced by parlor sportsmen. 



Mr. C. C. Haskins, in the February num- 

 ber, gives some pronounced ideas concern- 

 ing white bass fishing. He, unconsciously 

 perhaps, but none the less emphatically, 

 brands himself " a swine " when he says " I 

 never caught a white bass, except during a 

 limited time, in the spring. . . ." If the 

 gentleman will discard his love of plunder 

 and try to cultivate a little genuine sports- 

 man's enthusiasm, his ignorance concern- 

 ing the white bass will become apparent 

 even to himself. I assert, on the strength 

 of experience, that white bass can be taken 

 during the entire season, in Wisconsin 

 lakes, with rod and reel. I have frequently 

 caught as many as 12, together with from 2 

 to 5 black and yellow bass, in an afternoon's 

 fishing in Lake Mendota, during August 

 and September. That catch ought to sat- 

 isfy any one but a hog. It is true the white 

 bass does not often make much of a fight; 

 but during the latter part of the season the 

 angler will hook one now and then that 

 will keep him as deeply interested as the 

 average yellow bass, the gamiest fish of our 

 lakes. 



I am pleased at the way you roast " game 

 hogs." This class of butchers have made 

 it next to impossible to find any shooting 

 in this locality. It is just possible that a 

 sufficient amount of roasting will induce a 

 sense of shame strong enough to overcome 

 the hoggish proclivities of this class, and re- 

 sult in their conversion. Keep at 'em. 



C. R. Marks. 



FOOLING FISHHAWKS. 



Around Seely's lake, on the Clearwater 

 river in Montana, fishhawks were numer- 

 ous. One day I made a wooden trout, or 

 as good an imitation of one as I could con- 

 trive. I anchored it just under the surface 

 of the water, in a cove where the hawks 

 were accustomed to fish. The first to come 

 along was, from his size and color, an old 

 timer. He hovered over the wooden fish a 

 few seconds, and then went for it. His aim 

 was good, and he struck the mark so hard 

 it stunned him. He lay fully a minute on 

 the water before trying to rise; and even 

 then had to make several attempts before 

 he could get up. 



