86 



RECREATION. 



pull at his head, and avoid a tug-of- 

 war which would have resulted in a di- 

 vision of the tackle. Forward and back 

 he flashed, with changes that were 

 almost too complicated for human in- 

 genuity to understand, apparently get- 

 ting fresher and madder every minute. 

 Inch by inch the reserved line van- 

 ished from my reel, and I was waist 

 deep in the water. Suddenly he dashed 

 straight down the stream and I can 

 safely say I made the first hundred 

 yards in less than 12 seconds. My 

 crippled rod curled and twisted until I 

 could hardly hold it, as I crowded on 

 the brake, for the last few feet of line 

 were rapidly slipping off the reel. 1 

 held his head high and kept him close 



to the shore so he could not have the 

 help of the swift water. 



A little below me the creek turned 

 sharply, and it was evident the bass 

 was either unacquainted with the place 

 or too excited to notice it, for instead 

 of making the turn he shot clear out on 

 the sloping gravel and flopped over 

 into a pool of stagnant water, stranded 

 high and wet. 



A madder fish I never saw. He was 

 so mad and full of fight that I had to 

 rap him on the head to keep him from 

 flopping himself to pieces and destroy- 

 ing his beauty. That evening I weighed 

 him in the village grocery amid a 

 crowd of admiring spectators. He 

 tipped the beam at jy 2 pounds. 



AMATEUR PHOTO BY E. E. C. GIBBS. 



CURIOSITY. 



Made with an Eastman Kodak a-nd a Bausch & Lomb Lens. 



