ONE OF THE THIRTEEN. 



Flat Iron pond. We pulled the canoe safe 

 on shore and a short walk over a carry of 

 about half a mile brought us to the pond, 

 which is appropriately named on account 

 of its resemblance in shape to a common 

 flatiron. 



We boarded a little canoe which my 

 guide had at some previous time carefully 

 stowed away behind some thick balsams, 

 and moved slowly through the lily pads 

 toward the middle of the lake. Fuller cau- 

 tioned me not to risk making a cast until 

 we cleared the lilies, as I would be sure to 

 get a strike and have my line, leader and 

 flies tangled up as they never were before. 

 The prospect of surely getting a strike 

 made it impossible for me to resist, and 

 besides my pride of skill in handling a rod 

 would not let me admit any trout could 

 tangle me up in lily pads, were they ever 

 so thick. Seeing a little opening ahead I 

 told Fuller to lay to and I would s«how him 

 how a York State angler could cast. I 



had on my line a 6-foot leader and 3 dingy 

 colored flies that were made by my guide 

 for use in that particular pond. They had 

 no sooner struck the water than as if by 

 magic it seemed alive with trout, all' dart- 

 ing in the direction of my luring bait, leav- 

 ing arrow-like wakes behind. If you have 

 ever seen fish being fed in a hatchery, mak- 

 ing the water boil with their silvery fins 

 in their endeavors to see which can get 

 his breakfast first, you can form some idea 

 of what I saw at Flat Iron pond. The rav- 

 enous rascals rushed in from every side, 

 making the lily pads wave with their 

 wakes. In an instant I was pulling and 

 tugging, with my 6-ounce rod bent almost 

 double, tryim? to land not one or 2, but 

 3 at once. One I had hooked in the side 

 fin. With the assistance of the other 2 he 

 had my line so snarled and tangled about 

 the lower lily stalks that I was completely 

 unnerved. Not only was my line rendered 

 useless through the excitement, but to my 



26 



