584 
wish to disturb the arrangement. But to 
those who like to bring home a good 
showing of the slender beauties it is ex- 
tremely important that the skating should 
not be done in the vicinity of the holes, 
if the ice is less than four inches thick. 
There can be no doubt that the oscillation 
of the ice fabric communicates these 
vibrations locally to the water and, as any 
fisherman knows, fish are more susceptible 
to disturbance of their native element than 
they are to either sight or sound. Better 
catches will be made if quiet is main- 
tained above, and the fact that large 
strings have been taken under the condi- 
tions criticised is no proof that still better 
ones would not have been made had the 
situation been as we recommend. 
But this, while absorbing sport and 
healthful outdoor diversion, is poor sub- 
stitute for the lithe rod and the sensitive 
reel. Now the man of restricted means 
must perforce content himself with recol- 
lection and repairing of tackle. 
Texas, Florida and California offer 
some very good sea-fishing in winter. 
Those who are fortunate enough to be 
among the palms in sunshine instead of 
the pines in frost may revel in sport royal. 
In the South, about the tan-tinted beaches 
and bleached keys, the broad-beamed yawl 
may be the scene of terrific warfare with 
that leviathan, the Florida jewfish. This 
is not a sport to be approached by the 
angling novice; there are features to a 
four-hours’ scrimmage with a desperate 
300-weight of crazed marine life that can- 
not be advised as a first lesson in oceanic 
angling. 
A snapping breeze in an open catboat, 
or sloop, ricochetting from wave-top to 
wave-top, with the lusty kingfish rising 
to the trolling squid with a swirl and 
vortex of foam, brings blood to the cheeks 
and a new light to the eye! Did you 
ever couple up to a big 20-pounder that 
felt fine and dandy—while the old boat 
was scooting along at nfteen knots? No! 
That ’ll make you sit up and take notice 
if it ever occurs, and don’t make any 
miscalculation ypon that.’ 
Westward Ho! we find the schools of 
albicore in a mood for cutting up. They 
delight in hazing the tenderfoot, as all 
good Westerners do, and these crafty 
mackerels behave as though they knew his 
RECREATION 
penchant for the “simple life’ and had 
determined to worry him beyond endur- 
ance. After a whirlwind half-hour, the 
albicore (Germo alalunga) will suddenly 
cease movement. Here the callow novice 
seeing the golden opportunity come at last, 
throws all his weight into that awful 
heave on the strained rod. Sefior Albi- 
core simultaneously starts off for parts 
unknown as though someone was after 
him with a warrant. Result—well, you 
know the result! Ye gods and petits 
poissons, wouldn’t that make you boil! 
Never mind, square up with the boatman 
for the ruined tackle like a good fellow 
and paste the experience away in your 
mental scrapbook. 

Something That Will Interest You 
Not so very long ago we were asked 
this question, which upon reflection ap- 
pears more complex than at first reading: 
“Which is the more important feature in 
the construction of the artificial fly, the 
coloring or the shape?” 
Now this looks rather a simple, guile- 
less query, but after a little thought you 
may find yourself in a snarl. We are not 
as infallible as the Oracle at Delphos, nor 
as uncommunicative as Napoleon found 
the Sphynx, yet we feel that our readers 
should have some very interesting opin- 
ions upon this subject. Accordingly we 
“lay it before the House” and you are 
invited to submit your respective views, 
limiting letters to 400 words. The most 
rational, clearest statement wins RECREA- 
TION for a year to any address. The lists 
will close January 10, the subject to be 
discussed in our March issue. What do 
you think about it? Do you rely on a 
lucky blend of tinting or upon a life-like 
image of the flickering insect? 

In our coming issue we purpose having 
a plain talk on the anatomy of fishes, in an 
entirely unscientific way, yet adhering 
strictly to the physiological truths. We 
think that fishermen as a class should 
know more about the internal economy 
and general makeup of the handsome 
creatures that give them so many hours 
of delight, and our aim will be to present 
the matter briefly and in a style that will 
find ready understanding. 
