CASTING FOR BASS BY MOONLIGHT 



463 





is trying very hard to get to that log, 

 but he is nearly done for and you gent- 

 ly reel him toward the eanoe. 



In the meantime, Bert has hooked a 

 small one and in trying to get them 

 both into the landing net at one time, 

 Percy lets your six-pounder (for he 

 certainly did weigh that, now that he is 

 gone), get away and lands the other, 

 which weighs scarcely a pound and 

 must be returned to the water. So, as 

 yet, we have no fish, but you arc happy, 

 for did you not get the first strike? 

 Down in the bottom of your heart you 

 are glad he got away and is under his 

 favorite log, where he will not come 

 out for a day at least. Maybe some- 

 time next month, when the moon is full, 

 you can hook him again if you can per- 

 suade Bert not to catch one at the same 

 time. Percy may be able to get him 

 in the landing net if he has only one 

 to handle. 



Now, this place is not very good, as 

 it is too open, so we paddle over to those 

 lily pads. Just beyond that old stump 

 is a big fellow looking for something 

 to swallow. That cast starts out nicely 

 when bang ! goes your bait directly 

 over him into the water and, of course, 

 out into the deep' he goes. Do you ex- 

 pect to get anything when you slam 

 around like that? Don't be so eager 

 next time to get your bait out and don't 

 act as if you intended to throw it over 

 into the field on the other side of the 

 woods. You will never gain anything 

 by trying to make long casts, for you 

 never make a long one when you in- 

 tend to. 



We make a dozen or so casts in this 

 cove, but fail to raise anything, so we 

 decide to go around the point and land 

 so that I can get in the stern and let 

 Percy cast awhile. Why do we land? 

 Well a sixteen foot canoe is not a very 

 nice affair in which to crawl over, un- 

 der or around each other, so we will 

 be on the safe side and go ashore. It 

 will give us a chance to stretch our 

 legs a little and eat a bite. You should 

 never go fishing at night unless you 

 take something along with which to 



satisfy the inner man, for the night air 

 seems to give you a better appetite 

 than any other. After filling pipes we 

 start out again. You should smoke on 

 this occasion if you do not at any other 

 time. It serves to keep the mosquitoes 

 away, if nothing else. 



Now we are coming to the best fish- 

 ing ground on the lake, so prepare for 

 business. I lost a big one right on this 

 very spot last month, one of the real 

 big ones. Over by that old stub seems 

 like a good place for the big fellow 

 that I lost. 



That's luck, you have a strike at any 

 rate. I believe he is a good one, for, 

 did you see how easy he took the bait? 

 A pounder makes a great deal more 

 fuss than a "fiver," as a rule. Now, be 

 careful, for your line is slack and he 

 is making straight for the canoe. Turn 

 him by any means, for he is gone if he 

 once gets under. 



That's good! Now you have him 

 going out again. He surely acts like 

 a big one. There he leaps, and sure 

 enough, it is the same fish I lost last 

 month. You need not laugh. I guess 

 after having him up to the canoe four 

 times and then losing him, I would 

 recognize his Roman nose even if I only 

 saw its shadow. Handle this one care- 

 fully, for we have not landed one yet. 

 He is sulking now, but his noble strug- 

 gle for liberty will soon be over, and as 

 you reel him gently in he shows his flag 

 of truce, turns his white belly to the 

 moon-lit sky and mutely asks for 

 mercy. 



But are you fair? Do you show 

 mercy to him ? No ; you gather him 

 and as he lays gasping for breath on the 

 bottom of the canoe you almost wish he 

 had got away, for after all it is the 

 battle, not the fish, in which we delight. 



When the spell was broken, we 

 had good luck, and within the next 

 hour landed eight beauties. We soon 

 had nine bass that weighed from two 

 to five pounds each, and as it be<ran to 

 cloud up we decide to paddle for home. 

 It is about two miles across the lake 



