au Sable, the highly interesting 



503 



of the waters, parmacheene belle and the 

 bumblebee — the last a new lure, we believe, 

 fashioned with the coloring of the insect 

 from which it is named. Angleworms and 

 grasshoppers we experimented with. The 

 former seemed to attract more chub than 

 trout and the latter were good in certain 

 places. 



There are plenty of excellent trout -pools 

 and rapids all the way from Grayling to 

 Bamfield's. At some places on the upper 

 half of the river we floated over pools where 

 we could see dozens of fine trout lying close 

 to bottom in the clear water. 



The length of the river from Grayling to 

 the mouth is estimated at something like 

 three hundred miles, as the stream goes. 

 This is only guesswork. Nobody knows 

 how far it is. From Grayling to Bamfield's, 

 where many or most anglers leave the river, 

 is estimated at two hundred miles. It took 

 us ten days, and it might be done in three or 

 four. Or one could profitably spend a 

 month or two on the journey. We ran only 

 a few hours each day. Usually we started 

 between eight and nine and ran until eleven- 

 thirty. Then we landed and cooked some 

 luncheon. We were off again at one or two, 

 and made our stop for the night at three- 

 thirty to four. 



Our first day's run took us perhaps a 

 dozen miles, as the river goes. The stream 

 was narrow and exceedingly crooked and 

 the banks were high, with little swamp land. 

 We camped that night in a field, adjacent 

 to an empty log house. The spot is marked 

 in memory as the place where we found 

 angleworms. There was a bit of black, wet 

 ground, which we plowed up with pointed 

 sticks, and from it got fifteen or twenty 

 worms. At only four or five points on the 

 river did we find this kind of bait. It might 

 be worth while to take a can of worms with 

 you from civilization, done up in moss to 

 keep them clean and hardy. 



The next day we passed through a beauti- 

 ful section of the river, wild and picturesque. 

 In the afternoon we passed Stevens Bridge, 

 a good place to stock up with fresh bread, 

 butter and eggs. Fishermen sometimes run 

 down to this point, and haul back to Gray- 

 ling. A mile or two below Stevens Bridge is 

 a log house belonging to some sportsman or 

 other. There is a spring near-by, and the 



spot is a fine camp site. We used it that 

 night. 



The following day's run took us through 

 more rapid water, with one short stretch of 

 sluggish current. Fishing was good and 

 camp sites plentiful. We found a particu- 

 larly pleasant one that night, a pine grove at 

 a bend in the river, backed by a modest hill, 

 from which there was a magnificent view. 

 Close by there was a good spring. 



From this point there are rapids for five 

 miles or so to an old sawmill, then shallow 

 flats, sandy bottom, islands and ancient 

 remains of log jams. The channel here 



The natives pole their boats 



