;B 



RECREATTDN 



By the way, the Times-Union said, "Why 

 not forbid the sale of fish as we do that of 

 venison and quail during certain months?" 

 Very good. But how about wardens to en- 

 force the law? There is a close season of 

 six weeks, but not a fisherman pays any at- 

 tention to the fact. 



Florida will, no doubt, take stringent steps 

 to protect her game and fish — after it is too 

 late. There is a law now against killing 

 deer in my own State, but it is fifteen 

 years since a deer has been seen there. 

 After her fish and game are all gone and 

 the hotels begin to lose patronage I expect 

 to hear of some splendid Florida laws, and 

 at present rate of vandualism, it won't be 

 long. 



An Old Timer. 



BASS VS. SALMON. 



Editor Recreation : 



My experience with black bass has been 

 obtained within the past five years, so my 

 story is neither so long nor so thorough as 

 that of many ; but I have had an opportunity 

 to fish some virgin waters, and as far as 

 mere numbers go, my record is not a bad one. 

 After reading most of the yarns that have 

 appeared in sporting magazines and news- 

 papers during the last decade, I have come 

 to the conclusion that the typical black bass 

 water is considered to be a sluggish stream, 

 meandering among lily pads, and wherein 

 are many submerged roots that serve as hid- 

 ing places for the bass. Perhaps so ; but my 

 best fishing has been in clear northern lakes, 

 where the fish are caught on sandy bottoms, 

 and fight like demons. If you would enjoy 

 such bass fishing, you will have to go to the 

 lakes of Northern Ontario, where the waters, 

 purified by six months of frost, are as clear 

 as crystal and almost as cold as ice. There 

 you will certainly be led to think yourself a 

 heaven-born fisherman. You may use a 

 spoon, fly, or bait, the result will be the 

 same. If the demon bass do not smash your 

 rod, break your line and bore holes in your 

 landing net, you will be forced to leave off 

 fishing long before you are tired of the game. 

 As a sportsman, you evidently could not 

 continue to fish for these fine knights of the 

 water, so full of bull-dog courage, after you 

 have taken all that your Indians and your- 

 self can take care of. And, even in the for- 

 est, where one's appetite is ravenous, very 

 few three-pound bass will suffice a man for 

 a meal. I remember once on a lake called 

 Obabika, finding small-mouthed bass in such 

 numbers that the taking of them was ridicu- 

 lously simple. I caught a half dozen, some 

 on the fly and others with a small casting 

 spoon, and then returned to camp surfeited. 

 While the men were preparing the meal, a 

 couple of New York sportsmen hove in sight. 



They bad heard of the fishing at Obabika, 

 and were crazy to begin. So I took them in 

 my canoe and paddled a few hundred yards 

 to where a long sandy spit almost divided 

 the lake. 



"What shall we use, fly or spoon? - ' 



"Oh, whatever you like, but perhaps you 

 had better begin with the fly." The sand 

 spit was submerged for two-thirds of its 

 length, one side shelving gradually, the 

 other dropping suddenly into water of con- 

 siderable depth. I paddled the canoe along 

 the edge of this submerged bank at a slow 

 rate of speed, my two acquaintances casting 

 alternately ahead and abeam. 



Within an hour they gave it up in disgust. 

 The fish were too numerous and too easily 

 caught. One of them said to me : "Why, we 

 came all the way from New York City and 

 talked of nothing but the fishing we hoped 

 to have, and yet, within an hour we are al- 

 most ready to go back. There is no sport in 

 catching such simple, ridiculously abundant 

 fish." ' 



I am inclined to think, however, that so 

 far as Lake Obabika and the other lakes of 

 the Timagaming chain are concerned, this 

 reproach will not exist long. A railroad has 

 been put in from North Bay to the eastern 

 arm of Timagaming, and in a year or two 

 the bass will be quite sophisticated and con- 

 siderably fewer in number. 



As a foil to this experience, I can recom- 

 mend the black bass of the St. Lawrence 

 river, whether it be at the Thousand Islands, 

 Lake St. Francis, Lake St. Louis, or even 

 opposite Montreal City. The big river con- 

 tains many bass, — -five and six pounders are 

 often taken. Their perceptive and reasoning 

 powers seem well developed; thus the num- 

 ber taken on artificial bait of any kind is in- 

 finitesimal. The most deadly bait of all is 

 a small green frog; after that the larvae of 

 the stone fly, miscalled helgramites by the 

 natives ; lastly, a nice, lively minnow, hooked 

 carefully through the lips. It is with these 

 baits that the biggest are taken. Some few 

 men managed to beguile an occasional bass 

 by casting along the reefs and shallows with 

 a fly. But it is only on warm summer even- 

 ings that they seem to be successful. 



We have heard a great deal about the west- 

 ern or Kalamazoo style of casting, and of 

 the short rod and free reel ; but I'm afraid 

 that these rods are better for casting than 

 for actual fishing. For mv own part, I think 

 a three-piece rod, eight feet long, weighing 

 about eight ounces, with agate guides, is the 

 best rod for killing large black bass, though, 

 perhaps, it may not be the best rod for hook- 

 ing them. A six-foot rod is far from my 

 ideal, although I must confess that I should 

 like to hear from some brother fisherman 

 who is in the habit of using such a rod. 



My own reel is a Milam, No. 2, holding 

 about eighty yards. But although it is a 



