496 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[JtJNE 20, 1896. 
FLY-FISHING 
On the North Shore of Lake Superior. 
IContinued from page U7L] 
When we arrived at Raissaines, which was about 11 
o'clock that morning, we were greeted by a squad of bare- 
footed youngsters at the beach who only desired to satisfy 
their curiosity as to who we were and what we wanted. 
We at once struck up an acquaintance with them. One 
of the brigade, who appeared to be the generalissimo of 
the party, was a perfect picture of a rustic fisherboy. He 
wore his<straw hat in a decidedly jaunty style, his pants 
were rolled up to his knees, his dark ringlets curled o'er 
his sunburnt neck, and as he threw some gravel into the 
water his flashing eyes roved over us as if he wished to 
make some inquiries. Anticipating him in this, I first 
took the role of interviewer and asked him if his father 
were one of the fishermen. 
"Yes, sir," he quickly replied. 
"Have you ever been out to the nets with your father?" 
"Yes, sir." 
"Do you intend to follow the same business?" 
"Yes, sir." 
"Is it hard work?" 
"When it storms it is." 
"Are there many brook trout here?" 
"Yes, sir." 
"Where?" ' 
"Down there, and over there;" indicating the places 
with his index finger. 
"Do you fish for them?" 
"Yes, sir." 
"Catch any?" 
"Yes, Bir." 
"Many?" 
"Yes, sir." 
"Caught any this season?" 
"Yes, sir." 
"Where?" 
"Down there, and over there," pointing again with his 
finger. 
"Do you think we can catch any?" 
"Not with flies." 
"Why not?" 
"Won't bite at 'em." 
"Sure?" 
"Yes, sir." 
"What do you use?" 
"Worms and minnows." 
"Have you caught all the fish here?" 
"There may be one or two left." 
"Here," said Ned, "you have about pumped the boy 
dry; let us get our things ashore and the tents up, and 
we can investigate and soon ascertain whether a fly is not 
as good and as attractive as the despised angle worm or a 
silver sided minnow." 
"I am fearful these boys have about depleted the waters 
in this locality. Another instance of the devilish warfare 
against the trout by even the adolescent half-breeds. 
Every trout as long as it represents coin is here pursued 
until it is captured or driven away." 
"Our larder has always been full." 
"Yes, but what earnest work it took to fill it." 
"Yes, that's the beauty of it." 
"The toil of it, rather." 
"You seem to like it?" 
"Oh, yes; but less sparsity would be very acceptable and 
Would give us more pleasure." 
bli'ng^ 6 ' take h ° ld ° f thiS b ° X 311(1 St ° P y0Ur Srom- 
"I am grumbling about the rapacity and destructive- 
ness of the semi-savage who will soon have the last 
trout." 
And so the conversation continued till we had our 
quarters completed and dinner in course of preparation 
After we had fully satisfied our keen appetites and gave 
the men the same opportunity, we sailed to a little island 
some two miles distant and at once set to work to coax 
some of the fontinalis family to take their abode in an- 
other element. By way of a wide departure in flies as 
well as an experiment, I used a lady- of-the- lake for mv 
stretcher and a golden-rod for my dropper. Ned bad 
selected as his persuaders a scarlet-ibis for his upper flv 
and a professor for the lower. An east wind was prevail- 
ing when we commenced presenting our flies, and hence 
did not look for many responses, for no wind blows that 
is so unfavorable as that. We, however, worked willine- 
ly and m very choice places; but it was a long time 
before we had a proposition, and this came to my ladv- 
ot-the-lake, who Bhowed her enticing treachery by piercing 
with her concealed rapier the scarlet lips of the affection- 
ate and freckled fontinalis. w 
+w? art of , s ^ le deceiving gives infinite pleasure, and 
speed, ^tought ' 38 h6 rU8hed ° ff With in Wuous 
"That for ways that are dark 
And for tricks that are vain," 
the angler with his feathered decoys is very peculiar 
But now trick for trick, doubtless thought the feUered 
fish, and with a dart for the ruffled surface and a K 
from his element of 3ft. or more, he feels the keen east 
wind f anning his gleaming sides and sees with dire dis- 
may the unrepenting eyes of his mortal foeman? and 
then suddenly drops back to the cool waters with a firm 
determination to gain his freedom-a freedom with™ 
thousand charms; a freedom that wiU restore him to his 
noble race, to all that is dear to life. Alas, alas, for the 
te^l ed ^ ty l a8 hlB Eldest efforts sadly and subumely 
fail; the battle, however, was fought with i a desperate and 
gal ant heroism that should have made him thSrished 
idol of his carmined tribe. Gently and carefully he is 
drawn to the boat, and then the latticed twine is slipped 
under him and his ebbing life quickly pa88 es away .The 
victor is inglowing raptures over his graceful symmetrv 
and his iridescent hues, and in such supreme moments ft 
seems to him a prize as priceless as the string of pearls 
that beautifies the snowy neck of a new-made bride 
JNed, who in the meantime had been fishing on a small 
promontory on the main land adjacent to th! Sand on 
seeing my triumph shouted aloud to bring the boat over 
being exceedingly anxious just then to hear hfe reel dis- 
coursmg sweet music, and thinking I had a monopoly 
was desu-ous of being in the "swim.'' He was therffie 
ferried over by the half-breeds, and on landing com- 
menced climbing over the steep 'and sharp-edged FrocTs 
to get in position at a choice place. HefinallfseS 
the desired location, and then the sportsman, with his 
snowy locks streaming in the lively breeze and his eyes 
all a-sparkle, commenced proffering his tempting lures. 
Out they would sail with a whiz, alighting on some 
foamy crest, and then their dance over the surface com- 
menced. 
A savage response at last came to the expectant angler, 
and with a gentle twist of his wrist the dashing trout is 
impaled, and with the velocity of a whirlwind he breaks 
for deeper and darker water, and there cuts many a high- 
handed caper that makes the rodster very anxious about 
the capture of the fighting fish. He is, however, equal to 
the occasion, which is fraught with sj much alarming 
danger, and ere long has the battling trout hors de com- 
bat. Ned is highly elated with his victory, and now is 
anxious to return, as the sea is running high, with the 
"white horses" riding every wave. 
As the wind was blowing over the bow, the boatmen 
thought it best to hug the shore and endeavor to get a 
lee behind some of the high hills that lined the shore. 
Even with that advantage it was a hard pull, for the wind 
every now and then dropped down from the imposing 
elevations and gave us a heavy sea to buffet. There, how- 
ever, was much to delight the eye and fancy along the 
capricious course of this bold shore. It is so marvelously 
marked by caves and caverns and craggy headlands, 
which the tempestuous water and biting frost have so 
steadily worn, and which have also made other eccentric 
forms as humorously dressed as a zany in cap and bells. 
One striking peculiarity about this rugged range is that 
in many places the entire headlands have been washed 
entirely away and nice gravelly beaches have taken their 
places, thus giving it a wide and picturesque diversity. 
Our boatmen never could see anything pleasingly im- 
pressive in these majestic pictures of rock and sea and 
forest. All they most admired were harbors of safety 
and fine camping grounds, for the treacherous lake was 
to them a foe that was ever seeking to destroy. A bright 
sky, a soft breeze, and a camp near by proved to them 
more attractive than any grand scenery or embellished 
canvas of the same from the brush of a Rubens or a Rem- 
brandt. 
Arriving at our quarters, we were greeted by the gen- 
eralissimo and his bare-footed squad, who gathered 
around our boat when it struck the beach as if they 
wished to storm it. 
"What did you catch ?" inquired the inquisitive leader 
as he peered into the boat. 
"Fish," says Ned. 
"What kind?" 
"Trout." 
"How many?" 
"Two." 
"That's no fishing." 
"Pretty good after your bait-fishing raid." 
"Well, we gets money for 'em." 
"So I thought." 
"Say, did you ketch 'em with these 'ere flies?" says he, 
looking at our lures. 
"Certainly." 
"You ought to see us yank out when they first bite." 
"Catch many?" 
"Caught ten big ones one day down yonder," pointing 
to a low range of rocks below us. 
"What did you get for them?" 
"A dollar." 
This tells the true tale of depletion, and just so long as 
these little dusky pot-hunters and also the big ones re- 
main on this Bhore, just so long will the steady warfare 
be kept up until not a brook trout is left. Years ago we 
could catch all the trout we wanted at Gros Cap and 
Maple islands, the former about fifteen and the latter 
about twenty-five miles above the "Soo." Now we have 
to voyage at least 150 miles to get any kind of trout fish- 
ing at all, and even that at its best is quite indifferent to 
what it was. It is, however, consoling to realize, as we 
do, that "It is not all of fishing to fish," and that "bulk 
and weight" count little with us. 
How many of these greedy anglers ever stop to admire 
the luster of the rising or setting sun; the sparkling con- 
cave of the midnight sky; the mountain forest tossing 
and roaring to the storm, or warbling with all the melodies 
of a summer evening; the sweet interchange of hill and 
dale, shade and sunshine, grove, lawn and water which 
an extensive landscape on these rugged shores offers to 
the view. Their thoughts, however, are solely on big 
catches, so that when the outing ends they can return 
with "brag and bluster" and hope to knock out all 
romancers in that fine. They can never sing what 
"The valleys, groves, or hills, or field, 
Or woods and steepy mountains yield." 
That evening after supper we sat around the camp-fire, 
and, as we all earnestly conversed, watched the last flush 
of the waning day fade, and then looking upward saw 
the twinkling stars set their watch in the sky and listened 
to the sullen beating of the waves as they rolled in from 
the turbulent sea. Hour after hour thus passed^ and 
when the camp-fire was in embers and the white smoke 
curling through the dark branches overhead, I reminded 
Ned of the lateness of the night by stating that even 
Homer and Jupiter doze now and then. This mention of 
somnolence sent us all to bed and to slumber sound. 
The morning came with a blustering east wind and a 
sea that forbade all thought of angling outside the little 
strip of shoreland where we were quartered and which 
was protected by a few islets just beyond the pier. We 
sat around quite awhile after breakfast trying to figure 
out a dividend on idleness, but the stock kept sinking 
lower and lower with every beat of the pounding waves 
that made a sad racket in the little oaves and hollows 
just above us. 
By way of relief the little band of tawny mischief 
makers paid us a visit and wanted to know why we were 
not fishing. 
"Where shall we fish such galeful weather as this?" 
"Right there," spoke up the bare-footed generalissimo, 
and then he threw a stone into the lake to indicate the 
particular place. 
"Nothing there, I guess." 
"Small brook trout, sure." 
"Let's venture on it as a last resort," I suggested. 
Ned being willing, we got our rods, and selecting some 
very small flies on a No. 10 Sproat, set in to lure the little 
fellows. Ned sauntered up to the pier for his base of 
operations, while I took the boat and Kenosh and started 
m to try the circumscribed limits on the outer line Ned 
caught a small one before I had left with the boat, and 
was so overjoyed with the infinitesimal trout that he 
shouted to attract my attention. This satisfied me as to 
the verity of the boy's statement and at least promised us 
some sport with the spotted Lilliputians. I was soon 
casting, and at the very first delivery I had a rise. I 
missed him and tried again, and another response came 
and again I missed. 
"You must be wide awake to catch 'em, and pull quick- 
ly too," advised Kenosh. 
The third oast was now made and then some parental 
trout missed one of his family, for I took this one dead on 
the wing. I held the baby trout up and asked Kenosh if 
it was really a 6-incher. 
"You never catch anything less here," he significantly 
replied. 
I would have wagered a prince's ransom, if I had it, 
that the tinted tomtit was not a fraction over 5in. I, 
however, fully considered our adverse situation that 
morning and fell into Kenosh's mathematical manner of 
elongating inches, though I assure you I never would at- 
tempt to convince any game warden that it was 6in., pro- 
vided he had his official tape line with him. 
Another shortly caught on, but this one was a full 
6-incher, honest measure. To abridge matters, will sim- 
ply state that I soon had a baker's dozen, the largest being 
about 8iu. and the smallest, according to the dusky pro- 
fessor of mathematics, 6in. This number fully satisfied 
me, and when I reached shore Ned was there and exhib- 
ited about the same number, and strange to relate not 
one, according to the present edition of mathematics we 
were then studying, was under 6 in. 
The bare-footed band, who were awaiting our return, 
were somewhat taken back when they saw how beauti- 
fully our lures worked, and were then anxious to barter 
anything for a few flies. Ned told them if they would 
sincerely agree to give up bait-fishing, that he would sup- 
ply the entire brigade with flies. 
"No, siree, I don't give up no bait-fishing," indignantly 
replied the generalissimo. 
"You get no flies then," said Ned. 
"Keep 'em then;" and with offended dignity he proudly 
stalked away, with his little army following and chatter- 
ing away in no gentle mood. We felt, that they would 
declare war against us and might storm our tents while 
we were off trouting, but nothing came of it, for they 
were around again after dinner as if nothing unpleasant 
had taken place. As a truce they were given a few flies 
and then the pipe of peace sent forth the fragrant and 
soothing incense. 
About 8 o'clock in the afternoon the wind lulled suffi- 
ciently to permit of our going to the island to endeavor 
to interest the trout family in our lures, if any of them 
were there. Just as we were pushing off, several of the 
dogs of the little fishing hamlet came sniffling around our 
tents in search of food. 
Under such circumstances it would not do to go and 
leave the provisions unprotected. Ned suggested, as we 
were now in high feather with the little army, that we 
send for one of them to act as guard. Looking down to- 
ward the pier, we discovered the entire party trying to 
tempt trout with the flieB that had been given them, 
They were using some forest poles, and stiff ones at that, 
casting. They drove the trout away instead of tempting 
them, for their flies dropped on the water with a most 
terrible splash. We watched them quite a while, so di- 
verting was it; and then Kenosh shouted for one of them 
to come. The leader at once started on the double quick, 
and on joi ni ng us we engaged him for a silver coin of no 
small denomination to stand guard over our provisions 
till we came back. 
We then left, and had anything but a pleasant trip to 
the little promontory just off the island — a place we 
always tried en route. Here Ned caught a 2-pounder on 
his red-ibis, and then we crossed over to the flinty island 
that had not a blade of grass, a fragment of moss, or any 
sign of vegetable matter. It was too much exposed to 
storm and frost for that, and was so broken on its surface 
that great care had to be taken to prevent broken limbs. 
I at once clambered over to a favorite spot of mine, and 
after a cast or two had a tigerish response and a battling 
trout that kept me in anxiety till Jo had him safely in the 
landing net, 
Repeated castings here bringing no more to the surface, 
I crossed over the misshapen rocks to the east side of the 
islet — for it was nothing more — and was fortunate enough 
in my third cast to hang one that tried to take in my 
royal-coachman. He at once was savagely defiant, scorn- 
ing surrender as if it meant degradation. No warrior of 
the deep that wears the royal robes of rainbow hue ever 
yields to the foe above as long as an atom of strength re- 
mains for resistance. This one was a brave fighter that 
strictly held me to the fierce battle. Time and again did 
his heroic struggles and lofty vaulting cause me much 
nervous anxiety, but the willowy wand and silken thread 
were of sterling quality, and always to the fore in a dread 
emergency. I twice gave him the butt, turning his 
retreat and baffling him so completely that he lost his 
head and in consequence the fight. The capture of this 
prize was a little world of pleasure to me, and fully repaid 
me for the entire afternoon's outing. Of the glowing beauty 
and lovely lines and curves of grace which this trout dis- 
played no pen could describe, no artist dream into canvas. 
We caught one more trout and then, as night was fast 
approaching, discontinued our casting, and embarking 
on the boat were soon at our quarters. We found the 
generalissimo on guard with his bare-footed brigade 
around, as also three big sledging dogs. The boys were 
all munching some of our crackers, to which they had 
helped themselves, and by way of their accounting for 
the little freebooting said they were "awful hungry," 
and were willing to pay for what they had eaten. With 
the silver coin the captain general had received he felt 
able to liquidate all such claims, but Ned told them it 
was all right and to take some more if they wanted them, 
which they did without waiting for a second invitation. 
Having loaded up with crackers, they started off as happy 
as a spring lark when he prunes himself in the sunshine. 
After supper the evening developed a picture of perfect 
despair. No twinkling stars, no silver moon, nothing but 
the moan of the billowy sea and the wail of the weeping 
forest. We all felt its depressing effects, and to mitigate 
it the half-breeds made a rousing fire and stirred up a 
golden rain of sparks that made a little lurid world of 
our own. We then planned to leave in the morning for 
Aguawa Harbor, provided the weather was favorable. 
Kenosh made no prognostications about it, as his bones 
