330 
FOREST AND STREAM 
March 15, 1913 
“I AWOKE BRIGHT AND EARLY.” 
musing upon the grandeur of it all. I cannottliink 
of these beautiful scenes save in that nature is 
watching all and always endeavoring to make 
one day better than another. Here, with the 
total wilderness on all sides and perhaps no 
human within a hundred miles of our camp, we 
are given an idea of what the world must have 
been wdien the Ci'eator left it on the seventh 
day. 
There is something so vastly inspiring about 
this grandeur, the pines, the waters, the spotless 
sky above that enters the being and clears away 
from its horizon all unseemly stains. The per¬ 
son who may not gather exaltation and inno¬ 
cence by this commission is indeed a heartless 
creation of humanity. It must enter into the 
soul of one in some manner or another. One 
may feel it in the limbs and gain a hundredfold 
by its application. Or it may appeal in a singu¬ 
lar way to the primitive in one and bring him 
hack over the route of the ages when man was 
a brute; the inherent call of the wild lies dor¬ 
mant in all. It is just that we become used to 
treading the old ruts in the bourn of man and 
never forsake them, but a little time spent close 
to nature will bring about a revelation in that 
it opens the mind to new thoughts and new ex¬ 
periences, feeding that innate craving that has 
never been thought to have existed. 
The breakfast dishes having been washed 
up and put away, we laid our plans for the day. 
The Wizard and I had in view a trip further 
up the shore to investigate the fishing opportuni¬ 
ties to be presented there, for we had seen a 
number of big black bass flirting their tails in 
our faces the day before, and were now going 
to find out if there were any remarkable speci¬ 
mens to be had. We each had a steel rod and 
the various incidentals that go with it. Slipping 
the canoes into the water, we were soon dipping 
our paddles into the crystal clear depths of the 
lake, one of the finest in Ontario. We had 
thrown off all our garments save our pants and 
shirts, and with the arms free, made the canoe 
leap out of the water. The ripples attending 
our course sprang aside and chased each other 
toward shore. It almost seemed a shame to mar 
that tranquil expanse, so smooth and polished it 
presented itself to the eye like a glimmering- 
floor of silver scintillating as the sun rays 
touched upon the ripples that moved away from 
us. 
As we bent to the paddles we looked down 
into the depths now and then. Deep down it 
was, but so crystal clear was the water that 
everything was easily discernible when we slowed 
the canoe to let the waters calm. Now and then 
a big fish would swim leisurely by, his whole 
appearance giving an e.xample of the wonderful 
freedom of this vast wilderness. For a time we 
absorbed the wonderful atmosphere of the morn¬ 
ing, drinking it into the lungs out of the sheer 
exquisiteness of it all, and spent some time idly 
drifting along, content to float and dream the 
moments away. As the sun mounted higher in 
the limpid blue heavens, the gloom was being 
chased out of those secluded nooks, and now 
the day was well on its voyage toward night. 
Calm and sweet blew the wind in our faces. It 
could not have been said to have been blown, 
for it was but the memory of a wind so delicate 
and so delicious that a sense of marvel touched 
my consciousness and refused to leave my 
mind. 
The canoe sped along toward its destina¬ 
tion. No words crossed our lips, for it was an 
occasion in which speech appeared worthless, 
and therefore it was allowed to remain unsaid. 
Still, the feeling was there, and who may diag¬ 
nose that feeling who has not experienced it. 
We drew gradually along toward the nook we 
had aimed for. Here I might add was an ex¬ 
cellent place for the lusty fellows who are said 
to be the gamiest fighters, according to size, that 
inhabit the waters of America. For at the bot¬ 
tom of this cove there was a number of springs 
that bubbled up out of the earth, and around 
these springs they were wont to lie, enjoying 
the coolness and sweetness of it all. These 
northern lakes all have springs at their bottoms 
and the waters are always cold and clear. For 
this reason the fish are gamy the year around; 
quite the opposite to fish found in the waters 
of the States who when the lakes become warm 
retire to the depths and refuse to take bait. 
Not so here. It is always a fisherman’s red 
letter day, and when he wants fish he may be 
sure to procure it under the most pleasing cir¬ 
cumstances. We reached the cove, and by the 
scant touching of the paddle to the water moved 
inward a mite. All was still. The time for 
sport had arrived, and keeping poised with pad¬ 
dle ready, I motioned to the Wizard to show 
his skill with the rod. Everything adjusted, he 
half rose and cast toward a rock that shoved 
its nose out of the lake. His bait was the well 
known and fully appreciated No. i “Convertible” 
Coaxer, the king of all bass baits. Out it shot, 
quiet and easy, and fell upon the water, present¬ 
ing an appearance that was truly one of life and 
motion. Barely had it fallen, and its image had 
been erased from that picturing surface than 
the water broke with a flutter of foam, and it 
was in the mouth of a king. The tip of the 
Wizard’s rod did the proper adjusting act of 
setting the hook in the mouth, and then the 
fight began. Taking the usual cue, I dipped the 
paddle and set my teeth on the pipe stem. The 
canoe was gently and carefully backed lakeward, 
and I waited the word of the Wizard for other 
directions, for all have their notions on which 
is the best way to keep a boat in position. 
With the lure fast in his mouth, the king 
seemed to spring from the depths by the impetus 
of his tail and rose almost a foot high and dry, 
shaking his form and madly endeavoring to dis¬ 
lodge the hook. Finding this seemingly impos¬ 
sible, he dove down with a plunge and the fight 
again began. Racing outward he speeded in a 
great circle that promised to go by the canoe, 
but no, it ceased as quick as it began, for the 
tip of the rod was again brought upward and 
the fish rose once more shaking his head wildly, 
his gills wide apart, and his whole manner be¬ 
traying one of bull-dog tenacity, which could 
only be shaken out of him by a long fight. Once 
more he was at it, this time changing his tac¬ 
tics, and rushing full tilt for the canoe, seem¬ 
ingly appreciative to the fact that his tormentors 
were there. The slack line accumulated fast. 
Under the canoe he shot, and with a breathless 
silence we watched. Presently he came to the 
surface in another leap on the other side of us, 
and it was quick work indeed to swing the canoe 
and for the Wizard to toss the line around the 
end of the canoe and swing it clear of the craft. 
The reel handle spun around, and the spool took 
on the loose line. There he goes again. He had 
been lying idle a moment and was just awaken¬ 
ing to the realization that strenuous efforts were 
necessary if he was to make any show of escape. 
But the struggle had robbed him of much of his 
vitality, and though he yet was at it. cut and 
tear, the rod tip was lowering, and I knew that 
the time had just about arrived. Laying down 
the paddle I shoved out the net, and with the 
Wizard holding rod way back, I slipped it under 
and lifted the king into the canoe, squirming 
and flapping and gasping. But he was ours, 
and the experience was added to the store of 
those already known and appreciated. Just such 
experiences one can count up when life has shed 
its leaves, and the mind goes through the films 
of remembrance. We lured out si.x there and 
then returned to camp. The rest of this day 
was more or less uneventful. 
