The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1897-07-08

where the bass and miller had disappear
ed. The only response was slight swirl
of water off among the pads. Again [
cast-further in this time-and before the
flies could reach the water two bass sprang
from the lake, their powerful jaws closing
in concert upon the flies. AS they turned
and darted below | struck hard, setting
the hooks firmly into their tough jaws.
| The first rush was like a whirlwind,
straight in shore. This would never do !;
once among the lily pads and l stood a
fair chance of losing them. My gear was
new and strong, and | did not hesitate to
give them the butt of the rod. They
turned slowly and headed out into the
lake. Occasionally heavy swirl of wa
ter showed above them DIS one attempted
to jump, but was held back by the other.
At times their rush would be powerful
and almost impossible to control; this
would occur when they were running to-
gether. Again they would stop short and
work against each other, when the strain
upon the flies and leader must have been
severe, but they held, and | soon had the
Guilty in landing them, but soon had them
safely in the boat. The larger weighed
3 1-2 pounds and the other 2. Very good
! AOi u y
| The flies We're somewhat damaged, but
| | judged they would stand another trial,
and getting back into position | cast again
this time over the bow. AS the flies
settled slowly a swirl appeared beneath
them, and in the midst | saw the black
jaws of a big fish close over the brown
feathers. AS | struck the bass sprang
! high above the water, and as it fell back
another fish seized the hand fly. Again
the rush was into the cove, and despite
all my efforts they got among the pads,
which were pulled down into the water
and disappeared as the fish struggled to
clear themselves. | gave them up for lost
but to my surprise they broke away from
the entangling pads, and l worked them
out round the stern of the boat into clear
water. Ten minutes later and had them
safely beside their companions in the bot
tom of the boat: these weighed 3 pounds
each and were exactly alike. 1t was grow
ing exciting. Once more | cast and again
pair of bass struck together.
Never had put leader and flies to the
severe test | was giving these; they were
holding together wonderfully VT II, and my
curiosity was aroused to know just how
much they would stand. Consequently l
continued using them, although the pow
erful jaws and sharp teeth of the bass had
mangled the flies almost beyond recogni-
ton, and the leader was beginning to fray
in places and show signs af weakness
Pausing a moment, | wiped away the
perspiration which was streaming down
my face. The GOODNESS of early morning
had been replaced by the heat of the high
sun. A light wind had come up, which
moved my boat about in an uneasy man
ner l allowed tritles of this sort, however.
to interfere but slightly with my sport
For an hour l had sharp work, landing
in all five consecutive pair of bass. | sue
cessfully hooked my sixth, landing but
one of them, as my smell parted, and the
other disappeared with the gaudy ibis, or
what little was left of it.
Replacing the fly with another 1 con-
tinued casting, but without success. l
had exhausted the locality, but felt we'll
satisfied. In an hour had landed eleven
fish, weighing 20 pounds. Although there
were no phenomenally large bass in the
! catch, still they were all at a fighting
weight. They had given me royal sport,
and as | look back upon that morning
spent in the quiet cove, it remains in my
memory as one of the brightest spots in
my experience as . fisherman. Hart L.
| Woodcock, in Shooting and Fishing.