y.

"I have fished a great deal in the New York lakes, and I never saw a
black bass that would weigh more than four pounds and a half, though I
have heard of them that weighed five."

"I have caught them that would weigh twelve," added the pilot.

The Colonel looked at him as though he were a descendant of the father
of lies. I had three more spoon-hooks, with the necessary lines, two of
which I had bought on the northern shore of Lake Superior. It was odd
to think of fishing with them here in Florida. I sent Cornwood to the
pilot-house, and told Moses to give the steamer about four knots an
hour, for this was the way I used to do on Lakes Huron and Superior.

We had not room for more than four lines at the stern for trolling. I
offered one of them to Mr. Tiffany; but he declined, pleading that he
had no skill in this kind of fishing. The Colonel, Owen, Gus Shepard,
and I, handled the lines. Going at four knots, the screw hardly broke
the water, though possibly it astonished the fishes. Our lines had
hardly run out their length before two of us had each a fish on his
hook. The Colonel and I brought in a fish apiece, about the size of the
one I had caught before. Owen and Gus took their turn while we were
getting our fish off the hook. My cousin lost his, but Gus got his on
board. The sport was quite equal to blue-fishing, which I had tried on
the coast of Maine. In an hour we had twenty of them, all black bass.
Miss Margie wished she might fish; I told her to put on her thick
gloves and she might try. I baited the spoon-hook with a live little
fish the pilot had procured, and gave her the line. In a few minutes
she was tugging away at a fish. He was unusually gamy, leaping out of
the water a dozen times on his way to the boat.

"I can't get him any further, captain!" cried she, out of breath with
her exertions. I took the line from her, and hauled in the largest bass
we had yet seen.

"It would be wicked to catch any more, for we can't use them," said the
Colonel. "Here, steward, weigh this fish, if you please."

The bass Miss Margie had caught carried the spring scale down to twelve
and a quarter.

"Where is Mr. Cornwood?" demanded Colonel Shepard; and he rushed
forward to the pilot-house. "Mr. Cornwood, I doubted your statement
when you said you had seen a black trout, or bass, that would weigh
twelve pounds. I beg your pardon, for we have one that will weigh
twelve and a quarter."

"I hope you will yet cat