better go to the hotel with what he
had, but my friend said "wait"; he went ashore and picked up a long pole
with a bushy tip; it had evidently been used before. Dropping down to
the spring-hole, he thrust the tip to the bottom and slashed it around
in a way to scare and scatter every trout within a hundred feet.

"And what does all that mean?" I asked.

"Well," he said, "every trout will be back in less than an hour; and
when they first come back, they take the bait greedily. Better take off
your leader and try bait."

Which I did. Dropping our hooks to the bottom, we waited some twenty
minutes, when he had a bite, and having strong tackle, soon took in a
trout that turned the scale at 2 1/4 pounds. Then my turn came and I
saved one weighing 1 1/2 pounds. He caught another of 1 1/4 pounds and
I took one of 1 pound. Then they ceased biting altogether.

"And now," said my friend, "if you will work your canoe carefully
around to that old balsam top and get the light where you can see the
bottom, you may see some large trout."

I did as directed, and making a telescope of my hand, looked intently
for the bottom of the spring-hole. At first I could see nothing but
water; then I made out some dead sticks and finally began to dimly
trace the outlines of large fish. There they were, more than forty of
them, lying quietly on the bottom like suckers, but genuine brook
trout, every one of them.

"This," said he, "makes the fifth time I have brushed them out of here
and I have never missed taking from two to five large trout. I have two
other places where I always get one or two, but this is the best."

At the hotel we found two fly-fishers who had been out all the
morning. They each had three or four small trout. During the next week
we worked the spring-holes daily in the same way and always with
success. I have also had good success by building a bright fire on the
bank and fishing a spring-hole by the light--a mode of fishing
especially successful with catties and perch.

A bright, bull's-eye headlight, strapped on a stiff hat, so that the
light can be thrown where it is wanted, is an excellent device for
night fishing. And during the heated term, when fish are slow and
sluggish, I have found the following plan works well: Bake a hard, well
salted, water Johnnycake, break it into pieces the size at a hen's egg
and drop the pieces into a spring-hole. This calls a host of minnows
and the larger fish follow the minnows.