LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN IN MEMORY OF STEWART S. HOWE JOURNALISM CLASS OF 1928 STEWART S. HOWE FOUNDATION 799,1 J63a 1 o H « ANGLING IN THE Lakes of Northern Illinois HOW AND WHERE TO FISH THEM. INTERSPERSED WITH NUMEROUS ANECDOTES. Profusely Illustrated by Descriptive Charts of the Various Waters of the Fox River Lakes, Showing the Locations of the Fishing Grounds, and the Best Method of Fishing Them. By CHAS. F.JOHNSON. CHICAGO: THE AMERICAN FIELD PUBLISHING CO. 1896. COPYRIGHT, 1896, BY THE AMERICAN FIELD PUBLISHING CO. CHICAGO The Blakely Printing Uo., Chicago. I I It CHAPTER I. Sand Lake — Slough Lake— The Irishman and the Cow ' 5 CHAPTER II. Fourth or Miltimore Lake— My First Catfish 15 CHAPTER III. Crooked Lake — O'Leary's Goose 27 CHAPTER IV. Cedar Lake — Tubby's Second Run — A Patriotic Lob- ster 37 CHAPTER V. Deep Lake — Sun Lake — Tommy and the Goat 45 CHAPTEiR VI. Hastings Lake — My Poetical Fishing Friend- Angling for an Otter 49 CHAPTER VII. Huntley's Lake—Swallowing a Fishhook 55 CHAPTER VIII. Lake Marie and Bluff Lake— Shell Fish and Clam Chowder— The Colonel's Photograph G3 CHAPTER IX. First or Gage's Lake— An Embarrassing Position— The Incident of an Iron Pot 71 CHAPTER X. Chitteuden and Druce Lakes — Sandy McGree's Eel Pie 77 CHAPTER XI. Long Lake — A Lesson in Bait-Casting—Toby Snuf- fles and the Little School Marm— Up-to-date Bar- bering 81 CHAPTER XII. Round Lake — A Queer Advertisement and a Troublesome Canine 87 CHAPTER XIII. Taylor's Lake— A Legend of Limburger Cheese. ... 93 CHAPTER XIV. Gray's Lake — My First and Last Experience in Ranching. 99 CHAPTER XV. Channel Lake — Lake Catherine— Loon Lake— locat- ing Strange Waters— How and When to Strike a Fish 105 CHAPTER XVI. Fox Laike — Petite Lake— Observations on Skitter- ing and Bait-Casting Ill ILLUSTRATIONS. Smith Wright, the well-known Sand Lake guide and expert angler 7 Sand Lake and Slough Lake 11 Fourth or Miltimore Lake 17 "I was so paralyzed at the sight of my capture as to immediately drop everything" 21 "It's a dogfish — why, you can't eat that thing". ... 23 Crooked Lake 26 "That dhoul of a bird was harder than rock itself" 29 "And erected a mound to his memory" 33 "Eagerly watching his rod with wrapt attention".. 39 Cedar Lake 41 "Ye gods! what an avalanche of lobsteriaii matter descended in our midst" 43 Deep Lake and Sun Lake 44 "And commenced a most malignant assault upon Tommy" 47 "I managed to crawl and cling to the slope clear of the water" 48 Hastings Lake 51 "I'm a dead man; I've swallowed that fishhook". . 57 Huntley's Lake 59 "And the Colonel took the picture" 62 S.ake Marie and Bluff Lake 65 First or Gage's Lake 73 Chittend^n and Druce Lakes 76 Long Lake 83 Round Lake 86 Taylor's Lake 92 Gray's Lake 101 Channel Lake and Lake Catherine 107 Loon Lake 109 Fox Lake 113 Petite Lake 115 CHAPTER I. SAND LAKE AND SLOUGH LAKE. THE IRISHMAN AND THE COW. How delightful are the thoughts and reminiscences suggested to the man who fishes by that familiar phrase— "The Lake Region." For seven long months in the year we toil within a limited horizon of bricks, mortar and smoke, encoun- tering the vexatious worries and hundred and one anxieties incidental to and inseparable from the daily task of dollar hunting, rising early, retiring late, struggling against the vicissitudes of a climate which if appropriated by Hades could render that undesirable abode more undesirable still; in fact, vegetating to all intents and purposes, mechanically following a certain routine of existence, enduring the "Winter of our dis- content" with patience and resignation, solely because we are sure of our reward later, and that for five blessed months, viz., June, July, August, September and October, the enchanting fairyland of fishdom can once again be traversed and explored in those beauti- ful spots familiar to us— "The Lake Region." My aim in the following series of articles is to de- scribe the numerous lake resorts of Northern Illinois which can be reached on the Wisconsin Cen- tral Railway by a short journey* of two to three hours' duration, and a full day's sport enjoyed during that period of time embraced by leaving the city on the Saturday noon train at 1:25 and arriving in Chicago on the Sunday evening fol- lowing. I know that, although a great number of an- glers are already familiar with the fishing grounds of the Fox Lake Region, there are still many would-be (5) 6 SAND LAKE AND SLOUGH LAKE. fishermen ignorant of the layout of this delightful local- ity. It is to these individuals I principally address myself, although not without a lurking hope that the old habitues of the places named will find something of interest also. The descriptive charts showing the different forma- tions of the lake bottoms and marginal surroundings, together with the varied finny prey they contain, have been compiled from personal experiences during a se- ries of fishing trips extending over many past years. In addition to this, the description of the different watery territory and the fisheS to be found therein, to make assurances doubly sure, have been submitted to the consideration and opinion of those local angling celebrities living in the immediate vicinity, men thor- oughly acquainted with every pocket, sandbar, and deep hole; individuals who in many cases have fished the waters from childhood, and whose reliability in these matters is above question. It is, of course, impossible to show in the accompany- ing charts the commencement and ends of the bound- ary lines, within which the several fishing grounds lie, with the absolute exactitude of a professional sur- vey on dry land, but the landmarks and other signs shown in the charts, together with the notes accom- panying them, I believe are sufficiently accurate and self-explanatory to enable even a stranger by the exer- cise of a little care and patience to find any of the spots designated. To those anglers who indulge in still fishing, I would advise a slight change of "ground" at short intervals until results prove them to be anchored in the best portion of whatever fishing water they may have selected. This is particularly applicable to wall-eyed pike fishing; these fishes, lying in 'the very deepest parts of the water, make, it impossible to locate their "holding ground" from any surface signs, as in the case of pickerel and bass "grounds." I have noticed there are three classes of fishermen SAND LAKE AND SLOUGH LAKE. 7 visiting the lakes and generally making big catches. First is the modern bait-caster, his tools a short, light bait-casting rod, quadruple multiplying reel, and un- dressed silk casting line, which, when wielded by the expert, enable him to place his frog or minnow in a light, natural manner upon the water, sufficiently far SMITH WEIGHT, THE WELL-KNOWN SAND LAKE GUIDE AND EXPERT ANGLER away to completely conceal from his keen visioned quarry the identity of himself and tackle. This method is the very embodiment of scientific angling, and is undoubtedly the most enjoyable and successful mode of catching fish with hook and line ever introduced. 8 SAND LAKE AND SLOUGH LAKE. The man who uses a combination of this description is invariably an enthusiastic and devoted fisherman, for there is no method of angling which can so quickly impart the many secrets of fish and fish lore as does the practice of bait-casting. It commands constant and closest attention to the matter at issue, compelling an undivided observation, which quickly gives that in- tuitive perception of "desirable environments" and "favorable signs," the knowledge of which is absolutely essential to successful angling. The second class of lucky fishermen are those old- time habitues of the lakes, whose outfits and methods of using them are of the most crude and simple de- scription, men to whom the modern methods of an- gling and the innumerable adjuncts to the craft are as a sealed book. Such individuals survey the costly rods and expensive outfits of the up-to-date bait-caster with an air of kindly irony and good-natured forbear- ance, secretly wondering how the deuce a fellow can be so foolish as to invest fifty or sixty dollars in fishing tackle, when according to their old-fashioned firm conviction a twenty-cent bamboo pole, cotton line, and hook baited with a minnow or frog's leg will enable them to unceremoniously "yank out" fish "ad libitum." Dear, genial old disciples of Izaak; fit representatives of ye ancient angler. These, equipped with a long, stiff bamboo pole, short, thick line, and spoon or baited hook, will engage the services of some old experienced boatman, who will stealthily row the boat from which they fish just out- side some rush or sedge beds, enabling their patrons to display their baits to the fishes lurking within the cover without being seen. Such anglers frequently have remarkable success, owing to the fact that the boatman who rows them is usually some experienced old-timer who, appreciating the timorous disposition of the fishes and knowing every likely fishing spot, is able with a quiet, light movement of the sculls to keep the boat sufficiently far away to insure conceal- SAND LAKE AND SLOUGH LAKE. 9 ment of both boat and occupants, and yet allow the fisherman to place his bait within striking distance of the fish. In this case the angler's success is due entirely to the skill and forethought of the man who rows in know- ing where the fishes are and approaching them without the slightest splash or disturbance, allowing the mer- est angling novice who will sit perfectly still and draw a bait through the water at rod's length to frequently take a catch of fish which will make the expert bait- caster's mouth water with envy; and I will venture to say that every man who fishes in this manner and makes a big catch gives to himself the sole credit thereof, and in his harmless vanity imagines himself to be a wonderfully clever fisherman, little thinking what an important part the other fellow who rowed the boat played in their capture. The third successful style of fishing is trolling from a boat, rowing slowly along the deeper stretches with a trolling spoon following about seventy or eighty feet behind the boat; and the man who trolls is certainly not to be accused of laziness, for if there is any mode of catching fish with rod and line which keeps a man continually on the move it is that in which the trolling spoon is used. The group of lakes to which I will first call attention are Sand Lake, Crooked Lake, Fourth or Miltimore Lake, Slough Lake and Hastings Lake, in Lake County, 111. These are reached from the Lake Villa depot on the Wisconsin Central, a distance of fifty miles from Chicago, and are all located within easy distance of Smith Wright's house, the Sand Lake Hotel, which lies about two miles southeast of the depot. Sand Lake faces the house on the north, its nearest shore within a hundred yards of the front door. Slough Lake is about a quarter of a mile southwest, Crooked Lake a mile northwest, Fourth or Miltimore Lake half a mile south, aud Hastings Lake about three-quarters of a mile away north. The reason I have grouped these 10 SAND LAKE AND SLOUGH LAKE. lakes together is, they can all be fished with but little traveling, by making Smith Wright's house one's head- quarters. For much of the information regarding the fishing spots on these lakes I am indebted to the kindness and courtesy of Mr. Smith Wright, than whom a more genial fishing companion, right-down good fellow and painstaking host never existed, and any angler visiting these lakes who has the good fortune to make a fishing trip with Smith Wright may mark it as a red-letter day, for he'll surely catch fish, have a royal good time, and obtain much valuable information regarding the sport. Smith Wright is one of the oldest and most success- ful bait-casters on the lakes. Fifty years ago his father, George Wright, who died four years ago, pur- chased from the government the hundred and sixty acres which make part of the present holding, fronting on Sand Lake. During the first twenty years he farmed, but the steadily increasing influx of sports- men from growing Chicago, who made the house their headquarters when fishing the adjoining lakes, caused the old gentleman to view his farming operations as of secondary importance. He enlarged the house, named it Sand Lake Hotel, and catered to the wants of his city visitors. Within a few years of his death he turned the house and its large patronage over to his son, Smith, who with his estimable wife, the pres- ent hostess, now runs the place. The terms are one dollar a day, including boats, and live bait of every description can always be had. Sand Lake contains as good bass and pickerel grounds as any piece of water in the lake region, and it is as- serted by many old settlers that the lake affords nearly as good fishing as it did forty years ago. I am inclined to believe this, for I think it is impossible to ever fish out any body of water which contains so many weed beds as do most of the lakes in this region. Sand Lake has always been, known as an uncertain fishing water, SAND LAKE AND SLOUGH LAKE. 11 unlike Fourth Lake, which even under the most un- favorable auspices of wind and weather will yield some return to the persevering and patient fisherman. But in Sand Lake it's "all or none." For days together the fishes will remain stolidly indifferent to the most seduc- tive baits and careful fishing, but when they do come Slough Lake Sand Lake on feed they go for the bait with an abandon that allows the fisherman to make a big catch in a very short time. The lake is fed by springs and the fishes in it. par- ticularly the pickerel, are the gamiest and finest eat- ing that ever sprung a rod or graced the table. It is 12 SAND LAKE AND SLOUGH LAKE. a notable fact that pickerel under five pounds' weight are seldom caught in Sand Lake. The best pickerel "ground" is that marked on the chart south of the deep water sixty-five feet in depth. By anchoring on the weed bed skirting it on tiie south end, and casting out as far as possible into the deep water beyond and allowing the bait to sink well be- fore drawing slowly in, is the best method of fishing this spot. A golden rule and one which often marks the distinguishing line between success and failure is: "Don't reel in too quickly." Stop reeling every now and then, giving by a movement of the rod's point those little hesitatory jerks and seductive movements to the bait which are so enticing to the fish. The shallow Avater in the southeast, in shore, affords excellent fly-fishing for bass on a still evening, after a hot day. It is hard bottomed, with a fringe of weeds extending to within fifty yards of the shore line, and is capital wading ground. The rocky bottomed ground, in shore, opposite the school house, is excellent water for the fly, while far- ther out and in the deeper water, over toward the sand, live bait can be used to advantage. For early morning and midday fishing the lily pads on the west end of the lake are the best spots. Although the bait-caster may turn up his nose in disdain at the mere mention of perch fishing, there are still many who enjoy a catch of these toothsome and plucky little fellows. The "ground" marked on the southwestern point of the sandbar will be found to yield the man who fishes for perch all the fun he could reasonably wish; for, unlike the bass and pickerel in this lake, perch will be found always hungry and ready to grab the baited hook dropped for their notice. Just outside the little rush bed east of T. Donnelly's house is a sure find for large bass at almost any time, but the limited extent of this ground forbids any great catch. Slough Lake affords good fishing all around in shore. SAND LAKE AND SLOUGH LAKE. 13 Both pickerel and bass are fairly plentiful. This lake is something like Sand Lake in regard to the feeding habits of the fishes. But large catches are often made. It is a good plan after making the round of the lake (which is small) and finding no sport, to leave it and try some other lake. There is a very large pickerel in this lake still, for which the late Mr. George Wright offered any angler who could capture it fifty dollars. Although it has fre- quently been seen, no angler ever has been able to induce it to take a bait. Two' years ago an Irishman, fresh from the old sod, spending a week's holiday at Wright's house, heard of this big fellow and declared his intention of attempt- ing to catch him. The boys, before he started, in pure waggery, narrated such wonderful yarns as to the length, weight and breadth of this fish that the Irish- man was pretty well prepared to see almost any kind of water monstrosity. He set out at five o'clock in the evening, equipped with a clothes prop, ten yards of chalk line treble braided, two chub minnows for bait weighing re- spectively two and three pounds each, and an old shark hook that had been kicking about in Wright's odds and ends box for many years. He returned at 5:30 minus his hat, coat and tackle, rushed into the house and incoherently besought Mrs. Wright: "For the love of the saints give me a stimulant, quick!" . It took nearly all the contents of Wright's medicine chest to fix him up sufficiently to stand, and then all he could do was to yell at the top of his voice: "I've seen it! I've seen it! I've seen it!" After he had imparted this information for about ten minutes, without varying it, Wright got impatient and shaking him roughly, asked him: "What the dickens have you seen, anyhow?" "I've seen either the big pickerel or the devil," he at last managed to blurt out, during a lucid interval, and 14 SAND LAKE AND SLOUGH LAKE. "for Hiven's sake take me home immediately, for I feel that a place where such goings on happen is no place for me." Smith harnessed up the rig and landed him down to the depot in time to catch the train which left an hour later. The next morning one of the boys who went to Slough Lake found an old dead cow on its back, stuck fast in the mud, close by the Irishman's boat, with its legs sticking above the water about a foot. The death agonies of an old cow, stuck fast in the mud in two feet of water, as seen in the dim twilight by a superstitious Irishman, are apt to produce such effects that Smith Wright ought to have congratulated himself he didn't have a raving lunatic on his hands instead of a badly frightened Irishman. CHAPTER II. FOURTH OR MILTIMORE LAKE. MY FIRST CATFISH. Fourth or Miltimore Lake, located half a mile south of Sand Lake Hotel, is undoubtedly the best fishing lake of any in the Fox Lake region. It is practically two lakes divided by a spit of land with a narrow channel joining them. During a dry spell this channel dries up and the upper and lower portions of Fourth Lake really become two separate pieces of water without any connecting waterway. Fourth Lake, from its location and diversified sur- roundings, offers finer fishing water for the angler and better facilities for success during those un- favorable times when fish are off feed than can be found in any other sheet of water with which I am acquainted. It is rare, indeed, for the man who fishes Fourth Lake during those months comprised in the ordinary fishing season to have an entirely blank day; patient research invariably will reveal some pocket or corner at one end or another of the lake which will yield a few bass or pickerel. The surroundings of Fourth Lake are such as to permit of a lee shore, no matter in which direction the wind may blow. At the lower end of the lake a chilly wind may cool the water and roughen its sur- face with heavy waves, sending the fish into the deeper portions far away from the angler's reach, yet the water at the upper or north end will be found to have experienced no change of temperature, owing to the protecting influence of the wooded ground sur- rounding it. In fact, it may be generally said of Fourth Lake that if the fish are not feeding in one portion they are pretty sure to do so in another. The two finest pickerel grounds in the lake are those 2 (15) 16 FOURTH OR MILTIMORE LAKE. marked A and B on the chart. In the former the fishing is at its best late in the season, about October and November, at which time a perch tail, used*near the surface, is the most killing bait. The appearance of this piece of water is indicative of its excellence. Prom four to ten feet in depth; skirted on its north side by an extensive rush bed, thence gradually deep- ening as it opens out into the lake; the bottom studded with a rich growth of pickerel and bass weeds, suffi- ciently thick to afford concealment to the fishes with- out seriously impeding the angler in casting his bait and landing the fish when hooked. The bay marked Bon the chart is an excellent pickerel ground at all times and I believe, from my own ex- perience, contains more and larger pickerel than any other spot in the lakes. There are several pickerel frequenting this bay whose weight would be a surprise to the angler who might be so fortunate as to catch one of them. The bass ground marked C, just west of the boat house, is very fine; the best bass fishing is just within the outer edge of the rushes. There are several pock- ets, well inside the rushes along the whole of this por- tion of the north shore, which are worth particular at- tention on the part of the angler. Recollect, in boat fishing, to use the sculls as little as possible; drift all you can. The proper and most successful way to fish a piece of water is to row to the windward, keeping well out and away from the water you intend to fish, and then drift over it, taking care to sit still and avoid rocking the boat, for you cannot be too cautious and careful when fishing for large bass. The best spots at which to fly-fish for bass are those marked D, just outside the rushes. Lake fly-fishing for bass is not a pronounced success. The best fly-fishing for bass is to be had on the rifiies of streams with rapid currents; but there are times when even lake fishing for bass with the artificial fly will insure a big catch. Seven years ago I had such a catch in Sand Lake, on FOURTH OR MILTIMORB LAKE. 17 18 FOUftTH OR MILTIMORE LAKE}. that portion of the water marked as suitable for fly- fishing, and as there may be some enthusiastic votaries of the fly-rod among the readers of the American Field, I will here give a few hints relative to fishing for bass with the fly. They are clipped from a small pamphlet I prepared in 1893, on behalf of the Natchaug Silk Co. for distribution by them during the World's Columbian Exposition. As I have since had no cause to modify my ideas relating to bass fishing with the fly, I will reproduce them here: "The bass takes the fly at from six to nine inches beneath the surface of the water. Repeat your cast until you get the fly over the desired spot, then allow it to ^all delicately upon the water. Let the fly sink to the desired depth. Then, elevating the tip of the rod, by a series of short, hesitatory jerks bring the fly toward you. On feeling a slight resistance strike smartly. The fly must light on the water without commotion and with the least possible ripple. "While the fly is sinking the bass has opportunity to investigate it; by the time the motion of the rod is given to the fly the bass is anxious to seize it, and, per- haps, is caught almost before the angler knows it. "Small bass you can catch in almost any bungling manner, but large bass must be kept in complete igno- rance of yourself, rod and line, otherwise you will sel- dom catch them. Small fry in disporting themselves do so without excessive violence. A frog in taking to the water does so in a quiet, easy manner, marking his submersion with a light splash devoid of any violent agitatory action; a small water-snake, alarmed in the act of swimming upon the surface, disappears almost silently. "Everything obeys the laws of Nature. So perfectly do bass recognize these laws that any line placed before them in a manner foreign to that which their instincts accept will be eyed with suspicion and left alone. "Seat yourself by the pleasant waterside and learn these lessons from Nature. The study will well repay. FOURTH OR MILT1MORB LAKE. 19 Do not make fishing all mechanical work, combing the river from dawn till dark; investigate the wonderful watery world in which fishes so strangely have their being; learn there from reliable data which will assist you in their capture. In wading, avoid splashing the water or any violent.hasty movement ;advance stealthily from one point to another. Should there be a slight deposit of mud over a hard bottom, lift the feet care- fully straight up from the bottom; this will prevent the water in your vicinity from becoming muddy. "Bass have a keen sight, and are easily alarmed, hence let the angler seize every advantage of natural cover; the projecting corners of banks, sedge beds, sudden bends and the like afford opportunities for approaching unawares. Do not forget to sink the fly well; the deeper the fly is in the water, the deeper the bass will be when he seizes it, therefore the less chance he has of seeing you and discovering the method of its presenta- tion; about nine inches is usually as deep as a fly can sink and clear the bottom growth of weeds. "Do not be too anxious to recover the fly from the water. Bring it toward you slowly, without undue haste, interposing its progress with slight momentary pauses. Thus a not over-hungry bass is given a chance to seize it; whei'eas, if pulled too quickly, a 'short rise' will be the result. "Now a few words as to those portions of a water in which to fish. Ignorance on this matter will render the best flies and the utmost proficiency in using them of little avail. All waters have certain portions par- ticularly adapted as holding ground for bass, and other parts where bass are seldom or never found. Waste no time in fishing those dark deeper portions bordered with sedge and clear muddy bottom. Fish places with hard, irregular and rocky bottoms, here and there dotted with a sufficient deposit of mud to encourage a straggling growth of that variety of water grass which seldom grows quite tall enough to appear above the surface. This is a desirable formation, being sufficiently 20 FOURTH OR MILTIMORE LAKE. dense to afford to fishes cover and secrecy, without seriously impeding their movements." That bane of the angler— the dogfish— will be met with pretty frequently in Fourth Lake. How annoying it is to have one's hopes raised by an unusually heavy strike, followed by a period of hard play, only to have the supposed big bass turn out an enormous dogfish. Speaking of dogfish reminds me of the first dogfish I ever captured, many, many years ago. It was on the Little Calumet River a little below Miller's, and a momentous trip it was for me, being the first time I had ever gone fishing in downright earnest, and I knew very little about it. My tackle consisted of ^ light rod, fine casting line, and small Limerick hook, baited with a bunch of juicy squirming worms. I had hardly cast my line into the water before I ex- perienced such a determined, regular come-along, busi- ness-like pull as to make me wonder what the dickens had happened. I became dimly aware of hooking something, but what it Avas couldn't give the slightest guess. Then commenced a full fifteen minutes' strong battle between something which, while resisting all my efforts to raise it from the bottom, made a cease- less, steady detour of the deep pool before me. At the expiration of this period of time it evidently thought a little rest would be acceptable, for without further ado it quietly rested upon the bottom, and the utmost tension I desired to exert with my light tackle failed to shift it in the slightest, so I placed the rod upon the ground, and after a little search found a snake-rail fence; from this I took a rail about thirty-five feet long, and succeeded in reaching sufficiently far into the water to dislodge my captive and send him careering around the pool again. After a short period he rested again, and again I prodded him into action with the rail. For about four hours this circus went on; it was fifteen minutes' action and five minutes for recreation, alternately, until I began to wonder whether such a FOURTH OR MILT1MORE LAKE. 21 22 FOURTH OR MILTIMORE LAKE. protracted test of endurance would not end in tiring myself out instead of my captive. At last, the great unknown apparently shook off the apathetic behavior which had hitherto characterized his actions and began to show signs of irritability, leaving the bottom and coming to about mid-water, evidently making frantic efforts to get free from the hook. The water was so muddy that although on one occasion, by an unusually daring strain on the tackle, I nearly succeeded in forcing him to the top, yet I could not gain the slightest glimpse of my prize or form any opinion as to its identity. The fighting now became fast and furious; no more sulking, but a continuous, rapid, steady movement around" and across the pool until, at last, the supreme moment arrived when, the prize lying directly under me, I prepared to bring him to the surface. Inch by inch, carefully I coaxed him, my expectations raised to such a pitch that I fairly trembled. At last it showed up, the enormous open trap of a huge, gasping, fagged-out old catfish, thirty pounds in weight. I was so paralyzed at the sight of my captive as to immediately drop everything, and if the fish had not been so thoroughly tuekered-out with its previous efforts, I would have lost him before regaining my nerve and the landing-net. However, when I did so, to land him was an easy matter, and I took him away back from the water's edge, and there pondered earnestly and long as to what the dickens kind of a fish it could be. I had had enough fishing for that day, so I packed up and started to go home, taking the Lake Shore tracks as the shortest way. About half a mile down the tracks I came across a gang of section hands at work; they were all Swedes excepting the foreman, who was a German and the only man speaking the American language. I knew most of these men by sight and was on pretty intimate terms with the foreman. FOURTH OR MILTIMORE LAKE. 24 FOUETH OR MILTIMORE LAKE. "Been fishing, Mr. Johnson?" he asked. "Had any luck?" "Well," I said, "I hardly know. I have got a fish in this bag, but what it is or if it is good to eat I cannot tell." A look of covetous surprise went around the group when I exhibited rny fish, and the foreman, after recovering from his astonishment at the sight of so big a fish, remarked, indifferently: "Well, I guess you had better bury that fish right away." "Bury it!" I exclaimed, "why, isn't it good to eat?" "Good to eat!" he answered. "Good for nothing! Why it's a catfish, and deadly poison!" I was sadly disappointed at this intelligence and was turning dejectedly away, when the foreman hailed me, saying: "Here, Johnson, I tell you what I'll do; that fish has got an uncommon fine head, and would look well mounted, I'll give you a dime for it!" "Here's the fish," I said, "I don't want your dime; I'm glad you saved me the trouble of carrying it two miles farther in the hot sun!" It was two days after that when I heard what a scrumptious fish supper the gang had eaten at my expense, and for the next few days I could never pass the gang of section hands without a broad grin dis- playing itself upon the features of the Swedes, and hearing a bantering inquiry from the foreman as to whether I was going fishing or had another catfish to sell. However, 1 made up my mind to get a catfish, and one morning— rigged up with a strong pole and suit- able tackle — found me again at the same pool. I fished hard all day and was about giving up in disgust when, sure enough, I had a good strong bite, but nothing to compare with my previous one. After about ten min- utes' fight I landed him and this time it was a long, snaky looking fish with small wicked eyes, weighing FOURTH OR MILTIMORE LAKE. 25 about eight pounds and looking something like a pickerel, but I knew it wasn't a pickerel. Triumph- antly I bore my priz.e away, down the track, until I met the section gang. Every one of them suspended work immediately I arrived, and clustered around with great interest. "Well, I'll be goldarned if Johnson ain't been and got a big dogfu'h this time," the foreman exclaimed. "A what?" I asked, in indignant protest. "It's a dogfish, sure, and the rottenest kind of fish that swims; why, you can't eat that thing!" "Come, now," I exclaimed, getting angry, "this is too stale; here, the first fish I showed you you tell me is a catfish, unfit to eat, yet you fellows have the treat of your lives making a supper off it, and now you think jou can kid me again. Not much! But, now see here, boys, you can't do it, for this fish, no matter what kind of a fish it is, a dogfish, cowfish, horsefish, or any blarsted animal fish you like to call it, no matter what funny name you like to give, I'll take that fish home, cook and eat a couple of pounds of it if I die five minutes afterward. No, no!" I muttered, as I shoul- dered my fish and walked away, "you 'conned' me once, but you can't work that old game on me again." When I arrived at my bachelor establishment, I cut a good, generous three-pound steak from the shoulder of the fish, boiled it and on principle made the fish gorge of my life. For the next two weeks the medical gentleman from the nearest town called regularly at "Johnson's shack," as my little frame house was called; and, during that time, the many neighbors who came to inquire how I was progressing never got further than the door— the everlasting retching which greeted their ears leaving them in doubt as to whether Johnson was in the last throes of hydrophobia or re- linquishing his intestines piecemeal. CROOKED LAKE. '>> 'is '/?t * ^Goojr^? 8 5 Q s V) * \n\ o /. GKO JNP1 CO o v <\^ /, ^ ~i i / £7~? ^ ' t. f •V' <$/ loV *v A Of > xv ./ OEEP ^> ciS < $ *5 00 *j| o/^ * o7 /- ^/ , ^ /'^ *V . 7 ^ /. i- • / V «: >0 /^/ ^r^/j ^<^ X^l^ f !$!«£.,£ t? V ^v .-, ' , ^^A,' ' Z)f£W^ . ^C^ , ^yX^TdV, ' ' • ', picKERE1- ^ ,/vV % V^ ^ ,v CHAPTER III. CROOKED LAKE. O'LEARY'S GOOSE. I have asked several persons who are supposed to know: "Why is Crooked Lake so named? With the excep- tion of one man, everybody I asked unhesitatingly answered: "Because it's so crooked, of course." The exception referred to was, I think, the only truthful one of my informants, for after pondering deeply for a few moments he turned around and frankly admitted he did not know and, furthermore, not feeling interested, didn't care a bean. Personally, I do not think Crooked Lake takes its name from the irregularity of its shore lines, for if this was the case nearly every lake, with few exceptions, that I know would have to be called Crooked Lake also. Many, many years ago, when I was a young fellow of seventeen, during a tour in Switzerland I made the acquaintance of a young German named Muller, a devil-may-care young student, just fresh from the uni- versity; we became great chums, clubbed our slender finances, and for two months traveled together and became inseparable. He was the most rollicksome, beer bibbing, aggressive mortal it ever has been my lot to meet, yet, withal, an unassuming, gentle-hearted creature, incapable of knowingly hurting a fly. During this trip we cudgeled our brains to devise the most absurd legendary lore regarding the many points of scenic interest in which the country is so prolific. Did a tall, jutting rock of some peculiarly striking shape require a name and befitting history we supplied it. Did some particularly monstrous chasm in our opinion lay claim to special importance, (27) 28 .CROOKED LAKE. we gratified it, in most cases interweaving a chain of events portraying the proverbial love-lorn beautiful darnsel, the despairing lover and the wicked villain, ending with a tableau of tragic action in which the point of interest found a conspicuous part. With as- siduous perseverance we traced back to the darkest ages the why and the wherefore of the many sights of interest to the tourist, supplying data, romance, the supernatural and blood-curdling historic events "se- cundum artem;" and in those cases (which were ex- tremely numerous) where authentic information failed, supplying the deficiency from our imaginations. We flooded the smaller journals with our communi- cations on this siibject; and, as the old adage says, "In throwing mud some sticks," so it was in this case; although most of the older and more experienced papers refused to accept our versions, still many of the smaller ones gave credence to our fairy tales and cir- culated much information which became accepted, and has since been embodied in many of the guide books of the locality. I remember at the time we both con- sidered ourselves public benefactors and entitled to the thanks and general homage of the Swiss public at large. I have no doubt if my friend Muller was now on hand he could, without greatly discommoding his in- ventive faculties, invest the various waters of the lake region with an amount of interesting legendary lore, possibly of the Hiawathian kind, which, although it might give rise to much discursive comment and sur- prise among the older residents, would still have to be received in silence because of their inability to con- tradict it. At any rate, I am confident that if young Muller was only on hand and given half a chance in this matter, I should not have to confess my inability to furnish any interesting history regarding the deriva- tion of the names of the various waters which I am to mention in these articles Crooked Lake affords very fine pickerel, perch and CROOKED LAKE. 29 bass fishing. Its general characteristics regarding sport are something like those of Sand Lake, either big catches of large fishes or a total blank, but unlike Sand Lake in this respect— the blank days are not nearly so frequent. The best bass ground is that in the deepish water on both sides of the bar, and even when the bass are feeding in a desultory fashion and lacking vim in biting in other portions of the lake, the ground surrounding "THAT DHOUL OP A BHURU WAS HARDER THAN ROCK ITSELF" the bar will generally be found to yield a fish or two if perseveringly coaxed. The lily pads on the east side of the lake contain very large bass, and that spot is splendid evening fishing. Minnows, frogs and artificial baits all have their respective admirers, but I am convinced from personal experience the ground around the bar will yield bigger catches to the angler who uses minnows than any other 30 CROOKED LAKE. bait, artificial or otherwise. For fishing the deeper reaches of any water minnows are unquestionably the best bait, and I think the next best all-round bait is a spoon and pork rind. With a minnow the angler can dwell on his cast, allowing the bait to make short periodical stops during its progress through the water, thus giving a not over hungry fish the opportunity to seize it; but with the spoon and pork rind the lure has to be kept on the move all the time, otherwise its al- luring powers— the spin— are wanting. The most killing shape in whlich to cut a pork rind is to take a strip about two and one-half inches long and one inch wide, cut a forked fish tail in one end and similar forks to- ward the center, one on each side of the strip, and trim the remainder to one-half inch in width; then in- sert one of the treble hooks in the narrow end. This size is about right to use upon a No. 4 Skinner spoon. This bait is a most killing lure for both bass and pickerel; the pendant tails of the pork rind dangling and swaying when drawn through the water, in a par- ticularly seductive and enticing manner. In many in- stances a fish, when not feeding well, particularly after a protracted cold spell toward the end of the season, wiill refuse to pursue the too quickly receding artificial bait, when the same fish would seize a mirfnow which lingers sufficiently long in its vicinity to allow of its being mouthed without too much exertion. In fact, with all predatory fishes, unless they are feeding freely, the more leisurely the bait is drawn through the water the better are the chances of catch- ing them. The nearer the temperature of the atmosphere to that of the water the better fishes feed. If the air is chilly, providing the water is the same, sport may be had; if the water is warm, the atmosphere should be warm also. After a continued spell of hot weather the water becomes thoroughly warmed and the advent of a cold wind or cooler temperature will cause the fishes to cease feeding as though by magic. During a hot spell CROOKED LAKE. 31 the more humidity there is in the atmosphere the better fish take the bait. The moon unquestionably exercises a great influence on the feeding habits of fish. As the moon approaches its full fish display less inclination to feed during the day, and as the moon wanes fish will be found to give better sport to the angler. Through the warmer months fish will seize a bait nearer the surface than duning the colder ones, and after the first spell of chilly weather, generally about the latter end of October or commencement of Novem- ber, the bait must be sunk deeper in the water to en- sure its being taken. No living thing is so susceptible to the immediate influence of heat and cold as a fish. Change of tempera- ture will at once influence its feeding humor. Fishes are cold-blooded and it takes heat to stir them into activity, whereas cold engenders torpidity and inaction with less desire for food. One of the oldest and most familiar frequenters of Crooked Lake is Cook County Commissioner James Munn, who has taken probably more large catches from its water than any other angler living. It was while fishing Crooked and the surrounding lakes that Mr. Munn first conceived the idea of the weedless hook which now bears his name. I know that many anglers have an antipathy to a weedless hook, on gen- eral principles, but there is, unquestionably, excellent fishing water in the lake region, teeming with large fishes, which it would be impossible to fish without a weedless hook; and my experience of the Munn weedless is that it allows a man to make big catches in such places which would be inaccessible to the ordinary uuguarded hook- I had an aunt once, an Irish lady who by some means or another had slipped into our family before I was born. Her name was Fatima O'Dowd, a jovial, dear, good-humored old lady, possessing a rich brogue and an extensive unentailed estate in North Donegal. With- out intentional disrespect, we boys and, in fact, all the 3 32 CROOKED LAKE. family, had dropped into the habit of alluding to her as "Aunt Fatty," and although this nickname described the dear old soul's appearance pretty accurately, yet she was never offended at the nickname. I never see Crooked Lake without thinking of a piece of water— the very counterpart of Crooked Lake in size, shape and surroundings— upon Aunt Fatty's Irish domain, filled with the finest lot of large pickerel I have ever seen. Dear old Aunt Fatty, she is dead and gone now many, many years, and among her many peculiarities was that of not allowing any game to be killed upon the estate, or a fish to be taken from the river and lake upon the estate. Yet she was the warmest-hearted and most charitable landowner in Ireland, and during many a severe Winter it would have gone hard with her tenants if Aunt Fatty had not grub-staked them. PJvery New Year's Day she would drive around to her tenants and ask them which they preferred, a pair of ducks or a goose, for their New Year's present. She in- variably gave them one or the other at this period of the year. I recollect one year every tenant wanted a goose, and how to raise sixty geese was a problem which sadly puzzled her on her homeward journey; so when on reaching home one of the giirls told her Andy O'Leary was below, waiting to see her about some geese he was wanting to sell, down she went, right away, to inter- view him. "Shure, Mrs. O'Dowd," said Andy, "it's some fat gee&e ye'll be after wanting for your New Year's prisintations? "Yes, I do," said Aunty; "sixty birds." "Sixty bhurds, Is it?" Andy echoed; "why, shure, Ma'am, its jist the selfsame amount I'm after offering; every blessed bhurd as tender as a colleen's conscience and plump and foine-looking as your own swate silfj and," added Andy, sinking his voice to a confidential whisper, "the price to you is only a shilling apiece, but CROOKED LAKE. 33 for hiven's sake don't mintion it to a living body; shure they'd boycott me, every mother's son, for asking less than two shillings a bhurd!" Knowing Andy to be a pretty reliable fellow in bargains of this kind, after some little talk Aunty "AND ERECTED A MOUND TO HIS MEMORY" •• consented to take the birds, and Andy went away happy with instructions to kill, draw and deliver the geese to the tenants and call up at the big house a week later for his money. It was about two weeks afterward that one of the tenants, Mrs. McCarty, called to see Aunty on some af- fair of trifling import and Aunty casually asked her 34 CROOKED LAKE. how she had enjoyed her New Year's goose. At this query Mrs. McCarty became terribly embarrassed. "By all the saints in hiven, Ma'am," she replied, " 'tis an onmintionable subject in our house; and the tough unholy baste lies this niinit on the top shelf of thv, cabin, unaten." "Why, you surprise me," said Aunty, "for Andy O'Leary assured me his geese were all young and tender!" "Andy O'Leary!" screeched Mrs. McCarty; "and is it to that murthering rascal I'm risponsible for me throuble? Why, Mrs. O'Dowd, Ma'am, begging your ladyship's humble pardon for spaking of it, I boiled that blaggaard of a goose for one whole night and two blisised days, before ever so much as the prong of a fork could make a dent on his leathery old carcass; and it's roasted arid well basted before a slow fire it was for jist another day, by little Mickey; and then I thought, 'surely 'tis tinder and atable the bhurd should be now!' But, Mrs. O'Dowd, dear, thrue as I'm shtand- ing here in your prisince, that dhoul of a bhurd was harder than rock itsilf ! WTasn't it me husband who at- tiiwpted to gnaw a bite of mate from the terrible thing and broke off short the only three teeth in his face; and wasn't it little Mickey, who's now at home wid his jaw cracked and me best woolen scarf round his innercent little skull to keep his little face straight at all, at all, because the unthinking little gossoon imagined he could chate the bhurd's leg of a bite of grissle? Oh, Mrs. O'Dowd, 'tis sorra the day you prisinted me wid that garralikin of a bhurd!" As Aunty had received no complaints from the other tenants, she felt sure that some mista"ke had been made by Andy, and finally persuaded Mi's. McCarty to go over to Andy's cabin, and find out the facts of the case; at the same time counseling her to make the necessary inquiries in a peaceable and neighborlike manner. Mrs. McCarty started on her errand and soon arrived CROOKED LAKE. 35 at the O'Leary residence, where she was -welcomed in the most cordial manner by Mrs. O'Leary and informed that Andy was not at home. After the first greetings were over and a little preliminary chat had been broached, Mrs. McCarty came straight to the matter in hand. "Mrs. O'Leary," she said, putting on her most per- suasive smile and best company manners, "Oi would loike to know where Andy found that devil of a goose he left at my cabin two weeks ago?" "Shure, darlint, I'll tell you," the other replied, " 'twas old Patsy; me husband, the Lord forgive him, killed the bhurd by mistake, and 'tis mesilf that haven't done crooning and lamenting for the loss of my old favorite "Old Patsy!" ejaculated Mrs. McCarty; "who's old Patsy ?" "Why, Mrs. McOarty, dearie, '