first week of August, and the result far
surpassed our wildest imagination. We fished three full days, and
brought back 1500 trout, which weighed 700lb., cleaned and salted. The
first day we caught 350, for some time was wasted in finding the best
places. The second day a start was made at 5 a.m., and we fished till
long after dark, about 9.30 p.m., catching 650; the third day we caught
about 500. The weather was intensely hot and fine, sometimes dead calm,
sometimes a strong breeze, and at night a brilliant moon; but whether
dead calm or blowing strong it made no difference to the fish, for they
were taking as freely in the moonlight as at mid-day. Flies were
abundant, and the fish were ravenous for both real and artificial; they
almost seemed to fight for our flies as soon as they touched the water.
Even when almost every feather had been torn off they would take the
bare hook. We fished with three flies, and often had three fish on at
one time; on one occasion my companion handed me a cast and three flies
with a few inches of running line which had been lost by me not twenty
minutes before. The hottest and calmest hours of the day afforded the
best sport, as is usual in my experience on all the waters of British
Columbia, though wind did not make any difference, except to make it
more difficult to manoeuvre the boat. Our fish were cleaned and salted
each day by some Indians so that none were wasted, and no fish were
returned to the water except the very smallest.

We had estimated our catch on the best day to be over 700 fish; but,
owing to exhaustion and the necessity of cooking our supper, after being
seventeen hours on the water, we did not feel equal to removing our fish
from the boat, and during the night a raid was made on them by mink,
which are very plentiful round this lake. Though it was impossible to
say how many had been carried off, 650 was the exact total of fish
counted on the following morning. If allowance is made for a rest for
lunch, and time taken off for altering and repairing flies and tackle,
it will be easily seen that this number of fish caught by two rods in
one day on the fly constitutes a record which would be very hard to beat
on this lake or any other. The best I was ever able to do again, with
another rod, was a little over 300. But the conditions of the weather
and the fly on the water were never quite so favourable. At the time
mentioned this lake was little fished, and the Indians wi