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TROUT FISHING IN COLD RIVER Yarn Spinner Wins Trout and a Bet Keen Con ¬ test for Fine One OneC C F King Carl Parker C L Aikiu guide and cook and myself had been camping for several days on the head waters of Cold River in Hamilton County New York writes C A Stupplebeu of Glens Falls N Y in Hounds and Hunting HuntingWe We had taken possession of a lumbermans shanty which had been deserted except for the mice rats and hedgehogs which were considerably iii evi ¬ dence denceThe The camp was well built of logs and chinkeci with moss It was equipped with a crude table and two tiers of two bunks each one ai aiove ove the other We increased the furnishings by adding mattresses of clean and fragrant balsam boughs boughsOur Our stove was a trench made of stones and cov ¬ ered with flat pieces of iron which had once done duty as the top of a real stove stoveWe We iiail made no record catches but had taken fish enough each day to satisfy four inch with appetites which would have thrown the food com ¬ mission into a panic if they had known about it itWe We had located some trout under1 a lot of drift wood In and near the mouth of a small brook which flows into what is called the Duck Hole nearly opposite our camp and only a few rods distant and also in a spring hole a short distance farther up the same stream The latter we called the King Hole because Mr King first discovered it itWINS WINS HIS TROUT AND A BET BETAs As we were getting supper the last day of our stay Mr Parker visited these nlaces and returned with the information that he had fished them both carefully and there was nothing doing I ven ¬ tured the statement that I would wager five dol ¬ lars I could go over there and take one No one called my bluff but as soon as I had finished my supper I started out with a Professor tied to a No 8 hook for a lure In probably not more than five or six minutes after leaving camp I called to the boys and told them I had won the bet and held up for their inspection a quarterpound trout I had taken from near the drift wood woodI I made several more casts and landed a couple of small ones and lost a big one those that get away are always quite large of course I then started for tlie King Hole but before reaching there stumbled over some logs which were almost hidden In the rank growth of weeds and grass and in doing so lost the reel off my rod and the ring which holds it on Recovering the reel with some difficulty I decided to return t6 camp but could not resist the temptation of one more try at the drift wood woodPlacing Placing the reel in my coat pocket I finally suc ¬ ceeded in dropping my fly at the edge of a partly submerged log Immediately there was a swirl and a tug and I knew I had hooked a good one When he felt the cruel steel he dove under a tree top which was lying lengthwise of the stream and about midway between banks The body of the tree was entirely under water and was full of short branches the ends of which had been broken off My line caught around one of these and for several minutes which seemed like a week of worry I could not move it in any direction and if I did not say something it was because I could not think of anything appropriate appropriateFINE FINE TROUT AFTER KEEN CONTEST CONTESTI I could occasionally see a flash which proved to me that he was still there and I was satisfied he had the best of the argument Thinking I would try and wade to where the line was fast I seated myself on the edge of the drift wood and slowly got down into the water but discovered that it was over the tops of my wading boots bootsProcuring Procuring a stick I then tried to work the line loose but without result resultIt It was now getting quite dusk and I concluded it would be necessary for me to tie him for the night and trust to luck when glorious surprise the tip of my rod almost touched the water lie had the line loose and was making a desperate effort to reach the other side of the iwol where the drift wood was thickest thickestChecking Checking him just in time lie turned and started again toward the tree top but instead of going under it leaped entirely over it and directly to ¬ ward me Taking up the slack as quickly as i os sible all this time the reel was in my pocket by careful maneuvering I manager to keep him in free water and a minute or two later he was safe ou the bank as beautiful a trout as any sports ¬ man would care to look at atI I have caught a great many trout all sizes all kinds and in many different waters from the Berkshires to the Yellowstone and have had nu ¬ merous exciting experiences including a hurried walk across a state line to avoid a meddlesome sheriff whose neighlwr had his stream posted But for real nervenicking thrills that twopounder at Cold Brook caps them all allThere There are two good lessons to learn from this experience first never use worn or rotten tackle second when fishing among snags and brush use only a single fly If I had not put on a new leader and had on two flies as I usually do I would not have landed that trout and there would have been no story worth telling
