Ontario's Lake of the Woods provides the setting for this delightful melange of stories about Portage Bay Camp, its crotchety proprietor, whose insults are coveted awards, and the friends who shared with the Wellmans- Senior and Junior, the laughter, fishing and adventures of the years. I have read as good and better books about fishing, but rarely as varied a collection of tall tales, mishaps and legends in the making as these reminiscences of holidays through the years. One gets always a sense of place and the quality of the people -- but the story is the thing- whether a tale of a hurricane that menaced life and property, or an encounter with a mighty fish, or a mystery surrounding teammates on a trapline, or practical jokes that are funnier to read about than experience, or the day in, day out enchantment of lake and camp, of woods and islands, and the constant lure of bass and muskie, northern pike and walleye fishing. Wellman's fame as novelist and historian is enhanced by his ability to share the contagious enthusiasm for his avocation, fishing. This will make him new friends.