FISHING-TACKLE
Choice of Tackle
Every boy knows how to go a-fishing, but an intelligent boy is not long
in learning that the mere getting of a lot of fish is a small part of
the pleasure. That is why he prefers the rod to the seine, one big fish
to many smaller ones, one cunning old trout or pickerel outwitted to a
basket of stupid fish that contended for the bait. Presently he begins
to desire more delicate tackle, and understands that he is fishing for
sport, not fish. I take it that the whole art and mystery of angling is
how to get the most sport and enjoyment out of it. But how?
To begin with, no one will destroy a fish which is not dangerous to man,
nor will he fish just for amusement; in other words, he fishes only for
desirable fish. The chief things that make a fish desirable, in the
sense of a game or sport fish, are that it shall be good food, not too
common and not too easily caught. If, besides, it be beautiful and found
in beautiful places so much the better. It happens that by common
consent certain fish—salmon and trout and their kindred—are in Europe
and America esteemed above all others, and the opportunity to angle for
them is not open to every one, and most boys must get their sport with
other less-esteemed kinds. “Boys’ fish” they are sometimes slightingly
called, but they have lots of sport to give to the boy who knows how to
get it, and he will get more sport if he takes pains to make the fish
better worth catching and better worth having after it is caught. It is
better worth having, for instance, if you have caught it from the
cleanest water you have access to. Clean water makes sweet fish. If a
fish is to be kept kill it at once by a blow upon the back of the head
where the backbone joins it. This is not only more merciful but makes
firmer meat. If one is fishing from a boat or not moving about much the
fish may be kept alive in a floating live-box or basket, and at the end
of the fishing the best may be chosen for keeping and the rest let go.
Fish are sweeter, too, if cleaned as soon as possible; besides, the
cleaning is done more easily if done early. Learn to do it well
yourself, and try to be at home in time to do it before supper. Cleaning
fish by candle-light goes far to spoil the sport of a pleasant day. Do
not clean fish with your pocket-knife. Have in your kit a stout one for
the purpose which will also cut bait. Such knives made expressly are
sold for a small sum, but a veteran kitchen-knife or a broken
table-knife if kept in order will do excellent service.
Do not throw your fish in the dirt nor let them lie in the sun nor
string them upon a twig or line if you wish them to be sweet. Have a
basket with a cover, even if the cover be no more than a newspaper. Wash
this basket and dry and air it in the sunshine if you can after every
using. All these things you should do if you wish what you catch to be
as good as it can be.
Now, how are you to increase the sport of the catching? Of course you
want the largest fish and these are usually the oldest and the most
wary. This wariness you do not expect to change, but you hope to defeat
it. Study the habits of the fish, where and when and upon what it feeds
or what it seeks. Let your fishing be governed by your discoveries. And
while you are offering him what he wants and when and where he wants it,
remember these old fellows are fussy about their table-service. They do
not feel hungry if a boy throws his shadow across their table, or shakes
it by rushing up to it. Stalk your fish, then, as quietly as you are
able, and if you have alarmed it in any way stay out of sight and remain
as quiet as possible for a long time until your clumsiness is forgotten,
and then let your lure, whether bait or fly, drift into the fish’s sight
as if you had nothing to do with it. And remember that the finer your
tackle the more likely this pretence will be to succeed.
You want also as good a fight as you can get. Remember that the fighting
qualities of fish are as a rule best developed in those which live in
rapid and turbulent water, and in those which pursue their prey and
catch it by their own nimbleness. But any fish will fight better if you
make the struggle more even by using delicate tackle. You win then only
by dexterity of handling, which is one of the great charms of angling,
and about the only one, as regards the mere catching of fish, on which
the experienced angler sets much value. The secret of success with
delicate tackle may be told in two words—care and coolness. Care in the
preparation of the tackle, coolness in handling it.
When you put your tackle together you will make it far safer if you
consider it as one apparatus or machine from hook to reel and if you let
the rod top, or “tip,” be the weakest point of all, because by it you
can best determine the strain upon the whole gear. For instance, a good
line for fresh-water fishing will usually lift at least ten pounds, a
good snell at least three pounds if new, the hook more than the snell,
while the top of an ordinary light rod will rarely bear more than two
pounds of dead weight, so that you may know by the strain upon the top
joint just what the tackle is bearing; and if the joint is safe the
whole is likewise safe.
By testing your tackle you raise your fishing from a rough-and-ready
guesswork to something like certainty, the one point of doubt being
always the security of the hook in the fish’s mouth, and even of this
you soon acquire the power of judging. But this testing is not done once
for all. Good tackle which is put away wet to mildew, or gut which is
frayed or put in the sun to rot, does not long remain sound. Therefore
dry your line, carefully unwinding it from the reel if you have one and
winding it upon a chair-back, for instance, when you come home. Look
over and test your tackle every time you are going fishing—yes, and
every time it gets caught on a stone or stump or in the bushes—if you
wish to escape the loss of your best fish. All this means that tackle to
be safe must be sound—that is, good all through. A line, for instance,
which is strong in one place and weak in another will give you more
trouble than one which is not so strong but uniform.
The strain upon the tackle is equalized by the elasticity of the rod,
which to some extent makes up for want of dexterity. But never have a
rod so flexible that it will not control the tackle, and, above all,
avoid one which is weak in the middle.
Lastly, let the fish do the pulling if you wish to safely handle it. No
angling-tackle is as strong as a boy. But if the rod be so held that its
spring keeps the line taut and a gentle, steady pull upon the fish the
latter soon exhausts himself fighting this elasticity. Any excess of
line not easily controlled by the rod alone should be at once taken up
by the reel. Draw the tired fish out gently, without “yanking,” or if
heavy lead it into the landing-net.
Rods vary according to the kind of fishing, and the “all-round”
fisherman will probably have, without being finicky, as many rods as a
golf-player has clubs. But the boy for whom this is written must make
his pocket-money go as far as possible, and he will probably have but
one. Rod-making is an interesting amusement, but it would better be
deferred until one knows fairly well the use of a rod and just what kind
he wants. The making of rods is not very economical, since nowadays
factories turn out really good ones at prices little above what one must
pay for reliable rod-wood. Roughly speaking, there are two kinds of
rods, bait-rods and fly-rods. Bait-rods are nearly always stiffer than
fly-rods; the latter must have sufficient flexibility and elasticity to
throw a line quite a distance, often several times the length of the
rod. But in choosing a bait-rod a different selection will be made
according to the particular sort of fishing within reach. Thus if one
fishes ponds or wide streams from the bank, a rod a dozen feet long
would not be too long; but if from a boat, a shorter rod not above ten
feet will be more convenient. Still, shorter rods are better if bait is
to be cast long distances, as is done in minnow-casting or some kinds of
sea-fishing. A jointed-rod is convenient for carrying, but if one lives
within walking or driving distance of his fishing a rod in one piece,
such as is easily made from a slender bamboo with an elastic tip of good
wood spliced on, is as good for bait-fishing as any. If besides
bait-fishing one desires to use the fly, then the best rod is a rather
stout fly-rod about ten feet in length, because it can be used for
bait-fishing, while a bait-rod cannot be used to cast a fly.
Beautiful and excellent rods are made of split bamboo, and some of
moderate cost, but avoid very cheap ones. But for beginners’ use the
writer prefers a solid-wood rod of good quality, because it is less
liable to injury and because of the greater ease with which it is
repaired; the boy himself may do it if he be handy. Whatever rod you
have, let the line-guides be of the sort known as “standing-guides”
rather than rings, if you have the choice.
Lines should be sound and strong but not too heavy for the rod; twisted
lines are more easily found of good quality but braided lines kink less.
Twenty yards are quite enough for any fishing of the kind we are
considering and half as much would usually suffice. In fly-fishing for
large trout or bass the reel usually carries forty to fifty yards.
Hooks should be of the best quality to be had. Good hooks are still
practically all made in England. Shapes which have received names are
many, and most of them have advantages for particular kinds of fishing.
Among the best are O’Shaughnessy, Limerick, Sneckbend, Aberdeen, and
Sproat. The last-named we think will meet more kinds of need than any
other one. As to size it should be remembered that the hook is to fit
the bait, not the fish’s mouth; a very small fish can take any ordinary
hook.
A reel is not so absolutely necessary as the rod, line, and hook, but it
is a prime convenience. A well-made single-click reel is better than any
multiplier except for the one matter of making long casts from the reel,
which a beginner is not likely to do.
For fly-casting a leader or casting-line of gut between the fly and the
main line is necessary for making a light cast, but for ordinary
bait-fishing the gut-snells which are nowadays so generally sold
attached to hook are bottom line enough. If, however, you can get some
white, gray, or cream-colored hairs from the tail of a young stallion
you can make bottom lines or leaders for light fishing without expense.
A gaudy float is pretty sure to form part of the first angling outfit,
and it is useful to keep the bait out of the weeds and to notify the
inexperienced angler that a fish is biting. Choose one that is slender
in shape and not large. A dry stick makes a good enough extemporaneous
float, and if fish are shy may be better than a more showy one.
For sinkers split shot B B size and buckshot or strips of thin lead,
such as comes from tea-chests, wound around the line are as good as any
and very easily gotten.
Do not buy a bait-box. It is not so good as a bag with a draw-string,
which will allow your hand to be inserted and will also close the
aperture snugly. The same string will serve to fasten the bag to your
button-hole or creel-strap. The bag is best made of flannel. Wash it
after using.
Worms are much better if dug a day or two before using and “scoured” by
putting them into soft moss wrung out of water. They become brighter and
firmer by scouring and are more attractive to fish. If live minnows or
small fish are used for bait, of course they must be kept in water,
which must be changed from time to time. A pail is the most convenient
vessel to carry them in.
A landing-net is convenient if you fish for game which is heavy in
proportion to your tackle—say for fish upward of a pound in weight with
a light rod. Very low-priced ones are now sold in the shops and
sufficiently good ones can be made at home.
We give no details about flies as their name is legion. A beginner would
better have but few kinds and of moderate size; a few hackles will
probably be all he needs.
There are a multitude of things sold in the tackle-shops which are
tempting but not at all necessary, not to mention many which could have
been devised only by a person who was no angler. Those already spoken of
are all that seem essential.
Bait-rods and Fly-rods
Probably most boys are too sensible to fall into the error which seems
to beset many adults—namely, that the possession of tackle makes an
angler. It is necessary to know how to use it.
Begin by putting your rod together properly; put the tip into the middle
first, and then the middle into the butt. See that the ferrules are well
“home” and that the guides are all on the same side so that the line
will run freely. Place the reel, if you have one, in the reel-seat and
see that the reel-bands are snug and will not slip. Then lead off the
lines through the rings and the tip-ring. These details are the same
whatever kind of fishing is in hand; the others depend upon what is to
be done.
Let us suppose that you are to fish with bait and that bait a worm. If
you have a short gut line—two or three feet long—it will be well to
fasten it to the end of the line and to the other end of the gut attach
the snell of the hook. But when seeking many fish which are not very
shy, the snell may be fastened directly to the line. In fishing in a
gently moving stream no lead may be needed; if the current be quick a
little will probably be required to keep the bait near the bottom. In
pond-fishing or reaches of a stream which are very quiet a float as well
as lead may be convenient. Some veteran anglers still enjoy the bobbing
of the float. The hook may be put into the side of the worm as shown at
A, or into the head as at B (Fig. 1). A is rather more attractive to the
fish; B more likely to be taken in such a way as to insure that the hook
is in the fish’s mouth. When the worm is dead or has slipped down into a
bunch at the bend of the hook no fish that you want will be likely to
take it.
Now, do not make a splash when you put it into the water. If you have to
cast it out into still water do not use your rod and line as if it were
a thresher’s flail. Holding your rod nearly straight up, give the line a
gentle swing forward, and when the bait has swung well out reach after
it with the rod so that the bait (and float, too, if there be one) shall
fall as lightly as possible. Do not be in too great a hurry to change
its place. If you are fishing in running water, drop the bait quietly
into the water and so manage the rod that it shall neither hasten nor
hinder the movement of the bait, which should travel as nearly as
possible as it would if it were not upon a hook. All the time you are to
keep as much as possible out of sight. When you feel the pluck of the
fish drop the point of your rod and wait a second or two before you
attempt to strike the hook into the flesh.
It sometimes happens that the place you wish to fish is so encumbered
with bushes that it cannot be approached. In such a case, if you can
find an opening in the bushes you may get at the water by shortening the
line and winding what is left around and around the top of the rod. Then
pass it through the opening, and, reaching out over the water, roll the
rod over and over in the hands until the line is unwound and the bait
goes dropping down to the water, as a spider lets himself down from his
web. If you have a bite, give the fish time to make sure of the bait.
Strike, and, when you can, shorten your line still farther if necessary
and draw your fish out.
On the other hand, if in a fairly open place you wish to reach a point
at some distance, you may throw your bait out by pulling sufficient line
from the reel, and, gathering it in coils upon the left hand, swing the
bait out with sufficient force to carry the coils of line after it and
so reach the desired point.
To tell in a few words how to cast a fly is hardly practicable. It is
not done by force but by knack. A cast consists of a back cast which
carries the line upward and backward, and a forward cast which propels
it towards the desired spot. The knack consists in giving with the wrist
such a quick motion to the rod as shall set its elasticity to work, and
this carries the line. One must not thrash with the rod.
As useful a way as any to help the reader will be to describe how the
writer has tried to help lads who are learning to cast. It is in this
way: The boy takes the rod, fitted with its reel and line only, to a
water’s-edge free of bushes or trees or to a lawn recently mowed. If the
grass is slightly damp all the better as it holds the line more nearly
as does the water. He pulls off from the reel enough line so that the
free part shall be once and a half or twice the length of the rod. This
he throws out in front of him as well as he can. He then is told to keep
his elbow close against his side to prevent moving the arm above the
elbow. He then tries with a quick movement of the wrist, and with as
little movement of the forearm as possible, to lift the line upward and
backward until it straightens out behind him, and then with another
similar motion to make it go straight out before him.
The accompanying drawing (Figs. 2 and 3) show how the wrist and thumb
really do all the work, and how little the forearm really moves in good
casting. They show, too, what should be the limits of the motion in the
butt of the rod. If it goes farther back the back cast is apt to be low
and the line if not the rod may get into trouble in bushes or grass. If
it goes farther forward the line is apt to go down with a splash.
After this restraint of motion has become habitual the rule of holding
the elbow against the side may be relaxed a little, especially in making
long casts.
[Illustration:
Fig. 1 A
Fig. 1 B
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
HOOK-BAITING AND FLY-CASTING
]
Do not try to lift a sunken line suddenly from the water. Coax it to the
surface, as else the resistance of the line will probably snap your rod.
Do not try to make the forward cast on just the same plane as the back
cast for fear that the end of the line should snap like a whip-lash,
which if you were actually fishing would crack off your flies pretty
certainly. Therefore make the lift of the back cast with a slight sweep
(generally inward towards the body is the more natural), and deliver the
forward cast straight out towards its destination. But always aim about
your own height above the spot on the water you mean to reach to insure
the line falling lightly.
In all your practising remember that the key-note of good casting is in
getting a good, clean, high back cast, and in never sending the line
forward until it is quite straight out behind and above you in the back
cast. If you have with you some one to guide you as to when it is
straightened out it will be a great gain, particularly as the time
required for the straightening varies with the length of line that is
used.
Do not try to cast a long line until you have learned to cast a short
one well; and well means not only with a high back cast and straight
forward, but also accurately as to aim and delicately.
Repairs, Knots, and Splices
As has been said already it hardly pays nowadays to make one’s own
tackle, at least for a beginner. But a few things it is useful to know
so that repairs and supplies of a sort can be made in an emergency. But
emergencies are to a great degree prevented by care—by cleaning and
looking over the rod and the reel whenever you come home, and keeping it
safe. The reel may need a drop of oil now and then, and it should be
always kept out of the dust, in a box or drawer, and above all from
falls or blows.
[Illustration:
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
]
The repairs most commonly called for are the splicing of a broken rod,
the replacing a lost tip-ring or guide-ring, the knotting of gut, and
the putting a hook to gut. The repair-kit, to use a cyclist’s phrase,
consists of a piece of shoemaker’s wax, some moderately stout
sewing-silk—number A being the best suited for quick work of all
sorts—some bits of flexible brass wire, and a pocket-knife. As the
method of wrapping used in all repairs is essentially the same let us
begin with the simplest, the putting the hook to gut.
First wax well a piece of silk half a yard or more in length. Choose
your hook and the piece of gut (or line if you do not use gut) to which
it is to be fastened. Take the bend of the hook firmly between the left
thumb and forefinger and with the right take two or three turns of the
silk about the other end of the shank (Fig. 4 A). Then lay the gut on
the under side of the hook, reaching two-thirds down the shank, and wind
the silk snugly, coil against coil, over both hook and gut towards the
bend of the hook B. When the gut is nearly covered make a loop as at C,
but relatively larger than in the figure and keep on winding so that the
part _a_ covers in not only hook and gut but the part _b_, clearing the
silk from the bend of the hook at each turn. When four or five turns
have been taken draw on _c_ and pull it snug. (D shows the loop not
quite drawn down.) When snug cut off the end and you have the “invisible
knot” or “whip-finish” universally used by fishermen. The same whipping
and finish are used for the other repairs mentioned above.
Suppose that a joint of the rod has broken with a slanting break. It may
be that the surfaces can be fitted together neatly. In this case they
may be joined at once, but if any part has been lost or broken away,
then the broken surfaces must be trimmed and smoothed with the knife
until they do fit. They are spliced thus: Rub the surfaces with your
shoemaker’s wax, press them together, and if you cannot easily hold
them, tie them temporarily with a piece of string, or perhaps still
better, make open coils over the joined parts as at A in Fig. 4. Then
wind back over these coils and the joined parts, making close, snug
coils just as you did on the hook. The whip-finish must be managed a
little differently. Fig. 5 shows how this is done. When ready to finish
drop a loop and make four or five loose turns. Carry the end under the
beginning of the loop, wind down the loose coils firmly, and pull the
end through as before.
A lost tip-ring or guide-ring can be made good by a piece of wire bent
into proper shape and whipped on with well waxed silk thread.
We need say but a few words about knots. In order to knot your gut it
must be first softened, which is done by laying it in water; it softens
much more rapidly in lukewarm water than in cold. Two lengths of gut are
joined together by lapping the end of one by the end of the other and
making a knot in both together. Fig. 6 A shows this knot, only the end
is put through twice for greater security. If the fishing is such as
does not need strong tackle a single knot will suffice.
A loop at the end of a piece of gut is made by making the knot as at B,
which is the commonly used knot.
A better knot is that shown at C, which looks complicated as drawn, but
really is not so, as in tying it the two loops _a_ and _b_ are made, the
end _c_ laid between them, and then _b_ is drawn through _a_.
D shows the ordinary simple method of fastening a line to the loop of a
leader or of a snell. It is the “becket hitch” of the seaman. It
explains itself. Its great advantage is that it cannot slip if drawn
down snugly and can be instantly loosened by pushing the main line back
a little way.
[Illustration: Fig. 6]
Aids for Young Anglers
How often has it happened that on reaching a camping-ground, hotel, or
boarding-house near river or lake where pickerel, bass, and large perch
abounded no provision is found for the angler’s sport but a boat—no
lines, sinkers, or floats; no nets for catching live bait, and no bait
but worms. For sunfish, catfish, and small perch, worms are very fair
bait; but for pickerel, bass, and large perch live bait is best. Here
are some makeshifts and aids that may be gotten up at short notice and
at small expense.
Fig. 7 is an end-section of a mosquito-net seine for taking live bait.
The length of the seine is thirty-eight feet, depth five feet. The
“cork-line” A A consists of a small-sized clothes-line. Corks not always
being obtainable, I have used pieces of thoroughly seasoned white pine
three inches in length and one inch in diameter (C C C). Through these
rounded pieces of wood holes are bored through which the clothes-line
passes. These floats are placed eight inches apart and are kept in
position by the clothes-line fitting tightly in the holes. At the bottom
of the seine another clothes-line is sewed to the netting (B B). This is
called the “lead line” and is for the purpose of keeping the lower part
of the seine close to the bottom of the water. In the lead line pieces
of sheet-lead one inch in length are fastened (H H H) twenty-eight
inches apart. The “staff” D is a well-seasoned piece of hickory six feet
long, to the lower end of which sheet-lead is also fastened at E to keep
it down. To the staff is attached the staff line F F F, thirty feet
long, which is for the purpose of drawing in the seine after it has been
cast.
[Illustration:
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
]
A seine of this size is generally worked by two persons and two boats.
Each person takes one of the staff lines in his boat, and rowing towards
the shore with the extended seine describes a semicircle between the
boats. As the shore is approached each boat closes in, thereby causing
the two staffs to meet and imprison all the fish that have come within
the bounds of the seine. When one person works the seine one of the
staff lines is tied to a rock or stake on the shore and the other line
is taken into a boat, or the operator wades out and causes his end of
the seine to describe a circle until the two shafts meet. Great care
must be taken to keep the lead line close to the bottom otherwise the
fish will escape. In the selection of the seining-ground always avoid
stony bottoms, snags, and brush, which will cause the seine to “roll up”
and tear.
The cost of the above-described seine ranges from three to four dollars,
and is capable of lasting two seasons if carefully handled and spread
out on the grass to dry after using it. A much superior article to
mosquito-net is bobinet, which will last several seasons.
Fig. 8 is a bait-boat for keeping the bait alive. It is towed behind or
kept by the side when fishing. The top and bottom pieces consist of
half-inch pine; in the centre of each piece square openings are cut;
that on the top is protected by a door made of wire-cloth or
quarter-inch mesh fastened to two small staples which answer the purpose
of hinges; over the opening in the bottom piece wire-cloth is nailed to
admit of a free circulation of water. Under the back end of the top
piece a cleat is nailed, also two cleats on the bottom piece as shown in
the drawing. At the bow of the boat an upright piece of wood is fastened
to the top and bottom of the bait-boat by means of screws. The sides of
the boat consist of one piece of wire-cloth, the ends of which meet at
the upright piece of wood at the bow and are nailed with broad-headed
galvanized nails. The top and bottom of the wire-cloth are also fastened
with nails to the edges of the top and bottom of the boat as shown in
the drawing. A tow-line is fastened to the bow and the boat is complete.
When handling the bait a small hand-net (Fig. 9) is used, consisting of
a stout piece of wire as shown in the drawing. The straight parts of the
wire are bound together with fishing-line and constitute the handle; to
this frame netting is sewed to form the net-bag.
For a makeshift float nothing is better than a good-sized bottle-cork
into which a cut has been made with a sharp knife or razor extending
from the side to the centre of the cork. Into this cut the line is drawn
as shown in Fig. 10 A.
Sheet-lead is always a useful aid in makeshift fishing-tackle, and for
light lines makes excellent sinkers when bent and compressed around the
line as shown at Fig. 10 B.
For cleaning out a boat a stiff whisk-broom made of fine birch twigs
bound together with wire or fishing-line, as shown at Fig. 11, will be
found very useful.
Fig. 12 A and B are hand-made sinkers beaten and carved out of old lead
pipe. The carved one, B, is first roughed out with a jack-knife and
finished up with fine emery or sand paper. A is beaten into shape with a
railroad spike on an anvil or smooth stone. This beating and carving of
lead is very pleasant work, the lead being of such an easy and
good-natured temper.
For a cheap and easy-obtainable bailer make use of an empty tomato or
corned-beef can as shown in Fig. 13. A hole sufficiently large to admit
of the handle is punched in the side of the can; the inside of the
handle is chamfered off so as to fit close to the inner side of the can.
Through the can and into the end of the handle a stout nail is driven as
at A.
[Illustration:
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12 A
Fig. 12 B
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
SOME USEFUL HINTS
]
A good bait for large fish is a strip cut from the under side of a small
pickerel, perch, or sunfish, which is placed on the hook as shown in
Fig. 14.
Baits, and Where to Find Them
As a rule, the young fisherman naturally considers the angle-worm to be
the only bait he need have when he goes fishing, and, taking a spade, he
seeks a moist, loamy spot in the garden and proceeds to fill his box.
But there is a choice even in worms, and those of a clear, dark, amber
color are the best.
Just at night, and after a soft, warm rain, worms of the size of a
lead-pencil will be found crawling over the ground. These are excellent
bait for bass, chub, perch, and large trout early in the season. If you
step very lightly, so as not to jar the ground, you can easily pick up a
box of these large fellows.
It is well enough to have worms with you on all occasions, but there are
many other baits. Frogs, crabs, grubs, dobsons, minnows, June-bugs,
grasshoppers, and crickets, as well as artificial baits, are more
successful lures with certain fish. A few words telling where to find
these baits and the proper manner of keeping them fresh and lively may
prove of value.
Frogs are most plentiful on the shores of ponds or streams filled with
plant growth, and in low, moist places in meadows. In searching for them
in grass, wait till you see one jump, then catch it in your hands. They
are not so easily gotten from the shores, as they are apt to take to the
water at the first alarm.
Crabs are usually found under stones along the shores of a stream or
pond, and in some localities in low, moist places in grass-lands. Seize
the crab back of the pincers and it cannot nip you.
Dobsons are only found under mossy stones in swift-running waters. They
are of a dark-gray color, have many legs, and when fully grown are about
three inches long. The head is shield-shaped and armed with good, stout
pincers, so handle the dobson as you would a crab. The best way to get a
supply of dobsons is to have some one hold one edge of a fine-meshed net
on the bottom of the stream while you turn over the stones above the net
with a hoe. The dobsons, loosing their hold on the bottom, will be
carried by the current into the net. Put frogs, crabs, and dobsons into
a pail with plenty of grass and some water. If you are to keep them for
some time change the water occasionally.
Grubs are excellent bait for trout early in the season. They are found
in partially decayed tree-trunks, stumps, and old timbers left in moist
places. Cut into the wood with an axe, and if you find it full of holes
of the size of a lead-pencil, knock it to pieces and pick out the grubs.
Put them in a tin bait-box with some of the rotten wood you found them
in.
Minnows of a size suitable for perch and bass fishing can usually be
procured from a spring hole or the pools of a small stream. Take a
rather baggy net with a small mesh, and after setting it at one end of
the pool drive the minnows into it by striking on the water with a pole
and punching about on the bottom. If you stir up the water the little
fish will drive more easily. If your supply must be procured from a lake
or pond, look among the shallows close inshore until you have found a
school, then draw a small seine around them. Large minnows for pickerel
or pike fishing can be caught with a hook and line. Those you are to use
for skittering had better be packed in salt. The minnows you would keep
alive should be put into the bait-pail as soon as caught. Bait-pails, as
usually made, consist of one pail freely perforated with holes to be set
into a tight outer pail. By this arrangement the water can be changed
frequently without inconveniencing the little fellows. If the bait is to
be carried some distance, and there is no chance to change the water,
pack the space between the two pails loosely with grass. The water
trickling down through the grass will take up the air needed by the
fish.
Crickets are to be found under stones, loose sods, and old planks.
Select the largest you can find. June-bugs, sometimes called May-bugs,
hide through the heat of the day among the leaves of the trees, and
sometimes by shaking a tree quite a number will fall to the ground.
Grasshoppers are plentiful in meadow and pasture lands, and may easily
be caught in the hands. Put June-bugs, crickets, and grasshoppers in a
wide-mouthed bottle loosely stuffed with grass. Do not cork the bottle
tight.
I never esteemed artificial baits, such as the rubber frog and crab,
very highly. It is impossible to give the semblance of life to them in
the water, and most game fish prefer live food to dead. The spoon-hook
and the artificial fly, however, have proved their worth. The spoon
should be of a size in keeping with the size of the game fished for, and
it is well enough to have two—one bright, for use early in the morning
and late in the afternoon and on dark days, the other dull-colored for
use in the brightest part of the day. It is an excellent plan to bait a
spoon-hook with a large worm, a minnow, or a piece of meat; then if the
fish strikes and misses the hook it may get a portion of the bait and
will strike again with truer aim.
There are many other things that can be used for bait, which are to be
found only in your locality. What they are you can learn by observation
and experiment. One can always learn something. Only recently I
discovered that bass were fond of darning-needles.
Sometimes the fish have very fickle appetites, and it is well to have as
many kinds of bait as you can conveniently carry. It is also a good plan
to open the stomach of the first fish you catch, and offer to its
companions the same kind of food found inside of it.
A Trap for Small Fish
Many of the boys and girls who live near the sea-side are interested in
making and stocking aquariums, and many, no doubt, have experienced the
same difficulty which I did when I used to stock aquariums myself.
I always found that the scoop-net which we use to catch the fish with is
good enough for certain kinds of minnows, but there are others which are
too lively or too shy to be caught in that way; so I set to work to
devise some plan for their capture. I claim no originality for this
trap—it is hundreds of years old; but as it answered my purpose better
than anything else, I used it. The way I made it was as follows:
[Illustration:
Fig. 15
Fig. 16
Fig. 17
]
I took a piece of wire-netting about three feet square and bent it so as
to form a tube three feet long and about one foot in diameter (Fig. 15).
I then took two other strips of wire-netting, three feet long at the
top, one foot wide, and two feet at the bottom (Fig. 16); these I bent
into funnel shape. I sewed one funnel in about the middle of my cylinder
and another in one end, as shown in Fig. 15, strengthening them in their
position with strings from the small ends to the sides of the cylinder.
The other end of the cylinder I closed with a piece of strong bagging so
sewed on that there was a space left at one side which could be untied
when I wished to empty the trap.
The manner of setting the trap is as simple as its manufacture. A
handful of clams or mussels, crushed so that the minnows can get at the
flesh, is thrown in between the first and second funnels. The fish,
little crabs, small eels, and the like, go in, and when they try to get
out they find it much easier to swim through the second funnel than to
find the small hole in the first. I have had several of these traps, or
“pots,” as the fishermen call them, in operation at one time, and have
caught as many as half a bushel of small fish in one night.
The trap can be made by making a frame of hoops and lath and covering it
with mosquito-netting, but it is not so desirable as the fine wire,
being more easily torn.
A Water-turtle Trap
Some time ago, while spending the summer in the country, I began the
pleasing amusement of making an aquarium. I used various methods to
procure the inmates of the great glass box which I had made for the
purpose, and was successful, except that I could not get a water-turtle.
There they would lie on logs in the pond sunning themselves, but the
moment I came within reaching distance, plump they would go into the
water. At last I took an old soap-box, and after carefully removing one
end I nailed on the cover. I then fastened the end to the cover by
hinges, so that it would swing inward, and after throwing in a few bones
and scraps of meat, I sunk the box in the pond close beside a big log
where the turtles were accustomed to sun themselves. I put a heavy stone
on the box, so as to keep it steady, and awaited the next morning for
developments. Fig. 17.
Here I may say that this trap takes advantage of a peculiarity in the
nature of the water-turtle—namely, if there is a log or stone that he
cannot get under, that is just the place that he wants to get; and I
calculated that the slight resistance offered by my swinging door would
be just enough to make the turtles determined to get into my box. The
next morning when I went to my trap I found several turtles of all
sizes, from one tiny, yellow-spotted fellow, or mud-turtle, not larger
than a half-dollar, to an ugly, great snapper as big as your hat, and so
ill-tempered that I let him go again, glad enough at having got rid of
so troublesome a visitor. After that I set my trap several times and
caught a number of turtles. The smaller ones furnish a charming addition
to an aquarium, and the larger ones, if properly dressed, make a capital
stew.
An Eel-pot
All along the Atlantic coast eel-pots are made on the same general plan,
a bottle-shaped basket having a funnel fitted at the bottom and provided
with a hat that is held on by two straps of green oak.
Three forms are used on which to build up the basket-work. The large
form is usually ten inches in diameter and shaped down to eight inches
at the top or neck. This form is two feet long and has a round stick
driven in the small end. This in turn rests in a hole bored in a solid
piece of plank, so that it is held in an inverted position and revolves
in the hole. Green oak is used for the ribs and bands. This is cut as
straight and free from knots as possible, and is soaked in water for
weeks before it is split and slivered. Green oak will sliver in an even
and uniform manner if it is started right, and from the trunk of an
oak-tree six inches in diameter enough material can be had to make
several dozen eel-pots. The ribs are three-quarters of an inch wide and
about one-eighth of an inch thick, while the bands are a trifle thinner
and wider. A number of the ribs are tied around the form as shown in
Fig. 18, and beginning at the bottom the bands are woven in and out
around the form, turning it as the work progresses so that the immediate
parts are always in sight. Where the ends join they are shaved down thin
so that one laps over the other; then the weaving continues until the
top is reached. The ends of the ribs are then shaved thin and bent back
and slipped under some of the straps. A thin ribbon of the oak is sewed
over and over around the edge to finish it. The top or small end of the
basket is finished in a similar manner.
The cone or funnel form is fifteen inches long, nine inches in diameter
at the large end, and tapers down to two inches at the bottom as shown
in Fig. 19. Ribs are tied to this form the same as in the case of the
large one, and the weaving begins at the bottom and is carried to the
top, where the ends of the ribs are shaved and turned in as before
described. The bottom or small end of the funnel is the trap, and here
the long, thin ends of the ribs are left, so that the eel, when he goes
through the funnel and into the pot, cannot get back again.
[Illustration:
Fig. 18
Fig. 19
Fig. 20
Fig. 21
Fig. 22
Fig. 23
Fig. 24
]
The hat is woven the same as a basket by crossing the ribs and adding a
half-rib from the centre anywhere on the circle, so as to make an uneven
number of ribs; thus the weaving will not duplicate after the first turn
around the circle. This extra rib is shown at A in Fig. 20. A hat form,
shown in Fig. 21, is made of wood and mounted on a block so that it will
revolve the same as the other forms. When a part of the hat is woven it
is placed on the form and two small nails driven through the ribs into
the form to hold the weaving in place. It is then shaped down over the
rounded edges of the form and carried one or two inches below the form
so the lower edges of the ribs can be shaved and bent easily. A long
strap of the green oak is passed under one of the ribs in the hat and
caught under bands of the body as shown in the drawing of a complete
eel-pot. Fig. 22.
The funnel is sewed to the bottom edge of the body with thin bands. As
soon as the pots are finished they should be sunk in shallow water to
keep them wet and get them thoroughly water-soaked.
Stakes or poles are to be driven or worked down into the bottom of the
bay and the eel-pots made fast to them with ropes. To bait an eel-pot
crack some hard-shell crabs or shrimp or put some pieces of fresh, raw
meat within the pot and drop it overboard. Run the pots morning and
night, and remove the eels by unstrapping the cap and dumping them into
a barrel which may be carried on the boat.
A Scap-net
A scap-net for crabbing or landing fish on a hook may be made from a
ring of heavy galvanized iron driven into the end of a hard-wood stick.
Scap-nets may be purchased in most any general store near a bay or pond,
but the ingenious boy can make one himself from a hoop and a ball of
cotton twine. Hang long pieces of string over the ring and tie them fast
with a square knot. Then tie one string with its next neighbor all
around the circle. Begin lower down and tie them again, and continue in
this manner until the net resembles Fig. 23. When it is seven or eight
inches deep begin to shape it in at the bottom by making the meshes or
openings smaller so that it will have a rounded bottom. The ends of the
string should be tied together or over a small galvanized-iron
sail-ring. All the strings should be tied in square knots so that they
will not become undone after the net has been used for a while.
A Hoop Drop-net
A hoop drop-net such as shown at Fig. 24 may easily be made from three
galvanized-wire rings and a mesh of tied string as described for the
scap-net. The hoops should be eighteen inches in diameter and separated
ten inches, thus making a net twenty inches deep. A mesh is to be formed
across the bottom, and at the top six small ropes are tied and the ends
brought together fifteen or twenty inches above the top ring.
Place some crushed crab or any good bait in the bottom of the net and
slowly lower it until the rings rest on the bottom of the bay or pond,
but keep the small ropes clear from the net. Watch through the water for
visitors, and when the right subject is at the bait and within the rings
give a quick jerk and pull the net rapidly to the surface. If fish are
to be caught in this manner the hoops should be larger and one more
added to the net, making it thirty inches deep. Fish are cunning and
swift, and will often dart up and over the top hoop faster than you can
haul it up.