142 



RECREA TION. 



can hardly capture enough, in a long day, 

 for a small family's dinner. Yet, a friend 

 who deplores the passing of the good days 

 on these lakes, wrote me in May of the 

 fine fishing he had in March. He captured 

 pickerel weighing 10 to 14 pounds, in the 

 slough! 



Those who chase fish into shallow water 

 and shoot or spear them, forget they are 

 killing the goose that lays the golden egg; 

 and that every female fish killed, in early 

 spring, is full of eggs which die with her. 



Plenty of so-called sportsmen in Chicago 

 sneak out to Delavan, or some other lake, 

 a few days before the open season, to get 

 ahead of the genuine sportsmen. A year 

 ago some of these men were surprised by 

 the warden, who secured a pretty sum out 

 of the fines they paid. One well-known 

 fisherman only escaped by wrapping his 

 ill gotten spoils in his overcoat, and sneak- 

 ing to the train, across lots. 



There is a humorous side to' the theory 

 of fish planting. Among the varieties 

 which have been placed in many of the 

 lakes hereabout, are the white bass of the 

 lakes, and the whitefish. Now, I never 

 caught a white bass except during a limited 

 season, in the spring, when they run in 

 schools, and will bite at a naked hook in 

 their then excited condition. I have seen 

 the water in Lake Erie, fairly foam with 

 their antics. On one occasion, a party of 

 3 of us took a washtub full of white bass, at 

 the mouth of the Raisin river, in less than 

 2^/2 hours, and did not have bait half the 

 time.* 



The whitefish rarely takes bait. I have 

 never seen but one on a hook. In a lake 

 where angling is the only permitted 

 method of capturing fish, the result of 

 whitefish planting will either call for an 

 amended law, or a 16 pound fish will be no 

 rarity in such waters. 



C. C. Haskins. 



FISHING THROUGH THE ICE. 



In November Recreation, a request is 

 made for instruction in fishing through the 

 ice. I have had some experience in winter 

 fishing, having lived 16 years on Big Stone 

 lake, at Ortonville, Minn. There the game 

 hogs abound in summer, and catch fish by 

 the hundreds. 



For fishing through the ice, you need a 

 good ice chisel and ax, to chop the holes. 



Go to some rocky point about 400 feet 

 from the shore, and where the water is 

 from 10 to 12 feet deep. 



Cut a hole 15 or 18 inches wide, and trim 

 off the sharp edge at the bottom, so it will 

 not cut the line when a fish is caught. 



* A washtub full for 3 men ? How much does a washtub 

 full of fish weiyli > Some 150 to 200 pounds, eh ? You are 

 giving the fish hogs a punch ; what do you call these 3 

 men ?— Editor. 



Then cut from trees, some branches 3 feet 

 long and one inch thick at the larger end 

 and tapering to ^2 inch at the other. 



About 2 feet from the large hole, cut a 

 s'mall one, 4 or 5 inches deep, and in it put 

 a stick, so that the other end will be about 

 2 feet above the large hole. Fill the hole, 

 around the stick, with snow or ice chips 

 and water, and let it freeze. When the 

 sticks are frozen in solidly, tie on your 

 lines. Have them about 15 feet long, but 

 do not let all of the line down; coil some 

 of it near the stick, in such a way that when 

 the fish pulls, it will uncoil and let him run. 

 Attach your hook to the line with 6 inches 

 or so of wire, that the fish may not bite off 

 the line. 



The bait is the next thing, and is hard to 

 get in winter. If the creeks are not yet 

 frozen, you can get minnows with a net. 

 Put them in a perforated box, and sink it 

 where you are fishing. Another way to 

 keep minnows is to salt them, but they are 

 not so good as live bait. 



If you cannot catch minnows, find a 

 place where perch will bite and secure 

 some of them for bait. Use a small piece 

 of meat on a small hook, and in a short 

 time you will have perch enough to bait 

 your lines. 



When baited, you can leave them until 

 night, and then reset them. In the morn- 

 ing look after your lines, as soon after day- 

 light as possible. If you wait too long, 

 some of the fish will get off. 



C. G. Lindquist, Corona, S. Dak. 



DO EEL-TRAPS CATCH FISH? 



While travelling through Pennsylvania, 

 and particularly along the main branches 

 of the Susquehanna river, my attention was 

 called to a device, known as an " eel-trap." 

 It struck me as being well qualified to 

 gather in much besides eels. The water 

 being very low, the conditions seemed par- 

 ticularly favorable for this contrivance, and 

 they were seen at frequent intervals. They 

 are remarkably efficient for their purpose, 

 as I was informed. 



Now is there any reason why this device 

 — the long V-shaped dam pointing down 

 stream, with a basket at the apex and only 

 outlet — will not catch fish also? 



I was told, at Lock Haven, of one trap 

 just below that city, yielding 300 eels in one 

 morning. I think any fish that found it- 

 self in such a place would be in a danger- 

 ous position. 



I am not a fisherman, but am a lover of 

 true sport and fair play. These traps may 

 be the most harmless affairs imaginable, 

 for everything except eels; but I should 

 like some reliable information as to wheth- 

 er they injuriously affect the fish. 



" Cervus," Scranton, Pa. 



