STILL FISHING FOR PICKEREL 
For the Amateur, General Angler, 
Auto-Camper and Vacation Family Man 
By LOUIS RHEAD 
Here is a simple method of using live bait 
for pickerel fishing, that will obviate the 
old time difficulty associated with live min¬ 
now fishing as ordinarily practiced, viz.: the 
bait swimming into the weeds on the bottom 
of the pond and hiding. Pickerel bite well 
in October and the late season angler will 
find this method very useful and interesting. 
IIIIllflHIlIB 
T HE pickerel is the most 
abundant game fish of the 
northern continent and 
furnishes good sport and succu¬ 
lent food for a host of anglers. 
The simple methods here laid 
down are sporty as well as ef¬ 
ficient, and by following them the 
vacationist, the picknicker and 
the occasional angler will be able 
to pass many a pleasant and suc¬ 
cessful hour near lake or stream. 
In order to assist and attain 
the object desired, I shall describe 
an entirely new rig and method in¬ 
vented by my friend, Edwin Patten, of 
Rockville Centre, L. I., who spent sev¬ 
eral years in study how to master a 
difficult problem, viz.: effectually to stop 
minnows, frogs and other live bait 
from hiding in grass or under stones 
and force the bait to act lively in full 
view of the fish you desire to capture. 
The most characteristic habit of the 
pickerel is to lie among lily pads and 
grass, quiet as a stone, with his long 
nose just peeping out, watching for his 
prey. It is only to a moving object that 
he bestirs, and darts out. He will not 
wander from place to place in search 
of food; what he does get, is that which 
comes in sight of his abode. While 
feeding he has two places of vantage, 
one is in from six to eight feet of 
water, where the bottom curves up 
sharply towards the bank. Here he 
lies quite close to the bottom, to strike 
in at any small fish that passes above 
near the shore; the other place is in 
the weeds, out of which he springs like 
lightning, keeping his jaws closed 
tightly until within a few inches of his 
prey, then opening them wide and shut¬ 
ting them together with a violent snap. 
He immediately returns with the cap¬ 
ture to his haunt, and then works it 
around from the cross ways; he always 
strikes, and swallows it head foremost. 
If the reader will glance at the dia¬ 
gram he will see the minnow has a 
swimming radius of thirty-six inches. 
It cannot pull down the float nor can 
it entangle the line. Its continued play 
in trying to get free of the hook will 
attract pickerel from a considerable 
distance. 
The connection from sinker to float 
car* be either line or gut, the leader 
from float to bait must be of good stout 
gut. The float must be an inch and 
half in circumference, painted red and 
white. The sinker should be at least 
half ounce or more, if you want to cast 
any distance. A very good substantial 
rig can be made up at the cost of 
about seventy-five cents—more or 
less according to what you want. 
I do believe it wise to procure 
and use the best Spanish silk 
worm gut of heavy test for the 
leader. I have lately found a 
most excellent twisted wire 
leader, which is extremely thin, 
of different strength up to eight¬ 
een pounds pull. Made by Mc- 
Masters, Portland, Oregon. The 
proper size hook is the 2/0 or 3/0 
sproat. 
When fishing from an anchored boat 
about 20 feet from shore, if no strikes 
are made within a reasonable time an¬ 
other spot should be tried till you do 
get strikes. For this kind of rig, cast¬ 
ing out from the shore is by far the best 
method, but if the angler is not expert 
in casting then get a boat. After the 
pickerel takes the minnow let him run 
some distance, play a waiting game; 
he has only got the bait as yet in his 
mouth sideways. After he has stopped 
to kill and gorge it he will start away 
again, and then it is the right time to 
strike hard and sharp; he will be 
hooked. If you strike before, the hook 
will come back without bait or fish. 
When hooked, keep him from the weeds 
and let him run until tired. This is 
always wise, if the fish is a good size, 
but never let the line be slack, if you 
do, he will surely unhook himself. 
The necessary bait is best procured 
from the same water by the angler him- 
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