The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1883-09-08
How Mackinao Trout are Caught,

First the fisherman protects himself
from the inclemencies of the weather
by drawing on over each other severa
pairs of socks, the last heavy Dutch
ones (duffie socks), after which the
legs are encased in moccasins or shoe.
pacs, thereby giving the wearer al
the appearance of suffering from
an incipient attack of elephantiasis
Next comes heavy double blanket
coat or Hundson's Bay capote, the
peaked hood Of which is drawn loosely
over head and cap and tightly about
the face. The hands are now encased
in an enormous pair of wooden mittens
that cause them to assume like pro.
portions with the neither extremities.
Finally, the waist is tightly girded by a
bright worsted scarf, in which is thrust
the handle of small ak, an ice-chisel
and a knife. His tackle is hook
nearly foot in length and from one
fourth to three-eights of an inch in
diameter, rudely fashioned from steel
wire by some rural blacksmith, and
whose shank transfixes in its longest
diameter a. spindle-shaped sinker OF
lead two or three pounds in weight,
after which it is bent upon itself to
form n ring or eye, to which is securely
knotted stout heavy cotton line tho
thickness of ones little finger, three or
four hundred feet in length, and bear
ing q marked resemblance to the good
wife's clothes-line or an old-fashsioned
BEDFORD purposes which it was doubt
less originally intended to serve.
With ak and chisel a hole is quickly
opened through the ice at some point
where the lake is deep and trout known
TO be abundant; the hook is duly bated
with strip of fat salt pork Ga young
herring, dog-fish or rag Of white cloth
answers nearly as well), and allowed to
sink to the depths below. Presently a
hungry trout espies the lure, and is
moved in the spirit of curiosity to in
vestigate the why's and wherefores
thereof, and glides up to nose the oily
pork. This he finds to his satisfaction,
and with a sudden snap gulps it down
regardless of consequences, and with a
quick wag of his tail turns leisurely
away. But in the meantime his pres
ence has been telegraphed to the far
Their end of the circuit, followed by
sudden ''yank," doubtless somewhat
a stonishing to the internal arrangements
of his Namaycushine majesty, and be-
fore he can recover from his bewilder-
ment sufficiently to collect his powers
the cruel barb is buried in his flaws or
gullet, and he finds himself rapidly as
cending to the outer air, as. the fisher
man, with line thrown over his shoulder,
races away over the ice at the top of his
speed, neither pausing or hating until
the gasping victim is landed high and
dry on the frozen field. Sometimes a
grapple Of several hooks is used, and
more than one fish is taken at time,
but the modus oparandi Is essentially
the same. A similar operation carried
on from boat Ia summer is dignified by
the title of ''trolling;n but the act is one
that would cause the 'srecreative and
contemplative" angler of scientific at
tainments thrill Of horror, Two men
working together with a ''snatching
viii sometimes kill and cure
rs high as eighteen barrels of trout per
week; but four barrels are considered
very fair yield under all ordinary cir
Near the Charity Islands of Saginaw
Bay, Mackinae trout are speared in win
Ter, much in the same way that sturgeon
IRE taken elsewhere, save that the fish
srman shelters his head and the OPEN
ng through the ice by means of tri-
angular box or ''coop'-framed like |
IN inverted V--some four feet wide at |
is base by three feet high and two deep.
)ne side of the coop being open, light I
$ excluded by throwing blanket over
he top, the folds of which are adroitly
Idiusted to permit the free movement
4 the spear handle, and at the Same
ime to cover the shoulders of the OPP
rator as he rcclines at full length on a
ack or mattress of straw. BY this
means the scanning Of the bottom of
he bay is made possible. The spear in
his instance is provided with from three
0 six prongs, something after the pat
ern of the implement commonly de-
'icted in the sinister claw of his Plu-
on:c majesty, and all save the two
utter tines arc double-barbed. The
hank is rigidly riyeted into the socket
1 its handle, piece of ash eighteen
get long, while the upper or distal ex-
remity Of the latter is connected by a
ord to the peak or gable of the coop.
take of sixty pounds of trout per ten
ours labor Is here considered good
atch, since the fish average but about
light or ten pounds each; and profita-
lie market is found at Bay City at from
* TO eight and ten cents per pound,
ccording to season and quality. This
shing, too, is special winter industry,
anticipated in chiefly by the mill men
the Saginaw Valley, who during the
eason live upon the Ice in small board
hanties mounted on runners, each one
law to himself and the proyider of his
wn cuisine. Some, too, while engaged
spearing, make use of a live herring
a lure, attachingl it by a line
nd hook inserted through the
eshy portion of the back to the roof of
le cnon having first fo,.cad n 10 S..ral |