Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1884-01-11
AN ODD WINTER INDUSTRY.
FISHING FOR EnHELF IN MAINE
THROUGH THE ICE.

El4hei hHlhha heAOEe a OHles
A gentleman who had been fishing for
smslt through ice in Maine said to
New York Times representative: "Smelt-
fishing through the ice does not differ
much from the same mode of angling for
pickerel, but the element of uncertainty
is unknown in the former sport. You
may fish all day sometimes for pickerel
and then be obliged to buy enough to
save yourself from going home 'skunked,
but when you cut your holes in the ice
and put in your lines for smelt you are
Just as certain of being kept busy pulling
out fish as you are that you bait your
hook. A smelt isn't as big fish as a
pickercl, but he's a game fighter, and
there is an excitement about tending
the lines that Fredericksburg does not
create. The people up in Maine look
upon smclt-fshing as the sport of the
year, and they come for miles about the
country to enjoy it. Even the Indians
from the far-back country tramp in to
the coast during the season to exercise
their skill in Turing smelt. The tackle for
smelt-tishing is very simple. The line is an
ordinary stout linen cord, about four feet
long. To one end of this is attached q
piece of lead about three inches long and
the size and shape of three cornered
file. This is called file-sinker. To
swivel in the other end of the sinker is
tied pink colored SMELL made of COM
mon fsh-line, to which is attached
hook such as is used in fishing for cat
fish The smell is two feet long. The
water acting on the triangular sinker,
hung on its swivels, keeps it constantly
twirling about, and the bait, which is an
ugly looking insect called the clam worm,
is always in motion. Each fisherman will
have out an average of four lines, in as
many different holes, if he seeks the en-
joyment of the sport under the protection
and shelter of tent, or house, as the
natives call them. If he, like many OF
the local anglers, is Drawing the elements
with the sole intention of extracting
profit from the catch, and dances and
trots about on the ice regardless of ex-
traneous aids to combat the wind and
frost, he is likely to have ten or a dozen
lines to care for, spread over an
area a hundred feet around; and
if the fish are biting good he
will have but little time to think of
the cold, as he will be kept busy hauling
up his lines and keeping the holes open.
p" 1t has only been within few years
that such thing as smelt- fishing under
shelter was known. The fishermen had
either to stand out unprotected against
the gales and storms that seem to be kept
on tap along the coast for use at any
moment or pull up their lines and go
home. To be sure, they could pile up
lr of nd hat
boughs, but as it frequently is necessary
for the fisherman to change his location
and the ice barbados could not well be
taken along, the building of them was
generally time and labor thrown away.
BY the way, that is a popularity of smelt-
fishing The fish may be biting so that
you will be kept constantly hopping from
one hole to another to land your catch.
Suddenly your tip-ups' will cease to
tip. The smelts have taken it into their
heads that the locality is not safe for
them, and have moved Well, in a case
of this kind, as | said, the angler would
find his ice and pine boughs useless, and
he would have to desert them to hunt up
the spot to which the fish had changed
their base. But one season a man named
Job Secor went up flom Boston to try
smeit-fshing, He tried it fer day and
fro2e orc foot and both cars, and then
went away. But he didn't 90 home. He
went to Belfast and had heavy wooden
frame, ten feet square, made by car
penter. He procured some sail canvas and
covered the frame with it, having an OPEN
ing for door. The frame was on runners.
When the house was finished he had it
drawn upon the ice and placed over the
holes he intended to fish through. Then
it occurred to him that he might add still
further to his comfort, and he bought
small box stove, ran pipe from out
one side of the house, started roaring
pine-wood fire in it, and, seated on
bench, tished as comfortably as if he were
In his room at the hotel watching stove
pipe hole in the floor The house was Sc
cured to the ice by graphing irons. If
smelt ceased biting in one spot, he simply
loosened his grapples, showed his house
along on the runners, and squatted' in
more favorable quarters. No one who
fishes for smelt simply for the sport there
is in it has gone on the ice since then
without one of the houses. Many who
make business of smelt fishing have
adopted the plan, and in the height of
the season, a stranger going for the first
time to any Of the rivers or inets along
the coast would imagine that a small
army was in camp there.
con a good day for smelt the average
catch per line will be at least 100, or say,
thirty pounds The fish net the business
angler about five cents pound, and have
a ready sale in the local markets. was
having busy time in my house I had
only two holes in use, for the fish were
biting so lively that couldn't take care
OF any more. 1t was showing hard and
blowing harder, but my fire was roaring in
side, and was tolerably comfortable Sud
denly along came one of those zephyrs that
love to play up and down the Maine
coast. 1t seemed to think that / was
cutting things little too fat around
there, and it stopped at my hut, got a
leverage on my grapplcs and the next
instant hut, fisherman, stove and all were
moving off at lively speed. The front
part of the stove--which was not much
more than a toy stove. being only two
and a half feet long dropped into one
of the holes in the ice. and the whole
business went down among the smelt.
We were scudded along iOr hundred
yards, when my house came in contact
with another fshcrman's house. This
called a sudden halt, and ! took adyan-
tage of it to crawl hastily out The col
lision loosened the grappcs on the other
house, and in moment both were flying
onward before the wind. The gale had
nlaUpd the somn Crome with other hI,ts