Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1889-08-29
POINTS FOR FISHERMEN.
Hints From q WaltOnlan Who Has Ha
Forty Years, Experience.

Forty Years Experience.
Anxious fishermen who are green
are often heard to remark: Don't
talk; you will scare the fish" This
is fallacy. Fish only hear sounds
such as produce n vibratory motion of
the water. and talking does but little
of this. But their sight is keen, and
a moving body upon the bank of
stream Or the reflection of bright
reel will send shy fish scurrying to
their hiding places. In fishing from
boats care should be taken to make as
little noise with the oars and with the
feet as possible. as such are directly
in contact with the water and produce
conclusions that fish hear. Where
fish are in schools an experienced
angler, by keeping out of sight and
gradually drawing his hooked prize
away from the place of capture before
attempting to land him, will have the
privilege of capturing many of the
school before they become frightened.
The natural habits of the fish are
best studied at the great artificial
hatcheries. The writer visiting one
of these in Wisconsin was given a
pole and line and told to catch a mess
of trout from the pools where they
were located, according to the age of
the fish. Upon throwing in the bait
the whole water was alive with trout,
which fought for the prize. At a
second cast there was a commotion in
the water and second capture. After
that not fish was in sight, and
second pool had to be sought, and with
the same result. And yet these fish
were used to being fed. and were not
afraid of men; but the fish instinct
was in them, and they soon learned
there was danger. and. warned by
their own method of tefegraphy, every
fish sought a hiding place.
The fisherman should be clad in gar
ments not in too great contrast with
his surroundings. and his flies should
be adapted to the season. Gay colored
flies are not adapted to early spring
fishing, but should be reserved for
July or August. If frogs are used, use
them only by casting. and make them
light upon the water as near after the
fashion of q frogs ker-chunk as posi-
BILE. Crawfish bait should rest upon
the bottom; ininnOws should be moved
through the water head foremost.
foremost, and if the point of the hook
is not toward the head of the bait the
fish is often lost through faulty and
insecure hooking.
The experienced fisherman always
unreels and tries his line throughout
its whole length. Nothing is more
exasperating than to lose the greatest
catch of the day through a faulty line.
1t requires great care in thoroughly
drying the line each day, and at the
close of the fishing thorough drying
if the line is good for use a second
season. This is nearer always true
with the silk than the braided linen.
A net line left over night will heat
and rot the fiber. It is better un-
wound and subject to the dew or rain
than upon the reel. There is equal
reason to test the quality of the hook
before using. Some are tempered too
highly and will break easily, especially
if they strike in the bony part of the
mouth. If not tempered enough they
straighten out sufficiently to allow the
prize to escape. A good fisherman
avoids too large hook. He believes
in fair play even with fish. As the
season is fairly opened and many
lovers of the sport are oiling reels
and rewrapping their split bamboo
rods. the best of all inventions, an old
Waltonian with an experience of forty
years drops the hints above for what
they are worth, and trusts that the
whole army of sp6rtsmen with rod and
reel will have a happy outing.-Mil-
waukee journal.
in twelve cases out of twenty-five
of importance in the last three years
experts in chirography have gone
wrong in their deductions. There are