St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-07-14
A Minnetonka Fisherman
Talks of His FaVOrite
Summer Pastime.
Points on How to Select a
Fishing Outfit From Rod
to Fly.
Prices That Would ParalyZe
an Impecunious Pleasure
Seeker,
But Do Not Disturb the
Equnimity Of a Veteran
Angler.

For the benefit of the many wouldbe
fishermen now engaged in drowning
bait in the waters of fair MinnetOnka
a GLOBE reporter interviewed lone
fisherman yesterday regarding what a
| fisherman's outfit should consist of,
how much money it was necessary to
put into it, and some other minor de-
tails which cannot fail to be of interest
to the enthusiastic angler. The old
man is evidently man who believes
in fishing for bass during the bass
season, and takes delight in sharing the
king of game fish, for he talked of bass
all the time.
An outfit should be as nearly perfect
as possible, he said, for more heart
| rending sight than to see fine fish es-
| cape through some imperfectiOn in the
tackle when the skill of the fisherman
| has proved equal to the task of Turing
| Mr.. Bass from his watery abode and in
ducing him to take the bait is hard to
| imagine; at least such is the professional
opinion of the GLOBES informant.
| The first thing to be considered is the
rod. If money be no object to the fish
erman, split bamboo is the only thing
he should content himself with, and
|
| cording to the tastes of the pur
chaser. Then come the Lakewood,
greenheart. ETC., and really A l rod
| can be bought for Sc OF $40, although
there are very fair rods for So to IS.
| For bait fishing, minnow and frog cast
| ing and skittering, which latter is, by
the way, a very popular and successful
way of taking bass, the rod should be
eight or nine feet in length, stiff in the
back and seven OF eight ounces in
weight. The Henschell pattern is the
anglers favorite for this style of fish
ing. 1t is eight and a quarter feet in
length, weighs seven and a half ounces,
or eight with reel-seat. The first joint
is of fine, Straight-grained ash, and the
other joints and tip of lancewOOd. Such
rod, built of first-class material, will
set the ambitious angler back about
| $40 note.
The reel is one of the most important
things in fsherman'S kit and should
| be selected with care. A gentlem an of
means should select a genuine Ken
| lucky reel, made in Louisville and sold
| by sporting goods houses at the modest
price OF $50 to $50, or even higher if Spe-
| cial ornamentation is desired. This
reel is quadruple multiplier, with drag
| and click. 1t is made of German silver,
lasts lifetime and is by far the best
reel to be found. Next to this III point
of real value, and far less expensive
| than the other, is free-running double
multiplying reel, made of either German
silver or hard rubber. These reels have
an adjustable click and are better wear
| ing and more desirable for practical
work than most of the ordinary multi
pliers. A first-class steel pivot brass
reel costs from S. to SIS according to the
amount of line it carries.
In fly fishing the reel should be
plain click trout reel of the best quality
Next to hooks, I'D purchasing which
the angler cannot be too particular, the
| line is the most important of the minor
details. A faulty line, that kinks,
knots and "snarls," is the cause of more
profanity and belated contrition than
anything else that a fisherman has to
contend with.
From twenty-five to forty yards of
enamel silk line, size q or +, catches the
| fisherman and the fish in fly casting. In
bait fishing many use the same line, but
| others prefer hand-braIded, dressed
silk that is hard enough to resist the
tlattening effects of frequent casting.
There are also raw silk. cable-laid.
braided linen lines, each of which has
its little corps of champions. If line
shows disposition to kink, it can
usually be overcome by the use of one
or two small brass swivels. Fifty or
seventy-yards of line is none too much
for this kind of fishing.
"As for flies, it is simply bewildering
to think of the swarms of them that
have been used with greater or less sue
cess. There are various flies for dark
days, for bright days, for early fishing,
for late fishing and for midsummer
| fishing; but anysman who has pulled as
many bass out of Minnetonka as l have
in the last twelve years has found that
| with dozen or more selected from list
| like this his chances are good wherever
there are bass" He then opened his
well-worn Bray's fly book and exhibited
a dazzling array of the most fanciful
| feathered and bespangled insects ever
seen. "This one is Seth Green" said
he; that's Coachman, here's a Gov.
Afford. and in those other rows
you'll find the Montreal, white miller,
brown and black hackles, Professor,
Grizzly King, Ferguson, Ibis, Soldier.
| Polka, Raven, Henshall, Parmachene-
vile and many others; but then I've got
more than one man really needs. The
boys say Pm a crank on flies"
"'How about hooks?' oh, I didn't
| Gllluh VI Illdl. w Gil, Gllc 1IlintIlCh. CdT-
Isle, Aberdeen, Kendall-Sneck, Kinsey
and others are all good, but use Sproat
| hooks almost entirely. and the flies
should be attached to No. 2, 3 or 4 hooks
on heavy single-gut leader six feet
long for fly fishing, and double gut of
half that length for bait fishing. Ev-
| cry fisherman of experience will keep a
| small file in his fly book in order to
keep needle point on his hooks"
| In trolling for bass there is nearly
as great variety of spoons as there is
| of insects for fly fishing. Spalding's
hammered bait, Skinner's fluted bait
and many others are equally good.
| Phantom minnOws are also good, and ar
tifcial frogs and grasshoppers will often
tempt wary deniZen of some secluded
cove. Live bait, either minnows OF
frogs, are more desirable, however, for
casting about the edge of weeds. stumps
and lilly pads.
There are dozen other things to be
looked after-a landing net, sinkers of
| different sizes, sWivels and hundred
| minor bits of Waltonic bric-a-brac, all
of which may be conveniently carried
| in a small box.
"Where to go? That's different,
| there are dozen good places within
twenty-five miles. Some fine strings of
| bass are taken every year at 'Tonka,
although it is we'll TO be acquainted
| with the lake and know the most ia
vorable spots. White Bear also yields
| some good catches, and Lake hide
pendence is becoming quite Mecca
| for fishermen. The long chain of lake
lets known as Chisago lakes in Chi
| sage county is only about forty miles