Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-05-07
FlsAINo TARoueH .THE lcE.

-->,ss " Netcn Elckerel fn connecticut m the Winter Season.
 Winter fishing for pickerel savers of all the exciting detail that accompanies the sport in open water when the suple denlzen of the shadows is lrired from nis shadowy lair byathe whirling spoon, ana the fisherman escapes the fatigue that he suffers in walking along the margin of the lake with the hot rays of the summer sun blistering his back.
 There is enough excitement and work in it to rob the sharp winter winds of their about sting, and, if the ice be clear and smooth. pair of skates add mate rlally to the pleasure of the days out ing.
 During the last ten years great im- provement has been made in the tackle" for picLerel fishing through ice. A decade ago the forked stick cut at the margin of the lake, sufficiently wide to cover 8 hole in the ice and strong enough to hold fish until he was safely landed, or a shingle with a hole bored through the center, through which stick was thrust to support it over the hole, was all the equipment, besides the lines and hooks, that the fisherman cared for, and it is probable that in those days, with this crude out lit, fishermen were quite as successful as they are to-day; but no fisherman, who is at all sensitive, will now venture upon lake with such ungainly tackle" and compete with the man who is equipped with the ingeniously-contriv flag gear," which is exceedingly neat and elaborate in its construction.
 A man who angles through ice en- joys the best success on a clear, cold 1 day, with the mercury a few degrees above the freezing point, for during the winter the piclkerel lie in deep water, very near to the bottom of the lake, and bright sun lights up the water beneath the ice and enables the fish to see the bait. The early morning hours are the most favorable for a "big 1 catch," and the most successful fisher. men say that the holes should be cut 1 and the lines set by the break of day, for as soon as the light of day shows 1 through the holes in the ice the fish 1 gather about them in their search for food.
 The number of lines in the equip ment of the average fisherman is sixty, and as a hole has to be cut through the | ice for every line set, the angler finds enough exercise to keep his blood in circulation during the sunless hours of the early morning, especially if the ice averages eighteen inches in thickness, as is very often the case. To cut sixty fishing holes in the ice averaging twelve inches in thickness requires from two 1 and half to three hours of hard labor. l This portion of the days sport is not especially enjoyable, since it has to be performed by the light of lantern, and the flying particles of ice dashing into the choppers face do not in any degree increase the ightness of his spirits.
 The holes are round and eighteen inches in diameter. They are cut over 1 what are considered the best fishing 1 grounds in the lake, often stretching in line along the channel more than two miles, and when the fish take the bait lively 1t puts the fisherman to his best sxertions to give his lines the attention that they need. With dozen flags signaling to him at the same time he is put to his wits end to reach them all before the fish has managed to liberate himself from the hook. To success fully attend such string of lines the fisherman must be a fast and clever skater. When there are several fisher men on the lake at the same time they assist each other in attending the lines, and whenever a fish un- usually large is drawn from the water he is swung high in the air and attention attracted to him by a triumphant shout from the throat of his captor that rings along the frozen lake clear and distinct for many miles. There is a chorus of answering shouts from distant fishermen, a ring of steel along the icy plane as the skaters hurry in the direction of the lucky angler, and for awhile as they gather around the gasping fish that dangles from the hook, admiring him and guessing at his weight, they forget their on "tackle."
 ! The gear now in use consists of a piece of soft pine eighteen inches long, three inches wide, and half an inch thick. Extending lengthwise through the center of this is slit a quarter ot an inch in width. Working on an axle through this slit is strong wire about thirteen inches long, with hook at one end, upon which loop is hung. At the axle lies light ball of lead, through the center of which the wire passes. This ball is capable of running the length of the wire between the axle and the hook at the end, and is there for the purpose of sliding to the hook l when the fish takes the bait and pulls the wire down to a certain angle. The
 lead ball holds the wire down, the 1oor in the line slips from the hook at the
 end, and the fish can run to whatever
 length of line the fisherman chooses to allow him. At the opposite end of the
 wire from the hook piece of red fan.
 nel is attached, and as the hook is drawn down the flag rises in the air and
 autters in the breeze, thus signal
 ing to the fisherman that there Is fish at his line. About six inches
 from the edge of the hole in which l the line is to be set deep gash is cut ir