St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-02-13
Sketch Of How Saginaw Fish
ermen Fish Through
the Ice.
Dangerous Occupation Which
Has Many Elements Of
Excitement.
The Process of Decoying and
Landing the Willy and
Carney Trout.
The Fishermen Carry Com
passes to Make Land in
Bad Weather.

Among the many ways in which the
spirit of progress has manifested itself
there is none of more interest to the
followers of Izaak Walton than the
modern method Of spearing the willy
trout In former years the fisherman,
after cutting hole through the ice,
would lie flat upon his stomach with a
blanket over his head to exclude the
light, and in that uncomfortable position
watch for the fish to make their appear
ance. A slight Improvement over that
crude method was the headleSs barrel
into which the fisherman squeezed him.
self, using the blanket for the same
purpose. Now we find the fisherman
comfortably housed in snug Shanty
while following the highly exciting and
OfttimeS profitable sport or Spearing
through tie ice, says Frank LeSlie's
Weekly.
The shanty, which is often the ex-
elusive abiding place in winter of the
fisherman. is easily hauled here and
there about the ice by means of q hand
sleigh. The shanty of itself is very
light, being made of thin lumber and
covered or lined with tarred paper TO
exclude the light, as well as the rigOr-
Gus weather of winter. In one end is a
miniature sheet iron or oil stove, which
easily furnishes all the heat necessary
to make the little house entirely com
Portable for the inmate In the other
end is a trap door through the floor.
When this is removed it reveals an
opening which must be placed directly
over the hole III the ice. The few rays
of light that would enter the house
around the base are excluded by
banking with snow. With shanty
located, one has but to take a
ing" For decoy, a weight
ed wooden fish in imitation of a
small herring is lowered in the water to
point about ten feet below the ice.
Constant moving Of the decoy attracts
the passing trout. 1t is quite important
to so manipulate the string as to keep
the dec0y away from the curious trout,
which soon gets into position where
the spear can be brought into success
full action. Landing the trout, is next
in order. This is most easily and gen.
orally accomplished by stepping out
of the shanty door and drawing the
spear after you.
The weight of the trout varies from
five to twenty-five pounds. AS in
other branches of the sport, the largest
fish always gets away, and thus 1t is
that we frequently hear oil fishermen
tell of seventy-tiVe-pOun which
fiirted with their decoyS. but missed
connection with their sharp-tined spears.
In favorable winters Spearlng on Sag
NAV bay furnishes employment for
several hundred men. AS many as 800
shanties and buildings, with occupants
numbering about 1900, have been sta
toned upon the ice at one time. Stores
and saloons have even found sufficient
patronage from bay fishermen to en-
courage their establishment at cOnven-
lent points. The daily catch of the
fishermen was often quite remunera-
tive, as it represented financial value
of from So 10 SO. Buyers from Bay City
packing houses would call as often as
three times week, purchase his stock
at the shanty door. and then return to
make shipments to Eastern and South
ern markets.
There is more or less danger con-
nected with winter fishing upon Sagi-
nav bay. High winds may capSiZe the
shanty If not properly anchored, or they
may send the vast body of ice out into
the lake unknown to the occupant of
LllG llllIG lOuSCs HC lottCl OAbOA w
ours during the night without the fish
erman's knowledge. In the daytime
the spearer can detect the movement of
the ice by simply watching marker
dropped to the bottom of the bay. A
bright piece OF tin, a broken cup, or
anything of that nature can De seen on
the bottom in water forty feet in depth.
The fisherman is almost always supplied
with compass, so that he can make
land under all unfavorable circum-
stance. such as snow Squall, III which
all traces of shore are lost to view.
When the ice Is free from snow and
glaring, and shanty has been tipped
over by the wind, there is no telling
when Or where it will stop. The fish
ermen have had some thrilling expert
ences during such miShapS, especially
when it so happened that the door OF
the shanty was next TO the ice. In this
event it becomes necessary for the
spearer to make his escape through the
aperture in the floor. This task, with
the sIIanty driven by fifty-mile wind,
is by no means all easy one. 1t is fire.
quently the case that a fisherman, TO
make more sure of his life during sud-
den breaking up of the ice, is equipped
with small boat, life preserver and nee
essary apparatus TO enable him to reach
shore.
The kind of fish to be speared in Sag
jnaW bay is determined by the distance
one goes from the mouth of Saginaw
river. Pike, pickerel, perch and her
ling are to be found in their particular
runways, while lake trout are not to be
caught without going many miles out.
The accompanying views were taken
off Point Lookout, summer resort at
the mouth of the bay. At this point it
is always best for the fisherman to re-
turn to shore each night. with shanty
and all equipments. else he may find
himself far out into Lake Huron at the
oIoca of tho newt dav The Shifting of