Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1894-09-26
HE'S 4 FIGHTER FROM WAY BACK.
To Land the Hae:.insvv Trout There Must
Ee ut Tackle AID No Slack Line.

To Land the HacssinGU Trout There Must
Ee ut Tackle and No Slack Line.
''If the 1Iackinav trout could be
fshed fcr VIA light rod and tackle,
as salmon are. said New Yorker who
has tried those game Lake Michigan
fish, ''thc tile Of the salmon as king of
game fish woald fall at once. The Mack
inaw trout is stronger than the salmon
Of greater average weight, equally
tactful and az fierce fighter as that
Goliath of fresh water fish, the muskel-
lunge. A bout with one of the trout at
the end of q hundred feet of line OH a
supple split bamboo rod would give the
sturdiest salmon fisherman enough of
hard and exciting work to satisfy him
for the day. Eighteen, 20 and even %
Founders are by no means uncommon,
and 80 Founders excite no more than
ordinary comment.
''But the Mackinaw trout, like the
salmon trout of the New York lakes,
isn't built for fine tackle, and if you
want him you must work the oars of a
boat faithfully and trail your whirling
troll at the end Of 200 or 800 feet of
heavy line in from so to 100 feet of wa
ter. Sometimes the fisherman ties his
line to his leg as he rowshis boat, but the
usual style is to hold it in his mouth
that is, if he is fishing for trout any
where ON the lake but Traverse bay.
"From time out of mind Mackinaw
horn hnor, Echo6 fOr oh
Michigan with slender, minnow
shaped troll, SO made that it will whirl
rapidly when drawn through the water
and fastened to a staring white line as
big around as lead pencil A good
many fishermen had held for years that
this trolling line was detriment to
fishing, as it acted as a menace to the
trout, which are shy and wary, and
that with line less in evidence in the
clear waters of the lake greater success
would attend the sport of Mackinaw
trout fishing But no one seemed cour-
ageous enough to try any other kind of
line until few years ago, when q
citizen of Traverse City, who was not a
fisherman, made up his mind that he
knew how more and bigger trout could
be caught, and he went fishing one day
with fine copper wire for his line in
stead of the Starring white twine of the
fathers. This wire was absolutely in
visible in the water, and when let out
with the troll carried no suspicion to
the Mackinaw trout's watchful eye. The
result was that this citizen came ashore
with a boatload of the biggest Mackinaw
trout any one had ever seen in one lot
from Traverse bay. Since then the fish
ermen ill that part have adopted the
copper wire for trolling line, but else
where Oh the lake the hidebound old
sportsmen stick to tradition and white
twine.
''There is no mistaking the strike of
Mackinaw trout on the troll, and the
instant he makes it all other business
must be subordinated to that of getting
him safe into the boat. In the express
i've and comprehensive pariance of the
Lake Michigan fishermen, You've got
to keep Mackinaw trout a-goin 1t is
no easy matter to keep 5 or 20 pound
Mackinaw trout going, and the mex
perienced angler will find that the first
thing he knows the trout will be keep
in him a-goin. If the big fish gets the
least bit OF slack line. he will turn and
dash away, sometimes actually pulling
the boat around, if not towing it. Once
headed away from the fisherman, this
game and lusty fish rarely fails to break
the hold of the hook. The angler who
can keep his trout going as he hauls in
the line hand over hand may get his
prize alongside Or within spearing or
shooting distance i'll the course of Is or
20 minutes
''The Mackinaw trout fishermen never
take the risk even of gaffinga a big trout.
Indeed somo carry revolvers of large
caliber, and when the trout is hauled
alongside the boat or within safe range
they shoot it i'll the head and put the
fight beyond all question. Others spear
their catches with long handed, sharp
tined gigs New York Sun.