The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1895-09-14
CATCHING LIVELY eURGALLS.
They Arc Not Very Big. but WIZ Furnish
LOta of a musen1ent.

They Arc Not Very Big. but WIZ Fnrnis'
1Otn Of a nlusenlene.
The burpalls, or cunners, as the Con-
necticut fishermen call them, arc COM
monty considered n nuisance IneJ
steal the bait from the. hooks OF bass
and blaclsfish anglers, and. some claim.
drive away the larger fish. But OF
late certain knowing anglers have dis
covered that. properly handled, lhe
burgalls will furnish great fun. They
ere u plump, active little fish. seldom,
attaining weight of more than a
pound and q half, and avera ging about
half a pound. Their coloring is very
beautiful. shown. in different lights
all the rainbow tints. They are gre
garious, and where one bites YOU may
know that whole shoal is feeding.
Rocky bottom. with plenty of rock
weed and sea moss growth. is their
natural habitat and they feed Greedi-
~ ON hard or soft CLANS, crab meat,
sand worms.
OF course, n heavy tackle destroys
all the pleasure OF catching these
plucl1y little fish. You want u lght
trout rod, a fine silk line. and snelled
sporat hooks, size No. or 5, about
the size used to take mountain brook
trout. A split bucl<shot will be Il
heavy enough sinlSer to answer every
purpose. Bait carelessly as you
may, you will not alarm or disgust the
burGull. lie is fish OF no epicurean
tastes. and quantity stands before
quality in his eyes. Put Il bit OF bait
on just large enough to cover the bend
Of the hook. and let one end hang Off
to tempt the rascals. Fish from a boat,
or from ledge OF rocks, or from Il
pier, and select spot where the ticc
does not set too sharply, for these fell
lows are too lazy to battle with very
strong tides.
;,1., ~, II n.
nounce the hrst arrived guest. and Il
sharp, strong pull is necessary to hook
MIN. These fish have hard, tough
jaws and lips. and gentle pulls will
never strike the barb home. Some
times the bigger ones. by running un-
der strong! !y-rooted clump OF rock
weed sea kale, or under IL bow1der
on the bottom, will give you great
trouble. At no time will they surrcn-
der without a very considerable tussic
for freedom.
just bcfore 4 storm is the very best
time to catch burgalls. When the sky
is black, and the heavy clouds hang
low over the water, and the sea Gulls
skim wildly over the bay, the sturdy
rocl<tiwcl lers lcgin to revel At such
a time, will, two hooks on your line.
you can land two at a time until your
arm aches from the effort. The dead.
low water and rising tide are best for
cbb sets out. these little giuttons have
s"rfeited themselves o1A the flood
that they have no appetite left.
They are easy to catch, and can be
found all around New York narbor
and adjacent water. Barstow-on-the-
sound is a convenient station on the
Harlem river bra CHI of the New Haven
railroad, and there you can take a lit
tic hobtail car to City Island Here
you catcE burgalls unnumbered in
rocky Pelham bay and its many inlcts.
50, too you can along the Staten
island shore and the Jersey side.
What is more, after You have had the
fun of catching them there still re-
mains no inconsidera ble treat, for the
burgalls. when fresh caught. are the
finest pan fish that swim. The man
who can not put ut least three Of them.
crisp and hot, under his vest at break
fast has failed prope; ly to appreciate
his opportunities.-N. Y Journal.