Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1895-08-08
CATCHING LIVELY euRoALLs
They Are Not Very Big, but VIII Furnish
Lots of Amusement.

They Are Not Very Big, but VIII Furnish
Lots of Amusement.
The burgalls, or cunners, as the Con.
necticut fishermen call them, are com.
monty considered nuisance. They
steal the bait from the hooks of bass
and blackfsh anglers, and, some claim,
drive away the larger fish. But OF
late certain knowing anglers have dis.
covered that, properly handled, the
burgalls will furnish great fun. They
are a plump, active little fish, seldom
attaining a weight of more than a
pound and a half. and averaging about
half pound. Their coloring is very
beautiful, showing in different lights
all the rainbow tints. They are gre.
garious, and where one bites you may
know that a whole shoal is feeding
Rocky bottom, with plenty of rock.
weed and sea moss growth, is their
natural habitat and they feed greedi.
ly on hard or soft clans, crab meat,
bits of sinner and killie, cut up, and
sand worms.
OF course. a heavy tackle destroys
all the pleasure, of catching these
plucky little fish. You want a light
trout rod, fine silk line, and snelled
sporat hooks, size No. or 5, about
the size used to take mountain brook
trout. A split buckshot will be a
heavy enough sinlSer 20 answer every
purpose. Bait as carelessly as you
may, you will not alarm or disgust the
burgall. He is fish of no epicurean
tastes, and quantity stands before
quality in his eyes. Put 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 boat,
or from ledge of rocks, or from
pier, and select spot where the tide
does not set too sharply, for these fell
lows are too lazy to battle with very
strong tides.
Soon quick mincing nibble will an
nounce the first arrived guest, and
sharp, strong pull is necessary to hook
him. These fish have hard, tough
jaws and lips, and gentle pulls wnl
never strike the barb home. Some
times the bigger ones, by running un-
der strongly-rooted clump of rock
weed or sea kale, or under bowlder
on the bottom, will give you great
trouble. At no time will they surren-
der without very considerable tussle
for freedom.
just before 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 gals
skim wildly over the bay, the sturdy
rockdwellers begin to revel. At such
time, with two hooks on your line,
you can land two at time until your
arm aches from the effort. The dead,
low water and rising tide are best for
catching burgalls, for, by the time the
ebb sets out, these little gluttons have
SO surfeited themselves on the flood
that they have no appetite left.
They are easy to catch, and can be
found all around New York harbor
and adjacent water. Barstow-on-the-
sound is convenient station on the
Harlem river branch of the New Haven
railroad, and there you can take lit
tie bobtail car to City Island. Here
you catch burgalls unnumbered in
rocky Pelham bay and its many inlets
So, too, you can along the Staten
island shore and on the Jersey side.
What is more, after you have had the
fun of catching them there still re-
mains no inconsiderable treat, for the
burgalls, when fresh caught, are the
finest pan fish that swim. The man
who can not put at least three of them,
crisp and hot, under his vest at break
fast has failed proper y to appreciate
his onnortu nities-N Y Journal