The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-03-22
FISHING AND HUNTING.
PREPARATIONS ron THE OPENING
or TINE TRoUT SEASON.


shark HuntinG or Cuba- STRAY shot,
Stories OF sportsmen In the woods
A good warm rain storm, followed by n fov
days Of clear spring sunshine. lasting till after
March 90, and the lot Of the opening day trout
fishermen ~ New fork and Brooklyn will b,
the envy Of evc-y other kind Of sportsman
Whatever the weather, though. every train
leading out on to Long Island on the evening
~ The 2oth, and most " the boats leading ia
The terminals of New Jersey railroads on the
evening Of March ~. will hear mon beside
whom Will lie fish croels, who will hold in
their hands thrir rod crscs lest they le harmed.
Should the paper. which every fisherman will
surely have In his pocket. ~prophesy evil for
March 30, lie Will put II into his pocket or throw
u onto the floor. aud, rubbing OFT tho window
glass, will neer out into the dark looking for a
riRn OF his kind of n fair day.
The chances nre that the fisherman will be n
club man, bound for some cosey lIttlc'cottagc
beside a stream where there are trout u plenty,
for'the'test Of Long Islaud.streams are not open
to the host. At tho club houses will be little
Eronl9 81 men telling of chances, each one
lingering some part OF his tackle. setting the
CLICK to his reel. and pulling of the line. to
wind II up again evenly, IN a nervous. cxpec.
tant way. Tho swell fisherman has a split
bamboo rod OF the latest style. fancifully
wound, with the tip thicker In proportion TO
the middle Joint, and the butt thinner In like
proportion than In years gone by. 1t IL tho
most delicate rod man knows how to make.
weighing anywhere from three and a half
ounces up to eight or nine ources and from
seven TO nine feet long. Tho rod most favored
by fishermen weighs from six to seven ounces.
is nine feet long. fairly stiff. so that lonE-rnnRe
fly casting may be comfortably accomplished
and quick strikes possible. With this kind Of
rod any sized trout can be landed with flies or
light bait-grasshoppers. angle worms. or min
n6ws an inch and a half long. But for heavy
bait fishing with large mlnnows or sinners n
special bait rod is made. considerably heavier,
with the reel seat above instead Of below the
rubber'composftion handle.
The less stylish fisherman has q largo va
riety OF rods and other tackle TO select from.
He can get n poor split bamboo rod for from
one to five dollars, or n fine wood rod for from
three to six dollars. He can get q substantial
three jOinted rod, moro properly n pole. for fifty
or seventy-fve cents. The reel is an important
part Of a fsherman's outfit. On It depends
much of his success. The regulation trout reel
holds from thirty to fifty yards of letter G.
line, with or without balance handles; a good
click that. can be set is more than useful. A
reel Re 1t that nret has v been ts on the sI market ;t long enough s1fH1
the line Is pulled on. When winding 1t up 1t
runs as freely as a free-running reel. 1t Is q
toy that is cana BILE Of good business, and those
who have had their lines tangled nv overrun-
TBS reel such q catastrophe is not possible.
Multiplying reels are little used in trout fish.
fishing or bait casting, and the dealers ali rec
SSmm%end a single action reel without balance
reel with a spring Hs' in its / makeup. wbieh winds nds
Up the line Of itself by the movement of s'snring
drag. Is used by n good many fishermen In pref
nAn m thA N nnf Gnnnn oDt11I r~N Ia |
to What breeds the most fun.
topped and disappeared down In its native
pool, trailing after 1t the flies and leader and
poor quality line "e'f The Best ,F? lines. u rSiise' the Se
Hest rods and reels; cannot be trusted for q
sfssra While Ices especially SscEi snt where 'h a i RisS n Rish
abres TIL the critical momept Of strain comes,
then parts. The best lines last much longer.
lesser grades. but woe comes to the careless
for fishing. Especially is this true Of the part (
giT pr rob : st@' SreaS eet of this M sart fons BY } foa.'
vi the sharper green and black Of the line
the marks on the fingers deepen and tell OF
Greater strength. The safest line is u brand
As in the lines. there is considerable va
Yiety in the leaders. which are made Of the
purest silkworm gut. The gut comes mostly
food makes it stronger than that gotten else.
where. The silk used every year BY the fish
s %qai1 make m ss' man 1ssd 4 sila sv ars sna sword hooks
some tmproperiy call the silkworm gut
so' sOss The The soi Quality The Of n the d Leaders aiirs yHri s,:, and
70 a blush hue or a gray mist color. without
the strength and improving them by
tant consideration when fishing for some edu-
gated trout. The ,calibre of the leaders varies.
good dealers are about right for early Long
Island and New Jersey fishing. though later
Will be necessary in much eshed waters whers
The trout, are educated. The leaders are tied
n ~. several s,y S1.t le snE his feet long for one
flies, and nino feet for three flies. The nine
foot leader is too long for a nine-foot rod, be-
md even though the line was ali used up the
nsh would still be too far of to reach with the
spots, like faulty, knots or strands or a fraysd
careless. man would have lost. The leaders
should be carried in a tin or other kind Of box,
p ps1weon BY sw1 hi. ." msan, Of tnsy m Sfs eOs .n S1Il9tting
20 weakened: II also keeps tho leaders soft
and easily straightened. a damp leader not
Il dry. are apt to break like the Leaders, and be
50 would pull out II struck the first thing by
svan "A small, fish,, which would DO only less
than the departing roll OF a three
Every fisherman has his favorite flies, and
every firm of fly makers has thousands of va
Sfttles and variations. If one buys for the whole
season now. he should get n dozen or a score of
of .well-known flies, a lot Of monde
scEipts, for luck, and several of each kind. He
Will have to select from at least 10, 900 varie-
iles. which would be terrible to an amateur, but
would only be u pleasure TO an expert, The
dealers. recommend the grizzly king, Cahill,
brown hen. ibis, Seth Green, Rubc Wood brown
hnckle, and a couple Of nondescripts. resem-
nothing. for the opening on Long Island.
These, are tied or, No. O sproat hooks. Uncle
sam Is a patriots NY, with red, white, and
blue Tor colors. Naturally st. Patrick IL pea
rGek green mostly, with 2 silver tinsel body,
~ for dark days, A general rule is that big
be used IN the early season, lessening in
NE till the fish 60 on q. the cold beds, where
nidges tied on-No. ~ to No. 90 hooks are usu.
ally most successful. On dark da,s bright
eolOrcd fies are best, while on bright sunny
LAYS a dark fly considerably smaller in size is
attractive,
should flies fall, tho knowing man viii hnye
: variety, Of cSptiients for Turing his fish. and
VIII MI his creel, where the novice would 20
nome 70 buy fish at the nsh market, OF course,
ne VIII Try angle worms, bought OF a small boy
for n uunFtAr. first imnaItnU than, In annr,n