The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-07-22
A GOOD FISHERMAN.
Col. Parker's Loon Caught Six Pick
erel by Trolling.
From the Chicago Inter-Ocoan.

Col. Parker's Loon Caught Six Pick
erel by Trolling.
From the Chicago Inter-Ocoan.
Among the many specimens Of fur. fin
and feather that adOrn the shelves
and tables and hooks and corners OF
Colonel Noah Parker's den at Gardeau,
Pa, is q particularly fine loon, crea-
ture so singularly combining the char
acteristics of fish, fowl and fur bearing
water animal that it is rare that
hunter or trapper is able 70 capture
one.
Il don't care so much about the
loom" said colonel Parker, "as [ do
about the remarkable fishing | had the
day captured the Critter. ] was fsh-
ing for pickerel with set line, be-
cause | hadn't had any luck fishing
for 'em any other way. and | was
bound to have some pickerel. The line
was a small! one though, only fifty feet
long, and with only seven snoods on it,
six feet apart. AS 1 was taking in the
line W hat should pop to the surface OF
the pond, some distance away from my
boat. but loon, and before | could
recover from my surprise the line was
jeried out of my hand Then | dis
covered that the loon had dived down
and swallowed the end minnOw on the
set line and had the whole line in tcw.
I made big effort to get mold of the
line again, but the loon began to run
on the water as looms dc, you know,
preparatory to rising from the lake,
and there was no use. / couldn't reach
il.
THE snood that had the hook and
bait swallowed by the big and foolish
bird dangled from it's mouth as it tlut-
tered and Hoped to take wing. BY
and by the loon managed to get out of
the water and was raising gradually
higher when | saw it stop in the air
as suddenly as if it had been brought
up against rock or something, and
then it tumbled feet over head back
into the pond. The loon disappeared
for a moment under the water, and
then came in sight again. If it's sud
den tumble had been singular, the
eVOlutiOns the queer bird went through
after returning to the surface were
great deal more so. Now the loon
would scOot away like a fancy skater,
two or three yards in one direction,
tail first, stop suddenly, whirl around
in a circle three or four times, and
then dart like a flash in another direc =
ton. Now and then it would go down
out of sight so quick that t almost
made my head swim, and pretty soon
it would pop again like a cork. Two
or three times the fantastic fowl made
start to run through the water for
rising flight, and went along all right
Co., rln,, tnf
dead in it's course, and zip down it
would go into the pond again and
souse clear out of sight.
"'Gol ding the loom / exclaimed af-
ter watching it's queer performance
a while. That hOk of mine is in it's
gizzard and has set it crazy, and I'm
glad of it.! It'll let my set lines alone
after this l guess"
THE loon kept on performing, and so
I concluded I'd row up and see if I
could lind out just what was the mat
ter with it, anyhow. I got to within
thirty feet of it, and then noticed the
puzzling fact that. although the loon
was trying its very best to swim away
from me, it was coming right toward
me, This made me feel kind o spoOky,
but l grabbed an oar, and as soon as
the uncanny fowl. pulling it's best to go
in the opposite direction, but all the
while lessening the space between us.
got within reach, | gave it a blow that
broke it's neck. reached out and pick
| ed the dead bird up The set line was
| hanging out of its mouth yet, and
went to hauling in my recovered prop
| erty, pleased to thing that I was go
| ing to get it back so easily but the
property didn't come back so easily, af-
| ter all. In fact, | had to fight and
| struggle for half an hour before I got
| it al! in.
There was good reason why had to
| do all that fighting, for there were six
| fve-pound piCkerel on the line. each
one doing it's best to prevent me from
hauling it in. But I got the line in,
pickerel and all, and marveled no long.
! er over the looms queer performances
| Attracted by the six baited hooks on
the line as the loon trolled it through
| the water while making its first rise
for the pond, the six pickerel had each
grabbed one and got hooked. Twelve
pounds of bird being no match for
thirty pounds of fish, the loon had to
stop and let the pickerel play it as
they liked. / don't think was ever sc
proud over any catch as / was over
those six fiVe-pound pickerel They
We're dandies. had the loon mounted
as YOU see 1t there. But it isn't the
loon | care so much for. 1t is the re.
| markable fishing | had the day I cap
tured the critter that tickles me-"