The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1900-08-28


taken into the boat The man must raise
them until their heads are clear or the
water, insert one hand under the gill,
work the fish loose with the other. and so
yank IL into the boat.
This act. while tie simplest thing In the
world with small victim, increases In
difficulty as the fish increase In size, and
when II comes to handling gar with Its
triple rows of saber-like teeth, or large
catfish, or even buffalo of twelve
pounds. II is not a picnic.
Cut fingers are a common thing, and II
Is not unusual that n fish so big is found
that the man In the boat is compelled TO
let II alone until he can row back to
shore and summon assistance.
A trot line with hundred yards of Il
buried in water will carry not less than
thirty hooks. sometimes more, and from
these hooks twenty to twenty-five fish
of all kinds are often taken.
The angler spends rather a pleasant
hour, all things considered, in disengag-
ing his take because of the VARIETY tf
IT. He may row to land wi h go pourds
OF fish In his boat. or he may not have
ten pounds, but he has had the pleasure
OF betting with himself.
III the trot line the setting of It, and
the clearing of IL hold to too much exer-
tion for a man, he can fall back upon
crawfshing. That is the simplest form
OF angling and its Oldest form. II is much
like the gentle pursuit of Grabbing" as
followed on our seacoasts.
1t involves the use OF long string,
short stick. piece of fresh beef and
tin bucket with holes In IL. That part
OF the Mississippi which is not In the
main channel is always called slough"
and from the sloughs run smaller sloughs
that are called branches
These branches" are ten TO fifteen feet
wide, have little or no current, and are
not more than five feet deep Thev are
alive with crawfish, which. with the ex-
ception of little topwater minnows, are
their sole inhabitants.
FISHING WITH HANDLINE.
The hand liner has even an easier time
OF It. He goes TO the bank of the main
channel itself, which lis wide, clear, swift.
and cold. with the Iowa BLUFFS pitching
downward 300 feet on its western shore
and swathed In magnificent trees to their
submits.
The hand line OF hundred feet in
length has at its end quarter OF a pound
of lead. yard above the lead hook
hangs down by foot long smell. Two
other hooks are sneied above IL, each
yard apart When the end lead rests
on the bottom these hooks depend a few
lncneS ABOVE the bed or the river.
The hand liner. poising upon his left
leg. swings the line about his head I'm rap
id circles. When he has gained sufficient
momentum he let's go and the lead sings
through the air. falling with a plash far
out into the stream and sinking rapidly.
The stake around which the line was
wrapped is driven firmly into the bank.
six feet from the water.
Upon the edge OF the stream n tough
Elastic switch two feet high Is planted.
and around It's top three turns OF the line
are made The fisher then takes from his
pocket a small brass bell and attaches Il
TO the switch. His hooks having been
baited with shrimp, he lies down upon
the leaves and takes out a book.
He is not even obliged 10 look at his
line. because II fish strikes the tinlxle
OF the bell will warn him. ~He languidly
expects when he lies down that maybe ne
will catch a blue channel cat. or a bass
or the broad fish called the "gaspergoo
which is really drum. but II nothing
happens he will be as well content
IL is not fishing, I'm fact. but sun-hazed
idlencss. laziness. luxury that soaks all
through him. Fresh earthly smells invade
his nostrlls, and velvety air. warm but
not heated in the shade pours languidy
across him
At the end OF such n dav he may have
one fsh on the boats bottom as he yawn-
ingly strokes homeward. while the west Is
In n conhagration Of crimson and gold
far upiung above the dark bluffs. or he
may not have any. IL does not matter.