Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1902-05-15
Two Pickerel
Stories

Moulu De Wiling TO bet quite little
that nobody had ever known or heard
Of such piekerel fishing through the ice
as his lake was just then turning out;
and Mike Pendy, tintinnabulator of
the bell on the Rowland house cash
register, took day off and went up to
Glenmere to see whether it would be
safe to take Genes bet.
He found that il would not, and when
he came back he had such a mess Of big
pickerel that II old Izaak Walton could
have seen il he would forthwith have
added a chapter TO his book that would
have seemed exceedingly like fish
story.
Farmer Bill Leonard, who lives OPP
posite Goose Pond mountain, and
knows when 20 swop horses and when
not 10, counted the pickerel. Sixty
three. Pound and half up to three
pounds they weighed out.
mice lot" said Farmer Leonard.
Real nice lot. Fact is, If there was only
about a dozen more of 'em. and they
ran from two pounds and a quarter to
five pounds and six ounces, they'd come
in a pretty close second TO a mess l
caught once in Niger pond"
Mike Pendy put his fish in the icebox
and slammed the door
al don't see what was to hinder you
going up TO Glenmere yourself and
taking Gene Cables betl" said he.
Didn't want his money" said Farm
er Leonard. "That fve-pound-and-a-
half Niger pond pickerel Of mine had
an appetite on him worse than hired
mans.
ut was a cold day, and was stamp
ing around on the ice TO keep my feet
warm. when, dip! down went one Of
my tip-ups with so much vim that l
knew we'd have to use the biggest drip
ping pan we had az home when we
baked the pickerel that was monkeying
with that line, and wasn't more than
the smallest space Of a stop-watch get
ting 70 that hole in the ice.
"But before ! got to il, zipl another
tip-up, not far from the first one, left
its feet, and right after il third one
went up in the air.
Ringbones a-humpin'r said /. II
land all three O. them pickerel III
have enough fish meat to last till
spring.
II grabbed the first line, and had a
fight, tell you. to laLd the pickerel
that tugged at the other end Of il, but
hauled him up through the hole after
awhile, and he came up fierce as an ALI
gator. and so big he actually scared me.
/ didn't stop TO size him mp. though, but
chucked him on the ice and scooted for
the second hole.
81 had a longer fish fight at that
hole 20 land my fish than | had at the
first one. but he wasn't an inch bigger
than the other pickerel, so far as
could see, in my haste to get TO the
blind tip-up and save that pickerel. too.
I had a harder fight yet at that hole
than AT either Of the others, and by
tho time had landed the pickerel and
thrown him on the ice, had to stop
and gasp for breath. for there wasn't
any breath left in me.
u hadn't gasped great deal Of wind
into me. though, before it was all
knocked out of me again, for as
looked back at the other two holes in
the ice where had left two slamming
big pickerel Topping, not having even
waited TO take the hooks out Of their
mouths, not a pickerel was to be seen.
Roth tip-ups were down, though.
"I'll be everlastingly spawned, said
/ If them pickerel haint gone and
Topped back into the pond again
through them holes!
but the tip-ups showed that they
were on the lines yet, and got there
at a 2:02 clip. Iyanked the first pick
erel out again, dropped him on the ice
tore 10 t'other hole. yanked the pick
erel out Of that one, and was just stoop-
inc down TO take him off the hook
when I glanced at the third hole.
"Savl I'most fell dead. There wasn't
anv pickerel at the third hole. But the
tin-np had its butt end in the air.
81 didn't wait hurried to the third
hole. I yanked the piekerel ont again
and reached down to unlock him and
chuck him back so far that he couldn't
Hop IN the pond again, when saw
something queer glanced at the 9TH
81 Two holes. No pickerel there.
didn't expect there would be-
"Tbe hooks Of all three Of those
.;n-nps Of mine were in the jaw Of that
one big pickerel. He had come along
WITH his 5-a-month-and-found appe-
tite the way ] figured it out, grabbed
the bait on the first tip-up, hooked him
self sailed right on and took IN the
second tip-up bait, hooked himself, and
then plunged ahead and gobhled the
halt on the third one, and had been
vonkinp him out and in and in and out
4, them holes like a game @ see-saw
thinking was landing three piekereL'
The tintinnabulator rang up sale
with a thump that woke Terry, the
scotcb-Irish terrier. Badly, the land.
lord walked the floor for awhile and
,ben sat down in the big armchair.
..The biggest pickerel that ever got