The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-08-28
SAM HAD INGENUITY.
Knew How to Land Big Trout When
Others Failed.

|
| Others Failed.
THAT was a pretty good trout that
| Donald Upton brought home from up
Sunapee way remarked Representa-
tive Sam Couch when a reporter dropped
into his smithy at East Manchester this
morning. Il was reading how he caught
1t and it reminded me of a big trout l
caught up in Bradford when 1 was a
young fellow. He was sharper trout
than the one Upton caught and as I
figure it that was quite trick if do
say so,' remarked the ex-alderman
THE trout had been causing about as
big sensation among the fishermen
there as that trout Upton tells about,
and about every man in Bradford, New
bury and Sutton who ever went trout
wouldn't take hook. o, no. He was
wise to all tricks of that kind, and the
hole he was in was right in sight of
| couple of houses, so the boys did not
dare to try a spear or net on him.
II went over one afternoon and
watched three men work an hour on
him and had to laugh to see the way
he fooled them. He was a hungry old
codger and he would take almost any
bait thrown to him if there was moth
ing hanging to it. But he seemed to
be particularly afraid of line and
would dodge up into a big hole under
the bank, where he used to hide if even
a spear of grass foated down the brook.
You could never have caught him with
any such continuance. If he had seen
little grass and line trailing from a turf
he would, have gone under the bank for
half an. hour.
He was boss of the brook all right,
and 1t was funny to see the way he
would rob the smaller fish. When we
threw grasshopper or worm in for him
the small trout and sinners would some
times grab 1t first, and the big fellow
would chase them around the hole until
of their mouths. He looked as big as a
shark when he was circling around in
his pirate act. 1 guess the small fish
had to go down brook to feed or else
was sleeping, and that wasn't often.
But the way he robbed the small fish
gave me an idea, and after the other
trial 1 had a little trout line and some
hooks in my pocket, and 1 baited up
and caught a horned sinner about four
big mouth and gills, and put him in a
can of water to keep alive while rugged
my apparatus.
Il took about nine feet of that fine
line without a sinker and worked it into
coil about as big as a lead pencil.
You know how the stage magicians fix
up coil of paper In a space SO small
that they can palm 1T and hide it in a
it will unwind for yards. Well that is the
way l fixed that trout line. Then got
nice juicy worm and strung it on the
hook so that the end would hang loose
and was ready for business.
Catching the sinner out of the pail.
I opened its mouth and slipped the coil
of line down it's throat 1t didn't really
hurt the little fellow although it must
have felt uncomfortable. slipped the
shank of the hook in it's mouth also
and left just the loose end of the worm
was turned back, it would not catch in
the sinners mouth, and it would slide
out easily:
The sinner was wriggling for dear life
when l got him loaded. and the instant
l threw him into the hole he. began to
work his jaws and gag to get that line
out of his throat. He was no such fool
as to swallow bunch of spun linen. even
if it did have a worm coming for a
chaser.
HE didn't work long without help.
The instant he struck the water the big
trout saw him and he spotted that fat
worm hanging from his jaws. / sup
pose hes thought the sinner was twist
ing about that way because he had got
a bigger worm than he could get down
and it made his mouth water. He made
dash for that sinner and snapped
the worm just as the sinner spit the
hook out and he was so close that he
did not see what was following it. He
bolted, hook and all, and feeling it
prick, he made a dash for the hole in
the bank.
1.-THE line spun out of that sinners
mouth like coil off reel and trailed
across the hole as the big trout disap-
peared in its cave. The poor sinner was
so surprised that he hung right there
and stared when the last of it slipped
from his mouth and if he didn't have
sore throat from the friction, I'm no
guesser.
the trout took the hook 1 got long
stick and ran around to a point on the
bank over the hole he was hiding in.
About six feet Of slack line lay out on
with the stick SO that I could get my
hands on it. Then ! yanked the big
would lift az hornpout into a boat.
He TAPPED about 1oa and pounded e down down
| had been rolling there. but 1 finally
stunned him with fence stake and
took him down to the store to show him.
| He weighed just two pounds and six
| ounces after l had bled him. That's just
| a little bigger than Upton's trout wasn't
| it?''-Manchester, N. H, Mirror.