Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1903-06-08
THE WILD ANGLERS.
ANIMAL FISHERS THAT ARE QUICK.
SURE, WARY AND shy.

chief Am0n4 Them Are the Heron,
b kiagMsher, b Mink, the Wa
ter Snake III the Swapping Tee
Nle-now They Land Their Prises.
ANY n who can suppress for
awhile his eagerness with the rod on
a trout stream and summon patience to
lie In wait and watch the ways Of
beasts and BIRDS" said one who had
evidently been able to do 80. twill dis.
cover that he is not the only fisher in
those waters. Chief among the other
hshers are the heron. the kingfsher.
the mink, the water snake and the
swapping turtle.
AN angler passing down in n brook
intent on his rod will rarely see any Of
these wild fishers at their work, for
they are all wary and shy. perhaps
with the exception of the water snake.
No angler has ever fished between the
elder skirted banks Of any trout stream
without discovering one or more of
these reptiles-harmless except rs to
their woeful appetite for trout--twisted
around some overhanging branch.
watching for prey.
Zone day while fishing in a Sullivan
county brook l lay down in the shade
Of a maple to eat my lunch and smoke
pipe. While thus in quietude l saw a
blue heron drop down on the edge of
the brook only a rod or two away. Aft.
er q few minutes OF statuesQue watch
ing the long legged bird darted its
head down into the water, withdrew 1t
with a large trout In its bill and flew
away.
mot more than Eve minutes after
the heron had disappeared a mink
came swimming up the brook. In a
pool nearly within my reach the mink
dived. A moment later it appeared
with Q good half pound trout In its
mouth.
This expert fisher had scarcely gone
It's way when a harsh voiced kingfsher
alighted on a dead limb overhanging
the brook twenty yards from where l
lay. The bird was not long on the limb
before down it went in the water and
came up with a trout. l was trying to
figure out what the probable drain on i.
the trout population Of the country
might be from the inroads Of these
wild marauders when q water snake
came gliding up the stream carrying a
trout In its mouth that was big enough
to talk about. Then l thought It was
time for me to get to fishing again be-
fore these expert and persistent wild
fishers had robbed me of my chance
for sport.
"Herons, like swapping turtles. select
the largest trout for their prey. They
usually fish at the foot of some deep
pool. Poised on one long. slender leg.
the heron. as immovable as II 1t were
carved from stone, waits patiently the
passing Of some lusty trout from the
rapid water below into the pool.
1.-THE wait is seldom a long one. Sud
denly the long neck shoots out like an
arrow, and the great bill is buried for
an instant in the water. The aim is
rarely Mt fault. and when the birds
head appears in sight again a large
trout usually comes up with 1t. The
heron rises lazily from the creek, trail
ing its ~spindling legs, and flies home
with its savory burden.
Late in the season, when trout begin
to congregate where small spring runs
empty into the stream. the heron will |
be found fishing there, as 1t seems to
know well, as does the kingfsher, all
the habits Of the fish it loves so we'll to |
feed upon. One heron with a free scope
on a trout stream will likely take from
1t a thousand trout, many of them
heavy with spawn, during the time this
big bird fishes, which is from the time
the Ice leaves the creeks in the spring
until it forms ON them again the fol-.
lowing winter.
1.-The mink fishes all winter long as
well as In the summer. In fact, it is
during the icebound period that It is
most destructive to trout.
1.-THE kingfsher is not so certain in its
aim as the heron, but one failure never
discourages this winged marauder: 1t
will resume its perch on the dead LIMB
IAN outlook it seems to prefer-settle |
down with its wtchman's rattle cry /
and watch and dive until the prize ia
-
won.
1.-THE kingfisher is no stickler for size |
In trout, but tries for the first that
m along. 1t is q greedy fisher. or.
rather, perhaps the family that it feeds
has an Unsuitable appetite. for the bird
has been known to return ten times to
the same place within an hour and
carry away a trout every time. A
catch which 1t makes in that length of
time the best Of anglers nowadays
would consider something to boast of.
"Water snakes. basking by the hun
dreds along every trout stream. fish
with 70 much tact and cunning that
they number their prey by thousands
from the time they come out Of their
alternating places. which is as soon AZ
the weather begins to get warm. until
the approach Of winter drives them
back into their holes.
There Is no knowing to how great q
degree the trout retaliate on the snakes
for their warfare, but that they do