The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-09-18
SAM HAD INGENUITY,
Knew How to Land Big Trout When
Others Failed.
ManchcsIer - - Mirrorl

(Manchoster IN h Mirror)
That was a pretty good trout that
Donald Upton brought home from up
Sunapee way" remarked Representative
Sam Couch when a reporter dropped into
his smithy at East Manchester this morn
ing Il was reading how he caught it
and it reminded me OF a big trout /
caught I'D in Bradford when L was
young fellow. He was sharper trout
than the one Upton caught and as L fig
ure it. that was quite a trick if / do say
SO, remarked the eX-alderman.
The trout had been causing about as
big a sensation among the fishermen
about every man i'm Bradford Newoury
and Sutton who ever went Toutng had
HOOK or on no, He MAS W. WISE WISE 10 ain
tricks of that kind. and the hole he was
IN was right i'm sight Of a couple or
houses, so the boys didn't dare TO try
spear or net on him.
Il Went over one afternoon and
watched three men work an hour on him
and had TO laugh to see the way he
Iooled them lie was hungry old codser
and he would take almost any pan
thrown to him il there was nothing hans
ing TO IT, But he seemed TO be particular
ly afraid Of a line and would dodge up
into a big hole under the bank, where he
used to hide if even spear of grass
tloated down the brook You could never
have caught him with any such cOntriv-
ance. If he had seen a little grass and
llllG lrAulnB from AZ turf ne would nave
gone unQer the bank Tor hall an hOur-
he was boss OF the brook all right
and II was funny &c see the way ne
would rob the smaller fish. When we
threw grasshopper or worm in for him
, the small trout and sinners would some
times grab il first and the big fellow
would chase them around the kolc until
lneE cropped u or he could snatch 1t out
OF their mouths. He looked as big as
shark when he was circling around in
his pirate act / guess the small fish
had TO so down brook 10 feed or else
take their chances when the big trout
! was sleeping. and that wasn't often.
But the way he robbed the small fish
gave me an idea and after the other
] fishermen had gone away l gave it
/ trial had little trout line and some
I hooks in my pocket. and / bafted up and
caught horned sinner about four inches
/ long. He was a gamy fellow with big
mouth and gills, and put him in a can
/ my apparatus.
h I took about nine feet of that fine
Inc without sinker and worked II into
I a COLI about as big as lead pencil You
know how the stage magicians fix up
con or paper in space 50 small that
/ they can palm il and hide IL in a hat but
\ when they start the end out it viii un-
wind for yards. Well, that is the way /
] liked 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
! opened its mouth and slipped the coil OF
/ line down its throat. It didn't really hurt
/ the little fellow. although IL must have
/ felt uncomfortable. I slipped the shank
| Of the hook in its mouth also and left
Just the loose end OF the worm hanging
. out. As the point of the hook was turned
/ back. IL would not catch In the sinner S
! mouth, and it would slide out easily.
I The sinner was wriggling for dear life
when / got him loaded. and the instant ]
/ threw him into the hole he began to work
his Jaws and gag 70 get that line out Of
his throat He was no such fool as 10
! 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. ] suppose he
| thought the sinner was twisting about
1 that way because he had got a bigger
! worm than he could get down and it
I made his mouth water. He made a dash
! Tor that sinner and snapped at the worm
I Just as the sinner spit the hook out and
1 ne was so close that he did not see wha t
was following it. He bOlted. hook and all.
and feeling II prick, he made a dash for
the hole in the bank.
The line spun out OF that sinner s
mouth like 2 coil off a 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 II slipped from
ms mouth and IL he DIDN'T have sore
throat from the friction I'm no guesser.
What did do. Why. Just as soon as
the trout took the hook got a long stick
over the hole he was hiding in About six
Feet Of slack line lay out on the bed Of
the brook and lifted it up with the stick
50 that could get my hands on il. Then
/ yanked the big trout out on the bank
as easily as you would lift a hornpout
into a boat
HE Tapped about and pounded down
the grass until it looked as If a horse
had been rolling there, but L finally
stunned him with.a fence stake and took
him down to the store to show him. He
/ weighed Just two pounds and six ounces
after ! had bled him. That's Just little
bigger than GptOn's trout, wasn't it?''