The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-31

and when he loses he knows that he has
been defeated fairly end has no complaints
10 make.
He may troll or may cast T nna s cart q;
angler occupies the front thwsrt. the boat
nl sss r as casts ,s' ahead MIX lis big
striking the water a yard from the lilies
and Keeling in rapidly. A..
man with the rod is able to, whip every
twenty feet Of water thoroughly, That is
hit at a spoon from ten feet away, The
spoon is permitted to sin TX to ,yard below
the surface. The man in casting 10 able
to put his spoon where he wants II TO go,
plainly contain no fish.
The moment the strike occurs and the
hook is sent violently, In, the guide, az
with the troller spins the boat hai aro Juno
out a hundred yards. but there ne stops
and rests upon hs oars, watching the night
and giving a barrel Of advice, not word
Of which is needed or even heard.
From stationary boat-or one that woulo
jerk it about so.-the fight is wased and .
harder, more glorious fight is not TO pc
witnessed anywhere. 1t Is tho muskal-
longe fought 30 which leaves the water IN
successive leaps; one which is dragged to
death has no chance to leap; and the ferocity,
full.
The boat spins around and around: tho
angler faces every point OF the compass
a dozen times; the still surface OF the lake
Is broken into tiny waves which spread
for hundred yards or more from the cen
man thinks he has the foeman conquered;
ten times he Ia forced to give line and SEQ
every foot OF IL, won at much COST taken
back again
Twice or thrice he will fight the fish to
within five yards Of the boat and each time
fifty to a hundred feet Of line eeemingly
as fresh as when first struck. 1t is oharao-
teristic Of the pure grit Of the muskallonge
that it battles until the last moment and
then goes all 10 pieces at once like the one
horse shay.
At moment it is soaring from the water,
going away up in the clear and its massive
head futtering from side to side, sending
strong vibrations to the fishers elbow;
the next it is apparently dead and comes
in like a senseless body as the reel crank
y Piled almost utterly gone IT is with Ia me
in that it makes its final dash for freedom
when the guide is getting ready for his shot
This is a fight worth any mans while to
make and any mans while to watch. 1t is
pure angling, without hint OF the butcher
In it. and II will test the resources Of the
people who go into the wilderness deter
mined to get fish and to get all they can.
because many more muskallonge are lost
by 1t than by the dragging method.
The muskallonge captured from stand
still boat must be securely hooked and then
this kind will last from ten to twenty min.
utes depending upon the strength and
temper Of the fsh and tho anglers skill.
The longest and strongest muskallonGe
in any water can be taken by tho stsndstin-
fish can Withstand for ever the strain Of
the rod tip. Muskallonge will run fro
quently to thirty-hve and forty pounds
the largest ever taken weighed los pounds;
but the leaping tuna of the south Californian
coast will run to five or six hundred pounds.
and that fish is killed with the rod, just
as the tarpon Of $50 pounds is killed
What is called the drag Of the rod-tip
ia one OF the most firing things to which
animal muscle can be subjected. 1t never
lets up for an instant and the harder 1t 10
fought the greater ,bs the ,trk,n.
most freely, The best sport OF the year Is
to be had in early June because the fish
arc still hungry from their long winter
fast and are feeding at every opportunity.
They are not 50 vigorous as they VIII
fish are taken then. but they are apt to DO
larger and TO fight harder. In june, how.
ever. a man will get two strikea to
one at ano Their tins.
On the north woods lakes the lilies have
not yet come TO the surface, the nee 10 still
These growths, however, are high enough
to AFFORD the fish the cover it needs.
In the fore part Of June only the naked
spoon is used for muskallonge; Frogs are
not a. yet fairly In season, and it would do
little good to sans ke hs or eh to on
perch or croppie anyhow. Some guides
object to the use OF bait at any season,
saying that it lends nothing to the at
Effectiveness OF the spoon. but the weight
OF argument seems to be on the side OF those
muskallonge later on will often swim close
to a spoon and fail to attack 1t unless II
knows that there is meat on II.
When frogs arc used those Of large size
and green COLOR are. chosen. They arc
hooked through the lips and suffered to
float behind the spoon as 1t Ia trolled or
reeled through the water,
The average size OF muskallonge taken
from Northwestern waters has been do
creasing for years. Ten thousand anglers
are after them every summer and the hsh
he rivers and tho lower ends Of lakes has
had a bad effect upon them also.
Ten years ago muskallonge captured in
Wisconsin or Minnesota would average
fully twelve pounds. Then the average
fell to ten and now 1t is not anything above
ei ght, IL 90 high. This does not mean that
large ones are not taken now, because each
season furnishes records OF great muskies,
but there are not 50 many large ones and
much greater number Of small ones.
Among the better class Of anglers it has
come to be accepted that any muskallonge
under seven pounds weight should be re-
turned to tho water at onoe, and many
Of them refuse to keep anything under ten
pounds.
The giant Of 100 pounds, TO which refer
ef,ce was had, was taken last year In the
nets Of the Ash hatchery at Minocqua,
Wis, and returned to the lake. 1t ID still
in Tomahawk waters, awaiting the lure OF
some ambitious angler, and many will try
for 1t now that its existence Ia known, but
It is not thought that 1t will ever be taken
with hook and line. A fish that has reached
the age necessary to give 1t such girth and
inches ie pretty experienced, and the fact
that it never has been hooked IL good
indication that it never will be.
Anglers who do not mind purchasing
expensive outfits use silk lines Of & eat
strength on muskallonge, yet II Is dihicult
to see that they are in any way better than
the cheaper linen. They rot faster and snarl
as badly and are not 40 strong.
A linen line tested to thirty pounds will
he found to be good enough for anybody.
The remainder Of the outfit will consist of
a short steel rod. No. Q spoons, hooks Of
proper size and a double multiplying reel.
Some men use the quadruple multiplying