The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-07-02
FISHING IN THE MISSISSIPPI.
oATS or GREAT SIZE CAUShT
ABOUT ST. LOUIS.
vino Foo. Gar Has Been Hooked-Bs
water snakes and Plenty Of Crawf,sh
How an Alligator Was Captured
Trrayurcs That Have Been Recovered

The business OF nsllluB III the "e'o'" Va
,hs Mississippi is by no means OF the rela-
live importance it was when st. Louis was
French village, but even now, says tne
81 Louts Globe Democrat considerable
nrr,bers OF people on the outfianks OF the
.,,v north and south. gain their living
Nv hshine. trapping and hunting
The fishing season Is now open IL 10
,.,o- entirely closed for even in winter
Nm. holes are cut in the loo OF the river
md a little fishing is done in desultory,
uncomforta bile way. but with the advent
~ warm weather tho fish become lively.
md az do the fishermen. River fishing
=. carried on n several ways The skin
md aoat method is practised by not few.
a.. Aoat. are blocks Of wood. 10 inches to
/, foot in length. inches In diameter, taper
Inc TO blunt point at one end. into whioh
. stout staple is driven and q cord the size
ia carpenters chalkline and to feet
~ ,enrtb Is tied. A hook Of stout steel 10
-sll baited with any flesh or dsh that may
No convenient. and with thirty to sixty
hlocks in his skifI tho fisherman rows from
O,rondeet TO the head Of Arsenal Island.
throws overheard his floats and quickly
svaits a bite. Suddenly one Of the floats
disappears and he knows q largo fish has
h.en hooked. A hundred yards from the
nlaoe of it's Disappearance the float sud-
denly springs into the air, often one or two
t.et above the surface. Again 1t sinks,
but not so long.
A. each disappearance tho period Is
shorter, until finally the fish, completely
tired ont, stays near the surface, when the
hal
the float. and then the trouble begins, for
.ny attempt to take the fish with gan
hook is stoutly resisted. and unless caro- Is
exercised it is an easy matter for a large
fab to overturn the boat and drown It's
occupant. When it is apparent, however.
tina, the quarry is Of considerable size, tho
float is made fast to tho skin and towed to
the shore, where the prey can be handled
with less rick A day's fishing usually
comprses float from the head Of Arsenal
Island to point about two miles below
Jefferson barracks. the work Of rowing
the skif up the river from Carondelet to
the vorkhouse and from the barracks to
Carondelet again being no small part Of
the days task.
What may be caught depends on fisher
mans luck The German carp, placed in
the river about thirty years ago, Is now
found in great abundance, and the native
fish, the channel cat, the mud cat, tho shovel
rat and the sturgeon are taken Of very oon-
adorable size. The channel cat takes its
name from the fact that it Is most gem
sraly caught in the open channel the mud
cat freouents the shore and the shovel cat
has, instead of a nose, a long. shovel like
turning over sand. mud and stones. and
examining the river bottom with all the care
exhibited by a boy spading for fishing
worms. The Mississippi catfish often at
tains an enormous size. Cat weighing $50
10 400 pounds have often been taken about
St. Louis. and fish Of this weight. 8 to 7
mean antagonist, for he will easily pull a
boat a mile against the powerful current
ere becoming tired enough to be drawn
ashore.
Besides float fishing, the fishermen use
a line or rope: often 200 to $50 feet long,
to three feet short cords with hook and
bait. One end Of the line Is made SECURE
to log on shore. and the other Is taken out
in the skif and anchored In midstream
Every morning the line Is examined the
fisherman drawing it over the bow OF his
boat, taking in the catch and reoaiting the
the fisherman is often compelled to draw
both line and fish ashore ere attempting to
capture his formidable prey. for, although
not usually considered a game fish, the
TAT will fight to the last.
The most common trap in use in st.
Louis fishing grounds is an affair Of hoops
and netting resembling two cones, each
10 To is feet in length, placed base to base.
One end is open. the other a cul-de-sac,
into which the fish easily finds his way
from the open end. but from which escape
is impossible This trap Is anchored, paid
overheard so as to float with the current,
the open end downstream, and is visited
every twenty -four hours, robbed OF the
atch and reset.
Dropnets are very little used in the river.
hut in the pools Of smaller streams. like
the Meramec, a dropnet IA or Is feet in
diameter will often bring up fifty or sixty
pounds Of fish at single haul. 1t Is made
difference. Stout rods or rings form the
outside fastening Of the netting which
hangs down like bag. The net is lowered
hyt or more men from bridge, opposite
hanks or even from two skifrs. lett open
for few moments on the bottom, then
drawn up and the fish taken out with a
long handled SCOOP or landing net.
Seldom is gar included in the catch.
As one old fisherman expresses it: -The
gar is the smartest fish in the river. When
he finds himself caught in seine he makes
one rush gives one snap with his jaws at
the netting, and away he goes straight
through: then you spend an hour mending
your net. The gar will watch for hours
at the mouth Of a small stream running
into the Mississippi and wo betide any
hsh that comes in or out IL it's appearance
suits the CARS appetite.
There is fash like lightning through
the water and when you see the gar again
he is swallowing the fish he caught There
Is no other fish that has sense enough to
watch, tisherman's string until it is long
enough for meal, but the gar watches
and waits while you add one fish after an
other until he thinks there are enough
Tor dinner then there is ripple, perhaps
splash. near the bank. The gar has cut
your string and ia of with the whole catch"
Cars seven to eight feet long have been
caught in the Mississippi, and there is a
tradition that one Of nine feet was hooked
m Sahokia Creek many years ago.
Water snakes Of astonishing length are
sometimes found both in the Mississippi
ana the Missouri Andrew Gamache, u p
a. Portage de Sioux, with a companion,
hooked the biggest snake on record in the
mississippi Valley. They we're fishing one
Gay on the southern side Of the Missouri
WIEN thew suddenly noticed a few feet
from the boat a wicked snake head on a
straight, upright neck rising about two
zee, .eet above the water. The head was slowly