Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1907-05-16
CATCHING CANADA'S
GREAT GRAY TROUT
Weigh as High as 80 Found7
and Are Caught When the
Ice Goes Out.

'''' N''f'
he lee is leaving the lakes in he Lauren
tim hills that the angler who knows gets
his bet chanc. at that mystery of the
northern waters. the great gray trout.
Assured by a keen sense of HE fitness
OF things that there mus, be fishing there
about some sportsmen once spent many
weary hours In frCitlessly whip ng the
waters OF Round Lake and the numerous
smaller lakes in the vicinity.
Mistake somewhere: not a fish in all
the district said one. as he began to
pack up.
Pardon" politely answered the guide.
there is plenty feesh. but tn. time is not
arrived, which is different"
"Sut We haven't seen - fin or a rise
said the other. "Of course. OH. cannot
always catch them. but there is generally
some sign of them II fish are about"
Tomorrow at noon precisely. il YOU
wish. l will the great feesh show.
where they lie. Not little s"rch or silly
'htib ar" they 10 go solash on water, but
the feesh of weight and goodness. Just the
sam" az the salmon from the ocean"
Th" next day when the suns rays went
vertically to the prbbly bottom of the
twenty foot water the spor.smen wer.
gazing over the SIDE of IA dugout at hun
nreds OF huge. slow moving fish. lazily
playing about below them. a green frog
was let down among them and they ex-
nlnintd 1t ~thoughtfully. G-rasshoppers.
worms. pork and lninnows were also sent
down on trial and gravely scrut;nized
from Il safe distance. They had no in
tention of taking anything to eat. evil
IDENTIFY.
So 1t IL with the greater number of thess
mountai n lakes. Some of them contain az
well red trout. club. and strangely enough
Such predatory creatures as pike and bass
In these there is fishing the YEAR around
Tor those who are satisfied with s,cht
Sport But deep-dawl,- wAer.-.Ae-water-is-
never warm. lie the great muscular atb.
'"."s. Powerful! tail and fins. and "A leath-
ar lined, bony mouth are their fighting
equipment. together with q plump. firm.
not too elastic. stock body of pink flesh.
slshtiN less greasy and of iirIner fiakes
than the Atlantic salmon.
ire usual weight IS from five to thirty
POUNDS. thc larger number averaging be-
tween fourteen and twenty pounds
Sometimes when the ordinary fisherman
lets down a peculiarly tempting bait to AN
Unusual depth he Will he startled by "a
snatch. which is likely to smash his tackle
and rattle his nerves.
More commonly than no. the gray trout
are the only game fish in the lake ,be,r
quarters being shared only by the common
luiiet. upon which they feed when they
desire something more substantial than
me organisms in the water itself.
Experienced fishermen have in the mast
Jew years developed an outfit consisting
or 4 very short stout rod, IL salmon real
and "A line of Il kind Of piano wire. with
which successful trolling Is done for ,hes..
monsters with Il weighted spoon bait. To
inc inexperienced it appears jncredih,e
'"a. ahything less than a power launch
could break such tackle: but the depth at
which the trout light. the cunning wav
theN Use their broad sides and their nat.
ural strength often outwit even these anp-
iers. 1t Is hard work at best. however
aho extremely uncertain. owing to the ca
pricious character of the we'll nourished,
monsters.
it IS Just when the Ice has given way in.
the spr1ngtfme and the water is coolest
at the surface that for a few days ONLY
the fish are found where the ny fishermen
can get mold of them. The country folk
sas me trout nave TO come up then to
AVOID the comparatively warm water of
the springs at the bottom. to recover their
HNeslght and to get Il look al the weather
ai'ef the winters confinement under the.
ice.
AL hrst II appears ridiculous to cast a
saudy. large sized. fluffy fly into water in
winch masses of soggy ice are still floating.
especially since not a ripple betrays the
presence OF fish. Slowly the barely sunk
On NY Is dragged through the water. until
all OF Il sudden it is as though one had
struck INTO a sunken iog. There is gen
s'aily a pause of II few seconds. while the
nsh ponders over his catch. Then with n
steady swing from side to side he either
iiVes directly to the bottom or ,.-e slant
ihHiy makes for the deepest water In the
take. The tackle needs to he strong enough
TO put 81 heavy strain upon him. and line
must ne given out grudgingly.
ABOUT the only hope of securing him IS
IN SO firing him that he will check his
DOWNWARD course and decide upon fighting
II our at the top of the lake. II he can
ger 00Xn deem tho ohanc ..,,yV .-.t, 49,,
anything that can be wound mon a rsal
IL ifrltated by the strain the trout is likely
20 Dart upward. perhaps some feet out OF
me water, at such a rate of speed an to
tangle the line and give slack enough To
set him free.
In fact 1t liz "A question whether even the
salmon itself puts up a fiercer. longer
struggle than does a large gray trout I'm
the early spring. Certainly the angler
VINO has not yet tried fighting him has a
new experience In store.
One man from the south who f,shed a
niue string OF lakes far up the Gatineau
last spring said when he came down on
ms way up this year: II could never have
believed that there was such fishing IN
he had In inland waters. The flies we're
generally sucked under very quietly. firm
ly set in the lower Jaw. and the 6rhtin.
though peculiar. was quite fair. rot CIV
nsh, and smashed six rods. or al Ie..t
xix parts OF rods. so that honors were
easy. My best salmon rod suffered In
every Joint. the butt even breaking from,
strain. My catch totaled lis pounds
one dived right down when he struck
ne LOOK OUT nearly all the line. and then
j felt slack. That instant there M. .
hard knock against the bottom OF ,he
canvas canoe. That's the big trout said
ny canoe man to my surprise.
FOR THE NEW HAT,