Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1908-01-21
BRILLIANT BAIT.
oaudy Lures by Which Salmon and
Trout Are Fooled.

No one except a fisherman or a hy
dresser has the faintest conception of
the enormous variety of materials used
in the manufacture of flies, especially
salmon flies.
Trout flies are made to resemble va
rious real insects, but salmon flies
have no likeness to anyt@ng that In
habits EARTH air or water, and to this
day no one knows why the king of
fish is fool enough to snatch at the
gaudy lures which are cast across the
pools above his head.
Take such a well known salmon fly
as the "silver doctor" The feathers Of
five different birds are used to build 1t
namely, those of the Indian crow,
the blue jay, the pheasant, the turkey
and the pintail duck. Silver wire, yell
low floss silk, sky blue hackle and
scarlet wool are also necessary for the
tying of this fly.
There is hardly any brilliantly plum
aged bird known whose feathers are
not in demand for fly tying. jungle
fowl, blue chatterer, scarlet ibis, bus
tard, swan, macaw, peacock, mallard,
Indian roller, teal, wood duck, grouse,
eagle and florlcan are only few of
those whose feathers are slowed away
In the drawers of any fishing tackle
manufacturer.
You will also find gold and silver
wire, gold and silver tinsel, silk of ev-
cry color under the sun, chenille of
many different hues, worsted, mohair
and fur Of a number Of different ami
mails.
There is an artificial gray gnat used
for trout fishing which is made partly
Of mouse whiskers and is in conse-
quence one Of the most expensive trout
flies which you can purchase.
Gaudy flies for salmon fishing are no
new invention. Writing two and half
centuries ago, Richard Franck says:
Remember always to carry your
clubbing bag about with you, wherein
ought to be silk of all sorts, thread,
thrums, moccado ends and cruels of all
sizes and varieties of color, diversified
and stained wool, with dogs and
bears hair, besides twisted fine threads
of gold and silver, with feathers
from And he goes on with a long
list of birds of brilliant plumage.
But even for the noble salmon there
are many other bats used besides the
fly. The most deadly is without doubt
salmon roe, the use of which is pro-
hibited in almost every part of the
civilized world. The gardeners fan
Gym other words, the common lob
worm-ls first class salmon bait, and
so is prawn boiled to a delicate pink
hue. On most good rivers these bats
are Of course illegal.
Some believe in amounting their bats
with various strong smelling oils or I'M
guents. The above mentioned Rich
ard Franck did so. He advocates put.
ting the worms into lignum vitae box
which has first been anointed with
the chymical oil of bays, sulphur,
Barbados tar, ivy or csrnu cervi."
Poor wormsl One wonders how long
they survived in such horrible mix
ture.
Trout will take very wide variety
of bait. A grasshopper is most kill |
Ing, and so is blue bottle set on a |
small hook and used with a blow line. |
The roach fisher knows the virtue Of |
boiled wheat The softened grains |
are taken with eagerness by these fish, |
while perch win go vigorously for a
clump Of -four and water dough. A
perch has been taken by an angler who
had run short Of bait with the eye of
previous capture stuck upon the
point of a hook.
Thames fishermen will tell you the
virtues of cheese paste as a bait for
club, and these rather shy fish can
also be taken with a very ripe cherry
In which hook is artfully concealed.
Almost all fish have cannibal pro-
so that the young of their
own species prove an irresistible bait
for the older and larger members. This
is specially true of trout, and many
an angler has known of cases where a i
small fish hooked has been seized be-
fore 1t could be brought to land by a
larger one of the same variety.-FIy.