Omaha daily bee., 1910-04-12
Some Things You Want to Know
Fishing Tackle.

In these April DAYS 10 suntUct ~ COM
pieteiy possesses the mind uf the average
American man az that OF fishing tackle
The lure of the opening Of the game fish
season ever las been a strong one and
whether IL be q hook and line fit for catch
ing a minnow. a steam power net Tor
catching hundreds Of barrels Of herring
or macHerei, or a harpoon gun FOR laying
low the mighty lsviathan OF the sea fish-
ing tackle s fuii Of interest 10 him who
dreamr. and IN his dreams hears the faint.
far. call OF the wild So Ear as game fish
ing is concerned. the present season opens
Up inausplciousiy. and that for the sole rea-
son that some utilitarian yankee has in
vented a new piece Of fishing tackle, a rod
and line which Is alleged to register the
weight of the fish one does not catch. OF
course no fisherman could be worthy OF the
name and stan believe the testimony OF such
I a cheap john instrument as against that
uf his own muscular sense. but he does
dread 70 hear the demand Of the man
from Missouri.
In The fishing world many remarkable
+ Instruments ana app Iances are used but
one must go % ;he orient 70 find the most
I peculiar sort OF tackle. one occasionally
hears IN America Of a trained otter. ana
the fisherman who is lucky enough to
possess enc has a guarantees for a good
Seasons work. In The Mediterranean turtle
4 fisheries the remora. or sucking fish. is
used al assistant fisherman. Il Is
F curious sort Of fish which attaches itself
I to larger fish. 70 turtles. or to boats them
selves, and when Il sets a good grip
mud turtle is not in its same class for
hOlding-On qualities. When L Is caught
a heavy ring is placed about lis BODY tust
ahead Of its tail and it is tethersd 10 the
boat When a turtle is in sight the re-
mora is thrown out. and L fastens its
forty-leech-power suction apparatus 10 the
shell Of the turtle. 1t holds fast to the
turtle until that creature has been toved
alongside Of the vessel when IL is pried
loose and sent after another turtle. Some
times the rem0ra gets contrary ana will
not try TO take hold OF its turtle. but will
swim back TO the boat and fasten its
sucker to the hull Of the boat
Akin to the renora in turtle fishing IS
the use of the c0rmorant in China for fish
ing purposes. The birds are caught when
young ana are carefully trained A tight
collar Is placed about their necks. to which
strings are fastened. They are thrown out
into-the water and taught TO catch fish and
bring them to the Chinese boats. II takes
Infinite patience much pstting, and some
boxing Of ears TO teach the cormorant to
fish without a collar and strings attached.
but when one masters the art il is a most
valuable aid to the fisherman The cor
morants take q certain pride ii their work
; ana when they are unsuccessful in theil
efforts they take their places shame
facedly to await the next rryout This
]
{ assistance Of the old birds The owners
3 are kindness itself to the birds when thes
work, but box their heads ana huri i'm.
5 precautions al them when they fan
In some OF the South Sea islands a specie,
OF spider proves that it was the oriEina
fish-net maker. A bamboo sapling is BEN
on sound shape and tied II stays In thii
position for some tine and then q spide,
comes along and uses il as the framework
on which to build its web. This converts 4
into a sort OF Brobagandian tennis racquet
and with this the native knocks a fish ou
Of the water as a tennis player woulS
strike a ball out OF his side OF the court
The webs are as strong as the dip net o
ordinary design.
In the commercial fisheries OF the wori,
all sorts Of tackle are used. OF course. IN,
vast majority OF the worlds fish suppl]
is caught in nets. The most important o
these nets is the trawl net. This is a large
mouthed net bag OF gigantic proportions
with a beam OF about forty feet long. A
either end OF this beam is a trfanEuIa
/ hoop which serves the three fold purpus
Of sinker, beam supporter. and sled runner
d This net is shot from the stern Of tn
boat and trawled along until ii is file
!, with fish. when II is hauled in
The seine is one Of the nets to which tn
populace owes much OF its fish supply
!. IS a plain net with sinker weights at tn
a bottom ana cork floats at the top. II ma,
e vary in size from the huge quarter-of-a
mile-long anc sixty-feet-Ride Cornish pii
I chard seine TO the little hand net worke-
by the fisher children along the beach Ii
= the heavy salmon fishing Of the nurthwes
= the seine and the gill net are much used
, The seine is shot in a semiclrcle acros
. stream. and when II Is full OF fish II
4 hauled ashore, horse and steam power ofter
being used in the operation. The fish wines
Ii Is also used in the salmon fisheries.
Il looks much like an 0vershot water whee
and over this the fish are shot into
I, stsked enclosure.
IN the herring fisheries the RiiI mar ;