The Holt County sentinel., 1915-06-11
Ingenious Anglers Work Great
Scheme.

fish are susceptible 10 learning, but
brought about an unparalleled catch
Of pickerel.
Seller. who Is an active secretary OF
the Y. N. e. A., and Gunther, q Ger.
man professor, have tished the waters
Of the Michigan northlsnds for years.
On q trip last fall, while strikes we're
tagging, they entered on . discussion
as to the intellectual capabilities OF .
fish, and both agreed that II would
be as possible to educate them along
certain lines as II would he to teach .
dumb animal tricks. Each one had
lost many . good fish because Of Its
ability to eject hook from It's mouth
after failing for" the lure Of bril-.
liant bait, and this point alone sug.
gested the learning OF the trick from
some other hsh Of wider experience.
Begin Their Experiments.
During the winter the discussion
was revived and Gunther and Seller
decided to work out their theory, II
possible. They visited the State fish
hatchery and procured . dozen min.
nows and placed them In a tank kept
In the barn at the rear OF Gunther's
home. Into the tank they lowered a
square cage made Of small.meshed
wire. From the start the minnows
discovered that the meshes would adj.
init the passage OF their bodies and
they fitted through the cage freely
In securing the bits Of food which the
two experitnen,alists artfully placed
within.
After a few days a plan for fright.
ening the minnows was introduced
Gunther dropped a large stone In one
end Of the tank. With the splash
the minnows darted into the cage.
When all Was quiet again they would
venture forth and, with another
splash caused by the dropping Of the
81 one, they would MT back through
the meshes. Soon they grew TO real.
he that the wire cage was a haven OF
protection and no matter what the
method used by the two men to
Brighten them they would always r..
spond with dash through the wires.
Works Like a Charm.
Several weeks ago Gunther and Sci.
yer planned week end trip. They
placed their trained minnows In a
water container, packed up their a..
planes and boxed the cage. Arriv.
Ing At q northern lake In good season
they Immediately rowed to . favorite
pickerel ground. Gunther held the
cage Just under the water and Seller
placed the minno~s within. Then II
was lowered easily about ten feet and
suspended. both men then baited
their hooks with other live minnows
and dropped them TO the depth Of
the cage and about live feet away.
Inside Of half'hour they had made
a record catch. Their Idea had
worked a. they planned that II
should.
The minnows swan from the cage.
invest igating after their curious fash.
Ion, and attracted number Of vo.
racious pickerel, but ~ soon as they
caught sight OF the big fish, for
which they held q congenital fear,
they darted back into the cage, real.
izing, by reason OF past experiences,
that II was their stronghold.
The pickerel, flashing up, struck
their pointed shouts against the
wires and, like Tantalus, were 70.
pulsed. Then, their greed thoroughly
aroused, they swan about for . few
moments, gloating on the possibilities
until satisfied that . feast was I'm.
possible. As they turned to hn away,
their eyes caught the minnows adorn.
Ing the hooks lowered by the two
fishermen. In an instant, acting on
the belief that the minnows we're .
part OF the school which had eluded
them, they struck and were caught.
Now the Fun Begins.
For nearly an hour Seller and
Gunther continued to pull In the big
pixies and when they decided the sf.
ternoon's sport was over they had
gathered o larger mess than they had
ever caught before. That night they
placed their trained minnows In a
perforated can and hung II over the
side OF the wharf. Gunther, who al.
tended TO this duty, accidentally
failed to lock the can. During the
night, In some manner, the lid was
raised and the next morning II was
discovered that the minnows had
disappeared.
Both men firmly believe that some
pickerel, piqued because OF a failure
In the afternoon TO secure one OF the
minnows, followed the boat and nego.
tiated the raising OF the lid, and had
successfully satisfied an aching ap'
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