The sun., 1919-05-04
MAY BEST TO TROLL
FOR GAME PICKEREL
In June Freebooters Of Fresh
Waters Go Down Deep
Among Lily Pads.
FISH FEARLESS FIGHTER
Old Time Spring Sport Of
Night Spearing Stopped by
shortening Season.
FISH FEARLESS FIGHTER

The law of New York, where piclxersl
NOW receive more consideration than Of
old. prevents fishing for them between
,hs last of March and the first OF May.
That does away with the once popular
spring sport Of taking them after the
manner of the days in which It was per-
mitted.
That sport was spearing bickerel at
night. which began as soon as the ice
went out of the ponds or broke away
IN wide spaces along the edges, and
hence was at its best, as a rule, along
In April.
Al that season the pickerel. particu-
larry the big fellows. lay near the top
OF the water and in shallow places IL
the ice was all out. and II there were
only openings along the shore they
sometimes huddled together there, all
o, which they do yet sometimes. as II
is not likely that they did it then sim
ply 10 brave the spearing gig.
In the daytime the fish would disap-
pear like flash II only shadow fell on
The water where they were lying. but
at night the light OF jack casting its
glare over them caused them no alarm;
IN fact, It seemed to fascinate them.
Even the movement OF the boat toward
them. in the bow of which the Jack
razed, was apparently unnoticed by
tlam.
Easy to Miss Fish.
Whether the biggest plckerel in
r,ad-akes they call them now, those
shmmerng spring waters in the
mountains of Sullivan and other New
York counties where Nature still sue
cced- in somewhat holding her own
we're for some particular reason Of
t'cr own never inclined to give evil
deuaa that they were domiciled there ex-
caul at that season and in those pecu-
Tar situations The writer cannot say,
tu it +, a fact that neither troll. libe bait
TOR the skitter ever induced to the kill
isg any piCkerel OF the proportions of
some o: those that l have seen lying
near the surface in the early April days
And while six pound pickerel offered
an apparently easy mark lying In the
light OF the Jack as plain as though
It were on the bottom OF the boat in
broad daylight. yet unless the man with
the spear was well up In the art Of
plunging 1t he would more than likely
miss the mark by at least a foot.
Then the spell that had held that
pickerel motionless in the water would
instantly be broken and quicker than
the eye could follow II he would dis
appear In the darkness OF the deeper
water.
Il was regarded as great sport, this
spearing OF big pickerel In the shall
lows OF icy spring waters. 1t perhaps
was not entitled to that designa ton
But It sure was fun.
Trolling Best I'm May.
But the law has taken the pickerel
under It's wing nowadays, ana after CIV
Ing him rest for one month out of
the twelve. April. in which TO recuperate
ard attend to his family affairs permits
Us 70 60 for him again with hook and
line when May comes along.
And the person who wants to have
fun with that savage and opinionated
fsh with the alligator Jaw and the glar-
'rg eye must be up and at him during
TIA month OF May. for then is the
best time for trolling for him, lying IN
walt as he Is then near the surface.
In ,act. there isn't much use OF troll
i'g for pcKerel later than early in
June
no live bait and still fishing must lure
Nm II lie is lured at all. but he will
lie later at the edge of the lily pads
O. the weeds along the shores. and then
Is the time for fooling him with the
Suffering bait danced along on the sur
face just beyond the border of the pads.
Delightful to Eat.
4 Great MANY snort sn,en desnisa the
plckerel. The greatest objection one may
raise against the pickerel Is that he has
run the trout out of all waters where
ne has been the companion Of that royal
game fish: hut. when YOU come to think
Of il, that isn't the pickerers fault.
The pckerel didn't put itself into trout
waters. The Jickerel was doing very
well, thank you, In his own native waters
when folks thought so well of him that
they wanted him elsewhere, and sc
snatched him out of his native home
and transplanted him to alien waters
those waters had trout in them.
The p.ckerel, knowing a good thine
When he saw II, proceeded to take in thu
trout and in time took them all in. to BIZ
clssed for it now. although It wasn't
his fault al all.
There may be some proprlety in call
ing the pickerel the pirate among Other
nSA IN his habitat, but never the pariah
NO outcast he. He certainly is a free
ooo'er, fearless, fierce. cruel, and he as
S-r's himself wherever he may be. He
is game all the way through. and who
ever says the pickerel has no food value
NUS, have an insulated palate.
snow white, firm, naky. sweet and dell
cAte!v favored. the edible substance that
lies beneath the retlcuated exterior Of
our mountain lake pickerel, IL properly
conserved il the cooking. knows second
pace ip Up fish that swims save the