The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1927-04-01
FISH SKATING
POPULAR SPORT
Men and Women Of Cana
dian Northwest Take
Part in Sport.


"
Vancouver, B. C.-Fish skaters are
having an unusually successful season
this year on Lac La Hache, in the
CaribOO district OF northern British
Columbia. The ice, which formed dur
ing the first cold snap before the snow
hurries came, is transparent over the
length OF twelve miles and a width OF
two miles, and the fish are easily
spotted in the clear blue waters be-
meath the frozen surface.
So far a is known, Lac La Hache
is the only place in the world where
fish are caught on skates, and even
there the sport is only possible when
there Is nc snow. AS a business en-
terprise 1t might not yield heavy divi-
dends, but as an outdoor attraction it
has few peers.
Lac La Hache is situated IN a cat
tie ranching district where the young
men and young women have ample
leisure during the winter months.
Many Of them are brilliant skaters
and nearly all can travel three times
as fast as a fish, whose speed Is usual
ly much OverestImated.
"chasers" and 'spearers."
In skating hsh the spOrtsmen are
divided into two groups, the "chaSers"
and the "spearers." The chasers' 60
to one side Of the lake where the hsh
are known to cOngregate In winter
and scout around until they discover
q school. By beating on the trans
parent ice with branches or sacks they
brighten the fish from It's resting place
and then chase it across the lake. A
number OK the fish dive into deep
water, but the majority stay close to
the surface, twisting and turning 90
they watch their pursuers through the
clear Ice, their google eyes almost
bursting from their heads as they zee
the branches and sacks swlshing IN
their direction.
Forced TO swim much faster than
their normal speed, the hsh soOn tire
1t is then a comparatively easy mat
ter to steer them toward long trenches
cut IN the ice on the edge Of which
stand the ~"spesrers' all ready for &C
ton. AS soon as q fish strikes thll
bit of open water It stops suddenly
presumably because Of the change II
temperature. 1t is promptly spearet
and tossed on the ice for future divi
sion on an even basis among all wht
are taking part in the sport.
Catch Twenty-Four-Pound Trout.
The best catch this year was q trOu
weighing t~wenty-four pounds. Eight
cen others weighed twenty pounds o
more, but FIVE to six pounds Is abOu
the average weight.
AS soon as the snow falls there 1
an end of Ash skating, but anothe
unusual sport takes It's place. This !
the hunting Of coyotes by automobiles
though there must he a hard frost
crust before it is safe to try speedin
on the 12-mile sheet Of ice.
There are tens OF thousands Of co!
Otes IN the district. A large numbe
of these cross Lac La Hache on tn
ice at a speed that would leave
horse far behind, but is still vast
inferior to that Of the automObil
Each car usually has a chauffeur an
three or four Tiiemen and as il
possible to drive close to the coyOt
before the animal Whiris in its tract
the misses are few.
Tn record for an afternoons VOL
last winter was ten coyotes for OF
car. As a coyote pelt Is worth fro
$40 up, and there is a governme
bounty Of 50 on the scalp, the b
yas worth approximately $3.50.
Coyote hunting from automobiI
has been tried on some parts Of t
prairies, but the uneven surface Of t
ground, even under snow, has ma
the sport rather costly. There is al
q shortage Of game that is discOurs
Ing, from a sporting point Of view.
Lac La Hache does not suffer fro
either Of these drawbacks. Even VIII
the coyotes are killed of ia one d
trct another army sOon moves
from the neighboring forests whC
the supply Is apparently i~nexhaustih