Page:The American Boy's Handy Book edition 1.djvu/335

cut the fish completely in halves, and as the muddy water, stirred up by the commotion beneath, rolled away down stream, I beheld one-half of the "mud sucker" with the puckering mouth still moving, and the other half with its tail flapping in the water beneath.

It requires experience to learn just how hard to pull on a snare to catch a fish and hold it without breaking the line or cutting the game.

is far more exciting and sportsmanlike than snaring them. The fish may be attracted by dead bait dropped through the hole in the ice, after the manner before described, or if it be pickerel you are after, a trolling spoon can be danced up and down, and round and round, until it attracts the attention of the fish. Some fishermen use a wooden minnow weighted at the bottom with lead and provided with fins and tail made of tin. Such a decoy, to be effective, should be decorated with a brilliant red stripe on each side, a white belly, and a bright green back. By means of a line fastened to the wooden fish it can be made to swim around under water in a most frisky and life-like manner, completely deceiving the unwary pickerel. The decoy must be kept out of reach when the fish dart at it, and at the same time the spear must be poised, ready to cast at the first opportunity. Often the unsuspicious pickerel will stop and remain for some moments motionless directly under the hole in the ice, apparently considering the best mode of capturing the lively and gaudy minnow that dances so temptingly near his hungry jaws. This is a golden opportunity for the young fisherman, and waiting only such time as it may require to take aim, the lance should be launched. A good fish spear is described on page 188 and illustrated by Fig. 121. As soon as a fish is speared it should be thrown upon