Eugene register-guard., May 21, 1961, Image 71

AMERICA
OUT-OF-DOORS
Five Sure Ways to Catch Fish
Here's something to stick in your tackle box along with those fancy lures and
rods some simple tips from men who've made angling a sporting science
By ROBERT G. DEINDORFER
Some 25 million Americans are addicted to the
frustrating but satisfying pastime of fishing,
which may mean that the whoppers they tell are
larger than those they land.
For beginners and old-timers alike, fishing is a
sport unto itself, yet too many enthusiasts are
unsuccessful for all their cane poles, fly rods,
casting and spinning tackle, live baits, spoons, and
feathered lures. '
What makes this adversity especially tragic is
the blunt fact that there's little reason for it. With
some ingenuity, virtually anyone can hook and
land fish. Here are five sure-fire angling gimmicks
developed by guides and wily old-timers to catch
fish in the rivers and lakes of America.
1. Fad tho fish and flourish.
In some parts of Ohio, the real professionals have
hit on a prize scheme to fill the frying pan. De
spite an old suspicion that bait spilled into the
water ruins .fishing, these addicts deliberately
dump live worms or minnows in the lake. Then
they still-fish the same spot with similar baits.
Season after season, Ohio anglers bring home
record catches by chumming with worms and min
nows. Last summer, a fellow on Rockland Lake
near Nyack, N.Y., got to wondering if the practice
was confined to Ohio.
After dumping a can of worms over the side
of the boat, he started fishing. He hadn't fished
long before the rod quivered in his hands. Up '
boiled an angry bass, husky as a fullback. By the
end of the afternoon, he had another bass, three
catfish, and a nice mess of bluegills.
2. Fishing lights that fascinate.
' timers know, night is when many fish do their most
serious feeding. And besides, all fish are bigger at
night or seem bigger.
"It's no trick at all to rig up the lights," says
Jimmy Pfeiffer, a short, squat Illinois night fisher
man. "All you have to do is hang the light just
below the surface of the water. Fish seem addicted
to light. You can develop a good backache pulling
them in." "
3. Fish without fuss if legal.
For jaded anglers, an old art form developed in
lower Missouri may be just the thing. It yields the
sort of catches most people are apt to notarize with
a camera.
In Missouri and in some other states where it's
legal, lazy-bone fishermen set out with nothing
more than hooks, lines, boats, and some gallon jugs.
Baited lines are tied to the necks of these jugs,
and the jugs are thrown into the lake. Any time
one of the floating jugs starts to bob, the fishermen
row the boat over, pull up the jug, and remove a
fish. When two or three jugs in different spots get
to bouncing at the same time, it's more exciting
than a 10-pound catfish on a two-pound line.
4. Find whoro the fish are foasting.
If it's real hair-raising sport you yearn for, you
might try the new night-fishing ights. As old-
Down in the rolling Tennessee Valley country,
a lean, laconic bloke named Al Duke minds a gen
eral store.
It isn't flourishing commercial success that has
caused Duke's reputation to spread far beyond the
narrow boundaries of his town. Al Duke is a fish
erman maybe the best there is.
"It's as simple as rolling a cigarette," he saysT
"To catch fish, you have to find where the fish are
feeding. Well, I let them show me."
1UUSTIATIONS IY OV DOTY -
One bright summery morning, Duke showed me
what he meant. After fishing a few minutes, Al
flopped a scrappy bluegill into the boat. He re
moved the hook gently, tied a long piece of line
through the bluegill's mouth, strung a floating
plastic bobber on the other end of the line, and
threw the fish back into the lake.
As the bluagill swam somewhere down below,
the red and white bobber moved across the surface
IS or 20 yards to some shaded water. We promptly
moved the boat and settled down to some serious
fishing. In' an hour, our party had 51 bluegills,
along with two nice bass.
5. Fill up with a Ashing formula.
i5ft co
Some of the wisest anglers on American waters
swear by what they call "fishing by formula."
As enthusiasts see it, it's important to keep
moving around while fishing. In a boat or afoot
along the shore, they, constantly change positions,
alter the depth they fish, and change from one
bait or lure to another until the lunkers start
hitting. .
Few people know the technique better than
Jack Butler, a tall, bespectacled Ohioan, Last
spring on Dale Hollow Lake, Ky., he fished a live
minnow at a depth of 10 feet without raising his
blood pressure any. Next he fished it at a depth
of five feet, then 15 feet. Every so often, he changed
from minnows to nightcrawlers to frogs.
After he fished one area, Butler rowed his boat
to another spot. Witlua shrewd guile, he worked
Dale Hollow for nearly two hours before he found
his spot. Fishing minnows at a depth of five feet
near an overhanging tree, Butler caught himself
eight bass in about the time it takes to read this.
What makes these five foolproof methods of
catching fish so important? With another season
under way, more and more fishermen will be after
the prizes. By following these guides, you can get
your share without lapsing into the traditional
exaggerations of angling. The literal truth will be
hard to improve on.
SO romllyWeeklii, Man JI.IWl