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APRIL iS A TROUT MONTH Lure of the Stream and Fishing Home a Cure for Trouble YViys of Kisli mill KisherintMi Tools Toolsof of OI I 3losv lie Southern April will in many states usher in lie season for the brook trout and its cousins the rainbow and the brown trout and after the long cold months of winter it will be a welcome experience to be out once more among the willows and alders to see and hear in fields and wood the vanguard of spring birds and to follow again the curves of the trout brooks in mountain and in meadow De ¬ spite politics anil expense life will seem worth liv ¬ ing when a man can drop his line at daybreak into the old pool where he caught the big ones last year or let it drift along that favorite ripple where hi missed the biggest of all trout troutThe The first day at the trout stream is more than likely to be a day when the fisherman should be warmly clad Advice to leave home carefully pro ¬ tected in the matter of clothing may appear un ¬ necessary yet it is a fact that many a mans first day at the stream has been spoiled by his not be ¬ ing sufficiently clothed Ones system in April is yit tender from the wearing of heavy winter gar j incuts and if then1 is frost in the air working slowly down a stream is sure to be cold work Good rubber hoots or heavy overshoes if oae is not to wade warm undergarments a sweater and a coat of airtight variety these serve to keep a man j in a happy mood on the first day of the season it being taken for granted that the first day will be rainy or chilly therefore true to form formThe The incurable fisherman will be at the stream at daybreak and there lie will meet all the other in ¬ curables Hut this matter of fishing in the dusk of morning is no mere dream of the enthusiast many of the finest catches of early spring are made before sunrise Large trout are inclined to feed heavily at night and at dawn they are topping ff tluirTPTasts by the VliiieS TTIaf the oii1y fisherman offers After tin sun is high trout are likely to be beyond the power of coaxing coaxingEHORMOUS EHORMOUS PENNSYLVANIA BROOK TROUT TROUTI TROUTOn I On the first day of the season in 1919 in a small brook in southern Pennsylvania a lucky fisherman caught a niniteeninch brook trout weigh ing nearly three pounds Not even old fishermen of that small stream had ever seen such a fish in t or had suspected Hie existence of one there It was taken on a minnow and the time was just as day was breaking At such an hour when the trout are unwary on account of the mists on tile brook or the general indistinct light it is possible to take several fine trout from the same pool or off the same riffle riffleThe The mention of the minnow leads lo a considera ¬ tion of the kind of bait that is most effective for fishing early in the searon Even with no ephemera to put the trout into a jumping mood flyfishing on the first day is far from being a hopeless thing Indeed many men who cannot lit persuaded to worm their way down a trout stream have success on the firSt day with the filmy filmyleader leader and its drifting fairvlike hire The degree of sport to be had with a fly will depend on the condition of the water ami also on the state of the weather More than once a fly fisherman had made a fine catch on the afternoon of the opening day with the conditions right and clo e observers of such matters have seen trout jumping smartly on the juietcr stretches of a stream streamFor For the average man who visits the stream on the firt day and for many days thereafter there is no surer lure than the humble earthworm This type of food washed by rains into the brooks forms a constant and natural part of the trouts diet and the fish may be lured to earthworms I when they may be shy of all else This is tin one wholly dependable bait for this early fishing Minnows are a sporty bait and trout will take them ajive or dead indeed some fishermen kill their minnows before they use them themTEE TEE TROUT IS A BOLD BEAUTY BEAUTYA A trout is a bold fish when he has nothing to scare him That may he a curious saying but it is a true one There be 01110 Waltons who can use the spinner or one of the many artificial lures successfully in the high waters of early spring hut this type of bait is hardly to be recommended to the brotherhood at large The same is to be said of fancy bait such as strips of lean bacon bits of liver and the like Often however where trout streams run through towns remarkably large fish have been caught on freshmeat bait Ilidoubtedly these fish had been used to feeding on much refuse from kitchens and so forth forthAs As to the size of the trout that will take t lieso several lures a word may be said Of course trout of all sizes will take the earthworm and the meat baits as well Hut only the largersized fish will strike the spinner or will be lured by the minnow Indeed it is safe to say that given the water in rather milky condition the sport with the minnow is likely to be of the highpower order The largest trout in tiie stream will strike this lure lureHe He should be given plenty of tim lie will give tlie signal when he is looked this sign usually consists in his making a swift break upstream so determined and fast that the line carries a wave with it or a wavelet If the trout turns down ¬ stream he should be given line provided that a taut line is kept on him If any chance offers play him but if the stream is full of brush and other obstructions the trout had letter be brought to the landing net with all expedition expeditionIn In leaving the matter of lures it may be of in ¬ terest to mention one used by a negro fisherman of northern West Virginia This man knows trout and lie catches them witii the greatest skill Hut the lure he uses would make an ordinary trout fisherman lapse into unconsciousness It consists of a cluster of large hooks tied back to back Over these are rudely draped and tied some rough chicken feathers The whole apparatus looks like a miniature feather duster Yet this man catches fine trout with it He uses a heavy sinker just above his artificial bait and he goes slowly along the stream bobbing on Ihc bottom with this strange homemade lure And it is strange in more ways than in its appearance for though he has imitators in this manner of taking trout he lias no rival Some men watching him laughingly declare that the fish swallow the hooks just because Old Mose is at tin other end of the pole poleSome Some f the reasims for the phenomenal success of Old Mose are within the reach of all trout fish ¬ ermen These compressed into a sentence might tjiiis be put Walk softlj and carry a Jong pule Trout dread shadows moving objects sounds in ¬ deed all sudden disturbers of their placid Iraunls They art keenly sensitive and nothing proves this better than their ready apprehension of a careless footfall on a stream hank One cannot he too cautious in this sport the greatest objects being to efface oneself and to present the lure as if it were but a natural part of the brooks normal offer ¬ ing For the reasons stated the longer the line the better provided it be not tmmamige ilde ildeA A further caution which most fishermen need is a pica for patience In this it is well to remember the wise old fisherman who on going to the brook on the opening day found it lined with men and hoys wlui were playing his game Hut he played it in a different way Going upstream until he was sure that there was no one above him he began to fish down with his customary patient deliberate ness Half a day was passed Infore he had trav ¬ ersed a mile Hy that time many of his rivals had gom home homeToward Toward mldafternoin he reached the waters that they had so assiduously fished waters that had been fished so strenuously that out of them few trout had been caught In his skillful and canny way the old rodman lured the trout out of their holes and riffles and rock pockets Fishing com ¬ placently over the very waters that others had tried with hurried expectancy and abandoned in quick discouragement he slowly filled his creel and when the sun began to burn off the tall pines on the mountain to the westward he found that he had had as gocd t first day as he had ever enjoyed enjoyedAmong Among fishermen as among all men dont be a quitter if you would have life hand you out a few thrills of sport To the patient comes the strike strikeAnd And do you remember the big ones you missed last yearV Fish those same haunts into whose depths they so cruelly vanished They are probably there now and bigger than ever Moreover they have forgotten all about the jaw snagging you gave them and will come nguiii to your lure if you will be careful to present your deadly huok innocently Never forget that you ar dealing with one of the willesi anl shyest of gaie fishes which can lie caught only if you can outvtit It
