Bass, Pike, Perch, and OthersHenshall, James A. (James Alexander)
Science
Bass, Pike, Perch, and Others
Henshall, James A. (James Alexander)
Fishes; Fishing
Owing to its nocturnal habits, the hours from about sunset until dark
are the most favorable. Night fishing is also quite successful should
any one care for it. As a matter of experiment I fished Pewaukee Lake,
in Wisconsin, one moonlit evening in summer, many years ago, in company
with three other anglers, there being two to a boat. In a few hours
twenty-two were landed to each boat, weighing from three to four pounds
each. This was my only experience in fishing for pike-perch at night,
but I have known many others to practise it very successfully.
Fly-fishing is most successful from about sundown until dark, or later,
and on cloudy days also during the afternoon. Two flies on a four-foot
leader may be used, one of which should be a light-colored one, as the
coachman, or white miller; the other may be any of the hackles or the
stone fly, oriole, gray drake, polka, professor, or Montreal. The same
instructions concerning fly-fishing for black-bass may be profitably
followed for the pike-perch, allowing the flies to sink two or three
feet after each cast, though it is a more uncertain fish to locate,
being much given to roaming in its search for food at different
seasons.
Years ago I had fine sport on several occasions, about sundown,
fly-fishing for pike-perch from the bridge over Neenah channel, the
outlet of Lake Winnebago, in Wisconsin. It was really the best fishing I
have ever had for this fish. All the conditions seemed to be just right,
and they responded eagerly to the coachman and oriole at first, but at
the approach of dusk they preferred the dusty miller and gray hackle.
The fish averaged three pounds, and in the swift water were quite gamy.
I have been very successful, on many occasions, fly-fishing on the
Muskingum River, in Ohio, fishing just below the dams late in the
afternoon; and also about the rocky tow-heads on the upper Ohio
River,--the fish, however, averaging only about a pound. But taking
everything into consideration, the character of the stream and its
surroundings, I think I have had the most enjoyable experience with the
pike-perch, both in fly-fishing and bait-fishing, on Rock River,
Wisconsin, in the southern part of the state. It is a beautiful, rocky
river in places, an ideal stream for wading. The fish also were of good
size, running up to five or six pounds.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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