We caught our big trout in the Marshpee, and we will tell you how we did it, though the words make us blush as we write them. We were young then, and it is to be hoped innocent; and having gone to Sandwich, on Cape Cod, in search of untried fields, discovered a jolly, corpulent landlord, named Teasedale, who, with his friend, Johnny Trout, so named jocosely, were the fishermen of the neighborhood. That was before the stream was preserved for the benefit of the “Poor Indian,” and poorer fishermen mulcted, as at present, in five dollars a day for the privilege of fishing. We drove to the stream, almost six miles, Teasedale enlivening the early June morning with snatches of hunting songs, and when there plunged recklessly in. Oh! but the water was cold--a dozen large springs poured in their freezing contents--and the blood fairly crept back to our hearts. The stream ran through a narrow defile, overhung with the thickly tangled vine and creepers, rendering a cast of the line impossible, and had worked its way far under the steep banks, making dark watery caverns, where the great fish could lie in wait for their prey. We removed the upper joint of our fly-rod, which was heavy and strong, and leaving the line through the last ring of the second joint, we put on a bait next to the fly in beauty and effect, the minnow. The water was freezing cold--the closely entwined boughs and leaves shut out the heavens above, and we were alone in the shadowy darkness with the tenants of the deep. The herring frequented the brook, and pursued by the large trout, darted in shoals between our feet. It is always a good sign when the herring are running, and we had excellent luck.
There are several ways of putting on a minnow, and if a person from ignorance or necessity must poach, let him poach well. There is the gorge-hook loaded with lead, the snell passed by the baiting needle at the mouth of the bait and out at the tail, bringing the hooks which are double at the mouth. It is highly recommended by some English books and their American imitators, but in my experience is more useful, unbaited, for catching snapping mackerel, young blue-fish, than for any other purpose. There are the gangs of hooks, consisting of two or more small hooks back to back, one of which is inserted in the side or back of the bait, with another small one further up on the line, which is inserted on the lip or nose. It answers well for some kinds of fishing, and for large bait, but does not work well with small fish. The bait is not bent sufficiently, and does not spin readily.