Ever hear older anglers tell what fishing was like in the "good ol' days"?
People fished to catch a meal, so what got caught got kept regardless of size or species. Cane poles were the mainstay tackle but were accompanied by a cigar box containing an array of braided line, clamp-on sinkers, wooden bobbers and tins of Pflueger's assorted hooks.
Tackle additions included needle nosed pliers, a cord fish stringer, a Barlow knife, a Devil's Horse lure and a vial of anise oil to flavor live bait. A coffee can held dirt and earthworms while galvanized buckets carried a dozen or so shiners.
Cow ponds, park lakes, reservoirs and creeks were the most fished because trees usually lined the banks, affording shady places to sit. Crawdad holes were prime spots to lodge fishing poles in allowing each angler the luxury of fishing three at a time.
Bluegill, crappie, carp and bullhead catfish were considered prime table fare, but some fishermen sought bass using special rigs. Extra long poles were rigged for "skittering" or "jigger poling" around likely bass resting areas.
That's when the Devil's Horse lure came into play. Skitter poles had a 4 to 6 foot length of 50-pound test line to which the lure was attached. To ensure the fish and lure stayed on the pole, even if it broke, the line was tied at two intervals below the tip.
The strategy was to ease the lure into the water and sputter it in a noisy figure-eight pattern close to stickups, cattails and water lilies. When a bass grabbed the lure it was slid sideways onto shore.
Jigger poling was slightly different. Again, 6 feet of heavy line was secured to the pole's tip and more was tied down the pole as a safety measure. A bobber was attached about 45 inches above a clamp on sinker and treble hook. The bait was three or four night crawler earth worms hooked through their middles.
The idea was to dip this writhing mass of morsels in likely looking places. The bobber was kept just above the water surface until a fish bit. Then it was let down and when it was pulled fully underwater the fisherman jerked the pole tip upward. If the angler was in a boat he didn't derrick the fish in because the pole was too long.
Instead, the pole was slid backward until the line could be grasped and the fish flipped aboard. Shore-bound anglers guided bass onto land without power lifting them from the water. After unhooking the fish the cord stringer was threaded through its bottom jaw, or gills, and then tethered in deep, cool water.
But stringing a fish presented new problems. Turtles learned that fish on stringers can't get away. Often when an angler went to retrieve his catch he found only a well chewed head or discovered the bothersome reptiles had stolen both the fish and valued stringer.
Many anglers who experienced those "Oh No!" moments of reptilian robbery now ruefully admit that perhaps fishing's "good ol' days" weren't really all that good after all.
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