CD encourages rookie angler
Berl Tiskus
Clint Morgan catches a mack at Salish Point, where he’d spent the day fishing.
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
“Sausage,” I thought. “Well, okay.”
While sausage is great with hash browns and scrambled eggs, I never thought about it as fishing bait.
I was watching the excellent CD put out by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Division of Fish, Wildlife, Recreation and Conservation on catching lake trout in Flathead Lake. On the tape, breakfast sausage was the bait suggested by dock anglers Randy Hovet and Frank Stasso.
Hovet said he found that Johnsonville sausage had a tougher skin than most and would last longer in the lake, about 20 minutes. He also suggested adding a treble hook, because lake trout can be big. Also, bring a big net, not one of those tiny ones.
I’ve never really been a fisherman. As a child, I’d help my granddad and uncle dig worms and put them in a Prince Albert tobacco tin with some dirt. I loved to catch grasshoppers for bait, but mostly, I just loved to catch grasshoppers.
Putting a sausage on a treble hook would be a lot easier than poking it through a wriggling worm or the tough carapace of grasshopper.
My friend Lulu thought the whole idea of watching a CD to learn to fish was hilarious, but she thought it was too cold to come watch me try.
After watching the video, I went to the basement to unearth a fishing pole, coming up only with children’s poles. At least they weren’t Barbie or Superman poles, so I decided to just use one until I decided whether or not I liked fishing.
Then it was off to Walmart to get some treble hooks and a fishing license. The young man selling licenses was personable and explained the whole process, even giving me a little baggie for my license. I can fish darn near anywhere now.
I stopped at the grocery story for Johnsonville sausages and selected the Vermont maple syrup flavor. Sounds good to me, so maybe a mack trout would like it, too.
Hovet said he added something he called “shrimp lotion” to the sausage, because lake trout enjoy mysis shrimp. He also put on a piece of neon green “cut bait.” I don’t know about either of these things, but the very thought of neon-pink shrimp lotion grosses me out. Maybe I could slap some of that behind my ears, and whoa, doggies, those fish’d be jumping onto the dock.
Heading down to Salish Point, I was hoping I could try this fishing deal solo, with no one around. It was windy, with the surf up on Flathead Lake, but sunny.
Taylor and Aaron Burland were unloading fishing poles and a cooler full of sausage when I got there. Already on the dock with three poles going was Clint Morgan.
Sitting in the front seat of my car, attaching a treble hook to the leader and then slipping a sausage on the hook, I knew I didn’t have the guts to trot out there with my little bitty fishing pole.
So I ventured out to talk to the fishermen.
Morgan smiled and said he’d been fishing since 8 a.m., and it was now about 5:30 p.m. He’d caught one fish, and it was swimming on a stringer near the base of the dock.
Taylor and Aaron showed me the long treble hook they used, about the length of the sausage.
I enjoyed visiting with the fishermen, the sunshine and even the wind, but I’m still a rookie on the fishing.
I’m heading to Zimmer Tackle for advice on a fishing pole and a big ol’ treble hook.
