In the north the red-cheeked boy digs a hole in the ice and while he amuses and invigorates himself at skating, the fish underneath the icy sheet fasten themselves to the hook he has let down through a hole. The boy used to sit over the hole in the ice and wait for the fish to bite, but that became too slow and detracted too much from his pleasure at skating. So his inventive genius set itself to work and the "tip-up" and "signal" shown in the illustration was the result. When the fish is not biting the flag lies flat on the ice, but as soon as a fish has swallowed the hook the flag pole stands straight up wafting its bright colored flag to the breezes and all the boys on the skating pond read the word "fish." The fish is drawn up, the hook rebaited and the youthful fisherman resumes his pleasures on the ice. Often a score or more of these "tip-ups" are planted about the edges of the ice pond, each boy bringing his fishing tackle with his skates and thus finding a double source of amusement. Maybe one boy will thus have a half dozen different lines in the water at once, it being easy to watch them all together.
Tip-Up Fish Caught
The device by which the fish is made to give its own signal when caught is exceedingly simple and any boy can make it. Procure a light rod about 2 ft. in length and to one end fasten a small flag, made of any bright colored cloth. Bind the rod at right angles to another stick which is placed across the hole, so that a short piece of the flagrod projects over the cross stick. To this short end fasten the fishing line. Be sure and use strong string in binding the two rods together, and also take care that the cross stick is long enough to permit several inches of each end to rest on the ice. After fastening the line to the short end of the rod, bait the hook with a live minnow or other suitable bait and let it down through the hole. When the fish is hooked the flag will instantly raise and wave about strenuously until the fish is taken from the water.
Jumping-Jack Fisherman
Jumping-Jack Fisherman
If the small boy has a "jumping-jack" left over from Christmas. he may make this do his fishing for him and serve as well as the "tip-up," or he can easily make the jumping-jack himself independent of Santa Claus. The string which is pulled to make the joints move is tied securely to the fishing line; the hook is baited and lowered into the water through a hole in the ice. The "jumping-jack" waves his legs and arms frantically to notify the boys when the fish is biting. The "jumping-jack" is also used for fishing in summer time by placing it on a float which is cast into the water.