1 
 
 ill 
 
 HE 
 
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BERKlie 
 
 GENERAL 
 LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF 
 CALIFORNIA 
 
 
 &MUe^(0. 
 
 '/i 
 
 y m 
 
 DR. GEORGE PARKED HOLDEN 
 182 MCLEAN AVE. YQNKERS, N. Y* 
 
 THE SPORTING 
 AND BOOKSHOP, IN 
 
HANDBOOK OF ANGLING. 
 
LONOON : 
 
 SPOTTISWOODE and SHAW, 
 New-street-Square. 
 
HANDBOOK OF ANGLING: 
 
 FLY-FISHING, TROLLING, BOTTOM-FISHING, 
 AND SALMON-FISHING; 
 
 WITH THE 
 
 Natural Igttftnrii 0f Ei: 
 
 AND 
 
 THE BEST MODES OF CATCHING THEM. 
 
 EPHEMERA, 
 
 OF " BELL'S LIFE IN LONDON/ 
 
 " I have been a great follower of fishing myself, and in its cheerful solitude 
 have passed some of the happiest hours of a sufficiently happy life." PALEY. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR 
 
 LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS, 
 
 PATERNOSTER-ROW. 
 
 1847. 
 
 / 
 
10 
 VINCENT GEORGE BOWLING, ESQ. 
 
 WHO, 
 
 OF ALL HIS CONTEMPORARIES, 
 
 HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST ENERGETIC AND SUCCESSFUL 
 PROMOTERS OF FIELD SPORTS, 
 
 CIjte TOtarfe, 
 
 INTENDED TO SET FORTH THE THEORY AND PRACTICE 
 
 OF 
 THE GENTLE CRAFT, 
 
 IS INSCRIBED, 
 
 IN TOKEN OF THE ESTEEM AND REGARD OF 
 HIS FRIEND AND SERVANT, 
 
 THE AUTHOR.. 
 
 A 3 
 
 M836852 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 I HAVE been for several years before the public 
 as a periodical writer on piscatorial matters, and 
 during this period have received more commu- 
 nications than I can enumerate, from corre- 
 spondents in various parts of the empire, urging 
 me to write a plain, sensible, practical book on 
 Angling in general. 
 
 They have one and all complained that the 
 tajority of works extant upon Angling treated 
 oily of one brajich of the art ; and even in those 
 orjss which embraced a greater variety of the 
 subjects the treatment was so limited as to 
 be unsatisfactory and incomplete. They have 
 insisted upon the necessity of a book that would 
 teach, as far as possible, practically and fully, 
 fly-fishing, trolling, and bottom-fishing ; and they 
 have also thought so favourably of me as to assert 
 that they had full confidence in my ability to fill 
 up the hiatus they lamented. Thus pressed to 
 render a service to the angling world, I have 
 made the attempt in the following pages. 
 
 Deeming fly-fishing the most important divi- 
 sion of the art, I have written on it with metho- 
 
Vlll PEEFACE. 
 
 dical minuteness. I have shown how every part 
 of it is to be practised, and the different sorts of 
 gear requisite ; and I have given a full list of all 
 the artificial baits which the fly- fisher must use 
 for the capture of salmon, trout, grayling, and some 
 of the carp tribe. I have made this section of the 
 book as interesting and instructive as I could. 
 
 The reader will find a short and useful chapter 
 on fly-making. Each stage of its process is illus- 
 trated by a wood-cut, and an attempt has been 
 made to explain each cut simply, clearly, and 
 concisely. The different materials for fly-making 
 are named, and the best recipes given for dyeing 
 some of them. 
 
 In the list of artificial flies for every month of 
 the angling season I have emphatically pointed 
 out the most killing ones, shown several ways of 
 making them, and stated when and where, and 
 what fish they will take. Every fly in the list 
 is more or less necessary ; and in the text will be 
 found my opinion of each artificial insect that 
 deserves special notice. In composing the list, 
 I have called to my aid the best authorities on 
 the subject of artificial flies. 
 
 There will be found a chapter on the materials 
 and manufacture of rods, in which those fittest 
 for salmon and trout fishing are pointed out ; and 
 the greatest care has been taken in stating the 
 materials of which they should be manufactured, 
 
PREFACE. ix 
 
 the mode of making them, and the relative pro- 
 portions of length and strength they should 
 possess. I have been equally careful in desig- 
 nating the best kinds of trolling, spinning, and 
 bottom-fishing rods. The chapter embodies the 
 opinions of the best anglers and tackle-makers 
 with whom I am acquainted. 
 
 The second division of the book is devoted to 
 trolling and spinning. I show how they are 
 practised ; and illustrations are given of the most 
 efficient tackle successful practice requires. This 
 part of my subject I have simplified, and I trust 
 the reader will say usefully. 
 
 In the next chapter I have given the fullest in- 
 structions on bottom-fishing, stating the best rods, 
 lines, and hooks required ; and giving a detailed 
 catalogue of the most deadly baits, showing how 
 they are to be used, preserved, and, when possible, 
 telling how some of them are best made. 
 
 In order that certain moot points might be set 
 at rest I mean those which relate to the senses 
 of fish, to their power of seeing, hearing, feeling, and 
 tasting, I have induced Mr. Erasmus Wilson, 
 F.E. S., a most accomplished physiologist, to 
 write me a chapter on the subject. He has 
 kindly done so ; and the studious and intelligent 
 angler cannot fail to derive much valuable infor- 
 mation from its perusal. 
 
 The book concludes with a natural history of 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 the angler's fish, and descriptions of the best modes 
 of catching them. I have treated on the salmon 
 much more fully than any other elementary 
 writer on angling. The singular history and 
 habits of that splendid fish I have detailed with 
 considerable minuteness ; nor will the reader be 
 disposed to question the accuracy of my state- 
 ments when he is told that they are founded on 
 the authoritative data of Messrs. Shaw, Young, 
 and Scrope. This portion of the book will pro- 
 bably agreeably surprise many anglers. I have 
 not failed to mention any bait by which the 
 salmon may be captured in a sportsman-like way. 
 The habits of trout, grayling, pike, and of the carp 
 family have been treated with careful brevity. 
 
 In a word, I have attempted to write what 
 I was called upon to do, and what on deliberate 
 reflection I think the angling community are in 
 want of, viz., a portable and practical book from 
 which the tyro may learn all the right theory and 
 safe practical principles of the art, while even the 
 old professor may find a few new hints, and have 
 recalled to his memory some useful details that 
 may have faded from it. Should time prove that 
 I have succeeded in rendering a service to the 
 brethren of the gentle craft, I shall consider 
 myself amply rewarded for my labour, and shall 
 be stimulated to new exertions. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Angling defined. Divided into three branches. Each 
 briefly described. The superiority and merits of Fly- 
 fishing - Page 1 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 Throwing the Line and Flies Humouring them. Fish- 
 ing a Stream. Striking, hooking, playing, and landing 
 a Fish - 10 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 On artificial Flies - 48 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Fly -dressing - - 73 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 A monthly List of Flies for the Season - 97 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 Fishing with the natural Fly, or dibbing or daping - 144 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 Trolling. Rods, Lines, Tackle, and Baits, and Methods 
 of using them - - 162 
 
xii CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 On Bottom-fishing. Rods, Hooks, Lines, and Baits 
 
 Page 219 
 
 CHAP. IX, 
 
 On the proper Materials and Manufacture of Rods - 273 
 
 CHAP. X. 
 On Piscatorial Physiology, by Erasmus Wilson, F.R.S. 286 
 
 CHAP. XL 
 
 The Habits of the Angler's Fish, and the best Ways of 
 catching them fairly - 299 
 
HANDBOOK OF ANGLING, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ANGLING DEFINED. DIVIDED INTO THREE BRANCHES. 
 
 EACH BRIEFLY DESCRIBED. THE SUPERIORITY AND 
 
 MERITS OF FLY-FISHING. 
 
 ANGLING, or the art of taking fish with rod, line, 
 and hook, or with line and hook only, is one of 
 the oldest of out-door .amusements and occupa- 
 tions. At first the modes of practising it were 
 exceedingly rude, as they still are amongst un- 
 civilised nations. There are tribes in existence 
 now that fashion the human jaw bones into fish- 
 hooks. Even unto this day angling implements, 
 amongst many of the politest people of Europe, 
 are manufactured with imperfect roughness. The 
 inhabitants of the British isles alone cultivate all 
 matters pertaining to rural sports, of whatsoever 
 kind they may be, but particularly hunting, shoot- 
 ing, and angling, with that persevering ardour 
 
 B 
 
2 ANGLING DEFINED. 
 
 which leads to perfection. In their efforts to ac- 
 quire the surest, most amusing, most health-giving, 
 and, I may say, most elegant modes of pursuing 
 and capturing their game, be it the produce of 
 field or flood, they call to their aid several ancil- 
 lary studies, amongst which stands prominent that 
 of the natural history of animals and of other 
 living things, ranking not so high in the scale of 
 creation. The hunter studies the habits of horse 
 and dog, and of the fercz naturce he pursues with 
 them, the fowler of the birds of the air, and the 
 fisherman of the fish of the water. Hence know- 
 Iedge 4 skill, and success ; hence the accomplished 
 sportsman, rarely found except amongst the best 
 types of Englishmen, whether of high or low 
 degree. 
 
 Though angling has been jeered at more than 
 any other sporting practice, still no other subject 
 connected with field sports has been more minutely 
 and extensively written upon. No sporting writer 
 is so generally known as Izaak Walton, and his 
 " Complete Angler" has earned for him an im- 
 mortality which will last until the art of printing 
 our language shall be forgotten. May that time 
 never arrive ! The subject then cannot be un- 
 worthy of a modern pen ; but the pen perchance 
 may be unworthy of the subject, and thus prove 
 an obstacle to my design, which is to write upon 
 angling in a plain, connected, business-like way, 
 
ANGLING DEFINED. 3 
 
 teaching its modern theory and practice, together 
 with the recent discoveries, inventions, and im- 
 provements that have been made in the art. 
 
 The art of angling is divided into three main 
 branches, the general principles of which being 
 understood, an acquaintance with minute detail 
 will follow gradually as a matter of course. 
 
 The first branch embraces angling at the sur- 
 face of the water, and comprehends fly-fishing 
 with natural or artificial insects, the latter being 
 of more general use. The second embraces ang- 
 ling at mid-water, or thereabouts, and includes 
 trolling or spinning with a live, a dead, or an 
 artificial bait with a small fish, mouse, frog, or 
 their representatives. The third includes bottom- 
 fishing, which is angling at or near the bottom of 
 the water with worms, gentles, and many sorts 
 of inanimate baits. Bottom-fishing is the most 
 primitive, the commonest, and easiest mode of 
 angling ; trolling is less common and more dif- 
 ficult ; fly-fishing is the most difficult and amusing 
 of all, and though less commonly practised than 
 bottom-fishing, is more generally so than trolling. 
 
 Although in teaching an art it would be more 
 regular to commence with the easiest branches of 
 it, I begin, for several reasons, with fly-fishing, 
 acknowledging it to be that division of the art of 
 angling which is learned the least easily. I shall 
 only give one reason for my irregularity, viz. that 
 
 B 2 
 
4 IGNORANCE OF ANGLING. 
 
 he who has learned the practice of fly-fishing will 
 readily learn the two other branches of angling. 
 If the reader should desire to be more methodical 
 than I am, he has the power of being so, by read- 
 ing this hand-book as if it were written in Hebrew. 
 
 o 
 
 He will then find the last first, and the first last. 
 If he wishes for slow, but sure advancement, let 
 him reverse the order of reading, moving from the 
 back rank to the centre, and so on to the front. 
 
 The long-continued, unbroken chain of igno- 
 rance that runs, in some instances, through the 
 world is almost incomprehensible to the active 
 mind. It is a miracle of visible darkness amidst 
 the intelligence that surrounds us. " The dic- 
 tionary-making pensioner," as Cobbett used to 
 call Dr. Samuel Johnson, defined angling, as a 
 silly thing, practised by a fool at one end of a rod 
 and line, and a worm at the other. Many stupid 
 people still adhere to this very stupid definition. 
 With the practice of angling they associate no- 
 thing beyond worms, punts, patience, a nibble 
 and tittle-bat sport. A salmon caught by ang- 
 ling ! No no such prodigy in their opinion ever 
 occurred. 
 
 Let us now see what fly-fishing is whether it 
 is a fool at one end of a rod, and a worm at the 
 other. The greatest names in arms, science, lite- 
 rature and art have been devoted to fly-fishing. 
 Nelson's " dear, dear Merton," with its Wandle 
 
PRAISE OF FLY-FISHING. 5 
 
 wandering by, offered him an attraction which he 
 constantly revelled in, viz. fly-fishing. Sir H. 
 Davy, Archdeacon Paley, Sir Francis Chantry, 
 Sir Walter Scott, were enthusiastic fly-fishers. 
 General Sir Charles Dalbiac, the Duke of Eox- 
 burghe, the Earl of Essex, and many other great 
 names I could mention, are constant and con- 
 summate practitioners of the pleasing sport. 
 Other field sports may be more exciting, but 
 there is not one requiring more skill, or calling 
 into exercise more intelligence and adroitness of 
 mind and body. A quick eye, a ready and de- 
 licate hand, an apprehensive brain, delicacy in 
 the senses of touch and hearing, activity of limb, 
 physical endurance, persevering control over im- 
 patience, vigilant watchfulness, are qualifications 
 necessary to form the fly-fisher. His amusing strug- 
 gles, teeming with varying excitement, are with the 
 strongest, the most active, the most courageous, 
 the most beautiful and most valuable of river fish, 
 and his instruments of victory are formed of mate- 
 rials so slight, and, some of them so frail, that all 
 the delicacy and cunning resources of art are re- 
 quisite to enable feebleness to overcome force. 
 The large, vigorous, nervous salmon, of amazing 
 strength and wonderful agility the rapid trout 
 of darting velocity, hardy, active, untiring, whose 
 dying flurry shows almost indomitable resistance, 
 are hooked, held in, wearied out, by the skilful 
 
 B 3 
 
6 THE FLY-FISHER S WEAPONS. 
 
 and delicate management of tackle that would, if 
 rudely handled, be bent and strained by the 
 strength and weight of a minnow. ? Tis wonder- 
 ful to see hooks of Lilliputian largeness, gut finer 
 than hair, and a rod, some of whose wooden joints 
 are little thicker than a crow's quill, employed in 
 the capture of the very strongest of river fish. 
 The marvel lies in the triumph of art over brute 
 force. If the sporting gear of the fly-fisher were 
 not managed with art on the mathematical 
 principle of leverage he could not by its means 
 lift from the ground more than a minute fraction 
 of the dead weight of that living, bounding, rush- 
 ing fish he tires unto death, nay, drowns in its 
 own element. The overcoming of difficulties by 
 the suaviter in modo forms one of the greatest 
 charms of fly-fishing, and to my fancy is the plea- 
 santest element of success that can be used in any 
 pursuit. Persuade, but never drive. 
 
 The baits of the pure fly-fisher are imitations of 
 insects in one or other of their forms. He fishes 
 with imitations of the fly, the beetle, the grub, the 
 caterpillar and moth. These imitations are made 
 of divers materials, the chief whereof are feathers, 
 fur, mohair, wool, and silk. They are affixed 
 round hooks of various sizes, and by a process 
 requiring the most skilful and delicate manipula- 
 tion. The fly-dresser is a modeller of no mean 
 attributes. He has to represent, by means of 
 
FL.Y-FISHING REQUIREMENTS. 7 
 
 the most delicate substances of varied tissue and 
 colour, insects, often complete atomies, and of 
 changeable shapes and hues. Extreme neat- 
 ness characterises all the paraphernalia of the 
 fly-fisher. His sport requires the handling of 
 nothing that will soil the best-bred hand. The 
 composition of his bait extracts pain from no 
 living thing ; not even from the worm you tread 
 upon. To know that his baits are good, he must 
 to a certain extent be a naturalist. He must be 
 acquainted with the outward appearances of several 
 sorts of insects ; he must know the divisions of 
 the seasons in which they live and cease to be ; 
 he must know the climates and localities peculiar 
 or otherwise to each species; he must know 
 their names, and be able to classify them, if not 
 scientifically, at least piscatorially ; he must know 
 those that prove the most attractive food for each 
 kind of fish he angles for ; in fact, he must possess 
 a fund of knowledge that will cause him to be 
 considered an accomplished man by the members 
 of every rational society. 
 
 To render the pleasures attendant on his pur- 
 suit complete, he is invited, if he seeks for super- 
 lative success, to practise it amongst the most 
 picturesque panorama devised by nature. The 
 brook that runs along the hill's side, the swift 
 stream that dashes through the valley, the moun- 
 tain waterfalls, the currents foaming between 
 B 4 
 
8 PLEASURES OF FLY-FISHING. 
 
 moss-grown rocks, or brawling over a pebbly 
 bottom, are the scenes of the fly -fisher's triumphs. 
 The salmon, and salmonidae, the most frequent 
 prizes of the fly-fisher's skill, are not to be found 
 in the sluggish, turbid waters that flow through 
 flats and fens, but breed in, and inhabit, in due 
 season, those delightful streams that play over 
 table-lands. Their food is not the offal of slime 
 or mud, but the insects that disport on the sur- 
 face of clear water. There the bounding salmon 
 tribe seek them, and in that search they encounter 
 the fatal artificial insect of the fly-fisher, and all 
 the deadly resources of his craft. The shape, 
 the colour, the flavour of the fly-fisher's fish do 
 not mis-beseem the beauties that surround sal- * 
 mon, trout, and grayling streams. The plain, 
 nutritious sheep thrives well upon Leicester pas- 
 turage lands. In their waters breed prolifically 
 the heavy carp, chub, and tench. The heather of 
 the Highlands is the haunt of the dainty doe 
 and wild stag ; the crystal waters of their inland 
 cliffs produce the aristocracy of the finny race. 
 The concordances of life, society, nature, are ad- 
 mirable, unerring, and tally in delightful diver- 
 sity. The smooth waters of Lowland rivers and 
 ponds afford the placid bottom-fisher his sport. 
 The mountain torrents and lakes hold the quarry 
 the active fly-fisher is ambitious of capturing. 
 The broad, straight, even, thoroughfares of the 
 
MEHITS OF FLY-FISHING. 9 
 
 world afford comfort and competence, acquired 
 bit by bit by efforts, slightly but sufficiently 
 stimulating to fresh and repeated exertion. The 
 narrow, precipitous paths of life lead to fame, 
 high honours, and high rank, and the ascent, ren- 
 dered enchanting by the allurements of ambi- 
 tious hope, is gained by daring activity, which 
 never flags but for breath, to bound onward more 
 and more bravely. The accessible streams that 
 meander soothingly through soil for the sickle 
 and scythe, yield to the industrious bottom - 
 fisher a full pannier, by a slowly and pleasantly 
 accumulating process. The fly-fisher with haply 
 a few casts of his artificial baits, surcharges his 
 creel with salmon or trout, whose retreat in waters 
 rushing by crag and fell he has attained by paths 
 which none save the sportsman intent on high 
 game would choose to tread. 
 
 I have now run rapidly through the salient 
 merits of fly-fishing. Let me explain the practice 
 of it with less precipitation. 
 
10 HANDBOOK OF ANGLING. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THROWING THE LINE AND FLIES. HUMOURING THEM. 
 
 FISHING A STREAM. STRIKING, HOOKING, PLAYING, AND 
 LANDING A FISH. 
 
 OUR language contains many pretty, pithy, and 
 largely expressive figures of speech. One^ man 
 says of another, " he is the best ' whip' in Eng- 
 land." We understand by one little word that 
 he is alleged to be the best driver and manager 
 of horses in harness in the kingdom. So when 
 we say, " he throws a line, or a fly better 
 than any man we know," we mean to assert that 
 he is the best fly-fisher of our acquaintance. 
 The possession of the one power implies the 
 possession of all the other necessary qualifications. 
 Throwing well the line is an indispensable fly- 
 fishing qualification, the first to be learned, 
 always called into play, and without which other 
 attributes are nearly valueless. You may hook 
 a fish well, play a fish well, land a fish well, but 
 you will very seldom have an opportunity of 
 doing so unless you throw a line well. We judge 
 of a fly-fisher by the manner in which he casts 
 his line. If he does so with ease and elegance, 
 and efficiently, we set him down as an adept in 
 
THROWING THE LINE AND FLIES. 11 
 
 all the minutiae of the art if he does not, we 
 conclude that he is a tyro. That, reader, you 
 may not long remain in this latter category, if, in- 
 deed, you do belong to it at all, let there be during 
 the fly-fishing season, for you, nulla dies sine lined. 
 I can see no wonderful difficulty in throwing a 
 line well. Many certainly do not do so, by rea- 
 son, chiefly, of having adopted a bad method at the 
 outset. It is better to have no fly-fishing habit 
 at all, than to have a bad one. Commence on 
 the proper principle; persevere, and you must 
 become a proficient. 
 
 HOW TO THROW THE LlNE AND FLIES. 
 
 You are a beginner, I presume, and have never 
 handled a rod before. Let the rod for your 
 novitiate be eleven feet long ; its play inclining 
 rather to faulty stiffness, than to over-pliancy. Put 
 the joints or pieces together, the rings standing in 
 a straight line the one to the other, that your line 
 may run evenly between them without any tor- 
 tuous impediment. Put on your winch or reel 
 with its handle towards the left side, and draw 
 out your -line through the rings, until there be 
 about four yards of it out from beyond the last 
 ring of the top joint. You have now quite suf- 
 ficient line out to commence the practice of cast- 
 ing with it. Let your winch and the rings of your 
 rod be on the under side of it when you practise 
 casting. 
 
12 HOW TO HOLD THE FLY-ROD. 
 
 You are now ready to begin. Grasp your rod, 
 not tightly, in your right hand, your hold being 
 a little above the winch. Your hand must not 
 close upon your rod with the thumb turned over 
 your knuckles, as if you were about to strike 
 a blow. Your fingers round the rod must simply 
 entwine it, not squeeze it, and your thumb must 
 lie straight with your arm on the upper part of 
 the butt, the first joint being very slightly bent, 
 and the fleshy or flat forepart of the thumb press- 
 ing on the rod. Hold your rod up nearly per- 
 pendicular, and pointing rather to the left side. 
 Take the tip of the line between the fore-finger 
 and thumb of your left hand. Poise your rod 
 loosely and easily, and see that it balances freely 
 in your right hand. Be devoid of that fear which 
 begets awkwardness. What injury can you do ? 
 You are not going to explode a mine. You are 
 merely going to throw a thin line with a thin 
 limber rod upon the water. What if you shiver 
 them to pieces in the attempt ? The damage can 
 be remedied. 
 
 I suppose you now on a bank above some 
 river's surface, all ready for your first cast. Move 
 your right wrist and fore-arm round to the right, 
 letting go, just as it begins to get taut, the tip of 
 the line in your left fingers, and bring round from 
 left to right over your right shoulder the upper 
 part of your rod, describing with the point of it 
 
THROWING THE LINE AND FLIES. 13 
 
 an irregular a horse-shoe circle, and then cast 
 forward with a flinging motion of the wrist and 
 fore-arm. The motion of the wrist must predo- 
 minate over that of the fore-arm and elbow joint. 
 If you follow the above motions exactly and with 
 freedom, from four to five feet of your line, sup- 
 posing you to have between three and four yards 
 of it out, should fall lightly upon the water. If 
 that length do not you are wrong, and you must 
 go on casting and casting, practising and prac- 
 tising, until you are right. 
 
 At first you will find, unless you are very 
 handy and a very apt scholar indeed, that nearly 
 all your line will fall upon the water, and that 
 the top of your rod will come in contact with the 
 surface of it. These are the greatest drawbacks 
 to throwing a line well, and if not overcome the 
 learner must never expect to become an expert 
 fly-fisher. With might and main he must struggle 
 to vanquish them. They are caused by letting 
 the fore-arrn fall too low whilst casting, and 
 bending the body forward with the downward 
 motion of the arm. 
 
 Here is the remedy. When you have made 
 your casting movement brought round your rod 
 and line over the head, and propelled them forwards, 
 the wrist must be gradually checked the instant 
 the line is straightening itself in its onward course. 
 The body must be upright, the chest held rather 
 
14 PROPER POSITION IN CASTING. 
 
 back, and your bust must not assume the slightest 
 forward or stooping position. You will find, 
 if you hold your rod properly, that the end of it 
 nearest to you, the part between your hand and 
 the spear or spike, will come in contact with the 
 under part of your fore-arm just as your line is ap- 
 proaching the water. This contact will prevent 
 the point of your rod following the line so low 
 as to cause a great part of the latter to roll on to 
 the water. Stand with your left foot a little for- 
 ward, and flat on the ground, with a firm pur- 
 chase ; the right foot a little behind, the toes turned 
 out, and the ball of the foot touching the ground 
 with a slight springy pressure. Your left upper 
 arm must hang loosely by your side; the fore 
 part curbed from the elbow joint, will bring your 
 left hand over and opposite to the outer ends of 
 the right lower ribs. Your position, the limbs, 
 &c., arranged in the above way, will be easy and 
 graceful, allowing free play to all the muscles 
 required to be brought into action. 
 
 I deem you now sufficiently skilled by practice 
 to throw four or five yards of line well, and with 
 satisfactory ease. Double, then, the length of your 
 line out. The right arm motion must be no 
 longer limited to the wrist, fore-arm, and elbow 
 joint, but must extend to the upper and shoulder 
 joint. The os humeri and deltoid muscle must 
 be called into requisition with fine free vigour, 
 
THROWING THE LINE AND FLIES. 15 
 
 but not with so much of the latter as if you were 
 about to strike a knock-down blow. The whole 
 of the arm must be brought round to the right 
 with an easy, large sweep, and the line thrown 
 forward well from the shoulder. There must be 
 no coachman-like jerk with the wrist backwards, as 
 the front portion of the line is descending to the 
 water, but the hand must follow the rod, and stop 
 by a well-timed degree of suddenness, so that the 
 line will fall on the water with a somewhat quick 
 rather than a lazy floating motion. 
 
 As soon as you can throw from eight to ten 
 yards of your reel-line with the power of making 
 not more than a yard or two of the front portion 
 of it fall lightly on the water, and in whatsoever 
 direction you may choose, add to it, what is called 
 the " foot " or " casting-line " of moderately thick 
 silkworm gut, in length about two yards. You 
 will now have ten yards of line, more or less, to 
 throw with, and you must practise until you can 
 cause the gut-line to fall upon the water before 
 any part of the reel-line touches it. Do not be 
 in a hurry to put on flies and fish. When you 
 have succeeded in throwing your gut-line with 
 freedom, with the ability of making it alight first 
 upon the water when you can prevent the top 
 of your rod from descending too low when you 
 can prevent any part of your reel-line from making 
 a more rapid descent than that of your casting-line, 
 
16 HANDBOOK OF ANGLING. 
 
 you may begin to throw from left to right, with 
 a backward twist or sweep of the wrist and arm. 
 Hitherto you have been throwing from right to 
 left, and that is the proper and most common way. 
 But circumstances will arise, caused by the direction 
 of the wind, your position with regard to the water 
 and obstructions on and in it, in the shape of trees, 
 roots, rocks, &c., that will force you to cast from 
 left to right, and sometimes underhand, as it were. 
 
 I shall say nothing of throwing with the left 
 hand, because you will be able to do so, when 
 you shall have learned to throw overhand and 
 underhand with the right arm. 
 
 You have begun throwing by moving the point 
 of your rod from left to right over your right 
 shoulder, bringing it parallel with the right side 
 of your head, and you have then been taught to 
 cast straightforwards, or rather from right to left. 
 If you have learned to do all this well, have 'no 
 fear ; you must succeed in fly-fishing. But to be 
 still more au fait in throwing the line, take the 
 end of it in your left hand, and bringing the point 
 of the rod to that side, move your wrist and fore- 
 arm backwards to the right, turning the hand up, 
 so that the finger-nails will point to you. Let go 
 the line, and its point will pass first to the left of 
 you, and then turn over and fall on the water on 
 your right side. Although you will not be able 
 to throw in this way so long a line, as over- 
 
THROWING THE LINE AND FLIES. 17 
 
 handed from right to left, you will be able to 
 throw it to a moderate distance easily and lightly. 
 Take a coachman's whip in your hand, and work 
 It right and left, making the lash crack each time, 
 and you will acquire a freedom in the wrist that 
 will be of service to you in handling the fly-rod. 
 A coachman driving four-in-hand, with a long, 
 limber whip-handle and tapering thong, makes use 
 of the fly-fisher's motions, but does so in a manner 
 too cramped, sudden, harsh and violent. Observe 
 him touching playfully the heads of his leaders 
 with the point of the lash, now the off-leader on 
 the right side, and then the near-leader on the 
 left side about the ear, and you will see how he 
 works from right to left and from left to right. 
 Imitate him, but most cautiously. Try and catch 
 his ease and neatness ; avoid the narrowness of 
 the circles he describes with whip-handle and 
 thong, and the rapidity and jerking of his wrist 
 motions. 
 
 All you now want is to throw with precision. 
 Let there be a mark in the water, and first try to 
 throw a little above it, and in the next cast a little 
 below it. Then throw right upon it, over it, be- 
 yond it, and on your own side of it. Having suc- 
 ceeded in throwing with accuracy where there are 
 no obstructions, seek spots of the river where they 
 exist where there are overhanging branches of 
 trees, weeds, rocks, or the ends of piles appearing 
 c 
 
18 PKACTICE BETTER THAN PRECEPT. 
 
 above the surface of the water. Practise in these 
 difficult spots until you think you can surmount 
 the obstructions, and are able to avoid getting 
 entangled amongst them. 
 
 Practical observation is better than any written 
 lesson, because example is far more cogent than 
 precept. When you see an old fly-fisher of ac- 
 knowledged reputation on the water, watch his 
 movements, and gain knowledge from what you 
 see as well as from what you hear. You see most 
 likely that he performs what you cannot. Ob- 
 serve his method, follow it, and you will overcome 
 what had hitherto been a difficulty to you. If 
 he permits you to accompany him during the day, 
 do so, and if he will give you any oral instruc- 
 tions, be thankful to him. If they agree with 
 those you will find in this book, practise them 
 perseveringly. Attend always to a multitude of 
 corroborating, intelligent and disinterested wit- 
 nesses. 
 
 You have been all this while learning to cast 
 with reel-line and casting-line without any flies 
 on the latter. Commence with ' a single fly of 
 rather large size, dressed on a full length of gut, 
 and looped to the end of your casting-line. That 
 fly is your tail-fly, or " stretcher." You will soon 
 be informed of your proficiency in throwing this 
 fly. The information will be conveyed to you 
 in the very pleasantest way, viz., by fish rising 
 
PUTTING ON THE FLIES. 19 
 
 at your fly. When large ones do so it is a proof 
 that you have thrown your fly properly on the 
 water, and you may now add a second fly, which 
 will be your first " dropper." It should be a size 
 smaller than your stretcher, and fastened on a 
 yard higher up from it at one of the joinings of 
 your casting-line. During your first season I 
 advise you not to fish with more than two flies on 
 your line at the same time. You may lengthen 
 your casting-line from two yards to three, and 
 the latter length will be found the best average 
 one for fly-fishing with a single-handed rod. In 
 your second year use three flies, placing them 
 from eighteen inches to two feet apart. The 
 length of gut to each dropper need not exceed 
 two inches. The usual way of attaching flies is 
 by looping them on. The only fly I loop is the 
 stretcher to the loop at the fine end of the casting- 
 line. My droppers having a knot at the end of 
 the gut, I fasten in between the sliding knots by 
 which I tie together the links of gut that form the 
 casting-line. I prefer these sliding knots to the 
 whipped ones, because they are lighter, and enable 
 me to attach and detach my knotted droppers 
 more quickly than if they were looped. The 
 knots will be found quite strong enough if you 
 make them double ; or even single, provided you 
 do not cut off the gut too closely to them. I 
 cannot clearly explain in writing how these sliding 
 c 2 
 
20 TAPERING SHAPE OF FLY-LINES. 
 
 knots are made, but any fishing-tackle maker will 
 show you. 
 
 I have now prepared you for fishing with three 
 flies on three yards of gut casting-line. That 
 line, as well as your reel- line and rod, should 
 taper " fine by degrees and beautifully less." It 
 should be thicker towards the hand, and dwindle 
 away gradually to its end further from you. If 
 the extreme end of your line should be the thick- 
 est part of it, common sense will tell you that 
 when you cast it there must ensue a rapider and 
 heavier descent upon the water than when that 
 end of your line is the finest part of it. The 
 gradual tapering of the line causes it to stretch 
 out with the cast without kinking or coiling 
 and to fall lightly and straightly on the water. 
 Keel-lines (the best sorts are made of hair, or 
 of two thirds hair and one third silk) are twisted 
 in the shape of a spindle or a procupine's quill 
 thick in the middle and tapering off in nice 
 gradation to each end. A line so shaped has 
 this advantage ; when you have nearly worn 
 out one end, you can have recourse to the other, 
 which is completely fresh, having been that part 
 wound first on the reel, and hitherto protected 
 from the action of air and water. The used 
 part is to be now wound next the reel. Your 
 gut casting-line must be formed of links each 
 finer than the other, but not with marked dis- 
 
HOW TO FISH A STREAM. 21 
 
 proportion. The thickest link must be that next 
 to the reel-line, and the thinnest that farthest 
 from it that to which your stretcher or tail-fly 
 is to be looped. Each of the intermediate links of 
 gut must be finer than the other, round, and 
 clear-coloured, before dyed, and without a flaw. 
 
 FISHING A STREAM AND HUMOURING YOUR 
 FLIES. Touching the practice of angling, there 
 are many moot points. One maintains this, an- 
 other maintains that, and a third differs from 
 both. In doing any thing there is but a right 
 way and a wrong; but common sense has not 
 followers enough to give the right a majority. An 
 impartial president casting up the votes for the 
 wrong must too often, I fear, pronounce, " The 
 Ayes have it." Opinions are divided as to how a 
 stream is to be fly-fished. Some say, begin at the 
 head of a stream, and fish it downwards with the 
 current. Others say, by no means : commence 
 at the tail of a stream and fish upwards to its 
 head. Who is to decide, when adhuc sub judice 
 Us est ? Will the litigants leave it to my arbitra- 
 tion ? If they do, my decision is, as a general 
 rule, to be swerved from on rare contingency, 
 first fly-fish a stream upwards from tail to head, 
 and then, if circumstances make you think it 
 advisable, after giving yourself and the water a 
 rest, try down, with, if necessary, a change of fly 
 or flies, from head to tail. By this means you 
 c 3 
 
22 HUMOUE1NG THE FLIES. 
 
 avoid disputed extremes, and treading the best of 
 all paths, medio tutissimus ibis. 
 
 You are approaching a stream to fish it. The 
 wind is blowing slantingly over your right 
 shoulder across the water. Keep as far as pos- 
 sible at first from the edge of the bank you stand 
 on, and throw somewhat to your left side on that 
 part of the water running on your side the river. 
 Float your flies down, humouring them nattily 
 on the surface of the water, obliquely to your 
 left, bringing them at a civil distance below you, 
 and close under the bank. Repeat your cast, 
 moving one step higher up, still keeping as far 
 as you can from the water side. When you have 
 fished that nearer side sufficiently, approach the 
 bank, coming down again to the tail-end of the 
 stream, throwing as far as you can across it, 
 humouring your flies as in the first instance, not 
 drawing them directly across to you, but floating 
 them lightly down the stream, until your line 
 begins to grow taut, and the stream has a drag 
 upon it, when you must repeat your cast, a little 
 higher up the stream than before. Pursue this 
 plan until you have fished the stream as widely 
 from you as you can, and up to its head-form- 
 ation. 
 
 The objections to fishing a stream in the above 
 way are, that by so doing you expose your back 
 and side too much to the fish above you, and you 
 
CONSEQUENCES OF FISHING DOWN STREAM. 23 
 
 lose too much time and ground by this back- 
 ward process. In my opinion, these objections 
 are not fatal. If you keep a proper distance 
 from the side of the stream, you will obviate the 
 first objection. The second I think of little mo- 
 ment, for sometimes you cannot fish too carefully 
 or too slowly, inch by inch, especially if the stream 
 be a choice spot and fish upon the rise, whilst, 
 under contrary circumstances, your progress may 
 be more rapid, hurrying over chanceless parts, 
 and fishing for luck quickly right a-head, hasten- 
 ing on to more favourable localities. 
 
 There is but one main objection to commenc- 
 ing at the head of a stream, and I do not see 
 how it can be well got over. You hook a fish at 
 the head of a stream, and must of course play him 
 downwards. What is the consequence ? Is it 
 not plain, that you must disturb many fish below 
 yo'u, over which you have not as yet thrown your 
 flies? I think it is evident, and if I did not 
 think so, I should be decidedly in favour of down- 
 stream fishing, as being the most rapid and ap- 
 parently the most natural way. At the head of 
 a stream you hook a large and game fish. He 
 darts across it, down it, through it in every di- 
 rection, at one time plashing on the surface of 
 the water, at another doggedly struggling beneath 
 it, or rushing through it, as if an otter were at 
 c 4 
 
24: EFFECTS OF DISTURBED WATER. 
 
 his tail. His struggles are at any rate extraor- 
 dinary, and think you not instinct tells other fish, 
 perhaps shoal-companions, that there is something 
 wrong ? Surely they see and hear not usual 
 sights and sounds, but somewhat alarming ones, 
 because they are not customary. May we not 
 infer that they dread an enemy at hand that 
 they see a fellow-being in danger, and are cowed 
 into skulking for safety, at least for a time ? All 
 anglers will acknowledge something like this ; but 
 then, some of them argue that the effects of the 
 disturbance are only temporary, and not so last- 
 ing as those which arise from the fish seeing you, 
 as you fish a stream upwards. You can avoid 
 their seeing you, but you cannot, unless you 
 whip a fish out of the water the instant he is 
 hooked, prevent the more or less disturbance he 
 will cause according to his strength and unflinch- 
 ing struggles, his weakness or his want of game. 
 It is argued you can remedy it, by not fishing for 
 some time after you have been playing a fish, or 
 by removing to some other spot, and coming back 
 again in due time to the place you had disturbed. 
 This plan will cause you to lose time at all events, 
 and, may be, the very nick o.f it during which 
 fish are rising freely. I have always succeeded 
 best by fishing a stream from tail to head. Ex- 
 cellent anglers have told me they did best by 
 doing the contrary. I dispute no man's word, 
 
APPEARANCES OF FLIES, IN THE WATEK. 25 
 
 but I advise the student to try both ways, and 
 then judge for himself. 
 
 In what precise shape artificial flies floating on 
 the water, or just beneath it, present themselves to 
 the fish, I cannot truly tell. They certainly cannot 
 present themselves in the exact living forms of 
 natural insects, but their appearance must be 
 something like them. If I were to guess, I should 
 say that the artificial flies for the common trout 
 and grayling present the appearance of drowning, 
 or drowned natural flies ; or of living insects 
 struggling on, or underneath the water. I do 
 not think this surmise fanciful. At any rate the 
 fly-fisher should endeavour to present his arti- 
 ficial baits to the fish as deceptively as possible, 
 that is, by giving them as natural an appear- 
 ance as may be. He must cause them to drop 
 lightly on the water, because the natural fly does 
 so; he must cause them to swim down as near the 
 surface as he can, because the natural fly moves 
 upon the surface of the water, and he must im- 
 part motion to his flies, a species of fluttering, 
 generally speaking, being the best. All this is 
 comprehended by the expression " humouring " 
 one's flies. To do it, the moment your flies 
 alight upon the water hold up your rod, so that 
 the drop-fly next to it may appear skimming the 
 surface ; the other two, if properly proportioned 
 and attached to the casting-line, being ever so 
 
26 STRIKING AND HOOKING A FISH. 
 
 little under water. If you allow your upper 
 dropper to be under water, all the flies below that 
 dropper will be sunk too deeply to appear living 
 insects to the fish, and therefore any motion you 
 may give them will be useless. They then can 
 only be taken by the fish for dead flies. When 
 you keep your last dropper on the surface of the 
 water, impart to it a slight skipping motion, by a 
 tremulous wrist shake of the rod, and the flies that 
 are just under water will receive the most natural 
 motion you can give them. Never drag your flies 
 straight across the water towards you, and never 
 work them against the current. A small fish may, 
 perchance, rise at them when so worked, but 
 seldom or never a large one. 
 
 STRIKING AND HOOKING A FISH. In cricket 
 there are fast and slow bowlers, which is a proof 
 that one way is thought as good, if not better 
 than another. In striking a fish there are fast 
 and slow strikers, each of course maintaining the 
 superiority of his own method. Well, if there 
 was no difference of opinion, sad would be the 
 monotony of life, after the old proverb, " tot 
 homines, tot sententi<z" had become obsolete. The 
 truth is, there are as many fish missed by strik- 
 ing too rapidly, as by striking too slowly, and a 
 fault either way is bad. I think, however, that 
 he who strikes too slowly labours under a greater 
 disadvantage than he who strikes too quickly. 
 
STRIKING GENTLY RECOMMENDED. 27 
 
 Striking too strongly is a shocking fault, and, as 
 it is generally joined with the defect of striking 
 too quickly, double mischief ensues. You either 
 miss your fish, or whip it out of the water awk- 
 wardly, or injure your tackle, if the fish be a 
 heavy one. This strong rapid way of striking 
 shews the absence of that delicacy of action and 
 management without which you can never become 
 an accomplished fly-fisher. 
 
 The moment you see or feel a rise, you must 
 strike gently from the wrist, by a slight, sharp 
 jerk of it backwards. As a general rule, strike 
 sideways a little, and not straight towards you to 
 the right most commonly but you must be guided 
 by a guess as to which way the fish is about to 
 turn on seizing your fly. If you fancy he is going 
 to turn round to his left, you must strike at him 
 neatly towards your right : if you think him on 
 the turn from left to right, strike to your left. 
 By pursuing this plan, you will avoid the proba- 
 bility of chucking the fly clean out of the fish's 
 mouth, or of pricking him only, and you will very 
 likely hook him, perhaps through and through, on 
 either the right or left side of the mouth. A fish 
 very frequently takes your fly under water, and 
 then you merely feel a rise. Be in such case 
 somewhat quick, yet strike as gently as possible 
 quick, lest the fish reject the fly, gentle, for he is 
 already almost hooked. Those who are for strik- 
 
28 THE CRITICAL MOMENT. 
 
 ing slowly, act on the notion that fish generally 
 hook themselves, and that the slow stroke is only 
 necessary to affix the hook firmly. Fish do some- 
 times hook themselves, 'tis true, but it is only 
 by exception, and not by rule. The fly-fisher of 
 sharp eye and quick hand will always have an 
 advantage over the purblind and the slow. Dim- 
 ness of vision and obtuseness of touch mar fre- 
 quently the benefits of experience, and the young 
 sharp eye and lively hand will successfully com- 
 pete with the skill of old practitioners in whom 
 the two attributes mentioned are fading away. 
 
 On this nice part of our subject I find some 
 excellent advice and remarks in the late Mr. 
 Elaine's " Encyclopaedia of Eural Sports *," p. 1 1 78. 
 He says, " Striking the fish is to the full as im- 
 portant a part of the rod and line management as 
 any. Many strike too slowly, many too quickly, 
 and a correct few strike at the critical moment. 
 The first lose their object, the second often lose 
 both the object and their bait, while the third 
 secure all. When a fish seizes the natural fly, his 
 jaws find no resistance; he consequently keeps 
 them closed until deglutition follows ; and thus it is 
 that in natural fly-fishing, it is not found so neces- 
 sary to be instantaneous in striking; but with 
 the artificial fly, the instant the fish seizes it, he is 
 
 * Published by Messrs. Longman and Co., Paternoster 
 Row. 
 
STRIKING INSTANTANEOUSLY. 29 
 
 apt to find the deception, either by its want of 
 taste, or by feeling the point of the hook, or by 
 discovering the unyielding nature of the material 
 of which it is composed, and he, therefore, as soon 
 as may be, blows it out again ; and this we con- 
 stantly observe, when a timid irresolute learner 
 has raised a fish, and hesitates in striking it, fear- 
 ful of being too quick, or otherwise so paralysed 
 with the sudden attack, that he cannot collect 
 himself for a second or two, and half that time is 
 all that ought to be allowed for the seizure of the 
 bait, and the stroke of the angler. The striking 
 must be instantaneous to be successful ; for when 
 it is considered that the impulsive effort which is 
 to fix the hook in the mouth of the fish, which 
 has but that instant closed it on the bait, is first 
 to be taken cognisance of by the angler, and 
 then is to be acted on by him through a solid line 
 of communication of many yards in length, it will 
 be evident that a rapidity of action is required 
 almost equal to the thought that willed it ; for, 
 as already observed, unless the stroke reaches the 
 mouth of the fish before he has discovered the 
 deception, it is generally too late. Fortunately 
 for anglers it is not always so, as the act of eject- 
 ing the bait being at the moment of the turning 
 round of fish for their retreat, it happens that they 
 occasionally at the same time hook themselves. 
 It is possible, however, to strike too quickly, and 
 
30 A CURE FOR VIOLENT STRIKING. 
 
 this is frequently done by those who are very 
 ardent, as well as those who, having been con- 
 victed of being too slow, attempt to amend by the 
 contrary extreme. We have fished with many 
 young hands who have struck the instant they 
 saw a fish rise even, and consequently, though 
 the bait must have been risen at, the mouth had 
 never received it, or, if it had, it had not time 
 enough to close upon it. Striking a fish should be 
 done with a smart, but not a violent effort. The 
 ardent angler will often strike with such force as 
 to tear away his hold on the fish, or to become 
 minus by gut and fly, which snap by the sudden 
 jerk. There is nothing better calculated to cure 
 a young practitioner who strikes too forcibly, than 
 to oblige him to whip for bleak, and to pay for- 
 feit for every one he raises above the surface of 
 the water, receiving forfeit for every one he hooks 
 without raising it into sight. The forcible stroke 
 that wholly misses its object often throws the bait 
 out of the water by the violence of the effort ; the 
 moderate stroke that misses will not displace the 
 hook more than a foot or two. The critical fish- 
 stroke is made by a very quick but very gentle 
 wrist-motion, by which the hand is canted upwards, 
 being displaced about two inches only. Such a 
 stroke made instantly the fish actually reaches the 
 fly (which is learned by habit), at the moment he 
 has closed his mouth on it, and before he has time 
 
EVILS OF VIOLENT STRIKING. 31 
 
 to throw it out again, is sure to secure the entrance 
 of the hook within the substance of the mouth, 
 without causing great alarm to the fish by any 
 unnecessary violence ; for it cannot have escaped 
 the observant angler, that, when a trout has been 
 harshly tugged in striking, he commences at once 
 a more determined resistance than when the stroke 
 has been less violent, and his alarm less sudden. 
 Neither can we wonder that his efforts should be 
 extreme, when he is made sensible of his situation 
 by a stab and a drag which have half pulled him 
 out of the water. If such critical nicety be re- 
 quired in striking, it may be here asked, how is it 
 that fish are ever taken by novices? Such a 
 question is reasonable, but may be easily ex- 
 plained. Many eager and hungry fish hook them- 
 selves in taking any bait without hesitation. 
 Their seizure of the fly, their closing their mouth 
 on it, and the passing it backwards, are all 
 one instantaneous effort; and, on examination, 
 such fish will be found to have partially gorged 
 the bait. But if the number of fish so taken was 
 arranged against the number of those lost by a 
 defect in striking, the difference would be as five 
 to one of small fish, and as ten to one of those of 
 mature growth." This extract contains much of 
 the sound rationale of striking a fish, and should 
 be read and digested carefully. 
 
 PLAYING A FISH. This is the pleasantest and 
 
32 PLAYING A riSH. 
 
 most exciting portion of the angler's recreation. 
 Contest and struggle have now begun. If you 
 fail, you lose the object you have been carefully 
 seeking for, and perhaps a line and flies you have 
 cherished for the fatal remembrances attached to 
 them. The fish that struggles so savagely to do 
 them damage you see with exultation tired to 
 death, or with chagrin you see him swim away to 
 the bottom of the current with them. The blood 
 in this tussle is called from the interior to the 
 surface of the body and sent through the vessels 
 with exhilarating rapidity, and you feel a tem- 
 porary access of the pleasantest sort of intoxica- 
 tion, viz., that which attacks you at a sporting 
 crisis. Playing a fish is the great crisis of ang- 
 ling, full of hope, full of fear, full of doubt. If 
 he is hooked firmly, if your tackle do not fail you, 
 if he do not get your line and flies foul, if, if, if 
 ah, the pleasant anxiety implied by those ifs ! 
 you must kill him. 
 
 Having hooked a fish, your first business is to 
 determine what may be his size, and whether he 
 is hooked firmly or loosely. You can scarcely be 
 mistaken with respect to size and strength, ex- 
 cept when you have hooked a fish foul, that is, 
 outside the mouth, in the fin, or in some other 
 exterior portion of the body. Then a small fish 
 may be taken for a large and strong one. There 
 is a general rule for judging how a fish is hooked. 
 
A FISH SLIGHTLY OR FIRMLY HOOKED. 33 
 
 If slightly, the fish on being struck generally 
 struggles for a few moments on the surface of the 
 water before he darts off into its depths : if firmly 
 hooked, the fish sinks rapidly and heavily towards 
 the bottom, as if he knew that the only way of 
 getting rid of the barb that holds him was by 
 attrition against stump or stone, or some such 
 thing, at the bottom of the water. You must 
 prevent the slightly-hooked fish from struggling 
 on the surface, by lowering the point of your rod, 
 and you must prevent the firmly-hooked fish from 
 sinking to the bottom, by elevating its point. 
 These two general rules are easily practised. 
 
 I see your recently -hooked fish plashing about 
 upon the water, endeavouring to shake off the 
 hook, or at any rate to loosen its hold, which he 
 will do if you allow him too much freedom. 
 Point your rod downwards towards him, and the 
 slackened heaviness of. your line will cause him 
 to quit the surface. The moment he does so, raise 
 the point of your rod, so as to feel your fish and 
 keep him in hand, gently or strongly, according to 
 his size. If small, allow him just so much play 
 as will deprive him of any power of straining 
 your rod, wind up, and lift him out of the water. 
 If large, which you will soon find out you have 
 found it out already, by having measured him 
 with your eye whilst he was on the water give 
 him line, tightly though, as he darts through the 
 
 Ll & . 
 
 D 
 
34 HOW TO TIRE YOUR FISH. 
 
 water just tightly enough to enable you to 
 check him instantaneously as he nears some foul 
 portion of the water. As he rushes from you, 
 keep going with him, holding him gently " under 
 buckle," as they say, and at each pause he makes 
 after every rush, feel him more fully, by present- 
 ing towards him the butt-end of your rod. The 
 lower joints of your rod will then incline back- 
 wards over your shoulder, and the upper pieces 
 will be bent like the one half of a strained bow, 
 the weight of the fish being thrown on every 
 part of your tackle, and equalised according to 
 its strength, the thickest parts of course having 
 the severest strain upon them. If whilst the rod 
 is in this position you find your fish still vigorous, 
 do not press upon him by holding the butt-end of 
 your rod too much pointed forwards, but, letting it 
 fall into an easy perpendicular position, give a 
 little line and move onward with your fish. The 
 greater the length of line he drags after him 
 through the water, the sooner will he be tired. 
 Still you must take due care that the line be not 
 too long to prevent you from making it taut by a 
 turn or two of your winch at an instant's notice, 
 or by inclining your rod backwards over the 
 shoulder. After you have checked your fish a 
 few times, and you find his struggles wavering to 
 weakness, wind up and make him show himself 
 on the top of the water. If he bears this Ian- 
 
PLAYING A FISH FIRMLY HOOKED. 35 
 
 guidly, shorten your line to a convenient length 
 and guide your fish, not against the water, but 
 with it, to some easy landing spot if it can be 
 found. Whilst you play a fish never show yourself 
 to him if you can help it, and request any one who 
 is with you, or who may be looking on, to keep 
 away from the water until your fish is landed. 
 
 When a fish on being struck darts to the bot- 
 tom and then away, you may be sure that the hook 
 is firmly fixed, and then you may play him more 
 confidently than when his first struggles are made 
 on the surface of the water. Still be cautious, 
 and do not play too roughly. Kough play is 
 never necessary. It is always dangerous. Check- 
 ing a fish rudely whilst he is strong, increases his 
 obstinacy and his strength at the very time when 
 they ought not to be exerted. If you let him go 
 carefully when he is first struck, he will not 
 plunge desperately, as he most certainly will if 
 you strongly bear upon him whilst his vigour is 
 as yet fresh. Reduce this vigour by degrees, and 
 as it wastes away by your repeated checks, and 
 your causing him to haul a long length of wet 
 line after him, hold more tightly ; and when you 
 see him turn upon his side, bring his opening 
 mouth to such contact with the surface of the 
 water that more of that element will enter than 
 can pass out by the gills. These safety valves 
 having lost their natural action, something very 
 
 D 2 
 
36 PLAYING A FISH HOOKED FOUL. 
 
 like suffocation or asphyxia by drowning will 
 ensue. Your victory is then complete. 
 
 When a fish is hooked foul, that is, on the out- 
 side of the mouth, he has his head free, and you 
 will find great difficulty in tiring him down. A 
 small fish so hooked will show more strength than 
 a large one fairly hooked. You have not got the 
 bit in his mouth, but are forced to manage him 
 with, as it were, a halter round his neck. Give 
 him as much line as you can, bearing upon him 
 as heavily as the strength of your tackle will with 
 safety admit, and having no fear that your hook 
 will tear away, as it often does from the brittle 
 fibrous parts of the interior of the mouth. Be 
 prepared for several swift rushes of a fish hooked 
 foully, and do not bring him near you until you 
 have softened down his struggles. Use much 
 patience, and should your line, as it not unfre- 
 quently does, get coiled round the fish's body, 
 hold hard, and shorten line, for you will now have 
 little more than his weight to contend with, the 
 power of his fins being impeded. I repeat again, 
 eschew violence. Always play with a light hand, 
 making its strength gradually felt in the ratio of 
 the decline of that of your fish. That is the 
 killing rule to be observed in playing a fish. In 
 doing so, never seize your line in either hand 
 to shorten it, unless (and the occasion will not 
 often occur) you cannot wind up rapidly enough 
 
LANDING A FISH. 37 
 
 to prevent the fish from darting into some dan- 
 gerous place. Playing a fish with the line in 
 your hand, without having recourse to your rod, 
 is the very worst habit you can adopt. I should 
 say, avoid it altogether, which you will be able 
 to do if you fish with a perfect winch. The best 
 sort of winch is a carefully London-made multi- 
 plier. 
 
 LANDING A FISH. A few lines will describe 
 this final operation. In performing it, mark, let 
 your person and all that pertains to it be as nearly 
 invisible to the fish as may be. Select the clearest 
 spot you can for landing. If you have any one 
 with you to handle the landing-net, let him keep 
 himself behind the fish, sink his net in the water, 
 and as you gently bring the fish towards it, let him 
 advance it underneath the struggler, and when 
 right under him lift it up without a jerk, and 
 with an easy motion, well-timed and accurate, 
 after the fish is withinside the hoop. Never thrust 
 the net at the fish whilst he is in voluntary mo- 
 tion, or touch him with it until he is fairly inside 
 it. Where there is no bank, but a low shelving 
 strand, you may land your fish on it without the 
 aid of the net ; but I advise you to do so rarely, as 
 hauling the fish ashore over gravel or sand will 
 strain your rod prejudicially, and very often in- 
 jure your flies. Use the net upon all occasions, 
 unless some casualty occurs to render it exceed- 
 
 D 3 
 
38 LANDING NETS. 
 
 ingly inconvenient. When you have no one to 
 assist you in landing a fish, and the banks are 
 high, tire your fish out completely, and bring him 
 in close under the bank. If you cannot reach 
 him whilst holding your rod in either hand, wind 
 up tightly and put the stop on your winch. Then 
 stick the spear or spike in the ground, your rod 
 inclining backwards from the river, and sinking 
 your net behind the fish bring it tailwise under 
 him and lift him out. If you frighten your ex- 
 hausted fish by clumsy use of the net, showing it 
 to him, touching him with it, or making a noise 
 in the water with it, you may awaken in him a 
 death flurry, fatal to some portion of your tackle 
 and to your success. The generality of landing 
 nets are too small. On an average they should be 
 by one half as large every way as the largest that 
 are commonly sold in the shops. The thread 
 the meshes are made of should be stained of 
 a water colour, and if frequent immersion in 
 water should wash the dye out, they should be 
 dyed again. I have seen many a fish break away 
 through the dreadful vigour with which he has 
 been inspired by the sight of a net bleached al- 
 most white by constant exposure to sun and water. 
 In landing large fish, salmon, very heavy trout 
 and pike, you must use the gaff, that is, a large, 
 well-tempered, sharp, deeply barbed hook, fastened 
 to the end of a proper piece of wood. The best 
 
THE GAFF. 39 
 
 place to insert your gaff-hook is beneath the gills 
 of a fish in his gasping movements. The next best 
 place is beneath one of the pectoral fins, by a sharp 
 stroke. When you intend to gaff your fish be- 
 neath the breast or belly, put the gaff outside and 
 beneath him, the point upwards, and if possible 
 towards you. Then strike sufficiently strong to 
 make the barb penetrate beyond the skin, and 
 then, if you cannot land him, he must be very 
 strong, or you must be very weak, or something 
 for angling purposes much worse. Remember 
 this caution ; never fly- fish without a landing 
 net or gaff. 
 
 The author of the " Encyclopaedia of Eural 
 Sports " says, " Some directions with regard 
 to the use of the landing net may be necessary 
 to the tyro, who, when he has hooked any fish 
 beyond one of the smallest size, should never 
 attempt to lift it out of the water by means of the 
 line, still less by means of the rod and line toge- 
 ther ; for although neither may break, both may 
 be strained, or the hook may break, or the hold 
 on the fish give way. Every one of these accidents 
 we have seen occur through the want of a landing 
 net. In fly-fishing, where the line is long and 
 there is not much space to step backwards, or 
 where the reel is clogged, it is necessary some- 
 times to lay hold of the line with one hand ; but 
 this should be done with great caution, and then 
 
 r 4 
 
40 OPINIONS OF OTHERS ON 
 
 only after the fish is well nigh spent, or one 
 struggle may carry away line, hook, and fish. In 
 all other cases avoid touching the line if possible ; 
 but having sufficiently played the fish, whether 
 taken by bottom or by fly-fishing, bring him 
 within reach of the landing net, and then care- 
 fully conduct or slide the net obliquely under the 
 fore-parts of his body, which, if the fish be com- 
 pletely exhausted, will fall into it ; but if he has 
 still sufficient vigour, it will be prudent rather to 
 slide him over the net, than the net under him. 
 It must have occurred to every angler to have 
 supposed a trout or salmon to be completely spent 
 who, the moment he has been touched by the net, 
 or has even caught sight of the fisher, has sprung 
 off* with most annoying violence. Against such 
 an accident, it is prudent to be ever prepared by 
 keeping the rod in an upright position, acting on 
 a tightened line, but yet so disposed that it can 
 run at liberty if required. When the head and 
 shoulders of the fish are once fairly within the 
 net, a slight turn of it will take in the whole body, 
 and the net being then kept horizontally, will 
 ensure his safety ; for with the head downwards, 
 not any efforts he can make will disengage him 
 from the net ; but if he be received tail foremost, 
 as is sometimes done in deep waters, from over- 
 hanging banks, &c., beware of his plunge." 
 
 In playing and landing a fish, do so with your 
 
SOME PARTS OF FLY-FISHING. 41 
 
 winch and the rings of your rod pointing upwards. 
 In England people throw the line, strike, play, 
 and land a fish with winch and rings under the rod. 
 They do wrong. When the rings point to the 
 water as you play a fish there is too much strain 
 upon them ; taking it off the rod, wearing out the 
 line by friction against the rings, and not letting 
 it run freely through them, as it would along the 
 rod if they pointed upwards. In casting only is it 
 more convenient that the winch should appear 
 beneath the rod. Appearance and convenience 
 are the only advantages of that position. 
 
 The following observations of Mr. Ronalds* 
 should be attended to : "When a fish has just 
 risen at a natural object, it is well for the fisher- 
 man to try to throw into the curl occasioned by 
 the rise, and left as a mark for him ; but should 
 the undulations have nearly died away before he 
 can throw to the spot, then he should throw, as 
 nearly as he can judge, a yard or two above it, 
 and allow the flies to float down to the supposed 
 place of the fish ; if a rise do not occur, it may 
 be concluded that the fish has removed without 
 seeing the flies ; he may then try a yard or two 
 on each side of the place where the curl appeared, 
 when he may probably have a rise, and may pos- 
 
 * " The Fly-fisher's Entomology ;" an exceedingly useful 
 book, published by Messrs. Longman and Co. 
 
42 STRIKING, HOOKING, PLAYING, 
 
 sibly hook the fish, provided he has the knack of 
 striking, which knack, like all others, is acquired 
 only by practice : it must be done by a very 
 sudden, but not a very strong stroke a twitch of 
 the wrist. Having hooked him, the rod should be 
 carefully retained in that position which will allow 
 its greatest pliability to be exerted. For beginners 
 to do this, it may be advisable that they should 
 get it up over the shoulder, and present the butt- 
 end towards the fish. A gentle pull must now be 
 kept upon the fish, and he should be led down the 
 stream rather than up, making use of the reel as 
 occasion may require to shorten the line. But if he 
 runs in towards the bank upon which the fisherman 
 stands, it will be necessary for him to approach 
 the edge of the water as nearly as possible, hold- 
 ing the rod with an outstretched arm in almost an 
 horizontal position, and if the reel is of the usual 
 bad construction, it will be also necessary to pull 
 in the line as quickly as possible with the left- 
 hand ; this may prevent the fish from reaching his 
 harbour: if it should not, he will most likely 
 twist the gut round roots, &c., and break away. 
 To kill him, the nose must be kept up as much 
 as possible, and should he be very importunate 
 and resolute, he may be lent a little more line 
 now and then, but it must be promptly retaken 
 with tremendous interest, and got up as short as 
 possible. After various fruitless efforts to escape, 
 
AND HOW TO SECURE A FISH. 43 
 
 which exhaust his strength, the nose may be got 
 fairly out of the water, the fish towed gently to the 
 side, and the landing net passed under him. From 
 the time of hooking the fish, if a large one, to the 
 time of landing, care must be had that the line 
 shall not be touched by the hand, excepting 
 under the just-mentioned circumstances ; all 
 should depend upon the pliability of the rod. In 
 case a landing net should not be at hand, the reel 
 may be stopped from running back, the rod stuck 
 up in the ground by the spike, and both hands 
 being disengaged, the fisherman may stoop down, 
 and grasp the fish firmly behind the gills. The 
 principal differences between trout and grayling 
 fishing are, that the latter requires a more delicate 
 hand, a quicker eye, and the use of smaller flies 
 upon the finest gut. The strike must be made 
 on the instant of the rise. The fish may be some- 
 times seen, if he be of a good size and the water 
 bright, a few inches before he gets up to the fly, 
 and the fisherman must strike immediately that 
 he does so, for his motion at the instant of seizure 
 is too rapid to be visible. When the fisherman 
 comes upon a favourable place for grayling, he 
 should recollect that this fish does not follow the 
 fly as the trout does, and should therefore allow 
 it to float down the stream in a natural way ; for 
 should a grayling be waiting for it, and it is 
 drawn away, c the fish will be disappointed of that 
 
44 OPINIONS OF OTHERS 
 
 which it was the fisherman's intention to enter- 
 tain him with.' It must also be remarked here 
 that the mouth of the grayling is much more 
 tender than that of the trout, therefore much 
 more care in landing is required ; and a landing 
 net is generally indispensable, especially when 
 the banks are high, for the mouth will seldom 
 bear his weight out of the water." 
 
 This chapter is a long and important one. 
 Unless you carry into practice its precepts, you 
 will never become a good angler. It teaches the 
 great branches of the art, throwing a line, hook- 
 ing, playing, and landing a fish. When you 
 understand them, all you require to know is, the 
 best sort of tackle and the best baits for the seve- 
 ral fishing months. I have quoted, and shall 
 quote, authorities who differ from me in opinion. 
 I respect them. Let the reader do so likewise, 
 and if he finds by experience their opinions better 
 than mine, let him follow them. All I desire is 
 to place valuable opinions before him. 
 
 NOTE. Mr. Blacker, fishing-tackle maker, of 54. Dean 
 Street, Soho, and who is also an experienced fly-fisher, says, in 
 a communication to me, " I will now give the angler an idea 
 of casting the line and fly, which is a most essential point 
 
ON CASTING THE LINE AND FLY. 45 
 
 towards his success in hooking and catching his fish. In 
 the first place the fly-fisher should keep as far off the stream 
 as possible, and make it a rule, whenever he can, to angle on 
 that bank from which the wind blows, as it will enable him 
 to command the whole stream from side to side, and throw 
 the flies across to the opposite bank, and draw them gently 
 and playfully down the stream, bringing them in to his 
 side, and moving backwards as they approach him. When 
 lifting the flies out of the water to cast them again, he 
 should raise them quickly out, and with a backward sweep 
 of the arm, let the line stretch to its full length behind him 
 so as to prevent the flies from whipping off, and then, with 
 a sudden, but not violent, jerk of the wrist forwards, convey 
 the line over the stream, letting the flies fall lightly on the 
 surface without splash or ripple, and when he causes a fish 
 to rise he must give a little time to the closing of the broken 
 water, and then raise his hand with a gentle pull, and I 
 warrant him success. I generally fish down the stream 
 myself, but it is of little consequence whether the stream be 
 fished upwards or downwards. To prevent the shadow of 
 the rod falling on the water, fish with your face to the sun. 
 In landing a fish, I have always found it the most con- 
 venient and sure plan to place the landing net in the water 
 immediately under the head of the fish, and let his nose 
 drop into it, and he is sure to fall towards the bottom head- 
 foremost when fatigued after having been well played. 
 
 " When you commence to fly -fish for salmon, you must 
 be careful not to cast too long a line, and when you become 
 master of throwing a short line, let it out piece by piece 
 till you are enabled to cover the whole pool with ease, 
 keeping the point of your rod well up, but not too high, 
 and drawing the fly in a slanting direction down towards 
 your own side of the bank, letting it fall gradually with the 
 current, and when you bring it, as you suppose, immedi- 
 
46 FLY-FISHING FOE SALMON. 
 
 ately over a fish, give the rod a playful shake to give 
 apparent life to the fly ; and as you expect a rise, be 
 always on your guard as to steadiness not nervous^ 
 that you may raise the rod, or strike with a gentle, 
 long pull, just as the break of the fish closes on the 
 surface ; for sometimes a rise surprises you, and at that 
 moment, if you strike too hastily, you are apt to pull or 
 draw away the fly from the fish's mouth ; or, if you hook 
 him, probably snap either your hook or line. Do not let 
 the top of your rod touch the water in throwing, or your 
 reel-line will roll along the surface, which is injurious, as 
 it frightens the fish that may be lying between you and the 
 fly, and drives them away. On the contrary, when you 
 cast the line and fly, keep the heavy rod steadily in your 
 hands, and raise it gradually into the air, until you see the 
 fly appear on the top of the water, and to cast again, give 
 the rod a semicircular quick turn to the right far behind 
 you to the line's full extent, and then, with a smart jerk of 
 the wrist and muscles, convey the line right over the stream 
 straightly, as if shot from a bow, and the fly will fall first 
 on the water, and very softly too. Keep ytfur body up, so 
 as not to bend or fall forwards with the cast ; push forwards 
 your chest, and throw back your shoulders, as this position 
 will keep you steady on your feet. When a salmon is 
 rightly hooked, bend with the rod, and set yourself to 
 work, laying such a stress on the line as you think it will 
 bear. At this instant the fish may probably rise several 
 times out of the water, in his surprise and fright, and in 
 this case by no means let an inch of the line go with him ; 
 but when he begins to run fairly, do not prevent him, still, 
 however, keeping your line taut, and if he runs back 
 towards you or up the stream, wind up your line quickly, 
 and when he stops short, give him the butt of the rod well, 
 as he is now sulky, or about to lie down at the bottom, 
 
TIRING AND GAFFING A SALMON. 47 
 
 when he will try to rub the hook out of his mouth ; and if 
 you do permit him to get fairly to the bottom, you will 
 find it difficult to move him or get him to run again. Try 
 all you can to keep him on the run from the beginning, as 
 thus you have the best chance of quickly tiring and cap- 
 turing him. Some gaff a salmon by laying the point of the 
 gaff under him, others by placing it over him ; but it may 
 be done with precision either way." 
 
48 ON ARTIFICIAL FLIES. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ON ARTIFICIAL FLIES. 
 
 OF late years a new doctrine in my opinion a 
 totally wrong one has been sent forth about 
 artificial flies. Some Scotch writers were the first 
 promulgates of it, and they have carried it to 
 ridiculous extravagance. They positively main- 
 tain that there is no likeness between the natural 
 fly and the artificial one, and that when natural 
 flies are on the water the angler will be more suc- 
 cessful by using artificial flies as widely different 
 from them in shape, colour, &c., as may be. A 
 nondescript artificial fly will succeed better, they 
 say, than a bad resemblance, and every attempt at 
 imitation, in their opinion, produces at the best 
 but a bad resemblance. These angling here- 
 tics contend that fish rising at a natural fly im- 
 mediately detect, by comparison of course, the bad 
 imitation, and refuse to rise at it, whereas they 
 will rise at some outlandish artificial that differs,, 
 more than chalk does from Cheshire cheese, from 
 the living fly on the water. They say, that when 
 they go fly-fishing they catch some of those flies 
 that are on the water, and fish with artificial flies 
 totally different from them, and invariably meet 
 with more success than if they used so-called, as 
 
MAD MEN AND MAD FISH. 49 
 
 they name them, imitations. The majority of man- 
 kind are mad on one subject or another. Perhaps 
 the majority of animals are similarly so. These 
 mad fly-fishers are successful, no doubt, because 
 they meet with mad fish, which are more readily 
 taken with fantastic flies than with naturally co- 
 loured and shaped ones. That is the only way I 
 can account for their heterodoxy. 
 
 My friends, do not mind what these cracked 
 sectarians say. They are learned philosophers, 
 writing the article "Angling "in ponderous ency- 
 clopsedias, from visionary data, but we are lowly 
 scatterers of information gathered by the water- 
 side. We grant that there is very great difficulty 
 in imitating, by means of feathers, fur, wool, &c., 
 the water-insects fish feed upon, but we maintain 
 that a fair deceptive imitation can be made, and 
 that it is beyond all comparison more attractive 
 to fish than no imitation at all. We maintain that 
 the less imperfect an imitation, the more attrac- 
 tive will it be found in fishing. 
 
 We said that philosophers, naturalists with 
 barnacles on nose, reading insect nature through 
 the glass-cases of museums, find, they assert, no 
 likeness whatsoever between the natural fly and 
 what, to the vulgar, appears the best artificial imi- 
 tation ever dressed. The microscope, they cry, 
 proves this. An unjaundiced human eye proves 
 quite another thing. See if it does not. 
 
 E 
 
50 GOOD IMITATIONS DECEPTIVE, 
 
 In the last week of the month of October, of 
 last (1846) year, a young relative of mine, making 
 drawings of the church and seat of the Earl of 
 Gainsborough, at Exton, Rutlandshire, sent me a 
 fly that had alighted on his paper as he was sketch- 
 ing out of doors. He wanted to know the name 
 of it. When the fly arrived some boyish anglers 
 were., with me, and I told them to find amongst 
 my artificial flies any one that they thought re- 
 sembled the natural one in shape and colour. 
 Without more than necessary delay, and at the 
 first guess, they picked out the right imitation. I 
 then told them to look for the same fly in Alfred 
 Eonalds's " Fly-fisher's Entomology." They did 
 so ; found the drawing and the imitation, and pro- 
 nounced the natural fly "the gold-eyed gauze 
 wing." They were right, and if boyish eyes 
 looking through nature's microscope were right, 
 think you fish would be wrong ? 
 
 Now this fly, of which I am speaking, has a 
 green body, with a slight yellow cast in it, four 
 transparent, shovel-pointed, reticulated wings, 
 lying flat over the body, the two under wings 
 being shorter than the upper, and these latter 
 longer than the body of the fly. The head and 
 eyes appear brightly burnished. You have seen an 
 imitation cigar with its burning end deceive the 
 most knowing connoisseur. You have seen a glass 
 filled with simulated brandy and water, invitingly 
 
EVEN MAN DECEIVED BY THEM. 51 
 
 undulating, as it was offered to a most accom- 
 plished judge, and taken by him unconscious, until 
 no smell or taste told him of the deception. You 
 have seen man deceived by imitations, with his 
 fine eye for shape and colour, and yet the phi- 
 losophers tell you fish cannot be so deceived. 
 
 I have told you the colour and the shape of the 
 fly I have just mentioned. I'll now tell you how 
 it is to be imitated. Mr. Ronalds says the follow- 
 ing is the way : Body, very pale yellowish green 
 floss silk, tied on with silk thread of the same 
 colour; wings and legs, the palest blue dun 
 hackle that can be procured. In this imitation 
 the body only is correct ; the legs partly so, but 
 the wings are wrong. The fly should not be 
 dressed with hackle-wings, but with wings long 
 and lying flat. They should be made of the 
 fibres of the wing feather of a young'starling, or of 
 any light dun feather, stained very slightly green. 
 
 Strange as it may appear, the somewhat imper- 
 fect imitation of Mr. Ronalds will be taken by 
 fish in the autumn months, especially by gray- 
 ling. The reason it will be so taken is that the 
 colour of the body is right, jind it is of more im- 
 portance that the body should be a good imitation 
 than that the wings should be. But if the fly is 
 imitated in my way with flat, transparent wings, a 
 bright brown head of two or three laps of silk, it 
 will be a better imitation and a better killer. 
 
 E 2 
 
52 BIRDS CAUGHT WITH ARTIFICIAL FLIES. 
 
 The eyes of birds are, I believe, pretty good- 
 At any rate they can see at an immense distance. 
 The philosophers will perhaps allow that the eyes 
 of the feathered tribes are as difficult to be de- 
 ceived as those of the finny tribes. I should say 
 more so, because their eyes are sharpened by some- 
 thing very like an intelligent brain placed close 
 by them. Well, birds are continually deceived by 
 the artificial fly of the angler. Swallows, martins, 
 swifts, goldfinches, have darted at artificial flies 
 as the wind blew them about on the line, and have 
 hooked themselves and been taken. It was only 
 last year that a dunghill cock seized an artificial 
 May-fly, attached to an angler's rod resting out- 
 side an inn at Buxton, and was caught. If birds 
 take these imitations of water-flies, not being 
 their natural or best food, how can it be argued 
 that fish will not take them ? 
 
 The philosophers say, attempts at imitation are 
 of no avail, for salmon and some of the salmonidae 
 rise eagerly at artificial flies that resemble nothing 
 living on earth, in air, or water. That is true, 
 and as yet unaccountable. But dress those gaudy 
 salmon flies, or lake trout flies, as small as you 
 like, and the common trout and grayling will not 
 rise at them ; neither will dace, chub, or roach, 
 and yet they will rise freely at imitations of river- 
 flies, caterpillars, house-flies, and flies that are 
 bred upon trees, amongst gravel, sand, and plants. 
 
A QUESTION FOR THE PHILOSOPHERS. 53 
 
 I say they will rise at these imitations, and rise 
 at them only, with very few exceptions, when the 
 natural fly is on the water or in season. 
 
 Will the philosophers answer this question? 
 How is it that neither trout nor grayling will dur- 
 ing the spring, autumn, or winter months rise at 
 an imitation of the May-fly, their especial favour- 
 ite during a part of May and June ? If trout, or 
 grayling, or chub would prefer nondescripts to the 
 imitations of flies on the water, no more attrac- 
 tive nondescript could be presented to them than 
 the imitation of the handsome May-fly. But they 
 never take it, except during the " drake season," 
 or a little before or a little after it. In that 
 season, viz. when the May-fly (ephemera vulgata) 
 or green-drake is out upon the waters, fish will 
 prefer an imitation of it to an imitation of any 
 other fly, except indeed at mornings or evenings, 
 when other natural flies are out, and the May- 
 fly is not. I will here grant, and doing so will 
 strengthen my argument, that it is impossible to 
 imitate well the delicate and beautiful May-fly. 
 Still, fish will sooner take the bad imitation, I may 
 say the worst imitation of it, than the best of any 
 other fly not in season. 
 
 The artificial May-fly is not a killing bait 
 except under peculiar circumstances, and when 
 thrown upon the water amongst the real flies, 
 fish will generally prefer the latter. Use any 
 
 E 3 
 
54 WHEN IMITATIONS OF THE MAY-FLY 
 
 other artificial fly, as unlike the May -fly as pos- 
 sible, and you will prove the theory of the philo- 
 sophers to be erroneous, for fish will not rise at these 
 un-like flies at all. They will rise, however, at a 
 bad imitation, particularly under circumstances 
 that tend to improve that imitation. When the 
 weather is gloomy and windy during the " drake 
 season," and the deep waters are ruffled, and few 
 natural May-flies are out, imitations of them will 
 kill well. I account for it thus. During such 
 weather the imperfections of the artificial fly are 
 to a great measure hidden. The water is dis- 
 turbed and not very clear, the plash caused by the 
 falling line and large imitation-flies is not very 
 great, and the appearance of the artificial fly 
 then is like that of a natural one either drowned 
 or drowning, or struggling against the effects of 
 gusty weather. On a fine clear day, in pools at 
 least, the artificial May-fly will not succeed ; 
 and still less any of the philosophers' outlandish 
 flies, because of the impossibility of imitating the 
 motions of the natural May-fly observed plainly 
 and constantly by the fish through the clear and 
 tranquil water sending up myriads of the beautiful 
 real insect. When it first comes to the surface 
 of the water it has to shake off the case that con- 
 fines its wings, to dry them, to gain a little 
 strength in the new atmosphere it breathes, be- 
 fore it can fly away to enjoy a few hours' existence. 
 
KILL AND WHEN THEY DO NOT. ' 55 
 
 Whilst making these incipient preparations for 
 ephemeral enjoyment, it is seen by the fish, and 
 frequently checked at the outset of its career. 
 The fly-maker cannot imitate these acts of the 
 fly, so apparent to fish in sunny weather, and hence 
 the little success attending the artificial green 
 drake at such a time. 
 
 The above famous fly, so common in the rivers 
 of the midland, the western, and the southern 
 counties of England, is not so common in the 
 north, is rare and even unknown in many of the 
 best rivers of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. It 
 would be in vain to fish with it there, which 
 proves again that the common trout, at any rate, 
 will not rise at nondescript things, which instinct 
 informs them bear no resemblance to their natural 
 food. Gnats and midges are to be found every 
 where throughout the kingdom, especially in 
 summer, and hence the different sorts of dun 
 artificials, intended to be imitations of those in- 
 sects, are good general flies in every part of the 
 empire. Artificial palmers, which are imitations 
 of caterpillars of different sizes and colours are 
 common to the rivers of the British isles, and 
 are therefore good baits, perhaps the best general 
 ones, except in those months when the living 
 caterpillar does not exist. 
 
 After what I have now written, it will be ap- 
 parent to every one that I am in favour of close 
 
 E 4 
 
56 FAILURE OF NONDESCRIPT FLIES. 
 
 imitation. I have tried the nondescript fly, and 
 found it fail tried it for two seasons on the 
 Thames without a shadow of success. Having 
 found how difficult it was to kill large Thames 
 trout with the ordinary artificial flies, I had some 
 nondescript ones dressed as attractively as imagi- 
 nation, guessing at probabilities, could make them. 
 During the last two seasons I used them with the 
 utmost perseverance, for I wanted to test the dis- 
 covery of the philosophers, but the Thames trout 
 seemed determined not to afford me a single ex- 
 cuse for becoming a convert to the new doctrine. 
 They would have nothing to do with my new- 
 fangled flies. In previous years I had killed 
 Thames trout with artificial flies, and I had made 
 others kill them with flies similar to those I had 
 used, viz. large red, black, brown, and furnace 
 hackles, and a very large imitation of the sand- 
 fly. Flies like these were successful last year, 
 and I saw a trout weighing upwards of lOlb. that 
 had been taken with a large brown palmer at 
 Sunbury. My gaudy flies were of no use. I had 
 my faith slightly shaken one day, by seeing a 
 Thames trout taken w r ith a bad imitation of the 
 May-fly late in July. That fly was a nonde- 
 script then. A day or two afterwards I saw 
 several natural flies on the Thames ; they were 
 large, in shape like the May-fly, but the body 
 was of a lighter colour, and the wings not so 
 
ARTIFICIAL FISH. 57 
 
 transparent. In fact, the bad imitation of the 
 May -fly that had been taken by the Thames trout 
 was not unlike the living fly that was then out 
 upon the waters of that river. 
 
 If fish preferred nondescript artificial flies, I 
 may reasonably conclude they would prefer non- 
 descript natural fish, mice, frogs, beetles, grass- 
 hoppers, and so forth. They do not, however; 
 and artificial fish are made as like as possible to 
 natural minnows, bleak, gudgeons, dace, roach, 
 and small trout. Perhaps the philosophers would 
 contend that an artificial imitation of the red 
 mullet, or of some other fish that would be a non- 
 descript to salmonidse or pike, would be taken by 
 them with greater avidity than the bad imitation 
 of the fish they feed upon, because, and that is the 
 philosophers' reason, they can distinguish the badly 
 imitated artificial minnow or gudgeon from the 
 real ones they constantly see and feed upon, and 
 will therefore seize by preference something that 
 must be foreign to their instinct. 
 
 Before I conclude this chapter, I think it but 
 fair to the philosophers to give a summary of their 
 theory. It is the opinion of governments and of 
 other bodies of men, that it is dangerous to pub- 
 lish false theories. I do not think so. Falsehood 
 cannot stand against truth in the open day. It 
 may creep on in private, but its publication draws 
 after it its refutation, and the establishment of 
 
58 THEORETICAL NONSENSE. 
 
 true knowledge into the bargain. There is great 
 philosophy in " Oh, that mine enemy had written 
 a book!" A modern writer (" The Angler's 
 Souvenir") says, " Most books on fly-fishing con- 
 tain long lists of flies, named after the particular 
 insect of which it is pretended they are an imita- 
 tion, but to which they bear so very distant a 
 resemblance, that the most skilful entomologist 
 would be completely at fault in assigning the 
 species. Such lists, for the most part, only con- 
 fuse the beginner, and give him wrong ideas of 
 the rationale of the art, and are not of the least 
 use to the proficient. The greatest number of 
 trout, as is well known to every practical angler, 
 is caught with flies which are the least like any 
 which frequent the water. The imitation of the yel- 
 low May-fly, which is so common on many streams 
 towards the latter end of May and the beginning 
 of June, is scarcely worth admitting into the 
 angler's book ; for when the natural fly is most 
 abundant, and teachers say the imitation is to be 
 used, it is generally good for nothing, as the trout 
 very seldom take it when the real fly is on the 
 water ; but, in direct opposition to the unfounded 
 theory, prefer a hackle, black, red, or brown, or a 
 dark coloured fly. Wherever fly-fishing is prac- 
 tised in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, 
 France, Germany, and America it has been as- 
 certained by experience that the best flies are not 
 
LAZY THEORETICAL ANGLERS. 59 
 
 those which are dressed professedly in imitation of 
 any particular insect. Red, black, and brown 
 hackles, and flies with wings of the bittern's, mal- 
 lard's, partridge's, woodcock's, grouse's, martin's, 
 or blue hen's feathers, with dubbing of brown, 
 yellow, or orange, occasionally blended, and 
 hackles, red, brown, or black under the wings, 
 are the most useful flies that an angler can use on 
 any stream in daylight all the year through." 
 
 The above passage contains a summary of the 
 doctrine preached by the new piscatorial philo- 
 sophers. They are lazy theoretical anglers, and 
 would be glad if there were only three general 
 killing artificial flies, that they might not have 
 the trouble of changing them, or observing which 
 flies are in season. There is one truth, and one 
 ; only, in the above extract ; viz. that which says 
 fish will generally in the drake season, " prefer a 
 hackle, black, red, or brown, or a dark-coloured 
 fly," to the imitation of the May-fly. That truth, 
 however, does not strengthen the philosophers' 
 reasoning. Quite the contrary. I have already 
 explained why the artificial green-drake is not 
 generally a successful fly. It is the most dif- 
 ficult of all flies to be imitated well. Other arti- 
 ficial flies are better imitations of other real flies, 
 and therefore fish prefer them to the bad imita- 
 tions of the drake. Another reason why they 
 take " black, red, brown, or a dark-coloured fly," 
 
60 FISH ARE EPICURES. 
 
 is, that fish, like man, have a versatile appetite. 
 What will the philosophers answer, when I tell 
 them that trout at certain times of the drake 
 season will prefer a small artificial fly, to the fine 
 fat living fly ? Unaccountable ! perchance they 
 will say. Not a whit of it. I have seen fish so 
 much gorged and surfeited with the live May-fly 
 that they would no longer rise at it, whilst they 
 would rise rapidly, particularly towards evening, 
 at an imitation of the common house-fly. What 
 do I conclude from this ? Not, certainly, that the 
 artificial fly is a better bait than the natural fly at 
 all times, but that it is sometimes, when palled ap- 
 petite, or some other casualty, makes it so. The 
 philosophers recommend the use of only a few 
 flies. They recommend, however, the most ge- 
 neral ones; that is, those whose appearance on 
 the water is not limited to a few days in a parti- 
 cular month in fact, flies which are to be found 
 alive in one shape or other during spring, summer, 
 and autumn. After all, they do not in reality 
 recommend nondescripts, and are particularly 
 minute in describing how their imitation should be 
 dressed. If they considered, as they say they do, 
 imitation useless, why are they so precise about 
 appearance, about certain sorts of feathers, fur, 
 &c. ? I grant them that some of the flies they 
 name are the best general ones we know of, and 
 that they will kill when trout are rising at very 
 different sorts of flies, better than bad imitations 
 
A GREAT QUESTION ANSWERED. 61 
 
 of those flies which are in season. But they kill 
 oh a principle totally different from the philoso- 
 phers' doctrine, viz., because they are like some 
 natural fly, whilst the bad imitation is not like 
 any fly at all. 
 
 In the month of March, when the weather was 
 open and the water in fly-fishing tune, I have seen 
 thousands of a particular species of fly sailing 
 with wings erect upon the surface of the water. 
 The fly I mean is diversely called the March- 
 brown, brown-drake, cob-fly, and grey caugh- 
 lan. It is easier to dress an imitation of this fly 
 than of the May-fly, and therefore such imita- 
 tion will kill when a nondescript, or a fly as 
 unlike as possible the March brown, will not. 
 Practical anglers know this so well, that when the 
 March-brown is on the waters, they fish with 
 three imitations of it of different sizes attached 
 to their foot-line at one and the same time. I 
 have known a good imitation of the March brown 
 thrown upon the water amongst the live insects 
 and eagerly taken, I may say in preference to 
 the natural fly. Did the fish confound it with 
 the natural fly, or rise at it because it was a non- 
 descript ? That is the question. I answer with- 
 out hesitation they confounded the artificial with 
 the natural fly. At the same time I maintain 
 that if fish did not in general make the mistake 
 of confounding the artificial with the natural fly, 
 
62 AN ORTHODOX AUTHORITY. 
 
 the fly-fisher's art would be a bungle from begin- 
 ning to end, and he should call it a comedy of 
 errors, rather than a science. Of the March-brown, 
 Mr. Bainbridge, in his "Fly-fisher's Guide," 
 and Christopher North pronounces that gentleman 
 to have been one of the most accomplished anglers 
 that ever crossed the Tweed, says, " This very 
 excellent fly very generally appears about the 
 middle of March, and is strongly recommended 
 as a good killer from eleven until three o'clock. 
 Large quantities of these beautiful insects sail 
 down the streams in succession, and invite the 
 trout to action. Their wings are upright on the 
 body, and whilst they are on the water, it is 
 almost in vain to attempt the use of any other 
 fly. Therefore, as they vary in the shade of their 
 body, it is advised to use three of this form, but 
 of different sizes and colours, at the same time, 
 which will insure success to the angler." Mr. 
 Bainbridge is an orthodox authority acknowledged 
 by every practical angler. He is perfectly right 
 in advising the use of differently coloured March- 
 browns, because the hue of the male differs from 
 that of the female. 
 
 Why are duns in general use ? Because they 
 are imitations of the ephemera family, the most 
 common and most killing water insects. It is 
 not because they are nondescripts ; and he who 
 has the best dun hackles of various hues, dressed 
 
 
MERITS OF DUN-FLIES. 63 
 
 in the neatest way over bodies varying in colour, 
 as the natural flies do, according, I am justified in 
 saying, to wind and weather, will meet with the 
 surest success. For my own part I seldom fly- 
 fish for trout or grayling without some sort of 
 dun on my line, and I am guided by the shape 
 and colour of the dun-fly on the water. Some 
 species of dun-fly is on the water throughout the 
 fly-fishing season. 
 
 I find in " The Encyclopaedia of Rural Sports," 
 some passages so full of sound sense on the sub- 
 ject of natural and artificial flies, that I cannot re- 
 sist the temptation of borrowing them. They 
 deserve attentive perusal, and their author, the 
 late Mr. Delaborde P. Blaine, was famed for his 
 knowledge of natural history and his practically 
 scientific attainments. He says, " The small 
 ephemeral flies, called duns in the angler's vo- 
 cabulary, are very important to his practice : the 
 entomological outline will show that they are 
 very numerous also. A few, as the May-fly, the 
 March-brown, and great whirling dun, are large ; 
 most of the remainder are very small, but yet are 
 so attractive to fish, particularly to the trout, that 
 in the counties which are favourable to their pro- 
 pagation and increase, they form the sheet anchor 
 of the trout fly-fisher's practice. It would be 
 difficult in the extreme for the most attentive, 
 either angler or naturalist, to designate or charac- 
 
64 ON EPHEMERAL FLIES. 
 
 terise them individually, from their numbers and 
 varieties. The short period of their existence, 
 limited to a few days at most, and in some to a 
 few hours only, renders a constant succession ne- 
 i cessary to fill up the void. They have been 
 grouped under the comprehensive term of duns, 
 which has become so conventional, that it would 
 be extremely difficult to disjoin them; although 
 whoever examines the yellow and the orange 
 varieties, which equally pass under the same 
 name, will find they have little of a dun hue 
 about them. There are, however, extreme ex- 
 ceptions, for it is very certain that in most other 
 varieties there is a predominating bluish grey 
 tinge. Were it not for the successional changes 
 which take place in their tribes, they might 
 perhaps be conveniently and appropriately divided 
 into brown, red, and yellow ephemera ; of each 
 of these the modifications are almost infinite. 
 
 " Of the brown ephemera, or duns, some are 
 very dark, approaching a claret colour, which is 
 best imitated by a dark blue, mixed with a reddish 
 brown. These are usually found in the earliest 
 ' part of the fly-fishing season, and to them usually 
 succeed a mixture of red and coloured varieties, 
 followed by a new series, which are gradually 
 softened into the different hues of dun, orange, or 
 yellowish ash. Of the trae dun ephemeral flies 
 the variety is equally endless, from the early 
 
EPHEMERAL AND DUN PLIES. 65 
 
 blue-dun, which may be considered as the type, 
 through all the gradations of iron-blue, violet-blue, 
 ashy grey, and pale blue. The yellow ephemera 
 or duns are still more difficult to define, as there 
 are few even of the former that do not exhibit a 
 yellowish intermixing tinge about some parts of 
 their little frames. Often it appears in exquisite 
 orange bars over the abdomen ; but they derive 
 their character from the yellow being more 
 strictly predominant. In some may be perceived 
 a slight mixture of bright yellow with a larger of 
 ashy dun. When both colours are bright, an 
 elegant tint of green is produced. In others 
 again, as the little yellow May-fly, bright yellow 
 prevails without mixture. Of all these the series 
 are wonderfully varied, some having orange bodies 
 and dun wings, while in others the orange is shed 
 over the wings, and the dun body serves as a foil 
 to them. 
 
 "The successional change of colour which 
 tabes place in the series of ephemera, as they ad- 
 vance from the spring to summer, and as they 
 retrograde again towards autumn, has not escaped 
 the notice of anglers ; and we find in most of the 
 directions for fly-dressing the subject practically 
 glanced at ; but no systematic arrangement of the 
 series has been attempted. All that has been 
 hitherto noted is, that in the early spring months 
 the predominating colour of the winged insects 
 F 
 
66 VARIETIES OF DUNS. 
 
 which are seen near the water, is almost black. 
 The early duns are of a very dark olive, whose 
 occasional varieties, as the season advances, assume 
 a lighter brown, while others shine in a heavy 
 blue ; until at length yellow, orange, or cinnamon 
 decks the former, and pale blue the latter, inter- 
 mixed with others apparently compounded be- 
 tween these. With one exception, that of the 
 blue-blow, the ephemera appear invariably to 
 become of a lighter hue as warmth and light in- 
 crease ; and we see the summer duns dressed in 
 bright yellow, orange, red, and cinnamon. From 
 these fresh relays appear, and as the season ad- 
 vances, these again assume the gradatory shades 
 of red, brown, violet, and claret colour. 
 
 " The daily appearance of the ephemera, as 
 well as the colours they shine in, is also under 
 the influence of times and seasons. Excess of 
 cold, as well as of heat, is unfavourable to them : 
 thus in the depths of winter they are not seen at 
 all ; in spring they do not show themselves until 
 towards noon ; while in the meridian splendour 
 / of the summer days, they (to avoid heat) come 
 out in the mornings and evenings principally, 
 and are hardly seen at mid-day. A kind and 
 provident nature so suits the supply of her crea- 
 tures, that her economy may never be disturbed. 
 If these ephemeral flies appeared all of them at 
 one time, the air would be vitiated, and the birds 
 
ADVANTAGES OF ENTOMOLOGY. 67 
 
 and the fishes which live on them would be 
 glutted to satiety and fatal repletion at one time, 
 and at another might want the necessary support. 
 But we see species after species arrive in succes- 
 sion to fill up the breaks made by the last ; and 
 that no inconsiderable interruption may occur by 
 variation in temperature, and changes in weather, 
 some are destined to appear when cold and storms 
 prevail, while others require cloudless skies and 
 genial warmth to draw them from their seclusion. 
 The whirling dun thus frolics in the gale, the red 
 spinner dances in the sunny beam, and the blue- 
 blow braves the chilling day. The observant 
 angler makes a practical use of all this, and frames 
 his mimic art accordingly" 
 
 The intelligent reader will find, in the above 
 extract, hints that will serve as a safe clue to much 
 interesting and useful information. He will be 
 inclined to think that a partial knowledge at least 
 of entomology will be necessary to make him a per- 
 fect fly-fisher. He will find that each month pro- 
 duces its particular flies, with some that are common 
 to most months and waters, and with imitations of 
 these he will angle. He will find that the first 
 spring flies are generally olive coloured, reddish 
 and brown ; that as spring advances, various duns, 
 not as yet very light ones, come on together with 
 larger flies of mottled wings, and yellow and dark 
 bodies. In the last spring month, appear such 
 
 F 2 
 
68 FLY-DRESSING MATERIALS. 
 
 flies, as the little and large May-fly, precursors of 
 more gaudy ones for summer-tide, and in early 
 autumn he will find gnats, transparent duns, cin- 
 namon-coloured flies, ant-flies, and as the season 
 advances the spring flies, olive and green, re- 
 appear. This information is important. 
 
 In dressing flies, colour is of more importance 
 than exact shape. If the colour of your materials 
 be bad, it is in vain for you to be correct in shape. 
 You must therefore ascertain the colours of the 
 living flies, and match them by artificial means. 
 The fly-fisher who is the best judge of colour 
 has an immense advantage over the bad colourist. 
 When by and by I give my list of flies, I shall be 
 most particular in stating the coloured materials 
 of which they are to be made. The wings and 
 feet of flies are almost always made of feathers, 
 the bodies of fur, mohair, silk, wool, &c. ; and 
 the fly-dresser cannot be too particular in the 
 quality of those materials and in their colours. 
 The most general feather for wings is the wing 
 feather of the starling, its longest or inner fibres 
 to be used ; the most general feather for legs and 
 sometimes for body is a cock's hackle-feather ; 
 and the most general substance for dubbing the 
 body is mohair : it is the best also. The hackle- 
 feather is taken from the back part of the cock's 
 neck, and that part of the bird affords feathers of 
 various sizes and various hues. Mohair can be 
 
IMPROVEMENT IN ELY-DRESSING. 69 
 
 dyed any colour, it resists water well, does not 
 cake in it, shows its colour effectually, and mixes 
 well with fur and silk. It is a most valuable 
 material. The hackles of cocks are of different 
 colours. The most valuable are duns, and they 
 are the most difficult to be obtained in perfection. 
 The best dun feathers are to be found in the 
 midland counties. Hackles are to be got from a 
 variety of other birds, from the grouse, the green 
 and golden plover, the partridge, bittern, wood- 
 cock, snipe, wren, torn-tit, &c. ; and feathers for 
 wings from a still greater variety of birds. The 
 same feather that will make the wings will fre- 
 quently answer best for the legs and shoulders of 
 the fly. All that is required is judgment in the 
 selection, and this can only be obtained by com- 
 parison. 
 
 Artificial flies are now certainly very neatly 
 made infinitely better, every judge acknowledges, 
 than they used to be a few years ago. My own 
 ephemeral writings in BelVs Life in London have 
 (I have heard many say) tended much to this 
 advance towards perfection, and so have Mr. 
 Konalds's " Fly-fisher's Entomology," and Mr. 
 Slacker's " Art of Fly-making." The books of 
 these two ingenious and practical anglers, studied 
 in conjunction with that now in the hand of the 
 reader, will afford most ample and correct informa- 
 tion touching all matters connected with artificial 
 
 p 3 
 
70 HINTS TO FLY-DRESSERS. 
 
 fly-fishing. Mr. Ronalds gives the natural history 
 -of the angler's flies, natural and artificial repre- 
 sentations of them, and the materials of which 
 they are made. Mr. Slacker's book contains the 
 flies dressed in every stage, from the whipping on 
 of the gut to the last finish of the head. It also 
 contains valuable instructions both for procuring 
 and for dyeing angling materials, as well as an ex- 
 cellent list of trout and salmon flies for different 
 rivers and countries. 
 
 Still we are not perfect in fly-making, nor shall 
 we be so until some more pains -taking fly-dresser 
 gets a collection of natural flies, examines them 
 by means of the microscope, ascertains their pre- 
 cise colours and anatomy, and then by microscopic 
 examination again of feathers, mohair, fur, and 
 so forth, arrives at the exact imitative materials. 
 When that is done, fly-fishing will be reduced to 
 a sporting science exceedingly amusing and in- 
 structive. The journeyman or woman fly-dresser 
 at present is merely acquainted with the mechanical 
 part of the art, dresses from artificial specimens, 
 knows little or nothing of the natural insect, and 
 is rarely a good angler. They are copyists, and 
 do not know whether that which they have to copy 
 is a good likeness of the living subject or not. A 
 fishing-tackle maker, to be a great and good one, 
 should have an insect museum, each fly, cater- 
 pillar, or beetle, preserved in cases, named and 
 
STRETCHERS AND DROPPERS. 71 
 
 numbered, and its season noted. From these 
 models he should dress his flies, and when he finds 
 he has succeeded in framing perfect copies, he 
 should note down the materials he has used in 
 their formation, and then he will have sure guides 
 for the fly-dressers he employs. He should pay 
 those persons well, and engage none who do 
 not deserve high pay; and should charge his 
 customers a remunerative price. The generality 
 of flies are sold at too low a price. They cannot 
 be made well at a low price. They must be de- 
 fective in every way, and hence the purchaser 
 meets with little success, much loss of time and 
 of money, for cheap things are always the most 
 expensive in the end. 
 
 In trout and grayling fishing I would always 
 have three flies on my casting-line at the same 
 time. The tail-fly or stretcher should be the 
 best, and when possible the largest; the first 
 dropper, a good general fly, and the second drop- 
 per, or third fly, a most attractive hackle. The 
 stretcher should be an imitation of the fly in 
 season. It is the fly which ought to fall first on 
 the water if you cast well, it floats most naturally 
 in it, and a fish hooked by it is more easily played 
 and killed than with either of the droppers. 
 When you find that fish are rising at one sort of 
 fly only, that your stretcher, or one or other of 
 your droppers is the sole attraction, remove your 
 
 F 4 
 
72 HACKLES AND WINGED FLIES. 
 
 useless flies, and fish with a triple attraction. 
 You will often find several sorts of natural flies 
 on the water simultaneously : observe which of 
 them the fish are feeding upon, and produce your 
 imitations if you can. 
 
 It is a fact that hackles and palmers are the 
 most killing flies on many of the rivers in Eng- 
 land, whilst in others winged flies are the best. 
 Hackles, except a very few, do not kill well in 
 Ireland. Winged flies are the best there. Palmers 
 are not good flies, generally speaking, in Ireland ; 
 whilst in some parts of England they are the best 
 general baits. In our northern streams, which 
 are exposed to cold winds, and not well sheltered 
 with trees, bushes, and plants, hackles and small 
 flies are the most killing. In well-wooded rivers, 
 in our midland, western, and southern counties, 
 winged flies are the most attractive, and the 
 palmer kills better than the simple hackle. The 
 natural flies are bred larger there, and with more 
 seasonable regularity. We have one consolation, 
 however, that the good general fly extends its 
 attractive qualities to all aquatic coquettes, be 
 they English, Irish, Scotch, or Welsh salmon or 
 salmonidae. Experience alone can make you inti- 
 mately acquainted with the great local favourites. 
 
ARTIFICIAL FLIES. 73 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FLY-DRESSING. 
 
 THERE are hundreds of things that cannot be 
 taught easily by means of pen and ink, but which 
 the tongue and hand, reciprocally illustrating 
 each other, can inculcate with very little difficulty. 
 Fly-dressing or fly-making is one of those things. 
 I can scarcely teach it by writing ; in half an 
 hour I could explain the whole matter with 
 tongue and hand. However, I must on paper do 
 the best I can, and the artist in wood having 
 lent me some assistance, I fancy I can make a 
 short lecture on fly-making practically compre- 
 hensible. 
 
 The wood-cut on the right-hand side of this 
 page, and marked 1., re- 
 presents what fly- dressers 
 term " the gut armed," that 
 is, plainly speaking, the gut 
 and hook whipped on, or 
 tied together. It is the 
 first step in fly-dressing, and is thus performed. 
 You take the hook by the bent part, or bend, 
 between the tips of the fore finger and thumb of 
 the left hand, the back part of the hook being 
 
74 FLY-DRESSING. 
 
 upwards, and the barbed part downwards, as- 
 represented in the little plate before you. You 
 next take a strand of fine silk, neatly waxed, and 
 about a foot in length, and you whip it two or 
 three times firmly round the hook at that part 
 of it nearest your finger nails, or, generally 
 speaking, that part of the shank which is opposite 
 to the pointed and barbed part of the hook. You 
 make the two or three whips in the direction of 
 the end of the shank of the hook, that is, towards 
 your right. Next you take a link of gut, coiled 
 for convenience sake, as you see in the cut, and 
 having softened between your lips, and drawn 
 between your teeth to soften and flatten it, a 
 small portion of the freed end of the gut, you 
 place that end against the last whip that you 
 have made with your silk, and you wind your 
 silk over gut and hook up to the end of the 
 shank, or up to that part of it from which you 
 see in the cut a portion of the silk hanging. 
 Wind your silk firmly, and in regular twists, 
 and one winding will be sufficient to fasten safely 
 your hook and gut together. If you only wind 
 your silk as far as you see it wound on the hook 
 before you, a very small portion of the end of the 
 shank will be bare, and leave more room for you 
 to make the head of the fly, and fasten off there 
 with greater delicacy. On the other hand, if 
 you wind your waxed silk to the end of the 
 
SETTING ON THE WINGS. 75 
 
 shank, and back again to the spot at which you 
 see the silk depending, you will make a firmer 
 foundation for the setting on of the wings, the 
 time for performing which operation is now 
 arrived. 
 
 Here you see the wings merely whipped on ; 
 the butts of the fibres fast- 
 ened down by being whip- 
 ped over in the direction 
 of the bend of the hook, 
 and the tips of the fibres 
 pointing away to the right. 
 You ask where do you get 
 
 these fibres, and. what are they ? Simply a small 
 parcel of feathers cut or torn from the stem of 
 some appropriate feather, generally from that of the 
 wing of a small bird, the most common one being 
 the starling. These fibres are generally taken 
 from that side of the feather lying on the inner 
 part of the wing. They are longer, of a lighter 
 colour, and more transparent than the fibres 
 lying on the outer side of the wing, because 
 the latter are more exposed to atmospheric 
 action. Having cut or stripped your fibres in 
 sufficient quantities to form two wings, and 
 having made a^little bundle of them, their butt- 
 ends lying evenly, and not projecting the one 
 beyond the other, fasten the butt- ends down on 
 the top of the back of the hook, at the spot indi- 
 
76 PLY-DRESSING : ** THE TAIL. 
 
 cated in the wood-cut. Three firm whips of your 
 silk will be sufficient to fasten them. Then cut 
 away any of the butt-end fibres that may remain 
 uncovered by the silk. Wind your silk down 
 towards the bend of your hook, stopping at the 
 spot at which you first began the arming of your 
 gut, as described in Figure 1. You are now ready 
 for the placing on of the tail. 
 
 Here you see it placed on and whipped over 
 with your silk. The tail 
 is generally made of 
 two fibres of a feather, 
 or of two hairs. In 
 tying on the tail use 
 three fibres or three 
 hairs, lest one should 
 
 drop off or be in any way injured whilst you are 
 dressing the other parts of the fly, and afterwards, if 
 you have succeeded in fastening on three, you 
 may cut away the worst of them, and allow only 
 two to remain,' the generality of angling flies 
 having but two tails, and a few only being pachas 
 of three. These illustrious insects have their 
 appendages particularised in our list of killing 
 flies. You have now, attentive learner, per- 
 formed three things, armed your gut, fastened 
 on your fibres for wings, and fixed your tail. 
 You now come to making the body, and attaching 
 it round your hook. 
 
FLY-DRESSING : THE BODY. 77 
 
 Here are hook and gut with a body on without 
 wing and tail. That body 
 is made of what is called 
 dubbing/ and dubbing is 
 made of fur, hair, mohair, 
 silk, and a few other sub- 
 stances. You spin a little of either, the quan- 
 tity to be determined by the size of the hook you 
 use, the size of the fly determining the size of 
 the hook, on your silk, by twirling both dubbing 
 and silk between the fore-finger and thumb of 
 your right hand, and you wind the whole on your 
 hook, beginning at the tail, and working up to the 
 setting on of the wings. The^dubbing must be 
 wound more sparingly on the silk near the tail, 
 and increase upwards, being most plentiful close 
 under^Ae^wings. You will easily perceive that 
 you begin winding on the dubbing after you have 
 tied on the tail, just where you see the silk 
 hanging from the hook in Fig. 3., and you cease 
 winding on when you come to the wings. It 
 may be here necessary to warn you that in some 
 instances you place the tail and dubbing on first, 
 and before you whip on the wing fibres. These 
 instances are, when you are dressing very small 
 flies with perfectly upright wings. Then you 
 place on the wings last, with the butts of the 
 fibres pointing towards the end of the shank, and 
 the top ends towards the bend of the hook. In 
 
78 REVERSING THE WINGS. 
 
 fact, such wings, for such flies, are placed on 
 in a way quite the reverse from that shown in 
 Fig. 2. 
 
 This next cut re- 
 presents an ordinary 
 winged fly, one of the 
 easiest of the sort you 
 can make, in nearly a 
 finished state. You 
 have only to cut off 
 
 the silk which is left hanging at the spot at which 
 you have finished the fly. You wonder perhaps 
 at the position of the wings, pointing very diffe- 
 rently from the way you left them when you 
 first tied them on as directed in the explanation 
 accompanying Fig. 2. I will explain to you 
 the different operations that have caused this 
 change of position. When you wind up your 
 dubbing to the setting on of the wings, you 
 fasten your dubbing there, and pinch off all 
 of it that is superfluous. You fasten your silk 
 with a slip-knot. You then take the wing 
 fibres between the forefinger and thumb of your 
 left hand, and reverse them, bending them down 
 over the back of the body of your fly, with the 
 tops of the fibres pointing towards the bend of 
 your hook. Whilst so bent and held down, you 
 pass your silk behind the wings, between them 
 and the end of the shank of the hook, and you 
 
DIVIDING THE WINGS. 79 
 
 lap your silk two or three times tightly close 
 under the wings. They will now lie nearly as 
 represented. To make them do so completely, 
 you divide the fibres exactly in the middle with 
 your dubbing needle, and through the division you 
 pass the silk, and then you wind it round the 
 bottom of the division farthest from you, or that 
 on the right side of the fly, and you bring back 
 the silk, passing it again through the divided wings, 
 and bringing it round and under the bottom of 
 the division which is next to you. You now whip 
 the silk behind the wings, and form the head- part 
 of the fly. Fasten with a couple of slip-knots 
 newly waxed, and clip off the depending silk. 
 Your fly, consisting of tail, body, and wings, is 
 now finished. If your wings are too long, pinch 
 off with your finger nails the unnecessary portion 
 of the tips of the fibres. Pick out your dubbing 
 with your dubbing needle, and make your body 
 taper by taking away parts of the dubbing 
 wherever you see it superfluous. The fly here 
 represented has three visible defects. It has three 
 tails, one of which should have been clipped off; 
 the head is too thick and too long, which might 
 have been prevented by fewer laps of the silk 
 between the wings and the end of the shank; 
 and the wings should be more pointed and equally 
 divided. I have purposely left the defects stand- 
 ing, in order to show how they are to be remedied. 
 
80 
 
 HACKLE-FEATHER PUT 
 
 Here is a complete 
 fly, with wings, body, 
 tail, and hackle for 
 legs wound under the 
 wings, and just before 
 them. 
 
 You see here the 
 hackle feather whip- 
 ped on for the pur- 
 pose of making the 
 legs of a winged fly 
 or for making a plain 
 hackle or a palmer hackle. I will suppose you 
 going to make the fly, Fig. 6. You arm your 
 gut, as described at Fig. 1. ; you fasten on 
 your wings as shown at Fig. 2. ; and you then 
 whip on your hackle, as here represented, close 
 by the wings. You cut away butt-ends of 
 the hackle and wing fibres, and you whip your 
 silk down towards the bend. Whip on your 
 fibres or hairs for tail, and then spin on your 
 dubbing, which you wind up to the thick ends of 
 hackle and wing. Carry back towards the tail 
 your silk a little, and then wind on over the body 
 for two turns, in the same direction as yoar silk, 
 your hackle-feather, which you tie down, and 
 cutting off what remains of it unbound, bring 
 your silk through the fibres of the hackle behind 
 your wings, which divide, and pass your silk 
 
 
DRESSING A TINSEL-RIBBED FLY. 81 
 
 through the division, and round the bottom of 
 each wing, finishing at the head in the way 
 directed for fly, Fig. 5. A fly made carefully in 
 this way is a most general and killing one, want- 
 ing only, for higher finish, to be ribbed or tipped 
 with tinsel. 
 
 I here present you 
 with a fly ribbed with 
 tinsel over the body. It 
 is a difficult fly to make, 
 and when you can make 
 it well, you may consider yourself a proficient in 
 the art of fly-dressing. Arm your gut, then tie 
 on your hackle for legs, and your wings as usual. 
 Cut away thick end of hackle and wings, and 
 wind your silk down to the tail. Attach your 
 tail, and then your gold or silver twist, as may be. 
 Spin on your dubbing, which wind up carefully 
 to the wings, fasten with a slip-knot and leave 
 your silk depending. Go back to the tail, and 
 take your gold or silver twist and lap it at 
 regular intervals over the body up to the wings; 
 fasten, and cut away the remaining parts of the 
 twist and dubbing ; then wind your hackle a 
 coupleof turns over twist and dubbing in the di- 
 rection of the tail, and fastening down the hackle 
 cut away the point of it. Bring your silk back 
 behind the wings ; divide them, and finish in the 
 way already taught. In the body of the fly repre- 
 G 
 
82 A GOOD PLAIN FLY. 
 
 sented you see white and dark ribs. The white 
 are caused by the tinsel ; the dark by the portions 
 of the dubbing which you have not covered with 
 the twist or tinsel. In this figure there are three 
 prominent defects. The head is too thick, the 
 wings unequally divided, and the tail is omitted. 
 These defects are designedly done. They will 
 often occur to the young fly-dresser, but when 
 they do, he must unfasten his defective fly, and 
 begin again. 
 
 The two last flies the learner has been studying 
 are amongst the most diffi- 
 cult to make. I will give 
 him a little relaxation now 
 by presenting to him one or 
 two flies more easily dressed, 
 and here is one. It is a fly with plain silk for 
 body, wings, and legs. The making of it should 
 be frequently practised, as that will afford greater 
 facility in dressing the more complicated flies. 
 There is nothing like a good foundation. Arm 
 your gut. Suppose the body of your fly should 
 be delicate and of an orange colour, let the silk 
 you use for arming be of that colour, waxed with 
 colourless wax.* Consequently, whilst you are 
 
 * Wax colourless, as far as the effect on coloured silk 
 
 /goes, may be thus made : Take two ounces of the best and 
 
 f lightest- coloured resin, with a drachm of bleached bee's wax ; 
 
 put them into a pipkin on a slow fire, until completely 
 
DRESSING A SIMPLE HACKLE. 83 
 
 arming your gut you are forming the body of 
 your fly. You must make that body of the 
 requisite length and thickness, and of the proper 
 tapering shape by a few laps more or less of the 
 gut. Tie on your hackle and wings, as shown at 
 Figs. 7. and 2. Wind on your hackle two or three 
 laps down the body of the fly. Fasten, and clip 
 off the point of the hackle. Bring your silk back 
 through the fibres of the hackle to behind the 
 wings, which divide in the usual way, and finish 
 at the head delicately. 
 
 I now give you a simple hackle to make, which 
 I think very easily done, 
 though others do not. 
 The great difficulty con- 
 sists in winding; the hackle 
 feather, so that its fibres '" m ' m l 
 may project below and 
 above the hook with great regularity, tapering off 
 according to their length towards the bend of the 
 
 dissolved. Let the whole simmer for ^ten minutes. Then 
 add a quarter of an ounce of white pomatum, and allow 
 the whole, constantly stirring it, to simmer for a quarter of 
 an hour longer. Now pour the liquid into a basin of clean, 
 cold water, when the liquid will instantly assume a thick 
 consistency. In this state, and while it is yet warm, work 
 it by pulling it through the fingers until it be cold. This 
 last operation is necessary to make the wax tough, and 
 give it the bright silvery hue which it has when made to 
 perfection. 
 
 G 2 
 
84 DRESSING A PALMER-HACKLE. 
 
 hook, and not being entangled, by some getting tied 
 down by the others, or hitching in them uncouthly. 
 Arm your gut, and attach your hackle, as shown at 
 Fig. 7. Then wind your hackle to the bend of the 
 hook, and there fasten. Cut away your silk and 
 
 -_- -.vt- " f 
 
 the point of your hackle feather. .Now with your 
 dubbing needle pick out any of the fibres that 
 may be caught in the winding on, and clip away 
 the points of those that project irregularly. 
 
 Before you now is a palmer-hackle, a most 
 useful bait, representing a 
 caterpillar. Arm your gut, 
 and then attach your hackle 
 feather as usual, together 
 with some floss silk, pea- 
 cock, or ostrich harl, or 
 
 dubbing, to form the body. They must be at- 
 tached near the end of the shank. First wind 
 your floss silk, or harl, or other material for the 
 body, down to the bend of the hook. Then wind 
 your hackle for legs all down the body, and fasten 
 at the tail. Clip away all that remains at the end 
 of the hackle and body. Palmer hackles are fre- 
 quently ribbed with gold or silver twist. When 
 you use it, attach your hackle first, then your 
 
 J in., iii.iii-ii. )a ,M^m > iM'" < -***^ lri.ui n i i.n-rrwnnnTifWiii .^. r -' 
 
 twist or tinsel, and lastly your harl or dubbing. 
 Xote, as a general rule, that the material you 
 attach first, is that which is to be wound round 
 your hook last. Having attached hackle, tinsel, 
 
THE WINGS PLACED ON LAST. 85 
 
 and harl, near the shank of your hook, wind down J 
 the body of it, towards the bend ; first, your harl 
 or dubbing; secondly, your tinsel; and lastly, 
 over all, your hackle. Fasten, and cut away 
 the ends. 
 
 I said before that very small flies are dressed 
 differently from the way I have been teaching 
 
 you hitherto. The chief difference consists in 
 the wings being tied on last, instead of first, after 
 the gut has been armed. To dress flies with the 
 wings fastened on last, you must arm your hook 
 as usual, then attach your hackle feather at the 
 bend, as here represented, and then spin on your 
 dubbing also from the bend. When you have 
 wound up your dubbing to the shoulders, fasten 
 it down there, and then wind up your hackle to 
 the same spot. Clear away the ends of dubbing 
 and of hackle. Set on your wings with the butt- 
 ends towards the shank of the hook ; lap your 
 silk a couple of times round the butts of the 
 fibres. Divide the wings, and pass your silk 
 through the division, as directed at Fig. 5. 
 Finish at the head 'carefully. Wings set on in 
 
 G 3 
 
86 FLAT-WINGED FLIES. 
 
 this way, will sit upright, and also enable you to 
 dress with a finer body, and composed of a great 
 variety of materials. It may often happen that 
 after a little use, the wings will get spoiled and 
 the body of the fly remain uninjured. By the 
 method taught here, you can attach a new pair of 
 wings without interfering with the body, and that 
 is an advantage. I think that wings tied on last 
 generally sit better, but they cannot be tied on 
 so firmly as the wings that are attached imme- 
 diately after the arming of the gut, with the butt- 
 end fibres pointing to the bend of the hook. As 
 many insects have their wings lying flat on the 
 body, such wings are best imitated by feathers 
 tied on with their roots pointing towards the 
 shank of the hook. 
 
 The last specimen of fly-dressing I intend to 
 give is a very simple one, 
 though not the less valua- 
 ble. It is a hackle, with 
 the wings placed on last ; 
 that is, dressed reversely 
 from the fly, Fig. 9. You 
 
 see that the wings sit well, and as one way is as 
 easy as the other, you may adopt whichsoever you 
 like. In making plain hackles, you may begin 
 by attaching the hackle near the end of the 
 shank, as shown at Fig. 7. ; or near the bend, as 
 
MATERIALS FOR ELY-MAKING. 87 
 
 seen in Fig. 12. 'Tis six of one, and half-a-dozen 
 of the other. 
 
 I have now shown the reader, as clearly and con- 
 cisely as I could, how to dress the usual sorts of 
 trout and grayling flies. The cuts are rather 
 rough ones, because the originals were designedly 
 left in a rough state ; but, if they were too much 
 fined down, and finished, the learner, seeing that 
 he could not easily approach their neatness, might 
 be deterred from fly-dressing. When the learner 
 can tie flies in this passably rough way, he must 
 get finished models, and laying them before him, 
 he must pick, trim, and shave his own rough 
 insect statues until he can fashion them as deli- 
 cately as the most cunning professional artist. If 
 he confides in the sure and steady improving pro- 
 gress which time and perseverance invariably 
 produce, he will become his own complete artist 
 in flies. In arranging the heads of this chapter, 
 I have been materially assisted by the intelli- 
 gence of Mrs. Little, the wife of Mr. Little, 
 fishing- tackle- maker, No. 15. Fetter Lane. 
 
 MATERIALS USED IN FLY-DRESSING. 
 
 The substances which the fly-dresser wants to 
 make flies of are various, chiefly feathers, fur, hair, 
 and silk. The colours he requires are still more va- 
 rious than the materials. There is scarcely a bird 
 
 G 4 
 
88 HAULS, WINGS, HACKLES. 
 
 or quadruped, particularly the smaller sorts, that 
 does not contribute to the fly-dresser's magazine. 
 The fly-dresser who is a good judge of colour has 
 an immense advantage over him who is not. He 
 will find many excellent coloured materials where 
 the bad judge would never think of looking for 
 them. 
 
 Feathers are obtained, remarks Mr. Elaine, 
 from nearly every bird, from the gigantic ostrich 
 down to the Lilliputian wren. Nothing can be 
 commoner for making flies than the ostrich harl, or 
 the individual fibres of some of the plumes of that 
 bird, dyed variously. Peacock harls, or single fibres 
 of its largest feathers, are still more common for 
 the bodies of flies. The wings of small flies are 
 made of the wing feathers of the starling, lark, land- 
 rail, hen pheasant, partridge, woodcock, plover, 
 snipe, dotterel, sea-swallow, sea-gull, wild-duck, 
 teal, water-hen, domestic hen, and many other 
 birds. The torn-tit's tail affords an excellent blue 
 feather for wings and hackle. Foreign birds 
 afford an infinite variety of feathers for gaudy 
 flies. 
 
 Hackle feathers are very valuable, and, as Mr. 
 Elaine says, " they are generally those which deck 
 the neck and rump of the cock. Such hackles 
 only should be chosen as have fibres about half an 
 inch long, and those from the game fowl are to be 
 preferred. The principal colours are white, black, 
 
BEST SORTS OF HAIR AND FUR. 89 
 
 grizzled, grey, ginger, light red, dark red, and that 
 variety in which the dark red is divided by a 
 black listing. The dun or blue hackle is difficult 
 to obtain, not only on account of the colour, but 
 because, as it is wanted to dress minute flies (the 
 duns), those of the dun cock are rather too long 
 and gross, and those of the dun hen too weak." 
 The dun hackle is seldom to be got pure. Fowls' 
 feathers should be plucked in winter, and from 
 full-grown birds. The feathers of male fowls are 
 generally the best. The backs and tails of the 
 partridge, grouse, golden plover, snipe, and some 
 other wild fowl, afford excellent hackles. Golden 
 pheasant's feathers are most valuable for salmon 
 flies. 
 
 Furs can be easily got at the furriers'. Those 
 most wanted are bear's, grey, black, brown, and dun 
 of every shade ; badger's, sable, and martin's fur, 
 particularly the parts about the head of the former, 
 and the yellow spotted portions under the jaws of 
 the latter. Squirrel's fur, American and English ; 
 also the fur of the water and house rat, field 
 mouse, mole, seal, both dyed and natural. Skins 
 of the black, sandy, and grey rabbit, in all their 
 varieties, are useful ; also those of the ferret, 
 weasel, and polecat. The fur of the ears, head, 
 and neck of the hare is most useful. Mr. Elaine 
 advises, " that skins of all kinds when they fall 
 in the angler's way should be looked over, and 
 
90 THE BEST SKINS FOR DUBBING. 
 
 any striking portions preserved, every one of which 
 may prove valuable in the hour of need." 
 
 Of hair, there is none more useful than that 
 called " hog's down." Naturally, it is of various 
 colours, and can be dyed artificially of any hue 
 advantageously. It resists the water well, and 
 when immersed in that element retains its vivid 
 colour, whatever that may be. I have a high 
 opinion of mohair, and it can be obtained of every 
 colour. Worsted is well suited for the bodies of 
 large flies. Mr. Blaine is very minute on this 
 subject. He says, " Of hair, that of calves, colts, 
 and cows, of every colour and from every part, 
 should be collected. About the ears of the silky- 
 coated spaniel, some of a very fine texture and rich 
 colour may be always met with. The tan of the 
 black spaniel, and the tawny, is all good and 
 worth selecting. In long wiry-haired animals 
 of every kind, there is at the roots of the longer 
 hairs a fine woolly substance. This should be looked 
 for in all skins, as it present shades very different 
 from the general exterior hue, and often produces 
 the richest and finest dubbing that it is possible 
 to meet with. Cuttings from the skin of the fox, 
 both young and old, should by all means be pro- 
 cured ; indeed, there is no part of the body of 
 this animal from which valuable shades of fur may 
 not be taken. Some hairs also of the stiff kind, 
 
THE FLY-DRESSER'S INSTRUMENTS. 91 
 
 from the skins of goats, cows, monkeys, and other 
 animals, should be saved by themselves, as those 
 also from the beards of cats, dogs, rabbits, and 
 badgers, and from the tails of ferrets and polecats, 
 to make the tails and horns of certain flies." 
 
 For tying on flies the best silk is that which is 
 the finest and strongest. TJndyed silk is always 
 the strongest, and the floss silk used for making 
 delicate fringes, and the sewing silk employed in 
 the finest sort of glove work, are perhaps the best. 
 If you use them of different colours, wax them 
 with the w r ax, to make which I have already 
 given you a recipe. If you use white silk only, 
 you must wax with wax dyed the general colour 
 of the body of the fly you are dressing. As 
 common shoemaker's wax is always useful, ever 
 have a bit between a piece of leather to prevent it 
 from sticking to your fingers. Thick floss silk 
 and camlet of various hues are necessary for the 
 bodies of some flies and palmers. 
 
 The instruments for fly-dressing are few. You 
 will want a small table vice, a small spring pliers, 
 a penknife with a file-blade, two pairs of scissors 
 of the very best manufacture, one with long and 
 fine blades, ending in the sharpest and finest 
 points, another with short stout blades and large 
 finger hooks, and as correctly pointed as the other. 
 A large needle, with a fine point and fitted into a 
 small handle, is necessary to divide the wings, 
 
92 RECIPES FOR DYEING. 
 
 to pick out the dubbing, and to free the fibres of 
 the hackle when required. 
 
 A FEW RECIPES FOR DYEING. 
 
 Under the head of the May-fly, will be 
 found a recipe for dyeing feathers a yellowish 
 green. Mr. Packer, in his Dyers Guide, dyes 
 feathers yellow thus : Into a saucepan three 
 parts filled with soft water, put the feathers to 
 be dyed, and when they are thoroughly wetted, 
 add a small quantity of sulphate of iron. Simmer 
 them over a moderate fire a few minutes, arid the 
 feathers will have gained the colour-base or 
 mordant. Remove the liquor from the feathers, 
 and put to them instead a smaller quantity of soft 
 water, and when it is of a simmering heat, add a 
 small quantity of powdered Aleppo galls. 
 
 The requisite shades of dun colour may be 
 obtained by varying the quantities of the iron 
 and galls. For a full dark dun, add sufficient 
 quantities of the sulphate and galls. By in- 
 creasing or diminishing the proportions of either 
 of these articles, you will obtain duns of divers 
 shades. If logwood be used instead of galls, a 
 different tint will be the result. Madder, cam- 
 wood, the bark of the alder tree, walnut peels, 
 produce different hues. Galls, logwood, and 
 madder should however be omitted when the 
 
FIRST PROCESS OF DYEING. 93 
 
 colouring is intended to approach a red or brown. 
 The light shades in all cases should be first 
 gained, and any other deeper hue added after- 
 wards. Hard water should not be used in dyeing. 
 Having given to the feathers their mordant or 
 base, as already directed, add either sulphate of 
 iron, sulphate of alum, acetate of alum, or acetate 
 of copper, according to the intended shade. 
 Wash the feathers from the mordant, and put 
 them into a strong decoction of that plant which 
 the dyers call weld. Simmer them in this a few 
 minutes, strengthening or weakening the weld- 
 decoction in proportion as the colour is to be 
 more or less brilliant. A little practice, and the 
 noting of the various results after each trial, will 
 soon make the angler familiar with the methods 
 of varying the colours so as to meet his wishes. 
 These instructions, Mr. Packer states, apply to 
 wool also, which may be tinted in the same 
 manner. 
 
 Mr. Ronalds dyes white feathers a dun colour 
 thus : Make a mordant by dissolving about a 
 quarter of an ounce of alum in a pint of water, 
 and slightly boil the feathers in it, taking care 
 that they shall be thoroughly soaked or saturated 
 with the solution ; then boil them in other water 
 with fustick, shumach, and a small quantity of 
 copperas, put into it until they have assumed the 
 required tint. The fustick and copperas will 
 
94 DYEING HACKLES VARIOUS COLOURS. 
 
 produce a yellow dun tint; the shumach and 
 copperas a blue dun tint. The greater the quan- 
 tity of copperas the deeper will be the dye. 
 
 To turn red hackles brown. Put a piece of 
 copperas, the size of half a walnut, into a pint of 
 water ; boil it, and whilst boiling put in the red 
 feathers. Let them remain in it until, by fre- 
 quent examination, they are found to have taken 
 the proper colour. 
 
 To stain feathers an olive dun, fyc. Make a 
 very strong infusion of the outside brown coating 
 of an onion, by allowing the whole to infuse by 
 the fire for twelve hours. If dun feathers are 
 boiled in this dye, they will become an olive dun, 
 and white feathers a yellow. If a small piece of 
 copperas be added, the latter colour will become 
 a useful muddy yellow, darker or lighter as 
 may be required, and approaching to a yellow 
 olive dun, according to the quantity of copperas 
 used. 
 
 To dye feathers dark red and purple. Hackles 
 of various colours, boiled (without alum) in an 
 infusion of logwood and Brazil wood dust until 
 they are as red as they can be made by this 
 means, may be changed to a deeper red by putting 
 them into a mixture of muriatic acid and tin, and 
 to a purple by a warm solution of potash. As 
 the muriatic acid is not to be saturated with tin, 
 the solution must be made diluted. If it burns 
 
STAINING GUT PROPERLY. 95 
 
 your tongue much, it will burn the feathers a 
 little. 
 
 To dye feathers various shades of red, amber, 
 and brown. First boil them in the alum mordant 
 already mentioned ; secondly, boil them in an 
 infusion of fustick strong enough to bring them 
 to a bright yellow, (about a tablespoonful to a 
 pint of water ;) then boil them in a dye of 
 madder, peach wood, or Brazil wood. To set the 
 colour, put a few drops of dyer's spirit, (i. e. 
 nitrate of tin combined with a small quantity of 
 salt,) which may be had from a silk-dyer, into the 
 last-mentioned dye. 
 
 To stain gut the colour of weeds, water, fyc. 
 Make an infusion of onion coatings as before 
 directed, and when quite cold put the gut into 
 it, and let it remain until the hue becomes as 
 dark as required. A strong infusion of green 
 tea will dye gut a useful colour. So will warmed 
 writing ink : the gut to be steeped in it a few 
 minutes, and immediately afterwards to be washed 
 clean in spring water. You will obtain another 
 good colour by steeping gut for three or four 
 minutes in a pint of boiling water in which you 
 have put a teaspoonful of alum, a bit of logwood 
 the size of a hazel nut, and a piece of copperas 
 the size of a pea. To make your gut a water- 
 colour, take a teaspoonful of common red ink, add 
 to it as much soot, and about the third of a tea- 
 
96 GUT STAINED A WATER-COLOUR. 
 
 cupful of water; let them simmer for about 
 ten minutes ; when cool, steep your line until it 
 be stained to your fancy. This is a very good 
 colour for the purpose, but should be applied 
 gradually, taking out your gut frequently to 
 examine the depth of the tint, lest it should 
 become too dark. 
 
THE FLIES FIT FOE EVERY MONTH. 97 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 A MONTHLY LIST OF FLIES FO1R THE SEASON. 
 
 airtf ; 
 
 As a general rule, it will be found that the earliest 
 spring flies have bodies of a greenish or olive colour. 
 The angler should never fly-fish in February with- 
 out an olive-bodied fly, which will remain a good 
 general one throughout March and April, unless 
 those months be very fine indeed. Mixed with 
 green and olive-bodied flies you must have brown, 
 red, and yellow-bodied ones ; and they will be 
 found the earliest and most killing flies. In the 
 above months artificial flies must be dressed large 
 and full, and their general wings must be made of 
 the longest fibres of the starling's wing-feathers. 
 The flies that kill in February will continue good 
 in March; and if the weather be open in the 
 former month, March flies may be looked upon as 
 February ones. 
 
 Olive fly. Body of dark olive mohair ; wings, 
 a starling's wing-feather, to stand upright; tail, 
 two whisks of a mottled mallard's feather ; to be 
 tipped with a lap of silver tinsel. This fly may 
 be advantageously varied by mixing with the 
 H 
 
98 FLIES FOR FEBRUARY AND MARCH. 
 
 mohair a little yellow hare's fur, and tying on 
 with yellow silk. 
 
 The red fly. Body of the dark red part of 
 squirrel's fur, mixed with an equal quantity of 
 claret-coloured mohair, showing most claret colour 
 at the tail of the fly ; to be spun on, and warped 
 with brown silk thread. Wings, from a ginger- 
 dun covert feather of the mallard's wing ; legs, 
 a claret-coloured stained hackle. Mr. Ronalds 
 ("Fly-fisher's Entomology"), according to whose 
 fashion the fly is dressed, observes of it, " that it 
 appears about the middle of February, and is in 
 season until the end of March, and may be used 
 on fine but rather windy days, until the blue 
 dun and other flies come in. I have taken very 
 large grayling with it." 
 
 Blue dun. Body of the hare's ear, dark and 
 yellow part mixed with a little yellow mohair, 
 the whole to be spun on yellow silk ; wings, from 
 a feather of the starling's wing, stained in onion 
 dye ; tail, two small whiskers of a rabbit ; legs to 
 be picked out of the dubbing, at the thick part 
 near the wings. 
 
 N. B. Infuse the outer coatings of an onion 
 in water, and macerate by the fire for a day. 
 Dun feathers boiled in the liquid will become an 
 olive dun, white hackles will become yellow, and 
 the addition of a little copperas will stain them a 
 yellow-olive dun. 
 
FLIES FOR FEBRUARY AND MARCH. 99 
 
 The preceding fly is sometimes called " the 
 hare's ear and yellow," and is a first-rate general 
 fly throughout the year, and throughout the em- 
 pire on coldish, cloudy, windy days. 
 
 The red spinner. Body, brown silk, ribbed 
 with fine gold twist; tail, two fibres of a red 
 cock's hackle ; wings of some transparent light 
 brown feather ; legs, red cock's hackle. 
 
 The alder-fly. Body, any dark claret-co- 
 loured fur, as that which a brindled cow yields, 
 and that of a copperish hue, from a dark brindled 
 pig or a brown-red spaniel's ears ; upper wings, 
 red fibres of the landrail's wing, or red tail-feather 
 of the partridge ; lower wings of the starling's 
 wing-feather; legs, dark red hackle; horns and 
 tail of fibres the colour of the legs, the horns or 
 antenna, to be shorter than the body of the fly, 
 but the tail a little longer. This is an excellent 
 general fly. Mr. Elaine erroneously calls it the 
 coch-y -bonddu of Wales. 
 
 The furnace-fly. Body, orange-coloured silk; 
 wings, a fieldfare's feather ; legs, a cock's furnace- 
 hackle. A good general fly. The feather called 
 the furnace-hackle is rather a rare one. Its out- 
 side fibres are a beautiful dark red ; that portion 
 of them next to the stem being black. It is got 
 from a cock's neck. 
 
 Early small black fly. Body thin and long, 
 of black ostrich harl, to be dressed with iron-blue 
 
 H 2 
 
100 ARTIFICIAL FLIES FOE MARCH. 
 
 coloured silk; wings to lie flat, of a hen black- 
 bird's wing-feather ; legs, a small dark copper- 
 coloured hackle. 
 
 Hqftand's fancy. Body, reddish dark brown 
 silk ; wings, woodcock's wing ; legs, red hackle ; 
 tail, two strands of a red hackle. Hook, No. 10. 
 This is a good general fly for trout and dace, par- 
 ticularly in the rivers near London. The late 
 Mr. Hofland, the inventor of it, says, " I have 
 killed trout with this fly at Farningham, when the 
 May-fly has been strong on the water, and the 
 fish have refused any other that I could offer. It 
 may be used after sunset with success in any part 
 of the kingdom, and in any season." 
 
 The Chantrey. Body, copper-coloured pea- 
 cock's harl, ribbed with gold twist ; legs, a black 
 hackle. Wings, partridge's wing-feather, or hen 
 pheasant's tail. A good fly in the rivers of 
 Hampshire. 
 
 Red-brown fly. Body of dark brown mohair 
 dubbing ; wings, a starling's or dotterel's wing- 
 feather. To be tied on with red silk. Kills best 
 from eleven to three o'clock. 
 
 Red fly. Body, dark red dubbing of cow's 
 hair found in tan yards ; dark red cock's hackle 
 for legs ; wings, a starling's feather, or the dun 
 covert feather of a mallard's wing. To be dressed 
 with orange-coloured silk. This fly will kill well 
 until May. 
 
ARTIFICIAL FLIES FOR MARCH. 101 
 
 Dark fly. Body of dark water spaniel's fur, or 
 black rabbit's, intermixed with a little claret- 
 coloured mohair, to give the body a tinge when 
 held up to the light ; wings, from the back of the 
 fieldfare or hen blackbird; legs, a dusky black 
 hackle. 
 
 Golden ostrich palmer. Body, black-ostrich 
 harl ribbed with gold twist ; legs, dark red cock's 
 hackle. To be dressed with orange or puce silk. 
 Hook, No. 3., Kendal. 
 
 The three following are good dun flies for cold 
 weather : 
 
 Esterliazy dun. Body, bright Esterhazy-co- 
 loured silk ; legs, blue-dun hackle ; wings, from 
 the feather of a fieldfare's wing. 
 
 Dark dun. Body of dark plum-coloured silk; 
 legs, a blue-dun hackle feather ; wings, the same 
 as those of the preceding fly. 
 
 Another blue dun. Body, a very small portion 
 of the water rat's fur spun round yellow silk; 
 legs, a blue-dun hackle; wings, starling's wing- 
 feather. 
 
 The water-cricket. Body, orange floss silk, 
 tied on with black silk ; legs, of a feather from the 
 green plover's (pewit's) top-knot. A good early 
 fly when the water is low. 
 
 An excellent dark dun. Body, mole's or dark 
 rabbit's fur, or water rat's mixed with dark mo- 
 hair of a brown hue ; legs, a small, dark, grizzled 
 
 H 3 
 
102 THE COWDUNG-FLY. 
 
 hackle ; tail- whisks, two brown hairs. To be 
 dressed on a No. 8 or 9 hook, with orange silk. 
 
 The cowdung-jly. Body, yellow lamb's wool 
 mixed with a little brown mohair ; legs, ginger- 
 coloured hackle ; wings, from the wing-feather of a 
 landrail, to lie flat on the body, and be longer than 
 it. To be dressed with orange silk. A general 
 spring fly, but seldom killing except on windy 
 days. Of this fly Mr. Elaine observes, " It is 
 justly prized for its qualities, which are such as 
 deserve the highest commendation as a standard 
 and almost universal bait for all fly-taking fish. 
 If the weather be open it appears very early in 
 March, and is to be found of all sizes. This proves 
 advantageous to the angler, for if the water be 
 fine and low, he can use them as small as he 
 pleases without outraging nature. It is to be ob- 
 served, that as they are not aquatic, they are not 
 often seen on the water but when blown there ; 
 and consequently they are most successfully used 
 in blustering weather; and in the rivers of the 
 midland counties in particular, which are usually 
 skirted by grass fields, they are taken with great 
 eagerness at all hours throughout the whole fishing 
 season; but, as might be expected, in situations 
 where they are less indigenous, the imitation is 
 less freely taken. As they are so valuable, it is 
 of importance to dress them true to colour and 
 shape. The originals may be seen in clusters on 
 
THE FAMOUS MARCH-BROWN. 103 
 
 every cow's dropping, when it will be observed 
 that their wings are very transparent, which 
 should be carefully imitated by a thin, almost dia- 
 phanous feather, with a glossy reflection from it. 
 The body should be rather full and rough, and of 
 a tawny hue. The wings should never be upright 
 or divided." 
 
 Peacock-fly. Body, brown peacock's harl, 
 dressed with mulberry-coloured silk; wings, the 
 darkest part of the starling's wing-feather ; legs, 
 a hackle stained dark purple. Hackle-feathers 
 may be dyed red by boiling them in an infusion of 
 logwood and Brazil wood, and then they may be 
 changed to purple, by putting them in a warm 
 solution of potash. 
 
 The March-brown, or dun-drake. This is, 
 perhaps, the best fly that can be used from the 
 middle of March to the middle of April, and 
 sometimes up to May. It is a large, showy fly, 
 and almost as great a favourite in March as the 
 May-fly in May. It has various names, viz. the 
 cob-fly, brown caughlan, and turkey -fly, and kills 
 every where. In a work I edited for Mr. Shipley, 
 of Ashbourn, I find the following note : " On 
 the 23d of March, 1836, we killed with this fly, 
 from one and the same standing on the Dove, six- 
 teen trout and one grayling. We fished with two 
 flies of this sort on our casting-line at the same 
 time, and we caught three times successively two 
 
 H 4 
 
104 DIVERS METHODS OF 
 
 fish at one cast. We should have caught many 
 more, had it not been for an accident that oc- 
 curred to our tackle ; for, before we could repair 
 the damage caused by it, the rising time of the 
 fish was over. From the middle of March to the 
 middle of April it is decidedly the best and most 
 killing fly that can be fished with in the trout 
 streams of the midland counties. We recommend 
 the angler to fish with two flies of this sort on his 
 casting-line at the same time, one ribbed with 
 gold twist, and the other without. The best time 
 for fishing with this fly is between the hours of 
 eleven and three o'clock, especially if the water is 
 curled by a smart breeze." 
 
 Dress this famous fly as follows : - Body, 
 orange-coloured silk, or deep straw-colour, on 
 which wind for dubbing the fox-coloured fur 
 taken from a hare's poll ; legs, a honey-dun 
 hackle ; wings, to stand erect, of the top of the 
 light or inner fibres of the feather of the hen 
 pheasant's wing; tail, two fibres of the same 
 feather. Rib with gold twist for your tail-fly, 
 and let your dropper be without any twist. When 
 the natural fly is out well upon the water, and 
 fish are voraciously taking it, angle with three 
 flies on your foot-line, varying them slightly in size 
 and colour. 
 
 Mr. Blame's method of dressing this fly : 
 Wings, mottled feather from the tail of a par- 
 
DRESSING THE MARCH-BROWN. 105 
 
 tridge, set upright from the hook ; body, light 
 hair and red squirrel's fur ; legs, a grizzled cock's 
 hackle ; tail, two reddish hairs or feather fibres. 
 Hook, No. 6. 
 
 Mr. Ronalds^ method: Body, fur of the hare's 
 face, ribbed over with olive silk, and tied with 
 brown ; tail, two strands of a partridge's feather ; 
 wings, feather of the pheasant's wing, which may 
 be found of the exact shade ; legs, a feather from 
 the back of a partridge. 
 
 Mr. Bainbridge's way : Wings, the dark 
 mottled feather from the tail of a partridge, or 
 mottled feather from the ptarmigan in its summer 
 plumage ; body, of the fur from a hare's ear, in- 
 termixed with a small portion of yellow worsted, 
 well dubbed together ; a grizzled hackle ; and, if 
 the imitator choose to be exact, two fibres from 
 the same feather which composed the wings will 
 enable him to form the tail. With respect to the 
 tail-whisks of artificial flies, Mr. Bainbridge 
 (" Fly-fisher's Guide ") says, with much of truth, 
 " This appendage to the flies in their natural 
 state need not be attended to in the artificial 
 formation, as it is of little importance in aiding 
 the success of the angler ; although, if flies are 
 dressed for sale, it improves their appearance, and 
 renders them more showy and attractive." 
 
 Mr. Best's way : Wings of the pheasant's 
 wing, which is full of fine shades, and exactly re- 
 
106 THE GREAT RED SPINNER. 
 
 sembles the wing of the fly ; body of the bright 
 part of hare's fur, mixed with a little of the red 
 part 6f squirrel's fur, ribbed with yellow silk, and 
 a partridge's hackle wrapped over twice or thrice 
 under the butt of the wing. 
 
 Mr. HandsarcCs mode : The wings and 
 whisks at the tail may be made from the spotted 
 tail-feathers of a young partridge. For the body, 
 use the dark fur which has yellow tips from a 
 hare's ear, and tie it on with reddish-buff silk ; if 
 you are inclined to use a hackle for legs, let it be 
 a dun cock's, or a small partridge feather. As 
 the fly grows lighter, alter the body, and use the 
 yellow-buff fur from a hare's ear, tied with pale 
 yellow silk, and let the hackle be a light dun with 
 yellow edges, or a dull ginger one. 
 
 Every angling writer praises this fly, therefore 
 I have shown how it may be dressed in various 
 ways. I would have a few of each variety. Fish 
 will soon tell you which variety is best. 
 
 The great red spinner is a metamorphosis of 
 the dun-drake, and is in season longer. It kills 
 well on fine evenings, and may be used in con- 
 junction with the dun-drake. It is a fine showy 
 fly, dressed thus : body, brown red hog's down, 
 ribbed with gold twist and tied on with brown 
 silk ; wings, starling's wing-feather ; legs, bright 
 amber-red hackle ; tail, two fibres of the same 
 feather. 
 
PALMER-HACKLES. 1 07 
 
 Elaine's blue dun. Wings, from the tail- 
 feather of a torn -tit ; body, blue water rat's or 
 monkey's fur ; legs, a fine, light blue hackle ; tail- 
 whisks, two blue hairs. Hook, No. 9 or 10. 
 Of this fly, Mr. Elaine says, " It comes on early 
 in March, and continues through April, when it 
 is succeeded by a race of flies in which the blue- 
 dun tinge predominates in various proportions. 
 It is well therefore to be prepared with the gra- 
 dations of this fly, of which the ashy dun ap- 
 pears the first. In favourable days, the blue dun 
 will kill in all the fishing hours, particularly in 
 April, but best towards mid-day. It is likewise 
 almost universal on the British waters." 
 
 The early dark-bodied willow-fly. Wings, 
 the feathers of the starling, or a rich olive feather 
 of a pheasant is preferable : to lie flat and long. 
 Body, dark hare's fur, with claret mohair ; legs, 
 reddish dun hackle, and horns of the same colour.. 
 Hook, No. 6 or 7. 
 
 Nothing can be more true than Mr. Elaine's 
 reasoning touching those very general and very 
 good baits, called palmers, or palmer-hackles. 
 He says, " As they are meant to represent the 
 larvaB or caterpillars of flies, as well as some of the 
 insects themselves, it is very evident that their 
 sizes and colours may be varied to infinity. If 
 our experience did not inform us that they are 
 very effective in taking fish, we should be natu- 
 
108 THE PALMER-HACKLES. 
 
 rally led to expect it : for as every tree and every 
 bush which overhangs the water teems with one 
 or more varieties of larva?, which must be con- 
 stantly liable to fall into it ; and as from their 
 natural plumpness of figure they must form a 
 delicious morsel, we need not wonder that the fish 
 are always ready to receive them, unless something 
 more tempting (as when particular favourite flies 
 are on the water) is at hand to attract their atten- 
 tion. As these Iarva3 are continually appearing 
 in endless succession, so palmers are used to ad- 
 vantage from March until the latest period of fly- 
 fishing or at least until October. In May, June, 
 July, and August, they are however in the 
 greatest request. When the innumerable varia- 
 tions in the size, form, and colour of the larva? of 
 insects are considered, it is evident that the direc- 
 tions in our angling books to confine the number 
 of palmers to three, four, or five are limited in the 
 extreme ; but it is still more erroneous to confine 
 their size to a No. 6. hook. On the contrary, 
 there is such an endless number of them, each dif- 
 ferent from the other, that the dresser may vary 
 them in any way he pleases with effect, tying them 
 on hooks from No. 4. to No. 9., but keeping 
 these general principles in view, that when the 
 water is fine and low, they should be dressed 
 small, and sober in their tone of colour ; but when 
 used on waters which are disturbed, and the day 
 
DRESSING PALMER-HACKLES. 109 
 
 is dark, such as are larger and more conspicuously 
 coloured are required." 
 
 Palmers kill better in England tlian in any 
 other part of the empire. They are better suited 
 to streams running somewhat smoothly through 
 flat districts, than to the precipitous ones that 
 dash through hills and mountains. I subjoin a 
 list of them. 
 
 Black palmer-hackle. Body, black ostrich 
 harl, ribbed with gold twist. Black cock's hackle 
 wound over the whole. Hook, No. 4, 5, 6, or 7. 
 
 When palmers are dressed large they may be 
 tied on two hooks whipped lengthways on the 
 gut. 
 
 Brown palmer-hackle. Body, brown floss 
 silk, or brown fur, or mohair of a deep amber, or 
 P rich brown ostrich harl, ribbed alternately with 
 gold and silver twist; legs, a red cock's hackle. 
 Hook, No. 4, 5, 6, or 7. 
 
 A plainer brown palmer. Body, mulberry- 
 coloured worsted, spun on brown silk thread; 
 legs, a fiery brown cock's hackle wound ever the 
 whole of the body. These two last palmers kill 
 well when the water is clearing after a flood. 
 
 Red palmer -hackle. Body, dark red-coloured 
 mohair, with a little richly-tinted red fur inter- 
 mixed, to be ribbed with gold or silver twist ; legs, 
 a blood red cock's hackle. Hook, No. 4, 5, 6, or 7. 
 
 A plainer red hackle. Body, a peacock harl 
 
110 PRAISE OF APRIL. 
 
 with a red cock's hackle wrapped over it, and tied 
 with dark brown silk thread. 
 
 Golden palmer-hackle. Body, peacock harl, 
 ribbed with gold twist ; legs, a bright red cock's 
 hackle, worked with a rich green silk. Hook, 
 No. 4, 5, 6, or 7. 
 
 Peacock palmer-hackle. Body, a rich full 
 fibre of peacock harl, ribbed with wide silver 
 platting. Make a head to this palmer with a 
 bit of scarlet mohair. Legs, a dark grizzled 
 hackle, dressed with red silk. Hook, No. 5 or 
 6. This hackle, dressed very large, will kill 
 Thames trout and chub of the largest size. 
 
 The golden palmer-hackle. The same as the 
 last, except that it should be ribbed with gold 
 twist, and worked with green silk, instead of 
 silver platting and red silk ; legs, a dark blood red 
 hackle. Hook, No. 4, 5, or 6. 
 
 'A good general palmer. Body, long and 
 tapering, of yellow mohair ; legs, a good furnace 
 hackle wound on from tail to shoulder ; head, 
 black mohair. Hook, 4, 5, 6, or 7. 
 
 JTtaS far &$rft. 
 
 April is the best fly-fishing month for trout in 
 the year. That fish is then getting strong and 
 voracious. The water is generally in good tune, 
 being neither too full, nor too low. The weather 
 
FLIES FOTC APRIL. OAK-FLY. Ill 
 
 is often as it ought to be ; wind blowing west or 
 south, with alternate sun and clouds. The tem- 
 perature is moderate. Fish are to be found in 
 the streams, and also in deepish water ; the largest 
 and the best conditioned in the latter. The pools 
 are often aptly ruffled by a genial breeze, and can 
 be fly-fished to the greatest advantage. All the 
 good flies of March will kill in April. Add to 
 them the following. 
 
 The oak-fly, or down-looker. This fly is my 
 fancy. It is generally considered as fit chiefly for 
 the summer months, but I consider it the best 
 English trout fly for those April days which are 
 not too cold and windy. During the last fortnight 
 of April the fly-fisher should never angle without 
 this fly. It is called by some the ash-fly, cannon- 
 fly, and woodcock-fly. It is found on the trunks 
 of trees by the river side, in a state of quietude, 
 its wings lying close to its back, and its head 
 looking downwards hence one of its names. In 
 May and June this fly is also in season, and x /it 
 will kill well in deep streams, and on pools that 
 are ruffled by a strong but tepid wind. I shall 
 give divers ways of dressing it, placing my own 
 mode first, as follows : 
 
 Body, yellow mohair, ribbed regularly with 
 dark brown silk ; legs, a honey-dun hackle wound 
 thrice under the wings, which are to lie flat and 
 shorthand be made of the wing- feather of a young 
 
112 HOW TO DRESS THE OAK-FLY. 
 
 partridge or hen pheasant. To be tipped with 
 pale gold twist. Hook, 8, 9, and 10. 
 
 Mr. Ronalds^ way : Body, orange floss silk, 
 tied with ash-coloured silk thread, which may be 
 shown at the tail and shoulders : wings from the 
 wing-feather of a woodcock ; legs, a furnace hackle 
 (i. e. a red cock's hackle, with a black line up the 
 middle, and tinged with black also at the ex- 
 tremities of the fibres). This should be warped 
 all down the body, and the fibres snipped off 
 again nearly up to where the wings are set on, 
 leaving a sufficient quantity uncut for the legs. 
 
 Mr. Elaine's method: Wings, partridge's mot- 
 tled wing-feather, dressed of a full size, and to lie 
 flat ; body, first wrap a little dun fur, next some 
 dark grizzle, and form the tail part of a yellowish 
 dun ; make a large head of the brown fur of the 
 hare ; legs, represented by the body-dubbing 
 picked out. 
 
 Mr. BainbridgJs plan : The wings are short 
 in proportion to the body, and lie flat on the back. 
 The colours of this fly being various and un- 
 equally mixed make the imitation difficult. The 
 head is to be made of the fur from the hare's ear; 
 body, under the wings, dun fur; in the middle 
 orange and yellow, and towards the tail a brownish 
 dun ; the wings from the feather of a yellowish 
 brown hen ; or it may be made with a bittern's 
 hackle only, without wings. It is an excellent 
 
THE SAND-FLY. 113 
 
 fly both for dibbing in the natural state and using 
 artificially. 
 
 Mr. Shipley's way : Body, a black ostrich harl, 
 wound thinly round the hook ; legs, a dark red 
 hackle, stained deeper than the natural colour; 
 wings, from the feather of the woodcock's wing. 
 To be dressed with orange-coloured silk. 
 
 I advise the angler to have this fly dressed 
 different ways and of different sizes, and to angle 
 with three of the different patterns on his casting- 
 line at the same time. 
 
 The sand-fly. Body, bright sandy -coloured 
 fur from the hare's neck, mixed with a very small 
 quantity of orange-coloured mohair ; legs, a ginger 
 hackle ; wings, the sandy-coloured feather of the 
 landrail's wing. If dressed as a hackle, the fea- 
 thers from under the wings of a thrush or red- 
 wing will be found proper. 
 
 Of this fly Mr. Bainbridge observes, that " It 
 may be considered as one of the best for affording 
 diversion which can possibly be selected, for it 
 may be used successfully at all hours of the day, 
 from April to the end of September; and is 
 equally alluring to trout and grayling." Though 
 I have not so high an opinion of this fly, I think 
 it one that should be tried, in conjunction with the 
 oak-fly, in April and May. It may be used of a 
 small size in August. I agree with Mr. Konalds, 
 who says, " My own experience leads me to 
 I 
 
114 THE STONE-FLY, 
 
 recommend the sand-fly during April and May, 
 on days when there is no abundance of any par- 
 ticular insect on the water. A fly very like it 
 is used in September and October, called the 
 cinnamon-fly." 
 
 Mr. Ronalds^ way of dressing the sand-fly. 
 Body, of the sandy-coloured fur from the hare's 
 neck ; wings, from the landrail's wing, made full ; 
 legs, from a light ginger feather from the neck of 
 a hen. This fly is made buzz with a feather from 
 the under side of the wing of the throstle, wound 
 upon the above body. 
 
 Stone-fly. Wings, a mottled feather of the 
 hen pheasant, or the dark grey feather of a mal- 
 lard, rather inclining to red, to be dressed large, 
 long, and flat ; body, dark brown fur, or the dark 
 part of the hare's ear, mixed with yellow camlet or 
 mohair, so distributed in making the body of the fly 
 that the under and hinder parts may exhibit the 
 yellow to the fish ; legs, a grizzled hackle ; horns, 
 two dark hairs from a dog's or rabbit's whisker. 
 Hook, No. 4, 5, or 6. 
 
 This fly is a large and tempting bait, but you 
 must have it dressed of different sizes, since its size 
 varies naturally according to locality. In small, 
 sheltered, well-wooded streams, the insect grows to 
 a very large size ; on wide, bleak waters, it is bred 
 smaller. This is a general rule, and we must 
 follow it. This insect is named by some the 
 
AND NATURAL HISTORY OF IT. 115 
 
 caddis-fly. It appears in April, and is found 
 until July. It kills best on warm,, cloudy, windy 
 days, and the best time for using it is in the morn- 
 ing and evening. The live fly is an excellent 
 one for dibbing. 
 
 Mr. Eonalds describes and dresses this import- 
 ant fly well. "It comes," he says, "from a 
 water larva. It is heavy in its flight, but uses 
 its legs with extreme activity, and is generally 
 found amongst the stones, or close to the sides of 
 the water. I have kept an individual alive for 
 three weeks, during which time it drank much 
 water. It is in season from the beginning of 
 April until the end of May, and should be used 
 in the rapid parts of streams, and on windy days 
 when the water is rough. Imitation : Body, fur 
 of hare's ear mixed with yellow worsted or camlet 
 ribbed over with yellow silk, leaving most yellow 
 at the tail ; tail, a mottled strand or two of a 
 partridge feather ; wings, feather from the phea- 
 sant's wing ; legs, a hackle stained greenish- 
 brown ; horns, two rabbit's whiskers." This 
 imitation would be very good if the yellow 
 worsted or camlet were left out, and use made 
 only of the blackest and brownest fur of the 
 hare's ear* The ribbing as directed with yellow 
 silk will render the body alternately and spirally 
 dark and yellow. 
 
 Golden dun midge. Body, olive floss silk ribbed 
 i 2 
 
116 EXCELLENT DUN-FLIES. 
 
 with gold twist, and tied with dun silk thread ; 
 wings, from the palest feather of a young starling; 
 legs, a plain dun hackle. An excellent fly. 
 
 Orange-bodied dun. Body, hare's mixed fur, 
 with a little orange mohair worked with silk of 
 the same colour ; legs, the dubbing picked out 
 with a dubbing-needle at the shoulder ; tail, two 
 strands of the mallard's mottled feather. 
 
 Ashy dun. Water rat's fur mixed with a little 
 orange mohair ; legs picked out of the dubbing ; 
 tail the same as before ; wings, hen black-bird's 
 wing-feather. These dun-flies should be dressed 
 on hooks, No. 8, 9, or 10, according to the state 
 of the water. 
 
 ' The grannam, or green-tail. This fly is very 
 well known, but, generally speaking, it is too 
 highly spoken off. It lasts only for about ten days 
 in April, and its chief value is that it is a morning 
 fly, and will kill from sunrise to eleven o'clock, 
 when the mornings and forenoons are fine, and 
 the water moderately clear and low. Sometimes 
 it will kill late in the afternoon. Bowlker gives 
 the best account of this fly, the first appearance of 
 which, he says, " is about the beginning of April, 
 if the weather is warm, it being a very tender 
 fly, and unable to endure the cold. When they 
 first appear on the water, they are seen in great 
 quantities. On bright mornings you may begin 
 to fish with them from six o'clock till eleven ; 
 
THE GRANNAM, OR GREEN-TAIL. 117 
 
 then you will find the browns come on, which you 
 must use, as the fish will not touch the grannams 
 as long as the brown flies continue. About five 
 o'clock in the evening you may use the grannams 
 again with success, the browns having then 
 totally disappeared for that day. The grannam 
 is a four-winged fly, and as it swims down the 
 water, its wings lie flat on the back. It has a 
 small bunch of eggs of a green colour at the tail- 
 end of the body, which gives it the name of the 
 green-tail fly. As soon as it alights on the 
 water, it drops its eggs. This fly is of short 
 duration, not lasting above a week, after which it 
 disappears for the season." It is dressed as fol- 
 lows : body, dark hare's ear fur, mixed with a 
 little blue fur ; at the tail a twist of a green harl 
 from the eye of a peacock's feather, or a lap or 
 two of green floss silk, or a bit of green wax ; 
 wings, from the wing-feather of a partridge or 
 hen pheasant ; legs, a yellow grizzle hackle. 
 Hook, No. 8 or 9. 
 
 Mr. Ronalds' & way : Body, fur of hare's face 
 left rough and spun on brown silk. A little 
 green floss silk may be worked in at the tail to 
 represent the bunch of eggs there ; w T ings, feather 
 from that of the partridge, . and made very full; 
 legs, a pale ginger hen's hackle. Made buzz with 
 a feather from the back of a partridge's neck, 
 wound upon the above body. 
 
 I 3 
 
118 SPIDER AND GKAVEL-FLIES. 
 
 The spider-fly, or Harry long-legs. There are 
 three sorts of this insect, large, middle, and small- 
 sized, the latter being called the gravel-fly or 
 gravel-bed. They will kill on windy days, the 
 water being low, throughout the spring or sum- 
 mer months. The large fly is dressed thus: 
 Body, a mixture of brown and dun fur, dressed 
 long and thin on a No. 5 hook ; wings, mottled 
 feather of a partridge, long and fine ; legs, two 
 turns of a long, thin-fibred dark dun hackle. The 
 middle-sized fly is thus dressed : body and legs 
 the same as the former, but shorter and thinner on 
 a No. 6 or 7 hook ; wings, hen black-bird's wing- 
 feather, long and slight. The small spider or 
 gravel-fly is imitated thus : wings, the largest 
 fibres of the snipe's wing- feather, to lie long and 
 nearly flat ; body, simply lead-coloured silk ; 
 legs, one turn of a dark dun hackle. Hook, No. 
 9 and 10. This last insect does not last so long 
 as the two others ; its best season being from the 
 middle of April to the end of May. 
 
 Mr. Bainbridge observes, "The gravel or 
 spicier fly is first seen about the middle of April, 
 at which time the gravel in which these insects 
 are bred is covered by incalculable numbers of 
 them. They are extremely delicate, and not 
 often visible on cold days ; at which times, how- 
 ever, success is more probable with this fly than 
 when they are to be found in such vast numbers. 
 
WHY FISH TAKE THE SPIDER-FLY. 119 
 
 They may be used from morning until evening , 
 and the trout are so passionately fond of them, 
 that they gorge themselves with their favourite 
 food, and retire to their secret haunts, thereby 
 disappointing the most skilful endeavours of the 
 angler. It is probably owing to the short dura- 
 tion of these flies, that the fish are so greedy in 
 devouring them, as they are seldom to be found 
 after the expiration of about three weeks from 
 their first appearance. The wings are made of 
 the feather from the wing of the cuckoo's mate, 
 the goat-sucker, or, in the absence of the pre- 
 ceding two, from the woodcock ; the body of 
 lead-coloured silk for the lower and middle parts, 
 and a strip of black ostrich harl for the thick 
 part near the shoulders, round which a small 
 dark grizzled hackle should be twisted twice, and 
 the fly is completed." 
 
 Great whirling dun. Body, squirrel's blue 
 and martin's yellow fur mixed, or dark mole's 
 fur and yellow mohair ; wings, pale grey fibres of 
 a mallard's wing-feather, to stand erect ; legs, 
 grizzled hackle ; tail, two fibres of the mallard's 
 mottled feather. Hook, No. 7 and 8. 
 
 This fly may be also dubbed with fur from the 
 bottom of a squirrel's tail, the wings being the 
 same as the last, or it may be made a third way ; 
 viz. the wings of a pale orange colour from the 
 wing-feather of a ruddy hen; body, squirrel's 
 i 4 
 
120 THE GREAT WHIRLING DUN. 
 
 fur mixed with a very small portion of pale, fine 
 hog's down ; head, a couple of whips of ash- 
 coloured silk; legs, red cock's hackle. It is a 
 good general April fly, and in warm weather kills 
 best of mornings and evenings. Mr. Elaine has a 
 very high opinion of this fly, and says of it, " In 
 cold days it will raise trout all day long, but more 
 particularly during a brisk blustering wind, when 
 it proves usually very killing. In our own prac- 
 tice, we found it in all the waters of the midland 
 counties a most excellent fly, but less so in the 
 northern districts. It must, however, be re- 
 marked, that we were always furnished with two 
 or three varieties. In very cold windy days we 
 found a large-sized imitation, in colour almost a 
 pure dun, to be very killing. It may be observed, 
 that the body of the natural fly varies much, but 
 the wings are always the same." 
 
 The yellow dun. Body, yellow mohair tinged 
 with a small quantity of pale blue fur; wings, 
 the light fibres of a lark's wing ; legs, a small 
 yellow dun hackle. Hook, No. 10 and 11. In 
 genial, but cloudy days, the water being tolerably 
 clear, this fly will kill well during the warmest 
 hours of the day. 
 
 Dotterel hackle. Body, yellow silk or mohair ; 
 wings and legs from the feather of the dotterel. 
 Hook, 11 and 12. When dressed small on the 
 hooks just mentioned, this is an excellent fly in 
 
ARTIFICIAL FLIES FOR MAY. 121 
 
 the small streams of the north of England. 
 Dressed large on a No. 6 hook it is a good lake 
 fly for large trout. 
 
 Golden plover hackle. Body, a mixture of 
 yellow and green mohair, dressed fine ; wings 
 and legs of the golden plover back and neck- 
 feather. Hook, 10 and 11. A good summer-fly 
 when the water is low. 
 
 Carshalton cocktail. Body, light blue fur ; 
 wings, the inside feather of a teal's wing ; legs, 
 a dark dun hackle ; tail, two fibres of a white 
 hackle. Hook, No. 10 and 11. A killing fly on 
 the Wandle, and on all clear trout streams. 
 
 Edmonsorfs Welsh fly. Body, dark orange 
 mohair ; wings, the feather of a woodcock's wing, 
 or from the tail of a hen grouse ; legs, the back- 
 feather of the partridge. Hook, No. 8 and 9. A 
 good general fly when the water is passably full. 
 
 dFltetf for $lajn 
 
 This month is one of the best of the season 
 for using small duns, provided the water be clear, 
 and particularly that period of the month which 
 precedes the arrival of the ephemera vulgata, or 
 the May-fly, or green drake. I shall give a list 
 of them and other good flies, and conclude the 
 month with its chief attraction, the beautiful 
 insect just named. Many of the April flies will 
 
122 DUN-FLIES FOR MAY. 
 
 kill in May, and the duns of the latter month 
 will kill in the former, provided the weather be 
 fine and the water low. 
 
 Iron-blue dun. Body, mole's fur; wings, tom- 
 tit's wing-feather ; legs, a small light dun hackle ; 
 tail, a couple of small fibres of the same feather. 
 Hook, No. 10, 11, and 12. This fly must be 
 dressed with the neatest care, finishing off at the 
 head with a twist or two of reddish brown floss 
 silk. Mr. Ronalds says, " It is one of the smallest 
 flies worth the angler's notice, but not the least 
 useful. The male has a brownish red crown or 
 cap on his head. The female is also crowned, 
 but her cap is too small to be easily seen. It is 
 in season from the latter end of April until the 
 middle of June, and is on the water chiefly on cold 
 days." You see that this is a hardy little gentle- 
 man, and you will find by experience that he is a 
 killer of fish in clear water when the wind blows 
 roughly and coolly along its surface. 
 
 The jenny spinner. This is a pretty metamor- 
 phosis of the last fly ; but it eschews cold days, 
 and delights in summer-tide ones. It shows 
 through clear, rather shallow water best, and 
 most attractively to trout : and they seem to 
 relish it most as a dessert in post-prandial hours. 
 It is costumed in this fashion : body, white floss 
 silk, with a whip of brown floss silk at the head 
 and tail ; wings and legs, a very small and very 
 
 "'"' i TI.II,, LUMB ^mrfflTT' rraapMnrrnr^*TT M ^^m^|^nii .unn- 
 
SMALL DUNS FOR MAY. 123 
 
 light dun hackle ; tail, two fibres of the hackle. 
 Hook, 11 and 12. To be dressed very small and 
 very neatly. 
 
 Hawthorn-fly. Body, black ostrich harl; 
 wings, dotterel's wing feathers; legs, a feather 
 from the green plover's top-knot. Kills tolerably 
 well on warm, gloomy days. 
 
 Bright yellow dun. This is also called the 
 yellow Sally and little May-fly. It precedes by 
 a week or less the great May -fly, and though it is 
 a beautiful little fly, it rarely does great execu- 
 tion. I would dress it very small as a hackle ; 
 the body of bright yellow floss silk or mohair ; 
 wings and legs of a small hackle, dyed yellow. If 
 you tie it with wings they should be small and 
 stand erect, and made of the mallard's feather, 
 of the same colour as for the large May-fly. The 
 way of dyeing the feather will be shown here- 
 after. 
 
 Cream-coloured dun. Body, cream-coloured 
 mohair, wound on orange silk, and forked with 
 two yellow hairs ; wings, light part of the land- 
 rail's feather; legs, the dubbing picked out. 
 Hook, No. 10 and 11. 
 
 Little whirling dun. Wings of the fibres of 
 one of the pale short feathers which lie underneath 
 the wing-feathers of the male teal ; body, ash- 
 coloured silk, enlivened with a little brown hair, 
 and wound on light orange silk ; legs, one or two 
 
124 B^ACK GNAT AND TUEKEY BROWN. 
 
 turns of alight brown hackle. Hook, No. 10 
 and 11. This is an attractive little fly, and will 
 kill well about the middle of the day in warm and 
 windy weather. 
 
 Black gnat. Body, one of the smallest fea- 
 thers of the green plover's top-knot or of a black 
 harl, to be dressed short ; wings, the darkest fibres 
 of an old starling's wing-feather. With the green 
 plover's topping you require no legs, but with the 
 harl you do ; and they must be made of a small 
 black hackle. Hook, No. 12. Every one recom- 
 mends this fly, and it is found in every angler's 
 fly-case; yet, notwithstanding the multitude of 
 witnesses it has in its favour, I have very seldom 
 found it a good fly. I would only use it of a fine 
 evening, when the water is clear, or during the 
 day when the weather is warm and gloomy, or 
 after a summer shower. 
 
 Turkey brown. This is a good summer fly, 
 on cool windy days, and should be tried when 
 first-class favourites fail. It will kill well on 
 pools that are ruffled by the wind. Mr. Eonalds 
 dresses it very attractively, thus : " Body, dark 
 brown floss silk, ribbed with purple thread ; 
 wings, tip of the brownest feather from a par- 
 tridge's tail, or a proper feather may be found on 
 the back of the partridge ; legs, a red cock's 
 hackle stained a fiery brown ; tail, a fibre or two 
 of the same feather. Hook, No. 10. In summer 
 
THE DUN-CUT. 125 
 
 time, when the water is clearing after a fresh, 
 tip this fly with gold tinsel, dress it on a No. 8 
 or 9 hook, and it must kill well. 
 
 The dun-cut. Body, bear's hair mixed with 
 brown and yellow mohair ; wings, yellowish- 
 green feather of a landrail, to lie flat and be 
 longer than the body; legs, a turn of a small 
 ginger hackle. Hook, 8, 9, and 10. Mr. Elaine 
 says of this fly, " that in many cases it proves 
 very killing, and that it regularly appears in this 
 month, but at an uncertain period of it, and sel- 
 dom lasts longer than the middle of June. It 
 will take fish on gloomy days the whole day 
 through, but best of all in warm sultry evenings, 
 when its execution is often very great, particu- 
 larly amongst trout, being, according to our obser- 
 vations, less greedily sought by grayling." 
 
 Little dark spinner (RONALDS). This is the 
 metamorphosis of the Turkey brown. It is a 
 most killing fly just at the beginning of dusk. 
 Body, mulberry-coloured floss silk, ribbed over 
 with purple silk thread ; wings, from a feather of 
 the starling's wing ; legs, a purple-stained hackle 
 which appears black when looked down upon, but 
 which shines with a dark tortoise-shell tint when 
 held up between the eye and the light. 
 
 Shorn-fly, or case-wing ed-fly. Upper wings, 
 landrail's feather, to be dressed short and bending 
 over the body ; under wings, the light fibres from 
 
126 THE COCH-Y-BONDDU. 
 
 a starling's wing ; body, full and short, of brilliant 
 peacock's harl. Some persons call this fly the 
 Marlow-buzz, and have a high opinion of it. I 
 do not much fancy it. If it kills well any where, 
 it will be in our southern and western streams. 
 I think the following is the true Marlow-buzz, as 
 well as the coch-y-bonddu of the Welsh. I 
 fancy it an imitation of the well-known winged 
 beetle, called the lady-bird. Tied as follows, it 
 is a favourite general fly of mine, and I call it the 
 furnace-hackle for the summer months. Body, 
 short and full, of black ostrich and brilliant pea- 
 cock harl twisted together and dressed with bril- 
 liant dark silk ; wings and legs, a dark furnace- 
 cock's hackle of the purest black and red colour. 
 This is a famous fly. If fish will not rise at it, you 
 may conclude that they are not "on the feed." 
 They either take it for a small red and black 
 caterpillar, or for a round black and red beetle. 
 Fine, warm, cloudy days are the best for its being 
 successfully used. 
 
 Another alder-fly. Body, dark mulberry floss 
 silk ; wings, the fibres of a brown hen's wing- 
 feather ; legs, a twist or two of a dark amber- 
 coloured hackle. Hook, No. 10. This is a good 
 summer fly in the Hertfordshire streams. 
 
 Sky-blue. This is one of Mr. Ronalds's beau- 
 ties, bred, he says, from a water nymph. I have 
 a high opinion of its attractions when the water is 
 
SKY-BLUE AND FERN-FLY. 127 
 
 low and clear, and the weather propitious breezy, 
 warm, with alternate cloud and sunshine. Let it 
 be dressed carefully on a small hook with fine gut, 
 and it will kill when larger flies are of no use. It 
 is made thus: body, pale ginger mohair mixed 
 with light blue fur ; wings, from a feather of the 
 sea-swallow ; legs, a pale yellow hackle ; tail, a 
 couple of strands of the hackle. Hook, No. 1 1 
 and 12. 
 
 Fern-fly. This is an admirable May and 
 summer fly. It is very showy, and will answer 
 best on gloomy, sultry days. Towards evening I 
 have been in my time very successful with it, 
 particularly close under the banks. I shall direct 
 it to be dressed two or three different ways, and 
 then it will answer for two or three different flies 
 with which it is confounded. The proper sized 
 hook is No. 10., and when the water is very 
 low, a size smaller. The body is to be made of 
 deep brilliant-coloured orange silk, whipped spar- 
 ingly with thin gold twist ; wings, lying rather 
 flat, to be made of the light, mottled fibres of a 
 young partridge's wing-feather ; legs, a turn or 
 two of a small, fiery red hackle. I think that is 
 the best way of dressing the fly. Mr. Ronalds 
 dresses it without gold twist, and with wings from 
 the darkest fibres of a starling's wing-feather. 
 The lightest fibres would answer best. Others 
 dress the fly buzz by winding over the body a 
 
128 THE BLUEBOTTLE AND WASP-FLY. 
 
 furnace-hackle. The following is another variation 
 in the way of dressing this fly : upper wings, 
 red partridge's tail-feather; under wings, hen 
 blackbird's wing-feather: body, red brown mo- 
 hair, dressed long ; legs, two turns of a small 
 red hackle. Hook, No. 8 or 9. 
 
 The bluebottle. Wings of the transparent 
 fibres of the lark's wing, to lie flat and broad and 
 pointing outwards ; body, thick, of peacock's harl, 
 wound on brown silk, of which form the head ; 
 legs, a fine black hackle. Hook, No. 7 and 8. 
 Another way : body, bright blue floss silk tied 
 with light brown silk thread, showing the brown 
 at the head; wings, feather of the starling's 
 wing, to lie flat ; legs, black cock's hackle wound 
 freely round the body. When trout and gray- 
 ling are gorged with the May-fly and other day- 
 flies, they often take freely towards the evening 
 an imitation of the house-fly and bluebottle. 
 Such imitations kill all the summer through 
 on dark, windy days. They are more freely 
 taken by chub and dace than by trout. 
 
 The wasp-fly. I have a good opinion of this 
 fly, for its body is well coloured, and it must prove 
 a favourite with fish. Besides, the body is large 
 and taper, and with its alternate dark and yellow 
 rings, fish must be fond of its appearance. I 
 have always had the best opinion of these regu- 
 larly party-coloured flies, with somewhat large 
 
EVENING AND NIGHT FLIES. 129 
 
 bodies, ringed with either black and white, black and 
 yellow, brown and yellow, or orange spiral stripes, 
 and having large, reticulated, transparent wings, 
 with dark heads, and darkish tails. Such are the 
 March brown, the oak-fly, the hare's-ear-and- 
 yellow, the wasp-fly, and a few others. If these 
 flies are tied very large they will kill salmon, the 
 largest species of trout, and the largest chub. 
 Tied on 9 and 10 hooks they are excellent general 
 brook-flies for trout and grayling. The wasp- 
 fly is dressed thus : body, light orange mohair, 
 dubbed in very thin ribs, and alternated with 
 black ostrich harl, neatly and finely. Form the 
 head with the orange dubbing. Legs, two turns 
 of a light brown red hackle. Hook, No. 7, 8, 
 and 9, and make the wings of a partridge-hackle, 
 or mottled mallard's feather. Dress it large, and 
 the fly will kill well in the Thames. 
 
 There are evening and night flies which come 
 into use towards the latter end of May, and last 
 during the whole of the summer. They are imi- 
 tations of those large moths that are seen towards 
 nightfall flitting about the meadows in warm 
 weather. The dark-coloured should be used 
 early in the evening, those of a lighter colour after 
 sunset, and those that are white after that. 
 
 The mealy-brown moth. Body, any soft 
 brown fur, as of the hare, brown hog's down, 
 bear's fur, and the nearer the shade is to tan the 
 
130 HOW MOTHS ARE DRESSED. 
 
 better; upper wings, the dappled feather of a 
 mallard dyed brown ; under wings, the soft fea- 
 ther of a brown owl ; legs, a brown cock's hackle, 
 wrapped four or five times behind the wings. 
 Hook, No. 4, 5, and 6. 
 
 The mealy-cream moth. Body, any soft fur 
 of a cream colour; upper wings, the cream- 
 coloured feather of the grey owl ; under wings, 
 a softer and lighter feather of the same bird; 
 legs, a soft ginger hackle. Hooks the same size 
 as before. 
 
 The mealy-white moth. Body, white rabbit's 
 fur, or white ostrich harl, dressed full, and ex- 
 hibiting a brown .head ; legs, a white cock's 
 hackle, wrapped round twice under the wings. 
 Hooks as before. 
 
 The coachman. Body, peacock's harl, full 
 and short; wings, fibres of any small white 
 feather; legs, a turn or two of a red hackle. 
 Hook, No. 6, 7, 8, and 9. This fly will kill in 
 most rivers, from a little before till a little after 
 twilight. It kills best in the rivers of the south, 
 and in those within forty miles of the metropolis. 
 Trout, chub, and large dace take it freely. Mr. 
 Blaine goes farther, and says, " Throughout the 
 summer months, as an early evening-fly, and until 
 twilight, it proves most valuable in the midland 
 counties, and the bordering ones within eighty 
 miles of London. On the Colne, and throughout 
 
MAY-FLY OR GREEN DRAKE, 131 
 
 its course, in the Hampshire, Dorsetshire, and 
 Devonshire waters, where we have been for many 
 years in the habit of using it, in our opinion there 
 is no fly at all to equal it." 
 
 If moth-flies are properly used, they will take 
 the largest fish. A young angler should use 
 but one at a time on his casting-line, which 
 should be of stout gut, not longer than two yards. 
 He should keep his fly on the surface of the water, 
 and must judge of a rise more by hearing and 
 feeling, than by sight. He must strike promptly, 
 and play his fish with a tight hand. 
 
 The May -fly, or green drake. This famous 
 fly is the opprobium of fly-makers. Try how 
 they will, they cannot in my opinion imitate 
 it well. The wings are their greatest foil. In 
 making the body they succeed tolerably welL 
 Still the best imitation is defective, and except 
 upon rare occasions the artificial May-fly is not a 
 deadly bait. The natural fly used in dibbing far 
 surpasses it. However, the imitation, faulty as 
 it is, will kill when the natural fly is scarce on the 
 water, as in cold, dark, windy days. The artificial 
 fly kills in currents and pools that are moved to 
 small waves and billows by a bluff west or south 
 wind. 
 
 The general feather used for the wings of this 
 fly is a dappled one found by the sides under the 
 wings of the mallard, and dyed a pale green- 
 El 2 
 
132 DYEING MALLARD'S FEATHERS 
 
 yellow colour. To hit the true colour makes the 
 great difficulty. To get over it I know not how. 
 I must be content to cite the best authorities. 
 First I will take Mr. Blacker, a capital judge of 
 colours, who dyes his feathers yellow according to 
 the following recipe : Boil two or three hand- 
 fuls of yellow wood one hour, in a quart of soft 
 water; wash the mallard hackles, or other 
 feathers in soap and hot water ; then boil them a 
 short time, with a large spoonful of alum and 
 tartar, in a little pipkin, with a pint of water ; 
 take them out and immerse them in your yel- 
 low decoction, and simmer them slowly for an 
 hour or two. The shorter the simmering the 
 paler yellow will be the feathers ; take them out 
 and wash them in clear, hard water. When there is 
 occasion for dyeing yellow-green, add a little blue, 
 more or less, according to the shade of green you 
 wish to give to the yellow. Mr. Ronalds re- 
 commends another way for dyeing mallard's fea- 
 thers for the May-fly's wings. He tells us to 
 make a mordant by dissolving about a quarter of 
 an ounce of alum in a pint of water, and then 
 slightly boil the feathers in it to get the grease 
 out of them, after which boil them in an infusion 
 of fustick to procure a yellow, and then subdue 
 the brightness of the yellow by adding a little 
 copperas to the infusion. Having now the wing- 
 feathers dyed, I'll tell you how to make the fly. 
 
FOR THE MAY-FLY'S WINGS. 133 
 
 Body, bright yellow mohair, or floss silk, ribbed 
 slightly with peacock's harl and orange silk ; 
 wings, mottled feather of the mallard dyed a 
 pale yellow-green. They are to stand nearly 
 erect, and to be slightly divided. Legs, a couple 
 of turns of a red ginger hackle ; tail, two hairs 
 from the rabbit's whisker. Hook, No. 5 or 6. 
 Another way (BLACKER'S) : Body, yellow- 
 green mohair; wings, mallard's feather dyed 
 yellow a black head ; legs, yellowish hackle ; 
 tails, three hairs from a black bear. A third way 
 (Mr. KONALDS'S): Body, the middle part of 
 pale straw-coloured floss silk, ribbed with silver 
 twist ; extremities (head and tail) brown peacock's 
 harl, tied with light brown silk thread ; tail, three 
 rabbit's whiskers: wings and legs, made buzz 
 with a mottled feather of the mallard, stained 
 olive. To make it with wings in their state of 
 rest, part of a feather similarly stained must be 
 used, and a pale brown bittern's hackle must be 
 wrapped round the same body under the wings. 
 What is called the buzz form, is an intended 
 imitation of the natural fly struggling and half- 
 drowned. A fly dressed with erect wings, and 
 one without them, or buzz, may be used on the 
 casting-line at the same time, the buzz imitation 
 being the stretcher or tail-fly. 
 
 Mr. Bainbridge says of this fly ; " It appears 
 
 K 3 
 
134 DESCRIPTION OF THE MAY-FLY. 
 
 about the 20th of May, and continues for nearly 
 a month. The wings stand erect upon the 
 back, and vary in the tints of yellow in dif- 
 ferent flies. The body is long, slender and taper 
 near the tail, from the end of which spring the 
 forked whisks, which turning upwards, like some 
 of the drake's tail feathers, towards the back, give 
 the name of green drake to this fly. The body 
 is to be made of hog's down, or light bear's hair 
 intermixed with yellow mohair, or of barber's 
 yellow silk only, warped with pale floss silk, and 
 a small strip of peacock's harl for the head. A 
 bittern's hackle is acknowledged to be the best 
 imitation of the legs and dark stripes of the body, 
 and for the tail the long black hairs of the sable 
 or fitchet are most appropriate." The May- fly 
 is dressed many other ways, but I think the above 
 are as good as any. 
 
 During the season of the May-fly, should the 
 weather be gloomy, with a strong, warm wind, I 
 would angle with three flies of different sizes, 
 and having the wings of colours slightly differing, 
 and one made buzz without erect wings, for doing 
 so would afford me three different chances of 
 success. 
 
 The grey drake is said to be a metamorphosis 
 of the green drake, or female changing to a male. 
 Strange though such a change may appear to us, it 
 may be true, for Nature is ever working wonders. 
 
EFFECTS OF THE MAY-FLY ON TROUT. 135 
 
 This fly is seldom a good angling one, and never 
 kills well except towards evening. Dress it thus ; 
 Body, the middle part of white floss silk, ribbed 
 over neatly with silver twist ; extremities, brown 
 peacock's harl ; wings and legs made buzz with a 
 mottled feather of the mallard, stained a faint 
 purple ; legs, three rabbit's whiskers. Hook, 
 No. 6 or 7. Of this fly, Mr. Elaine says, " It 
 usually shows itself on the water at a later hour 
 in the day than the green drake, being most pre- 
 valent from 3 P.M. until sunset. When an unfa- 
 vourable day has prevented the green May-fly from 
 appearing in sufficient numbers, the grey will com- 
 mit vast havoc among the trout in the evening." 
 
 During the prevalence of the May-fly, trout 
 fatten and grow into condition. They are never 
 so before that fly appears, and when it has disap- 
 peared they remain in good condition until the 
 spawning season. When fish have gorged them- 
 selves with this fly, and leave off feeding towards 
 the evening, they will be tempted by flies of very 
 different sizes and colours. The best are for 
 mild weather, little dun hackles of every shade, 
 the grouse and wren hackle, house-fly, and at 
 dusk a moth-fly. Should you want trout very 
 badly during the drake season, try a minnow 
 morning and evening, and your wants in one 
 respect will be soon supplied. 
 
 K 4 
 
136 EPHEMERAL BED SPINNER. 
 
 for 
 
 I need scarcely remind the reader that the May- 
 fly prevails during the greater part of this month, 
 and that during it several of the duns mentioned 
 for May will still catch fish. The following are 
 considered proper June-flies. 
 
 Dark mackerel. Body, dark mulberry floss 
 silk ribbed with gold twist ; wings, brown mot- 
 tled feather of the mallard, which hangs from the 
 back over a part of the wing ; legs, a purple-dyed 
 hackle ; tail, three rabbit's whiskers. Hook, 
 No. 9 and 10. 
 
 Ephemeral red spinner. Body, red dubbing, 
 ending with a rib of gold platting, and forked ; 
 wings, landrail's wing-feather, to be dressed erect. 
 Legs, a small fine red hackle, carried three turns 
 round the body. Hook, No. 8 or 9. Taylor 
 dresses this fly differently, and in a way that 
 will be found killing in rough water, and weather 
 of June afternoons, thus : - The wings are of 
 the greyish feather of a drake, tinged with a 
 kind of reddish yellow ; body, gold twist with a 
 red hackle over it. A good evening-fly during 
 the summer months, and if dressed large will be 
 taken by large chub. 
 
 Orl-fly. Body, ribbed alternately with dark 
 brown and orange dubbing, adding two horns; 
 wings, landrail's ruddy feather, dressed long and 
 
HAZLE-FLY AND HOUSE-FLY. 137 
 
 rather flat ; legs, a grizzle hackle. Hook, No. 7 
 and 8. A good fly when the water is clearing 
 after a flood. 
 
 Hazle-fly. Upper wings, short fibres of the 
 landrail's wing, to lie extended ; under wings, 
 any transparent feather, and to be dressed a little 
 longer than the upper wings ; body, dark purple 
 mohair and brown fur, to be dressed full, and a 
 portion picked out for the legs. Hook, No. 8 
 and 9. Some persons call this fly the Marlow- 
 buzz, others the lady-bird. At any rate it is 
 intended to imitate a small-winged beetle. It 
 kills occasionally on warm days. 
 
 The humble bee. Wings, the fibres from the 
 cock blackbird's wing-feather, to lie flat ; body 
 thick, the fore part to be made of black glossy 
 mohair, the hinder part of deep orange fur ; 
 legs, a brown hackle wound full. Hook, No. 4 
 and 5. It is not a good trout fly, but it is taken 
 freely by chub and large dace. 
 
 House-fly. Body, black ostrich harl, dressed 
 rather full ; wings, a lark's wing-feather to lie 
 flat and extended ; legs, ' a dark dun hackle. 
 Hook, No. 8 and 9. In autumn, on windy days, 
 this fly is often taken greedily by trout and gray- 
 ling. It is a better fly for chub and dace. 
 
 Blue gnat. Body, blue dun mohair with a 
 little orange-coloured mixed ; wings and legs, a ' 
 small dun hackle wound over the whole of the 
 
138 BLACK AND RED ANT-FLIES. 
 
 body. To be dressed with orange silk. Hook, 
 No. 10, 11, and 12. An excellent fly throughout 
 the summer and autumn, when the water is low 
 and clear. 
 
 $\it& for Stoljn 
 
 Nearly all the flies mentioned in the list for 
 last month will kill in this, but, generally speak- 
 ing, they must be dressed smaller and on finer 
 hooks and gut. 
 
 Large black ant-fly. Body, black ostrich harl 
 dressed thick near* the wings, then thin, and 
 thick again at the tail, like the shape of the ant ; 
 wings, torn-tit's tail, or any light blue transparent 
 feather ; legs, two twists of a deep brown hackle 
 close under the wings. Hook, No. 7 and 8. 
 
 Large red ant-fly. Body, copper-coloured 
 peacock's harl, full near the wings and tail; 
 wings, a lark's wing-feather ; legs, red cock's 
 hackle. Hook, No. 7 and 8. When the water 
 is low and clear, these flies should be dressed 
 smaller on No. 9 and 10 hooks. They will kill 
 well in the middle parts of the day in fine warm 
 weather. They are good autumn flies. 
 
 Blue-blow. Body very short, of a turn or 
 two of black ostrich harl, or a small mass of dark 
 blue fur ; legs, two turns of the green plover's 
 topping ; tail, two dun hairs. 
 
THE JULY-DUNS. 139 
 
 This last fly is to be dressed with neat wings 
 from the torn-tit's tail upon a very small hook. 
 When the living fly is abundant, the artificial 
 one, used on a very fine casting line, will prove 
 successful. It kills best about noon. 
 
 Pale dun. Body, yellow martin's fur ; wings, 
 a lark's wing-feather, stained a light yellow ; 
 legs, a fine honey-dun hackle. To be dressed 
 very neatly with pale straw-coloured silk on a 
 No. 12 hook An excellent summer-fly in low 
 and clear water. 
 
 The two following flies are very good ones, 
 and are dressed by Mr. Eonalds thus : 
 
 July-dun. Body, mole's fur and pale yellow 
 mohair mixed, and spun on yellow silk ; wings, 
 dark part of a feather from the starling's wing, 
 stained darker in strong onion dye ; legs, dark dun 
 hackle ; tail, the two fibres of the hackle. Hook, 
 No. 10 and 11. Mr. Konalds says of this fly, 
 " It affords a great treat to the trout and gray- 
 ling, and lasts until the August-dun takes its 
 place, in the beginning of August." 
 
 Gold-eyed gauze-wing. Body, very pale yel- 
 lowish green floss silk, tied on with silk thread of 
 the same colour ; wings and legs, the palest blue 
 dun hackle which can be procured. Hook, No. 
 11 and 12. In my opinion legs are scarcely 
 necessary, and the wings should be dressed long 
 and flat, of a lark's feather, stained of the lightest 
 
140 WREN AND GROUSE HACKLES. 
 
 green hue. This fly will kill in August, and 
 even in September, if the weather is very fine, 
 and the water low and clear. 
 
 The wren-tail. Mr. Blacker very properly 
 calls this a standard summer fly, and dresses it 
 thus : Body, amber mohair ; wings, partridge's 
 grey tail-feather ; legs, wren's tail-feather ; tail, 
 two fibres of the mallard's mottled feather. Hook, 
 No. 10 and 11. 
 
 Grouse-hackle. Body, orange or bright pur- 
 ple floss silk ; legs, grouse hackle ; gold tip. 
 
 Wren-hackle. Body, ginger-coloured fur, 
 ribbed with gold twist ; wings and legs, feather 
 from the wren's tail. Hook, No. 11 and 12. 
 These three last flies are general ones throughout 
 the summer, and the angler should never be with- 
 out them. 
 
 jf Ito frr guffutft 
 
 Small palmer-hackles, small ant-flies will kill 
 well this month, and in the evening the various 
 moths. Small brown-bodied flies will kill well 
 also, and so will the different duns and hackles 
 recommended for July. 
 
 August-dun. This is one of the best flies that 
 can be used for August and September. Mr. 
 Ronalds dresses it thus : - Body, brown floss silk 
 ribbed with yellow silk thread ; wings, feather of 
 
THE CINNAMON-FLY. 141 
 
 a brown hen's wing ; legs, plain red hackle stained 
 brown ; tail, two rabbit's whiskers. 
 
 Cinnamon-fly. Body, seal's fur not dyed; 
 wings, of a ruddy cream colour, from a feather of 
 the landrail, to be dressed long, large, and flat ; 
 legs, a red brown hackle. Hook, 7 and 8. 
 
 Another way (BLACKEn's): Body, cinnamon- 
 brown mohair ; wings, a woodcock's wing-feather ; 
 legs, red or cinnamon hackle. 
 
 Mr. Ronalds^ way : Body, fawn-coloured floss 
 silk, tied on with silk thread of the same colour ; 
 wings, feather of a yellow brown hen's wing, 
 rather darker than the landrail's wing-feather; 
 legs, a ginger hackle. Mr. Ronalds says, " It 
 should be used in a heavy shower, and also on a 
 windy day. In both cases very great diversion 
 may be expected with it. 
 
 fflit& fcrr qpt*mfcr. 
 
 Still continue the palmer-hackles, with the 
 grouse and wren hackles, golden and dark dun, 
 alder-fly, Hofland's fancy, the cinnamon-fly, and 
 the following. 
 
 Emerald fly. Body, emerald green floss silk ; 
 wings, lark's wing-feather; legs, a small red 
 hackle ; tail, two fibres of a grizzle hackle. Hook, 
 No. 12. 
 
 Whirling dun. Body, water rat's fur ribbed 
 
142 GRAYLING FISHING. 
 
 with yellow silk ; wings, starling's wing-feather ; 
 legs, dun hackle ; tail, two fibres of the same. 
 Hook, No. 12. 
 
 The grey housewife (BLACKER). Body, light 
 brown mohair, mixed with hare's ear fur ; wings 
 hen pheasant's wing-feather; legs, partridge's 
 neck-feather ; tail, two fibres of the mallard's 
 mottled feather. Hook, No. 12. 
 
 Willow-fly. Body, mole's fur spun upon yel- 
 low silk; wings and legs, a dark dun cock's 
 hackle, strongly tinged a copper colour. Hook, 
 No. 10. 
 
 Little pale Hue dun. Body, very pale blue 
 fur mixed with a very little yellow mohair; wings, 
 feather from the sea swallow ; legs, the palest 
 blue hackle to be had. Hook, No. 10 and 11. 
 
 After the month of September no angler should 
 fish for trout until spring returns again. In Octo- 
 ber, and during the finest hours of very fine winter 
 days, grayling are to be caught with the artificial 
 fly, and the best are unquestionably duns, and 
 small spider-flies. That fish being during the 
 above season in fine condition will be caught with 
 the gentle, and by sinking and drawing with the 
 artificial grasshopper. It will also rise well in 
 October at the red palmer and house-fly. 
 
 I have now concluded a full list of flies, and 
 every one in it will kill at the proper season in 
 every river in the empire. I have always made 
 
LOCAL ANGLERS. 143 
 
 honourable mention of the best. As a general 
 list, it is complete and may be relied on. Local 
 anglers have local flies, favourites with them at the 
 fishing stations near which they reside ; and when 
 you visit those stations, and cannot catch fish with 
 the flies I recommend, I can only help you by en- 
 trusting you to the care of the local anglers. If 
 they will not assist you for brotherly love, they 
 will for the amicable consideration of money. 
 
144 DIBBING OR D APING. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 FISHING WITH THE NATURAL FLY, OR DIBBING OR D APING. 
 
 ANGLING with the natural fly is an appropriate 
 summer pastime, and would not be deemed too 
 laborious by even lazzaroni. It fatigues no 
 muscles, for all the action it requires from them 
 is neat, gentle motion. It abhors violence, and 
 is totally suaviter in modo. It is a pastime for 
 ladies ; for musing, listless adolescents ; and for 
 the corpulent middle-aged, whose former sharp 
 gusto for active sports frequent pectoral lining 
 with good capon has blunted. If it makes no 
 calls on the big muscles, it asks activity from the 
 eye, and watchfulness from the brain. It requires 
 from the fingers great delicacy of touch, and from 
 the arm the gentlest sort of action. Your object 
 in practising it is to drop a natural fly, fixed on 
 your hook, so gently on the water, that the de- 
 scent will not differ from that of the free, living 
 insect. The fly with the hook in it must alight *as 
 naturally as if it were one fingers had never 
 touched. To cause it to do so is not very easy ; 
 it demands careful guiding and dropping, and 
 sometimes the most careful casting. 
 
THE NATURAL FLY NECESSARY. 145 
 
 Let us see what induces us to have recourse to 
 a sport less exciting than artificial fly-fishing and 
 more troublesome. Necessity is the mother of 
 substitutes. When the artificial fly becomes next 
 to useless, it is necessary to substitute the natural 
 one, or something else. The weather is fine, hot, 
 and breezeless ; the water placid ; the May-fly, or 
 other insects, are abundant on its surface, and fish 
 of various sorts are stealthily rising, causing 
 eddies, the Scylla, Charybdis, and Maelstrom of 
 those reckless navigators, the ephemera and other 
 water-loving tribes. You see what the fish are 
 about. You guess that your artificial fly will not 
 beguile them, and you therefore flee for help to 
 the natural one, making it effective by an artificial 
 sting you add to it. The addition of this sting 
 requires attention. It must be so added as to 
 harm as little as may be the living insect. The 
 less it harms it, the more harmful it will be to fish. 
 Besides, there are places, no matter how favour- 
 able the weather may be, so opposed to facile 
 throwing with the artificial fly, that you must 
 substitute dropping or dipping with the natural 
 insect. You will see large fish rising under 
 bushes, and branches of trees overhanging the 
 water, from under shelving banks and rocks, and 
 in divers difficult spots where the artificial fly 
 cannot be safely cast, and a moments thought 
 
 L 
 
146 BAITING WITH THE LIVE FLY. 
 
 will tell you that the best way to reach these 
 sheltered fish will be by the cunning use of a 
 living insect. 
 
 The first thing you have to learn, is the best 
 way to insert your hook in the insect so as to least 
 injure it, and impede its natural motions. There 
 must be no roughness employed in this operation. 
 The insect must be handled tenderly, and the 
 hook inserted so as not to puncture any mortal 
 part of your frail bait. If you use but one fly, 
 insert the hook under one of its wings, bringing 
 it out between them at the back. If you use two 
 flies, carry the hook through the upper part of the 
 corset beneath both wings of one fly, and then 
 taking another with its head reversed let the 
 hook enter under one of its wings, and come out 
 at the back of this second insect. This double 
 head-to-tail bait is a very good one. If you 
 are fishing in open water, with a breeze blowing, 
 your winch-line must be of floss silk, and your foot- 
 line of about a yard of very fine gut, or of a couple 
 of long links of horse hair. Without casting, and 
 by keeping the breeze to your back, holding up 
 your rod, and letting out your blow-line, you can 
 easily manage to make the wind carry it to the 
 spots where you see fish rising. When you dip 
 beneath bushes your ordinary silk and hair winch- 
 line will do, with a foot -line of gut. By turning 
 
CASTING THE NATURAL FLY. 147 
 
 your rod twist as much line about it as you want, 
 and then inserting the point of your rod through 
 the branches, as far as it is requisite, twirl it 
 round so as to uncoil your line and to drop your 
 natural bait gently on the water. 
 
 You can cast or throw the natural fly, but not so 
 well as the artificial one. Use a long, rather stiff 
 rod, with a long, taper casting-line, long enough 
 to use without having much of your reel-line out. 
 Cast with a gentle motion of the fore arm, bring- 
 ing round your line softly, avoiding any thing 
 like whipping violence, and making your bait 
 float on to the surface of the water. Where the 
 width of the river runs nearly equal, use no winch, 
 but attach your casting-line to the top joint of 
 your rod, and you will be able to throw, without 
 whipping off your bait. On this head Mr. Blaine 
 observes, "Whipping, as a term, can only be 
 applicable by a licence of language, to the act of 
 whipping out a natural fly, after the manner of a 
 short throw with an artificial one ; but it is evi- 
 dent that the tender nature of the living insect 
 will admit of this but in a few instances. Some 
 of the house-flies, the bluebottle especially, and 
 others of the middling-sized beetles, as well as 
 the humble bees, will bear a partial or short 
 throw, but a short one only." Notwithstanding 
 this opinion, which is partly correct, I know that 
 
 L 2 
 
148 TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE WIND. 
 
 the accomplished artificial fly-fisher, arming him- 
 self with the proper tackle, will be able to throw 
 a very considerable distance the natural insect, 
 no matter what its size may be. Mr. Elaine, 
 however, goes on to say, " Practice will convince 
 the angler that large natural baits cannot be 
 thrown to any distance with advantage ; the fact 
 is, that they are far more appropriate to situations 
 close under the land, where the large fishes fre- 
 quently lie, especially in ponds, waiting for what 
 the wind may tender to them. When, however, 
 there is a very strong wind at the back, the na- 
 tural fly may be carried out to a very considerable 
 extent ; but it must be by the act of the wind 
 itself, and then the practice proves very success- 
 ful : at other times the angler must be content to 
 fish with as much line as he can command by his 
 situation, without tearing his fly from his hook. 
 With a strong wind, the angler should keep his 
 rod steady in one position, taking the wind rather 
 slantingly behind, and allowing the breeze to 
 carry the line, he should watch a momentary stop 
 in the gale, when by lowering his hand he may 
 drop the fly on the surface as gently and as natu- 
 rally as possible." 
 
 The drake season, that is, the season of the May- 
 fly, from the middle of May to the end of June, 
 is the best period for dibbing, and the May-fly is 
 
DIBBING WITH THE MAY-FLY. 149 
 
 the best of all baits. We here insert a cut of an 
 angler intent on this sort of sport. 
 
 At the period just mentioned, dibbing with 
 the May-fly is quite a rage in the midland coun- 
 ties. We have then seen the Dove, and other 
 streams of Derbyshire and Staffordshire, swarm- 
 ing with the May-fly, and their banks thronged 
 with anglers of all ages and sexes, dibbing with it. 
 Trout and grayling (the latter out of season) will 
 scarcely take any other bait. They gorge them- 
 selves with the May-fly, and thrive admirably on 
 the nourishment it affords. At the end of the 
 drake season trout are in perfect condition. When 
 towards evening fish are satisfied with the May- 
 
 L 3 
 
150 SEVERAL GOOD DIBBING INSECTS. 
 
 fly, they will take eagerly, by way of change, 
 house-flies and moths. 
 
 In dibbing you must keep out of sight of the 
 fish, and cause as little disturbance as possible. 
 You will observe that trout do not jump eagerly 
 at the May-fly, but rise at it noiselessly, and suck 
 it in, and swallow it ; they take that fly gene- 
 rally as it is fluttering on the surface of the 
 water, preparatory to flight. They take it so, but 
 they frequently take other flies just as they drop 
 on the water, and others as they sail along its 
 surface. Large fish seldom jump at an insect 
 which is on the water ; they rise up to it, and 
 inhale it, if I may use the word, through the 
 water. Observe this operation, and just as it is 
 being completed strike at your fish. As your rod 
 and other tackle are strong in dibbing, do not give 
 your fish much play, keep him on the top of the 
 water, his head out of it if you can, and you will 
 soon tire him. 
 
 Several sorts of insects, besides flies, are used 
 for dibbing, such as cockchafers, beetles, bees, 
 ants, moths, grasshoppers, &c. Flies, however, 
 are the best for trout. The May-fly, March- 
 brown, stone-fly, oak-fly, house-flies, and moths 
 towards evening, will be the most eagerly taken 
 by them. The grasshopper is a most deadly 
 bait for grayling and chub. 
 
 There is a little book, called the "North 
 
THE "NORTH-COUNTRY ANGLER 5 ' QUOTED. 151 
 
 Country Angler," and written by a north country- 
 man, which contains much sound information 
 upon dibbing. The writer seems to have been a 
 sort of poaching angler, and takes an especial 
 delight in using the most killing baits, caring very 
 little whether the method he adopts or recom- 
 mends be sportmanlike or not. He would, no 
 doubt, estimate his sport by the number of fish 
 he killed, and not by the difficulty he experienced 
 in killing them. We will take him, however, as 
 a guide to a certain extent. He is a practical 
 man, but, like the generality of local anglers, 
 who have had no opportunity of measuring them- 
 selves with ubiquitous ones, he is full of con- 
 ceit, and thinks himself an angling admirable 
 Crichton. He says, " I generally begin fishing 
 in the shade, or under bushes, in May, and con- 
 tinue it all the three following months, which we 
 call the four hot montha. Most anglers in those 
 months fish only in the mornings and evenings, 
 unless the sky is cloudy, and there is a brisk 
 wind on the pools ; for there one may have very 
 good sport, and kill large fish. In these months, 
 when there is no wind, and the sun is shining, 
 from about ten o'clock in the morning, till four 
 or five in the afternoon, is the best time for shade- 
 fishing." The author then describes the fittest 
 rod, but on this point he is not so good a judge 
 as Mr. Elaine, who rightly says, " A long and 
 
 L 4 
 
152 THE PKOPER DAPING-ROD. 
 
 firm rod of twelve, thirteen, or fourteen feet, 
 with a very stiff top (a light, long minnow-spin- 
 ning rod will be a good substitute), is necessary 
 for dibbing or daping ; the length to be suited to 
 the situation ; if it be a very close and confined 
 one, eleven or twelve feet is sufficient, but we 
 rather recommend that the rod be of the general 
 length, and that the reel, instead of being attached 
 to the butt, be fastened on the second joint, when, 
 by taking off the butt-end, the rod can be short- 
 ened as occasion suits. A reel is not thought 
 requisite by the North Country Angler, but it is 
 evident that in no fishing is it more wanted than 
 in this, where it is required to lengthen and shorten 
 the line according to circumstances ; as, for in- 
 stance, where; from a length of seven or eight 
 yards, it must be reduced to one, or even less, 
 and sometimes even to be wound up altogether, 
 that it may be insinuated through trees and 
 bushes ; and in such cases how can it be so well 
 done as by a reel ? " 
 
 The above question the Northern Angler 
 answers thus : " Your line should not be above 
 a yard long, and, where there is some difficulty 
 in getting your rod-top through the bushes, not 
 above half a yard, which, when baited, you may 
 wrap loosely seven or eight times about the rod- 
 top, and when you have thrust it beyond the 
 bush, turn your rod round as many times, and 
 
AN ANGLER'S REVENGE. 153 
 
 let your bait drop into the water. There is a 
 great deal of caution necessary in managing your 
 rod and line. Some pools are shaded only here 
 and there with a bush or two ; in such places you 
 may fish with a line a yard or more long ; but 
 you must be sure to make your approach to such 
 open places cautiously, for the great fish lie very 
 near the top of the water watching the fall of 
 flies or other insects from the bushes, where they 
 are bred or harboured ; and though you do not 
 see them, yet they will see you at your first 
 coming, and scud away into the pool, and not 
 return perhaps in an hour's time. I have often 
 been agreeably amused sitting behind a bush that 
 has hung over the water two yards or more, and 
 observing the trout taking their rounds, and 
 patrolling in order, according to their quality. 
 Sometimes I have seen three or four private men 
 coming up together under the shade, and pre- 
 sently an officer, or man of quality, twice as big, 
 comes from his country seat, under a bank or 
 great stone, and rushes among them as furiously 
 as I once saw a young justice of the peace do to 
 thre,e poor anglers ; and as I cannot approve of 
 such proceedings, I have, with some extraordinary 
 pleasure, revenged the weaker upon the stronger, 
 by dropping in my bait half a yard before him. 
 With what an air of authority and grandeur have 
 I seen the qualified what shall I call him? 
 
154 BIBBING IN OPEN WATER. 
 
 extend his jaws, and take in the delicious morsel, 
 and then marching slowly off in quest of more, 
 till stopped by a smart stroke which I have given 
 him, though there is no occasion to do so in this 
 way of fishing, for the great ones always hook 
 themselves." 
 
 All this authority says generally refers to 
 dibbing about and under bushes, and there his 
 advice is good. Do not follow him when you dib 
 in open water. There use a winch and blow-line, 
 and short foot-line, and with a slight wind you 
 will be able to convey your bait to any spot you 
 fancy. If the weather be too still for the use of 
 the blow-line, try and cast your insect gently, as 
 you would your artificial stretcher when you do 
 not wish to make any the slightest disturbance 
 in low, smooth, clear water. 
 
 I must quote the North-countryman again for 
 a few lines. He judiciously recommends, " never 
 to let the fish get down his head, unless the 
 angler is sure there are no roots near enough 
 for the fish to retire amongst; but to keep 
 him at the top of the water, where his fins 
 and strength are of little service to him ; and be- 
 sides, so thrust out the rod as to reach beyond 
 the bush, and there work the fish till he is quite 
 tired, and lies still." He remarks justly that, 
 " Although the shade of trees and bushes are 
 much longer and greater on the south side of 
 
DIBBING IN DIFFICULT SPOTS. 155 
 
 the river than on the north, yet on this latter side 
 I have always found the most and the largest 
 trout. I suppose the sun being more intense and 
 warm on the north side, with its southern aspect, 
 may occasion more flies, erucas, and insects of 
 various sorts to creep upon those bushes, and con- 
 sequently the more fish will frequent them. Where 
 the trees or bushes are very close, I advise the 
 bush-angler to take a hedging-bill or hatchet, or 
 in want of that his sporting knife, and cut off two 
 or three branches here and there, at proper places 
 and distances, and so make little convenient open- 
 ings, at which he may put in his rod and line ; 
 but this is to be done some time before you come 
 to fish there. If you come to a woody place, 
 where you have no such conveniences, and where, 
 perhaps, there is a long pool, and no angling with 
 the fly, or throwing the rod, there you may be 
 sure of many, and large fish. For that very 
 reason I have chosen such places, though very 
 troublesome, where I have been forced to creep 
 under trees and bushes, dragging my rod after 
 me, with the very top of it in my hand, to get 
 near the water ; and I have been well paid for all 
 my trouble. Whilst you are getting in your rod 
 throw a brandling or grub, or what you fish with, 
 into the place, which will make the fish take your 
 bait the more boldly." 
 
 The grasshopper is a most valuable bait for 
 
156 
 
 DIBBING FOR CHUB. 
 
 dibbing for grayling and chub. The former fish 
 will take an artificial grasshopper well, by sinking 
 it in the water and drawing it up gently to the 
 surface. The natural insect is the best, however, 
 for chub. Underneath is a representation of an 
 angler intent on dibbino; for chub. 
 
 You see the angler is hiding himself as much as 
 he can, and thinking that there are fish peering 
 from beneath the leaves on the surface of the 
 water, he drops his bait first on one of those 
 leaves, and then by a sliding motion causes it to 
 slip off, and fall on the water. The fish taking 
 this fall as a natural one is not scared, but seizes 
 the bait boldly. Practise a similar ruse whenever 
 
GRASSHOPPERS FOR BAITS. 157 
 
 sfa, wherever there are branches hanging on 
 the water, rocks or other substances in it and 
 above the surface. On them first drop your bait, 
 and by a second motion cause it to descend on to the 
 surface of the water. Do this, whether your baits 
 be grasshoppers, flies, caterpillars, beetles, or any 
 living thing liable to be blown or fall from banks, 
 branches, leaves, rocks, roots, or piles into the 
 water. I need not explain it is apparent the 
 rationale of this practice. You will see that you 
 are following nature. Mr. Daniel says, " Grass- 
 hoppers from June, until September, are to be 
 met with in every pasture field or meadow, espe- 
 cially in a hot dry summer,- but most plentifully 
 in a kind of old, short, mossy grass. The middle 
 sized, and the greenest are the best, and may be 
 carried in a box with a notch cut in the edge, 
 wide at top, and narrow at bottom, which, by 
 lifting up the box-lid gently, leaves space just 
 enough for the grasshoppers to creep out, which 
 they will do separately. Some anglers take off 
 the legs in baiting with them, but they answer 
 better whole, if properly placed to stand on the 
 back of the hook, which should be entered under 
 the head and lodged in the body. This is a fine 
 and tender bait, and is generally taken by many 
 kinds of fish, in clear streams, about mid- water, 
 with a hook, No. 6, a fine gut-link, and one small 
 shot. Grasshoppers may be preserved in fresh 
 
158 WALTON AND COTTON ON DIPPING 
 
 grass mixed with moss." In .fishing with the 
 grasshopper let your hook be whipped on with 
 green silk, on a link of fine gut stained of a light 
 green colour. 
 
 I shall conclude this chapter with several ex- 
 tracts drawn from as many competent authorities. 
 Walton says to his scholar : " Go to the same 
 hole in which I caught my chub, where in most 
 hot days you will find a dozen or twenty chevins 
 floating near the top of the water: get two or 
 three grasshoppers as you go over the meadow, and 
 get secretly behind the tree, and stand as free 
 from motion as possible : then put a grasshopper 
 on your hook, and let your hook hang a quarter 
 of a yard short of the water, to which end you 
 must rest your rod on some bough of the tree ; 
 but it is likely the chubs will sink down towards 
 the bottom of the water at the first shadow of your 
 rod, for a chub is the fearfullest of fishes, and will 
 do so if but a bird flies ovr him, and makes the 
 least shadow on the water; but they will pre- 
 sently rise up to the top again, and there lie 
 soaring till some shadow affrights them again. I 
 say, when they lie upon the top of the water, look 
 out the best chub, which you, setting yourself in 
 a fit place, may very easily see, and move your 
 rod, as softly as a snail moves, to that chub, you 
 intend to catch ; let your bait fall gently upon 
 the water three or four inches before him, and he 
 
FOR CHUB, TROUT, AND GRAYLING. 159 
 
 will infallibly take the bait, and you will be as 
 sure to catch him, for he is one of the leathern- 
 mouthed fishes, of which a hook scarce ever loses 
 the hold ; and, therefore, give him enough play 
 before you offer to take him out of the water." 
 
 In dipping for trout and grayling with the 
 May -fly or stone-fly, Cotton says, " To bait with 
 either a stone-fly, or a green, or grey drake, put 
 two or three on the hook together, which should 
 be carried through the thick part of the fly's body 
 under the wings, with their heads standing differ- 
 ent ways : pass your hook through them under the 
 wings, about the middle of the insect's body, and 
 take care that your fingers are always dry when 
 baiting, or you soon kill or spoil your bait." The 
 following bait, though I have mentioned it else- 
 where, is so good a one, that I shall do it the 
 honour of a double insertion to imprint it more 
 steadfastly on the reader's memory. Make a pair 
 of wings of the feather of a landrail, and on the 
 bend of the hook put one or two caddies. The 
 head of the caddis should go up close to the wings. 
 Angle with a stiff rod, about fourteen feet long, a 
 foot-line eight feet, and a hook, No. 5. or 6. Let 
 the bait float down the stream just below the sur- 
 face, then gently draw it up again, a little irregu- 
 larly, by shaking the rod, and if there be a fish in 
 the place it will be sure to take it. If you use 
 two caddies with the wings, put the hook in at 
 
160 CAUTIONS NECESSARY IN DIBBING. 
 
 the head and out at the neck of the first, and quite 
 through the other from head to tail. Two brand- 
 lings, or small red worms, may be fished with in 
 the same way. Walton, in recommending the 
 above bait, adds, touching the packing of fish for 
 presents, " Before you send trout on a journey, 
 always have them cleaned and gutted, and let 
 them be laid on their backs, and closely packed in 
 a willow basket with dry straw. Packing in 
 damp grass or rushes is apt to ferment, and there- 
 fore liable to spoil the fish." 
 
 Many are the precautions recommended to be 
 adopted in dibbing. The chief are to keep be- 
 yond the sight of fish, and when you have hooked 
 one to get it out of the water expeditiously with 
 as little disturbance as possible. As dipping is 
 not always to be practised behind the friendly 
 shade of bushes or trees, the angler is often forced 
 to content himself with the resources of the bank 
 he stands on, to which he should creep on his 
 hands and knees. In some cases, it is true, he 
 may procure the shelter of a hurdle interwoven 
 with boughs, or he may adopt some similar arti- 
 fice ; but many cases must occur, where he can 
 trust to concealment only by prostration, or 
 stooping low. In such situations Mr. Salter 
 directs, that, " as much line be drawn out as . 
 will just let the baited hook reach the surface of 
 the water ; then, with the top of the rod a little 
 
DIBBING CONCLUDED. 161 
 
 raised, keep the bait in motion just over and upon 
 the surface, by gently raising and lowering the 
 top part of the rod, and drawing it to and fro ; 
 and if you see several fish, cautiously guide your 
 bait to the largest ; play it a little, an inch or two 
 above the water, by gently shaking the rod ; then 
 let it drop just before the fish." Mr. Elaine says, 
 (f When a fish has well taken the bait strike 
 smartly, and to prevent its floundering from 
 scaring away the remainder, it is advisable, if the 
 tackle will allow of it, that the hooked fish be im- 
 mediately drawn away, or even lifted out. If the 
 angler be on the top of a high bank, or if his fish 
 be very large, this cannot be done ; but he must 
 content himself with guiding it with his rod and 
 line to some distance, and then landing it ; which 
 done, he had better try another spot, until the 
 disturbed fish be again assembled." 
 
 I place this chapter immediately after those 
 connected with artificial fly-fishing, for I consider 
 it only as an occasional substitute, necessitated by 
 locality and the state of the water and weather, 
 for the other branch of our art. He who has be- 
 come accomplished in the practice of that superior 
 branch, will quickly become an adept in the 
 gentle exercise of angling with the natural fly, and 
 other living insects. 
 
 M 
 
162 ADVANTAGES OF TROLLING. 
 
 CHAPTER YII. 
 
 TROLLING. BODS, LINES, TACKLE, AND BAITS, AND 
 
 METHODS OF USING THEM. 
 
 IN England proper, trolling is practised to per- 
 fection. It is somewhat despised, because it is 
 not well and generally understood, in Ireland, 
 Scotland, and Wales. In those countries fly-fish- 
 ing is every thing, and there it is certainly better 
 and more generally understood than in England. 
 The English are rapidly becoming good fly- 
 fishers. Let me hope that the Irish, Scotch, and 
 Welch are as rapidly growing good trollers and 
 spinners. If they follow my instructions they 
 have nothing to fear, and will find that trolling oc- 
 casionally is productive of the highest angling plea- 
 sure. When neither fly-fishing nor bottom-fishing 
 can be practised, in consequence of certain for- 
 bidding circumstances of water and season, trolling 
 can be resorted to as a first-rate substitute. The 
 largest-sized river fish are killed by trolling, and 
 1 have no doubt that this mode of angling would 
 prove very successful in the sea. A knowledge 
 of it must be a great resource to the angler 
 who visits foreign climes, and there dwells by large 
 rivers and wide lakes. Numerous letters addressed 
 to me by Englishmen sojourning by the lakes 
 in the North of Italy, as well as on the banks of 
 
TROLLING IN JHE OLD AND NEW WOULD. 163 
 
 the lakes and rivers of several parts of Ger- 
 many, in which immense trout are found, have 
 assured me of their success by means of trolling, 
 and particularly by practising that branch of it 
 which is called " spinning." They have frequently 
 killed from six to ten very large trout, as large as 
 salmon, before noon, by spinning with the bleak, 
 gudgeon, or some other small fish. Trolling is 
 very successful in taking the gigantic trout of the 
 New World. An angler finding himself without 
 the delicate tackle necessary for fly-fishing, in 
 some remote part of the world where fish abound, 
 may, if he have a few hooks only and any 
 thing to make a line with, very soon cut a rod 
 out of the next wood, ring it, adjust his hooks 
 into a flight of spinning tackle, and work success- 
 fully away with this rude gear. Towns are 
 generally built by large rivers, and most of 
 the latter, in this land of ours, breed pike, 
 and some of them, like the Thames and Trent, 
 very large trout. Such fish generally refuse 
 the fly, are seldom taken by bottom-fishing, 
 but commonly fall before the prowess of the 
 troller. I have just mentioned a few of the in- 
 ducements that ought to lead us to cultivate 
 the art of trolling, particularly as it is not sur- 
 rounded with difficulties, and as it is a smart 
 exercise, requiring as much activity and vigour 
 to be called into play as is conducive to hardy 
 
 M 2 
 
164 SINKING AND ROVING. 
 
 health. The fish most commonly killed by any 
 sort of trolling in our rivers are pike, trout, and 
 perch, the best fish they produce; and that is 
 a sufficiently strong recommendation of it. I 
 divide trolling into three parts, viz., sinking and 
 roving, trolling with gorge and snap-hooks, and 
 finally spinning. 
 
 SINKING AND ROVING is easily practised, and, 
 at times, with capital success. It is done with a 
 live bait : a minnow or loach for the common 
 trout and perch ; bleak, gudgeon, dace, or roach 
 for pike or large trout. Small gudgeons are ex- 
 cellent for moderate sized Thames trout and 
 perch large gudgeons for the monster trout 
 and pike of that royal stream. The best general 
 bait for all sorts of trolling is the gudgeon. It 
 will be refused sometimes, and the preference 
 given to small trout, dace or roach, but that will 
 not last, and pike will soon return to their favourite 
 gudgeon-repasts. 
 
 In practising sinking and roving, I would have 
 a strong, long bottom rod, with good winch and 
 prepared platted silk trolling line. For foot-line 
 about a yard and a half of the best gut. The 
 link to which the hook is tied should be of fine 
 gimp, if you expect pike as visitors ; but gut, or 
 three-twisted hairs, will do for trout and perch. 
 You must plumb your water, so as to have a 
 good notion of the average depth, and you must 
 put on a heavy float accordingly. If you fish 
 
SINKING THE LIVE BAIT. 165 
 
 with a live minnow, the float need not be heavy ; 
 but if you angle with a large gudgeon, your float 
 must be sufficiently large to prevent either your 
 gudgeon, dace, or roach from lugging it beneath 
 the surface of the water. The float is chiefly 
 used to prevent whatever live bait you may use 
 from sinking deeper than you deem advisable, 
 but neither it, nor the lead on the line, should be 
 so heavy as to hinder your bait from swimming 
 horizontally on any side. You lead your line 
 also, but for a different object, viz. to keep down 
 your bait, and to prevent it from swimming up 
 to the surface of the water. Generally speaking, 
 you so place your float on the foot-line that the 
 length of the latter on the hook-side will equal 
 half the depth of the water you are fishing in. 
 Observe this ratio in somewhat shallow waters 
 three feet deep, a foot more or less. In deep 
 waters, where the largest fish roam, you ,must 
 sink your bait more deeply, about two thirds or 
 more of the whole depth. 
 
 You must angle with strong, lively baits, and 
 put them on your hooks with as little injury as 
 possible, that they may swim about actively and 
 for a long time, and appear very unlike captives 
 to the fish you wish them to captivate. Gene- 
 rally speaking, you will find a single hook answer; 
 its size to be proportioned to the bait small for 
 the minnow, large for the gudgeon, and stil 
 
 M 3 
 
166 COLOUR OF TROLLING HOOKS. 
 
 larger for the deep-breasted roach or dace ; and 
 you must insert it, by the bottom of the back fin, 
 on the side of it towards the shoulder, between the 
 skin and the flesh. Some insert the hook through 
 the lips, but I do not fancy that way, as it 
 impedes the motions of the bait, and speedily 
 exhausts its vitality. When the bait is hooked on 
 near the fin, it would be advisable to penetrate a 
 slight portion of the flesh with the hook, to prevent 
 the bait escaping by its own efforts, or to be 
 snatched off with impunity by hasty pike or perch. 
 Hooks used in trolling should not be coloured 
 blue ; they should be allowed to remain bright like 
 steel as they are. They should be whipped on 
 the hook with white silk, waxed brilliantly of 
 the same colour. 
 
 In sinking and roving allow your bait to swim 
 here and there, generally at mid-water, but in 
 deep places, deeper, drawing it up gently to the 
 surface of the water now and then, letting it sink 
 again, and guiding it to the best-looking spots of 
 the locality. Your float will soon inform you of 
 a run, and you must strike pretty promptly unless 
 when the run is that of a pike. Then you must 
 allow your bait to be taken away and pouched 
 before you strike. From five to seven minutes 
 is the pouching time allowed by me, and I find it 
 quite long enough. Some excellent anglers 
 allow ten minutes before they strike. That length 
 of time can be only necessary occasionally, when 
 
THE TIME FOR STRIKING PIKE. 167 
 
 fish are not voraciously hungry, and only playing 
 with the bait, and even then I frequently strike 
 in a very short time, lest the fish should not 
 pouch the bait at all, but blow it out of his 
 mouth after having examined it by the sense of 
 touch, and perceived something suspicious about 
 it. For my own part, except in trolling with 
 the dead-bait, I seldom allow pouching-time at 
 all, but strike as soon as I find my hooks are 
 within the fish's mouth. I very seldom miss, nor 
 do I think any good striker would often fail to 
 hook his fish by a stroke, simultaneous, but slowly 
 so, with the bite of the pike, perch, or trout. Pike 
 is the only fish that should be allowed time. 
 Trout and perch should be struck immediately; 
 stopped by a smart check as they are darting off 
 with their prey. Their run is quicker than that 
 of the pike, which often swims off very leisurely 
 with the bait in his mouth to pouch it in peace 
 in some tranquil haunt. You can therefore 
 generally distinguish what sort of a run you have ; 
 if it be a trout-run strike quickly, if a pike-run 
 give time. This question of time is important, 
 and still remains doubted and discussed. I will 
 quote a few opinions. 
 
 Mr. Blaine observes, " Be careful not to mis- 
 take the motions of the bait for those which are 
 made by the pike or jack when seizing it. With 
 the experienced angler there is no danger in this, 
 M 4 
 
168 HOW TO ACT AFTER A PIKE HAS 
 
 but one less initiated might be apt to fall into the 
 error, particularly as the mere sight of the jack 
 will sometimes make the bait throw itself out of 
 the water to avoid its dreaded foe. The pro- 
 ficient at such a time will do nothing more than 
 gently move his bait, as though it were going to 
 leave the spot, which alone will sometimes occa- 
 sion the jack to seize it at once. The seizure of 
 the bait by the pike is marked by the float, which 
 is not thrown up, but, on the contrary, is drawn 
 violently down ; and the water is likewise ob- 
 served to undulate, unless the bait be seized at a 
 considerable depth. Be prepared with a free line 
 as regards the reel ; it is also a good plan to have 
 in the left hand a yard or two of loose line to 
 give out as the pike runs, which is infinitely pre- 
 ferable to allowing it to be pulled by the fish itself 
 from the reel, which alone will cause the bait to 
 be rejected by a pike not well upon the feed. 
 Whatever line therefore is required in the pro- 
 gress of the fish to its hold or haunt, run it out 
 by hand, and such hold is seldom far off, and the 
 fish will, when there, probably stop to gorge the 
 bait," 
 
 When you have a pike-run, and the fish makes 
 away for a convenient retreat to swallow the 
 bait in, you must allow him to move off with 
 the least obstruction possible. You must lower 
 the point of your rod, uncoil with your left hand 
 
SEIZED THE TROLLING-BAIT. 169 
 
 the line from the winch, and give it out as the 
 fish moves so that he may feel no check by a 
 tightened line. Do nothing to disturb him whilst 
 pouching the bait, and after you have struck him, 
 play him according to rules already given and by 
 some to be mentioned hereafter. 
 
 Mr. Elaine again says, "In striking let not 
 impatience tempt you ; wait until you are certain 
 that the pike has actually gorged the bait ; other- 
 wise your slight hold on both bait and prey will 
 tear away, and you will lose both at the same 
 effort. The pouching time is by no means definite, 
 but is regulated by circumstances ; thus having 
 satisfied yourself by the previous stillness of the 
 pike or jack, that he is gorging the bait, and by his 
 again moving out from his retreat (which signal 
 you must look for), that he has actually done so ; 
 give your line a smart hand-stroke, which will fix 
 the barbs into the maw beyond the power of 
 ejection." 
 
 Captain Williamson, who is a superior authority 
 in all that relates to trolling and pike-fishing, says, 
 and the reader should pay deep attention to him, 
 " Whatever may be the length or thickness of 
 your line, you will always find it useful to have a 
 swivel on it somewhere ; if within a yard of your 
 hook, the better. You should be extremely 
 careful in your management of a jack when 
 hooked; for he will, if possible, run into the 
 
170 PLAYING A PIKE. 
 
 most desperate situations, and try the strength 
 of your tackle by various stratagems. Treat him 
 tenderly, for his mouth is very hard, and fre- 
 quently you will find that the hook, instead of 
 having gone through the jaw, rests by a very slight 
 hold of the point on some tough part, from which 
 it is easily displaced : when such is the case, your 
 hook is in danger of snapping at the bend. 
 
 " I consider it very hazardous to let a jack have 
 more line than he will run off the reel when he 
 first seizes the bait (the Captain is here in the 
 wrong) ; because he will to a certainty, if there 
 be any weeds, or other shelter at hand, go in, and 
 lead you into difficulty ; but circumstances must 
 govern on every occasion. 
 
 " When a jack takes your bait, if the water is 
 clear, you may see him to a great depth ; at least 
 there will be a perceptible agitation of the water, 
 proportioned to its depth, and to the size of the 
 fish ; for a jack generally seizes with violence, even 
 though the bait be close to him. At all events, 
 if you do not see any of these symptoms, you will 
 soon feel them. If you are prepared in the snap 
 way, strike firmly, but not with a jerk, lest you 
 tear away through his jaw, or break your hook, If 
 you have gorging tackle, you must let him run 
 as far as he may please ; avoiding to check him, 
 and pointing your rod down in the direction 
 he takes, so that there may be no hindrance, and 
 
TIME TAKEN IN POUCHING. 171 
 
 he may not feel the smallest control. Give him 
 time to swallow your bait, which he will do 
 almost instantaneously, if he be of a good size, 
 and not too full of other prey, as sometimes 
 happens. 
 
 " In general a jack will lie quiet, whilst he 
 pouches the bait ; but if it be too large, or that 
 any other jack be in sight, he will run with it 
 until he can lie concealed, so as to turn and chuck 
 it about according to his fancy. You should 
 make it a constant rule to give abundance of time, 
 and not to be sparing of line, in the first instance ; 
 for though a large jack may bolt the bait as soon 
 as seized, the major part of them, more particu- 
 larly when they average from one to three pounds, 
 will require some time. Let them lie a few 
 minutes, say about four or Jive, and then so soon 
 as they move, strike and manage with caution. 
 
 " If, however, after lying a minute more or 
 less, or perhaps two minutes, the jack runs again, 
 it may be prudent for you to strike ; especially if 
 he is intent on gaining a dangerous cover. In 
 this you must be guided entirely by circum- 
 stances ; for if the jack is obviously large, and 
 your bait small, there can be little hesitation ; 
 since in all probability he gulped it down with- 
 out difficulty ; but when you have reason to think 
 your bait is rather too large for the fish, you 
 cannot show too much forbearance, provided you 
 
172 ALLOW TIME FOR GORGING THE BAIT. 
 
 are in a safe water. On the whole, you will find 
 the greatest advantage result from giving plenty 
 of leisure for the fish to swallow the bait : you 
 ensure the prize, because if he has pouched he 
 cannot escape, and if he has not pouched, you 
 ought not to disturb him. When a jack evinces 
 his bulk, by the agitation of the water, or by 
 rising so near the surface after your bait as to be 
 distinctly seen, and after stopping for a few 
 seconds, shakes your line and runs off, you may 
 be tolerably certain that he has pouched, and is 
 desirous to eject the bait, which, if you use a 
 double gorge-hook, he cannot possibly do." 
 
 The following few lines, containing the opinions 
 of more writers than one, touching the time of 
 striking at pike, are worthy of attention. When 
 you have a run, or in other words, when a pike or 
 jack has seized your bait, lower the point of the 
 rod towards the water, and at the same time draw 
 the line gradually from the reel with your left 
 hand, so that nothing may impede or check the 
 progress of the fish in carrying the bait to its hole 
 in order to pouch it. Do not strike until the 
 pike has had possession of the bait about seven 
 minutes, or till the line shakes or moves in the 
 water, then wind up the slack line, and turn the 
 rod, so that the reel may be uppermost instead of 
 underneath, and strike, but not with violence. Mr. 
 Taylor, in his to a certain extent useful book, says, 
 
BEST ROVING TACKLE. 173 
 
 " The pike will, as soon as he has seized a bait, 
 run to his hold to pouch or swallow it : allow 
 him therefore five minutes to do so (unless the 
 line slackens before that time, which is a signal 
 that he has already done it), and then strike. 
 But if after he has run off with the bait, he makes 
 scarcely any stay with it at his hold, but goes off 
 with it again, you should not strike him until he 
 has rested a second time, allowing him still about 
 five minutes ; but if he should run off again a 
 third time before the five minutes are expired, 
 draw a tight line, and strike him instantly." In 
 fishing with snap-hooks or spinning tackle you 
 must strike immediately the fish has taken your 
 bait. Of these tackle I shall write more fully by 
 and by. 
 
 There are many ways of baiting for sinking and 
 roving, and several sorts of tackle sold for the 
 purpose, but the following is the best. The ac- 
 companying cut, from Elaine's " Encyclopedia of 
 Rural Sports," explains at a glance the tackle I re- 
 commend, and how, as far as baiting is concerned, 
 it is to be used. 
 
174 HOW TO PUT ON THE LIVE BAIT. 
 
 You will perceive by this illustration that two 
 hooks are used ; they are to be strong, but small 
 according to the size of the bait. Each is to be 
 tied to a stout piece of gut three inches long, and 
 looped at the upper end. Their length when looped 
 must be exactly equal, and each of the loops is 
 to be fastened in the hook of your swivel at- 
 tached to your gut foot-line. One of the hooks 
 is to be inserted into the back of the fish just be- 
 fore the dorsal fin; the other hook just behind 
 that fin. The hooks are to point different ways, 
 and if they are properly inserted, and their gut 
 links of equal length, the fish will hang in easy 
 and just balance, and there will be no drag either 
 way to prevent it from swimming freely. A live 
 bait so hooked cannot escape by its own struggles, 
 and neither pike, trout, or perch can snap it off 
 with impunity. 
 
 SNAP-BAITS. These hooks and baits are only 
 used at seasons when pike do not feed with suffi- 
 cient voracity to pouch their baits greedily. 
 They are used to allow the troller to strike 
 quickly, before the fastidious fish, suspecting 
 something wrong, rejects the bait almost as soon 
 as it is taken into the mouth. The rod used 
 must be short and stiff to enable you to strike 
 promptly and firmly, and I know of no rod more 
 suitable than that which is called, the Thames 
 punt barbel rod. Snap-baits are twofold, one 
 
SNAP-HOOKS. 175 
 
 which does not spring when you strike a fish, 
 and the other which does. I will give you repre- 
 sentations of each, taken from Mr. Elaine's work. 
 The first is called the live -bait snap, figured 
 thus : 
 
 You see that it consists of three hooks, two large 
 ones tied back to back, with their barbs pointing 
 different ways, and one smaller hook tied on at 
 the top of the shanks of the others, and pointing 
 straight out from them. You can tie them your- 
 self thus: take two strong hooks, of size No. 3 
 or 4., according to the strength of their make, as 
 well as to the size of the bait. Tie each to about 
 an inch and a quarter of fine twisted wire, and 
 again tie these two wires together, including in 
 the tie a hook, No. 8 or 9., and also eight or ten 
 inches of gimp, which loop at the other end ; but 
 in tying, place the large hooks contrarywise, so 
 that one may point towards the head, and the 
 other towards the tail of the bait-fish, which will 
 greatly increase the chance of success in using it. 
 To use this, enter the small hook under the 
 back fin, and allow one of the two large hooks to 
 
176 THE SPRING SNAP-HOOK. 
 
 apply itself close to one side of the bait, and the 
 other to be similarly placed on the other, but 
 with the direction of their points reversed. A 
 good sized roach, or dace, can conceal the snap- 
 hooks, but it is not properly applicable to a 
 small fish. 
 
 The Spring-snap is generally used with a dead 
 bait, because it cannot be inserted properly in a 
 live bait without doing it disabling injury. It 
 requires deep insertion in the bait, to allow the 
 spring to act which it will not do without some 
 considerable resistance. The spring-snap is figured 
 on the opposite page. 
 
 If you examine this tackle, reader, you will 
 perceive that the two large hooks project from 
 one and the same shank, which is flat and split, 
 and which slides up and down between two per- 
 pendicular wire pillars. They are attached, as 
 well as a small hook, to a moveable band above, 
 and when suddenly and sharply pulled down- 
 wards below the band beneath,. the elastic shank 
 separates with a strong spring, and the result is 
 the insertion of both hooks or at least one within 
 the mouth of the fish that seizes it, and at which 
 you sharply strike. 
 
 In the spring, summer, and early autumn 
 months pike are shy, and fond of basking near 
 the surface of the water, and if, as Mr. Blaine 
 says, "one of them does seize a bait at these 
 
SNAP-HOOK SPRUNG AND UNSPRUNG. 177 
 
 times, he is apt not to pouch or gorge it, but 
 after roving about with it in his mouth for some 
 time, he ejects it or blows it out, as anglers term 
 it." Hence then the necessity of snap-hooks, to 
 
 N 
 
178 GOOD PLAIN SNAP-HOOKS. 
 
 meet by prompt striking the snapping and not 
 the swallowing of pike. 
 
 Captain Williamson says, " At such times they 
 will seize a bait with great seeming eagerness, 
 but for the most part relinquish it instantaneously. 
 When jack are thus shy, the angler must take 
 them at the snap ; that is, he must be quick in 
 striking so soon as the bait is seized. This re- 
 quires a particular apparatus, whereby the fish 
 rarely escapes, under proper management. The 
 snap tackle may consist of a single hook, large 
 and stout, which being fastened to strong gimp is 
 inserted at the mouth of a gudgeon, or other 
 small fish, and brought out either at the middle 
 of its side, or just before the vent. The treble 
 snap is by far the best, being made of three such 
 hooks tied back to back fast together, and secured 
 to a piece of gimp ; which being inserted by means 
 of a baiting needle at the vent, and carried out at 
 the mouth, which is closed by a lip-hook, the 
 three hooks being spread into different directions, 
 it is a thousand to one but the jack is hooked." 
 
 You can make a double snap in the same way. 
 Tie two good-sized hooks back to back ; have a 
 sliding lip-hook on your trace. With a baiting- 
 needle carry the trace in at the vent and out pt 
 the rnouth, and draw until the bend of the hooks 
 are arrested at the vent. Fasten the lips together 
 by inserting through them the lip-hook. This 
 
 
THE PATERNOSTER LINE. 179 
 
 tackle, with the others mentioned, except the 
 spring-snap, are very easily made, and very fit for 
 those parts of the river in which there are obstruc- 
 tions to the convenient practice of trolling with 
 the gorge-hook or spinning. Where there are 
 confined holes, waters with piles, weeds, and 
 roots, ik$ snap-bait with short line and rod can 
 be easily dropped in to tempt the fish that seek 
 refuge in such localities. 
 
 The Paternoster line is one containing several 
 hooks, whipped on short stiff pieces of gut 
 or stout bristles, so as to project from the 
 foot-line horizontally into the water and to pre- 
 sent divers baits of different sizes, and sometimes 
 of different qualities. A plummet is fixed to the 
 bottom of the line to sink it, and keep it steady, 
 and the hooks and baits are placed from a foot to 
 two feet apart, according to the depth of the 
 water. Three or four hooks are quite sufficient for 
 the paternosters used in most of our rivers. The 
 hook nearest to the bottom may be baited with a 
 worm, the one next to that with a life gudgeon or 
 dace, and the highest hook with a live minnow. 
 You must strike as soon as you have a bite. The 
 paternoster is very successful in the rivers, canals, 
 and docks near London; it is very easily used, 
 requiring little, more than close watching. 
 
 The Gorge-hook.' Until you employ this 
 tackle you can scarcely be said to troll. The pre- 
 
 N 2 
 
180 
 
 THE GORGE-HOOK. 
 
 ceding modes of taking fish with fish-baits, though 
 I have placed them under the head of trolling, do 
 not embrace pure trolling. To troll, you must 
 cast your bait with a coiled line to any distance 
 you propose, and then by drawing your line in 
 with the left hand, a certain portion at each draw, 
 you cause your bait to troll generally towards you 
 beneath ,the water. The rolling or rotatory 
 motion of your bait in the water attracts fish to 
 it; they run ,at it, swallow or gorge it, and then 
 you strike, play, and kill them. Quite the con- 
 trary, however, may happen, to your great annoy- 
 ance. As it is by trolling with the gorge-hook 
 that the largest pike are killed, I must be me- 
 thodical and minute on the subject. Underneath 
 is the figure of the common gorge-hook, and 
 above it is a hook baited, both taken from Elaine's 
 great Sporting Encyclopaedia. 
 
 Generally the hook is formed of two single eel- 
 hooks, placed back to back, and joined together 
 with a continuation from their shanks of a piece 
 
MAKING THE GORGE-HOOK. 181 
 
 of wire, looped at the end. The shanks of the 
 hooks, and a portion of the wire, are embedded in 
 a piece of lead, rounded thickly at the shoulder, 
 and tapering off towards the tail. Some persons 
 make the lead of an octagon or quadrangular shape, 
 which is objectionable, and not by any means so 
 proper as lead roughly rounded, to make it 
 steadily inherent in the interior of the bait. 
 About a foot of gimp is to be neatly attached to 
 the loop in the wire, and when the gorge-hook is 
 baited, the gimp is to be fastened to the hook of 
 the first swivel on your trace. Two good swivels 
 are generally sufficient for your trace. 
 
 The gorge -hook is baited thus : The loop of 
 the gimp is placed in the eye of the baiting- 
 needle, which is inserted through the mouth of 
 the bait, and the point brought out at the middle 
 of the fork of the tail. Draw the gimp towards 
 you until you find yourself stopped by the bends 
 of the hooks being arrested by the mouth of the 
 bait. The points of the hooks are to be in an up- 
 ward direction, as you see in the illustrated figure. 
 A thread of white silk, whipped round the bait 
 close above the tail, will attach it firmly to the 
 gimp within, and prevent the bait from having 
 its tail part injured, by being dragged backwards 
 during its progress towards the water. 
 
 Many persons do not allow the wire that is 
 attached to the hooks to project beyond the fine 
 
 N 3 
 
182 GORGE-HOOKS FOR WEEDS, ETC. 
 
 end of the lead, where they attach the gimp and 
 bait, as above. They contend that gorge-hooks 
 are too heavily wired, causing the bait when cast 
 to sink too deeply in the water and make too 
 large and loud a splash. The gorge-hooks, with 
 little wire projecting beyond the lead, are very 
 fit for trolling amongst weeds, and in foul places, 
 but they do not act so well in wide, clean waters, 
 as they have not the necessary stiff and firm hold 
 on the bait, and the baits are apt to be disfigured 
 by crumbling in the cast. For ponds and lakes 
 the long wired gorge-hooks are the best. 
 
 Neither barb of the gorge-hook should project 
 too widely from the sides of the mouth of the 
 bait. If the points of the hook do project too 
 widely the fish may perceive them, but at any 
 rate they will be likely to get foul of obstructions 
 in the water. Nobbs, the father of trolling, re- 
 marks : " I commonly made use of a single gorge- 
 hook, which strikes as sure as the other. The 
 double hook hath one advantage above the other, 
 that if it meets with such resistance in the water 
 that it loses one side of it, the other part, with a 
 little filing, may be still as serviceable as it was 
 before ; it is more troublesome than the single 
 hook in the water, and more apt to stick and take 
 hold of the weeds and roots ; it is best for a great 
 bait, for if you put a small and slender bait on a 
 double hook, it will hang out and bear off so 
 
THE TROLLING ROD. 183 
 
 much in the bending, that a pike may not only 
 discover the delusion, but if he takes it, it may 
 check him in his feeding, and so hinder him from 
 gorging it." Mr. Blaine says, " Some anglers sew 
 up the mouth of the bait after they have intro- 
 duced the gorge, which we consider as not very 
 material: the lips certainly conceal the bends 
 of the hook rather better when sewn up than 
 when left open, which is all the advantage 
 gained." The gorge-hooks should be of different 
 sizes, according to the baits you use, and the 
 size of the baits should be regulated according to 
 the size of the fish probably frequenting the 
 waters you angle in. 
 
 A rod twelve feet long is considered sufficiently 
 lengthy for trolling with the gorge-hook. It should 
 be strong, yet light, and made of mottled cane. 
 The one mentioned hereafter in my list of rods, is 
 the most appropriate for trolling with the gorge- 
 bait and for spinning. The rings should not be 
 made of wire, but of strong brass or steel. They 
 should be wide, far apart on the rod, and their base 
 should be polished so as to let the line run most 
 freely through them. Trolling rods are made to 
 perfection by all the chief tackle manufacturers in 
 London. The trolling line should be of stout 
 prepared platted silk. Those of hair, or silk and 
 hair, or of mere hemp, are bad, liable to kink, 
 and therefore run heavily out in casting. Hemp 
 
 N 4 
 
184 CASTING THE GORGE-BAIT. 
 
 lines, though oiled or varnished, will imbibe 
 moisture, run out clumsily, and soon rot. A 
 large London-made multiplying winch is the best 
 to troll with. 
 
 To cast your gorge-bait you must unroll off 
 your winch as much line as you want to reach the 
 distance you intend to cast to. The line must 
 fall in free coils by your feet on either side of you. 
 Take the upper part of your line in your left hand, 
 drawing the bait to within a yard or less of the 
 point of your rod, which lifting, throw to your 
 right or left just as occasion may require, and 
 letting free the line in your left hand, the bait 
 will be carried, the coiled portion of the line run- 
 ning through the rings freely, the length of the 
 line out. The bait having entered the water, 
 keep it at about a distance of one third the whole 
 depth, if the water be deep, from the bottom, but 
 generally speaking at mid-water, and drawing 
 your line towards you by short and gentle pulls, 
 moving your rod in the same direction, try and 
 give to the bait a natural and attractive motion. 
 Do not, unless in case of emergency, lift your 
 bait out of the water, until you have drawn in your 
 line. Then repeat your cast, and go on casting, 
 moving with each cast until you have left no part 
 of the water untried. Your first cast should be 
 into those parts of the water nearest to you, then 
 further out, and lastly as far to the other side of 
 
THE TROLLING STICK. 185 
 
 the water as you can throw. When you have a 
 run, let the fish move off with your bait, and strike 
 as before directed. 
 
 Yery various are the methods of handling the 
 gorge-bait. Generally speaking they are anti- 
 quated and slovenly. The tackle I have just 
 mentioned will answer admirably, but you may 
 troll in wide waters with a larger rod than the one 
 I have described. Your salmon rod will do when 
 you have no other, and find yourself amongst the 
 pike-lochs or lakes of our own country or amidst 
 those of any other. Mr. Blaine on this subject 
 says, " The plain pillar-reel is certainly the safest 
 for very heavy fish ; but, nevertheless, if the 
 angler uses a multiplier on the best principle, it 
 will wind up in all ordinary cases without clogging, 
 and as fast as can be wanted. For the giving out 
 of line it will of course answer, as the hand can 
 readily assist it. The ground-line, however, may 
 be used with advantage when, instead of a trolling 
 rod, a ferruled stick is employed, of three or four 
 feet long; and it is more useful sometimes even 
 than a rod, in trolling from a boat, or from the 
 high bank of any wide river. From such a height, 
 with the trolling stick in the right hand, a quan- 
 tity of loose line lying by the side, in regular 
 coils, when baited and being passed through the 
 ferrule or end ring, and the bait dangling on a 
 portion of the line not more than two feet long, 
 
186 INUTILITY OF LONG CASTS. 
 
 take hold of this part with the left hand, and 
 now by means of the right hand, which upholds 
 the trolling stick, swing the bait-fish until it has 
 gained its momentum ; then deliver it well from 
 the hand in any direction you choose, guiding the 
 passage of the line through the ring by the incli- 
 nation of the stick, and the aid of the left hand. 
 We have known a line carried in this way nearly 
 forty yards, and we believe it can be projected even 
 to fifty, whereas it would be impossible to deliver 
 it to any such distance with the trolling rod." 
 
 Mr. Elaine here errs : the bait with a ten or 
 twelve feet trolling rod can be thrown sixty yards 
 or farther. But these long casts or throws are of 
 no use generally, and in making them, as trollers 
 do for parade sake, the bait is injured, and after it 
 has fallen into the water it cannot be put into 
 any thing like natural motion for some time. 
 A shorter cast would have been more eifective. 
 Indeed, unless when you wish to reach some far 
 off spot having some especial attraction, do not 
 cast farther at any time than thirty yards. That 
 distance you can handily manage by casting your 
 bait skew-ways to it, causing it to enter the water 
 slantingly, and gathering up your line deftly before 
 your bait has sunk to the bottom of the water or 
 got injured by hitching in any obstruction there. 
 The truth is, a trolling rod can be very easily 
 made. One of those long tapering canes, sixteen 
 
A HOME-MADE TROLLING ROD. 187 
 
 or eighteen feet long, specimens of which you see 
 as signs, shooting upwards and over the streets, 
 at fishing-tackle makers' shops, will, by adding to 
 it half a dozen large rings, make an excellent trolling 
 or spinning rod, by means of which you can cast 
 any reasonable distance, and gather up your line 
 the moment your bait enters the water. Osier 
 and hazel nurseries will afford you long stout 
 saplings or shoots, which, if you cut them in 
 winter, will make useful trolling rods. However, 
 as Mr. Elaine says, the well-made tackle-shop rod 
 is infinitely preferable for the numerous diversities 
 which a river presents ; by its means the bait can 
 be lifted over sedges, directed into pools, and drop- 
 ped into the water-runs between reed-beds, more 
 readily than by any other method. It also gives 
 you the power of playing your fish according to 
 the pleasant rules of art. 
 
 I advise the use of a moderate portion of lead 
 only on any part of the swivel-trace. If the gorge- 
 hook is properly leaded, it will be sufficient to 
 sink the bait without any additional weight more 
 than that given by the swivels. The generality 
 of trollers use too much lead, and troll with too 
 much rapidity. The following trolling axioms 
 are selections from good authorities. 
 
 Swivel-traces are necessary in trolling, for by 
 their means it is that the bait revolves quickly, 
 and answers to its character of a troll or rolling 
 
1 88 SWIVEL-TRACES. 
 
 motion, which assists greatly to attract the 
 notice of predaceous fish. The swivel-traces 
 used with the gorge-hook require no leading, 
 the hook being of itself sufficiently weighted. 
 Some troll wholly without a swivel-trace, but we 
 are certain that it is to the manifest injury of 
 the spinning of the bait, and we therefore strongly 
 recommend these traces. By means of the swivel- 
 hook a great convenience is also obtained, as the 
 tackle becomes so readily disengaged ; but it is 
 to be noted that, in releasing it, the ardent angler 
 sometimes is violent and snaps his swivel, which 
 is another reason why no prudent one should be 
 without spare traces, or indeed without duplicates 
 of all the minor articles of fishing apparatus. 
 
 Gorge-hooks of all sizes and figures are kept 
 in the shops. The necessity of having different 
 sizes of the gorge apparatus is apparent, from the 
 fact that you use it, in trolling for large and 
 small pike, with baits from the size of the min- 
 now to that of a roach of from two to eight 
 ounces. Not only should gorge-hooks be kept of 
 various sizes, but their shape, particularly the 
 leaden part of them, should be adapted to the 
 shape of the fish you use as a bait. The minnow 
 and gudgeon are round enough in shape to con- 
 ceal a round leaded gorge-hook, corresponding 
 with their size, but for the bleak, and roach, and 
 dace, which are more flat-sided, we recommend 
 
GORGE-HOOKS THINLY LEADED. 189 
 
 that the lead be somewhat flattened, and be 
 rather of a compressed oval shape than round. 
 Mr. Salter judiciously observes (I have al- 
 ready recommended a gorge-tackle of the sort 
 for trolling amongst weeds, in narrow and foul 
 bottomed rivers, where you need not cast far); "I 
 generally remove about a third of the lead from 
 the brass of those hooks which I find kept ready 
 for sale in the fishing-tackle shops, because I have 
 found, when the lead lies nearly the whole of the 
 length of the bait-fish, and especially of a bleak 
 or thin roach, that when the jack strikes it, his 
 teeth pierce through the flesh and touch the 
 lead ; he then immediately drops the bait. Now, 
 by removing a part of the lead, as above directed, 
 the angler will find the remainder to be sufficient 
 for sinking, &c. his bait, and that it will lie at 
 the bottom of the bait's throat, or only a little 
 lower ; and as jack generally seize their prey by 
 or across the middle, in such case their teeth 
 seldom come in contact with the lead, and they 
 then retire, without fear, to their haunts, and soon 
 pouch the whole." 
 
 Mr. Elaine observes, " The method of holding 
 the rod differs in the practice of different anglers ; 
 some grasp it firmly in their right hand, and de- 
 pend on the strength of their arm for delivering 
 the bait out to its extent, but we apprehend that 
 much the better method is that of resting the 
 
190 HOLDING THE TROLLING ROD. 
 
 butt against the hip, thigh, stomach, or where - 
 ever a convenient support can be obtained (we 
 always use our hip for the purpose), by which 
 much exertion is saved, the bait can be cast much 
 wider, and when the angler is accustomed to the 
 habit, he may, by this means, direct it within a 
 few inches of the spot he aims at. The rod 
 placed, and the bait swinging on such a length 
 of line as can be managed, retain within the left 
 hand a yard of it loose, which, as the bait is cast, 
 gradually let run off the hand, directing it rather 
 slantingly : by such means it will shoot diagonally 
 forward, with a natural appearance, impelled by 
 the weight of the lead. When delivered, begin 
 to move it after the manner of the motion of a 
 fish about mid-water, observing always to avoid 
 removing it quickly from the water for a new 
 throw, for both pike and jack often follow the 
 bait and seize it at the moment it rises towards 
 the surface, fearful it is going to throw itself out 
 of the water to avoid the pursuit. 
 
 " In the practice of trolling, a due degree of 
 caution must be observed throughout. Avoid 
 alarming the fish by unnecessary noise, and keep 
 as much concealed from view as possible; the 
 length of the rod will assist greatly in this par- 
 ticular, for by it the angler can reach over the 
 bank without approaching too near. The sides 
 of every water should be first tried to the right 
 
DISPLAYING THE TKOLLING BAIT. 191 
 
 and left ; this done, proceed somewhat further in, 
 but avoid making either much noise or much 
 splash in the water, by the cast of the bait. Try 
 every spot, but do not dwell long in any; once or 
 twice showing the bait in likely places is usually 
 sufficient. Success in trolling depends much on 
 the method of displaying the bait, which, of 
 course, should represent the natural actions of the 
 fish, and is best effected by first giving to the 
 bait a slanting direction on its entering the 
 water, and then drawing it towards you to make 
 it resemble a running-away, as it were, fish, or, 
 at any rate, a frightened one. Never allow the 
 bait to be still, but keep it ever in moderate 
 motion, yet never in a violent one, as some 
 trollers improperly do ; which practice, we sus- 
 pect, is more detrimental to sport in trolling than 
 is imagined, for we have had runs by trolling 
 more slowly over the same spots which others 
 had but just quitted without one, in consequence 
 of having given too rapid motion to their bait. 
 A little habit will enable the angler to vary his 
 methods of throwing his bait, according to the 
 extent and nature of his water. Where there are 
 large weed-beds, intersected by open water be- 
 tween their waving masses, or where large 
 aquatic plants rise up in patches, there the bait 
 must be carefully dipped directly down, to avoid 
 entanglement ; and then the angler must be pre- 
 
192 PLAYING LARGE PIKE. 
 
 pared, not to mistake the check given by the 
 weeds for a real bite, which it often very nearly 
 resembles. When such a check occurs, pause a 
 second, and if all continues quiet, draw the bait 
 gently towards you ; when, if the resistance is 
 obstinate, and yet tremulous, a jack is at it, and 
 your moving it will most probably induce him to 
 drop it, or otherwise gorge it. Do the same if 
 the bait move slightly forward, with a renewed 
 check, for there is then more certainty that some- 
 thing is at it ; after this, if it remain a dead 
 weight on the hand, it is probable that the jack 
 has quitted it, and left the hooks entangled in 
 the weeds, which is by no means uncommon in 
 these cases : you may, therefore, now draw at it 
 with a little more force, which will certainly in- 
 form you of the nature of the resistance, and yet 
 allow you time to retrace your steps, if a jack be 
 there in earnest." 
 
 Mr. Salter, and other authorities, recommend 
 that when a large pike is struck in open water, 
 you should give him more line, and not pull hard 
 at any time, unless your tackle should be in danger 
 of entangling among weeds or bushes; and when 
 this is the case, the utmost caution is necessary, 
 lest the rod, line, hook, or hold should break. When 
 completely exhausted and brought to the side, 
 take the pike up with a net, or landing-hook, or, if 
 in want of either of these, put your thumb and 
 
TROLLING IN WINTER. 193 
 
 finger into its eyes, which is the safest hold with 
 the hand. When you have hooked a jack or pike, 
 and played him till he is quite exhausted, and 
 are drawing him ashore, make it a rule to float 
 him on his side, and keep the head a little raised 
 above the surface of the water, that the nose or 
 gills may not hang to or catch hold of weeds, &c., 
 while you are thus engaged bringing your prize to 
 the shore ; for sometimes you cannot avoid drawing 
 it over or among weeds ; and we have seen a pike 
 touch and get entangled in this way, and, before 
 it could be disentangled, it recovered from its ex- 
 haustion or stupor, and occasioned much trouble 
 and hazard before it could be again subdued. 
 
 I agree with Mr. Elaine in thinking that the 
 seasons for trolling are so well laid down by Mr, 
 Nobbs, the father of trolling, that they may be 
 transcribed without alteration. He says, " Though 
 the depth of winter cannot be recommended for 
 angling, yet there are some days in December and 
 January that a man may pick out to stand two or 
 three hours by the river side, but the weather 
 must be open and temperate. The great fish will 
 be soonest enticed with the bait at that time of 
 the year, because they lie deep, and are not so 
 careful of their own preservation. There is ano- 
 ther great advantage for the winter troller; the 
 weeds are then down and rotten, which are a great 
 hindrance, both against throwing the bait, and in 
 o 
 
194 TROLLING IN THE SPRING MONTHS. 
 
 keeping the fish from the sight of it. Though a 
 pike delights much among the weeds, and usually 
 makes his abode there, yet it is very difficult to 
 take him there, except it be with the snap; for if 
 you give him the liberty of running and playing 
 with your bait, he winds himself so fast about the 
 weeds, that you may be irt some danger of losing 
 both your fish and hook, if your line is not very 
 strong. Trolling in January, even on favourable 
 days, when the season is moderate and the water 
 in order, which is rare in this month, is but labour 
 well nigh lost ; for if it is not a flood, yet the 
 ditches and brooks are commonly so rank and full, 
 that it is but indifferent fishing. February pre- 
 sents better prospects, and on some days these 
 fish take a bait eagerly. March, too, is very 
 seasonable to the troller, except the time of spawn- 
 ing, which usually begins about the middle of it, 
 except the spring is very forward, and then they 
 will be disinclined towards preying. The snap is 
 now the most taking way ; for if you fish at pouch, 
 you may have many runs, but scarcely take one, 
 except it be a small fish. These two months 
 therefore will try the pike-fisher's patience, even 
 though he be wind and weather proof. April 
 will, however, in all probability, make him amends 
 for his former sufferings." In the latter summer 
 months, and on fine days in autumn, when the 
 deeps are curled by a fine breeze, pike are to be 
 
ARTIFICIAL FLIES FOR PIKE. 195 
 
 /taken very pleasantly by means of the artificial 
 fly. The best imitation is a very large one of the 
 dragon-fly. I have seen nondescript large gaudy 
 flies kill pike well, and Mr. Blacker, of Dean 
 Street, Soho, is the best dresser of them I know. 
 An imitation of the sand-martin or swallow, 
 dressed by means of feathers on a large hook, will 
 prove an attractive bait for pike in the seasons 
 last mentioned. Of the season of autumn, Mr. 
 Nobbs says, "The weather being then temperate, 
 and the weeds, which were strong and high before, 
 are now dying and falling to the bottom. The 
 rivers are then generally low, which is a great 
 advantage, because the fish are more easily found in 
 their harbours. They leave the shallows and 
 scowers, and lodge themselves in pits and the 
 deepest places. A pike is now very firm and fat, 
 having had the benefit of the summer's food ; and 
 if the weather continues open, and not extraordi- 
 narily cold, you may take in part of November, 
 which will add much to your sport, because the 
 weeds will be more wasted and rotten ; but if a 
 flood comes in October or the beginning of No- 
 vember, you may lay aside your tackling for that 
 season, for great rivers, like great vessels, being 
 long in filling and slowly mounting to their full 
 height, are again long in falling and settling, so 
 that the water will be thick and out of order, 
 unless frost or fair weather comes to clear it. 
 
 o 2 
 
196 MERITS OF SPINNING. 
 
 In small brooks and rivulets it is not so ; you may 
 fish in them again within a week or less after the 
 flood." 
 
 SPINNING. 
 
 Next to fly-fishing, spinning is the most amusing 
 mode of angling. It is a dashing, killing method, 
 and the practice of it requires considerable mus- 
 cular exertion. The arms in casting, and the legs 
 in moving on and changing ground, are continually 
 and strongly called into requisition. Trout, pike, 
 and perch of all sizes, but generally speaking the 
 largest, are caught by spinning, Salmon, in my 
 opinion, and in that of a few others, are to be 
 taken by spinning with a real bait or an artificial 
 one. English travellers, carrying with them into 
 foreign lands their sporting propensities, have been 
 very successful in the lakes of Northern Italy, and 
 in those of Germany, in taking immense trout by 
 means of the spinning tackle. This I know from 
 authentic private correspondence. In America, 
 whether in the United States or in Canada, im- 
 mense trout and pike have been taken by spinning. 
 At our own doors we know, that generally speak- 
 ing, all the large Thames trout are taken with the 
 spinning tackle. It is active angling, not of course 
 so refined as fly-fishing, but it deserves every 
 
THE SPINNING ROD. 197 
 
 attention on the part of those who wish to become 
 accomplished anglers. 
 
 In spinning you cast pretty much in the same 
 way as you do in trolling with the gorge-hook. 
 Spinning rods are magnificently manufactured in 
 London, and I like those best that are made of 
 mottled cane. They are strong, light, and of 
 handsome appearance. They are generally about 
 twelve feet in length ; and with a rod of that 
 length, ringed in the modern manner, not with 
 wires, but with strong, hollowed out pieces of 
 brass, and with a hard platted prepared silk line, 
 you can throw your bait to a distance of sixty 
 yards, a distance, however, too far to throw, ex- 
 cept on trying occasions. For my own part I 
 would have a spinning rod made of a single piece 
 of this mottled cane, sixteen or eighteen feet long, 
 well ringed, with a screw winch, requiring no 
 winch fittings ; and though it may be awkward 
 to carry (the only sound objection that can be 
 made to it), the advantages it would offer are very 
 considerable. You can cast well with it, gather 
 quickly up your line immediately your bait enters 
 the water, strike your fish better with it, and 
 play him when hooked in a more satisfactory and 
 artistic manner. With a rod of this description, 
 you can troll for salmon or large trout in the 
 deepest and widest waters. In narrow streams 
 you can spin with a very small portion of line out, 
 
 o 3 
 
198 ATTRACTION OF THE SPINNING BAIT. 
 
 and almost avoid casting, the length of your rod 
 allowing you to drop in your bait noiselessly 
 wherever you like, and spin it accordingly. 
 
 Your bait spins by means of swivels on your 
 foot-trace, and by a bend given to your bait close 
 by the tail. The spinning or revolving motion 
 communicated to your bait as you draw it towards 
 you, makes it, no doubt, exceedingly attractive to 
 fish of prey. It seems then to fly madly for its 
 life, though it has none. Predaceous animals of 
 all sorts rush with might and main after the prey 
 that flees with the most timid fleetness from them. 
 The hawk darts at the frightened lark, the grey- 
 hound outstrips the wind, urged on by the fear- 
 ful strides of the craven hare. I have often 
 thought, if, contrary to instinct, hares, instead of 
 shooting away when started, would run playfully 
 towards the hound, fawn and jump upon him, and 
 about him fondly, the hound might have his in- 
 stinct of destruction blunted, and his ferocity 
 softened down. I should like to see how a grey- 
 hound would act in the midst of a flock of skipping 
 hares, not one of them running away from, but all 
 running towards him. We have all seen a hawk 
 nonplussed by being surrounded by an immense 
 flock of swallows, larks, linnets, and other small 
 birds, and seem anxious to part company from 
 them. If one, however, leaves the flock and flies 
 away frightened, the hawk scuds after the timid 
 
VARIOUS SOKTS OF SPINNING TACKLE. 199 
 
 fugitive, his ferocious courage apparently being 
 excited by the timidity of the weaker vessel. It 
 happens thus, I fancy, with fish. If a mixed shoal 
 of minnows, bleaks, gudgeons, dace, roach, and 
 small trout were to surround daringly a pike, 
 defy him, jump upon his back, I fancy he would 
 look somewhat foolish, like a stripling Lothario in 
 the midst of a couple of score mocking school 
 girls in their teens. Let either beast of prey, 
 however, meet with one lonely timid creature, 
 fluttering to escape, and then see how his ardour 
 will be excited by its efforts to get away. This, 
 indeed, is little more than a fancy ; still it makes 
 me think that the spinning-bait is rushed after by 
 fish the more eagerly, because they conjecture (if 
 they can conjecture) that it is some more than 
 usually dazzling object of prey, striving strangely 
 to escape. Hence the more ardent they are to 
 arrest it in its flying course. 
 
 Various indeed are the sorts of spinning tackle 
 recommended by anglers. The great merit for 
 which they are recommended, is generally that 
 they spin well, that is, that you can show them 
 in the most seductive run-away shape to the fish 
 you wish to beguile. The second merit is, that 
 the flight of hooks is so well placed, as to prove 
 a deadly thorn to the gentleman that dares to 
 pluck your rose. I can scarcely recollect exactly 
 the varieties of spinning tackle that I have seen ; 
 
 o 4 
 
200 FLIGHTS OF JIOOKS FOR SPINNING. 
 
 dozens and dozens having been sent me for my 
 examination and judgment. On the whole I have 
 found them too intricate, the flights, as they are 
 called, being composed of too many hooks. I 
 will mention some of the best of them, but first 
 describe those I think the best of all. In the sub- 
 joined engraving you will see them represented. 
 
 2. 
 
 The first, you perceive, is a flight of hooks, with 
 which, according to its or their size, you may arm 
 or bait with minnow, bleak, gudgeon, dace, or 
 roach. The length of your flight must be regu- 
 lated by the length of the bait-fish you use. A 
 minnow for the common trout and perch ; large 
 gudgeons, dace and roach of from four to six oz., 
 for large trout and pike. This flight consists, 
 
HOW TO BAIT YOUR SPINNING-FLIGHTS. 201 
 
 you see, of no fewer than eleven hooks, that is to 
 say, three treble ones, and two single ones. The 
 first single hook on the left is a sliding one, and 
 is called the lip-hook, because it is inserted point 
 upwards through the lips of the bait to keep them 
 close. The second single hook, with its barb 
 pointing downwards, is placed next to the last 
 treble hook on the right hand side of the page. 
 When you use this flight of hooks without either 
 of the additions, numbered two and three in the 
 plate, you bait with it as follows. Insert one of 
 the last treble hooks close to the tail of the bait, 
 and curving that part of the bait a little, keep it 
 on the curve, by inserting tightly the next single 
 hook in the bait higher up from the direction of 
 the tail. The proper insertion of this last hook 
 will keep the tail-part of the bait bent. Next 
 insert one of the middle treble hooks in the upper 
 side of the bait, without any drag on, or bent, in 
 it, in the region of the vent, and then insert one 
 of the treble hooks (one of those next to the lip 
 hook) in the bait by one of the sides of the back 
 fin, and lastly finish baiting, by inserting the lip- 
 hook through the lips of the bait. No part of the 
 bait should be strained in its shape by the inser- 
 tion of any of the hooks, except that single one 
 which is used to give the bait a bend near the 
 tail. Every other part of the bait should lie 
 straight. A flight of hooks of this description 
 
202 A GOOD BAITING APPARATUS. 
 
 should have at least two swivels on its trace, that 
 part of it within six inches of the bait being 
 moderately leaded. 
 
 Now examine figure 2. in the cut. It is a 
 piece of flat brass wire, arrow-shaped at one 
 end, leaded and looped at the other. Give it a 
 little sharp bend, near the arrow-head, and pass 
 that head in at the mouth of the bait, and down 
 through the middle of the body to the tail, but 
 not out at it. The leaded portion of the wire, if 
 the whole is properly placed in, and adapted to the 
 bait, will lie in its belly, and the looped portion 
 of the wire will project just beyond the lips of 
 the bait. Take your flight of hooks now, and, 
 leaving your last treble one " fly," or not inserted 
 in the bait, but hanging by the tail, insert your 
 downwards-pointed single hook in the side of the 
 bait between the vent and the tail, not straining 
 or dragging any part of your bait, and then insert 
 one of the middle treble hooks in the neighbour- 
 hood of the vent above it, and your first treble 
 hook on the left side of the cut, insert near the 
 back fin, and finish by inserting the lip-hook 
 through first one lip of the bait, then through 
 the loop of the wire, and lastly through the other 
 lip of the bait. A moment's consideration will 
 show the reader the advantages of a baiting appa- 
 ratus of this kind. The wire bent and passed as 
 directed, keeps the bait stiff and sufficiently bent 
 
A NEW INVENTION. 203 
 
 near the tail, and the leaded part of the wire 
 renders the bait sufficiently heavy for casting 
 arid sinking it the distance and depth required. 
 The consistence of the bait receiving additional 
 support from the wire and lead in the interior of 
 it, prevents it from being torn easily in the process 
 of casting or spinning it through the water. The 
 bait is held extended, and cannot be dragged 
 double by the strain of the hooks, which fre- 
 quently crumples up and spoils a bait, having no 
 such interior support. When you use this leaded 
 wire, you need put very little additional weight 
 on your swivel -traces. This sort of spinning 
 tackle I am exceedingly partial to. 
 
 The figure 3. in the cut is a new invention, 
 and a very good one. It is a piece of wire with 
 an artificial fish-tail affixed to it. The divi- 
 sions of the tail are turned different ways, like 
 the tail of the archimedian minnow, invented by 
 Mr. Frederick Allies, of St. John's, Worcester. 
 In passing through the water, a tail thus divided 
 and inverted causes the fish to turn round as it is 
 propelled onwards, gives it a regular rotatory, or 
 screw motion, as you draw it through the water. 
 It is partly an artificial and partly a natural bait. 
 I have a good opinion of it. In using it you cut 
 off the tail of the natural bait, and entering there 
 the point of the wire, you pass it through the 
 body longitudinally, and out at the mouth. The 
 
204 A SPINNING-FLIGHT OF FOURTEEN HOOKS. 
 
 artificial tail now takes the place of the natural 
 one, and the wire through the body keeps the 
 bait-fish firm, straight, and in its natural shape. 
 You now insert the flight of hooks exactly as I 
 told you to do, when using the arrow-headed wire. 
 This bait will swim and spin admirably, not be 
 liable to tear; and if the artificial tail be made 
 with care, it will not glaringly disagree with the 
 natural body of the fish. 
 
 The flight of hooks I recommend as generally 
 the best, is composed (as shown in the cut) of 
 eleven hooks. You can have one of fourteen 
 hooks, if you like, by adding a treble "fly" hook. 
 You will then have three treble hooks to insert in 
 different parts of the body from above the ventral 
 fin to above the pectoral one, and if with a bait 
 bristling with so many barbs you fail to hook the 
 fish that rushes open-mouthed on such a cheval 
 defrise, the fault lies not in your tackle, but either 
 in your own mode of striking, or in the fish's 
 way of seizing the bait. This augmented flight 
 of hooks is not fit for minnow or bleak spinning. 
 It only suits when your baits are very large 
 gudgeons, or average-sized dace and roach. It is 
 suitable when you spin for large fish, be they 
 salmon, trout as large as salmon, or pike as large 
 as either. 
 
 As I have already said, I am not partial to 
 those many-hooked spinning tackle, and I dislike 
 
A SIMPLE SPINNING TACKLE. 205 
 
 them, especially for minnow-spinning, for trout 
 weighing under two pounds. I can spin a minnow 
 very prettily and very dangerously with a flight 
 of only three hooks, that is, one double hook to 
 remain at the vent, and one single lip-hook. I 
 will use this flight with the apparatus numbered 
 2., or with that marked 3. in the cut. Either 
 of the above apparatus having been passed 
 into the body of the bait, I insert the loop of a 
 link of gut, to which a double minnow-spinning 
 hook is tied, in the eye of a baiting-needle, which 
 I pass in at the vent, and through the stomach of 
 the bait out at the mouth, drawing to the gut, 
 until the double hook, arrested at its bend by the 
 vent, stops there with its double barbs apart and 
 pointing downwards. I take away the baiting- 
 needle, and slipping down on my gut a moveable 
 lip-hook, I pass it through the lips of the bait 
 tightly to make taut the small portion of the gut 
 that is in the interior of the bait, between the vent 
 and the mouth, and I finally fix this gut-link that 
 contains the bait thus armed to my swivel-trace. 
 I have now a bait that swims well, with a double 
 hook projecting on each side beneath the middle 
 part of it, and as fish generally seize their prey 
 by the middle, I do not see why you should 
 not seize them with this double hook, if they 
 once admit it within their mouths. However, 
 as fish very often run short at the spinning- 
 
206 THE MINNOW-SPINNING ROD. 
 
 bait, and, as when they do, you cannot hook them 
 by means of one double hook only at the vent, add 
 a double fly-hook to lie along the bait towards the 
 tail, and a little beyond it. I advise my young 
 friends to use this latter tackle when they begin 
 practising the art of spinning. They will find it 
 very efficient, and it is very easily baited. The 
 reason fly -hooks are of such general use in spin- 
 ningis, that it is supposed from the run-away 
 motion of the bait, fish of prey run after it and 
 seize it tailways rather than middle-ways, and 
 therefore are likely to be caught by the fly-hooks 
 at the tail. I do not deem this reason very sound. 
 Still let us adhere to fly-hooks as an additional, 
 though not a very necessary weapon of success. 
 
 I have mentioned the trolling and spinning 
 rods best suited, in my opinion, for angling for 
 large fish. We should have an especial rod for 
 minnow-spinning. It should not be so stout by 
 any means as the usual trolling rods, but it 
 should be longer. Fourteen feet is a fair average 
 length. I would have this rod made of the best 
 mottled cane in all its joints, except the top one, 
 which should be of a good stiffish bit of hickory, 
 or solid bamboo, tipped with a couple of inches of 
 light whalebone. This rod should be ringed with 
 moderate sized upright rings, and will answer, if 
 well made, for bottom fishing with the worm or 
 gentle, for dibbing or daping, and particularly for 
 
CASTING THE BAITED MINNOW. 207 
 
 angling with a tripping bait, as well as for minnow 
 or bleak spinning. 
 
 Mr. Elaine says, "The minnow-spinning rod 
 requires length and strength, combined with 
 lightness, which requisites appear best obtained 
 by having it made of cane, except the last joint. 
 It must be neither too flexible, nor too stubborn, 
 as either extreme will impair its utility: if too 
 stiff, the hook or the hold will be endangered 
 when striking ; if too pliant, it will yield to the 
 resistance of the water too much to allow a ready 
 stroke to be made when a bite occurs, and the 
 fish will escape ere the effect of the stroke reaches 
 him. The first delivery of the minnow on the 
 water should be delicately done, so as to raise no 
 disturbance in it, either by noise or splash, which 
 is managed by checking the impulsive swing just 
 before the bait reaches its destination, at the same 
 time dropping the hand as well as the point of 
 the rod, which will thus check the bait, and lay it 
 lightly on the water. This effected, begin to 
 draw the bait slantingly across the stream, at 
 various depths, with a certain degree of regu- 
 larity, observing also to imitate the shootings of 
 the living fish in its actions; and as Colonel 
 Hawker, in the true spirit of a piscatory tactician, 
 observes, ( if a fish comes after your minnow, 
 never stop it, or in any way alter your pace, or 
 he will most likely be off again directly.' More 
 
208 EFFECT OF NERVOUS FEELING. 
 
 fish are lost by the nervous feeling, which shoots 
 through the young angler when he perceives the 
 first rush of a trout, or flinches from, or starts 
 to it, than by any other course whatever. If 
 nothing of this kind takes place, the trout sees no 
 cause of alarm, and there need be no fear on the 
 angler's part, but that he will himself strike the 
 fish at the regular pace at which he attempted to 
 overtake it ; and that being done, it only remains 
 for the fisher to fix the hook, or hooks, within its 
 mouth by a smart stroke from the hand, if possi- 
 ble, in a direction contrary to the progress of the 
 fish." 
 
 Colonel Hawker's spinning tackle, which is 
 made by Mr. Bowness, late Chevalier, of No. 12. 
 Bell-yard, Temple-bar, is an excellent one, having 
 only one fault, viz. that young anglers will find 
 it rather complicated, and difficult to place the 
 bait neatly upon it. I can vouch for its spinning 
 well, and killing well. Let it be made of a large 
 size, and it will answer admirably for spinning 
 with dace and roach for the largest species of 
 predatory river fish. In introducing this spinning 
 tackle the celebrated Colonel observes, " Trolling 
 or spinning a minnow is a most general mode of 
 trout fishing ; or, I might almost say, trout poach- 
 ing. It is, however, very rarely done in a proper 
 manner, though every man, as a matter of course, 
 upholds his own system. I, like all the rest, did 
 
COLONEL HAWKER'S SPINNING TACKLE. 
 
 the same, till after fancying for years that I could 
 challenge any one, was beaten and laughed at by 
 
 a trout-killing divine. Now, however, I have 
 got master of his plan, against which all others 
 that I had ever seen, read of, or heard of, had no 
 
 p 
 
210 COLONEL HAWKER'S TACKLE DESCRIBED. 
 
 chance whatever. The great advantage of it is, 
 that it takes the trout when they run and bite 
 short, by means of fly-hooks that play round the 
 others on a separate branch of line, so that I have 
 often killed three or four brace of trout without 
 the minnow being in the least injured, or even 
 touched by the fish. To describe the tackle pro- 
 perly, without giving a plate of it, would be 
 difficult if not impossible." The cut in the pre- 
 ceding page must be examined by placing it 
 horizontally before you. 
 
 Colonel Hawker describes this tackle thus : - 
 " A large minnow-trolling hook, size No. 1., is 
 whipped to the shortest link of gut, and to the 
 other a triangle of three No. 7. hooks, tied back 
 to back, which are to hang about three inches 
 below the larger one : when the minnow is on it, 
 a second triangle, whipped to the same gut, should 
 hang even with the side of the bait. These links 
 altogether form a harness, which is to be attached 
 to the line with a small box-swivel between them. 
 The perforated snout-lead is, however, first put 
 on. Having selected a white-bellied minnow, of 
 rather small size, and hardening it in bran for an 
 hour or two, first draw back the plummet, and 
 put the large hook into the minnow's mouth and 
 out through the right gill, taking care not to tear 
 any part of the mouth of the bait : then draw the 
 line three or four inches to you, so as to be able 
 
HOW TO BAIT WITH IT. 211 
 
 to get the hook back again into its mouth. Then 
 take the minnow between the finger and thumb 
 in the left hand, and the large hook in the right 
 hand, and run the hook all down its back inside, 
 close to the bone, to the very end of the fish, and 
 let it come out about the centre of the tail-fin. 
 Then with your right hand pull the minnow out 
 as straight as it will lie, and press it into natural 
 form with the finger and thumb. Afterwards, 
 nip off the upper half of the tail-fin, in order to 
 prevent a counter-action to the spinning of the 
 minnow. Having done this, draw down your 
 plummet (snout-lead) again, and see that your 
 branch line falls smoothly by the side of your 
 bait line ; and if not, rub it with Indian rubber 
 till it does. Your hook is then ready for action ; 
 and action, indeed it may be called, if properly 
 done. I should observe, that new gut seldom spins 
 the minnow so well as that which is half worn 
 out (by reason of the stiffness which encircles the 
 minnow's gill)> therefore ten minutes' soaking in 
 water, and sometimes a little hard friction of the 
 gut, just above the large hook, may at first be re- 
 quired, besides the working of it with Indian 
 rubber. So much for this plan : there may be 
 many better ; but all I can say is, that I have not 
 yet seen one fit to be named with it." By study- 
 ing the preceding cut and explanations of it, the 
 p 2 
 
212 PURPOSES OF THE SWIVEL-TRACE. 
 
 intelligent learner will be able himself to make 
 such a tackle and use it. 
 
 The following remarks on spinning by Captain 
 Williamson are practically sound. He says, " The 
 swivel-trace answers two purposes ; it prevents 
 your line from being wrenched, by the largest fish, 
 into twists and snarls ; and it causes your bait to 
 play round, or, as it is called, to spin freely in 
 the stream, whereby it imitates more closely the 
 action of a live minnow, and prevents the hook, 
 &c. from being distinguished. The bait thus pre- 
 pared, is called a spinning- bait, on account of the 
 great rapidity with which it revolves, when pro- 
 perly played, especially when the current is strong. 
 It is very tempting ; and when large fish, disposed 
 to feed are near, you may depend on success. 
 
 " If you have command of your water, and can 
 carry your rod as you please, you should com- 
 mence by casting your bait from you very gently, 
 so as to alight in the stream without splashing 
 more than a minnow would in one of its jumps. 
 Then draw your rod in such direction as may 
 cause the bait to cross the stream obliquely to- 
 wards you. When near you, it should be con- 
 ducted from you, in a similar manner, by an 
 adverse tendency of the rod, carrying the bait 
 now and then somewhat higher in the stream, 
 and sometimes lower, so as to give ample range. 
 The extent of your compass, in that respect, 
 
SPINNING IN DEEP AND SHALLOW WATER. 213 
 
 must be entirely subject to the breadth of the 
 water, and to the depth at the side; whence, the 
 length of your line being regulated, you will 
 have fair reason to expect a bite. It is proper to 
 remark, in this place, that the spinning-bait 
 answers well, both in deep strong water, in which 
 case, one or two shots above your swivel will be 
 proper, to keep the bait down ; or it will succeed 
 in those very rapid shallows, called scours, which 
 are to be found at the edges of all rivers in various 
 parts, and which sometimes stretch across the 
 beds of the rivers like banks, or what, in sea lan- 
 guage, are termed bars. 
 
 " A good angler will make his bait spin in 
 still water ; but then the fish do not take it 
 readily, because the line, in such cases, cannot be 
 concealed from their view, and the perpetual, I 
 may indeed say the violent, action it must main- 
 tain scares them. This is not the case in a strong 
 current, which spins the bait when the line is 
 long, and when the rod is very gradually moved, 
 merely to direct the bait across the stream. With 
 the spinning-bait you will catch salmon in all its 
 varieties, trout, perch, and pike. Sometimes you 
 will find a chub on your hook. This, however, 
 is not the ordinary bait of that fish; but, when 
 very hungry, it will snap at small fishes, and may, 
 as I once experienced, be thus taken. Observe, 
 that as all fish, in seizing a spinning-bait, direct 
 p 3 
 
214 ADVANTAGE OF FINE TACKLE. 
 
 their attacks towards its tail, viewing it as an 
 object of pursuit, you need not be afraid of your 
 trolling-hook being too long, so as to come out 
 rather behind the vent, when it will do most 
 execution. Many a very large trout has, how- 
 ever, been taken merely by the lip-hook. On 
 such occasions .much skill is requisite. Every 
 angler ought to make allowance for the possibility 
 of such an attack, and to avoid all pulls and jerks, 
 such as either might tear out the hook, or, by 
 irritating the fish, cause him to make such efforts 
 as would produce his liberation. 
 
 " Indeed, it is by keeping the utmost command 
 over your own hand, and by avoiding that 
 childish propensity, too prevalent in many, of 
 getting an early sight, and of making the fish 
 struggle and leap, that you will complete your 
 purpose. In that quiet, temperate, and forbearing 
 mode, which distinguishes the expert angler, 
 much finer tackle may be used; whence your 
 basket will be more readily filled, expecially with 
 the more choice kinds of fish." 
 
 The above somewhat long extract should be 
 carefully digested, for it contains several whole- 
 some truths, and the last little paragraph of it 
 embodies a valuable angling axiom or two. 
 
 It is supposed by some that large pike are 
 caught less seldom by spinning than by trolling 
 with the gorge-bait. If the supposition be true, 
 
THE LARGEST FISH CAUGHT BY SPINNING. 215 
 
 it is because the latter bait is used more fre- 
 quently than spinning in places where large pike 
 lie, and not because the gorge-bait is the better 
 bait on the whole. I prefer spinning even for 
 the largest fish in wide, deep waters, clear of 
 obstructions, for I know that by that method the 
 largest pike are to be caught, besides the excel- 
 lent chance of killing salmon, and large salmo- 
 nidse. The gorge-bait answers best in weedy 
 waters, or in those in which there are hindrances 
 to your spinning freely. 
 
 Be cautious how you bait your spinning-tackle. 
 It is not an easy operation, and the portion 
 of difficulty attached to it often deters persons 
 from spinning. Practice will overcome partial 
 difficulties, and even entire ones of far greater 
 intricacy. Commence with the simplest sort of 
 tackle, requiring but few hooks. A practical 
 lesson from some old spinner will advance you 
 more in the art of baiting than twenty written 
 pages. You can spin your bait up or down 
 stream, across or against it, in fact in any direc- 
 tion that the nature of the locality may render 
 most convenient. The best way, however, is to 
 spin against the current, for your bait moving in 
 that direction will appear like a natural fish dart- 
 ing away up the stream, and trout having their 
 heads pointed that way, when on the feed, will be 
 p 4 
 
216 THE BEST SPINNING-BAITS. 
 
 the more inclined to rush after the bait. Gene- 
 rally speaking, it is not of vital importance which 
 way you spin your bait so that you do it well. 
 Take care not to spin too fast, by drawing in too 
 rapidly too much line at each draw backwards of 
 the left hand, or at each motion towards you of 
 the rod. Spin steadily, just fast enough to make 
 your bait revolve attractively, but not so fast as 
 to make its speed greater than that of the fish 
 that is pursuing it. Make it no difficult task 
 for him to overtake your bait and seize it with 
 facility. In spinning you must strike as soon as 
 your bait is taken, with a short, quick, moder- 
 ately strong jerk of the wrist. 
 
 The baits you use in spinning should be of the 
 most brilliant colours. The brightest minnows, 
 gudgeons, dace, roach you can procure. Smelts, 
 on account of their silver brilliancy, make capital 
 spinning baits ; moderate-sized thick-set ones are 
 the best. The hooks used in spinning should be 
 of the bright steel-colour of the wire, not changed 
 to the ordinary blue hue of hooks ; and they 
 should be whipped on with light-coloured silk, 
 waxed with white wax. 
 
 The fish you intend for baits, provided you can- 
 not keep them alive, having no bait-kettle or well 
 in your boat to do so, should be killed imme- 
 diately they are caught, and not be allowed to 
 
TO PRESERVE SPINNING-BAITS. 217 
 
 lie about any where until they die. If you suffer 
 them so to lie about, they will lose a portion of 
 their scales, and become less brilliant than they 
 ought to be. Dead bait boxes are made something 
 like sandwich-boxes, some not divided in the inside^ 
 and others divided into little compartments, to 
 keep the baits separate, and so prevent speedy 
 decomposition. If baits are put into bran the 
 moment they are caught, they will soon die, pre- 
 serve their scales and colour, and last good for 
 two or three days. Baits may be kept longer by 
 means of salt or sugar, but you must not have 
 recourse to this mode of preservation unless on 
 some extraordinary emergency. 
 
 Artificial Spinning-baits. The tackle-shops 
 are inundated with varieties of them. The most 
 brilliant are the best. They will all kill fish more 
 or less successfully ; but the very best of them 
 are inferior to the natural bait. When you can- 
 not get that, you must make shift with the arti- 
 ficial substitute. The large brilliant ones will kill 
 in deep lakes, the smaller ones in streams, and I 
 fancy they are most useful when the water is 
 beginning to clear after a flood. The archime- 
 dian minnow of Mr. F. Allies, of Worcester, is 
 deservedly coming into repute, and, in my opinion, 
 ought to rank first amongst artificial minnows. 
 
218 ARTIFICIAL FISH-BAITS. 
 
 Let him make his archimedians larger (longer and 
 deeper in the body), and if, when of an increased 
 size, they spin as well as the smaller ones do now, 
 I suspect that they may be found seductive of 
 salmon, lake trout, and pike. Artificial fish-baits 
 may be used successfully in sea-angling along 
 shore. 
 
BAIT OR BOTTOM-FISHING. 219 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 ON BOTTOM-FISHING. RODS, HOOKS, LINES, AND BAITS. 
 
 
 
 THE English are without doubt the best bottom- 
 fishers in the world, and the London anglers the 
 most accomplished of all. We can account for 
 this easily. English rivers are better stored than 
 those of any other division of the empire, with 
 the various sorts of fish which seek their food rather 
 at the bottom than at the surface of the water. In 
 the neighbourhood of London such rivers abound 
 with their numerous angling clubs, subscription 
 and preserved waters, and the easily-pleased (only 
 perhaps with respect to his sports) character of 
 the Saxon, be he of the country or city, leads him 
 to indulge with infinite patience and pleasure in 
 all the slow minutiae of bottom- angling, when the 
 inconvenience of distance renders fly-fishing out 
 of the question. Even the fly-fisher from Ireland, 
 Scotland, or Wales, settled in London, stoops from 
 his high art, and, being a lover of nature in her 
 water-side charms, betakes himself to bottom- 
 fishing, and partakes of its amusement in company 
 with the joyous, good-hearted, and really philo- 
 sophic cockney. In bottom-fishing, the persevering 
 
220 THE SAXON CHARACTER. 
 
 character of the Saxon is developed. He pursues 
 it with that intensity of purpose, that guides him 
 in his greater actions, and renders him capable of 
 performing the highest. He prepares himself for a 
 bottom-fishing campaign as carefully as if he were 
 starting on a voyage of discovery. He neglects 
 nothing that may tend to his success. The fox- 
 hunter and fowler laugh at the bottom-fisher, little 
 suspecting that that very bottom-fisher watching 
 his float so anxiously from his punt may be a first- 
 rate horseman or shot, and that he has the 
 wisdom of being satisfied with amusement at hand, 
 waiting for that which at the present time is not. 
 To be amused with harmless trifles in proper 
 season is the acme of practical happiness 
 
 " When we cannot make love to the lips that we love, 
 We can always make love to the lips that are near." 
 
 The fly-fisher will very readily become an ex- 
 pert bottom-fisher. He understands already the 
 use of rod, line, winch, and hook in the most 
 trying situations. He has a quick eye and a quick 
 and light hand, and will easily apprehend all the 
 arcana of bait-fishing. All he requires to know 
 is the baits he must use, and a hint or two respect- 
 ing the best manner of using them. He knows 
 already the habits of the salmon family, he will 
 soon learn the monotonous ones of the carp tribe, 
 
THE BOTTOM-FISHER'S ROD. 221 
 
 the different varieties of which form the principal 
 prey the bait-fisher pursues. 
 
 The bottom-fisher's rod must be strong and 
 light, not by any means so springy as that of the 
 fly-fisher. It must taper stiffly, not be top heavy, 
 and have just elasticity enough to strike his fish 
 quickly without the delay too much elasticity in 
 the top pieces would cause. It must be supple, 
 so that pressure will equalise itself from top to 
 butt. Though its pieces be not so fine or so limber 
 as those of the fly-rod, it must taper with equal 
 precision. The lengths of bottom-fishing rods 
 differ very widely. Those that are used for bank- 
 fishing in wide rivers are sometimes twenty-four 
 feet long ; whilst those for angling from punts 
 are frequently as short as ten feet. They also 
 vary in strength according to the fish one angles 
 for. The average length of a bank-rod should be 
 seventeen feet, that of a punt or boat-rod twelve. 
 In concluding the subject of bottom-fishing, I shall 
 give a precise list of all the rods necessary for it, 
 and for other modes of angling. With a good 
 general rod, having several tops, which you may 
 shorten or lengthen as occasion requires, you may 
 successfully bottom-angle for any species of river 
 fish, roach, perhaps, excepted, which require a 
 specific rod, to be described hereafter. 
 
 The bottom-lines for bait-fishing should be 
 made of good gut, as fine as is consistent with 
 
222 FOOT-LINES FOR BOTTOM-FISHING. 
 
 strength, and it cannot be too fine for roach fish- 
 ing. Roach lines, at least that portion of them 
 next to the hook, are often made of single horse 
 hair, but gut is better and can be had fully as 
 fine. Foot-lines should be of the colour of the 
 water, sometimes of a sandy hue for angling after 
 a flood, but generally speaking a very light, trans- 
 parent green is the best. They should be attached 
 to good, prepared platted reel-lines, and should 
 be knotted and leaded as neatly as possible to 
 avoid catching in weeds or straws that may be 
 swimming down with the current. Grains of shot 
 of different sizes are commonly used for leading 
 lines. I prefer thin strips of sheet-lead beaten 
 to the thinness of writing-paper. You can wind 
 these thin, narrow bits of lead neatly round one 
 or two of the last links of your foot-line, just 
 above the knots or joinings, and it will be far less 
 clumsy and less likely to entangle than when 
 weighted with several shots. You can put on or 
 undo the slips of lead more promptly and easily than 
 shot, and you can carry them more conveniently. 
 Always use a winch in bottom-fishing. It will 
 prevent unequal strain upon your rod, enable you 
 to play a fish properly, and you can shorten or 
 lengthen your line with it according to your 
 judgment with facility. It will enable you 
 besides to angle with the shortest and finest foot- 
 line possible. 
 
HOOKS FOR BOTTOM-FISHING. 223 
 
 Hooks for bottom-fishing with worms should be 
 long in the shank and perfectly round in the bend, 
 with the barb and point not inclining inwards. 
 On such hooks you can easily put your worms 
 without injuring them. If your hooks are sneck- 
 bent you will feel a difficulty in threading your 
 worm, and as you force it up you will often find 
 the point of your bent hook penetrating through 
 its sides, spoiling the bait in more ways than one, 
 rendering it less lively, and liable to break even 
 by the motion of the water. Hooks for gentles, 
 greaves, paste and so forth, may be short in the 
 shank, and sneck-bent, for they are more readily 
 covered by the bait and will not let it slip oif so 
 easily as the straightly rounded hooks. All bait 
 hooks should be whipped on as delicately as pos- 
 sible, with silk the colour of the bait you use, and 
 waxed with almost colourless wax, at least not 
 colour-giving, like shoe-maker's wax so very 
 generally and improperly used. Hooks should be 
 whipped on from towards the bend, and the whip- 
 ping should be terminated by a couple of almost 
 imperceptible slip-knots, leaving a little of the 
 end of the shank bare. If the beginning of your 
 whipping be rudely done, showing a commence- 
 ment glaringly thicker than the wire of your hook, 
 an obstruction will exist fatal to putting on your 
 bait easily, and without injuring it, particularly 
 if it be a worm. Allowing the slightest por- 
 
224 ARMING GUT FOR BOTTOM-FISHING. 
 
 tion of the end of 4 the shank to be exposed will 
 prevent, your bait from slipping below it and so ex- 
 posing the whipping of your hook. In general 
 hooks are whipped on too clumsily, with too many 
 coils of the silk, and with the silk too fatly waxed. 
 Bait hooks have commonly a few nicks made with 
 a file or otherwise towards the ends of the shanks. 
 The whipping need hardly extend beyond them 
 at either end. The gut should be softened and 
 thinned by drawing between the front teeth. I 
 mean the small portion of it that is to be whipped 
 on to the shank of the hook. 
 
 Floats should be of moderate size. There are 
 thousands made ever so much too large and too 
 heavy. I cannot fancy the use of them. Heavy 
 floats may be used in barbel fishing, but are not 
 absolutely necessary except when sinking and 
 roving with a live bait for pike. In general I 
 prefer cork floats to quill floats. The latter I 
 never use except for roach fishing. A neat, small- 
 sized cork float is handy, sits well in the water, 
 and is sufficiently light to give you instantaneous 
 information of a bite. For my own part I fre- 
 quently fish without a float at all, with a lightly 
 leaded line, and seldom miss striking at a bite. 
 The best bottom-fishers fish for trout, grayling, 
 perch, dace, and even for roach, with a tripping 
 bait without a float. They are quick and sensi- 
 tive enough to see and feel a bite without the 
 
HOW TO USE FLOATS. 225 
 
 eaves-dropping of a float. A float, however, is a 
 safe appendage and to be surely relied upon. 
 Notwithstanding, I advise the learner to angle 
 frequently without one, and to depend on the 
 sharpness of his eye and the sensitiveness of his 
 hand. If he does, he will be always able to angle 
 with a very light float an immense advantage 
 and to distinguish the slightest fish-pull upon it. 
 Never allow your float to drag in the water. 
 It should sit perpendicularly in it, and the line 
 should rise straight up from it to the point of the 
 rod, which should hang, whenever it is possible, 
 right over it. The advice in the last sentence is 
 important. Neglect it, and you will seldom strike 
 successfully. I have been in the habit of see- 
 ing persons angling with their floats slanting 
 in the water, or lying loosely upon it, with the 
 line slack or coiled, 'and of course I used to see 
 them miss seven out of every ten fish they struck 
 at. Their baits would be frequently nibbled off 
 without their being conscious of it at the time. 
 
 In bottom-fishing you must strike promptly 
 with a sharp jerk of the wrist towards you, in- 
 clining your hand generally a little to the right. 
 If you miss your fish and find that in striking you 
 have jerked your bait out of the water, conclude 
 that you have struck with unnecessary force, 
 injuring and loosening thereby the bait on your 
 hook, and causing more pother in the water than 
 Q 
 
226 WHEN YOU SHOULD NOT PLAY A FISH, 
 
 fish are used to. Moderate your dangerous 
 strength, and strike so as to lift the bait upwards 
 only a few inches. You need not be a bit afraid, 
 if your stroke is quick enough, that it is too 
 weak to hold your fish firmly. Striking strongly 
 is a great defect, a displeasing one, except to fish- 
 ing-tackle makers, who thereby get an increase 
 of business in making and repairing. Rods are 
 broken through it, lines and hooks carried away, 
 and fish lost and uselessly tormented and rendered 
 shy. 
 
 Your rods and lines for bottom-fishing being 
 less delicate than those used in fly-fishing, you 
 may frequently after a very short struggle lift 
 your fish out of the water. In many instances, 
 particularly when you alight upon a shoal of 
 small-sized fish, you should give as little play as 
 possible, bringing your fish at once to the surface 
 of the water and out of it with all dispatch. 
 Barbel and large chub should be allowed to sink 
 and run moderately, and should not be pulled at 
 fiercely at first, under a pretty tight bearing- 
 rein, just sufficiently so to prevent them carrying 
 their noses whithersoever they fancy, and when 
 you feel their obstinacy becoming lax, present the 
 butt-end of your rod to them, and try their strength 
 under a shortened and taut line. If you feel 
 there is danger in bearing so hard, relax the strain 
 on your tackle, and indulge your captive with a 
 
AND WHEN YOU SHOULD. 227 
 
 short swim or two. The weight of the line he will 
 have to drag will clog his movements, and as soon 
 as you begin to bear on him again you will see 
 him turn his head round towards you, beating the 
 water with languid fins that are fast losing their 
 propelling powers. Thus exhausted, bring his head 
 above water, and down into your landing net with 
 proper economy of time. In fishing with a single 
 hair-line you must always cautiously play your 
 fish, very small though he may be. But when 
 with such a line you hook a monster fish, giant 
 barbel, or chub or carp or perch, you must play 
 him with all the careful address and ingenuity of 
 the fly-fisher. An event of this sort will fill you 
 with excitement, charged to the brim with doubt, 
 pleasant suspense and fear ; and if by the suaviter 
 in modo you succeed, and you cannot succeed on 
 any other tack, you can commemorate your suc- 
 cess with a finny mummy in a glass case with 
 this glorious inscription: "Barbel, weight 12lbs,, 
 caught with a roach single hair-line, at Sunbury, 
 
 July, 1847, by " Some sceptic may 
 
 doubt the truth of this immortalising label, but I 
 should not, knowing well what immense weights 
 art can pull up, and what immense strength it can 
 pull down. In fishing for perch your tackle 
 should be strong, for he is a bold biter, and not to 
 be scared away by a stout gut-line ; hence playing 
 him will not be very advisable. You should 
 Q 2 
 
228 PLUMBING THE WATER. 
 
 raise him on land promptly, and not allow him to 
 dart about under water like a mad thing, else he 
 will give the word to his mates, and cause them to 
 disperse as diversely and as rapidly as the seizure 
 of one out of the gang of young pickpockets by 
 the police causes the dispersion of the remainder 
 of the shoal. 
 
 If you fish with a float you must exactly plumb 
 the depth of the water, in order that you may 
 know on what part of your line you are to fix the 
 float. For barbel, tench, and gudgeons, you must 
 fish close to the bottom ; and for the generality 
 of other fish of the carp tribe, from three to six 
 inches from it. When the plummet sinks the 
 float so that the upper tip is even with the surface 
 of the water, you have the exact depth. With- 
 draw your plummet, and move the float down- 
 wards on your line, as many inches as you wish 
 your hook and bait should be from the bottom of 
 the water. Fasten your float properly by the 
 usual means, and see that it stands in the water 
 clear of any obstruction to its yielding to the 
 slightest nibble. Green, dark yellow, or brown 
 are the best colours for floats. 
 
 BOTTOM-FISHING BAITS. Worms are the 
 most general baits, and, except at certain seasons, 
 the best of all. No river fish will refuse them. 
 They are decidedly the best baits in spring, and 
 at all times when the waters are clearing after a 
 
THE DEW OR LOB-WORM. 229 
 
 fall of rain. I will classify them for the purposes 
 of angling. 
 
 The dew or lob-worm is the largest used by 
 anglers, and the best bottom bait for large river 
 fish. Salmon, trout, barbel, chub, tench, perch, 
 and eels take it freely. It is sometimes found 
 weighing about an ounce, and extending itself 
 nearly twelve inches. The middle-sized are, how- 
 ever, the best, and two of the smaller-sized placed 
 on the hook at the same time form a most attrac- 
 tive bait. Mr. Elaine says, " The hinder ex- 
 tremity tapers more than the fore, except in that 
 variety called the squirrel-tail, when it expands 
 into a flattened surface, and is marked by a red 
 stripe. The colour is a dusky red, the head more 
 intensely red. The enlarged rings or knobs, 
 observed in some, are not symptoms of age, as has 
 been supposed, but are sometimes occasioned by 
 wounds, or by accidental stoppages of the circu- 
 lating juices, and may be always brought on by 
 suffering them to become unhealthy. In some 
 places the squirrel-tailed variety is preferred for 
 angling, and the vicinity of the Thames is an 
 instance, where they are eagerly sought after as 
 baits for barbel." Dew-worms come out in pairs 
 by thousands, in fields and meadows after sunset, 
 when there is a fall of rain or heavy dew, and 
 disappear into their holes about sunrise, when 
 the dew is dried up by the coming heat of day. 
 
 Q 3 
 
230 PRESERVING WORMS. 
 
 The early bird catches the worm, and so does the 
 early angler. By night they are sought after by 
 the light of a lantern. They .may be dug out of 
 moist mould, and out of the moist bottoms of 
 ditches. In dry weather their retreat is deep, and 
 you must dig deeply for them. If you place a 
 quantity of wet straw on the surface of the 
 ground, they will come out in a day or two. It is 
 said that water in which walnuts, or their green 
 shells, have been steeped, poured upon the ground, 
 will immediately bring the worms to the surface. 
 Digging for them, and getting them by night, by 
 means of a lantern, or early in the morning by 
 the light of one's own eyes, is the best and most 
 natural way. With respect to the preservation 
 of dew-worms Captain Williamson truly says, 
 "It is much the same as that of other worms, 
 namely, to be kept in moist moss, changed every 
 three or four days, and set by in unglazed earthern 
 pots, in a cool place during hot weather. That 
 kind of moss is best which is found on commons, 
 and which is crisp, and of a greenish white colour. 
 It cannot be too soft and elastic, but should be 
 carefully searched whilst washing, before it is put 
 to the worms, so that all thorns and rough sub- 
 stances may be removed, else the worms will not 
 thrive so well. Those who can supply a little 
 cream every day, to be mixed in or thrown 
 upon the surface of the moss-pans, will obtain a 
 
ARTIFICIAL TREATMENT OF WORMS. 231 
 
 decided superiority in the condition of their baits, 
 which will purge from all impurity, and become 
 beautifully bright and pellucid. The pan should 
 be large, or the worms will not live, whereas, 
 when they have good room, clean, moist moss, 
 and delicate handling, they will go on from year 
 to year." Not so long, in my opinion, without a 
 layer of nice moist earth at the bottom of the pan 
 or wooden tub. The worms should be frequently 
 examined, and the weak and sickly ones extracted 
 and thrown away. 
 
 The following remarks touching worms by 
 Mr. Elaine are interesting and important. Take 
 notice that he advises that the substances you 
 place them in for preservation should not be too 
 moist, and he gives you excellent reasons. He 
 says, " All earth-worms are found to be more 
 alluring to fish after they have undergone an 
 artificial method of treatment, the knowledge of 
 which, therefore, becomes important to the angler. 
 In large and much-fished rivers (and what large 
 English rivers are not much fished in these days ?) 
 the inhabitants, like those of cultivated and luxu- 
 rious cities, become satiated with common food. 
 In the Thames, the Lea, the Severn, and the 
 Wye, &c., but particularly the two former, 
 waggon loads of bait are annually added to the 
 usual alimentary products of the river ; thus the 
 well-fed fish require to have their appetites pam- 
 Q 4 
 
232 WHEN FISH AKE EPICURES. 
 
 pered as much as the accomplished epicure, who 
 looks with apathy on the meat of the shambles, 
 but brightens at the prospect of turtle and veni- 
 son ; so the oft-fed fish require that the worm be 
 cleansed of all* dross, and that its dyes be height- 
 ened by artificial scourings, thus proving, that 
 although the voracious cod, to allay the cravings 
 of his stomach,, will swallow the plumb-lead in- 
 stead of the bait, yet that in matters of mere taste 
 fish are not without a decided preference as to the 
 nature and state of their food. Worms are ex- 
 tremely voracious, and consume vast quantities 
 of both animal and vegetable substances; for 
 they, like ourselves, are omnivorous. Vegetable 
 matter they gain from the surface of the earth ; 
 animal matter is received by taking in earth itself, 
 which is saturated with animal matter, living and 
 dead. When worms are first taken they are 
 usually gross with intestinal matter, and soft by 
 the increased secretions of their bodies. By purg- 
 ing them from the earth they contain they are 
 rendered more bright, and on being cleansed from 
 all feculances they prove much more palatable to 
 the fish. As this process of cleansing promotes 
 absorption of superfluous moisture, they also be- 
 come thereby firm, or, as it is termed, tough, 
 which is of much consequence to the fisherman, 
 since in this state they are more readily put on 
 the hook and retained on it. 
 
SCOURING WORMS. 233 
 
 " The process of worm-scouring is somewhat 
 mechanical. It must be obvious that by insi- 
 nuating themselves, in their attempts to escape, 
 between the fibrous parts of hard vegetable sub- 
 stances, they compress all excrementitious matter 
 out of their bodies. Sound moss is the best 
 scourer, as being a matter that is in a state mid- 
 way between dry and moist. If the scouring 
 matter, whatever it is, be too moist, their breathing 
 pores are stopped up ; and if too dry, the same 
 effect follows from the orifices losing their dila- 
 tibility. 
 
 " Having carefully freed a quantity of such 
 moss from grass, &c., but particularly from 
 thorns, moisten it, and put in a sufficient quan- 
 tity with the worms, which, in three or four days, 
 will be properly scoured, appearing then bright 
 and more active than when first taken. They 
 should, during their scouring, be examined daily, 
 and those which are injured and diseased ought to 
 be carefully separated from the rest, or all will 
 participate in such injury or disease. Some 
 anglers hastily scour their lob-worms by plunging 
 them into water for a few hours, and placing 
 them in moss afterwards. 
 
 (i To preserve worms for use. Shred some 
 hard fat, without a particle of salt in it, suet 
 is the best, and mutton kidney suet best of 
 all. Having chopped it into small pieces, and 
 
234 KEEPING WORMS FOR USE. 
 
 thrown it into a saucepan containing about a 
 quart of water, let it boil slowly, until the suet is 
 dissolved; and then haying ready some well- 
 washed hempen sacking or wrapper, that has not 
 enveloped any thing noxious, dip it into the 
 liquor. When well soaked in it, and having 
 become cold, then mix some fresh mould with the 
 worms, and put the whole into a deep earthen 
 vessel, or tub, the latter is preferable. Into this 
 pour in a good stock of lob or marsh worms, or 
 any sort of red earth worms, and over the top tie 
 a linen cloth that will admit air, and yet prevent 
 their escaping. Place them in a cool situation, 
 and the worms will feed and cleanse themselves, 
 and keep lively and fit for use for many months. 
 We would observe, however, that if the angler 
 have different species of worms, let him keep 
 them in separate vessels, so that at any time he 
 may select the sort and quantity necessary, to be 
 placed in moss preparatory to his using them." 
 
 The blue-head is a worm that I have found to 
 be scarce in England. I found one this day (Nov. 
 18. 1846) in one of the paths in the Green Park, 
 small-sized, but lively and of a most tempting co- 
 lour. In my opinion it is the best of all worms 
 for the salmon tribe, and would be taken freely by 
 the larger species of the carp tribe. It is some- 
 times four inches long, but frequently found much 
 shorter. The head is of a shining blue, the rest 
 
THE BLUE-HEAD AND BRANDLING. 235 
 
 of the body, but particularly the under part, is of 
 a light cream-colour, transparent almost to the 
 tail. It is without knobs, and the skin on the 
 belly side feels sharply rough to the fingers. It 
 readily scours in moss, becomes tough, lively, and 
 long-lived. It is one of the most lasting worms 
 in the water I know of. When the water is dis- 
 coloured by a flood, it is the best of all trout baits, 
 and should be used on a tripping line without a 
 float. Spun in clear water by means of a swivel 
 or two on the foot-line, few fish will pass it by. 
 It is to be found in rich garden mould, about the 
 roots of esculent plants. It is not to be found, 
 like the lob-worm, in heavy, damp soils. I strongly 
 recommend it. 
 
 Brandlings are capital worms, perhaps the best 
 of all for fish under a pound weight. They 
 require very little scouring, and are almost without 
 it tough and lively. They do not run large, and 
 I advise two at a time on the hook if you wish to 
 catch good-sized fish. Captain Williamson's opi- 
 nion of this worm is correct. " It is," he says, 
 " with most fish the object of choice. They are 
 to be found in various places, more or less, but in 
 greatest abundance among rotten tan, or in heaps 
 of manure composed chiefly of sweepings from 
 cow-houses and swine's muck. They rarely exceed 
 three inches in length, and may be readily distin- 
 guished by their annular appearance, they being 
 
236 BLOOD-WORMS AND MARSH-WORMS. 
 
 marked in very narrow rings of strong red and 
 yellow, alternately, for their whole length. They, 
 besides, seem to be of a distinct class, as they do 
 not, when pressed, void an earthy substance ; but, 
 when wounded, exude a very strongly scented yel- 
 lowish liquor. Nor does the circumstance of keep- 
 ing them in moss create any change, except that 
 of rendering them beautifully transparent and, if 
 any thing, more lively. They are an admirable 
 bait, and may be used without any preparation or 
 scouring." Other authors do not praise them so 
 highly ; but I think Captain Williamson's praise is 
 deserved. 
 
 Blood or red worms. These worms run very 
 small, and are to be found in dung heaps of long 
 standing where the dung and soil meet. Those 
 found in tan heaps are the best, because they are 
 the toughest and liveliest and require least scour- 
 ing. They are also found in the sides of ditches, 
 and in most light and moist soils. They are a 
 delicate worm, and require light handling. Being 
 small, the hook must be small-sized and very light 
 in the wire. They are a good bait for carp and 
 small perch, and the best of all baits for gudgeons. 
 
 Marsh-worms are very well known in London, 
 and far too highly prized. They cannot be well 
 preserved, require a deal of cleansing, and are, 
 after all, a brittle, and, when but a short time in 
 the water, a lifeless bait. In truth, they are only 
 
THE TAG-TAIL AND WATEH-WORM. 237 
 
 fit for ground-bait, and should never be used on 
 the hook when any of the foregoing worms can 
 be procured. 
 
 The tag-tail, called by some the turnip-worm) is 
 a small-sized one, red about the head, and yellow 
 towards the tail. Generally speaking, it is not a 
 good worm. It answers best in spring, and when 
 the water is a little discoloured by rain. They 
 are easily found about turnips, potatoes, cabbages, 
 and in any strong, clayey cultivated soil. They 
 may be used as soon as found, and that is their 
 chief recommendation. 
 
 The water-worm is a good general bait. Captain 
 "Williamson speaks very favourably of it, saying, 
 " It is an admirable bait, and is ready for use as 
 soon as taken, being beautifully clear, lively, and 
 of an excellent medium size for most kinds of 
 fishes. It is of a clear bluish white, or, occasion- 
 ally, of a very light purple, growing more red 
 about the head. By turning up the long slimy 
 moss which grows on weirs, &c., over which the 
 water does not always run, especially when the mill 
 is going, and which is rarely covered more than 
 one or two inches deep by the passing water, this 
 kind of worm may often be found in great 
 numbers Fish seize it with avidity ; no doubt, 
 from being more habituated to it, by the quantity 
 which, when the rivers are much raised by rains, 
 &c., is washed out of the moss into the falls 
 
238 AVOID WET TINGERS. 
 
 below, where generally the largest and boldest fish 
 are to be found." This worm deteriorates by being 
 kept in moss or in any other substance. 
 
 There are many other sorts of worms recom- 
 mended by angling authorities, but I recommend 
 none of them, except as a pis-aller. Some anglers 
 use white slugs, and the black ones so cut as to 
 show their white insides, and say they are good 
 baits for barbel, chub, and eels. Never use them 
 when you can get worms. 
 
 Having now described the best worms for 
 angling, I must tell how they are best put upon 
 the hook. Make the points of your fore-fingers 
 and thumb rough by dipping them in sand, bran, 
 or rubbing between them some dry earth, and you 
 will obtain a light and firm hold of the worm, 
 which will prevent it from slipping through your 
 fingers as you bait your hook with it. "With 
 wet or moist slippery fingers you can never put 
 on your hook properly, and in attempting so to do 
 it you lose much time and injure the bait. 
 
 In baiting with a single worm, insert the point 
 of your hook just beneath the flat part of the 
 head, and work the worm lightly up the shank of 
 the hook and beyond it up your line, until not 
 more than a quarter of an inch of the tail, or at 
 most half an inch, when the worm and hook are 
 large, projects or hangs beyond the point of the 
 hook. When you use well-scoured and tough 
 
PUTTING WORMS ON HOOKS. 239 
 
 worms, if they are large lob or blue-heads, you 
 may leave a third part of the worm beyond the 
 point of the hook, as you will thus afford it more 
 room to wriggle and appear more lively in the 
 water. The tails of small worms should scarcely 
 project beyond the point of your hook. In put- 
 ting on the worm hold the hook, its point down- 
 wards, between the up-lifted ends of your left 
 fore -finger and thumb, and take the worm by the 
 back of the neck, as it were, by the same fingers 
 of the right hand, and when you have got the- 
 head of the bait up the shank beyond the bend of 
 the hook you may draw it gently further with 
 the left fingers, pushing the worm on at the same 
 time with the right hand fingers. Take care not 
 to perforate, after the first perforation, the body 
 of the worm with the point or barb of the hook. 
 Never try to get the worm on by, so to speak, 
 stitches. Endeavour as much as you can to make 
 the tail of the worm fall inside the barb of the 
 hook, and not on the outside of the point. If it 
 hangs on the outside the hook will soon penetrate 
 the upper part of it, and the point being exposed 
 the fish will either refuse the bait altogether, or 
 nibble off the part that is hanging partly dis- 
 severed and clear of the hook. In fishing for 
 carp, dace, and gudgeons, use a small showy, 
 lively worm, drawn up on the hook, the tail 
 almost to the very point. 
 
240 PUTTING TWO WORMS ON THE HOOK. 
 
 When worms are small, say of the average size 
 of brandlings, I prefer two on the hook at the 
 same time, a larger and a smaller one. I put on 
 the larger one first, and when I have got it half 
 on my hook, I pass the point and barb through it, 
 and draw it delicately up the shank on to my gut 
 or hair. I then take the lesser worm, one just of 
 such size that when I bring its head to the end of 
 the shank of the hook the tail may hang but very 
 little, more or less according to size, beyond the 
 hook's point. I next draw down the upper 
 worm until the perforated part of it comes in con- 
 tact with the lower worm, and I allow the tails of 
 both to meet, and, if possible, to entwine within- 
 side the bend of the hook. Worms put on well 
 in this way are most attractive baits, and, believe 
 me, that salmon and large trout will greedily take 
 two large blue-heads well scoured and adjusted 
 on the hook in the way just described. Let such 
 a bait roll along the stream about a foot from the 
 bottom, and, provided salmon or trout be there, 
 you will find it stopped by one or other of 
 them. 
 
 Some authorities put on the double worm 
 differently. The larger or upper worm they put 
 on as I advise, but the smaller or lower worm in 
 another way, viz., with its head towards the point 
 of the hook, and its tail upwards to meet that of 
 the larger worm. I really cannot see any material 
 
OPINIONS OF OTHERS CITED. 241 
 
 distinction it is six to one and half a dozen to 
 the other. 
 
 As I like to give the opinions of others on 
 important parts of angling, whether they agree 
 with my own or not, in order that the reader may 
 have a choice, I shall here cite, with respect to 
 putting worms on hooks, two experienced autho- 
 rities. The first is Mr. Elaine, who says, " When 
 one worm only is used, enter the point of the 
 hook at the top of its head, and carefully draw or 
 squeeze its body round the bend, and over the 
 whipping, by means of the finger and thumb of 
 one hand, while the fore-finger and thumb of the 
 other are employed in pressing the hook onwards, 
 until less than half an inch only of the tail part is 
 left, which should be directed within the curve of 
 the bend. If too much of the worm be left un- 
 attached it entices the fish to suck at that, and 
 teases the angler with continual nibbles; till at 
 length, on raising his hook, he finds this portion 
 gone, and the point of the hook exposed. To the 
 careless angler this happens continually. If too 
 little be left, there does not remain enough to 
 attract the fish by the motion in the worm. It 
 had always been our own practice to attempt to 
 direct the projecting portion of the worm within 
 the bend, and one of our first lessons in worm- 
 fishing was never to let the tail project outwards 
 from the point of the hook, that the fish might 
 R 
 
242 BAITING WITH LARGE WORMS. 
 
 not rip the bait away, so as to bare the hook down 
 to the bottom of the bend. 
 
 " To bait with two worms is the most alluring 
 practice of any for the voracious tribes, as trout, 
 perch, and eels; whilst one worm, on the con- 
 trary, well put on the hook, unless the worms be 
 very small, is perhaps best for roach, dace, and 
 gudgeon. In baiting with two worms, proceed 
 to place the first as already directed, but allow it 
 to remain above the arming until the second 
 worm is penetrated by the hook> not at the head 
 but near the tail, threading it up, and turning a 
 small portion only of its head within the bend 
 of the hook. Lastly, draw down the first worm 
 to meet the second." 
 
 I beg the reader's attention to the following 
 paragraph from "The Encyclopaedia of Eural 
 Sports." The author, Mr. Elaine, says, " In bait- 
 ing with the dew or lob-worm, enter the point of 
 the hook a very little below the head, and carry 
 it to within half an inch of the tail, burying the 
 whole of the hook within the worm. We have, 
 when the worm has been unusually large (which 
 is a very tempting bait either for salmon or large 
 barbel), passed out the hook a little short of the 
 centre of its length, and have again entered it 
 about an inch below, and carried it along the 
 remainder of the hook, leaving the folded portion 
 pendent. Though the barbel has by no means a 
 
THE PROPER SIZE OF WORMS. 243 
 
 large mouth, yet by sucking it can take in a very 
 large worm, and we believe that the general 
 result of barbel-fishing shows that they are par- 
 ticularly enticed by a large bait ; perhaps we may 
 also include the salmon with the barbel in this 
 respect. A very long worm is not, however, a 
 desirable bait for any other fish, unless it be very 
 thin, when it may be put on as directed above. 
 In all other cases a worm whose length exceeds 
 the linear measurement of the whole hook rather 
 more than one half, is the most convenient for 
 baiting, and the best for expedition. For, as in 
 our opinion, fish never willingly take dead worms, 
 so when one is exhibited to them crumpled up 
 and wrinkled, or torn or crushed, we suspect it is 
 refused because it is dead. It ought, therefore, to 
 be the aim of every worm-fisher to show his worm 
 lively, by allowing it some motion, and to exhibit 
 it as healthy also, by avoiding to tear or unneces- 
 sarily pierce it ; yet it should be kept so compact 
 to the hook, that the fish shall not take any of 
 the former without taking also the whole of the 
 latter." 
 
 In order strongly to impress the young angler 
 with the necessity of baiting his hook carefully, 
 Captain Williamson observes : " I have frequently 
 remarked the effects of doubt and of apprehension 
 in fishes of various descriptions, when any part of 
 my hook has been bare. They have come to it 
 
 B 2 
 
244 AIR BUBBLES A BAD OMEN. 
 
 in a balancing manner, and either shied off or 
 retreated, tail foremost, or they appeared to be 
 smelling to the bait, and throwing up bubbles of 
 air to the surface. This may be a thousand times 
 witnessed in clear waters, where all their motions 
 are perceptible. I have in general found it to be 
 a very bad omen. Fishes rarely discharge air in 
 this manner, except when in fear, or in difficulty, 
 or when in the humour not to bite. If the worm 
 is properly threaded on the hook, so as completely 
 to envelope it, and to have the tail about an inch 
 pendent, lapping over into the bend, few hungry 
 fish will reject it. In this mode of putting on the 
 bait, less opportunity is given for tugging at any 
 part, while it is greatly in favour of hooking any 
 fish that may bite fairly. As a single worm is 
 the more certain bait, so is a double bait, con- 
 sisting of two worms, more alluring, especially to 
 all the ravenous tribe; therefore, for such it is 
 particularly eligible. It is applied thus : put the 
 hook into the mouth of the largest of two worms, 
 and thread it for about a third its length ; then 
 bring out the point of the hook, and slide the 
 worm up, so as to be kept above the bend, and 
 with its tail hanging down in a line with the 
 shank. Then thread the smaller worm, which 
 should be particularly clear and high coloured, 
 until its head comes up the shank a little above 
 the turn of the bend, and is overlapped by the 
 
WORMS UNIVERSAL BAITS. 245 
 
 tail of the first worm, so that no part of the hook 
 can be seen. Be sure to bring the second worm 
 well on, and before you throw in (which should 
 always be done as gently as possible, letting your 
 line down quietly into the water up to the float), 
 turn its tail in, so as to hang down between the 
 point and the shank." 
 
 I have been minute in pointing out the best 
 angling worms, and how they are to be put upon 
 hooks, and I have quoted authorities partly for 
 and partly against my own judgment, in order 
 that the learner may have an opportunity of 
 " trying conclusions," as Papa Walton says, and 
 want no sort of information touching worm- 
 fishing, which upon the whole is the best and 
 most general way of angling at or near the 
 bottom, and frequently answers well at mid- 
 water, and at night even on the surface. Worms 
 of some kind or other are taken by fish in every 
 clime, in fresh water and in salt water, and they 
 afford the angler a never-failing resource. He 
 who knows how to angle with them has a sport- 
 ing relaxation ever at hand, and he who can bait a 
 hook with a worm for a gudgeon, can bait one 
 with other baits, be they pieces of fish, of meat, 
 small animals, or any other likely lure, for her- 
 rings, mackerel, whiting, cod, or monster shark. 
 By river or sea- side he can amuse himself, and 
 he can break in upon the monotony of an ocean 
 
 R 3 
 
246 TROLLING WITH WORMS. 
 
 voyage by angling from the ship's stern for those 
 fish which swim in its wake. 
 
 On days when the salmon tribe will refuse the 
 artificial fly, they will act differently towards the 
 worm, but you must angle for that species of fish 
 with careful neatness, with a fine gut-line, deli- 
 cately leaded, and without the incumbrance of a 
 float. A lively worm dropped in rapids, eddies, 
 mill -tails, worked artistically with the water, and 
 ever and anon spinning it against it by means of 
 a swivel-trace will rarely fail in affording diver- 
 sion. After nightfall in summer, worms, trolled 
 upon the surface of the water, will be taken by 
 large trout. 
 
 Gentles, or maggots, come next after worms 
 as a good bottom-bait. They suit the summer 
 and autumn months best, and most fish will take 
 them. They are bad baits for gudgeon, perch, 
 pike, eels, and, indeed, for most sorts of fish that 
 prey upon other fish. I have observed that in 
 some parts of the Thames they are not so good a 
 bait as worms, and that in other parts of that 
 river they are better. Wherever the puntmen 
 ground-bait constantly with worms, there the 
 worm will prove the best bait. On the contrary, 
 where gentles are the constant ground-bait used, 
 they will be found the best angling bait. Fish 
 become habituated to either of these baits, ac- 
 cording to the frequency of their finding them in 
 
BAITING WITH GENTLES. 247 
 
 the water. For instance, the puntmen at Sun- 
 bury on Thames usually throw in worms as their 
 ground-bait for barbel, and in consequence that 
 fish takes the worm there more freely than it 
 does the gentle. At Teddington the fishermen 
 ground-bait with gentles, and therefore angle 
 most successfully with them. In fishing for large 
 barbel with gentles, you should put as many on 
 your hook at a time as you possibly can. Half a 
 dozen would not be too many. For small fish 
 two gentles at once on the hook are sufficient. 
 Mr. Elaine says, " Unless the hook be very small, 
 two, or even three gentles, are requisite on it at 
 one time. With three insert the point of the 
 hook into one gentle close to the head, or more 
 bulbous end, and bring it out near the tail : now 
 take a thin green gentle, and pass the point 
 directly across the body, and then put on the 
 third exactly as the first, except that, having just 
 shown the point of the hook through the skin of 
 the gentle, retract it again. For the latter hint 
 we are indebted to Mr. Salter, and a very good 
 one it is ; for, as he justly observes, the skin of 
 the gentle being somewhat tough (especially in 
 cold weather), by piercing the skin in the first 
 instance an opening is made, by which the finest 
 stroke (when a bite does occur) will enter the 
 hook sufficiently into the fish to secure it, and 
 you do not risk breaking your line or the top of 
 
 B 4 
 
248 BAITING WITH TWO GENTLES. 
 
 your rod, by striking too hard. One gentle on a 
 No. 10 or 11 hook will often succeed when more 
 are refused, and the fish shy." 
 
 In angling with two gentles, insert the point of 
 the hook by the head of one, and pass it out near 
 the tail. Insert the point of the hook near the 
 tail of the second gentle, and push it up the hook 
 to meet the tail of the other gentle. The hook 
 should be inserted as close inside the skins of the 
 gentles as possible. The point of the hook is to 
 meet the skin of the second gentle close inside its 
 head. Gentle hooks should be made of very fine 
 wire. 
 
 Towards the middle of the day when fish are 
 rising at insects on the surface of the water, a 
 gentle placed on the point and bend of a hook on 
 which a red-winged artificial fly is dressed will be 
 found a killing bait, especially for chub, dace, and 
 roach. The straw-bait used in the same way will 
 kill trout and grayling well. Mr. Elaine observes, 
 " The angler will sometimes find, while he is 
 roach and dace fishing, that as the day advances 
 towards its meridian, the roach and dace he may 
 have been hitherto taking with success, will gra- 
 dually leave off biting, and from the bottom will 
 show themselves above, the dace at mid-water, 
 and the roach but a little below the surface. This 
 circumstance will afford him an amusing oppor- 
 tunity of varying his practice by mounting on a 
 
ARTIFICIAL GENTLES. 249 
 
 gentle-hook, No. 8, or 9., a pair of wings. A 
 very slight ginger hackle-feather is the best for 
 the purpose. After it is on, cover the remainder 
 of the hook with a tough, well-scoured gentle. 
 Whip with this, but not violently, and the dace 
 will rise eagerly at it. It is more than probable 
 that the roach will take it best when it is sunk some 
 inches, or even a foot or more below the surface." 
 
 The above bait can be well imitated artificially. 
 Tie on delicately a pair of wings from the land- 
 rail's reddest feather, and imitate the gentle by a 
 body made of a little strip of bright yellow very 
 fine wash leather. This bait will last as long as 
 any artificial fly, and may be cast upon the water 
 in the same way, using it as a stretcher in conjunc- 
 tion with two drop flies. If dressed large it 
 will kill large chub, and towards evening in the 
 summer season may tempt large Thames trout. 
 
 Gentles are a summer and autumn bait. The 
 bottom-line in fishing with them should be fine, 
 and they should be handled delicately. On fine 
 mild winter month days they are a good bait for 
 roach and grayling. 
 
 Gentles in London can be cheaply procured at 
 the fishing-tackle shops, elsewhere, and by other 
 means. You can get them of large size, and in 
 great abundance at the manufactories of tallow- 
 chandlers and fell-mongers. You can even pro- 
 duce them for yourself. " Hang," says Captain 
 
250 PROCURING GENTLES. 
 
 Williamson, " a piece of ox-liver on a hook in a 
 shady place, cut it deeply across and across in 
 various places on both sides ; then cover it over 
 lightly with small boughs, cabbage leaves, or any 
 thing that will shelter the flies, whilst they visit 
 it to feed and to lay their eggs. In a few days 
 innumerable fly-blows will be seen among the scari- 
 fications, when the liver should be taken down, and 
 laid in an earthen pan, about half filled with sand 
 and bran in equal quantities, somewhat moistened. 
 As the gentles acquire strength, they will quit 
 the liver, and bury themselves in the sand, from 
 which they may be taken as occasion requires, 
 when they will have scoured themselves, and be 
 fit to handle. The same liver will produce several 
 stocks, or successions of gentles, if properly ma- 
 naged. The largest will proceed from the blue- 
 bottle and gad-flies which attack livers with great 
 eagerness. From a dead cat, and indeed from a 
 rat, I have had such quantities of large gentles, 
 as kept me in stock for full six weeks." A sheep's 
 head, an old fowl, and the useless bodies of several 
 small animals kept in a moist, sultry place, will 
 soon produce gentles. Gentles are scoured and 
 rendered tough by keeping them for three or four 
 days in a mixture of sand, bran, and meal. 
 
 When you have procured gentles, you must 
 endeavour to prevent them from turning or 
 changing into the chrysalis state. You will do so 
 
PRESERVING GENTLES. 251 
 
 best by keeping them in a cool place in a roomy 
 vessel furnished with wet sand. Exposure to the 
 sun's heat soon spoils them. Mr. Elaine says, 
 " When the angler takes gentles with him for 
 several days' use, he should inclose them in a 
 wide tin with wet sand, and place them with 
 every advantage of being kept as cool as possible ; 
 if he can lower the vessel down a well, to within 
 a few yards of the water, his end will be fully 
 gained. Some of the gentles may be previously 
 separated from the rest, and placed in bran, or in 
 oatmeal, for immediate use. When a pretty long 
 expedition is meditated, as one of two or three 
 weeks, the gentles selected should be of two sorts, 
 some fully evolved, and others green, as it is 
 termed, that is, hardly full grown : two days' 
 keeping in bran in a warm situation is sufficient 
 scouring for the former ? to the latter a thin slice 
 of beef or mutton, or a small fish, may be put in 
 the moistened sand. The vessel in which these 
 are kept should, of course, be placed in a cool but 
 not in such an intensely cold situation as the 
 well; as the gentles from this store become full 
 and plump, they may be removed to the other for 
 scouring." 
 
 It is a common and well-founded opinion that 
 barbel and chub prefer green gentles. Roach, 
 dace, and bream like ripe well-scoured gentles 
 best. Mr. Daniel, in his " Rural Sports," cau- 
 
252 PRESERVING GENTLES FOR WINTER. 
 
 tions anglers not to throw away gentles that are 
 on the turn from one state to another. Dace and 
 roach, he says, often prefer a turned and a fresh 
 gentle put on the hook together. Gentles used in 
 grayling fishing should be large, fresh, and well 
 scoured. 
 
 Preserving gentles for the winter months. On 
 this subject Mr. Elaine writes with his usual sound 
 sense, remarking that "in the neighbourhood of 
 still and deep rivers the angler's winter roach fish- 
 ing chiefly depends on gentles ; and in the bends 
 and deeps of the more rapid rivers which afford 
 grayling, he is equally indebted to them for his 
 principal sport and his largest fish. In September 
 or October, the later the better, so that the parent 
 fly is yet abroad, which will much depend on the 
 season, (we have seen the flesh-fly active in the 
 early part of November,) allow either the carcass 
 of a fowl or rabbit, a sheep's head, or a portion of 
 liver, to be well blown. Procure a butter tub, or, 
 in preference, a stout long elm box (our own was 
 one foot wide, one foot and a half deep, and three 
 feet long) ; into some such vessel put sifted mould 
 moistened and mixed with dried and pulverised 
 cow-dung. With this mixture half fill the box, 
 and press it down very lightly. Put the carcass 
 and the blown gentles together into it, strewing 
 them over with some of the same compost : as the 
 mass sinks, fill it up with the same, and press it at 
 
WHERE GENTLES MAY BE GOT. 253 
 
 last moderately, as the gentles will sink to the 
 bottom. This box may be then placed in any out- 
 door cool situation, and the mould at times be 
 slightly moistened ; or it may be buried a foot or 
 two in the earth, if convenient, and will then re- 
 quire no moistening. The advantages we derived 
 from a long box were, that we could turn up the 
 earth in it at one end to procure the gentles we 
 wanted, without admitting air or disturbing the 
 whole mass. It is, of course, some trouble to un- 
 cover the box when buried, but in this case the 
 trouble is amply repaid by the cleanliness of the 
 process, for the earth prevents any effluvia from 
 annoying the angler in removing the gentles, and 
 once a fortnight will be sufficient to effect this. 
 During the early winter months fresh supplies 
 may be added to them, as they may be obtained 
 from the holes and corners of fell-mongers' yards, 
 the melting-houses of tallow-chandlers, or the 
 killing-houses of the knackers in London, and 
 at collar makers, huntsmen's lodges, &c. in the 
 country. All this trouble is only necessary for 
 the country angler, as London anglers can usually 
 supply themselves the year through with gentles 
 from fishing-tackle shops, and also from the 
 knacker's or horse -killer's, where some of the 
 finest may be procured, although a prejudice 
 exists against them when thus obtained, which is 
 fostered by the regular venders, who affirm that 
 
254 CARRION GENTLES. 
 
 they are only fit for ground-bait. This idea is 
 indeed groundless, for when duly prepared these 
 will be found for barbel singularly attractive, and 
 for all other fish also they appear nearly, if not 
 quite, equal to those procured from any other 
 source. Of the value of gentles as a bait but one 
 opinion we believe exists, or we should not have 
 dwelt so long on them ; neither are they a mere 
 local bait. In all the districts we have travelled 
 through they are highly prized for all winter- 
 taking fish, roach, dace, and grayling especially." 
 
 The gentles got at the knackers' are generally 
 called carrion gentles, and their proper use is for 
 ground-bait. They are nasty things to handle, 
 and are never so good for hook -baits as the gentles 
 produced by putrefying liver. When used for 
 ground-bait they attract fish to the locality, but 
 fish easily distinguish the nice, clear, well scoured 
 gentle on your hook from them, and will take it 
 in preference. They are a great nuisance to 
 carry, as they will eat their way through the 
 stoutest bags, and crawl about in every direction. 
 A bag of them in a railway carriage will furnish 
 very pleasant travelling companions. 
 
 The caddis, or straw-bait. I have a better 
 opinion of this bait than the generality of anglers 
 have. I have killed a great many trout with it, 
 particularly by placing it on the hook in conjunc- 
 tion with an artificial fly. Though the gentle 
 
THE CADDIS, OR STRAW-BAIT. 255 
 
 may be a better bait in large rivers for coarse fish 
 of the carp tribe, it is not so good a bait in the 
 gentle streams and pools of small trout and gray- 
 ling rivers as the cad or straw-bait. These baits 
 are the grubs or larvae of several of the angler's 
 best flies. No angling authority writes about them 
 more sensibly than Captain Williamson, who says, 
 " They are very fine baits for several kinds of 
 river fish. The angler must have seen in shallow 
 places, chiefly on stony or slimy bottoms, short 
 pieces of stick, or of straw, &c., which, if observed 
 attentively, will all appear to be animated. Gene- 
 rally, they consist of a short piece of straw, coated 
 over with a brown crust, and fixed to a small piece 
 of twig. Within the tube of straw is a maggot, of 
 a dun colour, with a dark head, which it pro- 
 trudes from under its little dwelling, and, by 
 means of four short stiff* legs, fixed close under 
 its neck, is enabled to crawl about the bottom, 
 carrying, like the snail, its house on its back. 
 Where the water is too deep to reach the caddies 
 with the hand, recourse should be had to a tin 
 basting-ladle, which will scoop them out admir- 
 ably, 'allowing the water to strain through the 
 holes in its half cover. In some places caddies 
 are prodigiously numerous, often covering the 
 bottoms of the shallows, either in pools or at the 
 edges of great waters, and clinging to growing or 
 dead rushes, reeds, twigs, &c. Although they 
 
256 BAITING WITH CADDIES. 
 
 may be used quite fresh, it is not, however, ad- 
 visable to employ them until they may have been 
 kept about ten days, or even a fortnight, in an 
 old worsted stocking, or in a woollen bag, which 
 should be dipped daily once or twice into water. 
 At the expiration of such period, the generality 
 of the caddies will have quitted their tubes, and 
 have become tough, having changed into a rich 
 yellow colour, in which state they are a very 
 alluring bait. If kept too long, they all turn to 
 various kinds of water-flies. In applying this 
 bait, the point of the hook should enter close 
 under the head, and be brought out at its other 
 end if two are used. When a very small hook is 
 used one caddis may answer, and then the hook 
 must not be brought out at its end, but the point 
 must rest just inside the end of the bait. In 
 general two will be found best ; it being indis- 
 pensably necessary to cover every part of the 
 hook. In the latter case the first caddis should 
 be carried round, so as to conceal all the shank, 
 while the other fills the bend, and conceals the 
 point. Caddies are in season only during the 
 summer months ; they generally make their first 
 appearance in May, and by the end of June are 
 most numerous." I think the best straw-baits 
 are to be found under stones in running streams. 
 Mr. Blaine, after examining several authorities 
 respecting the merits or demerits of this bait, 
 
SEASON FOR CADDIS-FISHING 257 
 
 says, " We may sum up these contradictory ac- 
 counts, by adding the result of our own ex- 
 perience, which is, that in some small rivers with 
 little run they will kill every kind of worm-taking 
 fish at bottom. In large, rapid streams, particu- 
 larly such as run over limestone, they are but 
 indifferent substitutes for gentles or worms. In 
 the Trent they prove singularly attractive to fish 
 [it must, then, be in the upper part of it, before it 
 reaches Nottingham], as well as in all the streams 
 of a similar size, which flow through clay and 
 gravel around the metropolis. The regular caddis- 
 fishing commences in May and continues until 
 June ; after which time, however, other caddies 
 continue to present themselves, but they are 
 small." 
 
 An artificial caddis, very attractive on warm 
 windy days, maybe very easily made. Wings, full, 
 and slanting a little over the body, to be made of 
 any brown-red feather ; body, long and tapering, 
 of light yellow kid leather, with a few twists of 
 brown silk over it, thicker at the shoulders and 
 head. 
 
 Caterpillars as baits are too highly praised. 
 Fish, it is true, will take them, but they are more 
 trouble than they are worth. If you do not take 
 the greatest caution in putting them on your 
 hook, you will spoil them either by puncturing 
 them too deeply, or by pressing them too hard, 
 s 
 
258 CATEEPILLAKS AS BAITS. 
 
 Either of these accidents will cause their internal 
 matter to exude, and so spoil them. The best 
 way of baiting with the caterpillar is that recom- 
 mended by Mr. Blaine, who says, " In putting ca- 
 terpillars on the hook some nicety is required. A 
 bristled hook (a hook with a bit of hog's bristle 
 projecting upwards from the shank to prevent 
 the bait from flipping down) also is necessary, of 
 No. 5, 6, or 7 size, according to circumstances, on 
 which the caterpillar should be threaded, passing 
 it up from the shoulders, leaving half an inch of 
 the tail pendent : pass or thread another contrary- 
 wise, taking care to have the barb completely 
 covered. Inspect the bait very frequently, and 
 change it often. We have also daped success- 
 fully with a pair of brown wings on a hook No. 5, 
 and with one caterpillar passed up the hook to 
 meet the wings, where a retaining bristle dressed 
 on the hook with them should be placed." Arti- 
 ficial palmers, well dressed, are much more handy, ' 
 and very often kill better than the real caterpillar. 
 The green caterpillar, or cabbage- grub, is a good 
 bait for grayling. 
 
 Pastes have divided the opinions of the angling 
 world, very uselessly in my opinion. Perfumed 
 and variously coloured pastes, as a general rule, 
 should be rejected by the wise angler. The sim- 
 pler the paste the better: sometimes made of 
 nothing more than moistened bread-crumb, worked 
 
COMMON BREAD PASTE. 259 
 
 between clean fingers, coloured sometimes with a 
 little vermilion, and for sharp running streams 
 having a little raw cotton worked up with it to 
 prevent its washing off the hook. This paste, 
 varied as above, is the best general one, and when 
 fish will not take it, wish them a good morn- 
 ing, or try the gentle or worm. In order that 
 the learner may not be deprived of any chance 
 resource, I will give him a list of several sorts of 
 pastes. 
 
 Common bread paste is made either of new or 
 stale bread, according to circumstances; and as 
 those, in the opinion of the best bottom-fishers, 
 are somewhat important to the success of different 
 anglings, I shall detail them separately. New 
 bread paste is made by intimately kneading to- 
 gether in the hands for a few minutes three 
 fourths of new with one fourth of stale bread, 
 without dipping in water. This working will 
 bring it into a very glutinous adhesive paste. 
 It is particularly fitted, therefore, for angling in 
 strong eddies and powerful streams ; but it does 
 not apply so well to the finer fishings of roach 
 and. dace in moderate streams and still deeps, since 
 it will not separate so readily from the hook in 
 striking as the paste made from stale bread ; and 
 this peculiar property of separating to allow the 
 easiest egress for the point of the hook when the 
 
260 STALE BREAD PASTE. 
 
 angler strikes at a fish, the experienced roach- 
 fisher considers to be essential. In chub-fishing, 
 on the contrary, it forms a valuable property in 
 this paste, as a larger piece will adhere to a larger 
 hook without being washed off' as the brittle stale 
 bread paste would be. It is also more useful than 
 the latter paste for taking dace in the Thames, 
 as well as the streamy parts of all other dace 
 rivers. This paste is convenient from the quick- 
 ness with which it is made at home, or by the 
 river side. 
 
 Stale bread paste is made of bread one day, or 
 at most only two days' old. In the latter case 
 the bread should be taken from the centre of the 
 loaf. First clip it momentarily in clean water, and 
 instantly squeeze it as dry as possible ; then placing 
 it in the palm of one hand, bruise it with the 
 knuckles and tops of the fingers of the other for 
 about twenty minutes, when it will have arrived 
 at the fitting consistence. It is well to observe, 
 that as all bread pastes have a tendency to become 
 quickly sour, particularly if wetted, it is advi- 
 sable, should the angler have far to travel, that he 
 carry the bread with him and make the paste by 
 the river side, in order to prevent it from becom- 
 ing hard or sour. This paste is the best winter 
 bait for roach, and the best of pastes at all times 
 for that fish, since you can fix it on the smallest 
 sized hook, and its very little tenacity scarcely 
 
GOOD COLOURED PASTE. 261 
 
 offers any obstruction to the point of the hook 
 penetrating through it to the fish's mouth. 
 
 A good coloured paste in imitation of salmon roe. 
 Knead flour and water well together, then wash 
 both in a pailful of cold water, working them well 
 in a mass without dividing it, until the fine parts 
 of the flour are completely washed away ; this 
 may be known by its ceasing to whiten the water. 
 What remains will be nearly gluten, and very 
 viscous. Take a little vermilion in fine powder 
 (the size of a large pea will colour a teacupful 
 of the gluten), and rub the whole well together on 
 a slab with a muller or flat knife. This paste 
 will not be affected by the water, and may be 
 preserved many weeks if kept immersed in cold 
 water. If left exposed to the air, it dries rapidly ; 
 when taken out for use, it should be put into a 
 wet bag. 
 
 This last paste is from a receipt of Captain 
 Williamson, w T ho remarks, like a true practical 
 angler, " As to all other pastes made with oils, 
 essences, &c., they are useless ; and the recipes 
 for making them are mere catchpennies, inserted 
 in various mean publications to swell their volume, 
 and to give an air of mystery and science, that 
 misleads and occasions disappointment." Very 
 true : and those who allege that they possess secret 
 baits, and angling nostrums, are as arrant quacks 
 as any in the world. 
 
 s 3 
 
262 SWEET PASTE FOR CARP. 
 
 Sweet paste is made by working the crumb of 
 bread with honey to a proper consistence. This 
 is certainly a good paste, but I doubt very much 
 that it is so on account of its sweetness. I have 
 heard hundreds of anglers talk of the gusto with 
 which fish have swallowed this paste, yet I have my 
 doubts, as I do not think highly of the delicacy of 
 piscine palates. The paste is very easily made, 
 and should therefore be tried, especially as it is 
 spoken favourably of by Elaine and Salter, who 
 say, " that it is a most killing bait for carp during 
 the months of July and August, and indeed as 
 long afterwards as the fishing season lasts. As 
 regards carp, this bait has a very peculiar claim on 
 those anglers who cannot be at their posts early and 
 late, where the carp-fisher ought to be in most 
 cases. This paste obviates in some measure that 
 necessity, as it is one of the few baits which carp 
 will take in favourable weather even at mid-day. 
 Chub may be taken by it sometimes very well, 
 and roach will seldom refuse it." 
 
 In angling with this paste ground-bait with the 
 meal ground-bait, which is the best of all in deep 
 waters for carp, chub, roach, and dace. To make 
 this ground-bait, cut a few thick slices of bread, 
 and put them in a pan without the crust. Saturate 
 well with water, and then squeeze the fluid out. 
 Knead with equal quantities of fine bran and oat- 
 meal, and work into tough balls. Drop one of 
 
PRESERVED SALMON ROE. 263 
 
 these in from time to time near your float, and it 
 will attract the above fish if any thing else will. 
 
 Adhesive paste may be made by boiling slowly 
 for a considerable time the shavings and parings 
 of white glove leather. In the glutinous fluid so 
 produced knead as much stale bread crumb as is 
 required to make a given quantity of tenacious 
 paste. This composition will suit rapid waters. 
 
 Barbel paste, of a very tempting kind, may be 
 made by soaking bread in the liquor from which 
 greaves have been taken after macerating therein. 
 The introduction of wool into the mass will be 
 found useful, to prevent the current washing the 
 paste away. By putting a small morsel of white 
 greaves on the point of the hook, you will prevent 
 its exposure whilst angling with this paste. 
 
 Salmon roe preserved, and salmon roe paste. 
 Both these baits have a terrible reputation, so 
 bad indeed, as to give him who uses them a poach- 
 ing character. Fame is mendacious even in this 
 instance. Salmon roe is sometimes a deadly bait, 
 but is very far from being invariably so. Taking 
 one month with another, the worm will beat it. I 
 have myself, in previous writings, spoken too 
 murderously of it. Longer experience causes 
 me not to think it so very slaughtering. An 
 angler, named Barker, more ancient than Walton, 
 is the first authenticated discoverer of this bait, 
 though it must have been known before his time 
 
 s 4 
 
264 AN OLD ANGLER'S LETTER. 
 
 that nearly all fresh-water fish devoured greedily 
 the spawn of other fish, and very likely, under 
 peculiar circumstances, their own ova. Barker's 
 letter announcing his discovery to some noble 
 patron of his is still extant. Being curious and 
 instructive, I shall quote it: "Noble Lord, I 
 have found an experience of late, which you may 
 angle with and take great store of fish. First, it 
 is the best bait for a trout that I have seen in all 
 my time ; and will take great store, and not fail 
 if they be there. Secondly, it is a special bait for 
 dace or dare, good for chubs or bottlin, or grayling. 
 The bait is the roe of a salmon or trout : if it be 
 a large trout, that the spawns be any thing great, 
 you must angle for the trout with this as you 
 angle with the brandling, taking a pair of scissors, 
 and cut so much as a large hazel-hut, and bait 
 your hook, so fall to your sport ; there is no doubt 
 of pleasure. If I had known it but twenty years 
 ago, I would have gained a hundred pounds only 
 with that bait. I am bound in duty to divulge it 
 to your honour, and not to carry it to my grave 
 with me. I do desire that men of quality should 
 have it, that delight in that pleasure. The greedy 
 angler will murmur at me, but for that I care not. 
 For the angling for the scale-fish, they must angle 
 either with cork or quill, plumbing their ground, 
 and with feeding with the same bait, taking them 
 asunder, that they may spread abroad, that the 
 
SALMON ROE A NATURAL BAIT. 165 
 
 fish may feed and come to your place : there is no 
 doubt of pleasure, angling with fine tackles or 
 single hair-lines, at least five or six lengths long, 
 a small hook with two or three spawns on. The 
 bait will hol^l one week ; if you keep it on any 
 longer, you must hang it up to dry a little. When 
 you go to your pleasure again, put the bait in a 
 little water, it will come in kind again." From 
 this letter we lepa that salmon roe may be used 
 as a bait by cutting it, whilst fresh, into worm- 
 shaped slips, which are to be threaded on the hook, 
 and the place you fish at ground-baited by throw- 
 ing in separated ova. Barker's method of preserv- 
 ing it is very simple, and will answer only for roe 
 that is to be kept a short time. Whether you 
 angle with fresh or preserved salmon roe, always 
 ground-bait with a little of either. Salmon roe is 
 a natural bait for trout and other fish that frequent 
 the waters salmon breed in. In the depositing of the 
 ova many are swept away by the current, and so 
 become the natural prey of the other fish, inha- 
 bitants of the stream. 
 
 It is not easy to preserve salmon roe so as to keep 
 the substance of which it is composed in a proper 
 state of hardness or softness. Generally, with all 
 our pains, it turns out too soft ; rarely it becomes, 
 except by gross blundering, too hard. When too 
 soft, it melts away when used, and is then only fit 
 to mix with bread crumb to make into paste, . 
 
266 DIFFERENT MODES OF 
 
 When too hard, some good still remains, for it can 
 be softened by immersion in water, and, at any 
 rate, will answer for ground-bait. The best roe 
 for preservation is that which is the largest and 
 got from the fish two or three weeks before spawn- 
 ing time. Roe that is smaller or not so near the 
 season of depositing is only good for paste. Some 
 persons preserve salmon roe by slowly drying it, 
 without any salt at all. They pick away the mem- 
 branous covering with great care, taking great 
 pains not to cause any of the eggs to burst ; they 
 then press it between two boards, and preserve it 
 by keeping it for some days between layers of 
 cotton, or wadding for dresses, in a state of pressure. 
 This would be a very good plan if a little fine salt 
 and nitre were scattered over the roe at first. 
 Sprinkling sugar over it has been recommended, 
 and will, no doubt, preserve the spawn. 
 
 The following (Mr. Elaine's) is the modern 
 method : A pound of good large spawn is im- 
 mersed in water as hot as the hands can bear it, 
 and is then cleared of membranous films, &c. It 
 is now to be rinsed with cold water, and hung up 
 to drain for twenty- four hours ; after which put to 
 it two ounces of rock or bay salt, and a quarter of 
 an ounce of saltpetre, and again hang it up for 
 twenty-four hours longer. Now spread it on a 
 dish and gently dry it before the fire or in the sun, 
 and, when it becomes stiff, pot it down. We 
 
PRESERVING SALMON ROE. 267 
 
 should., however, recommend that the potting be 
 not in one mass, but that it be divided into small 
 jelly-pots, pouring on the surface some melted suet, 
 by which plan a pot can be opened when wanted, 
 instead of disturbing the general store. Each little 
 pot should have for external covering a lid of moist 
 bladder. 
 
 Captain Williamson preserves salmon roe in the 
 following way. He first parboils it, and then 
 steeps it in strong brine for a day or two. Having 
 allowed it to drain well, he lays it thinly between 
 alternate layers of clean soft wool, puts it in ajar, 
 the mouth of which he covers w r ith a bladder, and 
 keeps it in a moderately cool place. If he observes 
 it getting mouldy or tainted, he scalds it for a 
 minute in boiling water, drains it, and replaces it 
 in fresh layers of wool. Roe simply parboiled 
 will last without any further preparation for a few 
 days, and is a good bait. 
 
 In baiting with salmon roe, the hook should be 
 covered with it, and as many grains put in the 
 bend as possible. The most perfect grain should 
 cover the barb and point of the hook. Some per- 
 sons with a fine needle thread necklace-fashion some 
 fine pink silk thread with the grains of roe, and 
 then tie a sufficient number neatly about the shank 
 and bend of the hook, shielding the point with one 
 of them. 
 
 When your preserved salmon roe is too soft to 
 
268 THE PROPER HOOKS FOR PASTE. 
 
 thread it in single grains on the hook, mix a little 
 adhesive bread paste with it, and use it as salmon 
 roe paste. Though salmon roe will kill all the 
 year round, it is most deadly in spring and in 
 the autumn and winter spawning months. 
 
 Cheese paste is made with either new or old 
 cheese, by mixing stale bread with new cheese, 
 and new bread with old cheese. The substances 
 must be kneaded together to adhesiveness. New 
 bread and old cheese for chub ; the other mixture 
 for roach. They are both good autumn and winter 
 baits. 
 
 When pastes are used, the hooks should be short 
 in the shanks, of fine wire, and sneck-bent. They 
 should be whipped on with silk the colour of the 
 paste, very delicately waxed with transparent white 
 wax. 
 
 Ground-baits. - These are essential to extensive 
 success, and should be used abundantly, thrown in 
 for days and nights previously at the spots you 
 intend to angle in. They should be thrown in, at 
 all events, the night before you begin to fish. 
 They should be of the same sort as, generally 
 speaking, but of inferior quality to, the baits you 
 are about to use. The more carefully and the 
 longer you ground-bait any locality, the greater 
 number of fish you will find there. Naturally they 
 will congregate to those places at which they find 
 most food. Mr. Elaine explains the rationale of 
 
THE RATIONALE OF GROUND-BAITING. 269 
 
 ground-baiting thus : " Fishes naturally congre- 
 gate where they have been led by any singularity 
 of appearance in the waters they inhabit ; thus 
 they are on the alert, and take every kind of bait 
 eagerly when a flood is coming down. Conscious 
 that food of different kinds is forced along by the 
 sweeping current, they are on the look out to re- 
 ceive it; and thus, also, when ground-bait is 
 thrown down, it attracts their attention and draws 
 fish together and detains them ; and, although their 
 naturally roving disposition may carry them away 
 again, fresh supplies render their absence short, 
 and they instinctively return to the scene of former 
 plenty. It is the principle of ground-bait to attract 
 fish without glutting them; and thus, although 
 edible matters enter into the composition of ground- 
 baits, yet they are, or ought to be, always inferior 
 to the hook-baits offered at the same time, by 
 which fish may be tempted to leave the ground- 
 bait for the more delicate morsel on the hook." 
 
 In rapid streams your ground-bait should be 
 heavy and adhesive, mixed with clay, and having 
 sometimes a large round pebble within the ground- 
 bait ball. In rivers that are constantly ground- 
 baited the very noise or splash, caused in the water 
 by the fall of the ground-bait cast in, attracts fish 
 to the spot. They are used to it, and know the 
 consequence. Large worms, mixed with balls of 
 clay, attract barbel, chub, perch, and trout. Offal 
 
270 THE BEST GROUND-BAITS. 
 
 attracts jack and eels. Bran, pollard, meal, malt, 
 grains, attract roach, dace, chub, and bream. Greaves 
 and pieces of cheese attract barbel and chub. 
 Kaking with an iron rake the bottom of the stream, 
 or mudding it by going into the water and stirring 
 up the bottom with your strong soled shoes or 
 boots, will bring fish into the wake of the disco- 
 loured water, and they will eagerly take worms 
 dropped in before them. The best ground-baits 
 are the following. I have mentioned the meal 
 ground-bait already, and it is the best of all when 
 angling with bread pastes. 
 
 Bran and clay ground-bait is very simple, and 
 much used for roach and dace. It is made of a 
 mixture of adhesive clay and bran well worked 
 together, and pieces about the size of a small egg 
 are thrown where you fish. If you are angling 
 in a current, throw in the balls above you so that 
 their particles may be washed down to the spot 
 where your hook and bait are. 
 
 A good general ground-bait for such rivers as 
 the Thames, Trent, &c., in which there are many 
 kinds of fish. Mix clay, bran, and meal together 
 into a firm adhesive mass, which divide into round 
 pieces about the size of cricket balls. In the 
 middle of them place as many worms and gentles 
 as you can ; as they creep out they are taken by 
 the fish with impunity, which will encourage 
 them to take your bait whether it be a gentle or 
 
PREPARED GREAVES. 271 
 
 a worm. Nearly all sorts of river fish, the coarser 
 kinds especially, are attracted by this ground-bait, 
 which is especially good in deeps where heavy fish 
 abound. 
 
 Other ground-baits are made of soaked greaves 
 and clay, good, when thrown in largely, for barbel, 
 and angling at the same time with prepared greaves; 
 others for still water, such as ponds, are made 
 of mixtures of sand, clay, and scalded barley or 
 wheat ; others are made of chopped worms, gentles, 
 pieces of greaves, and cheese ; and others of a 
 mixture of wet sand and carrion gentles. Ex- 
 perience will soon teach the angler the proper use 
 of ground-baits. One thing he must cautiously 
 prevent, viz., the washing away of his ground- 
 bait by the strength of the current to a distance 
 too far from him tc^fish at. His hook-bait must 
 always drop in at the exact spot on which his 
 ground-bait rests. 
 
 In winter many anglers fish with prepared 
 greaves, bullock's brains and pith, that is, portions 
 of the spinal chgrd. A salmon was caught in the 
 Trent with bullock's pith last winter. Greaves 
 are prepared by soaking pieces in water until 
 they become sufficiently soft, clean, and white. If 
 wrapped in leaves and kept cool, the preparation 
 will hold good for a week or longer. 
 
 I have now in one chapter, a rather long one 
 certainly, stated all that is necessary to enable the 
 
272 RIGHT PRINCIPLES LAID DOWN* 
 
 learner to bottom-fish. I might have thrown out 
 many other suggestions, amusing and speculative 
 rather than positively instructive, but I have re- 
 frained, because I know the reader will by and 
 by sufficiently speculate for himself. I have laid 
 down the right principles for him to build on, and 
 if he keeps them in view in all his angling-castle- 
 building, his visions may be pleasantly realised, 
 even on a sandy foundation. 
 
 Much of the information embodied in this 
 chapter has been re- written from Elaine's " En- 
 cyclopaedia of Kural Sports," and Williamson's 
 " Angler's Vade-Mecum." The latter little work 
 is full of good practical points on bait-fishing and 
 trolling. 
 
CONSULTATION ON FISHING RODS. 273 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ON THE PROPER MANUFACTURE OF RODS. 
 
 I HAVE consulted three living authorities touch- 
 ing the qualities of salmon and trout fly-rods, 
 and I will give the result of my consultations in 
 the words, with scarcely any alterations, of my 
 different learned angling counsel. 
 
 The first a gentleman, and celebrated angler, 
 and general sportsman of Wales, writes to me : 
 " As I have fly-fished through this season with a 
 salmon rod of eighteen feet, made by one of the 
 London topping artists, in their best style, with 
 ferrules, I shall lay down, sans ceremonie, all its 
 good and bad points. It is of hickory at butt 
 and centre, top joint made of lance wood with 
 cane or bamboo. I have no fault to find with this 
 rod as regards its throwing, for I am of opinion 
 that a ferruled rod will throw better and farther 
 than the spliced one, since, if we consider what a 
 long slender affair the eighteen or twenty foot 
 fly-rod is,- that it requires here and there some 
 support, to give it strength and action, we will 
 conclude that the aid of ferrules is necessary. To 
 any sort of fly-rod I should never have more than 
 T 
 
274 LANCE-WOOD ROBS. 
 
 three joints. The butt should be of ash, hickory, 
 red deal, or lance wood, and all the remaining 
 joints of lance wood. Let me here remark that, as 
 in all other things, our rod should be suited to our 
 strength, height, age, &c., and whatever strength 
 the rod gains by quality of wood, it is at the 
 expense of additional weight. If we are young 
 and strong we should have a rod entirely of lance 
 wood; if not, hickory, which is lighter, will do 
 nearly as well. It is a good plan to have our 
 butt double-ringed, by which means we can turn 
 and change our middle joint and top alternately, 
 which keeps the rod straight from warping, but 
 this requires a groove or furrow, or winch fitting, 
 on both sides of the butt, to enable us to shift the 
 reel to either side. The butt end should be 
 finished off with a round piece of horn, which is 
 preferable to brass for the hand. Many use 
 round the butt leather, or waxed string, similar 
 to that on the handles of cricket bats, to prevent 
 the hands from slipping, and give better purchase 
 in throwing. It would be a good plan if the 
 ends of the ferrules of salmon-rods were van- 
 dyked, and the wrapping to be wound over the 
 vandyked parts, as I think it would prevent the 
 wood from snapping off short at the joints. A 
 slight groove in the wood to receive the vandyked 
 ferrules would look neat and not weaken the wood. 
 "With the usual centre joints I have no fault to 
 
THE TOP JOISTS OF FLY-RODS. 275 
 
 find, but as to the top joint, I think the common 
 plan of five or six separate pieces, spliced toge- 
 ther, very bad; indeed nothing can be worse, and 
 of this I can speak to a certainty, for, as every 
 splice is glued together, and then wrapped over 
 with silk, the first fish you play, or the first tree 
 or bush you get foul of, strains your splice, and 
 then crack goes your varnish, and your stupidly 
 over-fine wrapping silk, which becomes com- 
 pletely rotten in two months after the rod is 
 made. The consequence of this many-spliced 
 top, so weakly glued and tied with varnished 
 silk, is that you have a rickety, treacherous joint, 
 scarcely strong enough to strike your fish, and 
 far less so to play and kill him. Now I will tell 
 you in a very few words what a fly-top should be. 
 It should be made of one entire bit of well- 
 seasoned lance wood, with two or three inches of 
 ivory at the extreme point, finished off with a 
 small brass ferrule, over which the reel-line will 
 run and glide freely from injury. The upper part 
 of the lower ferrule of the top joint should be 
 vandyked and whipped strongly with silk, and as 
 this is the most valuable and weakest part of the 
 whole rod, let there be half-a-dozen turns of silk 
 wrapping round the wood at the centre between 
 each ring. This will give much additional 
 strength to the rod, as well as much more action, 
 as it shortens the leverage, and stops any incli- 
 
 T 2 
 
276 ALLEGED DEFECTS OF LONDON RODS. 
 
 nation to breaking of the top. If any one doubts 
 what I say respecting the paltry, over-fine wrap- 
 ping of his London rod, let him undo a small 
 portion of the ring or splice silk, and see if it be 
 strong or weak. Be it remembered that the 
 tighter the silk wrapping is wound on the rod, 
 the more action and life it will have. Now, sir, 
 if you would persuade the London school to put 
 on all their rods good sound coarse Sadler's silk, 
 well waxed with cobler's wax, and then some 
 water-proof dressing that will strengthen the 
 silk, instead of the destroying varnish they now 
 use, we should have an efficient, perfect fly-rod, 
 that would last for years. Every thing, I am 
 speaking generally, in London rods is sacrificed 
 to neatness, any little weak trash doing for trout 
 rods, reels, lines, flies, gut, &c. ; and this has led 
 to the error of making salmon-rods and other 
 salmon-fishing gear so defective. The rings on 
 the top joints are generally too large ; and since 
 reel-lines are now more perfect, I would recom- 
 mend rather small rings, except the two on the 
 butt joint." 
 
 My correspondent is a gentleman of great 
 experience, and very ingenious withal, and his 
 suggestions I consider very valuable. He has a 
 high opinion of the Dublin salmon and trout fly- 
 rods, made by Martin Kelly of that city. He 
 thinks them stronger, more durable, and more 
 
WELL- BALANCED TROUT-RODS. ' 277 
 
 effective than London rods, but by no means sa 
 well finished. For my own part I know, that if 
 a fair price is paid, there are London makers who 
 will turn out rods as well, indeed I think I am 
 justified in saying better, than any makers in the 
 world. 
 
 Having consulted Mr. Blacker, of 54. Dean 
 Street, London, who is a first-rate tackle-maker, 
 and a most expert fly-fisher, he writes to me 
 thus : " For a trout rod to have a good balance 
 from the butt to the extreme top, it is essentially 
 necessary that the wood should be well- seasoned, 
 and straight in the grain, free from knots and 
 imperfections. The rod should consist of either 
 three or four joints. The butt to be made of 
 ash, the centre piece hickory, and the top bamboo. 
 The length to be twelve feet. This length is 
 what I deem most useful to convey a clear line 
 with facility on to the surface of the stream with 
 one hand. The butt should not be made either 
 too thin or too clumsy, but sufficiently strong to 
 bear up the middle piece and top. The middle 
 piece or joint should be made light and stiff to 
 carry the top, and the top should be made so as 
 not to run too fine towards the extreme point. 
 The whole weight should not exceed one pound. 
 If such a rod is made by a man who understands 
 fly-fishing, the angler will have great comfort in 
 his innocent pursuit, and not be tired during a 
 
 T 3 
 
278 MR. BL ACKER'S SALMON-ROD. 
 
 long summer's day. I approve of double brazing, 
 as this prevents trouble and danger in breaking 
 the tongue in the socket, when taking the rod to 
 pieces, and the brazings should fit air tight. 
 With such a rod the reel-line should be either 
 thirty or forty yards long, with what we term a 
 contracted reel, as the line will be found to run 
 off much more easily from its lying close together. 
 The casting line should be three yards long, and 
 composed of gut of fineness in proportion to the 
 size of the flies you fish with. The salmon-rod 
 should consist of four joints. The butt should be 
 of the best- grained solid ash ; the second and 
 third joints should be of well-seasoned hickory 
 without a flaw, and the top joint should be made 
 of bamboo, and, in my opinion, the whole length 
 of the rod should not exceed eighteen feet. The 
 butt and middle piece to be very powerful, to 
 prevent it from being top-heavy. The joints to 
 be double-brazed, having large and strong rings 
 from butt to top, that the reel-line may run 
 through them with ease. Proper rings besides 
 prevent the line from prematurely wearing out. 
 Prepared silk, and silk and hair lines are undoubt- 
 edly the best for casting. The former are more 
 lasting ; but the latter will be found the best for 
 throwing a line straight and far." 
 
 My third authority consulted on rods is Mr. 
 Little, of 15. Fetter Lane, rod-maker to His 
 
MR. LITTLE'S SALMON-ROD. 279 
 
 Royal Highness Prince Albert. Mr. Little is 
 himself a maker, having worked at the bench 
 as an apprentice, and until master as a journey- 
 man, and I hold him thoroughly competent to 
 pass an opinion of great value on the making and 
 materials of rods of all kinds. He writes to me 
 thus : "I consider the salmon-rod, carefully 
 made, and only spliced fairly in the middle, con- 
 sisting of two pieces, the most perfect rod ; but 
 the objection is that such a rod, made of two 
 pieces each nine feet six inches in length, will 
 not be conveniently portable, and will be only 
 suitable for the angler resident almost by the 
 river side. The next best rod should be eighteen 
 feet long, and consist of three joints, with one 
 ferrule fitting only for the butt and second joint, 
 the top joint being spliced to the second, and not 
 requiring a ferrule, which increases weight at the 
 top, and injures the correct play of the rod. The / 
 top and middle joints are to be made from the f 
 stoutest pieces of bamboo cane, called "jungle," \ 
 and brought from India. The pieces should be 
 large and straight, so that you can rend them 
 well through knots and all. Each joint should 
 consist of three rent pieces, split like the foot of a 
 portable garden chair, and afterwards glued toge- 
 ther; not knot opposite to knot, or imperfect 
 grain opposite to imperfect grain, but the best 
 part opposite to that which may be knotty or 
 
 T 4 
 
280 SOLID CANE GLUED RODS. 
 
 imperfect, so as to equalise effectiveness and 
 goodness. The natural badness of the cane you 
 counteract by art, and none save a clever work- 
 man can do it. The butt of a salmon-rod should 
 be made of plank ash or ground ash, though many 
 good judges prefer willow or red deal, as being 
 much lighter, and where lightness J^s^reo^uired, the 
 whole rod may be made of cane. The few makers 
 that have as yet attempted solid cane or glued 
 up rods, have generally placed the bark or 
 hardest part of the cane inside in gluing, and then 
 reduced the joints down on the outside to the 
 usual tapering shape. Give me, however, the 
 workman who glues the splices with the bark 
 outside, and then gives his rod a true and correct 
 action, allowing the three different barks to be 
 seen visibly on the outside after he has rounded 
 the whole. If the pieces are skilfully glued 
 together, they will require no reducing, except at 
 the corners, to bring the rod from the three square 
 to the round shape. I am prepared to prove 
 that there are not more than three men in 
 London capable of making perfectly rods of solid 
 cane, rent, glued, and then correctly finished with 
 the bark lying on the outside. 
 
 " The ordinary London salmon rods generally 
 consist of ash butts, hickory middle pieces, and 
 bamboo tops. The Irish and Scotch commonly use 
 lance wood, which is much heavier than hickory, 
 
HICKORY BETTER THAN LANCE WOOD. 281 
 
 and more likely to break suddenly. Good hickory 
 is not easily procured, but]when it is really good it 
 is as strong as lance wood, not so heavy, more 
 pliant, and less easily broken. Though lance 
 wood may be used for the thick joints, I, as a 
 maker, disapprove of it in toto for the tops of any 
 rods. Burnt or mottled East Indian cane will 
 make a good salmon-remand one of my customers 
 tells me that a rod he has of this cane is the best 
 he has ever had. 
 
 Double-handed trout fly-rods are generally 
 from fourteen to sixteen feet long, and will kill 
 middle-sized salmon, grilse, and large trout. The 
 rent and glued bamboo cane ones are the best. 
 The other woods I have already recommended for 
 large salmon-rods, will suit these smaller ones, 
 thickness and tapering of course to be propor- 
 tioned to length. 
 
 Single-handed fly-rods are made generally 
 twelve feet long, though there are some as short as 
 eleven and ten feet. The best average length is 
 thirteen feet. The wood should be the same as 
 for the other rods just described. Screw fittings 
 are bad. They are far too heavy, and soon get 
 deranged by hard work. Tongue fittings are the 
 best for all fly-rods, and they will not work out of 
 place if made to fit exactly. Whenever a fitting 
 works out, or whenever by shaking the rod you 
 hear a rattling noise at the ferrules, they are not 
 
282 THE RODS THE AUTHOR PREFERS. 
 
 properly fitted, and you must send the rod back to 
 the maker for alteration. If ferrules are finished 
 in a workman -like way they will require little or 
 no whipping with waxed silk." 
 
 My readers will now expect my opinion on the 
 rods above recommended by competent judges. 
 They are all good in their way. In my opinion 
 rods made entirely of lance wood are the worst ; 
 and those made entirely of rent and glued jungle 
 cane are the best. They must be most carefully 
 fashioned, and no maker can turn them out well 
 without charging a high price. I am also of 
 opinion that they will last longer than any other 
 sort of rod, and are far less liable to warping. I 
 have a high opinion of their elasticity, and Mr. 
 Bowness, fishing-tackle maker, of No. 12. Bell- 
 yard, Temple Bar, showed me once a trout fly- 
 rod, made in this, my favourite way, that had 
 been for many years in use, and was still as 
 straight as a wand. I never saw a better single- 
 handed rod. Mr. Bowness is an ingenious, re- 
 spectable tradesman, and judicious angler, and I 
 conscientiously and cordially recommend his fish- 
 ing gear to the attentive notice of the public. 
 
 The best trolling and bottom rods are thus 
 described by Mr. Little : 
 
 The best spinning rod is to be made of beauti- 
 fully mottled East Indian cane. It will be then 
 handsome to look upon, and work lightly and well. 
 
SPINNING AND GENERAL RODS. 283 
 
 Some prefer hickory because of its alleged superior 
 strength over cane. Good cane is equally as 
 strong, and so much lighter that you may use a 
 very long rod made of it much longer than if 
 made of hickory. The rings must be large and 
 upright, and to render the rod portable can be 
 made to take off and on. The trolling rod should 
 be made of the same material, but stouter and 
 stiffer, as a good spinning rod should play down 
 towards the hand. 
 
 A general rod of hickory is useful for its porta- 
 bility. It should be fifteen feet in length and 
 have on an average four or five tops. By means 
 of these tops you are enabled to form a fly-rod, a 
 trolling one, and different sorts of bait-rods. The 
 butt of course is to be hollow, and willow or ash 
 for that part of the rod is the best material. A 
 general rod of South Carolina cane, eighteen feet 
 long, is that commonly used by London bottom- 
 fishers. It has tops for roach, perch, barbel, and 
 indeed for every sort of bottom-angling. 
 
 The white cane roach rod is made of Spanish 
 reed, but the generality of them sold in London 
 are too long. Eighteen feet in length is sufficient 
 for any purpose, is more easily handled, and strikes 
 more surely. The London makers do not recom- 
 mend roach-rods made of this cane, on account of 
 the difficulty in procuring it good. It is the best 
 
284 WALKING CANE RODS. 
 
 material however, and no true roach-fisher should 
 be without one made of it. 
 
 The Thames rod is usually employed in punt 
 angling. It is from ten to eleven feet long, and 
 the best are made of hickory. That wood must 
 be good to bear the weight of the large Thames 
 barbel it frequently has to play and kill, and not 
 unfrequently pike and trout, for if made well it 
 can be used in spinning and trolling. 
 
 Walking cane rods may be made, as far as the 
 butt goes, of divers materials. A walking stick 
 fly-rod, very useful for small streams, is formed of 
 four pieces, three of which enter your walking 
 stick, hollowed out of course, and which serves as 
 a case for them and a handle for your landing net. 
 The fourth piece is the butt, twelve inches long, 
 with winch fittings, &c., in the usual way, and 
 which you carry in your pocket. In pedestrian 
 excursions this is a very convenient article. A 
 good walking stick bottom-fishing rod, has three 
 good joints, inserted into a handsome hollowed 
 piece of ground ash with the bark on. It is a 
 rustic looking affair, but an amateur in walking 
 sticks may have one and a fishing rod to boot 
 made, at least, the walking part of it, of the 
 handsomest Malacca. 
 
 The great rod and tackle-makers of London 
 are, Alfred, of Coleman Street, City; Bernard, 
 Church Place, Piccadilly ; Blacker, of Dean Street, 
 
LIST OF THE BEST TACKLE MAKERS. 285 
 
 Soho ; Bond, of Cannon Street, City ; the three 
 Messrs. Bowness, father and two sons, of Bell 
 Yard, Temple Bar; Cheek, Oxford Street; Eaton, 
 Crooked Lane, King William Street, City ; 
 Faiiow, Crooked Lane, King William Street, 
 City ; Farlow, Strand, near Temple Bar; Holmes, 
 Fetter Lane ; Holmes, Sidney Alley, Leicester 
 Square ; Jones, Jermyn Street, St. James's ; 
 Little, Fetter Lane. 
 
 This list, I have given alphabetically; so that 
 the last name in it may be as good as the first. 
 
 The best tackle-makers in Ireland are, Martin 
 Kelly, of Dublin ; the successor of Shaughenessy, 
 Limerick ; Hackett, Great Georges Street, Cork. 
 
 In Scotland, Dougall, Glasgow ; Douglas, 
 Edinburgh. 
 
286 RANK OF FISH IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 ON PISCATORIAL PHYSIOLOGY. 
 
 IN order to clear up for angling purposes how far 
 fish see, hear, smell, taste, and generally feel, I 
 solicited one of my best friends, Erasmus Wilson, 
 F.R.S., a well-known and accomplished anato- 
 mist and physiologist, to write me briefly his 
 opinions on the subject. He obligingly complied, 
 and the following is the useful result. 
 
 From the humble position of the fish in the 
 animal kingdom, namely, at the very foot of the 
 scale of the vertebrate series, in other words, the 
 lowliest of that large group of animals distin- 
 guished by the possession of a spine, it may natur- 
 ally be inferred that those higher attributes of 
 animals, which depend on the presence of nerves, 
 and of a nervous system, present a corresponding 
 degree of inferiority. Such an inference would 
 be strictly true; for, whatever element of their 
 construction we examine, whether their bones, 
 muscles, vessels, nerves, or organs of nutrition, 
 sense, or reproduction, all suggest alike the idea 
 of inferiority as contrasted with the higher animals 
 and man, but of exquisite beauty as compared 
 
THE FACULTIES OF FISH. 287 
 
 with each other, and considered in relation to the 
 part in the great drama of life which they are 
 called on to perform. The naturalist, however, 
 would repudiate the term " inferiority " as applied 
 to the structure and organisation of the fish, a 
 sentiment in which we feel sure that the disciple 
 of Walton would heartily concur ; it is, in truth, 
 simplicity., so far as the rest of the animal kingdom 
 is concerned, perfection, in relation to its own posi- 
 tion in the grand scheme of animated nature. 
 
 The faculties of the fish which depend on the 
 nervous system are, Intellect, Sensation, Motion, 
 and the special senses of Sight, Hearing, Smell, 
 Taste. Each of these faculties is presided over by 
 a known part of the nervous system, such part 
 being the material instrument by which the power 
 is generated and directed. Hence a pretty correct 
 inference with regard to amount of faculty may 
 be deduced from structure alone, that is, from an 
 examination of the size and qualities of the instru- 
 ment ; but, when to the information thus obtained 
 we add the further knowledge which observation 
 of the habits and instincts of these animals con- 
 tributes, we find ourselves in possession of ample 
 evidence whereon to frame a correct and sufficient 
 judgment. 
 
 The Intellect of animals resides in the brain, 
 in a part of the brain termed the hemispheres ; 
 and these organs always bear an exact proportion 
 
288 THE BRAIN OF FISHES. 
 
 to the degree of manifestation of the intellectual 
 faculties. Now, the brain of fishes is remarkable 
 for its small size ; and of the various parts of which 
 it is composed, the hemispheres are the least. 
 Hence we have good reason for assuming that, as 
 intellectual beings, fishes do not merit a higher 
 position than that in which they have been placed 
 by the naturalist. A few instances are recorded 
 which seem to exhibit a power of association of 
 ideas on the part of the fish; for example, their 
 approach to the margin of a stream or pool to be 
 fed; but this can only be regarded as one of the 
 humblest of the mental manifestations ; and they 
 would be as likely to advance towards an enemy 
 as a friend if the position of the stranger corre- 
 sponded with that of their accustomed feeder. 
 
 Sensation, like intellect, resides in the hemi- 
 spheres of the brain, and the inference deduced 
 from the smallness of these organs appears to be 
 just with regard to the faculty in question. Fishes 
 are as deficient in sensation as they are abounding 
 in motion ; but the two faculties have no neces- 
 sary connection with each other; few of the 
 motions of the fish are due to sensation, and 
 almost as few to the will; therefore, motion alone 
 cannot be taken as an index of sensation. 
 
 The mobility of fish is an obvious quality of 
 these animals, and the instrument by which motion 
 is effected the largest in their whole economy. 
 
ORGANS OF THE SPECIAL SENSES. 289 
 
 This faculty draws upon the brain only for the- 
 stimulus derived from sensation and will, both of 
 which are, as we have seen, of insignificant 
 strength. The apparatus of motion includes the 
 spinal marrow, and the greater part of the large 
 and numerous nerves which proceed therefrom; 
 and, in addition to this commanding power resi- 
 dent in the nervous system, a host of inferior 
 agents, the muscles, by which the immediate 
 phenomena of motion are accomplished. 
 
 The organs of special sense, namely, of sight, 
 hearing, smell, and taste, are each provided with a 
 vital and a mechanical apparatus. The mechanical 
 apparatus of sight, the eye, or, as it is popularly 
 termed, the eye-ball, or apple of the eye, is an 
 optical instrument of great perfection. In man 
 and in the higher animals, the eye-ball is very 
 nearly globular, the deviation from the perfectly 
 spherical shape being in favour of a greater con- 
 vexity of the transparent front of the organ. In 
 fishes, on the contrary, the breadth of the eye 
 greatly exceeds its depth, and it is flattened in 
 front to a remarkable degree, presenting, in fact, 
 the form of a segment of a sphere in place of a 
 perfect globe. It is obvious that this peculiarity 
 of shape is less easily maintained than that of an 
 entire sphere ; hence, it is no uncommon thing to 
 find the circumference of the eye-ball strength- 
 ened by a thin cup of gristle, and, in some instances, 
 U 
 
290 OPTICAL APPARATUS OF FISH. 
 
 of bone. There is another remarkable difference 
 between the eye of terrestrial animals and fishes 
 a difference which has reference to the nature of 
 the medium in which the creature lives. For ex- 
 ample, the density of water is so much greater 
 than that of air, that it is employed in -the con- 
 struction of the eye-ball of man, and the rest of 
 the air-breathing terrestrial animals, as a means of 
 directing the rays of light towards the bottom 
 of the eye, upon which the spotless curtain is 
 spread which receives the picture of external 
 nature. But in fishes it is evident that water, as 
 a medium of refraction of the rays of light, would 
 be perfectly useless, since the medium is aqueous, 
 through which all the rays reach the transparent 
 window of the organ of vision. The chambers of 
 the eye of the fish, which in other animals contain 
 water, are consequently those which are most 
 easily spared ; and it is the reduction of capacity 
 in them that gives rise to the flatness of the front 
 of the eye. The proper refracting apparatus of 
 the eye-ball of the fish is a transparent globe of 
 considerable density and size, termed the lens. In 
 terrestrial animals the lens is small, it is scarcely 
 more convex that a common magnifying glass, and 
 it is soft in its texture. That of the fish, how- 
 ever, is a much more powerful agent in the refrac- 
 tion of the rays of light, and approaches in some 
 of its characters to the finest glass. By it the 
 
EYE -BALL OF FRESH-WATER FISH. 291 
 
 rays of light which pass through the transparent 
 window (cornea) in the front of the eye are imme- 
 diately received, and are as suddenly concentrated 
 on the smooth expanse of the optic nerve, to be 
 transferred by the latter to the vital apparatus. 
 As is usual in optical instruments, there is a thin 
 partition pierced with a circular aperture (the 
 pupil), interposed between the transparent mem- 
 brane of the front of the eye and the lens. This 
 membrane is intended to regulate the admission of 
 the luminous rays. In some fishes there are two 
 apertures, or pupils, in place of one in this parti- 
 tion, a curious modification, while in some others, 
 as in the common skate, a broad curtain with a 
 vandyked border, is suspended immediately behind 
 the pupil at its upper part, and serves to veil the 
 interior of the eye against the vertical rays which 
 would otherwise interfere with vision. The 
 enumeration of all the modifications in the con- 
 struction of the eye of the fish with which the 
 naturalist is acquainted, would form of itself an 
 interesting chapter, but the subject is too compre- 
 hensive to be more than glanced at in this brief 
 sketch. In most of the fresh- water fishes, the eye- 
 ball plays in a bony niche, which is specially des- 
 tined for its use ; while in other fishes in which 
 the bony niche is absent the eye is jointed to a 
 movable bony stalk, and moves on the extremity 
 of that stalk as upon a ball and socket hinge, 
 u 2 
 
292 VITAL APPARATUS OF VISION. 
 
 The vital apparatus of vision, situated in the 
 brain, is one of the largest parts of the latter 
 organ, being more considerable in size than the 
 hemispheres which are destined to the control of 
 the threefold faculty of Intellect, Sensation, and 
 Will. The nerve or conductor which passes 
 between the vital and the mechanical apparatus 
 of vision, is also of large size, and is curious in its 
 structure ; in external form it has the appearance 
 of a cylindrical rod, but when opened the cylinder 
 is found to be a mere sheath, containing a thin, 
 white membrane, plaited like a fan. When the 
 nerve reaches the eye-ball this membrane unfolds, 
 and is spread out upon the inner surface of the 
 back part of the eye, constituting the sentient 
 part of that organ. This white and spotless 
 membrane, upon which the rich picture of exter- 
 nal nature is received, and by which it is subse- 
 quently transferred for perception to the brain, is 
 the retina. 
 
 Whether, therefore, we regard the mechanical 
 or the vital apparatus of the organ of vision, or 
 whether we pursue the inquiry by anatomical 
 investigation, or by observation of the habits of 
 the animals, we have the clearest evidence before 
 us, that the faculty of sight in fishes is one of their 
 highest sentient endowments. 
 
 In examining the structure of the organ of 
 vision we are struck by the absence of the out- 
 
ORGAN OF HEARING IN FISH. 293 
 
 works of defence to the eye, namely, the eye- 
 brows and eyelids, which are met with among ter- 
 restrial animals. It is clear that these appendages 
 are rendered unnecessary by the nature of the 
 medium in which the creatures reside. The same 
 observation applies with even stronger force to the 
 organ of hearing : there is nothing on the exterior 
 of the head of the fish to indicate that it is pro- 
 vided with an ear. In the higher animals the me- 
 chanical apparatus of hearing consists of an exter- 
 nal and an internal portion ; in fishes the internal 
 portion alone exists, and is hardly inferior in per- 
 fection of form and structure to that of creatures 
 placed higher in the animal scale. The nerves 
 distributed to the organ of hearing are of large 
 size, and the vital apparatus or portion of brain, 
 from which the latter proceed, is also considerable. 
 There exists, however, this important difference 
 between the organ of hearing of terrestrial ani- 
 mals and fishes, namely, that the ear in the former 
 is organised for the reception of the more delicate 
 vibrations of the atmosphere, while in the latter, 
 it is adapted to the rude oscillations of a denser 
 element. We may make this difference apparent 
 by the following simple illustration. The im- 
 pulse occasioned to the air by the ticking of a 
 watch is so weak, as to be indistinctly heard when 
 the watch is brought close to the ear, but if we 
 
 u 3 
 
294 POWER OF HEARING OF FISH. 
 
 convey the watch to a greater distance from the 
 ear and press it against the teeth, or if we rest 
 one end of a rod of wood against the watch and 
 the other against our head, we hear the ticking 
 with remarkable distinctness. In the language 
 of science, solid and dense bodies vibrate with 
 greater intensity than lighter media, such as the 
 atmosphere. When the watch is held nigh to the 
 ear the atmosphere is the conductor; when the 
 watch is connected with the ear, by the interven- 
 tion of a rod of wood, or the solid parts of the 
 head, these are the conductors. Now the appa- 
 ratus of hearing of the fish presents conditions of 
 the latter kind; water, a denser body than air, is 
 the conducting medium ; and the solid mass of the 
 head, and, in fact, of the entire body, completes 
 the conduction to the vital apparatus. Hence in 
 fishes, a humble contrivance is capable of effect- 
 ing the same end as the high-toned instrument of 
 terrestrial animals. Fishes must, therefore, hear 
 with moderate acuteness, particularly such sounds 
 as occasion a vibration of the element in which 
 they reside, for example, an approaching footstep ; 
 while the sounds which proceed from musical 
 instruments, being less easily conveyed, are pro- 
 bably unknown to them ; certainly this is the case 
 with regard to tone. Those curious porcelain- 
 like bodies, which are found in the head of the 
 fish, and which must be known to every investi- 
 
THE ORGAN OF SMELL. 295 
 
 gator of the gastronomical merits of his game, 
 form part of the mechanical apparatus of hearing. 
 The external or mechanical apparatus of the 
 organ of smell is a pair of small cavities or cham- 
 bers, communicating with the aqueous element 
 by means of four apertures, and situated near the 
 extremity of the snout. The two openings of 
 each olfactory chamber are intended to permit a 
 free ingress and egress to the water in which the 
 odorant principles are dissolved. But there exists 
 no contrivance, so far as we know, for maintain- 
 ing a constant current through the chambers. In 
 this particular, the organ of smell of fishes is 
 greatly inferior to that of higher animals ; for in 
 the latter, the olfactory chambers give passage to 
 the greater part of the air which enters the lungs, 
 and are thus enabled to test the quality of all the 
 air received into the chest for respiration. In 
 fishes this power is less requisite, and hence the 
 inferiority of construction. The olfactory cham- 
 bers are lined by a soft membrane, technically a 
 mucous membrane, which is richly supplied with 
 blood-vessels, and is brought into connection with 
 the vital organ by means of a moderately large 
 conducting nerve. The arrangement of this mem- 
 brane evinces one of those beautiful contrivances 
 which are so frequently met with in the animal 
 machine, and which are intended to provide a 
 large surface within a limited space. In order to 
 u 4 
 
296 VITAL APPARATUS OF SMELL. 
 
 increase the extent of this membrane as much as 
 possible, it is thrown into a multitude of minute 
 plaits which radiate from a central point and have 
 a very elegant appearance. From the back of the 
 olfactory chambers there proceed, as we have 
 already stated, two nervous cords, which conduct 
 the impressions received by the mucous membrane 
 to the brain. 
 
 The vital apparatus of smell, like that of sight, 
 consists of two round masses or lobes of nervous 
 substance, which occupy the front of the brain, 
 and preside over the manifestation of the faculty. 
 They are inferior in size to the optic lobes, though 
 often as large as the hemispheres of the brain. We 
 are thus supplied with conclusive evidence of the 
 possession by fishes of a power of smell. The 
 mechanical and the vital portions of the apparatus, 
 with the conducting nerve from the former to 
 the latter, are complete ; the only question which 
 requires solution is the degree of the sentient 
 power. The vital apparatus being large would be 
 an argument in favour of a vividness of perception, 
 but the small mechanical portion, and especially 
 the absence of a stream of water through the ol- 
 factory chambers, leave the organ imperfect. On 
 these grounds, we should be inclined to give 
 the faculty of smell a position next in order to 
 that of hearing, and greatly inferior to sight. 
 
 Taste is at all times, and in all animals, a modi 
 
SENSE OP TASTE IN FISH. 297 
 
 fication of common sensation, or the simple sense of 
 touch. Its seat in fishes is probably the whole 
 interior of the mouth, the tongue of these crea- 
 tures, being as is well known, very small and very 
 imperfectly developed. The observations which 
 we have previously made with regard to sensation 
 and to the vital organs of that faculty the hemi- 
 spheres, are applicable here. We cannot give the 
 fish credit for any refinement of taste, and taste, 
 with touch and feeling, must be content to occupy 
 the lowest rank of the nervous senses. 
 
 It is impossible to regard the distribution of 
 the higher faculties of the fish, which is here 
 pourtrayed, without a sentiment of admiration of 
 the wisdom and goodness of Providence, that has 
 thus restricted the sensations of a large group of 
 creatures, living in an element of danger and 
 destined to be the prey of the more powerful of 
 their own kind as well as of the other classes of 
 animals. They have the eye to see, the ear to 
 apprehend, and the muscular system to escape 
 danger. They have also a power of smell to dis- 
 criminate the qualities of the stream which it is 
 their pleasure to seek. While the absence of 
 nicety of taste renders them unheedful of the 
 savour of their food, and an imperfect sensation 
 saves them from the pangs which they otherwise 
 must feel in the grasp of their destroyer. 
 
 The angler who studies these observations, and 
 
298 PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 would avail himself of the lesson which they 
 convey, will judge how far it is necessary to keep 
 out of the sight of fish, and refrain from making 
 a noise, - to what extent fish suffer torment 
 from the hook, and how far it is useful to employ 
 scented baits to please their palates. 
 
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE SALMON. 299 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE HABITS OF THE ANGLERS FISH, AND THE BEST WAYS 
 OF CATCHING THEM FAIRLY. 
 
 THE SALMON. Salmo Salar. 
 
 THE natural history of this splendid fish, the 
 pride and profit of the great rivers of the British 
 Isles, was not known until about ten years ago. 
 The greatest natural historians, from the French 
 Lacepede down to our own observant Yarrel, 
 were ignorant of some of the main features of its 
 existence. Until the period alluded to we were 
 nearly all in error with respect to its growth, and 
 we thought the parr a distinct species. We have 
 now ascertained its growth, and know positively 
 that the parr is a young salmon of the first and 
 second year a fact the knowledge of which is 
 of importance with respect to the preservation of 
 the fish. The day may qome when the killing 
 of parr will be made universally a penal offence. 
 
300 DEPOSITING THE OVA. 
 
 We also know that up to its second year the 
 growth of salmon is exceedingly slow ; that after- 
 wards it is wonderfully rapid, but in salt water 
 only. Once a grilse or a salmon, fresh water is 
 fatal to its growth. 
 
 I shall, before I enter into detail, give in a 
 very few words the salient points of the salmon's 
 natural history. The female salmon, viz. the fish 
 with what is commonly called the " hard roe," 
 deposits its eggs, spawn, or ova, in gravel beds, in 
 the winter months, sometimes earlier,' sometimes 
 later. Simultaneously with being deposited, the 
 ova are impregnated by the spawn (the milt) 
 of the male fish, or " soft-roe," being exuded 
 over them. That is the active process of pro- 
 creation. The deposited eggs or ova are hatched 
 on an average in from ninety to one hundred and 
 twenty days ; duration of time depending on the 
 temperature of the water. The warmer the 
 water the more rapid is the work of incubation. 
 In a few days after expulsion from the ova the 
 incubated matter assumes the fish shape. This 
 embryo salmon grows slowly, and remains for the 
 first and second year the diminutive parr or fin- 
 gerling. On completing its second year it changes 
 its coat, and indeed its shape. The parr or samlet 
 marks and spots disappear, and it becomes the silver- 
 grey smolt, salmon fry, or lastspring. Its second 
 year or thereabouts being completed, it migrates for 
 
GROWTH OF SALMON. 301 
 
 the first time to the sea, and in two or three months 
 or more returns to its parent river a gilse or 
 grilse, having increased a pound more or less 
 during every month it has tarried in sea water. 
 At the end of its third year or the beginning 
 of its fourth (I am speaking of the female fish, 
 for the puerile parr will breed, horresco referens, 
 with its great grand-dam) it breeds, and soon after 
 migrates for the second time to the sea. A 
 sojourn there of a few months changes its name, 
 size, and shape, and immigrating again into its 
 native stream it becomes a salmon. To deserve- 
 that name it must have made two voyages to sea, 
 and entered the fourth year of its existence. 
 Afterwards, as long as it lives, it visits the sea 
 annually, and annually revisits the streams of its 
 birth, in which it gives birth to thousands of its 
 tribe. Become an adult, the longer it remains at 
 sea the more rapid is its growth. In fresh water 
 it no longer thrives, and seems to seek the pure 
 element for no other purpose than the important 
 one of propagating its species. I have now in a 
 very few lines traced the grand outlines of salmon 
 life. I shall now confine myself to some minute 
 details, omitting those that I do not think it ne- 
 cessary for the mere angler to know. 
 
 Mr. John Shaw of Drumlanrig, and Mr. John 
 Young of Sutherlandshire, the former the manager 
 
302 THE PAKE A YOUNG SALMON. 
 
 of the Duke of Buccleuch's salmon fisheries, the 
 latter of those of the Duke of Sutherland, were 
 the first to prove publicly some of the facts above 
 glanced at. I am glad however to state that an 
 accomplished angler and sportsman, Mr. W. 
 Scrope, F. L. S., the celebrated author of ".The 
 Art of Deer Stalking," and of " Days and Nights 
 of Salmon Fishing," knew, though he did not 
 make it public, so far back as the year 1825, 
 that the parr was the young of salmon. In that 
 year he communicated this information in a let- 
 ter to Mr. Kennedy, M. P., and maintained 
 the point in discussion against the contrary 
 opinions of the Ettrick Shepherd and other 
 supposed competent authorities. To him, there- 
 fore, I give the honour of the discovery, and to 
 Messrs. Shaw and Young that of having pub- 
 lished it and of following it up by other important 
 discoveries. 
 
 Mr. Scrope, in his interesting " Days and 
 Nights of Salmon Fishing," a work which every 
 angler who desires to become accomplished should 
 consult, embodies Messrs. Shaw and Young's re- 
 marks on salmon with his own ; and all that is 
 left for me to do is to give the substance of their 
 joint observations. 
 
 Salmon begin spawning in some rivers as early 
 as September, and continue doing so through the 
 
SALMON SPAWNING. 303 
 
 winter months ; the chief ones being December, 
 January, and February. A few remain on the 
 spawning grounds, and Mr. Scrope says he has 
 caught full roeners, as they are called, in the 
 month of May in the Tweed. The spawn of 
 salmon remains in the gravel beds from ninety 
 to one hundred days before it vivifies, and even 
 remains there some weeks after its exclusion from 
 the eggs. According to Mr. Shaw, the latter 
 period is fifteen days, at the end of which the 
 portion of the egg remaining attached for the 
 purpose of nutrition to the abdomen of the fish- 
 foetus contracts and disappears. The fin or tad- 
 pole-like fringe divides itself into the dorsal, 
 adipose, and anal fins, the little transverse bars, 
 which for a period of two years characterise it as a 
 parr, also make their appearance, so that a period 
 of at least one hundred and forty days is required 
 to perfect this little fish, which even then mea- 
 sures little more than one inch in length. 
 
 Mr. Shaw, to prove his facts, made the following 
 experiments. He made three ponds, so con- 
 structed that the young fish could not escape, or 
 any other sort of fish have access to them. He 
 then (the 4th January, 1837,) proceeded to the 
 river Nith, and discovered a pair of adult salmon 
 engaged in depositing their spawn. He captured 
 the pair, and pressed with the hand the ova from 
 
304 MR. SHAW'S SALMON EXPERIMENTS. 
 
 the body of the female, from the male In the same 
 way he expressed the milt, and with it impreg- 
 nated the ova, which he transferred to one of his 
 prepared ponds. On the 28th of April following, 
 one hundred and fourteen days after impregnation, 
 the young salmon were excluded from the eggs, 
 but were not so on the day preceding. On the 
 24th of May, twenty-seven days after being 
 hatched, the young fish had consumed the yolk, 
 which remains attached to the lower part of the 
 body for the purpose of nourishment, and the 
 characteristic bars of the parr had become dis- 
 tinctly visible. An accidental deposit of mud 
 destroyed these fry. In the same year on the 
 27th of January, he made a duplicate of the 
 above experiment, and found on the 21st of March 
 (fifty-four days after impregnation) that the em- 
 bryo fish were visible to the naked eye. On the 
 7th of May (one hundred and one days after im- 
 pregnation) they had burst the envelope, and 
 were to be found amongst the shingle of the 
 stream. The temperature of the water was at 
 the time 43, and of the atmosphere 45 ; and 
 this brood Mr. Shaw had an opportunity of watch- 
 ing continuously for a length of time, for more 
 than the entire period which was required to 
 elapse from their exclusion from the egg, until 
 their assumption of those characters which dis- 
 
SIZE OF PAKR AT TWO YEARS OLD. 305 
 
 tinguish the undoubted salmon fry. He instances 
 one of those of two years old, when it had assumed 
 its migratory dress, and measured about six and 
 a half inches, the average size of the brood. 
 Touching this fact Mr. Scrope exclaims, " Two 
 years, mark this, and only six inches and a 
 half long ! It then goes to the sea, the first floods 
 in May (two years or more after incubation), and 
 returns in two or three months, as it may happen, 
 when it is called a gilse, and is increased to the 
 size of from four to seven pounds, and indeed very 
 considerably more, being larger or smaller in pro- 
 portion to the time it has remained in the sea. 
 A second visit to the sea gives it another increase, 
 when it returns to the river as a salmon. This 
 appears so wonderful and extraordinary a de- 
 parture from the general laws of nature, that it is 
 no wonder that the most scientific men have been 
 misled." A gilse may be larger than a salmon, 
 by one fish remaining a longer period in the sea 
 during its first visit, than another during its first 
 and second. 
 
 Another experiment is more curious and con- 
 clusive if possible than the above, for it shows 
 that the male parr will impregnate the ova of the 
 female salmon, and that the male parrs, the off- 
 spring of this impregnation, will breed with other 
 salmon, and therefore are not hybrids. "In 
 January, 1837," says Mr. Shaw, "I took a female 
 
 x 
 
306 EXTRAORDINARY EXPERIMENT. 
 
 salmon weighing fourteen pounds from the spawn- 
 ing bed, from which I also took a male parr weigh- 
 ing one ounce and a half, with the milt of which I 
 impregnated a quantity of her ova, and placed the 
 whole in a private pond; when, to my great 
 astonishment, the process succeeded in every re- 
 spect, as it had done with the ova which had been 
 impregnated by the adult male salmon, and exhi- 
 bited, from the first visible appearance of the 
 embryo fish up to their assuming their migratory 
 dress, the utmost health and vigour." Mr. Scrope 
 says, " On the 4th of January, 1837, a male parr, 
 itself the produce of a male parr and female adult 
 salmon, was made by expression of the milt to 
 impregnate the eggs of a salmon weighing twelve 
 pounds ; and for the better security of the whole it 
 was placed in a wooden trough, over which a 
 sheet of fine upper wire-gauze was fixed. The 
 trough was then placed in a stream of water 
 previously prepared for its reception, and the 
 results were precisely of a corresponding nature 
 to those already detailed. Now, if the parr and 
 salmon were distinct species, their produce would 
 be hybrids, and would not, therefore, breed again, 
 according to the rules of nature established to 
 prevent the confusion of different species by a 
 conservative law ; but this last and most import- 
 ant experiment has proved that the produce from 
 the male parr and female adult salmon will breed 
 
MIGRATION OF SALMON FRY. 307 
 
 again with the old salmon, and therefore that 
 such produce are not mules, but of the same 
 species with their parents." Mr. Shaw also proves 
 that the milt of the common river trout will 
 impregnate the ova of the female salmon. It 
 remains hereafter to be seen whether the bull 
 trout, or salmo eriox, is or is not the produce of 
 that impregnation. It appears that the sea trout 
 is not, but is a distinct species. 
 
 Generally in May, the parr having become 
 smolts, or salmon fry, being about two years old, 
 and seven inches in length, migrate for the first 
 time to the sea. If they return in about a month 
 they weigh from a pound to two pounds each, are 
 long and thin, and much forked in the tail. 
 " They keep on," says Mr. Scrope, " ascending 
 the river during the summer months, the new- 
 comers increasing afterwards about a pound and a 
 half a month on an average, but much less in 
 their very young state. The most plentiful sea- 
 son in the Tweed, if there is a flood, is about the 
 18th of July, at which period they weigh from 
 four to six pounds; and those which leave the 
 salt for the fresh water at the end of September, 
 and during the month of October, sometimes 
 come up the river of the weight of ten and eleven 
 pounds, and even more. All these fish are known 
 in the north by the name of gilses, but by the 
 London fishmongers are generally, I believe, 
 x 2 
 
308 GRILSE LARGER THAN SALMON. 
 
 called salmon-peel. Some of them are much 
 larger than small salmon ; but by the term gilse 
 I mean young salmon that have been only once 
 to sea. They are easily distinguished from sal- 
 mon by their countenance, and less plump appear- 
 ance, and particularly by the diminished size of 
 the part of the body next the tail, which also is 
 more forked than that of the salmon. They 
 remain in fresh water all the autumn and winter, 
 and spawn at the same time with the salmon. 
 They return also to sea in the spring with the ^ 
 salmon." 
 
 Growth of the parr or salmon fry. At two 
 months old they are one inch and a quarter long, 
 at four months, two inches and a half, at six 
 months, three inches and a quarter. At eighteen 
 months old the fry measures six inches in length, 
 and the milt of the male is matured, and can be 
 made to flow from the body by the slightest 
 pressure ; but the females of a similar age do not 
 exhibit a corresponding appearance as to the ma- 
 turity of the roe. The male is at this time in the 
 autumn of his second year, and lies about and in 
 the spawning beds of the large salmon, where he 
 impregnates the ova. The following spring he is 
 about seven inches and a half long, when beauti- 
 ful silver scales grow over the spots and bars 
 which have characterised him up to this period ; 
 and the majority of the breed then congregate, 
 
GROWTH OF GRILSE INTO SALMON.' 309 
 
 and go to sea with the first floods in May. The 
 following table shows the growth of gilse into 
 salmon : 
 
 When marked. 
 
 When retaken. 
 
 Weight of 
 Gilse. 
 
 Weight of 
 Salmon. 
 
 
 
 Ibs. 
 
 Ibs. 
 
 February 18 
 
 18 
 
 June 23 
 25 
 
 4 
 4 
 
 9 
 11 
 
 18 
 
 25 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 18 
 
 25 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 18 
 
 27 
 
 4 
 
 13 
 
 18 
 
 28 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 Marchl 4 
 4 
 
 July 1 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 12 
 14 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 12 
 
 18 
 
 4 
 
 27 
 
 4 
 
 12 
 
 Mr. Scrope says, " The above disparity of 
 growth is easily accounted for, since it is not pro- 
 bable that these fish, which were caught, marked, 
 and returned to the river in February, went down 
 to the sea before March, if, indeed, so early : of 
 course they would not increase in growth in fresh 
 water, though they would mend somewhat in 
 weight, after their weak spawning state. Setting 
 these, therefore, aside, it appears that the growth 
 of the last four fish averaged two pounds each 
 per month when they were at sea ; and if they 
 remained in the river after the 4th of March, as 
 it is reasonable to suppose they did, then their 
 growth must have been proportionably greater." 
 
 x 3 
 
310 WHY SALMON LEAVE THE SEA. 
 
 I fancy the reader must now be convinced that the 
 parr is the young salmon, and he also must know 
 something of the growth of this fish. I will go 
 back again to before spawning time, and trace the 
 habits of the salmon up to that time. Salmon 
 enter rivers from the sea as early as February 
 and March, for the sole purpose, it is supposed, 
 of spawning, but it must have some other object 
 in view as well, since at the earliest the spawning 
 process does not commence until September. It 
 cannot be for nourishment, because it is well 
 known that salmon lose in weight and condition 
 every day they remain in fresh water. Mr. Scrope 
 goes on to remark, " Some think it is to get rid 
 of the sea-louse ; but this supposition must be set 
 aside, when it is known that this insect adheres 
 only to some of the newly run fish, which are the 
 best in condition. I think it more probable that 
 they are driven from the coasts, near the riyer, by 
 the numerous enemies they encounter there, such 
 as porpoises and seals which alarm them in great 
 quantities. However this may be, they remain 
 in the fresh water till the spawning months com- 
 mence. On the first arrival of the spring salmon 
 from the sea, they are apt to take up their seats 
 in the rear of a scull of kelts, and at this early 
 period they are brown in the back, fat, and in 
 high condition. In the cold months they lie in 
 the deep and easy water ; and as the season ad- 
 
THE HAUNTS OF SALMON. 311 
 
 yances they draw into the principal rough streams, 
 always lying in places where they can be least 
 easily discovered. They are very fond of a stream 
 above a deep pool, into which they can fall back 
 in case of disturbance. They prefer lying upon 
 even rock, or behind large blocks of stone, parti- 
 cularly such as are of a colour approaching that 
 of themselves. At every swell of the river, unless 
 it is a very trifling one, the fish move upwards 
 nearer the spawning places; so that no one can 
 reckon upon preserving his particular part of the 
 river, which is the chief reason of the universal 
 destruction of these valuable animals. Previous 
 to a flood, the fish frequently leap out of the 
 water, either for the purpose of filling their air- 
 bladders to make them more buoyant for travelling, 
 or from excitement, or, perhaps, to exercise their 
 powers of ascending heights and cataracts in the 
 course of their journey upwards." 
 
 Historians used to gravely tell us that salmon, 
 in order to jump high, were in the habit of placing 
 their tails in their mouths, and then bending them- 
 selves like a bow, bound out of the water to a 
 considerable distance, from twelve to twenty feet. 
 Mr. Scrope calculates that six feet in height is 
 more than the average spring of salmon, though 
 he conceives that very large fish, in deep w^ater, 
 could leap much higher. He says, " Large fish 
 can spring much higher than small ones ; but their 
 x 4 
 
312 HOW SALMON BOUND FROM THE WATER. 
 
 powers are limited or augmented according to the 
 depth of water they spring from: in shallow 
 water, they have little power of ascension; in 
 deep, they have the most considerable. They 
 rise rapidly from the very bottom to the surface 
 of the water by means of rowing and sculling, as 
 it were, with their fins and tail ; and this power- 
 ful impetus bears them upwards in the air, on the 
 same principle that a few tugs of the oar make a 
 boat shoot onwards after one has ceased to row." 
 
 The spawning process is thus accurately de- 
 scribed by Mr. Scrope : " Salmon are led by 
 instinct to select such places for depositing their 
 spawn as are the least likely to be affected by the 
 floods. These are the broad parts of the river, 
 where the water runs swift and shallow, and has 
 a free passage over an even bed. - Here they 
 either select an old spawning place, a sort of 
 trough left in the channel, or form a fresh one. 
 The spawning bed is made by the female. Some 
 have fancied that the elongation of the lower jaw 
 in the male, which is somewhat in the form of a 
 crook, is designed by nature to enable him to 
 excavate the spawning trough. Certainly it is 
 difficult to divine what may be the true use of 
 this very ugly excrescence ; but observation has 
 proved that this idea is a fallacy, and that the 
 male never assists in making the spawning-place ; 
 and, indeed, if he did so, he would not possibly 
 
SPAWNING PROCESS DESCRIBED. 313 
 
 make use of the elongation in question for that 
 purpose, which springs from the lower jaw, and 
 bends inwards towards the throat. When the 
 female first commences making her spawning- 
 bed, she generally comes after sunset, and goes off 
 in the morning : she works up the gravel with her 
 snout, her head pointing against the stream, and 
 she arranges the position of the loose gravel with 
 her tail. When this is done, the male makes his 
 appearance in the evenings, according to the usage 
 of the female : he then remains close by her, on 
 the side on which the water is deepest. When 
 the female is in the act of emitting her ova, 
 she turns upon her side, with her face to the 
 male, who never moves. The female runs her 
 snout into the gravel, and forces herself under it 
 as much as she possibly can, when an attentive 
 observer may see the red spawn coming from her. 
 The male in his turn lets his milt go over the 
 spawn ; and this process goes on for some days, 
 more or less, according to the size of the fish and 
 consequent quantity of the eggs. During this 
 time trout and other fish will collect below to 
 devour the spawn that floats down the river." 
 
 Mr. Frederick Allies, of St. John's, Worcester, 
 informs me that in the river Teme the spawn is 
 not only eaten by divers sorts of fish, but also by 
 aquatic fowls and other birds and animals. Mr. 
 Scrope remarks, " When the female has done 
 
314 BARBAROUS DESTRUCTION OF SALMON. 
 
 spawning, she sets off, and leaves the place. The 
 male remains waiting for another female ; and if 
 none comes in twenty-four hours, he goes away in 
 search of another spawning place. In the spawn- 
 ing beds on the Tweed, (Mr. Scrope might have 
 said in all our rivers,) great injury is done with 
 the leister and rake hooks; and the fishermen 
 (poachers), who know how to profit by their 
 cruel slaughter, are in the habit of spearing the 
 male that first comes to the female, leaving the 
 latter as a decoy fish, and killing the other males 
 in succession as they arrive to consort with her. 
 By this barbarous and poaching practice all the 
 largest spawning fish are destroyed, to the great 
 destruction of the river." 
 
 In angling for salmon, Mr. Scrope, than whom 
 no better authority can be found, as he has salmon- 
 fished for upwards of twenty years, recom- 
 mends a salmon-rod of eighteen or twenty feet 
 long according to the width of the river you fish in. 
 The longer the rod, the greater command you will 
 have over your fish ; for being enabled to keep 
 the line more perpendicular, you can lead him 
 with more ease and security amongst rocks and 
 eddies ; whereas with a short rod you cannot 
 keep enough of your line clear of the water to 
 prevent danger in such places. Your reel-line 
 should be thick in the middle, and taper towards 
 
SALMON KODS, LINES, AND FLIES. 315 
 
 each end, and should be from 100 to 120 yards 
 long. Your casting line should be of single gut, 
 clear and round. The colour of your casting 
 line should depend on the state of the river. If 
 the water be moss- stained, your gut may be very 
 faintly tinged of the same colour, very faintly 
 indeed, as all dyes are over-done, but if the river 
 be clear, do not, on any account, stain your gut 
 at all. Whatever you do, have nothing to say to 
 multiplying reels ; they are apt to betray you in 
 the hour of need. A large London made plain stop 
 reel, with a thick winding cylinder, is the best. 
 
 With respect to salmon-flies, Mr. Scrope truly 
 says, " Now, as there is no month in the year 
 when salmon-flies are made by nature, so no dis- 
 tinction of species need be observed. My rule 
 has been to adapt my fly, both as to colour and 
 size, to the state of the water ; a large fly, with 
 sober colours, for deep and clear water, and a 
 smaller one, equally unassuming, where it is 
 shallower ; in the throat of the cast, (head of the 
 stream,) and as long as it continues rough, a large 
 fly also ; at the tail of it, where the water runs 
 more quietly and evenly, a smaller fly serves the 
 purpose best. Thus you should change your fly 
 in every stream once or twice. A large and 
 rather gaudy fly is preferable when the river is 
 full and discoloured, that the salmon, which lie 
 
316 ON GAUDY SALMON FLIES. 
 
 at great depths, may see it ; but I never had any 
 great success with my gaudy flies, either in the 
 Tweed or elsewhere, in clear and low waters." 
 Although gaudy flies are in great request in 
 Ireland and Norway, I am confident that they 
 only suit deep and somewhat turbid waters, and I 
 am certain that Mr. Scrope's rules for the size 
 and colour of salmon-flies will be found practical 
 general ones for every salmon river in the world. 
 Mr. Scrope says, " I do not mean to assert that 
 all flies are equally successful, for there must 
 obviously be a preference, however slight ; but I 
 mean merely to say that a failure oftener occurs 
 from atmospheric variations than from the colour 
 of the fly. Yet an occasional change is always 
 advisable, particularly if you have had any offers 
 (rises) ; since the fish in so rising, having, perhaps, 
 discovered the deception, will not be solicitous to 
 renew their acquaintance with a detected scamp. 
 After all, the great thing is to give the appear- 
 ance and motion of a living animal. If your fish 
 misses the fly in making his offer, wait awhile 
 before you throw a second time ; and if he re- 
 rises at all, he will come more eagerly for this 
 delay. But if you keep lashing away at him 
 immediately, as I have seen many fishermen do, 
 and practical hands to, he will probably treat 
 you with contempt, and will have no intercourse 
 with your gay deluders for the rest of the day." 
 
THROWING THE SALMON FLY. 317 
 
 " Casting the fly is a knack," says Mr. Scrope, 
 " and cannot well be taught but by experience. 
 The spring of the rod should do the chief work, 
 and not the labour of your arm. To effect this, 
 you should lay the stress as near the hand as 
 possible, and make the wood undulate from that 
 point, which is done by keeping your elbow in 
 advance, and doing something with your wrist, 
 which is not very easy to explain. Thus the 
 exertion should be chiefly from the elbows and 
 wrists, and not from the shoulders. You should 
 throw clear beyond the spot where the salmon 
 lie, so that they may not see the fly light upon 
 the water; then you should bring the said fly 
 round the stream, describing the segment of a 
 circle, taking one step in advance at every throw. 
 In this manner the fish see your fly only, and not 
 the line. It is customary to give short jerks 
 with the fly as you bring it round, something in 
 the manner of minnow-spinning, but in a more 
 gentle and easy way ; and I think this manner is 
 the most seducing you can adopt ; it sets the 
 wings in a state of alternate expansion and con- 
 traction that is extremely captivating." 
 
 How you are to fish a stream. Salmon will 
 often take your fly on one side of the river when 
 they will not touch it on the other. In high 
 water, the channel side, as a general rule, is the 
 best, and at the cheek of the current ; and you 
 
318 STRIKING AT AND HOOKING SALMON. 
 
 should not be in a hurry to pull your fly into 
 the more bare and still parts of the channel, where 
 the fish will come more cautiously and lazily. 
 In low water it is best to throw over the channel 
 from the rocky side, drawing at first rather 
 quickly, that your fish may take your fly in the 
 current, which is material. ' In very low water, 
 indeed, where the fish may be said to give over 
 rising, you may try your luck in the rapids by 
 hanging your fly on them ; indeed, you should 
 always let your fly dwell on this sort of water, or 
 the fish will either lose sight of it, or not choose 
 to follow where you may wish him. 
 
 In hooking a rising fish, Mr. Scrope properly 
 observes, " It is best to strike a little sideways, 
 that the hook may fasten in the fleshy part of the 
 mouth ; whereas, if you pull straight up, you are 
 apt to encounter the upper or bony part ; or if 
 the fish has not closed his jaws, and fairly turned 
 off, you may pull the fly away from him too soon, 
 to the disappointment of both parties. Some- 
 times, however, when a salmon is clean run, and 
 in high glee, you can scarcely miss him, strike 
 which way you will. In low water you must be 
 somewhat dilatory in striking ; you often see the 
 heave of the water and a break before the fish 
 has actually seized your fly. Give him time to 
 turn his head in his way back to his seat, to 
 
WEATHER FOR SALMON FISHING. 319 
 
 which a salmon always returns after rising at the 
 
 fly." 
 
 Salmon never take well when the weather is 
 about to change ; it is therefore useless to go out 
 when the mercury remains at the changeable 
 point. When it first sets in for a continuance of 
 dry weather, the fish will rise about your hook, 
 and only break the surface of the water; but 
 before a flood they will spring clear out of it, for 
 the purpose, perhaps, of filling their air-bladders 
 before travelling. Salmon do not rise well during 
 a fresh, and when the water is turbid after a 
 flood you must not fish in strong streams, but in 
 milder running ones near the bank, and at the 
 tails of easy streams. When the horizon is 
 charged with large, lazy, fleecy clouds, you will 
 kill very few salmon. 
 
 Mr. Scrope gives a list of six killing salmon- 
 flies. They are as follow: Kinmont Willie; 
 wings, mottled feather from under the wings of a 
 male teal, head, yellow wool ; body, fur of the 
 hare's ear ; end of body, red wool ; tail, yellow 
 wool ; round the body black cock's hackle. 
 
 The lady of Mertoun ; wings, the same as 
 before ; head, crimson wool ; body, water-rat's 
 fur; end of body, crimson wool; tail, yellow 
 wool ; round the body, black cock's hackle ; end 
 of body, a little red hackle. These flies should 
 be dressed somewhat small. 
 
320 MR. SCROPE'S SALMON FLIES. 
 
 Toppy ; wings, black feather from a turkey's 
 tail, tipped with white ; head, crimson wool ; 
 body, black bullock's hair ; end of body, crimson 
 wool ; tail, yellow wool ; body, black cock's 
 hackle ; end of body, small piece of red cock's 
 hackle. 
 
 Michael Scott; wings, mottled feather from 
 the back of a drake ; head, yellow wool, with a 
 little hare's fur next to it ; body, black wool ; 
 end of the body, fur from the hare's ear ; next to* 
 the hare's ear crimson wool ; tail, yellow wool ; 
 round the body, black cock's hackle ; end of the 
 body, red cock's hackle ; round the body, gold 
 twist spirally. These two last flies should be 
 dressed of a moderate size. The latter one 
 Mr. Scrope calls " a most killing wizard." 
 
 Meg with the muckle mouth. Wings, from the 
 tail of a brown turkey ; head, crimson wool ; body, 
 yellow silk ; end of body, crimson wool ; tail, 
 yellow or orange wool ; round the tail, red cock's 
 hackle ; round the body, gold twist, and over it 
 hackle mixed with colour as above. 
 
 Meg in her braws. Wings, light-brown from 
 the wing of a bittern ; head, yellow wool ; next 
 the head, mottled blue feather from a jay's wing ; 
 body, brown wool mixed with bullock's hair ; 
 towards the end of the body, green wool, and next 
 to that crimson wool; tail, yellow wool; round 
 the body, gold twist ; over that a large furnace- 
 hackle. These two last flies should be dressed 
 
MR. BLACKER'S SALMON FLIES. 321 
 
 very large, and then they will kill in deep and in 
 rough water. 
 
 Mr. Scrope observes, " Concerning these flies I 
 will note one thing, which is, that if you rise a 
 fish with the Lady of Mertoun, and he does not 
 touch her, give him a rest, and come over him 
 with the Toppy, and you have him to a certainty, 
 and vice versa. This I hold to be an invaluable 
 secret, and is the only change that during my long 
 practice I have found eminently successful." 
 
 The following is a list of twelve general flies, 
 all good ones, forwarded to me by Mr. Blacker. 
 
 No. 1. Body, claret pig's hair, claret hackle, 
 and gold tinsel; wings, brown mallard's feather; 
 black head ; golden pheasant topping for tail; hook, 
 No. 9. Limerick. 
 
 No. 2. Body, orange floss-silk or pig's hair, 
 orange hackle and gold tinsel; golden pheasant 
 topping for tail, and jay's feather at the shoulder ; 
 wings, to be made of brown mallard's and golden 
 pheasant's neck feathers mixed ; neck, black ostrich 
 harl. Hook, No. 8 or 9. Limerick. 
 
 No. 3. Body, fiery-brown pig's-hair or mohair, 
 with same coloured hackle, and gold twist wound 
 over it ; topping for tail ; wings, mallard's feather 
 mixed with golden pheasant's tail-feather. Hook, 
 the same as before. 
 
 No. 4. Body, peacock's harl, gold tinsel, and 
 claret hackle ; golden pheasant's topping for tail ; 
 
 Y 
 
322 UNIVERSAL SALMON FLIES. 
 
 and brown turkey tail-feather for wings. Hook, 
 No. 9. 
 
 No. 5. Body, purple pig's hair or floss silk, with 
 black hackle and silver tinsel wound over it ; 
 wings, black spotted turkey tail-feather; black 
 head. Hook as before. 
 
 No. 6. Blue body, blue hackle and silver tinsel ; 
 blue jay's feather at the shoulders ; topping for 
 tail ; mixed gaudy wings. Hook, No. 8, and 9. 
 
 No. 7. Body, crimson mohair, red hackle, and 
 gold tinsel ; brown turkey feather for wings ; blue 
 hackle at the head, and brown mallard's fibres at 
 the tail. Hook as before. 
 
 No. 8. Cinnamon-brown body, same coloured 
 hackle ; gold twist ; mallard's wing. 
 
 No. 9. Red body, red hackle and gold twist ; 
 brown turkey tail or mallard's feather for wings ; 
 jay's feather at the shoulder, and topping for tail. 
 Hook, No. 9. 
 
 No. 10. Black body, tipped with yellow pig's 
 hair at tail ; silver tinsel and black hackle ; spotted 
 turkey tail-feather for wings, and short topping 
 for tail. Hook, No. 8, or 9. 
 
 No. 11. Body, half orange, half purple, the 
 orange next the tail ; dark purple or blue hackle ; 
 orange hackle at the shoulder; topping for tail, 
 and a mixed gaudy wing. Hook, No. 9. 
 
 No. 12. Body, dun monkey's fur, dim hackle 
 and silver tinsel ; topping for tail ; bustard's wing- 
 
NORWEGIAN SALMON FLIES. 323 
 
 feather for wings, with topping in the centre ; 
 blue jay's feather at the shoulder, and black ostrich 
 harl or blue mohair for head. Hook, No. 9. 
 
 Of these flies Mr. Blacker observes, " They 
 may be varied as to size to suit all waters, and 
 better cannot be used with respect to the propor- 
 tions of colours. They have killed well in Great 
 Britain and Ireland." 
 
 SALMON FLIES FOR NORWAY. 
 
 No. 1. Body, orange with claret hackle ; wings, 
 mottled-yellow turkey feather ; red tail. Hook, 
 No. 8. 
 
 No. 2. Body, orange with brown-red hackle 
 and gold tinsel ; mallard wings ; topping for tail. 
 Hook, 7, 8, or 9. 
 
 No. 3. Scarlet body, with black-red hackle and 
 gold tinsel; wings, brown turkey's tail-feather; 
 topping for tail. Hook, No. 8. 
 
 No. 4. Body, brown pig's hair ; fiery brown 
 hackle rolled from the tail up ; wings, brown 
 mallard's feather ; topping for tail. Very large 
 hook, No. 7. 
 
 No. 6. Body, deep gold-coloured pig's hair, with 
 gold tinsel and scarlet at the shoulder; legs, a 
 bright olive hackle ; wings, cream-coloured spotted 
 turkey tail or peacock's feather. 
 
 No. 7. Body, the same as before, with gold 
 
 T 2 
 
324 WORM PISHING FOR SALMON. 
 
 tinsel and red hackle ; a tag of red mohair at the 
 head ; brown mallard's feather for wings. Vary 
 the bodies with scarlet, yellow, or orange, retain- 
 ing the same wings and hackles. 
 
 Sir Hyde Parker has been very successful in 
 Norway with these two last flies. 
 
 Having given a good list of salmon flies, I will 
 simply add, that salmon may be taken with the 
 worm, or by spinning the minnow, or any small 
 bright-coloured fish. If you fish with a worm, 
 use a swivel-trace well leaded, and casting your 
 bait across the stream, draw it gently towards 
 you through the water, as if you were spinning. 
 When a salmon takes it, do not strike him in- 
 stantly, but give him a few seconds' law, and he 
 will gorge the bait. Some anglers fish with the 
 worm in Ireland when the water is discoloured, 
 but the best time is in fine, fresh open weather, 
 when the water is low and clear. As London 
 anglers are in general very good spinners, they 
 will find no difficulty in killing salmon in Scot- 
 land and elsewhere by spinning, less difficulty 
 than in catching Thames trout. On this subject 
 Mr. Scrope makes a few valuable remarks : - 
 " Salmon do not take the minnow or the parr's 
 tail so well in the Tweed as they do in the Tay, 
 nor so well in the upper parts of the Tweed as they 
 do in the lower. The minnow, in low water, is pre- 
 ferable to the parr's tail ; and it should be worked 
 
SPINNING FOR SALMON. 325 
 
 in the same manner as in trout-fishing, only not 
 with so quick a motion. It is not necessary to 
 use more than two hooks, namely, the large hook 
 that passes through the minnow, and the lip-hook. 
 Shot should be put on the casting-line, about a 
 foot and a half from the bait, fewer or more, ac- 
 cording to the strength of the stream. What is 
 called the parr's tail is a pretty liberal allowance 
 of the said little fish, consisting of a diagonal cut 
 from the shoulder to the anal fin, so that, in fact, 
 you have all the firm part of the fish, discarding 
 the head and the stomach. In full water I think 
 this bait is preferable to the minnow ; and it has 
 the advantage of a much firmer hold of the hook, 
 not breaking like the soft parts of the minnow. 
 Clean salmon will take this bait whenever the 
 river is in order for the fly, or perhaps a little be- 
 fore it is so, even when the water is slightly dis- 
 coloured. But foul fish, including kelts, never 
 take it well in the upper parts of the Tweed, 
 unless the water is clear, though they will take it 
 in a drumly (slightly discoloured) water in the 
 Tay ; nor can any sport be expected with it in 
 very warm weather. The best state of the water 
 and the most convenient time, is between the fly 
 and bait fishing, that is, when it is rather too low 
 for the one, but not low enough for the other. 
 The best weather is a fresh day, with wind to act 
 upon the surface of deep pools. In summer th^ 
 
 Y 3 
 
326 ARTIFICIAL SALMON BAITS. 
 
 proper hour is early in the morning. After a 
 night's burning, salmon take the minnow, small 
 parr, or parr's tail, particularly well in the 
 streams." I am confident that salmon would take 
 many of our artificial fish, particularly Mr. Allies' 
 Archimedian minnow. 
 
THE COMMON TROUT DESCRIBED. 327 
 
 THE COMMON TROUT. Salmo fario. 
 
 THE common trout is unquestionably the hand- 
 somest and most delicately flavoured of our river 
 fish, and, after the salmon, the best game the 
 angler can pursue. It grows large or small, dif- 
 ferently marked, coloured and shaped according 
 to the qualities of the water it inhabits. The 
 Thames trout is often caught as large as the 
 middle-sized salmon, and is superior in flavour. 
 In the small streams of Wales and Scotland the 
 common trout are remarkably small. In the rivers 
 of the midland counties the trout averages a pound 
 in weight, and throughout the trout streams of 
 the empire, more trout are caught under that 
 weight than above it. A common trout in full 
 season, weighing four pounds, is a royal fish ; and 
 a trout caught in the Dove during the drake- 
 season, and weighing from oue pound to two, is a 
 princely one. If you want to see a very handsome 
 dish of trout, you will see it every day of the year 
 at Chatsworth, in Landseer's " Bolton Abbey in 
 the Olden Time." Trout should never be taken b^ 
 
 Y 4 
 
328 BEST BAITS FOR TROUT. 
 
 the angler from September to March. In the inter- 
 vening months they are either spawning or out of 
 condition. I never saw a trout in prime season before 
 May. In June trout are in their best condition. 
 
 In the spring months trout are found in the 
 . shallows and rough streams ; in the summer 
 months they seek deeper water, and the best fish 
 are then .caught in pools with the fly or worm, on 
 gloomy breezy days when the water's surface is 
 strongly ruffled. They are also found in whirlpools 
 and holes into which sharps and shallows fall, and 
 near to locks, flood-gates, rocks, ' large stones, 
 weirs, under bridges, or between two streams 
 running from under their arches, and likewise in 
 the returns of streams where the water seems to 
 boil, and in the decline of summer they are to be 
 found near mill-tails. In September they run up 
 to the shallow parts of streams, and enter brooks 
 and even ditches to spawn. As food they are 
 now, except in a few late rivers, good for nothing, 
 and are so weak that they afford the angler no 
 sport. In the early spring months trout will 
 take the worm all day long, but in the summer 
 months, with the usual weather, the artificial fly 
 is the best bait during the day hours. In the 
 morning and evening the worm and minnow 
 will kill well. Spinning the minnow in the way 
 described in the chapter on trolling is by far the 
 best way of using that bait for trout. In fishing 
 
ANGLING WITH THE LOB-WORM. 329 
 
 with a worm for trout do not use a float, but 
 allow your worm to roll along the bottom of the 
 water, your bottom-line being shotted so as to 
 prevent your bait from being carried away by the 
 stream. Sometimes spin your worm slowly 
 against the stream, by means of a swivel on your 
 foot-line, which should be of the finest and best 
 gut. As a general rule, your tackle cannot be too 
 fine for trout-fishing. Keep away from the banks, 
 make as little noise as possible, and angle with 
 every sort of caution and delicate handling for 
 trout, otherwise you will not meet with success. 
 
 When angling for trout with any tripping 
 or running baits, be they worms, caddies, gentles, 
 or salmon roe, it is necessary to have as many 
 shot on the line, about nine inches from the 
 hook, as will readily sink the bait ; because, if 
 the stream be rapid, the bait is carried away with- 
 out touching the ground, and consequently few 
 trout will take it. While thus fishing with the 
 running line, keep as far from the water, as you 
 can, and let the bait be carried down into the 
 trout haunts, and when a fish begins to bite, do 
 not strike the first time you feel a slight tug, but 
 rather slacken the line, and when you feel one or 
 more sharp tugs together, then strike smartly. If 
 it is a heavy fish, do not be too eager to land it. 
 To these directions it may be added, that when a 
 lob-worm is used as a tripping bait, lead is not 
 
330 TROUT PISHING IN BRIGHT WATER. 
 
 necessary on the line, the weight of the worm 
 being sufficient, and the absence of shot or lead 
 advantageous. Allow the worm to roll of itself 
 over the ground, which it will do in a natural 
 manner if unencumbered with lead, and where 
 there are large trout this bait well managed proves 
 irresistible. As a general rule, lob-worms are 
 most adapted for deeps, and for coloured or thick 
 waters, and red worms or brandlings are best for 
 brighter waters and not so profound. It will be 
 found an excellent plan, when a bank overhangs 
 a supposed trout hole, to cast a worm over the 
 edge of it without approaching near. The line 
 should not be shotted, the worm should roll natu- 
 rally off the bank into the water, when if a trout 
 be there, your bait will be taken almost to a cer- 
 tainty. Trout are to be taken in bright water 
 and weather, with the worm, when they will not 
 touch either minnow or fly, and there is certainly 
 more art and sportmanship in fishing with a worm, 
 than some people imagine. When to bright 
 weather are added clear and shallow streams, 
 much artifice must be employed. Your tackle must 
 be very fine, your hooks small, and your worms 
 well scoured and lively. A winch will enable 
 you to vary the length of your line as occasion 
 dictates, and though in general it must be as 
 long as, or longer than your rod, yet where there 
 are trees and other obstructions you may by 
 
HOW THAMES TROUT ARE CAUGHT. 331 
 
 shortening it get at the holes, and still contrive to 
 keep out of sight, which you must do whether 
 you kneel, stoop, or stand, and then if you can 
 neatly and slightly drop in a lively brandling near 
 the likely holds or haunts in a strong stream, espe- 
 cially near the top of it, let the sun shine ever 
 so bright, be the wind rough or calm, and the 
 water ever so clear, you will kill trout when they 
 are not to be caught with any other bait. 
 
 Thames trout are to be caught best by spinning 
 the gudgeon, dace, and bleak. In the summer 
 months they will take large artificial flies. The 
 best are very large red and furnace hackles, with 
 winged flies made of a reddish feather, and red, 
 brown, and yellow bodies. In the evening like 
 nearly all the salmonidae, they will take artificial 
 moths. 
 
 The salmon trout, bull trout, and white trout or 
 sewin, are all to be taken with small salmon flies 
 or lake flies. They may be caught also with the 
 worm or by spinning a small natural or artificial 
 fish. A very large coch-y-bonddu is a capital 
 bait for the white trout or sewin. 
 
332 HABITS,, ETC. OF THE GRAYLING. 
 
 THE GRAYLING. Salmo Thymallus. 
 
 THE grayling is one of the most gracefully-shaped 
 of the salmonidse. It is a favourite fish of mine, 
 takes a fly boldly, but does not show much bold- 
 ness after having taken it and been hooked. It 
 is a gamesome fish, but not a game one. The 
 grayling very rarely exceeds three pounds in weight, 
 and a greater number are caught under twelve 
 ounces in weight than above it. They are not, 
 like the trout, indigenous to this country; and 
 very probably, on account of their being in season 
 in the winter, when trout are not, and being an 
 excellent gastronomic substitute for that fish, 
 were brought from the continent to this country 
 by the monks or some other good judges of good 
 things, that they might not be without a fresh -water 
 delicacy during the most festive part of the year. 
 The rivers of the midland counties are more cele- 
 brated for grayling than those of any other part 
 of the empire. The grayling is not to be found 
 in Ireland or Scotland. Though some fancy 
 
WHEN GRAYLING ARE IN SEASON. 333 
 
 they emit a smell of thyme, I think they do not. 
 They smell rather of cucumber than of any other 
 vegetable. Mr. Elaine says, " The name of 
 umbra which this fish bears has a far better deri- 
 vation than that of thymallus> for it is so swift a 
 swimmer as to disappear like a passing shadow. 
 Graylings are in great esteem, and their flesh is 
 white and palatable nearly all the year. They 
 are in season from September to January, (some 
 say they are best in October, others in December,) 
 and they cannot be dressed too soon after they 
 are caught. They lurk close all the winter, and 
 begin to be very active and to spawn in April, or 
 early in May ; at which time, and during the 
 summer, near the sides and at the tails of sharp 
 streams, they will take all the flies that trout are 
 fond of. They rise better than the trout, and if 
 missed several times, will still pursue ; yet, 
 although they are so sportive after the fly, they 
 are an inanimate fish when hooked, and the sides 
 of the mouth are so very tender, that unless 
 nicely treated, when struck, the hold will fre- 
 quently be broken. In September they retire 
 in shoals to the lower end of still holes." 
 
 I have lately received a very good account of 
 the grayling from Mr. Henry George, of Wor- 
 cester, the very efficient secretary of an association 
 established in that city for the preservation of the 
 fish of the Severn and its tributaries, and I here 
 
334 GRAYLING OF THE RIVER TEME. 
 
 willingly insert it, regretting that I have not space 
 to make use of his remarks touching the trout 
 and salmon of the Teme. Mr. George says, " Of 
 all rivers running through ' merry England/ I 
 think none produce such fine grayling as the 
 Teme. Probably a few larger fish may be taken 
 in one or two other rivers which are better 
 protected, but for perfection in shape, colour, 
 and flavour none can compete with Teme gray- 
 ling. They are in season from September to 
 Candlemas, and even later, but the months of 
 October and September, if the weather be favour- 
 able, are the best for the fly-fisher. A Teme 
 grayling in the height of condition in October 
 or November, when first taken out of the water, 
 is one of the handsomest and most symmetrical 
 fish that rise at the fly in our beautiful streams, 
 and if laid upon the hand, and looked at horizon- 
 tally, presents the most beautiful purple or violet 
 hue from snout to tail. The snout is sharp, and 
 the eye lozenge-shaped ; this fish is hog-backed, 
 and the back is of a dark purple colour, with 
 small black square spots on the sides. The 
 mouth (the under part of the lower jaw) and 
 belly touch the ground together; the latter is 
 brilliantly white, with a narrow edge or lacing of 
 gold, extending along each side from the pectoral 
 towards the ventral fin, and the tail, and pectoral, 
 and ventral fins are of a beautiful purple. The 
 
GRAYLING, HAUNTS AND BAITS OF. 335 
 
 dorsal fin, being very large, and standing up like 
 that of the perch, is a perfect picture, covered 
 with scarlet waves and spots intermingled with 
 purple. The little velvet (adipose) fin on the 
 back near the tail is also dark purple, and the fish 
 smells like a cucumber. At the season I am 
 speaking of grayling rise freely at the fly, but it 
 requires some experience and judgment to suit 
 their tastes. The heads and tails of fords with 
 a gravelly or sandy bottom are their favourite 
 haunts. They prefer rather deep water to shallow. 
 The grayling takes a maggot very eagerly, and is, 
 I think, a much more gamesome fish at the fly 
 than the trout. I have frequently had them rise 
 at my flies a dozen times in as many successive 
 casts. They are not so easily alarmed as the 
 trout, and many a time have I made half a dozen 
 changes in my flies, and cast them all kinds of 
 ways over a fine grayling, which kept conti- 
 nuously rising all the time, before I could induce 
 him to look at them. They are rarely ever taken 
 with the minnow. The grasshopper, when the 
 water has been for some time low and fine, is an 
 xcellent bait ; and I find the artificial grasshopper 
 much more killing than the natural one, perhaps 
 from the greater facility w4th which it can be 
 used. A little red worm is also a good bait for 
 grayling when the water is a little disturbed. 
 The spawning time of the grayling is the month 
 
336 SLOW GROWTH OF GRAYLING. 
 
 of April, sometimes a little earlier, at which 
 season they come on the fords, and are then easily 
 taken with the fly, though, of course, at such 
 time, they ought to be strictly protected. After 
 spawning they retire into the deeps, and the 
 angler sees very little of them for a long time, 
 and for this reason they are supposed to be a 
 considerable time recovering, though I have never 
 found them rendered so much out of season by 
 spawning as some other fish. The grayling does 
 not grow very fast. Those spawned in spring are 
 three or four inches long in autumn, and in the 
 following autumn about four or five ounces in 
 weight ; and in the autumn after that, when 
 about two and a half years old, they weigh from 
 eight to twelve ounces. Grayling have been 
 caught in the Teme, near Ludlow, weighing four 
 pounds a piece, though fc one half that weight is 
 rarely captured in this river now." 
 
 Sir Humphrey Davy says grayling grow much 
 faster, stating that those hatched in May or June 
 become in the following September and October 
 nine or ten inches long, and weigh from five 
 ounces to half a pound. The next year he says 
 they arrive at from twelve to fifteen inches in 
 length, and weigh from three quarters to a pound. 
 I tliink Sir Humphrey wrong, and Mr. George 
 right. I should even think their growth is 
 slower than that stated by Mr. George. Gray- 
 
THE SORT OF WATER GRAYLING LIKE. 337 
 
 ling require water of a milder temperature than 
 trout do; water of the mean temperature of the 
 atmosphere. They do not thrive in mountainous 
 streams, and could never stem their rapid torrents 
 or surmount their natural obstacles as salmon do. 
 They cannot bound out of the water, and never 
 jump at a bait after the manner of trout. " The 
 grayling rises, however," says Mr, Ronalds, 
 " with great velocity, and almost perpendicularly 
 to seize his prey, at the top of the water, and 
 descends as quickly after making a summerset, 
 for the performance of which feat, the figure of 
 his body, and the great dorsal fin seem well 
 adapted." The following just remarks of Sir 
 Humphrey Davy .should be attended to by the 
 angler : "Besides temperature," he says, " Gray- 
 ling require a peculiar character in the disposition 
 of the water of rivers. They do not dwell, like 
 trout, in rapid shallow torrents ; nor, like char or 
 chub, in deep pools or lakes. They require a 
 combination of stream and pool ; they like a deep 
 and still pool for rest, and a rapid stream above, 
 and gradually declining shallow below, and a 
 bottom where marl and loam are mixed with 
 gravel; and they are not found abundant except 
 in rivers that have these characters." The largest 
 grayling I have ever caught I found in the some- 
 what deep, rapid, and smoothly running tails of 
 pools just before the formation of some rough 
 z 
 
338 GRAYLING TAKEN IN WINTER. 
 
 stream, and in swift sheets of water just before 
 rushing over the heads of rivers. I have killed 
 more grayling with the fly early in April than 
 in any other month. The flies they like best are 
 duns and palmers, tipped with tinsel, and when 
 the water is clear and smooth they will take dun 
 midges by sinking them on a very fine casting 
 line beneath the water, and allowing them to float 
 with the current. I have killed grayling in the 
 heart of winter, with frost and snow on the 
 ground, when the water was not tinged with " snow 
 broth," but ran low and clear. The time was 
 from twelve to two o'clock, with the sun out, and 
 the atmosphere tolerably temperate. The best 
 autumn baits for grayling are gentles and grass- 
 hoppers. The latter is the most deadly bait, and 
 the way of using it has been already mentioned 
 in the chapter on baits. 
 
HABITS OF THE PIKE. 339 
 
 THE PIKE Esox Lucius. 
 
 The pike, commonly called jack when under 
 three or four pounds in weight, is a well-known 
 fish ; like many of us, better known than trusted 
 or treated. He is a greedy, unsociable, tyran- 
 nising savage, and is hated like a Blue Beard. 
 Every body girds at him with spear, gaff, hook, 
 net, snare, and even with powder and shot. He 
 has not a friend in the world. The horrible gorge 
 hook is specially invented for the torment of his 
 maw. Notwithstanding, he fights his w r ay vigor- 
 ously, grows into immense strength, despite his 
 many enemies, and lives longer than his greatest 
 foe, man. His voracity is unbounded ; and, like 
 the most accomplished corporate officers, he is 
 nearly omnivorous, his palate giving the prefer- 
 ence, however, to fish, flesh, and fowl. Dyspep- 
 sia never interferes with his digestion; and he 
 possesses a quality that would have been valuable 
 at La Trappe, he can fast without inconveni- 
 ence for a se'nnight. He can gorge himself then to 
 beyond the gills without the slightest derangement 
 of the stomach. He is shark and ostrich combined. 
 
 Z 2 
 
340 SPAWNING AND GROWTH OF PIKE. 
 
 His body is comely to look at ; and if he could 
 hide his head by no means a diminished one his 
 green and silver vesture would attract many ad- 
 mirers. His intemperate habits, however, render 
 him an object of disgust and dread. He devours 
 his own children ; but, strange to say, likes better 
 (for eating) the children of his neighbours. Heat 
 spoils his appetite, cold sharpens it ; and this very 
 day (30th December, 1846) a friend has sent me 
 a gormandising specimen, caught by an armed 
 gudgeon, amidst the ice and snow of the Thames, 
 near Mario w. I envy his constitution. 
 
 Jack and pike spawn either in March or April, 
 according to the mildness of the season and the 
 temperature of the water. They retire for the 
 purpose of procreation in pairs from the rivers, 
 into creeks and ditches, and there, amongst 
 aquatic plants, the female deposits her ova. The 
 male of course accompanies the female, and when 
 his milt has fecundated the ova, the pair return 
 to deep water for the benefit of their own health, 
 and quite regardless of the eggs, which they have 
 left to be hatched by time and tide. Young pike 
 grow rapidly, and it is said by the end of the first 
 year attain a weight of two pounds. I doubt it, 
 and am persuaded that afterwards pike do not each 
 add every year a pound to its weight. They may 
 do so for a few years, but the time comes when 
 their growth is stationary, size varying only ac- 
 
SIZE AND DIGESTION OF PIKE. 341 
 
 cording to their good or bad condition, which is 
 regulated by food and the season of the year. 
 
 The largest pike I ever saw weighed thirty-four 
 pounds, but I have seen several each weighing 
 between twenty and thirty pounds. The largest 
 pike recorded to have been killed in the British 
 Islands was one taken in the Shannon, and weigh- 
 ing ninety-two pounds. The head of one weighing 
 seventy-two pounds, and which was caught with 
 an artificial fly, is still to be seen at Kenmore 
 castle. The celebrated Colonel Thornton asserts 
 that he killed a pike in Loch Alva, Scotland, that 
 weighed fifty pounds within two ounces. I should 
 consider that the largest pike in the empire are to 
 be found in the lakes and lochs of Ireland and 
 Scotland ; and that the greatest numbers are to 
 be found in the meres and ponds of England. The 
 anecdotes of pike are more numerous and asto- 
 nishing than those of any other of our river fish. 
 I do not credit many of them. I believe that pike 
 digest their food in a few minutes, and that in 
 consequence their voracity is prodigious. I will 
 recount two or three reported instances. In 1801, 
 a hook baited with a roach was set in the manor 
 pond at Toddington, Bedfordshire ; the next 
 morning a large pike was caught, which with dif- 
 ficulty was got out. It appeared that a pike of 
 three and a half pounds weight was first caught, 
 
 z 3 
 
342 VORACITY AND HAUNTS OF PIKE. 
 
 which was afterwards swallowed by another, 
 weighing thirteen pounds and a half, and both 
 were taken. This story is barely probable, for I 
 do not see how the hook that caught the lesser 
 pike, should afterwards hook the larger one. It is 
 recorded that a large pike put into a canal full of 
 fish destroyed them all within twelve months, 
 except one carp, weighing nearly ten pounds, 
 which, though too large for the pike to swallow, 
 showed by its scars that he had attempted to do 
 so. I readily believe this anecdote. A pike caught 
 in the Isis was found to contain a barbel of six 
 pounds, and a chub of more than three. These 
 nine pounds of food formed nearly a third of his 
 own proper weight, which was thirty-one pounds 
 and a half. I believe this, for I once caught in a net 
 a pike weighing about four pounds, from whose 
 mouth the tail of a trout weighing a pound was 
 projecting. The pike had been caught in the 
 puise of a drag-net with several trout, and whilst 
 with them in the net had, no doubt, seized the 
 one which was found sticking in his throat. 
 
 Pike are to be found in ponds, bog holes, 
 ditches, canals, and weedy rivers. Their best 
 haunts are in still, shady, and unfrequented 
 waters, having a sandy, clayey, or chalky bottom. 
 They grow larger in ponds and pools than in 
 open, sharp running rivers. From May to Oc- 
 tober they are usually found near or amongst 
 
ARTIFICIAL BAITS FOR PIKE. 343 
 
 flags, bulrushes, and water docks, and under the 
 renunculus aquaticus, when that plant is in flower. 
 They are seldom found where the stream is rapid, 
 but a retreat in the vicinity of a whirlpool or 
 sharp bend is a favourite locality for them. From 
 March to the end of May they resort to back 
 waters, that have direct communication with the 
 main stream. As winter approaches, they retire 
 into the deeps, under clay banks, or where bushes 
 impend over the water, and where stumps and 
 roots of trees offer them a strong hold. How 
 they are to be best caught I have taught in the 
 chapter on trolling. They may be taken with 
 various artificial baits, fish, frogs, mice ; but the 
 best of all artificial baits is a large gaudy artificial 
 fly, or a colossal imitation of the dragon-fly. 
 
 THE PERCH. Perca fluviatalis. 
 
 The perch is an excellent river fish, bites boldly, 
 and when hooked fights to the last. Though 
 somewhat misshapen, his dress is handsome ; but 
 
 z 4 
 
344 BEST TIME FOR PERCH FISHING. 
 
 he seldom dresses better than in the Dutch oven 
 or frying pan. Perch generally spawn in March. 
 They are gregarious, which is remarkable, since 
 fish of their marked predatory character are 
 generally solitary. They grow to a goodly size. I 
 have seen them weigh four or five pounds a piece, 
 and it is said that one caught in the Serpentine, 
 Hyde Park, weighed nine pounds. A perch that 
 weighs two pounds may be considered anything 
 but a contemptible fish. Very fine perch are 
 caught in the Thames from Richmond upwards, 
 the largest being caught by spinning a minnow 
 or gudgeon. That part of the Thames which lies 
 between Richmond and Staines, and which is 
 under the useful surveillance of the Thames 
 Angling Preservation Society, affords capital 
 perch fishing. The deep streamy parts are the 
 best. Minnows, gudgeons, and worms are the 
 best baits for perch. They will also take gentles, 
 and, in docks and tideways, shrimps. On the 
 whole, however, a good lively red worm is the 
 best general bait for perch. You may angle for 
 them from February to November, during which 
 time nearly any sort of weather, except sunny 
 and bright, is favourable. They bite well on 
 gloomy, windy days. If you light upon a shoal 
 of them and catch one, you may catch them all if 
 you do not frighten them by rough handling. 
 
HAUNTS OF, AND BAITS FOR, PERCH. 345 
 
 Some say that, as regards time, the perch bites 
 best in the latter part of the spring from seven to 
 eleven in the forenoon, and from two to six in the 
 afternoon, except in hot and bright weather, and 
 then from sunrise to six in the morning, and in 
 the evening from six to sunset. In tide rivers, 
 however, and the waters immediately connected 
 with them, as docks, sluices, &c., these general 
 rules as to biting times do not apply ; for it is 
 there during the flow and ebb, when the natural 
 food is principally on the stir, that the fish are 
 most certainly on the look-out for it, let the time 
 be what it may. Perch lie about bridges and mill 
 pools ; in and near locks ; about shipping, barges, 
 and floats of timber, in navigable rivers, canals, 
 and in wet docks ; in the still part of rivers, in 
 back waters, in deep gentle eddies; in ponds 
 about sluices, and the mouths of outlets and flood- 
 gates, liking best sandy and gravelly bottoms. In 
 deep waters and in docks, I recommend the pater- 
 nosterline. If you angle in docks, deep and subject 
 to the tide, use four hooks on your paternoster, 
 baiting the lowest one with a minnow, roach, or 
 gudgeon ; the next with a worm, the third with a 
 shrimp, and the fourth or upper hook with a 
 gentle. In fresh water a shrimp should not be 
 used. Perch have been lately caught with large 
 gaudy lake trout flies, sunk beneath the surface 
 of the w^ater. Fish for t perch with strong tackle, 
 
346 BEST BAITS FOR DACE. 
 
 and get your prey out of the water as quietly and 
 with as little disturbance as possible. 
 
 THE DACE. Cyprinus Leuciscus. 
 
 This little yellow silvery carp serves as a 
 practical primer to the young angler. He is a 
 reckless little fellow, and will snap at your worm, 
 gentle, or paste near the bottom of the water, or 
 jump at your fly on the surface with equal avidity. 
 Dace are the best fish in the world to break 
 in the young fly-fisher. They spawn in April, 
 and are in condition again in May. They prefer 
 the sides and tails of streams to still water, and 
 are common to most of the large and small-rivers 
 of England. They thrive best in moderate sized 
 rivers. The dace of the Lea and Colne are larger 
 than those of the Thames. In bottom fishing for 
 dace the best baits are gentles and paste, and you 
 . must use very fine tackle. The best artificial 
 flies for dace are red and black hackles, and small 
 ant-flies. A gentle placed on the bend of the 
 
THE LONDON ANGLER'S FAVOURITE. 347 
 
 hook will often render the artificial fly more 
 attractive. Dace may be caught by dibbing for 
 them with the live house-fly, the flesh-fly, and 
 natural ant-flies. Generally speaking, dace delight 
 in rapid currents, scowers, and eddies. The point 
 of junction between two streams is a favour- 
 ite resort for them, and they are seldom absent 
 from mill-tails. In hot weather they retire 
 into the deeps, and seek for shelter beneath 
 aquatic plants and the boughs of trees. Near 
 London the largest dace are to be caught in 
 the Colne, where they take the artificial fly well, 
 and afford good sport, if trout are not on the 
 rise. The scowers at Richmond, Thames Dit- 
 ton, Hampton, Sunbury, Walton, Wey bridge, and 
 Laleham, are full of dace, and the localities well 
 adapted for the use of the artificial fly. 
 
 THE ROACH. Cyprinus Rutilus. 
 
 This very pretty species of carp is a great 
 favourite with London anglers, and by their skill 
 in catching it they prove their superiority as 
 
348 THE PROPER TACKLE FOR ROACH. 
 
 bottom fishers. Roach spawn in May, and do 
 not get into good condition again before the autumn 
 months, which are the best months for angling 
 for them. They do not like rough streams, and 
 are generally found in easy swims, moderately 
 deep, with a fine gravelly and sandy bottom. 
 The best general baits for them are paste and 
 gentles, though they will take small worms, and 
 very frequently small artificial flies. It is impossi- 
 ble to bottom fish, for roach with tackle too fine. 
 All of it must be light and delicate, and of the 
 best material, rod, line, float, and hook. The 
 foot-line should be made of single hairs, or at any 
 rate of the very finest silk-worm gut. The rod 
 of cane, light and long, just stiff enough to strike 
 promptly and delicately. Some of the London 
 rods are too long, being from twenty to twenty- 
 four feet in length. A rod from sixteen to 
 eighteen feet is quite long enough for bank fishing; 
 and one of twelve feet is sufficiently long for 
 punt fishing. 
 
 Mr. Elaine pays a high compliment to the 
 roach, saying, "Roach angling offers much in- 
 terest to the piscatory zealots, who are shut out 
 from the high pursuits of fly-fishing. The roach 
 is an elegant fish when taken, and it requires 
 considerable skill to deceive it, whilst its game 
 qualities are such that it contests the matter with 
 the angler to the last, so as to yield no small 
 
THE SPORTING QUALITIES OF ROACH. 349 
 
 triumph when landed. We have seen a roach of 
 a pound in weight in a strong current in the 
 Thames, raise the blood in the face of an angler of 
 fair fame. They also, when in condition, bite 
 freely ; but we consider the principal hold they 
 have, or ought to have, on the angler, is their great 
 plenty, the numerous methods that may be em- 
 ployed to take them, to which may be added the 
 time of the year that sport may be obtained with 
 them, which is when few other fish yield any. 
 From the very bottom of the water, every inch of 
 the way up to the surface, they may be fished for 
 in various manners ; and when they are sunning 
 themselves at the top they will take a fly with the 
 best. No fish whatever exerts the capabilities of 
 the angler so extensively as this ; even the gray- 
 ling (whose versatility in yielding sport is great 
 also) must nevertheless give place to the roach, a 
 precedence which we think will always rank him 
 as a distinguished member in the piscatory list." 
 For my own part, I think that if the roach could 
 be caught with stout tackle, there would be an 
 end to the rage for fishing for him. To be obliged 
 to catch him with a single hair line is the chief 
 cause of all the excitement felt by the roach- 
 fisher. 
 
 In the autumn and winter months you should 
 use a very small hook, and very short in the shank. 
 A line very lightly shotted, and the shots to be 
 
350 HOW TO ANGLE FOR ROACH. 
 
 placed far from the bait. The link to which the 
 hook is whipped should be of a single long horse 
 hair of a good colour, and the upper part of the 
 line may be of two twisted hairs, or very fine gut. 
 Use a neat quill float, or a very small and light 
 cork one. From your float to the point of your 
 rod, let there be as little line out as possible, 
 eighteen inches or two feet,, and keep the point of 
 your rod perpendicularly over your float in the 
 water. Doing so will enable you to perceive the 
 feeblest bite, and to strike with effect. Do not fish 
 too close to the bottom, and ever and anon draw 
 your bait up to the surface of the water, and let 
 it sink gently again. Ground-bait moderately 
 with the meal ground-bait recommended in the 
 chapter on baits, particularly if you are angling 
 with paste. With whatever bait you angle, 
 ground-bait with a similar substance. Captain 
 Williamson says, " You will find it proper to bait 
 the place where you fish, with oatmeal a little 
 browned over the fire, and then made up into 
 balls with a small quantity of treacle. This 
 draws them together far better than any other 
 ground-bait I ever heard of. Throw a piece of 
 it about the size of a marble, now and then, 
 where your hook lies. It will gradually be dis- 
 solved, and attract numbers." 
 
 Roach will take artificial flies, but not so well 
 as the dace. They like them best when tipped 
 
THE BEST BAITS FOR ROACH. 351 
 
 with a gentle, and sunk a few inches beneath the 
 surface of the water. Salmon-roe is a capital 
 bait for roach in still waters. In the spring 
 months small red worms are the best baits. Then 
 caddies, larvae, and lobs and grubs of all sorts. In 
 autumn and winter, gentles and pastes. I will 
 conclude with an excellent extract from Captain 
 Williamson : " When the roach lie in the tide 
 way, you must only expect them to bite when the 
 flood comes in ; especially at the first of it, when 
 they commonly are very keen. If there is a fish 
 in the water, they will bite during the latter part 
 of the ebb. At such times they lie chiefly on the 
 flat gravel sands, on the sides of streams, espe- 
 cially below bridges. In the evenings of very 
 sultry weather, when a slight shower has fallen, 
 they will take the common house fly, either on the 
 surface, or at some depth. On the whole, I think 
 that, next to the salmon roe, you will have best 
 success with gentles, cad- baits, and blood- worms. 
 But, above all things, have fine tackle; that is, 
 a small hook, on a well chosen piece of superfine 
 gut." In striking at roach, never use any other 
 motion than that of the wrist ; a slight, smart, 
 side motion or jerk of which will be sufficient to 
 cause your hook to penetrate, the barb of which 
 should be finely pointed, and the whole made of 
 the best and slightest steel wire. 
 
352 BARBEL, DESCRIPTION OF. 
 
 THE BARBEL. Cyprinus barbus. 
 
 This bluish-white carp is a lazy, wallowing gen- 
 tleman, and the Launcelot Gobbo of the sub- 
 aqueous pantries and cellars. The sound of the 
 smacking of his lips tell you how fond he is of a 
 good morsel. He acknowledges its receipt by the 
 best music he can make, and yet what a shame it is 
 that food should be thrown away upon this rather 
 fine, though somewhat lubberly-looking, animal ! 
 So it is, however, and let him swallow good things 
 ever so swiftly; let him be worm or gentle- 
 crammed, his flesh is never the better for it, and 
 his muscular tissues remain so flaccid and all his 
 fibres so flabby, even whils| rioting in the midst 
 of abundance, that, if incontinently afterwards 
 
HABITS OF BARBEL. 353 
 
 caught and slain, a coroner's jury should judge the 
 cause of death on view of the body, they would pro- 
 nounce it to be inanition or the want of the common 
 necessaries of life. He is one of those ungrateful 
 creatures that always shame their nurses. His 
 great angling value is his obstinacy, which gives 
 him strength, notwithstanding the morbid appear- 
 ances of the muscles, and he will resist your efforts 
 to tow him out of the water with exciting energy. 
 His large fins give him great power in the water, 
 and he works heavily with them to get away 
 when hooked, making them tread and beat the 
 water like the paddles of a slow steamer. 
 
 Barbel spawn about midsummer, and are soon 
 again as well as ever. July, August, and Sep- 
 tember are the best months to angle for them. 
 Their general haunts are the deep parts of rapid 
 rivers. They very seldom seek the shallow streams. 
 They are generally in company, and, wherever you 
 catch one, you may expect to catch two or more. 
 They lurk under the shelter of overhanging banks, 
 and, by their great power in stemming the stream, 
 they are able to place themselves in the best posi- 
 tions for seizing displaced insects or small fish ; 
 for, though they will not, it is supposed, seize on 
 live fish or other animals, they are considered 
 greedily carnivorous, dead carcasses of all sorts 
 being devoured^ by them. They delight in deeps, 
 A A 
 
354 BEST BAITS FOB BARBEL. 
 
 weed-beds, in hollows surrounded by shelving 
 sides, in the strong, deep currents of bridges ; and 
 piles, weirs, and locks are favourite resorts of 
 theirs. They are on the feed during the night, 
 and you cannot, in fine summer weather, angle too 
 early or too late for them. 
 
 The lob -worm is the best bait for barbel ; next 
 gentles, prepared greaves, and cheese and bullocks' 
 brains and pith. The latter are autumn and early 
 winter baits. The most amusing and successful 
 way of angling for barbel in the best rivers for 
 them, such as the Thames and the Trent, is with 
 the leger-line. The leger-lead should not be a 
 perforated, flat piece of lead, but a perforated 
 bullet, placed between two knots on the bottom- 
 line, about two feet from the hook. The knots 
 should be an inch or two apart, and the piece of line 
 between them should be of strong gimp, which will 
 resist better than gut the attrition of the constantly 
 moving bullet. The bullet enables you to cast your 
 bait to any reasonable distance, and, when it sinks 
 to the bottom, it keeps rocking there to the motion 
 of the water, and the hole in it allows the worm to 
 work away a little and wreath itself about, so that 
 the bait is continually in attractive action. When the 
 barbel takes it and moves off with it, he gets checked 
 by the resistance of the bullet to the upper knob on 
 the line ; you feel the check ; strike sharply, and 
 you cannot well fail in striking the leather- mouthed 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE CHUB. 
 
 355 
 
 fish. Play him with moderate force, according to 
 his size and the strength of your tackle, and, as 
 soon as circumstances will permit you to get his 
 head out of water do so. That deadens the play 
 of his fins, and enables you to bring him over and 
 into the landing net. If you wish to catch punt- 
 wells of barbel, ground-bait plentifully the spots 
 you angle at for three or four nights previously. If 
 you angle with worms, ground-bait with worms ; 
 if with gentles, ground-bait with them. 
 
 THE CHUB. Cyprinus Cephalus. 
 
 This silvery bluish carp is an exceedingly fine, 
 splendid-looking fish ; but in him is fully realised 
 the proverb, " All is not gold that glitters." His 
 burnished gold outside hides a miserable interior. 
 He is neither fish, flesh, nor good red herring. He 
 is, to all intents and purposes, save in appearance, 
 
 A A 2 
 
356 BEST BAITS FOR CHUB. 
 
 what the French call him, un villain, that is, a 
 downright chaw-bacon or clod-hopper. Though 
 M. A. Soyer, of the Reform Club, should con- 
 descend to dress him, I doubt whether he would 
 make him fit to appear at any dinner table. 
 
 This fair outside and foul inside beauty spawns 
 in April, and is soon in its usual condition. In the 
 summer and autumn months it will take very 
 wantonly artificial flies, large red hackles, and 
 large palmers of different colours. In the evening 
 it can be readily seduced by artificial moths. 
 Its angling value rests in its occasional fondness 
 for artificial insects. I have caught dozens of them 
 in a few hours with large red and furnace hackles. 
 They are very fond of imitations of the humble 
 bee, and large blow-fly. In dibbing for them, use 
 the grasshopper, cockchafer, and small butter- 
 flies. In bottom-fishing for them use worms; 
 but in the hot months they are fondest of gentles 
 and prepared cheese. They will also take pastes 
 and salmon roe with great gusto. They are an 
 exceedingly wary fish, therefore never let them see 
 you or anything belonging to you through the 
 water, veluti in speculum. They are a cowardly 
 fish, and after a rolling round or two give in. 
 
BAD OPINION OF THE CARP. 
 
 357 
 
 THE CARP. Cyprinus Carpio. 
 
 The yellowish olive carp stands at the head of 
 a very numerous family, giving in my opinion no 
 very honourable name to them. They are just as 
 bad a race as the salmon tribe are excellent. If 
 they are of Saxon descent, they are very inferior 
 to our worst Celtic Salmonidce. They happily 
 eschew the mountain streams of the Gael, Celt, 
 and ancient Briton. The Dutch waters of our low 
 lands suit their burly bodies best. Neither I nor any 
 one else can tell you how to catch with the angle 
 the pater familias of the carp, he is so sly, and 
 nibbles in such a namby-pamby way, that he 
 strips the hook of its bait mouse-like. The angler 
 that can catch large carp, Captain Williamson 
 
358 TACKLE AND BAITS FOR CARP. 
 
 says, " must possess several qualifications ex- 
 tremely valuable to the angler, and bids fair by 
 general practice to be, according to the old 
 saying, able to teach his master." All I can tell 
 you is, that you must fish for the carp proper with 
 as fine tackle as you use for the roach, and at the 
 same time it must be stronger, for carp grow to 
 salmon size. The baits are worms, larvae, grain, 
 pastes, green gentles, and green peas. A sweet 
 paste is perhaps the best. The angling season 
 for carp is from February to October. In 
 stagnant waters they are found in the deepest 
 parts during the spring and autumn, particularly 
 near flood-gates through which water is received 
 and let off. In summer they frequent weed-beds 
 and aquatic plants, and in rivers they are ge- 
 nerally.found in the still deeps having oozy bottoms, 
 with rushes, reeds, and so forth. Worms are the 
 best baits in spring ; gentles and pastes in the 
 spring and autumn. A Huntingdonshire cor- 
 respondent once wrote to me, that he had a pond 
 well stored with very large carp, and that after 
 seven years' patience with rod, line, and hook, he 
 could not catch one of them. He asked my 
 advice. I told him that it lay in a net. 
 
BEST BAITS FOR TENCH. 359 
 
 THE TENCH. Cyprinus Tinea. 
 
 This mucous blackish olive carp inhabits 
 waters stagnant on a loamy, clayey soil, with a 
 soft muddy bottom. The best baits for tench are 
 red worms, gentles, pastes, caddies, larvse of all 
 kinds, such as flag-worms, wasp-grubs, and cater- 
 pillars. They will also take water and garden 
 snails. Fish close to the bottom, but not on it, 
 particularly if it is a soft, muddy one. Captain 
 Williamson says, " Tench do not swallow a bait 
 very quickly, sometimes holding it in their mouths 
 for a while ; therefore give them good time, and 
 let them either keep the float down, or, as is 
 often the case, let them rise with the bait, so as 
 to lay your float on the water. This is an excellent 
 sign, and warrants your striking, but rather 
 gently, lest the fish be only sucking the bait, for 
 he will seldom return after it is drawn from his 
 mouth." The best time for angling for tench is 
 
360 
 
 HABITS OF THE BREAM. 
 
 early and late of mornings and evenings, but they 
 bite freely and all day long during the fall of 
 mild rain in warm weather. The tench is said to 
 be an aquatic apothecary, a leech that cures 
 with his slime the wounds of other fish. The 
 pike in consequence respects this submarine 
 Machaon. Gratitude therefore is the pike's one 
 virtue linked with a thousand crimes. 
 
 THE BREAM. Cyprinus Brama. 
 
 This broad olivaceous carp grows to a very 
 large size in such rivers as the Ouse and the 
 Oundle. Bream are an exceedingly coarse fish, 
 but they bite freely in warm, gloomy, windy 
 weather, and a warm, drizzling rain sharpens their 
 appetites. A small red worm is the best bait for 
 
MEKITS OF THE GUDGEON. 361 
 
 them in the spring ; in summer gentles and sal- 
 mon roe. They rise freely at natural flies, par- 
 ticularly the house-fly, bluebottle, and stone-fly, 
 and in the evening at the various sorts of moths. 
 You must dib for them as cautiously as for chub, 
 keeping carefully out of sight. In bottom-fishing 
 your success will be augmented by ground-baiting 
 with lumps of clay mixed with clotted bullock's 
 blood. 
 
 THE GUDGEON. 
 
 This is a good, game, little fish, and the best 
 to initiate the young angler into the art of 
 bottom- fishing. The best bait is a very small 
 red worm or a part of one. Hundreds of them 
 are to be caught in the moderately shallow 
 streams of the Thames, and indeed in the shal- 
 B B 
 
362 ANGLING FOR GUDGEON. 
 
 lows of all our mixed rivers. By a mixed river 
 I mean one that is not confined to the production 
 of the salmon tribe, but which produces the carp 
 family and other coarse fish. If you can mud the 
 bottom, that is, cause an artificial discoloration 
 in the water by means of an iron rake, or any 
 other way, you will draw to the spot most of the 
 gudgeon in the immediate vicinity, and very pro- 
 bably kill the majority of them. You must then 
 move to another spot and repeat the artificial dis- 
 colouration of the water as before. Mudding the 
 water is the grand secret of success in gudgeon 
 angling. 
 
 One word of advice in this penultimate page to 
 the reader. Let him follow one maxim, which I 
 wish I had always followed, viz., that repetition is 
 the soul of instruction. Whenever he finds, on a 
 first perusal, any passage of the preceding pages 
 obscure, let him re-peruse it attentively, and I 
 flatter myself the obscurity will disappear. If it do 
 not, let him try a third time, and if then a difficulty 
 remain, the fault most probably will be mine. 
 Still the reader will have done well, for having 
 persevered. In like manner, should any thing I 
 teach seem at first difficult to be practised well* 
 let reiterated attempts be made towards the attain- 
 ment of perfection, and I am confident that the 
 result of repetition will be surprise that a thing, 
 found after some little patient practice of such 
 
PARTING WORDS. 363 
 
 easy accomplishment, should ever have been con- 
 sidered otherwise. 
 
 This light labour of mine is on the point of 
 ceasing. I may now write finis coronat opus, 
 whether with a triumphant thought or not, none, 
 save myself, can know. I have finished with the 
 gudgeon, though, in angling regularity, I ought 
 to have concluded with the salmon. But a 
 moral may be drawn from my proceeding. What 
 man begins with he ends with childishness. 
 The childish passion of gudgeon-angling may re- 
 turn to the true angler when he has "fallen 
 into the lean and slippered pantaloon," and it 
 will do so, if it be true that " the ruling passion is 
 strong in death." 
 
 THE END. 
 
LONDON : 
 
 SPOTTISWOODE and SHAW, 
 New-street-Square. 
 
January, 1347. 
 
 A CATALOGUE OF 
 
 NEW WORKS AND NEW EDITIONS 
 
 PRINTED TOR 
 
 MESSRS. LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS, 
 LONDON. 
 
 CLASSIFII 
 AGRICULTURE & RURAL AFFAIRS. 
 
 Pages 
 Bayldon on Valuing Rents, etc. - 6 
 Bray's Essay on Agriculture, etc. - 7 
 Crocker's Land Surveying - - 8 
 Davy's Agricultural Chemistry - 
 Johnson's Farmer's Encyclopedia - 16 
 Loudon's Encyclopaedia of Agriculture 18 
 ,, Self-Instruction for Farmers, etc. 18 
 ,, (Mrs.) Lady'sCountry Companion 18 
 Low's Breeds of the Domesticated Animals 19 
 ,, Elements of Agriculture - - 19 
 On Landed Property ... 19 
 , On the Domesticated Animals - 19 
 Parnell on Roads 23 
 Thomson on Fattening Cattle, etc.- - 29 
 Topham's Agricultural Chemistry - 30 
 Whitley's Agricultural Geology - - 32 
 
 ARTS, MANUFACTURES, AND 
 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 Brande's Dictionary of Science, etc. - 7 
 Bray's Essay on Manufactures, etc. - 7 
 Buckler's St. Alban's Abbey - 7 
 Budge's Miner's Guide - 7 
 Cartoons (The Prize) ... - 8 
 Cresy's Encycl. of Civil Engineering - 9 
 De Burtin on the Knowledge of Pictures 9 
 Dresden Gallery - 10 
 Gwilt's Encyclopaedia of Architecture - 13 
 Haydon's Lectures on Painting & Design 13 
 Holland's Manufactures in Metal - - 14 
 Lerebours On Photography - 17 
 Loudon's Rural Architecture - - 18 
 Moseley's Engineering and Architecture 22 
 Parnell on Roads 23 
 Porter's Manufacture of Silk - 24 
 ,, Porcelain & Glass 24 
 Reid (Dr.) on Warming and Ventilating 25 
 Steam Engine (The) , by the Artisan Club 5 
 Ore's Dictionary of Arts, etc. - - 31 
 Wilkinson's Engines of War - - - 32 
 
 BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 Aikin'sLifeof Addison - 5 
 Bell's Lives of the British Poets - - 6 
 Dover's Life of the King of Prussia - - In 
 Dunham's Early Writers of Britain - In 
 ,, Lives of the British Dramatists In 
 Forster's Statesmen of the Commonwealth lj 
 ,, LifeofJebb - - - - ll 
 Gleig's British Military Commanders - 12 
 Grant (Mrs.) Memoir and Correspondence 12 
 James's Life of the Black Prince - - 15 
 ,, Eminent Foreign Statesmen - 15 
 Lai's (M.) Life of Dost^Mohammed - - 21 
 Leslie's Life of Constable - 17 
 Mackintosh's Life of Sir T. More - - 19 
 Maunder's Biographical Treasury - - 21 
 Roscoe's Lives of Eminent British Lawyers 26 
 Russell's Bedford Correspondence - 6 
 
 :D INDEX. 
 
 Pa 
 
 Shelley's Literary Men of Italy, etc. 
 ,, Eminent French Writers 
 Southey's Lives of the British Admirals - 
 Life of Wesley .... 
 Townsend's Twelve eminent Judges 
 Waterton's Autobiography and Essays - 
 
 BOOKS OF GENERAL UTILITY 
 
 Acton's (Eliza) Cookery Book 
 Black's Treatise on Brewing - 
 Collegian's Guide - 
 Donovan's Domestic Economy 
 Hand-Book of Taste - 
 
 *3 
 
 27 
 28 
 2H 
 30 
 31 
 
 f. 
 
 5 
 6 
 8 
 10 
 13 
 14 
 15 
 15 
 15 
 18 
 IS 
 21 
 21 
 
 21 
 23 
 
 24 
 25 
 25 
 26 
 26 
 
 lo 7 
 
 30 
 30 
 31 
 32 
 
 5 
 5 
 
 8 
 8 
 10 
 13 
 14 
 14 
 14 
 15 
 17 
 17 
 
 g 
 
 17 
 
 18 
 18 
 18 
 18 
 18 
 18 
 18 
 18 
 26 
 
 Hudson's Parent's Hand-Book 
 ,, Executor's Guide 
 On Making Wills 
 Loudon's Self Instruction - 
 (Mrs.) Amateur Gardener 
 Maunder's Treasury of Knowledge - - 
 
 ,, Treasury of History 
 ,, Biographical Treasury . 
 
 Parkes's Domestic Duties 
 Pycroft's Course of English Reading 
 Reader's Time Tables .... 
 Riddle's Eng.-Lat. and Lat.-Eng. Diet. - 
 Robinson's Art of Curing, Pickling, etc. 
 Rowton's Debater - 
 Short Whist ...... 
 Thomson's Management of Sick Room - 
 ,, Interest Tables - 
 Tomlins' Law Dictionary - 
 Walker's Dictionary, by Smirt 
 Webster's Encycl. of Domestic Economy 
 
 BOTANY AND GARDENING. 
 
 Abercrombie's Practical Gardener - 
 ,, and Main's Gardener 
 Callcott's Scripture Herbal - 
 Conversations on Botany ... 
 Drummond's First Steps to Botany - 
 Henslow's Botany - 
 Hoare On the Grape Vine on Open Walls 
 On the Roots of Vines - 
 Hooker's British Flora - 
 Jackson's Pictorial Flora .... 
 Lindley's Theory of Horticulture 
 ,, Orchard and Kitchen Garden - 
 ,, Introduction to Botany - 
 ,, Flora Medica - 
 ,, Synopsis of British Flora - 
 Loudon's Hortus Britannicus - 
 ,, Hortus Lignosus Londinensis - 
 ,, Encyclopaedia of Trees & Shrubs 
 ,, ., Gardening 
 Plants - 
 Suburban Gardener - 
 
 " (Mr.) Amateur Gardener - 
 Repton's Landscape Gardening, etc. 
 
 
 
 London: Printed by M. MASON, Ivy Lane, Paternoster Row. 
 
2 CLASSIFIED INDEX 
 
 Pages 
 
 
 Pages 
 
 Rivers's Rose Amateur's Guide - - 26 
 
 Maurv's Statesmen of America 
 
 - 21 
 
 Roberts on the Vine ----- i6 
 
 Milner's Church History - 
 
 
 Rosers's Vegetable Cultivator - 26 
 Sehleiden's Scientific Botany - 26 
 
 Moore's History of Ireland 
 Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History - 
 
 . 22 
 . 22 
 
 Smith's Introduction to Botany - - 27 
 
 Nicolas's Chronology of History - 
 
 . 23 
 
 Smith's English Flora ... - 27 
 ,, Compendium of English Flora - 27 
 
 Ranke's History of the Reformation 
 Rome, History of - 
 Russell's Bedford Correspondence - 
 
 _ 25 
 . 26 
 . 6 
 
 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 Scott's History of Scotland 
 
 . 26 
 
 Blair's Chronological Tables ... 6 
 Nicolas's Chronology of History - - 23 
 Riddle's Ecclesiastical Chronology - - 25 
 Tate's Horatius Restitutus - 29 
 
 Sinnett's Byways of History - - - z / 
 Stebbing's History of the Christian Church 2b 
 ,, History of the Reformation - 28 
 ,, Church History - - - 21 
 Switzerland, History of - - - - & 
 
 COMMERCE AND MERCANTILE 
 
 Sydney Smith's Works - 
 Thirl wall's History of Greece - 
 
 . 28 
 . 29 
 
 AFFAIRS. 
 
 Tooke's History of Prices 
 
 - 30 
 
 Baylis's Arithmetic of Annuities 6 
 Gilbart On Banking - - - - 12 
 M'Culloch's Dictionary of Commerce - 20 
 
 Turner's History of England - 
 Tytler's Elements of General History 
 
 - 30 
 - 31 
 
 
 
 Reader's Time Tables - 25 
 Steel's Shipmaster's Assistant - - - 28 
 
 JUVENILE BOOKS. 
 
 
 Thomson's Tables of Interest - 3t 
 
 
 
 Walford's Customs' Laws - - - 31 
 
 Amy Herbert - 
 Boy's (The) Own Book - 
 
 - 7 
 
 GEOGRAPHY AND ATLASES. 
 
 Gertrude - 
 
 - 11 
 12 
 
 Butler's Ancient and Modern Geography 7 
 
 Hawes's Tales of the N. American Indi 
 
 ans 13 
 
 ,, Atlas of Modern Geography - 7 
 
 Howitt's Boy's Country Book - 
 
 - 15 
 
 ,, ,, Ancient Geography - 8 
 ,, ,, General Geography - 8 
 
 Laneton Parsonage - 
 Mackintosh's Life of Sir T. More - 
 
 - 16 
 - 19 
 
 Cooley's World Surveyed ... 8 
 
 Marcet's Conversations 
 
 
 De Strzelecki's New South Wales - 10 
 
 On the History of England 
 
 - 20 
 
 Forster's Historical Geography of Arabia 11 
 Hall's Large General Atlas ... 13 
 M'Culloch's Geographical Dictionary - 20 
 M'Leod's Sacred Geography - 20 
 
 On Natural Philosophy 
 On Political Economy 
 On Vegetable Physiology - 
 
 - 20 
 20 
 
 - 20 
 
 Murray's Encyclopedia of Geography - 22 
 
 On Land and Water - 
 
 - 20 
 
 Geological Society ... - 23 
 
 Marryat's Masterman Ready - 
 
 - 20 
 
 Parrot's Ascent of Mount Ararat 8 
 
 ,, Privateer's-Man 
 
 - 20 
 
 
 Settlers in Canada - 
 
 - 20 
 
 HISTORY AND CRITICISM. 
 
 Mission; or, Scenes in Afric 
 
 a 20 
 
 Adair's (Sir R.) Mission to Vienna - 5 
 
 Pycroft's Course of English Reading 
 
 - 24 
 
 " Constantinople ... - 5 
 Bell's History of Russia .... 6 
 
 MEDICINE. 
 
 
 Blair's Chron. and Historical Tables - 6 
 
 Bull's Hints to Mothers - 
 
 - 7 
 
 Bloomfield's Translation of Thucydides - 6 
 ,, Edition of Thucydides - - 6 
 Cooley's Maritime and Inland Discovery 8 
 
 Management of Children 
 Copland's Dictionary of Medicine - 
 Elliotson's Human Physiology 
 
 7 
 - 9 
 - 11 
 
 Crowe's History of France 9 
 
 Esdaile's Mesmerism in India - 
 
 - 11 
 
 De Sismondi's Fall of the Roman Empire 10 
 
 Holland's Medical Notes - 
 
 - 14 
 
 ,, Italian Republics - - 10 
 
 Lane's Water Cure at Malvern 
 
 . 16 
 
 Dunham's History of Spain and Portugal 10 
 
 Pereira On Food and Diet 
 
 - 23 
 
 ,, Europe in the Middle Ages - 10 
 
 Recce's Medical Guide - 
 
 - 25 
 
 Denmark, Sweden, and Norway 10 
 
 Thomson on Food - 
 
 - 29 
 
 ,, History of Poland - 10 
 Dunlop's History of Fiction - - 10 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 
 Eccleston's English Antiquities - - 10 
 
 Ad she ad on Prisons - - - - 
 
 5 
 
 Fergus's United States of America - 11 
 
 Brav's Philosophy of Necessity 
 
 "j 
 
 Grant (Mrs.) Memoir andCorespondence 12 
 Grattan's History of Netherlands - 12 
 
 ,, Social Systems - 
 Cartoons (The Prize) ... 
 
 - 7 
 - 8 
 
 Grimblot's William III. and Louis XIV. 12 
 
 Clavers's Forest Life 
 
 8 
 
 Guicciardini's Hist. Maxims - 13 
 
 Cocks's Bordeaux, its Wines, etc. - 
 
 - 8 
 
 Halsted's Life of Richard III. - - 18 
 
 Collegian's Guide - 
 
 - 8 
 
 Historical Pictures of the Middle Ages - 14 
 
 De Burtin On the Knowledge of Pictu 
 
 res 9 
 
 Horsley's (Bp.) Biblical Criticism - - 14 
 
 De Morgan On Probabilities - 
 
 - 9 
 
 Jeffrey's (Lord) Contributions - - 16 
 
 De Strzelecki's New South Wales - 
 
 - 10 
 
 iJing'a Kings of "Norway T - - I 16 
 
 Dunlop's History of Fiction 
 
 - 10 
 
 Lempriere's Classical Dictionary - - 17 
 
 Good's Book of Nature - 
 
 - 12 
 
 Macaulay's Essays - ... 19 
 
 Gower's Scientific Phenomena 
 
 - 12 
 
 Mackinnon's History of Civilisation - 19 
 
 Graham's English 
 
 - 12 
 
 Mackintosh's History of England - - 19 
 
 Grant's Letters from the Mountains 
 
 - 12 
 
 Miscellaneous Works - 19 
 
 Guest's Mabinogion - 
 
 12 
 
 M'Culloch's Dictionary, Historical, Geo- 
 
 Hand-Book of Taste - 
 
 - 13 
 
 graphical, and Statistical - - 20 
 
 Higgins's Anacalypsis - 
 
 - 13 
 
 Maunder's Treasury of History - - 21 
 
 ,, Altic Druids ... 
 
 - 13 
 
TO MESSRS. LONGMAN t 
 
 LND CO/S CATALOGUE. 3 
 
 Pages 
 Hobbes's (Thos.) complete Works - 14 
 Howitt's Rural Life of England - - 14 
 Visits to Remarkable Places - 14 
 ,, Student Life of Germany - 15 
 Rural and Social Life of Germany 15 
 ,, Colonisation and Christianity - 15 
 Jaenisch on Chess Openings - - " 15 
 Jeffrey's (Lord) Contributions - - 16 
 King's (Col ) Argentine Renublic - - 16 
 
 Copland's, of Medicine .... 9 
 Cresy's, of Civil Engineering 9 
 Gwilt's, of Architecture .... 13 
 Johnson's Farmer ..... 16 
 London's, of Trees and Shrubs - - 18 
 ,, of Gardening .... 18 
 ,, of Agriculture - 18 
 of Plants 18 
 
 Lane's Life at the Water Cure - - 16 
 London's (Mrs.) Lady's Country Companion 18 
 Macaulay's Critical and Historical Essays 19 
 Mackintosh's 'Sir J.) Miscellaneous Works 19 
 Maitland-s Church in Catacombs - - 20 
 Michelet's Priests, Women, and Families 21 
 ,, The People - - 21 
 Necker De Saussure's on Education - 23 
 Perry On German University Education - 24 
 Peter Plymlev's Lellers - 24 
 Plunkett on the Navy - - - - 24 
 Pycroft's English Course of Reading - 24 
 Roget's Economic Chess board - - 26 
 Rowton's Debater - ... 26 
 Sandford's Parochialia - 26 
 Seaward 's Narrative of his Shipwreck - 26 
 Southey's Common Place Book - - 28 
 
 M'Culloch's Geographical Dictionary - 20 
 ,, Dictionary of Commerce - 20 
 Murray's Encyclopaedia of Geography - 22 
 Ure's Arts, Manufactures, and Mines 31 
 Webster's Domestic Economy - - 31 
 
 POETRY AND THE DRAMA. 
 
 Aikin's (Dr.) British Poets - 26 
 Burger's Leonora, by Cameron 7 
 Chalenor's Walter Gray ... 8 
 Collier's Roxburghe Ballads ... 8 
 Costello's Persian Rose Garden - - 9 
 Goldsmith's Poems - - ... 12 
 Gray's Elegy, illuminated ... 12 
 Gutth's Robin Hode .... 13 
 
 The Doctor, etc. Vol. VI. - 28 
 Sydney Smith's Works - 28 
 Thomson on Food of Animals, etc. - - 29 
 Walker's Chess Studies - - - - 31 
 Willoughby's (Lady) Diary - 32 
 Zumpt's Latin Grammar - - - - 32 
 
 Howill's (Mary) Ballads ... 15 
 L. E. L.'s Poetical Works - - 17 
 Linwood's Anthologia Oxoniensis - - 18 
 Macftulay's Lays of Ancient Rome - - 19 
 Mackay's Eni-lish Lakes .... 19 
 Montgomery's Poetical Woi-ks - - 22 
 
 
 ,, Lalla Rookh - - _ - 2< 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY IN GENERAL. 
 
 Callow's Popular Conehologv - 8 
 Doubledav's Butterflies and Moths - 10 
 Drummond's Letters to a Naturalist - 10 
 Gray's Figures of Molluscous Animals - 12 
 ' and Mitchell's Ornithology - - 12 
 Accipitres - - 12 
 Kirby and Spence's Entomology - - 16 
 Lee's Taxidermy - - 17 
 Elements of Natural History - - 17 
 Newell's Zoology of the English Poets - 23 
 Stephens' British Coleoptera - - 28 
 S wainson on the Study of Natural History 29 
 Animals - - - - 29 
 Quadrupeds - 29 
 Birds - - 29 
 ,, Animals in Menageries - 29 
 ,, Fish, Amphibians, & Reptiles 29 
 ,, Insects - 29 
 ,, Malacology - 29 
 
 Irish Melodies .... 22 
 Moral of Flowers .... 22 
 Poets' Pleasaunce ... 24 
 Pope's Works 24 
 Reynard the Fox 25 
 Shakspeare, by Bowdler - - - 27 
 Sheldon's Minstrelsy .... 27 
 Sophocles, by Liriwood - - - -28 
 Southey's Poetical Works . - - - 28 
 _ . .. British Poets ... 26 
 Spirit of the Woods .... 28 
 Thomson's Seasons - - - - 29 
 Watts's (A. A.) Lyrics of the Heart - 31 
 
 POLITICAL ECONOMY AND 
 STATISTICS. 
 
 Gilbart on Banking - - - - - 1 2 
 M'Culloch's Geographical, Statistical, and 
 Historical Dictionary - - - 20 
 M'Culloch's Dictionary of Commerce - 20 
 
 Taxidermy - 29 
 Turton's Shells of the British Islands - 31 
 Wuterton's Essays on Natural History - 31 
 Westwood's Classification of Insects - 32 
 Zoology of H.M. S.s' Erebus and Terror 32 
 
 NOVELS AND WORKS OF FICTION. 
 
 Bray's (Mrs.) Novels .... 7 
 Dunlop's History of Fiction - 10 
 Fawn of Sertorius - ... 11 
 Marryat's Masterman Ready - - 20 
 Privateer's-Man - 20 
 Settlers in Canada - - 20 
 Mission; or, Scenes in Africa 20 
 Pericles, A Tale of Athens - - 24 
 Southey's, The Doctor, etc. Vol. VI. 28 
 Will! s s (N. P.) Dashes at Life - 32 
 
 ONE VOLUME ENCYCLOPEDIAS 
 
 Literature of Polit. Economy 19 
 On Taxation and Funding - 19 
 ,, Statistics of the British Empire 19 
 Marcel's Conversations on Polit. Economy 20 
 Registrar-General's Report - - - 25 
 Symonds' Merchant Seamen's Law - 29 
 Thornton on Over population - - - 30 
 Tooke's History of Prices - - 30 
 
 RELIGIOUS AND MORAL 
 WORKS, ETC. 
 
 Amy Herbert, edited by Rev W. Sewell 5 
 Barrett's Old Testament Criticisms - - 6 
 Bloomfield's Greek Testament - - 6 
 College and School ditto - 6 
 Lexicon to Greek Testament 6 
 Burder's Oriental Cusloms - 7 
 Burns's Christian Philosophy - - - 9 7 
 ,, Christian Fragments - - - 7 
 Callcotl's Scriplure Herbal 
 
 AND DICTIONARIES. 
 
 Elaine's, of Rural Sports - . 6 
 Brande's, of Science, Literature, and Art 7 
 
 Dale's Domestic Liturgy - - 9 
 Dibdin's Sunday Library .... 10 
 Doddridge's Family Expositor . - 10 
 
4 CLASSIFIED INDEX. 
 
 <-es 
 5 
 5 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 9 
 10 
 11 
 11 
 12 
 12 
 13 
 13 
 14 
 15 
 15 
 16 
 16 
 16 
 17 
 17 
 16 
 
 Pages 
 Englishman's Hebrew Concordance - 11 
 Greek Concordance - - 11 
 Etheridge's Syrian Churches - - 11 
 Fitzroy's (Lady) Scripture Conversations 11 
 Forster's Historical Geography of Arabia 11 
 Life of Bishop Jebb - - - 11 
 From Oxford to Rome - - - - 11 
 Gertrude, edited by the Rev. W. Sewell - 11 
 Hook's (Dr.) Lectures on Passion Week 14 
 Home's Introduction to the Scriptures - 14 
 Compendium of ditto - - 14 
 Horsley's (Bp.) Biblical Criticism - - 14 
 
 THE SCIENCES IN GENERAL, 
 AND MATHEMATICS. pa 
 
 Bakewell's Introduction to Geology 
 Balmaiu's Lessons on Chemistry 
 Brande's Dictionary of Science, etc. - 
 Brewster's Optics - 
 Conversations on Mineralogy 
 De la Beche on theGeology oi Cornwall, etc 
 Donovan's Chemistry - 
 Farey on the Steam Engine - 
 Fosbroke on the Arts of the Ancients - 
 Gower's Scientific Phenomena 
 
 Jebb's Correspondence with Knox - - 15 
 ,, Translation of the Psalms - - 15 
 Kip's Christmas in Rome - 16 
 Knox's (Alexander) Remains - 16 
 Laiitg's Notes on the German Schism - 16 
 Laneton Parsonage ----- 16 
 Letters to my Unknown Friends - - 17 
 Maitland's Church in the Catacombs - 20 
 Margaret Percival 
 Michelet's Priests, Women, and Families 21 
 and Quinet's Jesuits - - 21 
 Milner's Church Historv - 21 
 Moore on the Power of the Soul - - 22 
 ,,~ on the Use of the Body - - 22 
 Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History - - 22 
 My Youthful Companions - 22 
 
 Herschel's Natural Philosophy 
 Astronomy .-.-'- 
 Holland's Manufactures in Metal - 
 Humboldt's Cosmos - 
 Hunt's Researches on Light - 
 Kater and Lardner's Mechanics 
 La Place's System of the World 
 Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopaedia 
 ., Hydrostatics and Pneumatics - 
 ,, and Walker's Electricity 
 ,, Arithmetic - 
 
 ", Treatise on Heat - 
 Lerebours On Photography - 
 Marcel's Conversations on the Sciences 
 Memoirs of the Geological Survey - 
 Moseley's Practical Mechanics 
 ,, Engineering and Architecture 
 Nesbit's Mensuration - 
 
 17 
 17 
 
 20 
 21 
 22 
 22 
 23 
 23 
 23 
 24 
 
 24 
 24 
 24 
 24 
 24 
 24 
 25 
 30 
 32 
 
 b 
 
 8 
 9 
 9 
 10 
 8 
 13 
 16 
 16 
 16 
 19 
 22 
 8 
 23 
 23 
 23 
 26 
 30 
 31 
 
 21 
 28 
 29 
 32 
 
 Parkes's Domestic Duties - 23 
 Pearson's Prayers for Families - - 23 
 
 Pitman s Sermons on the Psalms - - 24 
 Quinet's Christianity - 25 
 Riddle's Letters from a Godfather - - 25 
 Saiidford On Female Improvement - - 26 
 On Woman .... OR 
 's Parochialia - - - - 26 
 Sermon on the Mount (The) - - - 27 
 Shepherd's Horse Aposiolicae - - 27 
 Smith's Female Disciple - 27 
 ,, (G.) PerilousTimes - - 27 
 ,, Religion of Ancient Biitain 27 
 Southey's Life of Wesley ... 28 
 Stebbing's Church History - 28 
 
 Pearson's Practical Astronomy 
 Peschel's Physics - 
 Phillips's PalaeozoicFossilsof Cornwall, etc 
 Guide to Geology - 
 ,, Treatise on Geology - 
 Poisson's Mechanics - 
 Portlock's Geology of Londonderry 
 Powell's Natural Philosophy - 
 Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society 
 Ritchie (Robert) on Railways 
 Topham's Agricultural Chemistry - 
 Whitley's Agricultural Geology 
 
 TRAVELS. 
 
 Cooley's World Surveyed - 
 Costello's (Miss) North Wales 
 De Custine's Russia - 
 Da Strzelecki's New South Wales - 
 Erman's Travels through Siberia - 
 Harris's Highlands of ^Ethiopia 
 King's (Col.) Argentine Republic - 
 Kip's Holydays in Rome 
 Laing's Tour in Sweden - 
 Mackay : s English Lakes - 
 Montauban's Wanderings 
 Parrot's Ascent of Mount Ararat - 
 Paton's (A. A.) Servia - 
 Modern Syrians 
 Pedestrian Reminiscence's - 
 Seaward's Narrative of his Shipwreck - 
 
 Sydney Smith's Sermons - - 28 
 Tate's History of St. Paul - - - 29 
 TayIer's(Rev.C.B.)Margaret; or, the Pearl 29 
 ,, ,, Sermons - - 29 
 ,, DoraMelder - - 29 
 ,, Lady Mary - - 29 
 Taylor's (Jeremy) Works - 29 
 Tomline's Introduction to the Bible - 30 
 Trevor; or the New St. Francis - - 30 
 Trollope's Analecta Theologica - - 30 
 
 Wardlaw'bnSocinian Controversy - 31 
 Weif's Bible, Koran, and Talmud - - 32 
 Wilberforce's View of Christianity - 32 
 Wilkinson'sCatechismsofChurch'History 32 
 Willoutfhby's (Lady) Diary - . - 32 
 Woodward's Essays, Sermons, etc. - 32 
 
 RURAL SPORTS. 
 
 Von Orlich's Travels in India 
 
 VETERINARY MEDICINE 
 
 Miles On the Horse's Foot - 
 Stable Talk and Table Talk - 
 Thomson on Fattening Cattle 
 Winter OH the Horse - 
 
 Ephemera on Angling - - - -11 
 Hansard's Fishing in^Wales - 13 
 Hawker's Instructions to Sportsmen - 13 
 London's (Mrs.) Lady's Country Companion 18 
 Stable Talk and Table Talk - 28 
 
NEW WORKS AND NEW EDITIONS. 
 
 ABERCROMBIE. ABERCROMBIE'S PRACTICAL GARDENER, AND 
 
 IMPROVED SYSTEM OF MODERN HORTICULTURE, alphabetically arranged. 4th 
 Edition, with an Introductory Treatise on Vegetable Physiology, and Plates by VV. Salisbury. 
 12mo. 6s. boards. 
 
 ABERCROMBIE AND MAIN. THE PRACTICAL GARDENER'S COM- 
 PANION; Or, Horticultural Calendar: to which is added, the Garden-Seed and Plant 
 Estimate. Edited, from a MS. of J.Abercrombie,by J.Miiiu. 8th Edition. 32mo.2*.(u/. sewed. 
 
 ACTON (MISS). MODERN COOKERY, 
 
 In all its Branches, reduced to a System of Easy Practice. For the use of Private Families. 
 In a Series of Practical Receipts, all of which have been strictly tested, and are given with 
 the most minute exactness. By Eliza Acton. New Edition, to which are added, Directions 
 for Carving. Foolscap 8vo. with Plates and Woodcuts, Is. Gd. cloth. 
 
 ADAIR (SIR ROBERT). AN HISTORICAL MEMOIR OF A MISSION 
 
 TO THE COURT OF VIENNA IN 1806. By the Right Honorable Sir Robert Adair.G.C.B. 
 With a Selection from his Despatches, published by permission of the proper Authorities. 
 8vo. 18*. cloth. 
 
 ADAIR (SIR ROBERT) THE NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE PEACE OF 
 
 THE DARDANELLES, in 1808-9; with Despatches and Official Documents. By the 
 Right Honorable Sir Robert Ad;dr, G.C.B. Being a Sequel to the Memoir of his Mission 
 to Vienna in 1806. 2 vols. 8vo. 28*. cloth. 
 
 ADSHE AD. PRISONS AND PRISONERS. 
 
 By Joseph Adshead. Svo. with Illustrations, 7*. 6d. cloth. 
 
 AIKIN.-THE LIFE OF JOSEPH ADDISON. 
 
 Illustrated by many of his Letters and Private Papers never before published. By Lucy 
 Aikin. 2 vols. post Svo. with Portrait from Sir Godfrey Kneller's Picture, 18*. cloth. 
 
 ALLAN (J. H.) A PICTORIAL TOUR IN THE MEDITERRANEAN ; 
 
 Comprising Malta, Dalmatia, Turkey, Asia Minor, Grecian Archipelago, Egypt, Nubia, 
 Greece, Sicily, Italy, and Spain. J.H.Allan. 2d Edition. Imperial 4to. with upwards of 
 40 lithographed Drawings, and 70 Wood Engravings, 3/. 3*. cloth. 
 
 AMY HERBERT. 
 
 Bv a Lady. Edited by the Rev. William Sewell,B.D. of ExeterCollege, Oxford. New 
 Edition. 2 vols. foolscap Svo. 9*. cloth. 
 
 ARTISAN CLUB (THE). A TREATISE ON THE STEAM ENGINE. 
 
 In its application to Mines, Mills, Steam Navigation, and Railways. By the Artisan Club. 
 Edited by John Bourne, C.E. 4to. with 30 Steel Plates, etc., and about 350 Wood En- 
 gravings, 27*. cloth. 
 
 BAKEWELL. AN INTRODUCTION TO GEOLOGY. 
 
 Intended to convey Practical Knowledge of the Science, and comprising the most important 
 recent Discoveries ; with Explanations of the Facts and Phenomena which serve to confirm or 
 invalidate various Geological Theories. By Robert Bakewell. Fifth Edition, considerably 
 enlarged. Svo. with numerous Plates and Woodcuts, 21*. cloth. 
 
 BALMAIN.- LESSONS ON CHEMISTRY, 
 
 For the Use of Pupils in Schools, Junior Students in Universities, and Readers who wish to 
 learn the fundamental Principles and leading Facts: with Questions for Examination, 
 Glossaries of Chemical Terms and Chemical Symbols, and an Index. By William H. Balmaiu, 
 With numerous Woodcuts, illustrative of the Decompositions. Foolscap Svo. 6*. cloth. 
 
O NEW WORKS AND NEW EDITIONS 
 
 BARRETT. A SYNOPSIS OF CRITICISMS 
 
 Upon those Passage! of the Old Testament in which Modern Commentators have differed 
 from the Authorized Version : together with an Explanation of various Difficulties in the 
 Hebrew and English Texts. By the Rev. Richard Barrett, M.A. Fellow of King's College, 
 Cambridge. Vols. I & II. 8vo. [/;* January. 
 
 BAYLDON.-THE ART OF VALUING RENTS AND TILLAGES, 
 
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