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THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A, KOFOID AND 
 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 
 II 
 
// 
 
 ?.^-^ 
 
 /■#^ 
 
 -^rT b 
 
THE AK1GJJ:RS FfAND-nOOK. 
 
 PnUialicd bv R.Tyaa.Clioapsnde June i 
 
THE 
 
 ANGLER'S ASSISTANT 
 
 COMPRISING 
 
 PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS JOE BOTTOM-EISHING, 
 TROLLING, &, 
 
 WITH AMPLE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION & USE 
 
 OP 
 
 TACKLE AND BAITS; 
 
 A DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE HABITS 
 AND HAUNTS OF FISH, 
 
 A GEOGRAPHICAL AND ICHTHYOLOGICAL ACCOUNT OF THE 
 PRINCIPAL RIVERS & STREAMS IN ENGLAND. 
 
 BY WILLAMh CARPENTER 
 
 "Tis pleasant to see the Fish 
 , Cut with golden oars the silver stream. 
 And greedily devour the treacherous bait." 
 Shakspbare. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & CO., FARRINGDON STREET. 
 
 1852. 
 
Digitized by tine Internet Archive 
 in 2007 witii funding from ' 
 IVIicrosoft Corporation 
 
 littp://www.archive.org/details/anglersassistantOOcarpricli 
 
TO 
 
 CHARLES SEPTIMUS PEET, ESQ. 
 
 OF KINGSTON, 
 WHOSE SKILL AND ENTHUSIASM IN 
 
 ARE EXCEEDED ONLY BY THE KINDLINESS OF HIS 
 C^ DISPOSITION 
 
 AND THE HEARTINESS OF HIS HOSPITALITY, 
 THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED, 
 
 BY ONE WHO HAS WITNESSED NUMEROUS PR60FS OF THE 
 FORMER, 
 
 AND HAS PARTAKEN LARGELY OF THE LATTER. 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 is confidently hoped, find all necessary information 
 upon the recreative art. And while the Author has 
 given as much instruction as he could give, he has 
 divested it of all ambiguousness and superfluous dila- 
 tation. The different descriptions of tackle and of bait 
 appropriate to the several varieties of sport, the best 
 places for resorting to, and the most likely means of 
 averting disappointment in case of accident, are all 
 treated of; while the various rivers of England are 
 traced from their source to their fall, and the multifa- 
 rious kinds of fish with which they abound are carefully 
 noted. The object has been to render the book at 
 once concise and complete — the young angler's " best 
 companion" — and the more expert angler's acceptable 
 monitor. To several experienced and accomplished 
 anglers, both upon the Thames and the Lea, the 
 author has been indebted for valuable hints; and to 
 some two or three of them for able contributions to- 
 wards the stock of information he has here brought 
 together. They will receive his best thanks for their 
 kind co-operation, while those who consult his book 
 will partake of the advantages of their long experience 
 and nice observation. 
 
 April 3rd, 1848. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Antiquity of the Art of Angling — Illustrious persons devoted 
 to it — A rational recreation — ^Various kinds of Angling . 1 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 rBESH-WATEB FISH. 
 
 The physiology and hahits of fish — The Salmon — The Grayling 
 —The Trout— The Pike— The Perch— The Carp— The 
 Roach— The Dace— The Barbel— The Chub— The Tench 
 — The Bream — The Bleak — The Gudgeon — The Minnow 
 —The Eel 4 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 RIVERS, PONDS, ETC. 
 
 Bedfordshire — Berkshire — Buckinghamshire — C ambridgeshire 
 — Cheshire — Cornwall — Cumberland — Derbyshire — Devon- 
 shire — Dorsetshire — Durham — Essex — Gloucestershire — 
 Hampshire — Herefordshire — Hertfordshire — Huntingdon- 
 shire — Kent — Lancashire — Leicestershire — Lincolnshire — 
 Middlesex — Fishing stations and fishermen on the Thames 
 — Other waters in and about London — Monmouthshire — 
 Norfolk — Northamptonshire — Northumberland — Notting- 
 ham — Oxfordshire — Rutlandshire — Shropshire — Somerset- 
 shire — Staffordshire — Suffolk — Surrey — Sussex — War- 
 wickshire — Westmoreland — Wiltshire — Worcestershire — 
 Yorkshire 36 
 
Vm CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTEK III. 
 
 FISHING-TACKLE ITS PREPARATION AND USE. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Rods and tlieir management — Lines and their preparation — 
 Hooks and their varieties — Floats — Nets, kettles, baskets, 
 &c. — Pocket-book and its contents — Plummets — Baiting- 
 needles, &c. — Preparing and using tackle 72 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 OF BAITS, AND THEIR USE. 
 
 Worms — How to preserve worms — Other live baits — Pastes — 
 Ground-baits 87 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE HAUNTS OF FISH. 
 
 Peculiar resorts of different fish — Times and Seasons for 
 Angling — The several months — Laws and regulations for 
 taking fish 94 
 
 CHAPTER VL 
 
 PRACTICAL ANGLING. 
 
 Trolling — The gorge-bait — Trolling for Pike — Live-baits — 
 Snap-fishing — Mr. Blain on Trolling — Spinning a Minnow 
 — Bottom-fishing : — for Bleak — Minnows — Stickleback — 
 Gudgeons — Roach — Chub — Bream — Tench — Perch — Carp 
 — Ruffe — Barbel— Pike, or Jack — Trout — Grayling — Eels. 
 — Conclusion 102 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Angling is, as almost everybody knows, the art of 
 taking fish by means of a rod and line, and it has been, 
 as it is now, a favourite amusement, apparently, in all 
 past times. As long since as the time of Isaiah, we 
 read of those who "cast angle in the brooks;" and the 
 practice has been followed, not, as some imagine, by 
 dull, stupid, and insensible persons, but by men of the 
 highest intellect and the greatest sensibility, amongst 
 whom may be mentioned the learned Dr. Whitaker; 
 Dr. Nowell, Dean of St. Paul's, Sir Henry Wotton; 
 Coleridge; Gay; Tobin, author of the Honey Moon ; 
 Dr. Wollaston ; the Hon. Robert Boyle, the great 
 Christian Philosopher; and in more modern times, Sir 
 Humphry Davy, Archdeacon Paley, Sir Walter 
 Scott, Professor Wilson, Sir Francis Chantrey, and 
 the Duke of Roxburgh. These examples may, at least, 
 justify old Isaac's averment — 
 
 " Of recreation there is none 
 So free as fishing is alone; 
 All other pastimes do no less 
 Than mind and body both possess; 
 My hand alone my work can do, 
 So I can fish and study, too." 
 
 As a relaxation from severe or mind-taxing pursuits, 
 angling offers a greater diversity, with a call for less mus- 
 
'J INTRODUCTION. 
 
 cular exertion, than any other, while Nature spreads 
 out and around her manifold and exhaustless beauties. 
 
 " The hills and mountains raised from the plains, 
 The plains extended level with the ground ; 
 
 The grounds divided into sundry veins, 
 
 The veins enclosed with rivers running round. 
 
 Those rivers makiog way through nature's drains, 
 With headlong course into the sea profound ; 
 
 The raging sea, beneath the valleys low, 
 
 Where lakes, and rills, and rivulets do flow. 
 
 " The lofty woods, the forests wide and long, 
 
 Adorn'd with leaves and branches fresh and green, 
 
 In whose cool bowers the birds, with many a song, 
 To welcome with their choir the summer's queen; 
 
 The meadows fair, where Flora's gifts among 
 Are intermixt with verdant grass between; 
 
 The silver-scaled fish that softly swim 
 
 Within the sweet brook's crystal watery stream." 
 
 So sang Cotton, in a right worthy vein; and there 
 is no true angler who does not often find himself 
 imbued with the like feeling of admiration and grati- 
 tude towards Him who " made the heaven" and " de- 
 corated the earth," and 
 
 " Whilst he looks on these with joyful eye. 
 Feels his mind rapt above the starry sky." 
 
 Angling is of various kinds, but it is divided into 
 three principal branches, which include all the rest. 
 These are, Fly-fishing^ where the angling is at the 
 surface of the w^ater; Trolling, or Spinning, by which 
 we angle at mid-water; and Bottom-fishing, which is 
 angling upon or near the ground. Of the first of 
 these it is not my purpose to treat in these pages, 
 w^hich will be devoted solely to practical directions for 
 the two other species of angling, with such information 
 as may tend to facilitate and promote it. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 England possesses numerous rivers, which abound 
 with fish of various kinds, as well as an infinity of 
 well-stocked ponds ; and in no part of the world, 
 perhaps, can more diversified sport be had by those 
 who cultivate "the gentle art." Salmon, Trout, 
 Grayling, Pike, Perch, Tench, Carp, Bream, Barbel, 
 Eoach, Dace, Chub, Bleak, Gudgeons, Minnows, Eels, 
 and a variety of flat-fish, present a diversity of sport, 
 and also of repast, to reward the skill and patience of 
 the devoted angler, to whom 
 
 " Pleasure in sweet succession comes." 
 
 The character of the sport is as diversified as the 
 fish. In some cases, great activity and dexterity are 
 required — in others, a patient watchfulness and a quick 
 eye are the chief things demanded. 
 
 " The angler's art 
 
 Changes the scene, and variegates his part," 
 
 SO that an accomplished angler may adapt his sport to 
 his temper of mind — lively or sad, contemplative or 
 discursive. 
 
 But let us glance at the principal kinds of fish 
 inhabiting our rivers, in order that the young angler 
 may be better prepared to appreciate the nature of the 
 sport he proposes to cultivate, and to distinguish be- 
 tween the several kinds of fish when they are brought 
 under his notice. To a brief description of their 
 characteristics and habits, we may not improperly add 
 some instructions for preparing them as articles of food. 
 
 B 2 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 FRESH - WATER FISH. 
 
 " Our plenteous streams a various race supply ; 
 The bright-eyed perch, with fins of Tyrian dye; 
 The silver eel, in shining volumes roU'd ; 
 The yellow carp, in scales bedripp'd with gold ; 
 Swift frouts, diversified with crimson stains. 
 And pikes, the tyrants of the watery plains." 
 
 So sings Pope; and he might have enlarged the 
 catalogue without exhausting the stock. Before I 
 proceed to describe the several species of fish which 
 it is here intended to notice, it may be as well to offer a 
 
FRESH-WATER FISH. O 
 
 few remarks upon fish generally, and to point out those 
 characteristics in their formation with which every 
 angler should make himself familiar, inasmuch as that 
 familiarity will enable him to describe any kind of fish 
 with propriety and accuracy. 
 
 Fish are the proper vertebrated inhabitants of the 
 waters, and they form the fourth class of vertebrated 
 animals. They inhabit stratum super stratum, as 
 Cuvier observes — one species near the surface, an- 
 other near the bottom, and others, again, range through 
 the intermediate depth. There are two distinct series 
 of fishes — fishes, properly so called, or bony fishes^ and 
 cartilaginous fishes. It is with the former of these 
 only that we are here concerned. The body of a fish 
 being of nearly the same specific gravity as the water, 
 it has no weight to bear, and its organs of motion are 
 therefore all adapted to the one purpose of propulsion. 
 Thus, a fish has but little use for extremities, and the 
 parts analogous to legs and arms are, accordingly, very 
 short, terminating in a number of rays, analogous to 
 fingers and toes; and these, covered by membranes, 
 form what are termed fins. The fins answering to 
 arms are called 'pectorals^ and those answering to legs, 
 ventrals. Besides these, there are often fins on the 
 back, called dorsal ; behind the vent, called anal ; and 
 on the extremity of the tail, called caudaL The 
 texture of the fins is properly characterized. If the 
 rays consist of single bones, whether stiff or flexible, 
 they are said to be spinous ; if they consist of a 
 number of jointed pieces, divided at their extremities, 
 they are called soft or articulated. Some fish have 
 fleshy cirri, or beards, as they are termed, which are 
 thought to be organs of touch. The body is generally 
 
b FRESH-WATER FISH. 
 
 covered with scales. A great part of the tongue is 
 bony, and as it is often furnished with teeth, and other 
 hard parts, the sense of taste cannot be very acute. 
 The teeth of fish vary greatly in their position. 
 They are found, as I have said, on the tongue; 
 they are also found on the intermaxillaries, the 
 maxillaries, the lower jaw, the vomer, the palate, 
 the gill- arches, and even on the bones of the pharynx, 
 behind these. Some fish, on the other hand, are 
 almost, if not altogether, toothless. The work of re- 
 spiration is carried on by the branchiae, or gills, which 
 consist of arches of bone attached to the os hyoides, or 
 bone of the tongue. The water taken in by the mouth 
 passes among the filaments of the gills, and escapes by 
 the gill openings towards the rear. It is probable that 
 this jet of water, thrown backwards from the gill- 
 openings, may assist the progressive motion of the fish, 
 which is chiefly effected by the lateral motion of the 
 tail, which strikes right and left against the water. 
 
 The soft-finned fishes (Malacopterygii) are classed 
 according to the position of the ventral fins. If these 
 are on the belly, the fishes are abdominal, if attached 
 to the shoulder, they are suh-brachian, and if wanting, 
 they are apodal. The CyprinidcE, or Carp family, stand 
 the first, and include, besides the true carp, the barbel, 
 the gudgeon, the tench, the bream, the roach, the dace, 
 the chub, the bleak, and the minnow. This family 
 of fish have the mouth shallow, the jaws feeble, very 
 often without teeth, and the margin formed by the 
 outer maxillaries ; but they have the pharynx strongly 
 toothed. They have few gill rays; the body is scaly; 
 and they have no adipose dorsal. They are the least 
 carnivorous of all fishes. The second family are the 
 
FRESH-WATER FISH. 7 
 
 EsocidcB, or Pike family; the Pike, properly so called, 
 being the only one known in England. They have no 
 adipose dorsal fin ; they are furnished with small 
 pointed teeth in the middle of the upper jaw, where 
 they form two rows ; the vomer, the palatal, the 
 pharynx, and the gill arches are roughened with teeth 
 like a card ; besides which, they have a row of long, 
 pointed teeth in the sides of the under jaw. They have 
 but one dorsal fin, placed over the anal. The third family 
 are the SelinidcB, or Sheath-fish family; but as these are 
 not known in this country, a description of them would 
 be out of place. The fourth family are the SalmonidcB, 
 the Salmon or Trout family, including, besides the 
 salmon proper, the trout, the smelt, the grayling, the 
 gurnard, and several other species not known in Great 
 Britain. There are some other orders of these 
 fishes, but we need only mention the Malacopterygii 
 apoda^ which includes the eel family, all the others being 
 confined to fish not known in our country. 
 
 The other class, or spinous Jishes, are separated into 
 fifteen different families, which are named from some 
 well-known species as the type, or from some marked 
 peculiarity of character which belongs to the whole of 
 the family, and to no other fish. The Percidce, or 
 Perch family, is the only one necessary to be named 
 here, all the others being sea-fish, or fresh-water fish 
 of foreign countries. This family of fish have the body 
 oblong, covered with hard or rough scales, with the 
 gill lid, or the gill flap, or often both, toothed or spinous 
 in the margin. They are mostly thoracic, or have the 
 ventral fins under the pectoral. 
 
 To this enumeration of the principal characteristics 
 of our river fish, w^hich has been chiefly selected and 
 
8 SALMON. 
 
 abridged from Cuvier's great work on the animal 
 kingdom, I shall only add, that fishes are oviparous 
 animals, with a double circulation, their respiration 
 being, as already stated, through the medium of their 
 branchiae, or gills, the filaments of which receive the 
 oxygen of the air contained in the water, on its passage 
 through them, which receives the carbon in return, as 
 in the lungs of an air-breathing animal. The gills of 
 a fish do not decompose water so as to derive oxygen 
 from it, but merely separate the oxygen from the 
 atmospheric air contained in the water. Hence, if 
 water is deprived of this air, or is impregnated with de- 
 leterious gases, fish cannot live in it. As little can they 
 bear the return of water entering at the gill-openings, 
 and escaping by the mouth; for if a fish is held so that 
 the water is made to pass in this direction, it is as 
 speedily drowned as if it were an air-breathing animal. 
 
 Sect. I. — The Salmon. 
 
 Salmo Salar. 
 
 This is justly regarded as the king of fresh-water fish, 
 it being placed amongst such fish, because it leaves the 
 sea to deposit its spawn in the rivers. Having 
 done this; it returns to the briny deep, dividing 
 its time pretty well between the salt water and the 
 
GRAYLING. 9 
 
 fresh. The salmon is so well known to everybody, 
 that to describe its form and appearance would be a 
 work of supererogation. It is not less pleasing to the 
 eye than to the palate. 
 
 " High flavour'd salmon, through the world renown'd." 
 
 Large rapid rivers, with pebbly, gravelly, and muddy 
 bottoms, are the especial delight of the salmon, except 
 when feeding, and then it prefers the rough and upper 
 part of gentle streams, and the tails of large ones. It 
 used to be taken in the Thames, but we believe it is 
 now extinct there. 
 
 Sect. II. — The Grayling, or Umbra. 
 Salmo Thymallus. 
 This gracefully-shaped fish, which is of the salmon 
 tribe, is in many of its habits and wants similar to the 
 trout. It seldom exceeds eighteen inches in length, 
 and weighs from eight ounces to a pound. Very 
 large ones, however, are occasionally taken in the Trent 
 and the Avon. Some of four or five pounds weight are 
 spoken of ; but that is an extraordinary size. The 
 body of the grayling is long and round, a good deal re- 
 sembling that of the trout; but it has a number of dusky 
 longitudinal bones along its body, from which it is 
 supposed to take its name, grayling — graylines. 
 
10 TROUT. 
 
 The back or dorsal fin is very large, and is regularly 
 spotted or waved with dark brown, standing erect, like 
 that of the perch. The head is small and pointed, flat- 
 tened at the top. The irides are of a golden yellow, and 
 the pupil blue. The teeth are small, incurved, and nu- 
 merous, but there are none on the tongue. The general 
 colour of the body is a light yellow-brown, beautifully 
 varied with golden, copper, green, and blue reflections, 
 when viewed in different lights, with a few decided 
 dark spots. The head is brown, and all the fins are 
 somewhat darker than the body. The fish appears to 
 become darker by age, and the pectoral fins are reddish 
 about spawning time, with small black spots. 
 
 The grayling, though abundant in some streams, is 
 not found in many others, although they may abound 
 with trout. It thrives best in rivers with rocky or 
 gravelly bottoms, and seems to require an alternation 
 of stream and pool. The spawning season is in April 
 or the beginning of May, differing in this respect from 
 the other Salmonidce, which spawn towards the end of 
 the year, in cold weather. The grayling is gregarious; 
 more so than the trout, and less so than the perch. 
 
 The grayling is in the finest condition in October and 
 November, and the flavour of some of them is equal to 
 that of trout of the same size. But to be eaten in 
 perfection, it cannot be cooked too soon after it is out 
 of the water. 
 
 Sect. III. — The Trout. 
 Salmo Fario. 
 
 The " timorous trout" is a fish highly valued, not less 
 for its agreeableness as an article of food, than for the 
 sport it affords the angler. It is very handsome, both 
 
TROUT. 11 
 
 in form and colour ; not unlike the salmon in shape, 
 and weighing from three to twenty-five pounds. 
 
 The trout delights in a swift stream, seeking the 
 shallows in summer, and the deeps and still waters in 
 winter. Its favourite haunts, says Mr. Bainbridge, 
 are the junction of two streams — the tails of currents, 
 below bridges, near old ruins, and pieces of rock, 
 where the roots of trees are exposed by the bank having 
 fallen in — and under hollow banks. Large trout, as 
 Sir Humphry Davy remarks, always hide themselves 
 under the same bank, stone, or weed, and come out 
 from their permanent habitations to feed. A favourite 
 place for a large trout, in rivers, is an eddy, behind a 
 rock or stone, where flies and small fishes are carried 
 by the force of the current. And such haunts are rarely 
 unoccupied, for if a fish is taken out of them, its place 
 is soon supplied by another, who quits for it a less con- 
 venient situation. The young trout fry may be seen 
 throughout the day, sporting on the shallow gravelly 
 scours of the stream^ where the want of sufiicient 
 depth of water, or the greater caution of larger and 
 older fish, prevents their appearance. Trout begin to 
 feed in March, and are in season till October or Novem- 
 ber; but they are finest from the end of May till to- 
 wards the end of September. 
 
 The following description of a trout is taken from a 
 fish twelve inches in length: — The length of the 
 head, compared to that of the head and body, not 
 including the caudal rays of the tail, was as one to 
 four; the depth of the body rather more than the 
 length of the head. The tail was but slightly forked, 
 and growing slowly up to square, in old fish, or 
 even very slightly convex. The form of the head 
 blunt; the eye large ; the irides silvery, with a touch 
 
12 TROUT. 
 
 of pink ; the lower jaw the longest, but shut within 
 the upper jaw when the mouth is closed; the teeth 
 numerous, strong, and curving inwards, extending 
 along the whole length of the vomer; the colour of 
 the back and upper part of the sides made up of nume- 
 rous dark reddish-brown spots, on a yellow-brown 
 ground; eleven or twelve bright red spots along the 
 lateral line, with a few other red spots above and 
 below the line ; the lower part of the sides, golden 
 yellow ; belly and under surface, silvery white — the 
 spots on the sides being liable to great variation in 
 number, size^ and colour; dorsal fin and tail, light 
 brown, with numerous darker brown spots; the pectoral, 
 ventral, and anal fins uniform pale orange-brown. 
 
 The trout is a voracious fish, and destroys multitudes 
 of minnows and other small fish. But though a vora- 
 cious feeder, and hence affording excellent diversion 
 to the experienced angler, it is so cautious and vigilant, 
 that great skill, as well as patience, is necessary to 
 ensure success. Even after it is hooked, it calls for 
 able management, in order to land it safely. 
 
 -Should you lure 
 
 From his dark haunt, beneath the tangled roots 
 Of pendant trees, the monarch of the brook, 
 Behove you then to ply your finest art." 
 
 As trout are seldom taken of a very large size in 
 England, they are usually fried; "and, to our poor 
 
TROUT. 13 
 
 thinking," says a writer in the Sporting Magazine, 
 " they never eat so well cooked in any other manner." 
 
 " Do not wash them, but rub them dry after cleansing 
 them; anoint the fish with the best salad oil, fold them 
 in paper, and lay them on the gridiron at a respectable 
 distance from the fire, which should be charcoal or wood 
 ashes. While they are passing this culinary ordeal, burn 
 about a quarter of a pound of fresh butter in a well- 
 tinned saucepan; when we say burn, we mean melt the 
 butter (alone) until it ceases to hiss and fizz, and the 
 creamy froth subsides; the butter will then be of a fine 
 gold colour; add about a spoonful and a half or two 
 spoonsful of French vinegar, three or four eschalottes, 
 or (Anglice) shalots, with pepper and salt to taste. 
 This is the most relishing accompaniment extant; and 
 if the reader does not lick his fingers, and invoke a 
 blessing on our bald pate for this hint, there is no 
 gratitude extant." 
 
 Stodart gives the following Simple Receipt for 
 Cooking Trout. — "Kindle a fire of dry wood; take your 
 fish when just out of the water, fill his mouth with salt, 
 roll him up in two or three folds of an old newspaper, 
 twisting the ends well together, immerse all in the 
 water, until the paper has become thoroughly saturated, 
 then lay the fish among the embers of your fire. When 
 the paper presents a well-charred appearance, the trout 
 is properly done, and will prove a savoury and ac- 
 ceptable morsel. The fish must not be cut open and 
 cleaned. During the firing process, the intestines and 
 other impurities will draw together, and not in the 
 slightest degree injure the flavour of the trout." 
 
 On the Continent, where the trout are much larger, 
 they are cooked in a variety of ways, of which the 
 following are the principal : — 
 
14 TROUT. • 
 
 Boiled, — When the fish has been cleaned and gutted, 
 put it into boiling water, made pretty salt, and boil it 
 fast for fifteen or twenty minutes. Serve it with melted 
 butter. 
 
 Collared. — When they have been well cleaned, split 
 them down the back, and remove the bone ; then dry 
 them well in a cloth, season with black pepper, salt, 
 and a little mace pounded j roll them up, and pack 
 them close in a dish, pour over them some vinegar, 
 with two or three bay leaves and some whole pepper. 
 Bake them in an oven for an hour, covering the dish 
 with buttered paper. 
 
 Fried. — When well cleaned, dredge them with flour, 
 and wet them well over with yolk of Q^g well beaten; 
 then cover with grated breadcrumbs, and fry to a good 
 colour. Serve them with melted butter and lemon 
 pickle. 
 
 Italianized. — Put a large trout, or two middle-sized 
 ones, into a stew-pan ; cover them with two carrots 
 and four onions, sliced, some parsley, two bay leaves, 
 a little thyme, two or three cloves, and salt and pepper; 
 add two bottles of common red French wine, and boil 
 for three-quarters of an hour; then pass all the gravy 
 through a sieve, and having melted in another sauce- 
 pan about a quarter of a pound of butter, mixed with 
 two table spoonsful of flour, add, by degrees, the 
 strained sauce, stirring over a brisk fire until it has 
 become well^ united and thick. Put the fish into a dish, 
 pour the sauce over it, and serve. 
 
 Stewed. — Put into a pan some crumb of bread, with 
 a little butter, some parsley, chalots chopped very fine, 
 pepper, salt, two or three cloves, a little nutmeg grated, 
 a glass of French white wine, and about the same 
 
PIKE. 15 
 
 quantity of good gravy ; let it boil until it becomes 
 thick ; put the fish, which has been scaled, cleaned, and 
 cut into slices, into another vessel, with a little stock, 
 salt, pepper, and the juice of a lemon, and let it boil 
 till the liquor is quite reduced; then dish up the fish, 
 pouring over it the sauce, and serve. 
 
 Sect. IV.— The Pike. 
 
 Esox Lucius, 
 
 This fish, which is called a Jack when under three 
 pounds weight, is ill-looking, and is characterized by 
 inordinate fierceness and voracity. 
 
 " Pike, fell tyrant of the liquid plain, 
 With ravenous waste devours his fellow train." 
 
 And it is not at all nice in its selection of food. Not 
 only fish and frogs, water-rats and young ducks, but, 
 when they are upon the feed, almost anything that 
 comes in their way is seized upon and gorged. Mr. 
 Pennant speaks of a pike which w^as choked in an 
 attempt to swallow a large fish of its own species. 
 
 The body of the pike is long, and is cased with small, 
 hard scales. When in season, — that is, from July to 
 November, — it is covered with a mucous or slimy 
 substance. The head is flattish, the under jaw 
 something longer than the upper one, the mouth wide, 
 and the lower jaw is set round with large crooked canine 
 teeth. The back and upper part of the sides are of 
 a greenish golden hue, and the belly is of a dusky white. 
 The eyes are bright yellow, and sunk low in the sockets. 
 The pike spawns in the month of March, and after it 
 
16 PIKE. 
 
 has fully recovered, the body is spotted with a 
 beautiful white and yellowish colour. The tail is 
 forked, and, with the fins, is spotted and marked with 
 wavy lines. The younger the fish is, the greener it 
 appears. 
 
 The pike varies greatly in size — from three pounds 
 to even fifty pounds. This, however, is an extra- 
 ordinary size, although it has been affirmed that the 
 pike will live for three hundred years, and become one 
 hundred and fifty pounds in weight. 
 
 This fish loves a still, shady, unfrequented water, 
 with a sandy, clayey, or chalky bottom. From May 
 to October it is found amongst the flags, bulrushes, 
 and water-docks; and from March till the end of May, 
 in back waters that have a direct communication with 
 the main stream. As winter approaches, it retires 
 into the deeps, under clay-banks, bushes, stumps or 
 roots of trees, piles of bridges, flood-gates, &c. The 
 pike is a bold biter, and yields good sport. — 
 
 " The pike's ray joy, of all the scaly shoal." 
 
 But it affords more satisfaction to the angler than to 
 the gastronomer. Its flesh is dry, and, when large, 
 is strong and unpalatable. 
 
 The pike is in season, as we have said, from July to 
 
PIKE. 17 
 
 November, and may be cooked in any of the following 
 ways : — 
 
 Boiled. — Wash the fish clean, and take out the gills ; 
 make a stuffing of grated bread-crumbs, butter, a 
 few oysters, and a little parsley chopped very fine, 
 some onions, pepper, salt, some fine herbs rubbed to 
 powder, binding the whole with an Qgg ; fill the inside 
 and the gills with this stuffing, and sew the fish up. 
 Put it on in boiling salt and water, with a little vinegar 
 in it, and boil for half-an-hour or so, according to size. 
 Serve it up with oyster-sauce. 
 
 Roasted. — When the fish has been well cleaned and 
 scaled, take out the inside, and fill it with a stuffing 
 made of crumb of bread, a little butter, pepper, salt, 
 grated nutmeg, and lemon peel, with an e,gg to bind it. 
 Roast it in a Dutch-oven, and baste it well with butter. 
 Serve it up with lobster-sauce. 
 
 Stewed.— V[xi the fish into a stew pan, with two or 
 three anchovies, a bit of larded rump-steak, some 
 pickled cucumbers, two or three carrots sliced, salt, 
 and pepper, and a few truffles. Put as much French 
 white wine as will cover the fish, and stew it gently 
 for an hour or so. 
 
 A V Allemande. — Clean and scrape a large pike, and 
 cut it into small pieces; rub them over with yolk of egg, 
 cover them with bread crumbs, and fry of a good colour; 
 rub a little butter on a dish that will stand fire, put 
 into it a layer of sour krout, which has been previously 
 boiled, and some grated cheese; then a layer of the 
 fish, and a little sour cream, then another layer of sour 
 krout, and so on, till the dish is full. Put some pieces 
 of butter on the top, with some good gravy, strew 
 bread crumbs over it, and bake for half an hour. 
 c 
 
18 PERCH. 
 
 A la Ckambord, — After having gutted the fish, fill 
 the body with carp roes; lard one side of the fish, and 
 cook it in a fish-kettle, with French white wine, pepper, 
 salt, thyme, bay-leaf, cloves, and slices of onions. 
 When the fish is cooked, garnish it with boiled sweet- 
 bread and river craw-fish, and serve with Spanish 
 sauce. 
 
 Sect. Y. — The Perch. 
 Perca Fluviatalis. 
 
 When upwards of a pound in weight, the perch is a 
 noble-looking fish. It is a bold one, moreover, and 
 aflfords much diversion to the angler. In shape, the 
 perch is thick and broad, high at the upper end of the 
 back — *' hog-backed." The head is small, and the 
 mouth large. The dorsal fin is strong and spinous, and 
 the back and sides are thickly covered with small scales. 
 The teeth are in the jaws, and on the roof of the 
 mouth; the edges of the covering to the gills are 
 serrated, and on the lower edge of the largest is a 
 sharp spine. 
 
 The colours of the perch are beautiful. The back, 
 and part of the sides, are of a deep green, marked with 
 broad black bars, pointing downwards. The belly is 
 of a dusky white, tinged with red; the ventral fins are 
 
CARP. 19 
 
 of a rich scarlet; the anal fins, and the tail — which is 
 forked — are of the same colour, but a little paler. 
 
 Perch, unlike most other voracious fish, swim in 
 shoals. They are fond of swift, clear rivers, with 
 pebbly or gravelly bottoms, as also those having sandy 
 and clayey soils. They prefer water moderately deep, 
 and frequent holes adjacent to gentle streams, where 
 there is an eddy; or the hollows under banks, and 
 amongst weeds and roots of trees, piles of bridges, &c. 
 They abound most in deep, dark, sluggish rivers. 
 They are seldom taken of a very large size in this 
 country, although one of 91bs. weight is said to have 
 been once caught in the Serpentine. The general size 
 of what is considered a good perch is from ten to six- 
 teen ounces. The perch is very tenacious of life, and 
 has been known to live for many hours after taken out 
 of the water, packed in dry straw. 
 
 This fish is in season from June to November, but 
 is in finest condition in June and July. Its flesh is 
 very agreeable, being firm, easy of digestion, and 
 wholesome, except the liver, which should not be eaten. 
 The largest and fattest fish are accounted the finest, 
 but they are not so digestible as the smaller ones. 
 They may be cooked in a variety of ways, according 
 to the directions given for the cooking of Carp, which 
 
 Sect. YI. — The Carp. 
 Cyprinus Carpio, 
 
 This fish is not fond of a rapid stream, but of a still, 
 
 deep water, with a marly or clayey bottom, especially 
 
 if there be green weeds about. In form, it is a bold, 
 
 c 2 
 
20 CARP. 
 
 though not a handsome fish. The body is wide, the 
 head short, and the scales large, and regularly covering 
 the entire body like fine netting. The colour, when 
 the fish is full grown, is dusky olive-green above, and 
 yellowish below; the fins are large, and have strong 
 spines; the tail is broad, and a little forked, and of a 
 reddish black colour. From the upper lip, near the 
 corner of the mouth, grow two yellow appendages, 
 forming a sort of dropping mustachio. 
 
 The carp has no teeth, but the lack of them is supplied 
 by a triangular bone in the palate, and two other bones 
 in the throat. It is the least carnivorous of fish, 
 feeding chiefly on seeds, the roots of plants, and, as 
 some think, mud and sludge. Carp have been caught 
 in the Thames weighing 131bs., but the usual size is 
 from 31bs. to 91bs. or lOlbs. 
 
 The flesh of the river carp is much finer than that of 
 the pond carp. It is wholesome, and if taken out of good 
 water, is of an agreeable flavour, especially if it be not 
 too fat. It is finest in March, May, and June, and 
 may be prepared in a variety of ways, — ex gr. 
 
 Broiled. — Scale a large carp, crimp it, and put it in 
 a dish with chopped parsley, chibols, salt, pepper, and 
 oil; when it has lain in this about an hour, so as to 
 
CARP. 21 
 
 have acquired a flavour, broil it over a brisk fire, and 
 serve it with caper sauce. 
 
 Fried, — Split the fish by the back, flour it, as also 
 the roe, and fry it quickly in good lard or oil. Fined 
 carpus roes make a savoury dish, to prepare which let 
 the roes be thoroughly cleaned, and having boiled some 
 water, with a little vinegar and salt, put them into it, 
 and simmer them for two or three minutes; take them 
 out, let them drain very dry, and dip them in a light 
 batter; fry them of a good colour, and serve them up 
 with fried parsley. 
 
 German mode. — Cut a carp into pieces, and put 
 it into a saucepan, with salt, pepper, and some spice, 
 a few slices of onion, and one or two bottles of beer, so 
 as to cover it; stew this over a brisk fire, until about 
 half-a-pint only of the liquor remains, and serve it 
 with its sauce. 
 
 Stewed. — Put into a saucepan equal quantities of 
 French or Port wine and water; add a little mace, some 
 fine herbs, some young onions, whole pepper, and salt, 
 and a little scraped horse-radish ; put in the carp, 
 cover the saucepan, and let it boil very gently for at 
 least an hour ; take out the carp, and drain them, and 
 into another saucepan put a pint of wine, two chopped 
 anchovies, an onion, a little lemon-juice, a quarter of a 
 pound of butter rubbed in flour, a little cream, and half 
 a pint of the liquid in which the carp were first boiled ; 
 boil these together for a few minutes, then add the 
 yolks of two eggs mixed with cream, and the juice of 
 half a lemon ; after this, put the fish upon a dish, and 
 pour the sauce over them, quite hot. — To stew roes of 
 carp, simmer for some time, over a slow fire, some 
 
22 ROACH. 
 
 butter, champignons, a slice of ham, the juice of a 
 lemon, and a bunch of sweet herbs ; then add a little 
 flour, the roes of the carp, and a little good stock ; boil 
 for a quarter of an hour, seasoning with pepper and 
 salt ; when done, thicken the sauce with the yolks of 
 two or three eggs, a little cream, and chopped parsley. 
 
 Soused. — Put the carp into a fish-kettle, and pour 
 over a sufficient quantity of vinegar, made boiling hot, 
 to cover it ; let the fish simmer for an hour or more, 
 according to their size, in the vinegar; then serve upon 
 a dish covered with a cloth, and garnished with parsley, 
 without any of the liquid. Carp dressed in this way, 
 however, are generally eaten cold. 
 
 Matelote, — Cut the carp into slices, and put them 
 into a saucepan with a few river craw'fish, adding 
 peeled young onions which have been previously 
 scalded, and a few mushrooms, chopped up; pour under 
 it a little roux, made of flour and butter, moistened 
 with stock; add some fine herbs, red wine, salt, pepper, 
 and a little butter, and cook over a brisk fire; garnish 
 the dish with slices of bread, cut in the form of a 
 heart, and fried in butter. Eels are generally added in 
 making this matelote. The quantity of wine should 
 be sufficient to form, when cooked, enough liquid to 
 prevent the fish being dry, but it should not be in 
 excess. 
 
 Sect. VII. — The Roach. 
 
 Cyprinus Rutilus. 
 
 This is a broad but handsome fish, its breadth being 
 about a third of its length. The head is long for the 
 breadth of the body, the eyes large, and of a red 
 
ROACH. 
 
 23 
 
 colour. The back is of a dusky colour, sometimes of 
 a bluish cast; the belly pale. About the gills it is of a 
 gold colour, and the mouth is round, and without teeth. 
 The tail is forked, and, with the fins, is of a red 
 colour. 
 
 Pond roach, which are not so good as river roach, 
 however, have been known to exceed four pounds in 
 weight, but they usually run from eight ounces or nine 
 ounces to two pounds. The best size for eating is 
 about half a pound in weight. 
 
 Roach prefer gravelly, sandy, or slimy marl 
 bottoms, under a deep gentle running stream. In 
 summer they will be found in shallows, near the tails of 
 fords, under the shade of trees, &c. In winter, they 
 resort to eddies and deep holes. They spawn about 
 the middle of May, and recover their strength in about 
 a month's time. About London, roach fishing is best 
 about the month of August. 
 
 Roach make a nice dish, if broiled over a slow fire, 
 after having had some flour thrown over them; as they 
 become brown, they should be cut, just skin deep, from 
 head to tail. When fully done, the skin should be 
 
24 DACE. 
 
 stripped oiF, and the belly being opened, the inside 
 be taken out, it being better to take it out then than 
 before cooking. 
 
 Sect. VIII. — The Dace. 
 Cyprinus Lensiscus. 
 
 This handsome fish is a favourite with anglers, although 
 but little praised as an article of food, the flesh being 
 insipid and the bones troublesome. The body is long, 
 the head small, and the irides of a pale yellow colour. 
 The scales are smaller than those of the roach; the 
 back is of a dusky colour, varied with a cast of 
 yellowish green; the sides and belly silvery. The fins 
 are sometimes of a pale red hue, and the tail much 
 forked. The dace is seldom above ten inches in length, 
 although we have heard of them being taken eighteen 
 inches in length. 
 
 Dace are a lively fish, and go in shoals, their haunts 
 being deep waters, near the piles of bridges, where the 
 stream is gentle, and has a gravelly, sandy, or clayey 
 bottom. They are found in almost all rivers, and 
 swim swiftly, like a dart — whence its name, dace, 
 or dart. They spawn in February and March, and 
 
BARBEL. 
 
 25 
 
 are good in April or May, although in the highest per- 
 fection from September till the latter end of February. 
 
 Sect. IX. — The Barbel. 
 Cyprimis Barbus. 
 
 This fish belongs to the carp species, and though a 
 coarse and dry description of food, it is highly prized 
 by the angler, for the sport it affords. Its shape is 
 very fine, and, taken altogether, is a handsome fish. 
 The body is long, thick, and full, the head oblong, and 
 the snout sharp. The back is of an olive-brownish 
 colour, and the belly silvery, the back and sides being 
 covered with small black spots. The mouth is under- 
 hung, and from the lower jaw depend four fleshy barbs 
 or wattels, whence the fish derives its name — barb-el. 
 The back or dorsal fin has a sharp, strong ray, 
 apparently for the purposes of defence, as has also the 
 upper part of the tail. The fins are of a pale red 
 colour. In size, the barbel varies from nine or ten 
 
 inches to a foot and a half in length; and in weight, 
 from one pound to seven or eight. It is said that some 
 have been taken weighing from 181bs. to 201bs. 
 
26 CHUB. 
 
 The barbel frequents the weedy and deep parts of a 
 river, being partial to feeding upon the gravel, against 
 a rising ground, which it roots about with its nose like 
 a hog. In summer, barbel are found in strong currents, 
 under bridges, near weirs, among piles, under mossy 
 weeds, and in other protected places. They cannot 
 well endure cold, and are in winter sick and languid. 
 In the summer they are strong and lively, and are 
 much coveted, for the sport they afford, by all who 
 delight in piscatorial achievements. 
 
 As an article of food, the barbel is not in high esteem. 
 The flesh is soft, dry, and insipid. The spawn is very 
 unwholesome, and should never be eaten. The usual 
 method of cooking the fish is to stuff it with veal- 
 stuffmg, and then bake or roast it, serving it with rich 
 gravy. Another mode of cooking it is to cut the flesh 
 off the bones into tolerable-sized pieces, and, after 
 washing and drying them, to cover them with yolk 
 of egg and crumbs of bread, as you do soles, and then 
 fry them. They thus form a good dish. 
 
 Sect. X. — The Chub. 
 
 Cyprinus Cephalus. 
 
 This fish takes its name from the form of its head. 
 Everybody knows what a chub-face is — a large, flat 
 face. The chub is of the carp species, and affords the 
 angler considerable sport. It is larger than the carp, 
 and has a larger and flatter head than the dace. Al- 
 together, it is a bold and rather handsome-looking fish, 
 until it attains to the weight of 31bs. or so, after which 
 it becomes less symmetrical. Its body is oblong, 
 
TENCH. 27 
 
 rather round, and of pretty equal thickness in the 
 greater part of the slope; the scales are large, the head 
 and back of a deep dusky green, the sides silvery in 
 winter and yellowish in summer; the belly is white, 
 and the tail of a brownish hue, tinged with blue at the 
 end, and forked; the pectoral fins are of a pale yellow, 
 and the ventral and anal fins red. 
 
 The chub spawns in May, and is in the best con- 
 dition in the spring, while full of spawn. Chub gene- 
 rally swim in droves, and keep to one spot, especially 
 if there be plenty of wood. It is mostly found in 
 holes, and under the shade of trees. 
 
 The flesh of the chub is white, soft, and insipid, and 
 therefore is not much esteemed. 
 
 Sect. XL — The Tench. 
 Cyprinus Tinea. 
 
 This is another fish of the carp species, and, in some 
 waters, it attains to the enormous weight of 1 81bs. or 
 201bs.; but it is generally much smaller than that — 
 about 51bs. or Gibs. It is a short, thick, roundish fish, 
 sometimes nearly as broad as it is long. It is not very 
 handsome, therefore. The fins and tail are large, and 
 of a purple violet colour; the scales are small and close, 
 
28 TENCH. 
 
 and of a greenish gold colour. The back is dusky, 
 and the dorsal and ventral fins of the same colour, 
 those of the male being much larger than those of the 
 female; the head, sides, and belly are of a greenish 
 cast, beautifully mixed with gold; the eyes are large, 
 and of a gold colour; the body is covered with a slimy 
 substance, which has the reputation of possessing 
 great healing properties. From this circumstance the 
 tench has obtained the name of '' the physician," and 
 is said to enjoy protection against the voracity of even 
 the pike. 
 
 " For when by wounds distrest, or sore disease, 
 He courts the salutary fish for ease ; 
 Close to his scales the kind physician glides, 
 And sweats a healing balsam from his sides." 
 
 The tench spawns at the latter end of June, or the 
 beginning of July, and is in season from the be- 
 ginning of September to the end of May. It is fond of 
 standing waters and ponds, and the still parts of rivers, 
 and is so fond of the mud as to be almost constantly at 
 the bottom of a river in which it is to be found. 
 
 The flesh of the tench, though agreeable enough in 
 flavour, is not very nutritive, and is said to be hard of 
 
BREAM. 29 
 
 digestion with most persons. It may be dressed in the 
 manner of carp, or in any of the following ways. 
 
 Broiled. — Scale and clean the fish, then broil on the 
 gridiron, wrapped in buttered paper; serve with melted 
 butter, or any other sauce. 
 
 Fried. — Draw and wash the fish well, then wipe it 
 very dry, cut it open down the back, season with salt, and 
 fry of a good colour in boiling oil or lard; serve with 
 anchovy, or any other relishing sauce. 
 
 Fricaseed, — Dip the fish for a minute or two in 
 boiling water; then take it out, and take off the skin, 
 beginning at the side of the head; then gut and wash 
 it, cut it into pieces, and fricasee it in the same 
 manner as you would do a chicken. 
 
 Tench en Marinade. — Scale and clean as above, and 
 lay them in a dish, with some sweet oil, parsley, green 
 onions, and chalots, chopped fine, a bunch of fine herbs, 
 salt, and pepper. When they have thoroughly imbibed 
 the flavour of this seasoning, place them between two 
 sheets of writing-paper, well buttered, covering them 
 with the seasoning, and broil them on a slow fire; 
 serve without the paper, pouring over them some good 
 sauce made hot. 
 
 Tench a la Poulette. — Prepare the fish as for broiling, 
 and dress precisely as for eels a la Poulette. 
 
 Sect. XII. — The Bream. 
 
 Cyprinus Brama. 
 
 This fish, being fond of quiet water, is found either in 
 ponds, or in those parts of a river which most resemble 
 the water of a pond, with a muddy or clayey bottom. 
 
30 BREAM. 
 
 Bream are gregarious, and swim in herds of forty or 
 fifty brace. 
 
 In form, the bream is broad and flat, with a small 
 head, smooth at the top, a sharp snout, large eyes, and 
 forked tail, of a dull purple colour, as are also the fins. 
 The scales are something like those of the carp, but the 
 fish is lighter in colour. 
 
 The bream is not generally of a large size, the 
 weight running from 21bs. to 41bs. although they have 
 been taken of a much greater weight. It spawns in 
 May, and is in the highest season in March and April, 
 though it eats well enough in September. 
 
 The bream affords the angler good sport, being a 
 strong fish, and not at all disposed to yield, while it has 
 a chance of getting away from the hook. 
 
 " Surpris'd, amazed, 
 He glitters in the sun, and struggling, pants 
 For liberty, till in the purer air 
 He breathes no more !" 
 
 The flesh of the bream is not very highly prized, 
 but it may be rendered an agreeable dish, if pickled 
 like the salmon. It is usually stuffed, as carp or 
 tench. The choice parts are the head and belly. 
 
BLEAK. GUDGEON. 31 
 
 Sect. XIIL — The Bleak. 
 
 Cyprinus Alburiuts. 
 
 This is a small, but handsome fish, of the carp species, 
 though seldom attaining to the length of six inches. 
 In form it much resembles a sprat. The eyes are large, 
 and the inside of the mouth resembles that of the carp. 
 The back is of a bright green colour, and the sides of a 
 brilliant silvery hue, the body being covered w^ith thin 
 scales, which easily come off. They spawn about the 
 middle of March, but very soon recover their strength. 
 
 The bleak is found in most of our rivers, and its 
 flesh is pleasant and nutritious. 
 
 Sect. XIV. — The Gudgeon. 
 Cyprinus Gobio. 
 
 This beautiful little fish, which is found weighing 
 from three ounces to six ounces, abounds in most of 
 our rivers, and is a favourite article of food, its flesh 
 being agreeable, nutritious, and wholesome. In form, 
 the gudgeon is long, and rounder than most other fish, 
 its length sometimes reaching to eight or nine inches. 
 The body is smooth, and is covered with very small 
 
32 MINNOW. 
 
 scales, the back is of a dusky dark colour, and the 
 belly of a dusky white ; the dorsal fin and tail are of a 
 light brown, Avaved or spotted with a darker brown, 
 and from the mouth hang two wattles, like those of 
 the carp. 
 
 The gudgeon prefers a sandy or gravelly bottom, 
 gentle streams, and small rivers. It is a gregarious 
 fish, and herds in hundreds together. The Thames, 
 the sea, the New River, and the canals in the neigh- 
 bourhood of London abound with them. In cold 
 weather they lie close together in the warmest and 
 deepest parts, which they do not leave till spring. They 
 spawn two or three times during the year, and are in 
 season from March till October. 
 
 The only proper method of dressing gudgeons is 
 frying them, and that should be done in a large quantity 
 of lard, after having dipped them in batter, or well 
 floured them. 
 
 Sect. XV. — The Minnow. 
 Cyprinus Phoxinus. 
 
 This fish is chiefly taken to furnish a bait for trout, 
 pike, perch, and salmon. It is the smallest of the carp 
 species, seldom exceeding three inches in length. It 
 
EEL. 
 
 33 
 
 is a handsome fish, both in shape and colour; the back is 
 dai'k, the sides are of a golden hue, and the belly is white. 
 
 They are sometimes covered with red spots, and varie- 
 gated with blue and yellow. They differ in colour, 
 however, in different waters. They may be taken at 
 any time, from March to October. They eat well, 
 if dressed after the manner of white-bait. 
 
 Sect. XYL— The Eel. 
 Angidlla vulgaris. 
 
 This forms a singular family in the order of bony fishes. 
 In appearance, it is wholly unlike those already de- 
 scribed. It is lengthened in form like a serpent, and 
 has a thick and soft skin, with the scales almost in- 
 visible, and but few bones. The ventral fins are never 
 found in it. The body, being moistened all over with 
 a mucous liquor, is very slippery, and difficult to retain 
 in the grasp. 
 
34 EEL. 
 
 In the spring and summer, when the water is low, 
 the eels will be found skulking in holes in the banks, 
 not far from the surface; or between planks, stones, or 
 other objects that will afford shelter. In winter, 
 they coil themselves up, and lie together in large 
 numbers in a torpid state, buried in the mud and sand. 
 
 Eels form a nutritious article of food, although the 
 larger sort are difficult of digestion, in consequence of 
 the quantity of oil contained in them. Some of this 
 may be got rid of, however, by boiling the eel gently 
 for some time, during which the oil rises to the surface 
 of the water. This, no doubt, destroys some of the 
 richness of the fish, but persons having weak stomachs 
 should submit to that as the lesser evil of the two. 
 Eels may be cooked in a variety of ways. The fol- 
 lowing are the most approved : — 
 
 Stewed. — Having skinned and cleaned the fish, and 
 cut them into pieces of about three inches in length, 
 take an onion, a little thyme and parsley, two or three 
 bay -leaves, some pepper, a pint of good gravy, half a 
 pint of vinegar, and four anchovies bruised in a mortar; 
 and put the whole, with a pint of port wine, or French 
 red wine, into a stew-pan, and let them boil for about 
 ten minutes. Then take out the fish, and let the same 
 continue boiling until it is considerably reduced. 
 Thicken it with a little flour, previously rubbed 
 smooth in a little cold water. Put the eels in again, 
 and let them boil until they are found to be tender. 
 
 Boiled. — Choose the smaller description of eels, and 
 when they are skinned and well cleaned, cut off the 
 heads, and put the fish into boiling salt and water, 
 adding a little vinegar. Parsley and butter is gene- 
 rally served with them. 
 
 Fried, — Having properly cleaned the fish, cut them 
 
EEL. 
 
 35 
 
 into pieces three inches in length, scoring them across 
 in two or three places, without separating them; dust 
 them with flour, and fry them in boiling lard till they 
 become of a good brown colour. To vary the dish, 
 the eels may be dipped in batter, and sprinkled with 
 finely-grated bread-crumbs. Serve with melted butter. 
 
 Spitchcock. — Choose some large eels, and having 
 skinned and cleaned them, cut them into pieces three or 
 four inches long, sprinkle them with pepper and salt, 
 beat up an Qggy and dip them into it, afterwards cover- 
 ing them with a mixture of bread-crumbs, chopped 
 parsley, and pepper and salt. This having been done, 
 broil or fry, as preferred. They may be eaten with either 
 melted-butter, parsley and butter, or mustard-sauce. 
 
 Potted. — Having skinned, cleaned, and boned the 
 eels, cover them well with pepper, salt, and a little 
 cayenne, and let tliem lie for a few hours; then cut 
 them into small pieces, and bake them, closely packed 
 in a dish, with a paste over them, to prevent any of 
 the flavour from escaping; remove the paste when 
 quite cold, and cover the eels to the thickness of an 
 inch with clarified butter. 
 
 D 2 
 
CHAPTER 11. 
 
 RIVERS, PONDS, ETC. 
 
 -The river, in whose ample wave 
 
 The little naiads love to sport at large ; 
 About the dubious point, where, with the pool, 
 Is mixed the trembling stream ; or where it boils 
 Around the stone, or from the hollow'd bank 
 Reverted, plays in undulated flow." 
 
 We have described the principal varieties of fish which 
 promise the English angler good sport, and the house- 
 
BEDFORDSHIRE. — BERKSHIRE, 37 
 
 wife an agreeable dish. It now becomes necessary to 
 point out the principal places in which they are to be 
 found, either in the finest condition or in the greatest 
 abundance. The most convenient order of doing this 
 — that is, for the purposes of reference— will be to 
 range them under the heads of the several counties, 
 so that in whatever locality a person may happen to 
 be, he may, if he wishes for a day's angling, have the 
 means at hand of obtaining a direction to the most pro- 
 misinor water. 
 
 I. — Bedfordshire. 
 
 The Ouse, which takes its rise in Oxfordshire, flows 
 on to Buckingham, and thence to Bedford, whence it 
 passes on to Huntingdon and Ely, dividing the county 
 of Beds into two pretty equal parts, and falls into the 
 sea at Lynn, in Norfolk, produces a variety of pike, 
 perch, Cray- fish, eels, &c., and being generally a slug- 
 gish stream, affords fine sport in trolling. 
 
 II. — Berkshire. 
 
 The Isis, which rises on the confines of Gloucester- 
 shire, south-west of Cirencester, passes on to Lechdale, 
 and receiving the Charwell, near Oxford, continues its 
 course by Abingdon, falls into the Thame at Dorches- 
 ter. The united stream, called the Thames, continues 
 its course by Wallingford, Henley, Reading, Marlow, 
 Eton, Windsor, Hampton, Kingston, Teddington, 
 Richmond, Kew, and Brentford, to London. On its 
 way through Berkshire it receives the waters of the 
 
38 BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 
 
 Kennet and the Loddon, and some good fishing may be 
 had in most parts of all of them, fine trout being taken 
 especially near Newbery, Speenham Lands, and Hun- 
 gerford in the Kennet 
 
 III. — Buckinghamshire. 
 
 The Ouse, which rises in Oxfordshire, and almost 
 completely surrounds the town of Buckingham, flows 
 onward to Bedford, Huntingdon, and Ely, and falls 
 into the sea at Lynn, is well stored with pike, jack, 
 perch, &c. The Colne, which rises in Hertfordshire, 
 and divides Middlesex from Buckinghamshire, falling 
 into the Thames at Staines, is deservedly a favourite 
 river with anglers. It has an abundance of jack, trout, 
 perch, chub, roach, dace, eels, &c. The Thames^ which 
 flows through the south-western portion of the county, 
 and the Wick, which proceeds from the interior, and 
 flows through Lord Carrington's grounds, near High 
 Wycombe, produce a variety of good fish, including 
 fine trout. 
 
 IV. — Cambridgeshire. 
 
 The Cam, which runs by the town of Cambridge, to 
 which it gives its name, forms a junction with the Ouse 
 at Stretham, and under the latter name flows onward 
 to Downham, in Norfolk, aflbrds, in various parts, 
 some fine fishing. Both above and below Cambridge, 
 in particular, there is good trolling for pike, and angling 
 for perch, pike, carp, &c. There are also some fine 
 lakes famous for their tench. 
 
CHESHIRE. — CORNWALL. CUMBERLAND. 39 
 
 Y. — Cheshire. 
 
 The Mersey^ the Dee^ and the Wever — all fine rivers 
 — as also the lakes Comhermere and Bagmere, and the 
 pools Ridley-Pool, Petty-Pool, &c., abound with trout, 
 perch, tench, carp, eels, &c., with the important addition 
 in the rivers, of salmon and salmon-trout. 
 
 VI. — Cornwall. 
 
 In this county there are the Camel, the Fal, the 
 Fowey, the Looe, and the Tamar, the latter being a 
 considerable river, dividing the counties of Cornwall 
 and Devon, and creating, with its tributaries, the 
 Tavy and the Plym, the large body of water forming 
 Plymouth Sound. All these rivers abound with ex- 
 cellent fish, the Tamar having more and finer salmon 
 than any other river in the west of England. 
 
 VII. — Cumberland. 
 
 The Eden, which, after a junction with the Eske, 
 forms the Great Firth of Solway, the Eamont, the 
 Irthing, the Petterell, the Derwent, to which appertains 
 the magnificent Lake of Keswick, the Caldew, the Irt, 
 and the Dudden, besides a multitude of Lakes, or 
 Meres, all abundantly supplied with fish, render this 
 county distinguished for angling. The Derwent and 
 the Eden, especially, produce excellent salmon and 
 trout. The charr is found in England only in Winander 
 
40 DERBYSHIRE. 
 
 Mere and Ulleswater, we believe. It is also found in 
 Llyn Quellyn, near the foot of Snowden, and Loch 
 Inch^ in Scotland. 
 
 VIII. — Derbyshire. 
 
 The Trent, by whicb this county is bounded on the 
 south, and which receives, in its progress to the Humher, 
 the Blythe, the Tame, the Soar, the Derwent, the 
 Dove, and the Erwash, is second to no river in England, 
 excepting, perhaps, the Thames, and is well stocked 
 with jack, carp, barbel, chub, perch, roach, bream, 
 flounders, eels, &c. The Dove, which rises near the 
 three shire-stones, passes on to Ashburn, and from 
 thence runs on and falls into the Trent, Every angler 
 is, of course, familiar with Cotton's beautiful descrip- 
 tion of this river : — 
 
 " , . Thy murmurs, Dove, — 
 
 Pleasing to lovers, or man fall'n in love, — 
 
 With thy bright beauties of fair blue eyes, 
 
 Which wound like a Parthian, while the shooter flies. 
 
 Of all fair Thetis' daughters, none so bright, 
 
 So pleasant to the taste, — none to the sight — 
 
 None yields the gentle angler such delight !" 
 
 The Derwent, which, springing from the mountainous 
 district of the Peak, nearly on the borders of Yorkshire, 
 and flowing through a wild and romantic country, 
 receiving the waters of several small torrents, joins the 
 Wye, and loses itself in the Trent, forms in its course 
 the principal ornament in the superb domain of 
 Chatsworth. These rivers, with their various tribu- 
 taries, produce excellent fish, particularly graylings. 
 The Lathkil, which rises in the hills, and joins the 
 
DEVONSHIRE. 4 1 
 
 Bradford at the foot of the Tor, is famous for the 
 quantity and colour of its trout, though none but 
 personal friends are allowed to fish in it. The Charnet 
 is also a good stream for trout and grayling. The 
 Blythe, too, abounds with these fish, and is a capital 
 river for spinning the minnow. In addition to these 
 rivers, so famous in the remembrance of anglers, 
 Derbyshire boasts of rivulets and brooks abounding in 
 fish, particularly trout — the best, perhaps, in England. 
 
 IX. — Devonshire. 
 
 The Tamar, which has been mentioned as dividing this 
 county from Cornwall, passes Launceston, Saltash, and 
 Plymouth Dock, and falls into Plymouth Sound. The 
 Plym rises on the east side of Dartmoor, and, inclining 
 to the south-west, forms a large basin beneath the old 
 town of Plymouth. The Yealme, Erme^ and Aren, 
 all running south-west, through small rivers, have 
 each a considerable estuary. The pleasant spot and 
 Inn of Ivy Bridge are on the banks of the Erme, which 
 is there a mountain torrent. The Dart, however, is 
 the chief of all the rivers produced by the rocky range 
 of Dartmoor, in the centre of the county. It is a 
 stream of great rapidity, flowing through the rich plains 
 of the southern part of the county, receiving the tide 
 a little below its last bridge at Totness, and falling by 
 Kings Weare and Dartmouth into the sea. The Ex 
 rises in the wild hills of Exmoor, in the western corner 
 of Somersetshire, runs to Tiverton, and thence on to 
 Exeter, receiving in its progress the Loman, the 
 Creedy, and the Culm. The Otter, the Syd, the Axe, 
 
42 DORSETSHIRE. DURHAM. 
 
 the Teign, the Taw, the Torridge, the Mcule, and the 
 Okement, are, some of them, considerable rivers, and, 
 with those previously mentioned, abound with salmon, 
 trout, and other varieties of fine fish. The Otter is 
 noted for its abundance of that amphibious animal, as 
 also for its trout and salmon-peal. 
 
 X. — Dorsetshire. 
 
 The Charr, the Eype, and the Wey all descend from 
 the Dorsetshire Downs, the latter being celebrated for 
 its bathing-place^ formed by the united towns of 
 Melcomb Regis and Weymouth. The Stoure, which 
 has its source in six streams, at Stourton, in Wiltshire, 
 winds through Gillingham, and round the hill on which 
 Shaftesbury stands, whence it runs to Sturminster, and 
 thence in a south-easterly direction, falling into the 
 sea, opposite to the Isle of Wight, after being joined by 
 the Allen, the Blackwater, and the Avon, The Froome, 
 however, is the most considerable river of this county, 
 rising in the vast tract of downs which divides it from 
 Somersetshire, flowing on to Dorchester, fed by the 
 various streams from the south downs, and then, 
 meeting the Piddle from the north, turns eastward to 
 Waneham, and forms the great expanse of water 
 known as Poole Harbour. The Stoure is noted for 
 the fine quality of its tench and eels. All the rivers 
 offer a fine variety of pike, trout, perch, &c. 
 
 XL — Durham. 
 
 The Tees, which divides this county from Yorkshire, 
 and receives the Greta from thence, possesses few 
 
ESSEX. 43 
 
 other fish than salmon, except in its deep pits, in which 
 there are some trout. The Weave, which finds its 
 source in the same wild range of moors as the Tees, 
 but far to the north, flows below the park of Bishop's 
 Auckland, where it receives the Gaunless, and washing 
 the rock, upon the heights of which stand the walls of 
 the cathedral and castle of Durham, falls into the sea 
 near the port of Sunderland. Besides these rivers, 
 there are the Derwent, the Laden-Hude, the Lune, 
 the Skern, and the Tyne. All these waters contain 
 salmon, the largest salmon -trout, all the varieties of 
 trout, in fine condition, and most other fresh-water 
 fish. 
 
 XII. — Essex. 
 
 The Blackwater, which rises near Saffron -Walden, 
 runs through Booking and Coggeshall, and thence 
 nearly southward to Walden, whence it flows into the 
 sea, after forming a considerable estuary; the Chelmer, 
 which rises near Thaxted, and pursues nearly a parallel 
 course with the Blackwater as far as Chelmsford, 
 whence it takes a turn towards the east, and joins it; 
 the Colne, which rises on the borders of Suffolk, and 
 runs through Halsted, and from thence to Colchester, 
 emptying itself into a creek of the sea between Nasey 
 Island and the main; and the Stour, which rises at 
 Sturmer, on the borders of Cambridgeshire, and pass- 
 ing through Sudbury, Manningtree, and Mistley, is 
 joined by the Brett, near Nayland, divides the county 
 from Suffolk at Harwich, and meeting the Orwell at 
 Ipswich, falls into the sea, beneath the batteries of 
 Languard Fort, on the Suffolk shore — are all fine rivers, 
 
44 ESSEX. 
 
 and produce pike, carp, perch, tench, eels, &c., but 
 very few salmon or trout. At Sturmer, the pike and 
 tench are remarkably fine. 
 
 But the most noted river of this county is the Lea, 
 which, taking its rise in Leagrave Marsh, Beds, and 
 flowing on to Blackwall and Limehouse, divides Essex 
 from Middlesex. It abounds with pike, jack, carp, 
 perch, chub, dace, bleak, gudgeons, eels, &c., although 
 it cannot boast of an abundance of trout. It has a 
 large number of preserves, or subscription waters, and 
 is regarded as constituting a sort of finishing school 
 for anglers. 
 
 " Oh ! pleasant are the green banks of the Lea, 
 And pleasant are its waters, silver sweet; 
 It thirsteth me, on May -day morns, to be 
 
 Clad in an angler's simple garments meet, 
 Treading with gentle Isaac's spirit — there. 
 
 By the pike's hollow lair; 
 And near the shallow, where the minnow twinkles 
 
 His little tail, and wrinkles 
 The restless waters, and beside the place 
 Where darts the dace." 
 
 At Bromley, Stratford, and West Ham, fine roach, 
 dace, and flounders are taken in the mill-pools and 
 waters around. The White-House subscription water 
 was once the favourite resort of the old school of 
 anglers, and it is near that spot that Horace Smith 
 introduces us to Isaac Walton, in his admirable novel 
 of " Brambletye House." 
 
 ** The cold Lea misseth thee, and seemeth now. 
 To flow with memory's wrinkles on its brow ; 
 The steep of Tottenham feels thine antique loss. 
 And sadness gloometh upon Waltham's cross. 
 
 The pike rush boldly by — 
 
 Thou art not nigh! 
 
ESSEX. 45 
 
 Large yellow barbel at the bottom lie, 
 And gaze upon the bait without a sigh ! 
 The armed perch starts ite red fins, and cares 
 Nought for the minnow, or the brandling snares ; 
 
 Sport comes not with the day — 
 
 Thou art away !" 
 
 The following description of the fisheries on this 
 favourite river may be acceptable : — 
 
 Going from London, the first place is the Lea Bridge 
 and White House fisheries, both of which are now kept 
 and rented by James and Robert Beresford. The 
 White House is situate in the marshes, near Homerton, 
 from whence the fishing extends to the Horse and 
 Groom, Lea Bridge, about two miles of very good 
 water, and within an hour's walk, or a sixpenny ride, 
 of the city. The terms of subscription are 10s, 6d. 
 a year each, or 20^. for both waters. They also find 
 lockers for tackle at a few shillings a year rent, and 
 provide all kinds of refreshments, of the best quality, 
 and at a reasonable rate. Above this, for some little 
 distance, the river is free. Then comes Tottenham 
 and Hew's water, formerly called Bannister's — then the 
 Blue House, or Ford's, and what was formerly Cook's 
 Ferry, at the end of Water Lane, Edmonton, but now 
 kept by Mr. B. Wicks. There is very good fishing 
 here, and excellent refreshments, with accommodation 
 for parties of anglers, and beds, if required. A mile 
 or so further, and a continuation of Wicks' water, we 
 find Mrs. Bulling's, where is also very good fishing, 
 and occasionally good trout and carp. We now come 
 to the Pike and Anchor, near Bonder's End, where 
 excellent refreshment may be had, and where every 
 attention is paid by the proprietor, Mr. Keid. Con- 
 tinuing up the river to Waltham, w^e come to the 
 
46 ESSEX. 
 
 Government waters, to angle in which requires per- 
 mission from the Board of Ordnance. To increase the 
 stock of fish, or for some other purpose, these waters 
 have been closed against anglers for three years, 
 which are now nearly expired. They abound with 
 pike, chub, roach, &c. From the Government water to 
 King's Weir is, I believe, a private subscription water. 
 From King's Weir to Carthaginia Weir is over two 
 miles of excellent fishing, rented by Messrs. T. and G. 
 Want. They reside at the Crown, Brox Bridge; they 
 provide every kind of bait for their subscribers; and 
 at their house, in a plain way, every real angler may 
 thoroughly enjoy himself, as he can have refreshments 
 of the best kind, at the shortest notice, a good, clean 
 bed, after his day's sport, and a large and beautiful 
 garden to stroll in, when so disposed. Above Want's, 
 or, as it is called, the Broxborne fishery, is the Eel and 
 Pike, or Page's water, where also is good fishing and 
 refreshments. The next house of note is Teale's, better 
 known as the Rye House, at which the proprietors, 
 Mr. and Mrs. Teale, omit no pains to make their 
 friends comfortable. It is delightfully situated, and 
 the waters abound with fish. Any person staying at 
 the house, besides having every comfort, is allowed 
 to fish in the waters without charge; and I know of no 
 more delightful place to spend a few days at; and as 
 several of the Hertford trains stop close by the House, 
 its approach is very convenient. All the trains stay 
 at Broxborne, also. The subscription is one guinea 
 per annum. These are the chief fisheries on the Lea, 
 and I would advise all anglers to give every one of 
 them a trial. 
 
GLOUCESTERSHIRE. — HAMPSHIRE. 47 
 
 XIII. — Gloucestershire. 
 
 The Severn rises in Montgomeryshire, and, running 
 on through parts of Shropshire, Staffordshire, and 
 Worcestershire, enters this county about two miles 
 above Tewkesbury. Soon after reaching the city 
 of Gloucester, it divides itself into tw^o streams, which 
 soon re-uniting, constitutes a considerable river, and 
 after joining the Wye and the Lower Avo7i, assumes 
 the name of the British Channel. Its waters are so 
 rapid and so muddy, however, that it has no great 
 variety of fish, although it is w^ell stocked w^ith salmon 
 and lampreys. The Isis, the Wi/e, the Upper Avon, the 
 Chelt, the Stroud, the Cam, and the Little Avon, all 
 produce a variety of fish, some of which are very fine. 
 
 XIY. — Hampshire. 
 
 The Avon, which enters this county at Charford, runs 
 on to Salisbury, on one side of which city it is joined 
 by the Willey, the Deverell, and the Nadder, and on 
 the other by the Bourne, and thence pursues a 
 southerly direction, until it is joined by the Stour at 
 Christ Church, w^here it falls into the sea. The Alne 
 and the Itchen, which rise near Alresford, and unite 
 near that town, flow southward, till they fall, as one 
 river, into Southampton Bay; besides which there are 
 the Anton and the Test, which contribute, with the 
 streams just mentioned, to form the Southampton^ 
 River and the Wey, which, rising in this county, 
 runs into Surrey. In many parts of all these rivers 
 there is good angling for salmon, salmon-trout, trout, 
 mullet, and a variety of other fish. 
 
48 HERTFORDSHIRE. HUNTINGDONSHIRE. 
 
 XV. — Herefordshire. 
 
 The Wye runs through Hereford, Eoss, &c., into 
 Gloucestershire; the Lug runs easterly from Radnor to 
 Leominster, where it receives the Oney, the Endwell, 
 and the Arrow, and then falls into the Wye, below 
 Hereford; the Frome and the Loden flow southerly, 
 until they unite near Stratton, and soon after reach the 
 Wye, as do also the Monow, which is a compound of 
 several small rivulets, as well as of the Doyer, which 
 flows from the Golden Vale; and the Trothy, which, 
 flowing from the interior of Monmouthshire, falls into 
 the Wye below Monmouth. These are all capital 
 rivers for angling in. They abound with salmon, 
 salmon-trout, grayling, trout, and almost every other 
 kind of fish. The salmon of the Wye are always in 
 season. 
 
 XVI. — Hertfordshire. 
 
 The Lea, the Colne, and the New River are the chief 
 rivers of this county, but it has a large number of 
 smaller streams, most of which, with the larger ones, 
 abound with trout, pike, carp, bream, tench, perch, 
 gudgeons, roach, &c. The trout are particularly good 
 near Ware, 
 
 XVII. — Huntingdonshire. 
 
 The Ouse, which enters this county at St. Neot's, and 
 passes out of it near St. Ive's, and the Nerr, or Nine, 
 which rises in two branches on the north and south of 
 
KENT. LANCASHIRE. 49 
 
 Daventry, and flows, with a winding course, from 
 Wandesford, round the north-west and northern borders 
 of the county, produce good pike, perch, eels, and 
 plenty of other fish, in addition to the rud, or furicale, 
 which is found in the Nen, There are also many 
 meres, or lakes, as Whittlesea, Ramsey, Brick, Ugy, 
 Benwick, &c., which contain very large pike, bream, 
 perch, tench, and eels. 
 
 XYIIL— Kent. 
 
 The Medivay, which rises in Sussex, and enters this 
 county near Penshurst, receives many tributary streams 
 from the Weald, crosses the county by Maidstone and 
 Rochester, below which it forms the Chatham Dock, 
 and afterwards falls into the mouth of the Thames, 
 between the Isles of Sheppey and Grain. Near 
 Westerham, nine springs take their rise, and uniting at a 
 short distance from the river Dart, which runs through 
 Dartford, discharge themselves into the Thames, 
 not far from Long Reach. The Stour, which rises in 
 the Weald, flows by Canterbury, and empties itself 
 into the sea below Sandwich — the Bother, which 
 flows from Sussex, forms, for some short distance, the 
 limit between the two counties, and then falls into the 
 sea at Rye — the Tunn, which runs into the Medway, 
 near Tunbridge, and one or two other streams, all 
 contain some excellent fish, the Stour, especially, con- 
 taining some good trout. 
 
 XIX.— Lancashire. 
 
 The Mersey, which runs between this county and 
 
 Cheshire, receives the Tame and several smaller 
 
 e 
 
50 LEICESTERSHIRE. LINCOLNSHIRE. 
 
 streams above Stockport, and after uniting with the 
 Irwell and the Bollin, runs by Warrington, and forms 
 the magnificent port of Liverpool. The Mersey is 
 annually visited by shoals of smelts, of an extraordinary 
 size and flavour. The Wyre, which rises in the 
 moors dividing Yorkshire and Lancashire, and flowing 
 to Garstang, forms its estuary near Poulton, abounds 
 with trout, chub, and gudgeons, and in the spring with 
 smelts. The Kent and the Lune, both of which rise 
 in the moors of Westmoreland, and form considerable 
 rivers in this county, afford fine salmon, trout, and 
 other fish ; as does also the Ribble, which enters the 
 county from Yorkshire, and forms one of the largest 
 rivers of the north of England. The Irk, near 
 Manchester, is famous for the largest and finest eels in 
 Great Britain. 
 
 XX. — Leicestershire. 
 
 The Soar, which rises in the western part of this 
 county, and after receiving the TVreke, falls into the 
 Trent, where Leicestershire, Derbyshire, and Notting- 
 hamshire unite — the Avon, which flows into Warwick- 
 shire — the Anker, the JVelland, and the Swift, all afford 
 good fishing, especially in those parts most remote 
 from the several towns by which they run. 
 
 XXL — Lincolnshire. 
 
 The Trent, which passes the western borders of this 
 county, by Littleborough and Grimsby, falls into the 
 Humber ; the Welland, which finds its source in a 
 
MIDDLESEX. 51 
 
 range of hills between Lutterworth and Harborough, 
 and divides this county from Leicestershire, Rutland, 
 and Northamptonshire, sinks into the fens below 
 Deeping, and reaching the port of Spalding, falls into 
 the ocean; the Witham^ which rises about ten miles 
 north of Stamford, runs by Grantham to Lincoln, is 
 met by the Bain, flows on to Boston, after getting a 
 communication with the Trent, by means of a canal 
 seven miles in length, and falls into the Fosdyke Wash; 
 the Ancham, or Ancholme, a small river rising in the 
 Wolds, and navigable from Glandford Bridge to the 
 Humber; with the Glean, from Bourne, which joins the 
 Welland in the fens, all aiford some good fishing, for 
 salmon, trout, perch, pike, tench, &c. The Ancham 
 is particularly celebrated for its eels, and the Witham 
 
 for its pike. 
 
 '* Ancham eel, and Witham pike, 
 In all England is none li^e." 
 
 XXIL — Middlesex. 
 
 One of the great features of the metropolitan county is 
 "the noble Thames" — 
 
 " Thames, most loved of all the Ocean's sons 
 By his old sire," 
 
 for the honour of whose parentage two streams contend 
 — both rising from the southern slopes of the Cotswold 
 hills, but some sixteen miles apart. The source of one 
 of them is known as Thames-head, that of the other as 
 Seven Springs, or the Churn. Thames-head is about 
 three miles south-west of Cirencester, and within sight 
 of the Tetbury-road station of the Great Western and 
 E 2 
 
52 MIDDLESEX. 
 
 Gloucester Railway. It lies in a hollow, close to a 
 bridge over the Thames and Severn Canal, known as 
 Thames-head Bridge, The Churn,, near its head, is 
 separated into two branches — the one, which is rather 
 the longer of the two, and which some affirm to be the 
 true head, rises at UUen Farm, about a mile west of 
 Seven Springs, the source of the other. Both rise near 
 the foot of Leckhampton Hill, about three miles south 
 of Cheltenham, and, uniting about a mile distant from 
 their respective sources, flow onward as one mighty river, 
 between Berks and Bucks, Middlesex and Surrey, Essex 
 and Kent, receiving the waters of numerous tributaries 
 on their way, and falling into the German Ocean, off the 
 two last-named counties. This river is scarcely less 
 famous for the number and variety of its fish than for its 
 romantic beauty and its mighty commerce; and I 
 shall now proceed to describe the principal places 
 that are chiefly resorted to for angling, without con- 
 fining myself within the limits of any particular 
 county. 
 
 In the angler's map of the river Thames, compiled 
 by Nethercliff, Henley is the most distant place given, 
 and from that point I shall take my start. 
 
 From Henley to Staines, then, which includes 
 Hambledon, Medmendham, Marlow, Cookhara, Maiden- 
 head, and Datchet, the river abounds with ex- 
 cellent trout, pike, barbel, perch, roach, chub, and 
 almost all the smaller fish. The best barbel- fishing 
 will be found in the Greenland deeps, the Bisham 
 deeps, in the deeps below Cookham ferry, the deeps 
 off Taplow, at Amerton Bank, Monkey Island, and 
 the Staines deeps, which extend two hundred yards 
 from the bridge eastward. The best gudgeon-fishing 
 
MIDDLESEX. 53 
 
 is generally to be met with on the towing-path side of 
 the river. 
 
 Staines is the limit of the Lord Mayor's jurisdiction 
 over the river, the fish of which, not less than the 
 navigation, are, from here to Yantlett Creek, below 
 Gravesend, under his conservancy, and are pro- 
 tected by laws and regulations which will be noticed 
 in their proper place. From Staines down to Chertsey 
 deeps, the angler may find some tolerable sport. 
 There are some good barbel to be taken at Penton 
 Hook, about IpO yards from the guard piles, westward; 
 as also at the ferry, between there and Laleham. 
 
 Chertsey Deeps abound with barbel, roach, perch, 
 bleak, dace, &c., and sometimes a decent trout is to be 
 had. There are two or three good houses in the neigh- 
 bourhood, where a boat and a fisherman may be hired; 
 but some good angling is to be had from the banks. 
 
 At Shepperton the deeps are well stored with fish, 
 and from here down to the ferry there is some good 
 bank fishing to be had; as also from the ferry to 
 Walton-bridge, especially for perch. The new deep, 
 at Shepperton, contains plenty of fine barbel, chub, 
 roach, dace, &c.; and in the dead water, ofi* Oatland's 
 park, there are jack, perch, &c., especially in the spring. 
 
 From Walton to Hampton, passing by Sunbury, 
 there are many good swims for perch, roach, chub, 
 barbel, &c., with a tolerable supply of trout and jack. 
 Near the weir, at Moulsey, good trout are taken; and 
 the deeps at Hampton are celebrated for their trout, 
 barbel, roach, perch, dace, and chub. The Hampton 
 Court water gallery afibrds plenty of perch and roach, 
 and a few trout of a very fine description. 
 
 Thames Ditton is opposite to Hampton, on the 
 
54 MIDDLESEX. 
 
 Surrey side of the river, and is now easily reached by 
 the South-western Railway. The Swan here, which 
 stands close upon the side of the river, is a house well 
 known, and much used by anglers. Punts and fisher- 
 men may be obtained here; and the punt-men will be 
 found very respectable, civil, and intelligent, and 
 knowing every spot where a fish is to be found. Some 
 fine barbel, and particularly fine gudgeons, may be 
 taken here, as well as roach, perch, dace, and chub, 
 with sometimes a jack and a trout. 
 
 Kingston, from Ditton to the bridge, is a favourite 
 resort of anglers, and many fine fish are taken here, 
 particularly barbel, roach, perch, dace, chub, and 
 gudgeons. From Kingston to Richmond, including 
 Teddington and Twickenham, there is some good 
 fishing, especially in Teddington Meadows; and 
 punts and fishermen, with tackle, &c., are always to be 
 had. In the winter and the spring there is good fish- 
 ing from the banks. In the Dkeps off Twickenham, 
 there is some capital roach and dace fishing. 
 
 Richmond and Kew afford some good swims, in 
 which barbel, roach, dace, &c., are taken. From Rich- 
 mond to IsLEwoRTH there is good perch fishing. Ex- 
 cepting when the tide is flowing, roach and dace may be 
 taken almost all the way from Richmond bridge to Kew 
 BRIDGE, by angling off the towing path. At Putney 
 BRIDGE, alongside of the piles, from about two hours 
 before low water, some large roach may be taken, but 
 the constant passing and repassing of steamers greatly 
 interferes with the angler's sport. 
 
 The legislature, for the purpose of preserving the 
 fish in the Thames, has prohibited angling during 
 March, April, and May; and an association of the 
 
MIDDLESEX. 55 
 
 lovers of the art, known as the Thames Angling Pre- 
 servation Society, has done good service by the exer- 
 tions they have made to ensure the observance of the 
 law, and to render the waters of the Thames as rife of 
 sport as may be. The last report made by the com- 
 mittee of the Society congratulated all the lovers of 
 angling upon the society's success in effectually carry- 
 ing out its projects. Illegal fishing in the Thames was 
 stated to be all but abolished; and the result was an 
 increase in the quantity and quality of all kinds of fish 
 in the river. During the previous year, six, and last 
 year only three, convictions took place. That was at- 
 tributed, as the report properly stated, to the indefati- 
 gable attention of the water-bailiffs, who most satisfac- 
 torily discharged their arduous and occasionally dan- 
 gerous duties, whilst at the same time they avoided 
 giving to the offenders the slightest pretext to complain 
 of either irritation or oppression. In consequence of 
 such conduct on the part of their oflicers, several net- 
 men, and others who used illegal nets, had abandoned 
 poaching, and either adopted a different mode of living, 
 or expressed a desire to follow the legitimate system of 
 fishing, if they received assistance from the anglers 
 visiting the river. The report also stated, that the 
 City authorities having determined to erect a weir or 
 bay at Penton Hook, near Latcham, the committee 
 presented a memorial to the Lord Mayor and corpora- 
 tion, praying that they would declare it a preserve, and 
 that they would consolidate and extend the preserves 
 at Chertsey, Sunbury, and Hampton, with which 
 prayer the Lord Mayor and Common Council complied, 
 and the society ordered those and the other preserves to 
 be staked, and that boats should be sunk at them. 
 
56 MIDDLESEX. 
 
 Accordingly 1 100 stakes were planted, and eleven boats 
 were sunk in proper directions. 
 
 The following are the tracts of waters that have been 
 given to the society, as preserves, by the corporation of 
 London: — 
 
 YARDS. 
 
 Penton Hook. — Fresh water to be preserved. From the 
 head piles at the west end of Penton Hook, round the 
 Hook to the east end of the lock 1150 
 
 At Chertsey. — From the end of the present preserve, 
 which begins at the weir, and runs east, to the com- 
 mencement of the preserve, which begins eighty yards 
 from the westward of the bridge 105 
 
 At Sunhury. — From the east of the 1 00 yards running from 
 the weir eastward to join the preserve, commencing at 
 the church and running eastward 218 
 
 Also from the east end of the preserve, commencing at 
 the church to the pile of the breakwater 225 
 
 At Hampton. — From the east end of the present preserve 
 
 to the Tumbling Bay 350 
 
 Total 2048 
 
 From which are to be deducted 150 yards given up by the 
 Society. 
 
 Gudgeon fishing, in the Thames, commences in June, 
 and continues through July. Barbel fishing is finest 
 from the beginning of August till the end of Novem- 
 ber; and roach fishing from Michaelmas to Christmas. 
 
 It should be borne in mind, that when the air is cold, 
 the wind up, the water rough, and the weather wet, it 
 is in vain to angle in the Thames. 
 
 FISHING STATIONS AND FISHERMEN ON THE THAMES. 
 
 The following list of houses of accommodation and of 
 
MIDDLESEX. 57 
 
 punt-men from Henley to Richmond is corrected from 
 Nethercliff s map : 
 
 Wx^xTTx^^r (Catherine Wheel, > Woodley, Hubert, 
 
 ^^^^^^ I Red Lion, Angel 5 Cook, Vaughan. 
 
 Medmendham ... Ship The Brothers Johnson 
 
 Marlow ^ Complete Angler, 7 Rouse well, and the 
 
 '*" I George & Dragon 3 Brothers Creswell. 
 
 CooKHAM King's Arms J. Wilder &Middleton 
 
 Maidenhead Orkney Arms S. Wilder & Andrews. 
 
 Eton George Inn The Brothers Hall. 
 
 Datchet Angel and Crown Newman and Aslin. 
 
 S— «-•>. Angel, S.an5^ttrk„d"lon^°''- 
 
 Laleham Horse Shoes j '^^^^^';"''' ^°^ <^^'- 
 
 Chertsei The Cricketers ...5 The Brothers Upjoha 
 
 I and Howard. 
 
 Weybridge I Ship, Queen's Head, 1 Keene and Son, and 
 
 ^ Lmcoln Arms ) Harris. 
 
 Shepperton Anchor ^ '^ ancfso*!""' ^^"""^"^ 
 
 H-— Theship rto"^'ir*^"' 
 
 Walton i Duke'sHead,Crown I The Brothers Roger- 
 
 I Rogerson's S son and Wheatley. 
 
 ^TTxrcFTTJAT 5 Flower Pot, Magpie ) Goddard, Barrenger, 
 
 &UNBURY I New Inn i Westbrook, & Fulkes. 
 
 Hampton The Bell, Red Lion ] ^^/^ Brothers Mil- 
 
 ' I bourne and Bell. 
 
 Hampton Court j The Mitre. The ). Tagg Wisdom, Rock- 
 I Castle S ingham, Davis. 
 
 Thames D.ttok The Swan \ "atd^R^gLt"' 
 
 K— rT\e'c^own ^'"1 «-^- 
 
 Teddington jThe Oak^ and } The Brothers Kemp, 
 
 I Kemp s House 3 ^^^ Hear. 
 
 Twickenham ... j'^fhe^j^it"''"'''' °°} Coxen. 
 
58 
 
 MIDDLESEX. 
 
 THE DISTANCES BY WATER BETWEEN THE BRIDGES 
 PROM RICHMOND TO HENLEY.* 
 
 Richmond Bridge. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4.3 
 
 Kingston. 
 
 8.3 
 12. 1 
 
 4. Hampton Court. 
 
 7.6 3.6 
 
 Walton. 
 
 16.3 
 
 12.0 8.0 
 
 4.2 
 
 Chertsey. 
 
 20.6 
 
 16.3 12.3 
 
 8.5 
 
 4.3 
 
 Staines. 
 
 27.2 
 
 23.0 19.0 
 
 15.2 
 
 11.0 
 
 6.4 
 
 Datchet 
 
 29.2 
 
 24. 7 20. 7 
 
 17. 1 
 
 12.7 
 
 8.4 
 
 2.0 
 
 Windsor. 
 
 35.6 
 
 31.3 27.3 
 
 23.5 
 
 19.3 
 
 15.0 
 
 13.0 
 
 6.4 
 
 Maidenhead. 
 
 43.5 
 
 39.2 35. 2 31. 4'27. 2 
 
 1 1 
 
 22.7 
 
 20.7 
 
 14.3 
 
 7.7; Mario w. 
 
 51.5 
 
 47.2 43.2 39.4 35.2 
 
 1 i 
 
 30. 7 28. 7 
 
 22.2 
 
 15.7 8.0 Henley. 
 
 OTHER WATERS IN AND ABOUT LONDON. 
 
 The li^ew River is a favourite haunt for young 
 cockney anglers, and it has a variety of fine fish in it, 
 as roach, dace, chub, bleak, minnows, gudgeons, and 
 eels. 
 
 The River Lea has been described under Essex. 
 
 The Surrey- Canal Dock, at Rotherhithe, is a sub- 
 scription water, at a guinea a-year, or a shilling a-day. 
 It is well stocked with jack, perch, roach, bream, &c. 
 
 The Commercial Dock, also at Rotherhithe, has a 
 
 * In miles and furlongs. 
 
MONMOUTHSHIRE, 59 
 
 good collection of similar fish. The directors give 
 annual admission-tickets. 
 
 The Camberwell Canal has some jack, as well as 
 roach, perch, &c. 
 
 The Paddington Canal contains jack, roach, perch, 
 chub, &c. 
 
 The East and West India Docks sometimes yield 
 fine perch, roach, bream, carp, and tench. 
 
 The Serpentine contains carp, tench, roach, perch, 
 dace, &c., but it is not a favourable place to angle in. 
 Permission must be had from the Ranger. 
 
 XXIII. — Monmouthshire. 
 
 The Uske, which rises in the mountains that divide 
 Breconshire from Carmarthenshire, enters the county 
 a little above Abergavenny, and winding to the town 
 and castle of Uske, where it is joined by a small stream 
 from the north-west, meets the tide a little before its ap- 
 proach to Caerleon, and thence flows onward to Newport, 
 and falls into the Bristol Channel; the Eliu?/and Sorwi/, 
 which rise in the mountainous track towards the north- 
 west, after uniting, pass through Tredegar Park and the 
 marshes below it, and join the Uske at its mouth; the 
 fft/e, which parts the county from Gloucestershire, and 
 runs by the town of Monmouth, and unites with the 
 Severn below Chepstow; and the Monow, which divides 
 the county from Herefordshire, and, running on the 
 other side of Monmouth, joins the Wt/e — are the chief 
 rivers of this county. They afford excellent sport, 
 abounding with salmon, trout, salmon-trout, and 
 grayling. 
 
60 NORFOLK. — NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. 
 
 XXIV.— Norfolk. 
 
 The Yare, wliicli rises near Attleborough, flows onward 
 to Norwich and Yarmouth, receiving in its way the 
 TVensum, the Tase, the Waveney, and the Bure^ and 
 after uniting with the Thyrn, which rises near Holt, 
 and forms a lake on its way from North Walsham, 
 discharges itself into the German Ocean; and the Ouse, 
 which divides the county from Suffolk and Cambridge- 
 shire, and after receiving the Little Ouse, empties itself 
 into the Lynn Deeps — both produce fine fish of almost 
 every kind, as do also their tributary streams. Their 
 perch are remarkably fine, and the Yare abounds with 
 the ruflfe. The shallow lakes formed by these rivers 
 in many parts of their course, and here called Broads, 
 are stocked with very large pike, tench, perch, eels, and 
 bream. 
 
 XXV. — Northamptonshire. 
 
 The Nyne^ the Learn, and the Cherwell rise very near 
 to each other, in the neighbourhood of Daventry; the 
 first-mentioned, taking a north-easterly direction, runs 
 onward to Northampton and Peterborough, and thence 
 into the Cambridgeshire fens; while the two last-named 
 flow westward, and after uniting, divide the county 
 from Oxfordshire. The Ouse, too, runs through some 
 part of the county, as does the Wetland, and both of 
 them, as well as the other rivers, furnish a good supply 
 of salmon, pike, perch, tench, smelts, lampreys, &c. 
 The Cherwell produces the rud also. 
 
NORTHUMBERLAND. — NOTTINGHAM. 61 
 
 XXYI. — Northumberland. 
 
 The Tyne^ one branch of which enters this county 
 from Cumberland, and after receiving the east and 
 west Alon^ joins the other branch, which rises at a 
 place called Tynehead, flows onward to Newcastle, and 
 discharges itself into the German Ocean, under the 
 walls of Tynemouth Castle, after having received, on 
 its way, the Shele and the Read, the Blyihe and the 
 Wensheck, which flow nearly eastward from the centre 
 of the county to the sea, the Coquet, which rises near 
 the eastern border of Roxburghshire, and flowing south- 
 east, falls into the sea at Warkworth; the Derwent, 
 which rises in the Durham moors, and reaches the 
 Tyne a little above Newcastle; the Alne and the Till, 
 the former of which, rising north of the Coquet, flows 
 past Alnwick Castle, and meets the sea at the port of 
 Alemouth; while the latter rises a little south of the 
 Cheviot Hills, and running first east, and then winding 
 about to the northward, falls into the Tweed below 
 Arnhill; and the Tiviot and the Tweed, the boundary 
 rivers between England and Scotland, all abound with 
 fish, some of them of a very superior description. A 
 vast quantity of salmon is caught and pickled at 
 Berwick. 
 
 XXVII. — Nottingham. 
 
 The Trent, which enters the county at the south- 
 west point, where it joins the Erwash, and passing on 
 in a north-easterly direction, enters Lincolnshire, and 
 falls into the Humber ; the Idle, which rises in Sher- 
 wood Forest, and after passing through the parks of 
 
62 OXFORDSHIRE. — RUTLANDSHIRE. 
 
 Welbeck, Clumber, and Thoresby, meets the Trent 
 at the entrance of the Isle of Axholme, are the chief 
 rivers of Notts, and they afford some good fishing. 
 The Trent is especially famous, producing some 
 salmon and grayling, as well as trout, pike, perch, &c. 
 
 XXVIII. — Oxfordshire. 
 
 The Thames^ the Isis^ the Cherwell, and the Wind- 
 rush^ are the chief rivers of this county. The Isis 
 flows in a north-easterly direction to Oxford, receiving 
 in its way the Windrush and the Evenlode^ as also a 
 smaller stream, which forms the great lake in Wood- 
 stock Park ; at Oxford, it divides itself into various 
 small channels, which soon after re-unite, and a little 
 below the meads of Christchurch, the Cherwell joins 
 it, and flowing through Magdalen Bridge, flows on to 
 Abingdon, and thence to Dorchester, where being 
 joined by the Thame, which descends from the central 
 parts of Bucks, helps to form the unrivalled Thames, 
 In all these rivers there are good trout, pike, perch, 
 &c., and the rud is plentiful where the Cherwell and 
 the Isis join. 
 
 XXIX. — Rutlandshire. 
 
 This county has but one river running through it — 
 i. e., the Wash; but the Welland washes it on the 
 south, and the Chater on the south-east ; and there 
 are many inconsiderable streams in the interior. Pike, 
 perch, and other fish are found in most of them. 
 
SHROPSHIRE. SOMERSETSHIRE. 63 
 
 XXX. — Shropshire. 
 
 The Severn enters this county at its confluence with 
 the fVirnew, and runs through it from west to south- 
 east, being joined by the Teme near Worcester. The 
 Wevel rises in the county, and runs north to Cheshire. 
 The Tern rises in Staffordshire, and empties itself into 
 the Severn about four miles below Shrewsbury. The 
 Clun rises not far from Bishop's Castle, and joins the 
 Teme near Ludlow, whence it flows on to Tenbury, 
 having received the Corve on its way. These are the 
 principal rivers of Shropshire. The Severn affords 
 fine salmon, salmon-trout, pike, trout, perch, grayling, 
 ruff, salmon fry, and graylings, or Sampsons, as they 
 are called in the county. The Teme abounds with 
 grayling and trout. The Wevel is famous for its 
 perch, and the Clun waters for trout, and in the 
 winter for barren trout. Lee Brook, two miles from 
 Wem, produces good pike, perch, eels, &c.; and in 
 Meel Brook there are trout, carp, ruff, and other 
 fish. The eels are particularly fine. 
 
 XXXI. — Somersetshire. 
 
 The Axe, which rises on the western side of the 
 Mendip hills, after passing the small town of Axe- 
 bridge, winds through a tract of marshes, and falls 
 into the Bristol Channel. The Yaw rises on the 
 eastern side of the Mendip hills, and flows in a north- 
 westerly direction to the Bristol Channel, passing the 
 town of Wrington, celebrated as the birthplace of the 
 famous John Locke. The Avon, which enters the 
 
64 STAFFORDSHIRE, 
 
 county four or five miles south-east of Bath, and is 
 the boundary between Somerset and Gloucestershire, 
 passing by Bristol, runs into the mouth of the Severn, 
 and terminates in the Bristol Channel. The Brent 
 runs from east to west, passing by the noble remains 
 of Glastonbury Abbey, below which it becomes a large 
 lake, and then runs into the Parrett, which rises in 
 the most southerly part of the county, bordering on 
 Dorsetshire, and forms a junction with the Thome near 
 the centre of the county, and after receiving the Yeo 
 and the Ivel^ passes by Bridgwater, and forms a bay in 
 the Bristol Channel. The Brue, which rises in Sel- 
 wood Forest, on the skirt of Wiltshire, meets the 
 Bristol Channel near the mouth of the Parrett, in the 
 Bay of Bridgwater. The Frome rises in the grounds 
 of the Marquis of Bath, at Longleat. These are all 
 good rivers for angling in, the trout fishing just above 
 Bath being especially good. 
 
 XXXII. — Staffordshire. 
 
 The Trent^ which takes its rise from three springs 
 between Congleton and Deep, after being swelled by 
 the Sow and Eccleshall Water, runs in a south-easterly 
 direction into Derbyshire, which it enters just after its 
 junction with the Dove, which also rising in the moor- 
 lands, divides Staffordshire and Derbyshire, to the point 
 where it meets the Trent, having received from the 
 north the Manyfold, the Churnett, and several other 
 streams. The Sow rises a few miles westward of New- 
 castle-under-Line, and passing by Stafford, runs parallel 
 with the Trent, and at only a short distance from it, until 
 they join below that town, previous to reaching which it 
 
SUFFOLK. 65 
 
 receives the Penk, from Penkridge. The Stour runs 
 through the western angle of the county, in its course 
 to meet the Severn^ in Worcestershire. The Tame 
 rises in the Hundred of Sersden, where being joined 
 with Walsall Water, it passes into Warwickshire, 
 and re-entering this county at Drayton Bassett, runs 
 by Tamworth, and being increased by the Black Brook 
 and other streams, falls into the Trent. In addition 
 to these rivers and streams, Staffordshire has several 
 meres, pools, and lakes of large size, which, with 
 its rivers, abound with various kinds of fish. The 
 trout and grayling of the Trent are particularly fine. 
 
 XXXIII. — Suffolk. 
 
 The Lesser Ouse rises on the north side of the 
 county, and for some distance divides it from Norfolk. 
 The Waveny also rises in the north, and flows on not 
 far from the Ouse, running north-east, and forming 
 two streams after it passes Beccles, one of which 
 runs eastward, towards Lowestoff, near to which it 
 forms Lake Lothing^ while the other flows northward, 
 and joins the Yare near Yarmouth. The Orwell^ or 
 Gipping, rises in the centre of the county, and flowing 
 south-east to Ipswich, and thence onward, meets the 
 Stour opposite to Harwich, that river flowing across 
 the county from Sturmer, a place not far from 
 Haverhill, to Sudbury and Maningtree, where the 
 tide meets it, and being joined by the Brett, near 
 Neyland, and dividing the county from Suflblk at 
 Harwich, and meeting, as we have said, the Orwell 
 from Ipswich, falls into the sea beneath the batteries of 
 
66 SURREY. 
 
 Languard Fort. The Aid, the Deben, the Blyth, the 
 Larke, and the Brett also flow through this county, 
 and, with the rivers already noticed, abound with fish, 
 some of them very fine, including cray-fish. 
 
 XXXIY.— Surrey. 
 
 The Thames we have noticed under Middlesex. The 
 other chief rivers of this county are the Mole, which 
 rises just within the borders of Sussex, and after dis- 
 appearing and re-appearing several times, flows onward 
 past Leatherhead and Cobham, and falls into the Thames 
 at Moulsey, opposite to Hampton Court; the Wey, 
 which, rising in a double stream in Hampshire, flows 
 on by Farnham, Godalming, and Guilford, and reaches 
 the Thames a little below Weybridge; and the JVandle, 
 which, rising at Carshalton, and being joined by other 
 springs from Croydon and Beddington, runs by 
 Mitcham and Merton, and falls into the Thames at 
 Wandsworth. 
 
 These rivers are well supplied with fish. About 
 Leatherhead, the Mole has plenty of small trout and 
 large dace, with a few chub, besides jack, roach, and 
 perch. Lower down, towards Moulsey, there are 
 plenty of deep swims, where are abundance of jack, 
 roach, dace, chub, pope, bream, perch, eels, &c. A 
 portion of the river near Moulsey is preserved for 
 angling, and is open to subscribers. 
 
 The TVei/ has some very fine jack, chub, perch, and 
 eels, as well as large bream, roach, dace, and pope. 
 
 The Wandle abounds with fine trout and eels, from 
 its source down to Mitcham, and in that part of it which 
 
SUSSEX. — WARWICKSHIRE. 67 
 
 runs through Sir John Lubbock's park there are some 
 fine trout. The dace are very fine in this river, and 
 extremely large. 
 
 XXXV.— Sussex. 
 
 The Jrun and the Jdur both rise in St. Leonard's 
 Forest, near Horsham, the one discharging itself into 
 the sea two or three miles below Arundel, and the 
 other at Shoreham. The Ouse and the Cockmare rise 
 in the Weald, and uniting near Lewes, discharge them- 
 selves into the sea at Newhaven. The Rother^ which 
 rises in Kent, is joined by the Br eke below Winchelsea, 
 and making an angle to the south, a few miles to the 
 north of Rye, falls into the great basin east of the port, 
 and forms Rye Haven. These, with the Lavant which 
 runs by Chichester, are the principal rivers of 
 Sussex, and they have their fair share of various fish, 
 which will seldom fail in giving the angler a good day's 
 sport. 
 
 XXXVI. — Warwickshire. 
 
 The Avon, which, rising in Leicestershire, enters the 
 county a little above Rugby, and passing Warwick, 
 Stratford, and Bedford, runs into Worcestershire; the 
 Tame, which comes from Staffordshire, passes into this 
 county at Wolford Bridge, and receives several currents, 
 amongst which are the Auker and the Blythe; the 
 Arrow, which rises in Worcestershire, and joins the 
 Avon near Bedford; and the Learn, which rises in 
 the east, and joins the Avon near Warwick, are 
 the principal rivers of this county, and they have plenty 
 F 2 
 
68 WILTSHIRE. WORCESTERSHIRE. 
 
 of fish. The Blyihe and the Tame are especially noted 
 for their bream. 
 
 XXXVII. — Westmoreland. 
 
 The Lader^ or Lowther, flows from the lake known as 
 Broadwater, Winander Mere is in the mountains in 
 the southern part of the county, and produces the 
 scarce fish, the charr. In the Ken, a little below Kendal, 
 the salmon-trout are very fine; and in the Eden, the 
 Lune, and the Ken, as well as in several other streams 
 and waters, there is an abundance of trout and other 
 fish. 
 
 XXXVIII. — Wiltshire. 
 
 In addition to the Upper and the Lower Avon, both of 
 which have been already described, there are in this 
 county the Nadder, which rises in the south-west, and 
 runs by Chilmark; the Willey, which rises near 
 Warminster, and runs by Yarnbury and Wilton; the 
 Bourne, which rises in the easternmost part of the 
 county; and the Kennet, which springs almost in its 
 centre, not far from Marlborough, which it passes on 
 its way to Berks. All these rivers have trout and 
 grayling in abundance, as well as other kinds of fish; 
 and the Kennet is famous for its crayfish. 
 
 XXXIX. — Worcestershire. 
 
 The Severn flows through the whole length of this 
 county, which it enters from Shropshire, and passes into 
 
YORKSHIRE. b\) 
 
 Gloucestershire; the Tame, which enters it on the 
 north-west, and runs south-east till it reaches the 
 Severn, about two miles below Worcester Bridge; 
 the Avon, which comes in on the east side, and passing 
 by Evesham, leaves the county at its southernmost 
 point; the Bow, which rises in Leckenham Forest, and 
 passing by Pershore, falls into the Avon; the Salwash, 
 which comes from the north-east, and passes by Droit- 
 wich and Bromsgrove ; and the Stour. which rises in 
 the Leasowes, and passes through Stourbridge to 
 Milton, and discharges itself into the Severn, a little 
 below Stourport, all swarm with fine fish, including 
 salmon, trout, and grayling. In the Severn there are 
 also lampreys, and the trout and eels of the Salwash 
 are peculiarly fine. 
 
 XL. — Yorkshire. 
 
 The Ribhle, which is distinguished for its salmon, rises 
 in the Craven hills, and after running for forty miles, 
 enters Lancashire. The Colder rises on the borders of 
 Lancashire, near to Burnley, and flowing rapidly across 
 the county, in a south-westerly direction, passes 
 Huddersfield and Wakefield, and joins the Aire near 
 Ferrybridge. The Aire, which, like the Calder, is 
 intersected by several canals, rises from a small lake 
 not far from the source of the Ribhle, in Lancashire, 
 and in its course towards Leeds, passes by the ruins of 
 Kirkstall Abbey; from Leeds it flows in a south- 
 easterly direction, and after dividing one of the richest 
 plains in England, and meeting the Calder, it traverses 
 the flat of Yorkshire, north of Snaith, where it receives 
 the Don, and joins the Ouse near Howden. The Don 
 
70 YORKSHIRE. 
 
 rises in the high moors of the county, on the borders 
 of Derbyshire, and passing by Sheffield and Rotheram, 
 it receives the Rother, and then flows through a 
 beautiful vale to Doncaster, and after being joined by 
 the Went, and dividing, meets the Northern Quae at 
 Goole in one branch, and passing under Lord Downe's 
 seat at Cowre, joins the Aire below Snaith in the 
 other. The Wharfe is a rapid river, which rises in the 
 moors, and, increased by the small stream which forms 
 Langther Dale, the Washbrook, and Cock, flows 
 eastward by Otley to Weatherby, and joins the Ouse 
 near Cawood. The Nidd is another rapid stream, 
 which rises in Nithersdale Forest, in the moors bounding 
 the North Riding of the county. It dashes over a rough 
 bed of rock to reach Knaresborough, the waters of 
 whose famous dropping-well run into it, and it ulti- 
 mately runs into the Ouse further north. The Yore^ 
 or Ure, is a river of similar rapidity, which has its 
 source on the borders of Westmoreland, in the northern 
 moors of Yorkshire, flows first eastward, and then 
 southerly to Ripon, and then again eastward to 
 Boroughbridge and Aldborough, soon after which it 
 receives the Swall, from Richmond, both these rivers 
 forming the Ouse. The Swall rises northward of the 
 Ure, in the same range of moors, not far from Kirkby 
 Stephen, in Westmoreland, and flowing, with great ra- 
 pidity, first south-east, then north-east to Richmond, and 
 then again south-easterly, joins the Ure below Borough- 
 bridge. The Northern Ouse, which first takes its 
 name near the village of Ouseburne, below Aldborough, 
 is a sluggish stream, like its namesake of Bedfordshire. 
 It flows in a south-easterly direction, receiving the Ure 
 and the Swale near Boroughbridge, the Nidd a few 
 
YORKSHIRE. 7 1 
 
 miles north of York, the Wharfe at Cawood, and the 
 Aire a little north-east of Snaith. It is increased by 
 the Derwent^ which joins it near Howden, a few miles 
 before its junction with the Trent. The Humber is a 
 violent current, by reason of its reception of so many 
 rivers, and forms the famous estuary in the German 
 Ocean, between Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. The 
 Tees comes into the county at Rokeby from Durham, 
 and divides the two counties, running easterly through 
 Bernard Castle and Stockton, and falling into the 
 German Ocean. Most of these rivers contain an 
 abundance of fine fish. The Wharfe is famous for its 
 trout, smelt, and eels; the Ure for the abundance and 
 flavour of its crayfish; the Humber for its grayling and 
 smelts, and the golden umber; and the Hull, near 
 Beverley, for its large pike. In the East Riding there 
 is a small but rapid stream, called Duffield, or Driffield 
 Beck, which has some fine trout, weigliing from two 
 to six pounds. Besides these, there are many lakes, in 
 some of which there is an abundance of rud, or fin scale, 
 and in others of pike, perch, and eels of large size and 
 fine flavour. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 FISHING-TACKLE, ITS PREPARATION AND USE. 
 
 Having given a brief account of the chief rivers, 
 streams, and other waters, in the various parts of 
 England, as well as a description of the several kinds 
 of fish to be found in them, I proceed to notice the 
 tackle and materials with which the angler should pro- 
 vide himself, and to offer such suggestions for choosing 
 and managing the same that the uninformed maybe at 
 no loss. My object, however, is not to qualify persons 
 
RODS. 73 
 
 to become manufacturers of fishing-tackle. That is a 
 trade which must be learned, as most other trades are 
 learned, by a long course of instruction and practice. 
 To become a skilful angler, a man need not neces- 
 sarily be an expert handicraftsman. In London, and 
 most other places where fishing is to be had, there are 
 makers of tackle ; and the angler will find it quite as 
 economical, generally speaking, and much more agree- 
 able and satisfactory, when he comes to use it, if he 
 purchases his tackle of them, instead of attempting to 
 make it for himself. Assuming, then, that this will be 
 generally done, I proceed to give the necessary direc- 
 tions, premising that I exclude all provision for fly- 
 fishing, which forms no part of the object of this work. 
 
 Sect. I. — Rods. 
 
 In length, strength, and fittings, the rod must be 
 adapted to the nature of the sport proposed, and the 
 circumstances under which it is proposed. A bank rod, 
 to be used on a wide stream, must be longer than a 
 punt rod. A rod to take roach must be lighter than 
 one to take barbel or trout; while other varieties will 
 be required for trolling and for minnow- spinning. 
 Eods for bottom-fishing are made of a variety of 
 woods, and in a variety of styles. Some are plain and 
 serviceable; some are costly and ornamental. I shall 
 consider what is really necessary for the angler's work, 
 and leave those who aim at anything beyond that, to 
 collect rods according to their taste and means. 
 
 Many anglers stick to a plain bamboo rod, made to 
 
74 RODS. 
 
 put up in a bag, with tops of various lengths. This is 
 no doubt a very serviceable rod, and may be adapted 
 for roach and perch fishing, as well as for spinning a 
 minnow, or trolling for pike. I should, however, re- 
 commend a five-joint rod, made of the best hickory, 
 with two buts, and from sixteen to seventeen feet in 
 length, with five tops, two sets of winch ferrules, and a 
 socket and spear. This goes into a partition bag, and 
 will be found a capital rod for almost every purpose. 
 By changing the tops, you form different sorts of bait- 
 rods — as for barbel, roach, perch, &c. If you practise 
 roach fishing, however, I should strongly recommend 
 you to keep a white cane roach-rod, which, though 
 rather expensive at first, will abundantly repay its 
 cost, in the pleasure and satisfaction it affords. 
 
 If you purchase your rod of a respectable tackle- 
 maker, you will be in no danger of having an im- 
 perfect one passed off on you. Should you buy it 
 elsewhere, see that it is free from flaw, that it tapers 
 gradually from the but-end to the point, and that it is 
 perfectly straight when put together. To be com- 
 plete, your rod should be ringed for a running line, 
 and have a w^inch to wind it on.* A multiplying winch 
 should be adopted, and so made to be attached to the 
 rod, that it may be used for any rod required. The 
 "improved tube winch," made by Messrs. Holmes 
 and Son, of Fetter-lane, is a neat and convenient appa- 
 ratus. It is let into the rod at the distance of three 
 or four inches from the but-end, which screws on and 
 off. The winch is thus out of the way, and of much 
 less weight in the hand than any other I have seen. 
 
 * For bank-fishing, a winch is not necessary, and is often found 
 to be in the way. 
 
RODS. 75 
 
 Should a joint of the rod be accidentally broken, and 
 no other at hand to replace it with, the only course 
 is to mend it. To do this, the broken pieces should be 
 cut in a sloping direction, so as to fit each other with 
 exactness, and then be joined by a thin coat of shoe- 
 maker's wax, tightly tied round with waxed silk and fine 
 twine. Salter describes the best mode of tying up thus : 
 " Begin to bind the fractured parts together, about two 
 inches above the middle thereof, making the laps about 
 a quarter of an inch apart, and continue so to bind two 
 inches below the middle of the fracture; then whip or 
 bind back again to the part at which you began. Here 
 bind or whip down again, keeping the lappings close 
 together, until you come within four or five turns of 
 the two inches below the middle of the fracture. Now 
 lay the forefinger of your left hand over the rod, thus: — 
 
 Then, with your right hand, make four or five bows 
 or hoops over the finger of your left hand with the 
 silk, or whatever you are mending the rod with, and 
 pass the end of it between the under-side of your left- 
 hand finger and the rod, as shown in the engraving. 
 Now draw away, gradually, your left-hand finger, and 
 with your right-hand finger and thumb take hold of 
 the second from the top of the bows or hoops, and 
 draw it tight, which will make the first bow or hoop 
 
76 LINES. 
 
 lay close and secure over the broken rod; then draw 
 the third, which will secure the second, and so on, till 
 all lays smooth and close to the last tarn; to fasten and 
 fix which, take the end of the waxed silk or twine, 
 which lays under the bows or hoops just described, and 
 draw it upwards till all lays smooth and tight ; then 
 cut off the spare part, and all will be fast and strong. 
 This is called the hidden or invisible knot." 
 
 Sect. II. — Lines. 
 
 Lines are of various kinds, and are adapted to the de- 
 scription of fisli to be taken, and the waters in which 
 they are to be used. Of lines for ordinary use, some 
 are of gut, and others of horse-hair. For jack, pike, 
 and eels, the line should be made of fine silk threads, 
 bound round with fine wire. Most persons use, in 
 ordinary, a fine gut line; but those who have acquired 
 skill enough to use a hair line will find their advantage 
 in taking a larger number of fish, as they cannot see 
 the line so well as the gut. A gut line-, even if it be 
 as fine as a hair, will be seen more, in consequence of 
 its brightness. It also beads in the water, which 
 makes it appear thicker than it really is : a hair does 
 not bead. A line formed of a single hair at the bottom, 
 and of two hairs twisted for the upper part, will be 
 found a good one. Observe, once for all, that all 
 lines must be thicker at the upper end than at the 
 lower. 
 
 For bottom -fishing, the line should, generally speak- 
 ing, be about three yards and a half in length — that 
 
LINES. 77 
 
 is, without the silk line that runs upon the winch ; and 
 the angler should be provided with a tolerable stock of 
 lines, so that he may not be at a loss in case of acci- 
 dent. It is important, too, that each line should be 
 tried before it is placed in the case or pocket-book, in 
 order to save the loss of time — or, perhaps, of a fish — 
 that would be the consequence if it broke when in use, 
 if a hair line — or worked badly, if a gut. A gut line 
 should be clear, round, and smooth, free from spots or 
 other blemishes, and of a wiry hardness. 
 
 To try a hair line, the best way is to hold it tight be- 
 tween the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, and 
 draw it over the top of the forefinger of the left hand, 
 by which, and the thumb pressed upon it, the line should 
 be held with a tenacity that will produce a resistance 
 equal to that it must sustain when in use. Thus : — 
 
 The running line — i. e., that which runs on the 
 winch — should be made of plaited silk, which is not so 
 liable to curl up as what is called China twist. It 
 should be twenty-eight or thirty, or from that to forty, 
 yards in length. At the end there should be a loop, 
 about two inches in length, (so that the bait and float 
 may pass through, when necessary,) to fasten the 
 
78 HOOKS. 
 
 lengthener to, this being about three yards and a half 
 long, taper, and strong in proportion to the fish in- 
 tended to be taken. 
 
 Sect. III. — Hooks. 
 
 There are four different kinds of hooks — (1) the 
 Limerick^ (2) the Kirby, (3) the Kendal, and (4) the 
 Sneckbend, differing from each other in form and make, 
 thus : — 
 
 U 
 
 And each description of hook varies in size from 
 1 to 13, the size being adapted to the fish to be 
 taken. Of the four makes of hooks, some prefer one 
 and some another, the majority, probably, adopting 
 the Kirby hook. Besides these, there are eel- hooks, 
 both single and double, which are made stronger and 
 coarser than other hooks ; as also gorge-hooks, snap- 
 hooks, &c., which will be spoken of more particularly 
 when their use is directed. 
 
 Always take care that the hooks you use for worm- 
 baits are long in the shank, and quite round in the 
 bend, having the barb and point in a line with the 
 shank. The Sneckbend hook is, therefore, not re- 
 commended for such bait. In using it, you would often 
 spoil your bait, by tearing it, or otherwise. For 
 gentles, greaves, and paste, the Sneckbend is not 
 objectionable. 
 
HOOKS. 
 
 79 
 
 The following will be found the most suitable appli- 
 cation of hooks to fish : — 
 
 Salmon and barbel 
 
 Chub 
 
 Trench and trout 
 
 Perch and eels 
 
 Flounders 
 
 Bream, dace, and ruffe ... 
 Grayling and roach 
 Gudgeon 
 
 No. 1 
 2 
 3 
 4 
 6 
 9 
 10—11 
 ... 12 
 
 Bleak, loaches, miller's thumb, minnows, and salmon fry, 13 
 
 Care should be taken not to use a hook longer than 
 is necessary. A skilful angler can take a large fish 
 with a small hook, and it gives him a great advantage 
 in his sport. For bottom-fishing, a short-shanked hook 
 should be used. 
 
 To tie the hook on the line, provide some strong 
 but fine silk, as near the colour of the bait as possible, 
 and wax it well with shoemaker's wax. Then, 
 having passed the silk three or four times round the 
 body of the hook, lay the gut or hair inside of it, 
 and go on wrapping the silk tightly round it, about 
 three parts down the hook. Before tying on hooks,* 
 however, it is necessary to test their quality, lest they 
 should break when you are taking a fish. To do this, 
 pull them moderately. If they break, there is an end 
 of them; if they straighten, throw them away. The point 
 of each hook, also, should be examined, and if blunt, 
 it should be thrown aside. 
 
 * As before stated, however, it is much better to purchase the 
 hooks ready tied on, of the fishing-tackle maker. They will be 
 found much neater than when tied on by the angler himself. 
 
80 FLOATS. NETS. 
 
 Sect. IV. — Floats. 
 
 The float must be adapted to the size of the line, the 
 depth and rapidity of the water, and the description of 
 fish to be taken. 
 
 The Tip-capped Float is best for waters that are 
 not very rapid, especially for taking roach ; as also for 
 taking carp and tench, in ponds, as it requires but 
 few shots to sink it. 
 
 A Cork Float is best for a heavy and rapid 
 stream, as it requires a heavy weight of shot to sink 
 it, which weight prevents the bait being carried over 
 the ground so quickly as it otherwise would be. Cork 
 floats are, like others, of various sizes. 
 
 A Plugged Float. — This is cheap, and easily put 
 upon the line ; but the ring at the bottom is ob- 
 jectionable, as you cannot strike so true with it. In 
 gentle waters, another cap may be substituted for it. 
 
 (^See the Engravings on the opposite page.) 
 
 Sect. Y. — Nets, &c. 
 
 1. Provide a drum-net, in which to keep your fish 
 alive, while angling. 
 
 2. A landing-net, with which to land a fish too 
 heavy to take out with a line. 
 
 3. A kettle for carrying live bait in. If a proper 
 kettle be used for this purpose, you may give them 
 
FLOATS. 
 
 81 
 
 13 
 
82 POCKET-BOOK. 
 
 fresh water, which you should do very often in hot 
 weather. Never put your hand into the water, as it 
 both flurries the fish and heats the water, but take 
 them out with a very small hand-net, provided for that 
 purpose. 
 
 4. A pannier, or basket, to carry ground-bait, fish, 
 &c., in. 
 
 Sect. YI. — Pocket-Book. 
 
 This should contain a reel, on which to wind the lines, 
 and have pockets to hold spare hooks and lines. A 
 sliding-frame in the centre division of the reel is very 
 handy. It should be partitioned into four small lockers, 
 or chests, the lid sliding in a groove. In these partitions 
 keep some split shot, of the sizes Nos. 5 and 7; small 
 caps for floats, some spare hooks, a small piece of India 
 rubber, a skein of fine white silk, reeled ofl* on a card 
 to fit the aperture; some fine twine, and a piece of 
 cobbler's wax, wrapped in a piece of chamois leather. 
 The book should also have fitted in its covers, under 
 leather straps, some spare floats; a disgorger, made 
 either of bone, wood, or iron; a small pair of 
 scissors; a pocket-knife (if not carried in the pocket); 
 a pair of pliers for putting shot on the line; a shot 
 cutter; a clearing ring of brass, and jointed, as that 
 will more readily pass over the rod than one without a 
 joint; and a leaden plummet, for taking the depth. 
 These plummets are of various kinds. Some have a screw 
 of wire at the top, around which the line is passed, 
 and the hook inserted in a piece of cork at the bottom. 
 Others have a ring, through which the hook is passed, 
 and then inserted, as in the former, in the cork bottom. 
 
PLUMMETS. 
 
 83 
 
 A folding plummet is a very good one for use. It 
 consists of a strip of lead, which is rolled up, so that it 
 
 may be unfolded, and the line being placed in the 
 centre of it, with the hook over the lower edge, and the 
 lead being again rolled up, the hook is nicely protected. 
 Care should be taken to adapt the weight of the plum- 
 met to the strength of your tackle. It should not be 
 so heavy as to stretch the line. 
 
 To these things should be added baiting needles, for 
 jack and trout fishing, two or three ledger leads, &c. 
 
 I have now enumerated such articles as are indis- 
 pensable for angling; not that fish may not be taken 
 without them all being in your possession, but that an 
 angler should always aim — and he will do so, if he be a 
 good one — to have a complete collection of tackle, and 
 to have it of the best description — seeing that such is 
 always the cheapest in the long run, as well as the 
 most satisfactory in other respects. 
 
 Take care to keep your tackle always in good order, 
 so that you may not lose time and opportunity, when 
 you wish for sport. 
 
 Sect. VII. — Preparing and Using Tackle. 
 
 When you make a line, whether of hair, gut, or silk, 
 see that it is finest at bottom, where the hook is at- 
 tached, and increases gradually in thickness to the top. 
 G 2 
 
84 PREPARING AND USING TACKLE. 
 
 To sink the hook, and make the float stand upright, 
 the line must be shotted within three or four inches of 
 the bottom loop, to which the hair or gut carrying the 
 hook is fastened. The shot may be purchased ready 
 split; or, which is better, they may be split by a shot- 
 cutter, which is sold by most of the tackle-makers. A 
 number of small shot, placed pretty close together, will 
 be found preferable to a smaller number of heavy ones. 
 To fasten them on the line, use a pair of pliers, in pre- 
 ference to the teeth, which are liable to injure the line. 
 
 To strengthen a quill float, and prevent the line from 
 slipping, give the line two or three twists round it, 
 after passing it through the bottom cap, before fixing 
 the top cap to it. 
 
 To fasten the line to the rod, pass the loop of it 
 through the rirjg at the end of the top joint, carry it 
 over the ferrule end, and then draw it up to the top again. 
 The loop will thus be fastened to the ring, from which 
 it will hang. If you keep a piece of fine silk line, five 
 or six inches in length, attached to the top of the rod 
 — which is found an excellent plan — then fasten your 
 hair or gut line to that by a draw loop-knot. If you 
 have a winch on your rod, for heavy or strong fish, pass 
 the running line which it carries, through each ring up 
 the rod, to the length of eight or ten inches tlirough 
 the top ring; and to that end attach your hair or gut 
 line by a draw loop- knot. 
 
 I may as well describe here the mode of using the 
 plummet, drag-hook, clearing-line, disgorger, &c. 
 
 The drag is a piece of iron, having three or four 
 stout hooks, without barbs, attached to it, and fastened 
 to a long packthread line. It is used to draw aside the 
 heavy weeds or other things that a hooked fish may 
 
PREPARING AND USING TACKLE. 85 
 
 have got amongst, or to recover any part of the tackle 
 so entangled or held. 
 
 The clearing- ring is made of lead or brass, and is 
 fastened to a small cord several yards in length. Its 
 use is to free the hook, should it get fast to a weed or 
 any other object. To effect this, the ring is passed 
 over the rod, and down the line to the hook, holding 
 the rod point downwards, in the right hand, and the 
 clearing-line in the left, this being pulled as may be 
 necessary to free the hook. The line, and sometimes a 
 joint of the rod, is thus saved. 
 
 The disgorger is used to disengage the hook when it 
 has been swallowed by a fish, and which you would 
 otherwise break. When the fish is but a small one, 
 the line may be held tight with one hand, while the 
 forked end of the disgorger is thrust down upon the 
 hook with the other, which will render it easy to draw 
 it out. When the fish is a heavy one, ^k sl small piece 
 of stick across from the upper to the lower jaw, to 
 keep its mouth open, before using the disgorger. 
 
 Plumbing the depth is done by attaching the plummet 
 to the end of your line — if a folding plummet, by un- 
 folding about two inches of it, and after passing; the 
 hook over its side, folding the plummet up again, — or 
 if a ring-plummet, by passing the hook through the 
 ring, and then fixing it in the cork at the bottom. 
 Having thus fixed your plummet on your hook, take the 
 necessary pains to ascertain the real depth of the water, 
 and adjust your float according to its depth, until the 
 plumb-lead touches the bottom, and the top of the float is 
 an inch above the water, in the middle of the swim. Be 
 sure to press the caps tight on the float, or it will slip 
 down the line when you strike. To make it quite secure. 
 
86 PREPARING AND USING TACKLE. 
 
 hitch the line once round the float, before you put the 
 cap on. Should you chance to lose your cap, and not 
 have another, you may secure your float by hitching 
 the line round it twice. 
 
 During the winter months, when the severity of the 
 weather precludes sport, the angler should get his 
 tackle and gear into working condition: — 
 
 " Now let the fisherman his toils prepare, 
 And arm himself with every watery snare — 
 His hooks, his lines peruse with careful eye — 
 Increase his tackle, and his rod re-tie." 
 
 So that, 
 
 " When genial spring a living warmth bestows," 
 everything may be found in perfect readiness for work. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 BAITS, AND THEIR USE. 
 
 It is well to know that fish freely take such baits as 
 the season affords — as worms, insects, &c. Worms 
 are the most natural bait for fish; and they may be 
 used at all times of the day, in spring and autumn; 
 but in the summer, only early in the morning and late 
 in the evening. 
 
 Lob'Worms, which should have a red head, a streak 
 down the back, and a broad tail, are found in the 
 garden, or in churchyards, late in the evening. They 
 make a good bait for grayling, trout, perch, bream, and 
 gudgeons. 
 
 The branding may be procured in rotten earth. 
 
88 BAITS, AND THEIR USE. 
 
 cow's durg, old dunghills, &c., and is a capital bait for 
 most kinds of fish. 
 
 The marsh or meadow worm is a good bait for trout, 
 grayling, perch, bream, and gudgeons. 
 
 I need hardly say, that the choice and proper use of 
 your bait are of the first importance in angling. Lack 
 of judgment or skill here will be more or less fatal to 
 your success. Let me, then, transcribe Mr. Blaine's 
 judicious remarks on the use of worms: — 
 
 " All earthworms are found to be more alluring to 
 fish after they have undergone an artificial method of 
 treatment, the knowledge of which becomes, therefore, 
 important to the angler. In large and much-fished 
 rivers, the inhabitants, like those of cultivated and 
 luxurious cities, become satiated with common food. 
 In the Thames, the Lea, the Severn, and the Wye, 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 pampered as much as the accomplished 
 epicure, who looks with apathy on the meat of the 
 shambles, but brightens at the prospect of turtle and 
 venison. So the oft-fed fish require that the worm be 
 cleansed of all dross, and that its dyes be heightened 
 by artificial scourings; thus proving, that although the 
 voracious cod, to allay the cravings of his stomach, 
 will swallow the plumb-lead instead 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 extremely voracious, and consume 
 vast quantities of both animal and vegetable substances; 
 ■ for they, like ourselves, are omnivorous. . . . When 
 worms are first taken, they are usually gross with in- 
 
BAITS, AND TUEIR USE. 89 
 
 testinal matter, and soft by the increased secretions of 
 their bodies. By purging them from the earth they 
 contain, they are rendered more bright; and on being 
 cleansed from all faeculences, they prove much more 
 palatable to the fish. All this process of cleansing 
 promotes absorption of superfluous moisture; they also 
 become 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 re- 
 tained on it. The process of worm-scouring is some- 
 what mechanical. It must be obvious, that by in- 
 sinuating themselves, in their attempts to escape, 
 between the fibrous parts of hard vegetable substances, 
 they compress all excrementitious matter out of their 
 bodies. Sound moss is the best scourer, as being a 
 matter that is in a state midway 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 dilatability. Having carefully freed a quantity 
 of such moss from grass &c., but particularly from 
 thorns, moisten it, and put in a sufficient quantity with 
 the worms, which, in three or four days, will be pro- 
 perly scoured, appearing then bright and more active 
 than when first taken. They should, during their 
 scouring, be examined daily, and those which are in- 
 jured and diseased ought to be carefully separated from 
 the rest, or all will participate in such injury or dis- 
 ease. Some anglers hastily scour their lob-worms by 
 plunging them into water for a few hours, and placing 
 them in moss afterwards. 
 
 " To preserve worms for use, shred some hard fat, 
 without a particle of salt in it; suet is the best, and 
 
90 BAITS, AND THEIR USE. 
 
 mutton kidney suet the best of all. Having chopped 
 it into small pieces, and thrown it into a saucepan 
 containing about a quart of water, let it boil slowly 
 until the suet is dissolved, and then, having ready 
 some well-beaten hempen sacking or wrapper, that 
 has not enveloped anything noxious, dip it into the 
 liquor. When well soaked in it, and having become 
 cold, 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 a good stock of lob or 
 marsh- worms, or any sort of red earthworms ; and 
 over the top tie a linen cloth that will admit air, and 
 yet prevent them escaping. Place them in a cool 
 situation, and the worms will feed and cleanse them- 
 selves, 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 sepa- 
 rate vessels, so that at any time he may select the sort 
 and quantity necessary to be placed in moss, prepara- 
 tory to his using them." 
 
 Gentles are a favourite bait with a large number of 
 anglers, and not without reason, especially for roach, 
 dace, and barbel. 
 
 Gentles may be bred by hanging up a piece of liver, 
 or any other animal substance, till it putrefies. They 
 should be kept with sand in a small box or barrel. 
 The largest and whitest should be chosen. 
 
 The beetles found in a cow -dung, and wasp-grubs, also 
 constitute good bait. 
 
 The cad, which is found at the sides of stony brooks, 
 and in ponds, pits, and ditches, is a good bait for 
 grayling, trout, roach, dace, chub, &c., as are also, 
 
BAITS, AND THEIR USE. 91 
 
 Flag-worms, which are found amongst flags, in pits, 
 or ponds. 
 
 Caterpillars, cabbage-worms, &c., are liked by trout, 
 chub, roach, and dace. 
 
 In putting on the bait, the great thing is to make^ it 
 secure, and to hide the hook. In baiting with worms, 
 the hook should be passed in close to the top of the 
 head, and be carried carefully down, to within a 
 quarter of an inch of the tail. If you bait with only 
 half a worm, let it be the tail end, the hook being 
 inserted at the thick end. 
 
 When you bait with a gentle, the hook should be 
 passed in at one end, and brought out at the other; 
 and then the point should be drawn back again, just 
 sufficient to hide it. 
 
 Salmon-spawn is a superior bait for trout, chub, 
 roach, &c., but it is not so easy to be got as other 
 baits are. To prepare it for keeping and for use, 
 having obtained, say, a pound of it, about September or 
 October, put it into hot water, and having boiled it for 
 about ten minutes, wash away all the blood, pieces of 
 skin, and other refuse, rinse it well with cold water, 
 and put it into a bag or cloth, and hang it up to dry. 
 When dried, take two ounces of salt, and a quarter of 
 an ounce of pounded saltpetre, and mix it up with the 
 spawn, after which, it should be spread out on a dish 
 or board before the fire, until it becomes quite stiff. 
 Then put it into jars or gallipots, pouring over the top 
 of each melted mutton-suet, and covering with a 
 bladder. 
 
 Paste baits are much used, especially in still, quiet 
 waters, with a small hook and a quill float. They are 
 
92 BAITS, AND THEIR USE. 
 
 of various kinds. In making, one rale applies to all — 
 see that it is clean, or the fish will not take it. 
 
 A good paste for carp, roach, tench, and chub, is 
 made of crumb of white bread, and worked with 
 the fingers in the palm of the opposite hand until 
 it is of the proper consistency. Some prepare the 
 bread by letting it lie for some hours wrapped up 
 in a wet cloth. This is a good mode. 
 
 A good paste, especially for chub, is made of rotten 
 Cheshire cheese and crumb of bread, worked up as 
 before. 
 
 Greaves paste — that is, a paste made of white bread 
 dipped into the liquor in which greaves have been 
 boiled, is a killing bait for barbel. 
 
 Wheat paste is a favourite bait in some parts of the 
 country, as is also pearl-barley. The wheat should be 
 freed from the husks, by keeping ten or twelve hours 
 in water, and then parboiled, which will swell it to 
 twice its natural size. Malt and pearl-barley may be 
 prepared in the same way. They may be crushed, and 
 used like a paste, or a single grain be taken and put 
 on the hook, after the manner of baiting with a gentle. 
 
 Ground-baiting is a thing of considerable im- 
 portance. It should be done the night before, when 
 it is practicable. Whatever bait is used, see that it is 
 fresh, or the fish will not take it, or be attracted by it. 
 
 Greaves boiled and worked up into balls with clay and 
 bran, is a good ground-bait for barbel. White bread, 
 soaked in water, and mixed up with bran and pollard, 
 is a ground- bait for perch, carp, roach, dace, and chub. 
 
 To make a good bait paste of this description, take 
 
BAITS, AND THEIR USE. 
 
 93 
 
 two pounds of the crumb of bread, two days old, a quart of 
 bran, and three pints of pollard. Let the bread absorb 
 as much cold water as it will, and then knead in the 
 bran and pollard, working the whole into a stiff hard 
 paste. 
 
 In making up the ground-bait into balls, you 
 must be guided by the rapidity of the stream they are 
 intended for, being made large or small in proportion 
 to that. Where it is both deep and rapid, it is well 
 to put a stone into the centre of each of the balls, to 
 sink them at once, and thus prevent them from being 
 carried out of your swim. 
 
 Clay and bran mixed together, and made into small 
 balls, may be used for roach, dace, and bleak. 
 
 Carrion gentles, or worms cut into pieces, are some- 
 times used with great success, while angling in still 
 waters. They may be thrown in by spoonfuls, or be 
 made up with bran and clay into balls. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 HAUNTS OF FISH, AND TIMES AND SEASONS. 
 
 Sect. I. — The Haunts of Fish. 
 
 To be an experienced or complete angler, at leisure 
 times try all waters where you suppose fish are to be 
 found. 
 
 Angle for perch in gentle streams, of reasonable 
 depth, by a hollow bank. For salmon, in large swift 
 rivers that ebb and flow, and are gravelly and craggy. For 
 trout, in purling brooks, or rivers very swift, strong, or 
 sandy bottomed. For carp and tench, in still waters, 
 muddy ponds, and v^here weeds and roots of trees are. 
 For eels, in muddy rivers and ponds. For bream, pike, 
 or chub, in sandy or clayey riv^ers, and brooks, and ponds, 
 w^herein buUrushes and flags grow. For roach, dace, 
 barbel, and ruff, in sandy and gravelly deep waters, 
 
TIMES FOR ANGLING. 95 
 
 shaded with trees. For umber, in clayey marshes, or 
 streams running swift. For gudgeons in small sandy, 
 or gravelly rivers. Shad, peel, mullet and flounders, 
 thwait, and scant are found near the sea, or in 
 brackish rivers, having ebb and flow, where the 
 bottom is fine sand or gravelly. Sometimes all kinds of 
 fish are found in diverse waters. 
 
 Sect. II. — Times and Seasons for Angling. 
 
 In hot, sunshiny weather, the evening and the morning 
 will be found the only parts of the day during which 
 ground-angling can be pursued with success. If the 
 weather be cloudy, any part of the day will do. 
 
 In winter, choose the middle of the day, and ^x 
 upon a spot where you can get the warmth of the sun, if 
 it appear. 
 
 When angling after a shower, get the wind to your 
 back, coming from south to west, and have the sun on 
 your face. 
 
 It will be a waste of time to angle when the earth is 
 hot and dry, or hasty showers much disturb the waters, 
 or the east or north winds blow strong and cold. 
 
 The best times to angle are when the weather is 
 calm and clear, or cool and cloudy, and the wind is 
 gently blowing. When a brief shower has a little clouded 
 the water, is a good time to angle at the bottom of a 
 stream, especially with a red worm bait. 
 
 There are parts of the day at which different fish 
 bite best. 
 
 From sun-rise till eight or nine o'clock in the 
 morning, and from four in the afternoon till dark, are 
 
96 TIMES FOR AKGLING. 
 
 good times for carp, barbel, tench, and bream, in 
 the summer time, and in the middle of the day in 
 winter. 
 
 Salmon and pike bite best about the middle of the 
 afternoon, in clear water, and with a gentle wind. 
 
 Perch, roach, dace, and gudgeons will bite all day in 
 cool, cloudy weather. 
 
 Trout bite best in muddy water, in dark, cloudy, 
 windy weather, from seven or eight, till nine or ten, in 
 the morning; and from three till five in the afternoon. 
 
 Let us now just run over the months of the year, and 
 see what may be done in them respectively. 
 
 January, — Pike, jack, chub, and roach may be 
 sometimes taken towards the middle of the day, if the 
 water is pretty clear. The deepest and most quiet 
 parts of the stream are where the fish will be found. 
 
 February, — If the weather is mild, carp, perch, 
 roach, chub, eels, &c., may sometimes be taken in the 
 scours and shallows, and near the banks, about the 
 middle of the day. 
 
 March, — Still keep in the shallows and eddies, near 
 the banks ; but the month is not a favourable one. In 
 some of the western parts of England, good trout may 
 be taken. In the northern rivers, salmon-fishing com- 
 mences, and continues through the summer. Ked 
 worms are now a killing bait for carp. 
 
 April, — Trout now begin to sport in the shallows ; 
 and jack, pike, carp, perch, roach, dace, chub, tench, 
 barbel, bleak, gudgeons, and minnows will all take a 
 bait. Dace and chub are worth nothing in the 
 interval between this month and the latter end of 
 July. 
 
TIMES FOR ANGLING. 97 
 
 May, — This is a capital month for trout, and is 
 especially favourable for pond-fishing. Eels will bite 
 night and day, and most fresh-water fish will feed. 
 
 June, — Many fish, having recently spawned, are out 
 of condition, and will afford no sport. The trout in 
 the Wan die, Lea, Colne, and many other rivers, are 
 now in perfection, however ; and perch, dace, carp, 
 tench, and eels will take a bait. 
 
 July. — The fish having, as yet, scarcely recovered 
 from spawning, and getting plenty of food from weeds, 
 moreover, will not bite freely. The morning and evening 
 are the most favourable parts of the day. 
 
 August. — This may be deemed the commencement 
 of the season. Roach, dace, perch, barbel, chub, and 
 jack may be taken early in the morning and late in 
 the evening, or in the middle of the day, if cloudy and 
 cool. During this and the next months perch, carp, 
 tench, roach, and bream may be fished for in ponds. 
 
 September. — Barbel, chub, roach, and dace now 
 leave the weeds, and get into deeper water; and river 
 fish generally will feed well. You may angle from 
 morning till night, if the water is not too bright. 
 
 October. — The same as September, only that the 
 fish are leaving the weeds for holes and deeper water. 
 
 November. — Jack are in excellent order, but barbel 
 and dace" are shy, and refuse bait. 
 
 December. — There is but little sport during this 
 month, the waters being generally either flooded, 
 frozen, or too thick. The fish, too, get into deep 
 holes, or under sheltering banks, for their snug winter 
 quarters. 
 
98 LAWS FOR TAKING FISH. 
 
 Sect. III. — Laws and Regulations for taking 
 Fish. 
 
 In the act called the Black Act, it is enacted, that any 
 person being armed and disguised, and who shall steal, 
 or unlawfully take away, any fish out of a river or 
 pond, or maliciously break down and destroy the 
 mound or head of any river, whereby the fish shall be 
 lost or destroyed, or shall rescue any person in custody 
 for such offence, or procure another to assist him 
 therein, he shall be found guilty of felony, without 
 benefit of clergy. 
 
 If any one take, destroy, or kill any fish, in any 
 enclosed ground, the same being private property, he 
 shall, on conviction, forfeit five pounds to the owner of 
 such fish, or, in default of payment, be committed to 
 the House of Correction for any time not exceeding 
 six calendar months. 
 
 Any person breaking into an enclosed or private 
 ground, and stealing or destroying the fish kept in any 
 pond, stream, or river therein, shall be transported for 
 seven years, and any person receiving the fish, or 
 buying it, knowing the same to be stolen, shall suffer 
 the like punishment. 
 
 No persons may have in possession, or keep, any 
 net, angle piche, or other engine for taking fish, but the 
 makers and sellers thereof, and the owner or renter of 
 a river fishery, except fishermen and their apprentices, 
 legally authorized in navigable rivers; and the owner 
 or occupier of the said river may seize, and keep, and 
 convert to his own use, every net, &c., which he shall 
 discover laid or used, or in the possession of any person 
 thus fishing without his consent. 
 
LAWS FOR TAKING FISH. 99 
 
 Any person damaging or intruding, by using net- 
 trices, fish-hooks, or other engines to catch fish, without 
 consent of the owner or occupier, must pay any amount 
 the magistrate or justice orders, provided it exceeds not 
 treble the damages, and also a fine, not exceeding ten 
 shillings, for the use of the poor of the parish wherein 
 the trespass was committed, or be committed to the 
 House of Correction for any term not exceeding one 
 calendar month, unless he enters into a bond, with one 
 surety, in a sum not exceeding 10/. not to offend again, 
 and the justice may cut or destroy the nets, &c., taken 
 with the offender when apprehended. 
 
 If any person unlawfully or maliciously cut, break 
 down, or destroy any head or dam of a fish-pond, or 
 unlawfully fish therein, he shall, at the prosecution of 
 the king, or the owner, be imprisoned three months, or 
 pay treble damages, and after such imprisonment, shall 
 find sureties for seven years for his good behaviour, or 
 remain in prison till he doth. 
 
 To prevent the fish in the Thames from being im- 
 properly destroyed, the 30th of George the Second 
 enacts, that no person shall fish, or endeavour to take 
 fish, in the said river, between London-bridge and Rich- 
 mond-bridge, with any sort of net, other than except — 
 
 For salmon, with a net of not less than six inches in the 
 mesh ; 
 
 For pike, jack, perch, roach, chub, and barbel, with 
 a flew or stream net, of not less than three inches in 
 the mesh throughout, with a facing of seven inches, 
 and not more than sixteen fathom long; 
 
 For shads, with a net of not less than two inches 
 and a half in the mesh; 
 
 H 2 
 
100 LAWS FOR TAKING FISH. 
 
 For flounders, with a net of not less than two inches 
 and a half in the mesh, and not more than sixteen 
 fathom long; 
 
 For dace, with a single blay-net, of not less than two 
 inches in the mesh, and not more than thirteen fathom 
 long, to be worked by floating only, with a boat and a 
 buoy; 
 
 For smelts, with a net of not less than one inch and a 
 quarter in the mesh, and not of greater length than 
 sixteen fathom, to be worked by floating only, with a 
 boat and a buoy; 
 
 Under the penalty of paying and forfeiting the sum 
 of five pounds for every such offence. 
 
 No fish of any of the sort hereinafter mentioned may 
 be caught in the Thames or Med way, or sold, or exposed 
 to or for sale, if caught in the Thames or Medway — 
 
 No salmon of less weight than six pounds, 
 
 No trout of less weight than one pound. 
 
 No pike or jack under twelve inches long, from the 
 eye to the length of the tail. 
 
 No perch under eight inches long, 
 
 No flounder under seven inches long, 
 
 No sole under seven inches long. 
 
 No plaice or dab under seven inches long. 
 
 No roach under eight inches long, 
 
 No dace under six inches long, 
 
 No smelt under six inches long, 
 
 No gudgeon under five inches long. 
 
 No whiting under eight inches long, 
 
 No barbel under twelve inches long. 
 
 No chub under nine inches long, 
 
 Under pain to forfeit five pounds for every such 
 ofTence. 
 
LAWS FOR TAKING FISH. 101 
 
 Salmon and trout may be taken only from January 
 25th to September 10th. 
 
 Pike, jack, perch, roach, dace, chub, barbel, and 
 gudgeon may be taken between July 1st and March 1st. 
 
 Bottom -fishing is prohibited in the river Thames, as 
 far as the Corporation of London has jurisdiction, from 
 the 1st of March to the 1st of June. 
 
 The right of fishing in the sea, and in all rivers 
 where the tide ebbs and flows, is a right common to all 
 the King's subjects. 
 
 There are several acts for securing private pro- 
 perty in regard to fish; but any man may erect a 
 fish-pond, mound, canal, &c., without licence, because 
 it is a matter of profit, and the increase of provisions. 
 Also, any person or persons considering themselves 
 wronged or aggrieved by any decision against them by 
 the magistrate or justice, may appeal against it at the 
 Quarter Sessions. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PRACTICAL ANGLING. 
 
 There are, besides fly-fishing, in its great varieties, 
 two descriptions of angling — namely, bottom-fishing, 
 which is practised with a baited hook, plied either 
 upon or near to the bottom ; and trolling, in which 
 the line is used without a float, and the bait is trolled 
 about in the water. 
 
 Of these two descriptions of taking fish, bottom - 
 fishing is by far the most sportsmanlike, trolling being 
 a killing process, which nothing ought to reconcile one 
 to, but the want of proper tackle for bottom-fishing, or 
 the demand of a good dish of trout for the table. 
 
 Let me now proceed to give some directions for pur- 
 suing each of these modes of fishing. Of the latter, 
 first. 
 
TROLLING. 103 
 
 Sect. I. — Trolling. 
 
 This description of fishing is, as I have already said, a 
 very killing one; though to render it successful requires 
 some skill as well as activity. 
 
 Anglers divide trolling into three kinds: sinking 
 and roving with live bait — trolling with gorge and 
 snap hooks, and dead bait — and spinning, in which the 
 fish with which the hook is baited, whether real or 
 artificial, is given a revolving motion. 
 
 The fish to be taken by trolling are salmon, trout, 
 pike, and perch. 
 
 Trolling is much esteemed, especially in the vicinity 
 of London, and is practised when other modes of 
 fishing are useless. 
 
 For trolling, properly so called — that is, with a gorge 
 bait — the rod should be long and stout. A well- 
 seasoned bamboo-cane, from fourteen to sixteen feet in 
 length, is the best you can have; but in the absence of 
 this, take the next best within reach. If you have a 
 winch on the rod, there should be a ring on each of its 
 joints; but if a thumb- winder is used, which some prefer, 
 a large ring at the top of the rod, or at most two or 
 three up it, will be ample. The rings must be large 
 and strong, however, and the top one, two or three times 
 the size of the rest. Trolling is sometimes practised, 
 and not unsuccessfully, with a hedge stick, having a 
 forked top, the line passing from the thumb-winder 
 over the fork of the stick, which thus forms the top of 
 the rod. 
 
 The trolling-line should be of silk, or of silk and hair; 
 the former, however, is preferable. The length should 
 be from fifty to sixty yards, and it should be seasoned. 
 
104 TROLLING. 
 
 or dressed, by being put through cold-drawn linseed-oil, 
 and then drawn through a piece of flannel or woollen 
 cloth, held in the hand, after which it should be hung 
 up for a few days in the air. The bottom line should 
 be made of fine gimp, if for pike; or of the best gut, if 
 for trout, about a yard and a half long, with a box 
 swivel attached to it, about a yard distant from the 
 hook, so that the bait may turn freely. 
 
 The gorge hook for a pike is formed of two single 
 eel hooks, fastened back to back, to two or three inches 
 of twisted brass wire, the end of which is formed into 
 a loop, to be attached to the gimp or gut line, before 
 described. Instead of using shot, as in other cases, 
 the shank of the hook and part of the twisted wire are 
 to be neatly covered, with lead, taking care that it does 
 not pass so far over the hook as that the jack, if he put 
 his teeth through the bait-fish, will come in contact 
 with the lead, as this would probably induce him to 
 drop the bait and be off. 
 
 Here I have shown not only the gorge-hook, as it 
 should be attached to the twisted wire, but another 
 thing, necessary to bring it into use — i. e., the baiting- 
 needle. The curved end of this being hooked to the line, 
 the point must be passed into the mouth of the bait-fish, 
 and carried through, and out at its tail, drawing the 
 gimp through with it, so that the lead becomes inside 
 the fish's body, and the shanks of the hook inside its mouth, 
 the backs and points being outside, and turning upwards 
 
TROLLING. 105 
 
 or downwards, but not projecting far, as that is likely 
 to lose your fish. Having thus fixed your hook, tie some 
 fine thread or silk tightly round the tail, to prevent 
 it slipping down, or tearing when laid hold of by the 
 weeds, &c. When this is added to the gimp or gut 
 line, which is attached by the swivel to the running 
 line, the tackle is complete. 
 
 It is hardly necessary to observe, that the gorge- 
 hooks should vary in size, so as to be proportioned to 
 the baits used. 
 
 The pike is a very voracious fish, and will devour 
 his kind, of almost any species, except tench; but those 
 baits most successfully used for trolling are gudgeons, 
 roach, dace, small trout, and frogs. The gudgeon stands 
 first, and next to that, the roach and the dace. The 
 gudgeon, from its shape, spins best in the water; and 
 is, moreover, the sweetest fish of the lot. The proper 
 size is from one to four ounces. 
 
 Everything being properly prepared, grasp the rod 
 in the right hand, just above the winch, (which should 
 be fixed ten inches from the but-end of the rod, unless 
 you have one of Holmes's tube winches,) and place 
 the end of it against the lower part of your stomach, and 
 with the left hand draw out a yard or so of the troUing- 
 line from the winch, holding it tightly, while with a 
 jerk of the right arm you cast the baited hook into the 
 water, allowing the line held with the left hand to run 
 gradually through it, so as to permit the bait to fall 
 
106 TROLLING. 
 
 into the spot you aim at. Now let it sink until it 
 nearly touches the bottom, then draw it gradually up 
 till near the surface; and so let it sink and rise alter- 
 nately, drawing it also a little to the right and left, and 
 each time bringing it nearer to the bank. When the 
 bait is taken, lower the point of your rod, and with 
 your left hand draw the line gradually from your 
 winch, so that it may run free when necessary, which 
 will be almost directly, for the fish will run off with 
 the bait. Give him five or six minutes to gorge it, 
 and then strike, but not violently, and raise the point 
 of your rod a little, endeavouring to guide the fish 
 towards you. If he make off in another direction, 
 humour him, so as not to have too much stress on your 
 line, but gradually, by turning him, first this way, then 
 that, to get him under your control. If a large fish, 
 he will keep near the bottom, and you must not be in 
 too great a hurry to land him, or you may either lose 
 him by pulling the bait out of his throat, or break your 
 line. As you find the fish yield, wind up your line, 
 and keep it tighter upon him, until at last you bring 
 him to the surface, and observe his size and condition. 
 Now the thing is to land him safely; in order to do 
 which, you must be quite cool and collected, and en- 
 deavour to draw him towards a shallow in shore, 
 taking especial care that he does not get your line 
 entangled in heavy weeds &c., which he will do if he 
 can. As he is brought in shore, he will make some 
 desperate efforts to free himself, and great caution 
 must be used in dealing with him. Raise his head out 
 of the water as you can, and let him sniff the fresh air. 
 He will probably shake himself violently, and throw 
 himself over, as if determined by some means to free 
 
TROLLING. 107 
 
 himself from captivity. Humour him in this, manag- 
 ing all the time to increase your control over him, and 
 he will at last become sufficiently exhausted to permit 
 of being landed. To effect this, however, you must 
 not trust to your line. If you are provided with a 
 
 ■:^ 
 
 landing-hook, which you always should be, — a tele- 
 scope-handle one being the most convenient, — strike 
 the hook through his lips or his lower jaw, and thus 
 draw him in. Some trollers prefer a large -sized 
 landing-net. Either net or hook answers the purpose, 
 vrhen you have the skill to use it properly. If you 
 have neither landing- hook nor net, then you must lay 
 hold of the fish with both hands, just below the head 
 and shoulders, and, grasping him tightly, throw him a 
 few yards on to the grass. To disgorge your hook, 
 attend to the instructions already given in page 85. 
 
 Let me now add a few additional suggestions to be 
 observed in trolling for pike : — 
 
 The most favourable places are the bends of rivers, 
 or parts out of the rapid current, and where there are 
 many weeds, flags, bulrushes, water-docks, &c. 
 
 Keep as far from the water as you can; drop your 
 bait in at first near the shore-side, and gradually get 
 further out. 
 
 See that your bait is kept spinning, by occasionally 
 and slightly shaking the rod, and drawing the bait 
 smartly against and across the stream; as, also, that in 
 drawing it up you use caution, inasmuch as it is then 
 that you are most likely to have it taken. 
 
 Do not strike too soon after the fish has taken the 
 bait, or you will probably lose him ; whereas no mis- 
 
108 TROLLING. 
 
 chief will ensue from permitting him to remain still 
 after he has pouched the bait. The best rule is not 
 to strike until you find the fish moving and shaking 
 your line, after having been still for some time. Some- 
 times you will have to wait for ten minutes or longer, 
 after the bait has been taken. 
 
 Do not bait your hook until after you have prepared 
 your rod and line, so that the bait may be as fresh as 
 possible. As soon as the bait gets stale, or sopped, or 
 torn, it should be removed, and another be put on. You 
 may bait three or four hooks before you begin, and 
 keep them fresh, by putting them into a box, and 
 covering them with bran. If the water is very weedy, 
 it will be best to cut off the fins of the bait. 
 
 If you do not get your bait taken within a quarter 
 of an hour or so, you may as well shift your place, and 
 try elsewhere, as it is likely there are no fish on the 
 feed where you are. 
 
 When you have taken one fish, immediately put on 
 another bait, and cast in, the probability being that 
 there was a brace of fish on the spot. 
 
 Live-bait Fishing, with a float to the line, is not 
 in much favour for pike-taking. When resorted to, 
 use a rod like that used for trolling, or a strong bottom- 
 rod, and to about a foot of gimp, not too coarse, ^x a 
 double, or two single hooks, of No. 5, making a small 
 loop at the other end of it. For trout and perch, the 
 link to which the hook is tied should be of gut, or of 
 three twisted hairs. Then take your bait-fish — a small 
 gudgeon, if you have it, for Thames trout and perch — 
 and pass a fine baiting-needle in at the upper part of 
 his side, near the gills, and bring it out past the back- 
 fin, but not so deep in the fish as to prevent his 
 
TROLLING. 1 09 
 
 swimming well, the great thing being, with all live-bait, 
 to have it swimming about as freely as if it were at 
 perfect liberty. To the end of the needle thus brought 
 out at the fish's back, hang the loop of your gimp, and 
 draw it through, till the hooks lie close to the side of 
 the bait, thus : — 
 
 A single hook may be used for a live -bait, either by 
 passing it through the lips of the fish, on the side of 
 the mouth, or by passing it under the back -fin, at one 
 side, and bringing it out at the other. In baiting the 
 
 hook in the last-mentioned way, you must be sure not 
 to go too deep, so as to touch the back-bone. 
 
 Having hooked your fish, you must play him, and 
 bring him ashore after the manner directed for trolling, 
 only that, having him fixed on your hooks, and your rod 
 and line being of sufiicient strength, you need not be 
 so long humouring him, nor so careful in pulling him 
 out. 
 
 If you use a frog, it should be a yellow one, and the 
 needle being put into his mouth, should be brought out 
 through one of his gills, and be tied to his leg, just 
 above the upper joint. 
 
110 TROLLING. 
 
 The hooks used for trolling should be of the natural 
 steel colour. 
 
 Before preparing your bait, put on to your t rolling- 
 line a cork float, or, which some prefer, the cork, 
 with the quill and plug taken out, the line being 
 passed through it, and kept in its place by a plug of 
 ivory or whalebone, made like a cribbage-peg, put 
 into the hole at the top of the cork. The float should 
 be of a size to carry about half an ounce of lead below, 
 which will be the thing for a bait flsh of five or six 
 inches in length. If the bait is smaller, and the line is 
 of twisted gut instead of gimp, a smaller float must be 
 used. Next, fasten your line to the traces, which carry 
 the swivel, with a bow-draw knot. Or, if you fish without 
 traces, first put the float on the line, next a dip-lead, 
 or as many swan-shot as the float requires, and then 
 attach it to your gimp or gut-line. Observe, that your 
 float must stand upright, and as a general rule, its distance 
 will be about three feet, or something less, from the 
 hook. In shoal water, or where the weeds are thick, 
 two feet will be better. 
 
 Having got your tackle all ready, cast it in very 
 gently, after the manner prescribed for trolling. Take 
 care that your bait does not entangle you with the 
 weeds, but keep him moving about in as lively a manner 
 as possible. Keep your eye on the float, and your winch 
 and line free, always having a yard or two of slack line 
 in your left hand, and as soon as the pike has seized 
 your bait, and is running off to pouch it, just treat him 
 as directed when trolling, and manage him in like 
 manner, after you find that he has pouched your bait. 
 
 Snap-fishing. — This mode of baiting for pike is re- 
 sorted to at those times when they are shy at gorg- 
 ing a bait, although they will snap at it, which is 
 
TROLLING. 1 1 I 
 
 the case during the month of March. The rod should 
 be a strong one, the top stouter than that used for 
 trolling, and the whole about twelve feet in length. 
 The gimp and line should also be stout, because much 
 strength is required in striking. Of snap hooks there 
 are many sorts, but it will be sufficient to enumerate 
 three or four of the best. 
 
 1. The quadruple snap is formed of four No. 4 hooks, 
 one being tied to each end of two pieces of fine twisted 
 wire, each about three inches in length, and then both 
 doubled in the middle. The hooks being thus pre- 
 pared, take a piece of gimp about a foot long, and 
 at one end make a loop, and pass the other end through 
 the two bent wires, and a gut loop, with a No. 6 hook at- 
 tached, the whole being bound fast together. Another 
 form is this, which is made by tying a hook. No. 2, at the 
 end of a piece of stout gimp, about 
 a foot in length, having a loop at 
 the other end; and then about an 
 inch higher up, a second hook of the 
 same size. Then prepare another 
 in the same way, and bind them to- 
 gether, attaching a drop-bead lead. 
 To bait the former of these snaps, 
 the small hook must be passed 
 through the back of the fish (a live 
 one) just under the fins, taking care 
 not to go so deep as to injure the 
 bone. Two of the other hooks will 
 then hang down on each side, one 
 pointing towards the head of the 
 fish, and the other towards the tail. 
 The other is baited thus : put the loop of the gimp 
 under the gill of the fish, and bring it out at its mouth; 
 
112 
 
 TROLLING. 
 
 then draw the gimp up till the bottom hook comes just 
 behind the back fin, and the point and back pierce 
 slightly through the skin. To keep it steady, pass the 
 ring of the drop-bead lead over the loop of the gimp, 
 and fix the lead inside the mouth, which must be 
 sewn up. 
 
 It is hardly necessary to say that this is a dead-bait. 
 
 2. A treble snap, which is a good live-bait one, may 
 be made by tying two hooks of No. 3 size, each to a 
 piece of twisted wire, about an 
 inch and a quarter in length. Then 
 take a No. 8 hook, and about ten 
 inches of gimp ; put one end of the 
 gimp to the wires that the two 
 hooks are tied to, lay the small 
 hook on the wire and gimp, and 
 tie the whole tightly together, so 
 placing the large hooks that one 
 shall point towards the head of the , 
 bait, and the other towards the tail. 
 To put the bait on this, run the 
 small hook through the flesh, just under the back fin, 
 and let the two large hooks hang one on each side. 
 
 There are, as I have said, many other snap hooks;* 
 amongst them, a spring snap, which opens when the fish 
 is hooked; but it is unnecessary to describe them here. 
 
 It is to be observed, that in snap-fishing, the bait 
 should be larger than for gorge-hooks ; and that 
 when the bait is a live one, it should be put on the last 
 thing, and be so carefully treated as not to be injured 
 or weakened. 
 
 * I am indebted to an angler of much celebrity for the snap- 
 hooks given in page 145. 
 
TROLLING. 113 
 
 One general direction may be given for the use of 
 snap-baits — that is, that the moment the fish bites 
 or snaps at it, you must strike, the object being to 
 catch him on as many of your hooks as possible. 
 
 In concluding these directions, I cannot do better 
 than place the following judicious remarks of Mr. Blain 
 before my readers : — 
 
 " 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 particular, 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 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 one; 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 suspect, 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 
 
114 TROLLING. 
 
 had but just quitted without one, in consequence of 
 having given too rapid a motion to their bait. A little 
 habit will enable the angler to vary his methods of 
 throwing the bait, according to the nature and extent 
 of his water. Where there are large weed-beds, inter- 
 sected by open water between 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 prepared 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 moves 
 slightly forward, with a renewed check, for there is 
 then more certainty that something 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 now, therefore, draw at it 
 with a little more force, which will certainly inform 
 you of the nature of the resistance, and yet allow you 
 time to retrace your steps, if a jack be there in earnest." 
 
 Spinning is the most successful mode of taking trout, 
 and it is scarcely less so for pike and perch, in heavy 
 or rapid streams. 
 
 The minnow spinning-rod, as Mr. Blain observes, 
 requires length and strength, combined with lightness, 
 which requisites appear to be best obtained by having 
 it made of cane, except the last joint. It must be 
 
TROLLING. 
 
 115 
 
 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. Your running-line may be that used for a 
 trolling-line, which you thus complete : — Take a strong 
 gut, about nine inches long, having a long-shanked 
 No. 1 hook attached. About three inches above this, 
 attach another stout piece of gut, having on it a hook 
 of No. 7 or No. 8 size, which will thus lie level with 
 the top of the shank of the larger one. To these pieces 
 of gut, thus joined, must be added another, either single 
 or twisted, of about the same length, and joined by 
 swivels, with two or three shots to sink it. I should 
 recommend the angler, however, to purchase this 
 spinning-tackle, as all his other tackle, ready prepared — 
 at all events, to do so until he has got very expert in 
 his handling. 
 
 To bait these hooks wijji the minnow (or bleak) you 
 must pass the large hook down its throat, and through 
 the body, bringing it out at the tail, putting the small 
 one through the chaps, and bringing the point and barb 
 out at the outside of the nose. 
 
 Many anglers use but one hook, in which case, you 
 may improve upon Walton's mode of baiting it, by first 
 i2 
 
116 TROLLING. 
 
 thrusting the hook in at the lower side of the minnow's 
 under, and quite through the upper jaw, drawing it 
 two or three inches on the line, and then putting the 
 hook in at the mouth, passing it through the body, and 
 bringing the point and barb out at the tail, which should 
 be tied to the hook by a piece of fine white silk. There 
 are various descriptions of artificial minnows, one of 
 which — the " Archimedean minnow," invented by 
 Mr. Allies, of Worcester, is becoming a great and 
 deserved favourite. 
 
 Now, to spin your minnow, you must cast your bait 
 across or down the stream, delivering it so lightly on 
 the water as not to disturb it by noise or splash, and 
 then draw it towards you, either across or against the 
 current, permitting it to sink about a foot, lowering 
 the point of the rod, and then drawing it up and across 
 with gentle tugs, about a yard at a time, and imitating, 
 as well as you can, the shootings of the living fish in 
 its action. When it wants throwing out again, throw 
 it further than before; and so continue extending your 
 throw until you have fishecj the whole water. If a 
 fish comes after your bait, never stop it, or in any way 
 alter its pace, or he will most likely be off again. In 
 fact, as Mr. Blain remarks, "more 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 over- 
 take it; and that being done, it only remains for the 
 fisher to fix the hook, or hooks, within its mouth by a 
 
TROLLING. 117 
 
 smart stroke from the hand, if possible, in a direction 
 contrary to the progress of the fish." 
 
 Keep out of sight as much as you can ; and as soon 
 as you have a bite, strike. When you have hooked 
 your fish, you will find him trying to resent the obtru- 
 sion. The trout is strong, and he struggles violently, 
 sometimes leaping high out of the water, and flying 
 and flouncing about in all directions. Thomson 
 directs you what to do : — 
 
 " With yielding hand, feeling him still, 
 Yet to his furious course give way, 
 Till, floating broad upon his breathless side, 
 You safely drag your spangled prize on shore." 
 
 As spinning is a kind of fishing which requires much 
 skill, I shall add to what has been already said, the 
 directions of an accomplished angler — Captain Wil- 
 liamson. He says, " The swivel-trace answers two 
 purposes: it prevents your line from being wrenched, 
 by the largest fish, into tw^ists 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. . . . It is very tempt- 
 ing, 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 commence 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 your 
 bait to cross the stream obliquely towards you. When 
 near you, it should be conducted from you in a similar 
 manner, by an adverse tendency of the rod, carrying 
 
118 TROLLING. 
 
 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, 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 edge of all rivers in various parts, and 
 which sometimes stretch across the beds of the rivers 
 like banks, or what in sea language 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 maintain 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 their 
 attacks towards its tail, viewing it as an object of pur- 
 suit, 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 
 
BOTTOM-FISHING. 119 
 
 large trout has, however, been taken merely by the 
 lip-hook. On such occasions much skill is required. 
 Every angler ought to make allowance for the possi- 
 bility of such an attack, and to avoid all pulls and 
 jerks, such as might either 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, especially with the more choice 
 kinds of fish.'** 
 
 Sect. II. — Bottom-Fishing. 
 
 Having taken up your position, and plumbed the 
 depth in the manner already directed to be done in 
 p. 85, taking care not to disturb the water more than 
 cannot be avoided, let your line remain immersed for a 
 short time, so that it may be rendered less liable to 
 break, by being thus softened and stretched. After 
 this, take the rod in your hand, in a proper position, 
 raise the line out of the water, and let the bait, and 
 then the float, fall in, quietly, at the upper part of your 
 swim. When it has been carried by the stream to the 
 extent of your reach, strike gently, raise the bait out 
 of the water, and let it fall in again as before. Pro- 
 ceed thus till you get a bite, which you discover by 
 * For further on spinning for trout, see page 143. 
 
120 BOTTOM-FISHING. 
 
 the float being shaken, or snatched under, or moved in 
 some way other than by the water, and then imme- 
 diately strike ; to do which requires more skill than is 
 generally supposed. The rod being held firmly in the 
 right-hand, as soon as the bite is observed, the arm 
 should be pressed against the body, and the strike be 
 made by a sudden, but not violent, jerk of the wrist 
 and hand, at the same time tightening the muscles of 
 the arm above the elbow. The arm should not be 
 jerked upwards, but the wrist be smartly turned round, 
 accompanied by a slight upward movement of the arm 
 from the elbow downwards. If you hook the fish, and 
 he offers no resistance, you may carefully, and almost 
 immediately, lift him into your boat or ashore. A 
 very little practice will teach you how far to yield to 
 the fluttering of the fish, to avoid breaking your line. 
 If you hook a heavier fish, and he rushes away upon 
 feeling the hook, as he is pretty sure to do, immediately 
 give him line, but without letting it be slack. Hold 
 your rod nearly perpendicular, and keep the fish, as 
 much as you can, in a similar position, checking him 
 as he rushes backwards and forwards, and thus gradually 
 exhausting him. It may be observed, too, that whilst 
 the fish struggles, you should try to get him a few yards 
 out of your swim, so as to keep it as much undisturbed 
 as possible ; and when you find that he is becoming 
 pretty quiet, wind up some of your line upon your 
 winch, and gradually bring him to the surface, running 
 him backwards and forwards in the water, if you find 
 his resistance still too much for your tackle, and 
 giving him line again, should he plunge and require it. 
 When you feel that you can do so with safety, bring 
 him up, and pass your landing net under him, that so 
 
BOTTOM-FISHING. 121 
 
 you may land or boat him with safety. Should you be 
 without this, you must do the best you can, taking 
 the fish to a shallow inlet or a level shore. The most 
 skilful management is called for in landing your fish; 
 and upon the amount of skill you have attained to, will 
 be the size of the line and hook you may angle with; 
 Some anglers will take a fish of seven or eight pounds 
 weight with a line and hook that would be too fragile 
 for others with fish of a pound weight. 
 
 Having unhooked your fish — with the disgorger, if 
 necessary, as directed in p. 85 — clear the hook of the 
 remains of the old bait, put on a fresh one, throw a 
 ball or two of ground-bait into the swim, if required, 
 and then commence as before. The ground-bait should 
 not be thrown in, however, too often, nor unnecessarily. 
 If you have got the fish well together, abstain from 
 throwing it in, as it has a tendency to disturb the 
 water, and frighten the fish. 
 
 When your line becomes ragged or chafed, rub it up 
 and down with a piece of India-rubber. This will 
 also straighten a gut or a hair that has been kept 
 coiled-up. 
 
 Should you break your hook, or line, or rod, sit down 
 and repair it, according to the directions already given. 
 When you want to tie a knot in joining a line, first 
 soak it in warm water, if you can; if not, hold it in 
 your mouth until it becomes soft. 
 
 Never attempt to lift a fish out of the water by 
 laying hold of any part of your line ; if you do, the 
 chances are that you break it. 
 
 When fishing for barbel in deep or rapid streams, 
 the baited hook should drag several inches on the 
 ground. When angling for these, and roach, chub, 
 
122 BOTTOM-FISHING. 
 
 dace, &c., from the bank of a river, there should be 
 only about two feet of line between the float and the 
 point of the rod. But in fishing for barbel or dace 
 from a punt, in a rapid stream, you will require much 
 more line between the float and the point of the rod, 
 according to the length of the swim ; but be sure that 
 you have no more than is necessary. 
 
 Always keep the top of the rod directly over your 
 float, and move your arm with the stream, so as to let 
 the float and the top of the rod go together. This 
 gives you the power of striking the moment you get 
 a bite. 
 
 If a fish breaks away, he is likely to frighten the 
 other fish and disperse them, in which case, you must 
 endeavour to recover them by a good supply of ground- 
 bait thrown in as gently as possible — as, in fact, it 
 always should be. 
 
 It is important to bear in mind that the success of 
 an angler depends upon a combination of qualities. He 
 must be cool, observant, and patient ; he must have a 
 quick eye, and a ready and light hand. He must 
 watch carefully the different motions of his float, and 
 whenever he observes any interruption to its natural 
 easy motion in the water, strike quickly and skilfully, 
 according to the directions already given. 
 
 As a general rule, keep out of, sight as much as pos- 
 sible while angling, and always let the sun fall in your 
 face, otherwise the shadow of your rod falling upon 
 the water will frighten away the fish. 
 
 Having given these general directions, it remains to 
 treat specifically of the mode of angling for each par- 
 ticular description of fish, which shall be done as 
 plainly and intelligibly as possible. 
 
BLEAK. 123 
 
 • L — The Bleak. 
 
 This fish, as already stated, is found in almost all clear 
 streams, generally about mid-water, or at the depth of 
 three feet in deep places. In summer weather it will 
 take a bait of various kinds. 
 
 The rod for taking bleak should be a very light one; 
 that is, it should be of white cane, stiff-jointed, and 
 running to a very fine top or point. It should be 
 about thirteen feet in length. To the rod should be 
 attached a single hair line, about five feet long, with a 
 very small quill, or, as it is called, a " tip-capped 
 float ;" or a porcupine quill, which will carry eight or 
 ten split shot, of the size No. 7, or two or three only 
 of a larger size. The hook should be a No. 13, fine 
 wire. Provide yourself with some carrion gentles, a 
 few liver gentles for your hook, some bread of the pre- 
 ceding day's bake, and a little bran. Choose a mode- 
 rately still part of the river, off a bridge or a wharfing; 
 or select a bank where the water is moderately deep, 
 still, and clear. Having put your tackle into neat 
 order, so adjusted your float that your bait may swim 
 about three feet below the surface, bait your hook with 
 a single gentle, according to the directions already 
 given, taking especial care that the hook may not be 
 exposed, on the one hand, nor the gentle extend much 
 beyond its point, on the other. Next, throw in, just 
 above where you stand, a small quantity of the carrion 
 gentles, with a little of the sand in which they have 
 been kept, and a little damped bran. As this swims 
 past, gently drop your baited hook in the water, and 
 you will scarcely fail to have a bite almost instantly. 
 Another good bait for bleak is the paste made by 
 slightly wetting, or chewing a piece of bread, and 
 
124 MINNOW. 
 
 working it in the hand until it is close a«d of a con- 
 sistent quality. A very small pellet of this, worked 
 between the linger and thumb into a smooth round 
 pill of about this size ^^ should be put upon the point 
 of the hook, so as to bury the whole of the bend, and 
 without showing the point. This, if properly used, is 
 a killing bait. With this, the same casting-bait may 
 be used, or the gentles may be omitted ; and bread, in 
 very small crumbs, slightly wetted, and mixed loosely 
 with bran, be used. The casting-bait should not be 
 used in any large quantity, as it speedily swims away. 
 The proper course is to throw it in frequently, in small 
 quantities, and to take care that the baited hook 
 always swims with it. 
 
 These directions have been given, not merely to 
 enable the young angler to take bleak successfully, but 
 to make him expert and skilful in killing a nimble, 
 quick, and fine-biting fish, and thus qualify him to set 
 about all kinds of angling with the greatest success. 
 
 II. — The Minnow. 
 
 This is a favourite bait for trout or perch, and is found 
 in large numbers in the Thames, as also in the Lea, 
 New River, and other waters about London. To take 
 them, use a fine hair line, a very small float, and 
 the smallest sized hook. Choose an eddy or a shallow, 
 and bait with a blood-worm, a gentle, or part of a red 
 worm, and let it be on or very near the ground. They 
 should be put into the well of your punt, or into your 
 kettle, as soon as they are taken, that they may be 
 kept alive for bait. 
 
STICKLEBACK. GUDGEON. 125 
 
 III. — The Stickleback or Prickleback. 
 
 This diminutive fish, which is bold and voracious 
 though so small, is useful as a bait for perch and 
 small jack, when minnows cannot be obtained. It may 
 be taken with but little trouble, even without a hook, 
 with a worm or a piece of worm tied to the end of a 
 thread or line. Its voracity induces it to swallow the 
 bait, and it may be taken before it can disgorge it. 
 
 lY. — The Gudgeon. 
 
 This is more esteemed than most other small fish, and 
 is found in gentle streams, with gravelly or sandy 
 bottoms. To angle for gudgeon, use the same tackle 
 as for bleak, excepting that the hook may be a little 
 larger, as No. 10 or 12. It will bite at any time of 
 the day, especially if the weather is cloudy; and the 
 best baits are small red worms, gentles, and cow-dung 
 worms. As gudgeons generally swim close to the 
 bottom, the float should be so adjusted that the bait 
 may just drag on the ground. A rake should be used 
 to stir up the gravel with, as the fish bite much better 
 when that is done. Especial care should be taken not 
 to load the hook too much, as in that case they nibble 
 away the bait, till they discover the hook, and then cut 
 off. If you use a ground-bait, let it be small quantities 
 of paste made up into small pellets. It is not neces- 
 sary, indeed it is not well, to strike for gudgeons very 
 quickly after you perceive a nibble at the bait, as it is 
 
126 ROACH. 
 
 with bleak, for which the strike should be instantaneous. 
 A gudgeon will sometimes nibble at the bait, before he 
 fairly takes it. A little practice will supply the re- 
 quisite knowledge as to the moment when you should 
 strike. 
 
 v. — The Roach. 
 
 In fishing for roach, which is a most interesting species 
 of angling, the rod should be about eighteen feet in 
 length, unless the stream be a very narrow one, and as 
 light as it can be made, without being whippy, having 
 a single ring at the top on which to hook your line. 
 Provide yourself with a case of hair lines, from six 
 to twelve feet in length, and as fine as you can use 
 them. The float should be a tipped-capped quill; the 
 size being adapted to the nature of the stream, as in all 
 other cases. But as roach are found in the greatest 
 abundance where the stream is nearly still, a float of 
 about three inches long, to carry eight or ten No. 9 
 shot, will generally be found of the right size. The hook 
 should be a No. 10, fine wire. The shot should be put 
 on close together, about twelve inches from the hook, 
 with the exception of one or two of a smaller size, 
 which should be put about four inches from the hook. 
 The shotting should be sufficiently heavy to leave only 
 about the eighth of an inch of the float above the 
 water. The length of line between the float and the 
 top of the rod should be about sixteen inches, and the 
 float must be so placed that the bait may touch the 
 bottom. Should the rod be shorter; say thirteen or 
 fourteen feet in length, the length of line between the 
 point and the float should be about twelve inches. If 
 this is strictly attended to, the fish, upon taking the 
 
ROACH. 127 
 
 bait;, will be struck with more certainty than it other- 
 wise could be. 
 
 Except in the coldest months, you should angle in 
 six or seven feet depth of water; in the colder season, 
 the roach get into deeper water. 
 
 Having selected a still and shaded spot, which in 
 running water should be where the bank has been worn 
 from the set of a gentle eddy, or the curve of the stream, 
 plumb the depth, and fix your float so that the bait 
 may just touch the bottom. Next, measure your swim 
 from your standing- place, so that you may not be over- 
 reached in distance, and that your bait may always 
 pass over the same ground, or as nearly so as possible. 
 Having done this, let your line fall into the water, and 
 remain there for a few minutes, or till you are ready 
 for it. If the place has not been previously baited, (it 
 would be better to bait it at least two hours before you 
 begin to angle,) you may now cast in your ground- 
 bait, which should be formed of bran, bread, and 
 pollard, made up together into pellets of about the size 
 of a walnut, for still water, and increasing in size in 
 proportion to the strength of the stream.* Chewed 
 bread may be used, if you are without the other 
 materials. This should also be occasionally cast in 
 whilst angling, but care must be taken not to disturb 
 the swim, by casting the pellets in too frequently or 
 with too much force. Everything should be managed 
 as quietly as possible. 
 
 The best bait for the hook consists of white-bread 
 paste, made as directed in page 92, and made up into a 
 good sized pill, perfectly round. The point of the hook 
 must be thrust into its centre, and the paste be carried 
 
 * See page 93, for making this ground-bait. 
 
128 ROACH. 
 
 round so as to cover, not only the point, but the bend 
 of the hook. Gentles are used, but they are not so 
 good. At the time when the wheat ripens, the new 
 wheat makes a fine bait. It may be prepared as 
 directed in page 92. 
 
 It is important to continue to stand on the same spot, 
 so that your baited hook may be always dropped in the 
 same place, and your float take the same swim. To 
 ensure this, mark your place of standing, and see that 
 you keep to your mark. 
 
 The moment you perceive a bite, strike with the 
 wrist, as directed in page 102; and when the fish is 
 hooked, the rod should be held nearly perpendicular, 
 as that gives you a much greater command over 
 it than you can get in any other way. Play with the 
 fish till you find he ceases to struggle, then care- 
 fully bring him so far up as to be able to look at 
 him; and, if not too large, weigh him out on to the 
 bank. If too heavy, you must use your landing-net, 
 which you should always have close at hand, and be 
 careful in using, so that you do not frighten and excite 
 your fish. As it is of consequence to keep out of sight 
 as much as possible in roach-fishing, it is best to sit 
 down, if you can do so; and when angling for them in 
 rivers and streams, you should choose a swim that is 
 shoal at the end of it, as this at once acts as a barrier 
 to the fish, and keeps the bait at a proper distance from 
 the ground as it drifts along the swim. Do not omit 
 to throw in, occasionally, a small quantity of ground- 
 bait, close to your float, and without producing a com- 
 motion in the w^ater. Observe that the directions 
 given for roach-fishing are equally applicable to the tak- 
 ing of dace, rudd, &c. 
 
ROACH. 129 
 
 Different anglers have different modes of angling. I 
 am happy to be able to lay the following results of a 
 large experience before my readers. I am indebted 
 for them to a gentleman who is one of the best prac- 
 tical anglers about London.* He says, " In angling 
 for roach, in all clear rivers or streams, and especially 
 in the river Lea, I always use a single hair line; trans- 
 parent quill float, carrying from ten to twenty, or even 
 thirty, fine shot, according to the rapidity or depth of 
 the water; a No. 10 hook, very fine wire, and broad 
 in the bend; and not more than one shot on the hook 
 length, which I place about a foot from the hook, just 
 to steady the bait. Excepting only in the deep and 
 rapid parts of the Thames, I invariably use a paste 
 bait, made of the crumb of fine white bread, one day 
 old, which I dip in the water, then squeeze with clean 
 hands, and work into the consistency of fresh putty — 
 putting on a piece about the size of a swan-shot. I 
 am convinced, from experience, that there is not any 
 bait so enticing to roach as this is. Sometimes, when 
 the water is coloured, from heavy rains or the opening 
 of flood-gates, I have found my sport much increased 
 by tinging the paste with a little vermilion, making it 
 a deep pink or rose colour. With this red paste I have 
 frequently taken perch and chub, and occasionally a 
 trout; but I never use wool, essential oils, or scents, in 
 which I put no faith. To ensure success, and to draw 
 the fish into any particular swim, it is quite necessary 
 to occasionally throw in a few balls of ground bait, 
 made of well-soaked bread and bran, kneaded together 
 till very adhesive, then broken into pieces of about the 
 size of a walnut, in which, if deep water, or much 
 * Mr. George Pratt, of Canonbury-square, Islington, 
 K 
 
130 ROACH. 
 
 Stream, I insert a small pebble, and cast in about the 
 float, at the beginning of the swim. With baits and 
 ground-bait of this description, I have, in the counties 
 of Norfolk and Suffolk, frequently taken from twenty 
 to thirty pounds of roach in a few hours, much to the 
 surprise of the resident anglers, who, with their strong 
 tackle, wool- paste, worms, and gentles, seldom took one 
 fish to my dozen. On one day, in the summer of 1845, 
 between the hours of ten and four, I caught over forty 
 pounds of roach, twenty of which fish weighed fifteen 
 pounds and a half; and in October last, on a very un- 
 favourable morning, I caught, near Hurleston, in Nor- 
 folk, a dish of fine roach and dace, one of which (a 
 roach) weighed exactly two pounds. With the red 
 paste, at Waltham, I also took an eel weighing fifteen 
 ounces and a half ; and on another occasion, a rudd 
 (which I have had preserved for the inspection of the 
 curious) weighing two pounds and a quarter, — both 
 with single hair and tight lines. I should have ob- 
 served, that when fishing with single hair, I have 
 always with me a small, light landing-net to land the 
 fish with; for if attempted to be weighed out, except- 
 ing when small, they would undoubtedly break the 
 line, and sometimes probably the rod also. Hence the 
 necessity of striking very gently, and after playing the 
 fish a little, landing him with the net. In many 
 places, fresh grains are a very good bait, throwing in a 
 handful occasionally, and picking out a few of the 
 least bruised for the hook. With this bait I have often 
 taken a quantity of bream. At Oundle, on one occa- 
 sion, I caught ten bream before breakfast, and they 
 weighed more than thirty pounds. I have always 
 found it best to be particular in accurately plumbing 
 
ROACH. 131 
 
 the depth, and, in clear and easy streams, fishing 
 exactly on the bottom; but in some rivers, such as the 
 Waveny, in Suffolk, which abounds with roach, it is 
 better to fish about a foot from the bottom, owing to 
 the great quantity of slimy weeds growing in all the 
 deeper parts. Here, also, as well as in all rivers that 
 are not much fished, a stronger rod, and a fine gut 
 line, may be used, as the fish are not so shy as 
 in more frequented waters. I generally use a light, 
 stiff* cane rod, from sixteen to eighteen feet long; and 
 in all moderately still waters, not more than twelve or 
 fifteen inches of line ought to be left between the top 
 of the float and the rod, otherwise many fine bites 
 will be missed, which are often the best fish. In 
 case the line is much shorter than the rod, it is best to 
 divide the rod, so as to bring the fish within easy reach. 
 Then bait the hook, and join the rod again. Many 
 persons think roach fishing beneath their notice ; so it 
 may be, in over-stocked ponds and stagnant waters ; 
 but many anglers, of whom I am one, subscribe to the 
 Lea, and similar fisheries, for almost the sole purpose of 
 taking roach, which, if caught in the winter or spring, and 
 well cooked, are equal to almost any fresh-water fish. 
 " I am here reminded of a circumstance that occurred 
 
 to my friend R , well known at Broxborne and 
 
 Hoddesdon, which shows the exactitude of his fishing. 
 
 '*We were angling from a punt, just above Car- 
 
 thagenia Wear, in the month of February, and for 
 
 upwards of an hour had not had even a nibble. It 
 
 was. now one o'clock, and R proposed a run on 
 
 the bank, to circulate the blood a little (as it was very 
 
 cold), and then to have lunch ; but he said he would 
 
 previously cast in some ground-bait, and plumb the 
 
 K 2 
 
132 CHUB. 
 
 depth, in which latter act he unfortunately lost a small 
 favourite ring plummet. At two, we recommenced, 
 not having moved the boat, and in the very first swim 
 he fancied he had caught a small roach, but to our 
 mutual surprise, he had actually hooked up the identical 
 . plummet he had lost an hour before, and this in about 
 ten feet of water. He was an excellent angler, and I 
 mention this anecdote to show the accuracy with 
 which he fished. We left off at about five o'clock, 
 having caught exactly nineteen pounds of roach; and 
 this in the month of February! 
 
 " On many occasions, I have taken upwards of fifty 
 pounds of roach in a day ; and, once or twice, nearly a 
 hundredweight." 
 
 In conclusion, I will just mention a singular, but 
 effective way of taking perch, especially in the docks, 
 when the water is low and bright. With the usual perch 
 tackle and a can of minnows, have also a large glass 
 decanter, in which put about eight or ten minnows ; 
 tie over the top with a bit of gauze, and sink it with a 
 string about the place where you are angling, which 
 can be easily done from the wharfs or bridges (with a 
 pole) or from the floating timbers. Bait also with a 
 minnow, and fish near about those confined in the 
 decanter, and success is almost certain. 
 
 VI.— -The Chub. 
 
 The Lea-river is a famous place for chub, and they are 
 tolerably plentiful in the Thames and other rivers. 
 They resort chiefly to deep holes, tumbling bays, at the 
 tail of mills, scowers, &c., but in cold weather they are 
 
CHUB. 133 
 
 found in shelves under banks, and in holes that are 
 shaded and protected by the roots of trees, bushes, &c. 
 They are a bold-biting fish, but are shy, and easily 
 driven away. It is material, therefore, to keep out of 
 sight as much as possible. The rod best adapted for 
 taking chub is a bag -rod, with a roach top, having a 
 winch and running line, and a line of double hair down 
 to just below the hook, and thence a single one. Or, 
 if you cannot yet manage such a line, which requires 
 good skill to avoid breaking, you must take a fine gut. 
 The float should be a neat quill-tipped cap, that will 
 carry six or seven shot, according to the rapidity of the 
 stream; and the hook a No. 8 or 9. You may bait 
 with worms, maggots, wasp -grubs, or snails. Bullock, 
 calf, or sheep's brains make a good ground-bait in 
 winter time. Greaves are also used, especially in 
 summer and autumn. It should always be borne in 
 mind, whatever material is used, that the chub loves a 
 large bait. When using gentles, or small worms, two 
 should be put upon the hook. As blowing brains is a 
 nasty practice (chewing them, and blowing them into 
 the river), the best plan is to cut them into small pieces 
 with your scissors, and mix them up with some bran 
 and house-sand. Having prepared your tackle, and 
 plumbed your depth, throw in some of your ground- 
 bait as quietly as possible, and then let your baited 
 hook fall in, so as to be a little way from the ground. 
 The moment you perceive a bite, strike, and then let 
 the fish have line to run freely, or it will break hook or 
 line. If managed properly, it is soon tired, and may 
 ber brought to land. If you are fi^iJiing amongst trees — 
 which you must do in winter — then you should have a 
 stronger line, of a moderate length, and without a 
 
134 BREAM. 
 
 winch. The object is to prevent the fish from getting 
 amongst the roots, branches of trees, &c., and the line 
 must, therefore, be of sufficient strength to hold it. In 
 such places as these, one mode for taking chub is to 
 " sink and draw" — that is, to use a line without a float, 
 and having dropped the baited hook to the bottom, to 
 draw it up gently to the surface, and thus continue till 
 you get a bite, when you must land your fish as quickly 
 as possible. Do not omit to throw in some ground- 
 bait occasionally, and do it without disturbing the 
 water. In fishing for chub, it is well to shift about, 
 backwards and forwards, between two places, at a short 
 distance from each other. 
 
 VII. — The Bream. 
 
 To take this fish, the rod should be a long, light one, 
 with a reel and a running line of the finest description. 
 The lower line, if not a hair, should be of fine gut, and 
 the float and hook the same as for chub. The bait 
 may be a small, well-scoured marsh or red-worm, 
 brandlings, maggots, gentles, or ^ paste. For a ground- 
 bait, use greaves, bran, and clay, made up into balls, 
 or carrion-gentles. The baited hook should be about 
 half-an-inch from the ground, and the moment you 
 observe a bite, strike. Keep your line loose on the 
 winch, as the fish will, especially if it be large, rush 
 out into the middle of the river upon being hooked. 
 The best places for bream are still, broad places, the 
 bends of rivers, or ^he eddies where there is little 
 stream. 
 
TENCH. PERCH. 135 
 
 VIII. — The Tench. 
 
 These fish are by no means plentiful in the rivers and 
 streams about London, although they are sometimes 
 taken in the Thames and the Lea, as well as in the 
 Camberwell and Croydon Canals. They thrive best 
 in ponds, with loomy-clay or muddy bottoms, and in 
 foul and weedy waters. In such waters they are often 
 so abundant and ill-fed that they are taken in large 
 quantities. The tackle for tench should be light, 
 similar to that used for taking bream; and in rivers 
 the baited hook should just drag the ground, and in 
 ponds be a little above it. For ground-bait use small 
 pellets of bran and bread, and occasionally throw in, 
 close to the float, half-a-dozen gentles, or pieces of 
 worms. Bait your hook with blood and other red 
 worms in April and May, and later in the season, with 
 gentles, sweet paste, the white part of greaves, wasp 
 grubs, &c. They are especially fond of well-scoured 
 marsh worms. 
 
 IX. — The Perch. 
 
 For perch-fishing strong tackle must be used. The 
 hook length must be of the best gut or of the finest 
 gimp, as you not unfrequently take pike, especially 
 while roaming with the minnow. The float should be 
 a small cork one, and the hook a No. 6 or 7. In 
 rivers, the perch should be sought about the entrance 
 of a small stream, close by piles or piers, or just outside 
 a ledge of weeds. In docks, it will be found in the 
 small openings between logs or openings of timbers. 
 
136 PERCH. 
 
 In river-fishing, the best baits are minnow's, stone- 
 leech, and almost any small line bait, as also grubs and 
 brandlings. In docks, bait with shrimps, minnows, or 
 the brandlings, well scoured. I would strongly advise 
 that when a minnow is used to bait with, it should be 
 hooked by the tail, as it will thus swim much freer and 
 livelier than when hooked through the lips or back fin. 
 It is also safer; a minnow hooked by the lips being 
 very likely to be taken off by a perch, in consequence 
 of the resistance offered to the snatch by the large 
 corks too generally used in angling for this fish. I 
 have seen a dozen minnows lost in succession when 
 hooked by the lips, while with the next five, hooked by 
 the tail, I have seen seventeen perch taken. It has 
 been said by some writers, that if you can get thirty 
 or forty perch together in a hole, they are so greedy 
 and fearless that you may take them all. Now, that 
 the perch is both greedy and bold, there is no denying; 
 but it is not so devoid of caution as this statement 
 would make it appear. There is no great difficulty in 
 finding thirty or forty together in a hole. Any one 
 disposed to differ with me as to the likelihood of taking 
 them, may set the matter at rest by making the trial. 
 
 Perch seldom swim near the bottom, and it will 
 generally be found that to fish at about two feet below 
 the surface is the best depth. 
 
 Your success in perch-fishing will depend, in a great 
 measure, on the way in which you bait for them. It 
 is very desirable to bait the ground on the preceding 
 night with a paste made as recommended in page 93. 
 It should be made into good-sized lumps, and thrown 
 into the spot you intend to angle at; and if the fish be 
 at all plentiful there, you will not fail to find them 
 
CARP. 137 
 
 within a yard or two of the spot while any of the 
 ground-bait is left. The reason is obvious. The 
 ground-bait is constantly breaking up, and being car- 
 ried away in small pieces, and this brings together im- 
 mense quantities of small fry, the natural prey of the 
 perch, who will there feed or sport as long as bait or 
 fry remain. You may occasionally throw in some of 
 your ground-bait in loose quantities, well saturated, 
 with great success. The small fish will be induced to* 
 rise to it in large quantities ; and as surely as they do 
 so, they will be observed and pursued by perch. 
 
 When you have a bite, let the fish run the distance 
 of a yard or two, so that he may gorge the bait, and 
 then strike smartly, but never violently. 
 
 When fishing for perch, always have a live-bait 
 kettle, of the kind described in p. 80, and keep your 
 bait-fish in good condition by a frequent change of 
 water. Early in the morning, or late in the evening, 
 is the best time for perch-fishing. To keep shrimps 
 fresh for bait, the best way is to put them into some 
 damp, sandy gravel, in a wicker basket. When gra- 
 velly sand is not easily to be had, a good whisp of hay, 
 straw, or weeds, well wetted, will answer as the next 
 best thing. 
 
 X. — The Carp. 
 
 This being called " the fresh-water fox," suggests that 
 it is vigilant and wary, and that some patience, as 
 well as skill, is necessary to take it. Next to the ponds 
 in which carp are bred, the places to angle for them 
 are those parts of rivers where the stream is gentle, and 
 the water deep and weedy. The rod should be a 
 
138 CARP. 
 
 long, light one, with a fine running-line on the winch, 
 a fine single gut-line, a fine tip -capped quill float, and 
 a No. 5 or 6 hook for the smaller baits, and an 8 or 9 
 for the larger. The baits to be used are red-worms, 
 brandlings, maggots, cabbage -worms, wasp -grubs, 
 sweet-paste, or the white pieces in greaves. For 
 a ground-bait, which should be thrown in on the 
 preceding night, bran and greaves mixed together, or 
 'fresh grains and pieces of lob-worms, should be used. 
 Your baited hook should be about half-an-inch from 
 the bottom, in a pond, and should lie on the bottom in 
 a stream. When you strike the carp, (which should be 
 immediately, if in a stream, and after the lapse of a 
 second or two in a pond,) it must be with a smart, 
 strong hand; but as soon as you feel you have him at 
 hook, you must let him go, for he is a strong, heavy 
 fish, and will tear all to pieces if you do not give him 
 play. He will also struggle long, and sometimes, if 
 not hooked by the jaw, but in the throat, he will haul 
 back till you almost draw his entrails out of his mouth. 
 He is, in short, as bold and stout when he is taken as 
 he is wary and timorous before; and, at last, when you 
 have, as it were, tired him, and you would think he was 
 dead, you must be very careful how you land him, for he 
 will then make, as it were, his last efforts, and will not 
 quit the water without struggling to the utmost for his 
 life. It is true, that when you have once fairly hooked a 
 carp, there is little fear of his breaking away from the 
 hook, being one of those leather- mouthed fish that have 
 their teeth in their throats; but there is some danger, 
 when angling with a paste-bait, of his sucking it ofi* the 
 hook, and then carrying it away. It is necessary, there- 
 fore, to have a sharp eye on your float. The nature of this 
 
RUFFE. 139 
 
 fish renders it necessary to keep as much out of sight 
 as possible while angling, and also to avoid disturbing 
 the water more than cannot be avoided, by throwing in 
 the ground-bait. It is also necessary to guard against 
 your fish, when hooked, making his way amongst 
 heavy weeds, or other things, such as roots of trees, &c., 
 which it will do, if possible. The carp will seldom 
 bite in cold weather, and in hot weather, he bites best 
 early in the morning and late in the evening. 
 
 In hot weather, when the carp is sometimes found 
 sucking among beds of broad-leaved weeds, in ponds 
 and moats, near the surface of the water, the best way 
 of taking him is by a dipping-bait — that is, a red- 
 worm or sweet- paste, upon a hook attached to a line, 
 without a float. In this case, you should place two or 
 three small shot a few inches above the hook, so as to 
 sink it, and then, with as little motion or disturbance 
 as possible, drop the bait between the weeds, and let 
 it remain about an inch below the surface of the water. 
 When the fish bites, he will carry the bait down 
 perpendicularly, and you must strike sharply, and at 
 once weigh him out, before he manages to get amongst 
 the weeds, and breaks your line. The best fine for 
 this purpose is about a couple of yards of strong gut, 
 and the rod a strong bamboo one, with the stiff top, 
 and no winch. 
 
 XL — The Kuffe. 
 
 This is a species of the perch, and is much like it in 
 form and habits. They are rarely met with near 
 London, however, except in the Mole, and occasionally 
 in the Thames, up at Shepperton. The Isis, Cam, 
 
140 BARBEL. 
 
 Trent, and Yare contain large quantities of them. It 
 is fond of clear water, a deep place, and a gravelly 
 bottom, and may be taken all day long, in summer, if 
 there is a cloudy sky. The line must be a fine one, 
 with a quill float, and a hook. No. 8 or 9. The best 
 bait are small red-worms or brandlings, which should 
 be kept very near, or on the bottom. You should 
 strike immediately there is a bite, not giving the fish 
 much line. For a ground-bait, you may use clay and 
 worms, or w^orms alone, when the water is muddy. 
 The ruffe is a lively and free-biting fish, and affords 
 the young angler much amusement. 
 
 XII.— The Barbel. 
 
 There are two modes of taking these fish: the one 
 with ordinary tackle ; the other, with a leger-line, from 
 the bank, as follows : — Take a short stout rod, having 
 a winch, and about thirty yards of strong running- 
 line, with about a yard of strong gut at the bottom, 
 and a hook of No. 6 or 7, or, as some prefer, a double- 
 hook. No. 10; or two of these hooks, one hanging a 
 foot above the other. No float is necessary, but 
 instead, you place a piece of lead, called a leger-lead, 
 (sold at the tackle-shops,) about a foot distant from the 
 hook, below which a large shot is put, to prevent it 
 from slipping down the line. The leger is then 
 attached to the running -line by a slip -loop knot. The 
 best bait is, probably, greaves ; or a worm, or a gentle, 
 will sometimes answer well ; but in that case, the hook 
 should be a No. 8, of strong wire. Soaked greaves, 
 
BARBEL. 141 
 
 bran, and clay, mixed together, and made up into balls, 
 make the best ground-bait, which should be liberally 
 used. When you let drop your baited hook into the 
 stream, see that there is no more line than will enable 
 you to keep the point of your rod over the leger* 
 When the fish bites, it will draw your line through 
 the leger, and then you must at once strike hard, or 
 firmly, so that the hook may be sure to enter the mouth 
 of the fish, which is very tough. It is to be observed, 
 that the rod should not be held up, as usual, but the 
 point downwards, so as almost to touch the water. 
 
 When you fish for barbel with a float, &c., you must, 
 if there be anything of a stream, use a cork float, a 
 fine gut line, and a hook of No. 7 or 8 size. In the 
 Lea-river, and similar places, finer tackle had better be 
 used, with a quill float, and a hook of the size No. 10, 
 but rather stout in its make. The bait should be red 
 worms, gentles, or greaves, the one being changed for 
 the other, if expedient ; and it should drag a couple of 
 inches on the ground. The barbel is a very lively and 
 strong fish; he bites sharp, and pulls down the float very 
 suddenly. Some skill and management are therefore 
 necessary to take him, and avoid breaking your line. To 
 guard against this, attend to the following directions: — 
 When you have cast your baited hook into the water, 
 raise your rod, so that the point of it is kept over 
 the float, and the line taut, so that the moment 
 there is a bite you may be able to strike the fish. 
 Almost simultaneously with this, let your line go, so 
 that he may run, as he will do, without breaking your 
 line. Now, the thing is, to run him backwards and 
 
142 PIKE. 
 
 forwards, keeping his head up, until he is so far ex- 
 hausted that you may safely venture to lift him into 
 your landing-net. 
 
 In fishing for barbel, be pretty liberal with your 
 ground-bait, the best of which is greaves, clay, and 
 bran, mixed together, and made up into balls. 
 
 XIII. — The Pike, or Jack. 
 
 As soon as the spawning is over, which is at the latter 
 end of March, or early in April, these fish return for a 
 few days to the deep waters, and during the middle of 
 the day may be found basking in a state of torpidity 
 upon the surface, enjoying the warmth of the sun. At 
 this time they may be taken — though every true angler 
 will set his face against the unsportsmanlike practice — 
 by a process called " haltering," or " snaring." This 
 requires a stout pole, such as is used to hay -rakes, at 
 the top of which a piece of strong cord, about two or 
 three feet long, is fastened, having at its lower end a 
 piece of stout brass or copper wire, formed into a draw 
 loop, large enough to allow a man's head to pass 
 through it. In using this, you must look the pike full 
 in the face, keeping your eyes fixed on his, so that he 
 becomes in a manner fascinated, and remains motion- 
 less. The pole must then be lowered very gradually, 
 so that the wire loop may pass under the level, at about 
 a foot before his nose, and when got to such a direction 
 as that it may girt him all around, without touching 
 him in any part, you must gradually move the noose or 
 loop forward, until you have passed his gills, and then, 
 with a sudden jerk, pull tight, so that the loop may 
 
TROUT. 143 
 
 draw close upon his shoulders, and, without any delay, 
 lift him out of the water. 
 
 The best season for jack fishing, however, is from 
 October till April, as the weather permits. 
 
 There are three favourite modes of taking the pike, 
 each of which has been described in p. 103, et seq. 
 
 XIY. — The Trout. 
 
 This beautiful fish is, in all respects, a favourite. It 
 affords great sport, and is a coveted delicacy at the table. 
 It is strong, game, and voracious, and requires no less 
 coolness, caution, and skill to take it, than it does to 
 take the more formidable-looking pike. The season is 
 from April to August, inclusive. Of all known modes, 
 my favourite one is by spinning a minnow, the mode of 
 doing which has been described in preceding pages. 
 
 But something further may here be said of spinning for 
 trout, in particular.* " The first step towards success in 
 taking this fish is to study its nature and habits. For 
 w^ant of this, many otherwise good anglers are com- 
 paratively unsuccessful when they address themselves 
 to trout-fishing, which may be looked upon as the 
 ne plus ultra of the art. Let us say a word upon this 
 subject. It is a curious fact, that the trout generally 
 inhabits deep holes and eddies, and usually feeds at 
 the distance of from fifty to a hundred yards from its 
 haunts, to which it always returns after feeding. It is 
 as regular, too, in taking its food, as the best managed 
 family; it has its meal-times, and it observes them with 
 
 * For what follows, I am indebted to a gentleman whose 
 reputation as a Thames angler extends far and wide, but whose 
 modesty forbids my making known his name. 
 
144 TROUT. 
 
 a most commendable punctuality. As the season 
 advances, and the weather becomes warm, the trout 
 work their way up into Ihe weirs, where they find 
 food in abundance; for the small fry, then endea- 
 vouring to head the weir, are thrown back by the 
 force of the water, and fall almost into the mouths of 
 their pursuers. In very hot weather, the trout are 
 mostly found in the foam on the apron of the weir, 
 behind the fall, or spurs. The corners of the weirs, 
 too, are generally a favourite resort for the best fish. 
 It is a curious fact, that when a trout has once chosen 
 his locality, and taken up his position, he is seldom 
 interfered with by any other fish. When he is carried 
 off, however, he is soon succeeded by another. No trout 
 spot is permitted to run to waste. Having had 
 several years' experience, and traversed a large 
 extent of water, I can confidently affirm that trout are 
 invariably found in the same spot, year after year. 
 The succession seems never to fail. 
 
 "When the trout first come up into the weirs, they are 
 easily run or taken — that is to say, by one who under- 
 stands his business, and has provided himself with the 
 necessary means. Many persons are unsuccessful, simply 
 because they will not go to the expense of good tackle. A 
 fish snaps thebait, and runs away with the hooks. Unable 
 to feed, it returns to its haunt, and sulks at the bottom, 
 preventing other fish from approaching, and depriving 
 the angler of all further sport for the day. The 
 tackle I would strongly recommend for the early part 
 of the season are, a strong rod, with a flexible top, 
 running tackle, and a multiplying winch. You must 
 have a patent-dressed line, with a good guf^ottom, and 
 at least three swivels. The snap should be formed of 
 
 &L:: 
 
TROUT. 145 
 
 four triangles, placed very near to each 
 other, with a lip-hook added. (See engraving 
 to the right.) 
 
 " This I consider to be greatly preferable 
 to the returned hook generally used, and 
 which the fish often escapes, in consequence 
 of so large a space being left between the 
 bottom triangle and the returned hook. The 
 bait will also spin better, and last longer 
 upon these hooks than upon the other, if 
 properly put on. In bright and warm 
 weather, I have found a gudgeon to be the 
 best bait, generally speaking. It should be 
 slightly curved at the tail, so as 
 to bring the head and tail to draw 
 even. In cloudy days, the bleak 
 is a good bait, but it requires 
 more care and skill to put it on 
 than to put on the gudgeon. 
 Later in the season, I would re- 
 commend the use of three tri- 
 angles and a lip-hook, instead of 
 four. (See engraving to the left.) 
 
 " This is smaller, and therefore better, 
 when the trout, having gorged themselves, 
 become delicate in their feeding. At the 
 latter end of May, and in June, the minnow 
 is an exceedingly good bait, and trout will 
 frequently take it in preference to any 
 other. I have found the live-bait, too, very 
 successful, particularly in large pools and 
 weirs, using a large float, or a cork one, 
 and allowing the bait to work where the 
 
146 TROUT. 
 
 trout are on the feed; the fact being, after having been 
 spun for, trout become very cautious and cunning. 
 They will fly at the spinning-bait, and turn from 
 it without touching it. In the latter end of May and 
 June, also, the fly is sure to be used with success. It 
 is more dainty and agreeable to the palate after the fish 
 have been feeding upon fish-bait, and I would strongly 
 recommend its use. 
 
 " I have frequently taken fish in places where few 
 persons would think of looking for them — as, for ex- 
 ample, where there was scarcely water enough to cover 
 them — in the nook of a weir. In such places I have 
 found them greedily take the bait. I need hardly say ' 
 that the greatest caution should be used in approaching 
 the spot, and that the fisherman should keep as much 
 out of sight as possible. Much skill is requisite to 
 tlirow the bait, so as to avoid disturbing the fish. This, 
 of course, comes with practice. Should you hitch your 
 line in any of the wood-work of the weir, ofl* fly the 
 fish, and there is an end to your sport for the day. 
 
 " The Thames trout- spinner may save himself much 
 time and trouble by well observing the water, and 
 marking the various localities. There are miles of 
 water where it would be useless to cast a bait for trout. 
 They are not adapted to the habits of the fish, and 
 they consequently do not resort there. You need not, 
 for example, look for them in deep, heavy waters, where 
 jack and perch predominate. The roach-fisher, the 
 perch-fisher, and the jack-fisher well knows where to 
 wet his line, and, as I have already observed, the trout- 
 fisher must study the habits of his fish, and observe 
 the peculiarities of the waters, before he can become 
 successful. 
 
TROUT. 147 
 
 " About the latter end of April, gudgeons generally 
 spawn upon the gravelly hills, and it is worthy of 
 notice, that trout resort thither, and gorge themselves 
 with the spawn. They will then refuse the spinning- 
 bait; it is but waste of time, therefore, to throw it in 
 such places, at such a time. 
 
 " Trout are sometimes taken by persons who are fish- 
 ing for barbel with a lob-w^orm, which w^ill always be 
 found a good bait where trout abound. But in the 
 Thames, where their visits are, unfortunately, like 
 angels' — " few, and far between" — very few persons 
 have the Job-like patience to fish for them in this way. 
 
 " I have been in the habit of having my tackle from 
 Mr. Bowness, jun., of Bell-alley, Temple-bar, who has 
 fully entered into, and carefully carried out, my sugges- 
 tions and improvements, in the formation of the hook, 
 and in the construction of the tackle, best adapted for 
 this description of fish." 
 
 If you are disposed to sport with trout in 
 the ordinary way of bottom-fishing, you may do so, 
 neither throwing the fly, nor spinning the minnow; and if 
 you mind well what you are about, you may have good 
 sport too. It is to be observed, however, that the 
 most successful way of bottom fishing for trout is what 
 Isaac Walton calls *' angling by hand;" that is, without 
 a float, the bottom line being so shotted as to prevent 
 the stream carrying away your bait. The tackle should 
 be fine, the bait must roll along on the ground, and the 
 angler must take especial care to keep out of sight, and 
 to proceed as noiselessly and gently as possible. Do 
 not be in too great a hurry to strike when you think 
 you feel a bite. Wait until you feel the line tugged a 
 second or a third time, and then strike sharply, but 
 
148 TROUT. 
 
 never violently. A very little experience will teach 
 you not to be too much in a hurry to land your fish 
 when you have hooked him; and when you have done 
 so, to do it coolly, and with great caution, lest you snap 
 your line. I should not omit to mention, what our 
 great master insists upon as of great importance — as it 
 really is — in thus angling for trout; namely, to keep your 
 worm in motion by drawing it towards you, as if you 
 were angling with a fly. Lob-woi'ms are the best 
 bait for deeps, and for muddy waters, while red-worms 
 and brandlings are best for clearer waters. 
 
 Fishing for trout requires exquisite skill, for no fish 
 are so nice in biting, so choice in taking the bait, or so 
 shy of the hook. If they see the line, they will seldom 
 bite at all; if they see the angler, never; therefore, if 
 you fish for them with a single hair at tlie hook, or for 
 two or three links above the hook, you will catch five 
 for one that you catch if you fish with a link of twisted 
 hair. A very large trout will sometimes break away 
 from a single hair; but a very large trout may, with 
 skill, be taken wdth a single hair. 
 
 In angling for trout, you must use a strong rod, with 
 a flexible top, running tackle, and a multiplying winchr 
 The line must be of fine gut, and if you will use a float, 
 it should be a quill- cap float. 
 
 Paul Pinder, in " Bentley's Miscellany," tells a story 
 of the voracity and daring of some of these larger fish, 
 which shows that though, when not inclined to feed, 
 you may tempt them in vain, they will at other times 
 suffer themselves to be caught by the veriest bungler. 
 An elderly gentleman, fishing at Rickmansworth, on the 
 
TROUT. 149 
 
 river Colne, in Hertfordshire, in the summer of 1815, 
 having laboured all day with the fly, and contributed 
 but little to his pannier, before quitting the water-side, 
 bethought him of having a venture wnth a snail, which 
 he substituted for his artificial temptations. In a short 
 time he struck a very heavy fish, which, after playing 
 for a while, he at length brought to the surface of the 
 water, though not sufficiently near enough to make 
 sure of him. The fish was a large one; and the 
 captor's attendant having quitted the ground, and gone 
 to a neighbouring cottage, he was left without a land- 
 ing net. There was, consequently, no alternative but 
 " playing him till tired," — an antiquated practice now-a- 
 days, and never resorted to but in desperate cases, like 
 the present. ' The creature at length appeared to be 
 exhausted, and was towed to the bank; but the angler, 
 in trying to lift him out of the water, tore the hook from 
 his mouth, and the prize slowly sunk to the bottom. The 
 stream was at that spot deep and clear, but not swift; 
 and the angler had the mortification of seeing his trout 
 lying gasping almost within his reach. Perplexed and 
 baffled, he put on another snail; but without hope. By 
 this time the fish had recovered, and began to move 
 out into the middle of the stream. The snail w^as 
 placed before him, and, wonderful to relate, he darted at 
 it, gorged it, and struck off up the stream. This time 
 the angler was more successful; and after a struggle 
 of some minutes, during which his attendant returned, 
 the fish was landed, and found to weigh five pounds. 
 This is a well-authenticated fact; and it is the more 
 remarkable, as the fish must have seen his captor at 
 their first encounter. 
 
150 GRAYLING. EEL. 
 
 XY. — The Grayling. 
 
 Next to the trout, the grayling is the fish which 
 affords sport to the accomphshed angler. It is a swift 
 swimmer, disappearing almost like a shadow: and 
 hence its old Latin name of lumber. It may be taken 
 with the same baits, and at the same stand, as the 
 trout : only observe, that it is not to be met with near 
 London. The Tean, the Severn, the Wye, the Trent, 
 and the Avon abound with them. In angling for 
 grayling, the line should be a fine gut, and the hook a 
 No. 7 or 8. You do not require a float, but should 
 let your bait swim down before the stream, letting out 
 from ten to twenty yards of line, so that it may reach 
 the spot where the fish are supposed to lie. If the 
 stream be sharp, put one or two shot on the line, in 
 order to sink the bait. Strike immediately you feel a 
 bite, and when you have hooked a fish, play it with 
 caution, as the mouth is very tender. 
 
 XYL — The Eel. 
 
 There are four sorts of eels, — the silver eel, the 
 greenish or greg eel, the red-finned eel, and the 
 blackish eel; the last having a broader, flatter, and 
 larger head than the rest, and accounted the worst. In 
 the Thames, the fishermen give eels particular names; 
 but the most usual are the silver eel and the greg; the 
 last being thicker and shorter than the other, and of a 
 darker colour. 
 
EEL. 151 
 
 Though eels love to lurk and hide in the mud, they 
 are averse to muddy water, because they are liable to 
 be suifocated by it. They are caught in nets in the 
 time of a flood, at mill-dams, and such like places. 
 
 In the day time, they skulk among weeds, under 
 stones, or the roots of trees, or among the planks, piles, 
 or boards of weirs, bridges, or mills. 
 
 The proper baits for an eel are small gudgeon, roach, 
 dace, or bleak. They are likewise fond of lampreys, 
 lob-worms, small frogs, raw flesh, salted beef, and the 
 entrails of fowls. 
 
 The best time to angle for them is on a rainy or 
 gloomy day, especially after thunder. Your rod must 
 be strong, your line the same as for trolling, with an 
 armed hook, and your bait must lie ledger. 
 
 Another way to take eels is by laying baited night 
 hooks, which are to be fastened to a tree, or the bank, 
 in such a manner that they may not be dravvn away by 
 the eels ; or a string may be thrown across the stream 
 with several hooks fastened to it. The line must be 
 tied to a large plummet of lead or stone, which must be 
 thrown into the water with the line, in some remarkable 
 place, so that it may be found readily in the morning, 
 and taken up with a drag-hook, or otherwise. 
 
 Sniggling or boggling for eels is another method of 
 taking them ; but is only to be practised on a warm day, 
 when the waters are low. It requires a strong line, and 
 a small hook baited with a lob-worm. Put the line into 
 the cleft of a stick, about a foot and a half from the 
 bait, and then thrust it into holes and places w^here he 
 is supposed to lurk; if there be one there, it is great 
 odds but he takes your bait. Some put that part of the 
 
152 EEL. 
 
 line next the hook into the cleft ; but however that be, 
 it must be so contrived that the line may be disengaged 
 from the stick without checking the eel when he takes 
 the bait. When he has swallowed it, he is not to be 
 drawn out hastily, but after he is pretty w^ell tired with 
 pulling, and then you will make him more secure. 
 
 To boh for Eels, you must provide a large quantity 
 of well scoured lob- worms, and then with a long needle 
 pass a thread through them, from head to tail, until you 
 have strung about a pound ; tie both ends of the thread 
 together ; and then make them up into about a dozen 
 or twenty links. The common way is, to wrap them 
 about a dozen times round the hand, and then tying 
 them altogether in one place makes the link very rea- 
 dily. This done, fasten them all to a small cord, or part 
 of a trolling line, about two yards in length. Six or 
 eight inches above the worms there should be a knot, 
 for a lead plummet to rest on. The plummet should 
 w^eigh about half-a-pound, or from that to a pound, 
 according to the stream; the smaller the line the less 
 the plumb. It should be made in the shape of a pyramid, 
 with a hole through the middle for the line to pass 
 through; the broad part of the plummet, or the base of 
 the pyramid, being towards the worms, because that 
 will keep it more steady. When you have put 
 your plummet on a line, you must fasten it to a 
 strong, stiff, taper pole, of about three yards long, 
 and then the apparatus is finished. Being thus pre- 
 pared, you must angle in muddy water, or in the 
 deep or sides of streams, and you will soon find the 
 eels tug strongly and eagerly at your baits. When 
 you think they have swallowed the worms as far as 
 
EEL. 
 
 153 
 
 they can, draw them gently up towards the top of the 
 water. As soon as you perceive them draw, pull as 
 directed, and then suddenly hoist them on the shore, or 
 into your boat. By this means you may take three 
 or four at a time. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 T. C. Savill, Printer, 4, Chandos-street, Covent-garden. 
 
i^A 0/262 
 
 M3r^22B 
 
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