I 
 
/r 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND 
 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 
ILVER 
 
THE MODERN 
 
 PRACTICAL ANGLER 
 
 A COMPLETE GUIDE TO 
 
 FLY-FISHING, BOTTOM-FISHING & TROLLING 
 
 BY 
 
 H. CHOLMONDELEY-PENNELL 
 
 INSPECTOR OF FISHERIES 
 
 AUTHOR OF " THE ANGLER-NATURALIST" " THE BOOK OF THE PIKe" ETC 
 
 llWratjeb bg ^iftg ingrairings of <|is^ anb f atKIe 
 
 LONDON 
 GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SONS 
 
 THE BROADWAY, LUDGATE 
 NEW YORK: 416, BROOME STREET 
 
 /.4- LL P 
 
LONDON : 
 
 SAVILL, EDWARDS, AND CO., PRINTERS, CHANDOS STREET, 
 
 COVENT GARDEN. 
 
LNb, 
 
 TO 
 
 JOHN FRANCIS WORTH, Esq. 
 
 OF WORTH, DEVON, 
 
 ONE OF THE MOST THOROUGH SPORTSMEN OF THE DAY 
 WITH HORSE, ROD, OR GUN, 
 
 THESE PAGES ARE DEDICATED 
 
 BY 
 
 HIS SINCERE FRIEND, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 fvi35S43'6 
 
OPINIONS OF THE PRES 
 
 "The ' Modern Practical Angler' is the latest, though let us hope not the last, of Mr. 
 Cholmondeley-Penneli's contributions to our angling literature. The purpose of the work 
 is twofold : first, to suppl}' the demand which exists for some general and complete angling 
 manual, bringing the subject up to the mark of modern art ; and secondly, to introduce 
 the author's views on the subject of fly-fishing, which not only differ vvidely from hitherto 
 received canons, but, if accepted, will practically revolutionise, in the direction of 
 simplifying, the whole system both of making and using artificial flies. Our readers will 
 hardly need our assurance that the first object has been thoroughly and ably fulfilled. 
 .... In regard to the second portion of the book, which relates to fly-fishing, the result 
 of Mr. Pennell's teaching is ' the substitution of six typical flies — three for salmon and 
 grilse, and three for trout, grayling, &c. — for the whole of the artificial flies now used.' 
 This is indeed a ' revolutionary measure,' and one in which every fly-fisher is directly and 
 personally interested ; for who would not be glad to dispense if he could, once and for all, 
 with the cumbrous assortment of furs, silks, and feathers with which the orthodox 
 practice now loads his tackle-box, and the thousand-and-one patterns of flies enjoined by 
 Tackle-makers and angling writers as necessary for each variety offish, river, and season? 
 To the disciples of Mr. Pennell's school this will be all changed. His three typical trout- 
 flies, which are new both in principle and construction, can be made, he assures us, by the 
 merest tyro ; and both these and the salmon-flies— dressed, of course, of different sizes — 
 will readily stow away, with the materials for making them, in the compass of an ordi- 
 nary bait-box. The 'glorious uncertainty' as to 'which is the right fly,' and the loss of 
 precious time in experimental changes, are also obviated under Mr. Pennell's system, 
 which we look forward with great interest to testing by the river-side on the first opportu- 
 nity. The prospect seems almost too tempting to be realised ; but it cannot be denied 
 that the author's theories and conclusions are the legitimate deductions from an argument 
 logically and even severely worked out ; and we can hardly conceive that Mr. Pennell, 
 whose 'fame is on many waters,' would peril his reputation by putting forward in so 
 deliberate a manner theories which he had not himself thoroughly tested in practice. 
 
 "Mr. Pennell is not only well known as a se7iior angler, but as one of the straightest 
 riders and straightest shots in England, and whatever he writes is well worthy of the 
 consideration of Sportsmen." — Baily's Magazine. 
 
 "The book is adapted as a vade-7nenim to all classes of anglers." — Land and Water. 
 
 " Mr. Pennell is so well and so favourably known as a fishing author, that anything which 
 comes from his pen is sure to deserve and secure serious consideration from an angler's 
 point of view. What Mr. Pennell's politics may be we do not know, but in matters 
 piscatorial he is undoubtedly an awful ladical : he insists on the most complete revolution 
 in all things, and he is a philosophical radical to boot, for he gives reasons for the faith 
 that is in him .... we have no doubt that this, the latest addition to angling literature, 
 will take a high place in the estimation of the public." — Field. 
 
 " Written by an angler of long and varied experience, the ' Modern Practical Angler' 
 is certainly the best modern fishing guide that has come under our notice. The work is 
 full of practical information. " — Gentleman' s Magazine. 
 
 "The book is clever and handsome, containing much that will interest old anglers and 
 instruct new ones, and also a little that will rouse some of those fierce yet pleasant 
 controversies to which votaries of ' the quiet art' are fully as prone as their brethren of 
 other sports, who do not deny being more noisy. Mr. Pennell has fished in many places, 
 in many ways, with many men ; he has an eye for natural scenery^ and a knowledge of 
 natural history ; and he has proved himself the possessor of an elegant and sprightly pen 
 both in prose and \Gr&&."— Scotsman. 
 
 " We have no need to certificate the author's thorough knowledge of a sport which, as 
 he justly observes, is becoming every day more a matter of difficulty and of fine art 
 .... Mr. Pennell covers ably the whole field of angling pursuit. "—i?a//y Telegraph. 
 
PREFACE, 
 
 The rapid advance of late years of theoretical and 
 material knowledge has produced a corresponding im- 
 provement in the practice of most of the arts and 
 sciences ; and the professors of the gentle art, though 
 in a quiet and unobtrusive way, have been by no means 
 behindhand in the general progress. The result is, that 
 the fisherman's library, for all practical purposes, consists 
 only of some dozen books, all, or almost all, being 
 the works of living authors. The names of Stoddart, 
 Peard, Francis, and Stewart, as preceptors in the use of 
 the rod and line ; and in the cognate departments of 
 ichthyology and angling belles lettres, those of Russel, 
 Westwood, and Buckland, are household words wherever 
 English anglers are to be found. 
 
 With such a phalanx of authors already in the field, 
 however, it may be not unnaturally asked, Why is the 
 present volume published "i The answer is, that the 
 admirable works of the writers referred to are, with one 
 exception,"^ so far as the practice of angling is con- 
 cerned, monographs, or treatises on particular branches 
 only of fishing ; and that there is a demand for some 
 general and complete angling manual, bringing the 
 
 * " A Book on Angling/' by Francis Francis, Esq Longman 
 and Co. 15s. 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 subject up to the mark of modern art, and saleable at a 
 price not beyond the reach of the masses. . The present 
 work is an attempt to supply this desideratum. 
 
 In regard, moreover, to the theory and practice of the 
 most important branch of angling, viz., Fly-fishing, I 
 have arrived at conclusions not only differing widely 
 from hitherto received canons, but which, if accepted, 
 will go far to revolutionize, in the direction of simplify- 
 ing, the whole system both of making and using artificial 
 flies. 
 
 The question of tackle, also, has for many years 
 occupied much of my attention ; and the details of this 
 subject — especially as regards hooks — are entered into 
 with a minuteness which may perhaps seem to require 
 apology. The apology is, that the whole art of angling 
 consists really of an aggregation of minutiae, and that 
 upon the difference between, say, a hook of one pattern 
 and a hook of another, often depends, in effect, the 
 difference between a good and a bad day's sport. 
 
 The present opportunity is taken of submitting to the 
 judgment of anglers a new pattern of hook, constructed 
 on mechanical principles, and the result of some thought 
 and experiment. 
 
 In the department of Trolling — using the term in its 
 widest sense — almost the whole of the tackle described 
 is original, and might properly be called new, but that 
 some of it has already appeared in the " Book of the 
 Pike." Amongst the additions are an improved form of 
 spinning-lead, an artificial trouting-minnow, new flights 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 for Spinning the eel-tail bait for Pike and Salmon, and, 
 as I hope, a satisfactory solution of that long vexed 
 problem, the " Preserved Bait" question. 
 
 In Pond and Float-fishing generally, modern practice 
 and precept have not perhaps left much to be said that 
 is in the strict sense of the term new ; but on these 
 subjects I may at least claim that nothing is put for- 
 ward which I do not myself know to be true. 
 
 It happened to me, in fact, owing to a combination of 
 circumstances, to have graduated in turn in every branch 
 of fish-catching, from Sticklebacks to Salmon; and 
 perhaps few men have wandered further over the 
 United Kingdom in search of sport than I have, or 
 dipped their flies into wilder or more varied waters. 
 Lodging often for weeks together in shepherds' huts 
 and cabins, and sometimes with no lodging but the 
 heather, and no companion but my rod, I have fished 
 Scotland, river and loch, from Coruisk to the Tweed, 
 and back again to the Ness. Ireland I know from the 
 Bush to the Blackwater. I have taken Salmon from 
 the Welsh Conway, and Trout from the grass-covered 
 basin of Llyn Ogwen ; and many a time has my creel 
 grown heavy amongst the fairy foams and brawling 
 shallows of the Dartmoor and Exmoor streams, or by 
 the teeming waters of the Itchen, the Avon, or the 
 Thames, on whose banks I have spent many of the 
 pleasantest years of my life .... But I need say no 
 more on this point — if, indeed, I have already not said 
 too much. My book will be judged, not by who writes 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 it, but by what is written- in it ; and I am not now 
 addressing an angling audience for the first, though it 
 may probably be for the last — time. 
 
 For the rest, no attempt is made in these pages at 
 fine writing. Flowery periods and apposite quotations 
 occupy space ; and, I take it, if any one reads this 
 book it will be with the desire of getting as much in- 
 formation as possible in the plainest and most con- 
 densed form. 
 
 It may be added that the Engravings of fish with 
 which the several chapters are illustrated, have been 
 taken from carefully selected specimens, obtained in 
 every instance from the localities most celebrated for 
 each particular species, and have been executed under 
 my own eye. 
 
 Woodlands, Weybridge, 
 
 Ij/ januatj, 1870. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PART L— TACKLE. 
 
 GENERAL REMARKS, p. I. 
 
 CHAPTER I., pp. 5—15. 
 
 HOOKS. 
 
 Imperfections of hooks ; bend, over-fineness of wire and 'springing,' shank 
 
 point, barb, p. 6. 
 Proper mechanical theory 0/^— penetration, holding-power, strength, lightness, 
 
 neatness, p. 9. 
 Existing lends of hooks — Sneck, Sproat, Limerick, round, Kirby, and their 
 
 defects ; ' hog-backed' hooks, p. 9. 
 Neio pattern of hook described, p. 10. 
 Hooks for trolling tackle — Triangles and double hooks, tail and reverse hooks. 
 
 Lip-hooks, with gimp loops and metal loops; faults of existing patterns, 
 
 new patterns described, p. 14. 
 
 CHAPTER H., pp. 16—22. 
 
 SPINNING TACKLE: FLIGHTS, LEADS, AND SWIVELS. 
 
 Flights — Loss of fish, &c., with old-fashioned flights. New flights, flying 
 
 triangles, p. 18. 
 Kinking — Causes of, defective leads ; the remedy, improved leads, p. 20. 
 Sivivels — Number, arrangement; double swivels, 'loop swivels,' p. 22. 
 
 CHAPTER HI., pp. 23—38. 
 
 LINES AND REELS. 
 
 Trolling lines and dressing for, p. 26. 
 
 Reel-lines for Jly fishing — Dressed line, silk and hair, spun cotton, p. 27. 
 
 Reel-lines for bottom fishing — ' Nottingham line,' p. 28. 
 
 Gut lines — Choice of gut, ' drawn gut.' Staining gut — Defective stains ; one 
 
 general stain recommended; 'red water' and other stains, p. 31. 
 Hair — Objectionable for every kind of fishing; staining : dyeing feathers, p. ^^. 
 Gimp — Different qualities and sizes ; method of staining, p. 34. 
 Reels — Wooden reels or 'pirns,' multipliers, plain reels, check reels, aluminium 
 
 reels. A suggested improvement in reels, p. 38. 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV., pp. 39—52. 
 
 RODS AND ROD MAKING. 
 
 Observations on rod woods : Solid — Hickory, greenhart, ash, willow, fir, p. 43. 
 
 Hollow — East India, or mottled bamboo, white cane, Carolina cane, jungle 
 
 cane, p. 45. 
 Rod rings. — Upright rings recommended for all purposes; 'pronged rings,* 
 
 proper shape for bottom and top rings, p. 48. Ferrules — ' Tube-cut,* 
 
 ' hammered,' ' Brazing' of joints — To separate * stuck' joints, p. 49. 
 A general rod described, p. 52. 
 
 CHAPTER v., pp. 53— 64. 
 
 MISCELLANEA. 
 
 Knots for lines and gut — Lapping over ends, fisherman's knot; some new 
 
 knots described, p. 55. 
 New knots for Salmon and Trout drop flies, &fc., p. 59. 
 Famishes — Green varnish ; rod and tackle varnish, p. 60. 
 Bait-cans — Essentials of ; new 'shoulder' bait-can ; preserving live baits, p. 62. 
 Disgorgei-s — Disgorger blades, a 'fishing knife,' p. 63. 
 Landing-nets and gaffs — A new pocket-net described, p. 64. 
 
 PART II.— FLY-FISHING. 
 CHAPTER VI., pp. 65—78. 
 
 ARTIFICIAL FLIES. 
 
 Present systems of artificial {Trout) flies — 'Colourists' and 'formalists'; both 
 
 theories unsound in part, p. 70. Fishing up-stream, &c., erroneous, p. 71. 
 True theory of artificial Trout flies, and Application of to practice — form, 
 
 colour, size, p. 76. 
 Three typical Trout flies described aiid recommended to be substituted for all 
 
 others for Trout, Whitetrout, and Grayling fishing, p. 76. 
 Theory of Salmon flies — The argument applied; three patterns of flies for 
 
 Salmon and Grilse recommended to be substituted for all others, p. 77. 
 Theory of Whitetrout fi,ies, p. 77. 
 Summary — Six flies only necessary for every description of fly-fishings p. 77. 
 
 CHAPTER VII., pp. 79— 86. 
 
 BROWN-TROUT. 
 
 ARTIFICIAL FLY-FISHING IN RIVERS AND LAKES. 
 
 Salmon and Trout fishing contrasted, p. 79. River-fly-fishing — Casting; 
 
 * switching,' p. ^^. 
 Drop. flies — Theory of; more than one a mistake. How to work the drop-fly, p.84. 
 Striking and playing ; when and where to fish, p. 86. 
 
CONTENTS. XI 
 
 CHAPTER VIII., pp. 87—104. 
 
 TROUT-FLIES. 
 
 Typical flies described — * Green/ ' brown/ and ' yellow' ; new principle of 
 
 construction. A colourless wax, p. 90. Prevailing colours of natural flies. 
 
 Colours of hackles ; dyed hackles best. All flies should be carried in a 
 
 box, p. 93. 
 Selecting of Jlies — Size; colour. Fly rods and tackle. Fishing with the dry 
 
 fly, p. 98. 
 Lake Jiy-Jishing — Choice of flies j size, colour, &c., p. 100. 
 ^Fishing with natural flies — 'Creeper* and stone-fly fishing; blow-line fishing 
 
 with the May-fly, p. 104. 
 
 CHAPTER IX., pp. T05— 113. 
 
 WORM-FISHING. 
 
 Modern and old systems contrasted. Proper times and places for worm-fishing, 
 p. 106. 
 
 Existing tackles; theory of. New tackle described — Suitable for river- 
 bottom fishing generally? p. iii. 
 
 Trace. Best worms; management of bait, &c., p. 113. 
 
 CHAPTER X., pp. 114— 129. 
 
 RIVER AND LAKE MINNOW-SPINNING FOR TROUT, 
 
 Spinniiig with the natural bait. — The essentials of a perfect minnow tackle; 
 
 how to be combined in practice; a 7iew minnow tackle described, p. 117, 
 Artificial baits. N'ew metal minnow described, p. 119. 
 Great Lake Trout ; how, when, and where to spin for; tackle, p. 122. 
 Lake-Spinning for Brown Trout ; tackle, natural and artificial baits, p. 124. 
 Thames Trout-fishing, with the spinning bait and with fly; Tackle, &c. 
 
 Decrease of Thames Trout, p. tisQ. 
 
 CHAPTER XI., pp. 130—135. 
 
 WHITE-TROUT FISHING. 
 
 Different species of White-Trout and their habitats, p. 131. 
 
 U hite-Trout flies — "Green," "brown," and "yellow" typical Trout flies, 
 
 with the addition of tinsel, recommended also for White-Trout. , 
 
 Observations of Jiy-fshing and spinning for. Rod, tackle, &c., p. 134. 
 
xil CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XII., pp. 136—144. 
 
 GRAYLING FISHING. 
 
 Grayling rivers and haunts. — The * Grayling country;' spawning j growth- 
 rate, and nomenclature, p. 139. 
 
 Artificial fly-fishing andjiies. Uselessness of the great number of Grayling 
 flies .; typical Trout Jiies recommended to he substituted. Tackle, when 
 and where to fly-fish, p. 140. 
 
 Grasshopper fishing — best tackle, and mode of using; time, place, p. 144. 
 
 Grayling fishing with the gentle, p. 144. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII., pp. 145—173. 
 
 SALMON FISHING. 
 
 Outline of Salmon history and nomenclature, p. 148. 
 
 Fly-fishing: two principal difficulties, the 'rise' and the 'stroke'; casting 
 
 and working the fly. Salmon haunts, p. 152. 
 Changing fiies, and casting for second rise; wading, &c., p. 154. 
 Salmon and Grilse Jlies : three universal flies described — ' Silver,' ' gold,* 
 
 and * rainbow.' New method of construction — Head-hackles, &c., p. 160. 
 * Loops'" ; and how to fasten flies to casting-lines, p. 162. 
 Rod, reels, lines, and hooks. Gaffing, p. 166. 
 Spinning — Eel-tail bait and tackle, p. 169. 
 Worm-fishing and tackle, p. 173. 
 
 PART III.— "TROLLING,"— OR PIKE-FISHING. 
 
 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS, p. 1 74. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV., pp. 177—199. 
 
 SPINNING. 
 
 Theory of spinning. Spinning fights — The Author's patterns; directions for 
 
 baiting, p. 180; details of construction, p. 182. 
 Traces — leads. Rod, reel, and reel-line for spinning and Pike fishing generally, 
 
 p. 184. 
 How to spin — Casting; 'Nottingham method;' striking; playing; landing, 
 
 p. 191. 
 Spinning-baits — Natural baits; Bleak, Dace, Gudgeon; the Eel-bait, tackle for 
 
 and how to catch. Preserved bait. Sea-fish as baits. Artificial baits, 
 
 Pv T96. 
 fVhe?i and where to spin — Pike haunts and spawning time, p. 199. 
 
CONTENTS. Xlll 
 
 CHAPTER XV., pp. 200—208. 
 
 TROLLING WITH THE DEAD GORGE BAIT. 
 
 Tackle and hooks — New leads; improved fastening for bait. The trace, p. 204. 
 Working the gorge bait — and management whilst gorging. Gorge baits, p. 208. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI., pp. 209—218. 
 
 LIVE-BAIT FISHING. 
 
 Snap live-bait tackle — Defective tackles; essentials of a perfect flight. New 
 pattern and trace described ; mode of baiting, and baiting needles, p. 212. 
 Floats ; new system of, p. 213. Baits, and how to catch, p. 215, 
 How and where to use the live bait. Live gorge bait. Receipt for cooking Pike, 
 p. 217. 
 
 PART IV.— BOTTOM OR FLOAT-FISHING. 
 CHAPTER XVII., pp. 219—225. 
 
 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 'Old' and 'new' (or 'Nottingham^) methods of bottom-fshing, p. 220. 
 Ordinary float-Jishing — Rods, lines, hooks, floats, shot, reels, &c., p. 223. 
 Nottingham Jishing — specialities of, and tackle, p. 225. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII., pp. 226—236. 
 
 BAITS, BAITING, AND GROUND BAIT. 
 
 Baits — Worms; brandlings, lob-worms, where to get and how to preserve; 
 
 Gentles, greaves, pith and bullock's brains. Hasp-grubs ; easy method 
 
 of taking wasp-nests. Pastes. Miscellaneous baits — Caddice: grasshoppers; 
 
 meal-worms; earth-grubs, p. 232. 
 Ground baits — Theory and practice of ground baiting; gentles, paste, bran, 
 
 bread, meal, greaves, grains, rice, worms, p. 236. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX., pp. 237—244. 
 
 PERCH. 
 
 Natural and artificial baits — Spinning andjly-fshi7ig,p. 238. 
 Live-baiting, 'paternostering' and 'roving,' p. 242. 
 Worm-Jishing in lakes, ponds, and rivers. Spawning season, p. 244. 
 The Pope or Ruffe, p. 244. 
 
xiv CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XX., pp. 245—254. 
 
 BARBEL AND BREAM. 
 
 Habits of barbel and 'ground swimmers' generally. Bottom fshing — tackle 
 
 and baits. Leger fishing and tackle, p. 248. 
 Ground baits and baiting — Worms and clay-balls j how to use, p. 250. 
 Habits and Haunts of Barbel — Torpidity in great cold, p. 251. 
 Different species of Bream — Carp Bream; White Bream, or Bream flat; 
 
 Pomeranian Bream : their habitats, and how to be distinguished, p. 252. 
 Bream fishing — Tackle, baits. Ground baits. Spawning time, p. 253. 
 
 CHAPTER XXL, pp. 254—261. 
 
 ROACHANDRUDD. 
 
 Roach and Rudd are distinct species — how to be identified. A new variety of 
 Rudd. Habitats of Roach and Rudd. Spawning season, p. 257, 
 
 Best baits and ground baits in running and stagnant waters, and how to use 
 them. Tackle. Other species of the Roach genus, p. 261. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII., pp. 262—271. 
 
 DACE AND CHUB. 
 
 The two species contrasted — Distinguishing marks, — habits and haunts, p. 265. 
 
 Dace fishing — Baits; ground baits, tackle, &c. Fly-fishing, p. 266. 
 
 Chub fishing with the fly : theory of Chub-flies. Useless multiplication of 
 
 patterns : only one necessary. A new pattern described, p. 209. 
 Floatfishing — Caterpillars and grcisshoppers; live minnows; pith and bullock's 
 
 brains, p. 271. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII.,pp. 272— 278. 
 
 CARP AND TENCH. 
 
 The two species contrasted— Alleged healing powers of Tench. Longevity and 
 
 growth-rate of Carp. Habits and haunts of the two fish, p. 276. 
 Carp and Tench fishing — Tackle, baits, ground baits, &c., p. 278. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV., pp. 279—288. 
 
 ON SMALL FISH PRINCIPALLY USED AS BAITS. 
 
 Bleak — How to fish for with the fly, gentle, and cast-net — How to cook 
 
 Gudgeon and Gudgeon fishing, p. 283. 
 Stone Loach — Miller's Thumb, Minnows and Sticklebacks, p. 286. 
 All anglers should be Ichthyologists, p. 288. 
 
AGENTS FOR SUPPLYING TACKLE. 
 
 The tackle, &c., described in the following pages may 
 be obtained at most good fishing-tackle shops, but the 
 following Manufacturers of long standing have been 
 specially appointed agents, and have undertaken to 
 make and supply it strictly according to pattern. 
 
 I have found some arrangement of this kind indispen- 
 sable, in consequence of the frequent alterations, or so- 
 called '' improvements," introduced into the tackle sold 
 under my name by inferior makers — the effect of such 
 alterations being usually mischievous, and often destruc- 
 tive. I would therefore urge upon fishermen who may 
 be inclined to try the flies, hooks, spinning-flights, &c., 
 herein recommended, to compare them closely with the 
 illustrative patterns and diagrams, and to reject them 
 if inaccurate. H. C.-P. 
 
 I^IST OF A.GENTS. 
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 (London.) 
 
 Mr. Charles Farlow, 191, Strand, W.C. 
 
 Bernard and Son, 4, Church-place, Piccadilly; S.W. 
 
 Mr. Thomas Aldred, 126, Oxford-street, W. 
 
 Miss Phoebe Maria Jones, iii, Jermyn-street, S.W. 
 
 Mr. John MacGowan, 7, Bmton-street, New Bond-street, W. 
 
XVI 
 
 LIST OF AGENTS. 
 
 Messrs. Eaton and Deller, 6 and 7, Crooked-lane, E.G. 
 Gowland and Co., 3 and 4, Crooked-lane, E.G. 
 Chevalier Bowness and Son, 12, Bell-yard, W.C. 
 Messrs. Bowness and Bowness, 230, Strand, W.C. 
 Alfred and Son, 54, Moorgate-street, E.C. 
 
 Winchester . 
 
 Worcester 
 
 Shrewsbury 
 
 Manchester 
 
 Cheltenham 
 
 Edinburgh . 
 
 5) 
 
 Glasgow . . 
 
 Aberdeen . . 
 Inver?tess 
 
 Kelso . . . 
 
 Dublin 
 
 (Provincial.) 
 
 Mr. J. Hammond, Great Minster-street. 
 
 Mr. Frederick Allies, 13, St. Nicholas-street. 
 
 Mr. Henry Shaw, 45, High-street. 
 
 Mr. John Chorlton, 81, Piccadilly. 
 
 Mr. James Ogden, 28, Winchcomb-street. 
 
 SCOTLAND. 
 
 Mrs. F. Hogg, 79, Princes-street 
 Mr. Phin, 80, Princes-street. 
 Mr. J. D. Dougall, 23, Gordon-street. 
 Mr. WilHam Brown, 36, George-street. 
 Mr. Hugh Snowie, 83, Church-street. 
 Forest and Sons, Kelso. 
 
 IRELAND. 
 
 . Martin Kelly and Son, 56, Lower Sackville-street. 
 
 Cork . . . Mr. William Ashton Hackett, 2>^, Patrick-street. 
 
 „ . . . Mr. WilHam Haynes, 62,, Patrick-street. 
 
 Castle-connell Mr. John Enright. 
 
MODERN 
 
 PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 PART I.— TACKLE. 
 
 GENERAL REMARKS. 
 
 We live in times in which, as we are constantly being 
 told, the "schoolmaster is abroad," and certainly the 
 dwellers in what the late Mr. Hood described as the 
 " Eely-Places" have come in for their full share of educa- 
 tional advantages. No well-informed Pike or Trout is 
 now to be ensnared by the simple devices which proved 
 fatal to his progenitors in the good old days of innocence 
 and Izaak Walton : and were we to sally forth with the 
 gear bequeathed to us by our great-grandfathers of 
 lamented memory we should expect to see the whole 
 finny tribe rise up to repel with scorn the insult offered 
 to their understanding. Owing doubtless to the rapidly 
 increasing popularity of fishing of late years, there are 
 
2 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 but few waters on which the shadow of the rod or glitter 
 of the bait is not more or less familiar, and as a conse- 
 quence fish are everywhere becoming more wary and 
 more difficult to catch. If, therefore, we would make as 
 large baskets as we used, we must " subtilise" more and 
 more our deceptive arts, so as to keep pace with the growth 
 of fish-intelligence ; and to this end the most obvious, 
 and on the whole the most important means, is to be 
 sought in improving and refining to the uttermost every 
 part of our fishing tackle. Other circumstances being 
 equal, it n^ay be safely asserted that the man who 
 " fishes finest" will also catch most ; and if we would 
 ensure the presence of the greatest number of "fish- 
 diners" we must offer them a recherche menu. The 
 most primitive cookery and the coarsest bill of fare 
 will, it is true, be sufficient to attract the very lean or 
 very hungry ; but we want to entice also the fat 
 and well-flavoured gourmand, the fellow who has just 
 been breakfasting on a souchet of water-shrimps, or 
 making a prolonged luncheon on that bonne bouche 
 of the fish-epicure, the dainty and succulent little 
 May-fly. 
 
 It is with fish, in fact, very much as with ourselves : 
 the more daintily a repast is served up the more we 
 feel inclined to partake of it. Half-starved, or fast- 
 ing, the lords, ay, and ladies too, of creation can 
 relish anything — even the ponderous, antiquated joint, 
 or unprepossessing pea-soup ; but when once the edge 
 
GENERAL REMARKS. 3 
 
 of hunger is taken off we require something gusta- 
 tory — highly-spiced entrees, jellies, creams, ices, — and 
 finally, to stimulate the jaded appetite, man's original 
 tempter, fruit, in which form and colour are called in to 
 assist taste. 
 
 To sum up the argument, therefore, I say that to 
 " fish fine" — finer if possible than any one else on the 
 same water — and to tickle the piscine palate to the 
 utmost, is the most certain way of making the heaviest 
 creel. As it has been well paraphrased : — " Tell me 
 what your tackle is, and I will tell you what your 
 basket is." 
 
 Nor is it only as regards the basket that fine-fishing is 
 to be commended : it is the only mode of killing fish 
 that deserves the name of sport. To land a twenty 
 pound Salmon or Pike by a single strand of gut, almost 
 invisible as it cuts the water like a knife, is a performance 
 to be proud of ; to lure " from his dark haunt beneath 
 the tangled roots," the pampered monarch of the brook 
 — to raise, strike, and steer him by a thread like gossamer 
 through fifty perils by bank, bush, and scaur, and finally 
 to lay the massive beauty gurgling on the green-sward 
 with the microscopic hook still unshaken from his jaws, 
 is a feat which taxes every nerve and the powers both of 
 mind and body to accomplish. But what skill or 
 pleasure either can there be in hauling out a miserable 
 animal by sheer brute force, with a machine like a cart- 
 rope and a clothes-prop .^ There is no '' law" shown to 
 
 B 2 
 
4 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 the fish, and not the slightest prowess by the fisherman. 
 It is fish-slaughter — murder — anything you like — but it 
 is not *' sport." The essence of sport consists in the 
 amount of skill, difficulty, or danger to be exerted or 
 overcome in its pursuit. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 HOOKS. 
 
 General obser'vat'ions — Mechanical imperfections of hooks, bend, over- 
 fineness of wire and ' springing,' shank, point, and barb. Proper 
 theory of hooks — Points of a perfect hook, how to be attained : pene- 
 tration, holding-power, strength, lightness, and neatness. Existing 
 bends of hooks — Sneck, Sproat, Limerick, round, Kirby, and their 
 defects; 'hog-backed' hooks. Ne^ pattern described. Hooks for 
 trolling tackle — Triangles and double hooks, tail and reverse hooks. 
 Lip-hooks, with gimp loops, metal loops ; fault of existing patterns, 
 new patterns described. 
 
 Too much importance cannot be attached by the fisher- 
 man to everything that concerns hooks. They are to 
 the angler what the main-spring is to the watch, or the 
 crank to the steam-engine — the very alpha of his craft. 
 The whole art and paraphernalia of angling have for their 
 objects first to hook fish, and secondly, to keep them 
 hooked. And yet, extraordinary as it may seem in such 
 a mechanical age as ours, we cannot go into a tackle 
 shop and buy a hook in which one or more glaring 
 defects — or offences against the first principles of me- 
 chanics — cannot be pointed out. The most common 
 fault of all perhaps lies in the shape of the bend. I 
 have shown, when alluding to this subject in the Book of 
 
6 MODERN PRACTICAL .ANGLER. 
 
 tJic Pike, how great is the difference in the penetrating 
 powers of different bends. Between the two extremes 
 it amounts to no less than cent, per cent. ; and yet even 
 the best of these fall below the point of efficiency which 
 ought to be attainable. Another obvious fault is over- 
 fineness in the wire, from which it results that when the 
 point comes sharply in contact with a bone or other 
 hard portion of a fish-s mouth, or even on the sudden 
 jerk occasioned by striking softer material, it "springs'* 
 — that is, yields by a widening of the bend outwards — 
 and so fails to penetrate. On the form of the shank 
 of the hook, again, depends to a considerable extent in 
 fly-fishing, the proper and even swim of the lure ; and 
 whilst the point and barb are the first portions of the 
 hook to be brought into requisition in practice, it would 
 seem that they are the last on which any theoretical 
 consideration has been bestowed. 
 
 The theory of hooks, as based simply on mechanical 
 principles, should probably run somewhat as follows : — 
 
 1. What are the objects to be aimed at in a perfect 
 
 hook ? 
 
 a. Penetration. 
 h. Holding power. 
 
 c. Strength. 
 
 d. Lightness and neatness. 
 
 2. How are these to be attained and combined ? 
 
 Penetration. — Cateris paribus, the penetrating power of any hook 
 will be greater in proportion as the angle of impact — the angle, that 
 
HOOKS. 7 
 
 is, at which the point of the hook strikes the fish's mouth — coincides 
 with the direction of the force applied (i.e. the pull of the line) : or 
 to illustrate this by a diagram :— 
 
 DEFCCTIVE HOOKS 
 
 FIG .1 
 
 The dotted line a e represents the direction of the applied force ; the 
 penetration will be greater as the direction of the line of the point c d, 
 is coincident with that of a e. In figure i these two lines actually 
 correspond, and if there were no other matters to be taken into con- 
 sideration this hook, so far as penetration depending on bend is con- 
 cerned, would be mechanically perfect. Figure 2 represents a hook 
 in which the converse of the above principle is illustrated. 
 
 These principles hold good equally in the case of hooks the points 
 of which are crooked or turned sideways, as in the Kirbys and Snecks, 
 the penetration diminishing as the point is turned from the direction of 
 the applied force ; and accordingly this is the one particular in which 
 the Limerick is superior to the other bends. The sproat and round-bends 
 have also a similar advantage. In all these hooks the angle of impact, 
 such as it is, is direct. 
 
 The above arguments are based, it will be observed, on the assump- 
 tion that in all other respects except the bend, the hooks under compa- 
 rison are equal. But in fact hooks are divided into two broad divisions, 
 the one possessing and the other lacking an element which has an 
 obvious bearing on the penetrative power. I refer to the shape of 
 the shank, whether straight or * hog-backed ' (curved). The substi- 
 
8 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 tution of a necessarily more or less yielding and elastic curve for a per- 
 fectly straight and rigid shank, cannot but affect adversely the pene- 
 trating powers. As regards the penetration of the point itself, it is 
 clear that, other circumstances being equal, the smaller the hole to be 
 made the less will be the force required to make it ; and also that a 
 long straightly tapered point, like that shown in figure i, will penetrate 
 more easily than a shorter and " blunter," or hoUo'wed-out point of the 
 form represented in figure 3. This latter principle, is merely, in fact, 
 a converse application of the mechanical truism, that what is gained in 
 speed is lost in power. If two barbs are of the same maximum 
 diameter, and one is twice as long as the other, the longer barb will 
 for practical purposes penetrate with half the pressure required by the 
 shortei-. 
 
 Again, with regard to the " point-side" of the barb (r d in diagram), it 
 is obvious that in order to insure a firm and deep penetration this side 
 must be of a proper length. The want of length in this part of the 
 hook is one of the faults of the " Sproat-bend" which is exaggerated 
 for sake of illustration in figure 3. 
 
 Holding po'voer, — To illustrate this I shall take a case which is both 
 the most common in practice and will admit of a theoretical demonstra- 
 tion : that of the hook having penetrated quite through the lip of the fish, 
 so that the point protrudes. In this case it is evident that, when once 
 hooked, the nearer the point approaches the shank of the hook, the 
 less chance must the fish have of escaping. This will be seen by car- 
 rying the principle to the extreme limit — and assuming that the point 
 was so bent in after hooking as actually to touch the shank ; the fish's 
 lip would then be enclosed in a complete triangle, from which, of 
 course, there could be no possible escape. 
 
 Strength. — It is obvious that those portions of the hook w^hich are 
 nearly or quite in the same line as the penetrating cr holding force, have 
 little or no strain to bear. This is the case with the shank and with 
 the short or point- side of the hook shown in the engraving fig. i. The 
 strain, therefore, is thrown on the top side, and more especially on the 
 angle yj and it is precisely in this point that the common sneck-bends 
 have hitherto failed in practice. So marked has been this failure 
 that I have known three Salmon to be lost within an hour, with sncck 
 JioolvS, all by breakages at the angle in question. 
 
 Lightness and neatness. — The lightest form of hook, other points 
 
HOOKS. 9 
 
 being equal, must evidently be that in which, whilst retaining the re- 
 quisite thickness of metal at the portion subject to strain, the parts not 
 so subject— that is, the shank and " point-side"— are tapered away to- 
 wards the ends. Hooks so tapered are also neater when employed for 
 flies, and more convenient for general use. 
 
 The patterns of hook which at present most nearly 
 fulfil the conditions indicated by a practical application 
 of the foregoing theory are the sneck and sproat-bend 
 hooks ; the former is however marred by two faults, the 
 turning to one side of the point, and the lack of strength 
 above described ; and the latter by the want of depth 
 and power in the point-side, the hollowed out or 
 blunted shape of the barb, and the curved or " hog- 
 backed" form of the shank. Appearance, or neatness, is 
 of course a matter of taste, but whatever other claims the 
 sproat-bend has upon our suffrages they can hardly, I 
 think, be urged on the score of beauty. The Limerick 
 hook also has the disadvantage, though in a less ex- 
 aggerated form than the " sproat," of being hog-backed, 
 which, as I have shown, prevents the fly swimming 
 straight and even, and gives it an inclination to turn in 
 the water, like a miniature spinning-bait. The round 
 and Kirby bends are very deficient in penetrating power, 
 and disproportionately short in the shank as compared 
 to their breadth of bend, either for appearance or use, 
 more particularly in the matter of flies. 
 
 In the pattern of hook which is now being manufac- 
 tured by Messrs. Hutchinson, of Kendal, under m}^ 
 name, I have endeavoured to hit the medium bcLvvcea 
 
lO 
 
 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 theoretical and practical requirements, and to com- 
 bine as nearly as possible the advantages of the 
 various bends referred to, and especially of the sproat 
 and sneck bends, whilst avoiding what I believe to be 
 their faults. 
 
 Diagrams both of this hook and of the other hooks 
 described, are appended, and by applying to them 
 the principles advocated, my readers will be able to 
 form their own conclusions as to how far the pattern 
 I recommend fulfils the ideal sketched out. In this 
 
 n 
 
 n 
 
 n 
 
 n 
 
 yn 
 
 1 1 
 
 1 1 
 I I 
 
 n 
 
 KIRBr LIMERICK 
 
 SPROAT 
 
 diagram the dotted lines show the directness or other- 
 wise of the angle of impact, and in this point it will be 
 seen that my hook is slightly inferior to the spr oat-bend. 
 In order however to obtain this extra-directness, both 
 the depth and therefore strength of the hold, the shape 
 of the barb, and generally the elegance of the whole 
 hook have in the sproat-bend been sacrificed. In my 
 pattern the angle of impact is quite direct enough to 
 ensure penetration, whilst the slight additional " rank- 
 
 I 
 
c 
 
 c 
 
 c 
 
 lO 
 
 's 
 
 9/ 
 
 U 
 
 b 
 
 b 
 
 wis 
 
HOOKS. 1 1 
 
 ness" of the point makes it less likely to miss hooking 
 than if it were turned more inwards. 
 
 Fac-similes of the several sizes of my hooks are re- 
 presented in the annexed plate, and the numbers given 
 under each are those by which they are distinguished 
 by the manufacturers. 
 
 Hooks used in Trolling Tackle. — Triangles 
 AND Double Hooks. 
 
 Whatever is the best bend for single hooks is a fortiori 
 also the best for every description of triangles. 
 
 All triangles should invariably be brazed {i.e. soldered) 
 together, so as to form a single piece. This has a very 
 great influence upon their killing power, principally, no 
 doubt, because triangles which are only whipped to- 
 gether are liable to slip or yield, when brought into 
 sudden and violent contact with a fish's jaws. 
 
 Triangles of various sizes composed of my pattern of 
 hook, as also double hooks for gorge-live-baiting and 
 other purposes, are now being manufactured by Messrs. 
 Hutchinson, the shank, in the larger sizes, being made a 
 trifle shorter for the sake of neatness and lightness. 
 The numbers correspond with those of the single hooks, 
 according to the width of bend. 
 
 Tail- Hooks. 
 
 When my attention was first directed to the subject 
 of Spinning-tackle, I found that one of the chief draw- 
 
12 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 backs of the old flights was that after a few casts the 
 strain on the bait's tail was apt to work out the fixed 
 hooks — set in the usual way point upwards — and thus 
 to destroy the curve of the bait on which its spinning 
 depended. This was combined with other minor 
 defects which need not be recapitulated. In order to 
 remedy these, I substituted for the small single tail 
 hook a long-shanked round-bend hook with a smaller 
 reverse hook lapped on to the end of the shank, so that 
 when the latter was fixed in its place, the " pull" of the 
 two hooks counteracted each other, and the bait both 
 spun more brilliantly and lasted very much longer than 
 under the old system. For readier manipulation these 
 hooks were subsequently made in a single piece, and in 
 this form are now very generally adopted by spinners. 
 In the plate annexed fac-similes of the sizes most 
 commonly in use are given for convenience of reference, 
 the numbers being those of Messrs. Hutchinson. 
 
 In tail-hooks the round bend is preferable to any 
 other, as it is more easily slipped under the skin of the 
 bait and gives it a more perfect curve, and consequently 
 a more rapid and regular motion. Directions for baiting, 
 with other detailed instructions for the use of these hooks, 
 will be found under the head of Pike-spinmng. 
 
 Lip-Hooks. 
 
 The lip-hook is a very important portion of the 
 spinning-flight, as upon it depends the proper position 
 
s 
 
HOOKS. 13 
 
 of the bait and flight. The chief objects to be aimed at 
 in this hook are durability and neatness combined with 
 ease in shifting when required, and complete fixedness 
 or immobility at other times. The three last desiderata 
 were all ver>^ fairly fulfilled by the old-fashioned lip- 
 hook, composed of gimp loops whipped on to an ordi- 
 nary lip-hook. The construction of this 
 lip-hook is shown below (figure 2). The 
 two little loops are formed by doubling a 
 piece of fine wire or gimp (figure i), and 
 laying it on the upper side of the shank of 
 the hook, and then lapping over all except the two ends. 
 When complete, the end of the gimp or gut to which 
 the flight is tied should be passed upwards through the 
 lower loop, then twisted two or three times round the 
 shank of the hook, and again passed upwards through 
 the upper loop and drawn tight. 
 
 To shift the position of the lip-hook higher or 
 lower, it is only necess^^ry to loosen the coils round 
 the hook by pushing the gimp upwards or down- 
 wards through the loops and then tightening from the 
 other end. 
 
 In the other essential of durability, however, it was 
 less satisfactory, and consequently various plans have 
 been tried for some years to remedy this deficiency by 
 making lip-hooks entirely of steel, one or both of the 
 loops being brazed to the shank. Hitherto, however, 
 these have been practical failures, as owing to the slip- 
 
14 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 periness of the polished steel the line could not be 
 twisted round it tight enough to prevent its shifting its 
 position with the slightest strain, such as that, for 
 instance, which would be occasioned by its catching in 
 a weed. It became a slzp-hook, in fact, instead of a 
 /^/'-hook. 
 
 The manner in which the loops were set also caused 
 the gimp to stand out at each end in a manner that was 
 both unsightly, and which tended to lessen the direct- 
 ness of the line of pull, at the point where it was espe- 
 cially necessary, I have lately, however, had a metal 
 
 lip-hook made in which these 
 
 METAL LIP -HOOKS ,.„ , . mi t i i- t 
 
 difficulties will I believe be 
 found to have been overcome. 
 By leaving the shank of the 
 hook rough (unpolished) in- 
 stead of smooth, the gimp no 
 longer slips when once fixed in 
 position, and by some slight 
 changes in the position of the 
 steel loops it is made to hang 
 
 WEW PATTERN • OLD PATTERN 
 
 quite straight. The results of 
 the two systems in regard to this latter point are shown 
 in fac-simile in the engraving. 
 
 Diagrams of the several sizes of these lip-hooks likely 
 to be really wanted in the construction of spinning tackle 
 are given in the last plate (p. 12), with their numbers of 
 reference. All lip-hooks should be made small rather 
 
HOOKS. 15 
 
 than large, as they comparatively seldom touch a fish, 
 and they show more than any others on the flight. 
 It is also desirable to keep the bait's mouth shut as 
 closely as possible. The hook figured in the wood- 
 cut at page 13 is about the number suitable for a 
 medium-sized gudgeon. 
 
l6 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 SPINNING TACKLE : FLIGHTS, LEADS, AND SWIVELS. 
 
 Flights — Drawbacks to spinning : loss of fish ; causes of losses ; old- 
 fashioned flights, flying triangles, new flights. Kinking — Causes of 
 kinking, defective leads ; the remedy, improved leads. Sivi've/s^- 
 Number, arrangement ; double swivels, * loop swivels.' 
 
 In spinning, both for Pike, and for lake or Thames 
 Trout, two great drawbacks were formerly experienced : 
 one the large proportion of fish lost after being struck ; 
 and another the " kinking," or crinkling of the line, to 
 which both sport and temper were not infrequently sacri- 
 ficed. The average of fish lost after being struck with 
 the old-fashioned tackle was computed at from fifty to 
 sixty per cent, — an estimate which has been generally 
 admitted to be under rather than over the mark. 
 
 Flights. 
 The above result was attributable mainly to the large 
 number of hooks and triangles — the latter ranging from 
 three to five — formerly employed on a good-sized flight. 
 These were not only useless, but distinctly mischievous, 
 both as regards the spinning of the bait and the basket- 
 ing of the fish when hooked. Upon the bait they acted 
 
SPINNING TACKLES. 17 
 
 by impairing its brilliancy and attractiveness, rendering 
 it flabby and inelastic. Upon the fish they operated 
 only as fulcrums by which he was enabled to work out 
 the hold of such hooks as were already fast. The great 
 size also, and the defective bends of many of the hooks 
 used contributed materially to swell the proportion of 
 losses, as it should be recollected that to strike a No. 20 
 hook fairly over the barb, requires at least three times the 
 force that is required to strike in a No. 10 ; and that this 
 disparity is increased when the hooks are used in triangles. 
 A Jack, say, has taken a spinning-bait dressed with a flight 
 of three or four of these large triangles, and a sprinkling 
 of single hooks — perhaps eleven or twelve in all. The 
 bait probably lies between his jaws grasped cross- 
 wise, and therefore the points of at least six of 
 these hooks will most likely be pressed by the fish's 
 mouth, whilst the bait also to which they are attached 
 is held firmly in his teeth. The whole of this combined 
 resistance must be overcome — and that at one stroke^ 
 and sharply — before a single point can be buried above 
 the barb. 
 
 The grand principle in the construction of all spinning- 
 tackle is the use of the flying triangle as distinguished 
 from that whipped upon the central link. A flight con- 
 structed with flying triangles can never fail to be 
 tolerably certain, in landing at least, a fish once struck. 
 There are, however, many degrees of excellence in such 
 flights, even in the item of " landing ;" and as regards 
 
 c 
 
1 8 MODERN TRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 the " spinning," not one in a hundred of those that have 
 come under my notice has been in the least calculated 
 to make a bait spin properly. 
 
 In order to ascertain the best combination of hooks, 
 &c. for this purpose, I carefully experimented upon 
 every part of the spinning flight and trace ; including 
 the number, shape, size, and arrangement of the hooks, 
 leads, and swivels, with the various materials out of 
 which a trace can be composed, in every case carefully 
 testing theory by practice, and sparing no pains or 
 trouble to obtain reliable results. The several arrange- 
 ments of spinning flights which these experiments 
 proved to be most suitable to the different varieties 
 of baits and flsh are given in the chapters devoted 
 to each. Some of the flights have already been de- 
 scribed in my former works and are now very generally 
 used. 
 
 Kinking. 
 
 If the large proportion of fish lost was one great 
 drawback to the popularity of spinning, " kinking," or 
 the twisting up of the line into knots and loops, was cer- 
 tainly a still greater one. Trollers generally imagined 
 that kinking was the fault of the running line, or its 
 dressing ; and all their attention was accordingly 
 concentrated on these points, which, however im- 
 portant in other respects, had seldom anything to do 
 with the real question. The vice lay not in the line 
 
SPINNING TACKLES. I9 
 
 but in the lead. No moderately well dressed line 
 ought ever to kink with a lead constructed on proper 
 principles. 
 
 The lead, however, was always fastened to the trace, 
 by the latter passing throicgh a Jiole in the centre y and the 
 result was that it offered no resistance worth mentioning 
 to the rotatory motion of the bait, the effects of which, 
 instead of being confined to the trace below the leads, 
 consequently extended upwards to the running line, and 
 produced kinking. Kinking is in fact only another 
 word for twisting ; abolish twisting, and you abolish 
 kinking also. 
 
 The seat of the disease being thus ascertained, the 
 cure was easy. By a reference to the annexed diagram 
 
 % 
 
 a. Lead, c h, Lioe of trace, d. End nearest bait. 
 
 it will be observed that the lead, instead of resting as 
 usual 071 the line, hangs horizontally tmderneath it ; and 
 it is in the application of this principle that the only 
 permanent remedy for kinking is to be sought. By 
 changing the centre of gravity the resisting power or vis 
 inerticE of the lead, is, for the purpose in question, more 
 than quadrupled, without any increase of weight ; the 
 proper action of the swivels is insured ; and all danger 
 of kinking obviated. 
 
 C 2 
 
20 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 Since I brought the above subject under the notice of 
 anglers, in iS6i, I have had the satisfaction of seeing 
 thi^ principle adopted by the large majority of trollers, 
 and its efficacy as a complete cure for kinking generally 
 admitted. The engra\-ing below represents the final result 
 
 of my experiments to reduce the principle to practice in 
 the simplest possible form. I think it will be found that 
 the arrangement of lead as shown in the diagram meets 
 whatever objections have been urged against this tackle, 
 on the ground of its liability- to catch in weeds, un- 
 sightliness, &c. In attaching the lead to the trace, all 
 that is necessary is that at the point where it is to 
 remain, \'iz., just above the swivel, it should fit the trace 
 tightly, so as not to shift its p>osition. 
 
 The lead is greatly impro^-ed by being varnished, or 
 painted, a dark green, or weed tint, as lead is a very 
 showy colour in bright -water, and I have on more than 
 one occasion kno\%-n fish to run at and seize the lead, 
 instead of the bait An excellent varnish for this 
 purpose is made with pKDwdered dark green sealing-wax, 
 and spirit of wine, mixed to about the thickness of thin 
 treacle: 
 
SPINNING TACKLES. 21 
 
 Swivels. 
 
 From four to six swivels form the ordinary, and indeed 
 necessary complement to each set of spinning gear, 
 where the lead is suspended on the old plan ; and these 
 being distributed at intervals up and down the trace 
 make a great show and stir in the water, frighten the 
 fish, weaken the tackle, and are withal expensive. 
 With the lead arranged as above a single really good 
 swivel that works freely, fastened immediately below the 
 lead, is usually sufficient for every purpose. The spinner 
 is thus enabled to get a clear 2 or 3 feet of gut or 
 clouded gimp between the bait and the lead — a very 
 material assistance to fine-fishing. The danger of kink« 
 ing, however, from the result of rust or otherwise is di- 
 minished by the use of a double swivel which I have had 
 made for some years past with this object {vide cut). 
 Blue swivels show less in the water than bright 
 ones, and are less liable to rust. There are several 
 swivels now made with a spring loop at one end, 
 to or from which the loop of the line or trace 
 can be attached or detached in a moment by 
 the hand, and these are of great practical con- 
 venience in the manipulation of almost all kinds of spin- 
 ning and trolling trackle. One of the simplest forms is re- 
 presented in the diagram at p. 20. Theoretically it might 
 seem that there would be danger of the loop of the trace 
 or line twisting out of these spring loops, but in practice 
 
22 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 I have never found the difficulty to arise, provided 
 the loop is only just large enough to slip on to the 
 swivel. Swivels work best and last longest when of 
 medium or small size, like that represented, and they 
 should always be well oiled before and after being 
 used. 
 
23 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 LINES AND REELS. 
 
 Trolling lines — Ancient lines, dressings for trolling lines. Reel-lines for 
 fly fishing — Dressed line, silk and hair, spun cotton. Reel-lines for 
 bottom fishing — ' Nottingham line.' Gut lines — Choice of gut, 
 ' drawn gut'. Staining gut — Defective stains ; Mr. Stewart's stain 
 recommended red water-stain ; other stains. Hair — Not to be re- 
 commended ; for any kind of fishing ; mode of dyeing ; dyeing 
 feathers. Gimp — Different qualities and sizes ; method of staining. 
 Rxels — Wooden reels or ' pirns,' multipliers, plain reels, check reels, 
 aluminium reels. A suggested improvement in reels. 
 
 Reel Lines for Trolling. 
 
 Very little seems to be known about ancient lines, 
 whether for trolling, or any other fishing. We learn, 
 however, that they were sometimes made of hemp, 
 sometimes of horsehair, and perhaps also occasionally of 
 byssits — a stringy substance by which certain species of 
 mussels and pinnae adhere to the rocks, — but certainly 
 not of gut. That they were finely twisted, however, the 
 epithets ^^ eiiplokavws!' '' linostrophos',' &c., sufficiently 
 indicate. Finally they were very short ; often barely 
 the length of the rod, which was itself shorter than ours. 
 Amongst our own predecessors in the gentle craft 
 great differences of opinion existed as to the qualities 
 
24 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 which a trolling line should possess, and every conceiv- 
 able variety of material has been at one time or other 
 recommended for its composition, from " sheep and cat- 
 gut," to " silver and silk twisted." Even amongst more 
 modern authorities some peculiar divergencies are ob- 
 servable. Palmer Hackle (Robert Blakey), for instance, 
 recommends horsehair, pur ct simple ; — a recipe which 
 I cannot think likely to prove very successful, as it is 
 within the experience of most troUers that, even with 
 the addition of a proportion of silk, twenty yards of 
 ordinary fly-line cannot be induced to run out through 
 the rings of a jack rod. A few lines further on, however, 
 Mr. Blakey explains that " there are other sorts kept by 
 the tackle-shops, but — he has never tried them ;" and, 
 therefore, he "will back a hair-line against them all at a 
 venture." The bare material for a trolling line of 
 genuine horsehair 80 yards long, would cost from 25s. 
 to 30s. 
 
 Three qualifications are essential to a trolling line : 
 strength ; a certain amount of stiffening ; and impervi- 
 ousness to water, without which no line can be prevented 
 from swelling and knotting into tangles when wet and 
 uncoiled from the reel. And here it may be at once ad- 
 mitted that these conditions are all very fairly fulfilled 
 by the ordinary 8-plait dressed-silk trolling lines sup- 
 plied by the tackle makers. Some discussion has re- 
 cently taken place as to the merits of catechu, india- 
 rubber, and other waterproof dressings, especially in 
 
LINES AND REELS. 2$ 
 
 securing greater durability, and I shall hope at a future 
 opportunity to go more fully into this question with 
 reference to a few experiments which I have carried 
 out, — but I am satisfied that up to the present time no 
 practical application of either of these dressings has been 
 arrived at, or, at least, made public, which, having regard 
 to the numerous points to be considered, will bear com- 
 parison with common 8-plait oiled silk, and I recommend 
 the use of this line — of course of different sizes — for all 
 sorts of Pike and Salmon fishing, paternostering, leger- 
 fishing, and Minnow-spinning. 
 
 It cannot be denied, however, that there is always 
 some little uncertainty in the effect of oil dressings, 
 especially when manipulated by amateurs ; and I have 
 on several occasions had lines returned after re-dressing 
 — and that too from very careful hands — which for some 
 reason or other seemed to become in parts almost imme- 
 diately rotten, a result as far as I could judge, only 
 attributable to the effect of the new dressing. 
 
 One great safeguard against premature decay we 
 know ; and that is, never to put by a line until it has 
 been thoroughly dried. Attention to this simple pre- 
 caution will save some expense, and not a few of those 
 precipitate partings between fish and fisherman, which 
 are so painful to at least one of the parties concerned. 
 
 From 60 to 80 yards will be found the most convenient 
 length of trolling line for general use ; as to sub- 
 stance, a medium rather than a very fine or very stout 
 
26 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 plait ; and for colour the pale green tint which is now 
 very properly preferred to the yellow, as showing less in 
 the water. A heavy line will impair the " play" of the 
 bait at any considerable distance. 
 
 Reel Lines for Fly-fishing. 
 
 During the last few years it has become a not uncom- 
 mon custom amongst fly-fishers to use for the fly the 
 same 8-plait dressed silk line just described as most 
 suitable for trolling purposes ; and in v/indy weather the 
 extra weight of such a line as compared with its bulk is 
 an unquestionable advantage. Perhaps, however, the 
 dressed line has made most converts owing to the 
 equally unquestionable shortcomings of the mixed silk 
 and hair line which was commonly the alternative. 
 Nothing can well be worse than this line. It is expen- 
 sive ; wears out quickly ; is never really strong even 
 when new ; " kinks" on the slightest provocation, and, 
 owing to the protrusion of numberless points of hair, has 
 a special inaptitude for running freely through rod-rings. 
 For these reasons no one who values pocket or comfort 
 should use a silk and hair line, whether twisted or 
 plaited. Until recently I have myself for some years 
 used the dressed silk line, and found it at least strong 
 and smooth-running — two great advantages, it must be 
 admitted, — but during the past twelvemonth a new de- 
 scription of line made of spun cotton has been sent to 
 me for trial, which whilst inexpensive as compared with 
 
LINES AND REELS. 2/ 
 
 the dressed silk line, is equally strong and more durable. 
 This line is what is termed " cable-laid " — twisted, that 
 is, in the same manner as a ship's cable, — the principle 
 of which is that whilst the cable itself is twisted, say 
 from right to left, the separate ropes of which it is com- 
 posed are twisted from left to right. The result of this 
 is that the two twists counteract each other in their 
 mutual inclination to kink, and when wetted the cable 
 instead of swelling hardens and contracts. The spun- 
 cotton lines are made on the same principle, of sizes to 
 suit all sorts of fish, including Salmon, and answer per- 
 fectly both for fly-fishing and ordinary bottom fishing. 
 
 They are not dressed in any way, but are stained a 
 good neutral, or slate colour. Specimens were also sent 
 me of the same lines dressed in various ways with india- 
 rubber and tar for purposes of trolling. Neither of the 
 dressings, however, properly effect their object ; and if 
 they did, would still be useless, as in a single day's 
 spinning the whole of the dressing wears off. The 
 Company,^ however, informed me that at my suggestion 
 they were about to try experiments with oil dressings, 
 with what result I have not yet heard. 
 
 Reel Lines for Bottom-fishing. 
 
 A line of exceptional lightness, and with a disinclina- 
 tion to " kink" when wetted, is essential for the most 
 successful and scientific method of bottom-fishing, 
 
 * " The Manchester Twine-Spinning Company." 
 
28 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 known as the " Nottingham style." Long casts have to 
 be made with so light a bait and tackle, that unless the 
 line is almost as fine as gossamer, and runs very easily, 
 it will not pass through the rod rings without great 
 trouble. It must also be " un-dressed," or it will sink 
 instead of floating, and thus render it impossible to 
 strike a bite effectively at long range. I have in my 
 possession a line made at Nottingham which fulfils ad- 
 mirably all these conditions. It is composed of six or 
 eight of the finest possible strands of silk, plaited some- 
 what in a square shape ; and in thickness does not 
 exceed that of ordinary " Holland thread," one hundred 
 yards weighing exactly three-eighths of an ounce. And 
 yet, fine as it is, it will lift a dead weight of between 6 lbs. 
 and 7 lbs., which is double the strain that it is ever likely 
 to be subjected to. 
 
 This line is the best that can be used on the reel for 
 every description of bottom fishing, with the exceptions 
 mentioned under the head of TroUing-lines. 
 
 There is a twisted silk line, sold in the tackle-shops, 
 which is cheaper, but which kinks directly it is wet, ren- 
 dering it useless for Nottingham fishing. 
 
 Gut-lines. 
 
 Gut lines are to be preferred for every description of 
 bottom and fly-fishing, and, especially in the latter case ; 
 it is important that they should be carefully and evenly 
 tapered from top to bottom. The three chief points to 
 
LINES AND REELS. 29 
 
 be looked to in selecting silk-worm gut, are roundness, 
 evenness of substance, and above all transpai^ency ; and in 
 the case of very fine gut, to seeing that it has not been 
 scraped, or artificially fined down in any way. Gut so 
 treated is what is termed " drawn-gicty Its appearance 
 is not so glossy as the natural material, and it frays and 
 wears out almost directly when exposed to moisture and 
 friction of any sort. Exceedingly fine, round, natural 
 gut is, of course, somewhat expensive, and not always to 
 be obtained without some trouble, but it is essential in 
 many kinds of fishing, and will in the end be found 
 really much more economical than gut artificially fined. 
 
 Staining Gut. 
 
 Stained or clouded gut is much to be preferred to gut 
 unstained, because it is less visible in the water. Diffe- 
 rent fishermen afiect dift"erent stains, some preferring 
 what is termed the " red- water stain," others a neutral 
 or slate tint, and others a blue. The most important 
 point in the staining of gut is to remove the gloss, which 
 catches the light, and on a sunny day glitters through 
 the water in a manner that must produce no little as- 
 tonishment among the fish, and which would probably 
 equally astonish the angler himself could he obtain a 
 bird's-eye, or rather fish's-eye, view of his line. 
 
 In this cardinal point, however, all the ordinary stains 
 used by the tackle makers signally fail ; the tints of 
 colour produced being moreover by no means the best 
 
30 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 obtainable. It is to be remembered that the fish sees 
 the gut usually from below, and that therefore, especially 
 in fly-fishing, the colour of the water hardly affects the 
 question. A colour which without being glossy will 
 assimilate best with the sky-tint for the time being is 
 that which would be theoretically perfect if obtainable, 
 but as the sky-tints change perpetually, dark alternating 
 with light, and sun with shade, so as to make it impos- 
 sible in practice to keep the colours actually matched, 
 the next best thing is to employ a colour which har- 
 monizes best with the largest number of the most com- 
 monly prevailing cloud-tints. This colour appears to be 
 a sort of greyish-green, but I have never met with any 
 single stain which will produce it. It seems to require 
 the blending of several separate tints, and that may 
 probably be the secret of the success of the following 
 receipt, for which I was originally indebted to my friend 
 Mr. W. C. Stewart :— 
 
 The first step in the process is to impart to the gut a lightish tint of 
 the common " red-water stain." For this purpose take a teacupful of 
 black tea, and boil it with a quart of water : keeping the gut steeped 
 in the mixture until it has acquired the necessary tint. This process 
 will sometimes take only half an hour or even less, and sometimes 
 several hours, according to the strength and staining power of the tea : 
 when sufTiciently stained, rinse the gut well in cold water. When dry, 
 take a handful of logwood-chips (obtainable at most druggists), and 
 boil Ihcm in a quart of water till the latter is reduced to about a pint. 
 Then take it off the fire, and put into it a small piece of copperas, (sul- 
 phate of copper) about the size of a hazel nut, powdered, stir the mix- 
 ture, and when the copperas is dissolved, which it will be in a few 
 minutes, dip the gut into the mixture until it has got the dirty greyish- 
 
, LINES AND REELS. 3 1 
 
 green tinge described. Very often a few instants' immersion will be 
 sufficient, and in order to ascertain the exact amount of the stain, as 
 well as to avoid overstaining, it is best always to keep a basin of water 
 clos^ at hand to rinse the gut in, the moment it is taken out of the dye. 
 
 This method of staining involves a Httle extra trouble, 
 but it is trouble well bestowed, and will tell on the 
 baskets. The removal of the gloss is I think due to the 
 action of the copperas. Every description of gut used 
 in fishing should be stained in this manner. 
 
 To produce the common stains already mentioned : — 
 
 Red-^ater stain. — ^Use tea-leaves as above described : or coffee, pre- 
 viously charred in a fiying-pan and ground, will answer instead of tea. 
 
 Walnut-juice, I understand, produces a similar colour, 
 but as I have never tried it, I cannot speak from expe- 
 rience. 
 
 Slate stain. — Soak the gut in a mixture of boiling water and ink. 
 rinsing it well when stained. 
 
 Gut can be stained almost any colour by the use of 
 "Judson's aniline dyes',' or the "popular dyes," which 
 are kept by most large chemists. Directions for use are 
 given on the bottles, but the angler will find it conve- 
 nient in every case only to use half the proportion of 
 water recommended : and some of the stains have the 
 effect of destroying the texture of the gut. 
 
 All gut stains can be reduced in intensity by boiling 
 the gut in clean water. 
 
32 modern practical angler. 
 
 Hair. 
 
 Horsehair cannot be used with advantage for any- 
 kind of fishing-line. I have already explained its in- 
 convenience when employed in the reel, or running-line ; 
 and employed as a substitute for single gut it is equally 
 a mistake, the latter being both finer, stronger, and, 
 when stained as directed, much less visible in the water. 
 This process of staining gut in fact takes away from hair 
 the one real advantage it ever possessed, viz., that of not 
 glittering in the water. It is a peculiar feature of hair 
 that it will break on a long-continued strain, even though 
 the actual weight be gradually rather lessened than in- 
 creased. A strand of gut that will fairly lift a 5 lb. 
 weight will commonly suffice to keep it suspended, if 
 necessary ; hair on the contrary will break in a few 
 minutes on a strain less than that which it originally 
 supported with ease. The best hair is obtained from the 
 tails of stallions. 
 
 Staining Hair. 
 
 Stained hair is seldom used, the natural brown colour 
 being usually preferred. Before it can be properly stained 
 the greasiness must be removed by what is termed by 
 dyers a " mordant." A good mordant for the purpose, as 
 well as for the dyeing of feathers, is obtained by dissolving 
 about a quarter of an ounce of alum in a pint of water, 
 and slightly boiling the hair or feathers in it 
 
LINES AND REELS. 33 
 
 • The dyeing of feathers is, however, a very nice and 
 comphcated business, and even after much trouble the 
 amateur can seldom succeed so well as persons who 
 make dyeing their single profession. Moreover their 
 dyes are in many cases secrets, not known even to the 
 tackle makers who employ them, and from whom I 
 advise all anglers to obtain their supplies of feathers 
 ready-dyed. 
 
 Gimp. 
 
 The thicknesses of the various sizes of gimp required 
 in fresh-water fishing, and the trade numbers, are shown 
 in the annexed engraving, 
 the sizes and numbers 
 being those of the best 
 gimp manufactured by 
 Messrs. Kenning, of Little 
 Britain, London. 
 
 There are great diffe- 
 rences in the quality and 
 value of gimp, and it will 
 commonly be found the 
 wisest plan to obtain the 
 most expensive, as the difference between good and 
 bad cannot be judged by the eye and is often not 
 discovered until the discovery has cost the loss of 
 a good fish. The best rough and ready test is the 
 strength. 
 
 D 
 
34 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 The best gimp is commonly made on pure white 
 silk — a yellow colour is generally an inferior quality. 
 
 To Stain Gimp. 
 
 Nothing can be worse, as regards fine-fishing, than the 
 common glittering gimp ; indeed so great is the draw- 
 back that some authors have actually recommended the 
 troUer to take the trouble of lapping it over from end to 
 end with waxed silk like the shanks of hooks. I there- 
 fore tried various ways of staining or clouding it, so as 
 to remove the glittering appearance complained of with- 
 out impairing the strength of the gimp, and the following 
 will be found to answer every purpose so far as the finer 
 requirement is concerned, though I am by no means 
 sure that the gimp is quite so strong after staining, 
 especially when put by for any length of time : — 
 
 Soak the gimp in a solution of bichloride of platinum — mixed in 
 about the proportion of one part of platinum to eight or ten of 
 water — until it has assumed the colour desired. 
 
 I find this stain is now very generally used in the 
 tackle shops. Captain Robinson tells me that sulphide 
 of potassium is a good permanent stain.for both brass 
 and silver gimp. He says : 
 
 Sir, — In your Book of the Pike, which I have lately read, bichlo- 
 rate of platinum is recommended for staining brass gimp. This I 
 failed to obtain in a county town, but being convinced of the im- 
 portance of staining gimp, I thought of trying sulphide of potassium. . 
 As I find this gives a permanent stain to both silver and brass gimp, 
 I take the liberty of mentioning it to you. Sulphide of potassium 
 made by dissolving a Httle Lapis infernalis in water, mixing flowers 
 
LINES AND REELS. 35 
 
 of sulphur with it, and heating in a Florence flask. I believe quick- 
 lime in boiling water will also dissolve sulphur. 
 
 W. Robinson. 
 
 jgth ytdy, iSyj. Late Captain Bojnbay Army. 
 
 Winches or Reels. 
 
 Reels may be broadly placed in two divisions — metal 
 and wooden. The latter I dismiss as being unsuited to any- 
 thing but " Nottingham fishing," of which more hereafter. 
 The former, as every fisherman knows, are divided into 
 three classes : — " plain," '"check," and " multiplying." Of 
 these I think there can be no doubt that the "multipliers" 
 combine the greatest number of disadvantages with the 
 fewest recommendations, as they are expensive, very apt 
 to get out of gear, and almost useless either for winding in 
 a large fish, or for giving line to one of any other size. 
 
 The " plain" brass reel has at least the merit of bctJig- 
 plain — in the sense of simpleness and inaptitude for get- 
 ting out of order ; but it has two great drawbacks, which 
 exist also and to a still greater extent in the wooden 
 reel, or pirn as it is called in Scotland, viz., that when 
 the line is pulled out strongly either by hand, or by a 
 fish, the wheel twists so rapidly as to " over run" itself, 
 thus producing a sudden check, w^iich at a critical junc- 
 ture is very likely to cost the loss of the fish and the 
 tackle. It is also, for another reason, very unsafe when 
 playing a fish, as, should the pressure of the hand be for 
 an instant removed from the line, the latter runs out so 
 freely as to produce sudden slackness, — an evil perhaps 
 
36 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 greater even than the other, as nothing is more certainly- 
 disastrous than a slack line, and nothing more probable 
 than the occurrence of the contingency referred to when 
 fish have to be followed rapidly over broken ground. 
 These are radical faults — vices would not be too strong a 
 term — inherent in the principle of all "plain" reels, and 
 inseparable from them. 
 
 They are, however, entirely obviated by the cJtcck 
 system ; and check reels should therefore be the only 
 ones ever employed for any kind of heavy fishing, 
 whether with bait or fly. With this reel the line is 
 entirely independent of the hand, by which indeed it is 
 very seldom desirable that it should be touched in any 
 way. All that the hands have to do is to keep the point 
 of the rod well up, and a steady strain on the fish ; and 
 eyes and attention are thus left free to take care of their 
 owner's neck — a practical advantage which those who 
 have chased a salmon down the cragg'd and slippery 
 channel of a Highland river, or a strong Pike along the 
 margin of a Hampshire '* Water Meadow" will know 
 how to appreciate. A check winch, in fact, does two- 
 thirds of the fisherman's work for him, and may almost 
 be left to kill by itself ; it acts upon the golden rule of 
 never giving an inch of line unless it is taken, and when 
 really required pays it out smoothly and rapidly to the 
 exact extent necessary, and no more. The even check 
 prevents the line "over running" itself in the one case, 
 or sticking fast in the other ; and when it becomes 
 
LINES AND REELS. 37 
 
 necessary to wind up a fish, the check reel is in every 
 way as direct and powerful a lever as the plain old- 
 fashioned wheel. The point to guard against is having 
 the check too strong. 
 
 I defy any man to fairly wind in a heavy fish with a 
 multiplying reel. It is the old mechanical principle 
 again of losing in power what is gained in speed ; and a 
 reel that gives four turns of the axle to one of the 
 handle, loses exactly one-fourth of its strength for each 
 turn — that is, has one-fourth only of the direct power of 
 a check winch. 
 
 Beautiful reels for all kinds of fishing are now made 
 on the check system ; some of plain brass, some of brass 
 stained black, some — for the sake of lightness — of wood 
 and metal combined, and some which are lighter than 
 either, of aluminium. The saving in weight thus secured 
 by the two last-named materials is very considerable, 
 and they therefore present advantages to men who are 
 not strong, and who may find the weight of a Salmon 
 or trolling rod and reel tell upon their muscles, but 
 for ordinary work and taking the chances of wear and 
 tear and knocking about, I should give the preference 
 to simple stained brass. Moreover, a heavy reel ba- 
 lances a long rod better than a light reel. 
 
 Within the last few years a considerable improvement 
 has been introduced into the form of reels generally, by 
 the substitution of narrow grooves and deep side-plates 
 for the old-fashioned shallow-plated, broad-grooved 
 
38 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 winches. The advantages thus gained are increased 
 speed and power ; speed, inasmuch as the diameter of 
 the axle on which the hne is wound is enlarged ; and 
 power, because the handle being further from the axle 
 a greater leverage is obtained. Whilst speaking of 
 handles, I would here most strongly recommend those 
 attached to the side-plate of the reel itself, without any 
 crank, as they obviate the constant catching of the 
 line which takes place with handles of the ordinary 
 shape. 
 
 One serious drawback, and so far as my experience 
 goes, one only, is common to every reel hitherto made ; 
 namely, that the line is apt to get caught or hitched 
 under the posterior curve of the reel itself, thus involving 
 a constant trifling annoyance, and in the case of trolling 
 and Salmon fishing, a serious danger. To obviate it I 
 have had a small spring attached to the last of the lateral 
 girders, or supports, and so arranged that when the 
 
 reel is in its place, the spring 
 presses closely on the wood or 
 fittings behind. This spring, 
 of which a diagram is annexed, 
 is very inexpensive, and can 
 be attached with ease to any 
 properly made reel, and I venture to think that no- 
 troller or fly-fisher who has once found the practical 
 convenience of such an antidote to *' hitching" will ever 
 use a reel without it. 
 
39 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 RODS AND ROD MAKING. 
 
 Ancient rods — Observations on different rod woods. Solid rjjoods — 
 ■ Hickory, greenhart, ash, willow, fir. HoIIo^u ^oods — East India, or 
 mottled bamboo, white cane, Carolina cane, jungle cane. Rod 
 rings — Upright rings recommended for all purposes, 'pronged 
 rings,' proper shape for top ring. Ferrules — ' Tube-cut,' ' ham- 
 mered.' 'Brazing of Joints — To separate 'stuck' joints. A 
 general rod described and recommended. 
 
 Whatever we may think of the skill of our forefathers 
 in the gentle craft, it can hardly be denied that the im- 
 plements they used were in every way vastly inferior 
 to our own, and indeed, it may be added, generally such 
 as to make any great display of what we understand as 
 science out of the question. 
 
 Of the mechanical knowledge and ability which have 
 led to these improvements, probably more have been 
 lavished upon the rod than upon all the rest of the 
 fisher's equipment put together, and if the fulfilling of 
 every requirement which the most fastidious can 
 demand be admitted as proof of excellence, we may 
 very fairly congratulate ourselves on having arrived as 
 nearly as may be at perfection in this one item at least. 
 
40 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 That in none was there more room for improvement 
 may be gathered from the recipe for the construction 
 of a trolling rod given by Juliana Berners in the brown 
 old " Boke of St. Alban's," published about i486, 
 wherein the implement is recommended to be of at 
 least some 14 feet long ; the " staffe," or butt, measuring 
 a " fadoom (fathom) and a half," of the thickness of 
 an " arm-grete," or about as tJiick as a man's arm ; 
 and the joints being bound with long "hopis of yren" 
 (iron hoops). 
 
 There are eight woods more or less universally em- 
 ployed by rod manufacturers ; four of which grow solid, 
 viz., hickory, greenhart, ash and willow ; and four 
 hollow — East India bamboo, Carolina or West India 
 cane. White cane, and Jungle cane. 
 
 Of the "solids" the most valuable, until greenhart 
 came so much into fashion, was hickory. This wood 
 grows in Canada, and is sent over in what are called in 
 the tackle trade "billets," that is, longitudinal sections 
 of a log ; each log being sawn from end to end through 
 the middle twice or three times, so as to cut it up into 
 4 or 6 bars V shaped — having three sides. On their 
 arrival in England the billets are transferred to the saw 
 mills, where they are again cut up into planks ; and these 
 planks are then put carefully away in a warm dry place 
 and left for a year or two to season before being touched. 
 After seasoning they are re-cut roughly into joints, 
 sorted, and put away again for three years more, — some- 
 
RODS AND ROD MAKING. 4I 
 
 times for as much as ten years, — when they are finally 
 worked up into rods. 
 
 The inferior billets, which are rejected by the larger 
 manufacturers, are cut up at once into joints and sold 
 about the country by hawkers, w4io make it their regular 
 business to supply the small country makers with wood 
 for their rods. The same thing takes place as regards 
 bamboo. After this insight into the iina penetralia of 
 the rod-making trade, no one I fancy will feel inclined 
 to grumble at having to pay a good price for a really 
 good rod, or will be surprised at the comparative 
 worthlessness of the rods turned out by inferior 
 makers. 
 
 Hickory is the heaviest wood used in rod making, 
 with the one exception of greenhart ; and the purpose 
 for which it is most commonly employed is the middle 
 joints of rods, and for solid butts where weight and 
 strength are required. In hollow butts it is never used, 
 as it will not stand being bored. 
 
 Greenhart, which is an export from the West Indies, 
 demands the next place, or rather I should have said 
 the post of honour, in the rod maker's table of prece- 
 dence. In all kinds of rods and in every different posi- 
 tion it is to be found, whilst in some cases, as in the 
 Salmon rod of Castle Connell, and many other Irish 
 rods, it forms the sole material employed. Its speciality 
 is, however, for tops ; and here it is simply invaluable, 
 as it is the only wood sufficiently stiff and at the same 
 
42 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 time elastic to admit of being used in such small bulk 
 in a single piece. Thus in light trouting rods it will 
 very often be found in slips a yard long and tapering off 
 at the end to a substance little thicker than that of a 
 stout darning needle, whilst a 7-foot joint averaging about 
 the circumference of a swan-quill, is the very common 
 " lash" of a Castle Connell. 
 
 In consequence of its great weight, greenhart is only 
 used for butts when they are very slender or tapered 
 rapidly off from the handle, as in the rods turned out by 
 the Irish tackle makers. 
 
 Joints of this wood are hardly ever perfectly straight 
 when fresh cut. They are bent or " warped" straight 
 by hand pressure over a charcoal fire, and when cool 
 retain, at any rate for a long time, their symmetrical 
 shape, much as does the originally straight walking-stick 
 handle its crooked one after a somewhat similar process, 
 — though I believe in this latter case the softening 
 medium is water and not fire. Notwithstanding this 
 " ductility" of some, indeed most, woods, there can be 
 no doubt that the straighter a joint comes ori- 
 ginally from the steel of the sawyer, the straighter will 
 it remain in the hands of the fisherman. A joint 
 that comes out straight from its seasoning hardly ever 
 becomes permanently crooked afterwards, and per 
 contra, one which is radically warped at the end of 
 this process will as seldom be made really straight, or 
 remain so for any length of time, however it may 
 
RODS AND ROD MAKING. 45 
 
 be twisted or bent over the charcoal of the tackle 
 maker. 
 
 The other solid rod woods are ash and willow. The 
 former, which in weight is between willow and hickory 
 (willow being the lightest of all), is extensively used for 
 hollow butts of bottom and trolling rods, as it bores well 
 and is of good medium strength. It is also used for the 
 solid butts of salmon rods. For middle joints it has been 
 found too weak and yielding, the difference in strength 
 between ash and greenhart being such that a top made 
 of the latter would be as strong, or very nearly, as the 
 joint next below it of the former. 
 
 Willow is a good deal used for the butts of common 
 rods, as it '' bores" more readily than any other wood ; 
 indeed its centre is little harder than the pith of a reed. 
 In seasoning, both ash and willow require more care to 
 make them " usable" than do the heavier woods. Fir is 
 also occasionally used for solid butts. 
 
 I now come to the hollow woods, or canes and bam- 
 boos. Of these by far the most valuable, indeed the 
 only one which can be used properly in either trolling- 
 or fly-rods, is that grown in the East Indies — commonly 
 known as the " mottled" bamboo — which has a consider- 
 able thickness throughout its length, and in the upper 
 parts is almost solid. There is another East India cane, 
 which is quite solid but lacking elasticity. It goes 
 amongst the tackle makers by the expressive name of 
 " puddeny." 
 
44 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 In the case of hollow woods there Is, of course, no 
 preparatory sawing or planing to be gone through, as the 
 bamboo comes from its native jungle in pretty much the 
 same state, barring the mottling, as that in which we 
 find it in our rods ; but even here the joints have to be 
 ''warped" as in the case of solid woods, and thoroughly 
 seasoned, and much depends upon a judicious selection 
 of the original stock and in subsequent careful matching 
 and tapering of the various pieces of which the rod is 
 composed. 
 
 I was never more puzzled than when admitted as a lad 
 
 to the warehouse of a great London tackle maker to 
 
 choose a cane to be made up for my " particular own." 
 
 Well do I remember how my fingers glowed with 
 
 pleasure and excitement as I lifted and poised one 
 
 tapering beauty after another, uncertain among so many 
 
 wooers which to take, and feeling, like the Captain in 
 
 the Beggars' Opera, — 
 
 " How happy could I be with cither, 
 Were t'other dear charmer away !" 
 
 Like its schoolboy master, the rod built from the cane 
 then chosen has since had many a narrow escape " by 
 flood and fell," and not a few damaged " tips," ay, and 
 "joints" too ; but its main timbers are as sound as ever, 
 and may yet be destined to wave death over many 
 a pikey pool and glittering torrent when the hand that 
 chose them is no longer able to do justice to their supple 
 graces. 
 
RODS AND ROD MAKING. 45 
 
 But my pet rod is leading me into inadmissible digres- 
 sions. To return. — The White cane, which comes prin- 
 cipally from Spain and America, and is a fragile delicate 
 creature compared to its swarthy Indian cousin, is used 
 for roach rods, — " White cane roach rods," as they are 
 temptingly described in the catalogues — and is fit for 
 nothing else. For this one purpose, however, it is per- 
 fection. 
 
 The Carolina cane is also quite inferior to the East 
 Indian. It is much lighter, and longer between the knots, 
 and is employed only in the more common bottom rods. 
 
 Last on the list comes the Jungle cane, a Chinaman 
 principally, but found also in many other parts of Asia. 
 It grows as thick as a man's body, and is put to every 
 variety of use by the Chinese, who amongst other things 
 hollow out the pith and convert the skin into water-pipes. 
 It is this skin or rind only which is of value to the rod 
 maker, and that must be taken from a cane about as 
 thick as a man's wrist. This is split up into narrow slips, 
 and these slips when planed and smoothed down become 
 the solid, grained-looking pieces of wood, so constantly 
 forming the upper splices of top-joints. Some very 
 beautiful rods, composed entirely of spliced cane, are 
 manufactured by Mr. Thomas Aldred, of Oxford-street, 
 London. Some of my readers who are in the habit of 
 using bamboo and cane rods on the ground of their sup- 
 posed much greater lightness, will perhaps be surprised to 
 learn how small the difference in this point really is. I 
 
46 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 weighed a 12-foot solid ash and greenhart trolling rod 
 against one of stout East India bamboo, and the weights 
 were: — Solid rod, i lb. Sjoz. ; Hollow rod, i lb. 4 oz. — 
 difference, i J oz. 
 
 At the close of every season, rods which have had a 
 great deal of wear and tear should be re-varnished to 
 preserve the wood ; or, in the absence of varnish, well 
 rubbed with oil (linseed is the best) before being finally 
 stowed away. 
 
 Rod Rings. 
 
 Four considerations must regulate the question of 
 rings : (i) That the material, especially of the top and 
 bottom rings in trolling rods, should be hard enough to 
 resist considerable friction ; (2) that the top and bottom 
 rings should be so shaped as to prevent the line catching 
 round or over them ; (3) that the rings generally should 
 be large enough to let the line run through them with 
 perfect freedom, and (4) — and this is by no means an 
 unimportant point — that there should be enough of them 
 on the rod to prevent the weight of the line " bagging" 
 in the intervals, and yet not so many as unnecessarily to 
 increase the wearing friction on the line passing through 
 them, or curtail the length and freedom of the cast. 
 For every description of fishing I recommend strongly 
 the use of stiff or " upright" rings ; the difference in 
 weight is quite insignificant ; and in addition to many 
 other great practical conveniences, the rings last much 
 
RODS AND ROD MAKING. 4/ 
 
 longer without coming off or getting broken. In all 
 general rods rings of the ordinary diameter, but made of 
 steel wire, in the form shown in the engraving, Avill be 
 found most convenient. Rings of this shape v/ill not 
 
 answer, however, for the bottom ring of 
 
 all, as the line has a constant tendency to 
 be catching round that ring in making a 
 cast. The bottom ring should, therefore, be made in 
 the form that is called '' pronged," out of iron wire, 
 twisted into a ring, in the form and of about the size 
 shown in the woodcut annexed, 
 with separate side-pieces brazed 
 on. The perpendicular sup- 
 ports or arms being a good deal 
 wider apart at the base than at 
 
 the apex, throw off instantly any curls of the line 
 which may be inclined to twist round them. This 
 will be found a really great practical advantage 
 in every description of fishing, and especially in 
 spinning. 
 
 Of even greater importance, however, is the form of 
 the top ring, as this is both more liable to catch in the 
 line, and proportionately more difficult to clear at the 
 distance of from 12 to 20 feet from the fisherman ; (the 
 material, as in the case of the lowest ring, should be of 
 steel wire). In order to remedy this catching of the line 
 over the top ring, the great point is the avoidance of all 
 projections over which the line can possibly hitch itself; 
 
48 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 and this condition will, I believe, be found to be fulfilled 
 by the pattern of ring of which the engraving, enlarged 
 for the sake of illustration, is a copy — 
 
 This is, in fact, to a certain extent, a modification or 
 adaptation of the principle of the pronged ring recom- 
 mended for the bottom joint. After being lapped over 
 to within about half-an-inch of the ring, the wire is made 
 to branch out in the shape of a V, the upper points or 
 sides forming a continuation of the ring itself These 
 sides act as a sort of guard to the ring to throw off the 
 line, if it should curl over, much as the sloping sides of 
 a gate, on a barge walk throw off the towing-line ; 
 whilst the position of the ring — ^at of inclining in- 
 ivards toivards the butt of the rod, instead of outwai'ds 
 from the point — makes it almost impossible for the 
 line by any effort of ingenuity to get above it so as to 
 " hitch," — the head of the ring, in fact, forms an acute, 
 instead of an obtuse angle with the rod. 
 
 Ferrules. 
 
 One word as to ferrules. These should always be 
 "hammered," and not "tube-cut." To show the vast 
 difference which there is between a good and a bad rod, 
 even in such an item as ferrules, a brief explanation of 
 
RODS AND ROD-MAKING. 49 
 
 the mode of manufacturing the two descriptions of 
 ferrule referred to, may be given. 
 
 Ferrules used for common rods, or tube-cut ferrules, 
 are simply cylinders, of the same size at both ends, and 
 cut off, 2 or 3 inches at a time, as required, from a piece of 
 common soldered brass piping. These, of course, cost 
 next to nothing, and break or bulge with the first strain 
 put upon them. The ferrules used in really good rods 
 are made, each one separately, out of sheet brass, hard- 
 soldered or brazed; and then hammered out cold into the 
 proper shape upon steel triblets — a process which though 
 somewhat expensive and tedious makes the ferrule in the 
 end very nearly as hard and strong as the steel itself. 
 
 A gentleman who does not wish his name published, 
 but who has a large and practical acquaintance with the 
 subject of rod-making, writes to me : — 
 
 I am inclined to think that the cases (referred to in your 
 "Modern Practical Angler") where the brass ferrules of rods 
 " bulge " and give way, are to be thus explained. The best tubing 
 is mandrel-drawn, and I do not think any hammering would pro- 
 duce a density of metal so hard as that which results from well- 
 drawn tubing : but it often happens (too often) that the tube and its 
 correcter do not fit with that nice accuracy which is essential. In 
 such case what does the ferrule-maker do ? I will tell you, he 
 anneals his tubing, and then with the furnisher adapts it to its 
 fellow. For all practical uses its strength is then gone. 
 
 My own impression is that mandrel-drawn tube not tampered 
 with, is (caeteris paribus) denser and harder than hammered tubing 
 is, and no hammered tube could be so uniform. 
 
 I hope you will forgive this criticism of a work with which I am 
 really charmed, but I shall be only glad to find that you accept it 
 as it is meant, in all courtesy. 
 
 E 
 
50 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 The bottoms of all joints should be " double brazed " 
 — i.e., covered with brass — not only round the thick part 
 of the joint where it fits the ferrule, but also round the 
 thinner end, or plug below it. 
 
 This is a very useful precaution, as it tends to prevent 
 the joints swelling and sticking fast. If the joints are 
 only half brazed or not brazed at all, the best way to 
 avoid sticking is to grease or soap them before use. 
 Joints which have become stuck, may in general be 
 easily separated by being turned slowly round and 
 round at the " sticking point " in the flame of a candle 
 for sopie seconds, or until it is found that the joints will 
 come apart. This process does not damage anything 
 but the varnish of the ferrule. 
 
 A General Rod. 
 
 Considering the great diversities of tastes which prevail 
 on the subject of the exact shape and material of which 
 rods for different kinds of fishing should be made — some 
 fishermen preferring hollow woods, others solid — some 
 stiff rods, others pliable ones — it is impossible that I 
 can within any reasonable limits give a detailed raisonnc 
 account of what is in my opinion the best description 
 of rod for each description of fishing : nor if I should 
 do so could I expect my brother fishermen to adopt 
 my taste instead of their own. In other parts of the 
 book, and wherever it seemed necessary — especially 
 under the head of Salmon-fishing — I have made such 
 
RODS AND ROD-MAKING. 
 
 5B 
 
 observations as occurred to me : and all that I have pro- 
 posed to myself under this head, is to give most general 
 information in regard to rods and rod-making, as may 
 enable those who are not already acquainted with the- 
 subject to select their rods for different purposes with a 
 knowledge of the qualities and capabilities of the various 
 woods of which they are made. 
 
 The following are the description and measurements 
 of the several joints of a general rod, which may be 
 found convenient by those who do not care to carry a 
 variety of rods about with them : — 
 
 Length of joints ; measured from top 
 
 of ferrule to bottom of plug. 
 
 (Butts ash : other joints and tops 
 
 greenhart.) 
 
 Circumference at 
 
 Circumfe- 
 
 bottom above 
 ferrule. 
 
 below 
 ferrule. 
 
 Inches. 
 
 Inches. 
 
 3| at largest \ 
 
 
 part (be- f 
 
 o •'5 
 
 low winch 
 
 -16 
 
 fittings) J 
 
 
 3i (above) 
 
 
 winch fit- r 
 
 If 
 
 tings) J 
 
 
 t12 
 
 jlO 
 
 
 
 I <5 
 
 T 3 
 
 ^16 
 
 ^16 
 
 I 
 
 11 
 
 T 1 
 
 
 ^32 
 
 ... 
 
 n 
 
 
 16 
 
 ... 
 
 11 
 
 
 16 
 
 ... 
 
 11 
 
 
 16 
 
 i 
 
 No. of Rings 
 (all of single 
 steel wire.) 
 
 No. I Butt 3 ft. 2| in. 
 
 No. 2 Butt 3 ft. 2 1 in. 
 
 1st Joint 3 ft. 2| in. . . . 
 2nd Joint 3 ft. 2^ in. . . . 
 3rd Joint 3 ft. 2 1 in. . . . 
 
 1st or"trolling"top2ft. 10 in. 
 
 2nd or " fly" top 2 ft. 10 in. . 
 3rd " worm or bottom fish- 1 
 
 ing" top 2 ft. 3 in. . . .J 
 4th " minnow-spinning" top 
 
 ift. 3iin 
 
 !i 'pronged' 
 ring just 
 below fer- 
 rule. 
 
 ditto. 
 
 2 rings. 
 
 3 „ 
 
 4 „ 
 
 f 5, including 
 i top ring 
 6 „ 
 
 5 » 
 3 V 
 
 Total length of double-handed fly-rod 15 ft. i| in. 
 
 Total length of single-handed fly-rod 12 „ 4 „ 
 
 Total length of trolUng-rod 12 „ 4 „ 
 
52 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 By changing the top joint of the double-handed fly- 
 rod for top No. 3 it becomes a suitable rod for worm or 
 creeper fishing ; or by substituting top No. 4, for Trout 
 minnow-spinning, or light paternosting. On a substi- 
 tution of the stiff top for the two upper joints, it becomes 
 a trolling and spinning rod. 
 
 On replacing the original joints, and taking off the 
 large joint and butt, and substituting the smaller butt, a 
 single-handed fly-rod is formed ; and by a slight change 
 of tops this can be made suitable for float or punt- 
 fishing. 
 
53 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 MISCELLANEA. 
 
 Knots for lines and gut — Lapping over ends, fisherman's knot, some 
 new knots described. Ne^u knots for Salmon and Trout drop-fies. 
 Varnishes — Green varnish, rod and tackle varnish. Bait-cans — 
 Essential points of ; the ' shoulder' bait-can, preserving live baits. 
 Disgorgers — Disgorger blades, a ' fishing knife.' Landing-nets and 
 gaffs — A pocket net described. 
 
 Knots for Lines and Gut. — Gut-knots. 
 
 Everything, however minute, that conduces to " fine- 
 fishing" should not be without interest to the fisherman 
 who is not merely satisfied with doing a thing passably, 
 or even well, but who wishes to do it as well as possible ; 
 and of such minor mysteries of the gentle art there 
 are none which are of more importance to the neatness 
 — and therefore fineness — of tackle than the mode of 
 knotting gut. In Salmon and other heavy fishing, 
 moreover, this point frequently becomes a practical 
 matter involving the loss or capture of fish — and those 
 commonly the largest. 
 
 I make no apology, therefore, for considering this 
 subject, in a book which it is my object to make com- 
 plete and exhaustive of everything really essential to 
 successful fishing. 
 
54 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 And first with regard to the very common practice of 
 lapping the ends of the gut at each side of the knot. I 
 am at a loss to explain the origin of this custom, which 
 must be as troublesome to the maker as it is objectless 
 to the user. Indeed it is worse than objectless: it is dis- 
 tinctly mischievous. It adds weight, so far as it goes, 
 •and clumsiness to what ought to be as light as possible ; 
 and it dots with opaque " splotches," at regular intervals, 
 what would otherwise be a transparent, gossamer-like 
 :strand from end to end. Indeed in bright clear weather 
 I have frequently seen both Trout and Grayling rise at 
 the knots on a fisherman's line who showed post (query 
 Jfropter?) no inclination whatever to meddle with his 
 flies. It is hardly necessary to point out that for practical 
 purposes the lapping of the short end of the gut outside 
 the knot adds nothing whatever to the strength of the 
 line. 
 
 For all fishing where exceptional strength is not 
 required, the common single fisherman's knot, un- 
 lapped, is sufficient for every purpose, and the neatest 
 
 and strongest that can 
 be used. It is made by 
 tying a half knot round 
 each strand of gut with the end of the other strand, in 
 the form shown in the cut ; then drawing both knots 
 tighty and lastly drawing them closely together and cut- 
 ting off the ends. 
 
 In the exceptional cases adverted to, when extra 
 
 SINGLE FISHERMANS KNOT 
 
MISCELLANEA. 55 
 
 strength is really essential, as in the case of Salmon 
 casting - lines and gut -traces used for Pike - spinning, 
 a simple modification of the above knot will be found 
 useful. It is tied thus : — ^Join the strands of gut in an 
 ordinary single fisherman's knot, pulling each of the half 
 knots as tight as possible ; but instead of drawing them 
 together and lapping the ends down on the oittside, draw 
 them only to within about an eighth of an inch of each 
 other, and lap hctzvccn them with light-coloured silk, or, 
 still better, fine gut previously well soaked in water. 
 This lapping relieves the knot itself of half its duty, and 
 on any sudden jerk, such as striking, acts as a sort of 
 buffer to receive and distribute the strain. It is one of 
 the simplest possible forms of knot ; and from its being 
 much neater and nearly twice as strong, may be substi- 
 tuted with advantage for the ordinary whipped knot in 
 Salmon casting-lines. As commonly tied I find that 
 stout Salmon gut will break — at the knot — on a steady 
 strain of from 12 to 15 pounds : tied as suggested, it will 
 break at any other place in preference, no matter how 
 great the strain may be. Facsimiles of the two knots, 
 tied with the same strands of gut, are annexed. 
 
 New knot. Ordinary knot. 
 
56 
 
 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 New Knots for Gut Loops and Drop-Flies. 
 
 salmon drop-flies. 
 
 Whilst on the subject of Salmon lines I may here 
 mention a method of fastening drop-flies on Salmon 
 casting-lines (when such flies are used) which I have 
 found very successful. The object sought to be attained 
 is, of course, that the fly should reniain for the longest 
 possible time standing clear from — in fact, almost at 
 right angles to — the line, with the least amount of 
 knotting or thickening, and the greatest facility for 
 changing. To secure the first, it is necessary that the 
 casting-line should be stiffened at the point of inter- 
 section. This is effected by joining the two halves of 
 the line in a single fisherman's knot, leaving about half 
 
 an inch over at each end. The knot having been drawn 
 straight and close, these two ends should be lapped 
 down to the line with a few turns of light coloured silk 
 as shown in figure I of the accompanying engraving ; 
 and the effect of this arranofement will be found to be 
 
MISCELLANEA. 5/ 
 
 that the casting-line at that point is trebly stiffened, with 
 scarcely a perceptible increase of thickness or clumsi- 
 ness. Over the central knot the loop of the drop-fly 
 should be passed and drawn close in the manner shown 
 in figure 3. 
 
 For the tying of these loops, and all others used in 
 fishing, I have, I believe, succeeded in hitting upon a 
 new and considerably improved form of knot, — the 
 ordinary loop being both clumsy and crooked (a serious 
 drawback to the perfect set of the fly), and, in thick 
 gut, very difificult to manipulate. My knot (fig. 2, and 
 X in fig. 3) is simply a new application of the principle of 
 the ordinary single fisherman's knot, thus : a half-knot 
 is made, about an inch and a half or two inches from 
 the end of the gut, but not drazvn quite tight ; the end 
 of the gut is doubled" over and passed back again from 
 above through the opening ; and then again, with this end,. 
 a second half-knot, embracing the main link, is made be- 
 low the first. Both half-knots are then separately pulled 
 tight, and drawn together. This produces the smallest 
 possible knot, and one which will never draw and is 
 perfectly straight. [I am indebted to the courtesy of 
 Mr. Van Voorst for the use of the woodcut, which 
 originally appeared in the Angler-NatiLraiist^\ 
 
 TROUT DROP-FLIES. 
 
 There are several ways recommended by angling 
 authors for attaching the drop-fly to the casting-line. 
 
ss 
 
 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 but most that I am acquainted with fail either in neat- 
 ness or in strength, and all in rapidity. By one method, 
 for instance, the drog-fly can be properly attached only 
 wh^n the casting-line itself is made ; by another, the 
 knots of the casting-line have to be pulled asunder at 
 the point of junction, and so on. My plan is as follows : 
 Take the casting-line in the left hand a little above 
 the intended point of junction, thick end upwards ; then 
 take the drop-fly, and with the same hand hold it along 
 the casting-line, the fly end upwards ; then, with the 
 
 other end, make a 
 knot round the cast- 
 ing-line, in the form 
 shown in the engrav- 
 ing; draw it tight, and 
 push it down on to 
 the next knot of the 
 casting-line below. 
 This knot, which in prac- 
 fic.3 I tice is the simplest possible, 
 
 may perhaps be called a 
 "double half- knot." The 
 only difference between it and 
 the ordinary single half-knot is, that after the gut has 
 been passed once round the main line, and through itself, 
 it is passed round the line once more, and thivugh the same 
 loop again, before being drawn close. 
 
 The preliminary configurations of the knot are shown 
 
MISCELLANEA. 59 
 
 in figs. I and 2 in an enlarged form. Fig. 3 is a fac- 
 simile of the actual knot when finished, as tied with 
 fine gut. 
 
 Knot for Fastening Reel Lines to Casting- 
 Lines, &c. 
 
 An engraving of the simplest knot for this 
 purpose is annexed, and the mode of tying it 
 will probably be better understood from the 
 diagram than from a verbal description. In 
 the case of stiff or dressed lines the small ter- 
 minal knot on the reel line can be omitted 
 with perfect safety. This knot has the ad- 
 vantage of being both tied and untied with 
 great ease and rapidity. 
 
 Varnishes. 
 
 Green Varnish. — A most convenient and durable var- 
 nish, for colouring leads used in all kinds of fishing is 
 made from powdered dark-green sealing-wax dissolved 
 in spirits of wine, or, better, in some of the spirit var- 
 nish for which the receipt is given below. This varnish 
 dries quickly. 
 
 Rod and Tackle Varnish. — As a good varnish for rods, 
 and generally for varnishing lappings of hooks, &c., the 
 following, used and commonly supplied for the purpose 
 
60 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 by most of the tackle manufacturers, will be found use- 
 ful :— 
 
 Spirits of Wine, -^q. 
 
 Orange Shellac, ■j3_. 
 
 Gum Benjamin, a small piece, about ^l. 
 
 Allow the mixture a fortnight to dissolve before using. 
 A varnish of some sort over the lapping is exceedingly 
 valuable in all tackle, as it protects the silk from the 
 effects of the water. In gimp tackle it is especially im- 
 portant, owing to the corrosion produced by wet brass 
 and steel coming in contact. 
 
 This varnish dries almost immediately. 
 
 * Bait-cans. 
 
 The most important point in a live-bait can is that it 
 should be so constructed as to have the effect of keeping 
 baits alive ; and to this end it is highly desirable that 
 it should have a double lid, for the purpose of keep- 
 ing out the sun and keeping in the water. The absence 
 of this appliance will very frequently kill the baits in 
 hot weather, and when the weather is cold its presence 
 will preserve the legs of the carrier from a perpetual 
 sprinkling of half frozen water. Another advantage of 
 double lids is, that a small hand-net can be carried be- 
 tween the upper and lower one, which will save much 
 time, and avoid the probability of poking out the bait's 
 eyes with the operator's thumb-nail. 
 
 The above desiderata have already been to some 
 
MISCELLANEA. 
 
 6l 
 
 extent fulfilled in the bait-cans sold at the tackle shops. 
 But there is still a want, which, so far as I am aware, 
 has never been successfully supplied — I mean the pro- 
 duction of a can of such form and construction t/iat it 
 may be conveniently carried, zuhen full, by a strap across 
 the fisJierman s shoulders. The want of such a can often 
 makes the whole difference between comfort and dis- 
 comfort in live-bait fishing. With the old can, the soli- 
 tary angler has at best a choice of evils : on the one 
 hand he may stop fishing and carry his can along with 
 him, or, on the other, he may leave his can and continue 
 his fishing operations, every step of which carries him 
 farther away from his baits. Live-baiting, in fact, except 
 from a punt or with 
 an attendant, thus be- 
 comes much like a game 
 of battledore, in which 
 the fisherman, who is of 
 course kept perpetually 
 moving, forms a not 
 inapt representation of 
 the shuttlecock. 
 
 To remedy this in- 
 convenience I have had 
 a bait-can constructed (somewhat on the principle of 
 the ordinary pannier or creel), as shown in the engrav- 
 ing, which can be strapped comfortably over the shoulders 
 and carried by the fisherman, without fear of his losing 
 
62 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 his baits on one side or his fish on the other, and getting 
 wet through between them. The strap passes through 
 the rings at the back, and over the shoulder. 
 
 To preserve baits ahve for any length of time, they 
 should be placed in some shady spot (in a running 
 stream if possible), in a box not less than 3 feet square, 
 with large gratings in several different places, and 
 especially at both ends. The box, of which a portion 
 ought properly to be out of water, should be kept clean 
 and well scoured from slime and rubbish ; and food, in 
 the form of worms, gentles, or chopped liver, should be 
 scattered into it every day or two. Dead baits should 
 be removed from the box as soon as discovered. 
 
 DiSGORGERS. 
 
 A disgorger is one of the most desirable, though not 
 perhaps absolutely essential, items of a fisherman's 
 equipment. In fly-fishing the use of a disgorger pro- 
 longs the life of the fly, and in every description of fishing 
 shortens the time wasted in extracting the hooks, and 
 saves the fingers. The most convenient way of carrying 
 the disgorger is to suspend it by a short link from one 
 of the breast buttons of the coat. In Pike-fishing espe- 
 cially, a disgorger is a si7ie qua 11011, and the longer it is 
 the better. The ordinary disgorger is too short for the 
 purpose ; and in consequence of the inconvenience ex- 
 perienced in extracting Pike-hooks with it, I had a 
 " disgorger blade," if I may so term it — made, of course, 
 
^ 
 
 
 1. Box containing minnow-needle and 5. Pricker, for loosening drop-flies, sepa- 
 
 baiting-needle. rating feathers, &c. 
 
 2. Hole for pricker (marked 5). 6. Minnow-needle. 
 
 3. Blade for crimping or other purposes. 7. Baiting-needle. 
 
 4. Disgorger. 
 
 FISHING-KNIFE. 
 
 [Tofacep,Q3. 
 
MISCELLANEA, 6j 
 
 without edges of any sort — inserted in my fishing-knife, 
 by which means the length of the disgorger was doubled, 
 and its power and readiness for use very greatly in- 
 creased. The advantage of this arrangement of the dis- 
 gorger, in trolling as well as in other fishing, suggested 
 the advisability of extending the principle so as to em- 
 body in the same knife the rest of the angler's imple- 
 ments, and thus spare him the necessity of collecting 
 and stowing each article before starting for the river. 
 
 The engraving represents the form and arrangement 
 of a fishing-knife which will, I believe, be found to con- 
 tain all that is really required, viz. : — a powerful blade 
 suited for crimping or other general purposes ; a " dis- 
 gorger blade ;" a minnow needle ; an ordinary baiting 
 needle, — the last two slipping into a box in the handle 
 of the knife, — a sharp-pointed pricker (a useful instru- 
 ment for unpicking knots, loosening drop-flies, separating 
 feathers, &c.) ; and last, not least, a strong corkscrew. 
 
 Landing-nets and Gaffs. 
 
 A gaft'" is generally the most convenient implement for 
 use in Pike-fishing, when the angler is alone, or a net, if 
 he has one large enough — say 2 feet in diameter — when 
 attended. In Salmon-fishing also, except luhen iJiere is 
 danger of killing foid fish, a gafi" is generally to be pre- 
 ferred, though even here I have found a large net to 
 save time. 
 
 In Salmon-fishing, however, the fisherman is seldom 
 
64 
 
 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 without an attendant, and therefore no great difficulty- 
 occurs whichever instrument is em- 
 ployed, and in Pike-fishing I have 
 landed many hundreds of fish from 
 boat and bank without either net or 
 gafif. The case is different with the 
 solitary Trout and Grayling fisher. 
 The absence of a net often costs him 
 the best fish of the day, whilst the 
 nature of the work renders a net or 
 gafif of the usual size an intolerable, 
 not to say impossible burden. 
 
 The engraving gives a representa- 
 tion of a net suited for this fishing, 
 which being made entirely of wood 
 and weighing only 3 oz., can be car- 
 ried without any inconvenience, 
 whilst the handle, ij feet long, can be passed under a 
 small strap attached to the coat, under and behind the 
 left arm, and thence into the pocket, so as to be entirely 
 out of the way. With this net, the measurements of which 
 are given in the cut, a fish of 3 lbs. can be readily landed. 
 The net should be made of dressed silk. 
 
 When wading with the fly, or worm-fishing for Trout, a 
 net which the angler can carry with him into the water, 
 and use without getting out of it, will be found a really 
 great practical advantage, and save the loss of much time 
 and many fish. 
 
 -i-. 
 
PART II. — FLY-FISHING. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 General Observations, 
 the system of artificial flies. 
 
 Present systems of artificial flies — ' Colourists' and * formalists' ; both 
 theories unsound in part. Fishing up-stream, &c., en'oneous. 
 True theory of artificial flies — Application of to practice ; form ; 
 colour ; size. Three typical Trout flies described and recommended to be 
 substituted for all others for Trout, Whitetrout, and Grayling fishing, 
 
 Salmon flies — The same arguments applied ; theory of Salmon flues \ three 
 patterns of flies for Salmon and Grilse recommended to be substi- 
 tuted for all others. Theory of Whitetrout flies. 
 
 Summary — Six flies only necessary for en^ery description of flyfishing. 
 
 Englishmen are as a race decidedly conservative in 
 their habits, and very slow to move out of the beaten 
 track — phlegmatic is the term used by their continental 
 critics, — and I shall be sorry if anything I am about 
 to write should give offence to this in many respects 
 excellent instinct. Conservatism, however, in the largest 
 
 F 
 
66 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 sense of the term implies contentment with what is ; 
 and if that were my condition in regard to the theory 
 and practice of Angling, and especially of fly-fishing, 
 this book would certainly not have been written. The 
 measures which I am about to submit to the general 
 parliament of anglers are decidedly radical — revolu- 
 tionary would not be too strong a term, — for they aim 
 at revolutionizing the fundamental principles of the fly- 
 fisher's 'constitution' — the very alpha and omega of 
 his craft — I mean the system of artificial flies. 
 
 Trout fly-fishers may nowadays be divided roughly 
 into two parties, which may be described as the 
 " colourists," or those who think " colour " everything 
 and " form " nothing ; and the " formalists," or '' entomo- 
 logists" as they have been sometimes termed, who 
 hold, with the late Mr. Ronalds, that the natural flies 
 actually on the water at any given time should be 
 exactly imitated by the artificial fly used, down to the 
 most minute particulars of form and tinting. The latter 
 class includes probably the very great majority of 
 anglers — both apostles and disciples — who have probably 
 in most cases imbibed their opinions, until recently 
 unchallenged, almost unconsciously and without ever 
 questioning their soundness. The " colourists " are still 
 but a section, though an increasing one, of the general 
 fly-fishing community, and are represented by a few 
 enterprising spirits in advance not only of their age, but 
 also of the truth. The theories of both I hold to be dis- 
 
THE SYSTEM OF ARTIFICIAL FLIES. 6/- 
 
 tinctly unsound ; and if my reader will follow me in the 
 next few pages, calling to mind, also, his own fly-fishing; 
 experiences, I have little doubt that he will arrive at a 
 similar conclusion. In fact the arguments of the two* 
 schools are mutually destructive.. 
 
 The position of the *' formalists " is as follows :— 
 
 Trout take artificial flies only because they in some- 
 sort resemble the natural flies which they are in the 
 habit of seeing ; if this be not so, and if colour is the 
 only point of importance, why does not the 'colourist'' 
 fish with a bunch of feathers tied on the hook ' pro- 
 miscuously ?' why adhere to the form of the natural 
 fly at all 1 Evidently because it is found, as a matter of 
 fact, that such a bunch of feathers will not kill ; in other- 
 words, because the fish do take the artificial for the natural 
 insect. If this be so, it follows that the more minutely 
 the artificial imitates the natural fly the better it will kill ; 
 and also, by a legitimate deduction, that the imitation of 
 the fly on the water at any given time is that which the 
 fish will take best. 
 
 To the above argument the " colourists " reply : — 
 
 Your theory supposes that Trout can detect the 
 nicest shades of distinction between species of flies> 
 which in a summer's afternoon may be numbered 
 actually by hundreds, thus crediting them with an. 
 amount of entomological knowledge which even a pro- 
 fessed naturalist, to say nothing of the angler himself,, 
 very rarely possesses ; whilst at the same time you draw 
 your flies up and across stream in a way in which no- 
 natural insect is ever seen, not only adding to the impos- 
 
 F 2 
 
68 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 sibillty of discriminating between different species, but 
 often rendering it difficult for the fish even to identify 
 the flies as flies. The only thing a fish can distinguish 
 under these circumstances, besides the size of a fly, is its 
 colour. We therefore regard form as a matter of com- 
 parative indifference, and colour as all-important. 
 
 Now in each of the above arguments there is a part 
 that is sound and a part that is fallacious ; and it is from 
 the failure in distinguishing the true from the false, 
 that what I believe to be the erroneous practice of both 
 these opposite parties springs. Each argument, however, 
 is sound so far as to be an *' unanswerable answer " to 
 the other : — It is clear — as stated by the " formalists" — 
 that colour is 7iol everything in a fly, because if it were, 
 a bunch of coloured feathers tied on anyhow to the hook 
 would kill as well as an artificial fly, whereas by their 
 practice the colourists themselves admit that such is not 
 the case. On the other hand, the argument of the "colour- 
 ists," th2Ltfro7n the way the artificial fly is presented to the 
 fish it is impossible they can distinguish minutice of 
 form and imitation, equally commends itself to common 
 sense and common experience. This is the point, in 
 fact, in which the entomological theory entirely breaks 
 down. Because Trout take the artificial for the natural 
 fly, the formalists argue that the one should be an exact 
 counterpart of the other, ignoring the fact that tJie two 
 insects are offered to the fish tinder entirely different 
 conditions. The artificial fly is presented under water 
 
THE SYSTEM OF ARTIFICIAL FLIES. 69 
 
 instead of on the surface ; wet instead of dry ; and in 
 brisk motion up, down, or across stream, instead of pas- 
 sively floating. No doubt if the flies could always be 
 kept dry and passively floating — that is, as they are 
 seen in nature — the exact imitation theory would (though 
 only up to a certain point) be sound enough ; but as in 
 practice this is impossible, we are perforce driven to arti- 
 ficial expedients to extricate us from the "unnatural" 
 dilemma. Thus at the very outset we find ourselves 
 compelled to simulate life instead of death in our flies ; 
 and for this purpose impart to them a wholly unnatural 
 motion whilst swimming : again, because " flufly" mate- 
 rials when wetted lose much of their strength of colour, 
 fly bodies are constantly made of hard silk instead of soft 
 dubbings ; and as it is found that a naturally propor- 
 tioned insect is deficient in " movement," an unnatural 
 quantity of legs (hackles) are added to it — in the 
 smaller species the wings being often omitted en- 
 tirely. In short, we are launched upon an altogether 
 artificial system, in which experience must to a great 
 extent supersede nature as a pilot. 
 
 The colourists take advantage of this undeniable 
 position to assail the whole system of " form" as a 
 blunder, and in doing so themselves make a blunder still 
 greater ; they not only draw from correct premises an 
 erroneous conclusion, but they draw a conclusion the 
 very opposite of the logical one. For if it be admitted 
 {a)y that Trout do take the artificial for the natural fly, 
 
70 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 *ind {b), that from the way in which the fly must be pre- 
 •sented to them it is difficult to be recognised ; the 
 logical deduction is, not that form is of no consequence, 
 but on the contrary that it is of the utmost consequence, 
 and that the fly should be as " fly-like" and characteristic 
 .as possible, so that, notwithstanding its rapid and un- 
 natural movements, it may be at once and immistakably 
 ddentijied as a fly. 
 
 I do not see any escape from this position, which if 
 :accepted puts the colourists as entirely *^ out of court" 
 as by the previous argument are the formalists. 
 
 The superadded theory of the latter, that the imitation 
 of the natural fly on the water at any given time is that 
 which the fish will take best, falls as a logical sequence 
 with the proposition on which it was based. As might 
 be expected, this theory was never found to stand the 
 test of practice, the experience of every fly-fisher teach- 
 ing him that when a particular natural fly is on the 
 water in abundance. Trout will commonly take better an 
 artificial fly imitative of any other species. To this 
 principle there is only one exception — namely, the case 
 of *' May-fly fishing with the dry fly." In this case, owing 
 to the large size of the fly, it is possible to really simulate 
 nature by presenting the artificial insect literally dryy and 
 Jloating passively. Thus the exception proves the rule. 
 
 Mr. Stewart, who has written one of the most able 
 books of modern times on Trout fishing in clear water, 
 founding on the same sound proposition as Mr. Ronalds 
 
THE SYSTEM OF ARTIFICIAL FLIES. 7 1 
 
 — viz., that Trout take the artificial for the natural fly — 
 argues that because the natural dry fly usually floats 
 passively down the stream, the artificial fly — zvct — should 
 do the same. This is another analogical fallacy, the 
 error of which would seem hardly to require an almost 
 universally opposite practice for its demonstration. 
 Ninety-nine men out of a hundred find it best to give a 
 slight movement to the fly in the water. 
 
 I fear we must include in the same "unproven" cate- 
 gory, and for the same practical reason, the theory that 
 flies should usually be cast up stream, rather than down 
 
 To sum up the foregoing arguments therefore, the true 
 rationale of the matter seems to me to be as follows : — 
 
 T. Whatever Salmon, et Jioc genus, may do, Trout cer- 
 tainly take the artificial for the natural fly. 
 
 2. But as the artificial fly is necessarily presented in 
 an abnormal condition — namely, wet instead of dry, 
 sunk instead of floating ; and as the resemblance which 
 wet feathers and silk under water bear to dry insect- 
 down, flufl", and wings on the water, is imperfect, — (3) 
 it is necessary for the purpose of hiding the counter- 
 feit, and partly also to hide the hook, to give the fly an 
 unnatural, life-like movement in the water ; adding to it 
 also an unnatural quantity of legs (hackles) which open 
 and shut, and move with the movements of the fly. 
 
 4. These " movements " and alterations, however, 
 make it quite impossible for Trout to discriminate 
 
72 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 minutely between the various unnatural imitations oi 
 natural flies, whether in form or tint ; (5) and render it 
 doubly important that the imitation insect should be as 
 characteristic and '' fly-like" as possible in shape, lest the 
 fish should fail to perceive the resemblance altogether. 
 
 6. General shape, general colour, and size, are all that 
 can be distinguished by the fish. These are the points, 
 therefore, to be kept in view in the construction of arti- 
 ficial Trout-flies. 
 
 The next step is to reduce these propositions to prac- 
 tice ; and the argument seems naturally to take some- 
 what the following form : — If when presented to them in 
 the only manner in which we can present them, nice 
 varieties of imitations, and shades of shape and colour 
 cannot be distinguished by Trout, the great mass of 
 flies now used are obviously unnecessary, and where 
 either the colour or outline is confused, are mischievous. 
 It would be better on every ground to select two or 
 three of the most favourite and distinctive families of 
 flies, and imitate them only ; not in their varieties, or 
 even species, but, as it were, in their types, — and using 
 those colours only which represent the prevailing tints 
 in the selected families. What, then, are the most 
 favourite families of flies — most favourite, that is, in the 
 eyes of the Trout } Without question the Ephemerida: 
 and Phryganidce,—dind for a very good reason, as with 
 hardly an exception they are all bred in the beds, banks, 
 
THE SYSTEM OF ARTIFICIAL FLIES. 73 
 
 and reeds of the waters over which they afterwards fly. 
 To the first-named family belong, roughly speaking, the 
 whole collection of the "duns," and "spinners," — the 
 drakes, or May-flies, the dark mackerel, the sand-fly, and 
 the March brown ; whilst the latter includes the cinna- 
 mon, the grannom or green-fly, the willow-fly, and, 
 more important than any, the stone-fly, or "water 
 cricket," which in the early part of the year is so plenti- 
 ful on many rivers. From these two great families, in 
 fact, some of which are on the water every day of the 
 year, fully three-fourths of the contents of most fly- 
 books will be found to consist ; they therefore commend 
 themselves as the families from which our typical flies 
 should be made. 
 
 As regards form or shape no question can arise, as the 
 selected families are all unmistakably and characteristi- 
 cally flies, in the proper sense of the term, having wings, 
 legs, and, I think without an exception, " whisks," or 
 hair-like appendages at the tail. These whisks are not 
 only very "fly-like" and distinctive features, but are 
 also easily imitated, and assist materially to disguise the 
 hook, as well as to make the fly swim straigJit. This 
 last is an important point, as the effect of the extra 
 weight at the bend of the hook, unless counteracted by 
 some additional "float," is to make the fly swim tail 
 downwards. 
 
 The great majority of the most favourite river flies 
 belong to the order Neitroptera, or nerve-winged insects. 
 
'J^ MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 or less crude and imperfect — but the theory as ulti- 
 mately elaborated, examined by the light of the theories 
 of others, and worked out, tested and re-tested by my- 
 self during some twenty years' practical experience of 
 fly-fishing on many of the principal rivers and lakes in 
 the three kingdoms. 
 
 With regard to Salmon-fishing the arguments ad- 
 duced against a multiplicity of flies apply, and with 
 even greater force, inasmuch as it is not pretended by 
 any one that Salmon-flies really imitate the colour or 
 form of any known insects, but are rather spontaneous 
 evolvements from the internal consciousness of anglers 
 and tackle makers. They are certainly more numerous 
 in their endless variety of colour and pattern than even 
 Trout-flies, and are proportionately more useless, except 
 to those who are paid for making or selling them. The 
 result of my investigations is, that there is only one 
 essential in the construction both of Salmon and Grilse- 
 flies, and that is bi^illiancy and strength of colouring ; and 
 that in proportion as they fulfil these conditions arc 
 their killing properties. Size is on the contrary an ele- 
 ment constantly varying from local circumstances. A 
 large river or lake usually demands a large fly, and vice 
 versdy and this again should be larger or smaller ac- 
 cording as the weather is dark or bright, windy or calm. 
 These are all points requiring the exercise of judgment, 
 for in their combinations they present considerable 
 
THE SYSTEM OF ARTIFICIAL FLIES. 7/ 
 
 variety ; but the essentials of the flies themselves never 
 vary. Nor is the rationale of this difficult to understand. 
 The Salmon admittedly does not take the fly for any 
 living insect, or food which he can have previously met 
 with. Then for what and why does he take it t For its 
 beauty and tempting appearance. Probably it has an appe- 
 tizing effect. To borrow a familiar illustration from our- 
 selves, how few schoolboys would have been flogged for 
 stealing apples but for the fascination of their rosy cheeks t 
 In the Chapter on Salmon-fishing I have given three 
 patterns of Salmon-flies which combine the real essen- 
 tials as above described, in what my experience leads 
 me to believe to be the most perfect form. 
 
 White or sea Trout, and their congeners, appear in 
 their tastes, and habits of feeding, to be somewhat inter- 
 mediate between Salmon and brown Trout ; and the 
 Trout-flies described, with a slight addition of tinsel, 
 will kill them, both in still and running water, better 
 than any others with which I am acquainted. 
 
 // will thus be seen that I propose to substititte six typical 
 
 flies — three for Salmon and Grilse, and three for Tronty 
 
 Grayling, &c. — for the whole of the artificial flies now tiscd. 
 
 That there are a great number of existing patterns of 
 flies for each different kind of fish, most anglers are pro- 
 bably aware, but perhaps few have any very distinct 
 
yS MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 notion of what the number really is. In a small collec- 
 tion of my own, consisting of so-called "standard" flies 
 only, and those for Salmon and brown Trout alone, I 
 find there are I2i distinct patterns, or " species." But 
 these are a mere drop in the ocean. Besides Salmon 
 and Trout-flics proper, there are the endless varieties of 
 flies for Grilse, Salmon-Trout, Bull-Trout, Grayling, &c., 
 the general total having been estimated by a recent 
 writer at more than one thousand patterns. In fact their 
 name is simply " legion." With most, if not all, fish may 
 no doubt occasionally be killed, and with some, excellent 
 baskets made ; but yet painful as the admission must 
 be to the accomplished student of angling entomology, 
 and fiercely as it will be contested by many a gallant 
 veteran of the old 7'egime, it is nevertheless true that 
 nine-tenths — or rather ninety-nine hundredths — of these 
 graceful combinations of furs, silks, and feathers represent 
 so much wasted time, money, and ingenuity. 
 
 Indeed when I think how great that ingenuity has 
 been, — how much has been written, and charmingly 
 written, for the last two centuries to teach how to make 
 and use what I have been exhorting my readers to dis- 
 card as useless ; and what a complicated and nicely- 
 balanced system has been thereon elaborated, it is 
 not without a pang of regret I have undertaken the 
 ungracious task of writing what may perhaps eventually 
 prove to be its epitaph. 
 

 H 
 O 
 
 o 
 o 
 
 3:^ 
 
79 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Brown Trout. 
 
 artificial fly-fishing in rivers and lakes. 
 
 Salmon and Trout fishing contrasted. Ri'ver fly-fishing — How, when, 
 and where to fish. Drop-flies — More than one a mistake; theory 
 of. Striking and playing. 
 
 In thus placing Trout-fishing before Salmon-fishing, I 
 invert the usual order of sequence. I do so deliberately, 
 because, both as a sport, and as indisputably the most 
 popular branch of angling, it seems to me to be entitled 
 to precedence. With no assistance but his rod and no 
 guide but experience, the Trout-fisher wanders down the 
 bank of the untried lake or stream, selecting by intuitive 
 perception the most likely casts, and if he raises a heavy 
 fish has many a heart-quake and many a moment of 
 breathless suspense, before he transfers the shining beauty 
 to his creel. No Salmon-fisher, on the contrary, however 
 skilful, can select for himself the places where he ought 
 to fish, Salmon apparently being guided by the merest 
 caprice in the choice of location, so that the very stone 
 behind which the fly must fall to give a chance of 
 
8g modern practical angler. 
 
 success, has often to be pointed out by the local 
 assistant ; whilst the tackle used is so strong, and gene- 
 rally the nature of Salmon casts so open, that with 
 ordinary skill a fish once fairly hooked has little chance 
 of breaking away. The chief glory of Salmon-fishing 
 lies in the " rise" — which is certainly magnificent — and 
 the only difficulty of the capture, as a rule, consists in 
 the " stroke." So much is this the case, that I have 
 known veteran Salmon-fishers, who, when Salmon were 
 plentiful, made it a habit to resign the rod into the hands 
 of an assistant after checking the first rush or two. But 
 who ever heard of the Trout-fisher adopting such a 
 practice ? Not that I blame the Salmon-fisher ; for 
 though I never could bring myself to follow in this 
 respect the example of men who were doubtless better 
 anglers tlian myself, still, it must be confessed that there 
 have been moments when I felt sorely tempted to do so. 
 Wielding a 19 or 20- foot rod for five or six hours con- 
 secutively is apt to tire even the strongest muscles ; and 
 as I have said, as a rule, the cream of the sport is over 
 when the fish is fairly struck, and his first wild rush or 
 two met and mastered. Still Salmon-fishing is a gallant 
 game, fit for the persevering spirits and strong arms 
 that play it ; and it has, too, its gleams of triumph and 
 excitement, the more intensely bright perhaps partly 
 from their very shortness. 
 
 But to return to the first part of my subject, — Trout- 
 fishing. For the sake of convenience I shall divide this 
 
ARTIFICIAL FLY-FISHING IN RIVERS AND LAKES. 8 1 
 
 into its several branches — River fly-fishing, Lake fly- 
 fishing, Worm-fishing, Minnow-fishing, Lake and River 
 Spinning, Fishing with the natural fly and "creeper," 
 and Fishing with the dry-fly. 
 
 River Fly-fishing. 
 
 There has been much excellent writing devoted to 
 describing How, When, and Where to fish for Trout in 
 rivers and streams ; and this is one reason — want of 
 space another — why I shall not go very minutely into 
 those questions. It seems doubtful also whether anglers, 
 as a rule, read, or if they read, remember so as to derive 
 practical benefit from the detailed maxims and rules 
 laid down on these subjects. 
 
 With regard to particular states of the atmosphere, 
 for instance, some writers think the presence of ozone 
 in a greater or a less proportion may probably make 
 one day more favourable than another for fly-fishing. 
 But what then .'' Nine men out of ten fish just the 
 same, and make the best basket they can, whether 
 they know, or think they know, the day to be good 
 or bad ; whilst as to " Where" to fish in any par- 
 ticular river, the only really available knowledge is 
 to be gained by experience, and the most general 
 instructions are all that can be given or recollected. 
 
 Again, as regards the " How." The proper movement 
 of a fly-rod is very difficult to describe intelligibly, and 
 I advise all tyros who do not understand the art to get 
 
82 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 a lesson from some one who does. I can only attempt 
 to give an outline, which may facilitate the acquirement 
 of details. 
 
 How TO Fjsh. 
 
 CASTING. 
 
 The flies and some of the line being in the water, and 
 the rod held by one or both hands (in the latter case the 
 right hand being above the left), the rod should be 
 raised rapidly yet steadily, with a backward motion 
 over the right shoulder, so as to fling the line well ont 
 behind into the air ; and then brought with a circular 
 sweep round the head to the left, and propelled lightly 
 forward, with force proportioned to the length of cast to 
 be made. A short line will of course be best for the 
 first essay. The shape of the curve described by the rod 
 in casting is nearly that of a horse-shoe. In completing 
 this movement the point of the rod must not be allowed 
 to approach too near the water, but should be kept well 
 up ; and even, at the moment the line is falling, a little 
 upward springy movement of the point should be given. 
 This has the effect of making the flies light softly, and 
 before the line — two most important points. 
 
 As soon as the flies have touched the water, the rod 
 should be gradually raised towards the perpendicular, 
 the flies being kept in motion by gentle upward move- 
 ments of the rod point. 
 
 Each cast will of course be only a repetition of the 
 
ARTIFICIAL FLY-FISHING IN RIVERS AND LAKES. S^ 
 
 above process ; but as skill is acquired, the fly-fisher will 
 soon learn to cast the flies either over the right or left 
 shoulder with one or both hands, and from any position. 
 
 " Switching " is another most useful method of cast- 
 ing, as by it water othenvise inaccessible, owing to trees 
 or banks, can often be fished satisfactorily. 
 
 The modus operandi is as follows : — 
 
 By raising the rod to the full stretch of the arms 
 the flies are drawn in until they are nearly below the 
 angler's feet. Then with a very sudden, strong, circling 
 movement of the rod they should be cast straight out 
 again, up, down, or across, and the first process repeated. 
 " Switching " requires practice, but it is well worth the 
 trouble of learning. 
 
 As a rule the best mode of fishing rivers is to cast 
 doivn and across the current, beginning under the further 
 bank if possible, and ending under the near one. In 
 spite of Mr. Stewart's able advocacy, most anglers have 
 now arrived at the conclusion that fly-fishing tip streaniy 
 always, or even generally, is a mistake in practice. In 
 my general observations on fly-fishing I have pointed out 
 one or two of the reasons which led me to consider it so 
 in theory also. With a strong wind up stream it is 
 sometimes a necessity, though, even then, I cannot but 
 think an unfortunate one. 
 
 G Z 
 
84 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 WORKING THE DROPPER. 
 
 Some angling authorities recommend the use of three 
 flies, and some even four. 
 
 The objections to this practice are many ; but perhaps 
 the most important are, that it is more difficult, especially 
 in windy weather, to cast three than two flies ; that it 
 is more difficult to work them properly when they have 
 been cast ; and that when fish have been hooked 
 there is more danger of entanglement in weeds, 8ic. 
 Vexations, in short, are multiplied and efficiency im- 
 paired. The fact is that only one dropper ca7i be properly 
 Avorked, the perfect working of a drop-fly consisting in its 
 skipping, or " dribbling " along the surface of the water 
 amongst the ripples, and thus offering a sort of imperfect 
 representation of a half-drowned insect endeavouring to 
 rise from the water. Cross lines and others are more 
 killing than any other form of fly-fishing, only because 
 all their flies work in this manner. The point, however, 
 is more important in lakes than in streams. 
 
 A description of an improved method of attaching 
 the dropper, new knot, &c,, is given at pp. 57-8. 
 
 STRIKING AND PLAYING. 
 
 After striking, ivhicJi cannot be done too rapidly, the 
 point of the rod should be kept well up, and a steady 
 though yielding pressure brought to bear on the fish, 
 until he is killed. With a proper check reel, such as 
 
ARTIFICIAL FLY-FISHING IN RIVERS AND LAKES. 85 
 
 that described in the chapter on Tackle, it is better 
 when playing a fish, to remove the hand altogether from 
 the line, so as to allow of its yielding freely to any 
 hidden springs or rushes. 
 
 When to Fish. 
 
 1. Some rivers and lakes are early and some late, 
 whilst there are a few, like the Devonshire " Otter," in 
 which it is said the Trout rise best in a snow-storm. 
 This of course is a very exceptional case ; but, taking 
 the ordinary run of early and late waters, there are few 
 months of the year from early spring to late autumn in 
 which the Trout-iisher cannot find sport somewhere or 
 other. 
 
 2. In all Trout fly-fishing, whether on lake or river, a 
 moderate, rippling breeze and a chequered sky are great 
 advantages ; principally, doubtless, because they help to 
 conceal the counterfeit fly, and lessen the glitter of the 
 gut. 
 
 3. A bright sun, a dead calm, or water that is very 
 low and clear, are always bad, for the converse reasons. 
 
 4. Water that is thickened by rain or other cause is 
 always bad. It prevents the fish seeing the flies on the 
 top, and brings down with it a quantity of ground-food 
 which fixes their attention on the bottom. 
 
 5. The rise that precedes, and the fall that follows a 
 flood zuhen the ivater has cleai'ed, are generally favourable, 
 more particularly after drought. 
 
S6 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 6. The presence of any large quantity of natural flies 
 on the water is usually exceedingly bad. 
 
 7. About sunrise and sunset are commonly the two 
 best hours of the day in hot weather, as the fish are then 
 on the look-out for the flies which oftener come out at 
 those hours than at any other. In cold stormy weather, 
 however, the converse rule often holds good. 
 
 8. As settled weather is very favourable, so change- 
 able weather generally prognosticates uncertain sport. 
 
 Where to Fish. 
 
 The best places to fish in any river are usually not 
 where there are most fish, but where they can be most 
 easily caught. These places are moderately rapid runs ; 
 scours, or " stickles," where the water is of a medium 
 depth, and carries a brisk ripple or curl ; pools, with a 
 current through them ; and mill-tails, weirs, and eddies. 
 
 Deep, stagnant, lagoon-like reaches can only be fished 
 with success when there is a good breezy ripple on 
 them. 
 
87 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 TROUT-FLIES. 
 
 Three typical flies described — 'Green,' 'brown,' and 'yellow'; new- 
 principle of construction. A colourless <T.uax. Prevailing colours of 
 natural flies. Colours of hackles; dyed hackles best. All flies 
 should be carried in a box. Selecting of flies — Size ; colour ; fly 
 rod and tackle. Fishing with the dry-fly. 
 
 Lake fly-fishing. 
 
 Fishing '^joith natural flies — ' Creeper' and stone-fly fishing; blow-line 
 fishing with the May-fly. 
 
 Typical Flies : Dressing of. 
 
 I HAVE explained in the preliminary chapter to this 
 part, the reasons which lead, I think incontrovertibly, to 
 the conclusion that for all practical purposes only a 
 few typical flies, of the most common insect-colours 
 and distinctive forms, are required for Trout-fishing, 
 whether in lake or stream. 
 
 Such flies it has been further shown should naturally 
 be three in number, embracing the three most common 
 insect colours, green, brown, and yellow ; and in form 
 imitating the phryganidce and ephemeridcSy which are the 
 most favourite families of river flies, and the most distinc- 
 tive and " fly-like " in their form. Several other desiderata 
 with regard to colour, &c., have also been pointed out. 
 
 The frontispiece shows the form and colouring of 
 
S8 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 the three flies which I recommend as fulfilling the 
 conditions indicated. They can be made of any size, 
 from that used in the smallest and clearest of our Derby- 
 shire streams to the largest sized lake-fly : nothing being 
 required to be varied but the size of the hook, the 
 length of the hackle, and the thickness of the silk with 
 which the fly is tied. These flies are both simple in 
 construction, and more easily and quickly tied than any 
 flies hitherto made public, so far as I am aware. For 
 the construction of an ordinary " March brown," for 
 example, at least two feathers and three silks are 
 required : in the brown fly shown in the plate, which 
 is quite as good an imitation of the insect in theory, and 
 a better one in practice, only a single strand of coloured 
 silk, and a single hackle feather is used ; and the other 
 flies are made in the same way. The principle of their 
 construction is as follows : — 
 
 A strand of common coloured sewing;- silk (not floss), 
 of the required thickness having been waxed in the 
 manner presently described, take two or three turns over 
 the end of the hook-shank and gut ; lay the hackle on 
 the back of the hook, hollow side upwards, with the 
 large end towards the hook-bend ; lap over it with three 
 or four turns of the silk ; spin the hackle on over these 
 turns {the same zvay ronnd as tJie silk), leaving some of the 
 hackle over ; then fasten the hackle off with the silk, 
 continuing to work upwards towards the bend of the 
 hook, and lapping over the hackle until the body is 
 of sufficient length ; then fasten off the silk and cut the 
 
TROUT-FLIES. 89 
 
 stem of the hackle off so as to leave the fibres in the 
 V-shaped form shown in the engraving. These latter 
 form the whisks. By leaving and lapping over the 
 stem of the hackle and the end of the silk, or by 
 " stripping " the former and cutting the latter off close, 
 the body can be made thick or thin as desired. 
 
 It will be seen that the body of the above fly is made 
 of the same strand of silk with which the gut is tied on, 
 and that the ** whisk '■' is made of the same feather that 
 forms the legs, or hackle. A fly thus constructed cannot 
 break until the hackle or body silk is actually worn 
 through, and will last twice as long as one made on 
 the ordinary plan, where the hackle, wings, &c., are 
 constantly slipping or coming undone at the head. 
 The saving in time in tying a fly (say a March brown) 
 thus, as compared with the common method, is about 
 400 per cent. ; which I have proved by having frequently 
 tied the fly on my plan complete in forty-five seconds, 
 whilst in the ordinary method it cannot be tied by even 
 a professional hand under three minutes. The whole pro- 
 cess is, moreover, so exceedingly simple that a single 
 lesson ought to be sufficient to impart it to the merest 
 tyro. 
 
 The difficulty which gave me the most trouble to 
 overcome was the body-silk. In order to use this for 
 whipping on the hook, &c., it was of course necessary to 
 wax it ; but I found that the ordinary '' cobbler's" wax 
 quite destroyed the colouring of the yellows and greens. 
 
90 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 It was also necessary in some way to dress the silk 
 with a waterproof coating to obviate the loss of colour 
 to which flies tied with undressed body-silk are subject. 
 The yellows particularly lose in this manner. After 
 a good many experiments I hit upon a colourless wax, 
 which fulfils both these conditions, and is moreover more 
 convenient to manipulate than the ordinary cobbler's 
 wax, which in cold weather becomes brittle and " chippy.'* 
 A receipt for the colourless wax is appended : — j 
 
 Receipt for Coloicrless Wax. — Burgundy pitch, 120 grains 
 (J of an oz.) ; white resin, 60 grains ; tallow, 20 grains. 
 Having reduced the resin and pitch to a mixed powder 
 and placed them in some clean receptacle (an egg-cup | 
 will be found very convenient), put them into an oven, 
 and when quite melted add the tallow, stirring the whole 
 thoroughly up together for several minutes. The wax, 
 which when cold will be quite hard, will be ready for use 
 in about twelve hours. The above quantities will make 
 a lump of wax as large as a walnut. 
 
 The wax should be kept perfectly free from dust and 
 dirt, and in using it for dressing the yellow flies, it is 
 very desirable that the fingers of the tyer should also be 
 quite clean. 
 
 For the body-silk of the brown fly the colourless wax 
 over brown silk does not answer entirely, as the tint 
 given by the brown silk is rather dead and " unfly-like." 
 I find, however, that by waxing very dark orange silk 
 with ordinary cobbler's wax an excellent rich colour is 
 obtained. The silk whilst fresh waxed should be drawn 
 
TROUT-FLIES. 9I 
 
 tightly between the finger and thumb ; by this means 
 the wax is almost removed from two sides of the silk^ 
 and massed on the other two sides, producing a mottled 
 yellowy-brown appearance in the fly somewhat like that 
 seen in the March brown and other principal brown 
 varieties, as the stone-fly, great and lesser red spinner, 
 dark mackerel, &c., which are mottled with yellow or 
 orange ribbings. The yellow and orange flies, on the con- 
 trary, as the cinnamon, yellow sally, fern, sand, and cow- 
 dung fly, are all either plain yellows or oranges, or if 
 ribbed at all are ribbed with different tints of the same 
 colours. The oak-fly is an exception. 
 
 With regard to the heads of flies, these can, on the 
 above principle of tying, be made almost microscopic 
 without any sacrifice of strength ; but I advise the 
 angler, notwithstanding, to have them dressed large. 
 The heads of Trout-flies are usually made much toa 
 small — much smaller, that is, than they are in nature, 
 and smaller therefore than is desirable ; because it should 
 be the aim of the fly-tyer rather to exaggerate than to 
 diminish in the artificial imitation all the prominent 
 features of the natural insect, so that on a quick glimpse 
 the resemblance may be unmistakeable;. This last obser- 
 vation applies also to the "whisks" or tails, in exaggerating 
 which there is an additional advantage, inasmuch as the 
 larger the whisk the better and straighter will the fly swim. 
 
 The following is the formulary for the three typical 
 flies described : — 
 
92 
 
 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 
 Hackle. 
 
 Body. 
 
 Whisk. 
 
 I. 'Green' 
 
 Dark green . . 
 
 Darkish green 8ew-\ 
 ing silk, lightly 
 
 
 
 
 Cut end of 
 
 
 
 waxed with co- 
 
 hackle. 
 
 
 
 lourless wax . . 
 
 
 2. * Brown' 
 
 'Fiery' (or cin- 
 
 Dark orange sew-- 
 
 
 
 namon) brown, 
 
 ing silk, well 
 
 
 
 (not ' claret 
 
 waxed with cob- 
 
 
 
 brown') . . . 
 
 bler's wax, and - 
 then drawn tightly 
 
 Cut end of 
 
 
 
 hackle. 
 
 
 
 between the finger 
 
 
 
 
 and thumb . . ., 
 
 
 3. 'Yellow' 
 
 Darkish 'golden 
 
 ' Golden yellow ' 
 
 
 
 olive' .... 
 
 sewing silk lightly 
 
 Cut end of 
 
 
 
 waxed with co- 
 
 hackle. 
 
 
 
 lourless wax . . 
 
 
 It is almost unnecessary to observe that the colour of 
 a hackle can only be judged by holding it between the 
 eye and the light — the position also in which it is per- 
 ceived by the fish. The cinnamon or "fiery brown" 
 hackle when thus examined becomes shot with smoky 
 yellowish lights, and the golden olive with transparent 
 golden yellows. The green hackle also, if properly 
 dyed, should, when thus examined, assume a lighter and 
 more liquid tint of green. Natural coloured hackles do 
 not present these beautiful effects, and therefore for all 
 flies hackles artificially stained are to be preferred. For 
 small flies "neck" hackles are preferable to "saddle" 
 hackles, as they are softer in the fibre, and thus show 
 more movement in the water. 
 
 Floss silk will not answer at all for dressing these 
 
TROUT-FLIES. 93 
 
 flies, as it loses all glossiness and strength of colour. 
 For convenience in tying them several different thick- 
 nesses of sewing silk are requisite, from ordinary sewing 
 silk — which is of the proper thickness for small flies — to 
 silk of about the substance of hoUand thread, which is 
 the size most suitable for lake flies. 
 
 All flies should be carried in a box, instead of being 
 pressed together in a book, a process which robs them 
 of half their elasticity and play of hackle, and to which 
 they should never be subjected even for a moment. 
 This is a most important point. Tackle makers think 
 that the fly regains its full elasticity as soon as it is wet, 
 but I have convinced myself by repeated practical ex- 
 periments that this is not the case. 
 
 Selection of Flies. 
 
 SIZE. 
 
 It is a curious fact, but nevertheless an indisputable 
 one, that the size of the flies to be used in any given 
 river or lake generally depends, within certain limits, not 
 upon the size of the fish, but upon the size of the water, 
 modified by the condition of the wind and sun. There 
 are occasional exceptions to this rule — as to most others 
 — but in the absence of local knowledge or guidance, 
 which on this point is often useful, the fisherman 
 acting upon it will find himself right in nineteen cases 
 out of twenty. 
 
 In most Trout streams^ properly so called, in either 
 
94 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 portion of the United Kingdom, the best sizes of hooks 
 are Nos. 2, 3, or 4, {vide plate), a larger or smaller size 
 being used as the day is more or less dark or windy, or 
 the water high or low. In the Derbyshire streams. No. 
 I or 2 will generally be found the best sizes. Smaller 
 hooks are sold in the tackle shops, but I have not in- 
 cluded them in my patterns because I regard them as 
 practically useless, No. I being small enough for every 
 purpose usually required. 
 
 COLOUR. 
 
 In small rivers and streams I recommend the use 
 of the " green," as the tail-fly, or stretcher ; and the 
 '' brown," as the bob-fly, or dropper to begin with, both 
 of course dressed small to suit the size of the water : 
 if either fly does not appear to kill, substitute the 
 yellow as the dropper, and the best of the others for 
 the stretcher ; in larger waters the same flies of a larger 
 size. 
 
 In deep lagoon-like reaches of river water, with a 
 breeze on them, and especially in Scotland or Ireland, I 
 recommend commencing with the "yellow" as the 
 dropper, and the " green" as the stretcher. If either of 
 these flies does not kill substitute the " brown." 
 
 Local Anglers will probably, and that almost without 
 an exception, tell the fly-fisher that no flies but local 
 ones are of any use on their lakes or streams, but this 
 opinion is usually based on a very slender experience, 
 
TROUT-FLIES. 95 
 
 limited most likely to that gained on some half a dozen 
 lakes or rivers in their own neighbourhood. 
 
 Local prejudices are, however, by no means confined 
 to professional fishermen. Even first-rate amateur per- 
 formers are often imbued with the notion that no flies 
 but those they have been accustomed to consider the 
 correct thing on particular rivers and streams will kill in 
 them. I remember once fishing the most famous 
 Trouting loch in Scotland, in company with two of her 
 most celebrated (and justly celebrated) anglers, and when 
 I showed them the flies I meant to use, they assured me 
 that they " would never kill fish in Loch Leven !" At the 
 end of the first day, however, my basket, which included 
 seven Trout weighing I4lbs., was found to be heavier than 
 both theirs. This result I attribute of course solely to 
 the flies, not, be it well understood, to the fisherman. 
 
 I will not go so far as to say that there may not be 
 exceptional occasions — or even exceptional rivers, though 
 that I should much doubt — on w^hich some local pattern 
 of fly may not prove more killing than the three typical 
 flies I recommend ; but I am quite satisfied that taking 
 the average of waters and weathers, and the great saving 
 of time in the avoidance of experimental changings of 
 flies, my patterns — which have been tested frequently 
 against the best local flies on half the principal Trouting 
 waters in the British Islands — will kill more fish in the 
 course of the year than any others at present generally 
 known. 
 
g6 modern practical angler. 
 
 Fly-rods, Lines, Hooks, &c. 
 
 As regards fly-rods it is difficult to give any opinion 
 upon a matter which is so much one of taste, and de- 
 pendent to a great extent on the strength and height of 
 the individual angler. As far as my experience goes, a 
 twelve-foot rod inclined rather to stiffness than to pliancy 
 will be found the most generally efficient weapon. It is 
 also convenient to have a hollow butt, so that one or 
 two shorter tops — one for Minnow spinning, and one 
 for worm-fishing — may be carried in it. 
 
 The single-handed fly-rod contained in the general 
 rod described at page 51, will be found to answer the 
 above description. A square ring of india-rubber slipped 
 half way down the butt will throw off the rain-drippings, 
 which would otherwise run down the rod on to the 
 angler's hands and sleeves. 
 
 Full observations on the subject of Reels, Reel-lines, 
 Gut-lines, and how to stain gut, hooks for flies, nets, &c., 
 are (^iven in the preliminary chapters on tackle. 
 
 FiSHIiNG WITH the DRY-FLY. 
 
 The object of the dry-fly is evident from its name — it 
 is made to float dry on the water like the natural insect, 
 thus affording the solitary instance of the " formalist" or 
 entomological theory being carried to its legitimate 
 result. The peculiarities in the construction of the fly 
 to enable it to fulfil this ro/e, are first its wings, which 
 generally consist of the whole tops of feathers (mal- 
 
TROUT-FLIES. 9/ 
 
 lard, generally), set nearly back to back, and pointing 
 upwards and outwards ; and secondly, its body, which is 
 composed almost entirely of materials unabsorbent of 
 water, such as mohair and hackles. 
 
 The method of using the dry-fly on the Stour and a 
 few other rivers, where its use is best understood, is very 
 peculiar. A large fish, say, is known to inhabit some par- 
 ticular hole or eddy. The spot is watched by the angler 
 until he sees the fish rising, and then the fly is cast so as 
 to fall a foot or two above him, and allowed to float (dry) 
 passively over him. On the fly becoming wet, which 
 happens after every cast, it is dried by being rapidly 
 thrown to and fro, or " spread" in the air, when it is ready 
 for another cast ; but this is seldom made until the rise 
 of a fish is seen, or his haunt known. Some fishermen 
 who use the dry-fly consider it is not properly dried 
 without a little crack or " flick" taking place at the 
 end of the spread ; but this " flick," though doubtless 
 very artistic, often whips off the fly. A stiff rod with a 
 tolerably pliant top is the best for the purpose. The dry- 
 fly being presented to the fish in the same way as the 
 natural fly, is most killing when the particular natural fly 
 imitated (which is commonly the May-fly) is on the water. 
 Smaller flies are made, but it is found difficult in prac- 
 tice to " float" them ; and, indeed, the whole process is 
 cumbersome, and is only worth practising on rivers 
 where the fish are very large and wary, or cannot be 
 taken in any other way. 
 
 H 
 
93 MOPERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 Mr. Ogden, of Winchcomb Street, Cheltenham, is the 
 most celebrated manufacturer of " dry-flies," of which he 
 makes a speciality. I have now before me a fly of his 
 that I have used several times, and which has survived 
 a good deal of " flicking." It is still fit for work, and 
 floats like thistledown. 
 
 Lake Fly-fishing. 
 
 Almost all the remarks already made on the principles 
 of river Trout-fishing both as to the " How" and the 
 *' When," apply also to Trout-fishing in lakes. The case 
 is different, however, as regards the " Where," and on 
 this point a few observations may be ofiered. 
 
 The best spots for fly-fishing in lakes are usually out- 
 falls of streams, rocky patches and banks, the edges of 
 reed-beds, and generally the sloping shores at the point 
 where, without being shallow, the water is not too deep 
 for the bottom to be seen. The use of a boat is commonly 
 a great advantage in lake fishing, as by its means not 
 only can a greater range of water be fished, but it can 
 be fished in a much shorter time. Moreover, such spots 
 as the margins of reed-beds, and submerged banks, which 
 are as stated usually amongst the best casts, can rarely 
 oe commanded from the shore, even with wading — a 
 practice, by the way, which in lakes is apt to lead to 
 awkward results, unless pursued with great care. 
 
 The boat should be allowed to drift before the wind> 
 
TROUT-FLIES. 99> 
 
 the flies being cast out in front and at the bow and stern,, 
 according to speed. 
 
 A ripple on the water is almost a sine qua non in lake- 
 fishing, and a good curling breeze an advantage. When 
 the water has been quite calm, however, I have some- 
 times caught fish by throwing the flies into the centre of 
 the circle caused by a *' rise." 
 
 Selection of Flies. 
 
 SIZE. 
 The considerations which regulate the size of flies to 
 be used on any given lake are in many respects similar 
 to those given under the head of River Fishing ; and on 
 this point the opinion of a local practitioner may usually 
 be taken with advantage. Loch flies, however, as a rule, 
 are considerably larger than those applicable to streams ; 
 the sizes most commonly used varying from No. 7 to 
 No. 10 (see frontispiece). 
 
 COLOUR. 
 
 For some reason which I have not succeeded in> 
 fathoming, the Yellow fly always seems to kill best in 
 the position of dropper, or bob-fly, and the Green when 
 employed as the stretcher, or tail-fly. The Brown can 
 be used in either position ; but I have found it best, 
 especially on new waters, to try the Yellow and Green 
 first, reserving the Brown as a change in case of necessity.. 
 
 For lake fishing a light double-handed rod fromi 
 
100 MODERN TRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 14 to 16 feet long will be found most convenient, as, 
 whether the angler is fishing from the shore or the boat, 
 it enables him to work his flies better than a shorter rod, 
 and to command a greater reach of water. The general 
 rod described in the chapter on Tackle embraces a 
 double-handed fly-rod designed for this purpose. 
 
 Fishing with Natural Flies. 
 
 "creeper" and stone-fly fishing. 
 
 Creeper and stone-fly fishing is confined to the Border 
 and Lowland Scotch rivers ; at least, I never remember 
 to have met with it elsewhere, and it may therefore be 
 regarded as a branch of the art rather local than general. 
 The creeper is the larva of the stone-fly {Scottice May- 
 fly), in which condition it passes most of the winter and 
 spring months, living under stones in shallow water, from 
 whence it may generally be readily obtaiaed in quan- 
 tities sufficient for angling purposes. It will live for 
 a day in any perforated can or bait-box, even if kept in 
 the pocket, and for a longer time in a little water. The 
 mode of baiting and using the creeper is as follows. 
 Put the upper hook through the shoulder, and the lower 
 hook through the tail of the creeper, so that it may hang 
 straight on the line ; when baited, use it precisely in the 
 same manner as the worm described in the next chapter, 
 always selecting rapid rather than still parts of the 
 stream. The bright weather and low clear water, which 
 
TROUT-FLIES. lOI 
 
 are best for worm fishing, will also be found most favour- 
 able for the creeper. The stone-fly usually remains in 
 its larval or " creeper" condition until the middle of May, 
 and from early in April until this time heavy baskets 
 may often be made with it. When in season, the 
 creeper is commonly from an inch to an inch and a 
 quarter long. 
 
 The rod, line, and hooks recommended for worm- 
 fishing, and described in the following chapter, omitting 
 the shot or sinkers, and setting the hooks a little 
 closer together, will be found the best tackle for 
 creeper-fishing. 
 
 About the middle of May the creeper changes from 
 the larval into the fly state, casting its tortoiseshell- 
 like covering, and unsheathing its wings, of which, how- 
 ever, it makes but little use. Mr. Stewart, whose ex- 
 cellent chapter on the* subject should be studied by 
 all Border anglers, considers that the fly is even more 
 deadly than the creeper. He advocates the use of two 
 flies as the bait. Except, however, on very large rivers 
 like the Tweed, I confess I think the large one is to be 
 preferred, both because it is more easily put on and 
 kept on the hooks, and because it presents a more 
 natural appearance in the water. The fly is nearly the 
 same length as the creeper, and the tackle used for one 
 should be used for the other. In fact, when the creepers 
 are changing the angler will often find it convenient to 
 fish indiscriminately with either the one or the other. 
 
102 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 Trout take the stone-fly best imder water, and close to 
 the edges of the stream or pool, even under hollow 
 banks, if the fly can be got there. This point is laid 
 ?much stress on by Border anglers, and with good reason, 
 inasmuch as the natural spots to find the fly are close to 
 the banks, from which they are washed ; and it is here 
 consequently that the Trout come to look for them. A 
 dark full water is more favourable for the effective use 
 of the stone-fly than one that is low and clear ; but in 
 both states good baskets may be made with it. The flies 
 •should be collected in a box the night or early morning 
 before they are to be used ; the best places for finding 
 them being under the stones above, but near the water's 
 edge ; and where most cast-off shells are seen, the fly 
 will probably be found to be most numerous. 
 
 Colonel Campbell tells me that he has had great success 
 •on the Border streams, with this fly used with blow-line 
 tackle (as described on the next page). 
 
 A method of natural-fly fishing is also much practised 
 ■on the Peterel, and doubtless on many other neighbouring 
 streams, in which tzvo flies — the generic names of which 
 I could not ascertain — are used upon a small double hook. 
 
 The season for stone-fly fishing begins about the 
 middle of May, and ends about the middle of June. 
 
 BLOW-LINE FISHING WITH THE MAY-FLY. 
 
 Besides the fishing above described the only really 
 effective method of using the natural fly for Trout is 
 
TROUT-FLIES. IO3 
 
 with the "blow-line;" and the place to see blow-line 
 fishing is in the Lakes of Westmeath. Indeed, this 
 beautiful chain of waters seems to be the natural habitat 
 of the art. Each lake in its turn, as the fly appears on 
 it, becomes for a few days a centre of attraction to the 
 angling community, and many a boat which, as Pat 
 says, is only safe provided you do not " cough or snaze," 
 is then dragged from her moorings — perhaps at the 
 bottom of the lake — and pressed into the service. The 
 art of blow-line fishing, though in its principles exceed- 
 ingly simple, demands much nicety of execution in 
 practice, and, as indeed its name implies, it cannot 
 be pursued at all without the assistance of that 
 most inconstant element, the wind. Weather, how- 
 ever, proving propitious, the tackle is easily adjusted. 
 A skein of floss silk prepared for the purpose, and 
 attached to the end of a light running-line, is sub- 
 stituted, so far as the actual casting is concerned, for 
 the " reel-line," and to this, instead of the ordinary fly- 
 collar, is fastened a single small hook whipped on a 
 strand of fine gut. The hook is baited with a May- 
 fly, and as the boat drifts the wind carries out the 
 floss silk, which ought to be so managed by the aid of 
 hand and rod that only the hook and fly should actually 
 touch the water. Near the edges of the reeds will 
 usually be found the greatest quantity of EphemeridcBy 
 and as a corollary the greatest number of Trout. The 
 exact time for this fishing varies a little, as the spring 
 
104 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 has been cold or genial ; and the several lakes vary 
 also inter se, which is a great convenience to the fisher- 
 man ; but from the middle to the end of May is com- 
 monly about the time. The Westmeath lakes, when 
 the fly " is up/' will well repay a visit, as the fish, which 
 are at this time in the highest condition, run from two 
 to five, and sometimes ten pounds, and take the natural 
 fly freely ; and if the angler puts Dr. Peard's charming 
 little book, " A Year of Liberty," into his portmanteau, 
 he will need no abler or more agreeable guide. 
 
 An analogous system to that above described is pur- 
 sued occasionally on some streams in England ; but on 
 others it is strictly prohibited, and on many hardly con- 
 sidered fair fishing. The circumstances of the two cases, 
 however, are entirely difl*erent. 
 
105 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 V/ORM-FISHING. 
 
 Modern and old systems contrasted. Appropriate times and places for 
 worm-fishing. Existing tackles ; the theory of a perfect worm tackle 
 Nenv tackle described — Suitable for river-bottom fishing generally ? 
 Irace. Best worms : management of bait, &c. 
 
 For the present scientific method of worm-fishing for 
 Trout we are chiefly indebted to Mr. Stoddart and Mr. 
 Stewart. This branch of the art was, until late years, 
 principally confined to rivers in a state of partial flood — 
 rising or falling. The performer, armed with a short stiff 
 rod and extra coarse tackle, walked down the river or 
 stream, fishing the pools and likely runs in front of him, 
 and hoisting out bodily any unlucky fish which the 
 purblinding condition of its own element was mainly 
 instrumental in transferring to ours. Now all this is 
 changed, and worm-fishing for Trout is a branch of 
 the gentle art requiring much nicety and skill in its 
 successful performance, and rapidly becoming second 
 only to fly-fishing and spinning in the estimation of 
 anglers. 
 
 We have learnt that the real time for the use of the 
 
106 . MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 worm is not when rivers are swollen or swelling, but 
 when they are low and bright, — June and July in Scot- 
 land, and July and August in England, being the two best 
 months — at the time, in short, when fly-fishing is, from 
 the nature of the case, least attractive and most unre- 
 munerative. Instead of short rods and coarse tackle, 
 long, light weapons, and the very finest gut, are in 
 requisition, with which the worm-fisher enters the river, 
 and wading as nearly up the middle as he can, fishes 
 before him the swift runs and shallows, and the broad 
 bed of the stream itself; often going far towards filling 
 his creel without ever setting foot on the bank. Worm- 
 fishing, as above described, is certainly a very deadly — 
 probably the most deadly — mode of Trout fishing 
 generally sanctioned by the canons of the art ; and it is 
 not at all to be wondered at that on some much-fre- 
 quented waters its use is prohibited. 
 
 But there are thousands of miles of river and stream 
 in the wilds of Ireland and Scotland, and some few 
 still in England, where from year's end to year's end 
 the fly of the angler rarely falls, and on which the 
 breed of Trout is only improved by a little thinning out 
 now and then. Here is the legitimate domain of the 
 worm-fisher, and thus pursued worm-fishing is a sport 
 which need fear comparison with none. 
 
 As regards the tackle to be used in worm-fishing, I 
 cannot better explain the views which I would com- 
 mend to the reader's consideration than by quoting a 
 
WORM-FISH I XG. 10/ 
 
 letter which I addressed to a contemporary periodical in 
 January, 1867 : — 
 
 *'NEW WORM TACKLE FOR TROUT. 
 
 " I see in your last number a letter from the Prince de 
 Vismes, asking me to explain through your columns the 
 principle of the two-hook Trout worm tackle, to which I 
 incidentally referred in a recent communication on the 
 •subject of the relative advantages of the various bends of 
 hooks. It gives me much pleasure to comply with this 
 request. 
 
 " The easiest way of explaining the form of the tackle 
 will be by a diagram, but before doing this it may per- 
 haps be desirable to preface my remarks by a few ob- 
 servations on the views hitherto prevailing on the subject 
 of Trout worm tackle. 
 
 " With one cxccptioiiy no writer on fishing that I ajn 
 acquainted zuith has ever suggested the 71s e of more tJian a 
 single hook. On looking through the modern school of 
 angling authors, I find the following recommendations 
 and instructions on the subject : — Bowlker, in his * Art 
 of Angling,' recommends a single No. 5 or No. 6 hook ; 
 Mr. Stoddart advises, in his * Angler's Companion,' 
 single hooks, sizes No. 10, 11, or 12, * according to the 
 dimensions of the stream, its condition, and the kind of 
 Trout inhabiting it.' Mr. Bailey, in his ^Angler's In- 
 structor,' suggests a single No. 7 ; Otter's ' Modern 
 Angler,' a No. 5; 'Glenfin' ('The Fishing Rod, and 
 How to Use It,') a 6 or 7 ; * Ephemera,' Hewett Wheat- 
 ley, and some other authors, either simply recommend 
 *a single hook,' without naming the size, or omit the 
 question altogether whilst Mr. Moffat, whose ' Secrets 
 
io8 
 
 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 of Angling* burst upon the world since all the foregoing 
 works appeared, of course hits upon a combination the 
 very worst possible, and one which would be tolerably 
 certain to lose three out of every four fish run — i.e., one 
 small hook, extra fine in the wire! The ' member for 
 Finsbury,' as this author, with the detestable slang 
 which some modern writers appear to think funny, calls 
 the Trout, would certainly let Mr. Moffat into at least 
 one angling secret with which he is at present unac- 
 quainted, if he were to appear on the banks of the 
 Tweed, or the Spean, armed with such an apparatus. 
 
 *' It will thus be seen that a ' single hook ' for Trout 
 worm-fishing has been hitherto universally recom- 
 mended by angling authorities, with, as 
 I before stated, a solitary exception, 
 and that is Mr. Stewart, who, in his 
 * Practical Angler,' boldly deviates from 
 the beaten track, and gives a diagram 
 (of which, for the sake of clearness, a 
 facsimile is appended) of a tackle com- 
 posed oi four small hooks, in lieu of the 
 conventional single large one. I give 
 Mr. Stewart the greatest credit for the 
 originality of this idea, which belongs to 
 him alone ; at the same time, I am not 
 surprised at its proving, as he himself 
 admits, only a modified success. Mr. 
 Stewart says that with this tackle he 
 found he could kill larger fish, but 
 fewer in number, than with the single hook, and that 
 this experience was confirmed by others. He attri- 
 butes, and I have no doubt correctly, the diminution in 
 
 4-hook Tackle 
 (Baited). 
 
WORM-FISHING. IO9 
 
 the numbers of fish run, primarily to the circumstance of 
 its being impossible properly to conceal so large a 
 number of hooks in a single worm, and to their being 
 consequently seen by the fish. This was the principal 
 drawback to the four-hook tackle. As a minor inconve- 
 nience, Mr. Stewart also mentions that, from the number 
 of hooks often fixed in the fish's mouth when landed, a 
 certain waste of time necessarily occurred. 
 
 " These being the incidental disadvantages of Mr. 
 Stewart's plan, its advantages were, (i) that the worm 
 was more quickly baited than with the single hook, (2) 
 that it lived much longer — with the large single hook it 
 dies almost directly — (3) that it presented a much more 
 natural appearance to the fish, and (4) that, owing to 
 the superior penetrating tendency of small over large 
 hooks, much fewer fish escaped after being once hooked, 
 whilst it became possible to use the finest gut, which 
 could not be safely done with large heavy hooks. This 
 of itself is an advantage the importance of which can 
 hardly be over-estimated in Trout fishing in clear 
 streams. 
 
 " As regards the other point — the killing powers — my 
 own experience of the tackle was that when fishing pro- 
 perly up stream, and with a shortish line, hardly any fish 
 escaped at all, whilst with the large single hook, I think 
 the experience of most of my brother anglers will bear 
 me out when I say that fully 50 per cent, of runs were 
 'missed.' On the other hand, I fully recognised the 
 practical force of the objections mentioned by Mr. 
 Stewart, and accordingly I endeavoured to construct a 
 tackle similar in principle but different in detail, which 
 should combine all the foregoing advantages, without 
 
no 
 
 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 being open to the drawbacks. After various experi- 
 ments, I arrived at the conclusion that a tackle consist- 
 ing of two hooks instead of four, and these a trifle larger 
 and thicker in the wire, fulfilled the required conditions, 
 and also combined one or two material improvements in 
 other points. Annexed is a diagram of this tackle, 
 
 J 
 
 i 
 
 baited and unbaited. The size of the hooks, &c., can be 
 varied slightly according to the size of the stream, or of 
 the worms. 
 
 The worm is here shown in a curled-up position in 
 order to contrast more readily with Mr. Stewart's tackle, 
 but in actual work it is recommended that the worm 
 should, on the contrary, hang as straight as possible on 
 the hooks, which gives it a more natural appearance, 
 and is in every way much the more killing method. 
 
WORM-FISHING. 1 1 1 
 
 "The great advantages, in several points, of Mr. 
 Stewart's tackle over the old large single hook have been- 
 already explained. The following are the advantages 
 which I believe will be found to belong to the two-hook 
 over the four-hook tackle : — (l.) It is baited in less than 
 half the time. (2.) The worm lives much longer. (3.) Its 
 appearance is much more natural and lively. (4.) The 
 hooks are comparatively unseen. (5.) They are "dis-^ 
 gorged" in half the time. 
 
 " In killing powers I do not think that there is any 
 appreciable difierence, but if there is, the extra size of 
 hook and strength of wire which can be employed in the 
 two-hook tackle ought to give it the advantage. It is 
 also, of course, more easily made. 
 
 " In order to bait this tackle, I put the upper hook quite 
 through the worm, laterally, about half an inch below the- 
 head, just above the knot, and the second hook similarly 
 about an inch below it, according to the size of the 
 worm, as shown in the engraving. 
 
 " It will be found that the worm, especially whea 
 unscoured, is very apt to wriggle itself off the hooks, or 
 into pieces, and the most effectual remedy for this in- 
 convenience, and one which a very little practice will 
 make easy, is to put the two hooks through the worm as 
 expeditiously as possible, and then drop the worm in- 
 stantly into the water ; the cold partially numbs it, and 
 prevents it twisting off. 
 
 *' Thus much as to worm-fishing for Trout. I am by 
 
112 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 no means clear, however, that this tackle will not be 
 found equally advantageous in all kinds of worm-fishing, 
 either with a float, as for Barbel, Bream, Perch, &c., and 
 especially in running water. If Trout, which are in 
 many respects a very shy fish, will take it readily in the 
 finest and brightest water, there seems to be no reason 
 why other and bolder fish should not do so ; and if they 
 will, I cannot but think, for the reasons above mentioned, 
 that it must entirely supersede the present single-hook 
 system." 
 
 The trace for worm tackle should consist of about two 
 yards of the finest stained gut ; one or two shot, ac- 
 cording to the depth and rapidity of the stream, being 
 placed on the line some 14 inches above the hooks. 
 The object of this is to weight the bait, so as to bring it 
 close to or touching the bottom without checking or 
 sticking fast ; but in broad shalloiv water no sinkers at 
 all will be found necessary. A longish rod is most 
 convenient for the purpose. 
 
 With regard to baits, any well-scoured worms which 
 are not much larger nor smaller than that represented 
 in the woodcut will do ; but for worm-fishing for Trout, 
 as for most other species of fresh-water fish, the brand- 
 ling, or dunghill worm, is distinctly the best, — probably 
 owing to its peculiar pungent smell and red colour. P'or 
 the purpose of rapid baiting the most convenient manner 
 of carrying the worms is in a wide-mouthed bag attached 
 to the button-hole. A worm that is disfigured or dead 
 
WORM-FISHING. II3 
 
 should never be kept on the hooks. This is perhaps the 
 most important point of all. The name of the worm in- 
 dicates where it can best be found. Before use it should, 
 if possible, be placed in a damp moss for two or three 
 days. 
 
 After being cast up stream as far as the length of rod 
 and line will conveniently admit, the bait should be 
 allowed to be carried back with the current nearly to the 
 angler's feet. If in its passage the line comes to a 
 suspicious stop, the nature of which is not obvious, or if 
 a fish evidently takes the bait, the line should be allowed 
 to remain for three or four seconds motionless, when 
 the angler should strike, — not very hard, as the hooks 
 are small, — but still firmly and decidedly. 
 
 In worm-fishing for Trout, perhaps more than in any 
 other kind of fishing, the short-handled pocket net de- 
 scribed at page 64 will be found an invaluable auxiliary. 
 
114 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 RIVER AND LAKE MINNOW-SPINNING FOR TROUT. 
 
 spinning ivitb the natural bait. — The essentials of a perfect minnow 
 tackle ; how to be combined in practice ; a neav minnoiu tackle 
 described. Artificial baits. Ne<u} metal minnow described. Lake 
 Spinning for Trout — The Great Lake Trout ; how, when, and where 
 to fish for; tackle. Lake-Spinning for Bronvn Trout. Best mode of 
 fishing ; tackle, and baits. Thames Trout-fishing^ with the spinning 
 bait and with fly. Decrease of Thames Trout. 
 * 
 
 Spinning with the Natural Bait 
 
 Before dealing with the question of how to spin with 
 the Minnow, a preliminary consideration is the tackle 
 most suitable for the purpose. In this, in fact, as in 
 most other works of fishing, the tackle is really the most 
 essential part of the matter, so far as the angling instruc- 
 tion is concerned ; one reason amongst many being that 
 forms of tackle can be readily illustrated and conveyed 
 by written descriptions, whereas skill and experience, 
 except in their results, cannot. 
 
 What, then, is the best Minnow tackle } 
 In order that we may arrive at a satisfactory answer 
 to this question, we must first ascertain what are the 
 
I 
 
^Uij 
 
 ulLJ 
 
 N? 2. 
 
 Ne i). 
 
 TROUT SPINNING TACKLE. 
 
 [7b/aoep. 116. 
 
TROUT RIVER AND LAKE MINNOW-SPINNING. II 5 
 
 qualities essential in such a tackle — I mean those which 
 all spinners would endeavour to combine if they could. 
 They may, I think, be epitomized thus : — 
 
 1. As to hooks : (a) an arrangement which will give a 
 brilliant spin to the bait ; (b) which will most certainly 
 hook any fish that takes it ; (c) and which will least 
 often let him escape afterwards 
 
 2. A txdiCQ fifie, strong, and clear of all encumbrances. 
 
 3. A lead so placed as to sink with the greatest 
 rapidity and least disturbance or show in the water. 
 
 4. The utmost simplicity of application in the whole 
 tackle. 
 
 That these are the essentials of a perfect Minnow 
 tackle, I think no experienced Minnow-spinner will 
 probably dispute, I therefore assume their concurrence 
 so far, and at once direct attention to the diagram of 
 the Tackle in which I believe them to be realized 
 (figure 3 of Plate). 
 
 In this figure a represents the lip-hook (whipped to 
 the main link and not moveable) ; b, a fixed triangle, one 
 hook of which is to be fastened through the back of the 
 Minnow ; c, a flying triangle hanging loose below its 
 tail ; d, a lead or sinker attached on to the shank of the 
 lip-hook, and lying in the belly of the Minnow when, 
 baited. 
 
Il6 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 Directions for Baiting. — Having killed the Minnow, push the lead 
 well down into its belly ; then pass the lip-hook through both its lips, 
 the upper lip first, and lastly insert one hook of the triangle (b) through 
 its back, just below the back fin, so as to crook or bend the body suffi- 
 ciently to produce a brilliant spin. Figure 4 shows the position of the 
 hooks, &c., when baited. 
 
 That this arrangement of hooks fulfils the primary 1 
 condition of '' spinning," is of course capable only of 
 ocular and not of verbal demonstration, but I can only 
 say that when properly baited (and nothing is easier 
 than to bait it properly), I have never seen any tackle 
 which was in this respect superior to it. With regard 
 to its hooking and holding qualities, these depend upon 
 simple mechanical considerations which are at once 
 obvious to the experienced eye, and the Minnow-spinner f 
 who has followed the arguments in the preliminary 
 chapters on the relative powers of flying versus fixed 
 triangles, will probably not have much hesitation in 
 coming to an affirmative conclusion. 
 
 (2.) As to the arrangement of Lead, and (3) general 
 Fineness : The lead, which lies in the bait's belly, not 
 only puts the weight exactly in the place where it is 
 most wanted, but gets rid of the clumsy and complicated 
 " nose cap" with w^hich Hawker's (originally Salter's) 
 spinning flight and other modifications of it are dis- 
 figured, f 
 
 Several sizes of the tackle are necessary to meet 
 variations in the size of the Minnows used. 
 
 The trace should consist simply of 4 or 5 feet of fine 
 
TROUT RIVER AND LAKE MINNOW-SPINNING. 11/ 
 
 picked stained gut, with a small double szvivel Sit the end, 
 to form the junction between the trace and the reel-line. 
 This tackle is principally intended to be used in streams 
 and small rivers which can be commanded by the rod 
 with a line of the same length, or where the angler can 
 wade. It is also well suited for trailing in lochs where 
 very small baits and fine tackle are requisite ; but if used 
 for the latter purpose, as in Thames Trout-fishing — viz., 
 by throwing out and drawing in, a lead like that 
 described at p. 20 will have to be added, to prevent the 
 line kinking. 
 
 Artificial Baits. 
 
 The artificial substitutes for Minnows are numerous, from 
 the graceful "nymphs" and "water-witches" of Hewett 
 Wheatley, to the " kill-devils" and " Satanic tadpoles" of 
 contemporary nomenclators. As compared with the 
 natural Minnow, baited and used as above described, I am 
 satisfied that there is no artificial imitation hitherto 
 made public which is worth mentioning. Hev/ett 
 Wheatley, who in the last generation gave more atten- 
 tion to this particular subject than any other writer, 
 comes to an opposite conclusion ; but only for one 
 reason — namely, that owing to the imperfect hooking 
 powers of the natural Minnow tackles then in use, and the 
 comparative perfection in this respect of his own artificial 
 baits, the former missed so many more fish tJian the latter. 
 This reason no longer exists, as the arrangement of 
 
ii8 
 
 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 hooks in the natural Minnow tackle figured in this 
 chapter, is, both practically and theoretically, nearly 
 perfect. Therefore, my advice is always to use the 
 natural Minnow when obtainable. 
 
 But although the .fish killed thus will be both more nu- 
 merous and larger than with the arti- 
 ficial Minnow, it frequently happens 
 that natural bait is not to be procured ; 
 and when this is the case an artificial 
 bait may be advantageously used. 
 
 Up to the present time no arti- 
 ficial bait has been brought out 
 equal to the simple brass Minnow 
 of Mr. Wheatley. The best of these 
 I have adopted as a basis for the 
 Minnow figured in the engraving : 
 the latter has, however, been altered, 
 and as I think considerably im- 
 proved in several important respects 
 both as to shape and " rig." It is 
 made hexagonal or octagonal instead 
 of round, so that the sides and angles catching the light 
 gain an additional brilliancy and glitter in the water ; 
 and one-half of the Minnow is coloured a bright metallic 
 green, to represent the back of the Minnow. This 
 Minnow is also made in white metal as well as in 
 brass, so as to give a^more perfect imitation of the white 
 belly of a real fish. The round protuberance at the 
 
TROUT RIVER AND LAKE MINNOW-SPINNING. II9 
 
 tall of the Minnow is a glass bead slid down tightly on 
 to a knot in the gut, which is thickened by lapping at 
 the point to make it fit close. The bead thus prevents 
 the friction of the Minnow fraying the gut below. The- 
 Minnow can be so adjusted that the trace and tail- 
 hooks may either spin with it, or remain stationary. 
 In the former case, the gut, when it passes through the 
 Minnow, must be thickened by lapping round it, so that 
 it may fit close. 
 
 The trace for this artificial Minnow, and the mode of 
 using it, are identical with those already described for the 
 natural bait. The trace is, however, only suitable for 
 ''Minnow fishing," properly so called, and not for spinning 
 in large lakes or rivers. 
 
 A long lightish stiff rod, with stiff rings, is most con-^ 
 venient for Minnow-spinning. The rod embraced in the 
 general rod described at p. 5 1, and similar to that used 
 in Trout worm-fishing, but with a somewhat stiffer topj^ 
 will answer the purpose well. 
 
 In Minnow fishing a small sharp gaff is more con- 
 venient than a net, because the hooks are very apt to get 
 entangled in the meshes, and not unfrequently get brokea 
 with the struggles of the fish. 
 
 Lake Spinning for Trout. 
 
 There are two species of non-migratory Trout : one,, 
 the common Brown Trout {Salvio fario), to be found in 
 almost all the considerable lochs and pools in Scotland 
 
120 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 and Ireland, and in many of those of England, especially 
 of Cumberland and Westmoreland ; the other, the great 
 Lake Trout {Salmo ferox)^ an inhabitant principally of the 
 larger and deeper waters. In such lakes it is to be 
 found distributed over almost the whole of Scotland and 
 Ireland. It occurs, to my knowledge, in Lochs Awe, 
 Ericht, Lochy, Garry, and Laggan, and has been re- 
 cognised in Loch Shin, in Lochs Loyal and Assynt, and 
 amongst the Orkney and Shetland lakes. In Ireland it 
 appears as an inhabitant of all the best known and largest 
 lakes, as, for example. Loughs Mask, Erne, Melvin, 
 Corrib, and Neagh ; and it is the Ulswater Trout and 
 Grey Trout also of the English lake districts. The 
 habits as well as the size of the two species are som.e- 
 what different ; the common Brown Trout being caught, 
 as a rule, under five pounds in weight, and being prin- 
 cipally a day-feeder; whilst the great Lake Trout 
 usually averages from five to fifteen pounds in weight, 
 and feeds principally at night. 
 
 To begin with the great Lake Trout : — The rod, reel, 
 line, and trace recommended for Pike-spinning, are also 
 suited to this method of fishing ; as the great Lake Trout 
 is one of the most powerful fish that swims, and in his 
 manner of running at the bait and showing fight, is aptly 
 described by his specific name — Fcrox. As, however, the 
 Trout is a quicker sighted fish than the Pike, another foot 
 or two of stained gimp or gut should be added to the trace 
 between the lead and the flight. The latter should be 
 
.^ 
 
 < 
 
TROUT RIVER AND LAKE MINNOW-SPINNING. 121 
 
 selected according to the size of the bait used. For my own 
 part I have always given the preference to small rather 
 than large baits, and the flight of hooks recommended for 
 Thames Trout-spinning (fig. i, Plate, p. 1 16), baited with 
 a small Trout, wall commonly be found the most killing 
 bait and tackle. (For directions as to baiting, see 
 chapter on Pike-spinning.) Although the tackle is thus 
 similar, the mode of using it differs entirely : as a rule, 
 in spinning for Trout or Pike in rivers, the bait is 
 worked by the movement of the hand and rod combined, 
 the line being drawn in at each cast ; in lake-spinning, 
 on the contrary, the bait is almost invariably trailed 
 behind the boat, the rod doing the w^ork alone. 
 
 The secret of success in spinning for the great Lake 
 Trout lies principally in four points — time, depth, speed, 
 and place, thus — 
 
 Time. — As a rule, begin fishing at the time when other 
 people are leaving off— \\v2X is, about six o'clock P.M. 
 From this hour until midnight Lake Trout may be 
 caught. 
 
 Depth. — Instead of weighting the tackle to spin the 
 bait at some 3 feet from the siLvfacc, lead it so as to 
 sink to within about the same distance from the bottom, 
 be the depth what it may. Both for this purpose, and 
 in order to keep the bait at a distance from the boat, it 
 is almost indispensable that from 40 to 60 yards of line 
 should be let out from the reel. 
 
 Speed. — Let the boat be row^ed slozvly, rather than 
 
122 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 at a brisk, lively pace. A large Lake Trout will seldom 
 trouble himself to follow a bait that is moving fast away 
 from him ; consequently the bait must possess the 
 speciality of spinning, at all events moderately well, or 
 it will not spin at all. - wM 
 
 Place. — The place to trail over is where darkness and 
 light seem to meet in the water — that is, where the bank 
 begins to shelve rapidly, say at a depth of from 9 to 15 
 or 20 feet, according to the nature of the basin : a much 
 greater or much less depth is useless. This is a rather 
 important point, as thereupon it depends mainly 
 whether the bait is ever seen by the fish it is wished to 
 catch. 
 
 The food of the Lake Trout consists of small fish. 
 These are not to be found in any great depths of water, 
 but, on the contrary, on the sloping shores of the lake, up 
 which therefore the Trout naturally comes at feeding 
 time in search of them, stopping short of the shallows. 
 
 The Ferox is himself poor eating, but shows mag- ' 1 
 nificent sport, and fights like a bull-dog. 
 
 With regard to the ordinary brown Lake Trout, though 
 they may not unfrequently be taken at night when 
 trolling for the Ferox, they are rather day than night- 
 feeders, and usually take best before noon. 
 
 In very large waters, where the size of the Trout is in 
 keeping with that of the lake, the tackle and bait 
 above described will answer every purpose. In smaller 
 waters, however, and under ordinary circumstances, a 
 
TROUT RIVER AND LAKE MINNOW-SPINNING. 1 2 3. 
 
 finer trace and flight, though of the same pattern as 
 Fig. I, and smaller baits should be used. The trace in 
 this case should be constructed with two yards of stout, 
 round, stained gut between the lead and the flight. If 
 as small a bait as a Minnow, or very small loach — an 
 excellent bait — is used, the same trace and lead, but the 
 flight recommended for Trout-spinning in streams, 
 (fig. 3, Plate, p. 116) must be substituted. 
 
 In every other respect, — that is to say, except in time,, 
 tackle, and size -of bait, — there is no difference in 
 principle or practice between lake trolling for Brown 
 Trout and for great Lake Troi^t. 
 
 Loach — or more accurately " stone loach" — can gene- 
 rally be caught by wading up a shallow burn, armed 
 with a fork, and turning over the stones. The loach,, 
 which has an ostrich-like habit of thinking its body hidden 
 when its head is, permits itself to be " speared" without 
 much difficulty. 
 
 In all sorts of spinning, whether in lake or river, a 
 good breeze is usually an advantage. In the case of 
 very large sheets of water, I have, however, on more 
 than one occasion, made very good baskets of Brown 
 Trout in a dead calm, and with a bright sun over 
 head. 
 
 Artificial Baits. 
 
 No artificial bait with which I am acquainted is nearly 
 so good for lake trolling as a natural one. The spooa 
 
124 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 appears to have lost for Brozvn Trout what little attrac- 
 tion it ever possessed. The best — or more accurately 
 the least bad — artificial bait that I know is one I had 
 made a year or two ago with tin, and mother-of-pearl 
 on each side, made e:x:actly to imitate a Bleak in size, 
 shape, and colour. The spin was given by the tail, 
 which was crooked, forming the continuation of the 
 centre piece. 
 
 Thames Trout-Spinning. 
 
 Spinning for Thames Trout is probably, judged by 
 the standard of difficulty, the highest branch in this de- 
 partment of fishing. Amongst the best localities for 
 Thames Trout may be mentioned Weybridge, Sun- 
 bury, Penton Hook, the Old Windsor Water, Marlow 
 Weir, and some deep pools above Oxford. In the vicinity 
 of Weybridge very few fish were killed during the 
 last season, though some of the keenest and most suc- 
 cessful Trout fishers reside in the neighbourhood, and 
 devote much time and patience to the pursuit. I hardly 
 know to what to attribute the falling off in the take of 
 Thames Trout of late years, notwithstanding the efforts 
 made by the Thames Angling Preservation Society for 
 increasing the breed and stocking the water. It is 
 certain, however, that such a falling off has actually 
 taken place, and of the Thames and its quondam 
 leviathans, it may now be said, with only too much 
 
 I 
 
TROUT RIVER AND LAKE MINNOW-SPINNING. 1 25 
 
 truth — apparent rari nantes in giirgite vasio — not only 
 they are not caught, but they are not seen. Fifteen 
 years ago, when the Marlow Fishing Association was in 
 its zenith, I remember that one of its most prominent 
 members thought nothing of taking two or three good- 
 sized Thames Trout in an April morning. Thegentleman 
 in question, Mr. H. R. Francis, was certainly one of the 
 most accomplished anglers who ever threw fly or bait 
 in the Thames ; but there are many first-rate spinners 
 and fly-fishers still to be found occasionally in their old 
 haunts, and none of them would, I think, be sanguine 
 enough to anticipate such a basket for the ist of April, 
 1870. The same number of fish per week would now be 
 a good take for any one. The lower weirs and pools have 
 fared no better, and yet the capabilities of the river are 
 precisely the same now as they were then. Nor does 
 " over fishing" explain the deficiency, because there are 
 now, and always miust have been, more Trout bred or 
 turned into the Thames every year than the water can 
 feed. I confess I am perplexed, and when a disease 
 cannot be diagnosed — as doctors phrase it — it is very 
 difficult to prescribe for the patient. There are, how- 
 ever, one or two points in which I think there can 
 be no doubt that the Thames Angling Preservation 
 Society might sensibly improve the Trout fishing. At 
 present, when the stock Trout are turned in at the weirs, 
 they have no proper "hides" or resting-places except 
 the weir holes themselves, and are probably, in the vast 
 
126 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 majority of cases, swept away by the stream, and car- 
 ried into unsuitable, perhaps Pikey, waters. I would 
 place in the gravelly streams and shallow waters below 
 the weirs a considerable number of blocks of stone or 
 bricks — say about a foot high ; and these blocks scattered 
 over the bottom would afford some protection to the 
 fish, and some inducement to them to remain where they 
 were placed, and where they could be found again. As 
 the weirs and the shallows below them are quite out of 
 the course of heavy navigation, no practical incon- 
 venience would be felt on that score. Another point is 
 to abolish entirely all " set" and night-lines. Under the 
 pretence of catching eels, these lines are now constantly 
 fishing some of the best spawning grounds in the Thames, 
 and there can be little doubt that Trout are frequently 
 killed by them. If simultaneously with this prohibition 
 the setting of eel-pots was sanctioned, the exchange 
 w^ould be hailed as a boon by the fishermen, the Trou^ 
 would be safe, and a quantity of useful food now lost to 
 every one secured. 
 
 Whilot referring to the Thames and its regulations, 
 another point suggests itself, with regard to which 
 5ome steps will have to be taken before long. I allude 
 to the question of the supply of baits for Pike-fishing. 
 A very small ccfsting-net is now only allowed to be 
 used, and this, except in shallow water, is next to 
 useless. Baits, however, must be got if the fishermen 
 are to get their livelihood, or visitors their day's 
 
. TROUT RIVER AND LAKE MINNOW-SPINNING. 12/ 
 
 fishing ; and consequently great has been the expense 
 to which the former have been put to obtain the neces- 
 sary supplies, frequently from distant places. I know in 
 this neighbourhood (Weybridge) one fisherman who alone 
 was obliged to obtain during the past season 23 J dozen of 
 bait from Farlow and Bowness, of London, at an expense 
 considerably exceeding a shilling the dozen ; and this too 
 when the river is really swarming with small fish of every 
 description. The plan I would propose is this (of course 
 Avithout interfering with the cast-nets now allowed) : — Let 
 it be a portion of the duty of the wholly paid bailiffs to 
 catch and keep a proper supply of bait ; and let them 
 supply them to the fishermen or other persons at, say, 6d. 
 per dozen. This will obviate all fear of poaching, the 
 fishermen will get a proper supply of bait, and the 
 Thames Angling Protection Society will reap an income 
 which will go far towards paying the cost of the staff of 
 ^ keepers. But this is a digression. To return to Trout- 
 iishing. 
 
 The rod, reel, and line recommended for Pike-spinning 
 will answer every purpose in spinning for Thames 
 Trout. 
 
 The trace and flight should also be similar in construc- 
 tion ; the material of the trace, however, in all cases being 
 single gut, and made up "finer" than when used for 
 Pike. The lead should also be lighter, to correspond 
 with the bait. 
 
 In the engraving at p. 116, a diagram (Fig. i) is given 
 
128 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 of the size of flight which will generally be found most 
 suitable for Trout on the Thames. It is also a very- 
 useful flight for Pike in hot summer weather when the 
 water is low and > bright. 
 
 Directions for baiting are given in the chapter on 
 Pike-spinning. 
 
 Unlike Jack, Trout af& very frequently in the habit of 
 "taking short," as the puntsmen phrase it — that is, 
 seizing the bait by the tail instead of by the head, or 
 from laziness or shyness making their dash a little 
 behind rather than before it. In order to meet this 
 peculiarity, and to render the killing powers of the 
 above flight as deadly in the case of Trout as they 
 are in that of Pike, I use for Trout-spinning an addi- 
 tional flying triangle, tied on a separate link of twisted 
 gut (see Engraving, fig. 2), which can at pleasure be 
 attached to or disengaged from the ordinary flight by 
 being passed over the tail-hook from the point. This 
 triangle flies loose from the bait in the position indicated 
 by the dotted outline A (fig. i), and will be found to act 
 as a powerful argument against any sudden change of 
 mind or loss of appetite on the part of a pursuing Trout. 
 The size of the hooks, length of gut, &c., drawn in the 
 engraving, are of the proper proportion for a flight of the 
 size shown. They should be enlarged or diminished pro- 
 portionably as flights of a larger or smaller size are used. 
 Elasticity, or it may be paradoxically described " stifl"- 
 ness," is absolutely essential to the proper action of this 
 
TROUT RIVER AND LAKE MINNOW-SPINNING. 1 29 
 
 *' tail triangle," and therefore the only material of which 
 the link can be made, if it is to be of any use, is gut — 
 single or twisted, the latter being the better of the two. 
 
 The bait which finds most general favour is a Bleak, 
 which from its shape and glittering scaling has a light and 
 brilliant effect in the water. If a Minnow is used, it 
 should not be a small one, and in this case the flight 
 already described under the head of " Minnow-spinning" 
 may be substituted with advantage. The Thames 
 Trout fisher will often find, however, that he will kill 
 more fish with the fly, especially amongst the rough 
 water and foam of the weirs, than with a spinning bait. 
 The fly for this purpose should be large and gaudy, so as 
 to show up through the foam. The '' gold" fly described 
 in the chapter on Salmon fishing (and Plate, p. 88) dressed 
 on a very small-sized grilse hook — say a No. 13 of my 
 sizes, will be found as killing a fly as any for this purpose. 
 For fishing the quieter parts of the stream, a much 
 smaller fly is required, and for this purpose either of the 
 Trout flies already described can be advantageously 
 used. Thames Trout frequently run as large as 10 lbs. ; 
 specimens of 1 5 lbs,, and even larger, not being by any 
 means unknown. The season begins on the 1st of 
 April, and ends on the loth of September. 
 
130 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 WHITE-TROUT FISHING. 
 
 Different species of White Trout and their habitats. Theory of 
 White-Trout flies — "Green," "brown," and "yellow" typical 
 Trout flies, with the addition of tinsel, recommended also for 
 White-Trout. Observations of fly-fishing and spinning for. Rod 
 tackle, &c. 
 
 Under the name of White or Sea Trout are often 
 included in ordinary parlance several species which are 
 properly distinct, as the Salmon Trout and Bull Trout 
 {Salmo trutta and Salmo eriox), and also others the specific 
 positions of which are undetermined or disputed. One 
 cause of the difificulty which an angler, who is not also a 
 thorough ichthyologist, finds in identifying the various 
 species of migratory SalmonidcB^ is the great variety of 
 local names often applied to one and the same fish. On 
 the Tweed for instance, the Salmo criox, which is of 
 course most widely known by its proper name of Bull 
 Trout, is simply " The Trout ;" on the Coquet it com- 
 monly goes by the name of " The Salmon," and it is 
 believed to be identical with the Sewin or Sewen of 
 
WHITE-TROUT FISHING. I31 
 
 Wales. To anglers, by far the most interesting species 
 is the Salmon Trout. 
 
 Salmon Trout fishing when good is perhaps, at any 
 rate for a time, the most fascinating of all fishing. In- 
 digenous in many of our best Salmon and Bull Trout 
 rivers, and frequently abounding in streams which 
 produce neither the one nor the other, there is no fish 
 that swims which rises more fearlessly to the fly, or 
 when hooked, shows for its size such indomitable — 
 English pluck I was about to say — but at any rate such 
 determined and enduring courage. In fact, the bright 
 graceful Salmo tnitta is the most game and mettlesome, 
 if not, on the whole, the most beautiful fish known to 
 Europe, or probably to the world. 
 
 Although the Don, the Spey, Tay, Annan, Nith, and 
 many other Scotch waters, as well as a few English 
 rivers produce the Sea Trout in tolerable abundance, 
 Ireland must be considered as its home par excellence. 
 Many of the streams and lakes on the west coast of 
 Ireland produce Sea Trout in an abundance, rare if not 
 unknown, in the sister Island. 
 
 Salmon Trout are migratory, and in this respect re- 
 semble the Salmon more than the Brown Trout ; other 
 of their habits, however, seem more allied to the 
 latter species, and, as remarked in one of the 
 earlier Chapters of this book, the fish would appear to 
 stand in its habits and instincts somewhere about mid- 
 way between the two. So with regard to the flies 
 
 K 2 
 
132 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 used for their capture ; in size and shape they more 
 commonly bear a resemblance to natural insects, a 
 resemblance which cannot be sacrificed without loss of 
 efficiency ; in colours, on the other hand, for some of 
 the most killing artificial White Trout flies no natural 
 prototype could be found. Under these circumstances 
 the arguments in the preliminary Chapter on fly-fishing 
 apply with full force to White or Sea Trout, a7id the 
 three typical flies already recommended for Brown Tront 
 {inchtding the plain hackle-wing) dressed with a very 
 slight variation, will be found at least as killing on lakes 
 and rivers as any of the numerous local or general flies. 
 
 From what has been said, it would naturally be inferred 
 that colour bears a more important part in White 
 than in Brown Trout fishing. In fact, as "natural 
 imitation " recedes in importance, colour advances, and 
 the " salmon sympathies," if I may so express it, of Sea 
 Trout are principally shown, so far as fly-fishing is con- 
 cerned, by the fact, everywhere recognised in practice, that 
 they usually prefer in flies a certain amount of actual 
 glitter as well as strength of colour. Therefore, in 
 dressing the three flies for White Trout the addition of 
 a little tinsel is desirable — to the Yellow, gold tinsel, and 
 to the Brown and Green, gold or silver according to 
 fancy. The tinsel should be applied sparingly, as its 
 effect is weakened by excess. Three complete turns 
 round the body are ample ; the tinsel being of course 
 broad or narrow as the fly is large or small. Oc- 
 
wm^ 
 
 iii 
 
 c 
 rr. 
 
 X 
 
 t. 
 
WHITE-TROUT FISHING. 1 33 
 
 casionally in very large waters the silver or gold flies 
 recommended for Salmon, and dressed small, will be 
 found very killing. 
 
 As in lake fishing for the ordinary Brown Trout, I 
 advise the use of the Yellow fly as the dropper, and the 
 Green as the stretcher to begin with ; the Brown being 
 reserved in case ^. change seems desirable. 
 
 The limits within which the sizes of White Trout flies 
 vary, although influenced to some extent by the common 
 considerations of water and weather, are narrower than 
 those applicable to Brown Trout ; and White Trout flies 
 are rarely required to be dressed on hooks smaller 
 than No. 8, or larger than No. 13, {vide Plate, p. 1 1). 
 But size is still a point of great importance, and as 
 it is desirable to exactly suit the size of the fly to 
 the fish and to the water, the White Trout fisher 
 should keep by him all or nearly all the inicnnediate 
 sizes. 
 
 In the case of White, as in that of Brown Trout, too 
 great stress can hardly be laid on the importance of 
 carrying ihefiies loose in a box. From the moment they 
 are dressed they should never be squeezed or pressed, as 
 in a fly-book, for instance, as they thereby lose much of 
 their crispness and vitality. 
 
 All the larger sized flies for White Trout should be 
 dressed with a loop, both as lasting much longer, and, by 
 the method herein proposed (see Chapter on Salmon 
 fishing), swimming much better. For the best method 
 
134 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 of attaching the dropper, staining the gut, &c., see pre- 
 liminary Chapters on gut and knots. The method of 
 working the flies, and the other observations as to the 
 How, When, and Where of Brown Trout fly-fishing and 
 minnow-fishing, apply also in almost every case to the 
 Salmon Trout. Both this fish and Bull Trout will 
 occasionally take the worm, but it is at best an uncertain 
 bait. 
 
 The observations in the Chapter on spinning for the 
 common Brown Trout, Sahno fario, in lakes are appli- 
 cable also to spinning for White Trout : a very small 
 bait should be used. Spinning for White Trout is how- 
 ever very uncertain work, especially in lakes. I have 
 usually had the best sport in a strong breeze. In 
 streams the natural minnow used as described in the 
 Chapter on Minnow-spinning will sometimes fill a good 
 basket with Sea Trout. The double-handed fly-rod, 
 similar to that already recommended for Brown Trout 
 fishing in lakes, will generally be found to answer best 
 for White Trout fishing. 
 
 When in full season, and tolerably fresh from the sea, 
 the White Trout is bright and silvery, but as autumn 
 spawning time approaches, the fish begin to lose 
 their brilliancy of scaling, and acquire a reddish or 
 blackish tinge. The most common weight is from one 
 to five pounds, but specimens have been taken as heavy 
 as twenty pounds. Last autumn I hooked and played 
 for some time a Sea Trout which must have exceeded 
 
WHITE-TROUT FISHING. 135 
 
 ten pounds ; but having only a light single-handed fly- 
 rod I could not exercise that wholesome pressure on his 
 movements which is so desirable, and after three-quarters 
 of an hour of alternate somersaulting and "sulking" 
 he eventually broke me. 
 
136 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 GRAYLING FISHING. 
 
 Grayling rivers and haunts, — The 'Grayling country'; spawning; 
 
 growth-rate, and nomenclature. Artificial fly-fishing and flies. 
 
 Uselessness of the great number of Grayling flies ; typical Trout 
 
 flies recommended to be substituted. 
 Grasshopper fishing — best tackle; time, place, and mode of using. 
 
 Grayling fishing <vjith the gentle. 
 
 General Remarks. 
 
 Whilst yielding to the Trout in courage and dash, the 
 Grayling is yet a beautiful and mettlesome fish — a 
 foeman not unworthy of our steel — and if the former 
 is the handsomer, the latter would by many be con- 
 sidered the prettier species of the two. The Trout has, 
 so to speak, a Herculean cast of beauty ; the Grayling 
 rather that of an Apollo — light, delicate, and gracefully 
 symmetrical. 
 
 Except in the Clyde, where the fish was introduced 
 about ten years ago, there are no Grayling, so far as I 
 am aware, either in Ireland or Scotland — and even in 
 England the fish is still local, and comparatively speak- 
 ing, even rare. The following are amongst the streams 
 which produce the Grayling in more or less abundance. 
 
I 
 
 
 < 
 
 
« 
 
GRAYLING FISHING. 1 3/ 
 
 In Hampshire and Wiltshire — the Test, Wharf, and both 
 the Avons ; in Herefordshire — the Dove, Lug, Arrow, 
 Wye, and Irwin ; in Shropshire — the Teme and Clun, 
 Corve and Onny ; in Staffordshire — the Hodder, Trent, 
 Dove, and Wye ; in Derbyshire — the Dove ; in Merio- 
 nethshire, the Dee ; in Lancashire — the Ribble ; in 
 Yorkshire — the Derwent, Ure, Wharfe, and Whiske ; and 
 in Cumberland, according to Heysham, the Esk and the 
 Eden. 
 
 The Wye, Dee, Lug, and Teme are the only Welsh 
 rivers holding Grayling that I am acquainted with. 
 Leintwardine on the Teme may be considered as the 
 centre of the Grayling country ; and from Leintwardine 
 to Ludlow is the best piece of Grayling water in the 
 kingdom ; so far as my experience goes. 
 
 The cause of the non-existence of Grayling in Irish 
 or Scotch rivers is probably to be found in the " rock, 
 stone, and scour," which are their most common characte- 
 ristics, whilst the Grayling appears to thrive best in 
 rivers, the beds of which are composed partly or wholly 
 of sandy gravel or loam ; and instead of dashing torrents 
 and rapids in uninterrupted succession, affects waters in 
 which shallows and "stickles" alternate with gentler 
 currents and deep sluggish " lanes" or channels of 
 stream. 
 
 The spawning months for Grayling are April and the 
 early part of May, when they come up to the gravelly 
 scours in shoals — in this respect resembling dace. The 
 
138 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 spawning process occupies from three to four days, after 
 which the fish return to their own haunts, and are then 
 unfit for food until about August ; during the inter- 
 vening months the spawned fish rarely take the fiy or 
 bait, and if caught in May or June should be returned to 
 the river. The Grayling season begins in August and 
 properly ends with December, as after Christmas the fish 
 begin to get heavy in spawn, a condition in which a 
 good sportsman will not kill them, although it cannot 
 perhaps be truly said that they are actually unfit for the 
 table until after the spawning has taken place. When I 
 last fished the Teme, the limit of size under which the 
 Leintwardine Club wisely prohibited the taking of 
 Grayling was 10 inches. I hear, however, that the club 
 rules have been recently revised. 
 
 One year old fish are locally termed " Pinks"; at two 
 years, when they weigh about \ lb., they become " shot" 
 or " shut" Grayling ; and afterwards " Grayling." The 
 " Pink" Grayling have neither spots nor lateral lines 
 observable. " Shot" Grayling have spots, but no well- 
 marked longitudinal lines as seen in the full-grown fish. 
 At three years old the Grayling weighs about \ lb. in 
 average waters, and is supposed to continue growing 
 at about the same rate, viz. \ lb. per annum, until 
 reaching its maximum weight, which may probably be 
 considered under ordinary conditions from 4 to 5 pounds. 
 A Grayling weighing half a pound spawns, but a " Shot" 
 Grayling does not. 
 
GRAYLING FISHING. 1 39 
 
 The mouth of the Grayling is exceedingly tender ; and 
 consequently both striking and playing, the fish requires 
 to be handled carefully. For the same reason, and also 
 from the peculiar character of the banks, a net is 
 almost a necessity in Grayling waters. The light 
 pocket-net described in the chapter on tackle, will be 
 found the most convenient for the purpose. 
 
 Grayling but seldom take the minnow, either natural 
 or artificial, or the worm. The three most killing ways 
 of fishing for them being with the artificial fly, with the 
 artificial grasshopper, and by float-fishing with gentles. 
 
 Fly-FiSHING. 
 
 Fly - fishing for Grayling begins In earnest in 
 August — that is, about a month earlier than either the 
 grasshopper or gentle fishing — and continues through 
 September and October. Fair bags may not un- 
 frequently be made as late as November, but a warm 
 day, and the middle hours of it, are then desiderata. 
 Indeed, as soon as the weather becomes cold, the 
 warmest hours of the day, say from 12 till 2 or 3 
 o'clock, will usually prove best for the fly. The flies 
 locally used for Grayling fishing are not quite so 
 numerous as those for Trout — the only reason being, 
 I believe, that the localities themselves are fewer ; but 
 still the Grayling fisher's repertory will commonly con- 
 tain from ten to twenty varieties, good and bad, the 
 greater part of which are wholly unnecessary, and in their 
 
I40 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 effects on the basket mischievous. Perhaps the most 
 killing of the list are the August, Whirling, and Blue 
 Duns (light and dark) ; Silver-twist, blue ; Red and Green 
 Insects ; Willow, Orange, and Sedge or Cinnamon fly- 
 One or other of these will kill all through the season ; 
 but if the Grayling fisher will substitute for them and 
 their congeners the three flies, Yellow, Green, and Brown, 
 which I have recommended for Brown Trout {vide, frontis- 
 piece), and use them steadily throughout the season, he 
 will probably find reason to congratulate himself on the 
 exchange. 
 
 The arguments which have been adduced on this 
 subject as applicable to Trout flies, as well as the obser- 
 vations on Trout fishing generally in streams, and how it 
 is to be done, Rod, Tackle, &c., apply equally to Grayling 
 fishing and flies. The finest possible stained gut should 
 be always used for both flies and collar. 
 
 Comparatively few heavy Grayling are taken with the 
 fly, the haunts of the large fish being chiefly the long 
 slow-running deeps which are most unfriendly to this 
 mode of fishing. In the rapids and "stickles," small 
 Grayling may be taken, but these scours are not really 
 good either for the fly, grasshopper, or gentle. The best 
 spots for all three are steady running streams, and tails 
 of pools, for the fly about three, and for the grasshopper 
 about four feet deep. The grasshopper can, however, 
 be frequently used with advantage in water which is 
 much too slow for the fly. 
 
GRAYLING FISHING. 
 
 141 
 
 Grasshopper-Fishing. 
 The lure known by the name of the artificial grass- 
 hopper, is really a rough imitation of a caterpillar, and 
 not of a grasshopper. The best are imitations made as 
 follows. Whip a strand of fine stained gut on to a No. 10 
 or No. 1 1 hook ;^ making the silk lapping extend as far 
 as the bend of the hook. Take a lightish lead, bored, 
 of about an inch in length ; cut it down at one end to 
 the length of the lapping (about three-quarters of an 
 inch), taper it off at the thick end a little with a knife, 
 and then run it over the shank of the hook, with the 
 heaviest end towards the bend of the hook : pinch it so 
 as to fix \t firmly in its place ; and make a few transverse 
 " nicks" with the knife to cause the dubbing to stay on : 
 
 Fig. I. 
 
 Fig. 2. 
 
 then lap the lead all over with light 
 green worsted ; and make a few turns 
 over this body with yellow silk, waxed 
 with colourless wax. It is an im- 
 provement to the appearance of the 
 grasshopper to run a narrow slip of 
 straw down each side of the body 
 under the yellow ribbing. 
 
 The form of the grasshopper is 
 shown in the engraving (figure i). Grasshopper. 
 It should be baited for use with three or four large 
 
 Float. 
 
 * If a No. 1 1 hook is used, which is on the whole the best size of bend, 
 a small piece of the end of the shank should be nipped off, as the grass- 
 hopper would otherwise be too long and large for ordinary purposes. 
 
142 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 gentles put on the hook so as to make a bunch and 
 partly cover the bend and point. The trace should con- 
 sist of three yards of fine stained gut. 
 
 The grasshopper is worked by " sinking and drawing," 
 as it is termed : that is, the bait is thrown in and 
 allowed to sink till it touches the bottom, and is then 
 steadily drawn up again about a foot or a foot and a 
 half, and allowed to sink as before. The stream is 
 usually strong enough to shift the bait as much as is 
 desirable, but if the water is too still for this, the result 
 can be arrived at by "drawing" the bait a little to right 
 or left with the rod. The great point is to be quite sure 
 that the bait touches the bottom before drawing up, and 
 in order to assist the eye in judging this point, it will 
 be found of the greatest advantage to have a small 
 moveable white mark on the line, placed a foot or a foot 
 and a half higher up the line than the highest point 
 which ought to be submerged. It is, in fact, a minia- 
 ture float, always kept out of water, and the most 
 convenient form is this. Take a small white feather, 
 and cut off about half an inch of the hollow quill, and 
 three-quarters of an inch of the solid white part of 
 the feather-stem, just thick enough to fit neatly into the 
 hollow quill cap (a), as shown in the engraving, figure 
 2 ; the cap passes over the line and is shifted accord- 
 ing to the average depth of the water fished. 
 
 A run will of course be perceived as the bait is being 
 drawn up, when a smart stroke should be given, and the 
 
GRAYLING FISHING. 143 
 
 fish held tightly. Otherwise from its non-fighting pro- 
 pensities a large Grayling is very likely to get off : the 
 hook also is a good deal encumbered with gentles. When 
 first struck, the larger Grayling appear to me to fight as 
 an Eel does — pulling tail backwards, instead of running 
 down, or away head first as other fish generally do ; and 
 I hardly ever remember seeing a hooked Grayling spring 
 out of water. 
 
 The best spots for grasshopper-fishing have already 
 been described. Where the water is deep enough, a 
 short line worked almost perpendicularly near the bank 
 will be found most successful ; but by throwing out a 
 considerable distance, excellent water otherwise inacces- 
 sible can often be reached. The cast may be made over 
 hand like a fly to a distance of some ten yards, but care 
 must be taken to allow the line to spread well behind, 
 or otherwise the bait will perform various eccentric 
 flights into the water or bushes. A longish light rod, 
 say fourteen or fifteen feet, is most convenient for grass- 
 hopper-fishing : and the " General Rod," reel, and line 
 recommended for worm-fishing for Trout (p. 112) will be 
 found to answer the purpose excellently. 
 
 As a rule, fish caught with the grasshopper are twice 
 as large as those caught with the fly. September, 
 October, November, and December are the best months, 
 and the best days are usually quiet warm days succeed- 
 ing frosty nights — in fact, grasshopper-fishing never 
 fairly gets into play until after the first sharpish frost. 
 
144 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 From about eight A.M. until four P.M. is commonly the 
 best time of day. I have been informed that grass- 
 hopper-fishing was first introduced into Shropshire 
 about forty-five years ago by the late Mr. Jones, fisher- 
 man, of Ludlow ; whose son, also residing in Ludlow, is, 
 or was when I last fished with him, as deadly a Grayling- 
 killer as I ever met. 
 
 Gentle-Fishing. 
 
 Before the introduction of the artificial grasshopper, it 
 was the custom, in Shropshire at any rate, to fish for 
 Grayling with gentles only for bait and ground-bait, 
 used in the same manner as we now use them for Roach, 
 and with similar tackle. Fished in the 
 " Nottingham style" they will still be found 
 a very killing bait {vide Chapter on Roach- 
 fishing). 
 
 In the above and every description of 
 gentle-fishing a tin box like that shown in 
 the engraving, with a tray in front of the 
 opening, and which can be suspended from 
 the button-hole, will be found a really great practical 
 convenience and saving of time. This box was, I 
 believe, the ingenious invention of Messrs. Dawson, 
 Bell Yard, Temple Bar. 
 
145 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 SALMON FISHING. 
 
 Outline of Salmon history and nomenclature. Fly-fishing: two prin- 
 cipal difficulties, the 'rise' and the 'stroke'; casting and working 
 the fly. Salmon haunts ; changing flies, and casting for second rise ; 
 wading and waterproofing. 
 
 Salmon and Grilse flies : three uni'versal flies described — ' Silver,' ' gold,' 
 and ' rainbow.' Neiv method of construction — Head-hackles ; 'loops'; 
 how to fasten flies to casting-lines. Rod, reels, and lines. Gaffing. 
 Hooks for Salmon flies. Spinning for Salmon — The Eel-tail bait and 
 tackle ; how to dress and use. Worm-fishing tackle, h'c. 
 
 Outline of " Salmon History" and 
 Nomenclature. 
 
 i A History of the Salmon, in the proper sense of the 
 term, is beyond the scope of this work, and I have 
 moreover already dealt with the subject in detail in the 
 "Angler-Naturalist." A few facts, however, which I 
 shall put as briefly as possible, are desirable, if only to 
 enable the fisherman to know what Salmon he may put 
 into his creel and what he ought to return to the river. 
 The general terms used in Salmon nomenclature may 
 also perhaps be useful. 
 
 The young of a Salmon remains one, two, or three 
 years in the river before migrating to the sea : during 
 
 L 
 
146 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 this period it is a "parr." Just before migrating it 
 changes its golden and brown coat for a silver one, and 
 becomes a *' smolt," at which time it weighs from one to 
 two ounces. The smolt returns from the sea a " grilse," 
 commonly in from five to ten weeks, but sometimes 
 more, and having increased in weight from two to ten 
 pounds. Sometimes, however, the smolt does not come 
 back as a grilse, but returns in the spring of the following 
 year as a small Salmon.* 
 
 The smolt, whether it comes back in the grilse or 
 Salmon state, and the mature Salmon also, spawn 
 usually about November or December, and go back 
 to the sea as a spent-fish, or "kelts," in February or 
 March; ordinarily returning during the following four 
 or five months as " clean" fish, and increased in Aveight 
 from seven to ten pounds. 
 
 Shortly before spawning, and whilst returning to the 
 sea as " kelts," Salmon are considered " foul fish" — unfit 
 for food — and their capture is then illegal. " Foul fish" 
 before spawning are, if males, termed " red fish," from 
 the orange-coloured stripes with which their gill-covers 
 are marked, and the golden orange tint of the body; the 
 females are darker in colour and are called " black fish." 
 After spawning the males are called " Kippers," and the 
 
 * The circumstance of the non-return of the Smolt in all cases during 
 the first year, and the theory of the spanvning of Salmon in altematex 
 years, is now very generally received amongst naturalists. It was firstt 
 propounded by the author in the T/'wifj in 1863, and subsequently in 
 the " Angler-Naturalist," published during the same year. 
 
SALMON FISHING. 147 
 
 females " Shedders," or " Baggits." The History of the 
 Salmon-Trout and other migratory Salmonidae has 
 never been quite so decidedly established ; but in many 
 points it certainly, and in most others probably, is nearly 
 identical with that of the Salmon. The colours of the 
 Salmon-Trout and Bull-Trout before or after spawning 
 are also nearly the same as those of the Salmon, and 
 their condition may be ascertained accordingly. 
 
 The above names may perhaps be conveniently 
 presented in a tabular form : — 
 
 NAMES OF SALMON IN DIFFERENT CONDITIONS 
 AND STAGES OF GROWTH. 
 
 Parr Before taking its migratory dress. 
 
 Smolt After taking ditto. 
 
 Grilse Smolt, on first return from the sea, 
 
 during the same year. 
 
 Salmon Sm.olt, not returning till year fol- 
 lowing ; or Grilse after its first 
 trip to the sea, and at all sub- 
 sequent stages. 
 
 Clean fish .... Fish fit to eat ; neither just going 
 I to spawn, nor just after spawn- 
 
 I ing. 
 
 I Foul fish Vice versa. 
 
 Fresh-run fish . , . Salmon recently ascending rivers 
 
 or lakes from the sea. 
 
 Red fish Male Salmon just before spawning. 
 
 L 2 
 
148 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 Black fish .... Female Salmon ditto. 
 
 Kippers Male Salmon just after spawning. 
 
 Shedders or Baggists Female Salmon ditto. 
 
 Kelts or Spent fish . Male or female Salmon returning 
 
 to the sea after spawning. 
 
 Well-mended Kelts . Salmon which (after spawning) 
 
 have partially recovered their 
 condition in the fresh water. 
 
 Both grilse and Salmon can always be at once distin- 
 guished from the Salmon-Trout and Bull-Trout, by the 
 spots. After the smolt stage, these latter fish invariably 
 have spots on the sides, below the lateral or side-line ; 
 the line, that is, longitudinally dividing each side of the 
 fish into two halves. Salmon and grilse never have such 
 spots. 
 
 Grilse can be distinguished from Salmon, (i) by the tail 
 being forked, whereas in the Salmon it is always nearly 
 square, and ultimately convex ; and (2) by the scales, 
 which in the grilse come off even with the slight pressure 
 of the hand. Fresh-run Salmon — i.e., Salmon just fresh 
 from the sea — carry on their bodies the parasites com- 
 monly called " tide lice," these drop off after a few hours' 
 contact with the fresh water, but the marks, something 
 like miniature leech-bites, remain for a day or two. The 
 longer the Salmon remains in fresh water the less bril- 
 liant becomes its colour. 
 
Sx\LMON FISHING. I49 
 
 Fly-Fishing. 
 
 Although, in common with many Trout-fishers who are 
 also Salmon-fishers, I prefer good Trout-fishing to any 
 other sport with the rod, it must be admitted that there 
 are points in which Salmon-fishing carries off the palm 
 — and carries it off too not only from Trout-fishing, but 
 from every other sport which these islands afford. 
 Perhaps I could not with truth say that I prefer fishing 
 to shooting, or shooting to hunting ; they are a glorious 
 trio, to each of whom in turn I have sworn alle- 
 giance ; and if like Paris I had a golden apple 
 to bestow, it should be given to Fishing only because she 
 has been in a special sense my mistress — " the fairest 
 and most loving wife" — in many a wild and lonely spot 
 where but for her gentle companionship and solace, I 
 should have felt myself in every sense of the word alone. 
 But though it would perhaps be impossible, honestly, and 
 " unbiassed by self-profit," to award the palm of supe- 
 riority to either of our three national sports as a whole, 
 I unhesitatingly assert that there is no single moment 
 with horse or gun into which is concentrated such a 
 thrill of hope, fear, expectation, and exultation as that 
 of the rise and successful striking of a heavy Salmon. 
 / have seen men literally unable to stand, or to hold their 
 rod, from sheer excitement. 
 
 And indeed in this very excitement — in the impe- 
 tuosity of spirit it engenders — lies almost the only real 
 
150 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 difficulty of Salmon-fishing. Two causes combine to 
 make the moment of striking a critical one : In the first 
 place the Salmon is so large and bright, and in the second 
 so comparatively slow-moving, owing to his bulk, that the 
 eye almost certainly perceives him in the water before 
 he has actually taken the fly ; when a premature stroke, 
 an almost instinctive tightening of the muscles and Hne, 
 at once snatches the fly from the fish, and the fish from 
 the creel. The art is to resist for a moment the 
 inclination to strike ; only for one moment, but long 
 enough to allow the f;sh to take and turn down again 
 with the fly ; and then strike if you will : not a slight 
 hesitating blow like the tap of a lady's fan— for there is 
 often a long line and a heavy strain on it between the 
 Salmon and his would-be captor — but a strong, steady, 
 determined stroke bringing the line up as flat as a knife, 
 and driving the tapering hook-point well in over the barb. 
 
 Next to the number of Salmon lost through striking 
 too quickly, are those lost from striking too feebly. I 
 repeat, therefore, strike strongly and hard, as I have 
 described, and repeat the stroke by way of making 
 sure. If the tackle will not stand this strain it is a 
 clear proof that it is not fit for Salmon-fishing. A 
 weak stroke is worse than useless, because whilst it fails 
 to make the hook penetrate, it provokes the fish to 
 a sudden violent effort to rid himself of it, and thus 
 lessens the chance of his hooking himself. 
 
 If the above mode of striking is adopted, not more 
 
SALMON FISHING. 1 5 1 
 
 than one fish in five which fairly take the fly in open 
 water ought to escape. I kept a register for some time of 
 my losses and takes, and I found this to be a fair average. 
 
 Having mastered this point, the tyro who knows any- 
 thing of Trout-fishing will find that there is very little 
 to learn in the art of Salmon-fishing which a few hours 
 practice under a good master will not suffice to teach 
 him. The principles of casting and working the fly are 
 in fact almost identical, allowing for the difference in 
 size and weight of the tackle employed. All the move- 
 ments, that is to say, and particularly that given to the 
 fly in the water, are somewhat slower than in Trout- 
 fishing. The method of casting — the principles which 
 should guide the Salmon-fisher in selecting the size of 
 his fly — the general condition of wind, weather, &c. — 
 are also similar, and for all these the reader is referred 
 to the chapter on Trout-fishing. 
 
 Salmon, however, depend more on the condition of 
 the water than do Trout, and there are many rivers 
 / in which the chances of taking a fish are almost nily 
 unless there is a "fresh" in the river. 
 
 As regards the " where" to fish for Salmon in any given 
 river, this can only be acquired by local experience. Some- 
 times what to the natural man appears a most lovely cast, 
 hardly holds a fish from one end of the season to the 
 other, whilst in the uninviting lagoon-like looking hole 
 below, a rise may be predicted with certainty. Even 
 particular stones are not unfrequently haunted by Salmon 
 
152 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 with a pertinacity which is very remarkable. In the Con- 
 way, for instance, I have often had pointed out to me a 
 stone, the little eddy behind which was almost invariably 
 tenanted by a Salmon. Such is also the Red Stone 
 below Makerston on the Tweed, and there are many 
 similar instances. 
 
 Why Salmon should evince such strong predilections 
 for particular spots is a question which has never been 
 satisfactorily answered ; but that they do so evince them 
 is beyond a doubt ; and whilst such is the case, the 
 Salmon-fisher who does not want to waste his time will 
 never, if he can help it, try a new water without some 
 local guide who knows the casts, and what are and what 
 are not the spots most likely to hold Salmon. j 
 
 A gaff is sometimes necessary for the safe and expe- 
 ditious landing of Salmon, but it requires to be used by 
 an experienced eye and hand, and in the early spring 
 months, when the kelts or spawned fish are dropping 
 down the river, a net, (which should not be less than two 
 feet in diameter,) will both save the fisherman's time and 
 probably the lives of at least some "doubtful" fish. In 
 fact, on many early Salmon rivers a net is almost a sine 
 qtid noit, and the use of the gaff should be discouraged 
 in every way. 
 
 Another important point in Salmon angling is " fishing 
 for a second rise." If a Salmon through his own or the 
 angler's fault has missed the fly, he will, if properly 
 managed, frequently rise a second, and sometimes a 
 
SALMON FISHING. 153 
 
 third or even a fourth time, and be hooked after all. 
 When a Salmon has risen, instead of immediately throw- 
 ing again, the best plan is for the angler to sit down 
 quietly on the bank for a few minutes, and then care- 
 fully cast over the fish again, beginning a few yards 
 above the actual spot where the rise took place, and 
 bringing the fly gradually down over it. If the fish does 
 not rise, a short interval should be allowed as before, 
 during which the fly should be changed for one of 
 another colour, and afterwards the same process repeated. 
 Some good fishers advise changing the fly the first time 
 of recasting, and a second or even third time afterwards ; 
 but my experience is in favour of the system here de- 
 scribed, which is both simpler and less troublesome. If 
 a Salmon will not rise either to the original or to a new 
 fly, the chances are much against his rising again at all 
 at that moment. He may do so, however, at another 
 time of the day, and in view of this contingency the 
 casting over him of a number of flies a great many times 
 is less likely to attract than to disgust him. 
 
 Wading. 
 
 Wading is often necessary in Salmon-fishing, and 
 indeed in Trout-fishing also. Where the fisherman has 
 to wade deep, as is often the case in Salmon-fishing, 
 fishing trousers fastening round the waist will often be 
 found a great convenience : they are also much less 
 dangerous than either wading stockings or leather boots. 
 
154 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 In the event of a sudden immersion these latter fill with 
 
 water, and thus act as plummets, loaded with which even 
 
 a strong swimmer may very easily be drowned. Wading 
 
 trousers, on the contrary, take so long to fill that they 
 
 practically act as floats during a time which is generally 
 
 sufficient to enable a swimmer to reach the bank ; and 
 
 they give of course a non-swimmer a proportionately 
 
 better chance than he would otherwise have. 
 
 If leather boots are used, the best dressing that I am 
 
 acquainted with, as also for shooting-boots, is a coat of 
 
 the green-looking waterproof paste manufactured by 
 
 Messrs. Strawson, of Crewkerne, Somersetshire ; and for 
 
 merely keeping the leather pliant when not in use, the 
 
 following will be found an excellent mixture : — 
 
 Waterproofing for hoots (b-'c. — Burgundy pitch, i oz. ; bees' wax, 2 oz. ; 
 turpentine 2 oz. ; neatsfoot oil, i pint. The turpentine should be added 
 just before taking the composition off the fire. 
 
 Salmon and Gri*lse Flies. 
 For the arguments bearing upon the question of what 
 a Salmon-fly ought to be — the rationale, that is, of 
 Salmon-flies — the reader is referred to the general intro- 
 ductory observations on fly-fishing. Chapter VI. The 
 figures in the frontispiece represent the three flies 
 therein alluded to dressed of three different sizes, so 
 as to exhibit in the most convenient form — the arrange- 
 ment of wings, hackles, &c. ; No. i being tied on a 
 double hook, showing with the foreshortened diagram 
 annexed to it the proper angle of " set" for the latter. 
 
SALMON FISHING. I55 
 
 No alteration whatever is required in the dressing, 
 from the smallest Grilse to the largest Shannon flies, ex- 
 cept that the hooks, hackles, and wings must be propor- 
 tionally larger or smaller. 
 
 The speciality of these flies it will be seen con- 
 sists in the arrangement of hackles, which are, in fact, 
 double, embracing a " shoulder " hackle, and what 
 may perhaps be best described as a " head hackle ;" the 
 body of the fly being made a trifle shorter to admit of 
 the additional set. The hackles commonly used in 
 Salmon-flies are so small, and necessarily so much' 
 compressed and pushed out of position by the wings, 
 that when in the water they present very little appear- 
 ance of movement or life in the water. 
 
 I shall here make no attempt at giving a code of 
 instructions for Salmon-fly making : it has been already 
 done as far as accurate verbal description and woodcuts 
 can do it, by several living authors, and very thoroughly 
 and completely by the late Mr. Blacker, in a charming 
 little volume illustrated by the actual files. This, how- 
 ever, is a monograph, and however beautiful or inte- 
 resting as a work of art, is too laborious and studious for 
 an age in which so much has to be done in every twenty- 
 four hours that even minutes are jealously economized. 
 Anglers of ordinary leisure will find it most convenient 
 to have their flies dressed at the tackle-maker's, and if 
 they wish to know how to make a fly themselves — a 
 most useful knowledge in emergencies — a few lessons 
 
IS6 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. I| 
 
 from a practical fly-tier will be worth volumes of pre- j 
 cept. It is, however, an art requiring much nicety and ] i 
 delicacy of manipulation, and not to be acquired in any j i 
 degree of perfection without practice and a certain 
 natural aptitude. 
 
 As with Trout-flies so with Salmon-flies, none should 
 ever be pnt into a fly-book or be otherwise compressed, -t 
 The elasticity of the hackle fibre is impaired by pressure, ju 
 and all the fresh " crispness" of the fly is lost. If as soon * 
 as made flies are put into a box with others, they will i '. 
 bear any amount of tossing or tangling without injury, i i 
 and a round tin box, equal in bulk to an ordinary fly-book, 
 will contain quite as many flies and collars as any fly- 
 fisher need wish to take with him to the river side. 
 
 I have already referred to this more than once, but it 
 is in my opinion a point of such great importance that | \ 
 too much stress can hardly be laid upon it. This will 
 be better understood when it is recollected that the 
 whole art of fly-fishing as we practise it, is based on the 
 principle of simulating life, rather than death ; and that 
 between a fly new and crisp, and one which has been 
 long flattened in a fly-book, there is almost as much dif- 
 ference when they are in the water as between a living 
 and a dead insect. 
 
 TJie extra, or " head hackle!' should be about the same 
 length in the fibre as the body of the fly from head to 
 bntt. As, however, the size of hackles is limited, in 
 very large flies it is impossible to carry out this pro- 
 
SALMON FISHING. 1 57 
 
 portion strictly ; but with a little trouble hackles of 
 an inch and a half long in the fibre can easily 
 be obtained by feather-dyers and tackle-makers, and 
 up to this size anglers using the flies recommended 
 should insist upon the proper proportion being main- 
 tained. These hackles not only possess an amount of 
 transparent, almost prismatic, colour which no other 
 part of the fly displays, but, as they are worked 
 through the stream, open and close with every move- 
 ment of the rod or fly, and give the appearance of life to 
 what would otherwise look only like a bar of dead silver 
 or gold or colour. 
 
 The principal wing-feathers in all these flies are the 
 black and white neck hackles of the jungle cock, and 
 the next in importance feathers from the golden pheasant 
 known as " toppings" — perhaps the two feathers which 
 experience has proved to be on the whole most killing 
 for Salmon in the greatest variety of combinations. If 
 the expense of golden pheasant toppings in the wings is 
 objected to, the best substitutes are golden orange hackles. 
 
 These colours have also the advantage not only of 
 being in themselves strong and glowing, but of harmo- 
 nizing with the body colours of each of the three flies — 
 a harmony which the hackles complete. As the harmo- 
 nies of sound depend upon the combination of certain 
 natural "intervals" furnished by the harmonic chord, so 
 in forming harmonies of colour the natural or prismatic 
 arrangement, as displayed by the solar spectrum of the 
 
158 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 optician, must in every case be taken as the basis. Thus 
 in the gold-fly — the prevaihng colour of which is intended 
 to be a rich golden orange — red, orange, and yellow are 
 the three predominant colours — orange (the gold of metal- 
 lurgists) in the prismatic arrangement passing into red 
 on the one side and yellow on the other. In " the Rain- 
 bow" the same model is closely followed, the whole 
 of the prismatic colours being combined in the body 
 and shoulder hackle in their proper sequence. In No. 3, 
 which is a silver-bodied fly, no harmony of colour is 
 strictly speaking possible — silver (or white brightened) 
 not being a colour but rather a negation of it. In a 
 more general sense, however, both white and black har- 
 monize with all the other colours. 
 
 It will be seen that the "silver" fly is tied on a double 
 hook. This is a plan which I first saw practised by Dr. 
 Peard, the accomplished author of " A Year of Liberty," 
 to whom I was also indebted for the original flies on 
 which, with the exception of the extra hackle, and some 
 modifications of colour, the pattern-flies here given are 
 based. The addition of the second hook perceptibly 
 influences for good the proportion which losses bear to 
 runs. It is also rather an improvement than otherwise 
 to the fly, so far as neatness goes, and helps to sink it a 
 trifle lower in the water — another advantage, in my 
 opinion. The hooks are set at rather less than a right 
 angle. 
 
 The following is the formulary for these flies : — 
 
SALMON FISHING. 
 
 159 
 
 .S3 
 
 ►J rt «-> Jr u 
 
 .a! . »s c« 
 mX! a O ^ 
 
 
 
 ^- ^P ^ 
 
 .!? r^ ,« O , iC 
 
 'e-i »^' 4» 5 
 
 s-i c^ ^_» 53 
 
 
 
 CT)^ 
 
 
 1j^ rt 
 
 CO _£C 
 O ^ 
 
 B ^ 
 
 '2b 
 
 O Ou, 
 
 
 
 ti_, • 
 
 Q..S <» 
 
 
 ° sills i 
 
 O u ^ CO <U 
 
 
 i-i CO O 
 
 CL,+-> 
 
 •Apoq aq; ui pasn ..a^^ld passoquia,, aq; jo ;siav; aiSuis y 
 
l60 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 The "tag," and the head of ostrich or peacock here 
 usually added to Salmon and Grilse flies, are neither 
 useful, nor, to my eye, ornamental. The latter more- 
 over almost always gives way before the rest of the fly, 
 and the space which it occupies tends to prevent the 
 desirable strength being given to the " fastening ofl"." A 
 head finished off in the manner shown in the engravings 
 of the above flies both looks neater, because more suit- 
 able and workmanlike, and saves labour to the fly- 
 dresser. 
 
 It is seldom — I may say never, except in large waters 
 like the Shannon — that two Salmon-flies, or one Grilse 
 and one Salmon-fly can be used with advantage. The 
 bob-fly or dropper in lake Trout-fishing is often the 
 most killing fly, because when properly worked it skipsi 
 along the ripple like a real live insect endeavouring to 
 rise after a partial immersion ; but the Salmon-fly, which 
 is apparently not taken for a fly at all, kills best under 
 water. If White-trout, however, are in the river, a White- 
 trout fly, as the dropper, may often be used with advan- 
 tage. A description of two new methods of attaching, 
 drop-flies has been already given. 
 
 The collar should be of the strongest picked Salmon- 
 gut, stained as ahcady directed for Trout-gut, and the 
 strands knotted in a single fisherman's knot (described at 
 p. 54), with a lapping of thin gut inside^ or between the 
 knots, instead of the ordinary silk lapping outside. This 
 mode of lapping relieves the knot itself of half its duty, 
 
SALMON FISHING. l6l 
 
 and on any sudden jerk, such as striking, acts as a sort 
 of buffer to receive and distribute the strain. It is 
 moreover simpler, much neater, and nearly twice as 
 strong as the common double knot. Tied with the 
 latter a couple of feet of very strong Salmon-gut will 
 break — almost always at the knot — on a steady strain 
 of from 12 to 15 lb. ; tied on my method it will break 
 at any other part in preference. The gut-lapping has 
 also the advantage of being transparent, whilst silk is of 
 course opaque. 
 
 All Salmon-flies should be dressed with gut-loops, not 
 only with the double object of strength and durability, but 
 for the purpose of making the fly swim straight when 
 attached to the casting-line. This last object, however, 
 is not accomplished with the ordinary mode of knotting 
 on the fly — viz., by forming a half-knot at the extremity 
 of the casting-line, and then " reeving" it in and out 
 through the loop. When thus attached the fly presents 
 a sort of broken-backed appearance, and must of neces- 
 sity swim head downwards instead of horizontally. 
 
 The following method will be found entirely to obviate 
 this defect, whilst it is at the same time neater and 
 stronger and equally simple : — 
 Pass the end of the casting-line 
 through the fly-loop /r^;;^ above ; 
 then over the loop ; then up 
 again through it from below ; 
 and finally tie with it a half-knot round the main line, 
 
 M 
 
1 62 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 in the form shown in the diagram, fig. I. Then draw 
 the last-made knot tight, and slip it up to the loop, 
 drawing the main line also tight as shown in fig. 2^ 
 which is a facsimile of the knot as tied on a small 
 Grilse-fly. In fig. i the loop is exaggerated in length 
 for the sake of illustration. 
 
 The gut should always be well moistened before the 
 knot is tied. 
 
 The Rod. 
 
 Salmon-fishers have almost all their peculiar fancies 
 about rods. Some pin their faith to the swishy, spliced, 
 and somewhat top-heavy weapon which takes its name 
 from Castle Connel ; whilst others, going to the opposite 
 extreme, will fish with nothing more pliant than the old- 
 fashioned, untapered, four or five ferrule-jointed rod of 
 the past generation of London makers. The latter would 
 doubtless bring against the swishing rod the charge of 
 top-heaviness, whilst its owner would consider that the 
 extra top weight and "play" of his rod did duty 
 instead of muscular eftbrt. He might probably put his 
 argument thus : — " In every cast your stiff rod has to 
 be worked with twice the movement of arm that mine 
 requires :" to which the reply would be, " Yes, but 
 then my rod is so lightened towards the point, that it is 
 no effort to me to work it." For my own part I think 
 that, like the chameleon philosophers, both are wrong 
 and both are right ; in other words, that each rod 
 
I SALMON FISHING. 165 
 
 [possesses a valuable principle of its own, but carried 
 I to a mischievous excess in the two extreme types 
 il have referred to. In a Salmon-rod power is pre- 
 I eminently necessary, and greenhart gives it. Light- 
 jness is another essential element, and the old- 
 j fashioned evenly- tapered hickory rod admirably fulfils 
 the condition. 
 
 At most London tackle makers, however, and at many 
 iof the best provincial makers also, a rod may now be 
 obtained which combines in the greatest attainable per- 
 fection both of these qualifications. In these rods tie 
 'upper joints are made of greenhart and the butts com- 
 Imonly of ash ; and without being so swishy as the pattern 
 jwhich finds favour at Castle Connel and generally 
 throughout Ireland, they have pliancy enough to be 
 pleasant handling, as well as stiiTness sufficient for hard 
 ipractical work. When properly proportioned they are 
 quite free from top-heaviness, and yet will strike and 
 "double up" a fish fast enough to please the veriest 
 butcher, whilst possessing that perfect graduated play 
 from butt to point which connoisseurs delight in. These 
 rods are generally made in three joints, with ferrules^ 
 |and vary in length from 17 to 21 or 22 feet. I append 
 pe measurements of a rod of my own made on this, 
 principle, which has been admired by some good Salmon- 
 fishers : — 
 
1 64 
 
 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 Length of joints measured from top 
 of ferrule to bottom of plug. 
 
 Butt 
 
 6 ft. 4 in. 
 
 Middle joint 
 Top ..*... 
 
 ditto. 
 6 ft. 3 in. 
 
 Butt ash ; middle joint and top 
 greenhart 
 
 Circumference at 
 
 bottom above 
 
 ferrule. 
 
 3I inches (at ' 
 
 largest part of 
 
 handle below 
 
 winch fittings)., 
 
 2 inches. 
 
 i-j?^ inches. 
 
 Circumference at 
 top below ferrule. 
 
 2^ inches. 
 j^ inches. 
 
 The length of this rod when put together is 18 feet 
 6 inches. Very strong and tall anglers may wield, and 
 very broad waters sometimes demand, a longer weapon, 
 but for all ordinary purposes I think 18 or 19 feet will 
 be found the most convenient length. In order to insure 
 the greatest comfort and efficiency, the rings, &c., of 
 Salmon rods as of all others should be stiff, and of the 
 shape and construction shown at pp. 47-8. 
 
 The Reel and Line. 
 
 A reel similar in pattern to that recommended for 
 Trout (pp. 37-8), but capable of holding from 80 to 100 
 yards of stout casting-line will be found best. For an 
 18 or 19 foot rod, such as that described, a reel of four 
 inches in the diameter of the plate gives on the whole 
 the best balance. Further observations on the reel, as 
 well as on the method of preventing the line " hitching" 
 round it, will be found at pp. 35-8. 
 
 A heavy as well as a strong reel-line is very necessary 
 
 J 
 
SALMON FISHING. 1 6$ 
 
 in Salmon fishing, as it enables the fisherman to throw 
 his heavy fly more readily against the wind. The weight 
 s in fact also an advantage in other respects. The ordi- 
 nary eight-plait dressed silk line, or the spun cotton line 
 described in the chapter on tackle (pp. 26-7) will be 
 found the best, the latter being about one-third of the 
 price of the former. 
 
 The Gaff. 
 
 A straight sharp point is the only real essential in a 
 gaff. All other matters are comparatively unimportant. 
 As the gaff has always to be carried by an attendant, 
 one with a 6 or 7 foot solid handle is most convenient. 
 In gaffing a Salmon there is an art which needs some 
 little practice and presence of mind to acquire. Unskilful 
 gaffers make a sort of dive or snatch at a fish. The 
 proper plan, on the contrary, is cautiously but quickly 
 to lower the gaff until the point nearly, but not quite, 
 touches the fish's opposite side below the shoulder, and 
 then give it a sharp, sudden jerk (not stroke) inwards, 
 which drives it home. Snatching, diving, and striking 
 at Salmon with the gaft^ result in frequent hitchings of 
 the line, and abortive scratches and cuts being inflicted 
 on the fish, which, though impotent for purposes of 
 capture, yet produce sufficient smart to frighten him 
 into a final and despairing rush, which is frequently 
 fatal — I mean to the basket. So obstinately stupid on 
 this point are often even professional attendants, that I 
 
1 66 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 have frequently gaffed my Salmon myself with one 
 hand, holding the rod in the other, rather than entrust 
 either to their tender mercies. 
 
 Hooks. 
 
 4 
 
 In the shape, weight, and especially in the strength of 
 the larger sizes of hooks, described at page ii, I have 
 had particular regard to the requirements of the 
 Salmon-fisher, and I believe these hooks will be found to 
 combine these essentials in a greater degree than any 
 of the existing patterns {vide chapter on hooks). 
 
 Spinning for Salmon. 
 
 There are some rivers, principally large and deep 
 ones, in which Salmon will take a spinning bait at cer- 
 tain seasons of the year. The Clare-Galway river de- 
 bouching into Loch Corrib is an example. In this river 
 in September and October, when a little freshet is 
 coming down, an Eel-tail is perhaps the most attractive 
 bait. Diagrams of the best tackle for spinning with 
 the Eel-tail, and of the same when baited and ready 
 for use (both of the actual size) are annexed. The 
 flight consists of a No. i6 hook whipped on strong 
 Salmon -gut, with a pierced shot pressed tightly on 
 to the top of the hook-shank, as shown in the cut. 
 The object of the shot is to assist in forming a pre- 
 sentable head to the bait, and to keep the latter from 
 
SALMON FISHING. 
 
 167 
 
 slipping Up and down. The trace 
 should consist of fine stained Salmon- 
 gut, but in other respects, the tackle, 
 with the rod, reel, and running line, 
 should be similar to that recom- 
 mended for Pike {I'ide chapter on 
 Pike - spinning). In order to bait 
 this tackle, take an Eel of from 
 about II to 14 inches in length, 
 and skin if^ to zvitliin 4 incJies of tJie 
 tail, cutting off the skin and flesh 
 neatly at this point. Then cut off 
 with a sharp pair of scissors the turned 
 over portion of the skin half-way 
 down. Next insert the hook in the 
 centre of the flesh at the upper end 
 of the bait, and run it through, as one 
 would threddle a worm, until the point 
 is brought out about an inch and a 
 half from the tail end, curving the bait 
 
 * To Skin ax Eel. — Having killed the 
 Eel, make a circular incision through the skin 
 below the pectoral fin. This is best done by- 
 passing the blade of a sharp penknife under the 
 skin, bit by bit, in a circular direction. Then 
 pin the head of the Eel down to a table with a 
 steel fork, and having got hold of the edge of 
 the skin with the finger nails, and turned down 
 a little way, take hold of it with a dry cloth, and 
 it will generally peel off with ease. 
 
 EEL-TAIL 
 
 BAIT 
 
 \m 
 
 AND TACKLE 
 
1 68 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. i 
 
 as represented. Having adjusted the bait neatly with the 
 fingers, turn the loose skin up again, and with strong waxed 
 silk or fine twine tie it tightly round above the shot ; then 
 turn it down again, and stitch the edges down with a 
 needle and strong waxed silk or holland thread. The bait 
 is then complete. It will be found to improve the shape 
 of the head if one-fourth of an inch or so of the spine is 
 cut out with a penknife at the point where the shot is to 
 rest. The Eel-skin with which somewhat more than 
 half the body of the bait is thus covered, is of a light 
 bluish tint, which seems to be particularly attractive t< 
 Salmon. It is also, of course, exceedingly tough, and 
 increases the durability of the bait. The Eel used for 
 this bait is the better for being kept two or three weeks or 
 even longer in plenty of dry coarse salt, which renders 
 the skin both tougher and bluer, but it will do very well 
 fresh. If the Eel is salted it will be found best to soak 
 it in water for some hours before baiting, to make it 
 plumper and more filled out. As the process of baiting 
 an Eel-tail requires some little nicety, I recommend thei 
 angler to bait his tackle before starting for the water-side.: 
 Two baits, or three at the outside, will generally be found 
 more than enough for a day's fishing, barring of coursei 
 losses by breakages. 
 
 The best mode of spinning for Salmon is almost iden- 
 tical with that pursued in spinning for Pike, which 
 latter is fully described in the chapter devoted to that 
 subject. Not only in rivers but in lakes also, both Trout 
 
J 
 
 
SALMON FISHING. 169- 
 
 and Salmon may be taken by the Eel-bait. Salmon 
 will also in some waters take the Parr-tail, and 
 occasionally the Minnow ; but I believe that if Salmon 
 will take spinning bait at all the Eel-tail will in nine 
 cases out of ten be found the most killing, besides being 
 much the least trouble ; as, \yhen cnce baited, it is almost 
 everlasting. Eels also sufficient for the purpose can 
 almost always be procured by setting a night-line for 
 them, either in ponds or rivers. The spinning bait for 
 Salmon should be worked more slowly and gently than 
 that used in Pike fishing, and tJie line should be suffi- 
 ciently leaded to carry the bait nearly to the bottom of the 
 river. No general rules can be given as to the state of 
 water, or the season when Salmon will best take a spin- 
 ning bait. Different localities differ on these points. In 
 the Tweed, for instance, April, May, and sometimes 
 March, are considered the best months, and according 
 to Border canon, Tweed fish rarely take the spinnmg 
 bait when the water is discoloured, or beyond its ordi- 
 nary spring size. In the Clare-Galway river, Ireland, 
 on the contrary, the Eel-bait comes on principally late 
 in the season, and I have known fish killed by it in 
 October when the water was too much discoloured for 
 the fly. 
 
 WORM-FlSHING. 
 
 The above observations on the differences of water 
 and season for the spinning bait in different localities,. 
 
170 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 apply according to most authorities to a considerable 
 extent to worm-fishing also. For example, Mr. Stoddart 
 lays it down that worm-fishing " can be practised with* 
 success only when the river is clean and small," and yet 
 in Ireland I have known seven clean Salmon taken 
 before breakfast out of " The Leap" on the river Bush, 
 in April, when the water was all but in actual flood and 
 hopelessly thick for the fly. 
 
 The mode of fishing as commonly practised is 
 extremely simple : a large single hook, say No. 14 or 
 15, is whipped on to two or three yards of Salmon-gut. 
 A supply of lob-worms having been obtained, and, if 
 feasible, previously scoured, the hook is passed through 
 the middle inch or two of two or three of them, according 
 to their size and the size and state of the water, the last 
 ^vorm being so put on that no part of the hook or barb 
 is left visible. Sufificient large split shot should then be 
 fixed to the line about if feet above the bait, to take it 
 Avell to the bottom, but yet they should not be so heavy 
 as to prevent the stream carrying the bait freely along 
 with it over the stones. 
 
 The bait is then worked very much like the worm 
 bait for Trout, except that the angler, having selected a 
 pool or run in which he knows that there are plenty of 
 Salmon, generally remains at the same place, shifting 
 his ground a few paces at a time higher or lower. The 
 usual symptom of a bite is a stoppage of the bait, fol- 
 lowed by a very gentle twitching. Sometimes, however, 
 
SALMON FISHING. I/I 
 
 though in my experience rarely, the Salmon takes the 
 bait in a more reckless fashion, resembling rather the 
 run of a Trout. Having taken the bait, the Salmon will 
 frequently remain nearly or quite motionless for some 
 little time, and then move steadily away. This is the 
 moment to strike, and as the bait is invariably actually 
 swallowed or pouched, there is little fear of the fish being 
 missed. Should the fish move away at once after biting, 
 line and time must be given him to pouch the bait. To 
 provide for the contingency of any sudden moves or 
 rushes on the part of the fish, and against that of any 
 sudden check on the part of the angler, it is a wise 
 precaution always to keep a yard or two of spare 
 line loose in the hand between the bottom ring and the 
 reel. This precaution will not seldom save the loss of 
 a fish. 
 
 The rod used for fly-fishing for Salmon, but with a 
 somewhat stiffer top, and also the reel and line, will 
 answer every purpose for this kind of worm-fishing. 
 
 But there is another method of worm-fishing for 
 salmon, unpractised, so far as I am aware, and at any 
 rate * unpreached,' by any angler or angling writer, 
 which, according to my experience, is as superior both 
 in its practice and results to the system above described, 
 as spinning is to gorge baiting. 
 
 This method consists of applying to Salmon the 
 system of fine fishing already advocated for Trout, with 
 three trifling differences only in tackle and bait. 
 
172 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 1. Instead of a "brandling" or other small worm, the 
 
 bait should be a lob-zvonn, large or small, 
 according as the river is high or low, coloured 
 or clear. 
 
 2. The hooks and trace should be similar in every 
 
 respect to the Trout tackle, but with hooks 
 one or two sizes larger (only) as the bait is a 
 large or small one ; and instead of a small 
 shot or two to weight the trace, a sinker should 
 be used of sufficient weight to carry the bait 
 lightly down to the bottom of the run or pool. 
 A number of small paternoster leads (smoked 
 to prevent their glittering) are most convenient 
 for this purpose, and they should be attached 
 to the main trace, about two feet above the 
 hooks, by means of a horsehair loop, which 
 will both admit of a ready change of leads, to 
 suit the varying depths of the different casts, 
 and, where a " foul " occurs, which it frequently 
 does, will, as a last resort, break at a less strain 
 than the main line, and thus save the latter. 
 The lob-worm should be put on quite straight, 
 like a Trout worm, the upper hook near the 
 knot, and the tail hook lower down. The 
 thicker the hooks are in the wire, the better. 
 The stroke, a gentle one, should follow 
 immediately on a bite, or more often on 
 a suspicious stoppage being perceived. 
 
SALMON FISHING. 173 
 
 I have repeatedly caught Salmon with this tackle in 
 bright sun, and in the clearest and finest water, and 
 after all other methods of fishing, including the ordinary- 
 worm practice had failed ; a slightly clouded water is 
 however, best. It is of course most important, especially 
 in the former case, that the angler should carefully keep 
 out of sight ; and, if possible, always below the spot 
 which the bait is fishing. This is almost a sine qua non 
 with this mode of fishing — than which I know nothing 
 can be more truly " sporting " and sportsman-like. The 
 very fine hooks and tackle which must be used, and the 
 nice manipulation of the line and bait required to insure 
 success, entitle it to a front place in the Angler's 
 Arcana. 
 
PART III. 
 *' TROLLING,"— OR PIKE-FISHING. 
 
 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 The term "to troll" or "trolling" had no doubt its 
 derivation in the Welsh words " troell," a wheel or reel, 
 *' trol," a roller, and in its less specific application means 
 to move circularly or in a rollicking kind of way. In a 
 general sense, therefore, any bait which is moved or 
 worked in the fashion indicated might without in- 
 accuracy be termed a trolling bait, and hence the word 
 has been of late years frequently applied to all 
 kinds of spinning, whether for Pike, Perch, Trout or 
 other fish. In its more strictly legitimate sense how- 
 ever, trolling has, since the time of Hobbes, who was 
 christened the Father of trollers, been considered as 
 especially applicable to Pike-fishing, and even, by way 
 of an imperiitm in iinper'io, specifically to the method 
 otherwise known as gorge-bait fishing. If the suffrages 
 of modern anglers were collected, I think it would be 
 
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 175 
 
 found that the large majority, rejecting the very re> 
 stricted and the very latitudinarian interpretations, 
 accept the word trolling as descriptive of Pike-fishing 
 generally, and of no other kind of fishing ; and in this. 
 
 , sense I have used the expression in the heading to this. 
 
 1. part of my subject, the several kinds of spinning appli- 
 cable to Salmon, Trout, and Perch, being dealt with in 
 the chapters devoted to each fish. 
 
 In the "Book of the Pike,"^ I have endeavoured ta 
 give a complete History of the fish, from the earliest 
 times. There is no other species which has in itself 
 so much character, if I may use the expression, and, per- 
 haps consequently, so many curious anecdotes and 
 quaint apocryphal legends clustered around it, almost 
 from the dark ages down to our own days. I shall not 
 here attempt to give any history of the fish, beyond 
 noticing such of its habits and instincts as have a 
 practical bearing on the art of Trolling. The space 
 at my disposal moreover does not admit of ichthyolo- 
 gical or anecdotal digressions. For the same reason, my 
 observations will be confined as far as possible to 
 describing what is in my opinion the best form of 
 
 I tackle for the various kinds of Pike fishing, without 
 
 I entering minutely into the arguments pro and con., or 
 
 * The "Book of the Pike: a Practical Treatise on the various 
 I Methods of Pike-fishing, with an Analysis of the Tackle employed. Also 
 I a History of the l^ish, &c." London : Frederick Warne and Co.,. 
 Bedford Street, Govent Garden, price 5^. 
 
1/6 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 • 
 
 into a detailed examination of the numerous tackles, 
 
 most of them now obsolete, which have at various times 
 been advocated by other authors. These are given in 
 detail in the " Book of the Pike" ; and I am under the 
 less necessity to repeat them, inasmuch as the tackles 
 therein recommended have now been very generally 
 adopted by troUers. 
 
 ! 
 
i;/ 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 SPINNING. 
 
 The rationale of spinning — Early mention. Spinning Flights — The 
 I Author's patterns ; directions for baiting ; details of construction. 
 The trace — Best materials and knots ; leads. Rod, reel, and reel- 
 line for spinning and Pike-fishing generally. Honv to spin — Casting ; 
 'Nottingham method;' striking; playing; landing. Spinning 
 baits — Natural baits ; Bleak, Dace, Gudgeon ; the Eel-bait, tackle 
 for ; setting of Eel-lines ; sea-fish as baits. Artificial baits. IVhen 
 and ^here to spin — Pike-haunts and spawning time. Receipt for 
 cooking Pike. 
 
 The only mode of snap-fishing with the dead-bait worth 
 consideration is " Spinning," — a branch of trolling which 
 in the majority of cases as much surpasses in deadliness 
 all other methods as it is unquestionably superior to 
 them in its attractiveness as a sport, and in the amount 
 of skill required for its successful practice. It will occa- 
 sionally happen, no doubt, that in particular waters, or 
 states of water, the live bait will kill more fish, or that a 
 river may be so overgrown with weed as to be impene- 
 trable to anything except a gorge-hook ; but such con- 
 tingencies are comparatively rare, and taking the 
 average of waters and weathers throughout the year, 
 it may be safely assumed that the spinning-bait will 
 
 N 
 
i 
 
 178 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 basket three fish for two taken by any other legitimate 
 method. 
 
 To this result several causes combine. The piqtian 
 effect of an apparently wounded fish upon a Pike's appe 
 tite ; the concealment of the hooks by the bait's rotary 
 motion ; and last, not least, the great extent of wate 
 which may be fished in a given time. Add to this the 
 almost universal applicability of spinning to all countriei 
 and climates, and it must be admitted that it fully justi 
 fies the high position in piscatorial precedence awardec 
 it by most modern authorities. 
 
 The first distinct mention of spinning for Pike — as wt 
 understand the meaning of the word " spinning" — that ] 
 am acquainted with in our Bibliotheca Piscatoria occur.' 
 in Robert Salter's " Modern Angler," the second editior 
 of which was published in 181 r, the first edition being 
 probably therefore a good deal older. Spinning foi 
 Trout, however, has been known and practised at any rate 
 since the time of Walton, who says that the Minnow 
 should be so put on the hook that " it must turn round 
 when 'tis drawn against the stream." 
 
 Spinning Flights. 
 
 Bearing in mind the principles — already pointed outl 
 in the Chapters on Tackle, p. 16 — which should rule in' 
 the construction of all spinning gear, I devoted a good 
 deal of time and attention, some years ago, to making a 
 perfect flight of hooks for this purpose, and the diagrams 
 
SPINNING. 
 
 179 
 
 in the annexed plate, taken from the " Book of the 
 Pike," show the result of my experiments. These 
 flights represent the three sizes which will be found 
 most convenient for all ordinary baits — that is, from a 
 Gudgeon of medium length up to a fair-sized Dace. I 
 never spin with very heavy baits myself, but for 
 those who do, flights of the pattern of No. 4 should be 
 dressed proportionally larger. No. i is figured in the 
 chapter on Trout spinning (p. 1 15), and will be found a very 
 useful flight with a small Gudgeon or Bleak, when the 
 water is low and bright. The upper triangle in No. 4 is, 
 it will be observed, attached to the lip-hook, so that it 
 must always hang near the shoulder of the bait. The 
 under triangle hangs lower dov/n near the tail. 
 
 The question of the relative size and proportion of the 
 hooks to the bait is, of course, of great importance, as, if 
 the hooks are too small, the Pike very probably escapes 
 being struck by them, and if too large the bait will not 
 spin, I should therefore recommend all spinners who 
 may use this tackle, to keep at least the three smallest 
 of these exact sizes of flights in their trolling case. 
 
 Directions for Baiting. — First, to fix the tail hook : insert the point 
 by the side or lateral-hne of the bait near to the tail, and passing it 
 under a broadish strip of the skin and through the end of the fleshy- 
 part of the tail, bring it out as near the base of the tail-fin as practi- 
 cable. Next insert the small reversed hook, in such a position as to 
 curve the bait's tail nearly to a right-angle. Finally, pass the lip-hook 
 through both its lips, always putting it through the upper Up first when 
 the bait is a Gudgeon, and through the lo^er one first with all others. 
 This is very important in securing a really briUiant spin. 
 
I So MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 The flying triangle, or triangles, should not be hooked into the halt k 
 any 'way, hut be allowed to fly loose in the position shown in the engravingj 
 
 The upper, that is, the shoulder portion of the body of the baiti 
 should lie perfectly straight ; and great care must be taken that th< 
 gimp or gut is tightened sufficiently to prevent any jtrain on the lips of 
 the bait, and yet not so tight as in any degree to bend or crook its body. 
 If these directions are not exactly attended to the bait will not spin. 
 
 Observations on the best form of hooks, tail-hooks, 
 lip-hooks, and triangles, will be found in the chapter on 
 that subject, (pp. 11-15). 
 
 Upon examining the results arrived at with the fore- 
 going flights as contrasted with those obtained from any 
 of the flights previously in use, I find that whilst with the 
 best of the latter the average of fish lost after being 
 hooked, v/as about half ; with the former the proportion 
 has only been one in six, or about 16 per cent, thus 
 giving a clear gain to the basket of four fish out of every 
 twelve hooked. 
 
 The following is a register of the actual number of 
 runs, and number of Pike lost by me with this tackle when 
 fishing the Hampshire Avon, during four consecutive 
 days in August, 1863, the water, it should be observed, 
 being in the worst possible condition for spinning, and 
 
 of weeds : 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 No. caught. 
 
 No. lost. 
 
 August 8 ... II 
 
 ••• 
 
 2\ The five largest 
 
 10 . . . 6 
 
 ,,, 
 
 1 
 
 fish weighing 
 
 „ II . . . 9 
 
 ... 
 
 
 
 together 
 
 „ 13 . . . 6 
 
 ... 
 
 I 
 
 56 lbs. 
 
 Total . 32 
 
 Total lost after") 4 = i in 8 ; or about 
 
 
 being 
 
 hooked) 
 
 13 per cent. 
 
SPINNING-FLIGHTS. 
 
 [Tofacep.180. 
 
SPINNING. I8r 
 
 Mr. Frank Buckland, who was fishing at the same 
 time, and who also used my tackle, did not miss a 
 single run. 
 
 The next point is the m.aterial on which the flight 
 should be tied, the object being, of course, to secure the 
 greatest amount oi fineness compatible with the required 
 strength. And as nothing could well be worse for fine- 
 fishing than gimp in its natural state, so when stained 
 in the manner pointed out in the preliminary chapters 
 (p. 34), nothing can well be better. It becomes, in fact, 
 almost as invisible in the water as gut itself; and is, 
 therefore, recommended strongly to be used under ordi- 
 nary circumstances both for trace and flight. 
 
 With regard to the material of which the short link 
 for the Flying triangle in spinning flights should 
 be made, this depends upon considerations different 
 from those which govern the choice of the material for 
 the central link. The one absolute essential is, that 
 the substance — be it gut or gimp — by which it is 
 attached to the central link of the trace, should be to 
 a certain extent, to use a paradoxical expression, stiff 
 and elasticy so that the triangle may always stand out 
 in its proper position at the shoulder of the bait. 
 Without this precaution there can be no certainty that 
 a fish will be hooked. Ordinary gimp very fairly fulfils 
 the purpose whilst it is new and stiff, but when it becomes 
 flabby, which will occur after it has been used for a 
 
1 82 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 short time, the certainty of hooking a fish is materially i 
 reduced. I, therefore, had made some twisted "gut-- 
 gimp," as it may be called — that is, treble gut 
 twisted, covered with fine wire — which I find combines . 
 every necessary quality. 
 
 In order to cause the link of the flying triangle tO' 
 stand well out from the bait, it should be tied round the 
 central link in a half knot, as shown in the diagrams, 
 before being lapped. This is of importance. The gimp 
 wire can be unwound from that portion of the gut which 
 is required for tying the knot. 
 
 With the exception of the lip-hook, I generally covei^ 
 the lapping of the hooks used in spinning flights with 
 silver tinsel, which perhaps increases somewhat the 
 attractive effect, and blinds the eyes of the fish as to 
 the character of these glittering appendages. 
 
 The next, and almost equally important portion of 
 spinning gear is — 
 
 The Trace. 
 
 This should be made of one of two substances — 
 stained gimp, as before stated, or single gut. 
 
 For very fine fishing I commonly make my own traces 
 of five or six lengths of the thickest salmon gut (stained) 
 that can be obtained — two above the lead, and three 
 below, — and when properly tied and managed, I speak 
 from experience in asserting that such a trace will hold 
 anything of the Pike species up to twenty pounds, and I 
 
SPINNING. 183 
 
 } have little doubt that in open water that weight might 
 I be doubled, or even trebled with safety. But properly- 
 \ tied and handled, mark : for it is * a great mistake to 
 I assume, as I have often heard fishermen do, that because 
 I a single-gut casting line will kill a Salmon — the gamer 
 fish of the two — a fortiori, it will kill a Pike of equal 
 size. With the same rod, and in the same water, it will 
 do so no doubt. There is, however, a wide distinction to 
 be drawn between a stiff three-joint trolling rod, and a 
 twenty foot " Castle Connell," and a vast difference be- 
 tween a clear Highland Salmon river, and the weedy, 
 often foul waters, usually tenanted by overgrown Pike. 
 The stiffness of the rod renders the line liable to sudden 
 jerks and strains, whilst the sharp blow which is abso- 
 lutely necessary for properly striking a fish, is the 
 most trying ordeal to which any knotted tackle can be 
 subjected. But the thing is to be done, notwith- 
 standing. Two essentials only besides good manage- 
 ment are required — a rod-top of the proper stiffness, 
 and the peculiar description of gut knotting described 
 at page 55. 
 
 Leads. 
 
 For observations on the subject of leads generally, 
 and for a description and diagram of the pattern which 
 is recommended to be used for all kinds of spinning 
 traces, the reader is referred to the preliminary chapter, 
 pp. 18-20. 
 
1^4 modern practical angler. 
 
 Rod, Reel, Reel Line, &c. 
 
 In the same chapters will be found a description of 
 the rod, reel, running-line, and hooks suitable for Pike 
 fishing. In the matter of Trolling rods tastes usually 
 differ widely, but the rod contained in the " general rod" 
 described at page 5 1 is, I think, as perfect a spinning 
 rod as can be used. If greater strength or stiffness 
 is required, the butt may be made solid instead of bored, 
 and one or two shorter tops may be added. My ex- 
 perience leads me to give the preference to ash or 
 hickory, and greenhart, for any Jack rod under thirteen 
 feet in length. Beyond that, the difference in weight, 
 slight as it is, tells decidedly in favour of bamboo. The 
 rod suitable for spinning is also suitable for all kinds 
 of Pike fishing. If very large live-baits are used, a some- 
 what shorter top may be substituted for that described. 
 
 How TO Spin. 
 
 The rod and tackle being arranged as described, and 
 the bait hanging about two yards from the top of the 
 rod, the spinner unwinds from the reel as much line as 
 he requires or thinks he can manage, allowing it to fall 
 in loose coils at his feet ; and then, giving the bait one 
 or two pendulum-like movements, swings it vigorously 
 out in the direction in which he wishes to cast, at the 
 same time letting go the line altogether, and permitting 
 the bait to run ouc to the full extent. After allowing a 
 
SPINNING. 1S5 
 
 few moments (according to the depth of the water) for the 
 bait to sink, he lowers the point of the rod to within a 
 foot or so of the surface, and holding it at about rigJit 
 angles to the bait, begins drawing in the line with his left 
 hand, making with his right a corresponding backward 
 movement of the rod, between each "draw." The object 
 of this movement of the rod, which to the spinner soon 
 becomes a sort of mechanical see-saw, is to prevent the 
 bait being stationary whilst the left hand is preparing 
 for a fresh " draw" ; and in order to accomplish it satis- 
 factorily the best plan, as well as that most convenient 
 for casting, is to hold the rod firmly with the right 
 hand just below the lowest ring, letting the line pass 
 between the upper joints of the middle and fore- 
 finger, and resting the butt of the rod firmly against 
 the hip. In spinning from a punt an agreeable 
 change of posture is obtained by standing with the 
 right foot on the side or well of the boat, and par- 
 tially supporting the elbow and rod on the knee. 
 The "draws" or pulls, and the corresponding move- 
 ments of the rod, must of course be varied in length and 
 rapidity according to the depth of water, size of bait, 
 and other circumstances, but a good medium speed, 
 when the left hand is carried well back, is about forty 
 "draws" per minute ; and a cast for every two yards of 
 stream fished is the allowance which on the whole will 
 generally be found the most advantageous. In spinning 
 for Salmon a slower and gentler movement is necessary. 
 
1 86 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. § 
 
 The bait should not be taken out of the water until 
 brought close tip to the bank, or side of the boat, as it is 
 not at all an uncommon circumstance for a fish, which 
 has perhaps been following it all the way across, to 
 make a dash at it at the last moment, when he appears 
 to be about to lose it. 
 
 The proper play of the rod, which is one of the 
 most certain tests of a good spinner, is highly im- 
 portant, not only to prevent the stopping of the 
 bait between the draws, but in order to give it its 
 lull glitter and piquancy. It produces a more "life- 
 like motion," as it were, than that imparted by the 
 mere pulling in of the line by hand, whilst for some 
 reason or other — probably the greater elasticity of the 
 lever used — the spin of the bait is also far more rapid 
 and brilliant. 
 
 The loss of attractiveness in the bait caused by the sub- 
 stitution of a mere mechanical motion for this combined 
 movement of the hand and the rod, is in my opinion one 
 fatal objection to what is termed the " Nottingham 
 style" of spinning. 
 
 To test the fact that such a loss does actually take 
 place, the following simple experiment will suffice ; — 
 drop the spinning bait into the water, and wind it in 
 as fast as possible, on the Nottingham plan (that is, by 
 the reel only), keeping the point of the rod stationarj^ ; 
 then draw the bait through the water at the same pace, 
 using the rod only, and it will be found that whilst a 
 
 
SPINNING. "lS/ 
 
 rapid spin is gained by the one, the effect of the other is 
 j httle better than a '' wobble." 
 
 i These are the obvious theoretical objections to the 
 ! Nottingham style, as a system, which must occur to any 
 I one accustomed to the Thames method of spinning. It 
 is much to be doubted, however, whether practically it 
 would be found even feasible with the small baits and 
 very light leads and traces constantly used on the 
 Thames and other fine waters. With such a bait and 
 trace, weighing together exactly i oz. 2 scruples, I have 
 made a cast of forty-two yards (measured), which I 
 should say would be entirely out of the question if the 
 same bait were thrown from the reel. The weight of 
 the bait and trace used by Mr. Bailey, and of which I 
 obtained patterns from him, is 3I oz., or nearly three 
 times as much. 
 
 With regard to the direction in which to cast a spin- 
 ning bait, opinions differ somewhat. In stagnant waters 
 no difficulty can of course be felt, as the simple and 
 obvious rule is to cast over the place in which the fish 
 are most likely to be ; but with rivers the case is diffe- 
 rent, and the cast straight across stream, and that 
 
 I straight down stream have both their advocates. As in 
 
 I 
 
 I many other matters I believe that the truth lies midway 
 
 between the two extremes, and that putting aside ex- 
 ceptional circumstances, which of course make their 
 own rules, the best direction in which to cast with 
 the spinning bait over running water is diagonally — 
 
1 88 MODERN TRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 that is, in a direction rather slanting down and across: 
 the stream. 
 
 The depth at which the spinning bait should be worked 
 depends entirely upon the state of the water with re- 
 ference to weeds and other circumstances. It will bei 
 generally found, however, that in hot weather the fish! 
 lie near the surface, and in cold weather near the bottom ; 
 so that the bait should be spun "shallow" or "deep"' 
 accordingly. 
 
 The next question of importance is striking, as more 
 Pike are probably lost by a failure in this point than 
 by all the other casualties of spinning put together. 
 
 It is therefore strongly recommended to all spinners, 
 as the very alpha of their craft — and notwithstanding the 
 opinions to the contrary expressed by many angling 
 authorities — to strike, — and that the moment they feel 
 a run. All other rules, such as "giving the fish time 
 to turn," "waiting till he shakes the bait," &c., &c., 
 are useless, and indeed generally impossible in prac- 
 tice. 
 
 Again, the Pike, with many other predaceous species, 
 shows a great reluctance to quit his hold of a prey once 
 seized. Most of us have probably witnessed this tena- 
 city in the case of both Eels and Perch ; and the Stickle- 
 back, as is well known, will let itself be pulled out of the 
 water by its hold of a worm. On one occasion for the 
 sake of experiment, I fastened a large cork to a string, 
 
SPINNING. 189 
 
 and drew it across a Pike-pond, giving it at the same 
 time an irregular, life-like motion. It was quickly 
 seized by a fish of about 2 lbs., which made a most 
 determined resistance, running out the twine as if 
 really hooked, and only relinquishing its grasp of the 
 cork when within arm's length. The experiment was 
 repeated several times with a similar result. 
 
 This illustrates a fact of great importance to Pike- 
 fishers, and one which is of especial significance in the 
 case of spinners : namely, that Pike will constantly show 
 considerable fight, and even allow themselves to be 
 dragged many yards, by the obstinacy of their hold, 
 without ever having been pricked by a hook — shaking 
 the bait out of their mouths when almost in the net. 
 
 I say once more therefore — Strike, — and strike hard ; 
 and repeat the stroke iintil a violent tearing struggle is 
 \felt; such a struggle almost invariably beginning the 
 moment a fish really feels the hook, and being easily 
 distinguished from that sluggish resistance, sometimes 
 absolute inaction, experienced when he is only " holding 
 on." It is generally large unwieldy Pike which act in 
 this fashion, and an attention to the above suggestion 
 will not unfrequently save the loss of the best fish of the 
 day. 
 
 In the majority of instances, neither time nor circum- 
 stance admits of any rules as to the direction of the 
 stroke being adopted, and in such cases the simplest and 
 safest plan is to strike straight upwards. 
 
I 
 
 190 modern practical angler. 
 
 Playing. 
 
 The golden rule in playing all fish is to keep a strong 
 and even strain upon them from the first to last, and get ' 
 them into basket with as little delay as possible. The 
 maintaining of a sufficiently heavy strain is particularly 
 necessary in Pike-fishing where stiff rods are used, and 
 flights containing several hooks, as the sudden slacken- 
 ing of a foot or two of line is sufficient to restore such a 
 rod to the straight position from which it has been 
 comparatively little bent, thus removing the strain 1 
 altogether. 
 
 Should a fish run under or into weeds, there is but one 
 plan to be pursued ; — instantly tighten the strain upon 
 him to the very utmost that rod and line will bear : by this 
 means the line will frequently act as a knife and cut its 
 way with the fish, through all obstacles. But whether the 
 expedient fails or succeeds it is the only one that can 
 be adopted : if once the fish passes under the weeds 
 without carrying the line straight over him, the latter ' 
 forms an angle at the point where it strikes the obstacle, 
 and all power over the fish is instantly lost. 
 
 Landing. 
 
 There are many conflicting opinions in regard to the 
 landing of the Pike, as on all other angling matters. 
 
 Nobbes suggests that you " put your fingers in his eyes." 
 — adding " some will adventure to take him by the gills, 
 
SPINNING. 191 
 
 though that hold is neither so secure nor so safe for the 
 Fisher, because the fish in that heat of passion, may acci- 
 dentally take revenge upon his adversary, by letting him 
 blood in the Fingers, which way of phlebotomizing is not 
 esteemed so good." 
 
 The justice of this latter observation will probably com- 
 mend itself to Pike-fishers without any very elaborate 
 argument. Indeed most of us would probably object to 
 attempting practically either one or the other of Nobbes' 
 ingenious methods. If neither a landing-net nor a gaff 
 is accessible, by far the best and safest method of landing 
 a Pike is to grasp him as tightly as possible behind the 
 shoulders, and either lift or throw him on the bank. 
 
 In spinning, the gaff has a great advantage over the 
 net, inasmuch as it prevents the straming, and often 
 breaking of the flight, by the struggles of the fish in the 
 net. A Pike-fisher will generally find it both more 
 profitable and more amusing to gaff his own fish. 
 
 Spinning-baits. 
 
 To commence with the fresh, natural baits. Of all 
 the natural Pike-baits ordinarily used, the best, both 
 as regards perfection of spinning and durability is in- 
 contestibly the Gudgeon, and I believe that taking the 
 average of waters and weathers, it is also, of such baits, 
 the most killing all the year round. In clouded water 
 or very dark weather, a Bleak or small bright Dace or 
 Chub may, from their glittering scaling, possibly possess 
 
192 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 an advantage, as being more readily seen ; and in cases 
 where the Pike are known to be of exceptional size, a 
 bait of one or other of the two last-named species, and 
 larger than a Gudgeon, may be desirable. As a general 
 rule it is always safe to use a small bait when the water 
 is low and bright, and a larger one when it is full or 
 clearing after a flood. 
 
 These observations are limited, as pointed out, to a 
 comparison of the baits commonly recommended in 
 angling works and used by Trollers. There is, however, 
 a Pike-bait that is not recommended by any author, so 
 far as I am aware, but which is well worthy of the atten- 
 tion of Spinners : I refer to the Eel. It has been found 
 by experience that Pike in stews prefer Eels to any other 
 fish as food, and also fatten upon them more rapidly, and 
 a consideration of this fact first led me to try the Eel — 
 though doubtless it has often been tried before — as a 
 spinning bait for Pike. It appeared only probable 
 that the food which was most popular in a stew would 
 also be most popular in the open river or lake. This 
 deduction has certainly been justified by the result of 
 my experiment ; for since I have used the Eel-bait I 
 have caught both a greater number of Pike, and those of 
 decidedly a larger average size than I ever took in the 
 same waters, either stagnant or running, with any of 
 the ordinary baits. I have also tested the one against the 
 other on the same day and water, and the advantage 
 has always been unmistakably with the Eel-bait, whether 
 
SPINNING. 193 
 
 employed whole or in part only. A whole Eel 8 or 9 
 inches long makes a capital bait, and it can be used on 
 the tackle shown in figure 4 of plate. Owing, how- 
 ever, to the giving way of the lips after a few runs, the 
 whole Eel is a less convenient bait than the tail part 
 only, out of which an artificial head can be formed that 
 never wears out. Indeed I have fished with a bait so 
 jnade for two days consecutively, taking a good many 
 fish on both, and the bait was still fit for work at the 
 end. This is owing to the extraordinary toughness of the 
 Eel skin, on which the teeth of the Pike make little or 
 no impression. 
 
 The eel-tail bait and tackle when used for Pike spin- 
 ning is, with two exceptions, dressed and baited exactly 
 in the same manner as that described for spinning for 
 Salmon (p. 167). The exceptions are : first, that the bait 
 and hook are commonly about double the size ; and 
 secondly, that this greater size renders the addition of a 
 flying triangle necessary to insure hooking a fish run. 
 The best sized eel for making the bait is from 11 to 14 
 inches in length, but one a little longer or shorter will 
 I serve the purpose. For a large sized bait, about 7 inches 
 I (when the bait is complete) is the best length. The 
 I hook used should be a No. 20 of my pattern {^oide p. 
 I 10), which is 3 J inches long in the shank, or one-half 
 the length of the bait. In smaller baits somewhat 
 smaller hooks should be used — the same proportion be- 
 tween the length of the hook and bait being always pre- 
 
 o 
 
194 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 served. This is important to insure a good spin. The 
 flying triangle for the large sized bait described should 
 be a No. lO or ii, the link to which it is at- 
 tached being of stout gut-gimp as already- 
 described, and the total length of gimp and 
 triangle about 2^ inches (diagram an- 
 nexed). This makes the flying triangle hang 
 at the right place, by and below the shoulder 
 of the bait. The gimp should be finished oft 
 with a small loop of about the size repre- 
 sented. The flying triangle is fastened to 
 the bait as follows : — The skin having been 
 cut off about I J inches from the flesh, and 
 turned down and sewn in the manner directed 
 at p. 1 68, make a small slit in the turned down 
 skin near the middle of the side of the artificial head : 
 pass the loop end of the gimp upwards through this 
 hole, under the turned down skin, and bring it out 
 through another small hole made at the " nose" of the 
 bait close to the main link of the flight ; the main 
 link should then be passed through the loop of the 
 triangle, and the latter drawn down again to its proper 
 position. 
 
 This bait has the great advantage of being able to be 
 used salted. Instead of becoming soft and flabby as 
 other baits do when "pickled," the Eel on the contrary 
 grows tougher, and if placed in plenty of coarse, dry salt, 
 either in a jar or other receptacle, will keep, within my 
 
 V 
 
SPINNING. 195 
 
 own experience, for five or six weeks, and probably for 
 much longer. Before being used the Eel should be 
 allowed to soak in fresh water, if possible for ten or 
 fifteen hours, to restore its plumpness and pliancy. 
 
 It will be found most convenient to make up the Eel- 
 tail bait before starting for the river side, as the manipu- 
 lation is troublesome and requires some nicety. When 
 once made, however, it is almost everlasting, and thus,. 
 in fact, effects a great saving of the angler's time in 
 baiting. The salted Eel-tail in my opinion is not only 
 by far the best preserved Pike bait, but it fulfils every 
 
 j requirement that the most exacting can demand, and 
 thus satisfactorily solves that vexed problem, the great 
 Preserved Bait Question, which has been so longdiscussed 
 in the columns of the sporting press, and in which the 
 comfort of the Pike spinner is so vitally concerned. In a 
 
 j pickle-jar or a small bait-kettle, the troUer can thus carry 
 with him enough spinning baits to last him easily for 
 a week, and these can be kept and used again if hot- 
 wanted. 
 
 Another advantage of Eel-bait is that it can be ob- 
 tained at almost any pond, river, or canal by merely- 
 setting a night-line baited with worms on No. 10 or 11 
 hooks. The great point in the management of Eel- 
 lines consists in taking them up sufficiently early — before 
 or about sunrise, say : if they are allowed to remain long 
 after the sun is up, the major part of the Eels will get off" 
 the hooks. 
 
196 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 Another way of making the Eel-bait is to cut out from 
 just below the neck of the Eel 3 or 4 inches of the 
 thickest part of the body, the head and tail being then 
 sewn together with strong silk or hoUand thread. This 
 bait can be used on the same flight as the whole eel ; 
 but it does not wear nearly so long as the tail bait above 
 mentioned. 
 
 When fresh-water bait cannot be procured, either of 
 the following sea-fish can be used — zvhcn quite fresh — as 
 substitutes : — Basse, Grey Mullet, Herring, Sprat, and 
 large Whitebait. 
 
 Artificial Baits. 
 
 So far as my experience goes, artificial baits — and I 
 have tried not a few — are entirely inferior to natural 
 baits for Pike fishing : they should only be used when 
 the latter cannot be obtained. The " spoon-bait" was 
 tolerably killing when it first came out, but it seems to 
 have gradually lost its attractiveness, at any rate on 
 waters where it has been much used, and is now generally 
 inferior even to the ordinary run of artificial baits. 
 
 When, and where to Spin. 
 
 In some respects the discussion of the first part of this 
 subject may be considered unnecessary, as, practically, 
 men who have once taken to spinning rarely care much for 
 any other method of Pike fishing, and with slight excep- 
 tions the spinning bait may be used with advantage from 
 
 
SPINNING. 197 
 
 the 1st of June to the end of February — that is, during the 
 whole season when Pike should be taken. The only cir- 
 cumstances under which the preference is to be given to 
 the live bait or gorge bait, is, for the former, when the 
 water is too much discoloured by flood ; and, for the latter, 
 when too much overgrown with weeds to make spinning 
 practicable. Nor do I believe that there is any rule as 
 to the state of the wind, weather, or water, by which the 
 most experienced Pike fisher can really prognosticate 
 what will be a good day for spinning and what for troll- 
 ing, or even whether the day will prove good for Pike 
 ! fishing at all. To this view I have been gradually led 
 by a careful observation of the condition of weather and 
 water existing on days on which I have had the best and 
 the worst sport, and I cannot say that I have ever been 
 able to make out that there was any rule or system 
 whatever traceable in the result. In this opinion I am 
 confirmed by Captain Warmington of Fordingbridge, a 
 most experienced " spinner," who kept for many years an 
 exact register of the state of the wind, water, baro- 
 meter, &c., on the days when he had been Jack fishinsf. 
 without, as he assured me, having been able to 
 arrive at any results whatever — the results, in fact, 
 were altogether contradictory and unintelligible. My 
 own experience is that in very severe cold it is of 
 little or no use fishing for Pike : they seem to 
 become torpid or sulky from cold, and will not take 
 except under extreme provocation. The only chance 
 
598 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 under these circumstances, in most waters, is the 
 live bait ; but even this method — in which the pleasure 
 of the fisherman is so much sacrificed to that of the 
 fish — will often fail. The presence of melted snow in 
 the water, however small the proportion may be, will 
 almost invariably prove fatal to Pike fishing, as to every 
 other description of fishing without exception. 
 
 Probably a good breeze from whatever quarter it may 
 blow is favourable for Jack fishing, and particularly for 
 spinning ; whilst with regard to Water the only rules 
 which can be considered to have any general significance 
 are that a full fresh stream, the rising that precedes a 
 flood, and the clearing that follows it, usually give heavier 
 baskets than a water that is low or bright. 
 
 As regards the Where of spinning : — The haunts 
 of Pike vary considerably at different times of the 
 year, and also vary with the nature of particular wa- 
 ters ; but it usually prefers a still, unfrequented spot 
 plentifully supplied with weeds and flags, selecting if 
 possible a gravelly or sandy bottom. The neighbour- 
 hoods of reeds, docks, bulrushes, and the broad-leaved 
 water-lily are its favourite resorts ; and of these a floor- 
 ing of lilies, with from four to six feet of quiet current 
 over it, and a wall of reeds at the side, springing from 
 the bottom, is the best — 
 
 " A league of goss washed by a slow broad stream 
 That, stirr'd with languid pulses of the oar, 
 Waves all its lazy lilies and creeps on. . . . '* 
 
SPINNING. 199 
 
 Indeed it may be said that the reed and the lily are 
 to the Pike what the hollybush is to the woodcock. In 
 lochs and meres it commonly frequents the most shoal 
 and weedy parts, small inlets, and little bays, or the 
 mouths of streams where minnows or other fry congre- 
 gate ; and in rivers, back-waters and dam-heads, eddies 
 between two streams, or in fact any water that is weedy, 
 of moderate depth, and not too much acted upon by the 
 current. 
 
 As a general rule. Pike will be found during the sum- 
 mer in or close upon the streams ; and in winter, after 
 the first heavy flood, in the large eddies and deeps. 
 
 The Pike spawns sometimes as early as February, but 
 more commonly about March or April, according to the 
 climate, forwardness of the spring, and other local cir- 
 cumstances, — the young females of three or four years 
 old taking the lead, and the dowagers following. For 
 this purpose they quit the open waters in pairs, and 
 retire into the fens, ditches, or shallows, where they 
 deposit their spawn amongst the leaves of aquatic 
 plants ; when the spawning process is complete the fish 
 return again into the rivers, and are then for some weeks 
 in a state of partial stupefaction, and unfit for food. In 
 rivers they begin to be in condition again about June, 
 but in still waters the recuperative process is much 
 slower. On the Thames, within the City jurisdiction, 
 which extends up to Staines, Pike-fishing is illegal 
 between the 1st of March and the 31st of May. 
 
200 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 TROLLING WITH THE DEAD GORGE BAIT. 
 
 Tackle and hooks — New gorge leads described ; improved mode of 
 fastening tail of bait ; trace for gorge baiting. Working the gorge 
 bait — How to distinguish a ' run' j management whilst gorging. 
 Best gorge baits. 
 
 As the only dead-bait Snap-tackle of any value to the 
 angler is that used in Spinning, so the only dead-bait 
 Gorge-tackle which can be similarly described is that 
 employed in the method of Pike-fishing commonly 
 known as " Trolling." 
 
 Tackle : Hooks. 
 
 Although Trolling is by no means so exciting or 
 artistic a mode of fishing as spinning — and all gorge- 
 tackle should on general considerations be avoided as 
 far as practicable — yet it is often an exceeding useful 
 adjunct in the Pike-fisher's vade incaim, as he may not 
 unfrequently meet with waters so weedy, or overrun 
 with bushes or stumps, that a spinning-bait cannot by 
 possibility be worked. The gorge-bait is then in its 
 legitimate province — a province to which I confess I, for 
 one, should be disposed to confine it. 
 
TROLLING WITH THE DEAD GORGE BAIT. 201 
 
 It is curious that whilst so many portions of the 
 Fisherman's equipment have of late years undergone 
 such a complete transformation, the gorge-hook, 
 except in the matter of finish, has been literally sta- 
 tionary. In fact in a most essential particular it has 
 retrograded instead of advancing — I refer to the length 
 of the wire shank or '* arming" attached to the leaded 
 hook. This is a most important point, for two reasons. 
 First because the modern system of elongating the 
 hooks by a stiff coil of twisted wire destroys to a consi- 
 derable extent the life-like play and elasticity of the 
 bait ; and secondly, because this unnatural stiffness and 
 rigidity is constantly the cause of the Pike refusing to 
 pouch it. 
 
 The cause of the modern innovation is plain enough ; 
 it is to assimilate this length of the hook to that of the 
 bait, so that there may be something solid on which to 
 fasten the bait's tail, and thus prevent it slipping down 
 the gimp and doubling up. Even with this assistance, 
 however, the process of baiting is tedious enough : to be 
 effectual it must be done very carefully ; and what can 
 be more trying than pottering with numbed fingers over 
 the complicated miseries of needle and silk in a biting 
 east wind, or when, perhaps, the only propitious hour of 
 a winter's afternoon is visibly gliding away ? Moreover, 
 if the hook be not exactly of the right length of the 
 bait's tail, there remains the contingency either of 
 having nothing to lap it to, or of leaving a thick 
 
202 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 Stump of brass wire protruding where most certain to 
 be seen. 
 
 With these facts and experiences vividly in my recol- 
 lection, I one day set about thinking how this tackle 
 could be improved, — the object being of course to get 
 rid of the superfluous wire shank, at the same time 
 finding a simple and effectual manner of fastening the 
 bait's tail without it. Rather by good luck, I believe, 
 than anything else, I succeeded in hitting upon a plan 
 which not only fulfils these conditions but also gets rid 
 altogether of silk or needle and saves the trouble and 
 delay which they entailed. 
 
 The shape of the tackle and of one form of the lead 
 will be seen on a reference to the annexed plate. 
 
 Figure No. i represents the gorge-hook, &c., unbaited, 
 and No. 2 the same when baited and ready for use. 
 Figure 3 is a smaller size of the hook ; and the loop A 
 shows the position actually occupied by the gimp after 
 being passed through the tail of the bait, and tied. 
 
 In this tackle it will be seen (i) that the wire arming of 
 the hook is cut off close to the end of the lead, thus 
 materially reducing the unnatural rigidity of the bait 
 before alluded to ; and (2) that the shank of the hook 
 (C) is left bare for about half an inch above the bend. 
 This is the portion of the hook which lies in the throat 
 of the bait when adjusted, and the object in cutting 
 away the lead is to prevent that unnatural and un- 
 sightly-looking enlargement of the throat and gills 
 
B 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 6 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 GORGE HOOKS. 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 [To face p. 203. 
 
TROLLING WITH THE DEAD GORGE BAIT. 203 
 
 which occurs with the ordinary hook, and which renders 
 it necessary to tie the gill-covers down to prevent their 
 catching or tearing in the weeds. It also avoids the 
 necessity of sewing up the lips of the bait to prevent the 
 hooks slipping or shifting. 
 
 This is a decided saving of time and trouble, and, 
 moreover, makes the bait last longer by being less 
 strained. The darting and glancing motion which it 
 should have is also increased by the placing of the lead 
 in the proper place — the belly. 
 
 A still better method of weighting the gorge bait is by 
 forming the lead oi pierced sJiotj simply threaded on the 
 gimp attached to the hooks, and graduated in size so as 
 to resemble the solid lead in shape. A weight of this 
 kind has the advantage of being quite soft to the teeth 
 of the Pike when seized, and thus gets rid entirely of the 
 *' lead stiffening" in the bait's belly. 
 
 Perhaps, however, the greatest advantage incident to 
 
 this tackle, used either with the solid lead or pierced 
 
 shot, is the saving of time and annoyance in fixing the 
 
 tail when baiting. This is accomplished as follows : — 
 
 First cut the tail-fin of the bait qff close to the flesh ; then with a baiting 
 needle pass the gimp in at the mouth and out again by the tail of the 
 bait as usual, taking care to bring it out as nearly in the centre of the 
 tail as possible: then pass the baiting needle laterally through the bait's 
 tail, at about a quarter of an inch from the extremity, drawing the gimp 
 through after it ; and finally pass the end of the gimp through the loop 
 thus made at the extremity of the bait (see figure 2 ot plate) and draw 
 it tight. A sort of half knot is thus formed which never slips, and 
 which can be untied in a moment when a fresh bait is required. 
 
204 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 This arrangement is the simplest possible — such as 
 any schoolboy could manage without difficulty at the 
 first trial. Yet simple as it is (and for that reason only, 
 valuable) it will be found practically to make the whole . 
 difference in the convenience and efficiency of a Trolling 
 bait. 
 
 The precise bend of the hooks used for gorge-fishing 
 is of comparatively little consequence, although the 
 neatest is perhaps that shown in the engraving, fig. 3. 
 The one essential is that their points should stand suffi- 
 ciently out from the sides of the bait's head — the barbs 
 pointing upwards — to insure hooking, and yet not so 
 far as to be unsightly or catch in the weeds. 
 
 Trace for Gorge Hooks. 
 
 No link of gimp, separate from the trace, is required 
 in this arrangement ; as the trace, which should consist 
 simply of about four feet or so of fine stained gimp, can 
 be looped on to any hook in the manner shown in the 
 engraving (fig. i, B). Swivels also are merely encum- 
 brances. When a fresh bait is to be put on the hooks, 
 the gimp should be unhitched at its junction with the 
 running line. The simplest and most efficient fastening 
 for this and all other traces and casting lines, is shown 
 in figure i (A). 
 
 Working the Gorge Bait. 
 The word " troll," taken as explained by its derivatives, 
 
TROLLING WITH THE DEAD GORGE BAIT. 205 
 
 expresses the sort of circular movement which should 
 be given to the gorge bait, and for the purpose of pro- 
 ducing this it is a common and very good plan to cut 
 off a pectoral fin on one side and a ventral fin on the 
 other. A good many Trollers also cut off the back and 
 anal fins to prevent their catching in the weeds, but I 
 believe this to be a mistake, as the stripping off of all its 
 fins reduces the bait too much to the condition of 
 " King Log," and considerably curtails the variety of its 
 gyrations in the water. Moreover the inconvenience 
 which it is intended to obviate is usually more imaginary 
 than real. 
 
 The major part of the movements of the bait being 
 produced by itself when sinking head-foremost, the 
 part of the Troller is principally to keep on raising it, 
 every second or two, to the surface, and generally to 
 take care that its conduct approaches as nearly as 
 circumstances will permit to the laws of perpetual 
 motion. 
 
 Short casts rather than long ones are to be recom- 
 mended, as the bait can thus be made to enter the water 
 in^a downward-darting direction instead of flat on its 
 side, or perhaps tail-foremost. 
 
 I am not usually an advocate for any Medo-Persic 
 laws with regard to fishing up stream or down stream ; 
 but in trolling with the gorge bait it is essentially neces- 
 sary to adopt the former method, to cast, that is, some- 
 what in front of and above you, and work the bait 
 
206 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 downwards towards you — and for a very simple reason : 
 namely, that the slope of the weeds with the ctirrent makes 
 it impossible to work it properly in any other way. 
 This plan has also the merit of bringing the bait into 
 contact first with the Pike's jaws instead of his tail. 
 The bait should be kept as much as possible in the runs 
 and gullies between weed-clumps, or at the margin of 
 weed-beds in pools, and being brought well home to 
 the boat or to the troller's feet before being lifted out 
 of water for a fresh throw. Each time that the bait is 
 left to sink after a *' lift," a proportionate quantity of 
 the line should be pulled in with the left hand and 
 allowed to coil on the ground ; the action being slower 
 than, but of the same nature as, that required in 
 Spinning. 
 
 How to distinguish a " rimr 
 
 Upon a fish seizing the bait, the first notice which the 
 TroUer receives of the fact is the stoppage or check of 
 the line, very often hardly to be distinguished from that 
 occasioned by a weed, and followed generally by a few 
 savage little tugs or wrenches which are produced by the 
 jaws of the Pike in his efforts to kill his supposed victim. 
 Sometimes, however, the bait is taken by a heavy fish 
 with a rush and jerk that well-nigh twists the rod out of 
 the Troller's hand. 
 
 Management of Pike whilst Gorging. 
 The first step to be taken on perceiving a fish, or a 
 
TROLLING WITH THE DEAD GORGE BAIT. 20/ 
 
 suspicious ' check,' is to slacken the line, letting out a 
 few yards from the reel if there is none already unwound, 
 and seeing that all is clear for a run. The next point 
 is to ascertain indubitably that it is a fish ; because 
 although it is perhaps comparatively seldom that a fish 
 is mistaken for a weed for more than a few seconds, it 
 by no means unfrequently happens that a weed or stump 
 is mistaken for a fish ; and nothing less than a wasted 
 five minutes will convince the agitated Troller that such 
 is the case. 
 
 Most of my readers will probably remember Leech's, 
 charming sketch of the old gentleman, who has got a 
 * run' of this sort, standing, watch in hand, instructing 
 his young companion, " never to hurry a Pike, Tom. 
 He has had ten minutes already ; I shall give him an- 
 other five to make sure " — whilst his hooks are palpably 
 to be seen stuck fast in a submerged stump. 
 
 When however the nature of the retainer which your 
 bait has received is thus doubtful, a little judicious tighten- 
 ing or a few slight pulls of the line will generally elicit 
 signs of vitality should a Pike be at the other end of it. 
 If "no sign" is made, the demonstrations may be 
 gradually increased until the point is satisfactorily 
 settled one way or other. Should the seizer — being 
 unmistakably a fish — remain passive or moving quietly 
 about within a small compass for more than three or 
 four minutes after taking, a slight jerk (or " stirring " as 
 Nobbes has it) may be given at his mouth, which if 
 
208 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 dexterously administered will probably have an effect of 
 hastening the denouement. 
 
 Sufficient time should always be allowed to a Pike to 
 gorge the bait — five or even ten minutes if necessary ; the 
 fact of his having " pouched " will most commonly be 
 indicated by his moving off toivards Jus favourite Jiaunt 
 immediately afterzvards. If he then remains quiet with- 
 out moving away again, the line should be gradually 
 tightened (not struck, although Nobbes says a " gentle 
 stroak will do him no harm ") and the fish landed. 
 
 BEST GORGE BAITS. 
 
 Any of the ordinary Jack baits can be used with gorge- 
 tackle ; but a Gudgeon is commonly the most killing in 
 clear water, and a Dace or other bright fish in water 
 that is swollen or discoloured. 
 
 The best method of extracting the hooks from the 
 fish when killed is to make a small slit in the belly of 
 the fish at the point where the gorge-hook is felt to be, 
 and, after disengaging the trace from the reel line, draw 
 the bait out head foremost through the orifice. 
 
209 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 LIVE-BAIT FISHING. 
 
 Sjiap /i've-bait tackle — Defective tackles ; essentials of a perfect flight. 
 Neiv pattern described; mode of baiting. Floats; new system of 
 floats. Minnow needles : Trace described. Baits, and how to 
 catch ; bait-can. Ho~lV and ivhere to use the li've bait. Live gorge 
 bait. 
 
 Live-Bait Fishing. 
 
 Snap Live Bait. 
 
 A GREAT variety of patterns of live-bait tackle are given 
 by various authors ; some of them tolerably good, others 
 (and they are the majority) execrably bad — whilst a few 
 are simply impossibilities, as no live bait could survive 
 their application more than a few minutes. A good 
 example of the last, termed the " Bead hook " will be 
 found in F. T. Salter's " Angler's Guide and Complete 
 Practical Treatise, &c.," 2nd edition, te7up. 1815. 
 
 A really efficient live-bait snap-tackle, and one 
 which has been extensively used for many years by 
 Pike-fishers on the Thames — having been the inven- 
 tion, I believe, of one of the best and most popular 
 fishermen on its banks^ — is figured in Otter's " Modern 
 
 * H. R. Francis, Esq., M.A., author of the "Fly-Fisher and his 
 
 Library." 
 
 P 
 
210 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 . 
 
 Angler," of which an engraving, reduced to Jth the 
 actual size, is appended. 
 
 Even this, however, ought rather, perhaps, to be de- 
 scribed as the least faulty, than as the most 
 complete of the patterns which have been 
 published. Baited thus : the single lip-hook 
 is passed through the upper lip of the bait, 
 and the small hook of the triangle is fixed 
 into the skin near the back-fin. From this it results that 
 the bait is suspended in a most unnatural position in the 
 water, standing in fact on its tail, except at the moments 
 when it rights itself by a muscular effort. The effect is, 
 of course, that it cannot " travel" properly, and instead 
 of roving about freely in every direction, is confined to a 
 comparatively small space, having moreover a constant 
 tendency to rise to the surface rather than to remain 
 swimming at mid-water. Of minor imperfections it may 
 be observed that any hooking of the lips is always objec- 
 tionable, as it tends, by interfering with the functions 
 of respiration, to shorten the existence and lessen the 
 vitality of the bait, and this is one reason why all live- 
 bait tackles which consist only of a single lip-hook are 
 bad. 
 
 What is wanted in a live-bait tackle is^- 
 
 (i) That the hooks should be suspended in a position 
 
 in which they will be most certain to strike when the 
 
 bait lies crosswise in a Pike's mouth ; (2) that the lips of 
 
 the bait should not be interfered with in any way ; and 
 
LIVE-BAIT FISHING. 21 1 
 
 (3) that when on the hooks its natural position should be 
 nearly horizontal, and with the head pointing rather 
 downwards than upwards to prevent its rising to the 
 surface. 
 
 Bearing these conditions in mind, I have after a good 
 many experiments constructed a tackle in which I 
 believe it will be seen that they are all fairly fulfilled ; 
 and as I have now for some years been in the habit of 
 using it, I can safely say that I have found the conclu- 
 sions arrived at on theory fully borne out by the results 
 of practice. 
 
 This tackle is shown in the annexed plate, — figure i 
 representing the arrangement of hooks in the flight, and 
 figure 2 the same when baited. In baiting, the gimp is 
 passed under a good broad strip of skin with the baiting- 
 needle* (in two separate stitches if necessary), and 
 pulled through until the shank of the small hook {a) is 
 brought close up to the side of the bait below the skin : 
 this keeps the large flying triangle {b) at a proper dis- 
 tance and in its correct position under the shoulder of 
 the bait. 
 
 It is of importance, to secure the full killing powers of 
 this or any other tackle, that the proportion between the 
 size of the hooks and the bait with which they are used 
 should be preserved. The bait shown in the engraving 
 
 * The best baiting-needles, whether for Minnows or larger bait, are 
 those in which the eye is in this shape. 
 
212 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 — a small Dace — is of the proper size for those hooks ; 
 but by an error of the draughtsman the hooks are made 
 to hang too far below the bait. The gimp between the 
 lip-hook and triangle should be one-third of an inch less. 
 This method of fastening the gimp under a strip of skin 
 is much better both for the longevity and liveliness of 
 the bait, than the passing of a hook through its lips, 
 and on humane considerations is also to be preferred ; 
 as, whilst experiments have demonstrated that the 
 bodies of fish are capable of feeling but a very sHght 
 amount of pain, it is well known that nothing causes so 
 much suffering as any interference with the organs of 
 breathing. 
 
 The hooks should be tied on about a foot and a half 
 of fine stained gimp, with a loop at the other end which 
 can be most conveniently attached to the upper portion 
 of the trace (composed of two or three feet of stained 
 gimp) by means of a " hook swivel" (figure 3), which 
 will also have the effect of keeping the lead in its proper 
 place. A lead of the shape drawn is neater and shows 
 less in the water than one of the ordinary bullet form, 
 and is therefore to be preferred. Both lead and float 
 should be painted of dark green, or weed tint, with the 
 same object. Green sealing-wax varnish prepared as 
 already directed will be found the most convenient mix- 
 ture. Strike very sharply the moment a fish takes, and 
 repeat the stroke (as recommended in Spinning) until a 
 violent struggle is felt. 
 
MOOH 
 
LIVE-BAIT FISHING. 213 
 
 In lieu of one large float, it will be found a good plan to 
 employ a number of much smaller ones, say four or five, 
 strung on the line at a foot or so apart : cork balls var- 
 nished green and varying in size from a bantam's to a 
 pigeon's egg are most convenient. The merit of this 
 arrangement is that whenever the bait makes a plunge 
 the corks yield to him, and enable him to rove about 
 over a much larger area and at a greater variety of 
 depths than he can with the ordinary single large float, 
 which is, likewise, both more easily seen by the fish, and 
 more liable to stick in weeds and roots than its smaller 
 substitutes ; another advantage is that the corks prevent 
 the running line from tangling with the bait and trace. 
 The cork nearest the bait (or two together if one is not 
 buoyant enough) should be just sufficient to keep the 
 bait up w/ien absolutely at rest, and no more. 
 
 Live Baits, 
 
 With regard to live-baits a good deal must of course 
 depend upon the state of the water. Should it be very 
 bright and clear, a Gudgeon, which is also a very tough 
 fish, will generally be found the best, and in extreme 
 cases even a Minnow used with a small float and a single 
 gimp hook passed through its upper lip or back may 
 sometimes be employed with advantage. — In this case the 
 smallness of the bait nullifies the objection to a single 
 lip-hook. Bigger baits and with brighter scaling should 
 be used as waters are more swollen and discoloured. It 
 
214 
 
 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 should always be borne in mind that with snap-tackle, 
 whether spinning or live-bait, the larger the bait the 
 greater are the chances against fairly hooking a fish. 
 And this is a rule to which, from the necessity of the 
 case, no tackle can be an exception. Four or five ounces 
 is about the maximum weight of any bait which can be 
 properly worked on live-bait snap-tackle ; where bigger 
 baits are necessary (and in some waters, as for instance 
 Slapton Ley, fish of half a pound and upwards are very 
 commonly used), recourse should be had to live-bait 
 gorge tackle, which will be described presently. 
 
 Probably the best live bait of all for thick or clouded 
 waters is a medium-sized Dace, as its scales are pecu- 
 liarly brilliant, and the fish itself by no means easily 
 killed. In case of waters in which the Pike are Over- 
 fed, or obstinately insensible to the attractions of the 
 ordinary baits, I should recommend trying them with 
 live Gold-fish ; with which I have more than once 
 caught Pike under circumstances leading me to believe 
 that if instead of one or two baits, I had had as many 
 dozen, remarkable results might have followed. If Gold- 
 fish are not forthcoming, small Carp form a very killing 
 and long-lived bait. 
 
 Under the head of Ground-baits, will be found an 
 account of the best methods of attracting the different 
 descriptions of bait within reach of the cast-net. Atten- 
 tion to these will save the angler much time and trouble. 
 In casting for Gudgeon the presence or absence of the 
 
LIVE-BAIT FISHING. 21$ 
 
 fish, which can commonly be detected by the eye, is the 
 best guide to be followed. This guide failing, however, 
 " raking" is often an excellent expedient (see Gudgeon- 
 fishing.) 
 
 A live-bait can, which will be a convenience to live- 
 bait fishers, when unaccompanied by an attendant, is 
 described in the general Chapter on Tackle (p. 60) ; where 
 also will be found directions for preserving live bait. 
 
 How and where to use the Live Bait. 
 
 The " How" of live-bait fishing is simple enough. In 
 warm weather, and generally throughout the summer, 
 the bait should swim at about mid-water ; in cold or 
 wintry weather at about one-third from the bottom, — 
 those being the positions respectively occupied by the 
 fish at such periods. The bait should not be left too 
 long in one place, but be kept gently moving about, or 
 ** roving," as the old writers have it, either by force of 
 the current or with the aid of the fisherman's hand and 
 rod. If baits run short it will generally be found the 
 better plan, instead of going on fishing with a specimen 
 that has lost its activity and attractiveness, to keep 
 bright, lively baits on the hook whilst they last, and then 
 to use up the dead ones again, either with the Spinning 
 or Gorge Tackle. A three-quarters defunct live bait is 
 certainly " a delusion," but rarely a snare so far as the 
 Pike is concerned. 
 
 In ponds, and sheets of water of small extent, the 
 
2l6 
 
 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 live bait, and especially the gorge live bait, is generally 
 more killing, all the year round, than any other 
 method of fishing ; and there are some rivers, and 
 large lakes too, though they are comparatively rare, 
 in which Pike will not take freely anything except a 
 bait that is alive. These waters of course make their 
 own rules. 
 
 Under usual circumstances and in ordinary rivers the 
 period when the live bait is most killing is after the fish 
 have been swept by the first winter floods into the eddies 
 and deeps, and where the water is full and slightly dis- 
 coloured. 
 
 The "spring snap-hook" is a perfectly useless con- 
 trivance. 
 
 The " Paternoster" will be described under the head 
 of Perch-fishing. 
 
 Live-gorge Bait. 
 
 The Live-gorge bait may be used in all the places and 
 under the various circumstances referred to as being most 
 suitable for snap live-bait. The rules as regards time for 
 pouching, &c., are the same as those given under the head 
 of * Trolling with the dead-gorge bait,' and the tackle 
 (float and trace) is identical with that recommended for 
 live-bait snap fishing, in everything except the hook and 
 the mode of baiting. 
 
 These are so simple that an explanatory diagram is 
 superfluous : — Instead of the flight used with the snap 
 live bait, the hooks consist of a common double or single 
 
LIVE-BAIT FISHING. 21/ 
 
 hook on gimp ; with the aid of the baiting-needle the 
 gimp is inserted under the skin of the bait, just behind 
 its pectoral fin, brought out again near the end of the 
 back fin, and drawn carefully through until the shank of 
 the hook is hidden under the skin. The loop of the gimp 
 is then attached to the hooked swivel on the trace, and 
 the arrangement is complete. 
 
 The disadvantage of this tackle as with all other Gorge- 
 bait tackle is, of course, that the Pike has the opportunity 
 of rejecting after taking it if he thinks proper. On the 
 other hand the hooks are less seen than those used in 
 snap fishing, and the fish consequently is less likely to be 
 frightened by them. Its most useful province is when 
 in a lake or other large sheet of water the fisherman 
 wishes to carry on two kinds of fishing at once, say for 
 Perch and Jack. He can then leave his Gorge-bait to 
 take care of itself whilst he wanders away with his other 
 rod, returning at intervals to see if he has had a run. 
 When the rod is thus left, 20 or 30 yards of line should 
 also be left by its side carefully uncoiled, so that it will 
 run out easily if the bait is taken. It must be added, 
 however, that this " leaving-the-rod-to-fish-for-itself " 
 mode of operation is not many degrees removed from 
 Trimmering, which ought to be the abomination of all 
 Pike fishers. 
 
2l8 
 
 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 Cooking Pike. 
 
 So many fine Pike are wasted for want of a little 
 knowledge on this subject that I am tempted to append 
 a receipt for filleting Pike, which I obtained from Mrs. 
 Robertson, the obliging landlady of the Bat and Ball 
 Inn, Breamore. Cooked in the ordinary methods Pike 
 can hardly be regarded as a very gustatory dish : dressed 
 as directed in this receipt, I think it will be generally 
 admitted to be a really excellent one. The sauce, it will 
 be seen, plays the part of Hamlet in the affair : — 
 
 Cut the fillets, and after covering them with plenty of egg and bread- 
 crumbs, fry them over a brisk fire till thoroughly browned. Then pour 
 over them a gravy made thus : 
 
 After removing the fillets, lay the bone and trimmings in a stevi'pan 
 with two shalots and a small bunch of parsley, stew them for one 
 hour, and strain the liquor, which add to the following sauce. Put 
 two ounces of butter over the fire ; when melted, add the above liquor, 
 and also one tablespoonful of flour, one teaspoonful of soy, one dessert- 
 spoonful of anchovy, one of Worcestershire sauce, and a little salt. 
 
 i 
 
PART IV. 
 BOTTOM OR FLOAT FISHING. 
 
 b 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 General Observations. 
 
 Old' and ^ne<vj (or ^ 'Nottingham') methods of hottom-fishing — Ordinary 
 
 float-fishing — Rods, lines, hooks, floats, shot, reels, &c. 
 Nottingham fishing — specialities of, and tackle. 
 
 " Bottom fishing," whatever the term may have ori- 
 ginally conveyed, does not now always mean fishing on 
 the bottom. Several branches of angling, such as pater- 
 nostering, which comply with this condition, are ex- 
 cluded ; and others, as for example float-fishing in mid- 
 water, which do not comply with it, are embraced. The 
 expression bottom-fishing in the angler's dictionary has 
 come to imply simply rod-fishing with a float ; and if we 
 were to exclude Pike, Trout, and Grayling from the 
 category, float-fishing and bottom-fishing might be said 
 to be synonymous. 
 
220 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 Bottom-fishing is divided into two classes : the old 
 style, or ordinary bottom-fishing, and the new style, or 
 *' Nottingham fishing." These two methods of float- 
 fishing differ mainly in their details of manipulation. 
 And as by one or other of them are principally taken 
 all coarse river and pond fish, except Pike, a preliminary 
 description of each system will save repetition in the 
 succeeding chapters. 
 
 Ordinary Bottom Fishing 
 
 Is practised with a rod, line, and float ; split shot 
 being attached to the line at a distance of from one 
 to two feet above the hook to sink the bait, and partially 
 sink — Anglice, "cock" — the float. Sometimes a reel and 
 running-line are used, and sometimes not ; but the former 
 plan has this advantage, that whilst a reel and running- 
 line are never really in the way, their absence is often 
 attended with serious practical inconvenience and loss 
 of fish. 
 
 Rods. 
 
 All sorts of rods are used according to the fancy of the 
 angler, but the general rod already described (p. 51) con- 
 tains all that is necessary ; and indeed by a change of 
 butts and tops embraces varieties of length and stiffness 
 adapted to every description of bait and circumstance. 
 
 Lines. 
 The best and cheapest reel line for ordinary bottom 
 
BOTTOM OR FLOAT FISHING. 221 
 
 fishing is a fine undressed spun cotton line, of the 
 manufacture described at p. 26. The lower, or ' float- 
 line,' should invariably consist of single gut, stained as 
 directed at p. 30, and as fine as it can possibly be used 
 with safety. This point is perhaps of more importance in 
 bottom fishing than in any other kind of angling, because 
 in this mode the fish have more time for examination 
 before biting. They are able, as it were, to take a 
 leisurely survey of the position and of the arrangements 
 prepared for their benefit. Hair shotild never be used in 
 any kind of fishing, because gut can be procured which, 
 when stained, is both finer and stronger than any hair. 
 It is also transparent, whilst hair is opaque. Some ob- 
 servations on this subject will be iound in Chapter III. 
 
 Hooks. 
 
 As regards the hooks, for the reasons already given in 
 the chapter devoted to that subject, I recommend for all 
 kinds of bottom fishing the patterns of hook therein 
 described ; and the sizes mentioned in this part refer to 
 the several sizes of those hooks as shown in facsimile at 
 p. II. The proper sizes for each fish and bait are given 
 under the separate chapters. 
 
 Floats. 
 
 The best and most durable floats are made of por- 
 cupine quill ; for the finer description of fishing, of a 
 single quill simply, and where larger floats are required, 
 
222 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 as in the " Nottingham style," of porcupine and goose 
 or swan quill combined, the upper half of the float 
 being composed of the hollow quill. This float, of which 
 I believe I was the originator, unites the advantages of 
 being exceeding strong, unconspicuous, and of giving 
 probably a greater supporting power, bulk for bulk, 
 than either of the ordinary combinations of corks or 
 quills. It can be made of any size, up to a foot long, 
 which is the best length for heavy Nottingham fishing, 
 and either to fasten with caps at both ends, or a cap at the 
 top, and a ring at the bottom. The former method has 
 an advantage in making the float less liable to slip — a 
 common occurrence which involves either a frequent 
 *' re-plumbing," or the probability of fishing at the 
 wrong depth. Even with the double caps as fastened 
 in the ordinary way, the float, especially after repeated 
 striking, is apt not uncommonly to shift its position by 
 degrees ; and in order to make this impossible I pass the 
 line round as well as through the lower cap — in other 
 words, twice through — loosening the coil when the position 
 of the float is to be shifted, and drawing it tight when it is 
 fixed in its proper place. If this method is adopted, caps 
 of gutta percha should be used instead of quill caps, as 
 the latter would wear and fray the line. 'j 
 
 The above expedient will be found of considerable 
 practical advantage in all fishing where accuracy of 
 plumbing is essential. 
 
 J 
 
bottom or float fishing. 223 
 
 Shot. 
 
 The shot should be sufficient to submerge about three- 
 fourths of the length of the float ; and their position on 
 the line should be regulated according to the nature of 
 the water. In still water, the bulk of the shot should be 
 about two feet from the bait, a single small shot being 
 placed midway, to insure the bait Itself sinking with 
 tolerable certainty and rapidity. In rivers where the 
 stream Is deep or strong, It will commonly be found 
 most convenient to place the shot about a foot above the 
 hook with a single shot midway as before. 
 
 The object being to " cock" the float, and at the same 
 time sink the bait to the required depth, these points 
 being attained, of course the further the shots are away 
 from the bait the better. A few medium sized shot show 
 less than a number of small ones. 
 
 " Nottingham Fishing." 
 One portion of what is known as Nottingham fishing is 
 the throwing fro7n the reel — trusting, that Is, to the weight 
 of the bait and float, and the impetus given by casting, 
 to draw off from the reel, as the line is thrown, as much 
 of the latter as may be required for each cast. For the 
 reasons already given with reference to the application 
 of this method of casting to Pike fishing (p. 185), I con- 
 sider it in every way a mistake in theory, and, as 
 applied to light float tackle, usually an impossibility in 
 practice. 
 
224 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 The other principle of Nottingham fishing is an 
 excellent one, and the practice of it is rapidly spreading 
 over all parts of the country, and for every description 
 of river and pond bottom fishing. Its result is to enable 
 the angler to fish *' swims" at considerable distances — 
 sometimes as much as twenty yards — away from him, 
 and at the same time to add to the length of the swim 
 itself, by allowing the bait to travel over a greater 
 extent of ground than is possible under the ordinary 
 method. This result is attained by the use of a largish 
 float, and a running-line which combines strength with 
 the greatest possible lightness and fineness, and there- 
 fore, of course, runs through the rod-rings with the 
 utmost facility. In pond fishing the Nottingham 
 method gives the angler the advantages of being able 
 to make much longer casts, and consequently to fish 
 finer and further off. A proper Nottingham line of fifty 
 yards long should not weigh more than one-fifth of an 
 ounce, and is strong enough to land the largest fish 
 which the angler is likely to meet with (see observations 
 on lines, p. 28). In casting, the line should lie in loose 
 coils on the ground ; and when a long cast is to be made 
 it will be found convenient to draw the line in, not 
 through the lowest ring, but through one or other of the 
 rings next above it — an arrangement by which, owing 
 to the diminution of friction, a light bait can be thrown 
 to a greater distance. 
 
 With the foregoing exceptions, the tackle, &c., already 
 
BOTTOM OR FLOAT FISHING. 225 
 
 described for ordinary bottom fishing, as well as the 
 general observations on its use, and the remarks else- 
 where made on baits and ground-baits, are applicable to 
 Nottingham fishing. 
 
226 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 BAITS, BAITING, AND GROUND BAIT. 
 
 Baks — WoiTns, brandlings, lob- worms, where to get and how to pre- 
 serve ; two-hook tackle. Gentles, greaves, pith and bullock's 
 brains. Wasp-grubs ; easy method of taking wasp-nests. Pastes. 
 Miscellaneous baits — Caddice ; grasshoppers ; meal-worms ; earth- 
 grubs. 
 
 Ground baits — Rationale of ground-baiting ; gentles, paste, bran, bread, 
 meal, greaves, grains, rice, worms. 
 
 Worms. 
 
 The best worm for every description of angling-, 
 except Barbelling or Bream-fishing, is usually the 
 brandling or dunghill worm, found in old rubbish and 
 manure heaps. In common with all other worms brand- 
 lings are better scoured and kept as recommended for 
 Trout fishing (p. 112). Of other kinds of worms, the 
 reddest are the best. For Barbel, Bream, and Chub, 
 the tail end of a lob-worm, about 2 inches, is, for some 
 reason — probably because it is larger — a better bait. 
 Lob-worms can frequently be obtained • in the same 
 spots as brandlings — in kitchen-gardens, and generally 
 in any moderately damp, heavy soil. Lob-worms also 
 come out in great numbers on dampish, low-lying 
 
BAITS, BAITING, AND GROUND BAIT. 227 
 
 lawns at night, and may be then gathered on and round 
 the edges of the grass, borders, &c., in great numbers. I 
 have repeatedly picked more than a quart full of solid 
 worms in this manner in half an hour. Some lawns, 
 however, are much more prolific of worms than others. 
 About ten o'clock at night is generally the best time 
 for lob-worm gathering. 
 
 When the tail of a lob-worm is used, the worm 
 must be broken about the middle — longer or shorter, 
 according to circumstances — and the hook, if a single 
 one, inserted at the point of breakage, the worm being 
 then "run up" the hook until the shank is somewhat 
 more than covered. 
 
 To bait with a whole worm take the hook by the 
 shank in the right hand, and the worm, head upwards, 
 in the left ; enter the hook-point a little below the head, 
 and after passing it through a trifle more than the 
 length of the shank, bring the point out again, and run 
 the worm up on to the shank and gut ; then again insert; 
 the point and barb only about two-thirds down the worm 
 in the direction of the worm's head ; and finally, pull the 
 upper portion of the worm down over the hook-shank 
 till it touches the tail part. This is the best method 
 both of concealing the hook and giving a natural 
 appearance to the bait, in every kind of fishing where a. 
 single hook only is used. 
 
22s modern practical angler. 
 
 Gentles. 
 
 The finest gentles are obtained from the liver of the 
 sheep or bullock. They should be placed in moist sand 
 to scour and get rid of a pinky-brown discoloured patch 
 which they have when first taken from the liver. In moist 
 sand they will keep fresh and in good order for several days. 
 In the winter months, if it is desired to keep them for a 
 longer time, they should be put into a large-mouthed 
 bottle two-thirds full of earth, the bottle being corked 
 up and placed in a cellar or other cool situation. No 
 general directions can be given for baiting, as this of 
 course varies with the size of the hook. Carrion gentles 
 (see ground baits) can be used when liver gentles are 
 not obtainable. 
 
 Greaves, 
 
 Or the refuse of the fatty materials out of which 
 tallow is made, are a good bait for Barbel, Bream, 
 and Chub, and occasionally for Roach. The greaves, 
 after being broken up with a hammer, should be 
 boiled gently for about half an hour, long enough 
 before they are wanted for use to allow of their getting 
 cold and hard. The whitest pieces are the best for bait, 
 and these can be most conveniently disposed so as to 
 hide the hook by being cut into broadish strips or 
 slices. 
 
 i 
 
baits, baiting, and ground bait. 229 
 
 ''Pith" and "Bullock's Brains." 
 
 This bait is a modern discovery, but it is the most 
 deadly of all baits for Chub fishing in winter. The 
 "pith" is used as the bait on the hook, and the brains 
 for the ground bait, and I shall therefore describe them 
 both together. They are prepared thus : — 
 
 Having obtained from a butcher some brains from a 
 freshly-killed bullock, cow, or sheep, first thoroughly 
 clean and wash them in cold water, and then boil 
 them for fifteen minutes, changing the water once 
 during the process. When cold they are ready for 
 use. 
 
 The " pith" is the spinal marrow of a bullock or cow, 
 and should also be obtained quite fresh. The pith requires 
 to be boiled for about three minutes to prepare it for 
 use. The brains and marrow from one bullock will be 
 sufficient for an ordinary day's fishing. In order to 
 make the brains sink readily, and also in order to 
 separate the particles, or make them fine, some fishing 
 authorities recommend that the brains should be chewed 
 by the angler as he uses them. This process, however, 
 though effectual, is not relished by most persons, and 
 the best substitute is to squeeze the brains in the hand 
 whilst under water. The brains should be thrown in 
 from time to time, in pieces about the size of a walnut, 
 a few yards (according to stream and depth) above the 
 spot which is covered by the bait. 
 
1230 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 The pith when used for Chub or Barbel, should be cut 
 •up as required, into pieces about the size of a largish 
 liazel-nut, and baited on a No. 9 or No. 10 hook. (See 
 plate, p. II.) 
 
 Wasp-grubs. 
 
 The young of the wasp in its immature state as found in 
 the comb, is a good, though very delicate bait for Roach, 
 Dace, Chub, Bream, and Grayling. It may be easily 
 obtained throughout the summer and early autumn 
 months by digging out the nest : the adult wasps, it is 
 hardly necessary to say, having been previously de- 
 stroyed. For this purpose the following is the best 
 receipt I am acquainted with, and as wasps are great 
 enemies to the orchard and fruit-garden, I commend 
 it also to the attention of farmers : — 
 
 Procure a strong solution of cyanide of potassium 
 {prussic acid) and having thoroughly wetted therewith a 
 doubled piece of lint about six inches square, place the 
 lint at the mouth of the hole, so that the wasps cannot 
 well obtain ingress or egress without settling on it. Every 
 wasp crawling over or alighting on the lint will be in- 
 stantaneously killed^ and twenty-four hours will com- 
 monly be found sufficient to enable the comb to be 
 dug out without difficulty. 
 
 Pastes. 
 
 Having tried most of the pastes described in Angling 
 manuals, the result of my experience is that there is no 
 
BAITS, BAITING, AND GROUND BAIT. 2^1 
 
 paste so good as a simple one of white bread-crumb, and 
 made thus : put a lump of crumb into a pocket-hand- 
 kerchief, and having twisted it up, dip it in water, giving 
 it a few squeezes whilst immersed so as to eject the air, 
 and substitute water. Then wring the crumb as dry as 
 may be in the handkerchief, and taking it out, work it 
 for a minute or two in the hands, which should be 
 clean. 
 
 Wools, dyes, and flavourings, whether with sugar, 
 honey, or essential oils, are useless or mischievous. Paste 
 is a good pond bait in summer for Roach and Rudd, and 
 not a bad one occasionally for Carp — but this exhausts 
 its role. 
 
 Paste should be put on in a pear shape so as to cover 
 the shank as well as the bend of the hook. When using 
 paste, a few small pellets thrown in from time to time 
 round the float are useful. 
 
 A paste made of cheese is sometimes a killing bait 
 for Barbel and other kindred species. 
 
 Miscellaneous Baits. 
 Caddice, grasshoppers, meal-worms, and earth-grubs 
 generally are occasionally killing baits for all the before- 
 mentioned coarse fish, but they are so difficult to obtain 
 in any quantities that they are seldom worthy of much 
 consideration. The meal-worm, which is perhaps the 
 least troublesome, breeds amongst the refuse sweepings 
 of flour mills. The caddice (or as its name is sometimes 
 
232 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 abbreviated — "cad-bait") is the larva of the phryganea, 
 of which there are many species, furnishing several of the 
 insects most popular for imitation by the artificial fly. 
 In the larval state it is found in the banks of most 
 streams amongst gravel, decayed reed-roots, and other 
 aquatic debris. It is enveloped in a shell or case, gene- 
 rally cylindrical, resembling commonly a piece of dead 
 stick or rush, and from this it is of course necessary to 
 disencumber it before use. 
 
 GROUND BAITS AND BAITING. 
 
 In every description of bottom fishing ground bait, or 
 a substitute for it, can be used with advantage. Anglers, 
 however, often make a great mistake in ground baiting, by 
 so surfeiting the fish with food that they have no need or 
 appetite to attack the hook-bait, which, in comparison, 
 must always present a more or less unnatural appear- 
 ance. On this account also it is generally better in 
 rivers to fish a little below rather than actually over or 
 above the ground bait, because by so doing there is a 
 greater chance of the unsatiated fish which are working 
 up stream towards the ground bait, coming first into 
 contact with the bait on the hook. 
 
 As a general rule, to which, however, there are several 
 exceptions, it may be stated as the rationale of 
 ground baiting, that the bait used on the ground should 
 be of the same description as, but inferior in quality to, 
 that used on the hook. 
 
BAITS, BAITING, AND GROUND BAIT. 2^7, 
 
 Bearing in mind this rule, it will hardly be necessary 
 to explain that of the ground baits which I am about to 
 enumerate the majority are also used as baits for the 
 hook — some simply, some in combination with others. 
 To begin with, 
 
 Gentles. 
 
 " Carrion gentles" are generally used for purposes of 
 ground bait, being smaller, more easily procured, and 
 otherwise inferior to the liver gentles, which should be 
 used on the hook, thus carrying out the cardinal prin- 
 ciples of ground baiting already indicated. Carrion 
 gentles can be obtained from any carcase or offal ; they 
 are, I believe, generally procured for the tackle-shops 
 from the dealers in horse-flesh. They should be mixed 
 with moist sand, as, if kept in any quantity, pure and 
 en masse, they are apt to scald, as the expression is ; — 
 that is, they become so heated that many die. Carrion 
 gentles, simply or in combination with other baits, are 
 the best ground bait all the year round for Roach, Dace, 
 and Bleak, and are also a very good bait for Bream or 
 Barbel. In ponds or still waters I should advise their 
 use for either of the fish named, without other admixture, 
 on all occasions when they can be procured. 
 
 Paste 
 
 Is to be recommended for use principally in the same 
 kind of water as that suitable for gentles. A few pellets 
 
234 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 of the same paste used on the hook may be thrown in 
 round the float from time to time. 
 
 A Bran, Bread, and Meal. 
 
 Wet bran mixed with carrion gentles, or worked up 
 with soaked bread, is a very good ground bait, either for 
 Roach, Dace, or Bleak ; in fact, when used by itself, it 
 is the most certain mode of attracting Bleak to any 
 given spot that I am acquainted with. In water where 
 there is a current, the addition of soaked bread, in 
 about equal parts, or meal sufficient to give the bran 
 weight and consistency, is essential. Or a handful of 
 meal squeezed under water in the hand, and thrown in 
 from time to time, may be used by itself ; as may also 
 soaked bread w^hich is first squeezed dry in the hand. 
 The best meal for the purpose is made from wheat, 
 ground up with the husk, such as that employed for the 
 coarser kinds of brown bread. This should be mois- 
 tened sufficiently to make it cohere in lumps, but not 
 sufficiently to make it sticky. Bran is a great addition 
 to both the above-named baits, as it is light and easily 
 carried down gradually by the current, so as to entice 
 the fish upwards. 
 
 Greaves. 
 
 Prepared as already described, greaves is a very good 
 ground bait for Barbel and Bream, especially in combi- 
 nation with some or all of the foregoing. 
 
baits, baiting, and ground bait. 235 
 
 Grains. 
 Brewer's grains or malt is a coarse, sour ground bait, 
 with which I never had much success. 
 
 Rice. 
 
 ' Boiled rice used in the positions described for gentles, 
 
 is the best ground bait for Minnows ; and by bearing in 
 
 mind what has been said as regards the attractiveness of 
 
 bran for Bleak, and gentles for Roach and Dace, much 
 
 trouble will be spared to the angler when procuring 
 
 supplies of live-bait with the casting-net. A stillish 
 
 curve or eddy of river about two feet deep will be found 
 
 the best description of spot both for the application 
 
 of this principle of baiting, and for using the cast-net 
 
 effectually. 
 
 WORIMS, 
 
 If not the best, form one of the two or three very 
 best ground baits for Barbel, Bream, Chub, Perch, Carp, 
 and Tench. Authorities differ as to whether they should 
 be used whole or " chopped." 
 
 Mr. Francis Francis, who has written some of the best 
 chapters on bottom fishing with which I am acquainted, 
 recommends "broken" worms; whilst Mr. Baily, of 
 Nottingham, in his clever little manual, is strongly in 
 favour of the "whole" system, at any rate so far as pre- 
 viously baited swims for Barbel are concerned. Whole 
 worms are, I think, preferable in all cases where swims 
 are baited any considerable time before being fished, 
 
236 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 and broken worms where only a few hours intervene, or 
 where the two processes of ground baiting and fishing 
 commence simultaneously. 
 
 For the latter purpose it is not necessary that the 
 ground bait should retain its vitality for any length of • 
 time, and an ordinary lob-worm may in this case be 
 broken certainly into two pieces, with advantage. 
 *' Chopping" on the other hand, or breaking the worm 
 into a number of small pieces, is certainly bad, as 
 thereby one chief element of attractiveness, life, is taken 
 away. A divided worm is for some time more lively 
 than a whole one. 
 
 As a rule, worms, when employed as ground bait in 
 gentle currents, or in ponds and still water, are best 
 used by themselves simply, but in deep or strong water 
 it is necessary to enclose them in hollow clay balls, so 
 that the balls may carry the worms to the bottom before 
 bursting, or being washed open by the action of the 
 stream. The application of these rules will be ex- 
 plained more in detail in the chapter on Barbel 
 fishing. 
 
 I cannot do better than conclude these observations 
 on ground bait with a rule which should never be for- 
 gotten : after ground baiting, plumb the exact depth, 
 and arrange the tackle so that it may not be necessary 
 to make a disturbance when fishing commences. 
 
237 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 PERCH. 
 
 Omnivorous instincts of Perch — Natural and artificial baits — Spinnings 
 fly-fishing. Li've baiting, ' paternoster ing' and 'roving.' Worm- 
 fishing in lakes, ponds, and ri-vers. Spawning season. 
 
 The Pope or Ruffe. 
 
 Though fishing for Perch properly belongs to — indeed 
 heads — this division of my subject, yet by its habits of 
 feeding and the methods of angling employed for its 
 capture, it might justly claim honourable mention both 
 under the category of fly-fishing, and, taking the word 
 in its widest sense, of trolling also. Thus, for example, 
 in the great lakes Perch will often take a spun Minnow or 
 a bright fly in preference to any other baits, whilst both 
 in lake and river the deadly qualities of a live Minnow or 
 small Gudgeon are well known to all Perch fishers. 
 
 In the case of lake-spinning for Perch it would seem 
 that the usual rule in regard to the superiority of natural 
 over artificial baits is reversed. Whether from the 
 greater facility with which small artificial baits are pro- 
 curable, or from some other cause, I have certainly 
 caught and seen caught, far more Perch by the arti- 
 
238 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 ficial than by the natural spinning-bait. Formerly 
 a "spoon" about three-quarters of an inch long was 
 very killing in many waters ; but as with Pike and 
 Trout so with Perch, this bait seems latterly to have 
 lost much of its attractiveness. A stone Loach, a 
 Minnow, or a very small Gudgeon, are all good spinning- 
 baits, and should be used both in lakes and rivers with 
 the tackle described for _/?;/^ lake spinning (p. 123), or for 
 river Minnow-spinning (p. 116), as the case may be. 
 
 With a gaudy red fly dressed on, say, a No. 10 hook, 
 I have also had good sport, but its legitimate province is 
 confined to large shallow lakes, and then is only prac- 
 tically worth consideration in bright hot weather and a 
 dead calm. The flies may be either "trailed" or cast 
 by hand ; the former plan being usually best until the 
 position of a shoal of fish is ascertained, and the latter 
 afterwards. As already observed, however, both the 
 methods of Perch-fishing above described, are only really 
 much worth consideration in the great lakes, where they 
 often come in very opportunely to fill what would other- 
 wise be a blank day, the most impracticable weather for 
 Trout being commonly the most favourable for Perch. It 
 certainly does occasionally happen that good baskets may 
 be made with the spinning-bait in rivers. I have done 
 it repeatedly in the Kennet, below Hungerford, but 
 then the fish of this river — in my opinion the best Perch 
 water in England — run very large, averaging from one to 
 two pounds, and, owing to strict preservation, are compa- 
 
PERCH. 239 
 
 ratively little fished for. The Hampshire Avon is another 
 beautiful river, which produces in parts Perch quite as 
 large as those of the Kennet, but they are not so 
 numerous. 
 
 The most killing bait for Perch in rivers, and not 
 unfrequently in lakes also, as in Windermere for 
 instance, is the live Minnow, and the best method of 
 using it is with what is termed a " paternoster." The 
 paternoster is made and used thus : to the end of about 
 4 feet of stained gut attach a lead, and at the distance 
 of say 3 and 15 inches above it respectively, two hooks, 
 Nos. 8 or 9, tied on gut lines 4 or 5 inches long. These 
 should be attached in the same manner as that recom- 
 mended for fastening on drop flies (p. 58), so as to stand 
 out at right angles to the main line. 
 
 The tackle is baited by passing each of the hooks 
 through the upper lip (only) of a live Minnow, or small 
 Gudgeon. The rod and line recommended for Trout 
 Minnow spinning (p. 119) will be most convenient for 
 this purpose, but any stiffiish rod with a line that runs 
 tolerably freely will do. As, however, a long line cannot 
 be used in paternostering without loss of efficiency, 
 danger of fouling, &c., a longish rod, not too heavy, is 
 a desideratum. In deep holes, under steep banks, and 
 under weirs, are the haunts in which the greatest 
 execution will generally be done with the paternoster ; 
 and from October to January large deep eddies, or 
 back-waters, into which, especially after a flood, the 
 
240 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 Perch are swept. Such spots abound on the Thames 
 and most large rivers. In the Thames, the best Perch 
 water I know is just below the paper-mills at Temple, 
 near Marlow. Here, after the first heavy flood, the 
 Perch collect in astonishing numbers ; and I remember 
 on one occasion, when fishing this pool with the late 
 Tom Rosewell and Mr. H. R. Francis, killing some 
 twelve dozen Perch with the paternoster in a few hours. 
 The water was then still slightly clouded from floods. 
 
 The Weirs are the great places for the paternoster in 
 summer, as the Perch then collect in the rapids and 
 rushes of water to scour and brace themselves after 
 spawning. The modus operandi is as follows : — The rod 
 and tackle being arranged as described, and the lead 
 hanging 6 or 7 feet from the top of the rod, the baits, if 
 the water to be fished is within the length of the rod, 
 should be gently dropped or lowered down till the lead 
 rests on the bottom ; if, however, the desired spot is 
 further off, the baits, after a slight pendulum-like move- 
 ment, are lightly cast — or rather " swung" — into it, and 
 the line drawn in until it is stretched straight between 
 the lead and the rod-top. Every half minute or so the 
 position of the bait should be shifted a foot or two by 
 lifting the lead and drawing in line ; a sharp twitch will 
 indicate a bite, when the point of the rod should be 
 instantly lowered a little so as to slacken the line some- 
 what, and prevent the fish prematurely pricking himself. 
 The attack being repeated, and — as it usually happens — 
 
PERCH. 241 
 
 in a more vigorous manner, the line should be quietly 
 but rapidly tightened, and a vigorous " lift" (not stroke) 
 given almost at the same instant with the rod. Striking 
 is not desirable in paternostering, first, because the 
 Perch is a very delicate-mouthed fish, and the rod a 
 stiff one ; and secondly, because by this means both 
 baits will almost inevitably be lost. A chief element of 
 success in paternostering — as indeed in all live-bait 
 fishing — is, that the baits should be fresh and really 
 lively. 
 
 Leads of a pear-shape are preferable to bullets, 
 because from their shape less liable to catch in stones, 
 sunken posts, &c. They should always be painted with 
 green varnish (p. 59), which makes them less conspicuous. 
 
 In water where there are many Jack it is often a good 
 plan to attach a third hook (No. 11 or 12) tied on fine 
 stained gimp, about 2 feet above the lead, baiting it with 
 a Gudgeon. Many good fish are caught in this way. 
 In bottom fishing from a punt it is usually an excellent 
 plan to put out a paternoster, which may not only add 
 to the weiglit of the creel — " on its own hook," as the 
 phrase goes — but by killing any Pike or Perch which 
 may be roving in the neighbourhood, add to the 
 chances of a good take of other fish. The proximity 
 of either of these predaceous species sadly disturbs the 
 appetite of the grami- or vermi-nivora, and a sudden 
 stoppage in the biting of the latter is constantly attri- 
 butable to this cause. 
 
242 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 Another method of fishing for Perch with Minnows, 
 sometimes used also for Trout and Pike, is what used to 
 be called by the old writers "roving." It consists 
 simply in substituting an ordinary gut-line, single hook, 
 and float for the paternoster, and baiting with a live 
 Minnow hooked through the upper lip. This method 
 is, however, very inferior to the paternoster for either 
 Perch or Pike ; and for Trout is not to be named with 
 either fly, worm, or spun Minnow fishing. 
 
 Besides Minnows and small Gudgeon, the only live 
 bait that Perch take freely, both in rivers, lakes, and 
 ponds, is the worm — a brandling being much the best. 
 It may be used either in the ordinary or " Nottingham 
 style," in the mode already described in the preliminary 
 chapter on " Bottom or Float-fishing." The hook, 
 single, should be from No. 6 to 8 or 9, according to the 
 average size of the Perch in the waters fished. I cannot 
 but think, however, that the two-hook tackle recom- 
 mended for Trout, p. no, may probably eventually 
 supersede the single hook for all kinds of worm fishing, 
 at any rate in running waters, and not impossibly in 
 pond fishing also. At the same time, I have myself 
 tested the tackle in this department of angling suffi- 
 ciently to put the above forward as more than an 
 opinion — an opinion, however, in favour of which strong 
 prima facie arguments exist, and which I should be very 
 pleased to find confirmed by that of any other anglers, 
 who may be inclined, for the sake of experiment, to 
 
PERCH. 243 
 
 give the tackle a trial. In river Perch fishing, the 
 worm should just dribble along the bottom ; in ponds, 
 it should float about 8 inches or a foot above it ; and in 
 lakes a little more, according to the depth. 
 
 It is usually advantageous not to strike too soon in 
 fishing for Perch as compared with other species. The 
 Perch rarely quits a bait, especially a worm, when he 
 has once attacked it ; indeed, if allowed, he will fre- 
 quently " gorge" or swallow it entirely ; but this, again, 
 is an inconvenience in another direction. The best 
 general rule is to let the float be carried well under 
 water before striking. 
 
 In rivers and streams the " Nottingham plan" will 
 often be found the most killing mode of worm fishing 
 for Perch. As in other cases, a few broken worms 
 thrown in occasionally as ground bait will assist in 
 attracting the fish. 
 
 Perch most commonly swim in shoals, so that when 
 one is caught others may be expected to follow. In 
 Windermere I have watched these shoals, and found 
 them to consist not infrequently of many hundreds. In 
 Slapton Ley, Devonshire, they can hardly be said to be 
 in " shoals," as the whole water swarms with them, and 
 I have frequently caught them there literally as fast as 
 I could bait. As a rule, however, they are quite insig- 
 nificant in the matter of size, very few of those that I 
 caught or saw exceeding a few ounces in weight. They 
 are smaller than even the Windermere fish. Perch are 
 
244 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 the only English species of scale fish which have been 
 clearly proved to be bi-sexual, that is, to contain in 
 each separate individual the means of reproduction 
 complete — in other words, both milt and roe. They 
 spawn towards the end of April, or beginning of May, 
 casting their eggs in strings like festoons of pearls 
 about the weeds and rocks. That they increase rapidly 
 is not to be wondered at when it is considered that as 
 many as 280,000 eggs have been counted in a single 
 specimen, weighing half a pound. 
 
 The Pope or Ruffe. 
 
 The only other species of the Perch family known to 
 exist in this country is the Pope or Ruffe, a gregarious 
 fish, which though resembling its congeners in many 
 points of habit and structure, is in an angling point of 
 view altogether inferior. The bait and tackle recom- 
 mended for Gudgeon-fishing will be found also the most 
 successful in taking Pope ; and indeed it is in Gudgeon- 
 fishing that the Pope is most frequently captured. I 
 have seldom met with specimens exceeding 4 or 5 inches 
 in length. 
 
 i 
 
245 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 BARBEL AND BREAM. 
 
 Habits of barbel and ' ground swimmers' generally. Bottom fishing — 
 tackle and baits. Leger fishing and tackle. Ground baits and baiting 
 — A^'"orms and clay-balls ; how to make and use. Spawning-time. 
 Haunts of Barbel — Torpidity in great cold. 
 
 Different species of Bream — Carp Bream ; White Bream, or Bream 
 flat ; Pomeranian Bream : their habitats, and how to be distinguished. 
 Bream fishing in rivers and ponds — Tackle, baits. Ground baits. 
 Spawning-time. 
 
 Barbel. 
 
 The Barbel is so named from the barbels or beards 
 with which its nose and upper lip are furnished, in order 
 to assist it in feeling its way about in deep, and conse- 
 quently more or less dark waters ; and probably also for 
 the purpose of enabling it to detect the nature of the 
 substances with which it comes in contact. Of the species 
 provided with these barbels — Carp, Tench, Gudgeon, 
 Roach, and Turbot, all find their food principally at the 
 bottom. The barbels, in fact, afford a correct index to 
 the habits of the fish which are thus furnished, and teach 
 the angler that in fishing for them his bait nmst always 
 be on or close to the bottom. This rule holds good with 
 
246 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGl^ER. 
 
 especial force in the case of the Barbel, which not only 
 lives and feeds on the bottom, but procures its food 
 most commonly by *' rootling" with its nose amongst 
 the gravel and stones, very much as a pig turns up a 
 field with its snout. 
 
 Bottom fishing either by the ordinary method, or in 
 the Nottingham style, are now the fashionable modes of 
 Barbel fishing. The tackle being that already described, 
 but somewhat stronger than usual, as the Barbel is a very 
 hard fighter, not seldom running from five to seven, and 
 even occasionally to ten pounds weight. The best baits 
 are the tail of a lob-worm, greaves, and gentles — their 
 "order of merit" on the average of waters being very 
 much that in which they are here placed. When gentles 
 are used, five or six will not be found too many for the 
 bait ; the hook being passed laterally through the first 
 four or five close to the tail, so as to form a bunch, and 
 the last being reserved to cover the point of the hook,, 
 which should be a No. 5, 6, or 7, according to size and 
 depth of water and other circumstances. For the worm- 
 tail or greaves a No. 8, 9, or 10 hook should be used. 
 The method of baiting with worm-tail and greaves is 
 described at pp. 226-227. 
 
 The bait should swin). just clear ^/ the bottom ; when it 
 drags along the ground the line is apt to come into 
 contact with the noses of intending biters before the 
 bait, thus risking the dilemma either of so arousing their 
 suspicions as to make them change their mind, or, if 
 
 1 
 
BARBEL AND BREAM. 
 
 247 
 
 they are still inclined to take the bait, making it almost 
 impossible for them to do so without turning round and 
 following it. This is an important point. In Barbel^ 
 as with other fish, except, perhaps, occasionally with 
 Bream, it is best to wait to strike until the float dis- 
 appears, or moves steadily and decidedly away. 
 
 In all light waters, and often in deep and heavy ones, 
 the Nottingham method of barbelling will be found the 
 most killing, as well as the most lively ; 
 but there is another system formerly 
 very generally practised by Thames 
 anglers, and which is in some sense the 
 speciality of Barbel fishing. This is 
 termed " legering," or " leger-fishing." 
 The tackle consists of a large hook, 
 say No. 1 1, whipped on to two lengths 
 of very strong picked gut and attached 
 to the running line, which is again passed 
 through a flat oblong lead, of the shape 
 and usually of about the size of that 
 figured in the engraving. The lead is 
 prevented from running down the gut 
 by the junction knot, but otherwise works 
 freely up and down the line. No float is 
 used, and the bites are distinguished by 
 the touch. 
 
 The bait being cast to the desired spot, the running- 
 line is kept stretched tolerably tight between the point 
 
248 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 of the rod and the lead, which of course rests on the 
 bottom. A few slight twitches indicate a bite, and a 
 decided tug the moment for striking, which it is im- 
 portant should be done sharply, as the lead has often to 
 be moved by the stroke before its effect reaches the 
 fish. There is also generally a considerable pressure of 
 stream on the line Owing partly to this and partly to 
 the weight of lead to be worked, an ordinary Jack-rod 
 and spinning-line are the most convenient implements 
 for leger-fishing. The rod for Jack contained in the 
 general rod described at page 51, will answer the pur- 
 pose well. 
 
 Legering is most effective in deep, strong eddies, and 
 rushes of water where an ordinary bait would not reach 
 tne bottom, or could not be effectively worked. For 
 any other water the Nottingham method is to be 
 preferred. 
 
 The bait may be either a whole lob-worm or the tail 
 of one. In the former case the point of the hook should 
 be inserted in the head of the worm, and then, by a 
 process like that of passing a bodkin and tape through a 
 hem, be 'run' through the whole of the worm except 
 about an inch of the tail. 
 
 The same ground baits are used as for float-fishing, 
 but opinions differ as to whether the ground baiting 
 should take place before or during the sport, and whether 
 the ground bait should be worms or greaves. My own 
 experience leads me to give the preference, especially 
 
 I 
 
BARBEL AND BREAM. 249 
 
 for legering, to worms for all kinds of BarbelHng, and I 
 prefer the swim to be baited beforehand (if possible 
 twenty-four hours). Still I have had excellent sport with 
 both kinds of baits, and both systems of using them. 
 * Ground baiting as you fish' has, however, this advan- 
 tage, that if Barbel do not come on to bite at one swim 
 there is no disappointment felt in moving to another. 
 A fisherman — especially a professional fisherman — hates 
 quitting the hole into which he has thrown so much time 
 and so many pints of worms. If it is intended to fish the 
 same swim a second day, the ground should be re-baited 
 on quitting. 
 
 The mode of preparing and using greaves for ground bait 
 is described at p. 227. If worms are used for baiting a 
 Barbel swim in anything but dead water or a very slow- 
 stream, I recommend their being enclosed in hollow clay 
 balls of about the size of a man's two fists. These, if 
 the swim is to be fished at once, should be thin enough 
 to break almost directly they touch the bottom, and the 
 worms, of which a couple of handfuls are enough to begin 
 with, should be broken into two pieces^. If the swim 
 is to be baited twenty-four hours or more beforehand, a 
 quart of worms is not too much — two days, two quarts. 
 In this case — say a twenty-four hours' ground baiting — 
 the worms should be used whole, and enclosed in clay 
 balls, of which a few ought to be thin enough to break 
 or wash open almost immediately they touch the ground, 
 the majority being strong enough to resist the action of 
 
250 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 the stream for several hours. A few worms should be 
 allowed to protrude half their length or so, here and 
 there, through the outside of the thicker balls. The 
 object of these dispositions is to avoid glutting the fish at 
 one time, and then leaving them without anything to 
 attract or amuse them for the rest of the twenty-four 
 hours interval between baiting and fishing. 
 
 On the other hand it is most important that the 
 solidity and number of the clay balls be so adjusted that 
 their contents should be consumed some hours before 
 the swim is to be tried with the rod and line — that the 
 fish, in fact, should be allowed an interval to regain their 
 appetites. 
 
 These are the principles which must guide the angler 
 in " previous ground baitings," whether for Barbel or 
 other fish. Their application, which differs of course 
 according to the circumstances of each individual case, is 
 a matter often requiring both nicety and judgment, 
 upon the display of which the success of the bottom 
 fishing will in a great degree depend. 
 
 The Barbel spawn in May or June, and as soon as 
 they have recovered a little strength make their way 
 into the swiftest streams they can find, such as weirs, 
 mill-tails, &c., to scour and brace themselves; beginning 
 to get into condition again in a few weeks, and being in 
 the best season for the angler until September and 
 October, when the frosty nights drive them from the 
 streams and shallows into the deeper waters. Here they 
 
BARBEL AND BREAM. 25 I 
 
 will be found until the spring ; and in these quiet deeps 
 and eddies they are to be caught, if anywhere, during 
 the winter months. At this period, however, especially 
 if the weather is very cold, it is of comparatively little 
 use to fish for Barbel, as they lie in a sort of semi- 
 torpid condition, and refuse to move. So inanimate 
 are they, that the fishermen not unfrequently provide 
 themselves with hoop landing-nets, which they place 
 near the fish, and with a pole literally push them in ; and 
 I have known shoals to collect under the shelter of a 
 sunken punt, or other tidal obstruction, lying so closely 
 one over the other as to present the appearance of a 
 solid mass. 
 
 The Bream. 
 
 There are two species of Bream which are more or 
 less generally scattered throughout the waters of Great 
 Britain, — the common, or Carp Bream {abramis bramd)y 
 and the White Bream, or Bream-flat {abramis blicca) 
 The latter I have caught occasionally, but it is a mise- 
 rable, bony fi.sh, rarely exceeding one pound in weight, 
 and almost as worthless for angling as for eating. In 
 colour it is silvery, or dusky, instead of golden, but the 
 most certain distinction is to be found in the teeth, 
 situated in the throat, and which in the Bream-flat are 
 placed in two rows on each side, numbering three 
 and five respectively, whilst those of the Carp Bream 
 are placed in one row only on each side, numbering five. 
 In order to examine the teeth properly the jawbone 
 
252 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 must be taken out and the flesh and skin carefully- 
 removed. 
 
 There is a third species which has been occasionally- 
 identified by naturalists — the Pomeranian Bream, 
 {abramis biiggcnhagii). I am acquainted however with 
 but four spots in which it has been found, and it is so 
 rare as to be only of interest to the ichthyologist. In 
 shape it is thicker and longer in proportion than the 
 other two species, and has its throat teeth in two rows 
 on each side, numbering three and five respectively. 
 
 The common Bream, though a very indifferent fish for 
 the table, is well worthy of attention in an angling point 
 of view, as where it exists at all it is usually found in 
 great numbers, often of a large size, and is a ready 
 biter. 
 
 All the baits used for Roach, Perch, or Barbel will 
 kill Bream, but by far the best river-bait is the tail of a 
 lob-worm used with the Nottingham or ordinary float- 
 tackle, — in the case of rivers precisely as described for 
 Barbel fishing. The gentle is another good bait. 
 
 The observations on ground baiting for Barbel are 
 also equally applicable to Bream. The latter, however, 
 is a pond as well as a river fish, which the former is not ; 
 and for pond-fishing for Bream some slight modifications 
 of baits and tackle are often requisite. Thus, if worms 
 are employed the hook should be a size or two smaller, 
 say a No. 8 ; the worm itself, the tail of which is to be 
 used, should be also rather slenderer, or a whole worm 
 
I 
 
 
 o 
 
BARBEL AND BREAM. 253 
 
 of a smaller description, or gentles may be substituted. 
 The float also should be lighter, and the tackle generally 
 more like that recommended for Roach. Broken worms, 
 and carrion gentles mixed with wet bran, are the two 
 best pond ground baits for Bream that I am acquainted 
 with. Only a small quantity should be thrown in at a 
 time, and with intervals after the first few castings, of 
 not less than five minutes. Bream are almost invariably 
 found in large shoals, so that if they are once attracted 
 to a spot, they will consume more ground bait without 
 danger of surfeit than either Barbel or Roach. 
 
 The largest Carp Bream I ever saw weighed five 
 pounds and some ounces, but specimens are on record 
 which have nearly doubled this weight. The average 
 "run" of Bream differs very much in different waters. 
 It thrives best in large open lakes, and in slow rivers 
 alternating with " broads" or lagoon-like reaches. 
 
 Bream spawn in May, and after scouring for a few 
 weeks return to their usual haunts. Omitting June, 
 when the fish should be left to recover health and 
 strength, the three or four months following the spawning 
 season usually afford the best Bream fishing. 
 
254 
 
 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 .1 
 
 ROACH AND RUDD. 
 
 Roach and Rudd are distinct species— Points of difference and simi- 
 larity. Hybrids amongst fish doubtful. Distinguishing characte- 
 ristics of Roach and Rudd, and how to be identified. A ne^ 'va- 
 riety of Rudd — Habitats of Roach and Rudd. Spawning season. 
 Best baits and ground baits in running and stagnant (waters, and how 
 - to use them. Tackle. Other species of the Roach genus. 
 
 Where Rudd are found it is almost invariably in waters 
 which are also inhabited by Roach (although the con- 
 verse of the proposition by no means holds good), and 
 as the two species closely resemble each other both in 
 habits and in the method of fishing for them, baits, &c., 
 I have bracketed them together. 
 
 Roach and Rudd, indeed, have so many striking 
 points of resemblance that the latter were formerly con- 
 sidered by writers on ichthyology to be a ''bastard 
 Roach," bred betwixt the true Roach and the Bream — 
 an opinion held by, if not originating with, Izaac Walton, 
 who also considered the White Bream or Bream-flat, a 
 cross between the same species. Modern science has, 
 however, exposed the fallacy of this notion, and the three 
 fish are now always recognised as distinct species. 
 
ROACH AND RUDD. -55 
 
 Indeed, recent ichthyologlcal research has thrown grave 
 doubts upon the existence of any constantly recurring 
 hybrids among fish. Without going into the general 
 question, which would be beyond the scope of this work, 
 I may mention in reference to the case in point, that the 
 Rudd is constantly found in waters in which no Bream 
 exist, and that the Bream-flat has been recognised only 
 in a comparatively few rivers, whilst in hundreds Roach 
 and Bream co-exist plentifully together without either 
 the Bream-flat or the Rudd. 
 
 The angler is never likely to be at a loss to distinguish 
 between either of the Breams, and the Roach, or Rudd, 
 the whole type of fish, so to speak, being different ; but 
 between the two latter species I have often known even 
 old fishermen to be uncertain, and therefore I will give 
 a few of the most obvious distinctive marks of the two 
 species. 
 
 The prevailing colour of the Roach is silvern, that of 
 the Rudd golden, or silver with, a reddish-orangy tint ; 
 the body of the Rudd is a good deal deeper and flatter 
 than that of the Roach, and the head much shorter and 
 more "chubby," being, in fact, little more than three-fifths 
 of the length of that of a Roach of the same length. The 
 most obvious structural difference, however, and one 
 which never varies, is to be found in the relative position 
 of the dorsal or back fin ; this in the Roach commences 
 or originates as nearly as possible over the ventral fins ; 
 whilst in the Rudd it originates considerably further back. 
 
256 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER, 
 
 By bearing these points in mind the angler need never 
 be fti doubt as to which species he has in his creel. 
 
 When first caught I should unhesitatingly award to 
 the Rudd the palm for mere brilliancy of colouring over 
 all other British freshwater fish. The reddish gold, 
 which is the prevailing body-colour, varies in the varying 
 shades of light ; the eyes and fins are tinted different 
 shades of crimson and orange-scarlet, whilst the gill- 
 covers and sides are of a rich golden yellow. From 
 these peculiarities of colouring it is unnecessary to say 
 that it derives its name. Its specific appellation, eryihrop- 
 thalimis (from the Greek, erythros^ red, and opJuJialmos, 
 the eye), has a similar origin. 
 
 I was so fortunate, a few years ago, as to discover in 
 some ponds near Romford, Essex, a lemon or yellow- 
 coloured variety of the Rudd. In this fish, of which I 
 took several dozen, all the red tints of the Rudd, even 
 including its characteristic red eyes (or more correctly, 
 irides), were replaced by various tints of lemon and 
 bright yellow, the larger the fish, the deeper being the 
 yellow colouring. The specimens — of which some are 
 now in the British Museum — present other, and in 
 some points structural difTerences. 
 
 In their natural habitats the Roach and Rudd difiler, 
 inasmuch as whilst the former species thrive and abound 
 equally in ponds and rivers, the latter are comparatively 
 confined to waters of a stagnant character, or lagoon-like 
 expanses connected by rivers, like some of the Norfolk 
 
ROACH AND RUDD. 25/ 
 
 broads, In which the Rudd are known to abound. The 
 most remarkable water for Rudd with which I am per- 
 sonally acquainted, is Slapton Ley, in Devonshire, 
 where these fish not only breed in vast numbers, but 
 attain an unusual size, from i to 2 pounds being a 
 weight of common occurrence. 
 
 The Rudd spawns in April, or early in May, according 
 to the forwardness of the spring, and the Roach about 
 a month later, when they usually ascend from the lower 
 parts of the rivers, fighting their way up intervening 
 rapids with persistent energy, until they find a suitable 
 spot — usually a weedy shallow — in the higher reaches. 
 
 After spawning they repair to the nearest swift 
 gravelly shallows to scour, and subsequently into quieter 
 currents, where they should be fished for until September 
 or October, when they begin to retire for the winter into 
 deep and still waters, preferring usually a gravelly or 
 sandy bottom. 
 
 Roach and Rudd will occasionally take most of the 
 baits already described for Bream ; paste and gentles, 
 however, are the two best, and of these I have found 
 from experience that gentles are usually both the most 
 killing and the most reliable, taking all waters and 
 weathers throughout the year. They are also much 
 more convenient for use because requiring to be seldom 
 renewed. Many anglers, in fact, go to the opposite 
 extreme, and acting on this circumstance, do not renew 
 the bait nearly often enough. Whenever the gentles 
 
 S 
 
258 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 become dead and sodden, they ought to be renewed. 
 Rudd — and Roach also during cold weather — will often 
 bite freely at the worm ; for which purpose I have found 
 the brandhng most successful. As liver gentles are the 
 best general bait for the hook, so carrion gentles are the 
 best ground-bait both for Roach and Rudd. In ponds 
 and still waters they should be used alone, or at any 
 rate mixed with nothing heavier than wet bran ; but in 
 running waters, unless in eddies or the gentlest currents, 
 soaked bread or meal should be added, without which it 
 is very difficult to regulate with any degree of nicety 
 the point at which they will reach the ground. The 
 stronger and deeper the stream the stiffer should be the 
 mixture. If gentles in sufficient abundance cannot be 
 obtained, the above ground baits, singly or in combina- 
 tion, are the best substitutes. Meal by itself, or mixed 
 with boiled rice, makes a very fair ground-bait for 
 streams, as it possesses the requisite consistency and 
 wxight for withstanding the action of the water ; 
 chewed bread-crumb is also a by no means contemptible 
 substitute in ponds and Hghter waters. If possible, it is 
 better to bait the place it is proposed to fish before- 
 hand ; and on this point, the principle laid down under 
 the head of Barbel and Bream fishing (pp. 247-8) should 
 be observed. Roach being both smaller eaters and com- 
 monly congregating in smaller shoals than the last- 
 named fish, should be ground baited for with a pro- 
 portionately smaller quantity of food. In ground 
 
ROACH AND RUDD. 259 
 
 baiting a swim the day previous, a pint or so of carrion 
 gentles, mixed with about a quart of one or other of the 
 baits above described is about the right quantity. In 
 ground baiting a swim for present fishing, two or three 
 handfuls to begin with will be quite sufficient, smaller 
 quantities being thrown in afterwards. As Roach are 
 easily scared, it will be found the best plan to scatter 
 in frequently at the head of the swim small quantities of 
 bait in broken pieces. If the ground bait is meal or 
 bread, a quantity about equal in bulk to a walnut is 
 about the proper quantity for each " scattering." Whilst 
 Roach are biting, such small pieces may be thrown in 
 with advantage. After every two or three fish hooked, 
 the bait should be dropped immediately in the same 
 place. If gentles alone are used, much smaller quantities 
 will suffice both for preliminary and subsequent ground 
 baiting. For other observations on the subject of baits 
 and ground baits, mode of obtaining and preserving 
 gentles, &c., see chapter on baits (p. 225). 
 
 The tackle and methods of Roach fishing are those 
 already described for ordinary bottom fishing (pp. 219-22), 
 and Nottingham fishing (pp. 222-3), the last named being 
 preferable ; and in either case it is of the utmost impor- 
 tance that the tackle and line used should be of the finest. 
 A long, light, stiffish rod is most convenient, and many 
 Roach fishers keep a rod expressly for the purpose, made 
 of light East India cane, or bamboo. The general rod 
 described at p. 51, contains, however, a suitable and 
 
260 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 efficient weapon for all practical purposes. For gentles 
 and paste a No. 3 or 4 hook (see p. 11) will be found the 
 most convenient size, a very small piece (about the six- 
 teenth of an inch) of the shank end being nipped off. 
 If the gentles are large, four will be found the best 
 number to bait the above hooks with. They should be 
 made into a " bunchy" looking bait, by the hook being 
 passed through the first three gentles laterally, or across, 
 about the middle. If threaded up to the hook in the more 
 usual way the gentles follow its curve, and form a sus- 
 picious-looking half circle of bodies. The point of the 
 hook should be entirely concealed in the fourth gentle, so 
 that when complete no part of the hook should be seen. 
 The bait should swim three or four inches clear of the 
 bottom in rivers, and in ponds at from about eight 
 inches to a foot from the ground according to the 
 depth. The best depth for a river Roach swim is 
 usually from five to seven feet, over a gravelly or sandy 
 bottom, and the best time to strike a bite is just when 
 the top of the float is disappearing, or is held for a 
 moment level with the top of the water. In order to 
 strike effectually it is advisable to fish with a short line, 
 and the float as nearly under the point of the rod as 
 possible. A violent and sudden darting away of the 
 float usually indicates the bite of a small fish which is 
 generally missed. A heavy Roach rarely makes any 
 great demonstration, but after one or two preliminary 
 " bobs," quietly takes the float down. 
 
s^ 
 
 o 
 
ROACH AND RUDD. 26 1 
 
 All the foregoing observations on Roach fishing apply 
 equally to fishing for Rudd. 
 
 Roach and Rudd will both take a fly occasionally in 
 hot weather, and when basking at the surface. Any 
 small black fly will take if the fish will : but the latter 
 occurrence is so uncertain that fly-fishing for Roach 
 cannot be recommended under ordinary circumstances. 
 
 There are three other species belonging to the same 
 genus as the Roach, viz. the "Double Roach," the 
 "Graining," and the " Azurine," or Blue Roach. These 
 species, however, are either confined to a few particular 
 localities, or are so rarely met with as to pertain rather 
 to the department of the ichthyologist than that of the 
 fisherman. An account of their habits and characte- 
 ristics will be found in the " Angler-Naturalist." 
 
262 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 DACE AND CHUB. 
 
 The two species contrasted — Distinguishing marks — Their h.?.bits, 
 
 haunts, and sporting qualities. 
 Dace fishing — Baits ; ground baits ; tackle, &c. Fly-fishing. Variety 
 
 of patterns unnecessary — Three typical Trout-flies recommended to 
 
 be substituted. 
 Chub fishing with the fly; theory of Chub- flies. Useless multiplication 
 
 of patterns : only one necessary. A neiv pattern described. 
 Float fishing — Caterpillars and grasshoppers ; live minnows ; pith and 
 
 bullock's brains. 
 
 The bodies of both the Dace and Chub are more 
 cylindrical, or elongated, than those of either the Roach 
 or Rudd, and even without the difference of colouring 
 this characteristic will probably prevent any difficulty 
 arising in their identification. It is not so as regards 
 Dace and Chub inter se, for these species, especially in 
 their earlier growth, so closely assimilate in external 
 appearance as to be constantly confounded. I have now 
 in my mind's eye a tableau which I once witnessed : an 
 enthusiastic young angler and ichthyologist sitting near 
 the river Wey with a volume of " Yarrell's British 
 Fishes," in one hand, a diminutive specimen of the 
 genus lenciscns in the other, and in his face a pitiable 
 
 1 
 
DACE AND CHUB. 263 
 
 expression of bewilderment as he endeavoured to iden- 
 tify the species of his " captive" by a critical comparison 
 of the relative measurements of the head, body, and fins, 
 according to the ichthyological formulary given in the 
 pages of that scientific, but to the uninitiated, somewhat 
 perplexing volume. Was it a small Chub or a large Dace 
 that he had caught ? This was the problem. I forget 
 whether he succeeded at last in solving it ; but if the 
 angler will bear in mind the following simple distin- 
 guishing characteristic he need never be in a similar 
 dilemma : — T/ie ventral (or belly) fins of the Dace are 
 akvays greenish with a slight tinge of red, whilst the anal 
 fin has no red about it whatever; in the Chnb both these 
 fins are of a brilliant pi^ik colour. 
 
 As the Chub grows larger, the chocolate brown, 
 almost black, of its tail-fin becomes more marked, 
 and the whole fish rapidly assumes a bronzed or golden 
 appearance, in place of the prevailing silvery tint 
 which the Dace retains in its original brilliancy to the 
 last. 
 
 The Dace is indeed a bright, graceful fish, glancing 
 about in the clear quiet streams with which the southern 
 counties of England especially abound, and which are 
 too often barren of Trout or Salmon. Moreover, it is 
 in full season in October, November, December, and 
 January, when the latter fish are spawning or preparing 
 for the process, and thus a red-lettered day's sport is not 
 imfrequently to be obtained, which would otherwise have 
 
264 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 been a blank in the diary. When hooked, the Dace is 
 one of the gamest fish that swims. 
 
 Of the Chub as a "sporting" fish less can be said with 
 truth than of its congener, but on the other hand it 
 grows to a far greater size, and from its being one of the 
 comparatively few species of coarser fish which will take 
 the fly kindly, it is not to be despised. As its specific 
 name — the "Headed Dace" — implies, it is somewhat 
 slow and clumsy in its movements and appearance, 
 though withal a stately and handsome fish when large 
 and in good condition ; but I cannot but think that the 
 fashion with old writers of painting the Chub as a sort 
 of water-donkey must have either lacked sufificient foun- 
 dation, or else that the Chub of our ancestors were 
 somehow different from the Chub with which we are 
 acquainted. Possibly however, the fish of our Metro- 
 politan river, where most of my experience of Chub- 
 fishing has been obtained, may be better educated than 
 those of less classical streams. For one thing I can 
 vouch, — that a fish of quicker sight than the Chub does 
 not swim in English waters. The slightest gleam of the 
 rod, the shadow of the swallow flitting over his quiet 
 corner, and down he goes like lead ; so quickly, in fact, 
 that the eye is rather conscious he is no longer there 
 than aware of his disappearance. Add to this extreme 
 quickness of perception, the woody nature of the haunts 
 in which he is to be found, and the fact that the successful 
 Chub fisher must be prepared to cast his fly to within 
 
DACE AND CHUB. 265 
 
 a few Inches of the boughs — often into a space the size 
 of his hat — under penalty of losing either his fish or his 
 tackle, and it will be conceded that the task is no easy 
 one. In fact, in this school not a few of the masters of 
 the craft have passed their apprenticeship. Thus much 
 as to the fish themselves ; the idiosyncrasies mentioned 
 will assist the angler in applying the following observa- 
 tions on the method of catching them. 
 
 Dace Fishing. 
 
 The Dace will occasionally take all the baits enume- 
 rated for Roach and Rudd, especially gentles ; but the 
 best bait for them all the year round is a small red 
 worm, the tackle and mode of using it, as well as the 
 method of ground baiting, being identical with that 
 described for Roach fishing. Any of the smaller de- 
 scription of worms, broken into two or three pieces, or 
 carrion gentles, will be found the best ground bait 
 The haunts of Dace at different seasons, and conse- 
 quently the best places for catching them, are also very 
 similar to those of the Roach, the only difference that I 
 am aware of being that the Dace affects rather stronger 
 and more rapid waters than the Roach. Indeed, espe- 
 cially during the summer months and towards evening, 
 Dace can be most readily taken with a fly on the swiftest 
 rapids and shallows. 
 
 Either of the flies recommended in this book for 
 Trout and Grayling (p. 140), dressed on a No. i or 2 
 
266 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 hook (see p. ii), or a red or black gnat, will kill Dace 
 if they are disposed to rise. It often happens when 
 Dace are rising shyly that a gentle used on the point of 
 the hook acts as a provocative of appetite. \ 
 
 The Chub. 
 
 Fly-fishing. 
 
 Although I have known instances of both Dace and 
 Chub being found in ponds, the river is their common 
 and natural habitat. Unlike the Dace, however, the 
 Chub is rarely taken by bottom fishing throughout the 
 summer, during which period, the fish is to be looked 
 for either on gravelly shallows, especially when they run 
 under bushes and hollow banks, or in back waters, and 
 slow-running streams overhung with bushes and trees. 
 In either of these positions the Chub may be taken with 
 the artificial fly — by far the most killing method of 
 summer fishing — so long as the weather continues warm. 
 The fly-rod (either double or single-handed, according 
 to fancy), and the reel, line, &c. should be the same as 
 those described for Trout fishing. The mode of work- 
 ing the fly is also similar. When fishing under boughs, 
 the great art is to cast as near to them as may be — or 
 under them, if possible — without getting foul. Indeed 
 I have often found it a good plan when fishing from a 
 boat to let the fly light actually on the fringe of boughs 
 sweeping the stream, the fly thus slipping off into the 
 
DACE AND CHUB. 267 
 
 water with a more natural descent, and just in the 
 position where a Chub would be Hkely to be on the look- 
 out for a caterpillar or cockchafer. 
 
 The angler should be slow rather than quick in strik- 
 ing a Chub with the fly — the fish, especially when large, 
 being as I have said, somewhat slow and clumsy in its 
 movements, and having remarkably white lips which 
 are often visible at 10 or 15 yards off as it opens its 
 mouth for the fly. When once hooked, and the first 
 powerful rush for the boughs checked, the Chub very 
 seldom escapes, being remarkably tough and gristly 
 in the jaws and lips, or as it is termed " leather- 
 mouthed." 
 
 As for all the other species of fly-taking fish, the in- 
 genuity of anglers has contrived a vast variety of artificial 
 lures for the Chub. Of these manifold products of nature 
 and art — or of art without nature — the best are the black 
 and red palmer and the Marlow buzz. These owe their 
 chief killing properties to the fact that they have more 
 legs (hackles) than the rest ; and as I have already ex- 
 plained, a propos of Salmon and Trout, the movement and 
 lifelike appearance which legs give are amongst the 
 most important of all the characteristics of an artificial 
 fly. This " movement" is, in the case of Chub flies, of 
 additional importance, owing to the quiet, comparatively 
 stagnant waters in which they are frequently employed. 
 Trout and Salmon flies are, it is true, very commonly 
 used on lakes, where there is no current whatever ; but 
 
268 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. ' 
 
 then, if they are to be used to any purpose, it is always 
 when the water is curled by a breeze ; and more fre- 
 quently when the sky is clouded ; in fly-fishing for Chub, 
 on the contrary, the calmest of days with the brightest 
 of suns, is the combination of weather most favourable 
 for sport. I have also invariably found a black fly the 
 most killing ; and this has been the result of my ex- 
 perience — a tolerably long one — not only on bright 
 days, but in dull gloomy weather, and sometimes late 
 into the dusk evening, when it was so dark that to my 
 eyes not only the colour of the fly, but the fly itself was 
 indistinguishable. Appended is the engraving of a 
 Chub fly which fulfils the two conditions explained, and 
 which I myself use — dressed, of course, of difl*erent sizes 
 from the beginning to the end of the season, in all 
 weathers, and at all times of the day. I advise my 
 
 brother anglers to give it a 
 fair trial, and I think they 
 will not be disappointed. The 
 legs are made of black hackle, 
 which should be as long as 
 the body of the fly, and extra 
 thick and bushy ; the body of 
 
 The Sweep. 
 
 black ostrich herl, and the tail 
 
 of the same, white or satin-coloured. As it is the fashion 
 
 amongst anglers to christen their offspring, I have 
 
 named my sooty-featured nondescript, "the sweep." 
 
 The fly shown in the engraving is dressed on a No. lO 
 
DACE AND CHUB. 269 
 
 hook of my pattern (see p. 11), and is a fair ordinary- 
 size for most waters; one size smaller and one larger will 
 be sufficient to provide for variations. The smaller size 
 should be used when the water is very low and clear, 
 and the larger, when it is high, or when the daylight 
 begins to fade. This is the best time of the whole day 
 for fly-fishing for Chub, as the cockchafers, moths, &c., 
 on which they principally feed during the summer, are 
 then beginning to come out. 
 
 All Chub flies are improved by placing a small piece 
 of a white kid glove — about the size of a large gentle — 
 on the bend of the hook. I have never succeeded in 
 making out why this should be ; unless indeed it i^ on 
 the well-approved principle, that " there is nothing like 
 leather." In Chub fishing no more than a single fly 
 should ever be used ; and as this is heavy, owing to the 
 plumpness of its body, it should in the largest size be 
 invariably dressed on loops, by which means both the 
 pocket and time of the angler will be saved, and he will 
 be enabled to use a finer collar than he otherwise could. 
 The method of knotting on the fly-loop to the collar is 
 described at p. 161. 
 
 The natural grasshopper — separate, or in combination 
 with gentles — may be used like a fly, and is a very kill- 
 ing bait, or it can be employed instead of gentles on the 
 artificial grasshopper described at p. 141, with which 
 bait, when cast like a fly, but allowed to sink a foot or 
 two each time, I have had occasionally good sport. 
 
2^0 modern practical angler. 
 
 Bottom Fishing. 
 
 In the spring months a live Minnow is often a very- 
 good bait for Chub, used simply with a float and line, 
 and a single hook passed through the upper lip. From 
 this time to October or November, the Chub is better 
 fished for by the fly, or by either of the methods pointed 
 out under the same head. 
 
 About this period, however, the fish quits its summer 
 for winter quarters, — quiet swims under willow-beds, 
 amongst roots, by sunken piles, or in any other cover 
 affording good shelter. The occupation of the fly-fisher 
 is now at an end, and that of the bottom-fisher begins. 
 The method of angling may be either the ordinary or 
 Nottingham style, the best swim, tackle, baits, and 
 ground bait, being identical with those recommended for 
 Barbel fishing (p. 246 to p. 248). But by far the most 
 deadly winter bait of all for Chub is " Pith," or the spinal 
 marrow of the bullock or cow, with bullock's brains as 
 ground bait. The method of obtaining, preparing, and 
 using these baits is described at pp. 225-7. For this mode 
 of Chub-fishing the colder the weather the better, pro- 
 vided only that the water is not discoloured. The pith 
 should be used with Nottingham tackle, the most 
 favourable situation being deepish water close to boughs 
 and " rooty" banks. The bait should swim about three 
 or four inches from the bottom, as nearly as may be, the 
 brains being thrown in from time to time above the 
 
•S 
 
 o 
 o 
 
\ 
 
 DACE AND CHUB. 2/ 1 
 
 swim. In this mode of fishing it is not advisable to bait 
 any one swim beforehand, as Chub are shy fish, and it is 
 seldom that more than two or three can be taken out of 
 the same place without scaring the rest : consequently it 
 is better to move from place to place, throwing in a 
 small quantity of ground bait at each. By this mode of 
 fishing the largest Chub are to be taken ; and when used 
 by skilful hands, I have known a punt-well to be half 
 filled with fish. 
 
 The Chub is sometimes locally called the "Chevin.'" 
 It is the Penci, or Cochgangen, of Wales, and the Skelly 
 of Scotland. 
 
2']2 
 
 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 CARP AND TENCH. 
 
 The t<wo species contrasted. Alleged healing powers of Tench. Lon- 
 gevity and growth-rate of Carp. Habits and haunts of the two 
 fish. 
 
 Carp and Tench fishing : tackle, baits, ground baits, &c. 
 
 Carp and Tench appear naturally to "go together," 
 like strawberries and cream, or Cod and oyster sauce 
 Although I have occasionally known waters containing 
 Carp to be destitute of Tench, I cannot call to mind a 
 single instance of the converse of the proposition. Carp 
 and Tench are equally long-lived out of water, their 
 habits and food are similar. They are both to be best 
 fished for with the same baits, at the same seasons, and, 
 so far as bottom fishing is concerned, in precisely the 
 same manner. It is also a curious circumstance, that 
 whilst it is difficult to imagine two fish more opposite 
 ^ in colouring — the Tench being of a very dark olive 
 green, and the common Carp of a golden-bronze colour 
 — yet otherwise, in the general shape and contour of the 
 body they bear so striking a resemblance, that between 
 specimens of the same size a change of coats would be 
 hardly an inconvenience to either. Again, in regard 
 
CARP AND TENCH. 2Jl 
 
 to scales, it would be hard to hit upon two fish more 
 dissimilar. 
 
 The Carp has the largest scaling of any of the fish 
 composing the group of which it is the type, whilst the 
 scales of the Tench are amongst the smallest, if not 
 actually the most minute of the whole family ; and 
 whilst the former fish makes one of the very best Pike 
 live baits that I am acquainted with, the latter, it is 
 affirmed, exerts upon that usually carnivorous gourmand 
 an effect absolutely repellent. Of the truth of this fact, 
 as a fact, there seems to be no reason to doubt, though 
 we are not, of course, bound to put implicit faith in the 
 various theories by which it has at different times been 
 explained. Of these the most universally accepted 
 amongst ancient, and even by some modern authors, 
 appears to be that the Tench is in some way the 
 physician of the water, possessing in the thick slime 
 with which he is covered a natural balsam for the cure 
 of himself and others. Camden, in his " Britannica," 
 says that he has seen the bellies of Pike, which have been 
 rent open, have their gaping wounds presently closed by 
 the touch of the Tench, and by his glutinous slime 
 perfectly healed up. The Pike, in return, it is asserted, 
 refuses to molest his physician, even when most pressed 
 by hunger — a statement in the accuracy of which 
 Oppian, Walton, Holingshed, Bowlker, Salter, Wil- 
 liamson, Hofland, and Fitzgibbon, all acknowledge to 
 more or less faith. 
 
274 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 To try the experiment practically, I once procured 
 some small Tench, and fished with them as live baits for 
 a whole day in some excellent Pike water, without 
 getting a touch. In the evening I put on a small Carp 
 and had a run almost immediately. I also tried some 
 Pike in a stock-pond with the same Tench, but they 
 would not take them ; and though left in the pond all 
 night — one on a hook, and one attached to a fine thread 
 — both baits were alive in the morning — some Pike teeth 
 marks, however, being visible on one of them. 
 
 Bingley's explanation of the Pike's asserted abstinence 
 is, that the Tench is so fond of mud as to be constantly 
 at the bottom of the water, where the Pike cannot find 
 him. Both theories, however, require confirmation. 
 
 The male Tench are distinguished from the females 
 by a very curious and marked difference of the ventral 
 fins. In the females these fins are of the ordinary size 
 and shape, but in the males they are much larger and 
 more muscular, and present almost the appearance of a 
 green concave shell, the concave side being uppermost. 
 
 If the Tench is thus remarkable by its characteristics 
 and traditions, the Carp is certainly no less so. The 
 great age to which it is believed to attain, and the 
 cunning and sagacity that has procured it the cognomen 
 of the "Water Fox" have been frequently made the 
 subject of comment by writers on angling. Indeed there 
 are some Carp now in the lakes belonging to the 
 Palace at Fontainbleau which may be fairly said to have 
 
CARP AND TENCH. 2/5 
 
 become historical. The oldest of them have now quite 
 lost their normal colour from their great age, and are 
 very nearly white. There is, moreover, evidence that 
 many of these fish introduced into the ponds at Ver- 
 sailles, &c., during the reign of Louis the Fourteenth 
 (say 1690), are either still living or were so but a short 
 time before the Revolution of 1830. Dr. Smith; in his 
 ^* Tour to the Continent," mentions them, and observes 
 that they had grown white through age. Valenciennes 
 refers to others in the Tuileries, which would also come 
 when called by their names ; and Buffon assures us that 
 he had seen in the fosses of the Ponchartrain, Carp 
 which were known to be upwards of a century and a 
 half old. 
 
 A year or two ago a series of ponds near Cumberland 
 Lodge, Windsor Park, were run off for the purpose of 
 getting rid of the Jack ; and the result of the netting 
 illustrated in a remarkable way the slow growth-rate of 
 the Carp. Thus, nearly all the Carp taken from the 
 Obelisk pond were of a very similar weight, viz. : from 
 4 lbs. to 6 lbs. These fish, within the positive knowledge 
 of the Head Fisherman, were fifty years old at least. 
 They had been twice removed during his memory from 
 the different ponds, the last time some thirty-five years 
 previous, when they weighed about 3 lbs. each. Their 
 subsequent growth-rate could not have averaged there- 
 fore more than about an ounce a year. Old Carp are 
 very bad breeders, and frequently retam their eggs for 
 
2/6 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 years, presenting occasionally the appearance of an 
 immense tumour in the region of the abdomen. 
 
 During the winter months it is probable that both 
 Carp and Tench retire almost wholly into the mud, or 
 under roots, hollows, and weeds, and at this time they 
 are hardly ever to be taken with a bait. In the summer 
 the former species frequently lie sucking in the weeds, 
 in a sort of lazy state, each suck making a very distinct 
 and unmistakable noise. When not sucking or basking, 
 Carp usually swim about in shoals near the surface of 
 the water, returning to the bottom to feed. 
 
 The Tench spawns, with some variations, about the 
 middle of June, or according to Willoughby, when wheat 
 is in blossom ; Carp usually commencing a little earlier, 
 according to the temperature of the water and forward- 
 ness of the season. They deposit their spawn upon and 
 amongst weeds, and are supposed to continue the process 
 for a longer period than any other fresh-water fish, 
 indeed sometimes throughout the entire summer. 
 
 Although by no means rarely found in rivers, Carp 
 and Tench are very rarely caught there, and then, ac- 
 cording to my experience, it is not when they are being 
 fished for. Indeed fishing for either of these species is 
 at the best but uncertain work, and in the case of rivers 
 usually wholly unprofitable. 
 
 Professor Owen, who is a great adept in the art of 
 Carp-fishing in ponds, has been kind enough to give me 
 the result of his experience. 
 
CARP AND TENCH. 2/7 
 
 His practice may be formularized thus : — 
 
 1. The summer months are the only time of the 
 
 year for Carp-fishing, and the best period of the 
 day is between sunrise and about seven o'clock, 
 after which time they usually leave off biting. 
 
 2. The best bait is a brandling. 
 
 3. He has, however, found the following paste a by no 
 
 means bad substitute : soft Herring roe, worked 
 up with bread-crumbs and wool. 
 
 4. He uses the ordinary bottom-fishing tackle with a 
 
 light float, and fishes about half a foot off the 
 bottom. 
 
 My own experience concurs almost entirely with that 
 of Professor Owen, except as regards paste and bait, 
 with which I never had any sport. I used formerly to 
 use a plain bread-crumb paste, but later experience has 
 convinced me that it was a mistake, and that a well- 
 scoured brandling is the best bait both for Carp and 
 Tench all the year round. 
 
 In open waters, however, I employ it in a somewhat 
 different way to that adopted by Professor Owen, placing 
 the shot at about two feet from, the bait and allowing the 
 latter to rest, ixjith about six inches of the line, on the 
 bottom. The hook for this purpose should be a No. 7, 
 and the collar of fine round picked gut, stained as re- 
 commended at p. 30. The float should be a light 
 porcupine quill, and it will commonly be found expedient 
 
278 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 to use a reel, as the Carp is remarkably powerful, and 
 without this precaution, the first rush of a heavy fish is 
 very likely to carry away the tackle. A few broken 
 worms thrown in from time to time are the best ground 
 bait ; or whole worms, if the place is to be baited before- 
 hand, in which case the depth also should be very 
 accurately plumbed, so as to avoid any disturbance in 
 the water when the angler comes to fish. Having 
 thrown in the bait, it is the best plan to lay down the 
 rod until there is a bite, and not to strike until the float 
 goes under, or — the more common result — moves steadily 
 away. 
 
 The above observations are equally applicable to both 
 Carp and Tench fishing. 
 
 In very weedy places this mode of fishing is not prac- 
 ticable, and then the best plan is to fish about mid- 
 w^ater, dropping the bait noiselessly in wherever a 
 tempting-looking opening in the weeds presents itself. 
 
279 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 ON SMALL FISH, PRINCIPALLY USED AS BAITS. 
 
 Bleak — How to fish for, with the fly, gentle, and cast-net — How to cooko. 
 Gudgeon and Gudgeon-fishing. Stone Loach — Different species^ 
 and how to be distinguished and caught. Miller s Thumb. Min- 
 nows and Sticklebacks, All anglers should be Ichthyologists, 
 
 Bleak and Gudgeon. 
 
 The Bleak, though I think properly included under this 
 division of my subject, is, in fact, rarely caught by 
 bottom-fishing, properly so called. It is essentially what 
 is termed a ** surface-swimmer," and as such should be 
 fished for exclusively at the top. The Gudgeon, on the 
 contrary, is perhaps the most remarkable example 
 amongst sporting fish, of a species haunting and feeding 
 exclusively at the bottom ; and I have bracketed the 
 two together because they illustrate in a marked manner 
 the importance to the angler of studying accurately the 
 habits of the fish angled for. It is probable that if a 
 man were to fish for the Bleak from the beginning to the 
 end of the season in the manner described for the 
 Gudgeon, he would not take a single specimen, and vice 
 versa. 
 
280 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 The Bleak is so common throughout England in 
 most rivers producing Roach and Dace, that any detailed 
 description of its characteristics would be superfluous. 
 Nor is it likely to be confounded with any other fish, as 
 it is the only one of our fresh-water species which in 
 shape is narrow as w^ell as flat — in other words. Sprat- 
 like. Bleak derive their name from their shining white^ 
 scales, in which, like a girl in her first ball-dress, they 
 seem to be never weary of glancing to and fro, and 
 coquetting with the midges as they flit out their three 
 hours' existence over their native stream. Accordingly, 
 any small fly bearing a sufficient resemblance to these 
 insects will commonly take Bleak in greater or less 
 abundance, especially if a gentle is added on the Ijook- 
 point ; but the best method of Bleak-fishing is as 
 follows : — Select a light fly-rod and line, a collar of the 
 vejy finest stained giLt^ with a No. i hook {see '^. ii), and 
 at about two feet from the hook fasten a small round 
 piece of cork, about the size of a large green pea, to act 
 as a sort of float. Choose a swim where Bleak are 
 rising — which if they are there, they will be tolerably 
 sure to do — and having buried the small hook in a single 
 large liver gentle, take a quarter of a handful of bran, 
 and after giving it one quick squeeze under water, so as 
 not quite to soak the whole of it, cast it into the water 
 some ten yards or so from the shore or boat, and imme- 
 
 * From a northern word signifying to bleach or whiten — blik^ Danish ; 
 blick (Swedish and German) " glance," " glimmer." 
 
ON SMALL FISH, PRINCirALLY USED AS BAITS. 28 1 
 
 diately afterwards throw the bait into the same place, 
 letting it swim quietly down until a bite is perceived. 
 When the swim is finished repeat the cast, using a little 
 more bran now and then as may seem judicious, in order 
 to keep the Bleak together. If, from the rises of the 
 iish, it appears that they are following the bran down 
 the stream, the angler should keep with them, always 
 casting where the most fish are rising. By this means, 
 wherever Bleak are plentiful,, a good dish can generally 
 be calculated on, and they will be the finest in the shoal. 
 No shot are necessary, and the style of this fishing 
 generally, approximates to that of artificial fly-fishing. 
 All depends on extreme fineness in the gut and tackle. 
 
 I have already mentioned, when alluding to the cast- 
 net, that if Bleak are required as baits, soaked bran is 
 the most certain bait for attracting them into any given 
 spot. A small eddy not more than two feet deep is the 
 best water for this purpose. 
 
 Bleak dressed and eaten like Whitebait make a very 
 good dish. It is an important point, however, that they 
 should be eaten when quite hot, and that plenty of salt 
 and pepper should be scattered over them whilst they are 
 in process of frying. They spawn in May. 
 
 The Gudgeon, although principally interesting to 
 sportsmen as a bait for other fish, has, from its instinctive 
 readiness to bite, and general simplicity of conduct, 
 many devotees amongst the softer sex, who often beat 
 
282 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 their lords hollow in the art. I once forfeited a pair of 
 gloves to a fair angler, who wagered that she would 
 catch ten out of a dozen bites, " nibbles included," and 
 actually did it. Notwithstanding, however, its some- 
 what feminine reputation, there is no doubt that Gudgeon- 
 fishing often exercises a fascination over male minds 
 also ; and I am acquainted with many men who 
 practically confine their angling to the capture of this 
 fish. 
 
 Gudgeon are hardly ever seen, unless by an accident, 
 in other than running waters ; and here they are to be 
 found — principally on gravel or sand — during the 
 summer, which is the time for taking them. I have 
 seen them in July and August, on the rippling shallows 
 of the Hampshire Avon, literally by thousands, and 
 that often in water little more than enough to cover 
 them. In one throw of the cast-net on such a spot I 
 took last year no less than 98 Gudgeon, most of them 
 very large ; and probably a score or two at least escaped 
 in carrying the net over the fifty yards of shallow which 
 intervened between me and the shore. 
 
 The ordinary tackle for bottom-fishing should be used 
 for Gudgeon with a medium-sized porcupine-quill float, 
 fine stained gut-line, and a No. 2 or 3 hook (see p. 11). 
 
 From 4 to 6 feet of water, where the current is of a 
 medium strength, is the best kind of Gudgeon swim, 
 and the depth should be plumbed accurately, so that the 
 bait may just " dribble" (not drag) along the bottom. 
 
ON SMALL FISH, PRINCIPALLY USED AS BAITS. 285 
 
 The best, indeed the only good Gudgeon bait, is the 
 worm, and of worms by far the best is the brandling. 
 Any small worm, however, will do if brandlings cannot 
 be obtained. It will generally be found that the lower 
 half will be better than the whole worm, and that fewer 
 bites will be missed when the hook is thus baited. The 
 only ground bait which I am acquainted with that is of 
 any use for Gudgeon is small broken worms, mixed with 
 soft clayey mud, which will dissolve rapidly on reaching 
 the bottom, and will cause a thickening or muddying of 
 the water. This result, however, is much better 
 achieved by raking the bottom of the river before, and 
 occasionally during fishing, with a long, heavy iron 
 rake, which Is kept by all Thames puntsmen for this 
 purpose. The Gudgeon are attracted by the animalculae, 
 worms, caddice, &c., which are turned up In the 
 operation. 
 
 While Gudgeon fishing, It is a very good plan to put 
 out a paternoster (see p. 238) for any Pike or Perch 
 which may be roving about, and v/hose presence would 
 effectually check the " biting" inclination of the smaller 
 fish. 
 
 In the lower reaches of a river flounders are not un- 
 frequently taken whilst Gudgeon fishing, the same baits 
 and modes of fishing being best for both fish. 
 
 The Gudgeon spawns In May, usually In shallow 
 waters amongst stones. 
 
284 modern practical angler. 
 
 Stone Loach. 
 
 The Stone Loach, or " Beardle," though a somewhat 
 slenderer fish, closely resembles the Gudgeon both in 
 shape, size, and colouring, haunting similar waters, and 
 biting at the same bait — a small red worm. The normal 
 position of the Loach is under stones ; and here, of 
 course, it is difficult for him either " to take" or be 
 taken by the bait. Consequently, he is of no interest 
 to the angler as a sporting fish. He makes an excellent 
 spinning-bait, however, especially for Lake Trout, in 
 bright weather; and under that head will be found 
 directions for catching him otherwise than by hook and 
 line. For purposes of live-baiting the Loach is useless, 
 being too delicate to survive the slightest exposure either 
 to heat or air. 
 
 Miller's Thumb, 
 
 So named from the fancied resemblance of the head 
 of the fish to the proverbial *' Thumb of the Miller," is 
 in his habits, baits, &c., as nearly as may be similar to 
 the last-named species. It is, however, of no use to the 
 angler either for purposes of sport or bait. 
 
 Minnows and Sticklebacks, 
 
 Are distributed so widely over most parts of the 
 United Kingdom, and are so well known, as to render 
 description superfluous. A small bit of the tail of any 
 
ON SMALL FISH, PRINCIPALLY USED AS BAITS. 285 
 
 small worm on the smallest of hooks, is the best bait for 
 them. Probably, however, few anglers will care to know 
 anything further as to how they may be caught, the 
 former species being of little account except for the 
 purpose of bait, when it can generally be more con- 
 veniently caught with the Minnow nets,-^ and the latter 
 being useless for either purpose. 
 
 To the naturalist, on the contrary, these little fish, and 
 especially the Sticklebacks, are more interesting than 
 almost any of the larger species. I daresay it will sur- 
 prise many of my readers to be told, for example, that 
 the Stickleback, of which our streams and ponds pro- 
 duce six distinct species, are the only British fresh-water 
 fish that build complete nests like birds, in which to 
 deposit their eggs ; and that during the subsequent 
 spawning process they display in their diminutive bodies 
 a courage, solicitude, and even affection, almost without 
 a parallel amongst fish. If the Pike is the tyrant of the 
 water, the Stickleback is certainly entitled to be regarded 
 as its knight errant. Now with bated weapons and 
 
 * The minnow net is quite peculiar in principle and application, and 
 owes its success to the curiosity which is so strikingly characteristic of 
 the species — males as well as females. It consists of a circular piece of 
 fine net stretched nearly flat over an iron hoop of about two feet in 
 diameter. The hoop is suspended by cords at the sides, like the 
 suspenders of church candle-lamps, and these being attached to a pole 
 the net is dropped horizontally into the water, and suddenly lifted up 
 again when a sufficient number of minnows have congregated over it. 
 Little pieces of red cloth sewn into the net will increase the number of 
 visitors. 
 
286 MODERN TRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 glittering in green and purple he tenderly woos the 
 object of his devotion, or armed cap-a-pie patrols, a 
 watchful sentinel, before her nuptial bower ; now he 
 fiercely disputes with rival claimants the possession of 
 some favourite " coign of vantage ;" or sheathed in 
 armour of proof and bristling with spines, charges, like a 
 Paladin of old, through the liquid plains in search of 
 other Sticklebacks as pugnacious and more penetrable 
 than himself. 
 
 But now that my task is finished, I mUvSt not break 
 through the exclusively utilitarian part which in com- 
 mencing I imposed on myself It is hard, however — I have 
 often found it very hard — to separate the angler and the 
 ichthyologist, — not absolutely, of course, because ichthy- 
 ology in its broadest sense is the very basis of angling ; 
 but I mean in those branches of ichthyology which 
 embrace the nicer and less superficial habits and charac- 
 teristics of fish-life : in the beautiful, in short, as con- 
 trasted with the utilitarian. 
 
 To such of my readers as I am not now addressing for 
 the first time, I need hardly say that I would have every 
 angler to be an ichthyologist ; a naturalist — that is, so 
 far at any rate as the creatures which form the objects of 
 his own pursuit are concerned. 
 
 There are, I know, many little difficulties and draw- 
 backs which deter fishermen from the pursuit of Ich- 
 thyology, but these obstacles ^are not nearly so great as 
 
ON SMALL FISH, PRINCIPALLY USED AS BAIT. 28/ 
 
 they are imagined to be by the uninitiated. Like all 
 other sciences, Ichthyology has of course its own techni- 
 calities which must be mastered in the first instance ; 
 for if a man is ignorant of the alphabet of a language 
 he can hardly expect to derive much delight from the 
 study of its literature ; and the alphabet of science is its 
 technicalities. Again, the markedly, I might say almost 
 ostentatiously, dry and uninviting form in which science 
 delights to expound itself has doubtless been another 
 obstacle. But all these difficulties are to be mastered by 
 a comparatively small application of leisure and perseve- 
 rance, and even these drawbacks are yearly lessening. 
 
 In the "Angler-Naturalist" I have endeavoured by 
 taking myself some little trouble in codifying and 
 simplifying, to save a corresponding labour to others ; 
 facts are stated plainly and with an avoidance of un- 
 necessary scientific terms, and I have otherwise done 
 what in me lies to make the subject, which is one 
 naturally full of interest, as little dry and repulsive as 
 possible. To the " Angler-Naturalist,"^ therefore, I must 
 refer my readers for those ichthyological peculiarities 
 and characteristics of the different species which are 
 here, not from choice but from necessity, omitted. 
 
 The manner in which that attempt at popularizing the 
 subject has been received, gives me good hope that the 
 
 * The "Angler-Naturalist: a History of British Fresh Water 
 Fish adapted to Anglers, with a plain Explanation of the Rudiments 
 of Ichthyology." London : George Routledge and Sons. 
 
288 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 
 
 time may yet come when a fisherman will not think 
 himself a master of his craft until he is not only a good 
 angler, but also a good ichthyologist ; until he possesses 
 such an amount of scientific attainment as will enable 
 him to read with an intelligent eye the marvels of the 
 beautiful page of Nature that is spread before him, — a 
 page ever open, ever varying. 
 
 It has been gravely said that a good angler must also 
 be a good Christian. Without literalizing the assertion, 
 it may well be admitted that there is much in the 
 contemplative character of his pursuit, and in the quiet 
 scenes of beauty with which it brings him face to 
 face, to soften and elevate, as well as to '' humanize." 
 The rushing of white water, and the deep greenery 
 of woods and fields, seem incompatible with what is 
 base or sordid. They act like a tonic on mind and body 
 alike, and the fisherman, solitary with his own thoughts, 
 shut out from the world, * shut in, left alone' with him- 
 self and perfection of scenery, can hardly fail to be 
 penetrated with the spirit that haunts solitude and love- 
 liness. A chord is touched that must find an echo in every 
 heart not utterly dead to gentle influences— awakening 
 what is good, silencing what is bad ; directing the 
 thoughts into purer channels, and leading them almost in- 
 stinctively to '* look through Nature up to Nature's God." 
 
 THE END.