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Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive 
 
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 littp://www.arcli ive.org/details/anglersguidemostOOmartricli 
 
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THE ANGLER'S GUIDE; 
 
 C^e most tami^kit nnb prntfital tbzx foriiten. 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 EVERY INSTRUCTION NECESSARY 
 
 TO MAKE ALL WHO MAY FEEL DISPOSED TO TRY THEIR SKILL 
 
 MASTERS OF THE ART. 
 
 WITH A MINUTE DESCRIPTION OF 
 
 TACKLE, BAITS, TIMES, SEASONS, 
 |is|, ml t|f mtt\tt)s of tohing t^tm, 
 
 AND ALL 
 
 THE PLACES FOR ANGLING WITHIN TWENTY MILES OF LONDON. 
 
 THE WHOLE FORMING A COMPENDIOUS MANUAL 
 FOR EVERY ANGLER. 
 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED, A GRAPHIC AND LAUGHABLE STORY, ENTITLED, 
 
 "THE THREE JOLLY ANGLERS." 
 
 BY THE REV. JAMES MARTIN. 
 
 LONDON : 
 G. COX, 18, KING STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 
 
 SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLEBS 
 
 AND FISHING-TACKLE MAKERS. 
 
 1854. 
 
B. CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD STREET HILL. 
 

 TO 
 
 '' %\t mm %m 0f miWm i^ €0tt0n;' 
 
 AND ALL OTHER 
 
 LOVERS OF THE PISCATORY ART, 
 
 THIS LITTLE BOOK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 
 
 BY THEIR SINCERE FRIEND 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
 ivi846824 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Introduction . . . . . . . . i 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 UoACH Fishing— The Rod— The Line— The Hook— The 
 Float— The Depth— The Places to fish for Roach— The 
 Times to fish for Roach— The Way to kill Roach— The 
 Way to keep Roach when you have caught them — The 
 Way to clean them — The Way to cook them — The Way 
 to eat them — Song : The Roach of the Lea . . 5 
 
 CHAPTER ir. 
 
 Jack Fishing— The Rod— The Line and Winch— The 
 Floats, Leads and Hooks — Times to fish for Jack — 
 Places in which to take Jack — The Way to kill Jack — 
 
 " Song : The Jack and Pike 30 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Barbel Fishing— The Rod— The Line— The Float— 
 The Hook— The Baits— The Ground -baits— Places and 
 ' Times to fish for Barbel— The Way to kill Barbel- 
 Song : The Barbel 43 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Roach and Dace Fishing — General Instruction — Song : 
 The young Angler 59 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Gudgeon Fishing — General Instruction — Song : The 
 Gudgeon 65 
 
Vm CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ^ Page 
 
 Chub Fishing — General Instruction — Song: The Chub . 69 
 
 CHAPTER Vn. 
 
 Perch Fishing — General Instruction — Song: The Perch, 
 and his Fate 76 
 
 CHAPTER vm. 
 
 Eels, Carp, Tench, Bream, — ^Four Ways to catch Eels 
 — The Way to take Carp — ^Tench, their Habits, &c. . 83 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The River Lea, and its Fisheries . . . .90 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 The River Thames, and its Fisheries . . .97 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The Docks and other Places round London . . 103 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Trout Fishing 113 
 
 CHAPTER XIIL 
 Angling — General Remarks on Anglers and Angling . 126 
 
 The Three Jolly Anglers 133 
 
 Stanzas to the Ladies on Angling. . . . 189 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Some of our friends into whose hands this 
 book may fall may be ready to say — *'Why 
 write another Angler's Guide, when there are a 
 number in print already?" Our answer is, that 
 we have been requested by some old friends to 
 do so, who remember the little work we wrote 
 some twenty years back, entitled A Guide to 
 the White House Water. These friends think 
 that there is not only plenty of room for a 
 new work on AngUng, but a want of one, and 
 such an one as we trust this will be found to 
 be, really useful and interesting. It is a fact, 
 that must be known to many, that there are a 
 
U INTRODUCTION. 
 
 number of works that profess to give instruc- 
 tion in various arts that are very, deficient; 
 and persons who are really novices may read 
 through them, and know very little more than 
 they did before they began. Such will not, 
 we presume, be the case with this. 
 
 It must be known also, that there are 
 numbers of Anglers who very seldom catch 
 any fish. The Author could give many rather 
 laughable instances; one only must sufiice. 
 He had been, upon one occasion, fishing for 
 roach in the West India Dock, and on leav- 
 ing was overtaken by a party who had been 
 fishing there too. They asked him if he 
 had had any sport; he said. Yes, and held 
 up his handkerchief, in which his bag of fish 
 was tied. One of the party just took it from 
 his hand to feel its weight, and holding it up 
 in the air, said to one of his companions : 
 " Law, Joe, look here ! and we have been at 
 
INTRODUCTION. Ill 
 
 it all day !" They were surprised and vexed 
 because there were not a dozen fish among 
 them. This at once showed that there was a 
 great deficiency somewhere, as the same means 
 were in their power, and they had been fish- 
 ing in the same place and at the same time. 
 
 It is to obviate such disappointments that 
 the following pages are written, and they will, if 
 they be well perused and acted upon. Angling, 
 after all the jeers that may be thrown at it, is 
 a healthful and innocent recreation ; and such 
 recreations are really necessary, both for body 
 and mind. The Author has spent in it many 
 pleasant hours, from .his earliest childhood, 
 and flatters himself, that if fish are to be taken, 
 he can take them, and the experience he has 
 acquired he submits to his anghng friends 
 without any reserve. He has, indeed, often 
 made the water-side a place for meditation, 
 and instead of shutting himself in his study 
 
IV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 for that purpose, has composed beside the 
 silvery stream a good part of many works of a 
 very different character from the present. He 
 feels persuaded, therefore, that anglers may 
 become more wise and healthy during their 
 piscatory excursions, and wishes them every 
 happiness and success. 
 
THE 
 
 ANGLER'S GUIDE. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 ROACH FISHING — THE EOD— THE LINE — THE HOOK — THE FLOAT 
 — THE DEPTH — THE PLACES TO FISH FOB, ROACH — THE TIMES 
 TO FISH FOR ROACH — THE WAY TO KILL ROACH — THE WAY 
 TO KEEP ROACH WHEN YOU HAVE CAUGHT THEM — THE WAY 
 TO CLEAN THEM — THE WAY TO COOK THEM — THE WAY TO 
 EAT THEM — SONG — THE ROACH OF THE LEA. 
 
 Many persons prefer roach fishing to any 
 other, therefore we speak of it first. And it 
 certainly does require a good deal of adaptation, 
 care, and skill to be a good roach angler. 
 
 THE ROD. 
 
 To fish for roach well, you should have a rod 
 that is made expressly for the purpose, and it 
 should be kept for roach and other light fish- 
 ing only. It should be made of cane, or very 
 light bamboo, and not more than fourteen feet 
 long, the whole weighing not many ounces. 
 
b THE ANGLER S GUIDE. 
 
 When put together it should be nearly as 
 straight as one joint, and so constructed that 
 it shall be very stiff, and yet very pliable. 
 The superiority of such a rod over one of 
 another kind will be seen in many respects. 
 Pirst, it will be very light in the hand, and 
 with it you will be able to strike your fish 
 with the greatest quickness and precision. 
 Secondly, when you strike, it will not break 
 your hair line, as a heavy one would be likely 
 to do. And, thirdly, when you have hooked 
 your fish, it will so give to his pulling that 
 your line will not break, though it should be 
 a roach of the greatest weight they run. 
 
 THE LINE. 
 
 Your line should always be single hair, of 
 sorrel or white colour, (we prefer the former,) 
 and should be very fine at the bottom ; espe- 
 cially the piece on which the hook is tied, which 
 should be also perfectly straight, round, and 
 transparent, so that the water shall not bead 
 on it, for if it do the fish will not touch it. 
 The top piece, on which is your float, should 
 be the coarsest and strongest, so that if you 
 break you may not lose your float, and also to 
 
THE ANGLER S GUIDE. 7 
 
 give your line a proper throw, and play in the 
 water. Upon the top of your line should be 
 looped about eight inches of double thread, 
 with which to loop it to your rod. By adopt- 
 ing this plan you will be able to throw your 
 line out and to strike your fish much better 
 than you would if your hair were looped to 
 your rod. Let the shots on your line be small 
 and close together, about eighteen inches from 
 the hook, with only one about six inches from 
 the hook, which will make it hang in proper 
 trim. Gut is now made expressly for roach 
 fishing, as fine and as round as hair ; but we 
 still give the preference to hair, notwithstand- 
 ing; still you might use such gut for very 
 heavy roach. 
 
 THE HOOK. 
 
 You must never use the common Kirby 
 hooks for roach fishing, for you may be sure that 
 you will not catch many with them ; they are 
 too thick and clumsy, and have too much show 
 about them. It must be the hook made ex- 
 pressly for roach, which is of a very fine wire, 
 and lays hold more quickly and surely, and if 
 tied on neatly is scarcely seen at all. And be 
 
8 THE angler's guide. 
 
 sure they are not too long in the shank, for if 
 they are it is a great objection ; yet they must 
 not be too short, for in that case they will not 
 hold the fish after you have hooked it. Never 
 use, even of this kind of hook, too large a size, 
 in particular if the water be fine, for we have 
 found that they always take the small one 
 more freely. No. 11 is, in our opinion, the 
 best, unless they happen to be very strong 
 on the feed, or it is almost dark. If you just 
 prick your fish and lose them, you may be sure 
 that your hook is blunt, in which case you 
 should have a small piece of black stone always 
 with you, and with it the point of your hook 
 should be sharpened, or a fresh one put on. 
 Sometimes you will find that your book gets 
 turned on the hair and hangs very improperly, 
 the hair being on the outside of the shank, or 
 on the side of it, instead of being inside. 
 When it is so, always put on a fresh one, or 
 you will lose above half the fish you hook before 
 you bring them to hand, for a hook hanging 
 thus will not hold the fish securely. 
 
 THE FLOAT. 
 
 The best floats for roach fishing are those 
 made of swans' quills, which are now manu- 
 
THE angler's guide. 9 
 
 factured in great perfection. The size of your 
 float should vary according to the depth of the 
 water in which you are fishing. If the water 
 be ten or twelve feet deep you will require a 
 float that takes a good number of shots, or 
 your bait will be too long in sinking to the 
 bottom. And, beside this, the longer your 
 line is, the more shots are necessary to keep it 
 in proper trim. And the water being deep, 
 the large float will not be objectionable at the 
 top of the water. But never use a large float 
 and a great number of shots in four or five 
 feet of water, for if you do you will be sure 
 not to take many roach : I have seen scores 
 of instances of it. I always use a float as 
 small as I can conveniently, and I always find 
 that it answers best ; and it must be seen at 
 a glance that it must be so, because the 
 appearances in the water are the finer. Let 
 your float be so shotted that, when it is in the 
 water, only about a quarter of an inch is seen, 
 for if there be much of it out of the water you 
 will not be able to see the bite so well. I always 
 use a float that is rather thick at the top, and 
 have my cap to fit about three-eighths of an 
 inch from the tip, so that when it is in the 
 water the cap just catches the water. I always 
 
10 THE angler's guide. 
 
 bind a little waxed silk on my cap also, to 
 make it thick, which causes it to rest on 
 the water more steadily. By adopting these 
 methods, you will be able to see the finest 
 bite possible, which is very important in roach 
 fishing. 
 
 THE BAIT. 
 
 Roach at difierent seasons of the year, and 
 in difierent waters, will take various kinds of 
 baits — worms, gentles, grubs, blood-worms, 
 may all be used, if anglers feel disposed to use 
 them, but for our own part we never use any- 
 thing but paste. In the Lea, in the spring, 
 sometimes blood-worms may be used with 
 advantage, and in the summer, gentles in the 
 docks, but, even then, we always use paste in 
 preference. We should not, indeed, consider 
 that we were roach fishing if we were not 
 using paste. To make it really good, the 
 bread must be the best, about one day old, 
 not more, nor less; be particular in that re- 
 spect, for if it be too new your paste will be 
 too stickey, and not white, and if it be too 
 stale, it will be too loose to hold on the hook. 
 When at the water-side, and not till then, for 
 it spoils in a short time, take a piece out of 
 
THE angler's guide. 11 
 
 the middle of the loaf in a square shape, about 
 as big as a large walnut, dip it into the water, 
 and take it out again as quickly as possible, 
 and as quickly squeeze all the water out of it, 
 or it will become too wet and never mix well. 
 Having done that, put it into the palm of your 
 left hand, and work it up with the thumb and 
 finger of your right, until it is quite solid, 
 smooth, and white ; it will then be fit for the 
 hook, and should be kept from the action of 
 the air, for that turns its colour; and to 
 prevent that, we always put it into a small 
 clean piece of white rag, and put it into the 
 left-hand waistcoat pocket, from whence we 
 take it piece by piece as we want it. If 
 you fish some hours, and you find that it 
 has become discoloured, make a fresh piece 
 by all means, or your finny company will fall 
 out with you. Be sure that your hands are 
 perfectly clean when you make it, or it will all 
 be spoiled. The piece you put on the hook 
 should be about the size of a white pea, and 
 as round, and should be so placed on the hook 
 that the point should be just at the outside of 
 the round; be particular in that, or you will 
 run a chance of not hooking your fish, espe- 
 cially if your paste be too stifi*. 
 
12 THE ANGLER S GUIDE. 
 
 GROUND-BAIT. 
 
 The best ground-bait for roach is bread 
 and bran. Take about a pound of bread of 
 any kind, and soak it in water till it is quite 
 soft, then put it into a bag and squeeze all the 
 water from it, then put into the bag with it 
 about a quart of bran, and work it together 
 till it comes to a stiff paste. This you may do 
 at home, if you please, and take it all ready 
 with you to the water. When baiting the 
 ground with it, throw it in in pieces about the 
 size of a walnut, one now and then. If the 
 water be deep, press each piece into the form 
 of a cup, or put into it a small stone, so that 
 it may sink quickly into the place where you 
 wish it to fall; always bearing in mind, that 
 ground-bait, falling into an improper place, is 
 very detrimental to your sport, seeing that it 
 coaxes the fish away from you. Many anglers 
 are not half particular enough in this respect. 
 Your baited hook should always be exactly in 
 the place where the ground-bait is. If the 
 water is still and shallow, the smaller your 
 pieces are the better. If the fish are feeding 
 well, do not throw in any bait, but, as you 
 
THE angler's guide. 13 
 
 would do in more important circumstances, 
 "leave well alone." I have sometimes found 
 that in still waters, a little bread, chewed very 
 fine, and thrown in, is a very enticing ground- 
 bait. 
 
 THE DEPTH. 
 
 The general rule is, to let the bait just 
 touch the ground ; but we have frequently 
 found that they will take it, at certain times, 
 much better two or three inches above it, 
 though at others, they will not touch it unless 
 it be on the ground. You must, therefore, 
 use your own judgment according to the 
 feeding of the fish, for they do not feed in 
 all waters, places, and times alike. Generally, 
 however, you take the largest fish with the 
 bait on the bottom. 
 
 It is a good plan in still waters, especially 
 when they are very tine on the feed, to raise 
 your float now and then, four or five inches 
 out of the water, several times, and then let it 
 settle, for if anything will tempt them to take 
 the bait it is that manoeuvre. We have fre- 
 quently been fishing for them when we could 
 not get a fish in any other way ; they see the 
 bait moving and are excited to take it. 
 
14 THE angler's guide. 
 
 THE PLACES TO FISH FOR ROACH. 
 
 Roach are fond of a harbour, both in the 
 water and out of it, or over it. An over- 
 hanging tree, piles of an old bridge, or a 
 corner where there are a good many sedges 
 and rushes, are all good places, if the water be 
 still and deep. In all subscription waters 
 such places are well known and visited, but 
 in any other, they are the places to fish for 
 roach. And always give the preference to a 
 place where the ground is sandy, as they 
 generally are found in such places, in particular 
 in the spring of the year, when they are about 
 spawning. In no case fish for roach where 
 the water runs swiftly. A place near a very 
 deep hole is always very likely, as they fre- 
 quently rise from the hole to feed in the more 
 shallow water. A place of this kind is always 
 the best for winter fishing. 
 
 THE TIMES TO FISH FOR ROACH. 
 
 Roach will feed, more or less, the whole of 
 the year round, but the best times are in the 
 spring and fall in rivers, and in the summer 
 in docks, and all standing waters. If the 
 
THE angler's guide. 15 
 
 weather be warm, you may sometimes take 
 them in the docks till October, I mean in the 
 deep docks. But you will never take them 
 there in the first of the season, until the water 
 has become warm by the sun, &c. In the more 
 shallow docks, such as the timber, &c., they 
 will feed earlier and later. Upon one occasion 
 in the West India Timber Dock, I took a 
 handsome dish only four days before Christmas. 
 In the Lea, Thames, and other rivers, they 
 will feed in the middle of warm days all 
 through the winter, if the water be in good 
 condition, that is, not too much coloured. A 
 good deal depends on the wind and weather at 
 all times of the year. If the day be bright and 
 fine, and the wind in the north, or east, you 
 will be sure to have very little sport, or if the 
 day be raw and cold, you will not take many. 
 A south, south-east, or south-west wind is the 
 best all the year round, and if the water be in 
 order, you will be almost sure of sport when 
 either of those winds blow. A lowering day, 
 with a gentle breeze and a little soft rain, is 
 always the best for roach fishing. 
 
IG THE angler's guide. 
 
 THE WAY TO KILL ROACH. 
 
 Supposing that you have obtained the 
 tackle I have described, and have made the 
 bait, you go to the place where you intend 
 to fish. Don't stand over it and look into 
 it, to see if you can see any fish, neither 
 let any other person do so, if you can help 
 it ; for very often, by acting thus imprudently, 
 especially if the bank be high and the water 
 clear, you will drive all the roach out of the 
 swim, and it may be a considerable time 
 before you entice them back again. Having 
 pitched upon your place, go to it cautiously 
 and quietly, and immediately take your seat, 
 and if the ground be damp, take care to have 
 a piece of cork or board to sit on. Being 
 seated, put your rod together, beginning w^ith 
 the top joints ; then loop on your line, and 
 hook on your plummet, and try the depth, 
 and be sure you do it as gently as possible. 
 Your line must be just so long as to allow 
 about fifteen inches between the rod and the 
 float. If, therefore, you find it too long, you 
 must shorten it, and if too short, you must 
 lengthen it, and in no case fish with it in 
 
THE angler's guide. 17 
 
 any other form and think it will do, because 
 it will not. Having your line the exact length, 
 and your float in the exact place, keep your 
 plummet on and let your line soak in the 
 water while you make your bait as before 
 directed ; this is a good plan, because a hair 
 line unsoaked is very tender. Your bait being 
 well made, take off your plummet, bait your 
 hook and cast in, taking particular notice 
 which way your float rides in the water, and 
 then throw in your ground bait according to 
 your best judgment. Some will throw a 
 lot of ground bait in first, and then when 
 they begin to fish, find that they cannot keep 
 the float for a second in the place where it 
 is. Let all your movements be gentle, neat, 
 and clever, bearing in mind, that making no 
 disturbance in the water, or about the water, 
 and very fine tackle, are the most essential 
 things. In fact, neatness is every thing in 
 fishing, especially for roach. The means em- 
 ployed must be of a gentle, and the tackle 
 of an almost unperceived nature, and then 
 you will catch them, but not under other 
 circumstances. A clumsy angler, with a heavy 
 rod, a coarse line and hook, a large float, a 
 good parcel of large shots, and a bait nearly 
 
18 THE angler's guide. 
 
 as large as the top of your finger, will drive 
 all the roach away from him, just as a large 
 dog drives a flock of sheep, notwithstanding 
 the very great desire he may have to catch 
 some of them ! If the fish are on the feed, and 
 your tackle is rightly adjusted, you will have a 
 bite very soon after you begin to fish. Strike 
 the moment you see your float affected, letting 
 the movement be made with the hand only, 
 from the wrist, not from the arm, and turning 
 the point of your rod upwards. Don't wait 
 until you think the fish has swallowed the 
 bait, because as soon as he finds it is attached 
 to something, he will blow it out of his 
 mouth, unless he be very hungry, which is 
 not often the case; and remembering, that 
 your float cannot be affected by him, unless 
 he has your bait between his lips. Do not 
 forget also, that the largest fish generally 
 bite in the most cautious manner. As soon 
 as you have hooked a fish, little or big, keep 
 a tight line on him, your rod being raised 
 directly over him. If he be large and pull 
 well, don't be afraid of him, for if you keep 
 your rod up over him, he must pull tremen- 
 dously to break you, though your tackle be 
 of such a delicate order. Your hair when 
 
THE angler's guide. 19: 
 
 ^eli soaked is elastic, and your rod is very 
 pliable, and if your judgment be good, all 
 his endeavours to get away will be unavailing. 
 The grand thing, especially in a young angler, 
 is, not to be in too great a hurry. Hundreds: 
 of good fish have been lost for want of a 
 little time and patience. Keep your rod over 
 him until he is quite still, and if you do not 
 use a landing-net, lift him out of the water 
 as gently as you possibly can, with the rod in. 
 your right hand, letting him hang his whole 
 weight. Then very cautiously swing him to 
 your left hand, and as cautiously get him 
 within your grasp and hold him so fast that 
 that he shall not stir while you take the hook 
 out of his mouth. All this care is really 
 necessary, for if a fish of only four or five 
 ounces, and you pull him out quickly and let 
 him flounder about in your lap, or on the 
 ground, or any where else, it is ten to one 
 that your hair gets broken long before you get 
 the hook out. We have seen it done many, 
 many times. If your fish is above four or 
 five ounces, it is always best to use your land- 
 ing-net. Never at any time attempt to lay 
 hold of a fish while it is in the water, neither 
 suffer any other person to do so for you ; for 
 
20 THE angler's guide. 
 
 in that case you will be pretty sure to lose 
 your fish, and have your line broken into the 
 bargain. 
 
 Always keep your seat while you ire 
 killing and landing your fish, unless it be 
 upon any intricate occasion, and you are 
 obliged to get up ; for rising up suddenly 
 and moving about your swim, if the water 
 be clear, will drive all the fish clean out of 
 it, and you may have to wait no little time 
 until they come back again. 
 
 THE WAY TO KEEP ROACH WHEN YOU 
 HAVE OAUGHT THEM. 
 
 We have often felt surprised and vexed at 
 the way in which some anglers act with their 
 fish after they have caught them. Frequently 
 have we seen a number of them scattered here 
 and there on the grass behind them, drying in 
 the wind and sun, until they are curled up 
 like so many chips, and are good for nothing. 
 Such conduct we consider both foolish and 
 wasteful ; and as we think that some may act 
 thus for want of thought, or knowledge, we 
 shall just give them a word of advice on the 
 subject. Beside your basket you should always 
 have a coarse hnen bag, large enough to hold 
 
THE angler's guide. 21 
 
 a good number of roach; as soon as you catch 
 the first one, dip your bag in the water, soak- 
 ing it through, and then squeezing all the 
 water out of it ; put your fish into it, and put 
 both into the shade, away from sun and wind, 
 either in your basket, the sedges, or any other 
 convenient place ; and as you catch every fish, 
 so put it into the bag, and the bag again into 
 the cool place. By adopting this method your 
 fish will look as handsome eight or ten hours 
 after they are caught as when they first came 
 out of the water. Some persons keep them in 
 a live-net in the water, but it is not a good 
 plan, for the fish pine, and often die in the 
 net, and are completely spoiled. The grand 
 point is to keep them cold and damp. If they 
 dry in the sun or wind, the scales will never 
 come off them, and with them on they are 
 utterly useless. Remember that if you do 
 not value the fish after you have caught them, 
 there are thousands of persons who would. 
 We have very frequently sent a handsome dish 
 to our relations, friends, or neighbours, and 
 they have always been very pleased with them ; 
 but they would not have been if they had not 
 been brought home in a proper condition. 
 
2 2 THE AN glee's GUIDE. 
 
 THE WAY TO CLEAN THEM. 
 
 Roach, being not an every -day sort of fish, 
 some servants do not know how to clean 
 them in a proper manner, and if they are not 
 cleaned properly they are of. no use for the 
 table. We have seen a great mess made 
 with them in the kitchen, and the fish spoiled 
 after all. To prevent this, adopt the following 
 simple method: — Having turned the fish out 
 of the bag, lay them in a pile on the board, 
 their tails toward you, and taking them one 
 by one, with the bluntest knife you have 
 scrape ofi" the scales, beginning from the tail, 
 and pressing it fast on the board with the 
 fingers of your left hand. Be sure you get 
 every one of the scales ofi", for one only is 
 very disagreeable while eating them. As you 
 scrape them lay them aside, one by one, until 
 the whole are finished. Then wipe your knife 
 quite clean and put it away. Having done 
 that, take an old pair of scissors and cut them 
 open from the vent up to the head, laying 
 them as you do them in a pile until they are 
 all done. Then wipe your scissors clean and 
 put them away. Then take out the inside of 
 
THE angler's guide. 2B 
 
 thetn, putting them as you do them again into 
 a pile. That being done, get a pan of water 
 and wash them in it, taking them one by one 
 from the board, and as you wash them put 
 them into a cullender to drain. Be particular 
 in this respect, for if they be all tumbled into 
 the water together, and are in it only a few 
 minutes, they will all be spoiled; and this is 
 the case with all fresh- water fish. As soon as 
 they are all washed and in the cullender, take a 
 cloth and wipe them, one by one, as dry as 
 possible, and put them into a dish, in which, 
 dredge them well with flour, and they will then 
 be ready for cooking. Take the insides and 
 scales from the board and throw them in the 
 dust bin, wash your board clean and throw 
 away your water, and your kitchen will be as 
 clean as before you commenced tlie operation. 
 We are aware that some may feel disposed to 
 smile at this piece of domestic advice, but we 
 are convinced of its utility in many cases, and 
 any angler can refer his servant to the book, 
 or give her the lesson in five minutes. And 
 we are quite sure that if these instructions be 
 acted upon, this line of conduct will be found 
 superior to any other that can be adopted. 
 We know by experience, that it is next to 
 
24 THE angler's guide. 
 
 impossible for any servant to clean a dish of 
 roach, properly, and in any other way. 
 
 THE WAY TO COOK THEM. 
 
 There are several ways in which roach may 
 be cooked ; they may be boiled, or stewed 
 in vinegar, or baked like any other fish ; 
 but as we consider that frying them is by far 
 the best method, we shall just throw out 
 a word respecting it, knowing that there are 
 many servants quite as deficient in the art 
 of cooking them as in cleaning them. Let 
 then the following plan be adopted. Put 
 your pan on the fire and make it warm, then 
 wipe it well with your cloth, and be quite 
 sure that it is all over as smooth as possible, 
 for if it be not, the fish while frying will 
 stick to it, and having begun to stick, will 
 keep on sticking, until it will be such a 
 sticky affair, that all your roach will be spoiled 
 and be much more fit to put down to the 
 cat than to bring to the table. If your pan 
 be not quite smooth, make it so by rubbing 
 it with sand or ashes. It being quite smooth 
 and clean, put it on the fire, which should not 
 be too fierce, and put into it at least five 
 
THE ANGLER S GtJIDE. 25 
 
 or SIX ounces of lard, or, if you use salad 
 oil, a cupful. It is a very bad plan to 
 put small quantities of fat in the pan, and 
 then keep on adding to it, for in that case 
 it keeps burning away and the fish are all 
 spoUed ; while if there be a good quantity, 
 it does not waste, and at the same time it 
 rises high enough to penetrate into the flesh 
 of the fish. Your largest fish should always 
 be cooked first, while there is the most fat 
 in the pan. And bear in mind also, that 
 in proportion to the size of the fish you are 
 going to cook, so should be the quantity of 
 fat, in order that it may rise to the thickness 
 of the side of the fish ; it need not be wasted 
 after you have cooked your fish, but may 
 be always put away for the next cooking. 
 
 Having put your fat in the pan, let it be 
 on the fire until it boils, for if you do not, 
 they will stick in spite of you ; then put in 
 your fish, letting their heads be towards the 
 back of the stove and placing the largest in 
 the middle of the pan. Let them fry till 
 their eyes begin to turn white, then turn 
 them over with a knife and let them fry not 
 quite so long as they did before you turned 
 them. Those in the middle of the pan will 
 
 v^L (/U3 U\^ ^ Hyvo ^l^i}^ --^' 
 
26 THE angler's GUIDE. 
 
 generally be done first, especially if they be 
 all of one size, and if any of those that have 
 been on the sides are not quite done, bring 
 them into the middle of the pan for a little 
 time, to finish them off, before you put any 
 fresh ones in. As they are done, put them 
 on a strainer, and serve them up with brown 
 sauce, melted butter, or any other sauce that 
 may be preferred. 
 
 THE WAT TO EAT THEM. 
 
 There are many persons who are quite as 
 ignorant of the right way to eat roach, as 
 they are of the right w^ay to catch, clean and 
 cook them ; they may understand the anatomy 
 of a large cod or salmon weighing twenty 
 pounds, but that of a roach is by far too 
 intricate for them ; therefore, for their instruc- 
 tion, and to make our chapter on Roach 
 complete, we shall just give one word of 
 advice. Having a roach on your plate, first 
 pull out gently all the fins and put them 
 aside; then put your knife into the middle 
 of the side of the fish, and turn off the flesh, 
 taking care that none of the bones come 
 with it ; if they are well cooked, they will 
 
THE ANGLERS GUIDE. 27 
 
 riot, and the flesh you. turn off will be fit 
 to eat without any fear of bones. Having 
 eaten one side, turn the fish over, and take 
 off the flesh of the remaining side in the 
 same way. Never let the sauce be poured 
 over your fish, but keep it on the side of 
 your plate, or you will not be able to see the 
 bones, and to dissect them properly. If any 
 be left, save them for breakfast, and you will 
 find them very good cold. 
 
 To conclude, we will only add, let roach 
 be thus caught, kept, cleaned, cooked and 
 eaten, and depend upon it the opinion of 
 many who sneer at them will be quite 
 altered, if they should have the opportunity 
 of partaking of any. And we do think, after 
 all, that it is more rational and proper for 
 anglers to take care of their fish, and have 
 pleasure in partaking of them with their 
 families, than to throw them about and waste 
 them, or, as we have said, give them away to 
 to their friends. There is nothing to be 
 ashamed of, either in angling, or in having 
 the fish, or in eating them. Angling, as 
 hinted, is a healthful recreation, and eating 
 the fish caught is the fruits of it. And 
 we know the wise man says, " The slothful 
 
28 THE angler's guide. 
 
 man roasteth not that which he took in 
 hunting." Anglers may be laughed at as 
 they pass along, by those who may be going 
 to a gambling-house or one of ill fame ; but 
 let such persons laugh, and let them go ; — 
 they will have their sport, and the angler will 
 have his, but who will have the greatest peace 
 of mind at night, and sleep the soundest? 
 And who will feel the strongest the next 
 morning, and have his head the clearest for 
 business ? I hope I have many angling friends 
 who can answer these interrogations with the 
 greatest confidence and satisfaction. In fact, 
 I know I have, and I congratulate them on 
 their happy choice, and wish them every 
 pleasure while engaged in fishing for roach. 
 I shall now only just give a little ditty to 
 please my young friends, and with roach 
 I have done. And it must be in praise of 
 the roach, in my favourite river, the Lea. 
 
 THE ROACH OF THE LEA. 
 
 The Roach of the Lea 
 
 Are the finest you see 
 In the whole of fair England's bright rivers, 
 
 And so game and so strong, 
 
 That to play with them wrong, 
 They will shatter your tackle to shivers. 
 
THE angler's guide. 29 
 
 And "Roach of the Lea 
 
 Are as sly as can be, 
 And unless you are skill'd in the science. 
 
 On a famous day's sport. 
 
 Or a basket-full caught, 
 You can't place the least shade of reliance. 
 
 And Roach of the Lea 
 Are so pamper*d, you see. 
 That though often the angler supposes 
 I • His bait is so good 
 
 f ' " ' They will prize it as food. 
 
 They will oft at it turn up their noses. 
 
 Eor Roach of the Lea 
 
 Then, an angler must be, 
 To encounter their whimseys, most able. 
 
 Or their tails they will wag. 
 
 While they leer at his bag. 
 And they'll ne'er be " done brown" on his table. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 JACK FISHING — THE ROD — THE LINE AND "WINCH — THE FLOATS, 
 LEADS AND HOOKS — TIMES TO FISH FOR JACK — PLACES IN 
 WHICH TO TAKE JACK — THE WAY TO KILL JACK — SONG, THE 
 JACK AND PIKE. 
 
 We speak of Jack fishing, next to roach, 
 because we consider it next in importance, 
 many persons seldom angling for any other 
 fish except roach and jack. 
 
 THE ROD. 
 
 The best rod for jack fishing is made of 
 bamboo, and it must be strong and stiff, 
 about twelve feet in length, with large rings 
 standing up on it, and that on the top joint 
 turned down a little to meet them, so that 
 there shall be no impediment to the running 
 of the line, for if there be any, the jack will 
 feel it, and will be very likely to drop the 
 bait. Some anglers use rods that are not 
 so well adapted, but they seldom succeed so 
 
THE angler's guide. 31 
 
 well with them. Trolling rods in former 
 times were made with a small pulley at the 
 top, to give the hne every facility in its 
 movements. 
 
 THE LINE AND WINCH. 
 
 The line for jack fishing should be made of 
 plaited silk, and should be thirty or forty yards 
 in length, or longer, according to the water 
 you fish in. If in a river, thirty or forty 
 yards will be sufficient ; but if in a large pond, 
 or reservoir, such as the New River, &c. you 
 will require a greater length, for the jack will 
 sometimes run a long way into the middle of 
 the water, and you must have enough to let 
 him run without stopping him. Your winch 
 must be in size proportioned to the quantity 
 of line upon it, and should be a multiplying 
 one, which winds in the line much quicker 
 than those of the common order. Let your 
 line be fine, for with care you may kill a fish 
 of any weight without having your line thick 
 and clumsy, which shows very much in the 
 water. Never use a twisted line of any kind, 
 for though it may look very fair, and you may 
 think it will do very nicely, it will hamper 
 you sadly all the while you are fishing with it. 
 
52 THE angler's guide. 
 
 by twisting and tangling in all manner of 
 ways; it is made with, a twist, and twist it 
 will, in spite of all your endeavours to keep 
 it straight. 
 
 THE FLOATS, LEADS AND HOOKS. 
 
 For jack fishing, floats are only used in live- 
 baiting, and they are made of cork, with a hole 
 through the middle, and a plug of wood to 
 fasten them on the line. They should not be 
 too large, for when the fish takes the float 
 down and runs away with it, it is very apt to 
 catch against a weed or anything else in the 
 water, which will often cause him to drop the 
 bait. The smaller the float, therefore, the better. 
 When we are live-baiting in rivers, we generally 
 use two, one to ride on the water above our 
 bait, and another to follow it, at a distance of 
 five or six feet, according to the depth of the 
 water. By adopting this plan, as soon as the 
 jack pulls down the first float, the other keeps 
 still on the top of the water, and by it we see 
 where the jack is running, and if it be into a 
 dangerous place, it is better to stop him and 
 chance hooking him, rather than run the risk 
 of losing our tackle. And beside this, the 
 
THE ANGLER S GUIDE. 33 
 
 second float keeps the line from sinking into 
 the water near the bait, which is frequently 
 the case if you are a long way out; The lead 
 you use to sink the bait is called a bead, 
 being made like one, and should not be larger 
 than a pea, being threaded on your line so as 
 to fall ' on the knot made to fasten on your 
 hook. The hooks for jack-fishing are of various 
 kinds, and you may see and obtain a very 
 good assortment at any of the respectable 
 tackle-shops in London ; but we shall only 
 speak of two or three kinds, which are the 
 most common and decidedly the most useful. 
 
 Those used for live-baiting are of two kinds, 
 the single and the double ; the single hook is 
 used in two ways ; one is, to hook with it the 
 bait just below the back fin, and the other 
 way is, to hook with it the bait through both 
 the upper and the under lip. This is called 
 the live-bait-snap, because you strike at the 
 jack as soon as he begins to run away with 
 your float. If you hit him, you hit him, 
 and if you miss him, you miss him. It 
 is, not, however, in our opinion, such a 
 sportsmanhke manner of live-baiting as that 
 with the double hook ; there is not excitement 
 enough about it, neither are you so sure of 
 
 D 
 
34 THE angler's guide. 
 
 your fish. To use the double hook, you must 
 enter your baiting-needle just under the skin 
 of your bait, beginning near the side fin, and 
 bringing it out in the middle of the back, or 
 dorsal fin, and having the gimp of your hook 
 looped on it, draw it through until the hook is 
 fixed in the side of the bait, with the points 
 outwards. Do it quickly and carefully, for of 
 all things we do in angling, we love that 
 operation the least ! When you live-bait in 
 this way, you must not strike as soon as the 
 jack runs off* with the bait, but let him go 
 with it wherever he likes, giving him a quarter 
 of an hour to pouch it. When you fish for 
 jack in this way, never let your double hook 
 be too large, for it stands out on the side of 
 the bait, and is a great objection, seeing that 
 the jack always seizes it across, and has to 
 turn it in his mouth before he pouches. And 
 there is no necessity at all to have them large, as 
 the smallest size sold is quite large enough to i 
 hold the largest fish you may take, for when once i 
 fastened in the pouch, it will never come out 
 until it is pulled back. The next particular 
 hook used is the gorge, which is made ex- 
 pressly for the dead bait, or trolling. You 
 should have several of them, and always one 
 
THE angler's guide. 35 
 
 that is suitable to the size o£ the fish you bait 
 with. In no case have your hook too large for 
 the fish you put on it. The way to bait it is, to 
 put your baiting-needle into the fish's mouth, 
 and forcing it up the middle of the fish, bring it 
 out at the tail. Then looping on your gorge- 
 hook, draw it with your needle straight through 
 the fish, turning the points of tlie hook upwards 
 towards the eyes of the fish. Then, with a 
 pair of scissors, cut ofi" all the fins of the fish, 
 with the exception of one on the side, which 
 will help to turn the bait in the water. Having 
 done this, tie the tail of the fish fast to the 
 wire with a piece of thread, and having cut 
 the ends ofi", cut off also the tip of the tail of 
 the fish, so that as you draw it in the water, it 
 shall not stick against the weeds, &c. ; your 
 hook and bait will then be ready to fasten on 
 your fine. It should not be tied on, but 
 hooked on a swivel, tied to the end of your 
 line, which will permit your bait to spin in the 
 water as you draw it through. All hooks for 
 jack-fishing are tied on gimp, to prevent the 
 jack from biting them in half with their sharp 
 and merciless teeth. But be sure your gimp 
 is fine, for when it is not, it is in my opinion, 
 a great objection, especially if the water be 
 
3d THE angler's guide. 
 
 clear, and the finest made, with care, will hold 
 a fish of any weight. 
 
 TIMES TO FISH FOR JACK. 
 
 Jack-fishing begins, in most w^aters, on the 
 first of August, and is continued until the 
 beginning of March. All through this time 
 they are in season, while during the rest of 
 the year they are lank and thin. They spawn 
 in March, unless the season is very backward, ! 
 and when that is the case, anglers are allowed, 
 in some waters, to fish for them all through 
 that month. October and February w^e con- 
 sider the best months, though we have taken 
 very good fish during all the others ; but it i 
 is in a great measure according to the weather i 
 and the water. During very cold, foggy, still 
 days, they will not feed much, though you 
 may get a fish now and then. The best time 
 is, when the wind is blowing from the south- 
 west, or any of the points near it. If it be 
 blowing a good stiff gale, trolling with the dead 
 bait is to be preferred, but if the day be fine, 
 and the breeze gentle, live-baiting will be found 
 the most killing. Very frequently during the 
 jack -fishing season, the water is very thick, in 
 consequence of heavy rains, floods, &c., and 
 
THE angler's guide. 37 
 
 during such times, it is of not much use to 
 fish for them ; but after the water has become 
 fine, then is the time for the jack-fisher to try 
 his skill, for the jack have been on short 
 allowance during the thick water, not having 
 been able to see the fish around them, they 
 are, therefore, hungry, and will take the bait 
 freely. 
 
 PLACES IN WHICH TO TAKE JACK. 
 
 Some persons will spend a good deal of 
 time in roving about a water, and fishing in 
 places where they are not at all likely to find 
 a jack either little or big, and will even pass 
 by a most likely place. Always bear in mind, 
 that in rivers, jack are fond of the stillest 
 places ; corners, bends, and parts where there 
 are a great many sedges, &c. are consequently 
 the places to fish for them. They seldom 
 sport in the open stream, unless it be in the 
 first of the season, or the day is very fine. 
 Sometimes, in the month of August, or Sep- 
 tember, they will be found in the stream under 
 a bed of candock, or broad-leaved reeds, 
 which completely cover the bottom of the 
 river, while the water runs over them to the 
 depth of two or three feet; such a place is 
 
58- THE angler's guide. 
 
 often yery favourable for live-baiting with the 
 snap hook; but you must show them no 
 quarter, for if they run in among the weeds, 
 you will have some trouble to get them out. 
 After the water has been flooded, you will find 
 them as close to the sedges as possible, in 
 particular, if there be no corner near for them 
 to run into, for as they do not like the stream, 
 they run in quite close to the side to get out 
 of the current of it. 
 
 When the season is far advanced, they are 
 generally found in the deepest part of the 
 haunt, and as spring approaches, if the 
 weather be mild, they will move out a little 
 to seek for prey. In ponds and reservoirs, 
 the best places are generally the deepest parts, 
 and if these be, as is frequently the case, in 
 the middle, you must throw your bait out as 
 far as possible, or you will not stand much 
 chance of getting a good fish. If you know 
 of a deep hole anywhere round the sides, fish 
 as near to it as possible. Always prefer 
 gudgeon for baits, as it is a sweet fish, though 
 you may use any other fish except the perch. 
 We have seen some beautiful artificial baits 
 for jack, trout, and perch, made by Mr. Alfred, 
 jun. of Moorgate Street, which we understand 
 
THE angler's guide. 39 
 
 are very killing; and they certainly are very 
 ingeniously made, and must save an angler 
 a great deal of trouble. 
 
 THE WAY TO KILL JACK. 
 
 Advance to the place where you are going 
 to put in your bait cautiously, and don't go too 
 near the stream at first, for if a fish lie very 
 near the side, you will drive him off. Stand 
 back as far as possible, and if live-baiting, 
 drop in your bait close to the side first; if 
 you do not get a run, try out a little further, 
 and so on until you have put your bait into 
 all the most likely places. If you are fishing 
 with a snap hook, you must, as already hinted, 
 strike as soon as the jack takes your float 
 under. If you are fishing with the side hook, 
 you must let the jack go off with the bait, 
 giving him line as fast as he takes it, and you 
 must not strike at him until he has had it at 
 least ten minutes. If you are trolUng, drop 
 your bait into every likely spot very gently ; 
 and as you raise it towards the top, keep 
 sinking it, and drawing it, a number of times, 
 until you get it there. Or you may give it 
 a shake, or pull it aside, or make any other 
 
40 THE angler's guide. 
 
 movement with it that will give it the ap- 
 pearance of a live fish. While you are making 
 these movements, if you feel a sudden snatch, 
 you must cease to move your bait immediately, 
 and if it be a take, the fish will soon move off i 
 with it, and you must give him line as freely I 
 as possible, and ten minutes, or a quarter of an 
 hour, to pouch, as in the other case spoken of. ; 
 You need not be afraid of his getting away, i 
 for if he has pouched the bait, he is sure to i 
 be hooked, because he always swallows the 
 fish head first. When you have given him the 
 proper time, wind up your line, and as soon 
 as it is just tight, give him a gentle strike, 
 and if he has pouched, you will soon feel his 
 weight. Don't be in the least hurry with him, . 
 especially if he be a good fish, but bring him i 
 by degrees as near to you as possible. If i 
 he be in danger of running into weeds, or any 
 other dangerous place, you must keep him out 
 as well as you can ; and if you were standing 
 in a bad place to land a fish when he took 
 your bait, you must move to the most con- 
 venient one near you, while you are bringing 
 him to. Don't venture, under any circum- 
 stances, to draw him in until he is still, and 
 quite at your command. If you have any 
 
THE angler's guide. 41 
 
 person with you, get him to land it for you, 
 if not, you must of course do it yourself; and 
 you will be able to do so very easily in most 
 waters, either with a landing net, or hook ; if 
 you have neither, put your thumb in one of 
 his eyes, and your finger in the other, and you 
 will hold him as fast as possible. Having 
 landed him, put him into a damp bag, leaving 
 the hook in him, and catch another, to make 
 up a brace, as fast as you can. You must not, 
 however, expect to catch many jack in one 
 day, and will not, in any water, unless you 
 happen to find them very strong on the feed ; 
 and even then, the most of them will run 
 small. Bear in mind, that fish under five 
 pounds are called jack, and all above that 
 weight are called pike. A melter, or male 
 fish, of four or five pounds' weight, is the best 
 for the table. They may be boiled, roasted, 
 or baked, according to fancy, and are good 
 eating and nutritious food. — Two or three 
 lines in rhyme, and our chapter is at an 
 end. 
 
 THE JACK AND PIKE. 
 
 The jack and pike are fish that like 
 
 A haunt within the stream, 
 Just near a hole where lives a shoal 
 
 Of gudgeon, roach, or bream. 
 
42 THE angler's guide. 
 
 In smiling day he'll often prey 
 
 A little way from home, 
 But if it's cold, he'll keep his hold, 
 
 And seldom from it roam. 
 
 Let then your troll just round the hole 
 Be work'd with tact and skill. 
 
 That he may see, and tempted be 
 His empty pouch to fill. 
 
 Then should he take, he will not make 
 
 A circuit very wide — 
 At home he's found, and near the ground 
 
 Within his haunt he'll hide. 
 
 Yet when he finds that hooks and lines 
 Are not most pleasant cheer, 
 
 He'll make a drive, in which he'll strive 
 To get his stomach clear. 
 
 But give him play in skilful way, 
 
 And very soon you'll see 
 His gills of red and furious head 
 
 He'll boldly shake at thee. 
 
 And then he's done — his race is run — 
 His tail he'll scarcely wag ; 
 
 Mind how you land — he's in your hand ! 
 Just pop him in your bag. 
 
CHAPTEK III. 
 
 BARBEL FISHING— THE ROD — THE LINE — THE FLOAT — THE 
 HOOK — THE BAITS — THE GROUND -BAITS — PLACES AND TIMES 
 
 TO FISH FOR BARBEL — THE WAY TO KILL BARBEL — SONG 
 
 THE BARBEL. 
 
 Some persons are very fond of angling for 
 barbel, chiefly because he is such a strong and 
 game fish, and is often taken of a great weight. 
 We have ourselves many times sat for several 
 hours, anticipating the undescribable pleasures 
 arising from a contest with one, though after 
 all our endeavours we have frequently been 
 disappointed. 
 
 THE ROD. 
 
 A rod made of light bamboo, is the best 
 you can have for barbel fishing ; it should be 
 from twelve to fifteen feet in length, made 
 very strong, stiff and pliable, with a small ring 
 upon each joint, and two rings round the 
 bottom joint, in which to fasten on your winch. 
 
44 THE angler's guide. 
 
 THE LINE. 
 
 You must be very particular in the choice 
 of your line for barbel fishing, or it is not 
 unlikely that it will be broken half a dozen 
 times in the course of a day, if they are on 
 the feed and run large. It should be made of 
 the very best and strongest gut that can be 
 procured. It must also be so made up, that 
 there shall not be any sign of a blemish in it, 
 for if there be, the very first fish you hook will 
 find it out, and away he'll go, perhaps with 
 the greatest part of it hanging to his mouth. 
 
 We have taken them with two hooks in 
 the mouth, to which have been attached 
 several feet of gut, which they have borne 
 away triumphantly from some unfortunate 
 anglers who could not hold them. You must 
 take care also, that the piece of gut on which 
 your hook is tied is not too coarse, for if 
 it is, they will not touch the bait; it must 
 be quite round, and straight, and as fine as 
 you can dare venture to fish with. Many 
 anglers are not particular enough in this 
 respect^ and that is why they do not get 
 hold of barbel; they have such a keen eye, 
 
THE angler's guide. 45 
 
 that they detect the liue, unless it is as fine 
 as it possibly can be : we have proved this 
 by experience. It must be obvious also, from 
 the fact that they will take the bait over 
 and over again when it is on a single hair, 
 and as soon as you change to gut, they will 
 not touch it. But then the difficulty in the 
 affair is, that you cannot hold them with 
 single hair, neither with the gut which is 
 so over fine, unless you are a most expert 
 hand. It is this that renders barbel fishing 
 so pleasing to some, there being in the mind 
 a desire to excel, and to achieve that which 
 is really very difficult. And it certainly is 
 a very difficult thing to kill a barbel of five 
 or six poimds, with a piece of gut so fine 
 ihat you can hardly see it at any distance; 
 and if any of our readers should feel disposed 
 to be sceptical upon the point, we would 
 advise them just to try the experiment. Yet 
 barbel have been caught with gut, weighing 
 from fifteen to one-and-twenty pounds. Let 
 the shots on your line be as small and 
 as neatly put on as recommended for roach, 
 and they shoidd be at least a foot and a 
 half from your hook, so that they jnay not 
 be perceived by the fish. Your running fine 
 
46 THE ANGLER S GUIDE. 
 
 should be made of platted silk, not too fine; 
 and ten or twelve yards will be sufficient, 
 which for convenience and neatness you may 
 have on a very small winch ; or you may make 
 use of that which you use for jack fishing. 
 
 If you are fishing in a fine open swim, 
 where there are no dangerous places, and 
 the barbel run small, you may try your skill 
 with a single hair line ; and if your hair 
 be very good, and your judgment very superior, 
 you may manage to take a fish or two. We 
 have occasionally taken a fish in that way, 
 but. the chances are all against you; you 
 may get plenty of bites, breaks and vexation, 
 but very few fish. You must not put one 
 shot on your gut two or three inches from 
 the hook, as in roach fishing. 
 
 THE FLOAT. 
 
 You should always have for barbel fishing 
 a float that takes a good number of shots, 
 because your bait must always drag the 
 ground, and a float under a certain size will 
 not have power to keep up while the bait 
 is dragging. If the swim be rapid and the 
 bottom good, five or six inches will not be 
 
THE angler's guide. 47 
 
 too much to drag, but if it be of a more 
 still order, with a bottom that is uneven, you 
 need not drag so much. A reed float is the 
 best, because it is the most solid. If your 
 swim be very deep, your float must be large 
 in proportion, so that it may take a great 
 number of shots ; for if this be not the case, 
 your bait will not get to the bottom before 
 it is at the end of your swim. If your 
 swim be quite shallow, be sure you use one 
 as small as convenient, as it will be seen less 
 in the water. 
 
 THE HOOK. 
 
 In fishing for barbel, it is very important 
 to have hooks of the very best mauufacture, 
 and they should always be purchased at a shop 
 upon which you can depend. If they are 
 too highly tempered, they will snap, and if 
 they are not tempered enough, they will turn, 
 and in either case the fish you have hooked 
 w^ill be lost. They should not be too short 
 in the shank, for if they are, the hold will 
 not be so firm. No. 9 is a very good size 
 for ordinary purposes, but a larger may be 
 used if you fish with graves or worms. Be 
 
48 THE angler's guide. 
 
 sure that the point is very sharp, for the 
 barbel is leather-Upped ; if therefore the hook 
 is not sharp, it will not penetrate when you 
 strike. 
 
 THE BAITS. 
 
 There are several baits used in barbel fish- 
 ing, and they should be varied according to 
 the season and place. In the spring a worm 
 is to be preferred, and it may be a small 
 lob or marsh- worm, about four inches long, and 
 the more clean and lively the better. In the 
 Whitehouse water, Hackney Marsh, this is 
 a very good bait in the month of March, It is 
 also used with great advantage in the Thames 
 in the month of October. Sometimes barbel 
 of great weight are taken with it at these 
 places at such seasons, and your gut may then 
 be of a stronger order then we have described. 
 In the summer, gentles are decidedly the best 
 bait, in all waters; they should be those bred 
 from liver, and in the highest state of per- 
 fection. As the season advances, graves may 
 be used with advantage; they should be of 
 the newest and whitest kind, and for the 
 hook, should be soaked in cold water, for 
 
THE angler's guide. 49 
 
 after they have been in boiling or hot, they 
 become too tender to hold on the hook well. 
 
 A paste made of strong cheese is some- 
 times used with good success in ledger fishing, 
 in the month of May in particular; but 
 you cannot keep it on very well, unless 
 you have a triangular hook. With all these 
 baits, be sure that your hook is well hid. 
 With worms, you may do that very easily. 
 With gentles adopt the following method : — 
 First take a small gentle and enter your 
 hook at the very tip of the point of it, and 
 bring it out at the middle of the thick part 
 behind; then push it up over the binding 
 of your hook, letting the point of your 
 gentle just touch the gut. Then take another 
 gentle and pass your hook just through the 
 skin of the hinder part ; then take another, 
 and hook it on in the same way, until you 
 have four, five, or six, according to their size, 
 all working about on your hook, which is 
 completely covered, with the exception of the 
 very point of it. This, in my opinion, is the 
 most kiUing bait of all for barbel, and you 
 may be pretty sure, that if they will not 
 take that, they will not take anything else. 
 With it, also, you will frequently take chub, 
 
 E 
 
50 THE angler's guide. 
 
 dace, roach, bream, or any other fish that 
 may be in the water. With graves, the best 
 plan is to pick out a nice white, tough piece, 
 about as large as you think sufficient for 
 a bait, and then hook it this way and that 
 way, and any way, until the hook is quite 
 covered, all but the point, and it is about 
 as large as a small cherry. Other fish will 
 often take this bait also, chub in particular. 
 If you fish with cheese paste, and have a 
 triangular hook, there will not be any dif- 
 ficulty in baiting it, and it should be about 
 the same size as the bait of graves. 
 
 THE GROUND-BAIT. 
 
 Gentles, or graves, used with bran and clay, 
 are the best ground -baits for barbel in any 
 water. As it regards gentles, the best plan is 
 to keep them in a bag by themselves, and in 
 another bag of a good size have a quantity of 
 bran. When at the water-side, dig out witb 
 your trowel some clay of a good consistency, 
 not too wet, nor yet too dry. Put some pieces 
 of it into the bag with the bran, as big as a 
 large apple, and shake the bran well over, 
 them, then, with your hands in the bag, make 
 
THE angler's guide. 51 
 
 them into the shape of cups, then put a handful 
 of gentles into each, and squeeze them up 
 moderately, and then throw them in at the 
 top of your swim, according to the best of 
 your judgment. By adopting this method, all 
 your gentles will be carried to the bottom, and 
 the ball will very soon open and let them out, 
 when they will be dispersed all over the 
 bottom of your swim. 
 
 Many anglers waste a great deal of ground- 
 bait by throwing it into the water in an im- 
 proper manner; and not only so, but it is 
 carried quite out of their swim, and is making 
 quite a feast for the finny tribe at a conside- 
 rable distance from them, and thereby doing 
 much more harm than good. To make ground- 
 bait of graves and bran, take a large piece of 
 graves, say a pound or two, according to what 
 you may think you shall want, and break it up 
 fine, with a hammer; then put it into a pan, 
 and pour on it as much boiling water as you 
 think it will soak up : when it has absorbed 
 the water, put with it about two quarts of bran, 
 stir it together and put it into a bag. When 
 at the water, mix with it some clay, and throw 
 it in, in balls about the size of those with. 
 gentles. We have frequently used this ground- 
 
52 THE ANGLER S GUIDE. 
 
 bait, when we have baited our hook with 
 gentles, and have found it answer very well, 
 especially in deep, gentle swims. 
 
 PLACES AND TIMES TO FISH FOR BARBEL. 
 
 Barbel will feed either in a gentle or a swift 
 swim, though generally, in the summer, they 
 prefer the latter. They are not, however, to 
 be caught anywhere in the stream, though it 
 may abound with them, for they always have 
 their favourite haunts, and places where they 
 know they shall find food. They are very fond 
 of a deep eddy from which there is a smart 
 run on to a shallow. And the reason is ob- 
 vious ; for in such places, the food that comes 
 down with the stream is stirred up, and lodges 
 on the shallow near it. In such places they 
 are to be found in the warm weather, and, like 
 pigs in a farm-yard, they will rout about it 
 with their underhung mouths close on the 
 ground, picking up everything in the shape of 
 food, but a baited hook with a line attached to 
 it 1 They are sly rogues, and consume a good 
 deal of food when they are on the feed, for 
 I have taken them frequently with many 
 hundreds of gentles in their stomachs, which. 
 
THE angler's guide. 53 
 
 of course, they must have picked up one by- 
 one. When you are fishing for them in these 
 shallow swims, you must be sure to keep off 
 the water, or you will never get one, they 
 know the sight of an angler too well. Another 
 favourite place for them is in deep shaded 
 holes, where the roots of the trees, and part 
 of the trees themselves, are in the water ; in, 
 and near to, such places, they will frequently 
 feed pretty well, but they are very dangerous 
 places to get hold of them in, for you can 
 seldom bring them out unless your tackle be 
 very strong. 
 
 As it regards times to fish for them, they 
 will feed frequently all day, if it be dark and 
 lowering; but if it be bright, you stand 
 very little chance of taking any until the 
 sun is off the water; and the nearer it ap- 
 proaches to dusk, the more likely you are to 
 hook them. We have very frequently taken 
 the best fish when we could hardly see our 
 float. And this teaches us how very necessary 
 it is to have very fine tackle, for they would 
 take the bait as freely in the light, were it not 
 that they see it is fastened to the line. I have 
 sometimes kept a hook and gut soaking in the 
 water, of a larger and stronger kind, and just 
 
54 THE angler's guide. 
 
 before dark have taken my fine one off, and 
 looped that on, and have found it answer well, 
 for I have been able to kill my fish without 
 fear; that is, when I have been so fortunate 
 as to get one. I have also, in the summer, 
 taken very good barbel just before sunrise in 
 the morning, and an hour or two after that 
 time; but early and late fishing for them is 
 only successful in really warm weather, and as 
 the season becomes advanced, one time of the 
 day is as good as another. Like all the other 
 finny race, barbel feed best during soft, genial, 
 damp weather, when the wind is in the south, 
 or south-west. Sometimes, after a heavy 
 shower, they will feed very freely. 
 
 THE WAY TO KILL BARBEL. 
 
 As we have already said, you must let your 
 bait drag on the ground several inches, when 
 fishing for barbel, consequently, your float 
 will often go under a httle when there is no 
 bite. You must, therefore, learn to distinguish 
 between a bite, and a stop made by the 
 ground. Generally speaking, a bite affects 
 your float more suddenly, and it goes under 
 more quickly than when it is pulled under by 
 the ground. But the best plan is, to strike 
 
THE angler's guide. 55 
 
 pretty often and pretty smartly, so that the 
 hook may enter his leathery lip. He is a good 
 fish to hook, because his mouth is underhung ; 
 but the grand point is, to get the hook well 
 into him. Sometimes, if it be a large fish, 
 >srhen you strike, it will feel as though you had 
 hold of the bottom, or had become fastened to 
 a log, for his lips being like leather, he does 
 not feel the hook, and, therefore, makes no 
 effort to get away from it. In that case, or in 
 any other, never give the least slack line, but 
 keep tight on him, getting your rod up straight 
 over him, and fixing the butt of it close against 
 your right side. Never let him point you, 
 (that is, run out and pull the point of your rod 
 into the water,) for if he do that, it is all over 
 with- you directly. Keep your rod up over 
 him, in spite of all hi^ pulling, tugging and 
 driving, only letting him have a yard or so of 
 your running line, according to the nature of 
 your swim. If he be ever so large, he will 
 not be able to break you, if your tackle be 
 really good, so long* as he is completely under 
 the bend of your rod, for as he pulls, so that 
 gives. This is the' grand art in killing all 
 large fish, keeping them the whole of the time 
 bearing on the play of your rod. And the 
 
56 THE angler's guide. 
 
 power of the manoeuvre may be easily illus- 
 trated. Let any angler put his rod and line 
 together and hold it up, while you lay hold of 
 the bottom of the line and pull and try to 
 break it, you will find that the power must be 
 tremendous, according to the real strength of 
 the apparatus. Thus then it is in angling; 
 and as soon as the fish gets away from that 
 power over him, he will very soon get away 
 from you altogether. 
 
 If you are fishing for barbel in a deep, dan« 
 gerous hole, where there are roots of bushes, or 
 trees, in the water, as soon as you hook a fish, 
 he will make for the roots and bushes, just as 
 a wounded rabbit makes for the hedge ; and 
 if he once get under them, you will be a very 
 clever fellow if ever you get him out again. 
 You must, therefore, in such a place, give him 
 scarcely any running line at all, but hold him 
 by main force in the middle of your swim. If 
 your swim be quite open, and your fish cannot 
 run into danger, you may give more line 
 accordingly. Don't be in a hurry to get him 
 out of the water, especially if he be a heavy 
 fish, for the hook will not come out of him 
 easily, and after his first desperate struggHng 
 is over, he will allow you to lead him about 
 
THE angler's guide. 57 
 
 a little, so long as you do not bring him to the 
 top of the water. Take care, then, that you 
 tire him quite out, before you attempt to draw 
 him out of his element. Many a good barbel 
 has been lost, by attempting to bring him too 
 soon to the net. Some persons fish for barbel 
 with a ledger bait, and others with a clay ball, 
 with baited hooks in it, but as we do not con- 
 sider them skilful and scientific ways, we say 
 no more about them. In no case attempt to 
 land a barbel without a landing-net or hook. 
 
 The barbel is considered by most persons 
 a rather coarse eating fish; but there is a 
 sweetness in the flesh of them when they are 
 in season, which is agreeable to some palates. 
 They may be dressed in the same way as jack 
 and pike. As we have sung of the roach, the 
 jack, and the pike, I suppose we must do the 
 same of the barbel. But we must beg the 
 indulgence of our angling friends, for we 
 know that some of them are rather poetical, 
 and they must recollect, too, that it is the 
 young, in particular, that read angler's guides. 
 
 THE BARBEL. 
 
 The barbel, with his leathery nose, 
 Comes from the sea, as some suppose, 
 But lives and feeds in rivers fair. 
 And loves the summer's sun and air. 
 
58 THE angler's guide. 
 
 No fish more sly the stream contains, 
 And none more often triumph gains 
 O'er rods, and lines, and books, and bait, 
 While anglers mourn their hapless fate. 
 
 One's snapp'd his top, close at the joint, 
 Another's let the rascal point, 
 A third has lost his line complete, 
 A fourth, his hook and several feet. 
 
 And then 'tis farcical to see 
 What winks, and smirks, and smiles there be. 
 While one confounds the barbel's jaws, 
 And some one else with laughter roars. 
 
 Thus merrily, anglers pass a day 
 Where flowers expand and sunbeams play. 
 Where all the cares and woes they know. 
 From barbels' wily frolics flow. 
 
 Then let the angler's skill improve, 
 Each blemish from his lines remove, 
 His patience daily greater grow, 
 And then, to fish for barbel, go. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 ROACH A^^D DACE FISHING — GENERAL INSTRUCTION — SONG 
 
 THE YOUNG ANGLER. 
 
 Many hundreds of anglers, especially young 
 ones, know no more of the piscatory art than 
 that which is exercised in catching a few small 
 roach and dace, two or three times during the 
 summer when they have a hoHday. And we 
 well recollect the time, when our knowledge 
 extended no further, and yet the great pleasure 
 we enjoyed while thus engaged; when, free 
 from every care, in schoolboy trim, wdth our 
 rod and basket, we brushed along, all alone, 
 to our favourite little swim, anticipating not 
 only the pleasure of catching the fish, but that 
 we should enjoy when we showed them to 
 those who are now sleeping in the silent tomb. 
 Yes, those were happy days, but they are 
 gone for ever ! It is to such in particular 
 that we would throw out a few hints, to 
 
60 THE angler's guide. 
 
 enable them to take a few roach and dace 
 during their leisure hours. We need not, 
 however, be so particular in our description 
 of tackle, baits, &c. as we have been in the 
 former chapters, because much of the instruc- 
 tion given in them will be of use in all the 
 other branches of angling which we may 
 describe. We shall, therefore, only have to 
 refer our readers back to those instructions. 
 As for instance, the tackle we have recom- 
 mended for roach fishing, is just suitable for 
 roach and dace. Or a rod similar to that used 
 for barbel will answer tolerably well, though it 
 will not, of course, be so Hght and pleasant in 
 the hand, and will be more likely to break the 
 single hair-line in striking, &c. But with such 
 a rod you may, if you please, use a fine gut 
 line, though the hair is always to be preferred, 
 as with care you may take with it two or 
 three fish to every one you take with the gut. 
 The hook you use in fishing for roach and 
 dace should always be very fine: a No. 11, 
 or 12, is quite large enough ; for in this fishing 
 you not only take roach and dace, but gudgeon, 
 bleak, small chub, &c. ; and if it be not small, 
 it will not answer for all. 
 
 As it regards baits for roach and dace fishing, 
 
THE angler's guide. 61 
 
 gentles are always to be preferred, and with 
 them, and bran, ground-bait your swim in 
 exactly the same manner as described for 
 barbel; and the more of them you throw in, 
 the more fish you will be likely to take. The 
 most killing way to bait your hook is with one 
 only, of the largest you have, hooking it through 
 the thick part behind, so that it shall keep 
 moving about on the hook ; and if you do not 
 take a fish with it during a good many swims, 
 take it off* and put on a fresh one, for it will 
 not be so tempting when it is dead. In this 
 kind of fishing, always let your float be so 
 adjusted, that your bait shall just touch the 
 ground ; and you must strike at every bite you 
 have, and that as quickly as possible, for dace, 
 in particular, are a very sharp-biting fish, and 
 if you do not have them in the instant, you 
 will not have them at all. 
 
 With respect to places in which to fish, you 
 will generally find a good number of swims for 
 roach and dace in most subscription waters; 
 if, however, these should be engaged, or you 
 are fishing in a free water, the best places are 
 in a run from an eddy, or in an opening 
 between two beds of weeds, or in a place very 
 close to the bank of the river where it is a 
 
62 THE angler's guide. 
 
 little deeper than the other parts around. In 
 any such places, roach and dace are to be 
 taken if the water run pretty briskly. But be 
 sure that you keep out of sight, for the water 
 being in such places not more than two or 
 three feet deep, and, at the seasons to fish, 
 generally very clear, it is of no use whatever 
 trying to get any fish if you are seen, or are 
 moving about the stream — you must take your 
 seat and keep it. Sometimes you will see, in 
 the height of the summer, a great number of 
 dace, in an open shallow where there is not 
 a weed near, and where the current is rather 
 strong. We have frequently taken a good 
 number in such places by adopting the fol- 
 lowing plan: — We have taken our seat very 
 cautiously, as near to them as we could venture, 
 so as not to drive them off, and judging as 
 well as we could the depth of the water, we 
 have made our line as long as we could possibly 
 use it; having on it a very small float, with 
 only two or three shots, and throwing in our 
 ground-bait just before us, we have let our 
 baited hook swim down the river, as near to 
 the dace as possible, — and as sure as it went 
 in among the shoal, so sure we were of a fish. 
 Not many miles from the source of the Lea, 
 
THE angler's guide 63 
 
 in the meadow of a friend, we took one day, 
 in two or three hours, a complete basketful 
 in this manner. And we might have taken as 
 many more, only our friend came to see how 
 we were getting on, and drove them all away. 
 
 We give this incident to prove the great 
 importance of not being seen while angling. 
 
 The best time for roach and dace fishing is 
 in warm weather. You may begin in April, if 
 the water be in good condition, and take them 
 till October if the weather continue open. 
 When you have caught them, take care of 
 them, clean, cook, and eat them, if you feel so 
 disposed, in the same manner as recommended 
 for roach. 
 
 THE YOUNG ANGLER. 
 
 From strife and noise of other boys, 
 
 Young anglers oft repair, 
 Where rivers flow and flowers blow 
 
 In summer's sun and air. 
 
 And better there than anywhere 
 
 Where vice its power displays — 
 And let them go, and let them know 
 
 Their choice obtains our praise. 
 
 To such we say — While biythe and gay, 
 
 Be contemplative too, 
 And do not let your mind forget 
 
 The stream resembles you. 
 
64 THE angler's guide. 
 
 How small its source ! but in its course 
 How full, how deep, how wide ! 
 
 And onward's forced, at last 'tis lost 
 Within the ocean's tide ! 
 
 So men at first, caress'd and nursed. 
 Of small importance seem ; 
 
 But grown in years, their power appears 
 Full, — widening like the stream. 
 
 But time rolls on, and 'tis not long 
 Before of them 'tis said — 
 
 From earth they're pass'd, and to a vast 
 Eternity have fled. 
 
 ' Then let me say in friendly way — 
 Whate'er young anglers do. 
 Let them be wise, and virtue prize, 
 And keep the end in view. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 GUDGEON FISHING — GENERAL INSTRUCTION — SONG, THE 
 GUDGEON. 
 
 Fishing for gudgeon expressly is only prac- 
 tised in the first of the season, — say from the 
 beginning of May till a week or two in June ; 
 and as this is decidedly the worst of the time 
 during the summer for other kinds of angling, 
 many pass a pleasant hour in fishing for 
 gudgeon. 
 
 Your tackle should be of a very light and 
 fine character; — that used for roach will be 
 the best, and your hook should be No. 12; 
 and your bait, a blood-worm ; or, if you cannot 
 get that, a very small red worm. Bright days 
 and clear water are most favourable; and as 
 they are less shy than any of the scaly com- 
 munity, you need not be so very particular in 
 your place and movements. The places to 
 fish for them are open gravelly shallows, where 
 
66 THE angler's guide. 
 
 the water runs briskly : and your bait must 
 just touch the ground. You do not coax them 
 around you with ground-bait, as you do other 
 fish, but make the ground itself answer that 
 purpose by stirring it up with a rake, made 
 expressly for gudgeon fishing. This rake is 
 put into the water, and having a handle longer 
 than your rod, you place it at the head of your 
 swim, just above where you put in your baited 
 hook. Before you begin to fish, you rake up 
 the ground with it, and the fine particles of 
 gravel, or sand, thicken that part of the water 
 in which your bait passes along — the gudgeon 
 are drawn to the spot by the thick water, and 
 are hunting in it for whatever food it may 
 contain, and they generally find your baited 
 hook among the rest, and pick it up. 
 
 Having taken a number of swims, you rake 
 your ground again, and so you go on all the 
 while you are fishing for them. Many dozens 
 of gudgeons are often taken in this way in 
 a few hours. They are a very sweet and 
 delicate little fish, and are much prized by 
 some persons ; but they require much care in 
 keeping them, or they are all spoiled before 
 you get them home. A very good plan is, to 
 have a good sized bag, with about a quarter of 
 
THE angler's guide. 67 
 
 a peck of bran in it, and as you catch them 
 put them into it, shaking the bran over them 
 now and then. This keeps them from spoiling 
 one another, which they will do if you are not 
 very careful with them, for they are exceedingly 
 tender, and the weather in which you catch 
 them being warm, an hour or two will spoil 
 them. The best rivers to catch them are the 
 Lea and the Thames ; in the latter they often 
 run a very good size. The directions given in 
 the chapter on roach, with regard to cooking, 
 &c., will answer admirably for gudgeon. 
 
 THE GUDGEON. 
 
 When flowers of May 
 
 Are seen smiling and gay, 
 While skylarks sing sweetly on high, 
 
 And fair nature is dress'd 
 
 In her loveliest vest, 
 'Tis time, then, for gudgeon to try. 
 
 But some one may say 
 
 In sarcastical way,— 
 Who would be seen fishing for gudgeon ? 
 
 But better there found, 
 
 Than on culpable ground. 
 Or feeling a something like dudgeon. 
 
 Whatever things please. 
 
 If they harm not, nor tease, 
 Are not to be treated with scorn ; 
 
 For pleasure is worth. 
 
 And the smallest on earth 
 Should not be from us wantonly torn. 
 
68 THE angler's guide. 
 
 Then let us take all 
 
 That within our reach fall, 
 And repine not though they may be few ; 
 
 And be thankful likewise 
 
 Tor all joys that we prize, 
 As this troublesome world we pass through. 
 
 Proud men, of much might. 
 
 But of not so much right, 
 Wlio are toiKng for honours and riches, 
 
 Are often outdone 
 
 By some calm, happy one, 
 Who is taking a few little fishes. 
 
 For might, fame, and gold, 
 
 (As we've leam'd from of old,) 
 Often bring with them much care and woe ; 
 
 But never can we 
 
 Ever unhappy be 
 Just because gudgeon fishing we go. 
 
 Then let cannons roar. 
 
 And destructive swords draw. 
 And intrigue and oppression be rife ; — 
 
 But let anglers fish 
 
 For a nice little dish 
 Of fat gudgeon, each May of their life. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 CHUB FISHING — GENERAL INSTRUCTION— SONG, THE CHUB. 
 
 The tackle described for barbel fishing is in 
 every way adapted for chub, with the exception 
 of the hook, which should be larger. The 
 bait also used for barbel are used for chub. 
 The places, too, where barbel are found very 
 frequently contain chub; and you may take 
 them occasionally in the same swim, and at 
 the same time of the year. Yet they are very 
 different fish, and have very difierent habits. 
 They are much more common in some waters 
 than others, but they seldom abound in any ; 
 and in all, they are generally taken only one 
 or two now and then, more as chance fish, 
 than in the regular order of angling. They 
 are also a fish of prey, and will sometimes 
 take a bait the same as a jack. We were 
 fishing for roach and dace, one beautiful 
 summer's morning, early, and a chub seized 
 
70 THE angler's guide. 
 
 a small dace we were drawing out, and shook 
 it with all the boldness of a large jack, and 
 would, we think, have pouched it if we had let 
 him, but we would not, because he would only- 
 have broken our single hair line. But we 
 changed our line in two or three minutes, and 
 put on a strong gut and a large bait of graves, 
 and mancEUvred it about the swim, something 
 like trolling; and had not done so many 
 minutes, before he took it, and we took him ; 
 and a handsome fellow he was, weighing above 
 three pounds. 
 
 ' After that incident, and knowing that there 
 were a good many chub in the water, we tried 
 to catch some others in the same manner, but 
 did not succeed. 
 
 Chub will take a bait at any time in the 
 year, but are generally fished for most in the 
 winter. At Broxbourn, and other parts of 
 the Lea, they are to be taken at that season in 
 the deepest parts, when the water is in good 
 condition. Graves, at that time of the year, 
 are generally used for bait, both for the ground 
 and the hook ; and they are found to succeed 
 well. But the regular old-fashioned way of 
 fishing for chub in the winter, is with bullocks* 
 brains; and it is decidedly the most kiUing 
 
THE angler's guide. 71 
 
 way, for if anything will tempt them to feed, 
 I it is that bait. It is not, however, followed by 
 many, because it is considered rather a messy 
 affair; — people do not like to meddle with 
 brains, any more than they like their brains 
 meddled with. We shall not, therefore, be 
 very particular in our description of that 
 method of fishing, but merely say, that the 
 brains should be boiled, cut up, and mixed 
 well with fine gravel, or sand, and thus thrown, 
 into the water for ground-bait ; and the hook 
 baited with a nice round, solid piece ; or you 
 may use for the hook, what is much to be 
 preferred, — a piece of the pith from the back- 
 bone, which will keep on the hook much 
 better. With this bait they are sometimes 
 taken of very good size. In the spring they 
 are taken in some waters with a large ground 
 grub, which is found under the grass; or 
 that found in gardens, which is a great de- 
 stroyer of young lettuce plants, &c., is preferred 
 by them; or they will, in some waters, take 
 freely a scarlet coloured paste; or, hke the 
 barbel and other fish, at that season of the 
 year, they will take a worm. But they are 
 seldom fished for then, expressly. In the 
 summer, they get on the shallows, and are 
 
72 THE angler's guide. 
 
 frequently to be seen in company with the 
 dace in those places ; and they will sometimes 
 take the fly pretty freely, as will also the dace, 
 at that time of the year. You may then dip 
 for them with a silk line, a No. 9 hook, and 
 any natural fly that you can catch. You must 
 let the wind be behind you, so that it may 
 blow your silk line over the stream, and then 
 you must let your fly keep dipping where you 
 think the fish may be, when, if so disposed, 
 they will rise and take it. We have seen some 
 very fine chub and dace taken in this way. 
 Or you may use a perfect fly-rod and wbip- 
 line, with artiflcial flies, which is decidedly a 
 more pleasant and scientific method of taking 
 them. In the Lea, between Stratford and the 
 White-house water, on the shallows, in the 
 month of July, we have seen some very good 
 sport in this way of fishing. Or you may 
 bottom fish for them in these places, with a 
 long line, a good sized hook, and a bait of 
 gentles or graves ; — keeping out of sight, and 
 letting your bait swim in among them, as 
 spoken of in the chapter on roach and dace. 
 We have taken them in this way frequently. 
 
 In the summer, early in the morning is 
 decidedly the best time to fish for chub, and 
 
THE angler's guide. 73 
 
 in the winter the middle of the day. Some 
 anglers try for them in the summer evenings, 
 with a ledger line, and two or three large 
 baits of paste on it, and just before dark 
 they will sometimes take a good fish. When 
 bottom fishing for chub, let your bait be an 
 inch or so ofi" the ground, or more, according 
 as you see they take it in the swim. Always 
 have your running line ready to go out, for as 
 soon as ever you hook them, they invariably 
 make one desperate drive to get away from 
 you, and if you do not let them go, and they 
 happen to be large — a separation is pretty sure 
 to take place between you. But after that 
 one desperate effort, they will allow you to 
 do just as you please with them, so that you 
 need not have any fear of bringing them to 
 the net. Chub are, in fact, taking them 
 altogether, rather a peculiar fish, and chub 
 fishing, rather a hazardous kind of sport ; and 
 that is one grand reason why it is not much 
 followed. There has, however, been some, 
 who are now no more, who have taken a good 
 deal of pleasure in chub fishing, and at times 
 they have been pretty successful. And it 
 cannot be denied, that some fine chub in a 
 dish look very catching to the eye, for they 
 
74 THE angler's guide. 
 
 are a very handsome fish, though not much 
 prized for the table. Under all these circum- 
 stances, therefore, we suppose that chub must 
 be honoured with a stave. 
 
 THE CHUB. 
 
 Wily chub likes a deep shaded hole, 
 And will sometimes there rise at a fly ; 
 Or will now and then snap at the troll. 
 If it happen to pass him close by. 
 
 He is handsome, and looks very bold ; 
 But is false— like a number of men ; — 
 He will feed in tlie heat and the cold. 
 But 'twill only be just now and then. 
 
 When he's hook'd, he will fly like a dart. 
 And it matters not much to him where; 
 But your tackle he'll then often part. 
 If you use not your skill and your care. 
 
 Yet after that rush he has made. 
 He'll resign himself up to his fate ; 
 And you need not to land be afraid 
 Though he be of considerable weight. 
 
 In the Spring, for them scarlet paste make ; 
 In the Summer, use any good fly ; 
 In the Autumn, they'll graves often take ; 
 In the Winter, with brains you should try. 
 
 They'll, in fact, take almost any bait. 
 But 'tis only just when they're inclined, 
 And you'll oft have a long time to wait. 
 Ere they'll be of a feedable mind. 
 
THE angler's guide. 75 
 
 All these things, then, consider' d, we see 
 Not much sport the chub-fisher attends ; 
 But we leave them all just as they be, 
 Eor the use of our angling friends. 
 
 If we can*t have things just as we would. 
 Then we must have them just as we can ; 
 And the way to make chub-fishing good, 
 Is to be quite a chub-fishing man. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PERCH FISHING — GENERAL INSTRUCTION — SONG, THE PERCH, 
 AND HIS FATE. 
 
 Perch are fished for in two ways and two 
 only, either with worms, or live bait. When 
 you fish for them with worms, you should use 
 the same rod that you use for barbel, with 
 a strong gut line, a good sized float, and 
 a hook, about No. 7, or 8, according to 
 the size of the fish you take. You may 
 fish for perch at any depth you please, as 
 they are not at all particular as to where they 
 take it. This being the case, if the water in 
 which you are fishing be deep, it is a good 
 plan to have a paternoster line, with three or 
 four hooks on it, one at the bottom, another 
 about eighteen inches higher, and another the 
 same distance above that, and so on. In this 
 way we have had very good sport in deep 
 water, when they have been on the feed. But 
 
THE angler's guide. 77 
 
 when you use a line of this kind, you must 
 not, as some do, merely loop gut-hooks on the 
 line, about a foot long, and let them dangle 
 down and twist all round your line, for if you 
 do, they had, in our opinion, much better be 
 off the line altogether, for you will very seldom 
 find a fish take a bait in such a state. All 
 the hooks but the bottom one should be tied 
 on bristles, about three inches long, and these 
 should be looped on, and they will then stand 
 out quite away from the line. Don't put them 
 on your line at home, and bend them in putting 
 them on your reel, because that will spoil them; 
 keep them straight in a paper in your case 
 till you want to use them, and when at the 
 water loop them on, and they will stand out 
 well. 
 
 If perch are quite on the feed they will take 
 any sort of worms, but we think the best to use 
 always is the red, and they should be a good 
 size, and well scoured. In baiting your hook, 
 do no more damage to the Worm than you 
 can help, so that it shall move well on the 
 hook, for fish always prefer a lively bait. This 
 should be borne in mind in all worm fishing, 
 especially if the fish are dainty. You need 
 not be so quick in* striking perch as roach or 
 
78 THE at^gler's guide. 
 
 dace ; you may give them a little time to get 
 the worm into their mouth, for very frequently 
 they get hold of the end of it only at first, 
 and if you strike then, you will miss your 
 fish. Give them a little time to get your float 
 under, and then strike, and if your hook be 
 a good size, you will be pretty sure of them. 
 When you fish for perch with live bait, that is, 
 with minnows or other very small fish, you 
 may use your jack tackle, if you please ; and 
 it is quite as well to do so, in case you should 
 get hold of a jack, which is very frequently 
 the case. And sometimes a large jack will 
 take a very small bait, for we have frequently 
 found in their pouch a number not more 
 than an inch long. When Hve-baiting for 
 perch also, let your gut be pretty strong at 
 the hook, for if it be not, it will be likely to 
 cut against their teeth. You can fish at any 
 depth you please, but we always prefer mid- 
 water. There are two ways of baiting with 
 the minnow — one by putting the hook just 
 under the back fin, and the other, by putting 
 it through both lips; we prefer the latter 
 When they take it, give them a little time 
 before you strike, and strike the contrary way 
 to that they are going. The places for perch. 
 
THE angler's guide. 79 
 
 are generally those in and about where jack 
 frequent. A corner, a shallow near a deep 
 hole, an eddy, a rough made by a tumbhng- 
 bay, or a still hole near it, are all likely places. 
 As it regards the time for perch-fishing, the 
 spring is decidedly the best in rivers, though 
 they will feed in some, more or less, all the 
 year round. In large ponds, docks, &c., they 
 will not feed, generally, until the weather gets 
 warm. They are a fish that is operated upon 
 very strongly by the weather. We have 
 known them to come on the feed quite strong 
 at the springing up of a stiff breeze, and leave 
 off as quickly when it had subsided. But a 
 good wind is always favourable, both for perch 
 and jack, for if the water be quite still you 
 seldom get much sport. "When you take perch 
 out of the water, mind how you handle them, 
 for their back fin and part of their head will 
 cut you like a knife. They are a very good 
 fish for the table, and may be cooked with 
 their scales on, if you do not like the trouble 
 of taking them off, and then after they are 
 cooked take them off altogether, skin and all. 
 We prefer to have them scaled before they 
 are cooked ; but it is quite a task, especially 
 for any one who is not used to it, or has not 
 
80 THE angler's guide. 
 
 any patience to spare. Perch are found, more 
 or less, in most rivers, and in some ponds and 
 still waters they are very abundant. We shall \ 
 conclude our chapter with two or three verses, 
 narrating an incident respecting a perch, which 
 occurred with us some twenty years back : — 
 
 THE PERCH, AND HIS FATE. 
 
 One day an anxious angler plied 
 His art within the pearly tide, 
 
 To catch some roach and dace ; 
 With line of hair, and tiny hook. 
 And gentles white, he numbers took. 
 
 With decent skill and grace. 
 
 Just then a perch, not quite a pound. 
 Was lurking in the sedges round, 
 
 And felt inclined for food ; 
 And as the angler rose a dace. 
 He seized it straight before his face 
 
 In really perch-like mood. 
 
 The angler look'd, the perch held tight. 
 The scales came off the dace, and bright 
 
 They sparkled in the stream ; 
 And pouch'd his body would have been 
 Had not the angler danger seen, 
 
 And spoil'd the gluttonous dream. 
 
 The dace rescued, down went the perch. 
 But only in his haunt to lurch 
 
 'Till he again could prey; 
 The angler plied again his skill, 
 Intent his basket's void to fill, 
 
 Eorgetful of the fray. 
 
THE angler's guide. 81 
 
 But only two or three he'd caught. 
 Ere midway ia the stream he brought 
 
 A small, but struggling dace ; 
 When out the perch from ambush burst, 
 And seized him as he did the first. 
 
 And in the selfsame place. 
 
 " Well," said the angler, " bold you are, 
 And, just for fun, I'll see how far 
 
 You'll go with your intent." 
 And in that mind he let him make 
 His pulls, and shakes, and strains to take, 
 
 'Till down his throat it went. 
 
 And down went he, quite out of sight, 
 Thinking, no doubt, that all was right. 
 
 But soon he found 'twas wrong; 
 For now, the angler play'd his part, 
 And with his hair made perch to smart, 
 
 For it was pretty strong. 
 
 He held him tight with might and main. 
 And perchy puU'd and pull'd again. 
 
 But could not get away; 
 For from the dace the hook had slipp'd, 
 And gone clean through his upper lip. 
 
 And there he was at bay ! 
 
 The wondering angler swung him out. 
 Still wondering how it came about — 
 
 And often since has thought, 
 How such a cliange could come to pass. 
 And how the dace was saved at last. 
 
 And how the perch was caught ! 
 
 Yet, so it was, for we were there. 
 And saw the whole of the affair 
 
 As plainly as could be ; 
 We, therefore, for the truth can vouch. 
 And more — we search 'd the perch's pouch, 
 
 And there no dace could see. 
 
82 THE angler's GriDE. 
 
 From hence we may a moral draw : 
 There have been men, and may be more, 
 
 "Who, with rapacious pride, 
 Have, like the perch, pounced on their prey- 
 But it has proved an evil day, 
 
 Tor in the affair they've died. 
 
 Let truth and virtue lead our way ; 
 Then Mdt may talk, and fun may play, 
 
 If wisdom join the throng : 
 In all our doings temperate be. 
 That all who may our conduct see 
 
 May never see us wrong. 
 
«- CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 i 
 
 EELS, CAKP, TENCH, BREAM, ETC. — FOUE WAYS TO CATCH 
 EELS — THE WAY TO TAKE CARP — TENCH, THEIR HABITS, 
 ETC. 
 
 We class these in one chapter, because we 
 wish to compress our work as much as 
 possible, and because they are not so im- 
 portant as those spoken of before. There 
 are several ways of catching eels; we will 
 just notice one or two. That which is most 
 followed by anglers is, with two rods and 
 lines of any kind, and upon each line two 
 or three hooks, half-a-yard apart, baited with 
 worms, and having a ledger lead to sink 
 them. Throw them into the middle of the 
 stream, twenty or thirty yards distant from 
 each other, and if the eels are on the run, 
 you will soon see a bite by the way in which 
 your rod is pulled ; and while you are taking 
 off the eel and baiting, you will very likely 
 have another bite at the other rod and line, 
 to which you will have to attend when you 
 have thrown that in hand into the water; 
 
84 THE angler's guide. 
 
 and thus you go on all down the stream, 
 carrying first one rod and then the other a 
 little further on, as you take them out to 
 attend to them, &c. A good many eels may 
 be taken in this way, but only in the month 
 of May or June, when they are on the run ; 
 and the best time is after heavy showers, &;c. 
 Another way to catch eels, is by a method 
 which is called sniggling, which is only prac- 
 tised also in the summer ; for this purpose 
 the rod is short and strong, without a top 
 joint, and across the end of it there is tied a 
 piece of whalebone, or wire, about a foot long, 
 which points down to the water ; the point 
 of this whalebone or wire is made sharp. 
 The line is made of strong whip-cord, a few 
 yards long, and on the end is a strong needle, 
 fastened in the middle very neatly : the bait 
 is a lob- worm, and the needle is forced into 
 it so that it is completely covered. This 
 worm and needle is put on the end of the 
 whalebone at the top of the rod, by entering 
 the sharp point of the whalebone into the 
 worm ; you then go along the side of the 
 river, and wherever you see a hole within 
 your reach, you put in the worm and then 
 let it slip off the end of the whalebone. If 
 
THE angler's guide. 85 
 
 there be an eel in the hole, he will most likely- 
 take it and draw it into the hole ; when he 
 has had it a minute or so, you give the line 
 a smart pull, and if he has swallowed the 
 worm when you pull, the needle goes across 
 his stomach and forces through to the out- 
 side ; he is then fast, and you must do your 
 best to get him out of his hole. If he be a 
 large eel he will not come out until he is 
 completely forced, and in that case you must 
 turn your line a number of times roimd the 
 top of your rod and force him out with it. 
 
 Another way of catching eels is by what is 
 called bobbing ; in that case, your rod, which 
 is short and strong, has at the top of it a 
 small pulley, like the ancient trolling rods, 
 and one or two rings, and your line is strong 
 cord; your bait is a number of lob-worms 
 threaded on coarse worsted and tied in a 
 bunch, with a piece of lead to sink them. 
 This bunch of worms is tied to your line, 
 which is put through the pulley and rings, 
 and held in your left hand while the rod is 
 held in your right. You then go to a bed of 
 weeds, or any place where you think the eels 
 are, and let the bunch of worms down among 
 them ) when they lay hold you will feel them, 
 
86 THE angler's guide, 
 
 and then pulling up the bunch of worms 
 gently, they will not be able to disentangle 
 their teeth from the worsted before you lift 
 them on the land, or into the boat, if you are 
 fishing from one. This is quite an ancient 
 method of catching eels. 
 
 Another, and a much more successful way, 
 is with an eel-basket or pot ; it is made with 
 osier twigs, and has a mouth, or entrance, like 
 a rat or mouse-trap, so that the eels can go in 
 but cannot get out, and it is baited with small 
 fish ; it is then sunk in the river with a brick 
 tied to it, in any likely place, and during the 
 night the eels run into it, and sometimes 
 completely fill it ; it is then taken out in the 
 morning. Where we lived in the country for 
 a short time, there was a small run of water 
 from the river, at the bottom of our garden, 
 and one day we saw eels running along in it ; 
 we went to a basket-maker in the neighbour- 
 hood and got a basket made, and the first 
 night we put it down we caught several, and 
 the next night about half a peck, and very 
 fine eels they were. We sent some in to our 
 next-door neighbour, who thanked us very 
 ftiuch for them, as he was very fond of them ; 
 and he asked us where we caught them. We 
 
 M\ 
 
THE angler's guide. 87 
 
 told him, at the bottom of the garden ; he 
 stared, and could hardly believe us, until we 
 showed him the basket, when he lifted up both 
 hands and exclaimed : " Well, I have lived 
 here these forty years, and never dreamed of 
 catching one, so fond as I am of them ; bless 
 my soul, what a fool I have been !" The eel 
 is a serpentine fish, but it is highly nutritious. 
 Carp are not very frequently found in rivers 
 in any great number, but they are to be found 
 in ponds in abundance, especially the Prussian, 
 which always run very small. Carp will take 
 either paste or worms, and they feed best in 
 the summer. They grow to a very great size, 
 and are a very game fish, and will not give in 
 to the angler until they have exhausted every 
 modicum of strength they possess ; and even 
 after that, they will five in your basket for a 
 number of hours, as though they were deter- 
 mined to live in spite of you. Some people 
 prize them for the table, but others think them 
 coarse eating. 
 
 V Tench are in their habits similar to carp, 
 and consequently they always live well to- 
 gether, many ponds in the kingdom possessing 
 scarcely any other fish. Tench will take a 
 worm sometimes very freely in the summer, 
 
S8 THE angler's guide. 
 
 after warm showers. It is a very rich and 
 delicate fish, in flavour not unUke the eel, and 
 is very nutritious food. It is not common in 
 rivers, only one or two being taken now and 
 then. It always frequents the most muddy 
 places, and is a strong, game fish, when hooked. 
 
 Bream are found more frequently in rivers 
 than carp and tench, but, like them, they are 
 more abundant in docks, ponds, and other 
 still waters. They grow to several pounds' 
 weight, and are very easily killed with a 
 single hair. The directions given for roach 
 will answer for bream in every respect, and 
 therefore we need not give any further instruc- 
 tion respecting them. They are spoken of by 
 many persons in this country as a worthless 
 sort of fish; but it is well known that they 
 are esteemed as quite a dehcacy on the con- 
 tinent, and we consider them very good if 
 properly cooked, &c. 
 
 Bleak are a pretty little lively fish, always 
 seen in warm weather, on the top of the water, 
 taking every fly that comes within their reach. 
 They make very good sport for the young 
 angler, as he can catch them with a fly, on 
 the top of the water, or with a gentle, about a 
 foot deep, with a small float and hair line. 
 
THE angler's guide. 89 
 
 Thus we have spoken of the best methods 
 of anglmg for every fish generally taken in the 
 rivers in our country, with the exception of 
 trout ; and as trout-fishing may be considered 
 a department of angling peculiar to itself, it 
 will be found near the end of our book : — not 
 placed there because it is of httle importance, 
 but because we are aware that a great number 
 of anglers have not the opportunities of follow- 
 ing it. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE EIVER LEA, AND ITS FISHERIES. 
 
 No river round London is such a favourite 
 with anglers as the Lea, and no one is better 
 stored vi^ith the various kinds of fish that are 
 common in rivers. It contains trout, jack, 
 roach, dace, bream, carp, tench, gudgeon, 
 bleak, eels, &c., and all these are as fine of 
 their kind as are to be found in any other 
 river in the kingdom, and some of them finer. 
 It being fishable too so near the metropolis, 
 renders it a great source of attraction ; and 
 there being railway stations now near to the 
 fisheries which it contains, makes them acces- 
 sible to all who feel disposed to enjoy the 
 pleasure of breathing pure air for a few hours 
 while engaged in angling recreation. The 
 Londoner may now spend an hour or two in 
 angling as easily as he can make a call on a 
 relation or friend, or see the newspaper and 
 have a chat over politics. He may put his 
 
THE ANGLER S GUIDE. 91 
 
 case of lines, &c., into his pockets, jump into 
 the train, and be at the water-side in a few 
 minutes — jfish as long time as he can spare, 
 jump into the train again, bring home his fish, 
 put away his case, and no one knows that he 
 has been fishing but his wife and family ; and 
 the exercise he has taken, and the air he has 
 l)reathed, will do him much more good than 
 all the physic contained in any one of the 
 finest doctors' shops in the kingdom. 
 
 The river Lea rises in Bedfordshire, passes 
 in its course through Hertfordshire, and from 
 thence runs between Essex and Middlesex, and 
 falls into the Thames at Blackwall. We shall 
 just mention the fisheries it contains in rota- 
 tion, beginning with those nearest to London. 
 
 There is not much angling in the Lea from 
 Blackwall, until you get to Temple Mills. 
 At Bromley, Stratford, and Old Ford, fish are 
 to be taken in the summer; but the tide 
 running in from the Thames, when it is high, 
 renders it unpleasant fishing... But as soon as 
 you get within a quarter of a mile of the White 
 Hart, Temple Mills, the water becomes good, 
 and the scenery pleasant. The water here is 
 free, on to the posts in the water, on which are 
 placed the coat of arms of the City of London, 
 
02 THE angler's guide. 
 
 near the white bridge. The Lead-mill river 
 also, that runs through the garden of the 
 White Hart, is free. This being the case, a 
 number of young anglers in particular resort 
 thither in the summer to enjoy their favourite 
 recreation free of all expense ; and those vi^ho 
 are skilful often obtain very good sport, as the 
 water is well stored with fish. 
 
 The first subscription fishery is the White 
 House, which commences from the white bridge. 
 It contains some very good swims for roach, 
 barbel, dace, gudgeon, perch, chub, carp, &c., 
 and some very good haunts for jack. We 
 have seen in this water about the bridge men- 
 tioned, as many large fish of various kinds as 
 would have filled a town cart. And in the 
 shallows in the month of April, roach by thou- 
 sands, when they are spawning. A good 
 number of barbel and jack, and a great many 
 roach and dace, are taken here every season. 
 The subscription is 10s. 6d. a-year. The 
 accommodation at the White House, which is 
 private, is very good. 
 
 The next fishery is the Horse and Groom, 
 Lea Bridge, kept by Mr. Jas. Berresford, sen., 
 who for a number of years lived at the 
 White House just named, which is still held 
 
THE angler's guide. 93 
 
 by him, but attended to by his eldest son. 
 He is the oldest keeper of water on the Lea, 
 having been at the White House and the 
 Horse and Groom together for between forty 
 and fifty years, and is still as kind and as 
 obliging as ever. This water is very good, 
 retired and pleasant, and abounds with fish of 
 all the various kinds. It is in many parts 
 very deep, and therefore harbours fish in 
 abundance. There are many excellent swims 
 for roach, barbel, chub, carp, dace, perch, gud- 
 geon, &c., and a great number of jack and pike 
 are taken every season. There is a tumbling 
 bay near the house, in which, in the spring, 
 many barbel and chub are taken by ledgering. 
 Barbel are frequently taken in this water of 
 ten or twelve pounds' weight, and occasion- 
 ally from that weight to twenty-one pounds. 
 There will be shortly another tumbUng bay 
 made in this water, which will be a further 
 acquisition : and the " East London Water 
 Company" will obtain their water by a cut 
 from Bonder's End very shortly, and not from 
 the water in this locality, which will be an 
 improvement to this fishery. The subscrip- 
 tion is 10^. 6d. a-year. The railway station 
 is within a few minutes' walk of it, and there 
 
94 THE angler's guide. 
 
 is tlie best accommodation at the house either 
 for large or small parties. From this fishery 
 the water is free for above a mile, and contains 
 a good many roach, dace, chub, &c. ; but there 
 are so many barges, and boats hired for the 
 recreation of rowing, that there is not much 
 sport for those who fish in it. 
 
 The next fishery is at Tottenham, called 
 The Ferry House, kept by Mr. Tyler, and is a 
 pretty rural water, and well stored with all 
 the various kinds of fish common to the Lea. 
 The subscription is lOs. Qd, a-year. 
 
 Passing onwards, the next fishery is Eord's, 
 which is a fine deep piece of water, containing 
 a great many fine jack, chub, carp, roach, &c. 
 The subscription is 11. for trolling and bottom 
 fishing, and 10s. for bottom fishing only. 
 
 The next fishery is Wick's, which is the 
 old Cook's Ferry House. This water is very 
 excellent, and contains a great number of 
 jack, and an abundance of all the other finny 
 tribes, and the accommodation at the house 
 good. The subscription is 11. Is. a-year troll- 
 ing, and 105. 6d. for bottom fishing. The 
 next fishery is that called the Chingford 
 Water, and is renowned for th^ fine jack and 
 roach which are taken there every season. 
 
 
THE ANGLER S GUIDE. 95 
 
 A select number of gentlemen subscribe 11. Is. 
 a-year, to keep Mrs. Bullin in the house, and, 
 we understand, intend to do so as long as 
 she lives — whether they angle or not — a 
 proof that anglers are philanthropic men. 
 The house is very rural, and the scenery 
 around very delightful. The next fishery 
 is that kept by Mr. Thomas Kidd, at the 
 Anchor and Pike. The subscription is 10s, 
 a-year, and the angler has the privilege of fish- 
 ing ui three pieces of water, well stored with 
 jack and pike, roach and dace, chub, and 
 some fine barbel. There is at the snug 
 little house the very best of accommodation, 
 Mr. Kidd being ever ready to oblige to the 
 utmost of his ability. From hence, we pass 
 on to the waters at Waltham Abbey, which 
 formerly belonged to Government, but are now 
 let out as subscription waters, one belong- 
 ing to Mr. Clark, and the other to Mr. Lack ; 
 the subscription to Mr. Clark's is 11. Is., and 
 to Mr. Lack's, 10s. There is every accom- 
 modation at the houses, and the waters con- 
 tain an abundance of fish, jack in particular. 
 The next water is kept by Mr. Page, and con- 
 tains some fine jack, chub, roach, perch, &c. ; 
 the subscription is lOs., and the spot very 
 
96 THE angler's guide. 
 
 retired. Then come the renowned Broxbourn 
 waters, kept by Mr. Binningfield, at the 
 Old Crown; here a great number of roach, 
 jack, and chub are taken every season, and 
 every attention is paid to anglers to make 
 them comfortable. And then, last but not 
 least, come the famous waters at the Old Rye 
 House, so renowned in history, kept by Mr. 
 Teal, which is decidedly a very pretty place, 
 and excelled by no other fishery on the Lea. 
 It has long been a favourite place for jack fish- 
 ing, and every other kind of fish may be taken 
 here in the season. Every attention is paid by 
 Mr. Teal to his subscribers and visitors, and 
 there is no place round London more calcu- 
 lated for a little piscatory pleasure. The river 
 from thence to the source is full of fish, among 
 which is a good number of fine trout. 
 
 Thus we have just glanced at the Lea and 
 its fisheries, and we feel quite sure that there 
 is no river in the kingdom that bears any 
 likeness to it for the fish it contains, and for 
 the pleasure it is calculated to give to the 
 lovers of angling. Some parts of it have been 
 preserved for nearly a century, and many 
 others for above half that time, and therefore 
 it must abound with fish. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE BIVER THAMES, AND ITS PISHEMES. 
 
 The Thames is the principal river in Britain; 
 it comes from two sources, or small rivers, in 
 Gloucestershire, the Churn and the Isis ; these 
 unite near Cricklade, Wilts, where it receives 
 several small rivulets ; thence, in its course to 
 London, it receives the Coin, Lech, Charwell, 
 Ock, Thame, Kennet, Loddon, Wey, Mole, 
 Brent and Wandle. After it passes London, 
 it receives the Lea, Boding, and Darent, and 
 parting in its course Essex from Kent, it runs 
 into the German Ocean. It is well stocked 
 with roach, dace, barbel, jack, pike, carp, 
 bream, bleak, gudgeon, flounders, eels, white- 
 bait, smelts, &c., with some fine trout at the 
 source, and occasionally salmon at the mouth. 
 Time was when Thames salmon were plentiful, 
 and the finest in the kingdom ; and they 
 would, in the winter, force themselves up the 
 
 H 
 
98 THE angler's guide. 
 
 Lea and other rivers to spawn, and were 
 taken by anglers with snatch tackle in con- 
 siderable numbers. Time was, also, when 
 shads were so numerous in the Thames, that 
 upon certain occasions the tide would fall 
 quickly and leave them in the holes on the 
 banks by hundreds. Hence, the old English 
 adage : " If hads were shads we should have 
 fish for supper." And time was when a good 
 dish of roach could be taken by an angler on 
 floating timbers, in the winter, at " Execution 
 Dock." But all those times are gone by, 
 never perhaps to return, unless England, like 
 many other mighty nations that have flourished 
 on the earth, should be destroyed and forsaken, 
 and then the finny race might again dwell in 
 their old abodes. Father Thames now, like 
 some imprudent angler, is so noisy, and so full 
 of bustle and disturbance, that salmon will not 
 come near him. Some thirty or forty years 
 ago, roach might be taken, in fine weather, 
 round the piles of the bridges ; but now this is 
 not to be done at any time nearer than Batter- 
 sea and Fulham, where there are several places 
 in which fish may be taken. The fisheries, 
 or preserves, of the Thames are not subscrip- 
 tion, as on the Lea, but there are a number of 
 
THE angler's guide. 99 
 
 gentlemen who subscribe a guinea a-year to 
 pay water bailiffs, to preserve the principal 
 places in the water from poachers, netting, &c. 
 They have formed themselves into a society, 
 called " The Thames Angling Preservation 
 Society." And there are other societies that 
 act in concert with them, as " The Society of 
 Friendly Anglers," " The Piscatorial Society," 
 " The United Sons of Walton and Cotton," 
 " The United Society of Anglers," and " The 
 True Waltonians." There are punt-men who 
 live at all the principal places, and punts are let 
 out at so much per day, &c. to anglers. We 
 shall, as with the Lea, just name the places 
 most frequented by anglers, and make any 
 particular observation that may be necessary 
 upon them. The first place is Isleworth ; 
 here the water, in the summer, becomes fine 
 and tranquil, and very good fishing is to be 
 obtained in the season, many fine roach and 
 dace, and especially barbel, being taken. It 
 should, indeed, be remarked, that the Thames 
 is renowned chiefly for barbel, and is visited 
 by many anglers who never fish for anything 
 else, and sometimes a very great number are 
 taken by them. The next place is Rich- 
 mond, where there is every accommodation 
 
100 THE angler's guide. 
 
 for anglers, and where punts may be ob- 
 I tained at 5^. per day, and every attendance 
 given. The barbel will, some seasons, come 
 on to feed here as early as Jmie; but the 
 latter end of July and August are decidedly 
 the best times in any season, and at all 
 places in the Thames. We scarcely need say 
 that Richmond is a most lovely spot, and that 
 the scenery around is very delightful. The 
 dace fishing here is excellent. Fine jack, 
 chub, and perch, are also taken. The boat- 
 men here are, Piatt, Howard, Brown, and 
 Carter, The next place is Twickenham. Here 
 some trout are to be taken, and a good num- 
 ber of barbel. Opposite Pope's Villa is a 
 famous place for fine chub and heavy barbel. 
 <^/ The boatmen here are Coten and son, Cham- 
 ' berlain, Harris, and Hennessey. 
 
 We then go on to Teddington, where there 
 is excellent fishing. Some persons prefer 
 this place for barbel to many others in the 
 Thames, and there certainly are great num- 
 bers taken here every season, and plenty of 
 rfl the other finny race. The boatmen here 
 are, Balwin, Deer and son, and Kemp and 
 son. Kingston is the next place, and is 
 spoken of by many anglers as containing 
 
THE angler's guide. lOl 
 
 some excellent spots for barbel, and some 
 beautiful swims for roach and dace. Every 
 attention is paid at the Sun to anglers. 
 The boatmen here are, Brown, Clark, and 
 Parnham. 
 
 We next come to Thames Ditton, where 
 there is very good fishing, and two good 
 houses — the Crown and Anchor and the 
 Swan — where anglers can obtain every ac- 
 commodation. At this place, you can not 
 only have punts, but tackle also, if you feel 
 so disposed. The boatmen are, - Rogerson, 
 William Tagg, and Henry Tagg. The next 
 we come to is Hampton Court and Hampton, 
 where there is a tumbling bay, and famous 
 barbel fishing. Fine trout are taken here 
 also, and jack and perch, in the season. There 
 are also a number of good houses for accom- 
 modation. Benn, Davis, Melbourn, and Snell, 
 are the boatmen at this place. Next we come 
 to Sunbury, then Walton, and then Halliford, 
 which may be all classed together ; and there 
 is excellent fishing for barbel, trout, jack, 
 perch, &c. at them all, and boatmen to be 
 found to attend upon you. Then we come 
 to Shepperton Deeps, which contain a number 
 of heavy fish, including very large bream, 
 barbel, jack, and roach, and where there are 
 
102 THE angler's guide. 
 
 punts and boatmen to be obtained as at all the 
 other places we have named. We then pass on 
 to Wey bridge, Chertsey, Penton Hook, Staines, 
 &c., and at all these places the angler will 
 find excellent fishing, — at Staines, in particular, 
 where there are a number of boatmen ever 
 ready to oblige. It may be remarked, that 
 the trout fishing is more excellent as you get 
 higher up the water; and the jack fishing 
 is very good. Roach and perch, too, are 
 frequently taken of a very large size, and a 
 great number of barbel. We may mention, 
 also, that at a number of places up the river, 
 the bank fishing becomes very good. In some 
 of the rivers, too, which we have named, which 
 run into the Thames about these places, there 
 is very good fishing for all the different kinds 
 of fish; but it would be useless to lengthen 
 our chapter with a description of them, as it 
 would be in a great measure the same thing 
 over again. We would recommend every 
 angler who wishes to be well acquainted 
 with the Thames, to purchase the map of 
 it, which is sold at the respectable tackle 
 shops in London, and is very beautifully got 
 up and coloured. There is no angling allowed 
 in the Thames during the months of March, 
 April, and May. Ci^t/AiA^ Lty. \4ur2^^. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE DOCKS, AND OTHER PLACES BOUND LONDON. 
 
 The East and West India Docks abound 
 with fish, chiefly roach, bream, and perch. 
 The East Docks are situated at the end of the 
 East India Road, near Blackwall, and the 
 West at the back of Limehouse, near to 
 Poplar. They belong now to one company, 
 named " The East and West India Dock Com- 
 pany." At both places there is an Import 
 dock and an Export dock ; and united to the 
 west docks, there is the Blackwall Basin, the 
 City Canal, and the Timber Basin. To fish 
 in any of these an order must be obtained 
 from the Company, signed by the Secretary, 
 or by some clerk for him ; and the Company is 
 very kind in giving orders to any respectable 
 person, if he first present at the office, Billiter 
 Square, a letter of recommendation from some 
 
104 THE angler's guide. 
 
 respectable merchant or firm. You must, 
 however, have an order from a Director to 
 fish in the Blackwall Basin, and an order of 
 more weight than the general one to fish in 
 the Import docks. We have fished in them 
 all many times, and had very good sport, 
 taking bream sometimes weighing upwards 
 of three pounds, and thirty or forty pounds' 
 weight of roach at a sitting. In the Black- 
 wall Basin, the fish feed more frequently than 
 in any of the other deep docks ; and in the 
 Timber Basin more frequently still, it being 
 more shallow, and not taking so much sun 
 to warm the water, &c. The fishing in the 
 docks, however, is by no means so good as 
 it used to be, and various are the opinions 
 of anglers as to the cause of it. And several 
 times lately the fish have been seen in them 
 in a sickly state, very near the top of the 
 water* and when that is the case they will 
 never feed. Some persons think that, at such 
 times, they have been rendered sickly by some 
 poisonous food that has been thrown into the 
 water by some poaching persons, in order 
 that they may have the opportunity of taking 
 them out. But that is quite a wrong idea, 
 because if it were so, it would only be the 
 
THE angler's guide. 105 
 
 fish that had partaken of the poisonous food 
 that would be sickly, and the others would 
 feed ; but it is a well-known fact, that when 
 they have been seen in that state not a single 
 fish would bite, and therefore it must have 
 been something in the whole of the water 
 that affected the whole of the fish ; but what 
 that has been could not be really ascertained* 
 The depth of the docks varies according to 
 the quantity of water in them ; but, generally 
 speaking, you will require for the Import and 
 Export a line from about sixteen to twenty feet, 
 and for the Timber Basin one about ten feet. 
 
 The Blackwall Basin is deep in some places, 
 and shallow in others, so. that you must order 
 your line accordingly. If you fish here for 
 perch, you may use the live shrimp, taken in 
 the docks with a small net made for the pur- 
 pose, which is at times a very killing bait. 
 And your paternoster line may have five or six 
 hooks on it in the deep places, as spoken of 
 in the chapter of Perch-Pishing. Smelts are 
 sometimes taken here in the summer with 
 a paternoster line also, and baiting the hooks 
 with a piece of the smelt. Very fine eels, also, 
 are taken in the Timber Basin in warm 
 weather, by laying a night line baited with a 
 
106 THE angler's guide. 
 
 small fish ; and very fine jack are sometimes 
 taken there in the winter. These docks contain 
 some very fine carp and chub, as seen near 
 the top of the water, but they very seldom 
 take the bait. The City Canal is a great deal 
 deeper than the Timber Basin; but as the 
 water runs from one to the other, the fishing 
 in both is much the same. From the jetties 
 in the canal there is good roach fishing, and 
 good perch fishing from the banks. The Com- 
 mercial Dock at Rotherhithe is well stocked 
 with fish ; it contains bream, roach, perch, 
 carp, eels, &c., but the bream are in the greatest 
 abundance, and when they are on the feed, 
 which is in the summer, you may take a great 
 number of them, though generally they run 
 rather small. You nmst have an order from 
 some person connected with the dock. 
 
 The Grand Surrey Canal Dock, near Deptford, 
 is an excellent place for angling ; roach, perch, 
 bream, carp, tench, eels, &c. are taken there 
 in great numbers in the summer ; and, in the 
 autumn and winter, a good number of jack. 
 It was for a number of years a subscription 
 water, and day-tickets were sold, and a vast 
 number of fish taken ; but the fishing has not 
 been so good in it as it used to be, and we 
 
THE ANGLER S GUIDE. 107 
 
 understand that now orders can be obtained 
 gratuitously. The Grand Surrey Canal did 
 jxtend a good many miles along the country, 
 but it has been done away in great part for 
 the railway, and is now in detached pieces, 
 but still those pieces contain a good number 
 of jSsh, jack in particular. At Croydon, near 
 the Dartmouth Arms, there is a piece of 
 considerable length, containing a good number 
 of jack, which is free for angling. The An- 
 nerley Gardens, in the same locality, have a 
 tine piece of water in them, which contains 
 a vast number of tench, roach, perch, and jack, 
 — tench in particular, which run a very good 
 size, and will feed very freely in the first of 
 the season, before they have spawned. The 
 water is free for anglers who take refreshments 
 at the house, where they can have the best of 
 accommodation. In this water the tench take 
 gentles more freely than any other bait. 
 
 Let us now, making our circle round London, 
 go to Hyde Park, where is the Serpentine 
 River, which abounds with fish, bream in 
 particular, and in the summer will afibrd the 
 angler abundance of sport, if he get into a 
 quiet place and fish it properly, using either 
 gentles or paste for bait. Then there is the 
 
108 THE angler's guide. 
 
 water in the Kensington Gardens, which con- 
 tains bream, roach, and perch, and where a 
 great number may be taken, if you keep out 
 of sight, and can get other persons to do the 
 same. But let it be borne in mind, that at all 
 such places as these a long rod is very neces-^ 
 sary, as the fish will not come very near to thd 
 sides,; and that is one grand reason why perJ 
 sons do not succeed in these places, and only 
 get small fish. It is not because there are no 
 large fish in them, — for there must be thou-* 
 sands, — ^but because they cannot be reached^ 
 and they are too shy to come near the angler^ 
 
 The next water worthy of notice is Kings^ 
 bury's, which is five miles from Hyde Pari 
 Corner, on the Edgeware Road. It abounds 
 with jack and perch, more so than any othel 
 piece of water round London. The subscrip- 
 tion is I/. 1^. a- year, and day-tickets can hi 
 purchased on the spot for 2^. each. Some twC 
 or three years back, a labouring man, whc 
 was a good angler, bought a day-ticket, anc 
 took as many jack in one day out of this 
 water as he sold for 21. ; from which inci- 
 dent we may judge of the number it must stil 
 contain. 
 
 The Reservoirs at Stoke Newington are wel 
 
THE angler's guide. 109 
 
 stored with jack, perch, and roach. In the 
 spring the perch feed there pretty freely, and 
 some of a very large size are taken. A good 
 number of jack are also taken in the season, 
 and it is a pleasant rural place for an angler 
 to spend an hour. But the number allowed 
 the privilege of angling is very limited, there 
 being only so many yearly tickets given to the 
 friends of the directors. This line of conduct 
 they have been forced into, they having received 
 so many applications for orders. The New 
 River runs along the side of the Reservoirs, 
 and in it are to be taken some beautiful roach 
 in the season. 
 
 At St. Alban's, in Hertfordshire, there is 
 very good fishing at a place called Two-waters. 
 Here are some fine trout, and jack, roach, dace, 
 perch, &c. There are also some other places 
 in the locality where some very good jack may 
 be taken ; and the waters are all free for any 
 respectable angler, and houses are near where 
 he may obtain the best of accommodation. 
 
 We may mention next the Reservoir at 
 Cheshunt, belonging to the New River Com- 
 pany, which abounds with jack, perch, roach, 
 &c., and is subject to the same restrictions 
 as those at Stoke Newington. At Amwell, 
 
110 THE ANGLERS GUIDE. 
 
 near Ware, in Hertfordshire, there is a find 
 piece of water, full of large jack, perch, trout, 
 roach, dace, &c. Only a select number o 
 subscribers is allowed, and the subscription, 
 we are informed, is 21. 2s. A few miles 
 nearer London, in the same locality, is the 
 Royden Canal, which is a capital piece o 
 water, well stored with all the different tribes 
 of the scaly race, jack being plentiful, anc 
 some very fine roach. It is a water not mucl 
 known by anglers, or it would doubtless be 
 fished and prized more, and it is quite fre^ 
 for the angler. It comes from Burnt Millsi 
 and unites with the Lea at Royden, and there 
 are several miles of it, beside some small baci 
 pieces. By taking a ticket to Royden, on th< 
 Eastern Counties Railway, you will be pu 
 down close to it. At Snaresbrook, about su 
 miles from London, on the road to Wood- 
 ford, there is a large pond belonging to th< 
 Eagle Inn, in which is a good many jack 
 perch, eels, &c., and it is free for anglers wh( 
 put up at the house. 
 
 The next water we have to name is the nvea 
 Roden, in Essex ; it rises near Dunmow, anc 
 flows through Epping Forest, on to Barking 
 and runs from thence into the Thames. It 
 
THE angler's guide. Ill 
 
 contains roach, dace, perch, &c., and a good 
 number of jack, and is free for anghng. At 
 AVoodford there are some good haunts for jack ; 
 and from thence to Abridge, where a good num- 
 ber of jack are to be taken by a dihgent angler. 
 The last place we have to speak of is Dagen- 
 ham Breach, which has been long known in 
 the angling world ; it is a large piece of water, 
 made at first by the flowing of the Thames 
 through its bank. It is full of fish, among 
 which are roach, perch, carp, tench, jack, 
 eels, and bream in abundance. Some years 
 back the bream used to be taken of a very 
 large size, but of late they have run smaller : 
 there is no place round London where the 
 fish feed more freely than here; and very 
 frequently ten or twelve dozen may be taken 
 in an hour or two. It is a still water, and 
 requires, as hinted before, a long rod, and the 
 angler to keep out of sight. Several changes 
 have been made respecting the subscription 
 to fish in this water, but we believe now 
 tickets for the day can be obtained at the 
 house on the spot, the sign of the Checkers, 
 where every other accommodation can be 
 obtained. Some good jack and perch are 
 taken here in the season, and there will 
 
112 THE angler's guide. 
 
 shortly be a railway that will take you very 
 near to the spot. 
 
 Thus we have completed our circuit round 
 London, taking notice of all the waters worth 
 naming within twenty miles. Of course there 
 are many places beyond, where the angler may 
 find very good sport in rivers which we have 
 not named ; and that will be the case, more 
 or less, all over the kingdom. Our aim has 
 only been to give the angler— the young one 
 in particular — a knowledge of those waters 
 within his reach j and he must bear in mind 
 that the instructions we have given will 
 answer for all the waters in the country, 
 according to the fish they contain. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 TEOUT riSHlNG. 
 
 The trout is a very beautiful fish, superior to 
 any other of the fresh-water tribe for the 
 table, and affords the angler excellent sport. 
 It is also very shy, and, consequently, it is 
 necessary to use the best of tackle, and employ 
 the finest art to take it. 
 
 Trout are found in the greatest numbers 
 near the source of rivers, where the water is 
 cold, clear, and bustling. If they are found at a 
 distance from the source of the river, it is where 
 the river is narrow, and runs over falls, &c., 
 having a crooked and lively course. Their 
 best feeding time is from the beginning of 
 April to the end of June, after which time 
 they seldom take a bait. In the winter they 
 get into the deepest places, or hide in holes in 
 the banks. 
 
 They vary in size, from one to twenty 
 pounds, thougb they are seldom caught above 
 
114 THE angler's guide, 
 
 seven. There are three ways of fishing for 
 trout — with the worm, the minnow, and 
 the fly. When you fish for them with a 
 worm, you may use the same tackle as you 
 would for perch, namely, a strong gut-line, 
 fine at the end, a reed float, a hook varying 
 from No. 5 to No. 8, — according to the 
 size of the fish the water contains, — and a 
 running-line and winch. A red worm of a 
 good size, tough and well scoured in damp 
 moss, or rags, is decidedly the best. The 
 places where they take a worm best, are in 
 eddies, at the end of currents, in tumbling 
 bays, where two streams meet, where the 
 bank of the river has fallen in, or where an 
 old low tree has grown into the river, both 
 roots and branches, and the water is deep, or 
 in any other place where the river and water is 
 in confusion. 
 
 Let your worm be well put on your hook, 
 so as to hide it from view, and so adjust yout! 
 float that your bait shall be very near the 
 bottom of the deepest part of the place wherd 
 you are fishing, and then it will be frequently 
 on the ground in the more shallow parts', | 
 which is where the trout generally take it. 
 Do not give them time, as you would a perclij 
 
THE angler's guide. 113 
 
 but strike as soon as you have a bite, and if 
 the place is dangerous you must not give 
 them an inch of line, but hold them directly 
 under the point of your rod. Be sure you 
 keep out of sight as much as possible. A 
 good plan is to stand away from the place 
 where they are most likely to take the bait, 
 and let your float pass away from you into it, 
 keeping your rod high, and ready to strike 
 with your long line. But that method will 
 only answer in open places. The worm 
 should be used when the day is cold and 
 cloudy, and especially if the water be a little 
 coloured, and the river full. Sometimes, in 
 
 ; the first of the season, they will take the 
 
 t worm very close to the bank, for they have 
 only just begun to move about near their 
 winter quarters, and are looking about for food 
 
 ' very near home; but as the season advances 
 they will be more and more inclined to sport 
 and feed in the open stream. 
 
 I When you fish with a minnow, if you 
 use a live one, the same tackle that you 
 use with a worm will do. There are two 
 ways of baiting with it, one by hooking it 
 just below the back fin, and the other by 
 hooking it through both lips. We prefer the 
 
116 THE ANGLERS GUIDE. 
 
 latter, as in that way the minnow lives by far 
 the longest. It should be about a foot from 
 the ground, or more, according to the depth 
 of the place. When you fish with a dead 
 minnow, on a small gorge hook, or an artificial 
 one, you require no float, and every method 
 must be employed to make- it show in the 
 water, so as to attract the notice of the trout ; 
 for which purpose you must have at the bottom 
 of your line one or two swivels, which will 
 cause the minnow to spin round in the water 
 as you draw it against the stream. This is 
 called spinning the minnow, and it is a very 
 killing way of fishing for trout, if you can but do 
 it without being seen by them. But they are 
 sly fellows, and if they see you at your work 
 you may spin your minnow long enough before 
 you catch one of them. You must hide be- 
 hind a bush, or prostrate yourself flat on the 
 bank, or get under it, if it be high, and employ 
 every means to keep out of sight. Even th 
 shadow of your rod, if the sun be behind you^ 
 and the water is very fine, will sometimes 
 drive them all off*, for they have eyes like 
 eagles, and will shoot away from you like 
 darts. A very windy day is the best time tc 
 use the minnow, in particular when you spin it^ 
 
THE ANGLEUS GUIDE. 117 
 
 When you have hooked your fish, wherever 
 he may be, do not give him any more line 
 than you can help, for they are very game, 
 and will drive here and there all over the 
 stream, if you let them, and very frequently 
 get so entangled, if there be bushes or weeds 
 iii the way, that you can never get them out, 
 though your hook is fast in them. A good 
 many trout may be taken by a skilful angler 
 ill rivers where they abound, by either of these 
 methods of fishing for them. But the most 
 sportsmanlike and pleasant way of taking theiTi 
 is wdth the artificial fly ; and many of our best 
 anglers will never attempt to take one by em- 
 ploying any other means. Fly-fishing for 
 trout is, indeed, taking into consideration the 
 particular construction of the rod, line, and 
 flies, and the superior skill necessary, a depart- 
 ment of the art of angling peculiar to itself, 
 and must be well practised before you can 
 well understand it ; and it is only one here 
 and there who can really throw a fly well. It 
 is also very fascinating, because you can see 
 the fish take the bait ; according to the lan- 
 guage of one of our poets — 
 
 " 'Tis pleasant to see the fish 
 Cut with golden oars the silver stream, 
 And greedily devour the treacherous bait." 
 
118 THE angler's guide. 
 
 The rod for fly-fishing must be really good, 
 or yoii never can throw a fly properly with it. 
 You may purchase one for seven or eight shil- 
 lings, but it cannot be made upon the proper 
 principle for that sum. It should not, in our 
 opinion, be too long. We have always used 
 a short one ourselves, and we know several 
 other anglers who give the preference to one 
 of that order. When they are long you have 
 not so much command over your fly, and the 
 labour is also greater. It should have a dirk 
 at bottom, so that you can stick it in the 
 ground while attending to yotir line, &c. The 
 line for fly-fishing should be tapered by de- 
 grees to the end, which should not be thicker 
 than the gut which you attach to it. Lines 
 untapered are used, but we do not at all 
 approve of them, being quite sure that they 
 will not cast a fly well. And bear in mind 
 also, that, whatever length of gut you use, that 
 should be tapered likewise. We are aware 
 that some anglers are not thus particular, but 
 we have found by experience that a line thus 
 constructed will give a much greater facility to 
 the falling of the fly on the water. The winch 
 should be a midtiplier, not too heavy, with a 
 check- wheel, and, according to our judgment, 
 
THE angler's guide. 119 
 
 , fastened on the rod, as near to the bottom as 
 possible, with the handle towards the left hand. 
 The flies to be used are of various sorts, sizes, 
 and colours, to suit the fish, the seasons, the 
 •times of the day, and the different waters. 
 Always purchase them where you can depend 
 upon their superior make and construction, 
 bearing in mind that the more they look Hke 
 the natural fly the better. Obtain a good 
 assortment, and keep them in a pocket-book 
 expressly for the purpose, and take care that 
 
 , they are not damaged before you use them. 
 One of the most common and useful flies to 
 suit all times and places is the dun-coloured, 
 made from the hackle of the cock. But be 
 sure it is a dun-colour, not a red, and let 
 the body be thick. We have killed more fish 
 with this than with any other, and we know 
 some other anglers who have done the same. 
 The next best fly is, in our opinion, that resem- 
 bling the May-fly, which is black, though we 
 have found that a little colour about the body 
 makes it much more taking, and sometimes 
 we have added a very small gentle to it, which 
 we have found very killing. A very small 
 artificial minnow is also now used in the 
 manner of a fly, and very frequently to great 
 
120 THE angler's guide. 
 
 advantage where the trout are on the open 
 gravelly shallows, . during sunny days ; — let 
 them sink, and watch for a curve in the water 
 near them, and then strike. Do not have 
 your fly on a hook too small, especially if the 
 trout in the stream run large, for in that case 
 you will be sure to run a chance of missing 
 when you strike. You may, if you please, use 
 two or three flies on your line, at about twenty 
 inches apart, but we do not recommend that 
 plan ourselves, though we know some who 
 adopt it. For you never can throw two or 
 three flies with the same nicety as one ; and 
 beside this, if you hook a fish on the nearest 
 hook to you, while you are killing it the other 
 hooks will very likely get entangled in the 
 weeds, and annoy you. 
 
 When throwing the fly, always have, if pos- 
 sible, the wind directly at your back. And if 
 one side of the stream contains more fish than 
 the other, as is sometimes the case, manage, if 
 you can, to throw your fly from the opposite 
 side. If you cannot do that, and you must 
 throw from the side where the fish are, keep 
 as far from the water as possible, and do not 
 throw your fly too far over the stream, for your 
 line will be likely to start the fish from the 
 
THE ANGLERS GUIDE. 121 
 
 side. Strike the moment you see the fish rise 
 at your fly, remembering that he does not rise 
 to look at it, but to take it ; and if you do not 
 hook him in the instant you will not hook 
 him at all, for in nineteen cases out of every 
 twenty, he detects the deception the moment 
 he takes it in his mouth. We have tried them 
 over and over again, even when they have been 
 strong on the feed, and they will blow the fly 
 out of their mouth immediately they find that 
 there is something fastened to it, in a similar 
 manner to that in which a dog ejects a piece 
 of very hot food, only very much quicker, and 
 away they fly, as though their momentary 
 mistake had terrified them. In a phrenologi- 
 cal point of view, they must have the bump of 
 caution very largely developed; and we have 
 sometimes thought it would be well if we were 
 as cautious of subtle snares laid for us while 
 passing along the stream of this mortal life. 
 
 Try every place where you can throw your fly 
 conveniently, for when they are after flies, they 
 will take them wherever they are to be found. 
 If the day be very fine, and the sun hot, the 
 sandy shallows will be the most likely places, 
 especially if there be deep holes near them, 
 where they harbour in cold dark days. They 
 
122 THE angler's guide. 
 
 will sometimes take the fly very freely, in 
 shallows around holes, where there is scarcely 
 water enough to cover the dorsal fin ; but the 
 greatest caution is necessary in approaching 
 such a place, as well as in throwing the fly on 
 to it. You may throw the fly for troul the 
 whole of the day, but you will generally find 
 the best sport from about six in the morning 
 till twelve at noon, if the day be fine ; but if 
 the morning be dark and cold and the evening 
 turn out mild and pleasant, they will then take 
 the fly well, in particular after soft showers 
 have fallen. Be very careful in landing your 
 fish, and never be in a hurry ; many hundreds 
 of trout have been lost through being too 
 anxious to bring them to land after they are 
 hooked ; never fish again directly in the same 
 place where you have taken a fish, for you may 
 be sure that the work of killing and landing 
 him has frightened all his finny companions 
 away from the spot ; and if you lose one in a 
 place the effect will be generally the same. 
 
 Never throw your fly on the water in a wet 
 state, for if you do it will sink the moment it 
 gets there, which is not .well. To prevent this, 
 whisk it once or twice through the air before you 
 let it fall on the water. And remember that 
 
THE angler's guide. 123 
 
 the grand art is in letting it fall as lightly as 
 possible, so that it shall appear in its descent 
 exactly like a real fly. To accomplish this, you 
 must let the heavy part of your line touch 
 the water first, and then the gut and the fly 
 will go on the water gently; but you can 
 only acquire this by repeated practice, and 
 by using a thick, tapered line, as we have 
 described. 
 
 If you kindly gain permission from a 
 gentleman to fish in the water on his 
 domain, and they are strong on the feed, 
 do not take too many, for in that case it 
 is very likely that you will never obtain per- 
 mission again ; and justly, too, for economy is 
 necessary even in catching trout, and waters 
 should never be distressed by greedy anglers. 
 Three or four brace is a very gentlemanly 
 day's sport, and it is very creditable to your- 
 self, your friend, and the water, to say, while 
 they are being admired — " I could have taken 
 a good many more if I had pleased." Mark 
 also, that the finest brace you have in your 
 pannier should always be taken by yourself to 
 the mansion, and their acceptance begged of 
 the nobleman who gave you permission ; and 
 upon some occasions they are very much 
 
1:24 THE angler's guide. 
 
 pleased with them. If you have to choose a 
 day and your time be precious, fix upon one, 
 if possible, when the wind is south, south-west, 
 or south-east, for trout, like all other fishes, 
 will always feed best in such winds. If the 
 wind be cold, you will always find that they 
 feed best on the side of the stream that is 
 sheltered from it, both because they are 
 warmer, and the flies are sure to be there. 
 
 And now we do not know that we can say 
 anything more about trout fishing that is really 
 useful. We could say a great deal of another 
 character, but utility is our principal object ; 
 we shall, therefore, bring our chapter to a close 
 with two or three lines in rhyme, which may 
 serve to induce a pleasing reflection or two re- 
 specting that delightful department of the art. 
 
 THE TROUT. 
 
 When Spring comes dancing o'er the plain, 
 With Nymphs and Graces in her train, 
 And Nature, deck'd with flowers rare, 
 Begins to show her beauties fair; 
 
 Then trout, bold monarchs of the streams, 
 Enliven'd by the sunny beams. 
 Steal from their haunts to seek for prey, 
 And watch the merry flies at play. 
 
 And should one in his gambols rude 
 Upon the trout's domain intrude— 
 
 
THE angler's guide. 125 
 
 Thougli but a sportive, harmless flj, 
 He by the trout is sure to "die. 
 
 "Tis then your arts may tested be, 
 That Elves and Fays around may see. 
 Though trout are sly in what they do, 
 They've not so many wiles as you. 
 
 Steal slily, gently towards tfie stream. 
 Nor let your shadow on it gleam ; 
 And where you think a trout may lurk. 
 Propel your fly with graceful jerk. 
 
 Then, should he rise, and take your fly — 
 Before he finds a line is nigh 
 Your hand must strike the fatal blow. 
 Or, like a dart, away he'll go. 
 
 Should fortune smile, and hook'd he be. 
 Be calm, and very soon you'll see 
 How you may venture with your prize, 
 According to his strength and size. 
 
 Your rod hold high, your line keep tight, 
 And, though he pull with all his might. 
 He'll find your pliant tackle's sway 
 Beat all his arts to get away. 
 
 Recede — wind in — display your skill. 
 
 He must be brought against his will; 
 
 For wills, in trout, as well as we, 
 
 Must yield sometimes, though proud they be. 
 
 And now employ your net to land. 
 And bring him carefully to hand. 
 With joy's enthusiastic glow 
 Which only those who angle know. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 ANGLING GENERAL REMARKS ON ANGLERS AND ANGLING. 
 
 Tor a person to be really an angler, he must 
 really have a taste for angling, and must also 
 be of a suitable disposition. A noisy, dash- 
 ing, changeable, and unreflective person, will 
 never make an angler, at all events not for 
 long ; a few minutes, or at most an hour, 
 will be quite enough time for him to spend 
 in such a lifeless, uninteresting pastime, as 
 he would call it. Of course, such a person 
 will never make any proficiency in the art, 
 and never carry home a handsome basket of 
 fish for supper ; if he do, they will be some 
 that he has bought already caught for him. 
 But do not let people judge of all anglers by 
 such a person, because there are those who 
 are of quite a different disposition. We never 
 bought a fish in our lives, and never took 
 
THE angler's guide. 127 
 
 home one that we had not caught, and said 
 we had caught it ; and we know many of 
 the same cast of mind ; we should have no 
 pleasure in any such conduct. The pleasure 
 an angler feels when showing fish, arises 
 from the fact of his having really caught 
 them, and thus having performed, by his skill 
 and perseverance, what many other persons 
 could not. There are others, on the other 
 hand, who will talk of angling a^ though it 
 were one of the most important and useful 
 sciences in the world, and thereby bring upon 
 them the jeers of all who hear them, especially 
 of those who happen to be extremely short of 
 patience and have not the least relish for fish. 
 And you frequently see this, not only among 
 anglers, but among huntsmen and gun sports- 
 men, &c. Let it always be remembered that 
 angling is only a recreation, and should only 
 be followed and spoken of as such ; we may 
 speak of it as we would of gardening, cricket- 
 ing, rowing, or any other recreation, and only 
 in that way. There are other persons who 
 have a knack of talking very extravagantly 
 about the places they have been to, the fisli 
 they have seen, and those they have caught, 
 &c., and their tongues will magnify everything 
 
128 THE angler's guide. 
 
 they speak of, and especially the fish, with 
 the power of a telescope ; any particular fish 
 they have taken will increase in weight more 
 and more every time they speak of it, until 
 it becomes at last quite a monster, and every 
 really sensible person to whom the story is 
 told sees at a glance that it is a downright 
 piece of fudge. All such persons as these, 
 and others that might be mentioned, bring 
 angling and anglers into disrepute. Always 
 tell the truth, in angling as in everything else, 
 and then you will always be believed. The 
 conduct of anglers, as well as that of all other 
 men, will be observed by those around, and 
 vnll be spoken of according to its merits or 
 faults. That very poetical and sublime defi- 
 nition of angling by Dr. Johnson, viz. that " it 
 was a fool at one end, and a maggot at the 
 other," was called forth, no doubt, by taking 
 notice of a number of some such persons as 
 we have hinted at. But it is not unlikely 
 that the Doctor forgot that anglers might be 
 looked at, and ridiculed by many worse fools 
 than themselves. It must be obvious to all^ 
 that many persons attempt to become this, 
 that, and the other, for which they are not 
 at all qualified, and so it is with respect to 
 
THE angler's guide. 129 
 
 anglers ; but to designate the whole of a com- 
 pany fools, because there happen to be some 
 fools among them, is very uncharitable and 
 wrong. 
 
 Then, as it regards tackle. There are some 
 persons who seem to think that anything will 
 do to fish with ; and so long as they have a 
 rod, line, hook, and bait, that will do. And 
 such persons may have a chance, once out of 
 fifty times, to catch a fish or two, should they 
 happen to have a voracious appetite. But any 
 sort of tackle will not do for any time, and for 
 any water. If persons would be really anglers, 
 and would really catch fish, they must have 
 tackle, and it must be the best that they 
 can obtain, or they will soon see themselves 
 put into the shade, if they are fishing near 
 those who have the very best. You cannot be 
 too particular in this respect. For years we 
 tied on all our own hooks, made our own lines, 
 floats, &c. ; and we did so because we did 
 not like those made by other persons. But 
 fishing-tackle was not manufactured then as it 
 is now. At some of the, best shops in Lon- 
 don, it is brought to the highest state of per- 
 fection, and exceeds what we could now see to 
 make with eyes nearly half a century old. To 
 
 K 
 
130 THE angler's guide. 
 
 angle as we have described, you must have 
 the rods and hues, and they must be kept in 
 proper order when you have them, or they 
 will soon be spoiled. We have often seen sad 
 muddles in baskets, bags, boxes, and lockers, 
 among the anglers with whom we have come 
 into contact. Every angler should have a sort 
 of cabinet, and everything should be kept in 
 proper order there, so that he can lay his hand 
 on anything and everything he may want at 
 any time. A wise angler studies times, seasons, 
 wind, weather, water, and ways, and wall often 
 snatch a few hours, and take a number of fish, 
 when other anglers will miss those favourable 
 opportunities, and waste a good deal of time 
 when they cannot take a fish. If you belong 
 to subscription waters, (and you will not take 
 many fish if you do not,) never leave your case 
 of lines, &c., in your locker, but always put it 
 into your pocket, and look over your lines at 
 home at your leisure, and keep them in proper 
 order. When at the water, if you cannot 
 catch any fish yourself, do not go and stand 
 over the swim of another angler who is catch- 
 ing them, as, by so doing, you will, if the 
 w^ater be very fine, render him as unsuccessful 
 as yourself. Neither go and fish as near to 
 
 m 
 
THE angler's guide. 131 
 
 him as possible, as though you thought he 
 had around him all the fish in the water ; for 
 such conduct always looks weak and mean, 
 and you will not, in nineteen cases out of every 
 twenty, reap any benefit from it. As already 
 mentioned, be sure you keep your shadow 
 off the water. You need not, however, be afraid 
 of making a noise, or shaking the ground, for 
 it is a perfectly mistaken notion that fish are 
 affected by it. We have proved it, by looking 
 through the sedges at them, and bawling with 
 all our might, while others did the same. We 
 have also watched them while part of an old 
 stand was lifted up and let fall with the 
 greatest force on the bank, but in both cases 
 the fish were perfectly still. Do not go too 
 long without food, nor sit down long in wet 
 clothes, nor be ashamed to put on a good 
 thick great-coat, a warm cap, a pair of overalls, 
 and a thick pair of clogs, or to sit in a shower 
 beneath a very large umbrella. All these are 
 very comfortable things, and are not to be 
 despised, though some novices do not think of 
 them and enjoy them. But we speak from 
 experience. 
 
 And now, to conclude, we will only say we 
 wish all our friends health to fish, happiness 
 
132 THE angler's guide. 
 
 while fishing, and a handsome basket of fish 
 when they are done. And, just to show them 
 the difference between good anglers and bad, 
 we have selected from a number we have in 
 manuscript, the following story, which we 
 doubt not will please them. 
 
 I 
 
THE ANGLERS GUIDE. 133 
 
 THE THREE JOLLY ANGLERS. 
 
 In one of the courts out of the number 
 found in the great city of London, lived Mr. 
 Barnaby Bigings. We need not state the 
 name of the court, nor the exact locaHty in 
 which it was situated, for it is of little conse- 
 quence as to whether it was Lion Court or 
 Lamb Court. Suffice it to say that it was a 
 court, and Mr. Bigings lived in it, and was 
 contemplated by the neighbours as a very im- 
 portant man ; for upon certain occasions he 
 wore a hat and coat with gold lace on them, 
 and had to do with very important personages 
 and very important things, and to behold very 
 wonderful performances. He was also a very 
 wise man — at least in his own estimation ; and 
 if you wanted to hear stories told of a myste- 
 rious character, or obtain information respect- 
 ing miraculous deeds, he was the very man to 
 interest you, especially if you cheered his 
 spirits with spirits of another order, and 
 charged his glass as fast as ke disch^r^ed the 
 
134 THE- angler's guide. 
 
 contents of it. And he would make his rela- 
 tions and give his opinions with a good deal of 
 air and emphasis, evidently contemplating him- 
 self as a person of vast importance. And you 
 will not wonder at all this, when we tell you 
 that he was no less a person than the beadle of 
 a Roman Catholic chapel. And he had to take 
 great care of splendid robes, massive candle- 
 sticks, very thick and long wax candles, little 
 tinkling bells, spice with which to burn sweet 
 odours, relics of the saints, holy oil, and a 
 variety of other holy and mysterious things. 
 It was his duty, moreover, to show timid and 
 bashful young women into confessional boxes, 
 or to chastise little dirty Irish boys if they did 
 not behave themselves, and to fetch the water 
 to be made holy by a wonderful transforma- 
 tion. And was he an angler, you say ? No, 
 he was not ; but we will tell you how he 
 became one, — such a one as he made. 
 
 In his neighbourhood lived an aged couple 
 who had seen better days, but misfortune had 
 brought poverty and affliction upon them at a 
 time when they were the least able to bear it. 
 Long had they struggled against biting want, 
 and had parted with almost every article they 
 had to buy food, to keep body and soul toge- 
 
THE angler's guide. 135 
 
 ther. And among other things, they had sold 
 to Mr. Bigings an old copy of Isaac Walton's 
 book on angling, the old man telling him that 
 it was one of the most interesting books he 
 had ever read, and that he had many times in 
 his younger and better days enjoyed the plea- 
 sures of that most delightful sport, which was 
 so much loved by the writer, who must have 
 been, in his opinion, one of the best and hap- 
 piest men that ever lived ; and if he had his 
 life to come over again, he should often trudge 
 to the side of some gently flowing stream, to 
 enjoy an hour of that pleasure which no one 
 but an angler could experience. And while 
 the old man uttered the words, the big tears 
 rolled down his pale and furrowed cheeks, 
 plainly indicating the sincerity of his heart. 
 Bigings was not much of an enthusiast, and 
 though between fifty and sixty years had 
 rolled over him, had never enjoyed one mo- 
 ment of any such pleasure as the old angler 
 seemed to describe to him ; his pleasure had 
 only been in eating and drinking, smoking 
 or sleeping ; still, as he thought the old man 
 was sincere, and that he himself should like 
 to taste the pleasures, the loss of which he so 
 much regretted, he began to read the book. 
 
136 THE angler's guide. 
 
 He had not gone far among its pages before 
 his views of angling were very much changed. 
 He had hitherto been of opinion that it vras 
 a silly and boyish pastime, one in which any 
 simpleton might engage, and the art of which 
 might be learnt in about five minutes ; but he 
 was now convinced that he had been labouring 
 under a great mistake. Many people think 
 many arts very easy until they attempt to ac- 
 quire a knowledge of them, and thus it is 
 with the art of angling. Any person can 
 stand by the side of a river, and hold the rod 
 and line in his band, and throw the baited 
 hook into the water ; but to bring the fish out 
 of the water with them is quite another thing. 
 A novice, too, may perchance catch one or two 
 little, silly, hungry fish ; but to fill a basket 
 with some of the best the river contains is 
 the work only of a master of the art. 
 
 But Mr. Bigings had had no experience, and 
 therefore did not understand these distinctions, 
 and being, as we have said, a man of an ex- 
 cellent opinion of his own abilities, he thought 
 that if he were only to go angling, he could 
 catch trout, jack, chub, roach, and dace with 
 the greatest ease, only by adopting the means 
 which Isaac Walton described, forgetting that 
 
THE angler's guide. 137 
 
 there is a wonderful difference between theory 
 and practice, talking or reading, and doing; 
 he therefore was bent on becoming an angler. 
 And he began to please his good wife with 
 the thoughts of having trout for supper, and 
 she absolutely looked into their old cookery- 
 book to see how they were to be dressed, and 
 while she was reading the directions, he could 
 not help smacking his lips, for his mouth really 
 watered, as he was remarkably fond of fish, 
 which was not surprising, seeing that he was 
 a Roman Catholic, and a bit of fish was all 
 he dare eat for days and weeks together. 
 
 It may, however, be remarked, that he had 
 not been a Roman Catholic all the former part 
 of his life ; but he had been into their chapel, 
 gazed on their splendid paintings, their lighted 
 up altar-piece, their gorgeous array, listened 
 to their mystic intonations, their harmonic 
 singing, their pealing organ, and, like ten 
 thousand other weak-minded and superstitious 
 ones, he had become quite infatuated with 
 them, though he knew no more about the 
 doctrines of Romanism than a donkey knows 
 about the science of botany. And, with all 
 due respect to ROman Catholics, we cannot 
 help thinking, and saying, that we are of 
 
138 THE angler's guide. 
 
 1 
 
 opinion that they must all be in a similar state 
 of ignorance, or they never could tolerate a 
 system of religion so full of follies, errors, 
 absurdities and abominations. 
 
 The favourite fish of Mrs. Bigings was 
 salmon, but her spouse assured her that a 
 really good trout of five or six poimds was 
 to be preferred, and he was quite sure that 
 she would be convinced of it when he brought 
 two or three brace home. And under such 
 circumstances, if they did not make presents 
 of any of them to their friends, the best plan 
 would be to boil them all and sup ofl* them, 
 and then pickle the rest ; and he'd not the 
 least doubt that it would be very far superior 
 to the finest Newcastle salmon in the world. 
 
 And then as to jack, and carp, and chub, 
 and all the other fresh- water fish, though some 
 people did say they cared nothing about them, 
 he believed it was only because they could 
 not get them, and he'd wager that if they 
 had a dish of them nicely cooked, they'd pretty 
 soon begin to clear some of their bones, espe- 
 cially if they had been fasting for two or three 
 days previous. And if even the priest declared 
 that they should not have a single modicum 
 of fa-t to fry them in, he'd warrant they'd go 
 
THE angler's guide. 139 
 
 down sweet. But for his part, he would never 
 obey orders so strictly as all that, for he liked 
 fish fried in plenty of fat, and a good rich 
 gravy with them into the bargain, and he 
 would have it too when he could get it, for he 
 knew for certain that Father Munch, after 
 all his talk to the people about the blessedness 
 of fasting, often ate on the sly all manner of 
 good rich things at fasting times, for he hadn't 
 been into his kitchen so often to learn nothing. 
 And thus they went on talking about fish, fat, 
 and savoury gravy until Mrs. Bigings almost 
 imagined she could smell the delicious effluvia 
 flying off from them. And it was well that 
 her husband's eloquence upon the eating part 
 of the pleasure was good, because it pleased 
 her, and reconciled her to his going to catch 
 the fish. She knew that he was fond of a 
 little drop, as he termed it, though it some- 
 times amounted to a large drop, or a number 
 of large drops; and then, like many other 
 people, he was troubled with a violent swim- 
 ming in his head, and could hardly tell what 
 he was about. And Father Ganza had found 
 him two or three times the worse for liquor, 
 as people call it, at the chapel ; and upon one 
 occasion, liquor the worse for him, for he had 
 
140 THE angler's guide. 
 
 fallen plump on two or three dozen of wine 
 that had just come in, and sent both glass 
 and liquid flying in all directions. And at 
 other times he had, through his drunken 
 stupidity, done several things w^hich were 
 even of a very sacrilegious character, though 
 it was not known by the devoted Roman 
 Catholics who attended the chapel. As, for 
 instance, one day, while dusting the relics 
 of the saints, he let fall the tumbler out of 
 which Saint Sips always used to drink his 
 w^ater, and because it should not be knovni, 
 picked up every modicum of the pieces, and 
 bought another tumbler as much like it as 
 possible, and put it in its place. And then, 
 when devout Roman Catholics were looking 
 with holy reverence at the tumbler, or touch- 
 ing it, or kissing it, thinking all the while 
 it was the holy tumbler of Saint Sips, it was 
 no such thing, but a common one bought 
 for a few pence out of an English china-shop. 
 But we must give Bigings his due, for he 
 did feel very queer about the afiair, and prayed 
 to the Virgin to keep him from getting so 
 stupidly drunk. And he told his wife, but no 
 one else, that he knew it was a judgment on 
 him for his unholy conduct, for there was 
 
THE angler's guide. 141 
 
 something very mysterious about it, and he 
 could not tell how the glass went out of his 
 hand ; he only knew that it did go, and was 
 dashed to atoms, and when the alarm at what 
 he had done had brought him to a little, he 
 found to his utter dismay that instead of dust- 
 ing the holy glass with his duster, he had 
 absolutely been using the nightcap of Saint 
 Soak, which was considered by some the most 
 sacred relic in the chest. He could hardly 
 tell how it was, but he sometimes thought that 
 the relic of Saint Soak did not agree with the 
 relic of Saint Sips ; beside which, the saint did 
 not like to see his nightcap turned into a 
 duster, and consequently, the utter destruc- 
 tion of the tumbler was the consequence. 
 
 Now, all this had happened through the 
 tipphng propensity of Bigings, and though it 
 was not all found out, yet out of his place he 
 would have gone, only he was considered by 
 the priests, and spoken of by them, as a pro- 
 selyte to their holy rehgion. It must, there- 
 fore, be seen very clearly that angling was 
 - rather a dangerous amusement for him. And 
 ' his wife knew this, and she thought that if he 
 should get topheavy while he was fishing, it 
 was quite as likely that he might tumble into 
 
142 THE angler's guide. 
 
 the water to the fish, as that they might be 
 brought out of the water to him ; and then, 
 what would become of him ? especially if no 
 one should be there to pull him out, for he 
 was a stout heavy man, and could not get out 
 himself. Then instead of having fish brought 
 home for supper, it would be the awful news 
 that he was drowned. These melancholy re- 
 flections had found their way into her mind, 
 and she had partly revealed them to Bigings ; 
 but he only laughed at her, and told her that 
 she was like all other women who loved their 
 husbands, always thinking all manner of fright- 
 ful things about them if they were a few miles 
 away from home. And he assured her that, 
 when a boy, he could swim like a fish himself, 
 and had often been thrashed by his school- 
 master in the summer time, for diving into 
 a neighbouring pond, instead of into the 
 elements of Walkingame's Tutor, or those of 
 his mother tongue ; and he had no doubt that 
 if he were put to it he could swim as well as 
 ever. That might be, his wife said, but it was 
 the particular swimming in his head that she 
 feared, for, be it -said to her praise, she did 
 not like to accuse him plainly of drunkenness. 
 But it now became a matter of concern with 
 
THE angler's guide. 143 
 
 Bigings how he should get the tackle neces- 
 sary to angle with. The book he had bought 
 of the old man cheap enough, and he asked 
 him if he had any tackle by him, but he said 
 he had been obhged to part with that before 
 he sold him the book. Bigings then asked 
 him what he thought it would cost to equip 
 himself, so as to be able to bring home five or 
 six good trout? The old man gave him a 
 very significant look, and shaking his head, 
 said, " It is not so easy, Mr. Bigings, to get 
 five or six good trout ; and to get the tackle 
 necessary to catch them would, I think, cost 
 more than you would like to spend. And 
 even then you could not buy the skill, if you 
 would give ever so much for it." He then 
 told him what tackle he ought to have, what 
 it would cost, the trouble it would be to 
 obtain permission to fish in a good trout 
 stream, and the times best to catch them; 
 and all these things combined made such a 
 formidable affair of trout fishing, that Bigings 
 looked rather downcast about it, and said, 
 "Oh, then I think I must give up the thought 
 of trout." Still he was determined to be an 
 angler, and to catch something ; he therefore 
 asked the old man what was the next good 
 
144 THE ANGLERS GUIDE. 
 
 fish that might be caught, and that with less 
 expensive tackle and less trouble also. He 
 told hiin that jack was a good fish, and might 
 be caught with tackle of a commoner order, 
 the whole of which he might buy for a few 
 shillings. They were also, he said, a very 
 voracious fish, and would take at times almost 
 anything. His hook should be baited with a 
 small fish, or, if he could not get that, he 
 might use a frog. He had read of one that 
 seized a mule by the nose while he was drink- 
 ing in the stream, and held him so tight that 
 the mule threw him out on the land, glad 
 enough to get rid of him anywhere. Others 
 had been opened that had swallowed young 
 ducks and rats, and they had been known to 
 try to pouch a fish nearly as large as them- 
 selves. " Then they are the chaps for me," said 
 Bigings, " and I'll buy the tackle, and have a 
 try for some on ^em. And if I can't get one 
 thing for a bait, I'll get another, and I'll war- 
 rant it shall be something worth their swallow- 
 ing." And he was going aw^ay, but he turned 
 back and asked the old angler if he thought 
 they'd take a nice piece of raw beef steak, or 
 the inside lean of a mutton chop, or a little 
 slice of cold roast pork? But the old man, 
 
THE angler's guide. 145 
 
 with a rather sarcastic smile on his coun- 
 tenance, said he had never heard of any such 
 baits being used, but he might try them if he 
 pleased, and there could be no harm done. 
 " Very good," said Bigings, and off he went full 
 of determination and expectation. A rod and 
 winch, line and hook, float and basket, he 
 bought at the cheapest possible rate, and took 
 them home, telling his good wife that they 
 cost several shillings less than they really did. 
 But it was only what he called a white lie, 
 to keep her from grumbling at the expense. 
 And beside, as a Roman Catholic, he was 
 taught to discriminate between vernal, venal, 
 and penal sins, and he thought there was 
 nothing like trying to keep things pleasant 
 and comfortable, especially with the ladies. 
 His wife said she thought they were all re- 
 markably cheap ; and she wondered how they 
 could be made for the money, for when her 
 brother bought some such things a few years 
 back they were very much dearer. But he 
 rejoined, " You know, my dear, that I always 
 lays out my money to the very best possible 
 advantage." He then pleased her by describ- 
 ing how they were to be used, and showed 
 her what a famous length the rod was, and 
 
 L 
 
146 THE angler's guide. 
 
 how strong and sharp was the hook ; and read 
 to her what Isaac Walton said about catching 
 jack and pike, telHng her at the same time 
 that he had been obUged to give up the 
 thoughts of catching trout, because the tackle 
 for that purpose would have cost much more 
 money. He added also that he thought she 
 might soon fancy a new bonnet, or a gown, 
 and therefore he would keep the money in 
 reserve for that purpose. He had some know- 
 ledge of womankind, and had found by expe- 
 rience that five kind words would do more 
 to pacify a woman than five thousand of an 
 opposite character; he' always carried his cause 
 by kindness, not by storm. Still, his wife 
 was not at rest respecting his angling excur- 
 sion ; she could not get the thoughts of his 
 tumbling into the water out of her head ; but 
 said she should not care so much if some 
 others were going with him. 
 
 Mr. Bigings had at first conceived the idea 
 of going by himself, and that for two reasons ; 
 one, because he thought there would be no 
 one with him to see his blunders; and the 
 other, because he should be more like Isaac 
 Walton, who was so fond of being by himself, 
 arid enjoying his own thoughts. But he did not 
 
THE angler's guide. 147 
 
 wish his wife to be unhappy while he was 
 taking his pleasure, and therefore he resolved 
 to have a companion. But then, who was 
 that companion to be ? He did not want it 
 noised abroad that he went a fishing, for 
 many ignorant people would laugh at him, 
 as he would have laughed at any one else, 
 before he read Isaac Walton. It should be 
 some one with whom he was familiar, yet 
 he should not be familiar with many others. 
 Who should it be ? He could hardly tell. 
 
 At length he pitched upon his next-door 
 neighbour, Mr. Samuel S tickings, the shoe- 
 maker, who, taking him altogether, he thought 
 would answer his purpose, because he did not 
 come in contact vsdth any of his cronies. 
 There were, indeed, some things respecting 
 him that he did not much like, but he thought 
 he would over-rule the objections he had to 
 them for convenience sake. Stickings pro- 
 fessed to be a teetotaller, and he did not like 
 that, and it was not to be supposed he would, 
 when he was so fond of tippling, and therefore 
 they always disagreed upon that point. Yet, 
 if they had both been really prudent men, 
 there would have been no disagreement be- 
 tween them ; they both went to the extreme. 
 
148 THE angler's guide. 
 
 If Mr. Bigings liad left off drinking too much 
 beer, and Mr. Stickings had left off drinking 
 too much tea, they would have been good 
 friends immediately. He was a ranter, too, 
 and Mr. Bigings did not like that ; and how 
 could it be expected he would, when he 
 belonged to a church, and obtained his living 
 by it, where no such thing as ranting is 
 allowed. Ranting, indeed ! why, the priests 
 themselves, generally speaking, only mutter 
 what they say in Latin. Ranting ! Just 
 imagine half-a-dozen ranters, with flaming 
 zeal and lusty lungs, in the middle of a 
 Roman Catholic chapel 1 why, they'd terrify 
 the whole congregation, and all the priests 
 into the bargain, and not unlikely send some 
 of the maidenly nuns into hysterics. 
 
 But these objections to Mr. Stickings, and 
 many others, Mr. Bigings waived, for, as he 
 told his wife, "when you come to give it a 
 thought in a reasonable manner, why should 
 people be so full of prejudice one against 
 the other, about things which were, after all, 
 of little or no consequence to them?" Why 
 could not next-door neighbours stand by the 
 side of a river and pull out jacks and spikes in 
 company with one another without quarrelling 
 
THE angler's guide. 149 
 
 about religion? Stickings had said that the 
 pope, the cardinals, bishops, monks, and priests 
 were all a set of hypocrites and deceivers 
 together ; that there was no more infaldihility 
 in them and their church than there was in 
 the Black Bear, and all the sots and tipplers 
 who went there ; but for his part he did not 
 rightly know what infaldihility meant, and he 
 did not think that Stickings did. He had said 
 that he would as soon pray to his great 
 grandmother as to the Virgin Mary, for he 
 thought she had just as much power to hear 
 him ; but then, it was only just a matter of 
 opinion after all. He had said that holy 
 water was not a morsel better than any other 
 water ; but if other people thought it was, why, 
 let them think so, and cross their foreheads and 
 touch then- breasts with it, and imagine that 
 they were very much the better for it. He 
 had said that he thought it was a very strange 
 piece of conduct for priests and people at 
 high mass all to fall down and worship a 
 little baked flour and water; but Roman 
 Catholics did not think so, for they kept on 
 doing it, whatever other people said or thought 
 about it. 
 
 He had said, that having religious houses 
 
150 THE angler's guide. 
 
 for unmarried priests, and others for un- 
 married nuns, and permitting them to have 
 communication one with the other, looked to 
 him a rather strange and suspicious affair, 
 especially when some of the nuns were such 
 lovely creatures ; but the Church of Rome 
 allowed it, and Roman Catholics did not 
 mind it, and young girls were infatuated with 
 it. He had said that teaching people to con- 
 fess was only a sly contrivance to draw out 
 of them all their secrets; but if people had 
 a mind to tell their secrets, what was that to 
 any one else? He had said that the wax- 
 candles, flowers, incense, bells, alarums, the 
 red and yellow robes, the large gold mitre, 
 the bowings, kneelings, turnings, walkings, 
 and all the rest of the doings in the Roman 
 worship, were nothing better than a panto- 
 mime, and were only fit to please a set of 
 boys and girls and old women ; but there 
 were a goodly number of other persons 
 besides old women and children who seemed 
 to like it for all that. He had said that 
 purgatory was only an invention to get the 
 money out of people's pockets, for praying 
 their relations out of it ; but if people liked 
 to give the priests the money, what was that 
 
THE angler's guide. 151 
 
 to any one else, and what fools they'd be if 
 they did not pocket it ! 
 
 Now all these things, and many others, 
 Stickings had said, but he must overlook it, 
 for he wanted a companion to go with him, 
 and therefore he should make use of him. 
 But then he was not an angler, and he 
 thought he would not like to go and stand 
 so long by the water-side unless he had 
 something to do ; so he thought he would 
 make an angler of him, and to accomplish 
 that he w^ould lend him Isaac Walton's book 
 to read. He did so, and showed him his 
 tackle, and dilated on the pleasures and pro- 
 fits to be derived from the sport with all the 
 eloquence he possessed. But he found that 
 Stickings was not so easily enamoured with 
 angling arts and anticipation as he had been, 
 neither had he any money to spend in the 
 purchase of tackle as he had : he obtained 
 his living by the sweat of his brow, a way 
 the most honourable, and every hour of his 
 time was precious ; besides which, he had 
 some children to keep, and a wife who was 
 not to be >von over to the spending of time 
 and money in sports and holidays so easily 
 as Mrs. Bigings. 
 
152 THE angler's guide. 
 
 Still the beadle plied his arts to bring him 
 over to his way of thinking and feeling, and he 
 at last succeeded to some extent, so that Stick- 
 ings agreed to go with him for a day's sport 
 on some Monday, which was an idle day. He 
 bought, moreover, for the purpose a bamboo- 
 cane, about fourteen feet long, and put some old 
 curtain-rings on it, making it like a rod, and 
 for a line a small ball of fine cord and a good 
 large jack-hook, and converted a bung into a 
 float. 
 
 But Bigings did not like the idea of travel- 
 ling with a companion who would have to 
 carry his rod at full length all the way from 
 home to the water side; it had rather too 
 much hardihood about it. His love for Isaac 
 Walton, and for the sport that Isaac Walton 
 loved, was not strong enough to bear him up 
 against such a torrent of looks, smiles and 
 jeers, as he knew they should have to en- 
 counter as they went along ; for people will 
 trouble their heads with what does not con- 
 cern them. So he suggested to Stickings the 
 propriety of having the bamboo cut into four 
 pieces, and having it ferruled, and then it 
 would make a proper rod, and he would 
 pay the expense. This was done accordingly 
 
THE angler's guide. 153 
 
 by a brazier, and Mrs. Bigings, moreover, made 
 a canvas bag to put it in. Stickings was 
 pleased with his rod and their kindness, and 
 began to have a better opinion of Roman 
 CathoHcs than ever. But he did not know 
 that it was all because Mrs. B. did not like 
 her spouse to go a-fishing by himself, 
 
 But most men, all through life, have some sor- 
 rows to counterbalance their pleasures, and so it 
 was with Stickings. His spouse did not want 
 him to go at all, and, like many more of her 
 sex, she had a tongue that was rather too long, 
 and she brought it to bear upon her lord and 
 master, and let fly such a volley of loquacity 
 into his listening organs, that he began to wish 
 Isaac Walton's book, the beadle, the rods and 
 lines, the fish, the rivers, and all the rest of the 
 paraphernalia anywhere but near him. And 
 he felt confident, that if Isaac Walton had 
 had such a wife as his, he never would have 
 lived in such a peaceful frame of mind, or 
 wrote such a book upon angling. In fact, 
 his wife had never opposed him so much in 
 anything before, not even when he went to 
 the Chartist Meetings, and he could not tell 
 what to make of it. At length when she got 
 round a little, he found that she vented her 
 spite against Mrs. Bigings and the hag she 
 
154 ■ THE ANGLERS GUIDE. 
 
 made for the rod, more than against anything 
 else. " She was quite sure," she said, " that she 
 could have made a much better bag herself, for 
 the work in it was horrorble, and it was not 
 made in the right form ; and any one but a fool 
 might see that the stuff too was as coarse as a 
 hopsack, and could not have cost above th^ee- 
 lid pence, and if she had been going to give 
 away anything, it should have been something 
 better than that." But the truth w^as, the 
 green-eyed monster was raging wathin her 
 gentle bosom ; she was jealous of Mrs. Big- 
 ings's kindness, not knowing her motive for it. 
 How foolish many weak-minded women are 1 
 how jealous, frequently, without any reason ! 
 And the moment they are so, they just employ 
 the very worst means to accomplish their end. 
 They want the whole of the love of the object 
 of their affection, but they scold and threaten, 
 rant and rave, and do everything and anything 
 that is calculated to weaken his regard. They 
 want him to have no regard for the object of 
 their jealousy, yet if she be in their power, they 
 will persecute and torture her upon every pos- 
 sible occasion, so that if the man never had one 
 atom of regard for her in his life, he must feel 
 some sympathy for her, seeing that for his 
 sake she is thus made to suffer. It is thus 
 
THE angler's guide. ' 155 
 
 tliat many a jealous woman, though without 
 any cause, has brought the keenest sorrows 
 upon herself for life. But Stickings, as soon 
 as he found out what was amiss, laughed at 
 his wife so much about Mrs. Bigings, that she 
 soon became cured of her jealous fit. 
 
 All things were now ready for the sport, as it 
 regarded Bigings and Stickings, and they only 
 had to fix on a Monday to go, and a water to 
 go to. But there was plenty of time as it 
 regarded the season, for the old angler told 
 Mr. Bigings that jack were not considered 
 really in condition till September or October. 
 And it so happened, that while they were 
 making up their minds about the excursion, 
 Stickings lent the book on angling to one of 
 his relations, Romeo Bigings, a tailor, think- 
 ing that he should like him to go with them, 
 if he were so minded, for he was not over 
 and above partial to the company of the beadle. 
 
 Bigings was very much pleased with the 
 book, and also with the thought of having a 
 day at the sport, and very soon equipped him- 
 self for it, following the line of conduct that 
 Stickings had pursued under the direction of 
 Bigings ; and the shoemaker having mentioned 
 to the man of office that his friend wished to 
 
156 THE angler's guide. 
 
 accompany tliem, he said he was agreeable ; 
 still he would rather have been without his 
 company than with it, for he did not like him 
 even so well as he did the shoemaker. 
 
 He was a person of rather radical principles 
 and of considerable consequence, though a 
 very little man, and had been, in his younger 
 days, very fond of the stage, and would even 
 now, if he had a little more beer than usual, 
 give recitations or a soliloquy with the greatest 
 emphasis and attitude. He also thought him- 
 self a bit of a poet, and would occasionally 
 compose a song, or give an extemporary piece 
 of blank verse. But all this sort of conduct 
 had not many charms for Mr. Bigings ; he was 
 advanced in life, and was of a more staid and 
 settled character; he was, however, disposed 
 to make all things agreeable, and his wife was 
 very pleased to think that he would have com- 
 pany, so that if his head should swim, and he 
 should tumble into the water, he would have 
 some persons near to pull him out. 
 
 It was not long before they fixed upon the 
 day and the place, and they all agreed to go 
 to Old Father Thames, where the gentle and 
 peaceful Isaac had so often plied his arts 
 among the finny tribes. 
 
THE angler's guide. 157 
 
 " And who knows/' said Bigings, " but we 
 may set upon the very same bank, and in the 
 very same place, and pull out fish from the 
 very same hole as that good man did !" 
 
 And then he gave a sigh, and Stickings 
 said, " It is not unlikely that we may !" and 
 Rigiugs jumped up, for they were sitting in 
 Bigings's house, and putting his left hand into 
 his bosom, and extending his right in thea- 
 trical gesture, and with a countenance quite 
 as tragical as melancholy, exclaimed, — 
 
 " And thus in the spot 
 
 Where Walton once cot 
 The fish with his rod and his line, 
 
 I'll do what I can. 
 
 Though a wery small man. 
 To pull out some fishes with minel" 
 
 And he sat down. " Bravo ! " said Stickings, 
 but Bigings said nothing, only looked at his 
 wife, who had never seen Rigings before, and 
 therefore was staring at him with mighty sur- 
 prise, thinking what a strange being he was. 
 Indeed, she was literally frightened when she 
 saw him get up to speak, for she wondered 
 what he was after, and thought he was going 
 to browbeat her about something, though when 
 she had heard what he said, and saw that he 
 sat down and composed himself, she could 
 
158 THE angler's guide. 
 
 hardly keep from laughing outright. But 
 Rigings thought he had done wonders. 
 
 All was now settled but the time of starting. 
 Rigings was for going by the boat, and Stick- 
 ings was for walking, to save expense, and 
 Bigings was for walking also, though not to 
 save expense, but because he wished to keep 
 the excursion as secret as possible. He there- 
 fore told them to bear in mind what Walton 
 said about early rising and the dawn of day, 
 and the first part of it being the best time for 
 the fish to feed. And he suggested that they 
 should all walk in old-fashioned style, and start 
 about three o'clock, so that they might get 
 ten or twelve miles out by six. He did this 
 because he knew that very few of the neigh- 
 bours, if any, would be up at that time, and 
 they should get clean away from town long 
 before daylight, and therefore would not be 
 seen. They agreed to the proposal of Bigings, 
 and met at the appointed time, and off they 
 went, leaving their wives to prolong their 
 slumbers until Phoebus should bring on the 
 day. The morning was dark, the clouds low, 
 and the murmuring sound of the atmosphere 
 on the ear seemed to prognosticate anything 
 but a fine day. Onward they prosecuted their 
 journey, the police here and there scrutinising 
 
L THE angler's guide. 159 
 
 I them from top to toe, and sometimes bringing 
 I all the power of the bull's eye lantern to bear 
 upon them ; but as soon as they saw the rod 
 on their shoulders, and the basket at their 
 backs, they desisted, for the tale was told, — they 
 were anglers. It was not daylight until they 
 had got away from busy London, though they 
 could perceive it in the distance with its spires 
 and smoke, which seem, to tell what a mighty 
 mass of human -kind there is beneath them, 
 what cares and joys, pleasures and pains, 
 crimes and virtues, are there. 
 
 But our travellers were thinking about other 
 things ; jack and pike were the principal, no 
 doubt, but there were others which now began to 
 be busy in their brains. Bigings began to think 
 that he should like his breakfast, for he was 
 always in the habit of having it directly he got 
 up, and sometimes his good wife indulged him 
 with it in bed, if she were up early and he said 
 he was tired, as was the case sometimes on a 
 Monday morning. There was, therefore, no 
 agreement between this Monday morning and 
 those that had gone by, and his stomach did 
 not like the change at all, for it murmured and 
 grumbled tremendously, making a noise some- 
 thing like thunder at a distance; and he told 
 
160 THE angler's guide. 
 
 his companions that he should like to stop and 
 have something soon. Stickings, who gene- 
 rally had a pretty good appetite, said he never 
 felt so hungry in all his life, and he was quite 
 sure that he could eat half a quartern loaf and 
 a pound of cheese with the greatest pleasure. 
 E-igings said he was not so hungry as all 
 that, still he should like his breakfast, for he 
 felt rather hollow, something like he used 
 to feel after he had played the character of 
 Macbeth or Othello. They therefore turned 
 into a cofiPee-shop which they found open on 
 their way, where they made rolls and butter, 
 eggs and coffee, vanish like vapours before 
 the sunbeams. And Bigings, who had some 
 beef steaks in his basket, a piece of which he 
 intended to try if the hungry jack would take, 
 got the coffee seller to cook some for them, 
 and they all declared that never in their whole 
 lives did they taste such a fine piece of steak ; 
 it certainly was splendid ! 
 
 Having satisfied the cravings of the appetite 
 and the gnawings of the stomach, they paid the 
 reckoning, and as there was no time to be lost, 
 they turned out and proceeded on their journey 
 with countenances much more placid than when 
 they turned in. They were, however, a rather 
 
THE angler's guide. 161 
 
 strange-looking triplet, now that the full day- 
 light showed them in all their dimensions. 
 Bigings, as already hinted, was a corpulent 
 man, of about five feet seven, with only one 
 eye, (poor man !) and a nose very large and red 
 at the end, and a chin which seemed to have a 
 very strong inclination to grow up to it. He 
 w^ore top-boots and inexpressibles, with a 
 broad-brimmed hat, and one of his official 
 great-coats with the cape and gold lace taken 
 off. In his gait he held his head erect, and 
 took rather long and sure steps, as though 
 he had a desire to keep up his dignity and 
 make the most of himself. 
 
 Stickings, with the exception of his height, 
 was the very reverse of Bigings ; he was thin and 
 straight, all down alike, wuth lantern jaws, and 
 quite a small nose, the end of which seemed as 
 though it had been pinched as close as possible. 
 His eyes were small, dark, and piercing, his 
 hair black, and complexion pale ; and no one, 
 to look at him, would have thought that he had 
 had such a breakfast as he had just devoured 
 in the coffee-house, for his whole appearance 
 was exceedingly meagre. His dress, too, was 
 not at all calculated to improve his lean frame : 
 he wore a pair of drill trousers that were five 
 
 M 
 
162 THE angler's guide. 
 
 or six inches too short, and withal quite tight 
 round his legs ; with a very old black coat and 
 waistcoat, that any one might see were never 
 made for him, for they were a good deal too 
 small and of very old-fashioned cut. He had, 
 however, a tremendously large cravat, and a 
 pair of whiskers that would have made a hun- 
 dred of those worn by beardless youths who 
 are very persevering in the use of the grease 
 of the bear, or Rowland's Macassar; and, to 
 crown all, his hat was drab, with a very small 
 brim, very much out of shape. 
 
 Rigings was quite a little man, not five feet 
 in height, ill shaped, with a large head and 
 face, hard features, and his beard cut in a par- 
 ticular way, plainly indicating that he thought 
 himself a person of some importance, and 
 wished other persons to think the same. But 
 his dress was more suitable for the occasion 
 than that of either of his companions ; for he 
 wore a sporting coat with very large pockets, 
 and a wide-awake, which, when he was going 
 to spout, he would bend sometimes into the 
 shape of a cocked hat worn in the army, which 
 made him look very ludicrous. 
 
 Such being their appearance, it will not ap- 
 pear wonderful that people should look at them 
 
THE angler's guide. 163 
 
 as they strolled along the road, and that the 
 vulgar should throw out a jeer or two as to the 
 sport in which, they could see by what they 
 carried, they were going to engage. But 
 Rigings always had an answer for them all, 
 for he gave them, according to his own way of 
 expressing it, quite as good as they sent, and 
 sometimes a little better. But every fresh 
 insulter knew not of the retaliation he had 
 made on the last who insulted him, and there^ 
 fore they were not deterred by his witty 
 sarcasms, which were sometimes exceedingly 
 cutting, and not at all relished by those who 
 had to bear them. But, as he remarked, they 
 had no right to insult him, and if they had 
 not he should not have made remarks upon 
 them. The fact was, he was very fond of 
 hearing his own speech, and, consequently, put 
 his tongue into motion whenever he could 
 find an opportunity. 
 
 This was the objection Bigings had to him, 
 but upon this occasion he made him laugh 
 so much every now and then that he could 
 hardly walk along the road. They had also 
 been into two or three places for a drop of 
 something short, as the morning was cold 
 and damp; and even Stickings, though a 
 
162 THE angler's guide. 
 
 or six inches too short, and withal quite tight 
 round his legs ; with a very old black coat and 
 waistcoat, that any one might see were never 
 made for him, for they were a good deal too 
 small and of very old-fashioned cut. He had, 
 however, a tremendously large cravat, and a 
 pair of whiskers that would have made a hun- 
 dred of those worn by beardless youths who 
 are very persevering in the use of the grease 
 of the bear, or Rowland's Macassar; and, to 
 crown all, his hat was drab, with a very small 
 brim, very much out of shape. 
 
 Rigings was quite a little man, not five feet 
 in height, ill shaped, with a large head and 
 face, hard features, and his beard cut in a par- 
 ticular way, plainly indicating that he thought 
 himself a person of some importance, and 
 wished other persons to think the same. But 
 his dress was more suitable for the occasion 
 than that of either of his companions ; for he 
 wore a sporting coat with very large pockets, 
 and a wide-awake, which, when he was going 
 to spout, he would bend sometimes into the 
 shape of a cocked hat worn in the army, which 
 made him look very ludicrous. 
 
 Such being their appearance, it will not ap- 
 pear wonderful that people should look at them 
 
THE angler's guide. 163 
 
 as they strolled along the road, and that the 
 vulgar should throw out a jeer or two as to the 
 sport in which, they could see by what they 
 carried, they were going to engage. But 
 Rigings always had an answer for them all, 
 for he gave them, according to his own way of 
 expressing it, quite as good as they sent, and 
 sometimes a little better. But every fresh 
 insulter knew not of the retaliation he had 
 made on the last who insulted him, and there- 
 fore they were not deterred by his witty 
 sarcasms, which were sometimes exceedingly 
 cutting, and not at all rehshed by those who 
 had to bear them. But, as he remarked, they 
 had no right to insult him, and if they had 
 not he should not have made remarks upon 
 them. The fact was, he was very fond of 
 hearing his own speech, and, consequently, put 
 his tongue into motion whenever he could 
 find an opportunity. 
 
 This was the objection Bigings had to him, 
 but upon this occasion he made him laugh 
 so much every now and then that he could 
 hardly walk along the road. They had also 
 been into two or three places for a drop of 
 something short, as the morning was cold 
 and damp; and even Stickings, though a 
 
164 THE angler's guide. 
 
 teetotaller, had been prevailed upon to take a 
 dram by way of remedy, so that the Hquid 
 spirits operating on the ghostly, they had 
 become quite light-hearted and merry, and 
 disposed for other sports as well as that of 
 angling. 
 
 Rigings would wear his wide-awake in the 
 form we have mentioned, and not only so, but 
 he had begged two pins of an old woman, and 
 absolutely pinned the sides together, and stuck 
 the feather of a cock's tail, which he picked 
 up, in the front of it, and to all who took any 
 particular notice of him he made obeisance of 
 some kind or other. A recruiting sergeant 
 and his men commenced an attack on him, 
 but he poured in such a volley of sarcastic 
 abuse that they were soon glad to retreat; 
 and he finished it with an extemporary effu- 
 sion, which he gave in the middle of the road, 
 in style truly theatrical, and though it was 
 wild and laughable, it contained some remarks 
 that were by far too true. It ran thus — 
 
 " Avaunt ! ye minions of satanic ire, 
 With coats the colour of the blood ye spill, 
 And trimmings white and pallid as the flesh ye make , 
 With swords of steel as cruel as your hands. 
 And bullets in your pouches, hard as are your hearts; 
 With money in your pockets, little, as must be your souls. 
 
THE angler's guide. 165 
 
 Or never would ye follow such a calling. 
 
 Ye tools of tyrants' towering pride, avaunt I 
 
 Nor let me e'er thine ugly faces, dress, or weapons see. 
 
 Go to, and from thy caps those floating ribbons take. 
 
 Nor dare another soldier while I live to make ! 
 
 We peaceful go to kill jacks for our dinners. 
 
 But you, the sons of Adam — O, you monstrous sinners I 
 
 The soldiers Kstened attentively to this, and 
 then set up a shout and passed on, and very 
 soon they were out of the sight of each other. 
 Our travellers had not gone far from this spot 
 before they came to a pot-house, on the road- 
 side, where a party of holiday-makers had 
 been carousing all night, and their dissipation 
 and excesses had made them wretched speci- 
 mens of human nature. Some were sleeping, 
 others yawning, and all seemed weary with 
 their own depraved doings. 
 
 Rigings was just the person for them to see 
 and to make sport of, and as he and his com- 
 panions stopped to have a drop of heavy wet 
 to quench their thirst, there was a display of 
 jargon and jokes, in which the odds were very 
 much in favour of Rigings. 
 
 " Who the dickings are you ?" said a fellow 
 who was lolling on the table with both arms, 
 his eyes half shut, and his face woefully long. 
 
 ''' I'm his Majesty the King of Slang," said 
 
166 THE angler's guide. 
 
 Rigings, " and I rule my kingdom with the 
 power of my tongue, and command or punish 
 who I please." 
 
 " You're a devilish droll fellow/ ' was the 
 reply. 
 
 " I'm not devilish," said he ; " those are 
 devihsh who get drunk by swallowing liquid 
 fire. 
 
 * Who spend their pelf to bouse all night. 
 And snore like pigs at morning light/ " 
 
 " What !" said the fellow, " then you mean 
 to say I'm devilish?" 
 
 " I did not say you was," said Rigings. 
 
 " But you meant it, Sir," said he, opening 
 his eyes, rising in a towering passion, and 
 shaking his fist. 
 
 But Bigings was not at all daunted, for, 
 lifting his mock cocked hat a little ofi* his face, 
 throwing himself into a pompous attitude, and 
 making his countenance as terrific as possible, 
 he exclaimed, with his eyes sternly fixed on 
 him: — 
 
 " Thy guilty conscience tells thee plainly, thou 
 A drunkard art, and also, that thy throat, 
 In dead of night, will gulp the liquor down, 
 And therefore, when the trite remark was made, 
 It fitted, like thy nightcap to thy muddled brains. 
 
THE angler's guide. 167 
 
 O man, thy week so ill begun may sadly end ! 
 Thy money gone, how mayst thou wish 'twere thine ! 
 Thine health impair'd, how mayst thou wish thee well ! 
 O man ! man ! to think, to home, to work, I say !" 
 
 And out he went after his companions. The 
 fellow, whom he had been addressing, for 
 some seconds stood Hke one panic-stricken, for 
 he, as well as all in the room, knew not what 
 to make of Rigings ; they were afraid of him. 
 But he soon sat down, saying to those around 
 him, "There's a pretty scoundrel to insult a 
 man to his face like that ere ; he ought to be 
 kicked." 
 
 But he did not offer to go after him, for 
 he had had enough of him already, being 
 quite chagrined before all present. 
 
 Onward went the anglers, and soon saw 
 in the distance the silvery winding stream; 
 and as they all began to feel the distance they 
 had come, they were as anxious to rest them- 
 selves on its banks, as to ply their arts to 
 catch jack and pike. They knew nothing of 
 the water, or of the particular spots likely to 
 contain jack, and therefore one part did as 
 well for them as another. The rain, too, had 
 fallen already in light showers, and to all 
 appearance would increase, and consequently 
 Mr. Bigings suggested the propriety of being 
 
168 THE angler's guide. 
 
 near a house, where they might take shelter if 
 they needed it, "for," as he remarked, "we 
 had better get a little too wet inside than a 
 good deal too wet out." 
 
 A real angler never minds a shower, he 
 always goes prepared for it ; but a novice, or 
 one who, like a butterfly, only goes out when 
 the summer sun shines, will, like the butterfly, 
 drive in anywhere to keep dry wings. 
 
 They had not walked far on the bank of 
 the river before they saw some gents already 
 at anghng, in a punt on the other side of the 
 stream. They were barbel fishing, and as the 
 wind, tide, and water were all favourable, and 
 they were clever hands at the sport, they were 
 pulling out the fish in good style. 
 
 This our heroes perceived, and they sat 
 down on the bank, looking at them for some 
 time ; and as the sport was all new to 
 them, they had rather a strange conversation 
 among themselves respecting them. They 
 wondered what baits they were using, and 
 what fish they were catching. 
 
 " How they lug 'em out !" said Bigings. 
 
 " They do, indeed," said Stickings. 
 
 " Hi ! hi !" said Eigings, " they understand 
 all about it ; they're old stagers, we must look 
 
THE angler's guide. 169 
 
 at them and learn. What kind of fish do you 
 think they are, Mr. Bigings ?" 
 
 " Why, they look to me," said Bigings? 
 " very much like small cod, or haddocks." 
 
 " But I always thought they was coutch in 
 the sea, in salt water," said Stickings. 
 
 "They may citch 'em there in nets," said 
 Bigings, " but tJiis 'ere river you see joins 
 the sea, and who knows but they may take 
 a stroll up here for the sake of a little fresh 
 water ?" * 
 
 " And what kind of bait have they got on 
 the hook ?" said Stickings. 
 
 " I don't know, I'm sure," said Bigings ; " its 
 very white, and looks to me very much like a 
 small piece of a thin candle, or a bit of fat pork."t 
 
 " No," said Bigings, whose eyes were very 
 good, "it looks to me more hke a piece of 
 gristle, or paddewack" 
 
 And thus they went on cogitating, beholding 
 every now and then a barbel taken by some 
 one of the anglers who were in the punt. 
 At length Bigings said, " Well, it's no use to 
 set looking at them ; if we want fish ourselves, 
 
 * Barbel have very much the appearance of codlings or had- 
 docks at a distance. 
 
 f Graves would have that appearance on tlie otlier side of 
 the river. 
 
170 THE angler's guide. 
 
 we must citcli 'em, and as we can see there's 
 plenty on 'em in the water, and we've got a 
 house here close behind where we can go in 
 if it rains, and have anything we like, I think 
 we may as well have a try here." 
 
 " Very well," said Stickings. 
 
 " With all my heart," said Uigings, " and 
 who knows but what we may pull 'em out as 
 fast as they do !" 
 
 "No," said Bigings, "I don't think we 
 shall citch like what they're citcJiing, because 
 our tackle won't do ; we must fish for jack. 
 But if I'd er thought on it before I come out, 
 I'd er read what Walton says about all the 
 difierent kinds of fish in the Thames, and 
 the right sort of baits for 'em ; only people 
 never think of things till it's too late. But I 
 think what they're citcliing are not jack, by 
 the colour on 'em." 
 
 They now began to pull out their rods and 
 lines, and to put them together, and when 
 they had done so it became a matter of 
 concern what they were to put on their hooks. 
 They had no small fish, and no means of 
 getting any, and if they had understood the 
 sport they would have known that it is of no 
 use fishing for jack without them. 
 
THE angler's guide. 171 
 
 But Bigings remembered what the old 
 angler told him who sold him Isaac Walton's 
 book, namely, that jack would take a frog 
 when they were very hungry. But the worst 
 of it was, he had not one, and did not know 
 where to get one. He had beef-steak in his 
 basket, which he thought he would try, but 
 he had not much opinion of it, and though he 
 told the others they were quite welcome to 
 try some if they pleased, yet he thought they 
 would do much better with frogs. Accord- 
 ingly, off they all went to a neighbouring 
 ditch to hunt for frogs, but they found them 
 very scarce. Bigings, however, secured one, 
 and a fine fellow he w^as, with his bright eyes 
 and yellow stripes ; but he was about five or 
 six times too large for the purpose, for if a 
 jack ever takes a frog, it is always a small one. 
 But this Bigings did not know ; it was a frog, 
 and that was all he seemed to care about. 
 The others hunted until they found another, 
 which was quite as large as that found by 
 Bigings ; they then gave up the search, 
 Rigings having stepped into the water up 
 to his knee after the frog, though Stickings 
 secured him, and therefore Rigings said he 
 would try a piece of beef-steak. They were 
 
173 THE angler's guide. 
 
 not long before their hooks were baited, and 
 into the water they threw them, though from 
 the nature of that part of the stream any jack- 
 fisher would have seen, that the water was no 
 more likely to contain a jack, than they were 
 to catch one. But plump into the water 
 they threw them — then they pulled them out 
 — then they threw them in again as far as 
 ever they could sling them ; then they examined 
 them to see if any jack had been biting at them, 
 and gave their opinions as to their appear- 
 ance ; and thus they went on, until the poor 
 frogs had struggled their last, and Rigings' 
 piece of beef-steak had changed colour and 
 hung down from the hook, like a piece of 
 dirty rag. As may be expected, the anglers 
 in the punt had no little diversion in looking 
 at them and watching their conduct. Had 
 they been three boys, they would not have 
 been surprised, but their age, appearance, 
 dress, contrast and conduct, ail combined to 
 render them the objects of ridicule. Rigings, 
 too, was spouting every now and then on the 
 bank, and once attempted a soliloquy in 
 rhyme for the occasion, which pleased them 
 not a little, and ran thus : — 
 
THE angler's guide. 173 
 
 " Ah, me ! All, me ! unlucky wight, 
 To leave my spouse and bed at night; 
 With bosom full of hope and fear, 
 To come to sicb a place as this 'ere. 
 To pull out jacks with much delight. 
 But now Tm come, not one will bite. 
 Though frogs as fat as frogs can be. 
 And a lovely piece of steak they see ; 
 Oh ! Lucy dear, to thee I come, 
 But sure thou wilt look werry glum 
 When in the basket thou shalt spy 
 No jacks or pikes for you and I ! " 
 
 But the rain now began to come down, 
 and as they had no umbrellas, and wanted 
 their lunch, they turned into the house, leav- 
 ing their lines in the water, Rigings saying, 
 that perhaps the fish would take the bait 
 while they were gone, for Isaac Walton said 
 that they would sometimes bite in a shower. 
 And they called out to the gents in the punt, 
 and asked them if they'd be so kind as 
 to see that no one ran away with their tackle, 
 and they said they would. It then occurred to 
 the barbel fishers that they should like to 
 play them a trick, and as they had plenty of 
 fish, they got the boatman to take three large 
 ones in a boat, and hook one on each of their 
 hooks, and then put them into the water again. 
 This he did ; cramming as much of the frogs 
 and beef-steak into the mouths of the barbel 
 
174 THE angler's guide. 
 
 as he could, and drawing the large jack-hooks 
 clean through their upper lips. He then 
 dropped them into the water and rowed 
 away. 
 
 But it was some time before they had the 
 pleasure of seeing their astonishment, for the 
 rain kept falUng, and they kept eating, drink- 
 ing and smoking — Rigings pleasing or teas- 
 ing the company with his nonsense. At last 
 the shower ceased, and out they came. Rigings, 
 bustling along, was first at the water, and 
 upon taking hold of his rod to see if anything 
 had been at his bait, began pulling upon the 
 barbel. 
 
 " By the powers of the lucifer-box," he 
 bawled out, " I've got one !" and he pulled it 
 at such a tremendous rate, lest it should fall 
 off, that snap went his top joint, and had it 
 not been that his line went through the rings 
 on his rod, he would have lost it ; but he soon 
 pulled the barbel out with the line. 
 
 By this time Bigings and Stickings had 
 taken up their rods, and with delightful 
 astonishment were exclaiming, '* I've got 
 one !" and hauling them in as quickly as 
 possible, Bigings winding his in with his 
 winch, in sportsman-like style, saying to the 
 
THE ANGLERS GUIDE. 175 
 
 others : — " Talk about fishing, what do you 
 call tJiis 'ere, but out and out sport ? Why 
 these 'ere three fish weigh on towards ten 
 pounds." 
 
 " They do, indeed," said Stickings. 
 
 '*' And are they jacks ?" said Rigings. 
 
 " Why, as to that," said Bigings, " you 
 see I can hardly tell. I should think they are, 
 for they've been precious hungry : only see how 
 the rascals have been trying to get the bait 
 down their throats, and they have completely 
 choked themselves, for they're as dead as 
 herrings." 
 
 " Why, mine's as stiff as a poker," said 
 Rigings, " and he's got every morsel of the 
 beef-steak down his throat. Why, they must 
 have got hungry all on a sudden." 
 
 " No, no," said Bigings, " it wasn't that 
 'ere — it was all still and quiet, and so they 
 didn't suspect anything, and so they thought 
 they'd have a good meal." 
 
 This conversation, and a good deal more, 
 joined to their ignorance of the trick that had 
 been played upon them, pleased the gents in 
 the punt to no little extent, and as they 
 had succeeded so well, they resolved to play 
 them another, of some kind, if they should 
 
178 THE angler's guide. 
 
 brought his within sight, and for some seconds 
 he stood staring at it, as though he could not 
 believe his eyes ; he then gave it another pull, 
 and another look, and when he saw what it 
 really was, he bawled out : " Here ! here ! look 
 here ! why I've got a young rhinoceros, or 
 river-horse, or summui er that ! " and he held 
 it up in his hand by the line. 
 
 "By the powers, so he has !" said Bigings, 
 " who'd er thought there was such things in 
 this river ?" 
 
 " Who, indeed !" said Stickings, " why it's 
 quite a curosityy 
 
 " Well, to be sure ! " said Bigings, " who 
 ever would er dremt er such a thing being 
 citched here — take care on it, for its one of 
 the wonders of the world 1" 
 
 " But it looks very much like a pig," said 
 Stickings. 
 
 " Yes," said he, " that's because it's young, 
 you see, it hasn't got it's proper shape and 
 make yet." 
 
 " What a pity, I couldn't er cot it alive," said 
 Rigings, as he pulled the hook out of his nose, 
 and put him into his basket. And the others 
 resumed their pulling. 
 
 As we have said, Bigings' line was hooked 
 
THE angler's guide. 179 
 
 on to the black figure, and a strong cord from 
 that was held by the gents in the punt, which 
 as long as they held so long he would pull in 
 vain. And it so happened that the pig which 
 was hooked on the line of Stickings, as he 
 drew it along got stuck quite fast in a large 
 bunch of weeds, so that he could not move it. 
 He pulled and pulled, and pulled again, but it 
 was of no use, and at last his line, which was 
 but weak, broke, and he lost float, hook and 
 pig into the bargain. Bigings kept pulling 
 at his, but his line was much stronger, though 
 not so strong as the cord the boatman had 
 tied to it. 
 
 " What a thousand pitties it is/' said he, 
 "that we should get so fast as tJiis 'ere! I 
 can't move it, though I can feel summut rising 
 every now and then, and it seems to be tug- 
 ging at me." 
 
 " Then it must be summut alive," said 
 Rigings, " unless you're deceived." 
 
 " Well, now, I'll jest let it be still a 
 minute," said he, " and you '11 see if it don't 
 pull at me ; and he held his rod down." 
 
 The line then gave several hard jerks, 
 which were performed by the gents in the 
 punt tugging at it. 
 
180 THE ANGLERS GUIDE. 
 
 " There's summut alive there, safe enough," 
 they all said. 
 
 " Pull at it like blazes," said Rigings, 
 " look, look, its going away," and so it was, 
 for the gents were pulling it. 
 
 Bigings now began to pull as hard as he 
 thought his line would bear, and the anglers 
 in the punt pulled against him, which caused 
 the line to slip up the boat-post, so that the 
 black figure rose to the surface of the water. 
 As soon as they saw it, they all bawled out, 
 '' There it is ! I can see it ! " 
 
 " Why, what in the name of the Virgin 
 is it ! " said Bigings — " w^hy, its quite 
 black ! " 
 
 " Black ! " said Bigings, " why its as black 
 as the old 'un himself ! Upon my conscience 
 I really think it is him 1 I don't wonder you 
 can't get him out ! " And he shrugged up 
 his shoulders and made a theatrical face, and 
 Bigings absolutely began to look frightened, 
 for as the anglers in the punt pulled the cord, 
 it slipped up the post, and brought the head 
 of the figure to the top of the water, so that 
 it had the appearance of dancing. Stickings, 
 who, not being used to drinking, was above 
 three sheets in the wind, became very serious 
 
THE angler's guide. 181 
 
 upon the aJBTair, and said, with his finger 
 npUfted, — 
 
 " Hush ! hush ! Mr. Rigings ! " and whis- 
 pering to Bigings, said, " You'd better have 
 nothing more to do with it, Mr. Bigings ! " 
 
 " I'll have it out, whatever it is, by some 
 means or other," said Bigings. " But I '11 
 just lay my rod down a little, and perhaps 
 it '11 get loose," and so saying, he put down his 
 rod, evidently half-frightened. 
 
 This gave the gents an opportunity of per- 
 forming what they wanted, namely, to get the 
 figure round the post, so that they might ulti- 
 mately get all his line off his winch! They 
 therefore, began pulling it, and before Bigings 
 could get hold of his rod, succeeded in their 
 object. 
 
 " Look, look ! " said Rigings, " how it's 
 running away with your fine," and as he took 
 up his rod, the winch spun round. 
 
 " Pull ! pull ! " said he ; and he did pull, 
 but all his line was gone. 
 
 " It must be some monster of the deep," 
 said Stickings, with a tremendously long face, 
 *' or it never could serve yer in sich a way as 
 that 'ere;' and Bigings looked as grave as 
 a judge. 
 
182 THE angler's guide. 
 
 The boatman now went in his boat to the 
 post, at the secret suggestion of the anglers in 
 the punt, calling out to Bigings, *' Fll see if I 
 can get it for you !" But he only went to 
 keep the line under his boat, so that the figure 
 should not be seen again, and to cut the hne 
 at a favourable time, so as to give Bigings a 
 ducking. He therefore kept the boat near 
 the post and across the line, which the gents 
 in the punt kept pulling, thus straining upon 
 Biging's rod and line tremendously, he leaning 
 over the water as far as possible for fear of 
 his line breaking. 
 
 " Whatever shall I do ?" said he ; " I shall 
 be in the river and lose my rod and line, for 
 it's pulling with sich a dreadful force." 
 
 " Let me lay hold of you," said Stickings, 
 and so saying he took hold of the tail of his 
 long coat. 
 
 " And ril lay hold of you," said Bigings ; 
 "if it pulls us in, we'll all go together;" and 
 he took hold of Stickings. 
 
 " Now pull, Mr. Bigings," said he ; and 
 Bigings did pull with a vengeance ! 
 
 At this moment the boatman cut the line 
 with his knife, and plump into the water went 
 Bigings, flat on his face ; and as flat went Stick- 
 
THE ANGLERS GUIDE. 183 
 
 ings and Rigings on their backs; and there 
 for some seconds they were all down together. 
 Stickings was the first on his legs, and into 
 the river he jumped, and laid hold of Bigings, 
 and, assisted by Rigings, Bigings scrambled 
 out. 
 
 " There's a wonderful thing T' said Bigings, 
 as soon as he got his breath and had puffed 
 a little. "It must be one of the imps of 
 the bottomless pit, to serve anybody in that 
 manner! But never mind, I've got my rod 
 and line 1" and so saying, he took off his hat 
 and began slinging the w^ater from it, while 
 Stickings stamped his feet to shake the water 
 off his legs ; and Rigings, half smiling, stood 
 staring at them with one hand lifted up in 
 theatrical attitude. 
 
 Just at this juncture a little cur dog at 
 some distance from them arrested their atten- 
 tion, for he was coughing, and yelping, and 
 trying to get away from something that held 
 him by the mouth, and running at the same 
 time. They soon discovered the cause of his 
 noise ; he had seized hold of the piece of beef- 
 steak on Rigings' hook, which was on the 
 ground, and swallowed it, and got the hook 
 ia his jaw, and was going away, pulling the 
 
184 THE angler's guide. 
 
 rod after him. Rigings laid hold of the rod, 
 and soon stopped the progress of the poor 
 beast, who, feeling the hook pulled upon, 
 howled most horridly. 
 
 "Well, to be sure!" said he; "here's a 
 pretty how-do-you-do ! whdd er thought I 
 should ever er cotch a dog ?" And upon this 
 a youth came running up, to whom the dog 
 belonged, who took hold of him, and Rigings 
 put his rod down and went to his assistance. 
 " He's swallowed my bait," said he. 
 
 " Yes," said the youth, " and the hook's 
 fast in his jaw, and I don't know how I shall 
 get it out." 
 
 Rigings looked at it and felt it, and said — 
 " No, that'll never come out till its cut out, 
 and so I must leave it in him ;" and so sajing, 
 he pulled out his knife and cut the line close 
 to his mouth, and back he went to his com- 
 panions. They were taking their rods to 
 pieces, for Bigings was soaked to the skin, 
 and the others up to their knees, and there- 
 fore they said they must get dry somehow or 
 other. Beside which, if they had not been 
 wet, they could not have fished any more, for 
 they had all lost their hooks, — Stickings with 
 the pig, Bigings with the figure, and Rigings 
 
THE angler's guide. 185 
 
 with the dog ; and like many other novices at 
 anghng, they had no more with them. Into 
 the house they all went ; Rigings singing as 
 they went along a song of his own on the joys 
 of angling. 
 
 They found the landlord and his wife very 
 kind and accommodating, for the anglers who 
 had been sporting with them had sent word 
 that they were to render them every assistance 
 to get their clothes dry, and they would pay 
 all expenses. But the worst of it was, the 
 landlord was quite a little man, and as Bigings 
 had to pull off all his clothes and put on some 
 of his while they were dried, he cut a very 
 strange figure. But they all made themselves 
 as comfortable as possible, got their clothes 
 thoroughly dry, and were joined in the even- 
 ing by the gents from the punt, who, to use 
 Bigings's words, were three of the best fellows 
 in the creation. Thus the company consisted 
 of twice three jolly anglers ; three who could 
 angle, and three who could not, yet all truly 
 friendly and jolly together. The gents were 
 very much amused with the company of Big- 
 ings, for, with the exception of his want of 
 education, he was, they thought, a clever little 
 fellow. Till the hour of nine they remained^ 
 
186 THE angler's guide. 
 
 for while they were jolly anglers, they were 
 also punctual ones. Bigings, Stickings, and 
 Rigings took their places in the train to 
 London, for which the real anglers paid, and 
 by eleven o'clock they were all at home with 
 their loving spouses, who were all pleased with 
 the fish ; for all the barbel their friends caught 
 they gave to them, so that their baskets were 
 quite full ; and they lived upon fish for the 
 next three or four days. 
 
 How long it was before they went angling 
 again we don't know ; but we do know that 
 for miles around where they spent their 
 angling day very strange stories were told 
 about their angling achievements, though all 
 were very far from the truth. Some said a 
 man was fishing and fell into the river ; others, 
 that he was pushed in ; others, that he jumped 
 in ; others, that he got hold of a tremendous 
 fish and would not let go his rod, and was by 
 the fish pulled in. 
 
 Such were the short versions of the story. 
 But there were others much longer, and con- 
 sequently much more full of character and 
 incident. Some Irish Catholics in the neigh- 
 bourhood said that a respectable, stout old 
 gentleman, dressed in black, who was a Roman 
 
THE angler's guide. 187 
 
 Catholic priest, was fishing for jack quietly 
 enough, but two ill-looking fellows, who were 
 Protestants, and knew him, came by and 
 insulted him, quarrelled with him, and threw 
 him into the river, tumbled him about and 
 ducked him in and out like a sheep in a 
 sheep- wash, and that three gentlemen who were 
 angling in a punt, who were dissenters, only 
 sat laughing at them, and said, " Give it him ! 
 — drown him — do for him ! " But all on a sud- 
 den the Virgin Mary, all dressed in black, rose 
 up out of the river and, frowning, shook her fist 
 at them ; and then a supernatural being, in the 
 form of a large bull- dog, flew on to them, and 
 would have killed them all, only in compas- 
 sion to them she called him off^. But the last 
 version of the story, and that which got most 
 wind, was spread abroad by the opposite party, 
 namely, that three strange-looking fellows, 
 who were all Roman Catholics, were all fish- 
 ing together, and that his Satanic Majesty, 
 who was as black as a coal, just popped up 
 his head out of the water to ask them how 
 they got on. But as there were other anglers 
 near, who were Protestants, the followers of 
 Romanism did not wish it to be seen that 
 they were quite so intimate with his Majesty, 
 
188 THE angler's guide. 
 
 and therefore they would not speak to him, 
 and made signs for him to cut ; when he, feel- 
 ing indignant at such insulting conduct, laid 
 hold of one of their lines, and declared he 
 would have it rod and all. A pulling match 
 ensued, in which he pulled the Roman Catholic 
 into the river ; but the Roman Catholic got 
 the rod and line away from him ; beside 
 which, a sturdy boatman just behind him gave 
 him such a tremendous blow on the head 
 with a boat-hook that it was thought he never 
 could get over it. 
 
STANZAS TO THE LADIES, ON ANGLING. 
 
 Gentle ladies, to you 
 
 Just a sentence or two 
 We address, as wives, daughters and motliers ; 
 
 And because we're aware 
 
 There are some of the fair 
 Who peep into the books of their brothers. 
 
 And it may, perhaps, so be, 
 That this book you may see, . 
 
 And respecting it come to conclusion ; 
 
 And we could not, we thought, 
 Seem to set you at nought. 
 
 By treating you all with exclusion. 
 
 Persons take different views 
 
 Of the means which you use. 
 To obtain healthful recreation ; 
 
 And we really tliink you 
 
 Have just causes to rue 
 The false notions some take of your station. 
 
 With a great deal of care. 
 
 Like sweet flowers most rare. 
 You are nursed, in ten thousand of cases : 
 
 Though we plainly can see. 
 
 That if good nursing be, 
 It nevertheless makes pale faces. 
 
 Our mother, the first. 
 
 Was not sillily nursed, 
 When she roved among Eden's sweet flowers ; 
 
 But in pure balmy air 
 
 Was bright, healthy, and fair, 
 As the roses themselves in the bowers. 
 
190 THE ANGLER S GUIDE. 
 
 But since then there has been 
 
 A few changes of scene. 
 And the flowers and bovvers are forsaken; 
 
 And the crochet and lace, 
 
 Seen at every place. 
 All your energies seem to have taken. 
 
 But permit us to say. 
 
 In a true friendly way. 
 That we think so much knitting and sitting, 
 
 Your health and your strength 
 
 Will endanger at length. 
 Though, you think the art very befitting. 
 
 You had much better be 
 In the air fresh and free, 
 
 All your charms and your graces enriching ; 
 Than on sofas with springs. 
 And all other such things, 
 
 Where you sit everlastingly stitching. 
 
 Any innocent sport. 
 
 In which health can be sought. 
 May be follow'd by you without fearing ; 
 
 And you never need care. 
 
 Though you sometimes may share 
 In a little sarcastical sneering. 
 
 Health and beauty and wit 
 
 Are of real benefit. 
 And will always be praises obtaining ; 
 
 While the pettish and sad 
 
 In contempt will be had, 
 Though they're up in all fanciful training. 
 
THE angler's guide. 191 
 
 But we now must conclude. 
 
 Lest too long we iatrude, 
 And you should with our rhyming be weary; 
 
 Though 'tis really a fact 
 
 That the scribbling act 
 Is perform'd with intention to cheer ye. 
 
 All we add is just this — 
 
 Do not take it amiss. 
 And about it get wrangling and jangling ; 
 
 Por, with love to you all. 
 
 We the sentence let fall, — 
 Let us meet you just now and then Angling ! 
 
 THE END. 
 
 R. CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD STREET HILL. 
 
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