io A»rasn ihi 
 
 O V»V»9V« VINVS 
 
 a 
 
 3fS 
 
 ° yiN*o*ivD io « 
 
 o MISaSAINO 3H1 o 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF o 
 
 
 • vinhojiivd <o o 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY o 
 
 g£ 
 
 B 
 
 SANTA BARBARA °. 
 
 o Of CALIFORNIA o 
 
 THE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 < 
 
 *L 
 
 
 
 
 > 
 
 
 > 
 
 ° K3 A.8VS8I1 3H1 
 
 SANTA BARBARA • 
 
 o OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 VRVS8V8 *LN S 
 
 3 
 
 \ 
 
 W 
 
 ffr 
 
 ° JO AHVSII1 JH1 
 
 eO 
 
 1 
 
 / 
 
 o AllS«AINn 3Hi ° 
 
 \ 
 
o THE UNIVERSITY o 
 
 6 
 
 ¥£ 
 
 fv. 
 
 
 
 SANTA BARBARA ° 
 
 o THE LIBRARY OF o 
 
 M^ 
 
 ° vinhojiivo io » 
 
 Y!)W9»V« V1NVS a 
 
 9 
 
 i 
 
 m 
 
 o THE LIBRARY OF o 
 
 Digitized bysihe Internet Archive 
 
 o y»vsav9 vinvS e 
 
 9 
 
 5S 
 
 o OF CALIFORNIA o 
 
 3V) 
 
 o JUISMAINO 3H1 o 
 
 JO A»V8«n 3H1 
 
 o THE UNIVERSITY o 
 
 ¥£ 
 
 B 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA o 
 
 http://a£ CJ}(y T 9.|)/^ A d fails/bookofall 
 
 W 
 
 €0 
 
 5& 
 
 mm^m^ala 
 
 / 
 
CARTER * PEEK, 
 
 WHOLESALE, RETAIL, AND EXPORT 
 
 Efishing % Upd % and % Jackie 
 Manufacturers, 
 
 137, ST. JOHN STREET ROAD 
 
 (Corner of Sadler's Wells Theatre Gates, near Angel, Islington) ; 
 
 Factory: 1, 2, & 3, Myddelton Place; 
 Timber Stores: Merlin Place, LONDON, E.C. 
 
 PIKE TROLLING RODS, 3 Joints, Brazed Upright Rings, and Winch 
 Fittings— Hickory, 4/6, 5/6 ; Ditto, 4 Joints, 5/6 ; Ditto, Hickory, Greenheart, or 
 Mottled Cane, 2 Tops, 7/6, 10/6, 14/- ; Ditto, Bottom and Trolling, 3/6, 4/6, 6/-, 
 7/6 ; General Rods, 10/6, 11/6, 16/-, 4 Tops. 
 
 BAMBOO ROACH RODS, Rung, Brazed, and Winch Fittings, 12ft., 3/6, 4/6 ; 
 15ft., 4/6, 5/6, 6/- ; 18ft., 5/6; Ditto, 2 Tops, 8/6; 20ft., 10/6, 12/6, 14/6, 18/-, 20/-. 
 WHITE CANE Ditto, 15/-, 16/6, 20/-. 
 
 TROUT FLY RODS, 3 Joints, Rung, Brazed, and Winch Fittings, 3/6, 4/6, 5/- ; 
 2 Tops, Bronze Fittings, 8/6, 15/-, 18/., 22/-. SALMON RODS, 16/-, 20/-, 25/-. 
 
 BRONZE REVOLVING-PLATE CHECK REELS, 2in., 3/6 ; 2£in., 4/- ; 
 2iin., 4/6; 3in., 6/6; 4in., 10/6. 
 
 NOTTINGHAM WOOD REELS, 4d., 6d., 9d.. 1/-, 1/6; 3pn., 1/9; 4in., 2/6. 
 Ditto, Movable Checks, 3/6, 4/-, 5/-. Ditto, Centre, 12/6. 
 
 PLAIN BRASS REELS, 2pn., 1/9 ; 3in., 2/6 ; 3Jin., 4/-. 
 
 PIKE LINES, Cable-laid Cord, 40yds., 8d. ; 60yds.. 1/-. Plaited Tanned Flax, 
 3/6 100yds. Plaited Waterproof Flax, £d. per yard. Best BRAIDED Water- 
 proof SILK LINE, Id. per yard. Trout ditto, 30yds., 2/2. Salmon ditto, l£d. 
 per yard. GIMP TRACES, 2 Swivels and Lead, 6d. each. Twisted Gut 
 ditto, 7d. GIMP AND GUT PATERNOSTERS, 6d. each. Twisted Gut 
 JARDINE Paternosters, lOd. each. Single Salmon Gut ditto, 7d. each. 
 Jardii ie, Pennell, and Otter SNAPS, 3d. each ; 2/6 doz. Double Live-Bait Hooks 
 on Gimp, l£d. each, 1/3 doz. Single Hooks on Gimp, 8d. doz. Spinning Flights, 
 6d. each. Jack Floats, 3d., 4d., and 6d. Japanned Tackle Boxes, 2/-, 3/-, 3/6 
 each. Dead-Bait Boxes, 8d., 1/-, 1/3 each. Haversacks, Jean, 9d., 1/-, 1/6, 2/- ; 
 Ditto Waterproof, 4/6, 5/6, 6/6, 7/6, 8/6. Trace Leads, Paternoster ditto, Id. each, 
 9d. doz. Swivels, 6d. and lOd. doz. Best Silk Gimp, ljd. yard. Gut Hooks, 
 2d., 3d., and 4d. doz. Best ditto, 6d. doz. Gut Lines, 3yds., 2d., 3d., and 4d.; 
 Ditto, best quality, stout or fine, 6d. Stewart's Worm Tackle, 1/- doz. Trout 
 Flies, 1/- doz. Lake, Sea Trout, and Chub Flies, 1/6 doz. Fly Books, Solid 
 Leather, 1/3, 1/6, 2/-, 2/6, 4/6, 6/-. Tackle Cases, 1/-, 1/6, 2/-. Best Silk Twist 
 Perch Line, 20yds., 3d. ; 2oz., 6d. Plaited Silk Lines, 2/-, 2/6, 3/-, 3/6, 100yds. 
 
 Catalogues (Sratte. 
 
 TERMS— CASH ONLY. 
 
Chevalier, Bowness & Bowness 
 
 (ESTABLISHED 200 YEARS), 
 
 FACING THE LAW COURTS, 
 
 Fishing Rod and Tackle Makers. 
 
 — N.«"N.'"S.»"«..'"«..'' 
 
 SPECIAL RODS FOR NORWAY, CANADA, AND INDIA. 
 
 BUILT CANE RODS from the Best American Makers; also 
 of Our Own Make. 
 
 «MMAMAM^A^^^M^M«MAA^^^^^W«Ai 
 
 Salmon, Lake, and Trout Flies in great Variety. Special Flies 
 for North, South, and West Country Streams. A great variety 
 of Artificial Baits for Perch, Pike, Salmon, and Trout. Sea 
 Tackle of all kinds. Panniers, Waterproof Bags ; the Im- 
 proved Freke Bag. Nets for all purposes. Japanned Boxes 
 to hold Eyed Hook Flies. Baits and Tackle. 
 
 BOORS OJJ ANGLING. FISH PRESERVE©. 
 
 Mahseer Tackle. Cases for Rods. 
 
 Orders punctually attended to. Catalogues Gratis. 
 
 230, STRAND. 
 
WATSON & HANCOCK 
 
 (Established 1837), 
 
 Fishing Rod $ Tackle Makers. 
 
 FISHIXVQ 
 
 £T8. 
 
 MEDIUM, 3s. 6d. 
 
 MEDIUM, lis. 
 
 tBLBBHAT&b Hickory @i«m& Mm. 
 
 s. 
 
 Three Tops. 
 
 ■ P . 
 
 -^fl— 
 
 HHft 
 
 PRICE JB1 Is. 
 
 Four Joints, Tliree Tops (one extra strong for Pike or Sea Fishing), 
 Brazed, Winch Fittings, Spear, and Sag. 
 
 * ALL THE MODERN IMPROVEMENTS FOR FISHING ► 
 
 (Largest Stock in London). 
 
 308, HIGH H0LB0RH, LOHDOE 
 
 New Catalogue (over 200 Engravings), post free, 2d. 
 
GOWLAND & COi 
 
 4, Crooked Lane, King William Street, City, 
 
 Manufacturers of Superior 
 
 FISHING RODS ^ TACKLE 
 
 Of Every Description for all Parts of the World. 
 
 Fly Rods from 1\ Ounces. 
 Materials for Fly Dressing. Trout Flies on Eyed Hooks. 
 
 Special Rods for §;ea Fishing. 
 
 Wessons in §tl» Pressing. 3»isl), 3$irc-s, &c, gtuffeb. 
 
 F. T. WILLIAMS & Co., 
 
 Manufacturers of Every Description of 
 
 f WST-CiASS fltJHUQ BOBS AUD TACIOE 
 
 AT VERY LOW PRICES. CATALOGUES GRATIS. 
 
 See WILLIAMS' IMPROVED METHOD OF CARRYING 
 THE LANDING-NET. 
 
 Recommended by Mr. C. PENNELL and the Angling Press. 
 
 10, (Breat (Slueen Street, Xonfcon, M.C. 
 
 NATURALISTS TO H.R.H. THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH. 
 
 SILVER MEDALS, 1877, '80, & '82. 
 
 SPECIALISTS IN FISH MOUNTING. 
 
 28, RADNOR ST., ST. LUKE'S, LONDON, E.C. 
 
WATSON & HANCOCK 
 
 (Established 1837), 
 
 Fishing Rod $ Tackle Makers. 
 
 W3EK 3BKM JStLttlD *A^TL.& , 1883. 
 
 in hiis foe raif im, 
 
 BISi, COD. &c 
 
 CELEBRATED ■ HICKORY . GENERAL . ROD. 
 
 Price £7 7 
 
 Four Joints, Three Tops (one extra strong, for Pike or Sea- 
 Pishing), brazed, Winch Fittings, Spear, and Bag. 
 
 ALL THE MODERN IMPROVEMENTS FOR FISHING 
 (LARGEST STOCK IN LONDON). 
 
 308, HIGH " hOLBO RIT LOSDOE 
 
 NEW CATALOGUE (over 200 Engravings), Post Free, 2d. 
 
FISHING RODS AND TACKLE. 
 
 J. GILLETT & CO., 
 
 40, Fetter Lane, Fleet Street, London. 
 
 WHOLESALE, RETAIL, AND FOB EXPORTATION. 
 
 GILLETTS celebrated Solid Cane TROUT and SALMON RODS, with Bound Cane 
 Handle, as used by the Editor of Fishing Gazette. Three or Four Joints, 10ft. to 12ft, with 
 Two Tops and Landing Handle, Spear and Partition Bag, 21/- each ; to 14ft., 2/- per foot 
 extra (as per Illustration). These Rods are superior to any Glued-up Rod. We are now using 
 Solid Canes for our Spinning Rods, and find that they are much superior to rods made from 
 Hickory or Greenheart. being much lighter and more durable. They are pronounced to be the 
 Best and Cheapest Spinning Rod in the Market. 
 
 Good HICKORY FLY or BOTTOM RODS, Four Joint, Brazed and Winch fitted, from 8/- each. 
 
 Superior GUT LINES. 3yds. long, 3/- per dozen Lines. 
 
 BRONZED CHECK REELS, 2in. to 2jin., 3/-, 3/6, 4/-, 4/6. 
 
 The Best EBONITE ditto, Bronze Revolving Plates and German Silver Bound, 2|in. and 2iin., 
 
 6/6 and 7/- 
 
 For 5/-, post free, a taper 40yd. best-dressed PLAITED SILK LINE.— "A first-rate line, 
 
 iriost durable."— Fishing Gazette. 
 
 J 
 
 5, Church Place, Jermyn Street, London, S.W. 
 
 MANUFACTURERS OF 
 
 RODS, FLIES, and TACKLE of every Description. 
 
 BUILT CANE SALMON AND TROUT RODS, 
 
 with Corked Handles and Patent Spring Hitchers, made on the 
 premises, and guaranteed perfect. 
 
 SALMON CASTS, tested up to 71b. 
 
 SALMON AND GRILSE FLIES in great variety. 
 All Fly-Dressing Materials supplied. Lesson in Fly-tying 
 given. Trout and Loch Flies on Eyed Hooks or Gut, in- 
 cluding all Halford's Floating Flies. 
 
 Special Flies for Sutherlandshire lochs and rivers. Sea 
 Tackle of every description. Yachts fitted. Wading Stockings, 
 Trousers, Brogues, and Hand-knitted Socks of the best quality, 
 at reasonable prices. 
 
 N.B. — Being practical fly-fishermen, we are well able to give 
 reliable information respecting Rivers, Flies, Rods, and Tackle. 
 
Humphries' Patent Baits. 
 
 THE 
 
 "Lightning 
 Spinner 
 
 (REGD.) 
 
 ALL COLOURS. 
 
 Devon." 
 
 ALL COLOURS. 
 
 This New Spinner has been most successfully tried this 
 season. It does not kink the line. A deadly bait for Salmon, 
 Trout, Pike, Perch, Chub, Bass, Mackerel, &c. (Registered 
 Nos. 82,932 and 82,933). 
 
 Mr. R. B. MARSTON, Editor of the Fishing Gazette, writes: "Your Double 
 Action Lightning Bait ought to have a big run, as there is no doubt it will. I can 
 safely recommend it to all who use spinning baits, the double action being very 
 attractive." 
 
 R " Lightning 7 ' * "Double Devon." 
 
 MY Brother Anglers who have tried these Spinners ask this question : " Why 
 don't you advertise your Spinners more than you do, for after a trial 
 ainst all others we have used, we find the ' Lightning ' and ' Double 
 Devons ' the most deadly baits of all ? " So my answer is : ' • They have advertised 
 themselves, for in twelve months I have made and sold over 4000." Anyone is at 
 liberty to see my books, and I have received so many flattering testimonials from 
 Anglers, it is quite impossible to print them. I should require a volume for them 
 alone, and I have only advertised in the Fishing Gazette; but I have received 
 orders from all parts of the Globe. 
 
 Prices :— Trout and Perch sizes, 2/- ; Salmon and Pike, 2/6. 
 
 To be Bought at all respectable Dealers', and Wholesale from 
 
 Messrs. ALLCOCK, of Redditch ; LAWSONS', of Glasgow; 
 REDPATH, Kelso-on-Tweed ; 
 
 AND THE INVENTOR AND MANUFACTURER— 
 
 ROBT. HUMPHRIES, 52, Seymour Place, 
 
 BRYANSTON SQUARE, LONDON, W. 
 
G. 
 
 The Golden Perch, 
 
 PARTRI DGE 
 
 (LATE ALFRED YOUNG), 
 
 402, Oxford Street, W. 
 
 Fishing Rods and Tackle of 
 every description. The cele- 
 brated Guinea Fly Rod. Best 
 Trout Flies, 1/6 per doz. The 
 "Angler's Handbook" and Cata- 
 logue of Prices, with 80 Illus- 
 trations of Rods, Flies, Baits, 
 Tackle, &c.,postfree,Threepence. 
 
 DEVON MINNOWS, BENN'S PATENTS, with New Spinning Tail Hook, 
 Warranted far more killing and durable than ordinary Devon. Mr. E. H. TOD'S Special Size 
 for Clear Water Fishing. The Beat Baits extant. 
 
 SUTHERLAND LOCH TROUT FLIES, in all the Celebrated Patterns, as 
 
 recomm mled hv Wm. Mdkdocb, Esq., and a " Twenty Years Angler." "Splendid Highland 
 Loch Flies "—Fishing Gazette. 
 
 SALMON AND TROUT FLIES, of First Quality and Workmanship, and 
 dressed to pattern. Highly recommended as " beautifully dressed" by Angling Editor Field. 
 
 SALMON GUT OF HIGHEST CLASS produced, a9 supplied to 
 
 W. Wills Kidlkt, Esq., and other Leading Anglers. 
 
 FIItST QUALITY ONLY. 
 
 «4» ARTHUR BENN, Longside, Aberdeenshire. ■$- 
 
 Favourable notices in Field. Fishing Gazette, Land and Water, Morning Advertiser, and Fishing. 
 Testimonials from all parts of the United Kingdom, and from Canada and the Continent. 
 LISTS GRATIS. 
 
 THE PERFECT TAPER-SALMON AND TROUT. 
 
 Sole Inventors. 
 
 120 yards Single Taper Salmon Line consists of 1! ya<-ds thick driving 
 part as per Sketch from 2 to 3— next a gradual Tapering Line, of 20 yards, as 
 per Sketch 8 to ♦. 
 
 The thick driving part in Sketch, 2 to 1, tapers gradually back to a 
 Fine Reel L ; ne of 90 yards— 
 
 A 120 Double Taper Salmon Line consists of 60 yards of a Fine Centre 
 Keel Line, with one of the above Tapers at each end, both of the thick parts 
 tap-ring gradually back to Fine Centre Reel Line. 
 
 •.<r s ' i .I !ir ds Tappr, for splicing to own Reel Line same Taper as above, 
 without Reel Line, the thick part tapering back to receive Splice. 
 
 These Taper Lines are perfectly smooth, without Splice, or any impedi- 
 m entto the rings of the rod. 
 
 .. These Tapers have been severely tested by several noted salmon anglers, 
 through an invitation given by the Angling Editor in The Field, July 16, 
 1887, and pronounced perfect. 
 
 Any other lengti or style of Taper to order. 
 
 , ColT. K. GUTTERIE. Glencairnaig House, Callander, writes: "Oct. 8th, 
 i i r Flease 8end me a Black Prince Salmon Line, 120 vards, such as 1 
 na-i from yon eighteen years ago, and which line I still have in work as 
 good as ever. 
 
 .. T ^ Bxt T a 'h ) General Kea^e. Banchory, Aberdeen, October, 18«7, writes : 
 1 am fishing on the Dee until the end of the month T e 181b. salmon 
 ■w~ o _~ . Rent 7 ou * r ?^ e , me a 8 Plendid twenty minutes at the end of the Taper Line 
 
 t1?jZ.? - 5 ? me , / or ^r* 1 (as W r ktter in The F'ell, July. 1887). This No. 2 line is 
 perfect, and I wou ld not have it altered , e ther thinner or lighter." 
 
 v*„ mZ^J?}*" 8 4 f ^nih? Lines, for Deep Sea or Inland Fisheries. Recommended 
 TrrJK'n^wJiA^V ,J! 01 of , T?l FWd i the late Francis Francis, of The Field, 
 tttrnx. Bucklaud, Ro d in Indui, and Office rs of the English and Indian Armies. 
 
 COTTON TWINE SPINNING CO., MANCHESTER. 
 
HARDY'S 
 
 QOU> 
 
 H ANE-BUILT RODS. 
 
 H.K.H. Prince Albert Victor— 'Ex- 
 presses Ms complete satisfaction with the 
 Cane-built Steel Centre Rod." 
 
 H. C. Pennell, Esq., says-" I can make 
 better casting with this rod than any I 
 ever used." 
 
 Major Turle says— "The Split Cane 
 Rod you made me is far superior to any 
 American or other English Rod." 
 
 B,. B. Marston, Esq. (Editor, Fishing 
 Gazette), says—" I like the Split-cane Rod 
 better than any I have handled." 
 
 G. M. Kelson, Esq (Ang. Editor, Land 
 and Water), says -'The 18ft. Built Cane 
 Rod gives complete satisfaction." 
 
 With and without Stee l Centres. 
 
 Catalogue, post free, 3 stamps. 
 132 pages, over 200 Illustrations. 
 
 AWARDED 27 PRIZE MEDALS, Ac. 
 
 The greatest number held by any 
 house in the world. 
 
 Only Makers of the Gold Medal " Steel 
 
 Centre" Cane-built Rods" 
 Only Makers of the Gold Medal "Cane-built 
 
 Rods." 
 Only Makers of the Gold Medal " Alnwick 
 
 Greenheart Rods." 
 Only Makers of the Special Pattern Salmon 
 and Trout Rods, which bear the name and 
 approval of the following gentlemen :— Mr. 
 Pennell, Mr. Marston (Fishing Gazette), Mr. 
 Kelson (Land and Water), Mr. Senior (The 
 Field), Mr. Hall, Major Turle. and many others. 
 Also the Special Alnwick and Hotspur 
 Greenheart Bods. 
 
 The "Field " says—" Hardy's S"lit-cane 
 Rods are wond rfully cheap, and should 
 cut all others out." 
 
 "Land and Water" says— " Hardy's 
 Rods are beautifully balanced, a treat to 
 handle, and extremely cheap." 
 
 " Sporting Life" says— '' Hardy 's Trout- 
 ing Rods of the ' Perfection' Pattern are 
 perfection indeed." 
 
 "Fishin-; Gazette " says— Hardy's Split 
 Cane Salmon and Trout Rods are now 
 certainly in every way superior to the 
 American, at about half the price. To 
 praise Hardy's 'Split Cane* Rods were 
 superfluous— they are simply faultless." 
 
 \f'E guarantee that the " Hardy " Rods are the lightest, most powerful, 
 
 and durable made, and will stand uninjured the most severe 
 
 angling test that can be applied. Beware of Imitations claiming to 
 
 be the same thing, or as good as, " Hardy's," advertised by pretended 
 
 manufacturers. 
 
 
 Rods and Tackle, as described in the "All-Round Angler," in 
 Stock, and Made to Order. 
 
 HARDY BROTHERS, 
 
 MANUFACTURERS OF ALL KINDS OF FISHING RODS AND TACKLE, OF 
 FIRST QUALITY ONLY, 
 
 London and North British Works, Alnwick, Northumberland. 
 
•v 
 
 
 =5 
 
 HI 
 b 
 
 H 
 
 R 
 Q 
 
 H 
 
 CO 
 
 co 
 
 CO 
 I 
 
 C3 
 
 CO 
 
 B 
 
 5 
 
 "53 
 
 «: 
 
 CO 
 
 cc 
 
 5 
 
 CO 
 
 5S 
 
 Ob 
 
 CD 
 
 g3 
 
 -x CO 
 
 • i— I « 
 
 pq £ 
 
 O 
 
 o 
 
 W 
 
 en 
 
 CD 
 PS 
 
 o 
 
 PS 
 
 OD 
 
 a 
 
 • i-H 
 
 CO 
 
 c 
 
 c 
 
 o 
 o 
 
 get 
 
 CO 
 
 £; 
 co 
 
 co 
 
 Qi 
 
 Cj 
 
 b 
 
 co 
 U4 
 
 CO 
 
 CO 
 
 .2 
 a 
 
 a. 
 CO 
 
 ^ ft 
 
 -T H 
 
 ' 
 
 * 
 
 UJ 
 
 - 
 
 § 
 
 CD 
 
 S * 
 
 CQ 
 
 cc 
 
 i CO 
 
 -2 
 
 1— 
 
 ! •* 
 
 
 cd : 
 
 ! LJ 
 
 '. .c 
 
 uj ; 
 
 I *■ 
 
 > "«3 
 
 i-u : 
 
 1— i 
 
 
 
 CO : 
 
 C9 I 
 
 I O 
 
 
 uj ; 
 
 : CE 
 
 
 cc \ 
 
 : uj i 
 
 1 C3 
 
 =3 : 
 
 ! ^ : 
 
 
 CC : 
 
 i O 
 
 -5 
 
 .CO 
 
 UJ 
 
 BB 
 
 c 
 
 CO 
 
 jCQ 
 
 — 
 
 CO 
 
 CD 
 
 33 
 
 OH 
 
 W« 
 
 g§ 
 
 (A 
 
 H 
 
 O 
 
 o 
 
 < 
 
 w 
 
 S 
 
 Is 
 
 £ I 
 
 2> * 
 
 °£ ■» 
 3 ~- 
 
 g 'S 
 
 a. o 
 
 it 
 
 I. 3 
 
 ii 
 
 if 
 
ABBEY MILLS, ( E M$ , " d ) REDDITCH, 
 
 MANUFACTURERS OF 
 
 TESTED ■ FISH ■ HOOKS, 
 
 Including 
 
 TURN-DOWN EYED " 
 
 &*~«4r 
 
 VJ 
 
 FISHING-HOOK 
 
 RUST PROOFED. 
 
 Limerick and Sneck Bent. Patent granted for the United States of America. 
 
 Xlxe " JSLrclier n Spinner (Haynes* Patent). 
 
 Fishing Rods, Reels, Lines, and T-trhle of evry Description. 
 
 SOLE AGENTS FOR FREDK. MALLESON'S 
 
 American Hexagonal Built Cane Salmon and Trout Rods. 
 
 LONDON HOUSE (Wholesale Only): 
 H WALKER, 53, GRESHAM STREET, E.C. 
 
 London Wholesale Agent for Malloch's Patent Casting and other Reels and Gaffs. 
 
 ADLINGTON'S FISH-HOOK WORKS, 
 
 Established 1745. 
 
 HUTCHINSON ^ SON, 
 
 MANUFACTURERS of all KINDS of FISH-HOOKS 
 for RIVER, LAKE, dc. 
 
 THE Famed Round, Sneck, and Kirby Bend Hooks in all sizes. 
 The Improved Limerick Bend Hooks. Eyed Hooks of all descrip- 
 tions. Double Trolling Hooks. Double and Treble Brazed Hooks, of 
 best quality. Original Makers of the Celebrated Sproat's Bend Salmon 
 and Trout Hooks. 
 
 All kinds of Rods, Reels, Lines, Salmon and Trout Flies, Baits, and 
 Fishing Tackle. 
 
 HUTCHINSON & SON are the Original and Only Makers 
 of Real KENDAL Fish Hooks. 
 
 NONE OTHER ARE GENUINE. 
 
SEVEN INTERNATIONAL THE ACME METAL 
 
 FISHERIES AWARDS. lliiJ ~ 
 
 CENTRED LINES 
 
 are the Finest and Best yet made. They are the 
 most scientifically constructed Fly and Spinning 
 Lines ever introduced to the Angling public. They 
 are supplied on this condition of purchase : Cash 
 refunded or duplicate line supplied if line be not 
 deemed satisfactory after twelve months' wear. 
 London, 1883. 
 
 Mr. Wm. Senior, (Angling) Editor of The Field, says : " My experience of the lines with 
 wire centre is quite another thing, and it is confined to the ' Acme ' of Messrs. D. & W. H. 
 Foster, of Ashbourne. ... I ordered a line that will do for light salmon or pike spinning 
 (No. 1), and another for trout fishing (No. 0). This was two seasons ago. I have used both 
 lines hard ever since, and they appear to be quite good for the chances of 1886. They are, 
 in short, the best lines I ever had." — Contribution to a controversy re Lines in the Fishing 
 Gazette, March 27th, 1886. 
 
 See also recommendations of the Acme in Land and Water, August 28th, 1888 ; Bell's 
 Life, September 18th, 1885 ; Fishing Gazette, September 19th, 1885 ; Field, August 16th, 
 1884 ; and the leading journals of Russia, Austria, the U.S.A., Finland, &c. 
 
 The British Braided, All-silk Waterproof Lines (14<L per yd.), and The 
 Indestructible Ditto (1/6 per score yds.) are the best all-=ilk Lines in the Market. 
 
 The Best Killing Flies are the new Skin Winged 
 
 "Bittern." 
 
 Price 3/- 
 perdozen. 
 
 They are fifty per cent, nearer nature than the old style artificials. " Two of the three 
 varieties sent had a fair trial, and they proved more successful than any other flies." — 
 Rev. A. R. Francis, M.A., in the Fishing Gazette, September 15th, 1888. 
 
 The Best 
 
 
 PEARL 
 
 (Transparent Horn 
 Bait.) 
 
 Killing Bait is 
 
 For Clear or 
 Coloured Water. 
 
 Price from 1/11. 
 
 PHENOMENAL SUCCESS 
 
 Has attended the Inventions and Improvements we have, during the past half century, 
 introduced. Every Angler should possess a copy of our Newly Issued Catalogue. Well 
 worth Is., vide Fishing Gazette. It contains 153 pages, and over 200 illustrations (some in 
 colours). Post free, four stamps. 
 
 D. & W. H. FOSTER, Manufacturers, 
 
 ASHBOURNE, ENGLAND. 
 
GREENHEART 
 
 fishing Pod ^lakers 
 
 CASTLECONNEL, 
 
 IRELAND. 
 
 Reels and Lines to Match 
 Balance of Rods. 
 
 Information respecting Fisheries on 
 the Shannon here, and Catalogue 
 of our Rods and Tackle to be had 
 on application. 
 
 NO AGENTS. 
 

 FRANCIS M. WALBRAN, 
 
 Practical Angler, Artistic Fly Dresser, 
 
 and Manufacturer of every Description of Rods, 
 
 Reels, Lines, and Tackle suitable for any 
 
 Waters in the United Kingdom. 
 
 SPECIALITIES. 
 
 Salmon, Trout, Sea Trout, and Grayling Flies dressed to any Pattern, 
 Colour, or Size, on either Gut, Single Hair, or Eyed Hooks. Every batch of 
 flies is inspected personally by F. M. W. before being dispatched, and only 
 skilled Workmen and the best Materials are employed in their Manufacture 
 
 The "WHARFEDALE" FLY ROD (Registered). 
 
 This rod is made after the exact pattern of one used by F. M. W. for the last 
 twenty years, and as a practical, serviceable rod, cannot be excelled whatever 
 price is paid. 
 
 The butt is composed of well-seasoned English ash, the centre hickory, and 
 the top lancewood. It is fully brazed, has upright rings, and two tops, one for 
 fly-fishing, and the other for bottom or spinning ; the whole polished dull black, 
 as recommended by W. Senior, Esq., Angling Editor of The Field, in partitioned 
 bag complete. Price 10s. 6d. 
 
 May be had in three sizes, viz. : lO^ft., lift., or 12ft. 
 
 Extra quality, double brazed, solid winch fittings, spike, &c, 17s. 6d. 
 
 The "WENSLEYDALE" FLY ROD (Registered). 
 
 This rod is composed entirely of well-seasoned greenheart, is fully brazed and 
 winch fitted, graduated handle, in bag, complete. Price 10s. 6d. each. 
 May be had in three sizes, viz. : lOift., lift., and 12ft. 
 
 The " WHARFEDALE" FLY BOOK (Registered). 
 
 This is a strong, well-made book, bound in black leather, and fastened with 
 strap. Inside are parchment leaves with small pockets opposite, and on the 
 leaves are printed the names of forty-eight leading " Wharfedale " patterns, with 
 which F. M. \V. has killed trout and grayling in all parts of England. Many of 
 them are mentioned in T. E. Pritt'S North Country Flies, The Book of the Grayling, 
 in Theakston's British Angling Flies, and in Jackson's Practical Angler, and 
 better patterns cannot possibly be employed. 
 
 Price 12s. 6d. each, or fitted complete with three flies of each pattern, 30s. each. 
 
 Special quotations will be given for larger quantities of all or any particular flies. 
 
 MOORE'S "SPECIAL" MULTIPLYING REEL. 
 
 The maker of this reel has recently appointed F. M. W. Sole Agent, all orders 
 therefore, whether wholesale or retail, must in future be addressed to him. 
 
 Several important improvements have lately been made in these reels, which are 
 now considered by such authorities as Messrs. W. Senior, B. B. Marston, and 
 T. E. Pritt, as the very best procurable. 
 
 They are entirely made by hand from the very best materials, hardened steel 
 only being employed for the inside mechanism, and for true and easy running they 
 cannot be exceLed by any other reel in the market. Price 21s. each. 
 
 Any of these Goods will be sent on Approval on receipt of Deposit 
 of Half their Value, or Satxsfactory Reference. 
 
 Private Address: IVY COTTAGE, POOL, WHAEPEDALE, 
 
 via LEEDS. 
 Business Address: THE NORTHERN ANGLERS' DEPOT, 
 
 19, NEW STATION STREET, LEEDS, YORKS. 
 Telegraph Address: "WALBRAN, LEEDS." 
 
tOHOON-GOLO-1880 
 
 N0RWICH-G0LD-1881. 
 
 V O? tONDON, 1877. 
 
 EDINBURGH, 1882. \ 
 
 aiftrti & Son. 
 
 For Sea 
 
 and River 
 
 Fishing. 
 
 By Special Appointment to 
 
 &iss i-iojtal iijigfnirss tfir DuUc of lEtrinfcurgf). 3K.©. 
 
 MANUFACTURERS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION OF FISHING RODS AND 
 TACKLE FOR ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD. 
 
 RODS FOR BOTTOM FISHING, 1/6, 3/6, 5/-, 5/6, 7/6, 10/6. 
 
 ALFRED'S SPECIAL PIKE AND PERCH RODS, TWO TOPS, 10/6, 12/6, 
 
 14/6, 16/6, 21/-, 25/- 
 
 ALFRED'S SPECIALITE— 20ft. ROACH ROD for 21/. 
 
 FLY RODS, 7/6, 10/6, 12/6, 21/-, 24/-, 30/- 
 
 WOOD WINCHES from 9d. BRASS WINCHES from 1/- 
 
 BEST ROTARY PLATE BRONZE CHECK WINCHES from 5/6. 
 
 ROACH LINES, 20 Yards, 4d. ; 30 Yards, 6d. ; 40 Yards, 8d. 
 
 PERCH AND BREAM LINES, 20 Yards, 6d.; 30 Yards, 9d. ; 40 Yards, 1/- 
 
 BEST PREPARED PLAITED SILK LINES, 2d. and 3d. per Yard. 
 
 GUT LINES FOR ROACH, PERCH. AND BREAM, 3 Yards, 4d., 6d., 8d., 1/- 
 
 EXTRA FINE GUT LINES. 3 Yards, 1/. 
 
 GUT HOOKS FOR ROACH, PERCH, AND BREAM, 4d., 6d., 9d., 
 
 and 1/- per Dozen. 
 
 ALFRED'S CELEBRATED BELL'S LIFE SPINNERS FOR SALMON, 
 
 TROUT, PERCH, PIKE, Ac, 2/6, 3/-, 3/6, 4/6, 5/6, 6/6, and 7/K. 
 TROUT & PIKE SPOONBAITS (2in. size), 1/. CLIPPER BAITS, 1/6, 1/9 2/- 
 
 All kinds of SS»JLi^A. -X-jA.UK:XiS in stock. 
 
 Drift, Trailing, and Bottom Lines of every description from Is. 
 
 Artificial Baits, from 4d. each. 
 Lines, Traces, Hooks, Leads, &c„ &c., in endless variety. 
 
 PUBLISHERS OF "OTTER'S" MODERN ANGLER, 2s., with Numerous DIAGRAMS 
 
 and ILLUSTRATIONS. Post Free, 26 STAMPS. 
 "OTTER'S" GUIDE TO SPINNING AND TROLLING, Is.; or 14 STAMPS 
 
 FOREIGN AND COUNTRY ORDERS MUST ENCLOSE REMITTANCE. 
 Send for Catalogue of Sea and ' R'iver'FFs'hTng Tackle, Post Free. 
 
■•::m 
 
 ha 
 
 u 
 
 II 
 
 Sfro«l- 
 
 rardi8d ' 
 1 Hrcd 
 iprlM 
 
 «,«,«, 
 
 OB SAIIOS, 
 
 1 a Stock 
 
 tali 
 
 ratj. 
 
 ■ MM 
 
 
« 
 
 o 
 
 W 
 
 CD 
 HI 
 
 Hi 
 
 o 
 
 w 
 w 
 
 K 
 H 
 
THE BOOK 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ALL-ROUND ANGLER. 
 
 A COMPREHENSIVE TREATISE ON 
 
 ANGLING IN BOTH FRESH AND SALT WATER. 
 
 BY 
 
 JOHN BICKER DYKE. 
 
 £J3ttl) cvcv iSo gngtrotrings 
 
 LONDON : 
 L. UTCOTT GILL, 170, STRAND, W.C. 
 
rm.NTED BT A. BRADLEY, 170, STRAND, LONDON, W.C. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Introduction by "Red Spinner" (William Senior). 
 
 DIVISION I.— COARSE FISH. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Some General Principles. The Fishes of the United King- 
 dom — Haunts of Coarse Fish in Summer and Winter — 
 Effect of Floods and Colour in Water — Use and Impor- 
 tance of Ground-bait. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Tackle for Bottom Fishing. Rods — Rod-fittings — Reels 
 and Winches — Running Lines — Hooks — Gut, Hair, Knots, 
 and Leads — Float Tackle and Floats— Leger and Pater- 
 noster — Landing-net, &c, &c. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Roach. Roach-fishing a Fine Art — A Summer Day's 
 Roach-fishing — Baits and Ground-baits — Finding a Swim — 
 Float-fishing, Thames Style — Playing and Landing Fish — A 
 Jack in the Swim — Nottingham Fishing — Tight-corking and 
 
IV CONTENTS. 
 
 Legering with a Float — Fishing with Silk-weed — Punt- 
 fishing — Legering for Roach — Fishing in High and Coloured 
 "Water — Catching, Scouring, and Keeping Lobworms — 
 Winter Fishing — Roach-fishing in Lakes, Ponds, Meres, and 
 Canals. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Perch. Habits — Baits — Minnow-catching — Paternoster- 
 ing — Float-fishing — Legering — Lake and Pond Fishing. 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 The Barbel. Habits and Haunts — Baits — Legering — Ground- 
 baiting — Fishing with Float Tackle, Nottingham Style — ■ 
 Tight-coi"king — Clay-ball Fishing. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Chub. Attributes — Habits and Haunts — Flies aud Fly- 
 fishing — Bait-casting — Fishing with Frogs — Dibbing — 
 Legering — Nottingham Fishing. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 The Dace. Habits and Haunts— Bottom Fishing — Baits and 
 Ground-baits— -Flies and Fly-fishing — Eyed Hooks and 
 Knots — Blow-line Fishing. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Gudgeon. Habits and Haunts — Thames and other 
 Methods of Gudgeon-fishing. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. • 
 The Carp. Habits and Haunts— Baits— Two Days' Carp-fish- 
 ing— Float-fishing— A Self-cocking Float— Legering. 
 
CONTENTS. V 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Tench. Habits and Haunts — Raking a Pond — River 
 Tench. — Baits and Ground-baits — Legering and Float- 
 fishing. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The Bream. Carp-Bream — Bream Flat — Habits and Haunts — 
 Making a Night of it — Baits and Ground-baits — Float- 
 fishing and Legering — The Ouse Method — Pond and Lake 
 Fishing. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The Rtjdd. Habits and Haunts — Tackle and Baits — Flies and 
 Fly-fishing. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Bleak. Habits and Haunts — How to Preserve for Spin- 
 ning Baits — Casting a Gentle — How to Clear a Roach Swim 
 — A Hint to Thames Trout-fishers. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Eel. Habits and Haunts — Angling for Eels — Improved 
 Eel-spear — Bucks and Wheels — Bobbing — Sniggling — Snar- 
 ing — An Irish Method. 
 
 CHAPTER XY. 
 
 Small- fry. Minnows — Stone Loach or Colloch — Ruffe or 
 Pope— Miller's Thumb or Bullhead— Stickleback. 
 
 CHAPTER XYI. 
 Fish not Commonly Caught by the Fresh-water Angler. 
 Lamprey — Flounder— Burbolt or Burbot — Azurine Roach 
 — Yendace — Powan — Pollan — Gwyniad — Graining. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 DIVISION II.— piKe. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Introductory. Appearance — Local Names — Rate of Growth 
 — Size — Food — Voracity — Edible Qualities — Growing 
 Scarcity — Necessity for Fish-culture — A Breeding-pond 
 — Haunts and Habits in Summer and Winter — General 
 Remarks on Pike-fishing. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Tackle. Rod and Fittings — Reel — Reel-guard — Line — Line- 
 winder — Gimp — Gimp-stain — Disgorger — Jardine Gag — 
 Knots, &c. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Live-baiting. Float-fishing — Improved Snap Tackles — Gorge- 
 hooks — Paternostering — Legering. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Dead-bait Fishing. Modern Spinning Flights — Traces — How 
 to Prevent Kinking — Thames Style of Spinning — Trent 
 Style of Spinning — Preserved Baits — Eel Tail — Artificial 
 Spinning Baits. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Dead-bait Fishing, continued. Trolling with the Dead Gorge 
 — Improved Adjustable Gorge-hook — Trolling with Snap 
 Tackle— Fly-fishing. 
 
CONTENTS. Vll 
 
 DIVISION III.— GAME FISH. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Introductory. The Game Fish of Great Britain — Popularity 
 of Fly-fishing — Peculiarities of Salmon and Trout, &c. — 
 Simple Method of Trout-breeding. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Chalk-stream Trout. Habits and Haunts — Rod and Tackle 
 for Dry-fly Fishing — Eyed Hooks and Knots — Flies with 
 Divided "Wings — Casting the Fly — Playing the Fish — 
 Fishing with the Floating Fly — The May-fly Season — 
 Fishing with the Sunk or Wet Fly — Blow-line Fishing — 
 Minnow and Worm Fishing. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Moorland Trout. Habits and Haunts — Rod and Tackle for 
 Fly-fishing — Some Useful Flies — Fishing with the Wet 
 Fly — Dibbing or Dapping the Natural Fly — Worm- 
 fishing in Clear and Coloured Water — Spinning the Minnow 
 — Artificial Spinning Baits — Trolling Snap Tackle. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Lake Trout. Habits and Haunts — Ferox and Gillaroo — Some 
 Useful Flies — Fly-fishing from the Shore — Management of 
 the Boat — Dapping with the Green Drake — Spinning or 
 Trolling — The Live-bait — Worm-fishing. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Sea Trout. Habits and Haunts — Some Standard Flies — Fly- 
 fishing — Other Methods of Fishing. 
 
 B 2 
 
viii CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 Thames Trout. Habits and Haunts — Some likely Flies — Fly- 
 fishing — Spinning — Live-baiting — A New Tackle. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Grayling. Habits and Haunts — Flies — Dry and Wet Fly- 
 fishing — The Grashopper — Swimming the "Worm. 
 
 CHAPTER VHI. 
 
 Char. Habits and Haunts — Fly-fishing — Spinning — Fishing 
 at Night with the Worm. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Salmon. Habits and Haunts — Waders and Dress — Rod and 
 Tackle for Fly-fishing — Knots — Standard Flies — Casting 
 and Working the Fly — Striking, Playing, and Gaffing the 
 Fish — Spinning or Trolling — Fishing with Prawn and 
 Worm — Trent Method of Salmon-fishing. 
 
 DIVISION IV.— SEA-FISH. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Introductory. Fishing for Pleasure and Profit — Advantages 
 of Fine Tackle — A Cure for the Supercilious Fresh-water 
 Angler — Angling Sometimes out of the Question. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Tackle. A Useful Outfit— General Rod— Rings and Fittings— 
 Fly-rod— Lines— Reels and Winches— Gaff -hook— Landing- 
 net— Hooks— The Paternoster— Gut— Gimp— Knots— Modi- 
 
CONTENTS. IX 
 
 fications of the Paternoster — The Sea Leger — Heavy and 
 Light Float Tackle — Spinning, Trailing, "Whiffing, and Rail- 
 ing Tackle — Sundries. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Baits. Bacon Skin — Cockles — Crabs — Cuttle — Earthworms — 
 Eels — Gai'fish — Gentles — Herrings — Horse Mackerel — Lam- 
 perns — Limpets — Lugworms — Mackerel — Mudworms — Mus- 
 sels — Oysters — Pilchards — Prawns — Ragworms — Rock Ling 
 — Sand-eel — Shrimps — Smelts — Snails — Sprats — Squid — 
 Whelk — White San dworm — Ground-baits. 
 
 CHAPTER IY. 
 Rod-fishing and Hand-lining. Angling from Pier-heads — 
 Ground-baiting — Paternostering — Fishing with Float Tackle 
 — Drift-line Fishing — Fly-fishing — Angling in Harbours — 
 Smelt and Sand-smelt Fishing — Angling from the Open 
 Shore — Hand-lining — Taking Marks. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Bass. Appearance — Habits — Food — Methods of Angling 
 for — Fly-fishing — Spinning — Drift-lining — Nottingham 
 Tackle — Ground-fishing. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Pollack and Coalfish. Appearance — Habits — Food — Coal- 
 fish — Methods of Angling for Pollack and Coalfish — Fly- 
 fishing — Spinning and Trailing — Sand-eels on Float Tackle 
 — Ground-fishing. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Geey Mullet. Habits and Food — Various Methods of 
 Surface Angling — Mid-water and Bottom Fishing — Fly- 
 fisbing. 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Mackerel. Habits — "Whiffing and Trailing — Fishing 
 from a Boat at Anchor — What not to do. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Some other Sea-fish. Braize — Bream — Brill — Chad — Cod — 
 Conger — Dabs — Dog-fish — Dory — Flounder — Garfish — 
 Gurnard — Haddock — Hake — Halibut — Herring — Horse 
 Mackerel — Ling — Plaice — Poor Cod — Red Mullet — Sea 
 Trout — Skate — Smelt — Sole— Turbot— Whiting— Whiting 
 Pout — Wrasse. 
 
 . > .•— < ■ 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 frJlHE information given in the following pages is based, for 
 _> the most pai-t, on experience. Very few of the methods 
 described have not been carefully tried by me at some time 
 or another. When I have had to borrow from the works of 
 other writers I have duly acknowledged my indebtedness. I 
 must take this opportunity to tbank several friends — specialists, 
 I may term them, in various branches of angling — for giving 
 me the benefit of their criticisms. I am particularly indebted 
 to Mr. William Senior, Angling Editor of The Field, for the 
 introductory pages, which contain a graphic description of 
 the delights attending the favourite pastime of an all-round 
 fisherman. 
 
 This is, I believe, the only book which contains an account 
 of all, or nearly all, the known methods, old and new, of 
 catching fresh and salt-water fish with rod and line. Wittingly 
 I have omitted none. Of course, with so many branches of 
 angling to describe, none can be very exhaustively considered. 
 At the same time, I have treated pike-fishing and bottom- 
 fishing as fully as has yet been done; while Division IV. 
 contains information on angling in salt water* far in excess 
 of anything hitherto published. Fly-fishing has been brought 
 
 * This has been also published separately, under the title, " Angling in Salt Water." 
 
Xll PREFACE. 
 
 to such a pitch of perfection, and is such a large subject, 
 that it is impossible for me to do it quite the justice I could 
 wish; but I am in hopes that I shall set my would-be trout 
 and salmon-fishing readers in the right path, and that, with 
 the hints given them, added to certain experiences which 
 they must obtain for themselves, they will meet with such 
 success as their endeavours merit. I would recommend 
 those who wish to dive deeper into the mysteries of the 
 art of fly-fishing to read Francis Francis' " Book on Angling " 
 (Chapters IX. to XIII.), Halford's beautiful work on "Floating 
 Flies," Pritt's "North-Country Flies" and "Book of the 
 Grayling," Major Traherne on Salmon Fishing (in the Bad- 
 minton Library), Theakston's " British Angling Flies," and 
 
 but that is enough to begin upon. 
 
 Some of the engravings of tackle, and a few items of infor- 
 mation, are given more than once. This is necessitated by 
 the fact that each Division has to be complete in itself, 
 being published separately for the benefit of those anglers 
 who do not require or cannot afford the whole work. Any 
 repetition there may be is certainly inconsiderable, and should 
 be rather a convenience to the reader than otherwise. 
 
 Angling is a progressive art, rendered so by the rapidly- 
 increasing cunning of fish. From time to time fresh devices 
 and expedients have to be invented to enable us to fill our 
 creels, and however frequently works on angling are published, 
 we may always look for something novel in them. It is now 
 some years since the last work on fishing generally was 
 written, and angling has made such advances in the mean- 
 time, especially as regards tackle, that I hope this volume 
 will be found to contain much that is fresh. 
 
 My ideal of a text-book on angling, cock-fighting, mangling, 
 or any other subject, is a work which omits no necessary 
 information, contains no technical terms without an explana- 
 tion of them, and enables a person who is entirely ignorant 
 
PREFACE. Illl 
 
 of the subject to understand it — in short, one which pre- 
 supposes no knowledge on the part of the reader. It should 
 also, in my opinion, be free from crotchets, for a crotchet is 
 a fixed idea which arises from lack of experience. The 
 crotchety angler is usually right so far as his own stream 
 is concerned, and in forcing his ideas upon us he forgets or 
 is ignorant of the fact that streams, like opinions, differ. 
 I well remember once puzzling over the word " tag " in 
 the description of a salmon-fly. In the work in which it 
 occurred no explanation was given, and on consulting two 
 others, I found in one the tag described as the tail, in the 
 other as the portion of the body next the tail. This sort of 
 thing is maddening to beginners, and I hope I have been 
 guilty of few such offences. I am not the right person to say 
 whether or no I have attained my ideal, but my work has 
 been a true labour of love, and, in the words of a certain 
 careless Irish fisherman whom I once had the misfortune 
 to employ : " I've done me besht, and what can a man do 
 more P " 
 
 JOHN BICKERDYKE. 
 
 ■ ? —«— < ■ 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ^PiHE " All-round Angler," after all, may be said to represent 
 <*&& the masses of the brotherhood. What there is in the 
 delightful sport of angling that is simple, economical, and 
 universal, is most decidedly his. Old father Izaak was in a 
 pre-eminent degree an all-round angler ; while his friend Cotton 
 was, perhaps, more of a specialist, devoted rather to the crystal 
 streams of the Derbyshire dales, and their trout and grayling, 
 than to the meadows of the Lea, along which the tuneful milk- 
 maid came to tend her kine. In these days of improved railway 
 and steamboat communication, of developed angling literature, 
 and of multiplying angling associations, the specialists increase, 
 no doubt, in a fair ratio ; and it is no uncommon thing to meet 
 with sportsmen who boast that they have never used any but 
 a fly-rod, and have not deemed it worthy of themselves to 
 descend to any fish but the salmonidce, which, by common con- 
 sent (though with somewhat of a stretch of meaning), we, in 
 these days, term the game fishes par excellence. This exclusive- 
 ness is often a matter of early training. 
 
 But, alas ! it does not fall to the lot of every man to be born on 
 the banks of a salmon-river or trout-stream, and to be able to 
 learn the rudiments of the art by practising upon the aristocracy 
 of the waters. Had it happened to all of us to kill salmon with 
 a fly before we were out of round jackets, we too might nourish 
 a bias in favour of such lordly species, and resolve that, so 
 far as in us lay, we would not stoop to meaner game. But 
 
XVi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 such was not the lot of the majority of the anglers of Great 
 Britain. We had perforce to make the most of our chances, 
 catch gudgeon, perch, or roach, for want of hetter, and look 
 upon the hig pike or lusty trout as legitimate objects of 
 ambition. 
 
 Nor is it too much to say that the all-round angler can 
 very well afford to smile at the conceit of those who do not 
 follow him in his modest practices. He gets the lion's share 
 of rural delights, for his is, more truly than can be the 
 case with the salmon or trout-fisher, the contemplative 
 man's recreation. All this has been expressed again and 
 again in poetry and prose, and Dendy Sadler, by his 
 charming angling pictures, ever keeps the idea foremost. The 
 seat by the river bank on a summer evening, when the 
 swallows dart and the song-birds are in high chorus, what time 
 the lowing herds come down to the ford to drink, and the 
 labourers file slowly across the plank bridge on their way to 
 the cottage, from whose chimney the thin blue smoke ascends 
 straight into the clear air — this is a veritable throne of state in 
 the palace of Natui'e. The angler may wait a long while before 
 the well-watched float disappears beneath the surface, but he 
 can possess his soul in patience under such circumstances. 
 The situation is one of complete restfulness, of innocent and 
 beautiful surroundings; and patience becomes an easy virtue 
 when all the senses are lulled by the sights and sounds of water, 
 wood, and field. 
 
 The all-round angler, however, is not debarred from the 
 exercise of the highest branches of the sport. The mere bottom 
 fisher, who does not spin for pike, or cast fly for salmon, trout, 
 or grayling, is not an all-round angler in the true meaning 
 of the phrase. Here, as in other matters, the greater includes 
 the lesser, and the true sportsman is he who can settle down 
 with equal zeal and enjoyment to the luring of the gudgeon 
 from the raked-up gravel of the ordinary coarse-fish stream 
 
INTEODTJCTION. XVU 
 
 of the shires, or to the killing of a chalk- stream trout upon 
 the tiniest floating fly. All, literally, is fish that comes to 
 the all-round angler's net ; and in the term we must, of course, 
 always rank the angler for sea-fish, as described in our good 
 friend John Bickerdyke's practical treatise upon that hitherto 
 neglected branch of all-round angling. 
 
 One wonders occasionally how it is that so many books 
 are written upon angling; one asks whether they are read, 
 marked, learned, and inwardly digested. The explanation is 
 probably to be found in the increasing difficulty of the art 
 of angling. Tou will sometimes meet men who laugh to 
 scorn the notion that fish are becoming educated. Education 
 may not, perhaps, be precisely the word to use in such a 
 case, but we are bound to face the fact that every year fish 
 not only seem to be, but really are, harder to catch. The 
 angler, nowadays, has to use all his skill to be successful, 
 and thus, every hint that is put into honest type, every new 
 theoiy broached, every fresh device invented, will be eagerly 
 considered by him. Any honestly serviceable work upon the 
 subject, be it great or small, must therefore appeal to a 
 wide range of attentive readers ; and the value of such a 
 book, in handy form, written by one who can practice what 
 he preaches, and covering the entire question, with its many 
 branches, must be obvious to the meanest comprehension. 
 
 May the " Book of the All-Round Angler " send new recruits 
 to the army; open up to many a town-dwelling man the 
 sweets of country life as tasted by the fisherman on his 
 occasional excursions to the river of his choice ; and enable 
 the experienced angler, who has long benefited by the 
 privilege, to catch fish where he never caught them before, 
 and more and more artfully match the growing wideawaked- 
 ness of the game with added acuteness of his own. 
 
 RED SPINNER. 
 
DIVISION I 
 
 Ahgliig for Coarse Fish. 
 
ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 SOME GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 
 
 Fresh and Salt-water Fish of the United Kingdom — Haunts 
 of Coarse Fish in Summer and Winter — Effect of Floods 
 and Colour in Water — Use . and Importance of Ground 
 bait, &c, &c. 
 
 £pN attempting a concise treatise on angling I am obliged, 
 
 Sgki somewhat against my will, to confine my remarks solely 
 to the practical portions of the subject, and to eschew that 
 pleasant chit-chat about fish-lore, curious angling incidents, 
 and the pleasures k of the sport, on which writers on fishing 
 have delighted to dilate since the time of worthy Isaak 
 "Walton. This being an eminently practical age, the omission, 
 which enables a careful description of tackle and methods of 
 angling to be given, may not be regarded altogether as a 
 defect, especially as there is little or nothing new to be added 
 to the more ornamental portions of the subject. 
 
 I am going to start with the assumption that a number 
 of my readers have never handled a rod, for too many writers 
 have ignored the A B C of the subject, and thus made their 
 works only of use to persons already possessing a fair knowledge 
 of fish and fishing. From the A B C, I propose to gradually 
 lead up to the X Y Z, by which algebraical formula I mean 
 
 c 
 
2 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 the refinements of angling. With the hope of inducing my 
 readers to think for themselves, and not go a-fishing on rule- 
 of-thumb principles, I have devoted a few pages to some 
 general remarks on the habits and peculiarities of what are 
 termed "coarse fish" — remarks earnestly commended to the 
 notice of beginners in the gentle art. 
 
 For the purpose of a book on angling the scientific classifi- 
 cation of fish is a little inconvenient; I will therefore divide 
 the fish which are found in and around the United Kingdom 
 into the four following classes : — 
 
 1. Fish affording Sport to the Angler in Fresh Water: 
 Salmon, trout, grayling, chai% pike or jack, roach, perch, 
 barbel, chub, dace, gudgeon, carp, tench, bream, rudd, bleak, 
 and eels. 
 
 2. Small-fry, or Fresh-water Fish insignificant from their 
 size, some of which are used as Bait for other Fish : Minnow, 
 loach, ruffe or pope, miller's thumb or bullhead, and stickleback. 
 
 3. Fish which are Rare, or are not commonly taken by 
 Anglers in Fresh Water : Lamprey, flounder, burbolt or burbot, 
 graining, gwyniad, ide, pollan, powan, vendace, and azurine 
 roach. 
 
 4. Sea-fish: Bass, pollack, coalfish, grey mullet, mackerel, 
 braize, bream, brill, chad, cod, conger, dabs, dogfish, dory, 
 flounder, garfish, gurnard, haddock, hake, halibut, herring, 
 horse mackerel, ling, plaice, poor cod, red mullet, sea trout, 
 skate, smelt, sole, turbot, whiting, whiting pout, and wrasse. 
 
 Of the first class, salmon and trout ai'e usually captured 
 by means of an artificial fly cast on the surface of the water, 
 and by small natural or artificial fish, so aiTanged as to spin 
 when drawn through the water. They are also fished for 
 with worms, and a few other baits worked both on the bottom 
 and near the surface of the water; and trout are fished for 
 with natural flies. Grayling are mostly fished for with the 
 artificial fly, but great numbers are also taken with worms 
 and gentles worked in a peculiar manner. Char are caught 
 occasionally with flies, but more often with leaded spinning 
 minnows, and at night time with worms. Pike are almost 
 altogether fished for with small fish, dead or alive, or repre- 
 
SPAWNING TIME. J 
 
 sentations of tliem. The remaining twelve fish of the class, 
 though some of them will occasionally rise to the artificial 
 fly, are usually captured by what is known as bottom fishing, 
 i.e., fishing with a bait on or near the bottom. Most of these 
 twelve fish require to be fished for in different ways : the 
 methods often vary with the season; and not only with the 
 season, but also with the place; and the positraw. of the fish 
 varies according to the season of the year, the colour and 
 volume of the water, and the temperature of the water and 
 air. It does not, therefore, require a large amount of intel- 
 ligence to understand that, to angle successfully for these 
 twelve fish in any river or lake of the United Kingdom, at 
 any time of the year, involves the possession of a considerable 
 amount of knowledge of the subject. 
 
 Before dealing with each fish specifically, I will endeavour 
 to give some general ideas of their haunts in rivers, in spring, 
 summer, autumn, and winter respectively, dealing with ponds 
 and lakes later on. 
 
 In the spring months most coarse fish* are engaged in 
 depositing their spawn among weeds, sedge, or on the bottom 
 where the water is shallow. After spawning they are in an 
 exhausted condition, desperately lean, desperately hungry, and 
 therefore very easy to catch. Fortunately the law has pro- 
 hibited their capture between March 14th and June 16th in 
 most public waters in England, and I trust that any readers 
 of this book who have an opportunity of angling in early 
 spring during the fence months will not avail themselves of 
 it. The fish at that time of the year give very little play, 
 are absolutely worthless when caught, and their capture when 
 out of condition is, by all sportsmanlike anglers, considered 
 next door to poaching. 
 
 As after a certain interesting domestic event a visit to the 
 seaside is often undertaken, so do roach, dace, chub, perch, 
 barbel, and gudgeon after spawning visit clean, gravelly 
 shallows where the current is swift, and the sparkling water 
 
 * All fish except salmon, trout, char, and grayling are usually so termed, 
 though as a matter of fact some of them {e.g., gudgeon and perch) are' very delicate 
 eating, and quite comparable with brown trout. 
 
 c 2 
 
4 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 full of oxygen and very invigorating. At the end of two or 
 three weeks they gradually work into water of a slightly greater 
 depth — 2ft. to 5ft. — where the stream is lively; but barbel 
 very quickly take up their quarters in their regular haunts, 
 which are for the most part weir pools, mill tails, deep holes, 
 and eddies under clay banks. Chub, also, show a preference 
 for swims under banks, especially those overshadowed by trees 
 (having a weakness for insect food); but the majority of coarse 
 fish do not move into deep water until about the end of 
 July, and even then will often be found in only a few inches 
 of water if the weather is very hot and the stream undisturbed 
 by boats. Until the middle of August gudgeon remain in 
 very shallow water, in the stream, and are most plentiful in 
 swims bordering deep holes; but later on the largest ones are 
 caught in swims 9ft. or 10ft. in depth. Tench and carp do 
 not shift their position much during the summer, and are to 
 be found mostly in moderately deep swims, close to weeds. 
 Bream, also, dwell in deep holes, where the current is gentle. 
 
 The great thing to look for when fishing in the summer 
 for roach, dace, perch, gudgeon, and pike, is a stream. Many 
 anglers spoil their day's sport by fishing quiet comers where 
 the water is still, and where there are no fish, except a few 
 tench, eels, and a possible jack. Another thing to be borne in 
 mind is that most fish will be found near and among weeds 
 which give them shelter, and among which lies a large pro- 
 portion of their food. The ideal swim for stream-loving fish 
 during the hot months is one with weeds all round it, the 
 bottom of soft, sandy gravel, the depth 5ft. to 10ft., and the 
 stream moderate. And note well, that what I mean by a 
 moderate stream is one moderate for any particular river. 
 A moderate stream in the Thames would certainly be termed 
 immoderate in the Bedfordshire Ouse, which runs for the 
 most part sluggishly. 
 
 About August coarse fish begin to get into first-rate 
 condition, and are found in somewhat deeper water than in 
 the month preceding, but their exact position depends a 
 good deal on the height of water and the character of the 
 river. Rivers usually run fastest in the centre of their 
 
THE TWO BEST MONTHS. 5 
 
 channels, and therefore, in very dry seasons, the fish work ont 
 towards the middle to be in the stream. As a general rule, 
 the higher the water, the nearer the fish are to the bank, 
 and vice versa. 
 
 September and October are, all things being considered, 
 the two best months of the year for bottom fishing, In the 
 earlier months the angler has been handicapped by the great 
 majority of fish taking up impregnable positions in the weeds; 
 but now the weeds begin to rot, and become unpalatable to 
 the fish, which therefore leave them. A few frosty nights 
 have a great effect in causing the weeds to rot, and perch 
 and jack to feed. Slightly deeper water must now be 
 fished, but the angler must still take care to keep out in the 
 stream, unless fishing for pike, tench, carp, bream, or eels, 
 which are often found in almost still water at this time of 
 year. 
 
 There are a few other points connected with summer fishing 
 which I should mention. The angler can hardly fish too 
 early or too late (except for gudgeon and chub) during the 
 hot months. Many a man who might have become a reputable 
 member of the fraternity has been "choked off" — to use an 
 unclassical expression — by making his first attempts at the 
 gentle art in the broiling heat of a July or August sun. 
 From sunrise to breakfast-time, and from sunset to supper- 
 time, are the hours which should be devoted to angling in 
 hot weather, but I need hardly say that during the summer 
 occur dull, showery days, with a gentle breeze from the south- 
 west, when the fish feed on and off all day. One great 
 advantage of wind or rain is that these otherwise unpleasant 
 elements ruffle the surface of the water, and thus hide the 
 angler from the fish. Fish rarely feed well before a very 
 heavy fall of rain. They seem to have an instinctive know- 
 ledge that a great feast of worms is coming, and that they 
 need not trouble themselves about trifles. I have repeatedly 
 noticed that after a very bad day's sport, when the weather 
 has seemed favourable, torrents of rain have come, and caused 
 the water to rise and colour. 
 
 Another point to be remembered in summer is that, the 
 
6 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 water being clear and the light strong, fish can perceive the 
 angler at some considerable distance, and that, therefore, the 
 farther the angler can be from the fish he seeks to catch, 
 the better. The shallower the water, the more distant should 
 be the angler from the fish. By a very scientific method of 
 fishing (to be subsequently described), practised by the anglers 
 of Nottingham, this distant method of fishing is easily 
 managed. The angler should be particularly careful to move 
 about as little as possible if he thinks the fish can see him. 
 I have noticed that certain fish care little for a man in 
 full view of them who stands absolutely still, but the least 
 movement on his part, and they are off. Above all things, 
 the angler should never take up his position with the sun 
 at his back, for a shadow on the water is fatal to success. 
 
 I need hardly say that the tackle should always be as 
 fine as circumstances will allow, coarse, strong tackle only 
 being advisable when, owing to weeds, old piles, stones, and 
 such like, fish have to be held very hard to keep them from 
 hanging themselves up. Some vai-ieties of fish, particularly 
 chub, when they have not seen the angler, and have no 
 suspicion of his presence, will often take a bait presented 
 to them on very coarse tackle; but once their suspicions are 
 aroused, which, unfortunately, is usually the case, they either 
 refuse to feed at all, or will only take a bait if the line is 
 of the finest. Personally, I always use tackle as fine as I 
 can get it consistent with strength, but in rivers which are 
 little fished, and are not particularly bright, such extreme 
 fineness is not really necessary. 
 
 In the summer, a very great variety of baits are taken by 
 the fish; but as baits which are good in one water sometimes 
 altogether fail elsewhere, it is as well to obtain local informa- 
 tion on the subject where it is available. At the same time, 
 where the sport with what I may term local baits is not forth- 
 coming, I never hesitate to try baits new to the place, and 
 by that means sometimes make a good basket of fish. In 
 winter the most common, and generally the best, bait is a 
 worm. 
 
 "We come now to winter fishing. The chief changes in the 
 
"WINTER FISHING. 7 
 
 river at this time of the year are absence of weeds, a lower 
 temperature of the water, and, generally, an increase in the 
 volume of water, and therefore an increase in the force of 
 the current. The water may also be more coloured than in 
 summer. I will leave this question of colour for the present, 
 and only consider the effects the other circumstances have 
 on the position of fish. The fish having now no weed-cover, 
 seek the deeper portions of the streams, and are no doubt 
 greatly influenced in this move by the change in the tempera- 
 ture of the water. Barbel, carp, gudgeon, and eels now cease 
 to afford any sport to the angler, and bream and tench bite 
 but rarely; but roach, dace, perch, chub, and pike feed well 
 in suitable weather, and are in prime condition. If the water 
 has increased much in volume, the difficulty is to find suf- 
 ficiently quiet swims, for swims which were suitable in summer 
 cannot now be fished on account of the increased force of 
 the current. Chub will be in the same swims as in August, 
 except when the stream has become too strong for them; but 
 the other fish shift about a good deal, according to the height 
 and colour of the water. If no quiet swims with gravelly 
 or sandy bottoms are to be found, those with a muddy bottom 
 may be tried. In such places I have frequently made good 
 bags of roach and perch. If the water is as low as it usually 
 is in summer, and the weather open, not very much difference 
 will be found in the position of the fish (pike excepted) in 
 winter and summer, due allowance, of course, being made for 
 the absence of weeds. 
 
 As a rule, most coarse fish are caught in winter, when 
 rivers are clearing after floods, and it is floods and coloured 
 water which make the greatest difference in the position of 
 the fish. Floods drive them into the eddies and quiet corners 
 where they can get out of the great force of the stream, and 
 where, no doubt, their food collects. Colour in the water 
 has the pecular effect of bringing fish on to the shallows, and 
 the thicker the water, the shallower are the swims in which 
 they will be found. I have caught roach in winter, when the 
 river has been very thick, in not more than 18in. of water. 
 Had the water been clear at that season, I should have fished 
 
8 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 at a depth of, perhaps, eighteen feet instead of inches. Two 
 reasons probably bring fish into shallow water when the 
 river is coloured : First, because in the deeps, light cannot reach 
 the bottom, and food cannot be seen; and second, because 
 many varieties of fish prefer shallow to deep water when 
 they can safely come into such places without being seen by 
 man and their other enemies. The best hours for fishing in the 
 winter are from eleven to three, but a good deal depends on 
 the temperature of the air, the fish feeding best during the 
 more genial portion of the day. 
 
 "When rivers rise in flood, and the water spreads over the 
 meadows, the fish flock on to the grass, and feed on the drowned 
 insects and worms. At such times it is, as a rule, of not 
 much use to go fishing, owing to the great difficulty of finding 
 the quarry ; but an angler may unexpectedly stumble on a place 
 where fish are collected together in great numbers, and have 
 good sport ; and local fishermen, who know the river thoroughly, 
 can generally point out a spot or two where some fish are to 
 be caught. On the whole, however, fishing when rivers are 
 well over their banks is unsatisfactory work. 
 
 What I have said concerning floods and coloured waters 
 applies nearly as much to summer as to winter fishing, the 
 only difference being, that in summer the fish work out of the 
 eddies into the stream rather sooner than they do in winter. 
 . Concerning the haunts of fish at various seasons in lakes 
 and ponds there is not much to be said, beyond that in 
 summer the fish are to be found in water of moderate depth, 
 shifting to somewhat deeper quarters in the autumn. Where 
 the bottoms of such places are variously of mud and sand, 
 or gravel, more fish will be found on the gi-avel or sand 
 than on the nmd ; as in rivers, the fish will always be found 
 near weeds. The most successful method of pond and lake 
 fishing is to feed the fish regularly at certain places, and 
 there angle for them. My experience of the Shannon lakes, 
 which are like small inland seas, is that no coarse fish, except a 
 few pike, are to be caught in winter (from November to February). 
 In places these lakes are very deep, and to the deeps the fish pro- 
 bably repair on the advent of cold weather. It may be the same 
 
GROUND-BAIT. 9 
 
 in other lakes of similar size and depth, hut I cannot speak from 
 experience as to that. 
 
 In bottom fishing, the judicious use of ground-bait is very 
 important. The old idea about ground-bait was that it col- 
 lected vast numbers of fish together at one spot; but it is 
 now known that in rivers it does not have that effect to 
 any considerable extent (unless continued regularly for a 
 week or more), but induces the fish to feed on certain food 
 to which tbey were previously unused, and lulls their sus- 
 picions. For instance, a roach in the month of July is 
 feeding on water-weed and the minute animal life which is 
 found among weeds; a lump of paste is put before his nose, 
 and he, natiirally, if a well-informed roach, views it with 
 suspicion, and probably refuses to take it. But if a quantity 
 of bread and bran is cast into the water, he and his friends 
 begin to feed, and look upon the lump of bread-paste as only a 
 fragment of the rest. When fish are very shy, they will 
 only take the bait on the hook during about two minutes 
 after the ground-bait is thrown in; in such cases only small 
 quantities should be used at a time. This peculiar property 
 of ground-bait causing fish to feed, was forcibly brought to 
 my mind only a few days ago. I was fishing under a bridge 
 where I knew were some fine chub ; the water was coloured, 
 and my bait was a worm. At first the fish would not bite; 
 after waiting a few minutes I threw in a few worms; just 
 as these must have floated by my hook I had a bite, and 
 caught a fine chub. Then came no more bites until I threw 
 in more worms. I have known similar instances occur on 
 many occasions. 
 
 As there is a limit to what fish can eat, it is very easy to 
 throw in too much ground- bait ; and it follows that, in waters 
 where the fish are few, less ground-bait should be thrown in 
 than where they are plentiful, and there are more to eat it. 
 Another very important point — perhaps the most important 
 of all — is to throw in the ground-bait at such a spot that it 
 will reach the bottom just where your hook-bait is waiting 
 for a fish to come and take it. There are ways of making 
 ground-bait sink fast or slowly, which I wil 1 refer to later 
 
10 ANGLING FOR COARSE PISH. 
 
 on. Of course, if the water is shallow and slow running, 
 the ground-hait can be thrown in nearly over the bait on the 
 hook, while if the stream is swift and deep, the ground-bait 
 must be thrown in some distance above the swim. The exact 
 position depends on the depth of the water, the rate of the 
 current, and the weight, or, rather, the specific gravity, of 
 the ground-bait ; these matters must necessarily be left to the 
 angler's judgment. 
 
 So far I have only referred to the use of ground-bait while 
 fishing. Ground-bait is very frequently thrown in daily for 
 several days before the swim is fished. The amount thrown 
 in is usually considerable — more in rivers than in still waters 
 — and it is highly desirable to leave the fish unfed (so that 
 they may recover their appetite) for at least twenty hours 
 before the swim is fished. While the fishing is going on, a 
 little ground-bait is thrown in at intervals, to keep the fish 
 on the look-out for food, but not sufficient to satisfy their 
 hunger. 
 
 In lakes and ponds, I am inclined to believe that ground- 
 baiting for several days in succession does collect the fish 
 in one spot, besides having the other advantages mentioned; 
 there being no stream in such places, there is no difficulty in 
 knowing where to cast in the ground-bait. If more is 
 thrown in than the fish can eat, a portion is hkely to turn 
 sour and keep the fish away. 
 
 The secrets of ground-baiting are, shortly — to use ground- 
 bait of the same kind as the hook-bait, but coarser in 
 quality — the reason for which is, I hope, obvious; to cast it 
 in sparingly when fishing the swim — little and often being 
 the rule; to cast it in so far above the swim that it sinks 
 just where the angler is fishing; and lastly, if the swim is 
 baited for several days in succession, to leave it unbaited for 
 at least twenty hours before it is fished. Careful attention 
 to these particulars is half the battle in angling for coarse 
 fish. Shall I insult my readers' common-sense by adding 
 that ground-bait should not be mixed or handled with dirty 
 hands, or even with clean hands if scented with tobacco smoke ? 
 The points which anglers have to be careful about are — not 
 
TO SUM TTP. 11 
 
 to excite the suspicions of the fish by showing themselves 
 more than needful, by tramping the banks, by disturbing the 
 water, by casting a shadow over the fish, or by dragging the 
 bait through the water more often than is absolutely necessary. 
 The bait should sink as slowly and as naturally as possible (except 
 in punt-fishing in a strong stream, when it has to sink quickly) ; 
 it should not, with certain exceptions, be checked in its course 
 down stream, and should generally be worked close to the bottom. 
 The swims which are likely to contain the most fish should be 
 chosen, and the angler will, if he be wise, go after the fish which 
 are most likely to be on the feed. My dearest friend cannot per- 
 suade me to jack fish in the middle of a hot summer's day, though 
 I will gladly catch gudgeon or fiy-fish for chub with him; 
 nor, on the other hand, can he induce me to gudgeon fish 
 in November, when I know I am likely to do well with the 
 jack. Going after the wrong fish is one of the most common 
 mistakes with beginners. 
 
 The matters I have so far written about are well worth patient 
 study, for when the general principles of angling are mastered 
 the rest comes veiy easy, and the angler, instead of working 
 by rule of thumb, understands the why and the wherefore 
 of what he does, or is directed to do, and acquires the 
 power of meeting any difficulties which may arise. The mere 
 hooking and landing a fish are comparatively simple matters, 
 acquired in a few months' practice. The great difficulties in 
 bottom fishing are to find the fish, and, when they are found, 
 to induce them to take the bait offered to them. In fishing, 
 as in most other matters, common sense will be found of great 
 service ; but it must be confessed that fish are eccentric animals, 
 and often act in a way " no fellah can understand." 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 TACKLE FOB BOTTOM FISHING. 
 
 Rods — Rod-fittings — Reels and Winches — Running Lines — 
 Hooks — Gut, Hair, Knots, and Leads — Float Tachle and Floats 
 Legcr and Paternoster — Landing-net, &c., &c. 
 
 J £T<YEF0B,E we go a-fishing a visit has to be paid to the tackle- 
 f sEli ) shop, and about the first thing we buy is 
 
 The Bod. — At the present day a most marvellous and 
 almost bewildering assortment of fishing-rods are offered for 
 sale, adapted to every conceivable purpose. The use of a rod 
 is to strike in the hook, to keep an even strain on a fish's 
 mouth, and to guide him from weeds, old stumps and other 
 dangers, safely into the landing-net — in anglers' language, 
 to "play "him. If our tackle is strong, and we are thus able 
 to put a great deal of pressure on the fish, we can use a stiff 
 rod; but if our tackle is fine, and the pressure on the fish 
 has to be of a very gentle character, it becomes very desirable 
 to have a light, pliant, yielding rod. Of the twelve fish with 
 which we are now concerned, roach, dace, perch, rudd, and 
 gudgeon require a light rod, with a not too stiff top, as they 
 are fished for with very fine tackle, the line being often nothing 
 more than a hair from a stallion's tail. The other fish, which 
 run to a considerable size, of course require something stronger 
 and stouter. The choice of a rod is somewhat a matter of 
 fancy, no two anglers quite agreeing as to what is best ; 
 but I am inclined to think that a very light South Caro- 
 
RODS. 13 
 
 Una or East Indian cane (bamboo)* 10ft. or lift, punt-rod, 
 and an lift, or 12ft. rod, of East Indian cane, a good deal 
 stouter and stronger, but in otber respects similar, will be 
 found very suitable for bottom fisbing generally. For ladies 
 or boys sligbtly shorter rods are advisable. Tbese bottom 
 rods are usually made with lancewood tops, but greenbeart 
 is far better, and should always be ordered. The light lift, 
 rod is best made in three pieces, each 3ft. 8in. in length; 
 and it is a capital plan to have an extra butt (the butt is 
 the lowest length) made the same, or a greater length, which 
 can be added when a longish rod (15ft. 8in.) is required. 
 The increased cost is very trifling. I have adopted this plan 
 for some years with, occasionally, great advantage. 
 
 If the angler can only afford to purchase one rod, he will 
 have to choose one something between the two above described ; 
 and whether he buy only one, or a dozen, he should take a 
 friend with him who understands such matters. It is next 
 to impossible to give an exact description of a rod on paper. 
 
 * I am indebted to a gentleman connected with the wholesale fish-hook and 
 tackle trade for the following account (sent me with specimens) of the various 
 canes which are called indiscriminately bamboo or bamboo canes, and are used in 
 
 "First in point of importance is, undoubtedly, the 'East India,' or 'Mottled.' 
 These canes are largely used for splitting for built cane fly-rods, also for making up 
 into spinning and trolling rods, and bottom rods of all kinds, and even for stiff 
 fly-rods They grow to 20ft. and 25ft. long, and taper to a point. 
 
 "'Carolina,' or ' South' cane (or 'South Carolina,' which is the proper name, 
 and which indicates, I suppose, the locality where grown), is what is ordinarily used 
 for cane or bamboo bottom and general rods. It is much cheaper than East India, 
 cane and of course lighter, though not nearly so strong. Canes of this kind 
 are rarely obtainable larger than about lin. in diameter at the thick end, and 
 are about the same length, and taper to a point, as the East India cane. I 
 send you a sample stained as well as plain, as the staining so alters the appear- 
 ance that you might take them for two distinct sorts. This Carolina cane is now 
 netting rather scarce, so another kind has been introduced, called by the cane- 
 lmporters, ' Yellow Bamboo Bods.' They are about the same lengths, &c, as the 
 Carolinas, and though much stronger, are not so good for rod-making, as the knots 
 are so large and prominent, and there is always a flat piece, or ' gutter, going up 
 from each knot. They are called by some people ' Japanese canes, though I 
 don't think they come from Japan. 
 
 " ' White Spanish,' or ' Portuguese ' cane (or, properly, reed) is very light, and 
 is used for making— the butts and tops excepted— the long roach rods which 
 the Lea roach-fishers use. They grow up to about 20ft. long, and towards the thin 
 end the knots are very close together. .*-.-.. • • t ~ 
 
 " Tonquins are only to be got in short lengths, about 34ft., of various sizes, from 
 about lin. to lin. diameter. They are nearly straight— i.e., there is little, if any, 
 taper on them ; they are very strong, will almost stand jumping on, but are 
 
 ^'VWe Cafe's solid and very heavy. It is used to split up for splicing on the 
 ends of lancewood and other fly tops. The piece sent is a length between two 
 knots, and is just ready for splitting. if. W. 
 
14 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 For roach-fishing (after the manner of the London bank 
 anglers) in large rivers, such as the Thames, it is necessary 
 to buy a white cane roach-rod, from loft, to 20ft. in length, 
 straight, stiff for the most part, tapering gradually from the 
 butt, and as little topheavy as possible. This rod, which is 
 by no means a strong one, will be found of little use except 
 for roach-fishing from the bank. The Thames and Lea roach- 
 fishermen like to have the points of their rods just over the 
 float, and as in summer weeds often fringe the shore for 
 a considerable distance out, these very long rods are necessary 
 for this particular style of angling. My plan, of sometimes 
 using an extra butt with the light lift, rod, gives a fair 
 makeshift for the regulation Lea roach-rod. 
 
 When a rod is being chosen, it should always be handled 
 with a reel attached to its butt, otherwise its true balance 
 cannot be ascertained. Formerly most rods were made of 
 hard wood — hickory and greenheart being great favourites ; 
 but as bamboo is not only very light, but also possesses the 
 requisite strength, it has very properly become the favourite 
 material for most bottom fishing and spinning rods. People 
 who have the good fortune to live close to a river or lake 
 should use rods made of one single piece of bamboo, with a 
 jungle-cane top, a few inches in length, spliced on. These 
 are the most delightful rods I know of. The only disadvantage 
 connected with their use is that they cannot be taken to 
 pieces and put in a bag. They are largely used by the pro- 
 fessional fishermen of the Thames. To prevent rods warping, 
 it is a good plan to tie a loop of string at one end of each 
 joint, fasten on a weight at the other, and hang the joints 
 up by the loops. Rods should be re-varnished once a yeai-, 
 if much used. 
 
 Rod-fittings. — Besides cane or wood, a rod consists of 
 metal ferrules round the ends of the joints, an arrangement 
 for fastening a winch or reel to the butt, and rings to convey 
 the line from the reel to the top of the rod. On fly-rods it 
 is usual to have various devices connected with the ferrules, 
 to prevent the joints from coming apart, and as, when casting 
 out the tackle used in bottom fishing, joints do occasionally 
 
ROD-FITTINGS. 
 
 15 
 
 fly out, I 
 
 do not see why these same devices should not 
 also be used on bottom rods. Two arrangements 
 of the kind which are well adapted for the purpose 
 are Hardy's patent lock-fast joint (see Fig. 1) and 
 Farlow's rod-joint fastener. The lower ends of 
 joints should be always what is termed double 
 brazed — i.e., completely covered with brass. Joints 
 sometimes stick together. By holding them in the 
 flame of a spirit-lamp, or candle, they will usually 
 come apart, the outside ferrule expanding with 
 the heat. It is as well to rub the 
 joints occasionally with vaseline or soft 
 soap ; this prevents them sticking. 
 
 The most common method of fasten- 
 ing the reel or winch to the rod consists 
 of two brass rings — one fixed, the other 
 sliding. The best ai*rangement of the 
 kind is that known as the Weeger 
 wedge-fast winch-fitting, and there are 
 others which also answer their purpose 
 admirably, such as Warner's patent 
 winch-fitting (in which no rings are 
 used) and Far low's Universal winch- 
 fitting. 
 
 Rod-rings are either upright and 
 rigid, or movable. The former are by 
 far the best, and if made of hard 
 metal, according to the pattern illus- 
 trated in Fig. 2, the line will not catch 
 round them. For the top ring of all 
 I have a natural prejudice — shared by 
 a good many other anglers — in favour 
 of the ring shown in Fig. 3. Rings 
 made on that pattern work on pivots, 
 save a good deal of wear and tear 
 to the line by diminishing friction, 
 and the line rarely fouls round them 
 as it does with most other rings. An 
 
 Fig. 2. Snake- 
 shaped 
 Rod-ring. 
 
1G 
 
 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 interior ring of Phosphor Bronze is introduced into the more 
 expensive of these rings, and is decidedly an advantage. 
 
 If I was ordering a bottom rod to be made for me according 
 to the above ideas, it would shortly be described as a mottled 
 East India cane 10ft. (or longer, according to requirements) 
 bottom rod, three joints, two greenheart tops (one being 
 shorter and slightly stouter than the other), extra butt, snake 
 rings, Bickerdyke top ring, Weeger winch-fitting, lockfast 
 joints. Either of the winch-fittings or fastenings for joints 
 I have mentioned would answer almost as well as those given 
 in this description. I must confess to rather a fancy for 
 "South" cane for light rods. It might be best to have the 
 lighter rod of "South" cane, and the heavier rod of East 
 India cane. 
 
 Reels and "Winches. — The apparatus on which the main 
 line, or "running tackle," is wound, is either a reel or a 
 winch. Of these useful things there are numberless kinds, 
 and the angler can, if it please 
 him, pay thirty shillings for a 
 most elaborate affair. My own 
 choice would fall on either a 
 plain check brass winch, or a 
 wooden Nottingham reel with 
 a check which can be taken 
 on or off, and fitted with a 
 wire guard — an idea of my 
 own — to prevent the line un- 
 coiling and entangling. Of 
 the two, I much prefer the 
 reel, on account of the rapidity 
 with which the line can be 
 wound on it, thanks to the 
 large circumference of the 
 barrel, and the facility with 
 
 which it can be turned into a fast -running Nottingham 
 winch by merely moving the button at the back. These 
 reels (see Fig. 4) are sold everywhere, and my guard can 
 be put on them by any metal-worker for a few pence. The 
 
 Fig. 4. Nottingham Rfel with 
 Movable Check and Improved 
 Line-guard. 
 
LINES. 17 
 
 combination reels sold by Slater, of Newark-on-Trent, are 
 somewhat similar in tbeir working, and are admirable for 
 all kinds of fishing. There are other combination reels sold 
 which are far from satisfactory. For the small rod already 
 described, a reel 3in. in diameter will be found suitable. A 
 2Ain., or even a 2in., reel will do to hold 50yds. or so 
 of fine line for roach-fishing ; but I prefer the larger size, 
 becaiise it winds the line in much faster than the smaller 
 size, gives ample room for the line, and helps to balance 
 the rod. For the heavier rod I should use a 3^in. reel. It is 
 a good plan (especially when the line is fine) to put a little 
 wadding round the barrel of the reel before the line is wound 
 on. 
 
 Running Lines. — The only lines for bottom fishing worthy 
 of mention are those made of silk, either plaited or twisted. The 
 twisted lines kink if any quantity of line is left loose ; but 
 those anglers who acquire the art of Nottingham fishing 
 (see Chap. III.) never do leave any loose folds to kink, and prefer 
 these lines on account of their strength, which is greater than 
 that of a plaited line of the same size. Persons who cannot 
 or do not wish to fish after the Nottingham method had 
 better use plaited lines. For roach and gudgeon-fishing the 
 line should be of pure silk, plaited or twisted, and as fine 
 as it can be obtained; but more generally useful is the 
 Nottingham line used for chub-fishing. It is strong enough 
 for chub or perch, and is fine enough for roach-fishing. It is 
 also very cheap; I get 100yds. of this size line from Carter 
 and Peek, of Islington, for 2s. On the large reel a plaited 
 line, about double the thickness of the roach-line, and dressed 
 with an oil dressing, will be found useful for the larger 
 varieties of fish. If, however, a Nottingham line is preferred, 
 it should be just a trifle thicker than the one used for chub. 
 These lines being very fine, soon get worn out, and after a 
 long day's fishing it is always as well to break off 4yds. or 
 5yds. of line, which is no great loss. A really well-dressed 
 waterproof line is a most difficult thing to procure from a 
 tackle-shop, as the makers use too much driers in their 
 mixtures, and the lines dry quickly and hard. A well-dressed 
 
 D 
 
IS ANGLING FOE COARSE FISH. 
 
 line takes months to dry, but it dries soft, and does not 
 "knuckle," i.e., crack. It is very necessary to have a soft 
 dressing for lines intended to be used in bottom fishing. The 
 very best dressing is simply raw linseed oil, but it takes such a 
 long time to dry that it is rarely used ; next best is boiled 
 linseed oil. The line is soaked for a week in the oil (cold), 
 then stretched between two trees, well rubbed with a piece 
 of smooth leather (this gets air-bubbles out of the line), and 
 then put to soak for two more days. It is then stretched 
 between the trees, the superfluous oil wiped gently off, and 
 left to dry — an opei-ation which will take about two months. 
 In wet weather the line must be taken indoors. When this 
 first coat is dry, the line should be put into the oil for two 
 more days, and again be put out to dry. Altogether the 
 operation takes about six months. A line so prepared will 
 last for years. If it is desirable to put on a fine polish, this 
 can be easily done, when the line is dry, by well rubbing' it 
 with a piece of leather on which is a little raw ]inseed oil. 
 
 It is never advisable to re-dress lines with any boiled oil 
 mixture, or at any time to soak them in hot liquids. A 
 simple method of dressing lines, new or old, is to rub them 
 briskly with a cake made of pure paraffin wax and deer 
 or mutton kidney suet in equal parts. This dressing has 
 frequently to be renewed. Twisted lines are sometimes dressed. 
 Their strength is their chief recommendation. New lines 
 should be very carefully uncoiled. I am indebted to Mr. 
 Pennell for the following capital dodge : Make a cylinder out 
 of a newspaper, and place it through the middle of the coil 
 of line. Put a stick through the paper, and rest the ends of 
 the stick on two chairs. Fasten the loose end of the line to 
 the reel, and wind away. The newspaper, of course, tarns 
 on the stick, and the line comes off freely. 
 
 Lines should always be unwound to dry after a day's 
 fishing. They can be coiled l-ound chair-backs, or, if plaited, 
 merely left on the floor or on a table. Messrs. Farlow & Co. 
 sell a capital winder for drying lines. 
 
 Hooks.— There are nearer a hundred than fifty different 
 bends of hooks. The ordinary round bend, of which a scale 
 
HOOKS. 19 
 
 of sizes is given (Fig. 5), is most useful for bottom fishing 
 generally; but the well-known Crystal hooks (see Fig. 6) are 
 
 f 4 \f ° V A J 
 
 OQ 
 
 n 
 
 p> 
 
 n 
 
 V 
 
 n 
 
 Fig. 5. Round Bend Hook-scale, with Rkdditch numbering. 
 
 first-rate for roach-fisbing with gentles or small worms; and 
 
 in larger sizes I have found them admirable for perch-fishing 
 in summer, when the bait is a minnow. 
 In bottom fishing, nothing but the round 
 bend need be used ; but I prefer the Crystal 
 hooks for the purposes named. It is the 
 worst possible economy to buy cheap hooks; 
 more than half those manufactured are 
 rubbish. A hook should be cai-efully tem- 
 pered, so that when tested with the thumb- 
 nail it is not too soft, and, bending, remains 
 bent like a piece of lead ; nor too hard, 
 snapping off like a piece of cast-iron. The 
 
 careful angler will test every hook before attaching it to his 
 
 line. 
 Hooks are usually fastened to the line by laying the end 
 
 d 2 
 
 Fig. 6. Crystal 
 Hook. 
 
20 
 
 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 of the gut (first bitten to make it flat) along the shank of 
 the hook, and binding the two together with fine silk which 
 has first been rubbed on cobbler's wax; the wax can be held 
 in a piece of leather. Various methods of preparing wax for 
 this purpose have been suggested, but I have never found 
 one possessing the stickfast qualities of the old-fashioned 
 cobbler's wax. The binding should be begun at the end of 
 the shank, and finished off as soon as the 
 end of the gut has been reached (see Fig. 
 7). The loops in the illustration of coui-se 
 have to be pulled tight. The same finish 
 is effected by laying the end of the tying- 
 silk along the shank, and pointing in the 
 same direction as the shank, and taking 
 three more turns with the other part of 
 the silk, passing the bend and point of 
 the hook through the loop at each turn. 
 Nothing then remains but to pull the end 
 of the silk which lies along the shank 
 tight. This most useful finish is well 
 worth learning. The shank may be 
 touched with shellac varnish (two parts 
 gum Benjamin, six parts shellac, eight 
 parts spirits of wine) or coloured. As the shank of the 
 hook is very frequently visible to the fish, it ought to 
 be the same colour as the bait. The best mixture for 
 the purpose, recommended by Bailey, of Nottingham, is a 
 little finely-ground vermilion, chrome yellow, or white lead 
 (according to the colour desired), moistened with a few 
 drops of French polish. This paint can be laid on thinly 
 with a small camel's-hair brush, and the hooks, when painted 
 or varnished, should be stuck into a piece of cork to dry. 
 Another good preparation for this purpose is " Chez-lui " 
 enamel, sold at 346, Euston Road, London. The points of 
 all hooks should be sharp, and the barbs should be small, 
 particularly in hooks used for the chub, barbel, and carp. 
 A rank barb — one which projects much from the hook — has the 
 fatal effect of frequently preventing the hook going through the 
 
 Fig. 7. Fastening 
 off the Binding. 
 
EYED HOOKS. 
 
 21 
 
 lip of the fish. Personally, I would rather have no barb at all 
 for bottom fishing than a large, rank one. In the twentieth 
 century hooks may be made with modified barbs, but at present 
 the angler is well advised if he carries a small needle or watch- 
 maker's file, and reduces the barbs and sharpens 
 up the sides of the points of all large-sized 
 hooks. Fig. 8 illustrates a very improved form 
 of hook for worm-fishing, invented by Mr. 
 R. B. Marston. The barb on the shank keeps 
 the worm in its place. 
 
 Eyed hooks — that is, hooks with a small eye 
 
 Uat the end of the shank, to which the line is 
 fastened — are not much used by bottom fishers, 
 but it is as well to have a few of various sizes 
 in one's book. These hooks are easily fastened 
 to gut by the method (one of several) shown 
 in Fig. 9, and known as the Turle knot. I 
 doubt if there is a better one for bottom 
 fishing. The gut is (1) put through the eye, and a slip-knot 
 made in it; (2) the hook is then put through the noose, and 
 
 Fig. 8. The 
 
 Marston Sliced 
 
 Hook. 
 
 Fig. 9. The Method of Fastening Eyed Hooks to Gut. 
 
 (3) the noose pulled tight. Stewart tackle is easily made 
 with eyed hooks (see Chap. III.). 
 
22 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 Gut, Hair, Knots, and Leads. — Silkworm gut is now 
 more used for the lower portions of fishing-lines than any- 
 thing else, hut horsehair is preferred for roach -fishing hy 
 many London bank anglers who excel in that branch of the 
 art. Gut is manufactured in lengths varying from about 
 
 Fig. 10. Knot (in Three Stages) for Joining Lengths of Gut together. 
 
 lOin. to 20in. It is sold either as it comes from Spain, or 
 else mechanically reduced in thickness by being softened and 
 drawn through metal plates, when it is called, technically, 
 fine-drawn gut. 
 
 For roach-fishing in summer, fine-drawn gut, or hair, must 
 
GUT STAINS. 23 
 
 be used. The former quickly gets rough, and as soon as this 
 happens it should either be rubbed smooth with indiarubber. 
 or a fresh length used. The finest undrawn gut is useful 
 for fish which do not exceed 21b. in weight. Larger fish 
 require stronger tackle, unless the water is free from weeds, 
 Good gut is round, long, and free from specks when held 
 up to the light. The lengths are best joined together by 
 the knot shown in Fig. 10 ; but the gut must be first 
 soaked in cold water — rain-water for preference — for at least 
 an hour. When time is valuable, warm water may be used, 
 but its use is not advisable. The hook-link generally has a 
 loop at the end of it, which is used to fasten the hook to 
 a corresponding loop at the end of the main length of gut 
 (see Fig. 11). Gut is sold ready made up into 1yd., 2yd., 
 or 3yd. lengths, or in hanks of a hundred pieces, which 
 require tying together. 
 
 As to whether gut should be stained or not, there is a 
 difference of opinion among anglers; but I never yet heard 
 
 Fig. 11. Hook-lixk Looped to Gut-length. 
 
 anyone deny that gut which has to lie on the bottom — as in 
 leger fishing — should be stained to as nearly as possible 
 match the gravel or sand. Gut which does not He on the 
 bottom should, I think, be stained to harmonise and appear 
 a part of the river vegetation — green in summer, brown in 
 autumn and winter. Judson's dyes, used strong, are most 
 useful for staining gut. More simple stains are ink, strong 
 coffee lees, and strong green tea. I need hardly indicate 
 the colours which they give to the gut. Ink gives a neutral 
 tint, which is useful for gut used in fly-fishing. Ink and 
 coffee mixed make a muddy stain, admirable for gut which 
 has to lie on a muddy bottom. To preserve gut, keep it out 
 of the light, wrapped in wash-leather or a sheet of pure 
 indiarubber. Gut should always be soaked in cold water 
 before being used. One of the best methods of attaching 
 
2-1 
 
 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 the loop in the gut at the end of the float or other tackle, 
 to the running line, is shown in Fig. 12. 
 
 Horsehair is most useful for roach and 
 gudgeon lines. It is not so strong nor so fine 
 as fine-drawn gut, but I have long been of 
 the opinion that the fish are less suspicious of 
 it than of gut. Hair is superior to gut in 
 being elastic, long, and neither glistening when 
 new nor fraying when old. The best horsehair 
 comes from the tails of stallions. That obtained 
 at violin bow-makers' is sure to be good. I 
 prefer light brown horsehair to any other. Hair 
 may be tied with the same knot as gnt. If 
 the angler is fishing Nottingham fashion, with 
 his float at some distance, he should not use FI of X attaching 
 hair, on account of its elasticity; but when gut-tackle to 
 fishing under the point of a long, stiff rod, as 
 do the London roach -fishers, the elasticity is a decided 
 advantage. 
 
 There are two methods of weighting a line — with split shot, 
 or with lead wire. The former are more commonly used. 
 They can be split with a small, inexpensive machine made 
 for this purpose, or with a penknife, if half sunk in a small 
 hole in a piece of wood. They are usually bought ready 
 split. They are either bitten on to the line, or pinched on 
 with pincers. If the line is fine, whether gut or horsehair, 
 it should either be double where the shots are placed, or be 
 served round with silk. Lead wire answers as well as shots. 
 To fix it, lay a darning-needle, or long pin, alongside the 
 line, and twist the wire round both needle and line. When 
 enough wire has been twisted on, withdraw the needle, and 
 twist up the coil tighter. 
 
 Float-tackle and Floats. — Having purchased rod, reel- 
 line, and hooks, the next thing to bny, or to make up — for 
 the making up is a very simple matter — is the gut or hair 
 line, on which are the hook, float, and either split shot or 
 some lead wire, used to partially sink the float in the water, 
 and keep it in a perpendicular position and the bait near 
 
FLOAT-TACKLE. 
 
 25 
 
 
 T""'--^" -••--Y«mr" t'-"- 
 
 Fig. 13. Typical 
 Float-tackle. 
 
 the bottom. The accompanying sketch (Fig. 13) shows the 
 position of the float in the water and the tackle beneath it. 
 It will be noticed that the line passes 
 through a ring at the bottom of the float, 
 and is kept in position by a cap, usually 
 of quill or indiarubber, which encircles 
 the top of the float. The best float-caps 
 I know of are made of a material resembling 
 oilcloth. The float shown is one of the best 
 for roach-fishing in rivers. It is made of a 
 piece of goose-quill, stopped at the bottom 
 with the end of a porcupine-quill. The top 
 should be touched with red paint. The 
 lowest shot should be usually a little above 
 the length of gut on which the hook is 
 tied (9in. or lOin. from the hook), and the 
 others about 9in. higher. Five shots are 
 shown in the engraving, but the exact 
 number, of course, depends on the buoy- 
 ancy of each particular float, and can 
 only be found by experiment. A float should be always looked 
 upon as a necessary evil, and should be as small as the stream 
 will allow. The size of the float should depend on the amount 
 of lead one has to put on the line to keep the hook near the 
 bottom. The faster the stream, the more weight is required, 
 and vice versa. As a matter of fact, it is wiser to regulate 
 the float to the shot, rather than the shot to the float. In 
 perfectly still water anglers sometimes use no weight on the 
 Line at all, the float being what is termed a self-cocking one — 
 i.e., weighted at the lower end. A piece of lead wire wound 
 round the lower end of any float makes it self-cocking. A few 
 shot, or a little quicksilver, are sometimes placed inside a float 
 made of two pieces of quill ; this also causes it to cock without 
 any shot being on the line. When no weight is used on 
 the line, the bait, of course, sinks slowly and naturally. The 
 tackle shown in Fig. 13 is suitable for many kinds of 
 bottom fishing in moderate streams. In stronger streams, more 
 shot, placed nearer the hook, and a larger float, should be 
 
25 
 
 ANGLING FOE COARSE FISH. 
 
 used. The float from which the drawing was made is S^hx, 
 long. It was a favourite float of the late J. G. Fennell, Author 
 of the "Book of the Roach," and was given me just before 
 his death. 
 
 Of floats there is an endless variety offered to the angler. 
 There are pretty things made up of quill, and beautifully 
 tapered with bone ends; others of cork— gaudy arrangements 
 of blue and red; 
 and others, again, 
 of reed; but the 
 best, least expens- 
 sive, and most work- 
 manlike floats are 
 quills from the wing- 
 feathers of large 
 birds, such as geese, 
 swans, turkeys, and 
 pelicans. These are 
 buoyant, carrying, 
 for their size, a 
 large amount of 
 shot, and slide into 
 the water very 
 quickly, without 
 frightening the fish. 
 When a very small 
 float is required, 
 nothing is better 
 than a small por- 
 cupine-quill, which 
 will carry at most two or three No. 2 shots. If cork floats 
 are used, they should be nicely tapered, and the two ends 
 should be made by a single porcupine-quill run through the 
 centre of the cork. Fig. 14 represents two sliding floats — 
 one (1) of cork, and the other (2) of quill — so called because 
 they slide down the line. They are kept from slipping too high 
 up the line by a fragment of indiarubber, gut, or a bristle placed 
 on the line, so small that it will go through the rings of the 
 
 Fig. 14. Two Sliding Floats. 
 
LEGER, PATERNOSTER, AND LANDING-NET. 
 
 rod, yet so large that it will not slip through the rings on 
 the float. The use of these floats will be described 
 later on. For a beginner, the purchase of three 
 quills of different sizes will probably be found 
 sufficient. Five feet is an average length of gut 
 to have between the hook and the running line. 
 
 The Leger and Paternoster. — These quaintly- 
 named pieces of tackle are used for fishing without 
 a float — on the bottom and just off the bottom 
 respectively. Fig. 15 shows very clearly the con- 
 struction of the leger. The lead works on a foot 
 of the finest patent gimp, at each end of which 
 is a bead or split shots. The hook above the 
 lead is usually omitted, except in winter fishing, 
 when a live-bait is put on it, and a worm on the 
 lower hook. The leger is made light or heavy 
 according to the strength of the stream. In some 
 cases only a light pistol-bullet is used, and the 
 gimp omitted. The gut below the lead should be 
 at least 36in. in length, above it, about 24in. 
 The paternoster, being used almost entirely for 
 perch-fishing, will be found described in Chapter I Y. 
 
 Landing-net. — A most useful affair for lifting 
 fish into the boat or on to the bank when hooked. 
 The larger the ring of the net is, up to a diameter 
 of 18in., the better. The angler must be the judge 
 of how much he likes to burden himself with when 
 he goes fishing. If he has to carry his own im- 
 pedimenta, he will probably prefer a small net, but 
 if he fishes from a punt, a large one. The landing- 
 nets used by Thames puntsmen are usually of large 
 mesh, mounted on an iron ring 18in. in diameter, 
 which is lashed on to a 6ft. ash pole. Of the light 
 folding-nets, I think the " Hi Regan," recently 
 patented by Warner & Sons, of Redditch, is the best. 
 A very inexpensive folding-net is made in the shape 
 of a triangle, two sides of which are of wood, the other of light 
 
 Fig. 15. The 
 Leger. 
 
iiO ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 cord. If the angler fishes a good deal from the bank, and is 
 in the habit of roving about with a paternoster for perch, 
 or with Nottingham tackle for coarse fish generally, he of 
 course wants some arrangement for carrying his net. I have 
 had several, and have come to the conclusion that the one 
 largely used by the Hampshire fiy-fishei-men (see Fig. 16) is the 
 best suited to the purpose. The net can easily be drawn 
 
 Fig. 16. Portable Folimxo Landing-net and Bow of "Hi Began "Net. 
 from its sling with one hand, and a slight jerk causes it to 
 spring out straight, and the handle, which is telescopic, to 
 double its length. 
 
 Plummet, Disgorger, and Sundries. — Plummets are either 
 made of rolled lead, or consist of a solid piece of lead (see 
 Fig. 17), with a brass ring at the top, and cork let into the 
 base. The hook is put through the ring, and fastened into the 
 cork. Plummets are used for taking the depth ; but by stick- 
 ing a piece of tallow in a hollow scooped out of the plummet, 
 the nature of the bottom is easily discovered. Plummets are 
 very necessary articles, and the man who often goes a-fishing 
 will do well to have one in a pocket of each of his fishing- 
 
SUNDRIES. 29 
 
 coats. When forgotten, a stone, penknife, or bunch of keys 
 are sometimes made to answer the same purpose. If the keys 
 catch in a weed, and the line breaks, the 
 angler never afterwards forgets his plummet. 
 There are two or three machines made called 
 depth-gauges ; they answer their purpose, but 
 I do not think them necessary, and for some 
 reasons they are even undesirable. 
 
 The disgorger is a most useful instrument, 
 by the aid of which hooks are inveigled out 
 of fishes' mouths. The best are made as shown 
 in Fig. 18. Either end is used, according to 
 circumstances ; usually the twisted end is 
 Fig. 17. plummet, preferred. The line is got into the centre of 
 the twist, and the disgorger run down 
 right on to the hook wherever it is buried in the fish; the 
 line should then be twisted round the disgorger, and a turn 
 of the wrist brings the hook away — an affair of five seconds 
 where fingers are not all thumbs. It is not a bad 
 plan, in lieu of the forked end, to turn the end of 
 the wire into a ring. The disgorger can then be 
 fastened by a cord to a buttonhole, and is always 
 ready when wanted. 
 
 Among the sundries are metal boxes for gentles 
 and other bait. These should be lai'ge, but flat, 
 to go conveniently into the pocket, and be pierced 
 with plenty of air-holes. Several neat little arrange- 
 ments for holding bait, which can be strapped on 
 to the waist, are sold at the tackle-shops and, 
 when the angler walks and fishes, will be found 
 useful. Bags are the best worm-containers. Then 
 the angler requires winders on which to keep his 
 lines, a book for hooks, or winder and hook-book _. no 
 combined. Of these the tackle-shops offer a Improved 
 pleasing variety, suited to all sorts and conditions 
 of men and parses. The angler should also carry a pair of 
 pocket-scissors ; cobbler's wax, stored in a piece of leather or 
 small tin box; binding silk, fine but strong and varnish for 
 
30 ANGLING FOE COARSE FISH. 
 
 bindings of hooks, &c. (see page 20). As to creels, baskets, 
 and bags, the angler may please himself. My idea of a creel 
 is one with a flat top, on which I can sit, with a partition, 
 horizontal or perpendicular, to divide my lunch, tobacco, &c, 
 from any fish I may catch. For bottom fishing, one of large 
 size is often required. 
 
 I believe I have now mentioned all the tackle that is 
 generally requisite for coarse fish ; but in their appropriate 
 places one or two special articles will be found described. 
 To go into all the modifications of tackle which circumstances 
 occasionally render necessary would require a volume three 
 times as large as this. The angler must have a certain amount 
 of ingenuity in him to be worth his salt, and in no branch of 
 angling is his ingenuity of more use to him than in bottom 
 fishing. He should always be asking himself: Can I safely 
 fish any finer? Is not my line too coarse? Have I not 
 too many shots on ? Is not my float too large ? If the 
 line can with safety be finer, it is too coarse ; if the 
 bait will keep the bottom with less shot, too many shot are 
 on the line; and if a smaller float can be used, the one on 
 the line is too large. Whatever happens — and queer things 
 do happen out fishing — invent something to meet the emer- 
 gency. Never fold your hands and say " It's no good." I 
 know heaps of men who go fishing who hardly know one 
 end of the rod from the other, and yet they catch fish — for 
 the simple reason, that they fish with other people's brains. 
 There is my good friend, worthy Sir Croesus Goldstick, who, 
 when he retires to his country seat on the Norfolk Broads, 
 after the labours of the Session, has an hour or two at the 
 bream. His skilful keeper finds a good swim, baits it, arranges 
 the tackle, moors the boat, baits the hook, and lands the fish. 
 Sir Croesus lifts the rod when the float goes under, pulls till 
 the fish comes to the surface, and, thinking himself an angler, 
 boasts of his catch. Bah ! his keeper was the angler, and 
 Sir Croesus a mere automaton doing his bidding. I say, no 
 man should call himself an angler unless he can catch fish 
 without a skilled assistant to do the greater part of the work 
 for hioi. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 TEE ROACH. 
 
 Roach-fishing a Fine Art — A Summer Day's Roach-fishing — 
 Baits and Ground-bait — Finding a Swim — Float-fishing in 
 Thames Style — Playing and Landing Fish — A Jack in the 
 Swim — Nottingham Fishing — Tight Corking, and Legering 
 with a Float — Fishing with Silk-weed — Punt-fishing — Leger- 
 ing for Roach — Fishing in High and Coloured Water — 
 Catching, Scouring, and Keeping Lob-worms — Winter 
 Fishing — Roach-fishing in Lakes, Ponds, Meres, and Canals. 
 
 C^FJlHE roach — called in Cheshire the roach-dace — is the most 
 
 \£l£. popular o£ the coarse fish. It abounds in almost every 
 lake, pond, canal, and quiet-running stream in England, but is 
 not found in Ireland. It affords capital sport on the fine 
 tackle essential to its capture, and in autumn and winter, if 
 skilfully cooked, is not altogether uneatable. It is a remarkably 
 handsome fish, being for the most part silvery, eyes, fins, 
 and tail tinged with red, but, as with all other fish, the back 
 is the darkest portion — a steely blue or green, quickly turning 
 to silver on the sides and belly. The scales are rather large, 
 and are easily displaced. In weight roach vary from a few 
 ounces to about 3ilb., but one of 21b. is very rarely captured, 
 and probably not two anglers out of 500 have ever seen a roach 
 that size. Small roach are sometimes mistaken for rudd, and 
 vice versa. They are, however, easily distinguished by a glance 
 at their mouths. Roach have projecting top lips, which come 
 
32 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 down like the hood of a bathing-machine ; in rudd the nnder 
 lip projects. Hybrids between roach and rudd are not un- 
 known. 
 
 I want it to be understood at the outset that roach-fishing, 
 so far as the larger fish are concerned, is not a very simple 
 operation. It is the fashion with a certain number of fly-fishers, 
 more especially those who fish exclusively for salmon, to talk 
 somewhat slightingly of roach-fishing, and of bottom fishing 
 generally. Now the truth is that in respect of clear-flowing 
 rivers which are often visited by anglers, roach-fishing has been 
 quite as much reduced, or rather elevated, to a fine art, as 
 salmon-fishing, if not more so. The difficulties of getting the 
 fish to take the bait are certainly not less with roach than 
 with salmon, and there is not so great a difference as might 
 be supposed in the skill required after the fish are hooked. 
 The salmon-fisher plays his twenty-pounder with the strongest 
 gut; the roach-fisher plays his one-and-a-half-pounder on a 
 single hair. Let the two change rods, and I warrant me the 
 roach has a better chance of escape than the salmon. But if you 
 agree with me that the skill displayed by the roach-fisher is, 
 in its way as much to be admired as that exhibited by the 
 salmon-fisher, I will gladly grant that the salmon-fisher has 
 the advantage in respect of the splendid exercise his favourite 
 sport enables him to enjoy, the lovely scenery through which 
 it takes him, and the glorious battles which every now and again 
 he wages with the king of fresh-water fish. 
 
 To come to the more practical portions of my subject, roach 
 swim in shoals varying from a dozen to an uncountable num- 
 ber, and usually feed close to the bottom. There are, broadly 
 speaking, two methods of fishing on or near the bottom for 
 roach : first, with float tackle ; second, with leger tackle. Both 
 plans are capable of many variations, and occasionally the 
 two are combined. The exact method to be followed depends 
 on the time of year and the character of the swim, the 
 skilful angler varying his tackle accordingly. In ordinary 
 float-fishing from the bank, either the light rod with the 
 extra butt — mentioned on page 13 — can be used, or the rods 
 made specially for the purpose (see p. 14). If the angler fishes 
 
CREED WHEAT AND GENTLES. 33 
 
 in the Nottingham fashion, or with the leger, the light rod, 
 without the extra butt, will be found to answer the purpose 
 admirably ; but Nottingham anglers use light wood rods, made 
 expressly for their peculiar kind of fishing. Personally, I am 
 not wedded to either the Nottingham style or any othei - , but 
 always use Nottingham reels and lines (see pp. 16 and 17), so 
 that I can fish any way I like ; and when I fail with one plan, 
 I try another. 
 
 Let us now go for a summer day's roach-fishing, during 
 which I will do my best to explain how to find the fish, and 
 the various ways of catching them. By following this plan 
 I believe I shall be able to give all the necessary information 
 in a readable and easily-understood form. 
 
 It is the end of July, and the roach are now in condition. 
 We are going to a stream which is new to us, so devote a por- 
 tion of the previous day to getting ready various baits which we 
 may possibly require. In the first place, we prepare about half 
 a pint of wheat for bait, by placing it in a large covered jar, full 
 of cold water, in the oven, and letting it stew gently from three 
 to five hours, adding cold water about once an hour, as the wheat 
 quickly takes up the water, and it is important not to let it dry. 
 The wheat can hardly cook too slowly. If prepared with care, 
 it swells up to about the size of a pea and bursts, showing a 
 little streak of white. If done too much, the inside boils out. 
 The empty husks are not much use as bait. Of course, there 
 are many methods of stewing wheat, but the jar-in-oven plan 
 is the safest.* Instead of wheat, we can use lightly-dried 
 malt — which is sometimes preferred by the roach — or pearl 
 barley. A bait more used for roach than any other (paste 
 excepted) is the gentle — larva of the bluebottle fly. We pur- 
 chase a store of these from an obliging butcher's assistant, 
 who, by keeping them in bran or damp sand for a few days, 
 in a dark, cool place — a cellar for preference — has caused them 
 to become clean and pleasant to use. Some few anglers 
 
 * Another good method is to soak the wheat for twelve hours, rub it in a coarse 
 canvas bag until the husks are removed, and then stew the remainder of the grain 
 very gently in milk. Another plan is to place a bag of wheat in a mash-tub for a 
 few hours. 
 
 1 
 
34 ANGLING FOE COAESE FISH. 
 
 believe that gentles are more attractive to the fish when fresh 
 from feeding on putrid flesh, but I much prefer them well 
 scoured. 
 
 It is the easiest possible thing to raise a stock of gentles 
 in summer, but residents in town are advised not to make the 
 attempt. A piece of bullock's livei-, or a dead fish or rat, 
 hung up in a warm, sbady place out of doors, out of the way 
 of cats, quickly attracts crowds of blow-flies. In one or two 
 days the thing will be sufficiently "blown." It should then 
 be placed on some sand, in an earthenware pan with a glazed 
 interior, or in an old lard tin, kept in the shade, and covered 
 with a piece of wire netting, to keep off cats, dogs, and rats. In 
 warm weather the gentles may bo almost seen to grow. As 
 they eat the stuff they are bred in, fresh food should be given 
 them, or they quickly turn into the chrysalis state, and are then 
 not much use.* Those required for baiting the hooks can be 
 kept in bran or sand for a few days, and some nicely scoured ones 
 are generally to be found in the sand at the bottom of the pan. 
 Scoured gentles keep longest in a cellar or other cool, dark place. 
 The sides of the pan have to be kept quite dry, or the gentles will 
 crawl out. To keep gentles in winter two plans are adopted: 
 The first is to half fill a good sized tub with damp sand or garden 
 loam, get some liver, fly-blown, as late in the year as possible, and 
 lay the liver on the top of the soil. Tbe pan should be placed in 
 a dark place, and the gentles be well fed on anything in the 
 nature of meat. Many of them will bury themselves in the soil. 
 The other plan, which is less trouble, but bardly so effective, is 
 to cork up full-grown gentles in a bottle full of garden soil, 
 and bury the bottle until wanted. 
 
 Well, our wheat is boiled and gentles scoured ; but to be on the 
 safe side, we get from the stable-boy a few redworms, which, in 
 anticipation of our visit, he obtained from a very old dungheap, 
 and has kept for three days in damp moss to scour. Before 
 going to bed we put in soak any old crusts that are in the bread- 
 pan, and perhaps prevail on the cook to boil us a teacupful of rice, 
 
 * Dace are more partial to the chrysalis than roach. A compound bait— gentle 
 on shank, and chrysalis on point of hook — is sometimes successful. 
 
eoach-fishek's impedimenta. 35 
 
 to add to the attractiveness of our ground-bait. We also take a 
 glance through Chapter II. of this book, and make up some float 
 tackle, but leave a good deal to be finally arranged until we 
 reach the water's side, for, having never fished this particular 
 river, we hardly know its character and the tackle we shall 
 want. 
 
 The following morning we are up at daybreak, and find 
 our man, John, busy at work on the ground-bait. The basin- 
 ful of soaked bread he has thoroughly emptied of water, and, 
 after squeezing the crusts, has rubbed them into very small 
 fragments. To the bread he adds the boiled rice, a few hand- 
 fuls of meal, and with some bran works up the mixture into 
 stiff balls. (N.B. — The bread and bran alone make excellent 
 ground-bait ; or bread, bran, and clay ; or even bran and clay.) 
 The dog-cart is now at the door, and into it go our impedimenta, 
 which consist of creel, landing-net and handle, light rod with 
 extra butt (see page 13), our tackle-book, containing on a winder 
 two or three made-up lines (see page 25), some 2yd. lengths 
 of very fine gut and brown horsehair, and a few dozen No. 9 to 
 No. 12 Crystal and Round Bend hooks, some with shanks painted 
 white, others red (see page 20). Two or three light, quill floats, 
 of various sizes, also find a place in our creel ; and we must by 
 no means forget the plummet, the disgorger, our bait-box 
 containing gentles, the worm-bag, a large slice of bread and 
 a crust (both from a stale loaf, or a French roll, which is 
 excellent for making paste), the wheat in a bag, and the 
 ground-bait also in a large bag. We put in a duster, to 
 wipe our hands upon if we catch any fish and have to 
 unhook them ourselves. We have prepared no less than 
 four kinds of bait, because we do not know the water, nor 
 what baits are likely to take best. One of us has some peculiar 
 paste all to himself, and greatly believes in its killing powers. 
 It is made simply of flour, a little sugar, and vermilion, mixed 
 up with gin into a stiff paste. In some waters it kills well. 
 
 After the sultry night — during which we lay awake for the 
 most part, excited by some talk of mighty fish, which we had 
 listened to after dinner — the drive through the cool air of 
 early morning, between the hedges bediamonded with dewdrops. 
 
 E 2 
 
36 ANGLING FOR COAESE FISH. 
 
 and smelling sweetly of wild honeysuckle, is very enjoyable. 
 There is no wind, but a few clouds in the South give us 
 promise of a shower or two during the day. The nine miles and a 
 half from the house to the river are covered in something under 
 the hour, and, almost before we know it, we are standing 
 knee deep in rich meadow grass, putting our rods together. 
 The ferrules of the rods we always keep rubbed with vaseline 
 or soft soap, or any kind of grease, to prevent them sticking. 
 On the butt of the rod we fix the small Nottingham winch 
 (see page 16), with the handles to the right when the reel is 
 hanging below the rod, and we draw the fine twisted or plaited 
 silk line through the rod rings. Being so far ready, the next 
 thing to do is 
 
 To Find a Swim — a subject on which a good-sized volume 
 might easily be written. The river is, let us say, about 30yds. 
 wide, slow flowing, with here and there reed beds and islands. 
 About a mile above us is a weir and mill, and the same distance 
 below us the river is also dammed up about 4ft. for the 
 purpose of turning another mill. If we walk down stream, we 
 shall find the water get deeper; if we walk up stream, we 
 are certain to find it more shallow. What we require is a swim 
 from 5ft. to 10ft. deep, so near the bank as to be fishable with 
 our 15ft. rods — a swim where the bottom is of gravel or sand, and 
 level for a few yards, and where weeds or reeds, or both, grow in 
 the immediate neighbourhood. It should also be out of the wind 
 for if the surface of the water is ruffled, many of the largest fish 
 will be missed, as they bite most gently, hardly moving the float. 
 Above all, there must be some Btream, for at this season we do 
 not find roach in still water, except it be in a lake, canal, or pond. 
 "Where we stand the river widens out, and a mudbank, on which 
 weeds grow luxuriantly, stretches out some 20ft. from the 
 shore. If we had a boat we might find a gravelly bottom on the 
 edge of the weeds, but we have to walk farther before we can fish 
 from the bank. About half a mile up stream I espy a good- 
 sized eyot, and I know from experience that where the river is 
 thus divided the stream often runs sharply on both sides of it, 
 and cuts a clean channel close into the banks, thus forming an 
 easily reached swim. Besides, fish always lie about such spots, 
 
PLUMBING THE DEPTH. 37 
 
 one reason, no doubt, being tbat in case of a flood there is a safe 
 place for them in the eddy always to be found at the tail of an 
 island. 
 
 We soon arrive opposite the eyot. The bank on which we 
 stand is steep, and there is probably a good depth of water close 
 under it. At one point a few reeds grow, then comes a gap, then 
 a few more reeds. Between the two reed-beds is just the place 
 for roach, if only the depth and bottom are suitable for float-fish- 
 ing. To test the swim, I attach the float tackle, shown on page 25, 
 to the end of my running line, fasten a plummet to the hook, and 
 let it into the water. The plummet sinks sharply, and hits the 
 ground with a knock — the bottom is good. With a very little prac- 
 tice the difference between a mud and a hard bottom can thus be 
 easily determined, unless the water is very deep. For plumbing 
 in deep water anglers sometimes scoop a hollow in the bottom 
 of the plummet, and fill it with tallow, to which the sand, gravel, 
 or mud, as the case may be, sticks. The depth I find to be 
 about 6ft., and by plumbing at three different spots, a yard 
 apart, I find that the bottom is fairly level. All this while I 
 have been careful not to show myself more than is necessary, 
 and pursue my investigations very quietly ; neither have I 
 shaken the bank by heavy footfalls. The sun is in my face, so 
 that my shadow is not thrown into the water. While I was taking 
 the line off the winder I stood some distance back from the 
 river, and it was not until my float tackle was fastened on to the 
 running line that I sat on my basket, just opposite the top of 
 the swim, and commenced to plumb the depth. While thus 
 examining the swim, I was careful to do what is usually the first 
 operation in float-fishing, namely, adjust my float to a proper 
 distance from the hook. As a general rule, when the plummet is 
 on the bottom, and — the line being held taut — the top of the float 
 is just level with the surface of the water, the float is in its right 
 place on the line. Unfortunately, the swim is deeper lower down 
 than it is opposite to me, so I had to put my float higher up the 
 line ; for it is much more important to have the right depth in the 
 middle and end of the swim than at the commencement. Before 
 commencing to fish I take a wooden lucifer match, split it in 
 half, and tie a small portion of it on to the running line, about 
 
38 ANGLING FOE COARSE FISH. 
 
 5ft. above the float (see Fig. 19). After my hook is baited I 
 shall wind up my line until the reel is stopped by the match 
 catching against the top ring. By this means the line will be 
 kept from falling into loops between the top ring and the reel, 
 
 Fio. 19. Tight-line Fishing with Running Tackle bv means of a Lucifer 
 
 Match. 
 
 and I shall be enabled to strike much sharper than I could if 
 there was any slack line between the rings. Only very careful 
 anglers adopt this plan. The next thing is 
 
 Baiting the Hook. — I begin by using gentles. The hook is 
 a small one — about No. 10 Crystal Bend, with the shank painted 
 white (see page 20) — and on it I draw two gentles, not threading 
 them on from head to tail, but catching them by a small piece 
 of skin on the side. (When I have many bites, but few fish, I 
 sometimes put on a No. 13 hook, and attach by the tail a large 
 gentle, which wriggles as it goes down the stream, and some- 
 times proves very killing.) I then take a trial swim, dropping my 
 tackle very carefully and lightly into the water, to see if the 
 bottom is clear.* If the bottom is foul my hook catches, and my 
 float is forced under by the current ; but this swim is clear, and, 
 laying down my rod, I leave my tackle in the water to soak while 
 I prepare my ground-bait. If I had been acquainted with this 
 swim, I should have thrown in some ground-bait before baiting 
 my hook, but not before plumbing the depth. 
 
 With regard to hook-baits for roach, those really required 
 are paste, gentles, and worms; one of these three will kill 
 almost anywhere and at any time. But it is as well to know 
 that some other baits ai'e, on occasions, equally killing, namely, 
 wasp-grubs (baked in the oven, or boiled in milk), caddis (the 
 larvae of various water-flies, easily found in ditches), boiled wheat 
 or pearl barley, the white portions of greaves boiled, and 
 blow-flies used under water. A few weeks ago a friend per- 
 suaded me to try earwig3. I did so, and found them kill 
 
 * If an otherwise good roach-swim is spoilt by a few weeds, the vigorous use of a 
 gudgeon-rake (see Chap. VIII.), a few hours before the swim is fished, will vastly 
 improve the swim by clearing away weeds and rubbish. 
 
TIIE ART OF GROUND-BAITING. 39 
 
 rather better than any other bait we were using. That 
 happened in the Loddon. (See also page 49.) 
 
 To return to the riverside. I find my man has made up 
 The Ground-bait in rather large balls, so I break a lump 
 in half, make a hole in the centre, put in a dozen gentles, and 
 squeeze it up into a ball about the size of an egg. If I am 
 very anxious to catch fish, I do not throw this ball in, as 
 most anglers do, and make a splash which frightens the timid 
 roach, but squeeze it on my line, just above the hook, swing 
 it out over the water, and let it sink gently to the bottom. 
 As soon as its journey has ended, I raise the point of the rod, 
 and jerk the hook out of the ball of bait. My float and bait 
 then travel down the stream, my two gentles appear a part 
 of the ground- bait, and I veiy likely get a fish the first swim. 
 
 To be able to judge when the ground-bait reaches the bottom 
 is very important, for the angler who fishes in one place, while 
 his ground-bait is in another, catches few fish. The hook-bait 
 should always travel right over, and in a line with, the ground- 
 bait. I know no plan which enables the angler to judge more 
 correctly just where the ground-bait falls than the one I have 
 described. Three small balls of ground-bait should be dropped 
 in at starting, and, unless the -roaeh are biting very fast, a 
 piece about a quarter the size after every three fish are taken. 
 If the stream is strong, it will be necessary to put a stone 
 inside each ball to make it sink ; while, on the other hand, if 
 there is hardly any stream, the ground-bait may be thrown 
 in loose, not made into balls at all. It is not desirable for 
 the ground-bait to fall just opposite the angler, for it is as 
 well to keep the fish a little distance off. The nearer the fish 
 are, the worse they feed. One great point in successful bottom 
 fishing is to mix up with the ground-bait some of whatever 
 is used on the hook. If a lot of bread and bran is being eaten 
 by the fish, the more experienced of them will view with 
 suspicion a solitary couple of gentles; but if to the bread 
 and bran some gentles are added, then the fish feed on bread, 
 bran, and gentles as a matter of course, and probably take 
 the two in which the hook is partially hidden. "When I have 
 been ground-baiting with soaked crusts and bran, and have 
 
40 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 been fishing with, gentles, but have had so few of these latter 
 that I could not add any to the ground-bait, I have often 
 met with poor success until I tried as hook-bait a fragment 
 of inner crust (broken, not cut, off the loaf), which, of course, 
 resembled a piece of the ground-bait as nearly as possible. 
 
 Having put in three balls of ground-bait, each with a few 
 gentles inside, I begin fishing. The tackle is dropped into 
 the water just in front of me, and allowed to pass quietly down 
 with the stream. I am careful to neither check the float nor 
 let any line lie on the surface of the water. When the float 
 has gone as far as the line will allow, I lift it out of the water 
 with a slight turn of the wrist, which would cause any fish 
 that might be holding on to the bait at the end of the swim 
 to be hooked. I repeat the process — not a bite ! and I take four 
 swims before anything happens. The roach, probably, are not 
 there, but they may come yet, for the shoals do not remain 
 stationary when on the feed. In the middle of the fifth swim 
 I notice that my float is checked for an instant. Before it 
 can go under I give a slight upward movement of the 
 wrist, and at once feel I have something on, and I have the 
 pleasure of playing and landing the fish. 
 
 It should be stated, as regards roach-bites, that the angler 
 cannot strike too soon. Large roach do not, as a rule (they do 
 sometimes), bite boldly. They are so cautious in taking the bait 
 that often only the slightest movement of the float is discernible. 
 If a roach goes off with the bait, the float of course goes under, 
 but the roach immediately leaves go on feeling the pull of the 
 float, and the angler strikes too late. If the float is only checked 
 a little, or inclines to one side or the other, the angler should 
 strike. Mind, I am talking of large, shy, river roach, not of the 
 hungry little fellows who would swallow rod, angler, and all, if 
 their stomachs were only as large as their appetites. Half the 
 secret of successful roach-fishing lies in the strike, and on this 
 portion of the subject I can usefully add nothing more, for the 
 art of striking can only be learnt by practice. An experienced 
 roach-fisher will detect bites when a beginner would see no sign 
 of movement in the float. As a rule, the farther the angler 
 is from the fish the bolder they bite. 
 
 
PLAYING ROACH AND STRAIGHTENING GUT. 41 
 
 "Well, I have hooked my first fish, so now proceed to play 
 him. He is of some size, for he makes for £he centre of the 
 river, and forces me to allow him to run several yards of line off 
 my reel. I have to keep an even strain on his mouth, never 
 slacking the line an instant, and to play him without disturbing 
 the other fish, and I endeavour to keep him near the top of the 
 water without breaking the surface. If he played near the 
 bottom, the shoal of roach might take warning by the fate of 
 their brother, and if he kicked about on the surface they would 
 also be startled. In trout-fishing it is usual to play the fish 
 down stream, and with good reason ; but seated on my creel, I 
 am obliged to bring this roach up stream, as far away from 
 the swim as I can reach. As soon as he appears exhausted 
 with his struggles, I raise the point of the rod, letting out 
 some line* off the reel, and, holding the rod in my left hand, and 
 my landing-net in my right hand, bring him close under 
 the bank. Then I sink my landing-net, bring the fish over 
 it, raise the net, and fish No. 1 is caught. During the next 
 quarter of an hour I catch five fish, but as they run small I 
 determine to try 
 
 Wheat as a Bait, and failing that, paste, for I have noticed 
 that in some rivers very few large roach take gentles, while 
 dozens of small fish may be caught on that bait. The first 
 thing to do is to change my hook for an ordinary No. 11 
 Round Bend one, the shank of which has been painted white. 
 The gut on which the new hook is whipped is curly, and I 
 first moisten it in my mouth, and then draw it out straight. 
 Persons — and there are a few — who never acquire the knack 
 of straightening gut should carry a fragment of pure india- 
 rubber in their pocket. Gut rubbed with indiarubber quickly 
 loses its curly properties. Cobbler's heelball is useful for 
 the same purpose. Well, the hook is on, and before putting, 
 
 * Thames and Lea roach-fishers usually angle with what is termed a tight line — 
 i.e., without running tackle. When landing fish, they have simply to remove 
 the butt of the rod, or, if the swim is shallow, the second joint, when they 
 can easily bring the fish to the landing-net The only objection I can see to using 
 running tackle with a long, roach rod, is that to land the fish without being able to 
 shorten the rod is a little inconvenient. I have, however, sometimes seen bank- 
 anglers, when they were using running tackle, remove their butts when landing fish, 
 and I have occasionally done the same thing after playing the fish nearly dead. 
 
40 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 or throwing, the used hook away, I carefully notice if the 
 gut on the new hook is the same length as the gut on the 
 old one, and if 'there is any difference, I shift my float 
 accordingly. A slight change in the ground-bait is necessary, 
 for I want to get the fish to look upon wheat as a very 
 proper and safe food. This view they will not take if they 
 simply see the grain on my hook. I therefore break up 
 some ground-bait, and make up three small balls, mixing 
 in as much wheat as I can. The ground-bait I let m gently 
 by means of my line as before, and I also throw m from 
 time to time a dozen or more grains of wheat some yards 
 above my swim, so that they reach the bottom at the spot 
 where I am fishing. For my hook I select a plump, full 
 grain, just bursting its shell, and put the hook point m at 
 one end of the white streak, and just out at the other, so 
 that immediately I strike, the point of the hook catches^ the 
 fish's mouth. To cover the point with the husk of the gram is 
 fatal to success. Sometimes, when the wheat is badly cooked, 
 and the inside is almost boiled out, I am obliged to put the 
 hook point into the husk; but even then I am careful that 
 the point comes through. Sometimes two grains answer 
 better than one, and when the fish are shy it is an admirable 
 plan-one I have followed for some years-to thread a gentle up 
 the shank of the hook, and cover the bend with a gram of wheat. 
 When roach are very plentiful, or a shoal is in some hole 
 which it has no inclination to leave, the throwing in of a 
 few erains well above the swim, every few minutes serves 
 quite as well to keep the fish together, and on the feed, as 
 the more elaborate ground-bait. On the best days roach- 
 fishin- I ever had in my life my hook-bait was wheat 
 and my ground-bait also wheat, thrown in loose. A great 
 many skilful anglers use brewers' grains as ground-bait when 
 fishing with wheat, but I much prefer the plan just described. 
 
 About nine o'clock the roach suddenly cease to feed, and 
 after trying various little dodges without success, I come to 
 the conclusion that either their feeding-time is over for the 
 
 m 7^t*: r *^.-^, or Pihe, eat roach, and in 
 
IMPROMPTU PIKE-PATERNOSTER. 43 
 
 summer usually have their lairs iu weeds and reed-beds, so that 
 the corner where I am fishing is a particularly likely place for 
 one of these fish. To put the matter to the test, I fix the joints 
 of my second rod together (see page 13), and not having proper 
 jack tackle with me, I tie my plummet on to the end of the 
 running line, and a foot above the plummet tie on a hook, 
 mounted on gimp, which is fortunately in my book. My 
 last fish happened to be small, and is still alive, so I put 
 the hook through both its lips, and drop it into the water, 
 close to the reeds. "I will give the jack five minutes," I 
 think to myself, " and meanwhile there is time for a pipe." 
 However, before my pipe is even out of my pocket I 
 see a shaking of the line, followed by a downward 
 movement of the rod-top. I wait a second, then 
 up with the point, hold on for a moment, to get the hook 
 well in, and I am playing a fine Jack of half a dozen pounds. 
 " No wonder the roach were frightened," think I, as he comes to 
 the top, and opens his ugly mouth at me. Not for a moment 
 must I let the line slack. All thi-ough must an even pressure be 
 kept on the fish's mouth. Soon he tires, and my landing- 
 net is brought into requisition. There is not much chance 
 of roach for half an hour after this disturbance, so shifting my 
 quarters, and espying a suitable swim, I do a little 
 
 Nottingham Fishing. — I am now going to fish some dis- 
 tance from the bank — about 25ft. out — and the water is somewhat 
 heavier than in my other swim. Slightly heavier tackle is there- 
 fore necessary, so I take a larger set of float tackle off my winder — 
 that is to say, tackle with more shot and a larger float. Another 
 i-eason for preferring heavier tackle is that its weight renders 
 it easier to cast. "When changing tackles, I leave the first 
 tackle on the grass, near my old swim, and am careful not 
 to move the float, so that when I return there will be no occa- 
 sion to plumb the depth for a second time. I also remove 
 the piece of match from my line, and shorten the rod by 
 taking off the extra butt. The depth of the new swim has 
 now to be discovered. To use the plummet here is impossible. 
 Of course I put the float as near as I can guess at the depth, 
 rather higher than lower, and cast out my tackle baited with 
 
44 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 gentles — the hook point covered — to the top of the swim. The 
 float cocks, goes on its way down stream for a few feet, then 
 bobs sevei - al times, and finally goes under. From this I know 
 that my bait is touching the bottom, but that my shots are 
 off the bottom ; for if they touched the ground, the float would 
 not cock, but would lie in a horizontal position on the water. 
 I am therefore not more on the bottom than the distance 
 between the shot and the hook, so I lower my float about 4in., and 
 try another swim. This time the float goes serenely to its 
 journey's end. I may now be too far off the bottom, so I 
 heighten the float 2in. Again the tackle passes down the swim 
 without incident, and I know that I am within 2in. of the right 
 depth, which is near enough. I hope I have made this plumbing- 
 without-a-plummet matter quite clear. It is, though trouble- 
 some, a very simple operation, and one which must be under- 
 stood and practised. Success in bottom fishing depends a great 
 deal on having the bait at the proper depth. 
 
 I have said " cast out the tackle," but I may very properly be 
 asked, how. With heavy floats and many shot the line runs 
 off the reel as the tackle is cast out, but with this light roach- 
 tackle a different plan must be adopted. Face the swim ; look 
 rather up stream than down; hold the rod in the right hand, 
 with that hand above the reel and the little finger touching 
 the rim of the reel, to act as a check* Point the rod up 
 stream, pull some line off the reel, and catch the loop on a finger 
 of the left hand (Fig. 20, 1). From the point of the rod to the 
 hook, the length should be from 6ft. to 8ft., according to the 
 depth of the swim. At greater depths a slider float (see page 26) 
 is used. These details so far carried out, move the right hand 
 backwards, bringing the point of the rod away from the river ; 
 then move it quickly forward, and swing the tackle out in 
 the direction of the swim. As the tackle reaches the end of 
 its swing, just before it is checked, let the line off the finger 
 
 * A great many Nottingham anglers check the reel with the first finger, the hand 
 being, of course, below the reel. Casting from the right shoulder, they place the 
 right hand above the reel and the left hand below it, and check the reel with the 
 first finger of the left hand ; casting from the left shoulder, the hands are reversed, 
 and the reel is checked with the first finger of the right hand. Personally, I prefer 
 to always have my right hand above the reel, and to keep the little finger of that 
 hand on the rim of the reel. 
 
THE TBENT METHOD. 
 
 45 
 
 of the left hand, and away the tackle shoots over the river, and 
 alights at the top of the swim. This is for a short cast. No. 2 
 in the illustration indicates how the line should be held 
 for an extra long cast. Two loops have then to be held in the 
 left hand (one on the first finger, the other on the second finger) 
 and the higher loop has to be released a second before the one 
 next the reel. I sometimes even take three loops into my left 
 
 Fig. 20. Casting in the Nottingham Style. 
 
 hand ; but to cast with more than one requires a good deal of 
 practice. Not a few Nottingham fishermen pull out the loops of 
 line from between rings about the middle of the rod, but I 
 believe the plan shown in the sketch to be the most handy. 
 
 As soon as the tackle touches the water the point of the 
 rod is lowered, but immediately the float has cocked, line 
 is let out, and the rod is held at an angle of about 45deg. Light 
 
46 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 float tackle, as it goes down the stream, will draw the fine 
 line through the rings, but will not pull it off the reel, so 
 the reel has to be turned with the hand; but when rather 
 heavy tackle is used, in deep, quick streams, the arrangement 
 works automatically. When the float has travelled about 
 10yds., the line is wound in and a fresh cast made. If the 
 day is wet, I do anything rather than fish in the Nottingham 
 style, for the fine, undressed silk line clings to the rod, the 
 float gets checked, the fish, in consequence, scared, and the 
 angler's temper ruffled.* 
 
 As I am gojng to fish with wheat, I attach a small ball 
 of ground-bait, loaded with wheat, to my hook, and swing 
 it to the top of the swim, and from time to time throw in a 
 few grains of wheat. At the second swim I take a fish, and 
 continue to have good sport for half an hour. Then the 
 roach get shy, and as an experiment I throw some wheat in 
 lower down the swim, and let my float travel 5yds. 
 farther than it did before, or 15yds. in all. By throwing 
 in my ground-bait lower, I get the fish to feed farther away 
 from me, and the result is that, though the sun is now well 
 up over my head, they bite less shyly, and I bring some 
 more to basket. About midday I stroll towards my companions, 
 with a view of learning when and where we are to lunch, and 
 discover one of them busily engaged in 
 
 "Tight-corking," or Legering with a Float, by which 
 means he has caught fewer, but finer, roach than I have. I 
 use the expression "tight-corking," but it does not exactly 
 express what my friend is doing, for he is using a quill, 
 not a cork, float, and in lieu of the shot which Nottingham 
 tight-corkers (this is the first time I ever spoke of anybody 
 
 * Anglers of the Thames and Lea, and of the Trent, all assert that their 
 respective styles are best. In this they are incorrect, and the "all-round " angler 
 will do well to adopt the method best suited to any particular swim. The 
 Thames and Lea style is best adapted for quiet swims, moderately deep, near the 
 bank, where the angler can sit well back, out of sight of the fish. In a shallow, 
 swift swim, the rod in the Lea style being held just over the roach, would 
 act as a scarecrow. In such swims the Trent or Nottingham method should be 
 followed. In the Thames and Lea style, the angler can on a calm day detect the 
 slightest bite, and instantly strike, and in a swim suited to that style of fishing 
 catches four roach to the Nottingham angler's one ; but not so in shallow, swift 
 . streams. 
 
TIGHT-CORKING. 
 
 47 
 
 as a "tight-corker") put on their lines, lie uses a small 
 bullet, which can slip up the line, but is prevented from going 
 down it by a very small shot, bitten 18in. or more 
 above the hook. His plan of working this tackle is very 
 similar to that followed by the aforesaid tight-corkers. Need 
 I explain that tight-corking is sending float tackle down 
 stream to a certain point, and there checking it, a foot or 
 more of gut being on the bottom (see also page 78). My 
 friend's method is, as I said, similar, but better. He chose a 
 swim where the bottom was very uneven, and where the stream, 
 owing to a pi*ominence in the bank, set out a little, and formed a 
 small eddy. The eddy was almost full of water lilies, and 
 
 Fig. 21. Fishing with Leger Float Tackle on Edge of Eddt. 
 
 just on the edge of the stream, about 2ft. from the 
 lilies, he cast in his tackle and waited patiently for results. 
 "When plumbing the depth, he so arranged the float that 
 the distance from the float to the bullet was a few inches 
 more than the distance from the surface of the water to the 
 bottom. The depth was about 8ft. ; had it been more, he 
 would have been obliged to use a slider float (see page 26). A 
 glance at the sketch (Fig. 21) will give a fairly good idea of 
 the position of the tackle. My friend's bait is a good-sized 
 lump of paste, which he is careful to mould on to the hook (a 
 short-shanked No. 6 Round Bend) in such a way that the point 
 comes through with the slightest touch (see Fig. 22). 
 
• 
 
 48 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 The shank of the hook is painted white, so that it will not 
 be noticeable should the paste get washed away. This paste is 
 made at the waterside, in a simple fashion, by wetting a portion 
 of the crumb of a stale loaf, or French roll, and then well squeez- 
 ing it in a handkerchief and kneading it. When 
 made, it is best kept in a damp rag ; and not 
 exposed to the light, or it turns a drab colour. 
 If made at home, it is as well to pound it in a 
 pestle and mortar. The ground-bait is the 
 bread-and-bran mixture similar to that which 
 I was using. None is thrown in, but as often FlQ 22 Hf)0K 
 as may be necessary a small lump is pressed Hatted vraa 
 round a very small shot on the Hne, about 
 4in. from the hook, so that when the afEair is let 
 into the water the hook-bait is certain to lie close to the 
 ground-bait — no small advantage.* Eveiy few minutes my 
 friend throws in a small pellet of paste well above his 
 float, so that it may sink as near his bait as he can judge. 
 His method is eminently adapted to catch big fish. He 
 can keep very quiet, takes the line out of the water only 
 when he has a bite or a fish, fishes close to his ground-bait, 
 and almost immediately above his hook, and there is no line 
 and row of shots as there is in the float tackle I have been 
 using. Truly an admirable method! After watching my 
 friend land a couple of " whoppers," we have lunch together, and 
 I return to my old swim, from which the roach had been 
 frightened by the jack. The sun now comes out strongly, 
 and the fish soon cease feeding, so I again join my friend, 
 and we stroll up the river until we come to a weir, on the 
 shallows below which are two anglers, both of whom are catching 
 roach. One is fly-fishing with a good-sized red palmer, and 
 catches not only roach (which in a few rivers will take a fly),t 
 but also chub and dace. The other we find is using 
 
 Silk Weed (Conferva rivularis), crow silk, or flannel weed, 
 
 * Some anglers who use this tackle omit the ground-bait on the line, and 
 place a fragment of cork a couple of inches above the hook. This keeps the 
 bait off the bottom, which is occasionally an advantage. 
 
 t See account of " Fly-fishing for Kudd," Chapter XII. The method is similar. 
 
BOACH-FISHING WITH SILK WEED. 49 
 
 a very killing bait in the hot months. He has taken his station 
 at the side of the weir, where he can reach a quiet eddy. The 
 depth is about 8ft., and the stream is so slight that he is able 
 to fish without shots. To make his float cock, he has simply 
 twisted a short length of lead wire round the end of it (self- 
 cocking floats are sold ready weighted). His line is of the 
 finest-drawn gut, and the shank of his hook (No. 9) is coloured 
 green by means of green sealing-wax dissolved in spirits of 
 wine. With his landing-net handle he has rubbed off a few 
 bits of the weed from the weir, and, after washing it well, winds 
 small pieces round his hook. He tells us that the larger the 
 bait, the larger the fish he takes, and he certainly has some 
 fine specimens in his creel. He says the silk weed is a better 
 bait near weirs than elsewhere, probably because it is natural 
 for the fish to find pieces of the weed in such places. " I often 
 cut open roach to find out on what they are feeding," he adds, 
 " and all the fish I catch in the weir-pool are stuffed with this 
 weed." We have a long chat with this angler, who is an 
 enthusiast, and he tells us of several baits to try when the 
 ordinary ones fail; among others, caddis, mealworms — especially 
 good in mill-tails — small cubes of banana, fresh-water shrimps, 
 dried sheep's blood, and small cubes of boiled pork — the last 
 two as winter baits. 
 
 Our conversation is put an end to by the appearance of 
 the keeper, who tells us that he has a punt, which he will 
 gladly place at our disposal if we feel inclined to do a little 
 
 Punt-fishing in the Thames Style. — He further offers 
 to take us to a first-rate pitch where the fish, which run large, 
 have not seen a line this season. The offer is too tempting 
 to be refused; we are soon on board our flat-bottomed craft, 
 which is divided into two unequal portions by what is termed a 
 well — i.e., a division into which the water flows freely, used 
 for holding live-baits for jack, trout, and perch. The well is 
 placed about one-third of the way from the stem, and on each 
 side of it is a comfortable Windsor chair. 
 
 In due course we come tp the promised swim, and see 
 at a glance that it is a good one. At this point the river is 
 very weedy, but just in the centre is a narrow run, not quite as 
 
 F 
 
50 
 
 ANGLING FOE COARSE FISH. 
 
 deep as the punt is long. By the grate of the punt pole we 
 can hear that the bottom is sandy gravel. The keeper takes 
 great pains not to disturb the fish while moving the punt. Just 
 before arriving at the swim he lets the punt swing across the 
 stream, over the weeds on the left hand, and going up into the 
 bows, takes a very heavy pole, called a rypeck, pointed 
 with iron, and drives it into the bottom, at the point A 
 (Fig. 23). As he does so, the punt swings round into the position 
 shown in the first diagram. As soon as one pole is in he takes 
 up another, drops it gently overboard, on the left side, about the 
 middle, and pushes the punt across and rather up stream, the 
 pole A, of course, coming nearly to the stern of the punt, where 
 
 Jill ' 
 
 Fig. 23. Mooring a Thames Punt. 
 
 my friend fastens it with a piece of cord. In the meantime, 
 the punt swings at right angles to the stream, the second pole is 
 fixed in at the point B, and tied at the end of the bows.* 
 
 After the punt is moored, my companion and I remain 
 quietly on our Windsor chairs, and the keeper takes his 
 seat between us, on the lid of the well. By his direction 
 we put our floats (we are using our light rods, without the 
 extra butt) 6ft. or so from the hook, and then plumb 
 the depth. Having done so as quietly as possible, we find 
 
 * In the Eastern Counties the boat or punt is usually moored down, and not 
 across, the stream ; the anglers then sit facing the opposite bank of the river, 
 and are, as regards the stream, in the same position as they would be on the 
 bank. 
 
BLEAK IN ROACH-SWIMS. 51 
 
 we have to shift the float only a few inches higher up the 
 line. I should say that, the stream here heing rather swift, 
 we have put on larger floats, which carry more shot, and by 
 the keeper's advice we place one very small shot about 
 6in. above the hook. As soon as we have the depth, the 
 keeper takes two balls of our ground-bait, squeezes a small 
 stone into the middle of each, and puts them overboard, exactly 
 in a line with me, and two more in a line with my companion. 
 He then baits our hooks with two gentles, and the fun begins. 
 "We drop the tackle in close to the punt, and are very 
 particular to let as little line fall on the water as possible. 
 At the end of each swim we strike gently, sometimes by this 
 means hooking a cautious roach, which is holding the bait 
 in its mouth without moving the float. 
 
 After a while, the roach we are catching not running as 
 large as the keeper led us to expect, I determine to try creed 
 wheat (see page 33), but before doing so throw in a few 
 handfuls of wheat, as far behind me up stream as I can. 
 By the time the current sweeps these grains into our swim 
 they are almost on the bottom, and the fish are feeding on 
 them. I now bait carefully with a grain of wheat, and catch 
 several roach of better size than those which took the gentles. 
 As soon as they go off the feed, I throw in a few more 
 grains, well up stream, and bring them on again. My friend 
 continues fishing with gentles, and is much annoyed by a 
 shoal of bleak — little fish not unlike sprats — which will not let 
 his bait alone, and prevent the roach from taking it. To 
 get rid of these little pests we first throw in some loose bran ; 
 but this not having the effect (it often succeeds), we throw a 
 few pieces of dry bread on to the water, and these the bleak 
 follow and leave us in peace. 
 
 Before we leave the pitch I determine to try whether, as 
 frequently happens, there are not some big, cautious fellows 
 lying just below our swim, nipping up the few fragments of 
 ground-bait which the smaller and more eager fry allow to 
 escape. To put the matter to the test, I have only to move 
 the button at the back of my reel, which at once becomes 
 free running. I am thus able to fish in the Nottingham 
 
 r 2 
 
52 ANGLING FOE COARSE FISH. 
 
 style, and let my float travel for about 15yds. However, 
 before the magic quill has gone 2yds. beyond the limit 
 of our former swim, it commences to go under. I strike 
 sharply, before it has disappeared, and the keeper has the 
 satisfaction of landing the roach of the day, a fine fat fellow, 
 weighing l?lb. Evening is now coming on, and having a 
 drive before us, and certain social engagements, the rypecks 
 are lifted, and the keeper poles us back to the weir. Here 
 we meet with an old friend, who has come to pass a couple 
 of hours 
 
 Legering for Roach. — He is extremely clever at this branch 
 of the sport, and catches none but big fish. He uses a very 
 fine, dressed silk line, a leger made out of 3yds. of fine gut 
 (stained below the lead a light brown with coffee lees), a small 
 leger lead, a No. 6 short-shanked, Round Bend hook, and 
 three shot. The first shot — a large one — he places 3in. 
 from the hook, the second 3ft. farther up the gut ; 
 then comes the leger lead, and the third shot 1ft. above 
 the second. The lead, of course, slides up and down between the 
 two upper shots. The shot next the hook is only placed there 
 to keep the ground-bait in its place; in fact, the tackle is 
 almost the same as in Fig. 21, minus the float. Both hook- 
 bait and ground-bait are merely fine flour and a little fine 
 bran, made up into very stiff dough. A piece nearly as big as a 
 small marble is put on the hook, and a piece as large as a small 
 orange round the lowest shot. The fish come about the 
 ground-bait, and one of the largest, noticing a fine lump — 
 a good mouthful, and no more — lying by the side of the larger 
 piece, takes it into its mouth; and if the angler feels what 
 has happened, he strikes, and master roach quits the river 
 for ever. My friend fishes only by the side of the lasher in 
 weir-pools, where float tackle would be no use, and does great 
 execution in this way during the summer ^months; but of 
 course this tackle can be used in other swims. Leaving our 
 friend fishing, we pack up our traps, mount the dog-cart, and 
 our pleasant day's roach-fishing, during which we have tried or 
 seen tried nearly, if not quite, all the known methods of 
 taking these fish in summer, is at an end. 
 
STEWART TACKLE FOR ROACH-FISHING. 
 
 53 
 
 Roach-fishing in High and Coloured Water. — One or 
 
 other of the methods which I have described will always 
 
 take roach in summer, if the fish are to be caught at all ; and 
 
 the instructions I have given should suffice upon all occasions 
 
 from June to October, unless the water is very high, or coloured. 
 
 "With regard to these last-mentioned conditions, I would ask 
 
 the reader to refer to Chapter I., pages 7 and 8, where he 
 
 will find related the peculiar effect colour in the water has 
 
 on the movements of most fish. Immediately the water 
 
 thickens, the fish go into shallower swims; and when the 
 
 water of a river has been so heavily charged with mud as to bo 
 
 all but opaque, I have known roach taken in swims only a foot 
 
 deep. "When the water is merely stained, I think the best bait is 
 
 a gentle or red worm; but directly it gets into a pea-soupy 
 
 condition, the best bait is the tail of a well-scoured lobworm, 
 
 worked, either on ordinary float tackle or on leger with or 
 
 without a float, close into the bank, in from 1ft. to 3ft. of 
 
 water. It is best to let the worm lie on the bottom. Drinking- 
 
 places for cattle will be sometimes found to yield 
 
 good roach when the water is muddy — and perch too, 
 
 for the matter of that. One advantage of the leger 
 
 is that no plumbing the depth is required. "When 
 
 the swim one has to fish is only 24in. deep, and 
 
 perhaps not a yard square, the act of plumbing the 
 
 depth will as likely as not drive all the fish out 
 
 into the stream. 
 
 The hook commonly used for a lobworm is a No. 2 
 
 long-shanked, Round Bend ; and if it is one of the 
 
 Marston sliced hooks (see page 21), so much the 
 
 better. My favourite hook, or rather arrangement 
 
 of hooks, for the tail of a lobworm, is known 
 
 as Stewart tackle (see Fig. 24). I find it hooks 
 
 the roach with more certainty than any other 
 
 arrangement. The hooks should be tied on with red 
 
 silk, and the binding varnished. This gives a 
 
 . Fig 2? 
 
 brownish red, which approaches the colour of the Stewart 
 
 worm, and is better than red paint. Some years TaCKLE » 
 
 ago I thought I had invented a great improvement on this 
 
5i 
 
 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 tackle (see Fig. 25) ; in theory it was much better, but in prac- 
 tice I found no advantage. Mr. Cholmondeley Pennell advises 
 the use of this tackle in one of his works, and, like myself 
 — and, no doubt, many other anglers — in- 
 vented it. The worm is threaded from the 
 middle to the tail on the lower hook, and 
 the head is caught on the top hook. In 
 the illustration the tackle is shown made 
 with eyed hooks — a wrinkle worth remember- 
 ing, and likely to be useful to fly-fishers 
 who want to change to the worm, and have 
 not any suitable tackle. The lower hook 
 is tied on with the Turle knot illustrated 
 on page 21. Fig. 26 shows the ordinary 
 Stewart tackle baited. The points of the 
 hooks may show quite plainly. In fact, 
 long experience has proved that it is quite 
 unnecessary to cover the hooks ; they need 
 only be stuck through the worm. To bait 
 a single hook for roach, the half of a 
 small lobworm, or the third of a large one, should be threaded 
 on the hook, the point being put in at the broken end, 
 and brought up nearly to the tail. The operation is a horrid 
 one, but is rendered less beastly if the 
 angler holds the worm in a duster. In any 
 case, he should have a tin of silver sand or 
 sawdust at his side, and dip the worm and 
 his fingers in this before baiting the hook. 
 The worm dies quickly if threaded on a 
 single hook ; more quickly than on Stewart 
 tackle — a disadvantage to the angler, but 
 not to the worm. "Worms may not be very 
 sensitive, but they must object to being 
 threaded. 
 
 Ground baiting with Worms 
 for Roach. — Success with the lob- 
 worm, or, rather, with the roach, depends in a very great 
 measure on the skilful distribution of whole or broken 
 
 Pig. 25. Modified 
 Stewart Tackle. 
 
 (Xr^. 
 
 Fig. 26. Stewart 
 Tackle Baited. 
 
HOW TO FISH AN EDDY. 
 
 55 
 
 up* worms along the swim. Our bread-and-bran mixture is of 
 little or no use when we fish with the tail of a lob. The one 
 ground-bait now is worms, which have to be thrown in loose and 
 with much judgment, for it is no easy matter to place them so that 
 they sink to the bottom close to the hook-bait. When ground- 
 baiting with worms, we have to keep in mind the depth of the 
 water and the speed of the stream. The swifter and deeper 
 the stream, the higher above the swim must the worms be 
 thrown. No two eddies are exactly alike, but the sketch of 
 a small one which is given in Fig. 27 will, I hope, convey some 
 idea of the best way to throw in the ground-bait in such spots. 
 To fish with float tackle, the angler should stand at C, drop 
 
 Fig. 27. An Eddt. 
 
 his tackle a little above A, and let his float work along the 
 dotted line to B, and round by the bank D to A again. The 
 worms he had best cast in at B ; they will then be swept round 
 by the current to A, which is the most likely place to find the 
 fish. These remarks apply to small eddies, where the distance 
 from A to B is only a few yards. In very large eddies, formed 
 by sharp bends in the river, and where the distance from A 
 to B is great, say from 20yds. upwards, the angler can only 
 fish a short distance along the dotted line A B ; and even if 
 they could be thrown so far, it will be no use to put in the 
 worms at B. The best plan then is to put the worms close 
 to the bank, opposite the point C, and if that does not appear 
 
 * Nottingham anglers put half a dozen worms in a cocoanut shell, and then 
 snip them into small pieces with a pair of scissors. 
 
56 ANGLING FOE COAESE FISH. 
 
 to answer, throw them a few yards towards the middle of the 
 eddy. 
 
 The foregoing remarks apply chiefly to those eddies which 
 run shallow close to the hank. Now and again we come across 
 an eddy the hank by which is almost perpendicular, and the 
 water under it fairly deep. In such an eddy, the fish will be 
 found more often lying close to the bank than along the dotted 
 line. 
 
 As I have already stated — and I can hardly state it too often — 
 the position of the fish depends in a very great measure on 
 the colour of the water. One day we may visit the river and 
 find the fish on the outside of the eddy, where the water is 
 oft. deep. During the night it rains; the following day the 
 water is much more coloured, and we find no fish where we 
 caught them the previous day, but take several about 
 4yds. nearer the bank, where the water is only 2ft. deep. 
 To be very successful in fishing eddies requires a good deal of 
 experience ; but fish feed so well when the water is clearing 
 after a freshet (i.e., a push of fresh water or flood), that the 
 veriest tyro ought not at such times to go home with his basket 
 empty, and that same basket will probably contain something 
 more than roach — to wit, perch, eels, chub, tench, &c. 
 
 The leger for use in eddies should be the same as that 
 already described (see page 27), as light a lead being used as 
 will hold the bottom. The angler should keep his rod very still, 
 and if using the treble hook arrangement — i.e., Stewart tackle 
 (see page 54) — he should strike at the slightest touch from 
 a fish. If a single hook is used, a couple of slight pulls, or one 
 considerable one, should be felt before striking. That is as 
 near as I can put it on paper; a good deal of experience is 
 necessary before the angler can acquire the art of striking 
 just at the right moment. It is as well to hold the rod in the 
 right hand, and bring the line over the first finger and under the 
 other fingers. The slightest bite will then be felt on the back 
 of the first finger, provided the line is a fine one, and the 
 rod-rings I have recommended are used. When I feel a slight 
 touch — the worm being on a single hook — I generally lower the 
 point of the rod a little, so that the fish shall not feel any 
 
THE AET OF WOEMING. 57 
 
 further resistance. I then watch the line, and as soon as it 
 tightens I strike. 
 
 It is very essential in fishing with worms that these useful 
 baits should be free from dirt, or scoured, as that condition 
 is usually termed. A few lines may therefore be usefully 
 devoted to 
 
 Catching, Scouring, and Keeping Lobworms. — Everyone 
 possessing or having the run of a garden can easily get 
 some thousand of lobs any mild evening after a shower. As 
 soon as it gets dark the worms come partly out of their holes, 
 and may be seen by the light of a lantern. One person 
 should hold the lantern, and the other a small bucket, and 
 the two should go on tiptoe (if wearing tennis shoes, so 
 much the better) along gravel paths and over close-cut lawns, 
 picking up all the worms they can see. Lobs are not to be 
 caught napping except during or just after rain. The drier it is, 
 the less they show themselves, and the more difficult they are to 
 catch. The worm-hunter should not grab at the worm's head 
 (or tail — I forget which it is that lies out), but place the point of 
 a finger on the worm-hole. The worm is then fixed; it can 
 neither go forward or backward, and on being taken hold 
 of can be drawn out, if pulled slowly and gently. On windy 
 nights the worms will be found lying out in sheltered situations 
 only, and during frosts keep within doors. 
 
 In the daytime a few lobs may be got by digging, or by 
 watering the sides of gravel paths with a mixture of mustard 
 and water. There are various other mixtures which answer the 
 same purpose, but I need not mention them. It is not a 
 bad plan to push a spade into the soil as far as it will go, 
 and then move it backwards and forwards. This causes a 
 miniature earthquake, and the worms leave their houses. 
 
 To scour lobworms, a good- sized earthenware pot should be 
 two-thirds filled with damp moss — sphagnum is the best — and 
 the worms put on the top of the moss. They quickly work 
 through to the bottom. The moss should be kept damp, and 
 changed every two or three days, and dead worms removed. 
 In changing the moss it is not necessary to pick out all the 
 worms. The plan is to turn out the old moss and worms on 
 
58 ANGLING FOR COAKSE FISII. 
 
 the ground, half fill the pot with fresh moss, and put the old 
 moBs and worms on the top. The live worms then work down 
 into the fresh moss, and the old moss, containing the dead 
 worms, can be easily removed. The pot should be kept in a 
 cool place. A little milk poured over the moss is supposed 
 to hasten the scouring process. In three days the worms 
 are generally ready for use. Need I say that the cleanest and 
 most lively ones, especially those without knots in them, 
 should be placed on the hook, and the coarser ones thrown in for 
 ground-bait ? 
 
 Persons who do a good deal of fishing, most especially in the 
 winter, will find it well worth their while to start a " wormery." 
 Collect a number of worms when the weather is favourable, 
 and place them in a large chest or box nearly filled with 
 garden soil. A few leaves, straw, hay, or any garden litter, 
 placed on the top of the soil, will afford food for the worms, and 
 the soil must not be allowed to get dry.* 
 
 I have gone so deeply into the various methods of roach-fish- 
 ing that very little remains to be added on 
 
 Winter Roach-fishing in Rivers. — Everything that I 
 have said relating to fishing with lobworms when the rivers 
 are high and coloured, applies with as much force to winter as 
 to summer fishing. The great winter bait is the tail of a lob- 
 worm ; but if the season should happen to be dry, and the water 
 low and bright, gentles or redworms will sometimes kill better. 
 As a general rule, light leger float tackle (see Fig. 21) will be 
 found most killing for roach-fishing in winter with the lob- 
 worm, and ordinary float tackle (see Fig. 13) when gentles or 
 small worms are the bait. 
 
 Eddies are very easily fished in winter, being then free from 
 weeds, whereas in summer these weeds are very much en evidence, 
 and a great nuisance. What is an eddy when the river is high, 
 
 * Lobs are sometimes called dew-worms. The largest usually have a thick ring 
 of colour round them, near the head. The smaller ones, without this ring, are 
 termed maiden-lobs, and are the best hook-baits. Two other common and useful 
 worms are brandlings, or gilt-tails, and redworms, called on the Trent eockapurs. 
 They are smaller than lobs, and are found in rotten dung and decayed vegetable 
 refuse, if old and not very moist. The brandling is the larger of the two, and may 
 be known by its being partly covered with small rings, and being less red than the 
 redworm. The so-called meal worm is the larva of a beetle found in mills, and is 
 a first-rate bait for most kinds of fish in mill-tails. 
 
TACKLE FOR POND-FISHING. 59 
 
 ig usually almost dead water when it is low, and consequently 
 a place where weeds grow luxuriantly. After the first few 
 frosts of winter the weeds begin to rot, and the roach soon 
 work out of them. Their movements now depend as much on 
 the height and colour of the water as in summer, but are also 
 influenced by the temperature, which, if low, drives them into 
 deeper water. They also like quieter swims than in summer, 
 and always prefer a sandy bottom to any other; but I have, 
 however, often done well on mud in winter. Late evening and 
 eai"ly morning are not good times of the day for roach-fishing 
 in cold weather. Dm-ing the day there is usually a genial period 
 of from one and a half to two hours in length ; the sun may 
 come out, or try at it, and the chilly feeling goes off for a while. 
 Sometimes the geniality comes about eleven or twelve o'clock, 
 sometimes not until three ; but whenever it comes, then the fish 
 are almost sure to bite. Winter fishing requires a good deal 
 of enthusiasm on the part of the angler to be enjoyable, but if 
 persevered with, it usually repays the trouble devoted to it, for 
 the fish caught are always in excellent condition, afford good 
 sport, and run larger than those taken during the summer. 
 The remarks in Chapter I. as to the position of fish in winter 
 should be read in connection with this part of my subject. 
 
 Roach-fishing in Lakes, Broads, Meres, Ponds, and 
 Canals. — Roach-fishing in still water is a much simpler matter 
 than in rivers. As a rule, the fish are not particularly shy, 
 and fine float tackle — a modification of that shown on page 25 
 — will suffice to catch them. The float should be very small 
 — a porcupine quill is as good as anything — and there should 
 be at most one or two small shots, about 1ft. to 1ft. 6in. from 
 the hook. If gut is used, it cannot be too fine. Best of all is 
 self-cocking float tackle (see page 49), as no shot are then placed 
 on the line, and the bait sinks at about the same rate to the 
 bottom as if no hook and line were attached to it. The objection 
 to this arrangement is the difficulty of getting the gut quite 
 straight (in the other case, the weight of shot straightens it), 
 and if gut hangs in curls no fish are likely to be caught. After 
 a good long soaking it is not difficult to nearly take out the 
 curls ; but the best plan is to soak the tackle for an hour the 
 
60 ANGLING FOE COARSE FI8H. 
 
 previous day, then put the rod together, join the tackle to the 
 running line, catch the hook near the hutt, and by winding up 
 the reel strain the line tight. If the angler is living near the 
 water, he will then have his tackle all ready for use on the 
 morrow ; and even if he lives at a distance, he will find that the 
 coiling of the gut for an hour or so in the morning, during the 
 journey, will hardly affect its straightness, and that upon being 
 wetted it will come straight in a few minutes. When no shot 
 are on the line, I much prefer horsehair to gut. Self-cocking 
 float tackle should always be tried in still water when the roach 
 are shy, and not easily taken by other methods. 
 
 If the angler is fishing with float tackle, he will want a long, 
 light rod, unless the fish lie close to the shore; but he can, if he 
 prefer it, use a short rod, and cast out the tackle in the Notting- 
 ham style (see page 45). The running line and the rest of the 
 tackle should be the same as that already described. Legering 
 for roach (see page 52) is sometimes done in lakes, but unless 
 the fish lie a long distance from the shore, I think float tackle 
 is usually to be preferred. If a leger is used, the lead should 
 be as small as the angler can conveniently cast out, and the line 
 a dressed one, if long casts have to be made. For short casts, 
 an undressed line can be used if worked after the fashion shown 
 on page 45, in Fig. 20. Of course, long casts can be made off 
 the reel; but this involves a heavier lead than is desirable, unless 
 the method of squeezing a small lump of stiff ground-bait 
 on to the line near the hook, is adopted. This gives the neces- 
 sary weight for casting either light leger or float tackle. 
 
 The best all-round bait for pond roach is paste — white, red, 
 or yellow* — but in some waters other baits will be found better. 
 "Wasp grubs are very killing at times, particularly if a few 
 are mixed up with the ground-bait, and the principle, which 
 I regard as being so important, of having the ground-bait 
 of the same character as the hook-bait, but coarser, is thus 
 carried out. Redworms and brandlings sometimes bring a 
 few large roach to basket, and gentles are usually taking, 
 especially in winter. For a general ground-bait there is 
 
 * Coloured with the ordinary paint of commerce, in powder. 
 
HAUNTS OF ROACH IN STILL WATERS. 61 
 
 nothing better than the one recommended on page 35. It 
 should not be made into balls, but should be thrown in loose, 
 and only a small portion should be thrown in at one time. 
 If nicely-scoured gentles are used on the hook, a few unscoured 
 ones should be thrown in round the float every quarter of 
 an hour, or oftener. When paste fishing, a few pellets of 
 paste should be cast in as ground-bait, and the same principle 
 carried out whatever the bait on the hook. 
 
 All the precautions as to keeping quiet, and out of sight 
 of the fish, of taking the tackle in and out of the water 
 slowly and gently, of choosing a pitch facing the sun, of 
 not over ground-baiting, of baiting the hook with clean 
 hands, of landing the fish as quietly as possible — all these 
 should be borne in mind as much in pond or lake as in river- 
 fishing. Plumbing the depth should be done very carefully; 
 and if the float when in use projects a quarter of an inch 
 out of the water, the depth will be right when the plummet 
 is on the bottom and top of the float is just level with the 
 surface of the water. 
 
 " But where am I to fish in these still waters ? " the beginner 
 may very likely ask. The reply is that the fish will be found 
 near the spots most abounding in their food, and also 
 near where they can take shelter — on the edge of weeds, 
 close to camp-shedding, under deep hollow banks, under 
 trees which overhang the water, and particularly in those 
 places where anglers are in the habit of fishing, and where, 
 consequently, much ground-bait is thrown in. The depth is 
 not nearly so important as in river-fishing, but in cold weather 
 the fish will be found in deeper water than in summer. A 
 gravel or sandy bottom should always be preferred to a 
 muddy one, but few indeed are the ponds through which 
 no stream flows in which the bottom is clean. In very large 
 lakes which run deep towards the centre, the roach will 
 be found near the shore, among or on the edge of the reed- 
 beds, if there are any; but it must be borne in mind that 
 the larger the piece of water, the more difficult it is to find 
 the fish, and the angler will do well to choose a suitable 
 spot, and throw in fish-food every morning for several days. 
 
G2 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 This brings me to the portion of the subject which I have 
 kept until last, namely, 
 
 Baiting-up Roach Pitches.— I can hardly advise the 
 beginner to bait up roach swims, for after he had got the 
 fish together, and on the feed, at a considerable expenditure 
 of trouble, and perhaps money, he would probably either 
 scare them all away or make them so suspicious by his 
 clumsy fishing that all his trouble would be wasted. His 
 better plan is to stop not too long at one pitch, shifting 
 as soon as he has succeeded in scaring the fish — a condition 
 of affairs which is easily and quickly brought about. The 
 old hand, on the contrary, baits up one or two swims for 
 several days in advance, then fishes them quietly and carefully, 
 and catches many and large fish. 
 
 As a general rule, roach afford very good sport in rivers 
 without any ground-bait more than that which is thrown in at 
 the time of fishing. Sometimes, during the hot months, 
 when the roach get very shy, I bait up a swim with a bait 
 new to the place, with success. For instance, once at Henley, 
 when no roach were being caught, I baited up a deep swim 
 with creed wheat for four days, then fished with wheat — a 
 bait which, as a general rule, is not much used in the Thames — 
 and had good sport. Every evening for a week I went to 
 the same swim, and never left it without a nice basket of 
 fish. The quantity of bait thrown in would be about two 
 pints of wheat each evening. Had I been going to fish in 
 the morning, I should have baited in the morning, and so 
 made the fish expectant of food about the time I was 
 prepared to present them with some inclosing a hook. 
 Carrion gentles are excellent for baiting up places for roach, 
 in either rivers or still waters. In ponds, they are, of course, 
 thrown in loose ; but in rivers, if the stream is strong enough to 
 wash them away, they should be mixed up with clay. It is 
 not a bad plan to place a number in a paper bag with a stone 
 and sink them. The bag does not burst until it has been 
 on the bottom some time. Another excellent plan in rivers 
 is to tie a large stone to half a loaf, and sink it in a swim 
 one or two days before you fish, the hook-bait, of course, 
 
MIXED GROUND-BAITS. 63 
 
 being paste. This should not be done in ponds, as the bread 
 quickly goes sour in the stagnant water, and drives away 
 rather than attracts the fish. In very wet summers, when 
 the water is more often coloured than nat, it is a capital 
 plan to keep one or two swims regularly baited with worms — 
 not many are required, but about a hundred should be thrown in 
 every day. Swims so baited generally yield well, and more 
 than roach will be brought to creel. 
 
 I have, I think, mentioned all the ground-baits that the 
 angler need know of, but there is an unlimited number of 
 mixtures which are more or less useful. For instance, there 
 are brewers' grains, barley, or any other kind of meal, boiled 
 potatoes (mashed), coagulated blood, pollard, greaves (called 
 scratchings on the Trent), boiled rice, &c. 
 
 A peculiar ground-bait, said to be very attractive, was given 
 in No. 562 of the Fishing Gazette. Take a few dozen lobworms, 
 thoroughly scour them, and kill them by throwing them on the 
 ground ; nearly fill a clean lemonade-bottle with the dead worms, 
 lightly cork it, and stand it in a saucepan of cold water, the 
 water coming up to the neck of the bottle. Stew for five hours, 
 add fresh water as required. Strain the contents of the bottle, 
 and mix the worm-oil liberally with bread-and-bran ground-bait. 
 
 Finally, a word of advice kept to the end to make it the 
 more impi-essive. The size of a fish's stomach is limited. If 
 that stomach is distended with your ground-bait, the fish is 
 not likely to further distend it by taking the bait on your 
 hook. Therefore, when baiting up a swim, give the fish (for 
 this applies to all fish) a fair and reasonable time — not less 
 than twenty hours — to get fresh appetites after the feast you 
 have provided for them, so that, when you come with rod and 
 line, they will, like poor little Oliver, be asking for more. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 TEE PERCE. 
 
 Habits — Baits — Minnow -catching — Paiernostering — Float-fishing 
 Legering — Lake and Pond Fishing. 
 
 $?A0 HOG-BACKED fish is the perch, with dark olive back and 
 ^C^£ golden-brown sides, shading to a light drab on the belly- 
 From its back, two-thirds of the way down its sides, are six 
 dark bars of colour. Its fins are tipped with red, and its 
 scales, though small, are very rough and hard; taken altogether, 
 it is as handsome a fish as swims. Not only is it handsome, 
 but a fine sporting fish, by no means easy of capture in well- 
 fished waters, and most excellent eating, especially if it has dwelt 
 for a time in brackish water, as some occasionally do. There are 
 authentic records of perch weighing 51b., and even more, caught 
 in the United Kingdom. On the Continent they run larger; but 
 in England anything over lib. weight is looked upon as a 
 good fish, and, except in a few highly favoured waters, a two-and-a- 
 half-pounder is not often caught. They are rarely found north of 
 the Forth. 
 
 River perch do not differ very materially in their habits from 
 roach. About June, after spawning, they are found in rather 
 shallow water where the stream runs fairly fast. All through 
 the summer they remain for the most part among the weeds, 
 but not out of the stream. "When the weeds begin to rot, they 
 are found scattered about all over the river when the bottom is 
 gravel or sand, and abound more particularly under deep clay 
 
HAUNTS OF PERCH. 65 
 
 bants where there is a gentle stream, by the side of withies the 
 roots of which grow out into the water, and along old camp- 
 shedding, i.e., where the banks have been shored up with slabs of 
 timber. Quiet cornel's in weir and mill pools are also favourite 
 spots. They are not often found in summer where the bottom 
 is muddy, or where there is no stream, unless the river be in 
 flood. About October, after a few sharp, frosty nights, perch 
 begin to form shoals and get into deep water, and where one is 
 caught, there should the angler patiently wait for a few minutes, in 
 the hope of catching others. When the water becomes coloured, 
 perch go into shallower swims, and all that I have written on 
 pages 7 and 53 applies to them. When the water rises, perch 
 retreat into the eddies, and it is when the river is all but over its 
 banks, and clearing after a flood, and the nights are frosty, and 
 the days open, that the very best perch-fishing is had. Then it 
 is that the angler passes down the river from one eddy to 
 another, pulling out fish almost as quickly as he can drop in 
 his paternoster. When the water is low and bright, the sport 
 with the fish, both in summer and winter, is very uncertain. 
 
 Men who know only a little about fishing are apt to have the 
 ideas that perch are always in holes, always in shoals, and, until 
 experience teaches otherwise, that they always feed voraciously. 
 
 It will be noticed from the foregoing remarks, which apply 
 more particularly to good-sized rivers, that these views are 
 incorrect. In very small streams, however, the deeper portions 
 — often called the holes — will nearly always contain the best fish. 
 A hole in a small stream would be a shallow in a large river. 
 
 It is not so much the time of year as the temperature, height, 
 and colour of water, which influences the position of fish. If I 
 were asked what swims to fish for perch in December, I could not 
 give an answer; but if I were asked where to fish when the 
 thermometer is at 30deg., and the water at summer level and 
 quite clear, I might be able to form an accurate opinion 
 on the subject. On this point, the introductory chapter should 
 be consulted. . 
 
 Perch. Baits. — These are either live baits — minnows, small 
 gudgeon, or the fry of coarse fish — or worms or fresh-water 
 shrimps. There is no other bait worth trying, except, perhaps, 
 
 o 
 
ANGLING FOE COARSE FISH. 
 
 a small artificial spinning bait, which should revolve very 
 quickly, and be kept very bright. Of worms, the best are 
 thoroughly well scoured lobworms in winter, or at any time 
 when the water is coloured, and redworms or brandlings in 
 summer. I have often found brandlings take better in ponds 
 than in rivers ; they are found in old dung-heaps, and may be 
 known by a number of small rings round their body. They 
 smell offensively, and give off a yellow juice when handled, 
 which sometimes irritates the fingers. A small gudgeon is by 
 far the best all-round bait for large perch; but sometimes wheu 
 the water is very low in summer, a small redworm presented on 
 
 very fine tackle is better. Gud- 
 geon are taken either in a cast- 
 net or by angling (see Chap. YIII.). 
 Minnows are very favourite baits 
 in rivers where they abound. The 
 usual method of catching them is 
 to dip a round or square, small- 
 meshed net (see Fig. 28), attached 
 by cords to a scull, boat-hook, or 
 pole, into about 3ft. or 4ft. of 
 water. A hole among the weeds, 
 and the shallows below weirs, are 
 likely places in summer. The pole must be held very steady, 
 and the bait-catcher must stand quite still. As soon as a few 
 minnows are noticed over the net, the pole should be raised 
 sharply, and the little fish transferred to a bait-can* or pail. 
 In winter, the minnows are found mostly in ditches and small 
 streams which drain into the river. They do not then come 
 
 Fig. 28. Minnow-net on 
 Boat-hook. 
 
 * The best bait-cans have perforated zinc interiors, which enable the ndnnows to 
 be lifted out without wetting the hands. When the can is carried, the water is 
 aerated by washing against and through the perforations. I have recently had a 
 bait-can made large and strong enough to sit on ; it is at times a great convenience. 
 If the can has no zinc interior, a small aquarium net is very useful to dip out the 
 minnows. In winter, the water in the can should not be changed more than is 
 absolutely necessary, as changes of water temperature are harmful to the fish. A 
 few minnows can be carried for some time in a soda-water bottle, two-thirds full of 
 water, and tightly corked up. Motion is essential, as it is the shaking of the 
 bottle which aSrates the water. A patent has been taken out in America for 
 carrying fish in large quantities according to this principle. An admirable patent 
 aerating bait-can has been designed by Mr. Basil Field, and is sold in most of 
 the tackle shops. 
 
A MINNOW-TRAP. 
 
 67 
 
 well over the net, and often have to be driven into it by 
 beating tbe water and poking tbe sedge at the sides of the 
 ditch with a stick. When the weather is very mild and the 
 water low, they work out into the river. In the "Practical 
 Fisherman," Mr. Keene gives the following method of catching 
 minnows in small streams : 
 
 "Procure a large, wide-mouthed, transparent pickle-bottle, 
 and have the bottom cut out. Tie over the open bottom a piece 
 of thin canvas or calico. Place some small worms or bread in the 
 bottle, and drop the whole apparatus in the stream where there 
 are plenty of minnows, with its mouth looking down stream, 
 having a cord, of course, attached to its mouth." The stream, 
 percolating through the calico, causes eddying currents which 
 agitate the food and attract the minnows, which enter the bottle. 
 I have not tried this plan. Glass minnow-traps are sold at some 
 of the tackle-shops. In the Lower Thames, minnows are so 
 scarce that a fine-meshed cast-net has to be used to take them. 
 Some anglers believe that light-coloured min- n 
 nows are more relished by the perch than dark " 
 ones. Minnows are easily lightened in colour 
 by leaving them for half an hour in a white 
 earthenware basin exposed to the light. 
 
 Fresh-water shrimps abound in most brooks 
 and ditches, especially those which grow water- 
 cresses. They are a first-rate bait, and should 
 always be tried when obtainable. When the 
 bottom of a brook is disturbed, they lose their 
 footing, and get carried down the stream, and 
 can easily be caught in a perforated zinc tray, 
 an old biscuit- canister with holes in it, or a fine- 
 meshed net. If some weeds are pulled up out of 
 ditches, a number of shrimps will often be found 
 mixed up with them. 
 
 Faternostering is the most popular method 
 of taking perch, and it has many advantages. 
 The construction of the paternoster is very 
 clearly shown by the illustration (Fig. 29). For summer use, 
 the main length of gut should be as fine as it can be obtained 
 
 G 2 
 
 Fig. 29. Perch 
 Paternoster. 
 
68 ANGLING FOE COARSE FISH. 
 
 without being fine drawn, and the hook links should be 
 a trifle finer, and must therefore be fine drawn. I never use 
 more than two hooks myself, but many anglers use three. If 
 the water is very clear, the day sunny, and the fish shy, it is 
 better to use only one. The position of the hooks on the main 
 length of gut should depend on the size of the river and colour 
 of the water. In a small stream where the perch holes run 
 about 5ft. in depth, one hook should be close to the lead, and 
 the other about 14in. or 15in. above it ; but in a large river like 
 the Thames, the lowest hook should, for use in clear, deep water, 
 be placed 6in. above the lead, and the second hook 18in. 
 higher. When the water is more coloured than usual, the gut 
 hnk of the lowest hook should always be looped on to the loop 
 by which the lead is attached ; for in coloured water fish feed 
 close to the bottom, and where the fish are there should the 
 hook-bait be. 
 
 The size and bend of hooks should depend on the bait used 
 and the sized fish expected. For a minnow in summer, I like a 
 No. 8 Kendal, Sneck, or Crystal hook ; for a gudgeon, the same, 
 three sizes larger. For a redworm, a No. 9 Round Bend; for a 
 lobworm, a No. 3 Round Bend ; and for shrimps, large roach- 
 hooks. Where the perch run very large, as in the Kennet, hooks 
 a size or two larger should be used. 
 
 With regard to the length of the hook -link, that should vary 
 according to circumstances. When fishing among the weeds 
 in summer, it should be short — 4in. In winter, when the river 
 is clear of weeds, it may be 2in. longer. For paternostering there 
 is no better rod than the light one described on page 13, with- 
 out the extra butt. For summer fishing, and for use at any 
 time in small streams, I prefer a Nottingham undressed silk line, 
 which passes so smoothly through the rings that, by keeping the 
 line over the first finger of the hand holding the rod, bites can 
 be felt before even the rod point is shaken. For winter fishing, 
 when the paternoster has sometimes to be cast out a long dis- 
 tance, I use a very fine, dressed, plaited line ; but a Nottingham 
 line can even then be used if the angler can cast off the reel. I 
 will explain the two methods of casting later on. 
 
 To work the paternoster in summer, the angler is either taken 
 
SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL PATERNOSTEEING. 69 
 
 very slowly over the weeds in a boat or punt, and drops his 
 paternoster, baited with minnow, worms, gudgeon, or fresh-water 
 shrimp, in holes among the weeds, or else he fishes, as well as 
 he is able, from the bank. In large rivers, a boat is very neces- 
 sary in summer fishing, when the perch lie as far out in the 
 stream as they can get without being out of the weeds. Still 
 water and a muddy bottom are things to be avoided in summer 
 perch-fishing. Please understand that all the perch do not lie 
 in the weeds, but most of them do. Yery often good sport is 
 obtained, especially in early morning or late evening, when the 
 fish are roaming about after food, by fishing right out in the 
 centre of the stream ; but this is best done with float tackle. 
 
 When the paternoster lead, after being swung (not cast) out, 
 is exactly over the spot you wish to fish, the point of the rod 
 should be lowered, and a little spare line, which you hold ready 
 in your left hand, is let go ; then, before the perch can see how 
 it happens, a fine minnow is wriggling about in front of his nose. 
 Now hold the rod steady, and keep the line taut. In a moment 
 you may feel a slight touch on the back of the first finger of 
 your right hand. Lower the point of the rod at once, so that the 
 perch, which has seized the minnow, may not feel a taut line. 
 A second more, and two jerks come at the line, then strike — not 
 too hard — and play the fish gently, for a hook easily tears out 
 of a perch's mouth. Then go on to another opening in the 
 weeds, and never stop long in one place. To this rule there 
 are a few exceptions. In some waters the perch are very shy, 
 and are only to be caught by a great expenditure of patience. 
 
 In winter, you fish either in or just outside eddies, 
 according to the height of the water. In very mild weather, 
 the fish will even work right out into the stream. If the 
 eddy is a very large one, do not row all over it, but moor at 
 the top of it, and fish every bit of it by casting out the pater- 
 noster. To do this with Nottingham line and reel, place the 
 little finger of the right hand on the rim of the reel, swing 
 out the paternoster in the direction you wish it to go, releasing 
 the reel as the lead flys out, as it should do any distance up to 
 40yds., or even more. When the lead has gone nearly far 
 enough through the air, it is checked by the finger being gradu- 
 
70 A.NGLING FOE COARSE FISH. 
 
 ally applied to the reel. This cast must be carefully practised 
 before the angler goes a-fishing, unless he wishes to spoil his 
 own sport, and that of any friend he may have with him. An 
 easier method is to pull a few yards of line (which must be 
 dressed) off the reel, on to the floor of the punt, and swing out 
 the lead, the right hand holding the rod, and the line running 
 through the left hand. This also requires practice, but is 
 not difficult. Great accuracy in casting should be aimed at, 
 and more accurate casts are made with the latter than with 
 the former method (see also pages 44-46). 
 
 When a cast has been made, the paternoster should be left a 
 few minutes, then drawn gently in a few yards, then left 
 again, and so on, until it is brought close to the punt. On some 
 days the fish feed eagerly, on others they have to be waited 
 for, and bite cautiously. Paternostering is a very pretty and 
 pleasing branch of bottom fishing, and I recommend it to the 
 careful attention of beginners. The secrets of success are to 
 cast with accuracy, to hold the rod steady, to lower the point 
 directly a bite is felt, and of course to fish as fine as possible. 
 If a small gudgeon is the bait, the perch should be given 
 much longer time than with a minnow. Some anglers put a 
 worm on one hook, and live-bait on the other, or even go in 
 for a gudgeon on a hook mounted on gimp (with the view of its 
 taking a jack), a minnow, and a worm — a nice choice for the 
 fish, but such an unusual arrangement to see suspended in 
 the water that I think it must make them suspicious. The one 
 thing is apt to spoil the other. 
 
 Angling with Float-tackle for Perch.— This is very 
 simple. The line and gut should be fine, the float a good-sized 
 quill if the bait is a gudgeon, a smaller one for a minnow, 
 the hook of size and kind according to the bait used (see remarks 
 on page 68), and the shot placed not less than 1ft. above the 
 hook. Nottingham running-tackle is by far the best for this 
 style of fishing, as it is a great advantage for the angler to be 
 able to be some distance from the float. The depth should, 
 when possible, be plumbed, and the float placed so that the 
 bait is about 6in. or 8in. from the bottom — less in coloured water. 
 
 In thick water, when the tail of a lobworm is used, the best 
 
THE BEST FLOAT. 71 
 
 plan is to bait up (see pages 10 and 62) two or three likely spots, 
 and fish as for roach, with the leger float-tackle described 
 on page 47. A few broken worms should be thrown in 
 every now and again, to keep the fish on the feed. A single 
 No. 4 Round Bend hook or Stewart tackle may be used 
 for the bait. Large takes of fine perch are often made this 
 way. 
 
 In both summer and winter, the angler, if using Nottingham 
 ranning-tackle, can cast his hook, baited with gudgeon or 
 minnow, into all kinds of likely places, or can let it float 
 down stream 20yds. in front of him while he follows in a boat, 
 When the float goes down, the angler should allow the fish 
 about a quarter of a minute before striking if the bait is a 
 minnow or worm — more if the bait is a gudgeon, less if a 
 shrimp. Some writers have advised cork floats for perch-fishing, 
 but as floats are, at the best, necessary evils, which only frighten 
 the fish, I imagine that the smaller they are, the less they 
 show, and the more quietly they go under water, the better, 
 and therefore I prefer the quill floats. Of course, the float must 
 be just so large that the gudgeon or minnow, as the case may be, 
 cannot pull it under. 
 
 Legering for Perch is a first-rate method when the fish are 
 shy. Lobworms are the usual bait, but are not much use unless 
 the water is coloured, or the swim has been baited up with 
 worms.* A small gudgeon on a leger (see page 27) will kill 
 perch when the fish will look at nothing else; but the bottom 
 has, of course, to be very clear to allow the use of live-bait 
 on leger tackle. The leger is cast out exactly like a pater- 
 noster, but not moved so often, and is therefore suited for 
 fishing places where the perch which run large and shy are 
 known to lie, and have to be waited for. 
 
 Lake and Pond Perch-fishing. — This differs from river- 
 fishing in the slight difficulty — except in large lakes — of finding 
 the fish. In large lakes, trailing a small, bright, spinning 
 
 * Perch may sometimes be attracted to a spot by sinking some meat-bones, 
 to which there are still a few fragments of meat adhering. A glass bottle, con- 
 taining minnows, sunk to the bottom, has also been recommended, but I could 
 never meet with anyone who had found it useful. 
 
72 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 bait* will often determine the most fishy spots, but it is usually 
 desirable to bait up a spot with worms (see pages 9, 10, and 63) for 
 several days in advance. The baits for still water are the same as 
 those used in rivers, but the worm will often take better than 
 minnows in ponds. To find the fish, note the places where 
 the water is deepest, the bank hollowest, where old piles exist, 
 by the sides of weed-beds — in fact, anywhere where there is 
 shelter and food for the fish. Float tackle, paternoster, or 
 leger — all are good. In very deep water, if a float is preferred, 
 it must be a slider (see page 26) ; but the paternoster is the 
 most convenient form of tackle. In ponds, perch are usually 
 easier to catch than in running water. In Lough Derg, one 
 of the largest lakes in Ireland, I had some curious experiences 
 with perch, which it may be useful to mention. They seemed to 
 feed only from about June to September. The best bait 
 obtainable was perch-fry, about the size of minnows, and the 
 size of the perch depended altogether on the depth at which 
 I fished. In about 10ft. of water, all I caught would run 
 about 8in. long ; in 20ft., they would all be within an ounce or 
 two of |lb. Fish of a size always seemed to swim in shoals 
 together, and the various shoals would swim at different depths. 
 I never caught a perch there over lib., so I suppose I never 
 fished deep enough. In some lakes perch take an artificial fly 
 well if it is allowed to sink, and is drawn slowly through the 
 water. A red palmer is a good fly for the purpose (see Chapter 
 VII.). 
 
 In ponds and lakes (but not in rivers) perch are in shoals 
 most of the year, so wherever one is caught the angler should 
 remain. Always give perch plenty of time to take the bait 
 into its mouth before striking, as to prick and miss a perch 
 usually causes the rest of the shoal to go away, or at any rate to 
 leave off feeding — a fact well known to our forefathers, and 
 
 * If artificial spinning baits are bought expressly for perch, I should recom- 
 mend small gold or silver Devons, very small gold and silver Clippers, or 
 Karlow's " Watchet" minnow— in short, any very quick-spinning, brilliant bait. 
 If a natural minnow is used, it cannot be mounted on better tackle than a very 
 small Chapman Spinner, which I need not describe, as it is obtainable in every 
 tackle-shop. Above the spinning bait should be a trace— i.e., a 2-yd. length of 
 gut, in the centre of which a small lead is slung below the level of the line, liclow 
 the lead being two small brass swivels. These are sold ready made. 
 
FRESH-WATER SHRIMPS FOR PERCH. 73 
 
 mentioned in every book on bottom fishing for several centuries 
 past. I met an angler last season who informed me that, when 
 he found the perch taking shyly, he always fished with a small 
 triangle, one hook of which he put through the minnow's lip. 
 With this arrangement, which is only suitable for float-tackle, 
 he had to strike immediately on perceiving a bite. I have not 
 had an opportunity of trying this plan. 
 
 I have only to mention a very artistic method of perch-fishing, 
 and this chapter is finished. Take a 3-yd. length of fine gut, 
 loop on a roach-hook at the end, and place a shot lOin. above 
 the hook ; bait with a fresh-water shrimp, and cast it into likely 
 spots. Let the bait sink until almost on the bottom, then 
 draw up slowly, and strike on seeing the line tighten. Other 
 fish besides perch are caught in this way. 
 
 ■ > — *• < • 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 TEE BARBEL. 
 
 Habits and Haunts — Baits — Legering — Ground-baiting — Fishing 
 with Float Tackle in the Nottingham, Style — Tight-corking — 
 Clay-ball Fishing. 
 
 jTH^ARBEL, when you can catch them, give better sport than 
 *JEjD any other of the coarse fish. They are found in a good 
 many rivers in England, but not in Ireland or Scotland; and 
 are most plentiful in the Thames and the Trent. In the last- 
 named river they have been known to reach a weight of 181b. 
 A barbel of 121b., or a little over, is, however, the largest 
 any reader of this book is likely to capture. In shape the 
 fish is very much like an enlarged gudgeon. His mouth is 
 decorated with four barbules, or beards, and the upper part of 
 his head and back is a greenish brown, shading to a yellowish 
 green on the sides ; while over all is just a suspicion of bronze. 
 The belly fins are tinged with a pinkish red. 
 
 The barbel spawns* in the spring, on shallows, where it 
 spends a week to recruit, and then takes lodgings for the season 
 in or near what anglers term barbel swims. These swims 
 are, broadly speaking, of three kinds : First, weir and mill- 
 pools; second, deep water alongside steep clay or overhanging 
 banks; third, deep holes in mid-stream, where the current is 
 strong, and, generally, where the current is heavy and the 
 
 * The eggs, or roe, are sometimes very poisonous. 
 
THAMES METHOD OP BARBEL-FISHING. 75 
 
 depth considerable. In the weir-pools, barbel are best fished 
 for with the leger; but wherever the bottom runs fairly even, 
 and the current is not too strong, float tackle has the advantage. 
 The best hook-bait at the very commencement of the season 
 is two caddis ; but later on there is nothing so good as a well- 
 scoured lobworm (see page 57). Gentles and greaves are also 
 good, and occasionally cheese is killing. In autumn, a 
 Bmall lampern is said to be a deadly bait for large barbel, 
 but of it I cannot speak from experience. In early spring, 
 just after spawning, barbel will frequently run at a spinning 
 bait, and sometimes a live-bait, and often cause grievous dis- 
 appointment to the patient fishers for Thames trout. The 
 best months for barbel-fishing are August, September, and 
 October. 
 
 Barbel are both shy and capricious, going off the feed for 
 days together. Like salmon, there are some pools in which 
 they never will take a bait, though known to be present in large 
 numbers. The tackle for barbel should be fine but strong, 
 and should always be tested most carefully before being used. 
 Very few fish will be caught unless the angler goes to consider- 
 able trouble and expense in the way of baiting-up swims for 
 one or more days in advance; and as a general rule, the fishing 
 for the day is over at 10 a.m., or sooner. One can hardly fish 
 too early or too late for barbel. "When the water gets coloured, 
 barbel shift out of their holes into the shallower streams to 
 search for food, and the first day of a rise in the water is the 
 golden opportunity of the barbel-fisher. Baits for these fish 
 cannot be too clean and sweet. 
 
 Legering for Barbel. — This is the usual Thames method, 
 and is best suited for weir-pools and uneven bottoms generally. 
 The leger is the same as that described on page 27 ; but the gut 
 should be a trifle stouter, and the lead — which it is well to paint 
 the colour of gravel — will have to be heavier to keep the bottom in 
 the heavy water. The best hook for the usual bait — a lobworm — 
 is sliced No. 1 (see pages 19 and 21). In Fig. 30 is shown a typical 
 weirpool, with the set of the currents and the position of the punt. 
 The dotted line represents the fishing-line. The punt should be 
 about 30yds. (more if the water is at all bright and shallow) off 
 
76 
 
 ANGLING FOB COARSE FISH. 
 
 the fish. If the river is clear, the angler should cast to A, where 
 the water is probably deep. If the water is coloured, he should 
 cast to B, where the pool usually shallows a little. Of course, 
 all pools are not alike, but there is, in most cases, a family like- 
 ness. The punt might be the other side of the lasher (L), in the 
 eddy (E), moored near the bank; or the barbel might lie just 
 where I have placed the punt, in which case the punt should be 
 moored at F. Local fishermen know from experience just where 
 the fish are, and will sometimes give information on the subject, 
 if it is clearly to their interest to do so ; but the angler should 
 
 always personally superin- 
 tend the "baiting," or he 
 may not get the worms 
 thrown in he pays for. 
 Sometimes there may be 
 only one clean piece of bot- 
 tom in a pool, and to find 
 this the services of the local 
 man are absolutely essen- 
 tial. If the bottom is 
 covered with big stones, and piles stick up here and there, 
 any amount of tackle will be lost, and very few fish taken. 
 The foulest bottoms always bear the most fish. A rypeck 
 should be put in, at least a day before the fishing takes 
 place. The punt can then be moored without disturbance, a 
 stone or weight being dropped quietly over the end where the 
 pole is not. The running tackle for legering should be as fine* 
 as can safely be used, dressed if the angler casts Thames fashion, 
 undressed if he casts off the reel. The stouter of the rods 
 mentioned on page 13 is best for this fishing. 
 
 A word now as to ground-baiting. About a thousand lob- 
 worms are required. Pick out a hundred small ones without rings 
 (maiden lobs) for hook-baits, and scour them carefully. Throw 
 five hundred above the swim (see pages 9, 10, and 62) early one morn- 
 ing, three hundred the next, and try the swim the morning after, 
 
 Fig. 30. Position of Punt in Weir- 
 pools, for Barbel-fishing. 
 
 * The late Francis Francis once caught a barbel weighing 6J,lb. on a single 
 hair. The fish was hooked in the back fin, and took three and a half hours to kill. 
 I know of no more remarkable feat in the annals of angling. 
 
GROUND-BAITING FOR BARBEL. 77 
 
 using the balance of worms for casting in now and again while 
 fishing. I prefer to throw in the worms whole, as the big fish 
 get them. Dace or small fry eat up broken worms. Never 
 give the final dose of ground-bait less than twenty hours before 
 you fish. It is very difficult to advise about the method of cast- 
 ing in worms. In some pools the worms may be thrown in loose, 
 and they will work round and round the eddy until eaten ; in 
 others they would get swept away at once. In these latter, it is 
 best to place the worms in clay balls, or in a little net weighted 
 with a stone, and drop them only a few yards above where the 
 leger tackle will lie. Another plan is to let the worms work 
 into a turf, and throw the worm-laden turf into the swim. 
 Great judgment is required in ground-baiting. The hook-bait 
 should be similar to the ground-bait, but finer in quality. If 
 the hook-bait is greaves, use a ground-bait of chopped greaves, 
 made into balls with potato and meal. Greaves and cheese are, 
 for one reason, bad ground-baits, sickening the fish for some 
 days. One dose of cheese, and that a small one, is always 
 sufficient. More does positive harm. 
 
 On coming to fish at 5 a.m. or 6 a.m., moor the punt 
 quietly, throw in half a dozen worms — broken this time — 
 being careful to throw them so that they sink in the right 
 spot. Then select a worm, dip it in a pan of sand or sawdust, 
 and thread it on a No. 1 sliced hook, commencing at the 
 head, and leaving only Jin. of tail hanging loose. Cast 
 out, let the leger sink, wind in line until it comes taut, 
 and, with the line over the first finger and under the other 
 fingers of the right hand, wait patiently for a bite. Don't 
 strike at the slightest touch, but only at decided bites. On 
 hooking a fish, hold him as hard as the tackle will stand 
 for a few seconds ; this pulls the hook* home. Then play him 
 carefully, keeping him clear of old piles, &c, and the punt- 
 pole. If you have repeated bites and misses, and find the head 
 of the worm crushed, put on only the head portion, so threaded 
 that the head is on the point of the hook, and you will very likely 
 
 * I always file off half the barb of the hook when angling for leather-mouthed 
 fish, such as barbel, chub, and carp. A touch or two with the file on each side of 
 the hook is also an advantage. 
 
78 ANGLING FOE COARSE FISH. 
 
 catch Bome large dace. When dace bite freely in these swims, 
 the barbel are not often there. If the barbel bite shyly, put on a 
 smaller hook, and try a cast with the worm hooked through the 
 middle only. The bait can then crawl about the bottom, and is 
 very attractive. Many good barbel-fishers follow this plan, and 
 I am not sure that it is not the best always. The shank of the 
 hook should be coloured to match the worm (see page 53). It 
 is as well to stain the gut below the lead a light brown, to 
 match the bottom, and it should be finer than the gut above 
 the lead, so that, if the tackle catches in the bottom, the 
 inevitable break is near the hook, and only a small portion of 
 the gut is lost. 
 
 Float-fishing for Barbel is carried on with Nottingham 
 tackle similar to, but, as a rule, heavier than, that described on 
 page 88. The spot should be baited beforehand, and the 
 angler casts in a few pieces of worms before taking a swim. 
 The swim has, of course, to be picked out for its uniformly level 
 bottom, and it should be close to a hole containing barbel. 
 Float-fishing has this disadvantage, that the angler can usually 
 only fish near, and not in, the baited hole, and has, therefore, 
 to get the barbel out of their lair by judicious baiting. 
 Barbel are not found every year in the same quarters, so 
 that the angler should notice carefully where the fish are in 
 the habit of leaping, and be guided by that evidence in the choice 
 of his swims. In float-fishing, the bait must trip along the 
 bottom. If the swim runs shallow, the angler should let his 
 tackle go until it stops ; then hold it a little while— the bait, of 
 course, resting on the ground. The farther the float from the 
 angler, the harder must be the strike. It is time to strike when 
 the float goes under. 
 
 Another method of float-fishing for barbel is termed " tight- 
 corking." The angler plumbs so that 1ft. or more (the stronger 
 the current, the longer the line below the float) of gut rests 
 on the bottom. He casts the tackle out some distance, and 
 works it down stream as far as it will go by keeping up the 
 point of his rod as the line runs out, which checks the float and 
 causes the bait to rise from the bottom. "When the float is 
 over the fish, he holds it there until he has a bite. This is a 
 
TEENT ANGLERS' COCOA NUT SHELLS. 79 
 
 very deadly method, and can be followed where the bottom 
 is a little uneven. The best swims for the purpose are those 
 which shallow at a little distance from the angler. The float 
 has to be a rather large one (most writers say cork, but I much 
 much prefer quill when I can get one large enough), as a goodly 
 number of shots are necessary to keep the bait down when the 
 float is checked. In barbel, as in all other, fishing, the angler 
 should use as small a float and as few shots as the depth and 
 rate of the current will allow. At the same time, fish are often 
 left uncaught by too few shots being used in swift swims, 
 the bait, in consequence, not keeping near enough to the bottom. 
 Of course, when the swim is very deep, a sliding float (see 
 page 26) will have to be used. Float tackle is particularly 
 useful for fishing shallow swims — 3ft. to 5ft. deep — into which 
 barbel come when the river is discoloured. When float-fishing, 
 the angler should be very careful not to over-feed the fish: 
 nothing puts a stop to sport sooner. Nottingham anglers 
 carry half a cocoanut-shell and a pair of scissors. They put 
 three worms into the shell, and clip them into twenty or thirty 
 pieces with the scissors, and use these very small fragments of 
 worm as ground-bait. 
 
 A somewhat similar tackle to that used in tight-corking, very 
 suitable for swims of the non-turbulent order, is shown in Fig. 
 21, on page 47. 
 
 Clay-ball-fisbing for Barbel. — This is a very useful method 
 when the water is clear, and the fish more than usually shy. 
 The tackle is a 2yds. length of gut, a No. 4 hook — shank coloured 
 white (see page 20) — and a fragment of stick, lin. in length, 
 fastened crosswise, 12in. above the hook. Into a lump of stiff 
 clay either gentles or greaves are worked, and a piece the size 
 of an orange is squeezed round the stick. The hook is then 
 baited with either gentles or greaves, and the gut above the 
 hook is wound round and pulled into the clay ball, until only 
 the hook-bait is showing. The ball is cast out like a leger, 
 but not so far. The fish come and dig their noses into the clay, 
 and sooner or later one is sure to take the hook-bait — a circum- 
 stance which the angler will feel and respond to. A rather stiff 
 rod is desirable, and the tackle need not be very fine. If the 
 
80 ANGLING TOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 bait is a worm, some broken worms should, of course, be mixed 
 into the clay ball. 
 
 I have only to add, or rather repeat, that our friend the 
 barbel is very shy, and that fine fishing for him really pays. 
 Unless the swim is in the midst of numerous tackle-destroyers, 
 such as old piles, big stones, roots of trees, and the like, where 
 large fish must be held — a process necessitating stout gut — use as 
 fine tackle as you reasonably can, and if you ground-bait with 
 discretion, fish with patient carefulness, and rise early enough, 
 you will, no doubt, catch many barbel, and enjoy grand sport. 
 
 . > .«.» ; . 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE CHUB 
 
 (CHEVIN, CEEVENDEB, LARGE-EEADED DACE, SKELLY). 
 
 Attributes — Habits and Haunts — Flies and Fly-fishing — Bait- 
 casting — Fishing with Frogs — Bibbing — Legering — Notting~ 
 ham Fishing. 
 
 ^$Afj RIGHT good fish to angle for, and a foul bad one to eat, 
 Cr^^ is the chub. By fly-fishers he is ranked between the 
 : family of which the salmon is the head, and the bright, 
 dashing, silvery little dace. To both bottom-fisher and fly- 
 fisher he affords capital sport, and, but for his lack of flavour, 
 would have been exterminated long ago, being far from difficult 
 of capture. As it is, the pot-hunter usually leaves him alone ; 
 so let us be thankful that our brave friend is as bad in a dinner- 
 plate* as he is good when connected with the angler by a line 
 of fine silk and a fragment of bent wire. 
 
 The chub is not found in Ireland or the North of Scotland, 
 but is common in other parts of the United Kingdom, Norfolk, 
 Devon, and Cornwall excepted. He comes under the German 
 term " white fish," and is easily distinguished from his silvery- 
 sided, white-bellied brethren, roach, dace, bream, and rudd, by his 
 broad, short head, and generally chubby appearance. By his 
 black tail, also, and pinkish-white lips, may you know him, and by 
 
 * If you will eat him, let it be on the day he is caught. Fillet him, egg and bread- 
 crumb the fillets, and fry in butter. There is another good receipt in the 
 ••Compleat Angler." 
 
82 ANGLING FOE COAESE FISH. 
 
 his eyes not being red, as are the eyes of roach and rudd, and by 
 his ventral and anal fins being red, as are not the ventral and 
 anal fins of dace. The young of roach and dace may be thus 
 distinguished from the young of chub : In the former, the anal 
 fin is concave ; in the latter, slightly convex. 
 
 Chub are often caught weighing 41b., sometimes 51b., and very 
 rarely 61b. and 71b. Stuff (with the stuffing peculiar to taxider- 
 mists) any chevin of 51b. or over — that is, if you collect specimen 
 fish. Chub spawn in May, and afterwards — in June — stay for 
 a week or two in the swift-running shallows to scour themselves. 
 Later on* they retire to their regular haunts, which are, for the 
 most part, holes overhung by ti-ees, where the stream is suffi- 
 cient to keep the bottom from being muddy. Here let me 
 observe that few fish (tench and bream excepted) are found in 
 summer swimming over a muddy bottom — not so much because 
 they dislike the mud as because they love the stream, and 
 where the stream is, the mud is not. Under an upright, clay 
 bank chub are always to be found, and also where withies or 
 other bushes grow out in the water. I would as soon fish by 
 the side of a steep clay bank as any place in a river. Under 
 and near bridges are also very likely spots. 
 
 Chub are sociable fish, and, for the most part, make up little 
 family parties, and reside together in holes ; but stray, good-for- 
 nothing fish, the outcasts of scaly society, are to be found 
 scattered about the river, either on shallows, among the weeds, 
 or along banks, in water varying from 1ft. to 15ft. in depth. 
 These pariahs fall a prey to the fly-fisher in particular. 
 
 Fly-fishing and Bait-casting for Chub is capital sport 
 where it can be pursued with any chance of success — i.e., in 
 rivers but little disturbed by traffic, or in disturbed streams, 
 early in the morning, before the disturbances commence. The 
 best tackle is a stiff, lift, or 12ft., greenheart or split-cane fly-rod, 
 a heavy, dressed, tapered silk line, and 3yds. of moderately fine, 
 undrawn gut. As to the fly, I hardly know what to recommend, 
 there are so many good one s. Mr. W. Senior (" Red Spinner "), 
 
 .i.tiEL mUC J 1 " di8tnr £ ed J 1 ! 6 ? 8 ' B1 \ ch M the Thames, chub only remain on the 
 SZjIn^lrt but V qU,e , t6r Wate r- 8Uch M ^e Bedfordshire Ouse, they 
 
 **X*&m3lZg5&g? M the weather is wann - ■»* in such ^ c - 
 
CHUB-FLIES. 63 
 
 angling editor of the Field, has kindly given me a pattern fly 
 of his own design, which he has found very killing. It is 
 dressed on a Snecky Limerick grilse hook. The hody is of chenille 
 tinsel, with a tail, £in. long, of white kid. Close to the 
 head is wound a long coch-y-bondu hackle. For dark days 
 this fly should, I think, be dressed with a dark shade of tinsel 
 and the coch-y-bondu hackle, but for bright days with a brighter 
 body and ordinary red hackle. 
 
 The favourite chub-fly of the late Mr. Francis Francis was of 
 grilse size — body, silver tinsel, a furnace hackle (dark red with 
 black centre) wrapped round it, a few turns of black heron 
 over that at shoulder, an under-wing of a few sprigs of emerald 
 peacock harl, and an over-wing of dark turkey ; and for a tail, a 
 tag of white kid glove or wash-leather. Another favourite of 
 his had a yellow crewel body, with red hackle and a dun turkey 
 wing. The two flies which I have most used are : First, a large 
 coachman, with body leaded if used in the Thames or other 
 large rivers (except on shallows) ; and, second, an imitation 
 beetle — body, rusty-red pig's wool, ribbed with gold tinsel; legs, 
 bronze peacock harl; back, a cock's black tail-feather, tied 
 down at head and tail. The former fly is best when the water 
 is clear, and at night ; the latter kills well in slightly coloured 
 water. Other good flies are large alders, and palmers, red 
 or black, with peacock harl bodies. Artificial bees, wasps, 
 cockchafers, and beetles are also very killing at times, 
 especially if allowed to sink a foot or more under the water. 
 Just at the commencement of the season, the bait known as 
 the Alexandra fly often kills well. In rivers where the May- 
 fly is abundant, chub, during the rise of that fly, sometimes 
 take nothing else, and require as much fishing for as trout. 
 
 Chub like a good mouthful; but the size of the fly 
 should depend on the size of the chub and the river. In the 
 Thames I prefer large, heavy flies, and sink them ; in smaller 
 and shallower streams, smaller and lighter flies, which hardly 
 sink at all. I have, indeed, found a dry fly, which rests 
 on the surface, sometimes kill chub when they would not look 
 at a sunk fly. The dry fly should be tried when the chub are 
 seen rising, and each fish can be fished for. Chub-flies should 
 
 h 2 
 
84 
 
 ANGLING FOK COAIISE FISH. 
 
 always be tied on eyed hooks, or attached to gut loops. The 
 strongest way of fastening them to the gat cast is shown in 
 
 Fig. 31. 
 
 In small rivers which are not navigable, the fly-fisher must, 
 of course, fish from the bank, taking care to keep as much out 
 of sight as he possibly can, fishing across, and rather up than 
 down, stream. In larger rivers, such as the Thames, fishing is best 
 carried on from a light punt, boat, or canoe. The angler must 
 
 The Knot Open. 
 
 The Knot Pulled Tight. 
 
 Fio. 31. Method of Fastening Gut to Chub-flies mounted on Eyed 
 Hooks. 
 
 not stand up, must not be clad in bright flannel raiment, and 
 must not rock his craft by too energetic casting. A good 
 boatman is half the battle: slowly and quietly he allows the 
 boat to drift down stream, at an even distance from the bank, 
 checking it or urging it on by noiseless touches with the 
 sculls as occasion may require. The angler kneels, sits, or 
 crouches in the stern, and casts his fly with a good splash 
 close to the bank, under overhanging boughs, and in every 
 
THE FROG-BAIT FOR CHTJB. 85 
 
 spot where there is the least chance of finding a chub. The 
 length of his cast must depend on his skill, but very long 
 casts are not necessary if the angler keeps low in the boat, 
 and the boat is worked noiselessly. If a heavy-leaded fly 
 is used, the angler must keep a keen eye on his line, and strike 
 directly he sees it tighten. In shallow water, he will often 
 see the chub swim out from the bank and take the fly. After 
 casting, the angler should wait about four seconds, then 
 draw the fly slowly about a foot nearer him, then wait 
 again for a second or two, and, if nothing comes of it, cast 
 elsewhere. The short draw of the bait tightens the line, and 
 enables bites, or rises — as you may please to call them — to 
 be felt, and also, I fancy, makes the bait more attractive. 
 
 I am convinced that many a chub seizes hold of a fly 
 under water and leaves it again without our knowing any- 
 thing about it. Many chub-fishers put a few gentles on the 
 hook of their fly. This practice usually adds to the basket^ 
 for the chub not only take the fly-bait more readily, but keep 
 hold longer after they have seized it. A piece of kid glove, or 
 parchment out of a fly-book, is not a bad substitute for the 
 gentle. "When a fish is hooked, he should be held at first, to 
 prevent him getting into his lair among the roots; the boat 
 should be brought out into the centre of the stream, and 
 the fish played as far away from the bank as possible. 
 
 Small frogs, black slugs, crayfish tail, gentles, lobworms, and 
 many other baits, may be cast like, and with greater success 
 than, the artificial fly. Those I name are the best baits, and I 
 have placed them in order of merit. As soon as the grass is cut, 
 tiny frogs will be found in hundreds in the meadows by the 
 river. Boys will collect dozens, and these valuable baits can 
 be kept for weeks in a live-bait can, with a little damp moss or 
 grass, which should be changed every few days. To bait with 
 small frogs, take a No. 4 Round Bend hook, file down half the 
 barb, and sharpen the point ; bite on a No. 1 shot, iin. above 
 the shank. Put the point of the hook in at the frog's vent, and 
 out at the top of its head ; tie the hind legs together, above the 
 shot. To kill the frog, hold it by the hind legs, and fillip it on the 
 head with the finger. Hooks baited with frogs are shown at 
 
86 ANGLING FOB COARSE FISII. 
 
 Pig. 32. If a large frog is used — for chub lib. and upwards will 
 take a very large one — the hook should be double, and the 
 shank leaded. The end of the gut should be put in at the 
 frog's mouth, and out at its vent, with a baiting-needle. The 
 legs are tied above a small knot in the gut. This being a heavy 
 bait, it should be cast underhand, as if it were a paternoster 
 (see page 70, in the chapter on Perch). The frog once cast, 
 whether small or large, should be allowed to sink, and go with 
 the stream, as a pull of the line is certain to scare any 
 admiring chub which is contemplating a banquet. "With these 
 natural baits it is as well to allow a few seconds before striking. 
 There is hardly a day in summer that chub may not be taken by 
 
 Large Frog, for Catting with Perch-rod. Small Frog, for Casting with Fly-rod. 
 
 Fig. 32. Baiting with Dead Frogs for Chub. 
 
 this means, provided the angler keeps out of sight of the fish 
 and casts dexterously. Even a practical fly-fisherman will 
 sometimes find a difficulty in casting these heavy baits. I 
 believe the whole secret consists in allowing plenty of time 
 between the backward and the forward cast. If the line is 
 not given time to extend nearly straight behind the angler, the 
 cast is usually a bad one. With light flies this point is not 
 so important. 
 
 Black slugs are best cut down the middle, turned inside out, 
 wrapped round the hook, and tied on with white cotton — a 
 noisome operation, which results in a deadly bait. Both slugs 
 and lobworms are best on Sliced hooks (see page 21), or on a hook 
 
LEG-ERING FOR CHUB. 87 
 
 the shank end of which has been softened in the flame of a candle, 
 and bent out as shown in Fig. 33. Gentles are much used 
 on the Thames for casting. About eighteen should be placed 
 on a No. 5 hook, and a few added every quarter 
 of an hour. Many anglers prefer a small tri- 
 angle, but I always fancy I do best with the 
 single hook. 
 
 Dibbing is another method of surface fishing 
 for chub. It requires no particular skill, but 
 great care and caution. The tackle is a stiff 
 bamboo rod, an undressed silk line, a pierced 
 pistol bullet, 1ft. of not too fine gut, and a hook, Fig. 33. Hook 
 the size of which depends on the bait used. shank, for 
 Bees, wujps, black beetles, small frogs, cock- )xq RM " CAST * 
 chafers, grasshoppers, moths, large flies — all are 
 good baits for the pm-pose. The bullet is threaded on to 
 the running line, and kept from slipping on to the gut by the 
 knot joining the gut to the line. To dibb successfully, learn 
 the haunts of the fish by peering cautiously over the banks the 
 previous day. Knowing, then, a chubby spot, attach to the 
 hook one of the baits mentioned, reel up the line until the bullet 
 touches the top of the rod, approach the river-side on tiptoe, 
 and put the bait, which dangles 1ft. below the rod tip, through 
 some convenient hole in the branches — for I presume trees over- 
 shadow the spot. When the bait overhangs the water, wait a 
 few seconds, for the movement of the rod may have aroused 
 the suspicions of the fish ; then slowly unwind line — which the 
 weight of the bullet draws out — until the bait just touches the 
 water, where it should kick about for a while. If no fish seizes 
 the bait in four or five minutes, try another spot. When a fish 
 is hooked, hold him tight, and get him out as seemeth best 
 under the circumstances. Catching a chub usually frightens 
 others, and it is best to go on to another place. 
 
 Bottom Fishing for Chub is carried on either with the leger 
 or with float tackle. Legering for chub differs little from leger- 
 ing for other fish (see pages 27 and 75). The weight of the 
 bullet must, of course, depend on the strength of the stream. 
 A suitable bait (cheese, greaves, lobworms, &c.) must be used, 
 
88 ANGLING FOB COARSE FISH. 
 
 and the leger must be cast where the chub are, the angler keep- 
 ing as much out of sight as possible, and casting the tackle 
 neatly, and without undue disturbance of the water. Legering 
 is sometimes very useful for fishing swims which cannot be go! 
 at with float tackle. 
 
 The only method of float fishing for chub worthy our coi- 
 
 sideration is that practised by the Trent anglers, and already 
 
 described in the chapter on Roach, on pages 43 and 51, to whieh 
 
 I beg to refer the reader. The tackle, save that it is rather 
 
 stronger, is in all respects the same. The rod 
 
 r should be the stouter one described on page 13. 
 It is better to have the quill larger, and the shots 
 heavier, than is really necessary to keep the bait 
 below the float, as with somewhat heavy tackle 
 the bait can be let down stream more steadily 
 than with light tackle. The tackle which I find 
 most generally useful in summer carries a pierced 
 swan-shot between two split No. 1 shot, and two 
 No. 3 shots nearer the hook. The illustration 
 (Fig. 34) shows their relative positions, though 
 the float shown is not a very good representa- 
 tion of a quill. I always serve the gut round 
 with silk at the spot where the leads are placed. 
 P The hook is shown baited with cheese-paste ; the 
 
 _ _ _ shape into which it is squeezed is very important. 
 
 Fig. 34. Float i *..•.»«. 
 
 Tacklk for oome anglers prefer a triangle, but I hardly 
 
 wfraCBBBUL ever miss a fisl1 if 1 bait a sin g le hook carefully. 
 The point of the hook should be all but through 
 the cheese. If the point is well covered, fish after fish will 
 be missed, the cheese acting as a guard to the hook. I 
 always press down the cheese over the point until I can 
 feel the point with my thumb, when I know that the chub 
 will feel it too. The hook for cheese which I use is a No. 1 
 Round Bend. Trent anglers use a size or two smaller. 
 The point should always be kept sharp by a touch on each 
 side with a needle or watchmaker's file; and the barb is 
 best filed half away. The shank of the hook for the cheese- 
 bait should be painted (see page 20) with white lead and French 
 
CHUB-BAITS. 89 
 
 polish, so that if some of the cheese tumbles off, the shank is 
 not conspicuous by its colour. I have mentioned cheese because 
 I believe it to be the best summer bait. That which is old 
 and rotten is most attractive ; but it hardens in the water, and 
 should be mixed up into paste with a little butter. As a matter 
 of fact, any cheese will do, and I rarely bother to get any special 
 kind. A good red, soapy American, cannot be put to a better 
 use than as a bait for chub; it requires little or no making 
 into paste. Bread-and-cheese paste is often used with success. 
 Another good summer bait is three or four wasp grubs, which 
 should be baked for a few minutes before being used, or 
 scalded, and then thoroughly dried in bran; and ripe plums, 
 skinned, blackberries, strawberries, and cherries (the latter 
 particularly under cherry trees overhanging the water) are at 
 times very killing. For the first few weeks of the season chub 
 will take a minnow greedily. 
 
 The foregoing are clear-water baits. If the water is dis- 
 coloured, either in winter or in summer, nothing is so good 
 as a well-scoured lobworm. In autumn, greaves, or " scratch- 
 ings," is a good bait, and in winter nothing is better than pith 
 and brains, particularly in very cold weather. But the water must 
 be clear for this bait. Greave have to be boiled. The white 
 portions are used for the hook. Pith (the spinal cord of a 
 bullock) has also to be prepared ; the skin surrounding it should 
 be taken off, and the interior washed in several waters until it is 
 quite white. It does not require boiling or scalding. A piece 
 about the size of a cob-nut should be placed on a No. 4 hook. 
 The brains are used to throw in as ground-bait. Trent 
 anglers chew them, and blow them into the water. But is this 
 really necessary ? 
 
 To use our float-tackle and baits we, if in a small stream, 
 take up a position on the bank 20yds. or more above a well- 
 known haunt of chub, get the depth in front of us 
 (see pages 37 and 43), and, if the water is clear, put the 
 float so that, to the best of our belief, the bait will be 
 about 6in. to 9in. from the bottom when it reaches the chub. 
 If the water is coloured, we fish close to the bottom. We 
 ought to know something of the swims, the depths, position 
 
90 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 of weeds, and so on, or have someone with us who can tell us 
 these particulars. In a strange river we are certain to lose 
 much time and many fish in finding out these details. "Well, 
 we cut up a few cuhes of cheese (if we are baiting with cheese) 
 with our knife, throw them in, and let our tackle, carefully 
 baited after the manner already described, follow them down 
 stream steadily and without check* As it reaches the spot where 
 the chub are, our hearts beat a little faster, perhaps, and then 
 down goes the float, up goes the point of the rod, and we feel we 
 are in a good fish. Immediately after striking we reel up as 
 fnst as we can, for master chub must not be allowed to go into 
 the roots which project from the bank, and by holding him hard 
 at first the hook is pulled well into his leathern mouth. "We 
 try the swim again, and after a trial or two basket another fish, 
 and then move to a fresh spot, for it would pi*obably be useless 
 to continue fishing here. But there are occasions — very rare 
 ones — when as many as a dozen chub may be taken out 
 of one hole. 
 
 If we fish from a boat or punt, there must be no flurry, noise, 
 or movement which can give the fish an inkling of our presence. 
 "When we are 40yds. away from the fish, we get close to the bank, 
 and drop down with the stream until we reach the top of the 
 swim. "We are careful not to stand up, to put in no rypechs, and 
 drop no weight ; but our man catches hold of a twig, or holds 
 on to the bank with a boat-hook. From the boat we fish as we 
 did from the bank, and are certain of success if the fish have 
 not been disturbed by us or some passer-by. 
 
 I would never bait up a spot for chub, but pass from swim to 
 swim, picking up a brace here and a brace there. Even the 
 ground-bait thrown in should be small in quantity, especially 
 if it is cheese or greaves. A pound of cheese will last out a day's 
 chub-fishing, ground-bait and all. Success, of course, depends 
 a good deal on the angler's judgment in so throwing the ground- 
 bait that it reaches the right place ; but not so much with chub 
 as with many other fish. 
 
 * As a matter of fact, the mere passage of the line through the rings slightly 
 checks the float ; and this is desirable, for, if it were otherwise, the float would get 
 in advance of the bait, as rivers flow faster near the surface than lower down. 
 
THE " FEARFULLEST OF FISH." 91 
 
 Many anglers may shrug their shoulders on reading the state- 
 ment made at the beginning of the chapter, that chub are not 
 particularly difficult to catch. But I know I am right. Izaak 
 Walton truly wrote that the chub is the " fearf ullest of fish;" 
 but he is also the most greedy, and one of the most stupid. 
 The sight of a man in motion, an unnatm*al movement in a 
 bait, a footfall on the bank, or a stir in the water, will send 
 chub to the bottom at once, and stop their feeding ; but if you 
 do not frighten them, and can place the bait before them in a 
 fairly natural manner — as, for instance, a fly which seems to drop 
 from the trees above, or a fragment of cheese diifting down 
 stream — then chub will take the bait almost as certainly as 
 many persons who read this chapter will not attend to half the 
 directions I have been at some pains to give. Thus it is that, 
 when the water is low and bright, the careful chub-fisher makes 
 the best bags, for his bait is seen far and near by many fish, 
 while he himself can, by using suitable tackle, keep so far off 
 as not to be noticed. I have known a 41b. chub, whose age 
 should have given him wisdom, to be caught in 2ft. of water, when 
 half-a-dozen split shot, a good-sized quill, tipped with red, and 
 a part of the running line, were all visible to him. But he saw 
 no harm in those things, and took the bait. Had he known a 
 human being was about, I could no more have hoped to catch 
 that chub than I can hope to make a careless person a good 
 fisherman. 
 
 —>•♦-■>. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE DACE 
 
 {DARE OR DART). 
 
 Habits and Haunts — Bottom-fishing— Baits and Ground-laits — 
 Flies and Fly-fishing — Eyed Hooks and Knots — Blow-line 
 Fishing. 
 
 fov*2 ACE are bright, silvery, graceful, slender little fish, which 
 often find their way into the roach-fisher's creel. In 
 colour they are almost entirely silvery, and the fins lack 
 that tinge of red which is noticeable in the chub and the roach. 
 They are easily distinguished from a small chub by the anal fin, 
 which in the dace is almost colourless, but in the chub pink. The 
 dace is common to all rivers containing coarse fish, and is fre- 
 quently found in trout-streams, to the detriment of the trout ; 
 but it is absent from Ireland. It is rarely, or never, found in 
 ponds or lakes which are not fed by streams of some kind or 
 another. Dace are very rarely taken over lib. in weight ; in- 
 deed, few anglers have caught one even so heavy as that. 
 
 Dace spawn in the spring, and then, like chub, barbel, and 
 several other varieties of fish, spend a few weeks in very shallow, 
 swift waters, for the purpose of scouring themselves. Later 
 on they spread over the river in all sorts and conditions of 
 swims, but in the evening, during the hot months, may always 
 be looked for on gravelly swallows. In winter, they retire to 
 deep water, and even in late summer the large fish will usually 
 be found in swims of considerable depth. They are often found 
 
THE PROPER HALE OP A LOBWORM FOR DACE. 93 
 
 in barbel-swims, to the great discomfiture of the bai-bel-fisher, 
 who strikes again and again without catching anything, and, 
 perhaps, in the end, by constant striking, drives the barbel 
 away, or, at least, sends them off the feed. As a general rule, 
 dace prefer sharper streams than do roach, and the remarks in the 
 first and third chapters, on fishing in coloured water and in floods 
 (see pages 8 and 53), apply as much to dace as to the other fish. 
 
 Bottom-fishing and Baits for Dace. — The float-tackle used 
 for this pui-pose is practically the same as that advised for roach, 
 described on page 25. As the dace swims as often in mid-water, 
 or close to the surface, as on the bottom, it is not as necessary 
 to fish as near the bottom as we should if angling for roach. 
 Many lai'ge dace, however, fall a victim to the seductions of a 
 lobworm, particularly the head portion arrayed on a leger. 
 As dace generally haunt swifter streams than do roach, the 
 float-tackle has to be heavier shotted than would be right in 
 more sluggish swims. Dace are very sharp biters, and the 
 angler cannot strike too quickly on seeing a movement of his 
 float, however slight. 
 
 The two favourite baits for these fish are gentles and red- 
 worms. Caddis baits are also very good. In the late summer 
 and autumn a lobworm will take the largest fish. I once baited 
 up a veiy quiet, deep corner near Henley-on-Thames for tench, and 
 my baiting partly resulted in a dozen fine perch. During the morn, 
 ing I was dreadfully bothered by some fish which kept taking the 
 float under, but which I could not hook. An examination of 
 my bait showed me that the fish, whatever they were, only 
 seemed to touch the head of the worm, which was, as usual, up 
 the shank of the hook, so I threaded the next worm on with the 
 tail of the shank, and the head over the point. I then took 
 nearly every bite, and soon had more than a dozen of the finest 
 dace I caught that year. The incident enlightened me con- 
 siderably as to why one has so many bites from dace when 
 barbel-fishing without any fish getting hooked ; and since then, I 
 have repeatedly found that dace prefer the head to the tail of 
 the lobworm, at least in the Thames. For the redworm, I like 
 a very small set of Stewart tackle (see page 54), and the same 
 arrangement answers veiy well for the lobworm. All roach- 
 
94 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 baits will take dace, but I have already mentioned the best. 
 Both roach and dace are very variable in their feeding. One 
 day, in the Loddon, I found the roach take wheat, and the dace 
 gentles. The following day I could only catch dace on wheat, 
 and roach on gentles. 
 
 Dace can very often be caught without the use of ground- 
 bait, but when fished for from a punt in the Thames fashion 
 (see page 49), a ground-bait consisting of balls of clay, bran, 
 and a few carrion gentles, is nearly always used. The clay is 
 very useful, as it sinks the balls of ground-bait right in the 
 swim, which is usually rather a rapid one. The more feeding 
 ground-bait recommended for roach (see page 35) also answers 
 for dace, provided it is made stiff enough to withstand the 
 stream, and contains a small pebble to make it sink quickly ; 
 but it should be thrown in very sparingly, as dace are small 
 feeders. If the angler is fishing after the Nottingham fashion 
 (see page 43), he should occasionally throw in a few of the baits 
 he is fishing with, be they gentles or redworms, care being 
 taken that they are thrown high enough above the swim, so that 
 they reach the fish in the swim. It is no use ground-baiting the 
 fish 20yds. down the river when your float and tackle only 
 travel 15yds. Raking the bottom in lieu of ground-bait is often 
 practised with success on the Lower Thames. A gudgeon-rake 
 (see Chap. VIII.) is used, and the raking is usually done behind 
 the punt. 
 
 Fly-fishing for Dace is very pretty sport, and certainly not 
 inferior to the trout-fishing which is obtained in some waters I 
 could name. Dace rise best to a fly during August, September, 
 and October, and in June, while the May-fly is on, in rivers 
 visited by that lovely insect. They will often rise freely all 
 day, but the evening is the best time. The tackle is similar to 
 that used for Welsh or Devonshire trout : A light, 10ft. fly-rod 
 —hexagonal split cane for preference— striking well from the 
 point, a dressed tapered silk line to suit the rod (the stiffer the 
 rod, the heavier the line), and a length of gut, called a " collar," 
 of 8ft. or 9ft., tapered down to the very finest-drawn gut. Two 
 or three flies may be used— one, of course, at the fine end of 
 the collar; another, called a dropper, on a piece of very 
 
DRY-FLY FISHING FOR DACE. 
 
 95 
 
 fine gut 4in. long, should be placed 2ft. higher; and if a 
 
 third is used, it can be placed 2ft. above the first dropper. 
 
 Less gut is desirable when the casting has to be against a strong 
 
 wind. Beginners should content themselves with one fly and 
 
 casting a short line. 
 
 There are many ways of fastening the droppers to the 
 
 gut-collar, but the neatest knot and, therefore, the best for dace- 
 fishing, is one designed by Mr. R. B. Marston (shown in Fig. 35). 
 
 The only objection to it is that 
 
 the flies are not easily changed; 
 
 but in fly-fishing for dace a change 
 
 of flies is not often necessary. 
 
 The knot is shown loose; it has, 
 
 of course, to be pulled tight. The 
 
 gut-collar, fly, and one or more 
 
 droppers, is called a " cast " of flies. 
 The usual method of fly-fishing 
 
 for dace is to cast the three flies 
 
 across or down stream, and then 
 
 to draw them over the water, 
 
 striking gently, but as quickly as 
 
 possible, when a fish rises at one of the flies. The beginner had 
 
 best practice on rather a sharp stream, which will extend his 
 
 line when he makes bungling casts (as he is sure to do), and so 
 give him a chance of catching something. Blank days are very 
 discouraging to beginners. Yeteran anglers usually bear them 
 philosophically. 
 
 There is a method of fly-fishing which is very deadly, and 
 will take dace in still water on a hot, bright, calm day, when 
 the ordinary method is no use whatever. It is known as dry- 
 fly fishing, and is now almost the only way by which the 
 highly educated trout of the Hampshire chalk streams can be 
 induced to take the artificial fly. Only one fly is used, which 
 is tied to float — that is, with an extra amount of (cock's) hackle, 
 and with split wings, like the natural fly. It is cast lightly, 
 about 2ft. in front of rising fish, and allowed to float on the 
 surface of the stream, and go down with the current just as a 
 natural fly would do which had alighted on the surface of the 
 
 Fig 35. Marston Knot 
 Dropper Flies. 
 
96 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 water. Any pull of the line by the angler, or shake of the 
 rod-top, destroys the illusion. "When the fly gets wet, it has to 
 be dried by repeated waves of the rod in the air. Large dace 
 sometimes rise in the evening in the deep, quiet reaches of rivers. 
 They will then take the dry fly, and the dry fly only. 
 
 The trout-fisher should have no difficulty in finding, in his 
 book, a few small flies which will kill dace ; but if flies have to be 
 specially purchased, I should recommend black palmers (with 
 silver twist on body), red palmers, and coachmen (a few of the 
 last-named tied with upright split wings for dry-fly fishing), all 
 of which will be rendered more killing by the addition of a very 
 short tail of white wool, or white kid glove. Mr. R. B. Marston, 
 editor of the Fishing Gazette, tells me that the best dace-fly 
 he knows has a silver tinsel body, light wings, and light grey 
 hackle. I have not yet had an opportunity of trying it, but feel 
 sure it is a good fly. Quill gnats and small govenors will 
 also be found killing, and a few tied with upright wings for dry- 
 fly fishing may prove very useful. Dace also rise well to red- 
 spinners and yellow duns. In dace-fishing, as in trout-fishing, 
 the angler will lose nothing by noting the flies on the water, 
 and if there is a great batch of any particular fly, he will cer- 
 tainly be rewarded if he puts up an imitation of that fly, and 
 fishes with it. When a rise of May-fly is on, dace will take the 
 artificial freely. At such times the red-spinner is also a 
 good fly. 
 
 The most modern form of hook for artificial flies is known 
 as the eyed hook. The shank of the hook is terminated by an 
 eye, to which the angler fastens the gut. I find little or no 
 difference in the hooking powers of eyed hooks and hooks bound 
 to gut. Flies on eyed hooks are economical, for as soon as the 
 gut wears near the fly it can be re-tied. The angler can also 
 put on gut of any degree of fineness. The one disadvantage of 
 eyed hooks— a very slight one— is the trouble of tying on the 
 gut. One of the easiest and best methods of fastening the fly 
 to the gut is the Turle knot, illustrated on page 21. 
 
 As dace will take the artificial fly, they will, of course, take 
 the natural insect, and a bluebottle, house, or any other fly of 
 sufficient size, properly offered to them, is almost certain to be 
 
BLOW-LINE FISHING. 97 
 
 accepted. The best tackle for this purpose is the finest silk 
 line procurable, 1ft. of fine gut, and a No. 10 Round Bend hook. 
 The longer the rod, the better. A fly is impaled on the hook, 
 and the angler, taking his stand with his back to the wind, 
 allows his bait to be blown out in front of him, when, by lower- 
 ing the point of his rod, he causes the fly to alight on the water. 
 All fish which rise to the fly are to be caught in this way. 
 
 Dace, when in good condition — i.e., after August — are by no 
 means bad eating, if really well cooked. 
 
CHAPTEK VIII. 
 
 THE GUDGEON. 
 
 Habits and Haunts — Tackle and Baits — Thames and other 
 Methods of Gudgeon- fishing. 
 
 LITTLE fish, which takes the bait as eagerly as the 
 most impatient angler could wish all thi'ough the hot 
 
 "^^ weather, when no other fish, except chub, can be per- 
 suaded to look at the most tempting morsels, can only be 
 described as amiable. The amiability of the gudgeon extends, 
 indeed, to the table, where, after having been carefully egged, 
 bread-crumbed, and fried, he makes a most delicious dish, as 
 any visitor to a Thames-side hotel, or restaurant on the banks 
 of the Seine, can no doubt testify. Moreover, as a bait for 
 large perch he is unrivalled, and is by no means despised by 
 our friend Esox Lucius. In shape, the gudgeon is something 
 like a barbel, with two barbs and an overhanging upper lip. His 
 colour^ on the back is brown, with slight silvery sheen over the 
 sides and belly. He rarely grows longer than 6in. or 7in. 
 
 Habits and Haunts of Gudgeon.— Gudgeon spawn in May, 
 and are very prolific. So numerous are they in the Thames, that 
 it is no uncommon thing for twenty dozen to be brought in as 
 the result of a day's fishing by two anglers. I have known an 
 angler to catch sixteen dozen to his own rod in one day. 
 Gudgeon-fishing begins about the end of June, provided the 
 weather is warm ; but these fish bite best in August and Sep- 
 tember. In June and July they should be fished for in water 
 
RAKING FOE GUDGEON. 99 
 
 varying from 2ft. to 4ft. deep, where the bottom is sandy or 
 gravelly, and the sti'eam moderate. In September the finest fish 
 will often be taken in swims from 10ft. to 12ft. in depth. The 
 very best swims are always those just on the edge of holes. As 
 soon as the cold weather sets in, gudgeon shift to deep water, 
 and do not often take a bait. Like barbel, they probably eat 
 very little in winter. The weather cannot be too hot or the sun 
 too bright for gudgeon-fishing. 
 
 Tackle and Baits. — The float-tackle used for roach (see 
 page 25) is suitable for gudgeon, but a small shot should be 
 bitten on 4in. above the hook, which should be a very small 
 one, and have its shank painted red. I need hardly repeat that 
 the float should be as small, and the shot as few, as the depth 
 and force of the current will allow. The gut (many anglers 
 prefer Lair) cannot be too fine, and the hook should be very 
 small — No. 12 or No. 13. The bait is a fragment of worm, red- 
 worm being the best. When the gudgeon run very large, 
 I put on a larger hook and about half a redworm; but, 
 as a rule, I find I take most fish by threading on to 
 the hook a piece of worm not more than iin. in length ; 
 it usually suffices to catch a dozen fish or more. I would 
 advise the use of light running tackle, even for gudgeon, for 
 other fish — notably perch — are often hooked. 
 
 The Thames Method of Gudgeon-fishing is the best with 
 which I am acquainted. The essentials are : A punt, two rypecks 
 (i.e., mooring poles) ; a rake, the head of which contains four or 
 five teeth and weighs from 51b. to 101b., and the handle of which 
 is about 18ft. long ; the light float-tackle above-mentioned, and 
 some well-scoured redworms or brandlings. It is also as well 
 to take out our heavier rod and a paternoster, which we can 
 bait with small gudgeon or minnows, and lay out by the side of 
 the gudgeon- swim. If we do this, we shall surely catch a perch 
 or two, and shall add, both directly and indirectly, to the 
 weight of our basket; for when perch are allowed to remain, 
 they assuredly drive the gudgeon out of the swim, or, at least, 
 stop their feeding. Well, all things being ready, our fisherman, 
 or a brother angler, punts us to a suitable swim, somewhere out 
 of the wind, and moors the punt across the stream in the manner 
 
 I 2 
 
100 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 described on page 50. "We sit facing down stream, precisely as 
 if we were going to fish for roach, plumb the depth, arrange our 
 float so that the bait all but touches the bottom, bait, and take 
 a trial swim or two. The gudgeon may be there in gi-eat 
 quantities, and if so, no raking is requisite for some time. "We 
 strike sharply, but not hard, on seeing the slightest depression 
 of the float, and gudgeon come fast into the punt. I must not 
 forget that we so shot our lines that only the tip of the float is 
 in view, and therefore the float goes under water at a very 
 slight pull from the fish. After a while the fish leave off biting. 
 Then the rake is brought into requisition, and the bottom is well 
 raked in front of the punt. This muddies the water, and stirs 
 up various items of fish food, and the gudgeon swarm up to the 
 punt to feed. When that swim is fished out we try another, and 
 as we count up our dozens we smile at the infatuated individuals 
 who will waste their time trying to catch jack or roach on this 
 blazing hot summer's day. 
 
 In small, shallow streams, whei'e the fishing is done from the 
 bank, a long-handled garden rake will be found useful to rake 
 the bottom with; and sometimes anglers wade in, stir up the 
 sand or gravel with their feet, to bring the gudgeon near 
 them, and fish while standing in the water. It may be 
 inferred from this, and rightly so, that the gudgeon is 
 not a shy fish. Gudgeon placed in ponds have increased 
 wonderfully in a few years. In such places I have heard, on 
 very good authority, that they will sometimes rise to a fly, but 
 have never seen such a thing happen. 
 
 -»f-oc «_; . 
 
CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 THE CARP. 
 
 Habits and Haunts —Baits — Two Days' Carp-fishing — Float-fish- 
 ing — A Self-cocking Float — Legering. 
 
 'O fish is found in the British Isles which has a 
 larger brain, or is more difficult of capture, or, strange 
 to say, is more easily tamed, than the common carp. 
 In some waters, indeed, in which these fish abound, there is no 
 record of one having been caught by the angler. A carefully- 
 executed engraving of the common carp will be found at the 
 commencement of this book. It has very large scales, one 
 long back fin, and a barbule hanging from each side of 
 its mouth. Its back and sides are a golden bronze, shading 
 to a yellowish- white on the belly; its fins are a dark brown. 
 In England, carp over 151b. are rarely taken by anglers, 
 but specimens are occasionally netted weighing 201b. and 
 over. On the Continent it very much exceeds that weight, 
 even going to double. In Germany carp-culture is carried on 
 as a business, and the fish bred are fairly good eating; but the 
 common, undomesticated English carp is a horrid fish, so far as 
 its edible qualities are concerned. Gold and silver fish are species 
 of carp ; they are easily caught with roach-tackle and baits. 
 
 Carp spawn in May or June, and soon get into condition. 
 They are found more commonly in lakes and ponds than in 
 rivers. In still waters their haunts are soon discovered, as 
 they swim, or lie, close to the surface when not feeding, and are 
 
102 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 easily seen. At such times they often make a peculiar sucking 
 noise. In rivers, they like quiet holes among weeds, and are 
 sometimes found in barbel-swims. They hardly feed at all in 
 winter, the best fishing being during the summer months. 
 They sometimes bite well after a thunderstorm. 
 
 The following are good carp-baits : Redworms and brand- 
 lings, paste sweetened with honey, gentles, parboiled potatoes, 
 green peas, boiled wheat, green wheat, wasp-grubs dipped in 
 honey after having been put on the hook (I read this in the 
 Fishing Gazette), paste made of old cheese, paste made of bread, 
 soft roe of herring, and a little wool, cherries, and almost any 
 kind of grub, worm, or grain. Any bait used must be perfectly 
 clean and sweet. The ground-bait should resemble the hook- 
 bait, but should be coarser. 
 
 Float-fishing for Carp is an amusement at which many 
 anglers have failed for want of proper precautions. It is the 
 method best suited for lakes and ponds, where the angler fishes 
 from the bank. For fishing from a boat or punt for carp, the leger 
 is usually more suitable, as the bait has to be cast some distance 
 away. We will suppose now that we are on a visit to a friend 
 who has a fine sheet of water well stocked with very large and, 
 consequently, very shy carp. Few of these fish have ever been 
 taken, and their favourite baits are not known. "We decide to 
 devote one day to float-fishing, and the next to fishing 
 with the leger, and to try sweet paste, worms, and potatoes — 
 the latter on the leger. On our arrival our host laughingly 
 says we shall catch nothing — a remark which puts us on our 
 mettle, and we straightway sally forth and examine the water- 
 The keeper joins us, and after a chat with him we select four 
 places for float-fishing from the bank, and also decide to bait 
 up with potatoes two deep holes some distance from the shore. 
 It is now about 11 a.m., so, not to lose any time, we have some 
 potatoes boiled in their skins, all the bits of crust in the bread- 
 pan scalded, and set a boy to dig diligently for worms of all 
 descriptions. The scalded bread, when soft enough, is kneaded 
 up with some bran and meal, the potatoes are chopped up as 
 soon as they are half -boiled, and the best of the redworms and 
 brandlings are picked out, and put to scour in moss for hook- 
 
CIRCUMVENTING A CAKP. 103 
 
 baits. As soon as the ground-bait is ready we go down to tlie 
 lake, divide our worms over two of tbe swims near the bank, 
 adding a few balls of tbe bread ground-bait as we have hardly 
 enough worms, and throw the last of our bread ground-bait — 
 about 1 gal. — into the other two swims. To bait the holes near 
 the centre of the pond we get into the punt, and throw in nearly 
 1 gal. of potatoes at two places about 40yds. from the shore, 
 where the carp are usually found. So that we may know 
 exactly where to cast the legers, the keeper pulls up a reed, ties 
 a piece of cotton to the thick end of it, and to the other end of 
 the cotton fastens a small stone. He drops one of these 
 arrangements overboard a few yards beyond each of the potato- 
 baited spots, so that when we cast from the bank in the 
 direction of the reed — which the stone causes to stand upright 
 in the watei' — we shall, if we go within about 3yds. of it, put 
 the leger in the right place. 
 
 Before returning to the shore the keeper draws our attention 
 to the back fins of certain large carp which are showing above the 
 water, near some water-lily leaves about 50yds. off. A small 
 worm, if it could be dangled just over the edge of a water-lily 
 leaf, might be taken by one of those big fellows. I fortunately 
 have a light rod and a Nottingham reel and line with me. It 
 does not take long to straighten out 1ft. of modei'ately fine gut, 
 and fasten it to the end of the line, also a small Round Bend 
 hook with the shank painted worm colour. A foot above the 
 hook I place two small shot, and thread on just enough of a 
 worm* to cover the hook, leaving the ends dangling. The punt 
 is then backed up very quietly and gently towards the water- 
 lilies, keeping them between us and the fish. After one or two 
 unsuccessful casts I manage to drop the shot on to a solitary 
 leaf, and the worm hangs over the side. We are too near for 
 the fish to take the bait, so I pass the butt of the rod back into 
 the punt, and getting to the top ring, pull line off the reel as 
 the keeper very quietly rows the punt away from the water-lilies. 
 When some 20yds. or so away we stop. After about five minutes 
 the shot are slowly pulled off the leaf, and I know that a fish 
 
 * A green pea is a good bait for this method of fishing. 
 
lOt ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 has the bait. I strike, and soon have the satisfaction of landing 
 a fine carp, as big or as little as you like to imagine. Some 
 people might have said that the game was not worth the candle 
 but overcoming one of these most cunning fish, by means how- 
 ever elaborate, gives most anglers the keenest satisfaction. 
 Before leaving the lakeside, we plumb the spots we are going to 
 fish from the bank, and mark the depths on our rods. 
 
 On reaching the house we prepare our tackle — several 2yd. 
 lengths of fine, round, strong gut (which we put in soak), stained 
 a pale weed-green (see page 23), and some hooks — No. 8 Round 
 Bend for worms, No. 9 Round Bend with a shorter shank for 
 the paste. The shanks are coloured red and white respectively 
 (see page 20). The gut of the hooks is stained a mud colour, 
 as near the colour of the bottom as we can get it. Before going 
 to bed we put up our rods and lines, take the gut out of soak, 
 loop on the hook, catch the hook in the reel, and wind up tight. 
 Keeping the line stretched on the rod all night will cause it to 
 be quite straight in the morning. "We should not catch a fish 
 if it were in curls, or even in waves. My friend puts on a very 
 small, self-cocking float ; I prefer a small, dry twig of dead wood, 
 which will look more natural on the surface of the water. I say 
 this having a lively recollection of certain roach which were in 
 shallow water, and absolutely refused to feed until I took all the 
 shot off my line, and replaced the float with a small twig. We 
 hope to do without shot to-morrow. 
 
 The following morning at daybreak, fortified by some rum 
 and milk — nauseous but admirable mixture — we steal down to 
 the lake, each with a camp-stool and two pegs cut thus — Ya f b> to 
 hold the rod, the butt of which goes over A and under B. Our 
 floats are at the right depth — i.e., 12in. farther from the hook 
 than the water is deep, so that 12in. of gut will lie on the 
 bottom.* Very quietly and gently we steal to our respective 
 pitches, put the pegs in the bank 1ft. apart, the Y-shaped one 
 nearest the water, bait our hooks — the one with paste, the other 
 with a redworm — and cast out our lines as gently as possible. 
 Then we adjust the butts of the rods on the pegs (a heavy 
 
 * Some carp-fishermen keep their bait a foot from the bottom. This plan 
 should be tried when the other proves unsuccessful. 9 
 
TWO days' carp-fishing. 105 
 
 metal reel will sometimes weigh, down the butt of the rod, and 
 render the f -shaped peg unnecessary), throw in a few worms 
 over the worm-bait, and a few fragments (not lumps) of bread 
 ground-bait, freshly made that morning, around the hook baited 
 with paste, and retire a few yards from the bank, to sit on our 
 camp-stool and await developments. My friend's float moves 
 first ; carp bite slowly, and it is not until he sees his float sailing 
 away that he takes up his rod and strikes. Then I get a fish, 
 and by carefully playing all we hook, and by not over- feeding, 
 we keep on catching large carp at intervals of half an hour until 
 8 o'clock. Then a breeze springs up which blows our floats 
 about, and causes the baits to drag. "We are then obliged to 
 put some shot on our lines (more or less according to the force 
 of the wind) 12in. from the hook, so that they just rest on the 
 bottom. About 9 o'clock the fish leave off biting, and we catch 
 nothing more until the evening, and not much then. Of course, 
 when the fish left off biting at one swim we tried another. 
 
 There is little more to be added on the subject of float-fish- 
 ing for carp ; minute attention to detail is all-important. The 
 tackle should be as fine as can safely be used. If weeds are 
 abundant, and the fish run large, it should be stronger than if 
 the fish are small and the bottom clear. A Nottingham line, 
 rather stouter than that used for chub, is first-rate for carp 
 fishing. Twisted lines are stronger than those which are plaited. 
 Float-tackle can be got out some distance from the bank by 
 following the directions given on page 45.* After the morning 
 part of the float-fishing was over, we put some more potatoes 
 (but a less quantity than before) into the holes where we intended 
 to leger. The following day we try 
 
 Legering for Carp, hoping to catch some of the fathers 
 of the flock. My friend still uses his Nottingham line, 
 casting his leger from the reel; but I prefer a fine, dressed 
 silk line, and cast the leger Thames fashion, coils of line lying 
 on the grass at my feet ; and by this means I certainly cast with 
 
 * If the float-tackle is too light for long or accurate casting, a small piece of rather 
 stiff ground-bait can be squeezed on round the shot. When paste-fishing, it is 
 not altogether a bad plan to squeeze some soft ground-bait round the paste. The 
 hook-bait then appears to the fish to be a portion of— in fact, the very kernel of — 
 the ground-bait. 
 
106 ANOLING FOE COAESE FISH. 
 
 greater accuracy than my friend. For books we use small 
 triangles, and bait thein by passing the loop of tbe book-link 
 tbrougb a lump of balf -boiled potato, or a small, new potato, by 
 means of a baiting-needle (see Fig. 36), burying the triangle 
 right in the potato. Our legers are made according to the direc- 
 tions on page 27 ; but the gut below the lead is stained to match 
 the colour of the bottom as nearly as possible. Our leger leads 
 have to be rather heavy, as we have a long way to cast. If we 
 had a less distance to cast, a small pistol-bullet would do. 
 Having cast out the leger, we take the check off the winch, put 
 
 Fig. 36. Baiting-needle. 
 
 the rod in the forked sticks as before, wind up the line taut, 
 and wait until we see the line drawn off the reel, when we at 
 once strike. It is better to lay down the rod than to hold it : 
 If held in the hand, the rod is bound to shake a little, and give 
 a quivering motion to the line, which is, no doubt, observed 
 and appreciated by the fish. The carp bites slowly; with 
 quicker-biting fish it is better to hold the rod. The result of 
 our legering is only four fish, but they are very large ones. "We 
 should, no doubt, have caught more but for the splash made by 
 our heavy leads. 
 
 Carp-fishing is not a branch of the sport which I can re- 
 commend to beginners — it is too discouraging. Success depends, 
 in a great measure, on the angler keeping the carp in absolute 
 ignorance of his presence, on judicious ground-baiting, and on 
 presenting the bait to the carp in such a way that they have 
 no reason to suppose there is any connection between it and 
 a human destroyer of fish. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE TENCH. 
 
 Habits and Haunts — Raking a Pond — River Tench — Baits and 
 Ground-baits — Legering and Float-fishing. 
 
 ff-|d|ENCH are handsome fish, which are more often found in 
 ^\l*f ponds and lakes than in rivers. They are common 
 — enough in England, less common in Ireland, and not 
 often met with in Scotland. In shape they are not unlike carp, 
 but differ from them in many other respects. Their scales are 
 so small as to be almost invisible, and they are covered with a 
 thick coating of tenacious slime. The back and sides of tench 
 are a golden olive-green ; eyes small, and ruby red, and fins 
 dark. At each side of the mouth is a very small barbule. 
 Tench live an extraordinary length of time out of water, and 
 are, perhaps, more tenacious of life than any other fish. They 
 are sometimes taken as heavy as 61b., and there is one of 111b. 
 on record ; but a 41b. tench is always looked upon as a large fish 
 of its kind. In the Upper Thames tench run large. Seven I 
 caught one summer at Pangbourne averaged 31b. each. Very 
 fine tench are also taken out of the Hampshire Avon. 
 
 Fishing for Tench in Rivers, so far as my experience goes, 
 is not much use unless the water is coloured and the swim well 
 baited with worms. The most likely swims are near the bank, 
 just where the mud, weeds, and water-lilies end and the gravel 
 begins ; and if there is a lot of roots and branches of trees in 
 the water, so much the better. Tench are also found in the 
 
108 ANGLING FOE COAESE FISH. 
 
 large eddies, where the water is deep and the bottom muddy. 
 In ponds tench bite freely at times, but are very uncertain in 
 their feeding. The best fishing is had in the spring and 
 summer, early in the morning and late in the evening. In 
 rivers, tench are taken in winter if the water is highly coloured 
 and the weather mild. I believe that in stagnant water they 
 invariably bury themselves in the mud when the weather gets 
 cold, but they certainly do occasionally come out to feed. 
 
 Tench have extraordinary powers of living in mud, and large 
 fish are frequently taken out of what are little better than mud- 
 holes. In my youthful days I used to fish a small farm 
 horse-pond, which, though shallow and muddy, contained many 
 tench over lib. in weight. One summer the pond all but dried 
 up, and some gipsies nearly cleared it of tench by means of hay 
 rakes, literally raking the fish out of the mud. 
 
 All the tench I have tasted, whether taken in the Thames or 
 in muddy ponds, have been excellent eating, and well flavoured. 
 The slime should be scraped off before the fish are cooked. If 
 the fish from any pond are bad flavoured— and I have heard of 
 such— they might be improved by being placed in a hamper 
 moored in a stream, or, failing the stream, in a vessel of water 
 placed under a tap left running. 
 
 The best baits for tench are worms — redworms and brandlings 
 in summer when the water is bright, lobworms in winter, or at 
 any time when the river is coloured. Paste made of stale brown 
 bread and honey (mentioned by Izaak Walton) is also very good, 
 and sometimes wasp-grubs and gentles are used with success. 
 The best ground-baits are worms, when worms are on the hook ; 
 bran, brown bread, and potatoes when the brown-bread paste 
 is used; and carrion gentles when wasp-grubs or gentles are the 
 hook-bait. The worm-oil mentioned on page 63 is said to be 
 very attractive for tench, but I have not tried it. 
 
 Angling for Tench in Ponds and Lakes is very similar 
 to carp-fishing. The same precautions should be taken, though 
 tench are not quite so shy as carp ; nevertheless, it always pays 
 to attend to matters of detail. As a rule, it is best to let 
 the bait lie on the bottom, as in carp-fishing ; but occasionally 
 tench seem to take the bait more freely when it only just 
 
BAITING THK HOOK FOR TENCH. 109 
 
 touches the bottom. The fish bite best in summer before 
 9 a.m., and after 7 p.m., and may be taken on a leger long 
 after dark. 
 
 River-fishing for tench can be carried on either with a light 
 leger, with the leger float-tackle described on page 47, or with 
 the tight-corking float-tackle, which is very similar (see Chap. V.). 
 Very few shot and small quill floats can be used, as tench- 
 swims are always slow. My Thames experience of tench taught 
 me that it is better to wind the worm round and round the hook, 
 inserting the point at each turn, than to thread the worm on 
 from head to tail. When I threaded the wonn, the fish used 
 to take it up, and then, after mouthing it, feel the hook and 
 leave it ; but when I surrounded the hook with a thick lobworm 
 I found the bait was not left, so I suppose the hook was not felt. 
 I think it is as well not to strike until the float sails off. I have 
 tried Stewart worm-tackle for tench, but did not find it answer, 
 though it was excellent for roach, chub, and perch. The late 
 Francis Francis advised the angler, when the tench merely 
 played with the worm, to draw the bait very gently away a few 
 inches to bring the coy fish up to the scratch. I have not tried 
 the plan myself. 
 
 I have written but little concerning tench-fishing, because I 
 wish to avoid repetition, and because by perusing the chapters 
 on carp and roach the reader will learn almost all that it is 
 really necessary for him to know, short of actual experience, 
 on the subject. 
 
 • > -•- < • 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 TEE BREAM. 
 
 Carp Bream — Bream Flat — Habits and Haunts — Making a 
 Night of it — Baits and Ground-baits — Float-fishing and 
 Legering — The Ouse Method — Pond and Lake Fishing. 
 
 )B.EAM are in shape the very opposite of chub, being 
 narrow across the back and shoulders, and round and 
 deep in the belly. There are three known varieties of 
 these fish in the United Kingdom: First, the Pomeranian 
 bream, so rare that I may dismiss him without further notice ; 
 second, the carp or golden bream, a fine fish, which grows to 
 151b. or more in weight, is often taken weighing 51b. or 61b., 
 and abounds in the rivers and broads of Norfolk, in the Eastern 
 counties, and in the lower reaches of the Thames and some of 
 its tributaries; thirdly, the white bream, silver bream, or 
 bream flat, a silvery little fish, which rarely exceeds lib. in weight. 
 Bream spawn in May, or later, and are fished for all through 
 the summer and autumn, and are sometimes taken in winter, 
 when the water is coloured. The favourite haunts of carp- 
 bream in rivers are the deep holes at bends, where the stream 
 is slow, or almost imperceptible. The broad, deep reaches, 
 where the water hardly moves, are usually well stocked with 
 these fish. In ponds, the deepest holes are also the most likely 
 places to find bream. In very large lakes, meres, and broads, 
 it is generally best to fish not too far from the sides, near 
 reed-beds, and in holes among weeds, where the water is from 
 
NIGHT-FISHING FOR BREAM. Ill 
 
 10ft. to 15ft. deep. At certain times of the day bream rise to 
 the surface and sport, so that, by a very slight strain upon his 
 powers of observation, the angler can easily discover the where- 
 abouts of the fish. When sporting, they of course do not feed 
 on the bottom. It often happens that almost immediately 
 they disappear from the sm-f ace the angler begins to catch them . 
 The great objection I have to bream is the early hour — 
 particularly in rivers — at which they usually breakfast. In 
 most streams no sport worth the name will be had except between 
 2 p.m. or 3 p.m., and a mortal's breakfast hour. Many bream-fishers 
 make a night of it, going to the river's bank about midnight, 
 and waiting there until the fish come on the feed. And when 
 the bream do " come on," what mighty takes are made ! Great 
 fellows, varying from 21b. to 51b., take the bait one after another, 
 as fast as the angler will allow them, only stopping when the 
 sun rises well above the tree-tops. Then, weary, with aching 
 back, and a sack half full of fish, the bream-fisher goes home, 
 staggering under his burden. This is no fancy picture. On 
 the Bedfordshire Ouse, men go out night after night and bring 
 home fish which they weigh, not by the pound, but by the 
 stone. Many a time have I met them coming home to break- 
 fast just as I have been starting to fish that glorious river, and 
 now and again have joined them in one of their night attacks 
 on a bream stronghold. In certain streams, to wit the Lower 
 Thames, good baskets of fish are sometimes made in the daytime. 
 Baits and Ground-baits. — Worms are the very best bait 
 for bream — either a small lob, three redworms, or two brandlings. 
 Boiled wheat (see pages 33 and 42), greaves, gentles, wasp-grubs, 
 caddis baits, and paste, will also take these fish, but are de- 
 cidedly inferior to worms. For ground-bait, lobworms are best, 
 when obtainable in sufficient quantities (see page 57); failing 
 these, greaves can be tried, or boiled wheat, or a mixture of any 
 of the aforementioned baits, made up into balls with clay or 
 barley-meal. Sheep's blood is supposed to add greatly to the 
 attractiveness of the ground-bait.* No doubt the fish do like 
 
 * The following is a nice mixture for ground-bait sometimes used in the Norfolk 
 Broads : One pail fresh (brewers') grains, half pail bullock's blood, half pail clean 
 clay, with a few handfuls of greaves, and a little crushed oilcake. The whole 
 should be made into balls, and dried in the sun. 
 
112 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 it, but I have always been satisfied with the sport I have 
 obtained without using it. Potatoes, bread, and pollard, is a 
 good mixture for a pond-fishing. On the Ouse, a very favourite 
 ground-bait is brewers' grains; half a bucketful is thrown in 
 about twenty-four hours before the angling takes place. The 
 remarks on baiting up swims on pages 10, 39, and 62, should be 
 noted, as they apply to all kinds of fish. 
 
 Float-fishing and Legering are the two methods by which 
 bream are usually captured. For the deep swims, where the water 
 is almost motionless, there is no better tackle than the combina- 
 tion of float and leger described on page 47. If the swim is 
 veiy deep, it may be necessary to use a sliding float (see page 
 26). In the Lower Thames, rather heavy water is fished for 
 bream, for which a leger is best suited. Swims of from 4ft. 
 to 6ft. in depth are best fished with ordinary Nottingham tackle. 
 Bream are not often in such shallow water, but when they are, 
 the angler cannot be too far from them. The way to use this 
 tackle is described on pages 43 and 78. 
 
 In night fishing, the angler who uses coarse tackle will catch 
 more fish than he who uses fine, as he can land the fish quicker. 
 The professional bream-fishers of the Ouse use no running tackle, 
 but a long, stout rod, a very lai'ge cork float, and a few yards 
 of coarse hemp line, terminated with a few feet of very thick 
 gut. They moor their boat — if they fish from one — in a line with 
 the stream, and stick out two rods with about 2ft. of line 
 between the top of the rod and the float. They plumb the 
 depth, so that 1ft. or more of line rests on the bottom. Their 
 tackle cast out, they put down their rods, and only take them up 
 when they see their heavy floats go under. This plan is of very 
 little use in the daytime, but answers well at night, when it is to 
 be presumed the bream cannot see the line. Fine wti-drawn gut 
 will be found best for bream-fishing, and the running tackle the 
 same as used for chub — if anything, a little stouter. The larger 
 of the two rods described on page 13 answers admirably for 
 carp-bream. If the travelling-float, or Nottingham method is 
 followed, the bait should just trip along the bottom. The size 
 of hook used must, of course, depend on the bait. 
 
 For pond and lake fishing, a very tiny float and one or two 
 
THE EIGHT TIME TO STRIKE. 113 
 
 shots are all that is required. A self-cocking float (see page 26) 
 and no shot on the line, is better still if the gnt can be got to 
 hang quite straight (see page 104). If the tackle has to be cast some 
 distance from the bank, it must, of course, be weighted more 
 heavily, or the leger can be used. The depth of bream swims 
 should never be taken at the time of fishing : the swim should 
 be plumbed the previous day, and the depth marked on the rod. 
 The bite of a bream is peculiar. After several uneasy move- 
 ments, the float (unless it is a self-cocking one) lies flat on the 
 surface, and then sails slowly away just under the water. 
 Anglers differ as to the right time to strike. I believe in waiting 
 until the float goes under, but some anglers strike at the moment 
 the float begins to lie over on its side. 
 
 These remarks, taken with what I have written concerning 
 fishing with float and leger in previous chapters, are, I think, all 
 that are necessary respecting carp and bream. The white or 
 silver bream is caught in a similar manner, and bites freely — too 
 freely sometimes — on any suitable day. In some of the Norfolk 
 Broads they are so numerous and so hungry as to be a pei'fect 
 nuisance to the angler who hopes to catch better fish. A certain 
 amount of knowledge of the water is very desirable in bream- 
 fishing, and I would advise anyone, however accomplished, to be 
 not above asking the advice of local fishermen as to the haunts 
 of the fish and their habits. 
 
 I must not forget to add — for the comfort of my readers — 
 that if any serious bream-fishing is attempted by the angler 
 who has any regard for his clothes, a kitchen apron should be 
 worn. A towel or duster will be found most useful to wipe the 
 hands on after either baiting the hook or unhooking the fish. 
 
 » > ■*— < • 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 TEE RUED. 
 
 Habits and Haunts — Tackle and Baits— Flies and Fly-fishing. 
 
 § DOUBT if there is a more handsome coarse fish than the 
 rudd — 
 A kind of roach all tinged with gold, 
 Strong, broad, and thick, most lovely to behold, 
 
 as an old writer hath it. Rudd differ from roach in being 
 deeper, more glorious in colouring — resplendent with silver, 
 orange, gold, and red — in the under lip projecting, while that of 
 the roach overhangs ; and in the position of the dorsal fin, which 
 begins on the back, slightly behind the anal fin, while in the 
 roach the dorsal fin is almost over the anal fin. The tail is more 
 forked than that of the roach. It has been supposed — wrongly, 
 I believe — that rudd are hybrids between roach and bream. 
 
 Rudd sometimes attain a weight of 41b., but are not often 
 caught over ljlb. in English waters. Fishing with a fly one 
 summer's morning in Lough Derg, I had the good fortune to 
 take twenty-nine rudd, which weighed exactly 291b., and among 
 them were several varying from 2£lb. to 31b. Rudd are called 
 roach in Ireland. They are widely distributed in the United 
 Kingdom, breed prodigiously fast in ponds and lakes, and are 
 also found in many rivers. They are plentiful in the Norfolk 
 Broads, Slapton Ley, several Irish lakes, and in many ponds. 
 There are some in the Thames, but that river cannot suit 
 them, as they do not seem to increase. 
 
FLY-FISHING FOR EUDD. 115 
 
 Tackle and Baits for Rudd. — Rudd take the same baits 
 as roach, and may be angled for in an exactly similar manner 
 (see Chapter III.)- In ponds I have found paste coloured 
 •with red lead a capital bait. I once caught a rudd in the 
 Shannon on a very small perch which I was using as a bait 
 for perch, but the occurrence was decidedly exceptional. Even 
 in well-fished waters these fish are much easier to catch than 
 roach. 
 
 The way to obtain the best sport with rudd is to fish for 
 them with an artificial fly. This can only be done when they 
 are shoaling on the shallows, which is usually during hot 
 weather. They «can then often be seen moving quietly about 
 with their back fins out of water. They should be very 
 cautiously approached, either by wading, or in a punt or other 
 flat-bottomed craft. The angler should on no account stand 
 up, and should cast as long a line as he conveniently can. I 
 have found the Governor, dressed to Francis Francis' pattern, a 
 very good fly ; a moderate-sized red palmer, with a little gold 
 or silver tinsel on the body, is also good. As a matter of 
 fact, rudd are not very particular as to flies. Should artificial 
 flies fail, one or two gentles cast like a fly will often do execu- 
 tion, or the fly can be tipped with a gentle, or may be tied with 
 a short wash-leather or white kid tail. Another good plan is 
 to tie a pair of wings on a sliced hook, and thread a gentle 
 up the bare shank. A few turns of hackle at the head of the 
 fly will do no harm. If a sliced hook is not available, a fine 
 hog's bristle can be bound on to the shank of the hook, which 
 will keep the gentle in its place. 
 
 When the fly is cast, it should be drawn slowly through the 
 water towards the angler. If the rudd are on the feed, half a 
 dozen or more fish will follow the fly, making a great wave in the 
 water. The angler should be careful not to strike until he sees 
 his line commence to tighten. The fish, when hooked, should 
 be very lightly played, as they have delicate mouths ; and care 
 
 Ihould be taken not to alarm the rest of the shoal. 
 Rudd are not quite such good eating as roach. 
 . ? — *— c . 
 E2 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE BLEAK. 
 
 Habits and Haunts — How to Preserve for Spinning Baits— Cast- 
 ing a Gentle — How to Clear a Roach Swim — A Hint to 
 Tliames Trout-fishers. 
 
 ^\PF the river fish which may be said to afford sport to the 
 angler, the bleak is the most insignificant. In some 
 parts of England it is called a tailor, and it is a 
 curious fact that in the south of Germany it is usually termed a 
 Schneider. In size and appearance bleak are not unlike sprats. 
 but are more silvery, and when seen in the water have a very 
 beautiful tinge of sea green. They are delicate eating, but are 
 rarely caught for the table, their principal use being as spinning 
 baits for trout and pike.* They are found in most of the English 
 rivers containing coarse fish, and are particularly numerous in 
 the Thames. All through the summer they swim in shoals 
 close to the surface, but in the winter are rarely seen. They 
 do not favour very strong or very shallow swims, and the most 
 certain spots to find them are near overhanging trees, where the 
 stream is gentle, and where, of course, small flies are very 
 plentiful. In roach swims they are often a great nuisance, 
 seizing the bait before it can get down to the roach. I have 
 
 * To preserve bleak for winter use, dry them on a cloth, anil place them in spirits, 
 in a pickle-bottle. At the end of a fortnight change the spirits. If kept a year or 
 two, they get very tough. I am indebted to Mr. Jardine for the knowledge of the 
 advantage of changing the spirits. The first lot of spirits is full of grease out of 
 the fish, and if the Daits are left in it, they lose their brilliancy. 
 
HOW TO FIND BLEAK. 
 
 11/ 
 
 already described the best thing to be done under these cir- 
 cumstances (see page 51). 
 
 The most artistic way to angle for these pretty little fish is 
 to cast a caddis bait, or a gentle threaded on to a No. 14 hook 
 as if it were a fly, and allow it to sink, striking immediately the 
 line tightens; or the same tackle, with the addition of the 
 smallest possible float, a foot above the hook, will answer as 
 well, or perhaps better. Bleak may also be caught with a very 
 small artificial fly, but ten will be caught on the gentle to one 
 on the fly. 
 
 It is sometimes so important to catch a few bleak for bait 
 that the following method for finding out their whereabouts is 
 worth noting. Throw a piece of bread into the stream, and 
 watch it. As soon as it floats near a shoal of bleak it will be 
 attacked on all sides, and nearly lifted out of the water. Of 
 course, every angler knows that this happens when bread is 
 thrown in, but they do not always think to try the plan when 
 they are wildly seeking for the baits which are always (why is 
 it?) most difficult to find when most urgently wanted. 
 
 ■ >.«.« < . 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE EEL. 
 
 Habits and Haunts — Improved Eel-spear — Angling for Eels — ■ 
 Bucks and Wheels — Bobbing — Sniggling — Snaring — An Irish 
 Method. 
 
 fWILL not trouble my readers with the controversies 
 which have taken place regarding the different varieties 
 of eels. Modern opinion tends to the view that there is 
 only one species of eel, of which species there are, broadly 
 speaking, three varieties in British rivers and lakes — those 
 with broad noses and large mouths, coloured somewhat like 
 tench, and believed by Dr. Day to be sterile females, which have 
 lost the migratory habit; those which have very pointed noses, 
 and are silvery, except on the back ; and an eel with a nose of 
 medium dimensions. The silver-bellied, pointed-nosed eels are 
 the best eating, the yellow, broad-nosed ladies being decidedly 
 inferior as an article of diet. I need not describe in detail the 
 appearance of eels, for one or more members of the family 
 may be seen in any fishmonger's during the summer months. 
 They are most interesting fish, and I am greatly tempted to 
 write at some length on their peculiarities. Suffice it, how- 
 ever, to say that they are almost ubiquitous, being found in the 
 great majority of rivers and ponds in the world, except where 
 the cold is extreme ; that the silver eels migrate at the end of 
 the summer, unless prevented, to the estuaries of rivers, for 
 the purpose of spawning, most of them remaining in the sea, 
 
HAUNTS AND HABITS OF EELS. 
 
 119 
 
 and very likely developing into congers ; and that the eel-fry, or 
 elvers, ascend rivers in great quantities in the spring. Eels 
 which are confined in ponds and lakes probably spawn, like 
 many other fish, on the bottom. 
 
 The only times when the angler has a really good chance of 
 catching eels are on dark nights, or in the daytime when the rivers 
 are muddy from heavy rains, or when the air is heavily charged 
 with electricity, as it usually is before and during thunder- 
 storms. Eels are very susceptible to cold, and do not feed or 
 run much in winter, unless the weather is mild or the water 
 highly coloured. Their haunts in summer are under stones, 
 holes in banks, the submerged roots of trees, the crannies in 
 old camp shedding — in fact, any spot affording cover of some kind 
 or another, and particularly those places where food is to be 
 found, such as the outfall of a drain from a slaughter-house. 
 In the spring, about the time the willows bud, 
 they are fond of lying in masses of weed. They 
 may then be speared by plunging the spear 
 into each likely bank of weed. An old couplet 
 
 runs : 
 
 When the willow conies out in bud, 
 Then the eels come out of the mud. 
 
 Fig. 37. 
 Improved 
 Eel-spear. 
 
 In the winter they lie in the mud, and are then 
 also speared, often at haphazard; but if the 
 water is clear, the blow-holes of the eels can 
 be seen, and the spear directed accordingly. 
 The best kind of spear is shown in Fig. 37. 
 This pattern spear, which is not generally 
 known, was, I believe, invented a few years 
 ago by a gentleman living near Cambridge. 
 
 Angling for Eels is best done with a leger (see page 27) 
 baited with a lobworm. A dead minnow threaded on to a hook 
 is also a good bait. In Lancashire, skinned mice and plucked 
 sparrows are considered good baits. The gut should be strong, and 
 the hook a No. 2 Round Bend. A deep, quiet corner in a weir-pool, 
 near old piles and camp shedding, is a capital place to try at 
 night. Give the eel plenty of time to bite, and as soon as you 
 have him in the boat, or on shore, do not hold him up by the line, 
 
12 () ANGLING FOE COARSE FISH. 
 
 but let him drop on the ground, or floor-boards of the boat, and 
 at once cut the gut close to his nose. The cook will get the hook 
 out when the eel is dead. It is decidedly less trouble to cut 
 the gut, and put on a fresh hook, than to get out the hook your- 
 self If you will do it, have ready a piece of flannel with which 
 to grasp the eel, or wear a woollen glove on the left hand. To 
 kill the eel, sever his backbone, just behind his head, with a 
 penknife; but first, if you conveniently can, give him a sharp 
 blow on the tail, which will have a very quieting effect. Eels, 
 by-the-way, when in a difficulty— such as a creel— invariably 
 try to get out of it tail first. If you want to get a live eel into 
 a basket, induce his tail to enter the receptacle, and the rest 
 of his body will surely follow. This may seem a contradiction 
 to the previous sentence, but is, nevertheless, correct. 
 
 I need hardly say that eels may be caught on float-tackle, or, 
 indeed, on any tackle the angler chooses to use for them, 
 provided the bait lies close to or on the ground, where it can 
 be noticed by the fish. Ground-baiting is not often practised for 
 eels, but long-continued feeding is certain to bring them 
 together in one spot. Blood should be introduced into any 
 ground-bait intended for eels. Fresh rabbits' entrails are said 
 to be wonderfully attractive. There are several 
 
 Other Methods of Taking Eels, which can hardly be 
 termed angling, but to which I think I ought to refer. The 
 bulk of the English eels sent to market are caught in nets, or 
 huge baskets, which are set out at openings in weirs, or are 
 placed in narrow side streams, and into which the eels tumble, 
 sometimes in thousands, during their migration seawards. 
 Everyone who has visited the upper Thames must be familiar 
 with the picturesque eel-bucks, as they are termed. 
 
 Smaller baskets, called wheels, are laid in spots frequented by 
 eels, and, being baited with gudgeon or other small fish, or offal, 
 are entered by the eels when searching about for food. 
 
 Long lines arrayed with any number of hooks, from two to 
 two hundred, are also used for taking eels ; but as they prove 
 deadly to every kind of fish, unless baited with dead minnows 
 or gudgeons (somehow or other the professional fisherman does 
 not UBe these two baits, though they are quite as good as worms 
 
BOBBING AND SNIGGLING. 121 
 
 for eels), I forbear to give any directions as to their use. Too 
 much is known on the subject of night-lines already. 
 
 Bobbing, or clod fishing, is rather good fun in its way, pro- 
 vided we can quite make up our minds that worms do not 
 feel. First catch fifty or a hundred lobworms, and, by means of 
 an extra long darning needle, string them through like beads, 
 from tail to head, on a length of woi*sted, and join the lengths 
 together. When this worm-necklace is several yards long, coil 
 it up into one lai-ge coil, about lOin. in diameter, tie a light cord to 
 it, and fasten the other end of the cord to a pole. I am, 
 perhaps, wrong in so pointedly telling the reader to make these 
 preparations, for when a base hireling can be obtained to do the 
 work, his services should certainly be utilised. At a suitable 
 time and place (the latter being where the eels ai*e, the former 
 when the eels are feeding or running), drop the coil of worms 
 in the water, let it just touch the bottom, and wait the course 
 of events. If an eel is about he will bite, and a tug will be felt » 
 then quietly and evenly raise the " clod " of worms out of the 
 water, and, most likely, the eel will be found hanging on, bravely, 
 but foolishly. If you are in a boat, lift him in without letting 
 so much as the tip of his tail touch the side, and drop him into 
 a pail of water. I have seen this plan practised with great 
 success in lakes, at the mouths of small streams, swollen and 
 muddy from the rain. 
 
 Sniggling is another queer way of taking eels. It can be 
 followed on hot summer days, when not much else can 
 be done. The tackle consists of a thin stick 
 about 6ft. in length (one end of which turns 
 round like the handle of a walking-stick), a few 
 yards of not too coarse running line, and a 
 stout needle. One end of the line is bound on 
 to the eyed half of the needle in the manner 
 shown in Fig. 38. To use this tackle, the 
 sniggler passes a worm on to the needle, 
 sticks the point of the needle into the bent end 
 of the stick, and then, holding the stick in his 
 right hand and the line in his left hand, he quietly places the 
 worm at the mouths of, and sometimes a little way into, holes 
 
122 ANGLINO FOE COARSE FISH. 
 
 in banks, between stones, or cracks in woodwork, or wherever 
 else he thinks an eel is likely to be. As soon as an eel sees the 
 worm, he seizes it, and the needle comes out of the stick. The 
 stick is then l'emoved, and at the end of a minute or two the 
 sniggler pulls the string, and the needle shifts across the poor 
 eel's throat. Then comes a case of pull eel pull sniggler ; but 
 the latter usually has the best of it — not through any great 
 display of force, but by keeping up one firm steady pull, which 
 is the great secret of getting eels from their strongholds, both 
 in salt water and fresh. Another plan is to stick 6in. of wire, 
 about as thick as a darning needle, into the end of a straight 
 stick, turn the wire at right angles, and insert the end of it 
 in the head of the worm. Possibly this is the better plan, as the 
 eel can draw the worm off the wire easier than it can pull 
 the needle out of the stick. Of course, the needle is in the 
 worm in both methods. 
 
 Not long since, I was told that eels may be snared when the 
 water is very clear and their blow-holes can be seen in the mud. 
 A fine wire noose (softened by being burnt in hay and allowed 
 to cool slowly) is fastened to the end of a stick, and laid 
 exactly over the hole. An assistant then prods the mud just 
 behind the hole with a sharp pointed stick, and, if he goes to 
 work skilfully, wakes up the eel, which puts its head out to see 
 what is the matter. Sometimes the eel is through the noose 
 and away before the snarer has time to jerk up the stick. 
 The operation must require some skill and practice. 
 
 Yet another method of taking eels and this chapter is finished. 
 One hot summer's day, I took off my shoes and stockings and 
 joined some juvenile Patlanders, who were turning over large 
 stones which lay in a foot or two of water on the side of a large 
 lake, and stabbed, or tried to stab, the eels, which were under- 
 neath, with a kitchen fork, before the poor things had time to 
 scuttle away. Great fun it was too. I believe I caught one eel 
 in about an hour. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 SMALL FRY. 
 
 Minnow — Stone Loach or Colloch — Ruffe or Pope — Miller's 
 Thumb or Bullhead— Stickleback. 
 
 .|f-|£3jHE first two fish coming under the term small fry are 
 /VftS' most useful as bait for trout, perch, and, occasionally, 
 — for pike and salmon. 
 
 Minnows are found in very many of the brooks and rivers 
 of the United Kingdom. They rarely exceed 3iin. in length, 
 and in shape and colouring are not unlike a brown trout without 
 the red spots. In the spring, about spawning time, they put on 
 most gorgeous hues. They ai*e found in shallow water. In 
 winter, they leave the rivers to escape the floods, and crowd 
 into ditches and drains. For their wholesale capture for bait, 
 I have given dh'ections on pages 66 and 67. They are easily 
 caught with rod and line, provided the hook is small enough. 
 It frequently happens that hooks of the requisite degree of 
 smallness are not kept in stock at the tackle- shops. 
 The line cannot be too fine, the float too small, nor the 
 fragment of worm on the hook too fragmentary. The angler 
 has only to walk along the river's bank until he sees the 
 minnows, cast in his tackle (first adjusting the float so that the 
 worm escapes the bottom), and success is certain. Minnows are 
 by no means bad eating if cooked a la whitebait. 
 
 The Stone Loach, or Colloch of Ireland, sometimes also 
 called the colley-bait, lives for the most part under stones in 
 
124 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 
 
 many of our rivers and brooks, and in a few ponds and lakes. 
 It somewhat resembles the gudgeon in size and colour, but baa 
 not tbe transparent appearance of tbat excellent little fisb. Its 
 nose, also, is mucb more pointed, and its moutb is adorned with 
 six to ten feelers, or barbules. It is easily captured, tbe modus 
 operandi being to turn over a stone, and catch the sby little fisb 
 with tbe band, or in a band-net, or by means of a fork, on which 
 latter method Mr. Blackmore has written charmingly in " Lorna 
 Doone." Loacbing requires a certain amount of activity, and 
 is not a suitable amusement for middle-aged gentlemen of 
 majestic proportions. "Wben tbe stone is turned over, tbe loach 
 wriggles ratber tban swims to anotber biding place, and if tbe 
 loacber fails in his first attempt, tbe loach generally gives him 
 a second opportunity. "Wben loach lie under flat-bottomed 
 stones, a tap with a hammer on tbe top of tbe stone will often 
 stun tbe loacb, and conduce to his capture. I have heard that 
 loach may be taken witb float tackle and a worm, but have 
 never tried the experiment. Loach are most excellent eating, 
 and are one of tbe best spinning baits for salmon and large 
 trout. 
 
 The Ruffe, or Pope, is a sweet-eating little fisb, which rarely 
 exceeds 3oz. or 4oz. in weight. It is a member of tbe perch 
 family, and is shaped almost exactly like tbe common percb, but 
 is marked and coloured very much like a gudgeon. It takes tbe 
 usual perch baits with avidity, and may be easily taken on 
 light gudgeon -tackle baited with worms. It will usually be 
 found in more quiet swims tban those frequented by gudgeon, 
 and rather on the edge of tbe stream than in it. When caught, 
 it should be handled with care, as tbe gill-covers are pointed, 
 and can inflict unpleasant wounds. It gives off a nasty slime 
 wben handled. Pope are river fisb, but are occasionally found 
 in lakes. 
 
 The Miller's Thumb, or Bullhead, is a monstrosity among 
 f resh-water fish, four-fiftbs of its body being a flat, sprawling 
 bead, likened, probably, to the miller's thumb because tbat useful 
 member of tbe man of flour is supposed to spread from con- 
 stantly feeling samples of meal. Miller's thumbs (tbe fisb) are 
 found principally under stones in rivers and brooks, and, 
 
ANGLING WITHOUT A HOOK. 125 
 
 occasionally, in shallow water. They eat almost everything 
 eatable that is not too large for them to swallow, and I have 
 heard that they are not bad eating themselves. Tillage urchins 
 sometimes angle for these peculiar beings by placing a hook 
 baited with a worm right under the stone where a bull- 
 head is lying. The better plan is to lift up the stone, and 
 extract the bullhead with the hand before he has time to flee. 
 
 The Stickleback. — Of these ubiquitous little fish there are 
 six varieties. They are all more or less armed with bony 
 plates along their sides, and spines on back and belly. They 
 are found in almost every ditch, river, and lake in the United 
 Kingdom, and rarely exceed l^in. in length. On rivers, they 
 live for the most part out of the stream — on muddy shallows. 
 They are interesting fish to keep in an aquarium, building a. 
 kind of nest, in which the female deposits her eggs, and at the 
 door of which the male keeps guard. They are as voracious as 
 the bullhead, and are very harmful, from the amount of fish 
 spawn and fry which they devour. They are easily caught by 
 means of a worm tied, at the middle, to a piece of cotton. As 
 soon as the stickleback has swallowed half the worm (the pro- 
 ceeding can be watched), pull him up gently. He will not 
 leave go. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 FISH NOT COMMONLY CAUGHT BY FRESH- 
 WATER ANGLERS. 
 
 Lamprey — Flounder — Burbolt or Burbot — Azurine Roach — 
 Vendace — Powan — Pollan — Gwyniad — Graining. 
 
 IpOHIS chapter, of course, includes, not only rare fish, but 
 S^Rr those not commonly caught by anglers. 
 
 ■ — The Lamprey is a peculiar, migratory fish, in shape 
 very similar to an eel ; but in lieu of a mouth it has a sucking 
 apparatus, with which it holds on to stones at the bottoms of 
 rivers. There are several varieties of this fish, one of which — 
 the sea lamprey — is deemed an edible luxury. The lampern is 
 a small, migratory kind of lamprey, which makes an excellent 
 bait for turbot, and is also used for trailing or whiffing in the 
 sea. It is sometimes taken by trout, chub, barbel, and eels. A 
 small variety of lamprey, termed the pride or mud lamprey, 
 does not appear to migrate. 
 
 The Flounder is a little flat-fish, which is usually found in 
 the brackish water of estuaries, but sometimes makes its way up 
 rivers into perfectly fresh water. It is easily taken on a leger 
 baited with a lobworm, and, indeed, will take most of the baits 
 used by the bottom fisher. It prefers quiet streams, where the 
 bottom is a sandy mud. Flounders begin life swimming on 
 edge like roach or bream, with an eye on each side of the head ; 
 but in a month or two, they flap along the bottom on one side 
 like other flat-fish, and both eyes come on to the upper side. 
 
 The Burbolt, Burbot, or Eel Pout, is, in appearance, 
 something between an eel and a cod-fish. It is rare, except in 
 a few rivers on the East Coast. It sometimes attains a weight 
 of 81b., though the average weight is about l^lb. It is the only 
 member of the cod family found in fresh water, and may be 
 known by its solitary barbule, its slender, elongated shape, and 
 
FRESH-WATER HERRINGS. 127 
 
 long, solitary anal fin. Living mostly on muddy bottoms, and 
 feeding principally at night, it is more often taken in eel-baskets 
 and on night-lines, than by the angler. This fish is fairly good 
 eating during the autumn and winter months. 
 
 The Azurine, incorrectly termed the blue roach, is a 
 beautiful and exceedingly rare variety of rudd only found in 
 a few localities. Its back is slate blue, and its belly and fins 
 are white. It has, says Mr. Cholmondeley Pennell, been angled 
 for and caught on carp baits. 
 
 The Vendace is a member of the salmon tribe. It has an 
 adipose fin, and breeds in autumn and winter. It attains a 
 length of 9in., and is greenish blue or black on the upper 
 half of the body, with belly silver, a glint of gold on sides, 
 and dark fins. This and the three following fish are very 
 similar in appearance, and are sometimes called fresh-water 
 herrings. The vendace is found in certain lakes near Loch- 
 maben, Dumfriesshire, in Derwentwater and the Bassenthwaite 
 Lakes. It is only to be taken in nets. An interesting account 
 of the vendace appeared in the Edinburgh Journal of Natural 
 and Geographical Science, and in the Transactions of the Royal 
 Society of Edinburgh. Extracts from these articles will be found 
 in Keene's " Practical Fisherman." 
 
 Powan are silvery little members of the salmon tribe, which 
 are found in great numbers in Loch Lomond, and, doubtless, 
 in some other large lakes. There is no record, so far as I know 
 of these fish having been taken by the angler. 
 
 The Pollan, also a member of the salmon family, is very 
 similar to the powan. Tons of these fish are netted in some 
 of the large Irish lakes during the year, and sent to England, 
 where they are sold as " Irish grayling." The pollan grows to 
 about lOin. or 12in. in length, swims in shoals, and is supposed to 
 feed on fresh-water shrimps. It will occasionally take the artificial 
 fly. When swimming near the surface, a shoal of these fish will 
 cause a peculiar ripple in the water. Once, after vainly fishing 
 one of these ripples with a fly, I fired a small shot-gun at the 
 edge of the shoal, and picked off a solitary fish. It ate very like 
 a herring, but was more delicate, and less oily. A fine line, 
 baited with fresh-water shrimps, and buoyed with small frag- 
 
128 ANGLING FOE COARSE FISH. 
 
 ments of cork, might, very likely, take pollan -when they are 
 swimming near the surface. 
 
 The Gwyniad is a member of the salmon tribe, so like the 
 powan, pollan, and vendace, as to have been supposed, by some 
 naturalists, to be identical with them. It is found in several of 
 the Cumberland lakes, and in Wales. There is, I believe, no 
 known method of catching this fish with hook and line. 
 
 The Graining is an exceedingly rare variety of dace, being 
 only found in the Mersey, the Alt (Lancashire), the Learn, at 
 Leamington, and some streams in the townships of Burton Wood 
 and Sankey. It is said to be somewhat like a dace, but with a 
 more rounded nose ; the upper part of the head and body is drab 
 tinged with red ; the cheeks and gill-covers are a silver yellowish- 
 white, and the fins are a pale yellowish-white. The graining rises 
 to a fly, but the redworm is a more killing bait. Yarrell's speci- 
 mens of graining in the British Museum are, so Dr. Day tells 
 me, undoubted examples of dace. 
 
 In addition to the above, there is a sea-fish — the Shad — 
 which visits a few of our rivers for a short time in the spring 
 months, for spawning purposes. There are two varieties of 
 this fish found off the British coasts, the twaite and allice 
 shad. I consider shad excellent eating. They have a distinct 
 salmon flavour. 
 
 I have given but scanty information in this chapter, for 
 the simple and all-sufficient reason that the fish mentioned 
 are of small account to anglers. All the British coarse fish 
 have now been treated of, the pike excepted, to which most 
 sport-giving fish the second division of this work is devoted. 
 
DIVISION II. 
 
 IiGLiia for Pike. 
 
ft 
 
 O 
 < 
 
ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 Appearance — Local Names — Bate of Growth — Size — Food — 
 Voracity — Edible Qualities — Growing Scarcity — Necessity 
 for Fish-culture — A Breeding-pond — Haunts and Habits in 
 Summer and Winter — General Bemarks on Pike-fishing. 
 
 !:JjFJ;HE pike is in many respects a remarkable fish. In appear - 
 j'DK ance it differs in a striking degree from any other of the 
 fresh- water species, and in shape and colouring is particularly 
 adapted for a life among weeds, reeds, and rushes. What form 
 could quicker dart through a weed-bed than that long body and 
 sharp snout, propelled by vigorous movements of the broad tail, 
 the action of which is assisted by a large anal fin, and a dorsal 
 fin, placed well back ? "What colour could less betray his where- 
 abouts to the unfortunate fish on which he feeds, or (when he is 
 young) to other pike who only await the chance to feed on him, 
 than that dark-green back, shading to white on the belly, with 
 yellow markings on the sides ? His mouth verily bristles with 
 teeth — long, sharp-pointed ones on the edge of the lower jaw, 
 which can inflict nasty wounds, and hundreds of smaller ones 
 on the roof of his mouth, which slant towards his throat, and 
 take a deadly hold on his prey. Truly has he been termed 
 fresh-water shark, and wolf, tyrant, devastator, and other well- 
 
 DIV. II. B 
 
2 ANGLING FOE PIKE. 
 
 deserved names. Look at him gazing up with his wicked eyes 
 from the well of the punt ! If looks mean anything, that 
 expression says, as plainly as possible, " I'd like to eat you ! " 
 
 Jack, pickerel, luce, gedd or gade (Lowlands of Scotland), 
 gullet (Northumberland), baked (Cambridgeshire), are some of 
 the names borne by the pike. Jack is the name most commonly 
 used in the Midlands and Southern counties of England, " pike " 
 being only applied to fish of considerable size. In Ireland and 
 Scotland, pike is the more common name for fish of all sizes, a 
 jack being understood by Southerners to be a pike of small 
 size. Many writers have attempted to define the exact weight 
 at which the jack ends and the pike begins. As a matter of 
 fact, the names which are popular and not scientific are con- 
 stantly used far too loosely for any accurate definition to be 
 possible. Luce and pickerel are old English words which are 
 not often heard now. 
 
 Nothing certain is known concerning the growth-rate of pike, 
 probably for the simple reason that there is nothing certain to 
 know. The growth of most kinds of fish depends chiefly on the 
 amount of food they can obtain. For instance, a trout in a 
 Devonshire brook may, at the end of three years, be not above 
 ilb. in weight — probably much less — whereas, had he been 
 placed at an early age in a Hampshire river where fish-food 
 is abundant, he would in the same time have at least attained 
 treble that weight. There is a record of a pike kept in the 
 Zoological Gardens which only increased lilb. in ten years ! 
 Under favourable circumstances, there is no doubt that pike 
 gain weight very rapidly, especially during the first few years of 
 their existence ; they eat enormously, and their growth-rate 
 corresponds to their appetites. In " The Book of the Pike " is 
 recorded how eight pike, of about 51b. each, once ate nearly 
 800 gudgeon in three weeks, and that the appetite of one 
 of them was almost insatiable. Mr. Cholmondeley Pennell, 
 the author of the work referred to, gives it as his opinion 
 that, in open waters, the maximum growth during the first 
 year does not much exceed £lb., seldom averages more than 
 lib. a year during the first two years, and from l£lb. to 21b. 
 a year afterwards, decreasing again, after eight or nine years, 
 to about lib. a year. 
 
MONSTER PIKE : FABULOUS AND OTHERWISE. 3 
 
 As to the size pike attain — Here I must lay down my pen 
 and consider a moment. First, I will say that I believe seven- 
 eighths the stories about big pike to be untrue; secondly, 
 that one or two immense pike may have been taken, but that, 
 with one exception,* no skeleton, cast, or head of a giant pike 
 is in existence. Of late years, no pike is known to have been 
 taken weighing 401b. or over. The largest pike I ever felt 
 quite satisfied about were two caught in England by Mr. 
 Alfred Jardine, which weighed 371b. and 361b. respectively, 
 and were exhibited a few years back at the Fisheries Exhi- 
 bition, South Kensington.f The largest pike I ever killed 
 weighed 251b. two days after it was caught, and fell a 
 victim to a Thames bleak (one of a bottle-full which I 
 had exported in spirits of wine to Ireland), mounted on 
 a Chapman spinner. Twice I have hooked pike about the 
 same size in the Thames, but with unpleasant results. I am 
 convinced that half the tales of big pike arise from want of 
 a proper weighing-machine. Unless a railway station is handy, 
 or the angler possesses a spring balance which will weigh over 
 301b. or 401b., as often as not the weight of the pike has to be 
 guessed — and we all know what that means. Again, however 
 fast fish may grow in the water, it is an unquestionable fact 
 that they grow very much faster after they have been hooked, 
 played, and landed. If pike weighing from 701b. to 1001b. 
 were so common a century or more ago, why is it we are never 
 gratified with the sight of even a forty-pounder nowadays ? 
 Photographs of large fish give no accurate idea of their size, 
 unless a measure or some article of known size — e.g., a postage 
 stamp — is photographed with them. 
 
 * The head of a pike measuring 9in. across is preserved in Kenmure Castle, 
 co. Galway. The recorded weight of this fish is 721b. 
 
 t Mr. Jardine has kindly furnished me with the following details concerning 
 some of his largest pike : " My 371b. pike," he writes, " was caught on Nov. 4th, 1879, 
 in_ Buckinghamshire. Measurements : Extreme length, 47in. ; length, eye to tail, 
 39in. ; length of head, 13in. ; girth, 25in. ; caught on my snap tackle, with large 
 live dace for bait. On Jan. 24th, 1877, near Maidstone, in Kent, I caught a 361b. 
 pike. Extreme length, 46in. ; length, eye to tail, 38in. ; length of head, 12;,in. ; 
 girth, 25in. ; bait, a large live roach, on my snap tackle. Frank Buckland made 
 two casts of this fish: one is in the Buckland Museum, South Kensington : the other, 
 exquisitely painted by H. L. Rolfe, is in my possession. On Feb. 25th, 1882, in 
 Sussex, I caught, on a gut paternoster, with a verv small live dace } a 311b. female 
 
 ?>ike, of most elegant shape and exquisite condition and colourings. Extreme 
 ength, 44in. ; length, eye to tail, 36Mn. ; length of head, llin. ; girth, 24in." 
 
 B 2 
 
4 ANGLING FOB PIKE. 
 
 Pike are anything but vegetarians. During infancy they 
 feed on worms, small fry, and the ordinary coarse fish-food, 
 but after the first year there is no fish of swallowable size 
 safe from their attack : the young of waterfowl — and not unf re- 
 cently the old birds too — rats, mice, and, in fact, every living 
 thing that moves on or in the water, which is not too large, will 
 serve them as a meal. Some things they naturally like better 
 than others. Tench they certainly do not like, but, at the 
 same time, will occasionally eat them.* Perch, which many 
 writers have asserted to be too prickly for a pike to swallow, 
 are in some places used as a bait without the back fin being 
 removed. I once opened a jack weighing about 51b. which 
 had in its interior no less than four perch of between Jib. and 
 hlb. each. Occasionally a good-sized pike will condescend to 
 a worm, and I have twice caught small ones on cheese when 
 fishing for chub with Nottingham tackle. There are fairly 
 well authenticated instances of pike rising at swallows 
 skimming the surface of the water, and an Irishman told 
 me he lost a snipe which fell into the water, and was seized 
 by a pike before his dog could reach it. Once I took a 
 small pike on a lake trout-fly, but this was in very shallow 
 water. I shall, of course, have more to say concerning the 
 favourite food of these fish when I come to the subject of baits. 
 
 I have already hinted at the voracity of pike. When really 
 hungry they will stick at nothing. Often and often has 
 the indiscriminating fish seized the live-bait angler's gaudily- 
 coloured cork float, and ignored the less noticeable but more 
 toothsome fish-bait swimming only a few feet beneath it 
 Boys have been attacked when bathing, horses seized by the 
 nose when drinking, and even the wily fox has been caught 
 by the still more wily pike. Ah me, what good stories has 
 his pikeship afforded us! Some of them are true, most 
 are not; but they one and all create amusement, and some- 
 
 * In the Fishing Gazette of 23rd Jan., 1886, Mr. Richardson, of Grantham, 
 stated that he had recently taken a pike weighing 231b. lOoz. on a jib. tench. Mr. 
 Jardine tells me that Saunders, the well-known taxidermist, took from the bellies 
 of three pike, which weighed tOlb., several large tench weighing between 21b. and 
 51b. each. The pike were taken at Kingsfleet, where there is little else but 
 tench for them to eat. 
 
PIKE IN THE KITCHEN. 5 
 
 times amazement and awe. Those that have already appeared 
 in print do not require repetition ; hut I will give an instance 
 of a pike's voracity, for the truth of which I really can 
 vouch. In August, 1879, I was spinning in Scariff Bay. 
 Lough Derg. My hait was a SAin. spoon — an exceptionally 
 large one. I had a run, played and landed the fish, and 
 found it to he a pike weighing exactly 31h. The tail of a 
 trout was sticking out of its mouth. I pulled out the trout, 
 and found it had only just heen swallowed, and was so little 
 damaged that we had it for dinner that evening. The pike 
 without the trout weighed only 21b., and the trout consequently 
 weighed lib. Thus, the hungry beast after having in its maw 
 a fish weighing half as much as itself, the tail of which had 
 not had time to disappear, actually seized a large spoon-bait 
 representing a fish weighing ^lb. or more. The weights I have 
 given were most carefully taken. 
 
 Pike are good or bad to eat according to the water they come 
 out of, the season, the skill and humour of the cook, and the 
 fashion of the day. At present pike are not held in high 
 esteem for the table, but the time was when they were apparently 
 deemed a great luxury. For instance, in the reign of Edward I. 
 they were more costly than salmon, and many times moi - e 
 valuable than cod or turbot. The best pike I have eaten 
 came out of the Shannon lakes, some of them having a curd 
 such as one finds in a freshly-caught salmon. I never saw 
 this curd in an English pike. The next best fish of the 
 kind I have tasted came out of the Hampshire Avon; and 
 close upon these followed the jack of the Thames and the 
 Bedfordshire Ouse. Pond pike are bad eating, so far as my 
 experience goes. Given abundance of food and water, and a 
 gravelly or rocky bottom, pike are worth cooking. Then their 
 flesh is flaky and firm, not unlike that of cod, and the 
 flavour is delicate. Small pike are an abomination on the 
 dinner-table, on account of their three-pronged bones, which 
 are out of all proportion to their flesh. Fish of 41b. should 
 be deemed the minimum size for the table. In Lough Derg, 
 where the pike must spawn very early, I found them in first- 
 rate condition in May. In the Thames, pike-fishing does not 
 
6 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 begin until June 16th, which is all too soon, and the fish are 
 not worth eating until the middle of July at the earliest. 
 
 Much, as I have hinted, depends on the cooking. I have 
 enjoyed pike which had been simply plain boiled {on the day 
 they were killed), and served up with oyster sauce; but for this 
 simple mode of preparation they should be in the primest 
 condition. Abundance of salt should be boiled with them, 
 and they are improved by crimping — i.e., making deep cuts 
 across the back, at intervals of 2in., as soon as the fish has 
 been landed and knocked on the head. While the blood is 
 flowing the fish should be held in the water. Baking is a 
 very favourite method of cooking pike. The main points 
 about it are a good stuffing for the fish, a rich brown gravy, 
 flavoured with port wine, and a piece of flare laid over the fish, to 
 keep it moist all the time it is cooking. Too often, alas ! 
 baked pike are dried up by ignorant or careless cooks, and 
 the dish is spoiled. The best way to bake a pike is to roast 
 it in a tin before the fire. I learned this in Ireland. The 
 fish can then be properly basted. A thick slice of pike, 
 egged, bread-crumbed, and fried in butter, is also very good. 
 Many a panful of such cutlets have I fried when out on fish- 
 ing excursions. Very good fish-cakes and kedgeree can be 
 made from pike; and there are many other ways of cooking 
 this fish, which for lack of space I am unable to notice.* 
 
 Pike, though found in a large number of rivers and 
 lakes in the United Kingdom.f are, I am very sorry to say, 
 getting scarcer every year. As a matter of fact, really good 
 pike-fishing, except in a few preserves, and in some remote 
 places in Ireland and Scotland, is not to be obtained. The 
 reason is not far to seek: As anglers have increased, pike have 
 decreased. Not only are anglers more numerous, but they 
 are also much more skilful than in former years, and in any 
 water in which there are pike to catch, caught they certainly 
 will be if our friend Piscator is given an opportunity. At 
 one time wire and a hempen cord was the common tackle for 
 
 Mr. Jardine tells me that he considers kippered pike superior to the bulk of 
 spent flsb— i.e., kippers-which are sold as kippered salmon. Pike should be 
 kippered in autumn and winter, when in their best condition, 
 t They are absent from the Isle of Wight. 
 
PIKE PRESERVATION. 7 
 
 pike; now we use salmon-gut, with a fragment of fine patent 
 gimp near the hook, and sometimes fish even still finer. Is it 
 surprising that pike are becoming scarce ? Something must 
 be done, or soon there will be none left, which would be 
 almost a national calamity, for the pike is invariably a fine 
 sporting fish in rivers, and, though not quite so game in 
 lakes and ponds, is, wherever he may be hooked, a gallant and 
 sturdy fighter. 
 
 To preserve our remaining pike three points should be 
 attended to : In the first place, the most stringent regulations 
 are necessary concerning the return to the water of fish 
 caught under a certain size, which should be fixed at not less 
 than 41b. I most earnestly beg of any angler who reads these 
 lines to return to the water any jack he catches under that 
 weight ; he will have had the pleasure of playing and 
 landing the fish, and in leaving it to grow large he will be 
 acting in a most commendable manner. A 3|lb. pike is 
 nothing to be proud of, or to show one's friends, while the 
 pride which fills the bosom of the man who feels he has done 
 a virtuous and sportsmanlike action should, and no doubt 
 will, far outweigh any trifling regret he may feel at giving 
 up his prey. Secondly, owners of pike-fisheries should have 
 their ditches most carefully watched during the early months 
 of the year, when the pike run up them to spawn, and when 
 many a fine fish falls victim to the deadly wire noose passed 
 over his pointed head by the farm labourer. 
 
 But more must be done than this : pike must be bred arti- 
 ficially. At present, I believe, fish-culturists know next to 
 nothing about pike-breeding; but the thing is surely to be 
 accomplished, and that without difficulty. I would suggest 
 to anyone having the opportunity a trial of the following 
 experiment : Make a long, narrow pond, say 90ft. long by 20ft. 
 wide, and about 6ft. or 7ft. deep ; divide it into three unequal 
 parts — A, B, and C (see Fig. 1) — and from each part dig 
 narrow ditches — similar to those in which pike spawn — and 
 in them plant numerous water-weeds. In the early spring, 
 just before the fish are thinking of leaving for their spawning- 
 grounds, bring nets into requisition, and catch as many pike 
 
8 
 
 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 as possible. Then sort them. Put those between 21b. and 
 31b. into division A, those between 31b. and 51b. into B, 
 and those above that size into C, of course taking care that 
 the males and females are equal in numbers. If any coarse 
 fish — roach, dace, gudgeon, &c. — have been caught in the 
 nets, turn them into the ponds for the pike to feed on. In 
 a few weeks the pike should run up the ditches to spawn, 
 and then return to the pond. As soon as that happens, the 
 ponds should be netted, and the fish returned to the river. 
 
 If the ditches are made and planted with weeds about 
 eight or ten months before they are required, there should be 
 abundance of food for the young pike when first hatched. 
 
 Fig. 1. A Pike Breeding Pond. 
 
 As they grow they will require minnows and other small fry. 
 which must be obtained for them; and I have no doubt that they 
 would eat chopped liver quite as readily as do young trout. The 
 pikelets might be left in the pond for at least ten months, 
 when they could be turned into lakes or rivers in very 
 shallow, weedy spots. It will be found most convenient to 
 construct the pond with an outlet at the deepest part, so 
 that the water can be easily drained off. That, briefly, is a 
 plan which I have long had in my head for pike-breeding. 
 It has never, so far as I know, been tried, but I sincerely 
 hope that the publicity now given to it will lead to some- 
 thing of the kind being done. For a man of means, living 
 in the country, pike-breeding would be a novel and inte- 
 
WHERE TO FISH. 9 
 
 resting amusement. If carried out on commercial principles, 
 it would probably pay as well, or even better, than trout- 
 breeding, for there are many waters in England well adapted 
 for pike, but which, for the simple reason that no young 
 pike are to be bought, are being stocked with trout, with 
 very unsatisfactory results. Of course, in a trout-stream or 
 salmon-river pike should be unmercifully destroyed, or, better, 
 transported elsewhere; but in slow-flowing rivers, and in 
 weedy, reedy lakes, by all means preserve and increase the 
 breed of pike. 
 
 I have already referred to some of the habits of pike, 
 particularly as to their voracity and food. Pike spawn early 
 in the year, the young fish earlier than those of larger size. 
 In some waters the time of spawning will be a month or 
 more sooner than in others. As a rule, pike lead a solitary 
 existence, only pairing for breeding purposes. The spawn 
 is deposited among weeds in ditches and quiet backwaters. 
 After this operation the fish return to the river very lean 
 and hungry, and for a time feed most ravenously. They are 
 then easily caught, and their flesh is nasty and unwhole- 
 some — hence the wisdom of a close season. In the winter, pike 
 are sometimes found in shoals; but it would be more correct 
 to say that a number of solitary individuals have chosen one 
 spot for their abode, than that they have formed a shoal, the 
 surroundings, and not the society, bringing them together. 
 
 The Haunts of Pike in rivers may be briefly described as 
 among weeds in or on the edge of the stream, in summer; 
 backwaters, eddies, and quiet places below islands, in winter. 
 In very small streams they will, as a rule, be found in the 
 deepest water all through the season, and every hole at a bend 
 may be expected to contain a fish. The best way by which I 
 can give my readers an idea of where they should fish for pike 
 in rivers, is to take them with me in a punt down some such 
 stream as that shown in my sketch (Fig. 2). It is not altogether 
 a fancy picture, but a combination of " pikey " bits of the Upper 
 Thames with which I am well acquainted. We will pay the 
 river two visits — one in August, the other in Januai'y — and will 
 thus be able to note the difference in the position of the fish in 
 
10 
 
 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 summer and winter. I have placed letters and figures in nay 
 sketch, to which I will refer. 
 
 As we really hope to catch a pike or two, and as it is the 
 hottest month of the year, we wisely meet at the boathouse at 
 
 the top of the water, just as the -clock in the old church tower 
 chimes the hour of six. The dew is still on the grass, but we 
 are none too soon, for, even as we take our seats in the punt, 
 several pairs of bleak leap repeatedly out of the water 2ft. or 
 
A SUMMER DAY'S PIKE-FISHING. 11 
 
 more at a time, evidently in the endeavour to get away from 
 some feeding pike or perch. Why do bleak always jump in 
 pairs, I wonder? In the water they all appear to mix 
 indiscriminately; but when pursued, they leap side by side, like 
 well-matched steeplechasers taking their hurdles together. 
 Immediately opposite the boathouse a narrow backwater leaves 
 the main stream ; but this we do not propose to fish now, for it 
 is choked with weeds, the water hardly moves through it, and 
 it contains at this season very few pike. At the mouth of the 
 backwater, however, is a small clump of reeds (A), one side of 
 which is washed by the main stream. Here is a likely spot, and 
 we therefore fish close round the reeds, and soon lure out a jack 
 of about 51b. We now pass down the river for some little dis- 
 tance without fishing, for the stream here is swift, and the bottom 
 clear of weeds ; but on reaching the tail of the large island 
 another little clump of rushes (B) is noticed, round which we 
 fish most carefully, and hook a small jack on the side next the 
 main stream. A little below us is another island, above which, 
 for about 20yds., is a fine bed of weeds (C). These do not reach 
 to the surface of the water, and, mooring our punt at the head 
 of them, we send a live bait on float-tackle roaming over them. 
 We have two runs, and bring another fish to basket. To the 
 left of us the bank is lined with reeds, and outside the reeds is a 
 bed of weeds (D) very similar to those we have just been fishing. 
 This is a very stronghold of pike in summer, and we determine to 
 put a spinning bait over it, for the weeds do not reach the surface. 
 Quietly the punt is let down the stream, and we fish every 
 inch of water by the side of the reeds, and over the weeds. 
 Nor are we disappointed, two more nice-sized jack joining their 
 companions in the well. We next retrace our steps a little — go 
 round the head of the island, and let our float-tackle drift down 
 the right-hand channel, taking care that our floats pass as close 
 as possible to the weeds (E) which fringe the bank on the right. 
 Here we get no fish ; but the spot was worth trying. We then 
 cross the river, and continue float-fishing along the weeds 
 (F, F, F) which fringe the opposite bank ; or, I should say, that 
 one of us live-baits, while another takes casts with his spinning 
 bait half across the river. The live-baiter catches one jack 
 
12 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 in the bend, and a fish seizes the spinner's bait just as it is 
 passing over some sunken weeds (G) which lie out in the centre 
 of the stream. 
 
 We have now reached a very sharp bend in the river, and on 
 and skirting the point of land opposite to us, is a large bed of 
 reeds (H). Through the outskirts of these a gentle stream flows, 
 and so among them we fish with suitable tackle, taking 
 advantage of every clear nook into which a bait can be dropped, 
 but always being careful not to fish any dead water ; for though 
 there may be a few pike in still water at this time of year, there 
 are many more in or on the edge of the stream, and where the 
 most jack are it is best policy to fish. Having well worked the 
 outskirts of this reed-bed, and caught three more pike— one a 
 fine fellow, weighing, let us say, 151b. — I punt slowly down to 
 the mill, and we join the jolly miller in his midday meal. 
 
 The weir-pool (I) is surrounded by trees, and full of shady 
 nooks — the very place to fish on a hot summer's day; so in 
 the afternoon, while one of us whips for dace — our supply of 
 baits being rather small — another fishes a number of weedy 
 corners, which often contain jack, and meets with some success. 
 To describe the weir-pool in detail would be difficult and tedious. 
 Suffice it to say that wherever there is stream and weeds or 
 reeds combined, there is a chance of a jack, provided, of course, 
 the water is not too shallow. I cast my bait, on well-leaded 
 tackle, right into the rush of water known on the Thames as the 
 " lasher." There I catch a pike of some size, for the swift stream 
 is only near the surface, the water being quiet enough near the 
 bottom for a jack to lie. I also manage to take a fish to the 
 right of the lasher, close by the moss-covered piles (J) of the 
 weir. In the evening we punt down below the eel-bucks, and 
 fish the reeds (K) on the left, by the edge of which we catch the 
 fish of the day — a splendid pike of at least 201b. Evening is 
 now closing in, so, well satisfied with our day's sport, we moor 
 the punt to the bank— leaving her for an obliging miller's man to 
 take back to the boathouse — turn out of the well into the river 
 all the jack except the two largest, and one which we send up to 
 the mill-house, and stroll slowly home across the water-meadows. 
 
 It should be noticed that during this summer day's pike- 
 
PIKE-FISHING IN JANUARY. 13 
 
 fishing we almost invariably fish near weeds or reeds, and 
 always in moving water, altogether leaving unfished the eddies 
 and lay-bys. 
 
 Six months later we are at the boathouse again ; but not at 
 6 a.m. No; 10 o'clock is soon enough to begin pike-fishing 
 in winter. It is a bright January day, and we are favoured 
 with a soft south wind — not sufficient to find its way through 
 our clothing, and make us feel chilly, but quite enough to 
 ruffle the surface of the now fast-running river. The brilliant 
 green and yellow tints of summer have disappeared, and in 
 their place are the more subdued, but hardly less lovely, colours 
 which Natm-e puts on after the fall of the leaf. Most of the 
 weeds have died down, and been swept away by the first flood 
 of autumn ; but the reeds, now broken and withered, still mark 
 the spots where we caught the fish that day in August. The 
 river is, of course, higher than in summer, and runs swiftly 
 by the boathouse. 
 
 "We start by punting across the river to the backwater, down 
 which we pass for some distance, only coming to a halt where 
 it widens out (1), and deepens considerably. Jack often run up 
 the mouth of this stream, so we carefully fish the lower portion 
 of it, and soon our well is not without a tenant. The next 
 place to fish is the large eddy (2), and we spend some time in 
 it, for fish often collect here in considerable numbers. I need 
 not further describe in detail the sport we obtain, as it will be 
 sufficient for my purpose to point out the spots we fish. From 
 the eddy we go to the tail of the island (3), a few yards farther 
 down stream. Here were weeds in summer, but now the bottom 
 is clear and the water quiet. From the tail of the island we 
 cross over to the deep drain (4), a piece of still water, up which 
 numbers of jack run for shelter during any great flood, and 
 where (being a spawning-ground) they are often to be found 
 at the close of the season. A recent flood has stocked this 
 drain, and few, if any, fish have left it, and we do not regret 
 giving it a trial. We next push some little distance down the 
 river, and fish for some time below the large reed-bed (5) at 
 the point. This is a quiet corner, sheltered from the stream 
 by the debris of the reeds, and generally holds a fish or two. 
 
14 ANGLING FOE PIKE. 
 
 "We then go to the mill, borrow the miller's punt, and fish 
 for a short time at the tail of the mill island (6). Thence we 
 pass on to another island, and fish a deep hole (7) just above 
 the eel-bucks, some quiet water below them (8), and also 
 at the tail of the island (9) ; after which we go home with 
 glorious appetites, and the whei'ewith to satisfy them. 
 
 On the day I have described the river is rather high, and 
 slightly coloured — in fact, in its most favourable condition for 
 winter pike-fishing. If it were much lower we should be 
 inclined to fish more in the stream, and not quite so much in 
 the eddies; and if the water is very thick, we should leave 
 the very deep holes unfished. 
 
 Pike-fishing usually ends on March 15th, and in rivers the 
 fish often bite best during the last fortnight of the season. 
 They are then chiefly to be found at the mouths of ditches 
 and drains, up which they will go a few weeks later for the 
 purpose of spawning. The mouth of the deep drain marked 4 
 on my sketch would then, as I have said, be a suitable place 
 to look for them, and also the mouth of the ditch shown on 
 the right hand of the mill-tail. As a matter of fact, good sport 
 may be expected with the pike any day between October and 
 the end of the season, provided the weeds have rotted and been 
 swept away by a flood, and the river is not over its banks, and 
 neither muddy nor very bright. The best fishing is obtained 
 when the water is slightly coloured. 
 
 In lakes and ponds, as in rivers, pike are found among 
 and close to weeds, reeds, and rushes, and in winter, when 
 the weeds are absent, in deep rather than shallow water. 
 In hot weather they often lie close to the surface. In very 
 lai-ge lakes, with rocky shores and few weeds, the best pike 
 will often be found close to .the shore, provided only the 
 water is tolerably deep. In ponds they may be looked for 
 anywhere, when well on the feed, and roaming about for food* 
 
 It has always seemed to me that there are three kinds of 
 
 * When a pond or lake is surrounded by weeds and reeds, it is sometimes a good 
 plan to beat the water near the batiks a few hours before fishing. Or a dog may be 
 sent among the reeds. This is to drive the pike out into the clear water. Not- 
 withstanding the fright they receive, they often feed well after this treatment. 
 At the same time, I do not recommend this plan very strongly, and only follow it 
 under exceptional circumstances. 
 
PRECEPTS. 15 
 
 pike-fishing days. First, when the pike are madly on the feed, 
 and prowl about for food, when they are sometimes caught in 
 very unlikely places; second, when they are only moderately 
 hungry, and do not take a bait unless it is brought close to 
 their lair in the weeds ; and third, when they refuse to look at 
 a bait, even if put before their noses. It has been stated that 
 a pike in the third stage may be caught if the bait is dropped 
 behind him, on his tail — that, in anger, he turns and seizes it. 
 I have never tried the experiment. 
 
 Wind is very desirable in pike-fishing, especially when the 
 water is low and bright. A good blustering October gale some- 
 times seems to rouse up the pike and set them feeding ; but 
 the great advantage of wind is that it ruffles the surface of the 
 water, and thus partially hides the angler and his tackle from 
 the keen eyes of the fish. In summer, if the wind is blowing 
 across a river or lake, the angler should, and will usually, have 
 the best sport on the side most affected by the wind. On a 
 blazing hot summer's day, when not a leaf is stirring, good 
 fishing must not be expected, though it will sometimes be 
 obtained. In hot weather the angler cannot commence pike- 
 fishing too soon after sunrise. 
 
 A hard frost is, in my opinion, favourable to jack-fishing in 
 rivers, many of the best days I have had being when the 
 banks of the river were lined with ice, and every few minutes 
 the line froze to the rings. Fishing under such circum- 
 stances is not so unpleasant as might be imagined, provided 
 there is no cold, searching wind, and the pike are hungry. 
 Of course, one can hardly dress too warmly in such weather. 
 In lakes and ponds pike do not, as a general rule (to which 
 there are many exceptions), feed well during hard frosts ; but 
 a rise of the thermometer for a couple of hours in the middle 
 of the day will often set them raging after food. 
 
 It is next to impossible to lay down more definite rules than 
 the foregoing as to the best weather for pike-fishing. The fish 
 are most uncertain in their feeding. On days which appear 
 everything a fisherman could desire, none are caught, while good 
 sport is sometimes had when it is least expected. However, 
 I think I may commit myself to the following statements : In 
 
16 ANGLING FOE PIKE. 
 
 summer, no time is so good as early morning, from soon 
 after daybreak up to eight or nine o'clock ; the next best 
 time is the evening. In frosty weather pike usually bite for 
 two or three hours only during the day — generally some time 
 between eleven and three. Windy days, especially in summer, 
 afford better sport, as a rule, than calm ones. When rivers 
 are clearing after a flood, the fish may be expected to bite 
 better than at any other time. Cloud is decidedly good in 
 summer, if there is no wind ; but on windy days sunshine is 
 certainly preferable. In winter, take as much sunshine as you 
 can get, unless it be on one of those exceptional occasions when 
 the water is very low and very clear. 
 
 For the benefit of those of my readers who have absolutely 
 no knowledge of jack-fishing, it will, I think, be as well for 
 me to give here a slight sketch of the various methods em- 
 ployed, and explain under what circumstances they are re- 
 spectively useful. Let me, first of all, point out that the 
 jack of the present day have in many rivers become almost 
 as highly educated as trout, and that the coarse gimp or wire 
 tackle which our ancestors used has had to give way to tackle 
 in which salmon-gut, in a great measure, takes the place of 
 gimp. Even salmon-gut will, I feel assured, be found too 
 coarse for the pike of the future. Indeed, I am by no means 
 certain that the time has not arrived when what is known as 
 lake-trout gut should be used in Thames jack-fishing. As 
 to this I will tell a fish story — a true one — and leave the reader 
 to draw his own conclusions. 
 
 Some three or four winters ago I punted down to Hambleden 
 Lock, below Henley, and passing through the lock, moored my 
 punt at the top of a well-known hole famous for pike and perch 
 in winter. It was not a large place, and required fishing 
 carefully, so I put out a lively dace on ordinary jack float- 
 tackle, with very fine gimp close to the bait, and above that 
 salmon-gut. The bait worked beautifully, and went over every 
 portion of the hole, but no jack seized it. At the end of 
 an hour I determined to see if the perch were feeding, so put 
 up another rod, and fished for perch with a two-hook paternoster 
 of the finest undrawn gut, baited with minnows. I had no 
 
VARIOUS METHODS OF PIKE-FISHING. 17 
 
 bites from perch, but booked and landed several jack, all 
 about the same size — 31b. to 41b. Meanwhile, my dace on 
 ordinary, or, rather, very fine, jack-tackle was utterly ignored. 
 Tbe following day I went to the same spot, and exactly the 
 same thing occurred. I went again on the third day, caught 
 one more jack, and hooked another which bit the gut, and 
 apparently broke the spell, for not another jack could I catch. 
 During these three days the dace on the ordinary jack- 
 tackle was untouched by the fish. Now, was this mere chance 
 or accident P I think not. I forget the exact number of jack 
 I took — about eight or ten, I fancy. It was a most remarkable 
 thing catching so many jack running on a small hook mounted 
 on gut, without being bitten through ; but I have not told the 
 story to call attention to that point, but to show the advantage, 
 or, rather, the necessity, of fine tackle. I may add that, though 
 this occurred in winter, the water was fairly clear. 
 
 Jack, as I have already said, feed for the most part on fish, 
 and fish, dead or alive, are the baits generally used by jack- 
 fishers. Live-baits are commonly used either suspended in 
 mid- water by means of a float or attached to a pater- 
 noster, which is a length of gut with a weight at the end of 
 it, and a hook, on a few inches of gimp, sticking out at right 
 angles to the gut, 1ft. or more above the lead ; or they may 
 be placed on a leger, a tackle in effect much the same as the 
 paternoster, but with the bait at the end of the line, and the lead 
 above it. Dead fish-baits, of course, have to be worked to 
 give them some semblance of life, and are either spun or 
 trolled. To make them spin, they are fixed into such a shape 
 that they revolve when drawn through the water, or have a 
 piece of mechanism attached which has the same effect, and are 
 then either cast out long distances and drawn back to the 
 angler, or simply trailed after a boat, which latter process is 
 known on the Thames as trailing, but on Irish and Scotch lakes 
 as trolling. Strictly speaking, the word trolling should be 
 limited to the use of a dead-bait in quite a different manner. 
 A trolling-bait does not spin, but is merely dropped into the 
 water, when — containing a lead — it shoots to the bottom, and 
 is drawn up by the angler. 
 
 DIV. II. c 
 
18 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 A word now as to hooks. These either project, and are 
 intended to be struck into the pike's mouth immediately he 
 seizes the bait, or lie close to the bait, with which they are 
 swallowed, the pike being hooked somewhere below the throat — 
 a cruel plan, not much followed in the present day. The first- 
 mentioned arrangements are termed snap-hooks, the latter gorge- 
 hoolcs. Spinning baits are always furnished with snap-hooks, 
 but in the other methods mentioned either gorge or snap-hooks 
 can be used. The methods to be followed are then either: 
 
 /"with snap-tackle. 
 Float-fishing ■! with semi-gorge-tackle. 
 ^with gorge-tackle. 
 
 i> t ,- to ;<mr / w ith snap-tackle. 
 
 raiernostenng ^ with g0 ,.g e .tackle (rarely or never used). 
 
 f with snap-tackle. 
 
 Live-baiting 
 
 Dead-baiting 
 
 y • l wiwi 5iia.p-uiuK.ie. 
 
 , ge g "( with gorge-tackle (rarely or never used). 
 /"Spinning with natural or artificial baits. 
 
 ' 1 *WHt.w. ( with gorge-hook. 
 C Trollln «(withsnap-tackle. 
 
 There are various modifications of these methods, which I will 
 describe later on ; and there is a thing called a pike-fly, which, 
 in some waters, is cast or dragged over shallows or sunken 
 weeds, but it is by no means commonly used. 
 
 Of the five methods mentioned, some anglers stick to one, 
 some to another; but the "all-round angler" should, I venture 
 to submit, become an adept at them all, and follow the par- 
 ticular method which is most suited to the water he happens to 
 be fishing. 
 
 In a very weedy stream it is obvious that to spin a bait 
 decorated with hooks would be futile; while to send a live-bait, 
 suspended from a float, among the weeds, would be equally 
 useless. No; the thing to do is to paternoster if we have 
 the necessary live-baits, or to troll if our baits are dead. If 
 the water is so excessively weedy that there are not even 
 openings "large enough for a bait to work clear on the pater- 
 noster, or for a trolling-bait, with snap-tackle, to be worked 
 without catching in the weeds, then, if we must fish, there is 
 nothing for it but to troll with the dead gorge, for the gorge- 
 hooks lie close alongside the bait, and do not catch in the weeds. 
 
PATERNOSTER versus SPINNING TACKLE. 19 
 
 Supposing that the stream is only moderately weedy, then, 
 where the weeds are some distance below the surface, we can 
 either spin or float a live-bait over them ; and either of these 
 methods may be used alongside reed-beds. For the average 
 river in summer there is, on the whole, no tackle so useful as 
 the paternoster, for it can be dropped into any hole or corner 
 among weed and reed beds, where no other tackle, except a 
 trolling-bait, can be used. But where a long stretch of sunken 
 weed has to be fished, and the water is so bright that the angler 
 must keep far away from his bait, then I think that float or 
 spinning tackle is better, as, if the paternoster is cast out any 
 distance among weeds, it becomes entangled with them. When 
 the bottom is clear, the paternoster can be cast 40yds. or more 
 away; but when it is weedy, the angler has to see where he 
 drops it in. 
 
 With regard to spinning, which is certainly the most artistic 
 method of taking pike, I should be guided in a great measure by 
 the extent of water I had to fish, for, if my water was limited in 
 extent, it would be folly to adopt a method by which every part 
 of it could be covered in an hour. In a small sheet of water it 
 would be much better to live-bait than to spin. Then, again, on 
 calm days spinning is very little use, as the fish see too clearly 
 through the deception. On such days nothing beats the 
 paternoster. 
 
 In winter, when the water is free from weeds, the angler 
 can follow almost any method he fancies ; but for very deep 
 water he will find it better to use the paternoster, leger, or 
 trolling-bait, rather than float or spinning tackle. 
 
 Suppose, now, we are fishing a small river, such as the Loddon, 
 in summer, and come to a pool surrounded by reeds. What 
 should be done ? It is too small to spin, for two casts of the 
 spinning bait would scare every jack in it, and the bait would be 
 drawn home and out almost before a pike had time to seize it. 
 To use float-tackle would not be much better, for a gentle 
 stream runs through the pool, which would carry our bait into 
 the reeds within a couple of minutes of its going into the water 
 (if we were in a boat at the top end of the pool we might, of 
 course, check the float ; but being on the bank, we cannot do 
 
 c 2 
 
20 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 this). Clearly, the thing to do is to drop a paternoster in 
 various corners of the pool, or to work a snap trolling-bait care- 
 fully over it. 
 
 Change the scene to an immense Irish lake, some fifteen or 
 twenty miles in length. We know nothing of the best parts for 
 jack-fishing, but we notice that here and there are clumps of 
 weeds coming to the surface. We can also see a few reed-beds ; 
 but the water round them is too shallow to contain pike. 
 Cleai % ly, the weeds are the things to fish, and as in such a large 
 expanse of water we have to cover as much ground as possible 
 (an expression pardonable in Ireland), we neither fish with float- 
 tackle nor paternoster, but let out spinning baits behind our 
 boat, and row along the shore, and whenever we find an island of 
 weeds, row round it two or three times as close as we possibly 
 can manage it, patiently removing the weeds which catch our 
 baits every few minutes. By this means we in time leam the 
 best spots in the lake, and a day or two later, having been able 
 to get some live bait, paternoster round the most likely weed- 
 beds with much success. 
 
 Scene 3 is a mill-pond, about an acre in extent. The pike 
 are mostly found on one side, which is skirted by a small bed of 
 rushes. If we have ample time, we cast a live bait on float- 
 tackle near these rushes, and wait patiently, leaving the bait to 
 work about; or we carefully paternoster every inch of likely 
 pike-water. If we have only an hour to devote to fishing, we 
 spin the water, and so cover every yard of it in a very short 
 time. 
 
 Scene 4 — a pond surrounded by trees, the bottom of which 
 is covered with old branches and snags. Clearly, we cannot 
 paternoster, and as it is a small place, it is not advisable to 
 spin it over. No; the best thing to do is to live-bait it, so 
 arranging the float that the bait is suspended well above the 
 snags. 
 
 Scene 5 — a disused canal, stagnant, and closely covered with 
 weeds. Here, if we fish at all, gorge trolling tackle must be 
 used, for no other tackle could be got through the weeds. 
 
 I could give many more instances to illustrate the necessity 
 of the pike-fisher adapting his tackle to circumstances, and not 
 
HOW TO FILL THE BASKET. 21 
 
 being too wedded to one method to the exclusion of the others. 
 Judgment and common sense will assist materially in filling the 
 angler's basket. Patience, also, is a very necessary virtue in pike- 
 fishing, and it must be a bad day indeed, and a very ill-stocked 
 water, which will not afford a brace of fish to the man who 
 fishes carefully and patiently from morn to eve. At the same 
 time, the patience of Job, the wisdom of Solomon, the most 
 tempting baits, and the finest tackle London can produce, will 
 avail nothing when the fish are " not in the humour." 
 
 ►4*»*«-£. 
 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 TACKLE. 
 
 Rod and Fittings — Reel — Reel-guard — Line — Line-winder — Gimjt 
 — Gimp-stain — Disgorger — Jardine Gag — Knots, &c. 
 
 fN this chapter are described those items of tackle common 
 to all kinds of pike-fishing — that is to say, the rod and its 
 fittings, the reel, the line, and sundry less important articles — 
 and an account is given of the methods by which gut is knotted 
 together, hooks bound on to gimp, and other matters of a like 
 nature, concerning which it behoves every pike-fisherman to 
 have some knowledge. I reserve the description of the tackle 
 necessary for and peculiar to the various branches of pike- 
 fishing for future chapters. 
 
 The Pike-rod and its Fittings. — Our grandfathers' pike- 
 rods were long, heavy, cumbrous affairs. Coarse tackle was 
 then the fashion, and rod, line, and gimp matched one another. 
 Now that anglers use stout gut and the finest gimp, the pike- 
 rod is necessarily less heavy than was formerly the case. A 
 rule always to be observed in angling is, regulate the weight 
 and stiffness of the rod to the line. This is especially important 
 in fly-fishing, and should not be ignored in pike-fishing. If we 
 use a stiff, heavy rod and light gut tackle, we are almost certain 
 — to use fishermen's English — to get smashed. 
 
 The pike-rod may be made either of wood (and of woods 
 greenheart is by far the best suited for the purpose) or 
 of East India cane. I believe a few pike-rods have been 
 
SPLIT CANE PIKE-RODS. 23 
 
 recently made of split cane — built-cane rods they are termed. 
 They are certainly heavier than the rod made of single pieces 
 of bamboo, as East India cane is often called; they cannot 
 stand the wear and tear incident to pike-fishing ; and they are 
 very expensive. For spinning they should be very pleasant to 
 use, and that is all I can say for them. The greenheart rod is 
 an admirable weapon, and lasts a lifetime, but I prefer the 
 rod of East India cane, as it is much lighter, and will, with 
 a little care, last almost as long. It should be between 10ft. 
 and 13ft. in length, according to the height and strength of 
 the angler, and is made, for conveuience, in three or four 
 joints. It should have three strong tops of well-seasoned green- 
 heart, the longest the same length as the other 
 joints, the shortest a little less than half that 
 length, and the third very short and stiff. One 
 of these should be contained in the butt, which 
 is frequently hollowed for the purpose. At the 
 end of each top should be one of the rings 
 shown in Fig. 3, which are now, I believe, gene- 
 rally acknowledged to be better suited for their 
 purpose than any other top-ring yet designed. 
 Of course, it is shamefully immodest for me to 
 speak thus of my own invention, but the ring 
 has been so highly praised, and is now used by 
 so many experienced anglers, that I hope I have 
 sufficient grounds for the statement. The ad- 
 vantages of the ring are, shortly, these: It 
 
 decreases friction by adapting itself to whatever _, T ,._ 
 
 i . t ? t Fig. 3. "Bic- 
 
 angle the line makes with the rod, and, for the kerdyke " 
 
 same reason, lessens the likelihood of the top-joint ring, 'with 
 
 getting warped sideways — a common complaint of r^olvij.* 
 
 pike-rods. The line, also, rarely gets badly fouled, ^ 1JiG 0F 
 
 - — . i HOSPHOR- 
 
 for, should it get round the top, the ring at once bro.nze. 
 goes flat, as shown in the engraving, and allows 
 the line (on a jerk being given to the rod) to slip off. For 
 pike-fishing, those made with an interior revolving ring of 
 phosphor - bronze not less than fin. in diameter should be 
 selected. The makers are Messrs. Warner & Sons, of Redditch. 
 
24 
 
 ANGLING FOR TIKE. 
 
 a 
 
 The joints of the rod may be 
 either spliced together or joined by 
 means of ferrules. The latter is by 
 far the most convenient arrange- 
 ment, but as ordinarily made they 
 are apt to come apart. The top- joint 
 in particular is very apt to "throw 
 out," as it is termed. A fastening 
 of some kind is obviously neces- 
 sary. 
 
 Several arrangements have come 
 into use of late years to fasten 
 the joints of fly-rods, any of which 
 can be applied to a pike-rod. Per- 
 haps the best are those made 
 by Hardy Brothers, of Alnwick 
 (illustrated in " Angling for Coarse 
 Fish "), and by Farlow and Co. 
 Fig. 4 sufficiently explains the latter, 
 which, being possibly a little stronger 
 than Hardy's, is preferable for pike- 
 rods; but both fastenings are ex- 
 cellent. In Farlow's fastening the 
 little ring (3) pulls everything up 
 firm and tight, however much the 
 ferrules may be worn. Ferrules are 
 sometimes so accurately fitted — in 
 fact, ground into one another like 
 gas-taps — that even in fly-fishing 
 they do not come apart. So made 
 they are tei'med suction-joints, and 
 are, to my mind, superior to the 
 ordinary ferrules with patent fasten- 
 ings. These suction-ferrules have 
 not, so far as I know, been used on 
 pike-rods, but they seem to me suit- 
 able for all kinds of rods. 
 A great deal has been written concerning the importance of 
 
 Fig. 4. Rod-joint Fastening. 
 
A STRONG FERRULE. 25 
 
 having ferrules made, not by cutting lengths off brass tubing, but 
 by moulding each one out of a piece of sheet brass, brazing the 
 edges together, and hammering into the proper shape when 
 cold. I have rods fitted with both kinds of ferrules, and 
 have found that both will occasionally crack* at the joint. 
 Far more important is it, in my opinion, to have round both 
 the upper and lower edges of the female ferrule (No. 1 in 
 Fig. 4) a small rim of metal. The two points at which ferrules 
 crack are thus doubled in strength, and the extra weight of 
 the three ferrules so strengthened is under ^oz. The lower 
 end of each joint (except the butt, which should terminate 
 with a good-sized knob of indiarubber) should be double- 
 brazed — that is, the portion which enters the ferrule of 
 the joint below entirely covered with brass (see No. 2 in 
 Fig. 4). 
 
 A word now as to winch-fittings and rings. A 12ft. pike-rod 
 should have at least eleven rings on it, in addition to the top-ring 
 already mentioned. They should 
 be upright, and all of the same 
 diameter as the top-ring — i.e., not 
 less than |in. The best-shaped 
 rings are similar to the one shown FlG 5 Snake . shaped Rod Ring 
 in the engraving (Fig. 5), and 
 
 even if a rod is purchased with the ordinary round rings, the ring 
 nearest the butt should be replaced by a snake-shaped ring. 
 The line runs easier through these rings than through any 
 others, and never fouls them — a point of no small importance. 
 They should be made of hardened phosphor-bronze wire — a 
 substance nearly as bard as steel, which has the advantage 
 of not rusting. I think it might with advantage be used 
 for many items of fishing-tackle. Hardened German silver 
 is also coming into use for rod-fittings. All rings sooner or 
 later get cut into by the constant friction of the line, and 
 some anglers prefer the ordinary round rings with an interior 
 revolving ring of steel or bronze, similar to the one shown 
 
 * If a ferrule cracks, bind it round tightly with well-waxed silk twist for Jin. 
 from the top, finish off as shown in Fig. 19, and well varnish. The ferrule will then 
 probably last for years. 
 
ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 :'i!i! 
 
 ftfl 
 
 i $ 
 
 I 
 
 in the illustration of the Bickerdyke top-ring. As soon as 
 the inside ring gets a little worn it is shifted round so 
 that a fresh portion of its surface is exposed 
 to the friction of the line. This is a good plan, 
 hut I prefer the snake-shaped rings because of 
 their anti-fouling qualities, lightness, and cheap- 
 ness. When they get worn it is a very trifling 
 expense to have them replaced by others. With 
 regard to the position of the rings, it may be 
 useful to give the measurements from ring to 
 ring on a first -rate three- joint 12ft. spinning- 
 rod of mine, made by Bainbridge, of Eton. The 
 distance from the top-ring to the next ring is 
 4Mn., and the remainder follow one another 
 with these intervals : (tin., 7in., 8^in., 9^in., llin., 
 llin., 12in., 13in., 16in., 17in. The distances 
 between the rings do not increase in exact 
 proportion, owing to the ferrules displacing 
 one or two of them a little. 
 
 In the matter of winch-fittings, the angler 
 will do well to avoid the old-fashioned pair of 
 rings — one fixed, the other sliding — which, as 
 a rule, either held the winch so fast that there 
 was no getting it off, or so loosely that the back 
 of the winch-plate had to be padded with paper. 
 The best arrangement of the kind is, in my 
 opinion, the Weeger winch-fitting which, being 
 well known, and easily obtained at any tackle- 
 shop, does not require description. It is very 
 simple, very strong, takes any size winch, and 
 has no projecting portion to catch the line or 
 hurt the hand. Those anglers who object to 
 ring winch-fittings in any shape or form will pro- 
 bably pi-efer a new and good fitting brought out 
 recently by the maker of my rings. They take 
 any sized winch, and are shown in Fig. 6. A is 
 a tapered socket, into which one end of the 
 winch-plate slides, the other end being placed in the socket 
 
 ■ 
 
 % 
 
 Fio. 6. New 
 Winch-fitting. 
 
ROD PRESERVATION. 
 
 27 
 
 B, which is moved into position by loosening the nut C, and 
 sliding B and C along the plate D. The operation is a very 
 simple one, and done in ten seconds. The screw-nut C is so 
 made that it cannot possibly come off and be lost. 
 
 It is the worst possible economy to buy a cheap pike-rod. 
 For bottom-fishing a vei-y inexpensive little affair will do ; but 
 for pike something that will stand much knocking about is 
 required. It may have to land a forty-pounder, remember ; and 
 only imagine the feelings of a man who, after losing such a fish 
 by his rod breaking, is made miserable for the rest of his life by 
 the knowledge that, if he had only expended 5s. extra at the 
 tackle-shop, he might have caught that pike. 
 
 Every spring we should give our pike-rods a coat of coach - 
 maker's varnish, first rebinding any rings which are loose. When 
 joints stick together, the best plan is to hold them in the flame 
 of a spirit lamp or candle : the outside ferrule expands with the 
 heat, and the joints can generally be pulled apart. As a matter 
 of fact, joints will never stick if they are occasionally gi-eased 
 with vaseline or oil, or soft 
 soap — the first for preference- 
 When top-joints seem inclined 
 to warp, they should be 
 warmed before the fire, and 
 then hung up, with a heavy 
 weight at the lower end. It 
 is not advisable to wai*m bam- 
 boo joints. 
 
 Rods are nearly always kept 
 in partition-bags. In shop- 
 made bags the partitions usu- 
 ally fit the joints too tightly, 
 and when shrunk with the wet 
 — as they often are — cause 
 many a ring to be broken. 
 Home-made bags with roomy 
 partitions are far the best. By the way, many a good rod 
 has been ruined by being put into a damp bag. 
 
 The Keel should be strong, simple in construction, large 
 
 Fig. 7. Nottingham Reel, with 
 Adjustable Check. 
 
•js 
 
 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 enough to hold 100yds. of line, large in the barrel, so that it 
 winds up the line quickly, and so arranged that the line can 
 neither uncoil off it nor foul round it. A well-made Notting- 
 ham reel with a check and a line-guard has all these qualities 
 except the last- mentioned one, and that can be obtained by 
 a little device to be mentioned anon. Fig. 7 is engraved 
 from a very beautiful— and, alas ! very expensive — patent 
 Nottingham reel called the "Sun." It is peculiar in having 
 a metal rim on the inside of back-plate, and also a metal 
 
 inner revolving plate, which 
 prevents all possibility of 
 warping or sticking. In Fig. 8 
 is shown a Nottingham reel 
 fitted with a little invention of 
 my own, intended to prevent 
 the line uncoiling (as dressed 
 lines frequently will) off the 
 reel. This line-guai-d has 
 answered beyond my expec- 
 tations. It can be fitted to 
 any wooden reel by a watch- 
 maker or any metal-worker 
 for a few pence. 
 
 Slater, of Newark-on-Trent, 
 sells a very excellent patent 
 combination reel, having a movable check and a line-guard. 
 There is nothing to choose between his guard and the one I 
 have described, beyond the question of cost. I have quite 
 recently been trying a reel of novel construction, which seems 
 to have all the good qualities of both the ordinary and the 
 Nottingham reels. It has a large barrel, is made of vulcanite 
 and metal, has bars across to prevent the line unwinding, and 
 has a movable check. The point of novelty in it is a sort of 
 brake, which, on being pressed by the little finger, checks the 
 reel to any extent desired. I believe it is to be called the 
 brake reel. Inexpensive Nottingham reels with movable checks 
 are sold by nearly all tackle-makers. All reels should be 
 taken to pieces and well vaselined or oiled twice a year. 
 
 Fig. 8. Nottingham Reel, with the 
 Author's Line-gvard and Movable 
 Check. 
 
LINE DRESSING. 29 
 
 When the line is hanging loosely, ifc sometimes gets round 
 what I may term the neck of the reel. To prevent this, Mr. 
 Pennell advised a short piece of steel spring to be attached 
 to the rod, with one end resting on a bar of the reel. Another 
 plan, suggested by " Hi Regan " in his useful work, " How 
 and Where to Fish in Ireland," was to pass a piece of 
 eelskin over a bar at the back of the reel, and lash the 
 ends on to the butt of the rod. Both these plans answer 
 admirably, and I only now suggest something different on 
 account of its extreme simplicity. Take a piece of twine, or 
 2ft. of the line ; fasten one end to A (see Fig. 8), pass the other 
 end twice or thrice round the rod, pull it tight, and fasten it 
 at B. You have then a mechanical equivalent of either the eel- 
 skin or the spring. 
 
 The Line is the most important part of the running tackle. 
 It should be of pure silk, plaited and solid (inferior lines 
 are made hollow, or plaited on a core). It should be the same 
 thickness throughout, and not tapered as are the lines used in 
 fly-fishing. For ordinary casting in the Thames style the line 
 should always be dressed or waterproofed wit a an oil dressing ; 
 but for casting off the reel after the manner of the Trent 
 anglers (an excellent method when fishing from the bank where 
 the ground is rough and likely to catch the line, or in a high 
 wind) no dressing is necessary or even desirable. With regard 
 to the dressing, I can only repeat what I have already written 
 under the head of " Angling for Coarse Fish " : The best 
 dressing is simply raw linseed oil, but it takes such a long 
 time to dry that it is rarely used ; next best is boiled linseed 
 oil. The line is soaked for a week in the oil (cold), then 
 stretched between two trees, well rubbed with a piece of 
 smooth leather (this gets the air-bubbles out of the line), and 
 then put to soak for two more days. It is then stretched 
 between trees, the superfluous oil wiped gently off, and left 
 to dry — an operation which will take about six months. A 
 line so prepared will last for years. If it is desirable to 
 put on a fine polish, this can be easily done, when the line 
 is dry, by well rubbing it with a piece of leather on which is 
 a little raw linseed oil. 
 
30 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 Lines are not necessarily strong because they are thick. A 
 thick line, half cotton, is not stronger than a line one-third 
 the thickness, of pure silk. It is difficult for me to say what 
 sized line is best for general fishing; but a good silk line 
 which breaks at a strain of 121b. or 131b. will be fine enough 
 for Thames jack-fishing — finer, indeed, than most beginners 
 would care to use. A rather stouter line is advisable for 
 spinning, as in that mode of angling the line is subjected to 
 much friction, and soon wears out; and also for fishing the 
 Irish and Scotch lakes, where giant pike may be expected. If 
 the angler makes up his mind to devote his attention ex- 
 clusively to the giants, and fishes with baits of lib. or more, he 
 will do well to use rather stouter gimp and line than ordinary, 
 for very large pike sometimes put out extraordinary strength. 
 
 I always have my pike-lines in two pieces, the front piece, 
 which I may term the working portion, about 60yds. in 
 length, of the dressed line described ; while behind it is a back 
 line of undressed, twisted silk, which is finer, but equally 
 strong because it is twisted. This fineness is an advantage, for 
 it enables extra line to be got on the reel ; and as the back-line 
 is not dressed, it does not .heat and rot, as dressed lines do 
 occasionally if a great number of yards are wound on a reel. 
 These two lines should, of course, not be knotted together, 
 but spliced in the following manner : The end of the dressed 
 line should first be scraped a little with a penknife, to thin it 
 down, and the end of the twisted line unravelled for lin. The 
 two ends should then be thoroughly well waxed with cobbler's 
 wax, laid together, and rolled between the first finger and thumb. 
 The next process is to bind them over carefully with well-waxed 
 silk ; finish off as shown in Fig. 19, and the splice is complete. 
 
 Lines should always be dried after use. My favourite plan is 
 simply to pull the line off the reel on to the floor or table, leave 
 it untouched all night, and wind up again in the morning. 
 There are several " if 8 " about the success of this plan : If 
 your line does not kink, which.it will not do if the tackle 
 described in this book is used; if the maidservant can be 
 persuaded not to move it in the morning, and if there are no 
 children, dogs, or cats to interfere with it ; if there are no 
 
PATENT GI3IP. 
 
 31 
 
 Fig. 9. Line-drier. 
 
 mice to nibble it — for mice like boiled oil — and provided tbere 
 
 is no earthquake, it will wind up witbout the least tendency to 
 
 tangle. Notwithstanding all these " ifs," I find my plan answer 
 
 very well indeed. Chair-backs are often used as line-winders ; 
 
 a better plan is to knock two nails in the wall some yards 
 
 apart, and hang the line between them. The nails should be 
 
 bound round with string, 
 or the wet line will rust 
 them. Far preferable to 
 these makeshifts is a re- 
 volving frame, on which 
 the line can be wound. 
 The best thing of the 
 kind sold in the tackle- 
 shops is the line-drier 
 shown in Fig. 9, which 
 has been patented by 
 
 Farlow & Co. It is collapsible. An inexpensive and easily 
 
 made line-drier is a light, revolving, wooden frame. 
 Gimp, — The mouth of the 
 
 pike being furnished with very 
 
 sharp teeth, so much of the 
 
 tackle as may be exposed to 
 
 these natural knives has to be 
 
 of some unbiteable substance. 
 
 Gimp (silk — sometimes, alas ! 
 
 mixed with cotton — served 
 
 with fine wire) is used for the 
 
 purpose. Always buy the best 
 
 gimp. Go to a good shop, give 
 
 a good price, and do not be 
 
 surprised if you even then get 
 
 a bad article. You will have 
 
 the consolation of knowing it 
 
 was not your fault. 
 
 I have long had an idea that the silk in the centre of the 
 
 gimp might, with advantage, be mixed with very fine strands 
 
 of wire ; and last year Mr. Kenning, of Little Britain, a gold- 
 
 000. 
 00 
 
 < 
 
 Fig. 10. Gauges of Gimp. 
 
32 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 lace aud gimp manufacturer, very kindly carried out some 
 experiments for me. In the end he managed to produce 000 
 gimp (see gauges of gimp, Fig. 10) exactly double the strength 
 of ordinary gimp the same size. This great step in advance 
 was effected by means of a single strand of wire, made of a 
 patent metal possessing great tensile strength. This wh-e- 
 centred gimp, which can be relied on not to grow rotten in a 
 few months, was patented by "Warner & Sons, of Redditch. 
 The only fault it has is that it is a little stiff, and can only 
 be used with advantage for traces, and in other positions 
 where great pliancy is not required. In future pages I will 
 indicate where it should be used. It is largely used by salt- 
 water anglers, on account of its durability. 
 
 Gimp-stain. — Gimp when new is the colour of either 
 brass, copper, or silver. Copper shows the least in the water. 
 Silver gimp is useful for any portion of tackle which lies 
 close to the bait, and actually adds to the bait's attractiveness. 
 For the rest of the tackle the gimp should be stained ; 
 and this staining question has been a serious matter any- 
 where out of London. Possibly, in the course of the next 
 hundred years, a gimp-manufacturer will see his way to stain 
 the wire before it is wound round the silk ; but I do not expect to 
 see it. In our smoke and sulphur-ridden metropolis, the angler 
 has only to hang up his coil of gimp on a nail in a gas-lit room 
 for a few days, and it will quickly lose its lustre. The great 
 difficulty in staining gimp with chemicals is to avoid rotting 
 the silk. Mr. Cholmondeley-Pennell's recipe for brass gimp 
 (bichlorate of platinum one part, water ten parts) has been 
 used by some with disastrous results, but I am inclined to 
 think the fault lay with the workmen, and not the tool. Mr. 
 Cholmondeley-Pennell suggests leaving the gimp in the stain 
 a quarter of an hour. This I maintain to be a mistake. The 
 solution should be so strong as to act almost instantaneously 
 on the wire, thus allowing the gimp to be removed before 
 the liquid can reach the silk. There is no occasion to turn the 
 brass black — it only requires dulling. My plan has been to leave 
 the gimp in the stain for five seconds, no more nor less, then 
 take it out, and throw it into a basin of clean water, rinse it 
 
A SAFE GIMP-STAIN. 33 
 
 well, and wipe it dry. It is well to remember that each time 
 the stain is used the solution becomes weakened, as the brass 
 takes away with it a coating of platinum. Another plan, 
 recommended by Mr. Jardine, is to leave the gimp in a receptacle 
 containing imitation London air. The process takes four or 
 five hours, and does not rot the silk. It gives the gimp a nice 
 colour. The imitation London atmosphere is manufactured in 
 the following manner: Put loz. flowers of sulphur in a flower-pot 
 saucer, and place over it, on end, a drain-pipe or other cylinder. 
 Arrange a coil of gimp at the top of the cylinder, cover over 
 with, first, a sheet of paper, and then a soup-plate, and set fire 
 to the sulphur with a fusee. The atmosphere produced will 
 stain the gimp in a few hours. I have often thought that if 
 the bichlorate of platinum could be made into a stiff paste, 
 it could be applied without the slightest danger of its reaching 
 the silk ; and while bothering all my chemical friends for a 
 recipe, a mixture of vaseline, nitrate of silver, and sulphur was 
 suggested. I accordingly experimented, and at the end of two 
 hours produced a paste which, ten minutes after being smeared 
 on the gimp, gave the wire that dull, neutral tint which is so 
 desirable, without affecting the silk in the least. This paste 
 acts equally well on silver gimp. Its proportions are as follows: 
 Nitrate of silver, 35 grains; sulphur, 1 drachm; vaseline, i 
 drachm. This makes about a pill-box full, which is sufficient to 
 stain all the gimp an angler is likely to want in two seasons. 
 My paste was made by Mr. Davis, chemist, Northbrook Street, 
 Newbury, who would, no doubt, be very pleased to supply it; 
 but, of course, any chemist can make it, and fishing-tackle makers 
 will be well advised to keep it for sale in small metal boxes. 
 
 I intend in future to use nothing but silver gimp, leaving those 
 portions of the tackle which lie along the bait unstained.* 
 
 Disgorger and Gag. — To remove the hooks from the pike 
 
 * In the course of my experiments I found that hrass gimp could be made to look 
 like copper gimp by hanging it for half an hour in the fumes arising from a mixture 
 of black oxide of manganese, £oz., and spirits of salt, loz. — an experiment easily 
 carried out by means of a large-mouthed glass bottle. An equally good, if not 
 better, mixture for the same purpose, the fumes from which will stain the gimp in 
 ten minutes, is bleaching powder (chloride of lime), £oz., and dilute sulphuric acid, 
 lioz. The bottle in which the operation is carried on should not be tightly 
 stoppered, a small crack being left to act as a safety-valve. 
 
34 
 
 ANGLING FOB PIKE. 
 
 Fig. 11. The Jardine Gag 
 (Patent). 
 
 we require, first of all, some instrument to keep its mouth open. 
 
 For this purpose there is no- 
 thing better than the gag shown 
 in Fig. 11. It was invented 
 and patented by Mr. Alfred 
 Jardine. The knob D, at the 
 end, is used to knock the fish 
 on the head before the gag is 
 inserted. E, F, which are close 
 together, are inserted in the 
 pike's mouth. B is then held 
 in the left hand, and the 
 handle A is turned round, 
 when F works down the spiral 
 rod, C, C, and, of course, the 
 pike's mouth can be opened 
 to the widest extent. This 
 
 luxurious machine is made in smaller sizes for large trout and 
 
 for salmon, and is no doubt kept in 
 
 stock at the principal tackle-shops. I 
 
 advise every pike-fisherman to obtain 
 
 one of these most useful instruments. 
 
 I have often been bitten by pike for 
 
 want of a gag. An instrument known 
 
 as pike- scissors is sold for the same 
 
 purpose, but it is not so useful as 
 
 Mr. JaVdine's gag. 
 The mouth open, we next want a dis- 
 
 gorger. The best thing of the kind for 
 
 pike is the one with a corkscrew handle 
 
 shown in Fig. 12. If the handle is of 
 
 very hard wood, or is weighted with 
 
 lead, it can be used to knock the 
 
 pike on the head, an operation which 
 
 should always be performed before any 
 
 attempt is made to remove the hooks. 
 Bait-can.— For holding live baits 
 
 a can is necessary, and the very best 
 
 A 
 
 Fig. 12. DlSGORGER. 
 
CANS FOE LIVE BAIT. 
 
 35 
 
 thing of the kind (invented by Mr. Basil Field) is shown 
 in the engraving (Fig. 13). The perforated zinc interior (D) is 
 lifted whenever a bait is required, and there is obviously 
 no occasion to wet the hands or warm the water by groping 
 in it for the baits. In the handle (A) is a small pair of bellows, 
 worked by merely pressing the knob B. The air passes down 
 the small tube (C), and bubbles up at the bottom of the can. 
 When at the riverside, the perforated interior 'can be sunk in 
 the water. Taking into consideration the great advantages of 
 these bait-cans, and their excellence, they are wonderfully cheap; 
 
 Fig. 13. Patent Aerating Bait-can. 
 
 they are made by the maker of Mr. Field's gaff (page 37). 
 Even should a more simple can be preferred, I would still 
 strongly urge the jack-fisher to have one with a perforated 
 interior. A can strong enough to sit on is often very con- 
 venient. "When baits are carried a long distance by rail or 
 road, it is a good plan to only half fill the can with water. 
 The water then splashes about among the holes in the zinc, 
 and is thus kept well aerated. To keep the water cool in 
 summer, cover the sides of the can with flannel, over which 
 
 D 2 
 
36 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 spill a little water occasionally, by tipping the can to one side. 
 The evaporation of the water from the flannel will lower the 
 temperature of the water in the can considerably. 
 
 Landing-net and Gaff. — As small pike can be easily 
 landed with the hand, and as large pike cannot be wheedled 
 by any means whatever into nets of ordinary dimensions, it 
 follows, as a logical conclusion, that the landing-net is not 
 much use to the pike-fisherman. If one is carried, it should 
 be large and strong, the meshes big, and the net dressed with 
 a waterproof mixture — e.g., boiled oil and varnish (equal parts), 
 or tar and turpentine. The gaff, on the other hand, will land 
 any pike over 21b. in weight. One of the most simple and 
 strong forms of gaff is a simple hook, lashed on to a handle, 
 such as the one illustrated in " Angling in Salt Water." Those 
 
 that screw in are apt to turn 
 round at the wrong moment. The 
 next strongest, and, perhaps, on 
 the whole, most satisfactory, gaff 
 is one which fits into a square 
 socket (see Fig. 14), and is kept 
 there by means of a spring. The 
 manufacturers of this gaff are 
 Messrs. Allcock & Sons, of Red- 
 ditch. The one defect in this in- 
 vention is the spring, which, being 
 of steel, if not kept well oiled, 
 no. m^Mbthod^of f^thciko rusts very qu i c kly. An excellent 
 
 and almost everlasting spring 
 might be made of phosphor-bronze or hardened brass, the 
 former for preference. Indeed, the whole gaff might be made 
 of the bronze with advantage, as that metal can be made 
 very hard. 
 
 There are several methods of carrying a gaff. The handle 
 may be stuck through a belt round the angler's waist, as if it 
 were an axe, or it may be passed through a large ring, attached 
 to a sling passing over the angler's right shoulder, like a creel- 
 strap. Another plan is to have a sling on the handle similar 
 to those used on rifles. The gaff then lies across the back 
 
THE BUFFER-KNOT. 
 
 37 
 
 diagonally, and is released by unhooking the end of the sling 
 under the angler's left arm. In Fig. 15 is shown a capital gaff 
 
 The Gaff Closed. 
 
 The Gaff partially Extended. 
 Fig. 15. Gaff with Point-protector, Telescopic Handle, and Sling. 
 
 fitted with this arrangement. It has a point-protector, working 
 on a hinge, which is quite out of the way when the handle is 
 extended. It is the invention of Mr. Basil Field, and is made 
 by Henry Bawcombe, of 2a, Yictoria Street, 
 Holloway Road, London. If an ordinary 
 gaff is used, the angler should be careful 
 to keep the point covered with a piece of 
 cork, or he may receive a nasty wound. 
 
 Knots and Fastenings. — The only knots 
 used by the pike-fisherman which I need 
 mention are : First, one of those used for 
 joining the lower portion of the tackle to 
 the running line, which is, I trust, clearly 
 explained by Fig. 16; second, a knot by 
 which lengths of gut can be joined to- 
 gether. The best knot for the purpose is, 
 I think, the one designed by Mr. Chol- 
 mondeley-Pennell. It is called the " buffer 
 knot," and is an improvement on a much 
 more ancient affair. Fig. 17 shows the knot in all its stages. 
 The binding is, of course, done with very fine, well-waxed silk, 
 or, which is perhaps better, very fine gut. The gut should 
 
 Fig. 16. Knot for 
 Fastening Gimp 
 or Gut to Running 
 Line. 
 
38 
 
 ANGLING FOE PIKE. 
 
 ^Qc 
 
 ©== 
 
 iQnfl 
 
 be soaked for an hour in cold water before being tied. This 
 knot is neat and very strong. At the waterside the angler 
 
 may sometimes find himself obliged 
 to omit the binding. This can 
 only be done with any degree of 
 safety when the lengths of gut 
 to be joined are about the same 
 thickness; the silk, or fine gut, is 
 best fastened off by the method 
 shown in Fig. 19. 
 Gut should be stained a drabby brown in winter, and a pale 
 green in summer — in each case matching the vegetation as far 
 
 Fig. 17. Knot for Tying 
 Lengths of Gut together. 
 
 Fig. 18. Method of Binding Gimp to Triangles. 
 
 as possible in colour. A neutral tint which is generally useful 
 is obtained by leaving the gut for a few minutes in Stephens' 
 blue-black ink. Strong coffee lees, with, possibly, a dash of 
 
SOMETHING WORTH LEARNING. 
 
 39 
 
 black ink, forms a good winter stain, and there is also a "brown 
 ink which is useful for the same purpose. For the green stain 
 there are Judson's dyes, or green tea, or the water in which a 
 piece of green baize has been boiled. 
 
 Every pike-fisherman should be able to bind on a triangle 
 to a piece of gimp. The process is simple, and, when once 
 acquired, not easily forgotten. First remove the wire from the 
 end of the gimp for |in., and pull the floss silk, which is thus 
 bared, between the shanks of two books of the triangle, as 
 shown in Fig. 18. Then commence the binding at the end of 
 the shank, until the top of the brazing is reached. Lay the end 
 of the tying-silk (A), or thread, along the shank, and, keeping it 
 there, take three more turns with the binding B, 0, at each 
 turn passing the three hooks of the triangle through the loop 
 B, 0, D ; then pull the end A tight, and the binding is com- 
 plete. It should afterwards be touched with shellac varnish 
 (shellac, six parts; spirits of wine, eight parts; gum benzoin, two 
 parts), and put in a dry place. This varnish is very useful for 
 all kinds of bindings ; it dries very qtiickly, but should never 
 be allowed to touch water until 
 
 at least twenty-four hours after 
 
 it is applied. Articles recently 
 
 varnished should never be put 
 
 in a damp place. 
 
 I have recently bound on a 
 
 few triangles with very fine and 
 
 soft copper wire, first waxing 
 
 it like silk. It makes a capital 
 
 binding, so far as I can see, is 
 
 as neat as silk, and quite im- 
 pervious to the teeth of pike. 
 
 I have known the silk binding 
 
 to be bitten all to pieces in 
 
 an afternoon's fishing, and a 
 
 tackle to be thus rendered 
 
 quite useless. A triangle boimd on thus to gimp looks much 
 
 neater than one with an eye at the end of the shank, to which 
 
 the gimp is looped. 
 
 Fig. 19. Finish off of Whipping 
 in Middle of Rod. 
 
40 ANGLING FOE PIKE. 
 
 Every reader of this book who aspires to be an angler 
 should know how to bind on a hook, or make up any kind of 
 jack-tackle. To finish off bindings in the middle of the tackle, 
 where the plan above described cannot be followed, the same 
 result can be effected by laying a penholder, pencil, or even 
 one's finger along the binding, taking three turns of the 
 binding silk round it and the thing to be bound, passing the 
 end under the coils (see Fig. 19), removing the pen, or finger, as 
 the case may be, and pulling the coils tight. The last thing 
 to do is to pull the end tight. A knowledge of these two 
 methods of fastening off bindings will frequently be found 
 extremely useful. 
 
 Sundries. — Among the sundries, I need only now mention 
 wax and silk. The wax used by cobblers is far the best for 
 fishermen. A small portion should be held in a piece of leather 
 when being used. In hot weather cobblers' wax keeps best in 
 water. The best silk for bindings, &c, is not ordinary sewing- 
 silk, but a superior quality, which is sold for use with sewing- 
 machines, and has, on that account, to be strong. I frequently 
 tie on triangles with ordinary thread, but am inclined to think 
 the binding of the future will be fine, soft, copper wire. 
 
 A creel, unless of immense size, is not much use to the 
 pike-fisherman. A bag is better, for it takes up no room 
 when empty. The ordinary twill pike-bag sold at fishing- 
 tackle shops is greatly improved by having the side next the 
 body of the angler faced with a piece of waterproof cloth. 
 A small waterproof pocket inside or outside the bag will be 
 found very useful to contain tackle, winch, &c. I will not 
 indicate any special make of bag as being the best, but 
 leave the reader to provide himself according to his fancy, 
 only let the bag be capable of holding at least 701b. of fish, 
 and let the webbing which crosses the shoulder be broad. 
 
 Dress. — Stout waterproof boots (knee high* if the angler 
 does much bank-fishing in winter) and all-wool garments, is 
 sound and sufficient advice to the pike-fisherman on the 
 
 * Light indiarubber wading-boots, lined with felt, are sold, which are very 
 comfortable and warm for winter-fishing. 
 
BUTTONS, A VAUNT ! 41 
 
 subject of clothing. But abjure buttons; they are the very 
 
 I mean, they possess the most objectionable attribute of 
 
 catching the line whenever an opportunity offers. On gaiters 
 they are particularly annoying. The best leg-covering of the 
 kind for pike-fishing, or, indeed, any other purpose, is fas- 
 tened by a series of loops, terminating at the top in a 
 small buckle. By reason of its ornamental and useless row 
 of buttons, a double-breasted coat is also objectionable; and 
 the buttons sometimes put at the bottom of one's sleeve for 
 decorative purposes should be ruthlessly cut away. I have 
 twice lost good fish by these same buttons, so write with 
 feeling. 
 
 In the following chapters I will describe the various 
 tackles used for live-baiting, spinning, trolling, &c. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 LIVE-BAITING. 
 
 Float-fishing — Improved Snap-tacMes — Gorge-hooks — Pater- 
 nostering — Legering, &c. 
 
 •S&flfjNGLIN'G for pike with live fish is carried on either 
 >Jr3£ with float-tackle, with the paternoster, or with the 
 leger. Float-tackle keeps the bait suspended in mid-water, 
 or lower, and the whole of the tackle is above the bait. 
 The paternoster keeps the bait at the proper depth by 
 means of a lead at the extreme end of the line, about 2ft. 
 below the bait. The leger is somewhat similar to the pater- 
 noster, but the lead which rests on the bottom is above the 
 bait, which is at the end of the line. Occasionally it is con- 
 venient to use a float with the paternoster and leger, but 
 with the latter rarely. As pike have their eyes situated on 
 the top of the head, they may be naturally supposed to see 
 better that which is above them than things below their 
 level. It follows that, of the three tackles mentioned, the 
 first is the most conspicuous, while in the other two nothing 
 but the bait, with the hook or hooks upon it, and a certain 
 length of line, can be seen, for the lead in both tackles rests 
 on the bottom, and the float is altogether wanting. Of the 
 two, the paternoster is most deadly, for it enables the bait 
 to be worked in water of practically any depth. In the leger, 
 on the other hand, the bait being below the lead, is necessarily 
 near the bottom, and that form of tackle is most useful when 
 
WHERE TO USE FLOAT-TACKLE. 
 
 43 
 
 the water is coloured, and the pike are feeding, as they 
 generally do under these circumstances, near the bottom. A 
 glance at the illustrations of the tackles given in this chapter 
 will make my meaning clear if it is not so already. 
 
 Fishing with. Float-tackle is most useful when we 
 wish our bait to he carried along by the stream over a 
 bed of weeds which do not reach to the surface; for working 
 a bait under branches where it could not be cast; for fishing 
 lakes and ponds the bottoms of which are too weedy for the 
 paternoster (if the paternoster is cast out a considerable 
 distance, the line makes such an acute angle with the bottom 
 that the bait is 
 nearly sure to lie 
 in the weeds, if 
 there are any) ; 
 and, in rivers, for 
 fishing distant 
 spots, to which 
 the bait could not 
 be cast, but to 
 which it can be 
 swept by the cur- 
 rent. As a matter 
 of fact, float-tackle 
 can be used almost 
 anywhere, except 
 in very heavy 
 streams, in which 
 pike are not often 
 found, or where 
 the weeds grow to 
 the surface ; but 
 it is best suited 
 for the purposes 
 
 I have named. The rod for the purpose should be fitted with 
 a rather stiff top. In fact, the larger and heavier the bait, 
 lead, and float, the stiffer should be the rod. 
 
 Fig. 20 is an illustration of the tackle which is best for 
 
 Fig. 20. Float-tackle. 
 
44 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 float-fishing. Between the main line and the hooks should be 
 6ft. of either 000 patent gimp (see page 32), or salmon-gut, 
 knotted and stained according to the directions in Chapter II. 
 At the end of the gut, or gimp, as the case may be, is a tapered 
 lead, with a hole down its centre, which should be painted 
 a dull brown colour in winter and a quiet green in summer 
 and autumn, and be kept in its place on the gimp by means 
 of a tiny plug of wood. Below the lead is a hook- swivel. 
 Of hook-swivels there are many patterns, but I need only 
 mention the one shown in Fig. 21, which is excellent in every 
 respect. It is easily fastened to the other 
 portion of the tackle, and is absolutely safe. 
 I do not know the inventor, but as it is a 
 novelty, it may be well to mention that it is 
 made by "Warner & Sons, of Redditch. Another 
 very good hook-swivel is shown attached to a 
 spinning lead in Fig. 38. 
 
 The " Fishing Gazette " float (shown in Fig. 20) 
 is the best pike-float made. It should not, unless 
 the baits used are very large, be of greater size 
 than a hen's egg. It is kept in its place on 
 Fig 2L hook- ^ e gi m P by means of a peg. The old-fashioned 
 swivel. floats also had a hole down their centres, but 
 were without the slit in the side which enables 
 the modern float to be taken on or off the line in a moment. 
 In addition to the large float,* one or two small ones are ad- 
 visable above it, at distances of 12in. or 18in. They keep the line 
 from sinking (sometimes it sinks so low that the bait swims 
 round it) and getting entangled with the float, and also help 
 the angler to judge, when his float goes under, whether the 
 disappearance is merely an effort of the bait to escape, or 
 a run from a pike.f It is perhaps as well for the beginner 
 
 * Some pike-fishermen use no large float, but five or six small ones, a plan which 
 allows the bait great freedom, and is, so far, superior to the tackle illustrated; but 
 to move so many floats when the depth has to be changed is inconvenient, and 
 occasions a loss of time. Probably, as many jack would be caught by one method 
 as by the other. 
 
 t I advise all anglers, when using float-tackle, to rub a little grease over the line, 
 to cause it to float. Almost any grease will do ; red deer's kidney suet, sold by 
 Eaton and Deller, is perhaps the best. Palm oil answers well ; so does beef suet. 
 
HINTS ON FLOAT-FISHING. 45 
 
 to have a float just so large that the bait cannot pull it 
 under ; but the more experienced angler will use a smaller 
 float, and judge from the movement of the auxiliary floats — 
 if I may so term them — whether a pike has hold of the bait 
 or not. 
 
 It should be carefully borne in mind that, if the float is put 
 too deep, and the bait is all but on the bottom, a pike cannot 
 pull the float under unless he dashes off at great speed, 
 which he usually does not do. Under these circumstances, 
 several runs may be had without the inexperienced angler 
 being any the wiser. 
 
 In summer I have seen very good results from using a quill 
 float, such as would be suitable for chub-fishing, the other 
 tackle being, of course, proportionately fine, and the bait very 
 small — a year-old dace or chub. In the hot months, when the 
 water is clear, and there is no breeze or rain to ruffle the sui'face, 
 the ordinary pike float-tackle does not, as a rule, account for 
 many fish. Of course, this remark does not apply to those 
 exceptional streams where pike are many and anglers few ; but 
 it does apply with great force to the Thames and other 
 clear and over-fished rivers. 
 
 The hooks for float-fishing are of three kinds — snap-hooks, 
 gorge-hooks, and semi-gorge hooks. The former are so arranged 
 that the pike can be struck immediately he takes the bait; 
 while with the last-mentioned he is allowed to gorge the bait, 
 and gets hooked in his throat or stomach. Gorge-hooks, I 
 need hardly say, are never used by humane anglers. As pike 
 frequently refuse to gorge the bait after they have seized it, 
 gorge-tackle is not so certain as might otherwise be imagined. 
 The semi-gorge tackle is simply a triangle in the back fin. 
 The pike, after taking the bait, is allowed about three minutes 
 to turn it, and get the triangle well in his mouth, when he is 
 struck. 
 
 It was my ambition, some years ago, to produce a good 
 arrangement of snap-hooks, and after many experiments, I 
 made up a tackle similar to that shown in Fig. 22. At the time 
 I considered it perfection. It was an improvement on an older 
 tackle known as the " saddle-back." In the tackle as I then made 
 
46 
 
 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 it, the single book which goes through the back of the fish was 
 immovable, and instead of the peculiar triangle on the shoulder 
 of the bait, with one hook reversed (see Fig. 23), an ordinary 
 triangle was used, above which was a large roach-hook (bound 
 on the gimp the reverse way to the other hooks), which was 
 
 Fig. 22. The Author's Snap Tackle. (The dotted line shows the position of 
 the triangle on the other side of bait). 
 
 inserted in the shoulder of the bait. I thought this tackle 
 was perfection, because the first day I tried it, out of twelve runs, 
 eleven fish were secured ; and a few days later, out of ten runs, 
 all the fish were landed — i.e., in all 
 twenty fish resulted from twenty-one 
 runs. The reasons why the tackle 
 was so successful were simply these : 
 The bait had hooks on both sides of it, 
 so that, from whichever side the jack 
 approached, he was almost certain 
 to have one triangle brought in con- 
 tact with the lower jaw and tongue 
 (there is next to nothing for a 
 hook to take hold of in the upper 
 part of a jack's mouth) ; and the capture was rendered 
 doubly sure by reason of one ti'iangle being near the bait's 
 
 Fig. 23. Improved Triangle 
 for Snap- TACKLE. 
 
NEW LIVE-BAIT TACKLES. 
 
 47 
 
 head, the other hanging about its middle. The object of the 
 reversed hook was not only to keep the triangle in its place on 
 the shoulder, but also to allow the tackle to come freely from 
 the bait when the pike was struck. If the hook were put the 
 other way, it would, on the strike taking place, be dragged into 
 and through the bait. As pike always seize the bait from 
 underneath, it seems to follow as a matter of course that, for 
 the triangle to be well within the jack's mouth, it should be near 
 the belly, and not near the back, of the bait. But whatever the 
 reasons may be, I have almost invariably found the tackle 
 successful, and always use it for good-sized baits, which require 
 carefully guarding.* I have only recently combined the reverse 
 hook and the triangle in the manner shown in Fig. 23, and I 
 have to thank Messrs. Warner & Sons, who have made 
 several novel items of tackle at my request, for working 
 
 Fig. 24. Improved Jardine Snap-Tackle. 
 
 out my idea so satisfactorily. It is astonishing how much 
 trouble is involved in what appears so trifling a matter as 
 getting a hook made to a peculiar bend. However intelligent 
 the manufacturer may be, it is most difficult to get the workman 
 to work on new lines. 
 
 A live-bait tackle which is deservedly very popular at the 
 present time is one used by Mr. Alfred Jardine, a well-known 
 
 * Mr. Jardine has shown me a saddle-back tackle, made a good many years ago, in 
 which two ordinary triangles were mounted on soft wire. One triangle was hooked 
 on to the shoulder, and the other was hitched into the vent, or hung straight down 
 the side. Mr. Jardine tells me that he has found this a very killing tackle.. 
 
48 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 pike-fisherman, who very kindly gave me the benefit of his 
 advice in getting the triangle shown in Fig. 23 into shape. 
 His tackle is very similar to that shown in Fig. 2i. The only 
 difference is that in the original Jardine snap the dorsal 
 triangle was not adjustable, and in lieu of the reversed hook at 
 shoulder of the bait, a very small hook of fine wire, pointing the 
 same way as the others, was caught into the base of the pectoral 
 fin. The tackle in Fig. 24 is useful for baits of moderate size, 
 and is, I venture to think, an improvement on Mr. Jardine's old 
 pattern. It can be adjusted to almost any-sized bait; the 
 hook at the shoulder lies close to the bait, keeps its position 
 during the cast, and comes away very easily when the pike is 
 struck. 
 
 For small baits, a tackle similar to the arrangement of hooks 
 shown in the illustration of the paternoster (Fig. 27) should be 
 used ; and if the bait is very small, there is nothing better than 
 a single hook, mounted on fine gimp, put through both lips of 
 the bait. With a single hook the angler should wait about a 
 quarter of a minute before striking, whereas, with the other 
 snap-tackles, he can strike immediately he feels sure the pike 
 has seized the bait. 
 
 There is still another tackle which I have seen used with great 
 success on the Thames — the semi-goi'ge referred to above. 
 It is, as I have said, simply a solitary triangle, one hook 
 of which, used to stick in the back fin of the bait, is of 
 smaller size than the others. The pike, on seizing the 
 bait, is given about three minutes, and then struck, when 
 the hooks are generally found in the right place. Of course, 
 with only a triangle on the back of the bait, it is, as a 
 rule, of little use to strike until the pike has turned the bait 
 head downwards, and commenced to swallow it. I may remark, 
 in passing, that the proportion between the pike and the bait 
 has more to do with the hooking of the former than most 
 anglers are aware of. If a large pike seizes a small bait, he 
 probably takes it into his mouth at the first onset, and the 
 hooks, wherever they may be, will almost certainly take hold ; 
 but if a small pike seizes a large bait, the odds are on his not 
 getting hooked. 
 
GOKGE-BAITING WITH FLOAT-TACKLE. 
 
 49 
 
 Fig. 25. Gorge- 
 hook for Live 
 Bait. 
 
 
 A gorge-hook proper for live bait is shown in Fig. 25. It is 
 
 fastened to the bait by means of a baiting-needle. Of baiting- 
 needles there are several patterns, one of which 
 
 is shown in Fig. 26. The loop at end of the 
 
 gimp is put through the eye of the needle ; 
 
 the point of the needle is then inserted under 
 
 skin of bait, just above the pectoral fin, and 
 
 brought out near the dorsal or back fin, and 
 
 the gimp pulled through until the shank of the 
 
 hook is covered by the skin of the bait. When a 
 
 run is had with this tackle, it is necessary to 
 
 wait from five to eight minutes, meanwhile 
 
 ft paying out line, if need be, for the pike must 
 
 go where he will without the slightest check. 
 Then gather up loose line, and strike, or, rather, 
 drag the fish in, for the poor beast with the 
 hook in his entrails requires little striking or 
 playing.* To remove the hook, knock the pike 
 on the head, unfasten the loop at the end of 
 the gimp from the swivel, make an incision 
 in the belly of the pike where the hook can 
 be felt, and draw the hook out backwards. 
 
 About the only real difficulty in fishing with 
 float-tackle is to determine the proper distance 
 at which to put the float from the bait ; both 
 in rivers and lakes it is necessary to have some 
 idea of the depth of the water to do this. When 
 in a punt, the depth is easily ascertained by 
 means of the punt-pole, and it is not a difficult 
 matter to fasten a heavy plummet to the hook, 
 and so plumb the depth. When fishing a strange 
 water from the bank, the only thing to do, if 
 no one is at hand to give the necessary informa- 
 tion, is to put the float very deep, cast out, and 
 see if the lead lies on the bottom or not, and keep 
 putting the float higher and higher until it ceases 
 to cock, when the lead will be on the bottom. The 
 
 t 
 
 Fig. 26. Bait- 
 ing-needle. 
 
 * The remarks on gorge-baiting in Chapter V. should be carefully read in con- 
 nection with this subject. 
 
 DIV. II. E 
 
50 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 distance from the lead to the float will then be, roughly, the 
 depth, and the float can be put in its proper position. "When 
 fishing over weeds, the bait should swim about 1ft. above 
 the weeds; but over a clear bottom I usually arrange it so 
 that it swims two-thirds of the way from the surface. If the 
 water is much coloured, the bait should be deeper ; but if very 
 clear (unless very deep), rather higher, about mid-water. Pro- 
 fessional fishermen are always ready to tell one the depth ; the 
 angler, however, should not trust to them too much, but occa- 
 sionally take soundings on his own account. 
 
 If the water to be fished is very deep, it is as well — in 
 some cases necessary — to have a sliding float. This is nothing 
 more than the old-fashioned cork float with a hole down the 
 centre; but the hole should be slightly enlarged, and is all 
 the better if lined with light, metal tubing, to allow the line 
 to run freely through it. The top of the tube should be 
 slightly dilated, and neatly fitted to the cork, so that the 
 line may slip through the float easily, and not cut on the 
 metal. To keep this float at the proper distance from the 
 bait, Jin. of elastic band is tied to the line (make a noose in 
 the line, put the piece of band in it, and pull the noose 
 tight), so that, when the lead causes the bait to sink in the 
 water, the line runs through the float until stopped by the 
 piece of band. When the pike is being played, the float slips 
 down the line to the lead, or as near it as the water will allow, 
 and the piece of rubber band passes through the rod-rings. 
 
 Live-baits. — The usual baits for float-tackle are dace and 
 roach. The first-named fish is by far the better of the two. 
 Small carp make long-lived baits, and are very killing in some 
 waters; and where expense is no object, I would strongly 
 recommend goldfish. For lakes and ponds where a good 
 working bait is required — one which will travel about, and 
 cover much ground — there is nothing so good as a small 
 chub. Pike are very fond of gudgeon, but these little fish 
 are hardly showy enough, except in clear water. Faut de 
 mieux, a frog may be tried; in some waters — usually lakes — 
 pike take them freely. So far as my experience goes, frogs 
 will not live under water for any length of time. The usual 
 
PIKE-FISHING WITH FLOAT-TACKLE. 51 
 
 tackle for frogs is a large, single hook, either hitched into the 
 skin of the back, or passed through the under lip, and so on to 
 the hind leg, to which it is fastened by a piece of thread. The 
 pike should be given at least three or four minutes to get the 
 bait well into his mouth before striking. 
 
 Bait-cans are described at page 35. The angler will be 
 well advised to provide himself with a piece of cord, and keep 
 his can, or its zinc interior, as much as possible in the water 
 while he is fishing. If baits have to be taken a long journey, 
 they should be caught two days previously, and kept without 
 food, for when full of food they soon defile the water to such 
 an extent as to poison themselves. I have already stated 
 on page 35 how the water in a bait-can may be kept cool in 
 summer. 
 
 Never fish with a half-dead bait. Success is only to be 
 insured by using bright, lively baits, though there are occa- 
 sions when pike will take almost anything edible. 
 
 When fishing rivers in summer, it is not advisable to let 
 the float remain long in one place. Two minutes is usually 
 sufficient, and five minutes nearly always enough. The only 
 ■exception I would make to this rule is when a short stretch 
 of the river, or a weir-pool, is known to be particularly 
 well stocked with pike. It is rarely necessary to cast out 
 the float-tackle in rivers, for it can generally be worked to 
 the desired spot by means of the current. The less the bait 
 is cast, the longer it lives. When fishing over a sub-aqueous 
 weed-bed, moor the punt, drop the bait into the water, let 
 out 10yds. of line, and wait two or three minutes ; then let 
 out 2yds. of line, and wait; and continue letting out line 
 every few minutes until the float is 50yds. or more distant. 
 Then shift the punt, and repeat the process until every yard 
 of the weed-bed has been covered. 
 
 The Strike. — There are great differences of opinion among 
 our best pike-fishermen as to how a pike should be struck. 
 Mr. Pennell says strike, and go on striking until, by the 
 kicking of the pike, it is clear the hooks are into him. Mr- 
 Jardine says do not strike, but give a long, steady pull, and 
 hold the pike hard for a few seconds, to get the hooks well 
 
 E 2 
 
52 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 home. My own opinion is that no rule can he laid down 
 which can be applied to all, or even the majority of, cases. 
 When the tackle is 50yds. or more from the angler, Mr. 
 Pennell's hard strike, possibly repeated, is necessary to over- 
 come the elasticity of so much line, and to lift it off the 
 water. The same strike, when the tackle is 5yds. from the 
 angler, would assuredly break the line. Then, again, if the 
 bait, and consequently the triangles, are large or plentiful, a 
 heavier strike is necessary than when they are small or few. 
 I can only say one thing for certain — that great judgment is 
 necessary, and that it is particularly in the strike that the 
 novice can be distinguished from the practised angler. The 
 roof of a pike's mouth is bony, and affords bad anchorage for 
 a hook; but the tongue and lower jaw are good holding- 
 ground ; the strike should, therefore, be rather sideways 
 than up. Always be sure that you do not strike on a slack 
 pine. First gather in a little line, until you can all but feel 
 the pike, and then strike at once. A harder strike should 
 be made with a pliant rod than a stiff one, and with a short 
 rod than a long one. 
 
 Casting. — In live-baiting, as in most methods of pike-fishing, 
 it is often necessary to cast out the tackle a considerable 
 distance — 50yds. or more. Thames anglers uncoil some line 
 on the ground, put the bait within about 2yds. of the rod-top, 
 hold the rod in the right hand, at right angles to the direction 
 in which the bait is to go, hold the line in the left hand, 
 swing the bait first back and then out in the right direc- 
 tion, letting go the line as the tackle flies out. The line is, 
 however, not altogether released, but passes between the first 
 finger and thumb of the left hand, which gradually close 
 upon it, and gently check the course of the bait until it is 
 about over the spot where it is intended to fall. When the 
 bait and rod are heavy, the butt of the rod, as well as the 
 line, is held by the left hand (in addition to the right hand) ; 
 but as soon as the cast is in progress, the left hand leaves the 
 rod, and sees to the line as before. The line for this kind of 
 casting should be dressed or waterproofed (see page 29). 
 On the Trent the line is run immediately off the reel, and is not 
 
" A MOST DEADLY PIECE OF TACKLE." 53 
 
 first unwound by the angler. A free-running Nottingham reel 
 (see page 28) is, of course, necessary for this method, and a 
 plaited or twisted, undressed silk line. I do not like it as well a s 
 the Thames style, because the bait cannot be cast with quite the 
 same accuracy as when the line is free to pass through the rings 
 without the least check. At the same time, the Nottingham 
 style is very useful when fishing from the bank, especially 
 when the ground is rough, and there are thistles and such-like 
 nuisances to catch the line. On windy days, too, when punt- 
 fishing, the Nottingham style is of service, for the wind 
 frequently blows loose line about, and causes it to catch in 
 something or other. 
 
 To cast in the Nottingham style place one hand above the 
 reel, and the other below it. If the cast is made from the 
 right shoulder, the right hand will be above the reel ; if from 
 the left shoulder, the left hand. The reel is checked by the 
 pressure of a finger on its rim — either the first finger of 
 the hand below the reel, or the little finger of the hand above 
 it. I prefer the latter method, but the former is, I believe, 
 more common. At the moment of casting, remove the finger 
 from the reel ; but when the bait is nearly over the place where 
 you wish it to fall, put a gradual pressure on the rim of the 
 reel with the finger, until you stop it altogether. This method 
 is more difficult than it may seem from reading this description. 
 Beginners will do well to go into the centre of a ten-acre 
 meadow, and practise diligently for two hours before attempting 
 to cast at the waterside. 
 
 The Paternoster is a most deadly piece of tackle, which 
 has become a great favourite with most pike-fishermen during 
 the last few years, though it is by no means a novelty, having 
 been used on the Thames, both for pike and perch, for well- 
 nigh a century. Its form will be easily understood from a glance 
 at Fig. 27. The perpendicular portion of it is made either of 
 000 patent gimp (see page 32), stained, or of salmon-gut (knotted 
 and stained according to the directions on pages 37-8). Below 
 the junction with the hook-length, which should be 6in. to 9in. 
 (according to the weediness of the stream) of ordinary gimp, 
 nicely stained, there is no occasion for any particular strength, 
 
54 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 so it will add to the fineness of the tackle to make this portion 
 of fine gut. Another advantage of this plan is that, if the 
 lead catches in anything, the tackle breaks below the hook, 
 and not above it. I am indebted for this idea to Mr. Jardine. 
 The distance from the lead to the hook-link should, as a rule, 
 be about 12in. or 18in. ; but it may be 
 even 3ft., if necessary, to keep the bait 
 above the weeds. 
 
 Any small bait may be used with 
 this tackle, a dace being probably the 
 best, and a chub or carp the longest 
 lived. The hook-tackle I have shown 
 (the single hook is put through both 
 — > :=) lips of the bait, and the triangle fixed 
 
 low on the side, about the middle) is 
 most generally useful; but for very 
 small baits, a single hook (No. 10 or 
 No. 12), of the same kind as those 
 shown in the triangle, should be put 
 through both lips of the bait from 
 underneath. For medium -sized baits 
 when the water is coloured, or for large 
 baits at any time, the best tackle is 
 that illustrated on page 47; but when 
 used with a paternoster, it is not 
 arranged on the bait as there shown. 
 The small hook of the dorsal triangle 
 should be put through both lips of the 
 A bait, and the end triangle should be 
 
 fixed on the side, about the middle. 
 Fig. 27. Pike Paternoster. When only the single hook is used, 
 the angler should not strike directly 
 he has a run, but should wait for the pike to move off. A hard 
 strike is in this case not necessary, a steady pull being all that 
 is required. 
 
 In summer the paternoster is particularly useful for fishing 
 the openings among weeds. The angler can either walk along 
 the bank, and drop it in wherever he sees an opening, or pass 
 
PATERNOSTERING FOR PIKE. 55 
 
 very slowly down the river in a boat, and fish all the most 
 likely spots (see page 10). Except in weir-pools, there is rarely 
 occasion to cast out the paternoster for any considerable distance 
 in summer. Indeed, to cast it out is a mistake; it should rather 
 be swung out with the motion of a pendulum, and at the 
 moment the lead is over the right spot, the line, which is held 
 in the left hand, is released, and the lead and bait dropped 
 gently into the water. The less the disturbance of the water, 
 the more chance thei'e is of catching fish. 
 
 In winter (see page 73 as to line freezing), when there 
 are no weeds, the paternoster is very useful for fishing the 
 eddies and other lay-bys where pike are to be found. I need 
 hardly point out that one great advantage of' this tackle is 
 that it almost always puts the bait at about the right 
 distance from the bottom, however much the depth may 
 vary. To fish a large eddy it may be necessary to cast out 
 the paternoster some distance. Having cast it out, wait a 
 few minutes, then draw it in a few yards, wait, then draw 
 in again, and so on, until the eddy has been carefully fished 
 all over. How to cast out pike-tackle is described on page 52- 
 The method of gathering the line in the hand described on 
 page 73 will be often found very useful when paternostering. 
 
 With small baits it is advisable to use a light lead, about 
 ioz., and the longest top to the rod; while for heavier baits 
 a ioz. lead is necessary, and a shorter top. When pater- 
 nostering, I have sometimes found pike bite so gently that 
 I have supposed the movement of the line was caused by the 
 struggles of the bait. To feel a bite it is necessary to keep 
 the line quite taut between the lead and the rod-top. I gene- 
 rally hold the rod in my right hand, and the line in my left 
 hand, and sometimes feel bites from the tugging at the line 
 before any movement of the rod-top is perceptible. When 
 a single hook is used, and the pike are not to be struck at 
 once, it is as well to lower the point of the rod 1ft. or 
 more immediately a bite is felt. 
 
 A very novel form of paternoster was illustrated in the 
 Fishing Gazette of January 2, 1886. It was the invention of 
 a French nobleman living at Taunton, who had acquired a 
 
56 
 
 ANGLING FOE PIKE. 
 
 great reputation in that district as a successful pike-fisherman, 
 and whose success was said to be due to this particular piece 
 of tackle. The diagram explains its construction. A is the 
 rod ; B, a cork on the surface, to indicate bites ; C, a common 
 bottle-cork, slit, which supports bait and wire crossbar ; 
 D, E, twisted wire crossbar, 8in. in length ; E, E, 7in. of gimp ; 
 D, F, 2ft. or more of fine twine (fine gut would probably be 
 better), terminated with a bullet. The hook portion of the 
 tackle is very similar to that shown in Fig. 24. The wire 
 beam, of course, must have an eye at each end, to which the 
 
 other portions of the 
 tackle are attached, and 
 an eye in the middle, on 
 which is a hook-swivel. 
 The bottle-cork (C) is a 
 foot or two above the 
 wire, which it supports. 
 The twine or gut D, F 
 can be varied in length 
 according to the depth 
 it is desired to fish. It 
 is obviously important 
 to have the coi-k C just 
 the right size to support 
 the bait and the wire 
 beam in a horizontal 
 position. "With this 
 tackle the bait has great 
 freedom, pirouetting round the plumb which anchors it at the 
 proper place and depth. It is altogether so novel, and ap- 
 parently so complicated, that it is not likely to be viewed 
 with much favour; but as the Count de Moira says he 
 kills more fish with it than his friends do on other tackle. 
 I hope some of my readers will give it a fair trial, which 
 I confess I have not done. Mr. R. B. Marston wrote of this 
 tackle— and I entirely agree with him: "You often come 
 across breaks and bays in beds of weeds and reeds which 
 line the bank; they are often too small to try the ordinary 
 
 BOTTOM OF RIVER 
 
 Fio. 28. Count de Moira's Beam 
 Paternoster. 
 
TACKLE FOR THICK WATER. 57 
 
 live-bait tackle in, because the bait would swim into the reeds 
 at once. It is impossible to keep the bait on an ordinary 
 paternoster at the exact depth, unless you are almost over the 
 spot, and hold the line taut all the time; directly the line 
 slackens, the bait fouls the weeds at the bottom, and might 
 remain there a month without attracting the notice of a fish. 
 With Count de Moira's invention, your bait must swim round, 
 supported (at any depth you please) by the cork, and anchored 
 in one spot. In an open water, with bottom clear of weeds, 
 we should prefer the ordinary live-snap float-tackle, or the 
 live-snap paternoster." 
 
 The Leger is a very useful piece of tackle when rivers are 
 in flood, or bank-high and coloured. At such times numbers 
 
 Fig. 29. Pike Leger. 
 
 of pike will often collect in one small, shallow eddy, and feed 
 very near the bottom. The construction of the leger is shown 
 in Fig. 29. It is either composed entirely of very fine patent 
 gimp — the few inches near the hook, which should be of ordinary 
 gimp, excepted — or it should be, for the most part, of salmon- 
 gut, knotted as already described (page 37) ; but with the 
 bullet working on a length of gimp, and with a short piece 
 of gimp attached to the hooks. As the bait is near the bottom, 
 I think a single hook is less likely to get caught up than any 
 other arrangement ; but with good-sized baits it is almost 
 necessary to have something larger, such as the tackle shown 
 in the illustration. The end triangle should be fixed high up 
 
•VS ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 on the side of the bait, near the doi-sal fin. If fixed low down 
 on the side it is perpetually catching on the bottom. 
 
 After what I have written on paternostering, I need say 
 little concerning the use of the leger. Cast out the tackle 
 where you expect pike to be, keep a taut line, and on feeling 
 a bite act exactly as you would if fishing with a paternoster. 
 
 Flaying and Landing the pike in a satisfactory manner 
 are only to be learned through experience, but there are one or 
 two useful hints worth mentioning. After the fish is hooked, 
 as a rule, keep the rod as much as possible >at an angle of 
 about 45deg. Have an eye to any weeds, piles, roots, and such- 
 like, and keep your fish as far away from them as you are able. 
 If the fish becomes weeded, or seems likely to attain that 
 undesirable condition, get below him, keep the line as tight 
 as you dare, and pull down stream. When the pike comes to 
 the surface, opens his mouth, and shakes his head, as he 
 probably will do if you hold him too hard, lower the point 
 of the rod to the surface of the water, and put a less heavy 
 strain on the fish. Always play him as much as possible on 
 the reel, checking him in his runs by placing a finger on 
 the rim of the reel (unless the mechanical check in the reel 
 is a strong one, and as much as the tackle will bear), and 
 wind him in when you are able to. If he leaps, slacken the 
 line until he is in the water again. Beware of his getting 
 round the punt-pole, if one is in the water. Beware of nails 
 on the bottom of the boat, especially if it is an Irish craft. 
 When the fish yields to you, get him near you, and gaff 
 him. I usually gaff over the back of the fish, and not in 
 the belly. Get the gaff in position, and then, with a sharp 
 pull, send it in, and lift the fish out without a moment's 
 delay. Graff near tbe tail rather than the shoulder or 
 middle, especially if the fish is large, for a pike gaffed in the 
 tail is helpless, and can only wag his head slowly, while if 
 gaffed anywhere else he can splash about with his tail, and 
 perhaps get off, or break the gaff. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 DEAD-BAIT FISHING. 
 
 Modem Spinning Flights — Traces — How to Prevent Kinking — 
 Thames Style of Spinning — Trent Style of Spinning — 
 Preserved Baits — Eel-tail — Artificial Spinning Baits. 
 
 EAD-BAITS, when used in pike-fishing, are either arranged 
 
 Q% so that they spin when drawn through the water, or 
 are placed on trolling-tackle, in which case they do not spin. 
 Spinning baits are either cast out some distance, and drawn 
 back through the water to the angler, or are trailed at the 
 back of a boat. This trailing is often called trolling in Scotland 
 and Ireland, a misnomer which has doubtless caused some little 
 confusion in the minds of anglers. Trolling proper is the use 
 of a dead-bait which does not spin, and is worked with a 
 sink-and-draw motion in the water. I propose now to describe 
 spinning for pike, leaving the subject of trolling for the fol- 
 lowing chapter. 
 
 Spinning Flights are of two kinds — those which cause 
 the bait to spin by curving its tail, and those which spin the 
 bait by means of some simple mechanical contrivance. Of the 
 first kind, the Thames spinning flights are most commonly used, 
 and though, if put on by a skilful hand, they give the bait a 
 brilliant spin, they hook badly, and the percentage of fish secured 
 to the number of runs is small. They consist of three or four 
 triangles, about lin. apart, above which is a movable lip-hook. 
 
60 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 A hook of the lowest triangle is caught in the tail of the hait ; the 
 other triangles ai - e fastened to its side, and the lip-hook (see 
 page 61) passes through the lips. In fixing these hooks, the tail 
 of the bait is curved, and the hooks (a bad point about these 
 flights) lie in the curve. This can, however, be got over by- 
 slipping a piece of gimp, to which a triangle is attached, 
 down to the lip-hook, and sticking one of the hooks of the 
 triangle on the outside of the curve, about the middle of the 
 fish. I am almost obliged to mention this tackle because it 
 is so commonly used, but I strongly advise my readers to 
 have nothing to do with it. One reason why it is so bad is 
 that it has too many hooks. The more hooks the more 
 chance of hooking, seems at first sight a sound proposi- 
 tion, but it will not bear examination. If to pull one hook 
 into a jack requires a force of ilb., to pull in two hooks 
 requires a force of ilb. — and the more the hooks to be pulled 
 in, the greater the force required. Now, if we have three 
 triangles and a lip-hook on one flight, there are frequently 
 four separate hook-points (say, two on each of two triangles) 
 in the jack's mouth, the resistance of which has to be overcome 
 before the jack is hooked. Now I will go so far as to assert 
 that it is impossible to strike hard enough with light tackle 
 to get four large hooks in over the barb. In all my experience I 
 have never found a jack really hooked with more than two hooks 
 well over the barb, though the points of other hooks might 
 be sticking in his mouth. It follows that the large number of 
 triangles in the Thames flight more often than not prevents 
 the pike being properly hooked, and this theory is borne 
 out in practice. I believe that, when pike are caught with this 
 tackle, they either seize only the end triangle, or hook them- 
 selves in their struggles after they have shaken some of the 
 triangles out of their mouths. 
 
 As pike are not very likely to be hooked unless the hooks 
 are brought against their lower jaw (the upper jaw being hard 
 and bony), it follows that, with those tackles in which all the 
 hooks lie close along one side of the bait, the hooks will as 
 often come against the upper jaw of the pike as the lower, and 
 a large number of fish will not get hooked. For this reason I 
 
MODERN SPINNING FLIGHTS. 
 
 61 
 
 niuch prefer those tackles in which the bait is guarded on both 
 sides. 
 
 Of the more modern flights which spin 
 the bait by curving its tail, the two most 
 generally approved of by pike-fishermen are 
 the Francis flight and the Pennell flight. It 
 will be seen from a glance at Figs. 30, 31, 32, 
 and 33, that they are very similar in prin- 
 ciple. The curve in the tail of the bait in 
 each depends on a reversed hook, and one, 
 or, at most, two triangles are deemed suffi- 
 cient to hook the pike. I can speak from 
 experience very highly of both these tackles, 
 though they do not carry out the principle 
 I think so admirable of having both sides 
 of the bait guarded ; but they do hook well, 
 and the reason of their success is, no doubt, 
 owing to the use of flying triangles. From 
 the good results I have obtained with both 
 these tackles, and also with the Chapman 
 Spinner, which I will shortly describe, I am 
 inclined to think that the principle to be 
 carried out in spinning flights is to have 
 triangles on both sides of the bait when a 
 hook of each triangle is fixed into the bait, 
 but to have a flying triangle when only one 
 side of the bait is guarded. 
 
 The Lip-hook shown in the Pennell flights 
 is an improvement over the old pattern, in 
 being made entirely of steel, and in the 
 angle the eyes make with the shank of the 
 hook. I find lip-hooks very apt to rust 
 under the gimp. This source of weakness 
 (for the rust eats into the gimp) might be figs. 30 and 31. Fran- 
 avoided by making the lip-hooks of phos- ^/uEim)!™ 
 phor-bronze. 
 
 The diagrams show so clearly how the baits are mounted 
 on these flights that a long, written description is unnecessary ; 
 
62 
 
 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 but the following points are worthy of mention : If the bait is 
 a gudgeon, the lip-hook should be put through the top lip, 
 
 Fig. 32. Pennell Flight (Baited 
 and um1aited) for small baits. 
 
 Fig. 33. Pennell Flight (Bajted and 
 u.nbaited) for large baits. 
 
 downwards; but if any other fish, through the under lip, 
 upwards. The bait should lie perfectly straight down to the 
 
THE SPINNING TACKLE OF THE MIDLANDS. 63 
 
 commencement of the curve in its tail, and the principal 
 strain should be on the lip-hook ; from the lip-hook, therefore, 
 to the tail-hook, the gimp should be rather loose than tight. 
 When baiting, the tail-hook is adjusted first, and the lip-hook 
 last. 
 
 Of the two flights mentioned, the angler can choose which 
 pleaseth him best, unless, indeed, he prefers one of the con- 
 trivances which spin the bait by fans or some such means. 
 But there is a simple piece of spinning tackle, a great favourite 
 in the Midlands and Eastern Counties, which I advise him 
 never to be without, for it will spin any bait without difficulty, 
 and requires no skill in its adjustment. It is shown on a bait 
 in Fig. 34, and it will be seen that it is nothing more than two 
 
 Fig. 34. A Simple Spinning Tackle. 
 
 triangles at the end of a piece of gimp. To bait it in the way 
 shown, it is necessary to attach the gimp to a baiting-needle,* 
 and thread the fish from vent to mouth. The bait spins in a 
 different manner to one mounted on a Pennell or Francis flight ; 
 but it is an attractive spin all the same, and the tackle hooks 
 well. After the gimp is through the bait you can, if you 
 please, slip a pipe-lead (A) down the gimp, and so into the belly of 
 the bait, and follow with a lip-hook (B), the eyes of which must 
 be large, to pass over the loop in the gimp. 
 
 Another way of using this tackle is to put the end of the 
 gimp through a gill of the fish, and out of its mouth, and fix 
 the triangles in the back of the bait, or put the end triangle on 
 
 * If the needle is lost, the gimp can be pushed through the bait by means of a 
 piece of stick notched at the end, or an extempore needle can be made out of a 
 piece of soda-water-bottle wire— facts worth remembering. 
 
64 ANGLING FOE PIKE. 
 
 the opposite side of the bait to the threaded gill. The tackle so 
 baited is shown in Fig. 35. It is improved by a fixed lip-hook, 
 which has to be passed through the gill and brought out at the 
 mouth — a delicate operation ; or a sliding lip-hook can, of course, 
 be passed down the gimp after the triangles are placed. 
 
 There is yet another method of using this tackle — one which I 
 can strongly recommend ; but the addition of a lip-hook and 
 4in. of copper wire, one end of which is turned into an eye, and 
 the eye bent at right angles to the rest of the wire, is essential. 
 This simple tackle hooks well, is easy to adjust, and spins the 
 bait as well as any other flight. To adjust it, stick the lip-hook 
 through both lips (the top lip first, if a gudgeon) of the bait, and 
 catch one hook of each triangle on the side, leaving the gimp 
 between the lip-hook and the triangles rather loose than tight ; 
 then pass the end of the gimp through the eye of the wire. 
 
 Fig. 35. Nottingham Spinning Tackle. 
 
 The wire can then be brought down the gimp, and thrust right 
 down the centre of the bait until it is buried as far as the 
 eye which rests against the lip-hook. The tail of the bait can 
 then be bent. The triangles should be on the outside of the 
 curve.* 
 
 A few words now as to the second, but not inferior, class of 
 spinning tackles, and I have done with the flighty portion of my 
 subject. For years the best flight which spins a straight bait 
 has been the well-known Chapman Spinner (see Fig. 36). 
 Above the fans should be a small brass swivel, and lOin. of 000 
 patent stained gimp. The hooks should be mounted on silver 
 gimp, to match the bait, and, if you are very particular, have 
 the hooks silver-plated and the bindings of the triangles 
 covered with red paint (French polish and powdered red paint). 
 
 • Allcock's Imperceptible Spinner, a capital flight, is made on this principle. 
 
A NEW FOR3I OF CHAPMAN SPINNER. 
 
 65 
 
 The fault in the original pattern was that, the gimp heing 
 fastened to a ring between the fans, the fans used to be dragged 
 away from the bait. By mounting the spinner according to the 
 method shown in the illustration, the pull is direct on to the 
 bait, and the fans keep their position. I believe the Chapman 
 Spinner to be the best form of spinning flight extant. It spins 
 any description of bait ; it hooks well, for there is no curve in 
 the bait to guard the hooks, and the percentage of fish run and 
 lost is very small. It is, moreover, a great economiser of baits. 
 Delicate fish, such as bleak, can be used on it for a consider- 
 able length of time, and it spins a bait well in dead water, 
 and even if pulled down stream. Another advantage is that, a 
 good-sized piece of lead being in the bait, only sufficient weight 
 
 Fig. 36. Chapman Spixxer.* 
 
 is necessary on the trace to prevent the line kinking. The 
 fans, in my opinion, add to the attractiveness of the bait, 
 especially if they are silver-plated. The Francis, Pennell, and 
 old Thames flights, can only be properly adjusted after some 
 little practice, while a baby could arrange a bait on the 
 Chapman Spinner. 
 
 A new form of this tackle has recently been brought out by 
 Messrs. Bartleet & Sons, of Redditch. It is called the Archer 
 Spinner (Fig. 37), and is designed to prevent the fans dragging 
 away from the head of the bait. The fans of this spinner are 
 movable, and have to be opened for the spike to be inserted in 
 the bait. When the bait is in position, the fans close down upon 
 it, and the spikes run into its gills, and hold it firm. This 
 
 * Brass swivels can, and should, be stained in the same manner as gimp 
 (see p. 33). 
 
 DIV. II. F 
 
GG 
 
 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 ingenious tackle can be used with, or without leads, leads being 
 
 sold which can be slipped on the spike when necessary. 
 
 Artificial roach, dace, and gudgeon, are also sold for use with 
 
 this tackle ; they are run on the spike, and are kept in position 
 
 the same way as natural 
 baits. The Archer Spinner 
 has been so lately intro- 
 duced that I have not been 
 able to give it a lengthy 
 trial; but so far as I can 
 see at present, it is an 
 admirable tackle. I do 
 not, however, like the 
 way the hooks are placed, 
 much preferring the ar- 
 rangement in Fig. 36. 
 
 I have spoken rather 
 enthusiastically concern- 
 ing Chapman Spinners, 
 not on theoretical grounds, 
 but because, having used 
 them for many years, I 
 have always been success- 
 ful with them. The three 
 largest pike I ever hooked 
 ran at a bait on a Chapman 
 spinner. Of the trio, one 
 broke my rod, and then my 
 trace; the second almost 
 swallowed the bait (the 
 water was clear, and I saw 
 the fish plainly), and then 
 bit the gimp ; and the 
 third (251b.) was duly 
 
 gaffed, and now adorns my dining-room. Neither of the two 
 
 fish which escaped got off the hooks. 
 
 There are various other mechanical contrivances for making 
 
 baits spin; but the only one worth notice is the Fishing 
 
 Fio. 37. Archer Spinner. 
 
THE PREVENTION OF KINKING. 67 
 
 Gazette Spinner — a small, Archimedean screw, which is placed 
 on the line some distance above the bait, and causes it to re- 
 volve. 
 
 The Trace is the portion of the line between the flight and 
 the running tackle. It consists of a lead to sink the bait- 
 swivels, and two lengths of gut or gimp. If gimp is preferred, I 
 can strongly recommend Warner's patent wire-centred gimp for 
 the purpose. It is so strong that the finest size (000) can be 
 used; it should, of course, be stained (see page 32). About the 
 same thickness is stout salmon-gut, which is also frequently 
 made up into traces. It should be soaked in ink (see p. 38) for a 
 few minutes, to give it a neutral tint, and then washed in cold 
 water. The lengths should be tied together by the knot shown in 
 Fig. 17 (page 38), but before being tied they should be well 
 soaked. At one time I always used twisted gut for traces, but 
 now prefer the patent gimp ; it is less expensive than gut, 
 more durable, stronger, and equally fine. 
 
 Fig. 38. Improved Lead for Spinning Traces. 
 
 The best form of lead for the trace is that shown in Fig. 38. 
 It is made by Farlow & Co., and has probably had more thought 
 expended on its production than any other piece of pike- 
 tackle. For many years sea-fishermen, when mackerel-fishing, 
 have been in the habit of arranging their sinkers below the 
 line, so that the line could not twist; and the principle 
 has now, thanks mainly to Mr. Cholmondeley-Pennell,* found 
 its way into fresh-water fishing. It is the only way to prevent 
 kinking. It is important to have two swivels immediately 
 below the lead. I prefer brass swivels, as they do not rust, 
 and I have never found them break. They should, as I have 
 already said, be stained in the same manner as gimp. 
 These leads, with swivels attached, should be kept in several 
 sizes, as with a large bait a heavy lead is required, with a 
 
 * Mr. Pennell's latest idea is a " solid, half-sugarloaf-shaped lead." I much 
 prefer the one illustrated. • 
 
 F 2 
 
68 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 small one a small lead, and more weight is necessary on the 
 trace in rivers than in lakes. It will be seen from the illus- 
 tration that these leads are easily shifted. No more swivels* . 
 are required on the trace than those shown. 
 
 Mr. Wood, of Bellwood, Ripon, a very successful pike- 
 fisherman, has invented a simple and useful lead for the 
 spinning trace. Out of sheet lead about ^in. thick he cuts 
 small, oval pieces of various sizes, an average size being 
 about l^in. long by lin. wide. These oval pieces are then 
 cut across the middle, and each forms two sinkers. They 
 are put on the line as a saddle is put on a horse, the pointed 
 end being, of course, uppermost, and when bent on are of the 
 shape shown in the annexed woodcut. I have 
 ~~7 not given this lead an extensive trial, but 
 
 I S f ee i sure jt i 8 a first-rate invention, as it 
 
 prevents kinking, and is not easily seen by 
 the fish. They are very easily made. Bambridge, of Eton, sells 
 them, I believe, but they could be made by anybody. 
 
 So much, then, for the materials of which the trace is 
 composed. Its proportions are usually as follows: Below the 
 lead, attached by a small loop to the lowest of the double 
 swivels, should be 3ft., or a trifle less, of gut or gimp, termi- 
 nated by either a large loop or a hook-swivel (see page 44). 
 Above the lead, and looped on to it as shown in Fig. 38, 
 should be 2ft. or 2ift.f of gut or gimp, which may, if you 
 please, be a trifle stouter than that below the lead. A some- 
 what neater arrangement is to have the gimp on which is 
 mounted the flight of hooks 3ft. or a trifle more, in length, 
 and attach the small loop at the end to the hook of the double 
 swivel shown in Fig. 38. 
 
 We are sometimes so circumstanced that Fai'low's Improved 
 Leads are not to be had when most wanted. What, then, is 
 to be done? For answer, I say, put a swivel or two on 5ft. 
 of gimp, 3ft. from one end; take an ordinary pipe-lead, run 
 
 # * Messrs. Allcock & Son have recently made a great improvement in swivels by 
 inserting two_ collars or washers round the wire inside the dox. 
 
 t When trailing bait behind boats in large lakes, provided no casting has to be 
 done, the lead can, with advantage, be placed 4ft. or even 5ft. from the bait. 
 
REMOVABLE LEADS. 69 
 
 inn. of fishing-line through it, and simply tie it on tightly 
 to the gimp, just above the swivels. An anti-kinking trace 
 may be thus made in ten minutes. Once, when very hard 
 up for a piece of lead, I lashed an old nail on to my line, 
 and took some good fish, notwithstanding my rough-and-ready 
 tackle. There is no sport which offers greater opportunities 
 for the exercise of ingenuity than angling, and the all-round 
 fisherman should be full of expedients. 
 
 Many attempts have been made to invent a lead which may 
 be easily removed from the trace, and smaller or larger ones 
 put in its place. The most generally used is the Fishing 
 Gazette Lead. The lead is on the shank of a safety-pin, and 
 the line is wound round the pin proper. I have found these 
 leads very useful. Mr. Wood's Saddle-lead, already described 
 (page 68), is easily taken off the trace, and a smaller or larger 
 one put on in its place. The Farlow Lead, also, is very easily 
 removed for one larger or smaller, as may be desired. 
 
 The information I have given on spinning tackle will, I hope, 
 prove sufficient for even the densest of mortals ; but there is 
 something to be added. A considerable amount of judgment 
 and discretion is necessary with regard to the coarseness of 
 the tackle and the weight of the lead. Large baits, strong 
 streams, and deep water, each and all necessitate heavy leads. 
 Small baits, still waters, and shallow sti-eams and lakes, neces- 
 sitate light leads. If there is lead in the bait, less is required 
 on the trace. For well-fished, clear streams, in summer, fine 
 tackle is absolutely necessary, except on windy days, when the 
 line is not noticed by the fish. When the water is coloured > 
 the tackle need not be fine. In very weedy waters, the best 
 fish will be lost unless the tackle is strong. In extensive 
 sheets of water, where the fish run very large, extremely fine 
 tackle is only advisable on calm, hot, sunny days in summer, 
 when small baits should be used. 
 
 The Thames Style of Spinning is more commonly prac- 
 tised than any other. It is easier than the Trent method, 
 and enables the angler to cast the bait with great accuracy — an 
 important consideration in summer, when the bait has often 
 to be worked in the runs between weed-beds. The process 
 
70 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 is simple. Uncoil a few yards of line — a dozen is sufficient 
 for a first attempt — on to the ground or the floor of the 
 punt, as the case may be. Hold the rod in the right hand, 
 at an angle midway between an upright and the ground- 
 level; let the bait, trace, and 1ft. or so of line, hang from 
 the rod point. Hold the line lightly in the left hand, about 
 2ft. below the winch. Swing the bait back a little; then 
 swing it forward, with increasing swiftness, until it is on its 
 way to the point to which you wish to cast; then let the 
 line run through the left hand, and the bait flies out over 
 the water. If you have cast too hard, and the bait seems, 
 inclined to continue its journey to the meadow the other side 
 of the river, close your fingers on the line, so as to put on a 
 slight drag, and, after some practice, you will be able to make 
 the bait fall where you wish. 
 
 A cast of 30yds. or 40yds. does not necessitate very 
 much effort if the rod-top suits the bait. If the bait and 
 trace are light, the rod-top should be long and supple, but 
 shorter and stiffer if the bait and trace are heavy. If these 
 conditions are fulfilled, the spring in the rod will do a very 
 great deal of the work of casting, if the angler will only let 
 it. At the same time, the rod can easily be too whippy, for a 
 certain amount of stiffness is necessary, or the hooks cannot 
 be struck into the pike. Bait, trace, hooks, line, and rod — all 
 should harmonise. If the rod is very stiff, and the line fine,, 
 the line may break if a big pike is struck. If many and large 
 hooks are used, and the rod-top is weak, the hooks will not be 
 forced in over the barb. If the bait is large, and the hooks- 
 small, the pike will not get hooked. If the bait is small, 
 and the hooks large, a pike with any self-respect will not look 
 at the bait, even if it can be got to spin under those circum- 
 stances. 
 
 Well, the bait having reached the water, do not commence 
 to draw it towards you for about four seconds. It is as well 
 that it should sink a few feet; unless, of course, the spot 
 where you are fishing is shallow, or the weeds come near the 
 surface. "While waiting, pass the line under the first finger 
 of the right hand, which clasps the rod. The rod is pointing 
 
THE ART OF SPINNING. 71 
 
 towards the bait, and nearly parallel with the water. Now 
 commence to spin. First draw the bait through the water 
 about 3ft. by a pull from the rod, keeping the rod-point 
 low ; then, with the left hand, take the line close to the first 
 finger of the right hand, and pull the line as far as you 
 can. As you do this, let the rod-point work round towards 
 the bait. Then a pull from the rod, followed by another 
 pull of the line, and the bait will keep up a continuous and 
 even spin. So far as my experience goes, a continuous and 
 steady spin is most killing. It is for this reason, probably, 
 that men who trail a bait behind a boat catch so many pike. 
 Pike often follow a bait for some distance, and if the bait 
 ceases to spin, they of course get a glimpse behind the 
 scenes, and realise that the whole thing is a play, and not 
 real (fish) life as they supposed. 
 
 For fishing in shallow water we should, of course, use a 
 light lead — sometimes none ;* but where, in a river, shallows and 
 deeps alternate, the pike-fisher should use a lead of moderate 
 weight (about |oz.), and spin quickly over the shallows, keeping 
 the rod-point high, and slowly over the deeper portions of 
 the river, keeping the rod-point low. I have already indicated 
 where pike are to be found in winter and summer on 
 pages 9 to 16, and so, in answer to the question, " Where 
 shall we spin ? " I need only reply, " Where the jack are." 
 
 When fishing a wide river in winter, float down it in a 
 punt, and cast on each side alternately. If the river is 
 narrow, the punt should be dropped down one side, and the 
 casts be made across the river, and rather down stream than 
 up ; and about every fifth cast should be made straight down 
 stream, along the course which the punt will take. When 
 fishing from the bank the procedure is similar. Fish across, 
 rather down than up, and every now and again cast down 
 stream under your own bank. Fish every yard of the water. 
 If the river is very clear, the fish can see the bait for some 
 distance, and therefore spin higher than you would were the 
 
 *Mr. A. Cholmondeley-Pennell advises that, when no lead is required on the 
 trace, a short piece of lead-wire (the weight of which is not appreciable) be wound 
 round the trace, above the swivel, and about lin. of the end of the wire be 
 allowed to stick out at right angles to the trace. This is to prevent kinking. 
 
72 ANGLING FOE PIKE. 
 
 water coloured. In -warm weather spin higher than in cold 
 weather. Always be careful not to tread on the line. 
 
 In summer the weeds prevent anything approaching 
 methodical casting. As a matter of fact, beginners do not 
 often attempt spinning where weeds are plentiful; but more 
 experienced anglers frequently have good sport by casting 
 down runs between weed-beds by the sides of rushes, and 
 in nooks and corners which can only be reached by the most 
 accurate casting. 
 
 In very hot weather it is desirable to spin near the surface, 
 but in cold weather spin deep. If the pike will not come at 
 the spinning bait fished in the ordinary way, try letting the 
 bait sink nearly to the bottom, and then draw it up obliquely, 
 repeating this process until the bait is worked in. If the 
 bottom is sandy, let the bait sink as far as it can go between 
 each draw. If the pike will not look at a spinning bait, try 
 some other method — e.g., paternostering. 
 
 When a fish is felt, strike at once, and hard; but on the 
 subject of striking the reader had better turn to page 51, 
 where the matter is discussed at length. One point should be 
 borne in mind — that the larger and more numerous the hooks, 
 the harder must the strike be, and vice versa. Some hints on 
 playing and landing pike are given on page 58. The gaff 
 is far superior to the landing-net for landing a pike hooked 
 on spinning tackle. If the net is used, the hooks of the flight 
 are apt to get fearfully and wonderfully mixed up in the 
 meshes, and much time is lost. 
 
 The rate at which a spinning bait should be pulled through 
 the water is a subject on which anglers differ considerably. 
 Some have even gone so far as to say how many draws of the 
 line should be made in a minute. My own pi-actice is to draw the 
 bait through the water as steadily as circumstances will allow, 
 keeping the bait spinning all the time. Pike do not often 
 dash at a spinning bait with the rapidity of trout, and many 
 are lost by fishing too quickly. Therefore, draw the bait as 
 slowly as you can, but keep it spinning. If you are drawing the 
 bait up stream, you can fish slower than if casting across the 
 stream, for the current spins the bait. Leads which are too 
 
WHEN THE LINE FREEZES. 73 
 
 heavy sometimes make one draw the bait too fast, for if not 
 drawn fast the bait sinks, and catches on the bottom. When 
 arranging a bait on a flight, do not be satisfied unless it spins 
 well when drawn slowly through the water. It is easy enough 
 to make a bait spin when drawn at such a rate that no pike 
 would think of seizing it. 
 
 In very frosty weather the line will freeze, and ice will 
 accumulate in the rings of the rod. Grease on the line is the 
 remedy for this unpleasant state of things. Palm oil is good 
 for the purpose ; so is castor oil. Use some butter scraped off a 
 sandwich if no other gi'ease is available. Mi*. Jardine recom- 
 mends a piece of wool soaked in castor oil to be tied on 
 the rod, in the ring next the winch, and also in the top 
 ring. I have never tried this plan, but have no doubt of 
 its efficacy. If you have no grease with you, and your 
 rings are full of ice, do not cut out the ice with a penknife, 
 but get your man to put the rings one by one in his 
 mouth, and so thaw the ice. A line cuts and breaks very 
 easily when frozen. 
 
 One great objection to the method of spinning I have 
 described is that the coils of line on the ground are apt to 
 catch in bits of stick, tufts of grass, and other catchable 
 things ; about one out of every three casts being thereby 
 spoilt. Thames fishermen sometimes get over this by gathering 
 up the line, as they draw it in, in their left hand. The method 
 is peculiar, and not easily described. First, take the line 
 between the first finger and thumb of the left hand, then turn 
 the hand, palm upwards, so that the line lies across the fingers. 
 Next, bend down the little finger over the line, and turn the 
 hand round (palm still upwards), so that the fingers point 
 towards the body. The result of this action is that the line 
 doubles round the little finger, and comes between the finger 
 and thumb again. The little finger is then withdrawn from 
 that loop of line, and a fresh piece of line taken round it. 
 This method is useless where fast spinning is necessary, or 
 very long casts have to be made; but I have found it most 
 valuable when spinning slowly against the stream. A bait 
 which spins easily is essential. This method is also useful 
 
74 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 for working a paternoster slowly along the bottom, and some- 
 times when trolling (see Chapter V.). 
 
 Another plan is to let each length of line drawn in hang 
 in a coil over the left hand. This plan is not difficult to learn, 
 and is, I think, better than the other, as it enables spinning 
 to be earned on at any rate of speed. The angler should be 
 careful to make each draw of the line about the same length, 
 as, if the coils are not of the same size, the line is apt to 
 entangle on the cast being made. This plan cannot be fol- 
 lowed if the line has the least tendency to kink. 
 
 The Nottingham Style of Spinning is greatly in favour 
 with many anglers. It requires more skill and practice than 
 the Thames method, from which it differs in the casting being 
 done directly off the reel, and the use of an imdressed, plaited, 
 silk line. I have already described, on page 53, how the cast 
 is made. When the bait has fallen on the water, it is allowed 
 to sink as little or as much as may be necessary, and the 
 reel is then wound steadily round, until the bait is within 
 about 6ft. of the angler. The advantages of this plan are — 
 absence of loose line to catch in anything, and the steady 
 progress of the bait through the water. The one disadvantage 
 is the difficulty of casting with great accuracy. As this may 
 be questioned, I may as well say that I formed my opinion, 
 not only from my own experience, but also from seeing the 
 performances of some of the best Trent anglers, at one of the 
 bait-casting tournaments. When one is casting in the Thames 
 style, and the line has a tendency to kink (it will never kink 
 if the tackle described in this book is used), it is a good plan 
 to move the button at the back of the reel, and so take off 
 the check, and cast from the reel in the Nottingham style. 
 
 There is a reel of novel construction, from which, I believe, 
 a lighter bait can be cast than from any other. It is 
 called the Malloch reel. When the bait is to be cast, the 
 reel is twisted round, and remains stationary while the line 
 uncoils off the side of it. Take a reel of cotton, pull some 
 cotton off the end of it, and you have before you a working 
 model of Mr. Malloch's invention. The reel is then twisted 
 back to its proper position, and the line wound in. A 
 
A WORD DETESTABLE. 75 
 
 great and very serious objection to this reel is that each 
 coil puts a twist in the line, the result being that if, by any 
 chance, the line hangs loose, it kinks up at once. The reel 
 does not work in a satisfactory manner unless as much line 
 is wound on it as it will hold. A fine, plaited, wndressed, silk 
 line should be used. Anglers who like this reel for spinning 
 might possibly get over the kinking difficulty by using the 
 old-fashioned trace, in which the lead is threaded on the line, 
 arranging their bait so that, in spinning, it untwines the 
 twists put in the line by the reel. With the more modern 
 leads (see page 67), the spin of the bait does not affect the line 
 above the lead. 
 
 Trailing is a word detestable to most pike-anglers of the 
 South of England, for trailing is a system of fishing by which 
 the veriest duffers can, and do, catch pike. It simply consists 
 in dragging a spinning bait after a boat. In very large lakes 
 it is the best and almost the only way to catch pike; but in 
 rivers it is inexcusable. The secrets of successful trailing are 
 to row the boat steadily and slowly ; to adjust the bait carefully 
 on the flight, so that it spins properly ; to use a light lead, 
 letting out abundance of line ; and to trail the bait where the 
 fish are. In large lakes there is no better plan than to row 
 round, and as close as possible to, weed-beds ; and though the 
 weeds may frequently catch the bait, that nuisance should be 
 borne uncomplainingly, and, sooner or later, a fish will be 
 brought to creel. 
 
 There ai'e two reels — the Sun-and-Planet and the Burne — 
 either of which might be useful when trailing. When the 
 line is running out, the barrels of these reels revolve without 
 moving the handles, and the rod can be laid down without 
 any fear of a smash should a fish seize the bait. With an 
 ordinary reel the handles are apt to hit the boat, and, 
 by checking the free run of the fish, cause a break. 
 
 Natural Spinning Baits.— The best bait for spinning 
 generally is a small dace. It is bright, tough, lasting, and 
 pike have a decided liking for it. A small chub also spins 
 well ; but where chub are preserved, their use as baits is a 
 
7tj ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 mistake. Gudgeon also spin splendidly, but not being very 
 bright baits, should be used in clear water only. Roach may 
 be made to spin, after a fashion, on a Chapman Spinner, or 
 on the tackle shown in Fig. 34. They should not be despised, 
 when nothing better can be obtained. Bleak are very favourite 
 baits of mine. In form and colour they leave nothing to be 
 desired, but they lack toughness. On a Chapman Spinner, 
 however, they last quite as long as do dace or gudgeon on 
 Francis or Pennell flights. I believe I have caught more pike 
 on them than on any other spinning bait. Sprats and smelts 
 are also good baits, if mounted on a Chapman or Archer 
 Spinner, with no lead on the spear. As a matter of fact, the 
 pike-fisher has to put up with any baits he can get ; but when 
 he has a choice, he should be guided by the following well- 
 established rules on the subject : Fish built on fine lines 
 spin better than corpulent, deep-bellied fish, such as roach, 
 rudd, and bream ; bright baits should be used on rough, dark 
 days, and especially when the water is coloured, more sombre 
 baits being best when the water is clear; when there is no 
 wind, and the water is very low and bright, use an exceptionally 
 small bait and fine tackle ; in winter use larger baits than in 
 summer. When the water is very thick, spinning is not much 
 use. The only chance then of taking a fish on spinning 
 tackle is to bait with a very large dace or a chub, and to 
 spin slowly near the bottom. 
 
 Preserved Baits. — Of late years the practice of pi*eserving 
 spinning baits has come very much into vogue — and an excellent 
 practice it is too. I am quite sure that, for pike, preserved baits 
 are as killing as fresh ones. The most common preserva- 
 tive is spirits of wine. The baits, after being caught and killed, 
 should be wiped or dabbed dry, and then laid on a dry cloth for 
 a couple of hours, to rid them of the remaining outside moisture. 
 They are then put in a wide-mouthed bottle, and spirits of wine 
 poured over them. A good deal of grease comes out of the baits 
 during the first fortnight; and it is as well, though not ab- 
 solutely necessary, to move them at the end of that time 
 into fresh spirits ; they will then keep very much brighter than 
 if left in the mixture of spirits and grease. The spirits in the 
 
PICKLED BAITS. 
 
 77 
 
 first bottle can be used over and over again for fresb lots of 
 bait. I have before me a bottleful of sprats wbich were 
 pickled after this method about six months ago. They are 
 now as silvery as when first put into the spirits, and exceed- 
 ingly tough. Bleak* make splendid spinning baits preserved 
 after this fashion. Baits may also be pickled in 
 salt, or painted with glycerine. King's Preserva- 
 tive^ a powder which has to be mixed with 
 water, is as good as, if not better than, spirits 
 of wine for preserving baits. 
 
 There is a bait made out of the tail of an eel, 
 which requires special tackle, and which should, 
 I think, find a place among the preserved baits. 
 I have never tried it, but it has been very favour- 
 ably mentioned by several writers on angling. 
 Its general appearance may be gathered from 
 Fig. 39. It is made in the following manner : 
 Skin an eel to within about 6in. of the tail, and 
 cut off the flesh ; then cut the skin rather more 
 than lin. above the flesh. Take a large sneck 
 or ronnd-bend hook, mounted on gimp (on which 
 is a pierced shot), put the point of the hook in at 
 the cut end of the eel, and bring it out as shown 
 in the illustration. Then gather the loose skin 
 up over the shot, which is resting on the top 
 of the shank, and tie it round tightly with thread. 
 Next turn so much of the skin as remains above 
 the tie back towards the tip of the tail, and sew 
 down the edges, so forming an artificial head. 
 Mr. Cholmondeley-Pennell says of these baits 
 that if placed in plenty of coarse, dry salt, they 
 will keep for several weeks, and improve by 
 keeping; but before being used they should, if 
 possible, be allowed to soak in fresh water for 
 ten or fifteen hours, to restore their brilliancy and plumpness. 
 Mr. Pennell also says that a small eel can be mounted with 
 
 * My best pike was taken in Ireland on a Thames bleak which had been in 
 pickle three or four years, 
 t Sold at 157, Commercial Road, London. 
 
 V^. 
 
 Fig. 39. Eel- 
 tail Spin.m.ng 
 Bait. 
 
78 
 
 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 advantage on one of his flights, and that a good-sized eel can 
 be used in the same manner, if shortened by taking a piece 
 out of the middle, and sewing the cut ends together again 
 with strong Holland thread. 
 
 Fig. 40. Spoon-bait. 
 
 Fig. 41. Clipper-bait. 
 
 Artificial Spinning /Baits are simply legion; but the 
 old-fashioned spoon-bait (Fig. 40), with certain improvements, 
 still holds its own among the best of them. It is now made 
 with each side half gold-plate and half silver-plate ; and what 
 
ARTIFICIAL SPINNING BAITS. 
 
 79 
 
 are termed " Norwich " spoons are fitted with a glass eye. 
 
 The Clipper (Fig. 41) is one of the best of the artificials; it 
 
 not only attracts the pike, but hooks them in a most satis- 
 
 / 
 
 Fig. 42. The Phantom Minnow. 
 
 Fig. 43. The Cleopatra. 
 
 factory manner. The angler should always keep three sizes 
 of this bait, using the small size on calm, bright days. 
 Phantom minnows, also, are rare good baits, but rather ex- 
 
80 
 
 ANGLING FOB PIKE. 
 
 pensive ones, as they soon get "chawed" up. They are made 
 either of silk, sole-skin, or snake-skin. The silk phantoms are 
 the least durable, but I fancy they take more fish than the 
 other kinds. They are softer, and collapse more thoroughly 
 when seized by the pike than do the sole-skin baits. In some 
 waters red phantoms are very killing ; coloured blue, they are 
 supposed to show best in thick water. I have taken many 
 pike on phantoms silvei'ed all over. They should be kept in 
 several sizes. Two triangles at the shoulder (see Fig. 42) are 
 unnecessary, and spoil the spin of the bait ; one is sufficient. 
 
 Fig. 44. The Devon Minnow. 
 
 Fig. 45. The Comet. 
 
 The Cleopatra (Fig. 43), a flexible, metal fish, is another bait 
 which I have found very killing, particularly in the medium 
 and small sizes. Then there is that excellent bait the Devon 
 minnow (Fig. 44), which has probably caught more trout, pike, 
 and salmon than any other bait ever invented. It should, of 
 course, be large, mounted on gimp for pike, and the hooks 
 should be strong. 
 
 The Comet (Fig. 45), made by Bambridge, of Eton, is also 
 a most excellent artificial spinning bait, and has accounted 
 for many pike. Hardy's Halcyon bait — a bunch of peacock's 
 harl headed by two fans — is now made in large sizes for 
 
BADLY-MOUNTED BAITS. 81 
 
 pike. I Lave not yet been able to give it a trial, but it 
 ought to be very killing. The Lightning Spinner is the 
 greatest novelty in spinning baits. It is something like two 
 Clippers, one above another, revolving in different directions. 
 Pike with any self-respect ought to leave any river in which 
 it is used; but I learn that it has proved itself to be an 
 attractive bait. 
 
 With regard to artistic representations of fish, I may remark 
 that they usually prove more attractive to beginners in the 
 gentle art than to the pike. Why, I cannot say. They certainly 
 ought to kill, for they are beautifully made. But, as a 
 rule, they don't. Artificial pike-baits are almost invariably 
 badly mounted. The gimp is too thick, the hooks weak in 
 the wire and badly tempered, the bindings insecurely fastened 
 off, and instead of brass or bronze rings, brazed up at the 
 opening, are often fitted with split steel rings, which rust and 
 break. The gimp at the head of the bait should be fine 
 patent 000 or 00 (see page 31) ; but any gimp to which hooks 
 are attached should be No. 1 ordinary silver kind, unless the 
 bait is a dark one. The triangles should be similar to those 
 shown in Fig. 18, and should be stout in the wire; and 
 anything in the nature of steel or iron — hooks excepted — 
 should be plated, or replaced by brass or bronze. 
 
 All fish-hooks, and those of artificial baits in particular, 
 should be kept very sharp. The angler should, therefore, carry 
 a watchmaker's or needle file, with which to occasionally touch 
 up the sides of hook points. 
 
 Extraordinary and novel baits often kill well for a time, 
 but after a while the pike seem to get used to them. The 
 baits I have mentioned are old favourites, to which this 
 remark does not seem to apply. 
 
 ■ > »»— < « 
 
 DIV. II. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 DEAD-BAIT FISHING f Continued;. 
 
 Trolling with the Dead Gorge — Improved Adjustable Gorge- 
 hook — Trolling with Snap-tackle — Fly-fishing. 
 
 fN the last chapter I divided fishing with dead-haits for jack 
 into fishing with spinning baits and fishing with baits 
 which do not spin. We now come to the second class, which is 
 popularly called trolling with the dead gorge ; and I shall also 
 have something to say regarding a new trolling tackle, in which 
 the objectionable features of the old method — the gorging, which 
 involves the death of every pike hooked, large or small — is 
 entirely done away with. 
 
 Trolling tackle is simple in the extreme. The only essentials, 
 in addition to rod and line, are the hook and a baiting-needle. 
 The old form, or, rather, a modification of the old form, of hook, 
 devised by Mr. Pennell, is shown in Pig. 46. It should be 
 mounted on 3ft. or 4ft. of fine, patent, stained gimp, with a loop 
 at the end, to which the running line (rather fine than other- 
 wise, and of dressed, plaited silk) is fastened by the knot shown 
 on page 37. The hook is baited as follows : Fasten the loop at 
 the end of the gimp to a baiting-needle (see page 49). Take a 
 medium-sized bait — a gudgeon is as good as any, unless the 
 water is much coloured, when a brighter bait is preferable — put 
 the point of the needle in at its mouth, and bring it out exactly 
 in the fork of the tail. Pull the gimp right through the bait, 
 
THE TAIL OF THE GORGE TROLLIXG-BAIT. 
 
 83 
 
 and the lead on the shank of the hook into its helly as far as the 
 hooks — which will have the semblance of moustachios on the 
 bait — will allow. Then tie up the tail of the bait with a piece of 
 thread after the method shown in Fig. 47. Some trollers cut off 
 all the fins ; others cut off the fins on one side 
 only, which gives the bait a slight, and, I think, 
 attractive, spin when it is drawn through the 
 water. This is a good plan when the water 
 fished is not very weedy. Another plan, which 
 I used to follow in my trolling days (I have long 
 given up trolling with the dead gorge on account 
 of the small fish killed), is to cut off only the 
 stronger rays of the largest fins. If the fins 
 are left, they catch in the weeds, as every ex- 
 perienced troller knows well, and the bait soon 
 gets worn out in consequence.* Mr. Pennell 
 advises the tail to be cut off, and the gimp tied 
 in the knot shown in Fig. 48. I have no hesi- 
 tation in condemning this plan, which I have 
 given a thorough trial, except for trolling baits 
 used where they are never really required (i.e., 
 in waters clear of weeds). "Weeds catch on the 
 slightest projection, and the blunt tail, bristling 
 with the cut rays of the caudal fin, are terrible 
 weed-catchers. Then, again, it is very desirable 
 that the pike when struck should retain the 
 hook and send the bait up the line. This he 
 cannot do when the gimp is tied in a knot ; but 
 the bait frequently slips up the line when the 
 tail is tied as shown in Fig. 47. It is never 
 a wise thing to tie gimp in knots. A knot in 
 the gimp may very likely cause a break when 
 the best fish of one's life is hooked. 
 
 It is very important that the hook should fit the bait, and 
 the angler should keep hooks of several sizes in his tackle- 
 
 L- 
 
 Fig. 46. Gorge 
 Trolling Hook 
 (Old Pattern). 
 
 * As trolling baits are drawn tail foremost through the water, their gills fre- 
 quently pet forced open and broken. To aroid this, a piece of thread is some- 
 times tied round the gills. I only adopt this plan when I am short of baits. 
 
 g2 
 
s» 
 
 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 box. The lead must have plenty of room in the belly of the 
 bait, and the double hooks should not be so wide that they 
 
 Fig. 47. Tail of Trolling Bait tied with Thread. 
 
 project much, and catch the weeds, or so narrow that the points 
 stick into the gills of the bait, in which case, though the pike 
 may pouch the bait, he will not get hooked. I have recently 
 
 Fig. 48. Gimp tied in Tail of 
 Trolling Bait. 
 
 Fig. 49. Adjustable Gorge 
 Trolling Hook. 
 
 designed, or, rather, improved upon, a gorge trolling tackle, 
 with a view of making it adjustable to the bait. It is shown in 
 
HINTS ON TROLLING. 85 
 
 Fig. 49. Each lead can be taken on or off the gimp, and larger 
 or smaller leads be put in its place. The double hook can also 
 be removed, and be replaced by a smaller or larger one. The 
 angler, provided with three or four double hooks of the pattern 
 shown, and of various sizes, half-a-dozen leads (differing in 
 weight), a piece of gimp, and a baiting-needle, can adjust his 
 tackle to any bait within ordinary limits of size. It is also a 
 decided advantage to have a flexible lead, for there is hardly any 
 doubt that pike often refuse to gorge baits on the old-fashioned 
 tackle on account of their unnatural stiffness. For use in 
 shallow water, fewer leads should be in the bait than in deep 
 water. 
 
 I have said that rod, line, hook, and baiting-needle, are the 
 only pieces of tackle necessary for trolling. Personally, I like 
 in addition about l|yd. of fine, stained, patent gimp, terminated 
 by a small hook-swivel (see page 44), placed between the running 
 line and the gimp (in this case only 2ft. in length) to which the 
 hook is attached. Trolling-baits often take into their heads to 
 spin a little, especially if the fins are cut on one side only, and 
 the swivel prevents the line from kinking. It is, moreover, 
 easier to unhook the gimp when a new bait is required, than to 
 untie the gimp from the line. 
 
 Trollers share with spinners the advantage of having to carry 
 no live baits. It is a good plan to get several hooks baited 
 before a start is made in the morning ; but whether on hooks or 
 not, the baits, which should be as fresh as possible, are best 
 carried in a piece of damp linen, or laid in bran or nettles in a 
 tin box, with plenty of small holes in the lid. But beware 
 of the bran going sour, and tainting the baits, as it will do 
 sometimes in less than twenty-four hours. 
 
 Before discussing the subject how to troll, it may be well to 
 describe the 
 
 New Snap Trolling Tackle, to which I have already 
 referred. A short history is attached to it. Some years ago 
 I saw a snap trolling tackle belonging to Parrott, one of the 
 Henley fishermen. He did not speak of it very highly, and the 
 reason of its non-success was clearly the fact that, when baited, 
 the gimp was attached to the head of the bait, which had in 
 
86 ANGLING FOR TIKE. 
 
 consequence to be dropped into the water tail first, and could 
 not be worked in small holes among weeds, as can ordinary 
 trolling-baits, which dart down through the water head fore- 
 most. A snap trolling tackle was clearly a good idea, but 
 it had still to be perfected. I soon arranged a tackle satis- 
 factory in every respect but one — it necessitated the use of a 
 baiting-needle; but in the end I devised the tackle shown in 
 Fig." 50. On showing a sketch of this tackle to my friendi 
 Mr. R. B. Marston, Editor of the Fishing Gazette, I found that 
 he had worked out a very similar idea, in one respect much 
 better than mine, in another not quite so good, and that he had 
 given the tackle to Messrs. Hardy Brothers, of Alnwick, who have, 
 
 Fig. 50. The Author's Snap Trolling Tackle. 
 
 I believe, taken out a patent for it. The illustration very clearly 
 shows the construction, and method of baiting my tackle. The 
 spike is first thrust through the bait from head to tail, the gimp 
 is drawn through the eye at the end of the spike, and the top . 
 triangle fixed in. If one triangle is fixed on one side of the 
 bait, about the middle, and the other is carried over the back, 
 and fixed near the shoulder on the other side, the tackle is more 
 certain than if the triangles are both on the same side. If the 
 tail is tied at its base with a piece of thread, the spike will not 
 tear out, as it sometimes does without this stay. I have only 
 fished with this tackle a few times, but it seemed a most certain 
 method of taking jack, and every fish run was hooked and landed. 
 Mr. Marston's experiences with his tackle are similar. 
 
THE TACKLE OF THE FUTURE. 87 
 
 It is obvious that the leaded spike must be just the right 
 length for the bait, and that, unless it can be lengthened or 
 shortened at will, spikes of various lengths must be kept. 
 Mr. Marston has got over this difficulty by having the spike 
 made to screw into the lead. It can thus be adjusted to any 
 bait of ordinary dimensions. This is a great improvement 
 on my idea; but Mr. Marston connects his end triangle with 
 the blunt end of the lead by means of a hook-swivel, 
 which I can safely say, from the experiments I have made, 
 is unnecessary, and possibly disadvantageous, inasmuch as it 
 keeps the bait close to the triangles after the jack is hooked. 
 There is always, both in spinning and trolling, more chance 
 of landing a jack when the bait has slipped out of his mouth, 
 the hooks, of course, remaining in. 
 
 In Mr. Marston's tackle, the lead, when separated from the 
 spike, can be used, if desired, on a spinning trace, or be put 
 in the belly of the spinning bait. The spike by itself is 
 available as a rough-and-ready baiting-needle. 
 
 I am inclined to think that in time this tackle will be 
 more generally used than any other. Its advantages are 
 manifold: It hooks well, can be worked at any depth 
 and in any spot, except where the weeds are very dense. 
 It is not so fatiguing to work as a spinning bait, and, 
 as no swivels or lead are used on the line, it shows less 
 than any other tackle, trolling gorge-tackle excepted. It 
 requires no great amount of skill, and involves no trouble in 
 the baiting, and is equally killing in winter and summer. 
 Moreover, when small fish are hooked, they can be returned 
 almost uninjured. 
 
 The snap trolling tackle can be used in a variety of ways, 
 which is still another advantage. For instance, the two 
 triangles can be arranged so as to make the bait spin, as 
 illustrated in Figs. 34 and 35; or they can be used in float- 
 fishing, if placed on the bait as shown in Fig. 24. They also 
 form a capital hook for a paternoster (see page 54) if the 
 end triangle is placed on the side or back of the bait, and 
 a hook of the other triangle is placed through both its lips. 
 In very truth, this is the multum in parvo of pike-tackles. 
 
88 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 But enough of tackles; let us now pass to the important 
 question, 
 
 How to Troll. — The rod should be rather long, for, as a 
 general rule, anything in the nature of a long cast is not 
 advisable when trolling. Taking, then, his rod, baits, &c, the 
 angler strolls along the river bank, and drops his bait in every hole 
 — even those not more than 1ft. in diameter — which he can see 
 among the weeds. To reach points more distant than the i - od is 
 long.the angler should hold a couple of yards of slack line in his 
 left hand, swing out his bait as if it were a pendulum, and, as it 
 reaches a point in the air about 1ft. above the hole into 
 which he wishes it to drop, he should both lower his rod-point 
 and release the slack line. The bait will (or, rather, it should, 
 for beginners invariably make a great splash) then dart, head 
 foremost, into the water, and go at considerable speed nearly 
 to the bottom, when the rod-point should be lifted, rather 
 quickly than slowly, about a foot, and then be quickly de- 
 pressed to allow the bait to again dart down a short distance. 
 On its downward journey the bait should on no account be 
 checked, as it will most certainly be if the rod-point is not 
 lowered quickly and far enough. If a pike sees the bait, and 
 is hungi*y, he will take it almost at once, and it is never 
 worth while to sink the bait more than twice in one place. 
 
 When fishing from a punt or boat it is usual, on the Thames, 
 to drift very slowly down stream, checking the punt with the 
 pole, if necessary, from time to time, and searching each hole 
 and corner as you pass along. Mr. Cholmondeley-Pennell says, 
 troll up stream, and with this I quite agree, if the stream is 
 considerable; but otherwise, it is not necessary, and it is by 
 no means an easy task to work a punt noiselessly, and without 
 disturbing the fish, against a strong stream. Trolling with 
 the dead gorge in a swift current is not by any means pro- 
 fitable. More often than not, the force of the water on the 
 line pulls the bait out of the jack's mouth after he has 
 seized it. 
 
 When trolling in water free from weeds, the bait may be 
 cast out as if it were a spinning bait, and worked in by draws 
 of the rod, the rod being pointed in the direction of the bait 
 
HOW TO TROLL. 89 
 
 between each draw for about three seconds, the line at the 
 same time being gathered in by the left hand. This gives 
 time for the bait to dart downwards again between each 
 draw. A gorge-bait, when cast out thus, should be worked 
 much slower than a spinning bait. 
 
 With regard to the depth at which to fish, and the most 
 likely places to find pike at various seasons of the year, the 
 reader should consult Chapter I., where he will find such 
 matters gone into at considerable length. 
 
 If the angler is fishing with snap trolling tackle (see Fig. 50), 
 he will, of course, strike immediately on feeling that a pike 
 has seized the bait. But if he is using gorge-tackle, he must 
 act very differently. In the first place, he should hold the 
 line very lightly in the left hand, and be ready both to release 
 it and to lower the rod-point on feeling the slightest pull 
 from a pike. Often and often do trollers mistake the catching 
 of a weed for the run of a pike, and, after having patiently 
 waited the usual five to ten minutes, strike, only to find out 
 their mistake. Sometimes pike seize a bait very gently, and 
 rest with it in their mouths for a few seconds; at others 
 they dash off with it at a great speed, making the reel spin 
 again. If they experience the slightest check, they of course 
 find out the deception, and leave the bait. On this account, 
 it is as well to have no check on the reel, except when 
 the fish is being played. With a movable check this 
 is easily managed. In the usual way, a pike darts out 
 from his haunt, seizes the bait across the middle, and 
 the troller feels two tugs at the line. The pike then moves 
 slowly off, stopping occasionally, perhaps, to give the bait a 
 shake, until he has run out 5yds. to 10yds. of line. He is 
 then at home, and leisurely proceeds to turn the bait, and 
 swallow it, head foremost. At the end of five minutes from 
 the time that he ceased running he will probably have gorged, 
 and commence to move off on the war-path again. Then strike. 
 If you like, to make matters more sure, wait ten minutes 
 instead of five. After striking, get him out of the weeds 
 as best you can. A gaff with a long, stiff handle, is at times 
 very useful. 
 
90 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 It occasionally happens that the angler has a run, the 
 bait is gorged, and yet the pike is not hooked. The reason 
 for this is in the hooks lying too close to the bait's gills. Some- 
 times pike take the bait, hold it a few seconds, and then 
 leave it. They may feel the lead in the bait, or may be 
 gorged with food. When quite a lad, I was trolling in the 
 Thames, near Pangbourne, and had a very curious experience. 
 A pike seized the bait. I gave him about eight minutes, and 
 struck. I felt the pike, but the bait came home. Clearly 
 he had not gorged. A fresh bait was put up, and cast in 
 the same place. Again it was seized, and again not gorged. 
 A third time I cast the bait before the pike, and this time 
 he did not seize it while it was in the water ; but as I brought 
 it a few inches above the surface, he sprang out of the water, 
 took it, and descended to the bottom like lightning. After 
 waiting some time to let him gorge, if he would, I looked 
 over the nose of the boat, and found I could see right down 
 to the bottom. A lad with me then pushed the boat forward, 
 and, with great care, we worked along, the line being our 
 guide, until we came over the pike, which I could see quite 
 plainly lying close to the bottom, with the bait just as he 
 had seized it — across his jaws. Obviously it was no use to 
 strike, so I lowered the gaff very quietly until the point 
 
 was just under his snout, and but I blush to tell the 
 
 rest. It would be an interesting subject for debate at a 
 meeting of an angling club whether that pike was caught by 
 fair means or foul. 
 
 On this question of gorging, an interesting experiment 
 made by Jesse is worth relating. He threw five roach, each 
 about 4in. in length, to a 51b. pike. The first four were 
 swallowed rapidly, but the fifth was retained in the pike's 
 mouth for half an hour, until the others digested. This in- 
 cident may serve to explain the behaviour of my peculiar 
 pike. 
 
 Finally, as to gorge-baiting, let me say that it should never 
 be allowed on waters where pike are preserved, unless there 
 are bo many weeds that no other method can be conveniently 
 followed. 
 
THE IMITATION RAT. 91 
 
 Fly-fishing for Pike. — Pike-flies are not often used in 
 England — in fact, the Shannon is the only place I know of 
 where pike of respectable dimensions are so taken to any 
 considerable extent. On Lough Derg, an expansion of the 
 Shannon, they are frequently worked with an otter-board — a 
 poaching instrument worked in the water the same way that 
 a kite is in the air; but I see no reason why they should 
 not be cast. In Lough Derg, on hot days, when the pike 
 lay near the surface, I have known them take a fly well, 
 even where the water was very deep. An old Irish fisherman 
 
 Fig. 51. Pike-fly. 
 
 of Banagher told me that a fly made out of the tail of a 
 brown calf was very killing, and that he had taken many 
 fish on such a one in a weedy backwater of the Shannon. 
 Only the tip of the tail is used. It no doubt repi'esents a 
 rat. Pike probably take the usual pike-fly (see Fig. 51) 
 for a bird. They are certainly not in the habit of rising 
 to natural flies, though, as a matter of fact, I did once take a 
 small jack on a moderate-sized lake-trout fly. 
 
 This short notice of fly-fishing brings to an end all that, I take 
 it, need be written on the subject of pike-fishing as at present 
 understood. Some twenty or thirty years hence — if there 
 are any pike left — more killing methods will possibly have 
 
!'J 
 
 ANGLING FOR PIKE. 
 
 been invented than are used by anglers of the nineteenth 
 century; but I incline to the opinion that, even up to the 
 present, pike, as compared with other fish, have received more 
 than their share of attention from those anglers who are 
 blessed — a pike might say cursed — with an inventive genius. 
 
 5 
 
DIVISION III 
 
 Isglisg for Same Fish. 
 
& 
 O 
 PS 
 H 
 
 55 
 
 K 
 8> 
 K 
 h5 
 
 W 
 D 
 
 O 
 i-5 
 
ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 The Game Fish of Great Britain — Popularity of Fly-Fishing — 
 Peculiarities of Salmon and Trout, &c. — Simple Method of 
 Trout-breeding , &c, &c. 
 
 «S|f|i) RO ADL Y speaking, all fish which afford sport to the 
 HBP angler are game fish, but the leading members of the 
 family of which the salmon is the head are certainly the 
 game fish par excellence. It is of these fish — salmon, trout, 
 and grayling — that I now propose to treat. A short account 
 of char and char-fishing is also included, though I am afraid 
 that delicious fish is not angled for to any considerable extent. 
 At the same time, it must be admitted that char of any size 
 are, when hooked — the difficulty is to hook them — as gamesome 
 as the most exacting fly-fisher could reasonably wish. More- 
 over, they closely resemble trout in appearance, and are 
 excellent eating. For these reasons, and as a matter of 
 convenience, I have classed them with salmon, trout, and 
 grayling* 
 There are certain members of the salmon family found in 
 
 • "I shall restrict my remarks to what may be termed the 'game fishes' of thia 
 family found in the fresh waters of the British Isles, and which include the salmon, 
 various forms of trout and char, and also the grayling" (Dr. Francis Day, in 
 "British and Irish Salmonidre "). 
 
 B 2 
 
2 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 fresh water besides those mentioned. As they cannot be 
 termed game fish by any stretch of imagination, I have re- 
 ferred to them when writing of " Angling for Coarse Fish," 
 in the chapter on fish not commonly caught by the fresh- 
 water angler. I am speaking, of course, of vendace, powan, 
 pollan, and gwyniad. There are also several 6ea-fish — e.g., 
 the smelt — which, so naturalists say, can claim kinship with 
 the salmon. 
 
 All these fish, however much they may otherwise differ in 
 appearance, have one great distinguishing mark — a small fleshy 
 lump on the back near the tail, which is termed the adipose 
 or fatty fin. Its shape and position will be seen at a glance 
 in the engraving of a Loch Leven trout at the commencement 
 of this chapter. 
 
 Salmon, trout, and grayling, are mostly angled for with 
 artificial flies. I must confess, however, that the arrangements 
 of fur, feather, and tinsel, used in salmon-fishing, and occasion- 
 ally for trout, have no resemblance to any known insect which 
 wings its way through space. Probably they are termed flies 
 by courtesy, and out of respect to the feelings of those anglers 
 who so loudly assert that they will be ^-fishers or nothing. 
 Heaven only knows what salmon take these artificial baits 
 for — something alive, something eatable — so much, I think, I 
 may safely assert. My own opinion (very few anglers agree 
 on this subject) is that many of them are taken for the 
 fry of salt-water fish and other marine animals. Anyone who 
 has seen a trawl lifted will probably have noticed among its 
 contents numbers of small fish and other creatures which, 
 when wet, are gorgeously coloured with all the hues of the 
 rainbow. Certain salmon-flies are by no means bad repre- 
 sentations of these beautiful creatures, both in colour and 
 shape; and others resemble small marine animals of various 
 species. We do know that, when in the sea, the salmon 
 feeds on small fish, among other things; and, though he pro- 
 bably eats but little in fresh water, it is not unreasonable 
 to suppose that he would as soon take a small sea fish as 
 anything else. As a matter of fact, a salt-water animal — 
 the prawn — is often a more deadly bait in fresh water than 
 
LIFE-HISTORY OF THE SALMON. 3 
 
 any artificial fly or spinning bait made. I may here remark, 
 that the practice of fishing with the prawn, or minnow, except 
 under special circumstances, is not favoured by fly-fishers. 
 
 Fly-fishing is deservedly popular; the reasons are not far 
 to seek. To begin with, this branch of our sport affords us 
 active exercise amidst the most beautiful scenery our islands 
 can boast — sometimes pastoral and peaceful, at others wild 
 and majestic. Then, the fish caught are the most game and 
 sportive of any found in the United Kingdom, and their 
 capture involves much skill, combined often with a knowledge 
 of insect life and the habits of fish. Moreover, no noisome 
 baits or ground baits are required, and the fish, when cooked, 
 provide us with agreeable food. Men who take to fly-fishing 
 rarely give it up as long as they have strength to wield a 
 rod. 
 
 Peculiarities of Salmon and Trout.— Salmon are born 
 in fresh water, but pass a portion of their lives in the sea, 
 only running up rivers, so far as we know at present, for 
 the purpose of depositing their eggs and increasing their 
 species. The majority of mature salmon ascend the rivers in 
 the spring (about 90 per cent, of these spring fish are females) ; 
 but some are running up all through the summer and autumn, 
 provided there is any water. The immature, unspawned, or 
 maiden salmon, termed grilse in England and Scotland, and peal 
 in Ireland, ascend the rivers mostly in the autumn.* Spawn- 
 ing takes place in the winter. At the end of about 100 daysf 
 after the eggs are deposited there comes from the salmon-egg 
 the alevin — a tiny fish, with a yolk-sac about the size of a pea 
 attached to its stomach, the contents of which nourish it 
 for several weeks. The little creature then begins to feed, 
 and in a few months grows into the par, or samlet, a fish 
 
 * There are no fixed rules respecting the times of migration of salmon and 
 grilse up rivers. In many rivers there is a run of salmon in the spring and 
 grilse in the autumn, but all through the season fish seem to be running up, when- 
 ever there is a rise of water in the rivers. The habits of salmon differ materially 
 in different rivers, and in the same river they sometimes vary in the course of 
 years. The latest information on this and other subjects connected with the 
 natural history of the Salmonidce will be found in Dr. Day's "British and Irish 
 Salmonidse." There is an interesting chapter on the subject in Dr. Hamilton's 
 " Recollections of Fly-fishing for Salmon, Trout, and GrayliDg." 
 
 t The period of incubation varies according to the temperature of the water. 
 At 45 deg. the period is 90 days ; at 41 deg., 97 days ; at 36 deg., 114 days. 
 
 DIV. III. C 
 
4 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 about the size of a small burn-trout, and with much the same 
 markings.* At the end of some months the trout markings 
 disappear, and our young salmon develops into a silvery fish, 
 called a smolt, which descends to the sea — sometimes in 
 spring, sometimes in autumn — to return as grilse, at the end 
 of from two months to a year, or even more, enormously in- 
 creased in size,f weighing, perhaps, as much as 101b., but 
 moi'e often 51b. or 61b. While on their journey up stream 
 they feed but little. That tbey do feed is beyond argument, 
 for they not only rise to the angler's fly, but also take 
 worms and spinning baits. During the period before spawn- 
 ing, passed in fresh water, the male fish develops a hook at 
 the end of his lower jaw, the principal use of which seems 
 to be to wound other males when fighting for a mate. This 
 hook disappears when the spent fish returns to the sea; 
 but whether it falls off, or is absorbed, is uncertain. It 
 is termed the beak, gib, or kip — hence the term "kipper." 
 Shortly before spawning-time the male salmon loses his silvery 
 appearance, and becomes more or less red. He is then known 
 as a red fish. 
 
 After spawning, our grilse or peal, or salmon, as the case 
 may be, are termed spent fish or kelts. They are now lank, 
 
 * As it is against the law to take samlets, and as they abound in many trout- 
 streams, and much resemble small trout, it may be useful to quote from 
 Dr. Day's work the points of difference between samlets and trout : " In 
 small salmon-par the superior maxillary jawbone extends to below the 
 pupil of the eye— mostly to below its centre. In the young brown trout it 
 generally reaches to a level of the hind edge of the eye. But to these general 
 rules there are many exceptional cases. The foregoing general rule as regards 
 salmon-par sometimes holds good in smolts, but more generally does not do so. 
 The pectoral, or breast-fin, is larger in the salmon-par than in the young trout. 
 The adipose, or dead fin, is almost invariably tipped with orange in the brook-trout, 
 but rarely so in the salmon-par. The scales in the hind portion of the body are 
 larger in the salmon than in the trout, being from eleven to twelve rows, in a line 
 from the hind edge of the dead fin, downwards and forwards to the lateral line in 
 the true salmon, and in more regular, horizontal rows than seen in the trout, in 
 which latter species there are fourteen or fifteen rows where a salmon has only 
 eleven or twelve." I may add to this, that the scales of the samlet are much easier 
 displaced than the scales of the brook-trout. Even with this account of their 
 differences before him, I am afraid the unscientific angler will sometimes have con- 
 siderable difficulty in naming his small capture. Of course, when in doubt, the 
 thing to do is to return the fish. The latest experiments at Howietoun have 
 proved conclusively that up to, at any rate, eighteen months of age, there is no 
 difference in appearance between the young of brown trout and the young of 
 sea trout. 
 
 t Certain of the smolts (bred at Stormontfleld) turned into the Tay on 29th May, 
 1854, returned within two months weighing from 51b. to 9Jlb. ! When turned in 
 they weighed less than lib. 
 
WELL-MENDED KELTS. 5 
 
 ravenous things, and in their feeding-habits and play when 
 hooked much resemble pike. In due course they return to the 
 sea, where, owing to the abundance of food at their disposal, they 
 quickly regain their good looks — form well rounded, sides 
 silvery, and back a steely blue — and at the end of a period 
 varying from a few months to perhaps as much as two years, 
 return to the rivers mature salmon — and history repeats itself. 
 Sometimes they recover their condition while still in the river, 
 and then are termed "well-mended kelts." 
 
 The Varieties of Trout may be broadly divided into two 
 great classes — those which resemble salmon in their habits, 
 and are known as sea-trout, and those which live habitually 
 in fresh water. Dr. Day has, I believe, come to the conclusion 
 that there is only one species of trout, and that the differ- 
 ences in appearance between trout taken from various waters 
 are owing simply to local conditions. Sea-trout may be either 
 brown trout which have acquired migratory habits, or — which 
 seems more probable to me — brown trout are sea-trout which 
 have lost the migratory habit. 
 
 It is the tendency of all trout whose dietary principally 
 consists of fish {e.g., Thames trout) to become silvery; and, on 
 the other hand, sea-trout which have been a considerable length 
 of time in fresh water — as may be presumed when they are 
 found any great distance from the sea — usually lose their 
 silvery dress, and approach fresh-water trout very nearly in 
 their colourings and markings. 
 
 In this book I have divided the fish according to the manner 
 in which they are caught. In the first place, we have 
 chalk-stream trout — fat, lazy, but shy fish, which feed princi- 
 pally on flies, or the larvse of flies, and are found mostly 
 in the chalk streams of the Southern counties of England. 
 
 Next I have placed moorland or mountain trout. These are 
 found in the rocky brooks and rivers of Devonshire, Derbyshire, 
 and Wales, in the moorland streams of the North- country, in 
 most parts of Ireland, and in the wilder parts of Scotland. 
 These little fish — they are remarkable more for numbers than 
 weight — do not get food enough to attain to any great size. 
 
 Then there are trout which dwell in lakes. Of these there 
 
 c 2 
 
6 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 are several varieties. Some lakes swarm with under-sized, ill- 
 conditioned, half-fed little fish, so hungry that it is almost 
 dangerous to wade among them; while in other and larger 
 sheets of water the trout run large, and are sometimes the finest 
 specimens of their race. Besides these varieties, there are 
 found, in a limited number of lakes, ferox and gillaroo, of 
 which some account is given in Chapter IV. 
 
 Sea-trout I have already formally introduced. I will only 
 say that to fish for sea-trout is to fish for salmon on a small 
 scale — that the methods are similar, but reduced. Flies, lines, 
 hooks, and rod — all are smaller ; but the fish, for their size, are 
 gamer than salmon, and more numerous. 
 
 The Thames trout is, so to speak, the great lake-trout of 
 rivers. Being plentifully supplied with fish-food, he is great 
 in the matter of size and condition, and usually scorns a fly, 
 unless it is one of the lai*ge feather and tinsel arrangements, 
 yclept salmon-flies, or he himself is young and of an age to 
 appreciate trout-flies. He is a silvery fish, by reason of his 
 fish diet — one of the two things which help to silver a fish, 
 the other being a sojourn in the sea. 
 
 The grayling is a different species to the salmon or trout, 
 though a member of the same important family. He spawns 
 in spring — whereas salmon and trout spawn in autumn and 
 winter — and is in best condition when trout are almost at 
 their worst. I will point out his peculiarities in Chapter VII. 
 
 The char is chiefly remarkable for his scarceness. He is a 
 lake fish, and does not afford much sport to the angler. In ap- 
 pearance he much resembles trout, but whether of the same 
 species as the trout is an open question. Of the char and 
 grayling more anon. The following is a 
 
 List of Local Names given to salmon and sea-trout at 
 the various stages of their existence; it should prove at times 
 very useful to those anglers who seek their sport in " fresh 
 fields and pastures new." 
 
 SALMON. 
 Pug — A third-year salmon. Simen = Salmon (Northumber- 
 land). Par, or Parr— Stage between fry and smolt. Samlet, 
 
LOCAL NAMES. 7 
 
 Salmon Par, Pink, Smelt, and Salmon-fey — Same as par. 
 Sprag, or Salmonspring — Same as par (Northumberland). 
 Brandling, Fingerling, Black Fin, Blue Fin, Shed, 
 Skegger, Gravelling, Hepper, Laspring, and Gravel 
 Laspring — Same as par. Sperling, or Sparling— Same 
 as par (Wales). Spawn — Same as par (Dart). Moor-ged 
 and Morgate — Same as par (Somersetshire). Streamer — 
 Same as par (Tamar). Graveling — Same as par (South 
 Scotland). Smolt — The second stage, before migration to the 
 sea. Sprods — Same as smolts ; sometimes applied to sea-troat. 
 Mort — Smolts and sea-trout (Cumberland). Grilse — Male 
 or female salmon on first return from the sea (England and 
 Scotland). Peal, or Peel — Same as grilse (Ireland). 
 Botcher — Same as grilse (Severn). Fork Tails — Grilse. 
 Red Fish — Male salmon shortly before spawning. Summer 
 Cock, Gib-fish — A spawning male (Northumberland). 
 Baggit — Female after spawning, or (sometimes) just before. 
 Gerling, Gillion, or Gilling — On second return from the 
 sea (Severn). Kelt — Male or female after spawning. Mended 
 Kelt — Kelt partly recovered condition after spawning. 
 Spent Fish, Slat — Same as kelt. Shedder — Female after 
 spawning. Macks, Shrags — Same as shedder (Inverness). 
 Moffat Men — Kelts (Tay). Judy — A kelt (Kerry). Laurel 
 — A well-mended kelt — i.e., one that has recovered a good deal 
 from effects of spawning (Severn). Kipper — A fish too much 
 out of condition to be otherwise treated than by kippering. 
 
 SEA-TROUT. 
 
 Salmon-trout — Same as sea-trout. Salmon-peal — Sea- 
 trout (Devon and Cornwall). White Trout — Sea-trout 
 (Ireland). Sewin — Sea-trout (Wales). Truff — Sea-trout 
 (Devon). Scurf, Scurve, Salmon-scurf, or Cochivie — 
 Sea-trout (Tees). Round-tail — Sea-trout (Annan). Ford- 
 wich Trout — Sea-trout (Kent, Stour). Lammas-men — Sea- 
 trout in August (Scotland). Bull-trout — A variety of sea- 
 trout found principally in Coquet and Tweed. Grey Salmon 
 — Same as bull-trout (Tweed). Musselburgh Trout — Bull- 
 trout (Edinburgh and Dalkeith). Phinoc, or Finnock — Sea- 
 
8 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 trout in grilse stage (Scotland). Heeling — Sea-trout in grilse 
 stage (North-country and South of Scotland). Whitling, or 
 Whitings — Sea-trout in grilse stage (North-country). Mort 
 — Grilse stage of sea-trout (Cumberland). Sprod — Smolt 
 stage (sometimes grilse stage also) of sea-trout (Cumberland). 
 Yellow Fins, Orange Fins, Black Tails, Silver-whites, 
 Silver-greys, Burn Tails — Par stage of sea-trout (North- 
 country and Scotland). Smelt Sprods, Herring Sprods — 
 Par stage of sea-trout (Cumberland). Candlemas-grey — 
 Kelt of sea-trout (Lake-country). 
 
 Unless the majority of anglers interest themselves in fish- 
 culture, there will soon be no sport worth having. In a foot- 
 note* is an account of the various processes necessary in 
 
 * When the trout are seen on the shallows, in October and November, they are 
 netted in small-meshed nets. Those from which the ova or milt run easily (ripe 
 fish) are placed in a tub of water, and the unripe remainder returned, or left in a 
 store, or floating stew, to mature. From the males a milky liquid will flow at almost 
 the slightest handling, while from the females a touch will cause the appearance of a 
 few eggs the size of small peas. To spawn the female, hold her tail in your left hand, 
 head in the right hand; raise the head, and, holding the vent of the fish over a milk- 
 plate (or soup-plate, or the basin used for baked milky puddings, if only one or 
 two small fish are to be spawned), bend the tail back a little, causing the skin on the 
 belly to tighten, and the eggs will flow out. If the eggs do not flow freely, or any 
 are left (which will be probable), pass the right hand downwards over the belly, 
 using little pressure until past the vitals. Next, quickly take a male fish, hold the 
 abdomen against the eggs, and gently press with thumb and forefinger above and 
 just behind the pectoral fins. Have a towel in front of you during these 
 operations, and lay the fish on it when not handling them ; and if you cannot both 
 hold and spawn the fish yourself, let an assistant hold the fish for you ; and, in any 
 case, wear a woollen or cloth glove on the left hand. 
 
 But to return to the eggs. After the ova are milted, add a tumbler of water, and 
 gently stir the eggs and milt together. The eggs will shortly stick to the plate, and 
 together. Do not remove them until they have separated, which will be in from 
 half to three-quarters of an hour, or a little more. Next put the plate under a jet 
 of water, and let the water overflow, and carry with it the effete milt. The eggs 
 are now ready to be laid down, and all that is required is a constant flow of un- 
 polluted water, about 3in. in depth. Any dead eggs must be picked out every 
 morning, and there must be nothing in the material of which the troughs are made 
 (if the eggs are placed in troughs) which will poison the water, or bear any fungoid 
 growth likely to be communicated to the fish. The eggs may be placed in a long, 
 wooden trough (if wood ia used, it must be charred), out of which the water passes 
 at one end through a very fine screen ; or they may be laid down on gravel in a 
 brook or backwater, of course being carefully guarded from water-birds and 
 other enemies ; or they may be placed in an artificial redd, such as I have de- 
 scribed on page 10. No two eggs should touch one another ; any crowding should 
 be avoided, and if possible, they should be kept in the dark. The current which 
 passes over them should be gentle, or it may wash the eggs away ; but the slower 
 the stream, the shallower must be the water. Trout-eggs can easily be hatched out 
 in a town house with waterworks water— easier, indeed, than in the country, where 
 sometimes the sediment in the water is a constant source of trouble and loss. If 
 the eggs get covered with sediment, the water in the trough must be watered night 
 and morning with a watering-can and the stream through the trough increased. 
 The best thing to do with the fry is to place them, at the end of three weeks, 
 in a pond in which there is plenty of food (first clearing it of other fish), when 
 they will feed themselves, and grow rapidly or slowly according to the food- 
 
SIMPLE FISH-CULTURE. 9 
 
 trout-breeding as it is carried on by professional fish-breeders ; 
 but I wish more particularly to tell of a way by which 15,000 
 trout-fry or more may be produced at a very moderate expendi- 
 ture of time, trouble, and money. When trout- eggs are within 
 a week or so of batching they are called eyed ova, the eyes 
 of the embryo fish being distinctly visible through the shell 
 of the egg. Eyed ova are supplied by all the fish-culturists, 
 at prices varying from £7 10s. per box of 15,000 to 30s. the 
 thousand.* To hatch the eggs they may be placed on a gravelly 
 shallow in the brook or stream, in a foot of water or less, 
 and covered with a piece of fine wire-netting. They should 
 be ordered to be sent just on the point of hatching, so that 
 they hatch out in a couple of days. The fry will look after 
 themselves. Floods are a standing danger to this plan. Fry, 
 unless bred in enormous quantities, are very little use in rivers 
 which either already contain trout, or other feeders on fish, 
 such as pike, perch, and chub. 
 
 A stream, however small, which runs into a pond, affords 
 every convenience for hatching out the ova and rearing fry. 
 The pond should be cleared of other fish, and the outlet 
 carefully guarded with very fine perforated zinc, to prevent the 
 escape of the fry. Some slight preparation is advisable in 
 the stream. The simplest thing to do is merely to lay the eyed 
 ova on a suitable shallow (i.e., where the water is 4in. to 8in. 
 in depth, and flows gently), cover it with fine-meshed wire- 
 netting, fixed a few inches above the surface of the water, 
 and leave it. It is advisable to cover over the whole of the 
 
 supply. If the natural food-supply is not equal to the wants of the fry, a certain 
 number of the little fish are bound to die. The fry at Howietoun are fed on a 
 paste (made in worm-like form by being squeezed through perforated zinc) consist- 
 ing of fillet or sirloin (no fat) of beef or horse, pounded, and intimately mixed with 
 the yolks of hard-boiled eggs (nine to each lib.), and passed through a wire sieve 
 (see "The History of Howietoun," by Sir James Maitland, Bart.). In Mr. Andrews' 
 fishponds, at Guildford, there is sufficient natural food, and the fry do not require 
 feeding. 
 
 * The following is, I believe, a complete list of professional fish-culturists ; it 
 may be found useful. Eggs can be sent any distance (only buy those which are 
 guaranteed to have been taken from large fish) ; but the shorter the distance 
 trout of any size have to travel, the better. South of England : Thos. Andrews, 
 Guildford; Davis, High Wycombe, Bucks; Capel (gillaroo, &c), Foots Cray, Kent; 
 Trent Fish Culture Companv, Milton, Burton-on-Trent. Midland Counties : 
 Burgess, Malvern Wells. Eastern Counties : Ford (coarse fish as well as trout), 
 Caistor, Lincolnshire ; Lieut.-Colonel Custance, Norwich. Scotland : Armistead, 
 Solway Fisheries, Dumfries ; Sir J. R. G. Maitland, Bart., Howietoun Fishery 
 (J. R. Guy, Secretary), Stirling. 
 
10 
 
 ANGLING FOE GAME FISH. 
 
 brook, from your redd to the pond, with netting, to save the 
 fry from kingfishers, herons, &c. 
 
 But all streams are subject to floods, and the safest way to 
 deal with the ova is to prepare a trench for them by the side of, 
 and fed by the water from, the stream. No more water than 
 can pass through the pipe which feeds the trench can then find 
 its way to the eggs. The ground-plan of a stream, pond, and 
 redd (Fig. 1) will show my meaning very clearly. The inlet 
 
 DAM (IF NECESSARY) 
 
 Fia. 1. Simple Arrangement for Trout-breeding (Ground Plan). 
 
 pipe (A) may be made of common red, 3in. drain-pipes. The 
 trench (B)* can be lined with large half drain-pipes. The outlet 
 (C) should be about 6in. wide, and open to the air. The bottom 
 of the ti'ench, or redd, should be covered with 3in. of clean 
 stones about the size of cob-nuts, among which the fry can 
 hide themselves when first hatched. Put no screen or obstruc- 
 tion in the channel (C), but allow the fry to pass down to the 
 
 * Allow 2 square feet for each 1000 eggs. For 15,000 eggs the dimensions 
 of redd may be 2ft. in width by 15ft. in length ; or, better, 1ft. by 30ft. 
 
HOW TO STOCK TROUT-STREAMS. 11 
 
 brook, and from the brook to the pond, just when they think 
 fit. A large piece of perforated zinc should be placed in the 
 brook, at the mouth of the inlet (A), to prevent the entrance of 
 fish, rats, or rubbish; and if there is not sufficient fall in the 
 brook to cause the water to flow through the redd, a small 
 dam may be required across the brook below A. 
 
 This arrangement can be made by any labouring man for 
 something under £2 ; but, of course, where expense is no object, 
 a considerable amount of money may be spent in brickwork, 
 settling-pond, filter, &c. Fig. 2 shows the trench, inlet, and 
 
 BROOK - 
 
 BROOK 
 
 M 
 HI 
 
 Fig. 2. Simple Arrangement for Trout Breeding (Section). 
 
 outlet, in section. With lakes and large rivers already con- 
 taining trout or other depredatory fish, unless trout of 
 ^lb. or upwards can be purchased and turned in — a costly 
 proceeding — the best plan is to thoroughly stock the small 
 tributary streams ; Loch Leven has been so stocked with great 
 success. Ninety per cent, or more of the fry placed in rivers 
 containing numerous trout, pike, perch, &c, get eaten up. 
 Besides putting in fish, great attention should be paid to 
 making the stream suitable for trout, increasing the food- 
 supply, &c. — a branch of the subject which I have not space 
 to deal with. 
 
 " Stocking," a pamphlet published at the Howietoun Fishery, 
 Stirling; Livingstone Stone's "Domesticated Trout," published 
 by Sampson Low, Marston, & Co. ; and the "History of 
 Howietoun," by Sir James Maitland, are useful works on trout- 
 culture. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 CHALK-STREAM TROUT. 
 
 Habits and Haunts — Bod and Tackle for Dry-fly Fishing — 
 Eyed Hooks and Knots — Flies with Divided Wings — Casting 
 the Fly — Playing the Fish — Fishing with the Floating Fly 
 — The May-fly Season — Fishing with the Sunk or Wet Fly — 
 — Blow-line Fishing — Minnow and Worm Fishing. 
 
 i^NDER the term " chalk-stream " trout I find myself 
 obliged to include all trout dwelling in slow-flowing 
 rivers, almost or quite untenanted by coarse fish, for in nearly 
 all such streams, whether traversing a chalk district or not, 
 the methods by which the fish may be taken are almost 
 identical. 
 
 The two principal chalk streams in the South of England 
 ai'e the Test and the Itchin ; and there are many minor 
 streams well stocked with fish. These rivers wind through 
 pastoral country, are dammed up at intervals by mills, are 
 nearly always crystal-clear, and contain abundance of food 
 for the trout. They are, for the most part, well preserved. 
 Jack and other coarse fish are netted out. In streams which 
 abound in coarse fish, such as the Thames, and some por- 
 tions of the Kennet and Colne, trout never rise well to 
 a fly except (on the two last-mentioned streams) during the 
 annual rise of the May-fly. 
 
HAUNTS OF CHALK-STREAM TROTJT. 13 
 
 Generally speaking, the characteristics of chalk-stream trout 
 are their size, the careful and deliberate way in which they rise 
 to a fly, and (particularly in club or semi-public waters) 
 their caution. They spawn about mid-winter, then retire for 
 a while to quiet water. About April, or later, they begin to 
 get into fair condition, and fly-fishing commences. A trout, 
 when a little out of condition, is lean and hungry, and it follows 
 that the best fishing (but not the best-conditioned fish) is 
 often had in the early spring, particularly if the weather is 
 mild. In summer, unless the weather is showeiy, there is 
 little fishing until about dusk ; but in September, if the weather 
 is genial, the fish begin to rise in the daytime. September 
 is often a very good fishing month. 
 
 The Haunts of Trout in Hampshire rivers are not so 
 difficult or so necessary to describe as in the more turbulent 
 streams of the mountain and moor, for, as a general rule, 
 anglers only cast where they see rising fish. 
 
 In well-stocked chalk streams the trout, when feeding, 
 seem everywhere. You find them in deep water and 
 shallow, under the banks and in the open, in mill-heads and 
 mill-tails. "When not feeding, they lie like stones on the 
 bottom, or under overhanging banks or masses of weeds. 
 At such times sport is not promising, and the only thing 
 to do is to fish the shallows, where, even if the trout do lie 
 close to the bottom, the fly can be brought within their 
 range of vision. In the evening a large number of fish come 
 on to the shallows to feed; but very big fish which live in 
 the deeps merely rise to the surface, and take only those 
 flies which come close to them. 
 
 In the evening, also, fish which dwell in pools drop down 
 to the scours to feed. In the early part of the day they 
 will be found more towards the centre of the pool, and 
 particularly in the eddy at each side of the stream. 
 
 Generally speaking, the most favourite haunts of trout are : 
 close to sedge-lined banks, where the water is deep; swirling 
 pools, below masses of weeds; anywhere in shallows over 12in. 
 in depth, provided there are here and there patches of weeds or 
 other cover for fish ; under trees or bushes which overhang 
 
14 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 the water ; by the sides of reed-beds ; and, in fact, close to, 
 under, or just below anything which affords them shelter from 
 the eyes of man and from the sun. 
 
 The Rod for Dry-fly Fishing need not, so far as I can 
 see, vary materially from the rod used for wet-fly fishing. 
 It should be rather stiff and powerful, and either of split cane 
 or greenheart. Some anglers like long rods for dry-fly fishing ; 
 but the majority of Hampshire fishermen use rods varying from 
 9ft. 6in. to lift, in length. Above all things, let the length 
 of the rod depend on your strength. The actual weight of 
 the rod is not of the first importance; in fact, by adding to 
 
 toss 
 
 MIDDLE JOINT. 
 
 SHORT HANDLE TO USE INSTEAD OF BUTT, 
 
 Fig. 3. The Author's Fly-rod. 
 
 the weight of some rods — at the butt — they at once feel 
 lighter, being thereby better balanced. Rods are made in 
 two, three, or four pieces. Those in two pieces cast the 
 best, but they are, from their length, a little inconvenient to 
 carry about. 
 
 Happening to require a new fly-rod some time ago, I put 
 a firm of tackle-makers* to no little trouble to work out certain 
 ideas I had on the subject. After two rods had been made 
 which, while being far from failures, did not exactly embody 
 all my views, the rod was built which is engraved in Fig. 3. 
 It is in three joints, each about 4ft. long, making in all a 
 
 * Messrs. Warner & Sons, of Redditch. 
 
A GOOD FLY-KOD. 15 
 
 powerful lift. lOin. rod. When I require a shorter ix>d, I re- 
 place the butt by the short handle, A (1ft. 6in.), which gives 
 me a stiff, springy little 9ft. 4in. rod, possessing extra- 
 ordinary casting power. I candidly do not believe a better 
 rod, or one more generally useful, coiild possibly be made. 
 The 9ft. Gin. rod gives me perfect control over any fish up to 
 31b., and enables me to get out 20yds. of line properly 
 and without much effort. That is saying a good deal for a 
 rod so short as this.* Of course a great deal depends on the 
 line, a subject to which I will refer presently. The great 
 objection to a short rod is that the line is apt to catch in 
 things behind the angler, especially when the wind is blowing 
 from the rod to the point at which the fly is aimed. But if 
 the steeple cast (see page 33) is adopted, this rarely happens. 
 Split cane rods, if honestly and well made, and taken proper 
 care of, will last many years. They should be re-varnished 
 once a year. Information concerning their manufacture is use- 
 less to anglers, whose only safeguard is to go to one of the few 
 good houses for these rods. Greenheart rods, if properly made 
 of well-seasoned wood, are nearly as good as split cane rods, 
 and one-third the price. 
 
 In fishing for chalk- stream trout, the most accurate casting 
 is requisite ; accurate casting against or along the wind, 
 requires a heavy line (tapered fine, of course, near the gut 
 cast) ; and a heavy line requires a powerful rod. The weak, 
 whippy things still found in many tackle-shops are only fit to 
 play fingerlings on. While the rod should be rather stiff, it 
 must not be thick and clumsy. The best greenheart rods are 
 built somewhat on the lines of the Castle-Connell rods — very 
 thin just above the handle, with little taper until within 2ft. 
 or 3ft. of the point. If a rod is thin, and yet stiff, with a 
 good springy action like steel, you may be almost certain that 
 the wood is of good quality and well seasoned. Rods with 
 very slender top joints are almost useless for dry-fly fishing, as 
 without a certain amount of weight towards the top the line 
 cannot be picked off the water. 
 
 * The makers intend to copy the rod in greenheart. Another first-rate rod is 
 described in Chapter III. 
 
16 
 
 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 Rod Fittings are of secondary importance; but anglers 
 should, nevertheless, insist on having the best that can be 
 made, the best costing only a fraction more than the worst. 
 Those on my rod (Fig. 4) are, of course, the ones I believe 
 
 Snake-shaped Rod Rin;j. 
 
 " Blekerdyke" Rod-top Ring. 
 
 Winch Fitting on the Weegcr Principle. 
 Fig. 4. Eod Fittings. 
 
 to be the best. The well-known Weeger winch fitting holds 
 any-sized reel, and neither sticks nor hurts the hand. The 
 snake rings (if they may be termed rings) allow the line to 
 pass through them with less friction than any others made, 
 and— which is still more important— never get foul of the line, 
 as do the ordinary upright rings. I hope, in the course of a 
 year or two, to see these rings used on rods of every kind 
 and description, for they are not only the best, but also the 
 cheapest. 
 
 The Top Ring is an invention of my own, which, so far as 
 I have heard, has met with the approval of all anglers who 
 have used it. It works on pivots, and by adapting itself to 
 any angle made by the line with the rod, reduces friction, 
 and saves wear and tear to both rod and line, especially to the 
 latter. Moreover, these top rings prevent fouling of the line, 
 for on the line getting twisted round the top of the rod, as 
 it sometimes will, the ring goes flat with the rod, and the line, 
 on being jerked, slips off. These rings are made by the makers 
 of the rod already described. With this top ring and the 
 snake rings a considerable amount of line can be thrown off 
 at the end of the cast (i.e., let out through the rings, the cast 
 
SUCTION FERRULES. 
 
 17 
 
 being lengthened to that extent) — more than with any other 
 rings at present made. I have used these top 
 rings on all my rods for about three years, and 
 never had one break or get out of working order. 
 
 Ferrules can be and are made which, 
 being accurately fitted, hold together very 
 tightly by mere force of suction, never allow- 
 ing a joint to throw out. I cannot help asking 
 what more is required.* My rod is fitted with 
 these ferrules, and nothing can answer better. 
 Of course, these suction ferrules, like any- 
 thing else, can be made badly, in which case 
 they will not answer. All ferrules, both male 
 and female, should have a small rim of 
 metal round the top edge. This doubles the 
 strength at the weakest points. Never buy 
 a rod which has the ferrules countersunk — 
 i.e., let in level with the wood. 
 
 I must not forget to mention the flexible 
 
 ferrule invented by Mr. Kirker, of Belfast (see 
 
 Fig. 5). I tried a two-joint rod fitted with one 
 
 of these ferrules for a month. The ferrule, 
 
 undoubtedly, was flexible, and in every 
 
 respect answered its purpose. One fault 
 
 only I found with it : the joints twisted 
 
 occasionally; but it was impossible for them 
 
 ., , Fig. 5. Flexible 
 
 to throw out. Ferrule. 
 
 * Mr. Henry B. Wells wrote in the Fishing Gazette that our English ferrules 
 are too long, that dowels are not required, and that the proper measurements are : 
 
 Bore. 
 
 Entire length. 
 
 On wood. 
 
 For entering 
 ferrule. 
 
 in. 
 
 3 
 4 
 i 
 
 in. 
 
 34 
 3 
 
 2i 
 
 in. 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 
 14 
 
 in. 
 
 'There are," he says, "many thousands of ferruled fishing-rods in use in this 
 :ountry (America). Of these, not one in 5000, unless of foreign make (and they are 
 uncommon), has any device whatever to prevent the joints from throwing apart, 
 except the tit of the ferrules— the cohesion of one ferrule within the other. Yet 
 for a rod to throw apart here is one of the rarest accidents which the angler 
 encounters." In "Angling for Pike," a lockfast joint, made by Farlow, is illus- 
 trated; and in " Angling for Coarse Fish," another, made by Hardy Bros. 
 
18 ANGLING FOB GAME FISH. 
 
 Spliced rods (i.e., made with no ferrules at all) I will refer 
 to in the chapter on salmon. 
 
 The Care of Rods. — Rods should be re-vamished with 
 coachmakers' varnish every year. To remove the glitter of 
 the varnish, rub it lightly with fine sand-paper, and after- 
 wards smooth with an oiled rag. Ferrules should be greased 
 occasionally, or they will stick. Butter scraped off a sandwich 
 will do if nothing better is forthcoming. If ferrules stick, try 
 a little spirit, and, having given time for it to penetrate, warm 
 the outside ferrule in the flame of a match, and then try what 
 a little force will do. The warming will often do without the 
 spirit. The partitions in rod bags should be made larger than 
 is generally the case. A rod — particularly if made of split 
 cane — should never be put in a damp bag, or against a damp 
 wall, and should always be wiped after a wet day's fishing, and 
 left out of the bag in a warm, dry room, so as to allow any 
 wet which may have got into the ferrules to dry out. For 
 the same reason, the stoppers or plugs should not be put into 
 ferrules for some hours after a rod has been used in the 
 rain. Never lay a rod on the grass, but stick it into the 
 ground by means of a spike, usually screwed into the butt. 
 Salmon-rods, and rods used from boats, are best without a 
 spike ; a nice finish for the butt of such rods is an india- 
 rubber knob. I see that Mr. Kirker has recently patented a 
 spike which telescopes up into the butt when not required. I 
 have not seen one, but the idea is certainly good. If the joint 
 of a wooden rod warps, hang it to a nail, and suspend a weight 
 at the lower end. 
 
 The Reel, or Winch. — The cheapest really useful thing 
 of the kind is a 2^in. or 3in. wooden Nottingham reel, fitted 
 with a very light check or click (mechanism to prevent the 
 reel running too easily) and a line-guard. Such a reel is 
 shown in Fig. 6, and it need not cost more than 4s. or 5s. 
 These reels, having a large barrel, wind up very quickly, and 
 possess all the advantages of a multiplier without any of its 
 many disadvantages. The wire line-guard shown in the illus- 
 tration is a little idea of my own, which answers very well. 
 
REELS AND WINCHES. 
 
 19 
 
 On somewhat the same principle is Slater's (of Newark) 
 "Combination" Reel. Another, better in some respects, but 
 more expensive, than the foregoing, is Warner's Brake Reel, 
 I have been using one for some months, and it has quickly 
 become first favourite. It has a large barrel, a very light, 
 adjustable check, the line is properly guarded by means of 
 bars, and, by a little brake which can be applied to the edge 
 of the revolving portion by touching a knob with the little 
 finger, an extra check of any degree of force that may be 
 required can be applied. 
 
 Of metal reels, there is a good one designed by Mr. Jardine 
 and sold by Messrs. 
 Carter & Peek. It lets 
 the air into the centre 
 of the line, which is 
 a great advantage. I 
 have also seen a reel, 
 designed by Mr. Mos- 
 crop, a member of the 
 Manchester Anglers' As- 
 sociation, which seems 
 a great advance on all 
 other metal reels; it is 
 not at present for sale 
 — though no doubt will 
 be next year — so it will 
 be sufficient to say of 
 
 it that it is very light, contains only one screw, admits the 
 air to the centre of the line, and is fitted with a check, &c. 
 If the angler is purchasing an ordinary metal winch, the 
 points to be attended to are these : The handle should be 
 attached to a revolving plate, and not to a crank; the check 
 should be very light, the reel should be large in diameter, the 
 plates close together, and the reel and line should together 
 nicely balance the rod. Winches require oiling occasionally, 
 and wooden reels used in fly-fishing are all the better for 
 being smeared inside with vaseline. 
 
 The Line for fly-fishing should be of plaited silk, smoothly 
 
 DIV. III. d 
 
 Fig. 6. Nottingham Reel with Author's 
 Line-guard. 
 
20 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 waterproofed with an oil dressing,* and tapered for about 
 five yards at one or both ends. If at both ends, when one 
 end is worn out the line can be turned. The line should 
 be solid. Avoid lines wholly or partly of hair. No one who 
 has fly-fished with a dressed silk line will use any other. 
 With the powerful rods now in vogue, especially those of 
 split cane, a very heavy line may be used. Weight insures 
 that accurate and lengthy casting which is so necessary when 
 fishing for a rising trout. The thick part does not go within 
 four yards of the fish, for the line tapers down to a fine 
 point not much thicker than the three-yard gut cast, which 
 also tapers. The thickness or weight of the line should 
 depend on the strength of the rod. It is no uncommon 
 thing for a Hampshire fisherman to use a line almost as 
 thick as an ordinary salmon line above the tapered portion. 
 With such lines I have seen a fly dropped like a piece of 
 thistle-down exactly in front of a rising fish certainly not less 
 than 25yds. distant from the angler. It is very difficult to 
 buy a well-dressed line, for those of commerce are di - essed to 
 dry quickly, and a quickly-dried line is hard, and cracks and 
 becomes useless very soon. 
 
 Thirty -five yards of this thick line are usually sufficient. To 
 them should be spliced 30yds. or 40yds. of a finer line. The 
 best back lines — as they are termed — I know of, are the twisted 
 silk lines used for pike by the Trent fishermen. They are 
 very strong. The splice is effected thus : Unravel 22in. of the 
 twisted line, and scrape with a knife 2£in. of the plaited line. 
 Well cobbler's-wax the ends, lay them together, and roll them 
 between the finger and thumb. Then carefully bind them 
 over with well-waxed silk. To finish off the silk, lay a pen- 
 
 * The following is the dressing for lines which is given in " Angling for Coarse 
 Fish " :— "The best dressing is simply raw linseed oil, hut it takes such a long time 
 to dry that it is_ rarely used ; next best is boiled linseed oil. The line is soaked for 
 a week in the oil (cold), then stretched between two trees, well rubbed with a piece 
 of smooth leather (this gets the air-bubbles out of the line), and then put to soak 
 for two more days. It is then again stretched between trees, the superfluous 
 oil wiped gently off. and left to dry— the drying will take about two months. In 
 wet weather the line should be taken indoors. When this first coat is dry, the line 
 should be put into the oil for two more days, and again be put out to dry. The 
 operation takes, altogether, about six months. If it is desirable to put on a fine 
 polish, this can easily be done, when the line is dry, by well rubbing it with a piece 
 of leather on which is a little raw linseed oil." 
 
HOW TO SPLICE A LINE. 
 
 21 
 
 Fig. 7. Fasten-off of Binding. 
 
 holder, or your finger, along the splice, take three turns of 
 silk over it, put the end under the turns, tighten up, and pull 
 the end through as far 
 as it will come (Fig. 7). 
 This finish off is use- 
 ful for all kinds of 
 bindings, and is well 
 worth learning. 
 
 Gut, manufactured 
 out of silkworms, 
 should be carefully 
 selected by the chalk- 
 stream fly-fisher. It is 
 sold either made up 
 into casts, or in hanks 
 of about 100 lengths, 
 just as it is imported. 
 The very finest gut 
 
 has to be drawn through steel plates, and is then known as 
 drawn gut. Drawn gut lacks strength, and quickly frays; 
 but its use is, nevertheless, absolutely necessary on bright 
 days, in well-fished chalk streams. My advice is never to 
 use it if trout can be caught without it. More than one of 
 my angling friends will never use it under any circumstances 
 whatever. 
 
 Most anglers buy their casts ready made. If the angler buys 
 a hank of gut 15in. long — a considerable, but not an extreme, 
 length — he can make up casts in which the knots are at least 
 13in. apart. I have just received a hank of the finest undrawn 
 Telarana gut, loin, long, from Mr. "W. Robertson, of Bothwell 
 Street, Glasgow, at the very moderate cost of 5s., and have 
 recently come across some Ligero gut, sold by Mr. Cummins, 
 of Bishop Auckland, 17^in. in length, about as fine as the 
 Telarana gut from Glasgow, but, being longer, of course a 
 little more expensive. Drawn gut is not necessarily so fine 
 as the two classes I have mentioned; but it can be, and is, 
 made considerably finer than hair. It should not be less 
 than 16in. in length. The finest drawn gut will not hold a 
 
 D 2 
 
22 
 
 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 21b. trout. Good gut is long, round, free from specks when 
 held up to the light, supple, transparent, and strong. 
 
 To Make a Tapered Gut Cast at least three different sizes 
 of gut are necessary : the thickest, only a little finer than the 
 end of the running line ; the finest, as fine as you think desirable, 
 
 Fig. 8. A Reliable Gut Knot. 
 
 next the fly ; and some of an intermediate size. First stain the 
 gut by placing it in Stephens' blue-black ink for a few minutes, 
 and afterwards washing it in clean water; this will give it 
 a pale neutral tint, which is not to be improved on for chalk - 
 stream fishing. Before being knotted together, the lengths 
 
KNOTS. 
 
 23 
 
 Fig. 9. Common Gut Knot. 
 
 must be soaked for at least half an hour in cold water (warm 
 or hot water is injurious to gut). If you are by the river 
 side, and are knotting gut, the ends should be well moistened 
 in the mouth. 
 
 One of the most reliable knots for gut is shown in Fig. 8, 
 which renders any explanation unnecessary, beyond stating that 
 
 to begin the knot two ends are 
 °=S#^ f^ :=J overlapped, tied in a single knot, 
 
 and the ends put through again. 
 The knot most commonly used 
 is shown in Fig. 9. It is a trifle neater than the other, but 
 utterly unreliable if the gut is very fine, or the two pieces 
 to be joined are of different thicknesses. The thick end of 
 the cast should ter- 
 minate with a loop 
 made as shown in 
 Fig. 10. The usual 
 length of a cast is 
 3yds., but in windy 
 weather, for casting 
 against the wind it 
 may be shortened. 
 
 The knot shown in 
 f'ig. 11 is one of the best for fastening the reel-line to the 
 ist; but for wet-fly fishing a better plan is to have a long 
 loop of gut spliced on to the end of the reel line, to which 
 
 the cast may be looped. 
 Where the line is drawn 
 through the water, as it 
 sometimes is when wet-fly 
 fishing, the knots cannot be 
 too few in number. In lieu 
 }f the gut-loop above-mentioned, some anglers splice about 
 2ft. of twisted gut on to the reel-line. To this the cast, 
 rhich should, in consequence, be rather shorter, is looped. 
 ?his plan insures a very gradual taper between the reel-line 
 md the fly. 
 The portion of the cast which wears out first is the fine end, 
 
 Fig. 10. Knot for Gut Loop. 
 
 nmitolilillln — 
 
 Fig. 11. Knot for Fastening 
 Reel-line to Cast. 
 
24 
 
 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 next the fly, and dry-fly fishei's usually carry what are termed 
 points, or tips (two lengths of fine gut knotted together), which 
 can be attached to the end of the cast, to replace the worn 
 portion. These tips are usually carried in a round, tin box, 
 between two layers of damp felt or Spongio Piline. They are 
 then always wet, and ready for tying on. 
 
 Ply Boxes and Books. — Messrs. Farlow sell a very nice 
 little fly-box for dry flies on eyed hooks, casts and tips (Fig. 12), 
 the two last mentioned being kept damp in the manner de- 
 scribed. Many dry-fly fishers only carry a few flies loose 
 in a tin matchbox. I generally use a book made for me 
 
 by Warner & Sons — an 
 elaboration of one in- 
 vented by a member of 
 the firm, and registered. 
 On parchment leaves are 
 slips of very thick felt, 
 into which flies on eyed 
 hooks can be stuck, the 
 thickness of the felt 
 saving them from being 
 crashed. Then, on other 
 pages, are pockets for 
 flies on gut, and there 
 are also pockets for 
 casts. The book slips 
 into a leather case, and 
 is well suited for the all-round angler who likes to carry in 
 one book flies suitable for any river in the United Kingdom. 
 For small flies on gut only, there is nothing better than the 
 "Winchester" fly-box. Any fly can be taken out from it or 
 replaced in two or three seconds, the gut of each fly is kept 
 moist, and a tangle is impossible. 
 
 The Landing-net is very essential in chalk streams. It 
 should be fitted to a long, telescopic handle. There is no 
 better way of carrying it than in a sling. By means of 
 a knuckle-joint the net doubles over, and is kept out of the 
 way. The one illustrated— the " Hi Regan " (Fig. 13)— which 
 
 Fio. 12. Box for Flies on Eyed Hooks, 
 with Damping Arrangement for Casts. 
 
A GOOD SEAT-BASKET. 
 
 25 
 
 has been patented by "Warner & Sons, has a collapsing 
 
 bow, tbe joint invention of "Hi 
 
 Regan," author of that invaluable 
 
 work, "How and Where to Fish in 
 
 Ireland," and myself. The V-shaped 
 
 nets are not suited for Southern 
 
 streams, in which weeds abound. 
 
 The Creel illustrated in Fig. 14 
 was made for me quite recently, by 
 the makers of the net, who have 
 endeavoured, and, I think, with 
 success, to carry out my ideas of 
 what a creel ought to be. It is an 
 improved form of a tray-basket in- 
 vented by Mr. Edgar Warner some 
 years ago, and the design has, I 
 believe, been registered. It is light 
 but strong, and the top, being flat, 
 
 forms a comfortable seat ; tackle, Fig. 13. The " Hi Regan " 
 . , jiij> i_-i i Net, with Telescopic 
 
 tobacco, and lunch, tor which ample handle, Knuckle-joint, 
 
 space is given, are divided from the AND Sling - 
 
 fish by the tray; the tray 
 takes out, and allows the fish 
 to be removed, and the basket 
 to be thoroughly cleaned ; and 
 the hole at the side of the 
 lid, through which the fish 
 are placed, is more con- 
 veniently situated than if it 
 were, as is usual, in the 
 middle of the lid. The creel 
 is well varnished inside as 
 well as out. Enamel paint 
 is a good thing for the in- 
 side—one of Mr. E. M. Tod's 
 ideas. Some anglers like tin 
 or wooden creels, as they 
 Fig. 14. The Author's Creel. keep the fish moist. Mr. 
 
26 
 
 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 Walbran, of Station Road, Leeds, keeps a variety of these — 
 the only ones I have ever seen. (See also Chapter III). 
 
 Waders, so far as chalk streams are concerned, are 
 more often useful for kneeling in long, wet grass, than for 
 wading; for this reason, some anglers, in lieu of waders, wear 
 waterproof knee-protectors. Waterproof knee-boots of leather 
 or indiarubber are useful in Southern streams, as also are 
 the long, indiarubber wading-boots ; but these latter soon wear 
 out. The remarks on waders in the chapter on salmon should 
 be read in connection with this subject. 
 
 Hooks. — Gut is either lashed on to the hook with waxed 
 silk, or — the end of the shank being turned into an eye for the 
 purpose — is knotted to it. The chief advantage of eyed hooks 
 
 90 
 
 000 
 
 00 
 
 uu 
 
 40 
 
 50 
 
 ep 
 
 79 
 
 u 
 
 u 
 
 u 
 
 u 
 
 U 
 
 U 
 
 Fig. 15. A, Kendal Sneck Hooks for Small Flies ; B, Pennell- 
 Limerick Hooks (Eyed) for Large Flies. 
 
 is that they enable the angler to attach gut of any thickness 
 to his fly. Eyed hooks do not whip off so easily as flies on 
 hooks bound to gut, and they are very economical, for as 
 soon as a piece of gut gets at all worn near the hook, the 
 gut can be re-tied. Mr. Halford is of the opinion that flies 
 on eyed hooks float better than those mounted in the old- 
 fashioned manner. There is no appreciable difference between 
 the hooking power of hooks with or without eyes. Anglers 
 differ considerably as to whether the eyes should bend 
 outwards (termed " tumed-up " eyes), or inwards towards the 
 point (termed " turned-down " eyes). Theoretically, the turned- 
 down eyes should hook best, but I am inclined to think that 
 tumed-up eyes are best for the very small sizes (000 to 3). 
 
HOOKS FOE FLY-FISHING. 
 
 27 
 
 In the larger sizes, those with the turned-down eyes are much 
 to be preferred. 
 
 "With regard to the best bend of hooks, I prefer for small flies 
 (000 to 3) the Kendal Sneck (A, Fig. 15). They are shown 
 without eyes. The points of these hooks are "kerb'd" — i.e., 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 n r> 
 
 p> 
 
 P\ 
 
 Fig. 16. Hall's Eyed-Hook Scale. 
 
 bent slightly sideways. This peculiarity is good in small hooks, 
 but very bad if carried to excess. A slight twist helps the point 
 of the hook to catch into the fish's mouth, but if more than 
 slightly twisted, the point will not penetrate. For the larger 
 hooks there is nothing better than some good form of Limerick, 
 such as the Pennell-Limerick (Fig. 15, B), made by Bartleet and 
 
 Fig. 17. The Turle Knot. 
 
 sons, of Redditch. As very many fly-fishers favour the hooks 
 lesigned by Mr. H. S. Hall, I have given a scale of the Hall 
 looks (Fig. 16). They are now made both at Redditch and 
 [endal. There being considerable variations in the hook-scales 
 >f different makers, the reader should bear in mind that the 
 
28 
 
 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 sizes of hooks quoted for trout flies refer to the above scales, 
 which are numbered on the Kendal system. In the Redditch 
 
 D 
 
 Fig. 18. How to Tie the Jam Knot. 
 
 Fig. 19. The Jam Knot. 
 
 numbering the figures run the other way. The scales of 
 different makers are apt to vary. 
 
 Knots for Eyed Hooks. — The most 
 generally useful one is the Turle knot, 
 which is sufficiently explained by Fig. 17; 
 it is very safe, and very easy to tie. 
 
 If the eye of the hook is very small, 
 and closely fits the gut, then, and only 
 then, can the jam knot recommended by 
 Mr. Cholmondeley-Pennell be safely used. 
 It is neat, easily made, and easily un- 
 made. To tie it (see Fig. 18), hold the 
 fly in the left hand, push the gut 
 through the eye (A), in the dh*ection 
 of the hook-bend, leave go the fly, and 
 Fig. 20. Knot for with the end of B make a slip-knot (C) 
 
 HOOIB W«H LARGE rQund ^ end Jj Leaye th& slip.tnot 
 
 Large Flies. open enough to pass comfortably over 
 
 the metal eye of the hook. Next, take the fly in the left 
 
HOOKS WITH LARGE EYES. 29 
 
 hand, and pull the gut end D. The knot C will then slip 
 to the eye, and, with a little assistance, will pass over it and 
 form itself into the jam knot (shown on a bare hook in 
 Fig. 19). It is made in a very few seconds, and is really 
 very simple; but I must repeat the warning that it is only 
 safe when the eye fits the gut. It should only be used on 
 flies, not on bare hooks. Quite ^in. of gut-end should be 
 left with this knot. 
 
 Mr. Hall's hooks have rather large eyes, and it is usual to put 
 the end of the gut through the eye, round the shank, and back 
 through the eye again, and then tie as shown in Fig. 20. The 
 gut is thus double just above the eye — a decided advantage ; but 
 I confess I do not like the clumsy appearance of these large 
 eyes. It is easy to thread the gut through them, and they are 
 therefore much liked by anglers whose sight is not good. As 
 the gut passes twice through the eye, I generally use this kind 
 if either the fly is large or the eye unusually large for the 
 gut. 
 
 Floating Flies. — The chief peculiarities about flies dressed 
 to float are in their having rather more hackle — cocks' hackles 
 being mostly used — than is found on wet flies; and upright, 
 divided wings, which steady the fly as it falls through the 
 air, and cause it to drop lightly, legs first. (The hackles cause 
 it to float — not the wings.) The fly is then said to cock — i.e., 
 the wings cock. I do not propose to give any directions for 
 tying these flies, but merely the dressings. Fly-tying would 
 almost necessitate a treatise by itself, and the most I have been 
 able to do is to give in Chapter IY. some diagrams showing how 
 the most simple fly — used for lake-fishing — may be tied. "When 
 the reader has mastered that, he can then teach himself to tie 
 chalk-stream flies, if he likes. But he will be foolish if, in that 
 case, he does not provide himself with Mr. Halford's " Floating 
 Flies, and How to Dress Them," which is most exhaustive, and 
 the work on the subject. My difficulty was to know what flies 
 to omit, and I took counsel with Mr. Halford, who, after con- 
 sulting with Mr. Marryat, probably the most experienced 
 chalk-stream angler living, most kindly drew up for me the 
 following list of the best twelve flies for Hampshire streams. 
 
30 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 The dressings of these flies I have taken from Mr. Halford's 
 book.* 
 
 (1) Gold-ribbed Hare's Ear.f — This is one of the earliest flies, 
 and is good everywhere, and all through the season. It is akin 
 to the Blue Dun, Blue Bloa of the North, and Blue Upright of 
 Devonshire. 
 
 (2) Dark Olive Dun.* — A very useful fly. 
 
 (3) Iron Blue.§ — Conies on in April, May, and June, and when 
 on, the trout will usually take nothing else. 
 
 (4) Medium Olive Quill.\\ — Useful fly from June onwards. 
 
 (5) Bed or Claret Quill. 51 — A capital fly at all times, 
 and particularly during the 
 
 evening rise in summer. When 
 
 puzzled what fly to put up, 
 
 try this. The illustration (Fig. 
 
 21) is from a fly tied by 
 
 Warner & Sons, of Redditch. 
 
 Nos. 1 to 10 (No. 7 excepted) 
 
 are all similar to this fly in FlG - ^ ci S D gnat CLARET 
 
 shape. 
 
 (6) Blue Quill.** — This is also a Blue Dun, and is similar to 
 the Blue Upright of Devonshire. The illustration (Fig. 22) gives 
 
 * Some of the leading London tackle-shops sell very good chalk-stream flies- 
 Among the best provincial makers are Holland, of Salisbury ; Ogden, of Chelten- 
 ham ; and Currell, of Winchester. 
 
 t Wings, medium or pale starling. Body and legs : The body is formed of dark 
 fur from a hare's face, ribbed with fine, flat gold, and the hare's fur picked out at 
 shoulder to form legs. Hook, or 00. 
 
 t Wings, dark or medium starling. Body, peacock quill, dyed an olive-green. 
 Hackle and whisk dyed a brown-olive (the exact colours are shown in " Floating 
 Flies, and How to Dress Them"). Hook, 0, 00, or 000. 
 
 § Wings, tomtit tail. Body, the strip of the quill from one of the outside small 
 feathers of a coot wing. Hackle and whisk, dark blue Andalusian. Hook, 00. 
 
 II Wings, light starling. Body, peacock quill, dyed canary colour. Hackle 
 and whisk dyed a brownish olive-green. Hook, 0, 00, or 000. 
 
 H Wings, pale or medium starling. Body, peacock-quill, dyed a warm reddish- 
 brown. Hackle and whisk, red game cock. Hook, 0, 00, or 000. Mr. H. S. Hall 
 gives me the following dressing of a Bed or Claret Quill with which he has taken 
 many fish in the evening ; Holland, of Salisbury, has the pattern : Body, peacock 
 quill, bleached, and then dyed in JudsWs light brown and a few drops of claret. 
 Wings, light starling. Legs and whisks, blood-red cock. 
 
 ** Wings, light starling. Body, peacock-quill, undyed. Hackle and whisk, pale 
 blue dun. Hook, 0, 00, or 000. 
 
FLOATING FLIES. 
 
 31 
 
 a fairly good idea of the appearance of the flies of this class. 
 It will be noticed that they are like miniature May-flies. They 
 belong to the same family. 
 
 Fig. 22. A Dun. 
 
 iffy 
 
 Fig. 23. Detached Badger. 
 
 (7) Detached Badger* — A most valuable fly, probably the best 
 imitation made of the Red Spinner, a fly which takes trout any- 
 where and everywhere, from one end of the season to the other. 
 The engraving (Fig. 23) is from a fly tied by Holland, of Salisbury. 
 
 (8) Pale Olive Qtiill.f — A variety of Olive Dun, useful through- 
 out the summer and autumn. 
 
 (9) Little Marry at. X — Mr. Marryat's imitation of the Pale 
 Watery Dun, prevalent in August, Sep- 
 tember, and October. 
 
 (10) Cinnamon Quill.§ — A useful fly 
 at the end of the season. 
 
 (11) Orange Sedge.\\ — A useful evening 
 fly in July and August. 
 
 (12) Silver Sedge.% — A most valuable 
 fly after June is past (Fig. 24). In the 
 daytime it kills well if dressed on a 
 small hook, and the brighter the day, the better it kills. 
 
 * Hackle, badger cock. Body, white horsehair, dyed a warm brownish-red, 
 worked over a foundation of doubled bristle dyed the same colour, and the body 
 ribbed with crimson tying silk. Whisk, pale cream-colour. Hook, or 00. 
 
 t Wings, palest starling. Body, quill from young starling's wing or pale condor, 
 dyed slightly in canary -co! our. Hackle and whisk very slightly dyed in a brownish 
 green-olive. Hook, 00 or 000. 
 
 t Wings, palest starling. Body, fur from the flank of the Australian opossum. 
 Hackle and whisk, pale buff Cochin cock. Hook, 00 or 000. 
 
 § Wings, pale starling. Body, the root-ends of some strands of peacock harl 
 when stripped. Hackle and whisk, pale sandy-ginger. Hook, to 000. 
 
 II Wings, landrail. Hackle, ginger cock, carried right down body. Body, brown 
 hare's ear, ribbed with fine gold wire. 
 
 IT Wings, landrail. Body, white floss silk, ribbed with fine silver wire. Hackle, 
 pale sandy-ginger cock hackle, carried right down the body. Hook, to 3. 
 
 Fig. 24. Silver Sedge. 
 The Natural Fly has 
 a flat wing. 
 
32 ANGLING FOB GAME FISH. 
 
 Late in the evening during the hot months there is hardly a 
 better fly. 
 
 To these flies I would add. the Wickham's Fancy.* It kills 
 eveiy where, and, as Francis Francis said, "it is one of the best 
 general flies ever invented." It kills as well as any fly on a 
 bright day. Nor must the Alder (see page 45) be omitted, it 
 being a killing fly from May until the end of the season. The 
 Sedges above mentioned should have naturally flat wings. Flies 
 with no wings at all float very well, for in whatever position 
 they fall, they are on their legs. I will refer to some flat- 
 winged and fancy flies for Southern streams when I come to 
 wet-fly fishing (see page 42). f 
 
 I should mention, that when the bodies of flies are detached — 
 i.e., not made on the hook-shank — they should be semi-trans- 
 parent, otherwise they have no advantage. What is wanted is a 
 hollow, detached body, which will float under any circumstances. 
 
 Casting the Fly. — In the first place, bear in mind all 
 through your fly-fishing babyhood that the rod has to do 
 far more work than the arm ; in fact, the arm, except 
 in long or peculiar casts, does very little. Begin by winding 
 ioz. of lead wire near the top of the rod; then stand with 
 elbow close to side, and, by sharp, short movements of the wrist 
 only, make the rod bend first forward and then backward. You 
 will thus learn how, aided by the weight of the line (in this 
 case represented by the lead), a very great amount of play can 
 be got out of the rod by short but sharp movements of the 
 wrist. Next, remove the lead, put a reel on the rod, and the 
 running line through the rings, and do a little preparatory 
 practice. 
 
 Having drawn about eight yards of line off the reel, get 
 it out as best you can. Then raise the rod-point a little, and 
 
 * Wings, medium or light starling. Body, flat gold, ribbed with fine gold wire. 
 Hackle, Dright red bantam cock, carried from shoulder to tail. Whisk, red cock 
 hackle. 
 
 t Mr. Alfred Jardine has lately invented some flies with fish-scale wings, which 
 are the best imitations of natural flies I have ever seen. Hardy Bros, tie them. 
 They are very different to the pike scale-winged flies brought out some time ago. I 
 have not given them an extensive trial, but I find that they will kill trout when 
 other flies fail. Of course, fish-scale wings do not last as long as feather wings, 
 but I would advise a few of these flies being kept in one's book, to be used to 
 circumvent the extra shy fish one occasionally meets with. 
 
THE OVERHEAD CAST. 33 
 
 when the rod is at an angle of about 45 deg., by a wrist 
 movement bring it sharply back on your right side. Check 
 your hand an instant as the rod points nearly straight up 
 above your head— the line will then fly out behind you. Then, 
 again using the wrist, bring the rod rapidly forward from the 
 upright to the angle of 45 deg. — avoiding anything in the 
 nature of a jerk — and check it. The line will fly out in front of 
 you, and, if not a long one, the end of it will come to the water 
 before any other part. In these quick movements of the wrist 
 the chief difficulty of fly-fishing lies, and it is not until we 
 have used a fly rod for some time that the muscles of the 
 wrist become properly developed, and we acquire the knack 
 of casting a fly well. 
 
 Give full time for the line to get out behind before making 
 the forward cast. Mr. Halford tells me that, having, for 
 the purposes of his book, had some instantaneous photographs 
 taken of a fly-fisher in the act of casting, he has discovered 
 that the Kne is not extended straight behind the angler 
 until he commences to make the forward cast. This may 
 be so as a rule, but I fancy with a heavy fly, such as is 
 used for salmon, the line must sometimes be fully extended 
 by the mere force of the backward cast. However that may 
 be, it is necessary when making the cast I have described 
 — known as the overhead cast — to pause a second or two 
 between the backward and forward casts. Otherwise, the 
 line will smack like a whip, and the fly very likely crack off. 
 The longer the line, the longer, of course, must be the pause. 
 In the overhead cast, the rod points only a trifle to the right 
 when the back cast is being made, and is almost upright when 
 the forward cast is in progress. When that cast can be 
 performed fairly well, the angler should practise sending his 
 line as high in the air as possible when making the backward 
 cast, the forward cast being made as before. This is known 
 in Hampshire as the steeple cast, and by its means a very long 
 line can be got out, and the line is not so likely to catch in 
 bushes, reeds, &c, behind the angler. 
 
 The underhand or horizontal cast is the next to be practised. 
 It is particularly useful when fishing with the dry fly. It is 
 
34 ANGLING FOE GAME FISH. 
 
 very similar to the overhead cast, the only difference being 
 that, in lien of the rod being kept for the most part upright, it 
 is held in a horizontal position, i.e., in a line with the earth. 
 The difficulty of this cast is to prevent the fly catching in 
 grass or anything catchable in the meadow behind us, and, 
 as a matter of fact, it can only be practised when the ground 
 behind is flat and clear. The underhand cast, more often 
 than not, causes the fly to cock ; and the rod, being held 
 low, is not seen by the fish. If you fail to cast lightly ? 
 aim at an imaginary point in the air, 2ft. above where you 
 wish the fly to fall. 
 
 These three casts — the overhead, the steeple, and the under- 
 hand — are most used by dry-fly fishers. They are also very 
 useful when wet-fly fishing; but before leaving the subject of 
 casting, it will not be out of place to say a word or two 
 about casts more especially useful for the wet-fly fisher. I 
 
 B 
 B- 
 
 • Fig. 25. Line followed by Rod- Fig-. 26. Bolder Curve followed 
 point in Making Overhead by Rod-point in Making Over- 
 
 Cast, head Cast. 
 
 have said that in the overhead cast a pause is necessary 
 
 between the backward and forward casts, and that the length 
 
 of this pause depends mainly on the length of the line. It 
 
 depends also, in a measure, on two other things. In the first 
 
 place, a man with a strong wrist will bring his rod up so 
 
 sharply that the line will get out behind him quicker than 
 
 it would extend behind a man with a less strong wrist. On 
 
 the rapidity with which the rod is brought back, therefore, 
 
 partly depends the length of the pause. But another point 
 
 has still to be considered. When we make the overhead cast, 
 
 the point of our rod follows a line in the air somewhat the 
 
 shape of that shown in Fig. 25, commencing at A and 
 
 ending at B. Now, there is nothing to prevent our causing 
 
 our rod-top to follow a much larger curve, such as that 
 
 shown in Fig. 26, and we can go on increasing the curve 
 
THE SPEY OK SWITCH CAST. 35 
 
 until we make the backward cast with the rod held parallel 
 
 with the earth and the forward cast over our head. In 
 
 that case, the rod follows a still bolder curve than that 
 
 shown in Fig. 26. The larger the curve the rod-point 
 
 makes in the air, the less the line goes behind the angler, and 
 
 the less occasion is there for any considerable pause between 
 
 the backward and forward casts. As a matter of fact, if the 
 
 rod-point follows the curve shown in Fig. 26, the line hardly 
 
 extends behind the angler at all. It will be seen that we have 
 
 gradually worked away from the overhead cast, until we have 
 
 arrived, in ~Fi<*. 26, at a cast of quite another character. This 
 
 partly horizontal and partly overhead cast is very commonly 
 
 used in Ireland. 
 
 There is still the switch or Spey cast, which I must mention, 
 
 because it is particularly 
 
 useful where, owing to ^_^-— ' -~^^D 
 
 trees or a high bank, the 
 
 line cannot be extended 
 
 at all behind the angler. 
 
 It was taught me by 
 
 Mr. David Wilson, the 
 
 Honorary Secretary of 
 
 the Fly -fishers' Club, 
 
 , , j, 1 , , , Fig. 27. Curve followed by Rod-point 
 
 who has fished the bpey IN spey or Switch Cast. 
 
 from boyhood, and casts 
 
 a wonderful line after that fashion. It is not a difficult 
 
 cast to understand, and I would beg of my young readers 
 
 to master it, for it is at times most useful. It is necessary, 
 
 in the first place, to fish down stream. We are looking 
 
 down the river, let us say, with a high rock behind us. 
 
 Our rod-point is rather low, pointing towards the fly, and 
 
 our line is, of course, extended down stream. Suppose, 
 
 now, our rod-point is at A (see Fig. 27); we raise it smartly, 
 
 following the curve shown, to B, when our line will be off the 
 
 water ; then we depress it again to 0, and raise it to D, by 
 
 which time the fly and a portion of the line will be touching 
 
 the water almost at our feet; then we switch the rod forward 
 
 sharply from D to E, and the line follows round in a curve, 
 
 DIV. III. E 
 
36 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 leaves the water, and rolls out down stream in front of us. 
 The progress of the rod-point from A to D must be steady, 
 and rather quick than slow ; but from D to E it can hardly be 
 too quick. 
 
 An extra long cast can be made in the following manner: 
 Get out as much line as you can by making the steeple cast, 
 then pull about 2yds. of line off the reel, hold the rod in 
 the right hand, and the loose line about a yard from the first 
 ring in the left hand. Then cast, and just before you check 
 the rod at the end of the forward cast, let go the line which 
 you hold in your left hand. The spare line will then, if you 
 manage well, shoot out through the rings. Before making the 
 second cast, this extra line must be gathered in. This method 
 is one which I frequently practise myself, not only because it 
 enables me to get out a long line, but because the fly never 
 falls lighter than when the line is shot out in the manner de- 
 scribed. It cannot be practised with a very light line, or one 
 of silk and hair. 
 
 The angler, having acquired some proficiency in casting from 
 his right side, should next practise casting from his left side, 
 still holding his rod in his right hand; and if he can bring 
 himself to cast well with the left hand, he will find his accom- 
 plishment most useful. 
 
 Playing and Landing the Fish. — Immediately you have 
 struck a trout, if he goes off with a burst, let him make his 
 first run unhampered by anything more than the check on the 
 reel, and see that everything runs clear, for any sudden stoppage 
 would cause a break. If the trout makes for the opposite bank, 
 stand still ; if he swims up stream, walk up stream ; if down, 
 walk down stream ; nay, run, if he is going very fast, and seems 
 likely to take out much line. If he is a big fish and leaps, lower 
 the point of your rod a little, but otherwise keep the point well 
 up — almost perpendicular. Immediately that first run ceases, 
 walk quickly down stream, and reel up as fast as the fish will 
 let you. Play him carefully according to circumstances, keeping 
 an even pressure on his head — never so hard as to pull him, 
 kicking, to the surface, nor so slight that the line slackens. 
 As soon as the trout seems exhausted, coax him over the landing 
 
CASTING OVER RISING FISH. 37 
 
 net. In fishing weedy streams, the one thing to do is to take 
 the fish down stream over the weeds as sharply as the tackle 
 will bear. If a fish is hooked in a little hole surrounded by 
 weeds, try what impudence will do, i.e., try and pull him out of 
 his lair, willy, nilly, before he knows he is hooked. When playing 
 a fish, always keep below him, if you can. 
 
 Never put a landing-net in front of a trout's nose, but sink 
 the net in the water, and draw tbe fish gently over it. If the 
 stream is strong, place the net behind the fish, and let the 
 current carry him in. If you have no net, play the fish to 
 some shallow, shelving bank, and strand him. If no such spot 
 is near, the only thing to do is to play him until he is thoroughly 
 exhausted, and lift him out, grasping him firmly over the gills. 
 I have before now landed a fish in my creel, and once a luncheon 
 hamper was made to do duty for a landing-net. 
 
 Fishing with the Floating Fly.— First of all, find a 
 fish feeding on flies — not a chance riser, but a fish which has 
 come to the surface to have a meal, and is putting up his 
 nose every minute or so to seize the flies which float over 
 him. Meanwhile, note the flies on the water. If you are in 
 Hampshire, the majority of flies will, as likely as not, be duns. 
 Note their size and colour, and attach as near an imitation as 
 you have to the end of your cast (see page 30). Then test 
 your cast. Having found a fish, if he is above you, walk 
 stealthily within casting distance, keeping as far below him as 
 you can. Keep as low as possible. Kneel down, pull some line 
 off the reel, note exactly the spot where he rises, and, after one 
 or two false casts, to get the line out and measure the distance, 
 cast your fly with the greatest care about 3ft. in front of 
 him* Then let the fly float, without the least drag, exactly over 
 the nose of the fish, just as the natural insect would do. If 
 your line is well greased,f you can, supposing you have not risen 
 the trout, at once make a second cast, as the fly will not yet 
 be wet; but if the line is not greased, it will sink, and, in 
 
 * The faster the stream, the farther should the fly be cast above the flsh. Some- 
 times a trout which has ignored a fly drifted over him will rise to one cast so that 
 it fall exactly over him. 
 
 t Red deer's kidney suet is much used for the purpose. Mutton kidney suet is 
 about as good. 
 
 E 2 
 
38 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 withdrawing it for a fresh cast, the fly will be drawn through 
 the water, and be thoroughly soaked. Hence, greasing the line 
 (take care no grease gets on the gut) saves a very great deal 
 of labour in drying the fly. When the fly is once wet, it 
 must be waved backwards and forwards in the air until 
 sufficiently dry to float. When it is thoroughly soaked, let it 
 dry in or on your cap, and put up a fresh fly. 
 
 This method of fishing is usually practised up or across the 
 stream, but it sometimes happens that the angler is absolutely 
 obliged to let his fly drift down stream over a feeding fish — this 
 is termed drifting. 
 
 If the fish refuses the fly, try him again, unless you have put 
 him down — i.e., have caused him to cease feeding. If after 
 four trials, in each of which your fly has passed over him, he 
 still feeds and still refuses, stop fishing for four or five minutes, 
 and in the meantime put up another fly; and my advice is, so 
 long as that fish feeds (provided you are certain he is feeding 
 on flies) continue to fish for him, and in the long run you will 
 have him. Some fly-fishermen would say, "Give the fish a 
 rest"; but I have always noticed that it is the men who per- 
 sistently stick at rising fish who catch the most trout. 
 
 When the fish takes the fly, strike, but not too hard, and play 
 him in the manner already described. It is, perhaps, as well, 
 especially for a beginner, not to touch the line when striking, 
 but to strike, as it is termed, from the reel. 
 
 The dry-fly fisherman is, nautically speaking, on his beam 
 ends when the fish are bulging, i.e., swimming about after the 
 larvae of flies ; or smutting, i.e., feeding on very small black 
 smutty- looking flies, when they usually refuse the artificial fly 
 altogether; or tailing, i.e., rising with their tails only, their 
 heads being either buried in the weeds in search of larva?, water 
 shrimps, &c, or at work on the bottom ; and generally when the 
 trout are not taking the natural fly from the surface of the water. 
 
 The points to which the beginner in dry-fly fishing should 
 give particular attention are : Not allowing the trout to have the 
 least inkling of his presence ; keeping well below the fish ; greasing 
 the line ; accurate casting ; using as good an imitation as possible 
 of the fly on the water; the use of the horizontal or underhand 
 
A GOOD WET MAY-FLY. 39 
 
 cast ; cocking the fly ; not allowing the fly to drag ;* striking from 
 the reel ; and playing the fish down stream. A fact worth re- 
 membering is that when the sun is low the shadows are long. 
 
 The May-fly Season. — In favourable seasons May-flies 
 (Fig. 28) appear in incredible quantities. They come not from 
 caddis, as is very commonly believed, but from larvae not very 
 unlike the larvae of the Stone-fly. They can easily be found by 
 digging in sandy mud by the river any warm day in spring and 
 summer ; and I need hardly say that, fished in the same manner 
 as the Creeper (see Chapter III.), they are an equally deadly bait. 
 In the North Country the Stone-fly is often called the May-fly. 
 
 On Hampshire streams the May-fly usually appears between 
 the 4th and 10th of June. If 
 the weather is very hot, the flies 
 hatch out in myriads, and the 
 May-fly season is a short and a 
 bad one; for the trout have so 
 many natural flies to feed on 
 that they choose only those that 
 take their fancy (usually not 
 yours), and soon get glutted with 
 flies. If, on the other hand, the 
 flies hatch out fairly slowly, and FlG- ^ Green Drake> or May . fly . 
 the weather is dull, with occa- 
 sional showers, most extraordinary sport may be had with the 
 trout. As a rule, the season lasts from ten to twenty days. 
 
 For a few days before any May-fly are visible a slight hatch 
 commences under water, and the trout seize all the flies before 
 they come to the surface. Trout will then often take the 
 artificial fly fished wet. I do not know a better pattern for the 
 purpose than that shown in Fig. 29. I had it carefully dressed 
 to my own ideasf by Warner & Sons, and partly based 
 
 * This is an axiom devoutly believed in by Hampshire dry -fly fishers, but I have 
 frequently known trout, which ignored a dry fly drifted without drag several times 
 over them, rise boldly when a quivering motion was given to the rod, and the fly 
 seemed to struggle on the water. 
 
 t Straw body ribbed with gold twist and painted with one coat of French polish. 
 Tail, two whisks of brown mallard. Legs, speckled Florican hackle, over a turn of 
 pale ginger hackle. Wings, four hackle tips — two long and two short — from a 
 blue Andalusian cock, dyed a yellowish-green by being dipped in onion dye. 
 
40 
 
 ANGLING FOE GAME FISH. 
 
 Fig. 29. 
 
 The Author's (Wet) 
 May-fly. 
 
 the dressing on the Francis pattern. This fly kills while the 
 Green Drake — as the May-fly in its first stage is called — is up. 
 The Green Drake sheds its skin, and 
 turns into what is known as the 
 Grey Drake, the males being smaller 
 and dai-ker than the females. When 
 the Grey Drake is on, my fly is not 
 of much use. Another most excel- 
 lent wet fly is sold by Ogden, of 
 Cheltenham, which, though unlike 
 the natural fly, is very deadly 
 whenever the trout will take the 
 wet fly. 
 
 For dry-fly fishing the fly must 
 have wings of quite another shape, 
 as will be seen by the engraving 
 (Fig. 30) of a fly designed by Colonel 
 Clark.* It is one of the best May-flies made, so far as my 
 experience goes, and is peculiar in having the wings placed 
 over the bend of the hook, the point of which is hidden 
 in the hackles. I find the 
 "Clark" fly is soon de- , , 
 
 stroyed, but it rises fish well; J^fflBSk 
 
 it lasts longest if tied with 
 Egyptian goose- wings. The 
 "Champion," designed by 
 Hammond, of Winchester, 
 is another good floating 
 fly. There is a pecu- 
 liarly dressed fly, tied by 
 Gowland, of Crooked Lane, 
 which cannot help floating, 
 owing to the way the wings 
 are placed (1, Fig. 31). It is not very much like the natural 
 fly, but Mr. G. F. Rogers, a member of the Fly-fishers' Club, 
 is, to my knowledge, successful with it, but tells me that his 
 
 Fig. 30. Clark's May-fly. 
 
 Sold by Farlow & Co. 
 
HOOKS FOR MAY-FLIES. 
 
 41 
 
 favourite fly is one tied on a small hook, by Holroyd, of 
 Gracechurch Street (2, Fig. 31).* 
 
 Fig. 31. (1) Gowland's May-fly ; (2) Holroyd's May-fly. 
 
 It is all-important to have a good hook for May-flies. It 
 
 must be long in the shank, 
 light in the wire, and beauti- 
 fully tempered, for it has to 
 float, and must hold the fish. 
 The Pennell hooks are good 
 for May-flies, and I can also 
 recommend for the purpose 
 some patent eyed hooks made 
 by "Warner & Sons, which 
 have capital eyes (see Chapter 
 IX.). 
 
 When the Grey Drake has 
 shed her eggs, she quickly dies, 
 and floats down the river with 
 wings outspread, and is known 
 
 as the Spent Gnat (Fig. 32). 
 Fig. 32. Spent Gnat. m , , „ 
 
 The wet fly is now on many 
 
 waters much more useful than the dry fly. The very best 
 
 * The following is a good dressing for floating May -flies : Body, straw, ribbed 
 with brownish-red silk. Bun a small red cock's hackle down the body (to help the 
 floating). Wings, Egyptian goose (very durable) or Canadian wood duck dyed a 
 pale green. Legs, speckled Florican hackle. Tail, three whisks of brown mallard. 
 The Grey Drake is little used, except as a Spent Gnat with wings outspread. A 
 good dressing is similar to that given for the Spent Gnat, but with undyed Canadian 
 wood duck wings, in lieu of the Andalusian cock hackles. 
 
42 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 Spent Gnat made is pattern B* in Mr. Halford's " Floating 
 Flies, and How to Dress Them." It can be fished either wet 
 or dry. Spent Gnats are sometimes tied with the hook lying 
 flat with the wings. This is a great mistake : the hook should 
 swim in the usual manner, and not on its side, when the wings 
 are extended on the water. 
 
 As regards the use of the dry May-fly, I have little to add 
 to the remarks on pages 37 and 38. It is well to have a 
 good supply of artificials, so that as soon as a fly gets wet it 
 can be taken off, stuck in one's cap to dry, and another 
 put in its place. In bright, hot weather the fly should be 
 dressed rather small. On some days the fish prefer a fly which 
 is half sunk to one wholly wet or dry. When the wet fly 
 fails, try the dry; when that fails, try the semi-dry. When 
 few or no fish are rising, try the wet fly well sunk and drawn 
 slowly. If that does not succeed, cast a dry fly at the end 
 of a long line on to the river and let it drift down stream, 
 under your own or the opposite bank, and walk after it. 
 
 After all the May-flies have disappeared, go on using the 
 wet fly — Spent Gnat for preference — for a week or ten days, 
 and you may be rewarded. When the trout will not look at 
 the artificial May-fly, try an Alder or a Red Spinner, and, fail- 
 ing that, a Silver Sedge. 
 
 "Wet-fly Fishing is, in its way, quite as scientific as using 
 the floating fly. In the first place, it requires a more thorough 
 knowledge of the haunts of the fish. Then, again, as trout 
 often take a fly under water very quietly and without breaking 
 the surface, it is frequently a most difficult matter to detect 
 the rises. It is, I am certain, no uncommon thing for chalk- 
 stream trout to take a sunk fly and reject it without the angler 
 being any the wiser. In moorland streams, where the current 
 is swift and the fish are rather underfed than otherwise, 
 the fish dash at a fly and a pluck is felt; but there is no 
 way by which an angler can tell if a well-fed chalk-stream trout 
 
 * It is dressed thus: Wings, four blue Andalusian cock hackles, set on flat. 
 Head, bronze peacock harl. Shoulder hackle, grey partridge. Bibbing hackle, 
 badger cock. Body, white floss silk, ribbed with an unstripped strand of peacock, 
 which is cinnamon-coloured at root, and dark at point, the dark portion being 
 worked at the tail end. Whisk, brown mallard. 
 
NORTH-COUNTRY FLIES ON CHALK STREAMS. 43 
 
 slowly sucks the fly into its mouth and rejects it. Of course, 
 if the stream is fairly rapid, an observer will notice that his 
 line is checked slightly, but in a slow-flowing stream this 
 check is hardly noticeable. 
 
 The wet fly is most useful in the daytime where there is a 
 ripple on the water either from wind or from the rapidity 
 of the stream, or some obstruction, such as a lump of 
 weed or an old pile. It is particularly killing late in the 
 evening during the hot months, or where the water is 
 slightly coloured. Fish will also take it well if it is 
 cast right under the bank, close to the sedge. Indeed, I 
 know no more killing method of using it on chalk streams 
 than to walk up the left side of the river, and cast, 
 with not too long a line, under your own bank : of course, 
 if you can cast with your left hand, or from your left 
 shoulder, you can do the same on the opposite side of the 
 river. The fly should be allowed to drift back a yard or so 
 towards you, the rod-point being meanwhile gradually lifted. 
 
 With regard to working the wet fly, perhaps, as a general 
 rule, it is best to let it drift, without dragging it in the least. 
 But there are days when the fish seem to want attracting, 
 and then you may draw your fly gently across the stream. 
 When drawing the fly, you will feel, if you do not see, every 
 rise you have — no small advantage. On rather rough, wet 
 days, a large fly, worked in jerks along the top of the water, 
 will often rise fish when everything else fails. It is a capital 
 plan, when casting up stream under your own bank in the 
 manner described, to just dibble the fly towards you, by giving 
 a slight trembling motion to the rod. When fishing after 
 dusk, the fly should be cast out, and drawn slowly towards the 
 angler. 
 
 On chalk streams the angler will sometimes find that the 
 sparsely dressed hackle flies of the North Country, described 
 in the next chapter, will kill as well as, or even better than, 
 the more artistic imitations of Hampshire dressers. Never 
 use more than one fly on a chalk stream, for you may 
 hook large fish, and if the second fly catches in anything, as 
 it probably will, the result will be disastrous. Whether the 
 
44 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 fly should be dressed on eyed hooks or on gut, is not 
 veiy material. Flies on eyed hooks last the longest, but 
 I am inclined to think, though 1 always use eyed 
 hooks myself, that the eye on the book, when the fly is 
 drawn through the water, may cause a slight disturbance 
 in the water. 
 
 The flies already mentioned will kill used wet, in their 
 respective seasons, but the upright wings are a decided 
 disadvantage, causing a commotion in the water if the fly is 
 drawn. In some patterns the wings can be omitted in favour 
 of extra hackles. Generally speaking, use bright flies on 
 bright days, and dark flies on dark days; on rough days 
 larger flies than on calm days; and late in the evening 
 larger flies than during the day. In 
 early spring the trout are greedy, and 
 seem to prefer a larger fly than later 
 on. Of course, if you only copy the 
 fly that is on the water, you may 
 throw these rules to the winds; but 
 when there is no fly, or you fail to 
 rise fish with your imitation, re- 
 Fig. 33. The March member what I have said. 
 
 In those southern streams where wet- 
 fly fishing is useful, I generally begin in the spring with a 
 large March Brown* (see Fig. 33), or a Hare's-ear (see page 30). 
 The March Brown is a common fly north of the Trent, where 
 it is called the Brown Drake, and in Wales, where it goes by 
 the name of the ■Cob-fly ; but it is little seen in southern 
 England. However, it kills well early in the year, and what 
 more is wanted? Possibly the fish take it for the larva 
 of some fly. Dressed very small, it often kills well in the 
 summer. 
 
 Later in the spring I use a smaller March Brown, the Hare's- 
 ear, the Red Spinner (very similar to the Red Quill Gnat, but 
 has a brownish-red silk body, ribbed with fine gold twist; a 
 
 * Body, Hare's-ear, ribbed with gold. Legs, hackle from partridge's back. Tail, 
 two strands of same. Wing, dark mottled feather from cock pheasant's wing. For 
 the female March Brown, mix olive fur with the Hare's-ear body, and make the 
 wing lighter— a mottled woo lcock feather. 
 
CHALK-STREAM WET FLIES. 
 
 45 
 
 splendid fly all through the season), and in May the Alder,* a 
 very king among flies (see page 32). The one illustrated 
 
 Natural. Artificial. 
 
 Fig. 34. The Alder. 
 
 (Fig. 34) was tied by Holland. Never be without a few- 
 Alders in your book, tied in several sizes, some as large as the 
 
 Fig. 35. Palmers. 
 March Brown in Fig. 33, and others almost as small as the Red 
 Quill Gnat in Fig. 21. Early in June comes the May -fly. While 
 it is on, the artificial Drakes should, of course, 
 be used, but the Alder will sometimes kill well. 
 After the May-fly is over, I place the 
 greatest reliance on Silver Sedges, large and 
 small, Cinnamon Sedges, Alders, Palmers 
 (merely peacock harl body, with hackle 
 brown or black from one end to the other — 
 see Fig. 35), and Governorsf (Fig. 36), large FlG ^ The 
 
 and small. During ordinary summer weather, Governor. 
 
 little fishing will be had in the daytime, the trout only 
 beginning to rise about sunset, when Sedges and other even- 
 
 * Body, bronze peacock harl, which to get exactly the right colour should be 
 covered with thin indiarubber. Legs, very dark brown hackles (rusty-red or black 
 hackles are often used). Wing, hen pheasant tail, or bustard, flatter to body than 
 in engraving for wet-fly fishing. 
 
 t Wings, woodcock, flatter than in engraving for wet-fly fishing. Hackle, ginger 
 cock. Tag, primrose floss silk. Body, copper-coloured peacock harl. 
 
46 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 ing flies come out. Long after dark they will take a fly, which 
 may be a very large Coachman, Sedge, or White Moth. The 
 Coachman is similar to the Governor, but has white wings and 
 no tag. It was invented by a noted "whip." I use compara- 
 tively few flies, but those who like a more extended list will 
 find Ronald's in a foot-note.* 
 
 Do not pay any attention to the dry-fly fishers who sneer 
 at wet-fly fishing, or at the wet-fly fishers who ridicule dry-fly 
 fishing. Learn both methods, and practise them as seemeth 
 you best. If trout, instead of taking the floating fly, try to 
 drown it, fish wet, and oblige them. Generally speaking, the 
 wet fly, except at night, is of little use on well-fished club waters, 
 where the trout are extraordinarily shy and wary, but it often 
 kills better than the dry fly on 
 private waters. In wet-fly fishing, 
 there is no object in greasing the 
 line. 
 
 Of late years, some of the salmon- 
 fishers' methods have been applied to 
 fly-fishing for chalk-stream and other 
 
 large trout. Small Silver Doctors, 
 Fig. 37. Ogden's Alexandra. „., ° _ , ^ ,,.., . 
 
 Silver Greys, and Dusty Millers have 
 
 (see Chapter IX.) been used, especially early in the season, with 
 
 great effect; but the fly which has proved most deadly — so 
 
 deadly that it is very properly barred on many waters — is the 
 
 Alexandra. It is dressed in various ways, and is supposed to 
 
 imitate a minnow. The one engraved in Fig. 37 was dressed 
 
 by Ogden, of Cheltenham.f It is a killing pattern. 
 
 * March.— Red Fly, Cock Wing, Early Red Spinner, Water Cricket, Great Dark 
 Drone, Cowdung, Peacock Fly, March Brown, Great Red Spinner. April.— Golden 
 Dun Midge, Sand Fly, Stone Fly, Gravel Bed, Grannom, Yellow Dun, Iron-blue 
 Dun, Jenny Spinner, Hawthorn. May.— Little Yellow May, Black Gnat, Oak Fly, 
 Turkey Brown, Little Dark Spinner, Yellow Sally, Sky Blue, Fern Fly, Alder. 
 June.— Green Drake, Grey Drake, Orange Dun, Coch-y-bondu, Dark Mackerel. 
 July.— Pale Evening Dun, July Dun, Gold-eyed Gauze Wing, Wren Tail, Red Ant, 
 Silver Horns. August.— August Dun, Orange Fly, Cinnamon. September.— Blue- 
 bottle, Whirling Blue Dun, Willow Fly. 
 
 t Wings, peacock harl, with a few, fibres of mallard and red feather (flamingo for 
 preference). Body, silver twist. Legs, a little black hackle. Tail, peacock harl, 
 and a few fibres of flamingo. It is a capital pattern. Another good pattern has 
 a littlejungle cock and dark mallard in the wing besides the harl, and harl for 
 legs. Indeed, the fly can be varied in many ways, and will kill well, provided the 
 body is either silver or peacock harl ribbed with silver, and there is some harl 
 in the wings. 
 
METHODS LESS RESPECTABLE. 47 
 
 These flies, if flies they may be called, are cast and allowed 
 to sink, unless the water is shallow, and drawn slowly. Some- 
 times the trout take them best when they are worked fast 
 in jerks, and occasionally it happens that drawing them 
 quickly along the top of the water gives the best results. 
 
 Blow-line Fishing, with the natural fly, is not so much 
 practised on chalk streams as formerly, owing, I expect, to 
 the improvement in the manufacture of artificial May-flies. 
 The rod and tackle for this method of fishing come more 
 appropriately in the chapter on Lake Trout, and will be found 
 described in Chapter IV. ; but in lieu of drifting in a boat, and 
 allowing the fly to be blown along the surface of the water, 
 the angler merely uses the wind to waft his fly over the 
 water. When it has gone far enough out, his best plan usually 
 is to let it fall on the water and drift where the stream may 
 take it. Or he may endeavour to drop the fly just in front of 
 a rising fish. On chalk streams this method is rarely practised, 
 except with the May-fly, though any fly which may be on the 
 water will do as well. Dibbing or dapping the fly, described in 
 the following chapter, will also take chalk-stream trout. 
 
 Minnow Fishing, though very deadly, is hardly ever practised 
 in chalk streams, except in some deep pool or hatch hole, where 
 the trout do not often rise to a fly, or for the purpose of catch- 
 ing some aged and ravenous old fish which is as destructive to 
 its kind as a pike. Any of the minnow tackles described in 
 the following chapter may be used with advantage, the drop- 
 minnow tackle (see Chapter III.) being particularly deadly in 
 hatch holes. The angler must, of course, fish fine, keep as 
 much out of sight as possible, and cast across, and rather up 
 than down stream. A large minnow will be taken greedily in 
 early spring, but in summer a small one is better. Fishing with 
 live bait — minnows or other small fish — is described in the 
 chapter on Thames trout fishing. 
 
 Worm Fishing in chalk streams is but little practised, the 
 fish giving so much better sport with the fly. So far as I 
 know — and my worming experiences on chalk streams are very 
 limited — the larger the worm, the more certain it is to take 
 
48 
 
 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 fish. The worm may be cast out, and allowed to lie on the 
 bottom, three or four shot on the gut, 1ft. above the hook, 
 keeping it in its place. I have no doubt that the up-stream 
 worm-fishing described in the following Chapter might be 
 practised with success. A good many anglers may be 
 surprised to learn that paste is sometimes a better bait 
 than worms in chalk streams. Wasp grubs are deadly, so 
 are caddis baits and gentles. 
 
 I strongly advise every would-be fly-fisher to study the follow- 
 ing chapter as well as this; and, should his lines be laid in a 
 chalk-stream district, to read Mr. Halford's " Dry-Fly Fishing 
 in Theory and Practice." In the event of his becoming 
 interested in the vagaries of insect life, he may also study 
 Ronald's "Fly-Fisher's Entomology" with advantage, but should 
 not copy the artificial flies therein. 
 
 -►^♦^i. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 MOORLAND TROUT. 
 
 Habits and Haunts — Rod and Tackle for Fly-fishing — Some 
 Useful Flies — Casting the Fly — Playing the Fish — Dibbing 
 or Dapping the Natural Fly — Worm-fishing in Clear and 
 Coloured Water — Spinning the Minnow — Artificial Spin- 
 ning Baits — Trolling-Snap Tackle. 
 
 tIB&EAyiNG the quiet-flowing streams of the low-lying 
 S JH lands, with their fat, lusty trout, which have so 
 severely tested our patience and skill, let us journey to the 
 country of moorland and mountain, and wet our lines in 
 rivers of quite another character. Rocks now take the place 
 of weeds; in lieu of mills we have waterfalls; and almost 
 everywhere is quick-running water, now rippling over a 
 gravelly bottom, anon foaming among big boulders, or 
 dashing down some rocky gorge. Such streams as these we 
 find principally in the north of Scotland, and the mountainous 
 parts of Ireland and Wales, in Derbyshire, and on the moor- 
 lands of Yorkshire and Devon. 
 
 The trout in so many of these streams as are unpolluted 
 by mines or manufactories multiply rapidly, but rarely average 
 over §lb. Five to the pound is not an uncommon average. 
 A few fish, however, may reach the comparatively enormous 
 weight of 21b., and are as harmful in the stream as pike. 
 
50 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 Spawning takes place early in the winter, and fly-fishing 
 begins in March, or even February, which latter month is 
 far too early, in my opinion. After spawning, the fish retire 
 to quiet portions of the river until they are strong enough 
 to take up their position in the fast-running water. About 
 March they may be looked for in every spot where their 
 food is likely to be swept by the current. They then spread 
 over the rippling, gravelly shallows, where the water is 1ft. 
 or more in depth, and in almost every eddy behind a rock 
 there will be a trout. They will also be found in the eddying 
 water on each side of the current rushing into the large 
 pools, and on the shallows at the tails of such pools. In 
 narrow runs between rocks there is usually a trout, and 
 wherever trees overhang the river there are almost certain 
 to be some good fish. If there should happen to be a long, 
 deep, still reach of the river, there will probably be plenty 
 of fish in it ; but such places are not worth fishing, unless 
 ruffled by the wind — and no wind, I may remark, is so good 
 as one blowing up stream. Of course, a dry fly may be 
 used on the calm surface of such a pool ; but is it worth 
 while to devote ten minutes to manoeuvring a dry fly for 
 the sake of a trout weighing Jib. ? The large fish, which 
 might be worth the trouble, do not often rise to a fly in 
 these streams, and, in fact, usually feed at night. In the 
 few rather exceptional mountain or moorland rivers where 
 the trout run a fair size, the dry fly should always be tried 
 if the wet fly fails ; but, generally speaking, it is far too slow 
 and tedious a method for fishing rapid streams, in which 
 the angler who has the most success is the one who, other 
 things being equal, covers most water. 
 
 The Rod for this sort of fishing should, in my opinion, 
 be of greenheart or split cane, light, single-handed, and 
 not too stiff ; but it must strike sharply from the point, 
 and be on no account whippy, or many rises will be missed. 
 The objection to a stiff rod is that, when fishing a sharp 
 stream with fine tackle, there is so much resistance when 
 the trout takes the fly that the cast is very apt to 
 break. I do not agree with the anglers who advocate 
 
THE "RED-SPINNER" FLY-ROD. 
 
 51 
 
 double-handed rods for small trout. The idea 
 is offensive to one's ideas of proportion, and 
 with the heavy lines mentioned on page 20 
 sufficiently long casts can nearly always be 
 made. In the previous chapter is an engraving 
 of my favourite rod for fly-fishing generally. 
 For small trout in particular, there is nothing 
 better than a light rod, in two pieces, such as 
 the one in Fig. 38, which was engraved from a 
 capital little rod made by Hardy Bros., whose 
 split-cane rods are well known. The reader 
 should note the remarks on the care of rods 
 on page 18.* The best rod-bags are made of 
 a stuff called brown swansdown. 
 
 The Line and Reel. — As to these, I have 
 little to add to what is stated on pages 18 to 
 21. As the rod for fishing in rapid streams 
 is usually lighter than that used in chalk 
 streams, the line and reel must be proportion- 
 ately less heavy ; 35yds. of running line is usually 
 sufficient. The lightest reels are made of 
 aluminium, but these are very expensive. Those 
 made of vulcanite and metal are very good, 
 and not too costly. The check should be light. 
 
 Gnt and Knots have been described at length 
 on pages 21-23 and 27-28. For small trout, the 
 finest drawn gut should be used at the end of 
 the cast. The blue-ink stain is a good one, but 
 when fishing in peat-stained water I like my 
 
 * Highly-varnished rods with bright fittings are very ob- 
 jectionable. The more quiet and sober are the colours of the 
 angler's rod, dress, and impedimenta generally, the more fish 
 he is likely to catch. At the suggestion of Mr. Senior, Hardy 
 Bros, have brought out a rod called the " Red Spinner, which 
 is covered with a dull green enamel or paint, and does not flash 
 in the sunlight. This rod has a telescopic handle, and can be 
 lengthened 18in. or more in a few seconds. White lead, boiled 
 oil, and a little lampblack, make a good colour for painting 
 rods. As the mixture dries with a shiny surface, it should, 
 when hard, be rubbed down with a little fine sand-paper. 
 DIV. III. F 
 
52 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 gut stained brown, a colour easily obtained by means of 
 brown ink or coffee lees. 
 
 On moorland streams it is usual to fish with more than 
 one fly. In Scotland, as many as four are often used — some- 
 times six or eight, and even nine in loop-rod fishing — i.e., fishing 
 with no running tackle, the Line being fastened to a loop at 
 the end of the rod. I prefer two, and very often, particularly 
 when the water is low and bright, have the best sport with 
 a single fly, which can be cast into nooks and corners which, 
 were more flies on the line, would have to be left unfished. 
 Besides, three flies fall on to the water with treble the splash 
 of one fly, and, unless the water is rough, the splash frightens 
 the trout. In a big, broad, swift stream, when the water is 
 a little coloured, there may be some advantage in using a 
 number of flies; but in small streams I would strongly advise 
 my readers to be content with two — three at the outside. 
 There is great virtue in a dropper, or bob-fly, for, as the cast 
 is drawn across the water, one of the droppers can be made 
 to trip along the surface in a very attractive manner, and, 
 unless the trout are feeding under water — in which case they 
 will take the tail-fly, or stretcher — the drop flies will kill 
 most fish. Mr. Senior, recognising the occasional advantage 
 of using only one fly, and also the superiority of droppers 
 over the tail-fly, very ingeniously made up a cast bearing one 
 dropper and no tail-fly, and with it met with much success. 
 Some anglers use horsehair for their casts. My advice is, 
 Don't. The finest drawn gut is less thick, and double the 
 strength. The advantages of horsehair are that it does not 
 fray, and is elastic. At the same time, if you are in an out- 
 of-the-way district, and have used up all your fine casts, do 
 not forget that a very good substitute can be made from 
 the nearest horse's tail. The strongest hair comes from the 
 tails of young stallions. 
 
 There are several knots used for fastening droppers on to 
 the line. The easiest, laziest, most clumsy, and most generally 
 used knot is that marked A in Fig. 39. The flies are easily 
 changed if this knot is used. As the dropper can revolve 
 round the line, the cast is apt to get worn by the gut of the 
 
KNOTS FOE DROPPERS OR BOB-FLIES. 
 
 53 
 
 dropper ; so, when making up your cast, it is as well to let a 
 piece of gut project from one of the knots for ahout tfin., and 
 so have a double piece of gut on which to loop the dropper. 
 The second knot (B) is easily made. First of all, make a knot 
 
 Fig. 39. Knots for Fastening Droppers to Cast. 
 
 at the end of the dropper. Tie the gut of dropper once round 
 line, and then make a half-hitch, as shown in the illustration. 
 
 The third knot (C) explains itself. It is exceedingly neat, 
 but necessitates breaking the trace every time a fly is changed. 
 
 To make the fourth knot (D), break your cast at a knot. Tie 
 
 f2 
 
54 ANGLING FOE GAME FI8H. 
 
 the ends together with the fisherman's knot, but do not pull them 
 tight, and leave &in. gut projecting on each side. Then put 
 the gut of the dropper (at the end of which previously make a 
 knot to prevent it slipping) in the middle of the fisherman's 
 knot, and pull the latter tight. To change the fly, pull the 
 knot apart by means of the two short ends. On page 80 a 
 most excellent knot is given, but it is not suited for the 
 finest tackle. Always endeavour to tie on the dropper flies so 
 that they do not swim on their back. 
 
 Dropper flies on hooks with the large eyes (eyed hooks and 
 their knots are discussed on pages 27, 28) are very apt to get 
 twisted round the cast ; but not so the hooks with small eyes. 
 The very small North-country flies certainly look neatest if tied 
 on hooks bound to gut, but about the same number of fish will be 
 caught whether eyed hooks are used or not. The gut of the 
 dropper fly is often too long; 3^ in. is quite long enough. If 
 three flies are used, they should be put at intervals of a yard. 
 If only two are used, the dropper should be lAyd. from the tail- 
 fly. Droppers should not be tied on very fine gut, or they 
 foul the gut collar. 
 
 The Basket or Bag required for moorland-fishing need 
 not be large. It should be light, and will be all the better for 
 having two compartments — one for fish, the other for lunch and 
 tackle. A small edition of my basket illustrated on page 25 
 can hardly be improved upon; but if a seat-basket is not 
 required, I consider Kirker's patent creel, which is lined with 
 enamelled zinc, by far the best thing to have. 
 
 A Landing-net is a thing I rarely encumber myself with 
 when fishing for small trout ; -but, of course, it is wiser to carry 
 one. A capital net and sling is illustrated on page 25, but a 
 much smaller and lighter affair will answer the purpose. For 
 instance, the net may be on a light wooden or whalebone bow, 
 lashed on to an 18in. bamboo handle, which can be stuck in one's 
 waders. If there is a knuckle-joint between the bow and the 
 handle, the affair will hang on the landing-net strap in a handy 
 manner. Sometimes I have carried merely the bow of my Hi 
 Regan net attached by a loop to my buttonhole, and found it 
 
NORTH-COUNTKY FLIES. 55 
 
 quite enough. Corpulent people require a long handle to their 
 landing-nets. This seriously. 
 
 Waders, which are very useful, I have already referred to 
 on page 26; the remarks on the subject in Chapter IX. 
 should be noted. See that the material is not too thin, if 
 you have to wade in very cold water. Long, indiarubber boots 
 are not to be recommended for rough wear. 
 
 Flies for Moorland Streams. — Almost any of the flies 
 described in the last chapter will kill, if not dressed too large ; 
 and the angler will never go wrong if he imitates as nearly as 
 possible in size and colour the fly on the water. Unfortunately, 
 it happens more often than not that there is no fly to be seen on 
 moorland streams. Notwithstanding tbis calamitous state of 
 affairs, anglers have devised little arrangements of fur and 
 feather which kill well, worked wet, whether the natural fly is on 
 the water or not. I may mention particularly the spider-flies 
 of Northern England. In Yorkshire, and in some parts of 
 Scotland, the trout seem to like flies with little hackle and less 
 body. Probably, many of the North-country flies, which are 
 usually worked just below the surface, are taken by the fish for 
 water insects, strange or familiar. As I have a considerable 
 opinion of the killing powers of these flies, I asked two well- 
 known Yorkshire anglers — Mr. T. E. Pritt, Author of " North 
 Country Trout Flies," and Mr. Francis Walbran, Editor of 
 Theakston's " British Angling Flies " — to give me their opinion 
 as to which are the best killers. Both Mr. Pritt and Mr. 
 Walbran were most kind, and not only sent me a list, but 
 patterns as well. Mr. Pritt gave me three casts (one for 
 each season) : — For early spring (from March to end of April), 
 Broughton's Point* (tail fly), a splendid killer anywhere ; Water- 
 hen Bloa;f Woodcock;! and Dark Snipe,§ which, says Mr. 
 Pritt, is "out and out the best spring fly at any time." 
 
 • Wings, from a starling's quill. Body, dark blue silk. Legs, a black hackle, 
 with a few red strands interspersed. 
 
 t Body of yellow silk, dubbed with fur from a water-rat, hackled with a feather 
 from the inside of a waterhen's wing. 
 
 t Hackled with a mottled feather from the outside of a woodcock's wing. Body 
 of orange silk, dubbed sparsely with hare's ear. 
 
 § Hackled with a feather from the outside of a snipe's wing. Body of purple 
 silk. 
 
56 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 From middle of April to end of June (for a change, though all 
 the flies on the previous cast may be fished until the end of 
 June, except, perhaps, the Water hen) — March Brown;* Snipe 
 Bloaf (always useful); Iron-blue Dun ;$ and Orange Partridge. § 
 
 From end or middle of June onwards — Brown Owl (tail fly) ; || 
 Poult Bloa;^[ Knotted Midge;** Yellow-legs (Yellow Dun).ff 
 
 In September, the first cast may be used, varying it, if 
 occasion arises, with a Dark Needle, Fog Black (see page 98), 
 or Brown Owl. 
 
 Mr. Walbran sends me beautifully tied specimens of sixteen 
 flies, most of which come in Mr. Pritt's list. The additional 
 flies he mentions are: The Spanish Needle (summer and 
 autumn), Winter Brown (spring and autumn), Dark Snipe and 
 Orange (spring and autumn), Blue Partridge (April and May), 
 Bracken Clock (summer), Stone Midge (summer), Fog Black 
 (summer and autumn), August Dun, Grey Midge (summer), 
 and Apple-green Dun (autumn). The Fog Black must be 
 dressed from the feather of a bullfinch. Coloured illustrations 
 of all these flies will be found in "North Country Flies," a 
 work which every fly-fisher should have — except, of course, 
 those who devote themselves solely to the dry fly. In Fig. 
 40 are engravings of a few of these flies, which will serve to 
 indicate their size and form to the amateur fly-dresser. Mr. 
 Walbran's special favourites are the Waterhen Bloa, Dark 
 
 * Wings, from the tail of a partridge. Body, pale orange silk, dubbed with a 
 little hare's ear and yellow mohair, mixed ; ribbed over with a little yellow silk. 
 TaiL forked with two strands from a partridge's tail. Legs, from the back of a 
 partridge. 
 
 t Wings hackled with a feather from inside of a jack snipe's wing. Body, straw- 
 coloured silk. 
 
 t Wings, from a waterhen. Body, orange and purple silk, twisted, dubbed with 
 down from a water-rat. Head, orange. Legs, from a coot. 
 
 § Wings hackled with well-dappled feather from a partridge's back. Body, 
 orange silk. 
 
 II Hackled with a reddish feather from the outside of a brown owl's wing. Body, 
 orange silk. Head, peacock harl. 
 
 H Wings, hackled with feather from under young grouse-wing. Body, light 
 yellow silk. 
 
 ** Wings, hackled with feather from back of swift or martin, or from the 
 shoulder of a pewit's wing. Body, ash-coloured silk, dubbed with heron's harl. 
 Head, magpie harl. 
 
 tt Wings, from young starling's quill-feather. Body, yellow silk, waxed well so as 
 to make it nearly olive. Legs, ginger hackle from a Cochin China hen's neck. 
 Tail, two strands of same. 
 
Waterhen Bloa. 
 
 Partridge and 
 Orange. 
 
 The Poult Bloa. 
 
 Fog Black. 
 
 Winter Brown. 
 
 Dark: Snipe and 
 Orange. 
 
 Blue Partridge. 
 
 Bracken Clock. 
 
 Stone 
 
 AuffUlt Dun. 
 
 Apple-Green Dun. Dark Snipe and 
 
 Purple. 
 
 Fig. 40. Typical North-country Flies. 
 
58 ANGLING FOE GAME FISH. 
 
 Snipe and Purple, Snipe Bloa, Partridge and Orange, Bracken 
 Clock, and Stone Midge. To the above I would add Green- 
 well's Glory,* a splendid killer. 
 
 In Devonshire, hackled flies are mostly used, but they are 
 usually larger than the flies of Yorkshire, and less sad- 
 coloured. The North Devonshire anglers are great believers 
 in a little silver twist or tinsel, and plenty of hackle. In South 
 Devon the Blue Upright is the favourite fly. It kills best in 
 the spring and autumn. It is really a hackled imitation of 
 the Blue Dun, though I do not for a moment suppose the 
 trout take it for that fly.f Other standard flies are a sort of 
 March Brown (brown quill body and partridge hackle), Brown 
 Palmer (rendered more killing by a small, rich red tail of 
 Indian crow), and Half Stone J — these more particularly in 
 the spring. For summer : Cowdung, Silver Twist, March 
 Brown, Hare's Flax (i.e., Hare's Ear, another form of the 
 Blue Upright or Blue Dun), Red Upright (see Detached 
 Badger, page 31), and Coch-y-bondu when the water is high. 
 The Coachman § is the fly for evening use. After dark, it 
 can be fished rather large. Dressed 
 with a starling wing, it is a splendid 
 brook-fly in the daytime. On the Exe 
 and Teign, and in North Devon gene- 
 rally, the flies used are brighter and 
 have more tinsel than the Dartmoor 
 
 Fig. 41. A Devonshire flies - Tne % shown in Fig. 41 was tied 
 FLY - by an old moorman, and kills well when 
 
 the water is big. The body and hackles 
 are a smoky-blue, and the wings a rusty bluish-brown. 
 
 Mr. Cutliffe, in "Trout Fishing in Rapid Streams," gives 
 a list of rather large and very bright flies of his own inven- 
 
 * Body, dark olive silk, thickly ribbed with fine gold wire. Legs, small coch-y- 
 bondu hackle. Wings, woodcock-wing. 
 
 t It is dressed in a variety of ways ; one of the best is : Body, dark quill ; smoky- 
 blue hackle, and whisk to match hackle. 
 
 J Hackle, honey-dun cock. Body— lower half, primrose floss silk ; upper half of 
 pale mole fur. 
 
 § Wings, white feather, as from swan. Hackle, red cock. Body, copper- 
 coloured peacock harl. 
 
DERBYSHIRE FLIES. 59 
 
 tion, for use in North Devon. They are very good in the 
 spring in heavy water, but not so good in the more quiet 
 portions of the stream. Indeed, the angler who uses the 
 local patterns will have the best sport in rather rapid water. 
 In the more tranquil portion of the river he will catch few 
 fish unless he uses smaller flies, more approaching the natural 
 insect in appearance. 
 
 Devonshire and Yorkshire flies kill well in Ireland, where 
 the ordinary South-country patterns may also be used with 
 advantage. Flies with orange or yellow silk bodies, and 
 partridge or grouse hackles, kill on any rapid stream that I 
 have ever fished, and Red Palmers and Red Spinners (the latter 
 dressed with and without wings)* are good everywhere. 
 
 In Wales, there are various local flies, which I do not 
 propose to enumerate, as the flies already mentioned will kill 
 quite as well there as anything else. 
 
 In Derbyshire, peculiar flies, called "Bumbles," are much used. 
 The one shown in Fig. 42 was tied by Foster, of Ashbourne. 
 Those tied with honey-dun hackles (see Orange Bumble, 
 Chap. VII.) are great favourites, and I have found a Furnace 
 Bumble,t with a hackle shorter near the tail 
 of the fly than at the head, kill splendidly 
 on the Dart and many other streams. Bumbles 
 can be fished wet or dry. On Derbyshire 
 streams dry-fly fishing is coming much into 
 vogue, and with success, small Duns being 
 much used. Many of the Hampshire patterns 
 have been adopted by the Derbyshire anglers, shire bumble! 
 and anyone who is provided with a few of the 
 best North-country and Hampshire patterns, together with 
 some Bumbles, will have everything that is needful in the way 
 of flies for Derbyshire. 
 
 * When making an imitation of a fly with upright wings for wet-fly fishing, it is 
 usual to merely surround the head of the fly with hackle which represents, or is 
 supposed to represent, both legs and wings. A far better plan is to imitate the 
 wings with two tiny hackle-tips. This principle is carried out in my wet May-fly 
 illustrated on page 40. 
 
 t Hackle, furnace or coch-y-bondu (centre and extreme points black, and 
 remainder of hackle blood-red). Body, orange floss silk, ribbed with a strand of 
 peacock sword-feather, and with fine flat gold. 
 
60 ANGLING FOE GAME PISH. 
 
 In Continental streams, the best English flies will always kill, 
 but the angler should be careful to have them dressed in 
 different sizes, to suit the various states of the water. I doubt, 
 indeed, if more flies are necessary than the following : Red 
 Spinner, Red Palmer, Governor, Blue Dun, Yellow Dun, 
 Coachman (some with starling-wing), March Brown, Black 
 Gnat, Hare's Ear with Silver Twist, Sedge, Sandfly, Alder, and 
 Furnace.* 
 
 This short list of flies would not be a bad selection for a boy just 
 commencing to fly-fish. And as regards boys, on whose pocket- 
 money the purchase of fishing-tackle makes serious inroads, let 
 them not be deterred from fly-fishing by the expense. Several 
 of the cheaper London tackle-shops sell fly-rods for half a 
 guinea (I have noted some in Mr. Walbran's list) which are 
 quite good enough to learn with; a small wooden reel, with 
 a check, can be bought for half a crown, and about 35yds. 
 of one of the Manchester Cotton Spinning Company's un- 
 dressed, twisted lines, or dressed snooding used in sea-fishing, 
 will make a good cheap casting-line. A youngster can thus 
 be rigged out with rod, reel, line, casts, and flies, for some- 
 thing under £1. A landing-net is easily made at home, by 
 lashing a thick wire, or wooden or cane hoop, on to an old 
 walking-stick. The net also can be made at home, or bought 
 for a few pence. 
 
 As flies on gut are much used in moorland streams, it will be 
 useful to tell of a plan by which gut can be tied to a fly which 
 has no eye. It often happens that we have only one fly of the 
 right pattern left in our book, and when the gut to which it is 
 attached is on the point of breaking, the fly is useless unless 
 we can put a fresh piece of gut to it. An old moorman on 
 Dartmoor showed me this little-known plan, which at times 
 is very valuable. First, tie a knot at the extreme end of the 
 gut, and tie the gut once round the bend of the hook. Then 
 
 * Excellent North-country flies are tied by F. Walbran, of Station Road, Leeds, 
 who is a good all-round fly-dresser ; Hardy, of Alnwick ; J. Emmott, of Kilnsey, 
 Skipton ; H. Esson, Virginia Road, Leeds. For Derbyshire, there is Foster, of 
 Ashbourne. For the Welsh streams, J. Ogden, of Cheltenham. For Devonshire, 
 Bowden, of Exeter ; Prickman, of Exeter ; Clarke, of Newton Abbott, and 
 Mudford, of Tiverton. For Scotland and Ireland, the makers of salmon-flies 
 mentioned in Chapter IX. 
 
AN INVALUABLE KNOT. 61 
 
 tie a knot in the gut about iin. above the fly, but do not 
 pull it quite tight. Then put the head of the fly in the knot, 
 and pull the gut tight, taking care that the gut between the 
 bend of the hook and the head of the fly is strained quite 
 tightly. I have had a large sea-fly attached to a piece of 
 
 Fig. 43. How to Tie Gut to a Fly which has no Eye. 
 
 salmon-gut engraved, so that the knot may be shown clearly 
 (Fig. 43). When fine gut is thus tied on to a small fly, 
 especially one with plenty of hackle, the knot is very neat. 
 
 Trout-flies are legion. No one living knows, or ever will know, 
 them all, and they are perpetually being added to. I need say 
 nothing about the Alexandra in this chapter, as that much- 
 abused bait has had its share of attention on page 46.* 
 
 Fishing with, the Wet Fly. — The various methods of 
 casting the fly have been already described on pages 32-36, so I 
 will suppose that we arrive at the side of our trout-stream well 
 knowing how to cast the fly, and with all our impedimenta — 
 waders, net, casts, &c. — in proper order, but that we are rather 
 in a fog as to the best way to fish the water and the fly to 
 put up. 
 
 First, as to the fly. Is there a great quantity of any particular 
 insect on the water? If there is, "put up" (fisherman's English) 
 
 * Foster Bros., of Ashbourne, have recently brought out some flies with mem- 
 branous wings. I have had no opportunity of trying them, but they look killing, 
 and I hear them well spoken of. They are suitable for wet-fly fishing. 
 
62 ANGLING FOE GAME FISH. 
 
 any fly you have in your book like it in colour and form, but, if 
 possible, smaller. If there are few flies on the water, consider 
 then the time of year, the height and colour of the water, and 
 the weather. If it is early spring, try rather large, bright flies. 
 If the water is coloured, be sure and have a Red Palmer on your 
 cast as tail fly. If the water is turbulent, use larger flies than 
 if it is fairly tranquil. If the day is bright, use a bright fly, 
 such as a Red Spinner, or a Coachman with a starling wing, 
 or a Furnace Bumble. If the day be dark and dull, use sombre 
 flies. Bear in mind, that if you have very small flies on your 
 cast, it is not much use casting them into very rough water; 
 and, in the same way, if your flies are rather large, you will 
 catch more fish with them in the rougher portions of the stream 
 than where the river flows quietly. 
 
 Well, the cast is chosen and made up. Our gut is straight, 
 having been moistened in the damper-box, or drawn on a piece 
 of indiarubber (see page 24, and also note remarks on wet-fly 
 fishing in previous chapter). Approach the stream' cautiously, 
 and drop the flies over your own bank. Then try out in the 
 middle, then across, and work your way up stream, casting 
 to every spot likely to contain a trout. Keep yourself as low 
 as you possibly can. If the banks are high, and the water 
 sufficiently shallow, wade up stream, casting in front of you ; 
 but do not wade unnecessarily, for it spoils the sport of those 
 coming after you. As your flies drift down towards you, raise 
 the point of your rod, and strike quickly at the least sign of 
 a rise, or on perceiving a tightening, however slight, of the 
 line. On this account keep careful watch both where you 
 bebieve the flies to be and also on the bine. Never forget to 
 carefully fish close under the bank wherever there is any 
 depth of water. 
 
 Two things are particularly essential to success : 1. The angler 
 must keep out of the sight of the fish ; 2. His shadow must 
 not fall over the fish. To obtain the first desideratum, up- 
 stream fishing is usually absolutely necessary, and, if the water 
 is very shallow, a long line must be cast. Down- stream fishing 
 is only to be preferred where the water is very swift, and its 
 surface sufficiently ruffled to prevent the fish seeing through 
 
FLY-FISHING FOR MOORLAND TROUT. 63 
 
 it; or when the sun, river, and angler are so positioned that 
 the angler's shadow would be over the fish were he to cast 
 up stream. In rather thick water, when the trout rise slowly, 
 the flies have often to be sunk, and held a few seconds. This 
 process can only be managed down stream. The only way to 
 get the flies over fish in a portion of the river completely 
 overhung with branches, is to drop the cast in the water 
 in a clear place, and let the current carry it along, as 
 much line being let off the reel as may be necessary. This 
 is, of course, one method of down-stream angling. Always 
 remember, when fishing eddies, that the water in them flows 
 the reverse way to the stream, and fish them accordingly. 
 
 A point to be remembered is that trout can often see the 
 angler when the edge of the bank actually intervenes between 
 them. Refraction in the water enables the fish to see round 
 the corner. If you do not believe me, place a penny in a 
 pudding-basin, and walk backwards from it until the rim of the 
 basin just hides the penny. Then get a friend to slowly pour 
 water into the basin. Before it is full you will see the penny, 
 though neither you, nor the basin, nor penny have moved. 
 The penny represents the trout, the water the river, the edge of 
 basin the river's bank. 
 
 Do not stand on banks so that the trout see your manly 
 proportions against the sky. Get a hill, trees, a wall — any- 
 thing — as a background, whenever you can. "When casting, keep 
 your rod as low as possible, for the flash of the rod frightens 
 fish ; but the flash can be reduced to a minimum if the rod is 
 treated after the manner described in the footnote on page 51- 
 Do not wave your arms about, and be careful to tread lightly, 
 especially if the banks are boggy or hollow. I know several 
 brooks from which very few trout are caught owing to the 
 vibration of the bank when trodden upon. 
 
 When on a small, rocky stream, fish quickly. If the water is 
 much broken, the fish will not be able to see you, and you 
 can walk up stream and, casting with a short line, pick out 
 fish after fish from every little nook and corner. If they run 
 small — about five to the pound— do not attempt to play them, 
 but whip them out on to the bank as fast as you can. Tou 
 
64 ANGLING FOE GAME FISH. 
 
 will find the hook tumble out of the mouths of five fish out of 
 six, and most of these five fish would have got off if any 
 attempt had been made to play them. 
 
 Up-stream fishing is best, because, to put it shortly, fish lie 
 head up stream, and cannot see behind them. 
 
 Night or Bustard Fishing is a very simple matter — so 
 simple, indeed, as to be hardly sportsmanlike. It is carried on 
 on warm summer nights, and is only permissible when, owing to 
 the lowness and brightness of the water, no fish can be caught 
 during the day. Use only one fly — a Brown or White Moth (the 
 artificial moths are termed " Bustards"), or a Coachman, dressed 
 on a No. 4, or even larger, hook. If the large, Brown Sedges 
 are about, the Brown Moth, or Sedge, is to be preferred, but 
 when the White Moths are flitting over the meadows, a White 
 Moth should be put up. A Coachman is usually killing. Fish 
 as soon as it is quite dark. Have a short line, and cast your 
 fly down stream, across the river, or under your own bank. Hold 
 the rod steady for a few seconds, then draw the fly very slowly 
 up stream, and if a trout seizes the bait, strike, and play him as 
 best you can. The night-fisher, of course, wants to know both 
 the river and its banks well, and will only fish clear places, where 
 there are no trees or rocks to foul his line. In small, moorland 
 streams the deep, still pools are the places to be fished after this 
 fashion. On the Eden a great amount of night-fishing is carried 
 on, and the Carlisle angler does not hesitate to wade on the 
 darkest nights. In the hot months, when hardly a fish is to be 
 caught during the day, visit the stream an hour before sunrise, 
 and during that hour, and longer, you may enjoy capital sport. 
 On mountain streams I have generally had my best fishing 
 before sunset, the fish rising best, as a rule, between 10 a.m. 
 and 1 p.m. After the sun has gone down it is chilly on the 
 uplands, and an evening rise, such as there is on chalk streams, 
 is uncommon. 
 
 Fishing with Natural Insects may be pursued on moor- 
 land streams, with a blowline, in the manner described on page 47. 
 Another method, called dapping, or dibbing, or shade-fishing, is 
 to use a long, light, stiff rod, about 2ft. of gut, a fine silk line, 
 
NATURAL FLIES FOE TROUT. 65 
 
 and a small pistol-bullet placed above tbe knot, between the gut 
 and line. The fly being impaled on the hook, the line is reeled 
 up until the bullet comes against the point of the rod. The 
 tackle should be put through a hole in bushes by the river, so 
 that it overhangs the water. The line is then released, and is 
 carried out by the weight of the bullet until the fly touches the 
 water, when the reel is checked. On open streams this plan is 
 not very deadly. In no place is it deemed very sportsmanlike ; 
 much more artistic is it to cast the natural fly. 
 
 The fly which is, perhaps, most used in the natural state, is the 
 Stone-fly. It is better known in the Midlands and the North, 
 where it is often called the May-fly, than in the South of 
 England. The male and female flies differ somewhat in 
 
 Male. Female. 
 
 Fig. 44. Stone-flies. 
 
 appearance (see Fig. 44). Both are used, and anglers differ as 
 to which is the most killing. The trout may like the large fly 
 best, but fewer fish are missed when small baits are used. The 
 hook should be put in at the thorax of the male, and brought 
 out at the tail. Two hooks are commonly used for the large, 
 female fly, which is placed on them in the same manner as the 
 Creeper (see page 66). The Stone-fly makes its appearance in 
 May, and remains until the middle of June, or later. There 
 are no particular directions to be observed in its use. It is most 
 killing — as, indeed, all flies are — when the water is a little high and 
 coloured. On some days it kills best on the surface, on others if 
 sunk a little; and the trout always take it more freely — as, indeed, 
 they will any flies — if it is cast close to the bank, or by stones or 
 rocks. The Stone-fly requires very delicate casting, and the 
 
66 
 
 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 Fig. 45. Box for Stone-flies. 
 
 angler must have the wind at his back to do much good with it. 
 
 Cummins, of Bishop Auckland, has invented a very useful zinc 
 
 box (Fig. 45) for Stone- 
 flies. It has the merit 
 of being inexpensive, 
 and can be strapped 
 on to the waist. 
 
 Creeper - fishing 
 mayfitly be mentioned 
 here. The Creeper 
 (Fig. 46) is the larva 
 of the Stone-fly, and is 
 a very deadly bait for 
 trout, especially when 
 the water is low and 
 
 bright. It is usually placed on the two-hook tackle as shown 
 
 in Fig. 46. The end hook is put in at the throat, and brought 
 
 out near the tail. The top hook is then put through the head 
 
 or neck. A 2-yd. or 3-yd. gut-cast should be used, and the 
 
 addition of a couple of small shot about 9in. above the hooks 
 
 is advisable, except in very shallow water. The creeper is 
 
 worked in exactly 
 
 the same manner as 
 
 the worm in clear 
 
 water. This method 
 
 of fishing begins about 
 
 April, and continues 
 
 until the larvae turn 
 
 into flies. The yellow 
 
 Creepers are the best, 
 
 the blackish ones 
 
 being of little use. 
 
 They can be kept in 
 
 a cellar, in damp 
 
 moss, but quickly die in still water. Boys will usually catch 
 
 abundance of this bait. Failing boys, put on waders, and 
 
 stir up the bottom with your foot in front of a fine-meshed 
 
 landing-net, into which the disturbed Creepers will be washed. 
 
 Fig. 46. Creeper, Baited and Unbaited. 
 
VARIOUS BAITS FOR TROUT. 67 
 
 Just before turning into flies, Creepers will be found near the 
 sides of streams, under flat-bottomed stones. Of course, the 
 larvae of other flies besides those of the Stone-fly may be 
 used as a bait for trout. 
 
 In Devonshire, a little brown beetle, called the Fem-web, is 
 largely used for taking trout in June and July. It is found 
 on the bracken fern in great numbers. Put one or two of these 
 beetles on a large Limerick hook (eyed for preference), blow open 
 the wing-cases and wings, and chuck the lump where the trout 
 are. If the fish do not see you, they will take the bait. The 
 method requires little skill. Grasshoppers (much used on the 
 Continent), spiders, beetles — in fact, almost any kind of insect 
 — may be used as bait for trout. In Derbyshire, ants' eggs are 
 a favourite summer bait, and I believe egg-paste is a good 
 deal used, but have not tried it. In some waters trout take 
 bread-paste eagerly. 
 
 Worming in Clear and Coloured Water. — I will deal 
 with the last-mentioned first. The tackle is simply a fairly 
 stiff rod, a light line, and a short length of gut, terminated 
 by a round-bend hook of a size (generally No. 11, Kendal 
 scale, or No. 4, Redditch scale) to suit the worms. Ten inches 
 above the hook bite on one to four shots. Bait with brandling 
 or other worms (I never find the trout very particular when 
 the water is thick), and drop the bait in the water just on 
 the edge of the current, and fish water which is quiet and not 
 too deep. Let the worm sink, and allow the current to work 
 it about close to the bottom. Every eddy and quiet corner 
 should be fished, and when the angler chances on a spot 
 where the trout seem plentiful, there he may remain for an 
 hour or more. It is by no means grand sport, but the largest 
 fish in the river are often taken with worms during a spate. 
 The three-hook tackle shown in Fig. 47 may, of course, be 
 used, but it frequently catches on the bottom, which in eddies 
 is apt to be foul. 
 
 "Worming in clear water is quite another matter. It is 
 carried on more particularly when the rivers are at their 
 lowest and brightest, in the hot months, and when fly-fishing, 
 except at night, is next to useless. For this method of fishing 
 
68 
 
 ANGLING FOB GAME FISH. 
 
 the rod should be long and light. Many Scotch angler6 use 
 rods 15ft. long ; but my own preference, except for very 
 big rivers, would be for one about 12ft. in length. The line 
 should be a rather fine, dressed, eight-plait silk ; it need not 
 be tapered. The gut-cast should be about 2|yds. in length, 
 and at the end next the worm of the finest undrawn gut 
 if it can be obtained, or failing that, moderately fine-drawn 
 gut. Stewart tackle (Fig. 47) is commonly used, but many 
 
 u 
 
 u 
 
 Fig. 47. Three- 
 Hook Worm 
 Tackle. 
 
 Fig. 48. Two Hook Worm 
 Tackle made with Eyed 
 Hooks. 
 
 Fig. 49. Three-Hook 
 Tackle, Baited. 
 
 anglers prefer two hooks, and some declare that a single 
 hook (Mackenzie bend) is far the best. In Fig. 48 the two- 
 hook tackle is shown made with eyed hooks. Such a tackle 
 can be made by anyone in five minutes. The end hook is 
 tied on with the knot shown on page 27. The two-hook tackle I 
 usually bait by inserting the point of the large hook about the 
 middle of the worm, and threading it through to the tail, 
 then catching the head of the worm on the top hook. The 
 three-hook tackle is baited according to the method shown in 
 Fig. 49. No attempt need be made to cover the hooks. It is as 
 
WORMING IN CLEAR WATER. 69 
 
 well to have no great length of worm hanging beneath the 
 lower hook or above the upper one. I have seen Stewart tackles 
 made with very small hooks. In some ways they are good, 
 but, unfortunately, they fail to hook the trout. No. 4 hook 
 (Kendal scale) is about the right size for this kind of fishing. 
 
 The worms may be carried in an open-mouthed bag, hung 
 by a loop to the buttonhole, or in a tin box strapped to the 
 waist. Brandlings, redworms, very small lobworms — in fact, 
 any small worms — may be used. They should be scoured, and 
 toughened by being kept in damp moss for several days. A 
 little cream or milk poured on the moss is supposed to assist 
 the process. When baiting, the angler will find a little bag or 
 box of fine sand, or even dry earth, of much use. The worm, 
 having been dipped into the sand or earth, is no longer slippery 
 to handle. 
 
 The most deadly and most usual method of working the 
 worm in clear water is to wade, and cast the worm up stream. 
 The cast must be made with a bold sweep of the rod, anything 
 in the nature of a jerk causing the worm to fly off the hooks. 
 Immediately the worm touches the water, the rod-point should 
 be slowly raised (very slowly if the stream is slow, but faster 
 if the stream is fast) until the worm is carried by the stream 
 within a yard or so of the angler, when it should be brought 
 out of the water with a back sweep of the rod, which should 
 then, as I have already indicated, be brought round in a bold 
 curve, and the worm cast forward. Half the secret of success in 
 this method lies in raising the point of the rod while the worm 
 is in the water, neither too slowly nor too fast. If too fast, 
 the worm is dragged down stream ; if too slowly, there will 
 be so much slack line that the bites will not be noticed until 
 too late. Keep as little line as possible in the water. The 
 beginner will, in any case, miss many bites, for usually the 
 only evidence of a bite is a stoppage of the line. Therefore, 
 watch the line most carefully. Of course, we cannot wade up 
 the centre of all streams ; some we must fish across, but rather 
 in an upward than downward direction. If the water is a little 
 heavy or deep, a shot, or even two, may be necessary to bring 
 the worm before the fish; but, generally speaking, the most 
 
 o2 
 
70 
 
 ANGLING FOE GAME FISH. 
 
 pleasant and most successful method of wonning in clear 
 water is to leave the deeps and very heavy waters alone, and 
 fish only the more quiet streams from 1ft. to 3ft. in depth. 
 Always be looking out for likely places for fish, and, having 
 noted them, cast your worm into them, keeping as much out of 
 sight of the fish as the nature of the ground and your own 
 skill will allow. The anglers who exercise a little thought 
 while fishing, and do not cast heedlessly here, there, or any- 
 where, bring home the best baskets. 
 
 Generally speaking, any drag on the worm is to be avoided; 
 but sometimes, and particularly in rather still water, the trout 
 seem to like a worm worked with a sink-and-draw motion; but for 
 
 u 
 
 Fig. 51. Hook with 
 Bent Shank. 
 
 Fig. 50. Sliced Hook. 
 
 this the tackle must be very fine. Some anglers occasionally spin 
 the worm, but I believe that where trout will take a spinning 
 worm well, they will take a spinning minnow better. Worms on 
 Stewartjtackle will almost always spin ; but if on a single hook, 
 there must be a hog's bristle whipped on to the shank, to keep 
 the worm from slipping down ; or a Marston sliced hook 
 (Fig. 50) may be used; or the end of the shank of an ordi- 
 nary hook may be softened, and bent out as shown in 
 Fig. 51. I need hardly say that, when spinning the worm, 
 one or two. swivels must be tied in the cast. One may be 
 placed between the cast and the reel-line, and another about 
 the middle of the cast. 
 
 With reference to this subject, the remarks on casting the fly 
 
TRACE FOR MINNOW-SPINNING. 71 
 
 and the haunts of trout should be read. By the way, when trout 
 are seen rising in pools or other quiet waters, they will often 
 take a small worm on the finest of tackle, if it is cast lightly 
 just in front of them. A good deal of skill is required to 
 catch trout in this way. 
 
 Spinning the Minnow is a deadly method of trout-fishing 
 when the water is a little high, and slightly coloured. 
 
 Now is the time, 
 
 While yet the dark brown water aids the guile, 
 To tempt the trout. 
 
 The best rod for the purpose is a long, light, bamboo cane, 
 with greenheart top and the fittings shown on page 16, the 
 top-ring, however, being the same as is recommended for 
 salmon-rods in Chapter IX. The line commonly used is an 
 eight-plait, dressed silk one — almost the smallest size made. 
 But if the angler can, or wishes to, cast in the Nottingham 
 fashion, the line should be similar, but undressed. Fifty 
 yards, wound on a Nottingham reel with a check and line 
 guard (see page 19), is an ample length, except for large rivers. 
 Below the reel-line, a trace with swivels, and with or without 
 lead, is required. The lead should always be arranged on 
 
 Fig. 52. Improved Lead for Spinning, with Double Swivel. 
 
 the principle of the one shown in Fig. 52 — i.e., below the level 
 of the line. With these leads the line never kinks. Small, 
 double, brass swivels should be placed just below the lead. No 
 others are required, unless the lead is not used, when not less 
 than four should be on the trace. The lead illustrated is made 
 by Farlow. One as good for this purpose may be made as 
 follows : Take from four to six shot of different sizes, string 
 them on fine gimp or coarse gut, placing the smallest at 
 each end, and whip the ends of the gimp or gut to the trace just 
 above the swivels. Below the lead should come not less than 
 lyd. of gut — very fine for bright water, rather stouter if 
 
72 
 
 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 the water is coloured, or the trout ran large. At the end 
 of this length of gut should be a large loop, to which the 
 minnow tackle is attached. 
 
 Of minnow tackles, there are many bad, a few tolerable, 
 but none really good. The trout come at them well enough, 
 but the percentage of pricked fish is terrible. Most Scotch 
 anglers use the tackle shown in Fig. 53, and I am inclined to 
 think that for small minnows it is the best. 
 To bait it, insert point of large hook in at 
 mouth of minnow, and out at end of tail, 
 keeping it as near the spine as possible ; then 
 put lip-hook through lips of bait. The tri- 
 angle should be stuck on outside curve of bait, 
 and is not used at all in very low, clear water. 
 It occurs to me, that the addition of a little 
 red lead on the shank of the hook (as shown 
 in the engraving) might be an advantage, but 
 I have not tried it. A very small Chapman 
 spinner (a good form of which is shown in 
 Chapter IV.) 
 spins the min- 
 now beauti- 
 fully, and in 
 a most attrac- 
 tive manner. I 
 can safely say, 
 from experi- 
 ence, that the 
 fans ai*e disregarded by shy 
 trout. They should be silver- 
 plated. The Dee tackle (Fig. 
 54) is also very good ; in fact, I 
 think it hooks better than any 
 other tackle; but it has its 
 faults •• The lead must be taken 
 off the gut, and the gut be 
 
 put through the bait from vent to head by means of a baiting- 
 needle; and the minnow is apt to get pulled up out of shape 
 
 Fig. 83. Nobth- 
 country Spin- 
 ning Tackle. 
 
 Fig. 54. Dee Minnow Tackle. 
 
MINNOW FLIGHTS. 73 
 
 if a bad cast is made, and it does not always spin well. At 
 the same time, if skilfully adjusted, it hooks and holds fish. 
 Mi*. Cholmondeley Pennell has invented a tackle in which 
 the gut goes outside the bait, and the upper triangle is hooked 
 in the back of the minnow instead of the vent. It is a good 
 tackle, but I have always found a difficulty in getting it small 
 enough. 
 
 There has recently been brought out a tackle not unlike 
 Mr. Pennell's, called the "Imperceptible Spinner." The lead 
 which goes into the bait is fixed on to a soft copper sword, 
 which goes through the bait from head to tail. By bending 
 the sword, any degree of curve can be given to the minnow, 
 and the triangles can be put on the outside of the curve. 
 The idea is as old as the hills, but it has not been so well 
 carried out heretofore. 
 
 The great point to be observed is to use very small minnows 
 (unless, of course, the water is considerably coloured), for a 
 trout can get hold of a small bait much better than a large 
 one. For small minnows, I would, as I have said, certainly 
 give the preference to the North-country tackle. 
 
 The minnow may be cast in a variety of ways. Use a long 
 cane rod (16ft.), and merely swing the minnow across the stream 
 and draw it back; or use a grilse rod, and cast it like a fly; 
 or use an lift, rod, and cast it underhand, Thames fashion, 
 letting line run through the rings. The line in this method 
 may be in coils on the ground; or the angler may cast directly 
 off the reel (this is only possible if a lead of some weight is 
 either in minnow or on trace); or two loops of line may be 
 pulled down from between the rings, to be released as the 
 minnow is cast out. The last-mentioned method is little used 
 by trout-fishers, but is well worth learning. It is illustrated 
 in " Angling for Coarse Fish." 
 
 Draw the bait fast enough to make it spin well, and no 
 more. Usually cast across the stream, and rather up than 
 down; but in very bright and not too rapid water cast 
 straight up and draw down. This is difficult, but not im- 
 possible, and takes far more fish than any other method. 
 Spin close to the bank. Search every corner, even as 
 
74 
 
 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 Fig. 55. Watchet 
 Minnow. 
 
 you would with a fly. If casting straight down stream and 
 spinning up, which is not often advisable, draw the bait very 
 slowly. Spin where the fish are ; their haunts 
 have been already described. 
 
 Artificial minnows, like flies, are legion. The 
 best for rapid trout-streams are the Devon and 
 the quill minnow. Devons vary somewhat. 
 In the old-fashioned ones, the hooks were 
 everlastingly 
 coming away 
 from the bait. 
 Two new va- 
 rieties which 
 approach per- 
 fection are 
 Far low's Wat- 
 chet bait (Fig. 
 55), and the 
 Salvus min- 
 now, sold by Perrot, of Kings- 
 bridge, South Devon. In the 
 Salvus minnow the bait never 
 leaves the hooks when being 
 cast, but as soon as a fish is 
 hooked it runs up the line. 
 The same may be said of the 
 Watchet minnow. A very 
 excellent and beautifully- 
 made quill minnow is illus- 
 trated in Fig. 56 ; 1 obtained 
 it from Bowness, of Temple 
 Bar. It is so light that it 
 can, if desired, be cast like a 
 fly. It is a most killing bait. 
 Cummins, of Bishop Auck- 
 land, sells some excellent 
 quill minnows made in a 
 
 slightly different way, which _^ „ _ 
 
 ° J 9 * Fig. 56. Bowness' Quill Minnow. 
 
DROP MINNOW-TACKLE. 75 
 
 will stand much rough work. They can be weighted by the 
 insertion of a few shot. Another good spinning bait is the 
 Halcyon, made by Hardy Brothers, which is simply a little 
 bunch of peacock harl, spun by means of two fans at the 
 head. Its one fault is that it pricks very many fish, and for 
 that reason is very properly prohibited on many fisheries. Some 
 anglers prefer baits which spin from the tail, and have no fans 
 at the head; but my own experience is that more trout are 
 safely hooked on straight baits than on those with curved 
 tails. 
 
 Minnow Trolling Tackle is little known in the South, but 
 a good deal used in the North. It is most suitable for deep 
 holes, under hollow banks, and similar places. Sometimes a 
 single hook (a triangle is better) with a leaded shank is used. 
 By means of a baiting-needle, the gut of the hook is put in at 
 the mouth and out at the tail of the bait, and the leaded 
 shank of the hook drawn into its belly. The bait is worked 
 with a sink-and-draw motion, and, when the trout seizes it, a 
 few seconds are allowed for him to gorge; this means killing 
 all fish, big and little. Far better is the drop minnow tackle 
 invented by a member of the firm of Hardy Brothers. It is 
 worked in exactly the same manner, but, there being two 
 triangles in the side of the minnow, the angler strikes im- 
 mediately the fish seizes the bait. I have tried this tackle in 
 rapid streams with much success. It is quite as killing as the 
 spinning minnow. Above the two triangles is a fixed single 
 hook, which catches into the tail of the bait. I am inclined 
 to think the tackle would be more useful if this hook were 
 adjustable like a lip-hook. One tackle would then fit any 
 sized minnow. Above the hooks should be 2yds. of gut. A 
 swivel is often used, but is not required. The rod and line 
 should be the same as for spinning. 
 
 . > .». =; . 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 LAKE TROUT. 
 
 Habits and Haunts — Ferox and Gillaroo — Some Useful Flies — 
 Fly-fishing from the Shore— Management of the Boat — 
 Dapping with the Green Drake — Spinning, or Trolling — 
 The Live Bait — Worm-fishing. 
 
 ^IB&AKE TROUT are simply brown trout or sea trout which 
 ^ jlkfr have taken up their abode in lakes, but spawn in 
 tributary streams. They vary principally according to their 
 food, but the nature of the bottom has a great effect on 
 their colouring. "When trout only are found in a lake, they 
 usually rise well to the fly; but where coarse sh are present 
 in great quantities, as on the large Irish lakes, the fly is not 
 much use, except when the May-fly carnival is on. Generally 
 speaking, fly-fishing in the lakes of Scotland and Ireland is 
 capital sport. In some lakes, myriads of small trout will be 
 found, which may not average five to the pound; but in 
 others, such as Loch Leven, the average will be about lib. a 
 fish. In the very large lakes, well stocked with all kinds of 
 fish, trout grow to an immense size ; a few years ago, a Mr. 
 Pepper caught one weighing over 291b., in Lough Derg, on a 
 pike-bait; it is an historical fish, and is always spoken of as 
 "Pepper's trout." 
 
 There are two varieties of lake trout deserving special 
 
FEROX AND GILLABOO. 77 
 
 mention — the gillaroo, and the ferox, or ferocious one. 
 Gillaroos are short, thick, golden-bellied, large-spotted fish. 
 Their flesh is redder than that of a salmon; but their chief 
 peculiarity lies in a thickening of the stomach, which causes 
 a lump to appear in the belly, called by ignorant persons a 
 gizzard. This deformity is supposed to be caused by the small 
 snails — their principal food; but I have caught hundreds of 
 trout, evidently large snail-feeders, which had not this thicken- 
 ing of the stomach. Gillaroos are found in several of the 
 large Irish lakes, in Wales, and in Scotland. Ferox are pro- 
 bably ordinary lake trout,* of considerable age and size, which 
 have taken to feeding on their own kind. They fight like 
 demons when hooked, and are almost always taken on spin- 
 ning baits. They are extremely ugly. 
 
 Lake trout, so far as my experience goes, appreciate certain 
 colours in the artificial fly infinitely more than the most 
 artistic imitation of the natural insect. On many lakes few 
 live flies are seen, but the trout rise splendidly to the 
 artificial. Most districts have special patterns, and the angler 
 will do well to be guided, especially as regards size, by what 
 the local people use. In some lakes, large flies must be used, 
 in others small. Sometimes the bodies cannot be too thin; 
 at others a buzzy body is the most killing. Early in the 
 season the flies should be larger than later on, and on dark, 
 rough days larger than on calm days. In "Wales, small flies 
 are used ; on many lakes in the North of Scotland they can 
 hardly be too large. In Ireland, medium-sized flies are 
 commonly used. A noted fly in the North of Scotland is 
 the Zulu — a large, black hackle, ribbed with silver twist, with 
 a red tail. In the South of Scotland, the Heckum Peckumf 
 is one of the best of flies. In Ireland, clarets and olives are 
 
 * Ordinary brown trout were introduced into the Antipodes a few years back, 
 where none previously existed. Strange to say, trout having the appearance of 
 ferox have recently been caught there. This illustrates the extraordinary effect 
 a change of water and food may have on trout. At the present time, our Colonial 
 friends catch larger fish than we can boast in England. Some useful and enter- 
 taining descriptions of Colonial angling will be found in " Travel and Trout in the 
 Antipodes " (Chatto & Windus), by William Senior, author of " Waterside Sketches," 
 "Near and Far," 4c, &c. 
 
 t Body, red wool, with silver twist ; red hackle. Wing, white tip-feather from 
 the wing of a wild drake. Also dressed with green body and black hackle. 
 
78 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 great favourites, and a fly with fiery-brown wool or fur body, 
 wings and hackle as nearly as possible to match, often kills 
 better than any. In "Wales, the Orl-fly (Alder without wings) is 
 a great favourite. The Alexandra (page 46) rises trout on 
 many lakes. There is, indeed, no end to the flies that will kill. 
 I have given the dressings* of a few of the best — some of 
 my own design, others collected from various sources, but 
 all good and sure killers if tied to the size and shape for the 
 particular district. 
 
 I usually tie large lake flies myself, and find that rough- 
 bodied flies often kill better than the neatly-tied flies from the 
 shops. The only materials needed are some teal and mallard 
 breast feathers (the darker the better) for wings, dyed pigswool 
 or seal fur (the latter is far better, but not always to be got— I 
 dislike mohair), and floss silk, for the body, a few red and black 
 cock's hackles, and fine gold and silver twist. In Fig. "J7 is 
 shown the whole process of tying a lake-trout fly. Other flies 
 are tied in much the same way. I have only lately adopted the 
 plan of putting the wings on first. It seems to me the easiest 
 way, and makes a strong fly ; but it is more usual to put the 
 wings on last of all. The most useful colours for the seal fur 
 are clarets in various shades (particularly an almost black 
 claret), brownish reds, olive-greens, and scarlet. 
 
 Fly-fishing from the Shore can, of course, only be 
 practised when the fish come within casting distance. Waders 
 are often most useful. If the margin of the lake is weedy, use 
 only one fly ; if clear, two or three. The fineness of the tackle 
 should depend entirely on the size of the fish and the weather. 
 On rough days, coarse tackle will do; on fine, bright days, with 
 little wind, it can hardly be too fine. The cast may be made 
 
 * 1. Body, almost black claret, with or without silver twist. Black hackle. Dark 
 mallard wing. A favourite fly with large trout. 
 
 t g 6 ' 1 P'g sw ool body, with gold twist. Teal wing. Red cock's hackle. 
 
 A. Reddish brown silk body. Woodcock wing. Coch-y-bondu hackle. 
 
 1. btrongly barred black and white teal wing and tail. Bright red hackle. Pale 
 green body. 
 
 5. Dark green body. Grouse wing and tail. Smoky blue hackle. 
 
 v't i 1V f 'SI 6 * 11 bodv - Olive hackle to match body. Mallard wing. 
 
 Most of these flies are best with a turn of gold or silver tinsel at tail. On some 
 days they kill best if ribbed with silver or gold twist, but not always. 
 
Fig. 57. How to Tie Lake Flies. 
 
 1. Portion of breast-feather of a mallard, doubled, to form wing. 
 
 2. The hackle, taken from neck of a black cock. 
 
 3. Having taken two turns round hook with well-waxed silk, take two turns 
 
 round wings and end of hackle (or hackle only, if wings are put on last, 
 as is very commonly done). 
 
 4. Cut off the waste end of wings, and bind silk round shank nearly to bend 
 
 of hook, where lay, under the last two turns of silk, the ends of three fibres 
 of mallard feather (to form a whisk) and a piece of silver tinsel. 
 
 5. Take two turns of silver tinsel under the whisk, and bring the end under 
 
 the tying-silk. Take one turn of tying-silk over end of tinsel. Cut off 
 the remainder of tinsel (unless, of course, the body is to be ribbed with it), 
 rub a little extra wax on to silk, hold end of silk in right hand, and, with 
 the thumb and a finger of the left hand, spin or twist on to it a little 
 _ seal fur or pigswool (called dubbing) of the colour desired. 
 
 6. Wind the silk bearing the dubbing round the shank, back and close to the 
 
 wings, and clear the end of silk of any dubbing which may be upon it. 
 
 7. Take end of hackle in tweezers, and twist hackle a few times under wings 
 
 of fly, then once in front of wings, and take a turn of silk over the end 
 of hackle. 
 
 8. Finish off by laying the end of the silk (A) along the fly, and taking two turns 
 
 of the silk at B round the neck of the fly ; then pull the end A tight. 
 
 9. Cut off any untidy ends, loosen and pick out wool or fur of body, and arrange 
 
 hackle with a darning-needle— the eye of which is stuck in a cork— and 
 
 varnish the silk at neck of fly. 
 
 Note.— If gut is to be whipped on the hook, commence as in Diagram 3, but omit 
 
 the wings, and lay the end of gut along the shank, first biting the end of gut to keep 
 
 it from slipping. Then proceed as in remaining Diagrams, but put the wings on 
 
 last of all. 
 
80 
 
 ANGLING FOE GAME FISH. 
 
 up in the manner described on pages 52-54 ; but for this particu- 
 lar purpose, there is no better way of fastening on the droppers 
 than after the little-known manner illustrated in Fig. 58, which 
 is absolutely reliable, and enables the flies to be changed with 
 the greatest facility. With this knot the droppers never wear 
 out the cast. 
 
 The shore most exposed to the wind is usually the best to fish, 
 but the difficulty, of course, is to cast out against the wind. 
 The young angler had better place himself so that he casts out 
 
 Fig. 58. A Little-known Method of Fastening Droppers to Casts. 
 
 across the wind. Rocky points are sure places for lake trout, 
 as also are the mouths of streams, particularly towards the 
 end of the season. 
 
 As a rule, the flies should be drawn slowly across the waves — 
 i.e., neither with nor against them — and the top dropper should 
 just skim the water ; the tail fly will then sink a little. On an 
 absolutely calm day, when the fish are rising, use only one fly, 
 and cast, if you can, into the ripples of the rising fish. Failing 
 this, cast, and let the fly sink almost to the bottom, then raise 
 it up slowly. If, after due perseverance, this latter plan fails, 
 
THE LAKE-PISHING BOAT AND GEAR. 81 
 
 go home. With regard to striking, it is impossible to lay 
 down any general rules. Everything depends on the way the 
 fish rise. Usually, if the breeze is light, the angler cannot 
 strike too quickly. 
 
 Fishing from a Boat is delightfully simple work. If there 
 are two anglers, each takes an end of the boat,* which drifts 
 sideways over the best fishing-grounds. These are usually 
 shallows varying from 3ft. to 12ft. in depth, and the more rocky 
 the better. Many fine trout will also be found at the edge of 
 weed and reed beds. If the wind is light, the boat will not drift 
 too fast, but in a breeze a small stone, attached to a rope, should 
 be towed from amidships on the windward side of the boat. When 
 much rope is let out, the boat will travel more slowly than if the 
 rope were short. Floating anchors are sometimes used in lieu of 
 the stone. Take a few feet of 12in. plank, about l^in. in thick- 
 ness ; make a hole at each corner. Attach a light cord to each 
 hole, and tie the four ends of the cords in a knot, about 6ft. from 
 the boat. Each end must be the same length. To the knot fasten 
 a piece of rope. Nail a few pieces of lead on to one edge of the 
 board. This will cause it to float upright in the water. The 
 rope is fastened amidships to the boat. The flat surface of the 
 anchor offers great resistance to the water, and so causes the 
 boat to drift very slowly. 
 
 No special tackle is necessary for this sort of fishing ; but a 
 short rod is preferable to a long one, and a short-handled, large- 
 hooped landing-net will be found very useful. The casts should 
 not be made straight out from the boat, but rather to the left or 
 right, the flies being drawn across, and not against, the waves. 
 If the breeze is strong, draw the line very slowly, and let the 
 wind belly out the line, and carry the flies along the water in the 
 same direction as the boat is drifting. The angler who can 
 manage this will catch many more fish than he who works his 
 flies in other ways. When the ripple is very slight, the trout 
 sometimes take the flies best if they are drawn against the 
 
 * A boat for lake-fishing should be rather beamy. Swivel rowlocks are very 
 advisable. A stool fixed to the centre of the boat has been lately introduced. It 
 has many advantages over the ordinary cross-seat. It is not a bad plan to put a 
 piece of board from seat to seat, and sit on it. 
 
82 ANGLING FOE GAME FISH. 
 
 ripple. When a fish rises, misses the fly, and the boat passes 
 over him, cast behind the boat, where you think he rose, and 
 you may get him. Lake trout are not usually shy. When a 
 fish is hooked, see that he does not bolt under the boat. If 
 the lake is small, and the wind light, you may have your mooring- 
 stone nearly on the bottom, so that, when a fish is hooked, the 
 boat may be quickly stopped (by letting out additional rope), 
 and held in position until the fish is landed. 
 
 Dapping with the Green Drake or May-fly (see page 
 39) is practised on many Irish lakes, particularly those of 
 West Meath.* The fishing lasts for about three weeks, or 
 less ; but as the flies rise earlier on some lakes than others, the 
 angler may, by shifting his quarters from one lake to another, 
 prolong his fishing considerably. 
 
 The necessary tackle consists of a long, light, bamboo rod, 
 14ft. to 18ft. in length (a grilse rod will do) ; a ligbt, undressed 
 silk line,f a trifle stouter than the Nottingham lines used for 
 chub-fishing; 1yd. of the finest undrawn gut, and a No. 10 
 (Kendal scale) round-bend hook. Some anglers use Stone-fly 
 tackle with two hooks (see page 66). A basket with a lid is 
 useful to hold the flies, or a box about 9in. square, covered 
 with a piece of fine netting, one corner of which can be lifted 
 up to take out the flies. The flies are found on the water, 
 on the windward shore, among the rocks, and particularly on 
 the leeward sides of hedges which are on the windward side 
 of the lake. The hook should be put in and out of the 
 back of the fly, between the wings, so that the fly floats 
 feet downward on the water. The boat should drift with 
 the wind, and not be checked by a stone ; and the fly should be 
 blown along the water in front of the boat, and not be either 
 checked or dapped on the surface. It should, in fact, imitate 
 the movements of the natural insects, which drift across the 
 water. On getting a rise, wait two seconds before striking. 
 
 
 As to the fishing on the West Meath and other Irish lakes, I strongly advise 
 How and Where to Fish in Ireland," by " Hi Regan" (Sampson Low <fc Co.), to 
 be consulted ; it is a most necessary work for anglers who visit Ireland. 
 iJ- ? he I ' is i b Ma y- fl y fishermen introduce a length of floss silk of considerable 
 thickness into their lines. This catches the wind, and assists in carrying out the 
 ny ; but if the line I have mentioned is used, the floss silk is not necessary. 
 
TRAILING, TROLLING, OR TRAWLING. 
 
 83 
 
 When the water is rather rough, two flies on the same hook may- 
 be used. Success depends, in a great measure, on keeping the 
 fly on the water, and the fly only, the gut being altogether in 
 the air. A beginner will be obliged to let a few inches of 
 gut touch the water; but not so the practised hand. The 
 wind constantly varies in force ; as it increases, lower the 
 point of the rod; as it decreases, raise it. 
 
 Spinning, or Trolling, is chiefly carried on in large lakes 
 where the trout do not rise well to a fly. Tackle similar to, 
 but stronger than, that described on page 71 should be used ; but 
 its strength must depend on the size of the 
 trout. For the flight I have found nothing 
 so good as a Chapman spinner, a good form 
 of which, known as the "Archer," is shown in 
 Fig. 59. The best natural baits are stone- 
 loaches, gudgeons, and minnows ;* but almost 
 any small fish may be used. The bait may 
 be cast out in the manner recommended for 
 Thames trout, but it is more commonly 
 trailedf behind a boat. The secrets of suc- 
 cess in trailing, or trolling, are to fish over 
 the right ground, and to let out abundance 
 of line — 50yds. or more. Of artificial baits, 
 Devon and phantom minnows are the best. 
 If a phantom bait has a tendency to bend 
 in half, stuff it with cotton wool. These 
 baits can easily be weighted by putting a 
 few shot inside them. The two best colours are silver belly 
 and blue back, and gold belly with brown back. In some 
 waters a silver phantom is a very excellent bait. The size 
 depends entirely on the state of the weather, water, and the 
 time of year. The same rules apply to spinning-baits as to 
 flies in this respect. The best place to spin over is the line 
 
 Fig. 59. Archer 
 Spinner. 
 
 * Natural baits may be salted, or kept in spirits of wine, or in King's Preserva- 
 tive. The last plan is best. The Preservative is sold at 157, Commercial Road, 
 London 
 
 t Termed "trolling" in Scotland and Ireland, and in some few places 
 " trawling." 
 
 DIV. III. H 
 
84 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 where the shallow water ends and the deep hegins. The largest 
 fish feed at night. Verb. sap. 
 
 Live-baiting is not commonly practised on lakes. The 
 tackle recommended for Thames trout would he the most 
 suitable for the purpose. On some Irish lakes a live fish — 
 usually a small trout — is hooked through both lips, and very 
 slowly drawn after a boat, at the end of 50yds. of line. The 
 pull of the boat prevents the bait getting to the bottom. 
 Some very large trout are caught in this way. A trout should 
 not be struck immediately he takes the bait, but should be 
 given a few seconds to get the head of the bait, and with it, 
 of course, the hook (which should be rather large), into his 
 mouth. 
 
 Worming in Lakes is mostly carried on at the mouths 
 of tributary streams while in spate. Stewart tackle (see 
 page 68) or a single hook may be used, and, as a rule, no 
 shots are required. The worm is cast out, but should not 
 be allowed to remain long on the bottom, but be moved 
 towards the angler a yard at a time. In Sutherlandshire, 
 the Highlanders worm fish in the lakes at night off rocks, 
 where the water is tolerably deep. They cast a worm like a 
 fly, and, allowing it to sink to the bottom, await the bites. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 SEA TROUT. 
 
 Habits and Haunts — Some Standard Flies — Fly-fishing — Other' 
 Methods of Fishing. 
 
 5§CJ EA TROUT are now, by some of our highest authorities, 
 f|® supposed to be of the same species as burn trout, only 
 varying from them in appearance by reason of their sojourn 
 in salt water and marine diet. The latest experiments at 
 Howietoun prove most conclusively that neither by colour nor 
 form can the young of burn trout be distinguished from the 
 young of sea trout during, at any rate, the first eighteen months 
 of their existence.* 
 
 The life-history of sea trout very much resembles that of 
 salmon given, at sufficient length for the purpose of this 
 book, on pages 3 to 5. Local names of sea trout will be found 
 on page 6. 
 
 Sea trout are very like salmon in shape and general appear- 
 ance, but they may be distinguished from the " king of fishes " 
 by having about as many X- shaped spots below the median 
 line as above it. In the salmon, nearly all these spots are 
 above the line. The median line runs from about the centre 
 of the gills to the tail, and will be easily recognised in the 
 engraving of a Loch Leven trout given in this book. 
 
 * See the Field, Sept. 22, 1888, page 434. 
 
 H 2 
 
86 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 Sea trout abound in many of the Scotch and Irish rivers, 
 but are found all round our coasts. In my opinion, they afford 
 better sport, relatively, than salmon, provided they are not 
 hooked on salmon-tackle, when, of course, they may be hauled 
 out. They vary in size in different districts, but lib. is a fair 
 average size, and 41b. a very good fish. In some of the rivers 
 on the West Coast of Ireland the average is very much higher 
 than this, and immense bags are sometimes made. An Irish 
 friend of mine, the Rev. Henry Henn, while fishing there for 
 salmon, caught in one day forty sea trout, weighing just under 
 701b. I would warn my readers against visiting even the most 
 noted sea-trout rivers during dry weather, or, at any rate, before 
 there has been a flood enabling the trout to push up into fresh 
 water. Lakes connected with the sea by a short river often 
 afford the best sea-trouting, but they will be found absolutely 
 void of fish until there has been a spate of sufficient magni- 
 tude to enable or induce the fish to leave the sea. Generally 
 speaking, sport is more uncertain and dependent on the weather 
 in the small streams than in the large ones.* 
 
 Light salmon -tackle is frequently used for sea trout, but 
 it is far pleasanter to fish with the still lighter tackle used 
 for brown trout of large size. Moreover, fine tackle always 
 gives the best results, unless it is too fine to hold the fish. 
 Two or three flies are commonly used, and they may be 
 attached to the cast in any of the ways already recommended, 
 that shown at Fig. 58, on page 80, being, perhaps, the best. 
 Or the fly may be looped on (Fig. 39, a) in the centre of the 
 "buffer" knot (Fig. 68). Be very sure, by frequent examination, 
 that the knots, gut, casting-line, &c, are sound and strong, 
 for when sea-trouting there is always the chance of hooking a 
 salmon. On this account it is as well to have 80yds. to 100yds. 
 of line on the reel. 
 
 The Flies for Sea Trout are not usually imitations of the 
 natural insect. Any of the salmon-flies (particularly the Jock 
 
 * Dr. Hamilton, in his well-known book "Recollections of Fly-fishing for Salmon, 
 Trout, and Grayling," states that in some rivers on the West Coast of Scotland 
 capital sport may be had with the fish in the tidal pools, when the tide is low, but 
 flowing ; while in others nothing will induce a sea trout to rise until he is well into 
 fresh water. 
 
HAUNTS OF SEA TROUT. 87 
 
 Scott and the Blue Doctor) mentioned in this book, tied small, 
 are good; but in some rivers the fish will only take large 
 salmon-flies. On other streams, again, small brook-trout flies 
 are used; and should, at any time, the fish rise short, I strongly 
 recommend a change to smaller flies. On the vagaries of sea 
 trout in different streams the angler must, of course, obtain 
 local information, to which he should not, however, trust too 
 implicitly. The Irish flies are sober-coloured patterns, some- 
 thing after the nature of March Browns, and quite unlike the 
 Scotch patterns ; yet I have found them kill in Scotland quite 
 as well as the local flies. A particularly good fly is a large 
 "Wickham's Fancy, and a large March Brown is also very 
 killing at times. Both Black and Red Palmers kill well on 
 the West Coast of Scotland, and a fly known as Green and 
 Teal* is killing almost everywhere. Most of the brighter- 
 coloured lake-flies are good for sea trout, particularly the 
 Dark Clarets with silver tinsel. Then there is the favourite 
 flyf of the late Francis Francis, and a host of others, the 
 dressings of which are to be found in " A Book on Angling." 
 When fly-fishing for sea trout in rivers, many anglers work 
 their flies as if they were fishing for salmon. Personally, I 
 adhere to no rule, more often than not, perhaps, casting across 
 the stream, and drawing my cast back with the top dropper just 
 dancing and bobbing along the surface. That method usually 
 answers as well as any other ; but when one style of working the 
 fly fails, another should be tried. Some days the fish seem to 
 like the fly worked fast ; at other times the flies kill best if worked 
 slowly, and allowed to sink. In rivers the fish will be found in 
 long stretches of water which are neither very deep nor very 
 rapid. They will also be found on the shallows at the tails of 
 pools ; but in pools near the sea, in deeper water. In lakes, the 
 best spots are nearly always on the edge of weeds, off rocky 
 
 * Body, baize-coloured pigswool. Wing, teal, with a few strands of jungle-cock 
 and red feather, and tail jungle-cock. 
 
 + Tail, a short tuft of orange-yellow floss silk [or seal fur.— J. B.]. Body, a dark 
 ruddy brown or brown-red (something the colour of dark red hair) pigswool, fine 
 silver twist. Hackle, coch-y-bondu (red with black centre). Wing, two strips of 
 bright teal. Three sizes of this fly should be kept, from the largest to the smallest 
 sea-trout size. 
 
88 ANGLING FOE GAME FISH. 
 
 points, and about islands. The fish usually go in shoals ; and 
 having found a large shoal of rising fish, it is as well to keep 
 the boat back, and not drift over them. The flies should be 
 drawn rather quickly. If the fish seem very shy, try letting out 
 40yds. of line, and trailing the flies after the boat. 
 
 Among other methods of taking sea trout, the principal is 
 worming both in clear and thick water. The process differs in 
 no material respect from worming for brown trout already 
 described on pages 69, 70. In thick water, large worms, or two 
 or more small ones, should be used. The anglers of the North 
 and Border catch many sea trout in rivers by casting the worm 
 at night. Spinning is much practised, and sea trout will take 
 a small Devon, or other swift-spinning bait, greedily (see page 
 71). But why spin for such a free-rising and sport-giving fish ? 
 
 In the North and North-west of Scotland sea trout are often 
 caught in the sea-lochs.* The best bait is a sand-eel, mounted 
 on a Chapman spinner; but the fish are also to be caught with a 
 worm, cast and worked with a sink-and-draw motion, and occa- 
 sionally with a fly. The best place for the two latter methods is 
 in quite shallow water, close to the edge of seaweed which fringes 
 the rocks. Very full information on this subject, for which I 
 cannot now afford space, was given in two articles of mine 
 published in the Field on November 12, 1887, and March 3, 
 1888, entitled respectively " Sea-trout Fishing in Salt "Water " 
 and " Sea Angling in the North of Scotland." Spinning with 
 the sand-eel is carried on very successfully during the month 
 of June in the Kyles of Durness and Tongue, in Sutherland ; 
 but sea trout will take baits in many other sea-lochs on the 
 North and North-west Coasts of Scotland, and, doubtless, 
 elsewhere. 
 
 *Mr. Anderson Smith, in "Benderloch," one of the most pleasing books on 
 natural history I have ever had the pleasure of reading, tells how the sea trout 
 come into the sea-lochs of the North of Scotland to feed on the herring-fry. At 
 such times I would suggest their being fished for with a large Alexandra fly, with 
 two strips of white feather in the wing, which is a very good imitation of a small 
 herring. In Orkney, the best fly_ to use in salt water is dressed with a fiery-brown 
 cock's hackle, tied Palmer fashion, with or without grey-speckled wing. It is 
 supposed to imitate the sandhopper. Another good salt-water fly has a pale blue 
 body, with red tip and teal wing. 
 
 ■ > —»■ < . 
 

 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE THAMES TROUT. 
 
 Habits and Haunts — Some Likely Flies — Fly-fishing — Spinning 
 — Live-baiting — A New Tackle. 
 
 gETOHAMES TROUT grow to a great size, and much resemble 
 OjgC salmon or sea trout in colouring. Specimens over 201b. in 
 weight have been taken, and a season rarely passes without 
 the capture of one weighing 101b. or 121b. It is illegal to 
 kill them under 16in. in length. Owing to the vast numbers 
 of what I may term foreign trout which have been turned 
 into the river, the angler may catch five foreigners before he 
 brings to creel one native. But there is no doubt that the 
 trout introduced into the Thames from Guildford, Howietoun, 
 High "Wycombe, and other places, in time put on silver livery 
 and lose their red spots. Trout, I am glad to say, are, without 
 doubt, steadily increasing in the Thames, and in the course 
 of a few more years the fishing should be very good indeed. 
 An association which I formed some years ago for the preserva- 
 tion of a portion of the river has turned in not less than 
 100,000 trout, varying in size from fry to fish of 21b. Of 
 course, the great majority of these were fry which, in my 
 opinion, were far too small to turn into a river like the Thames. 
 Trout are found in all parts of the river, but are most numerous 
 in what I may term the Middle Thames, between Pangbourne 
 and Maidenhead. 
 
90 ANGLING FOE GAME FISH. 
 
 Trout-fishing begins on April 1st, and ends on August 31st. 
 Most fish are usually caught in April and May, and in June 
 if the water is not very low and bright. There is no time so 
 favourable as when the river is a little above summer level and 
 slightly coloured. At the commencement of the season the 
 majority of trout are in the quiet reaches, but as the year 
 advances most of them come up into the weirpools. At the 
 same time, trout may be looked for all through the season under 
 hollow banks where the bottom is of gravel and the stream 
 swift, round about islands, in ballast-holes, on shallows, at the 
 mouths of brooks (particularly towards the end of the season), 
 and in any quiet nook or corner where the water is not too 
 stagnant. In the evening, a good many fish leave the deeps 
 to feed on any quiet shallows which are out of the way of the 
 river traffic, but the very large trout do not often come into 
 very shallow water. 
 
 Trout-fishing in the Thames is decidedly uncertain work, 
 but the anglers who fail usually do so from lack of either 
 skill or persistence. Given the skill, the secrets of success 
 when fishing places other than weirpools consist in finding 
 out the haunts of a fish, noting the times when he feeds, and 
 fishing at those times. A man taking a chance day on the 
 Thames has small chance of success unless he sticks to the 
 weirpools or employs one of the professional fishermen to 
 show him where the fish are. I believe I am correct in saying 
 that though the weir and mill pools are more fished than 
 any other part of the river, more fish are taken from the 
 main stream and backwaters. Under favourable circumstances, 
 a clever Thames angler, guided by an honest and observant 
 fisherman, will often take his brace of trout, of perhaps 
 31b. or 41b. each, and on occasions will double or treble that 
 take. At the same time, the number of persons who fish for 
 weeks without taking a tront is considerable. Thames fisher- 
 men usually charge 8s. to 10s. a day, and for this provide 
 punt, baits, and tackle, if required. They expect their dinner 
 and beer in the bargain. 
 
 Fly-fishing for Thames Trout is not a good method of 
 getting at the large fish, which do not feed on flies. The only 
 
FLIES FOB THAMES TROUT. 
 
 :»1 
 
 likely way of catching a trout over 21b. with the fly is to use 
 a good-sized salmon-fly (a Dusty Miller is as good as any; see 
 Chapter IX.) in the rough water of milltails and weirpools. Now 
 and again a large trout takes a small fly ; but it is the exception 
 that proves the rule. The small fish rise well enough; I once 
 took thirteen without moving my boat ; none were over fib., 
 and all were, of course, returned. The fly was a small Coachman. 
 For waters less rough than those I have men- 
 tioned, there is no fly better than the Alexandra 
 (see page 46), which will, indeed, take well in 
 almost still water, if allowed to sink, and then 
 drawn slowly through the water. On warm 
 summer evenings, when the trout visit the shal- 
 lows below weirpools to feed, ordinary flies may 
 be used, but they should be dressed large. The 
 best are Alders, Coachmen, Sedges, Coch-y- 
 bondu with harl body and gold twist, and many 
 lake, sea-trout, and grilse flies. A description 
 of fly-fishing will be found in previous chapters. 
 Spinning for Thames Trout is carried 
 on in a similar manner to spinning for pike, but 
 the tackle is finer. The usual flight is shown 
 baited in Fig. 60. The fourth triangle is not 
 necessary to hook the trout, but it helps to 
 keep the bait in position. A single hook will 
 do as well. The engraving was made from a 
 tackle baited with a bleak, by W. Parrott, of 
 Henley, a veteran Thames fisherman. The gut 
 should be of medium size, round and clear. 
 The lip-hooks should go through the under lip 
 first, as a rule ; but if a gudgeon, through the 
 top lip. downwards. The bait must not " wobble " in the least, 
 but flash straight through the water like a thread of silver. 
 
 tMany anglers prefer the Francis flight (see Fig. 61) to the 
 arrangement just mentioned; but I would advise those who 
 are particularly clumsy in the matter of arranging a spinning 
 bait, to use either a Chapman spinner with silver-plated fans, or 
 the Imperceptible Spinner referred to on page 73. The trace 
 
 Fig. 60. Thames 
 
 Spinning Flight 
 
 (Baited). 
 
92 
 
 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 should consist of 5ft. of moderately stout gut, tied together 
 with the knot shown on page 109, terminated by a small loop 
 at one end, for attachment to the reel-line, and a large loop 
 at the other, to which the flight is fastened. Three feet 
 from the large loop should be some such lead, with 
 brass swivels, as that shown on page 71. The lead should 
 always hang below the level of the line, whatever its shape 
 may be. Very small leads should be used in the open stream, 
 but in the heavy waters of weirpools and milltails as much as 
 a ioz. lead may be necessary. The angler 
 should put just enough lead on to keep 
 the bait 1ft. or 2ft. below the surface. For 
 / casting from the reel, a Nottingham reel 
 
 U\ (see page 19) and line may be used; but as 
 
 the greatest accuracy is often required 
 when spinning for trout, I think the 
 Thames plan preferable. The rod should 
 be long, light, and of bamboo, with a 
 greenheart top ; and it will be pleasant to 
 use if fitted with the rings, &c, illustrated 
 on page 16. The butt should terminate 
 with a large, soft, indiarubber knob. The 
 leading London tackle-makers keep excel- 
 lent Thames spinning-rods, and Mr. Barn- 
 bridge, of Eton, makes them a specialty. 
 The best baits are bleak or small dace in 
 the spring, and when the water is more or 
 less coloured; but in bright water a small gudgeon or stone- 
 oach is very killing, and in July a minnow often takes better 
 than anything else. Flights for minnows are described on 
 page 72. Of course, small baits can and should be mounted 
 on finer tackle than large ones ; but in the rough water of weir- 
 pools fairly stout gut may be used with impunity, and is often 
 necessary to hold large fish in such dangerous places. 
 
 Spinning for Thames trout requires a good deal of practice 
 Line should be pulled off the reel on to the floor of the 
 punt, and the bait cast out across and rather up stream, and 
 then be brought back to the angler, and kept continuously 
 
 Fig. 61. Francis 
 Flioht. 
 
" THE BEST SPINNERS IN THE WORLD." 93 
 
 spinning by alternate pulls of the rod and draws of the line 
 through the rings with the left hand. The line should pass 
 over the finger of the right hand holding the rod. In the 
 Nottingham style, the cast is made off the reel, which is 
 checked at the end of the cast, or when a fish is running, by 
 a finger placed lightly on the rim of the reel. The two 
 methods are explained at considerable length in "Angling 
 for Pike." When fishing in rapid-running water, the bait 
 may be pulled slowly, and the line worked into the palm 
 of the left hand. For the Nottingham method, the line 
 should not be dressed, but for the Thames style a dressed 
 line is necessary. 
 
 When fishing weirpools, it should be borne in mind that 
 trout will be found near the lasher up to about two o'clock, 
 but after that work out into shallower water at the tail of 
 the pool. When the water is thick, the bait should be spun 
 over shallows, and as near the bank as possible. To stand 
 on the top of a weir is a mistake ; the body is outlined against 
 the sky, and the fish see it. It is usually far better to fish 
 from a punt. In April and May, the weir-fisher will occa- 
 sionally find his bait taken by large barbel and chub. 
 
 Of artificial spinning baits, I give the palm to the Devon, 
 but the light quill minnow, which can be cast like a fly, is 
 occasionally very killing (see page 74). Finally, as to spinning, 
 let me say that the Thames fishermen are the best spinners 
 in the world, and that a beginner in the art cannot put him- 
 self under better masters ! 
 
 Live-baiting for Thames Trout is, I am sorry to say, 
 getting a common practice. The 
 tackle consists of a fine, undressed 
 silk line, a very small float, 2yds. 
 of fine but sufficiently strong gut, 
 and, if the bait is a minnow, a single 
 hook, to be put through both lips ; if 
 it is anything large, a small lip-hook, 
 Fig. 62. A New Triangle, and a triangle, which is placed near 
 the back fin. In lieu of the ordinary 
 triangle, I prefer a small edition of one I invented for pike- 
 
94 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 fishing (see Fig. 62) ; it lies very close to the bait, to the 
 side of which it should be fixed. In live-baiting, the chief 
 skill is in playing the trout, for the angler has only to moor 
 his punt some 30yds. above the spot where a trout is known 
 to feed, let his bait float down to the spot, and await results. 
 The bait should be about 2Aft. below the float. An excellent 
 plan is, after the punt is moored, to let down the bait some 
 yards below where you believe the trout to be ; then, when 
 he comes on the feed, to reel in the bait to where he is seen 
 chasing the small fry. I am speaking, of course, of trout the 
 haunts and feeding-times of which are known. 
 
 t>««i»|i 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE GRAYLING, UMBER, OR OUMER. 
 
 Habits and Haunts — Flies — Dry and Wet Fly-fishing — The 
 Grasshopper — Swimming the Worm. 
 
 jjjlpF in a trout-stream you catch a fish having the fatty or 
 
 <s|i. adipose fin, but differing in almost every other respect 
 from trout and salmon, call it grayling without hesitation. 
 In addition, you will note a huge dorsal fin, violet-coloured 
 and purple-spotted; peculiar eyes, with pear-shaped, indigo 
 pupils ; head and back a purple- black, shading to a steely 
 blue ; golden streaks and grey lines (hence, perhaps, its name) 
 on the side, with (usually) black spots; and a small mouth, 
 having a projecting upper lip. The fish may look to you like 
 a very beautifully-coloured yet somewhat grotesque dace. 
 Grayling are not nearly so widely distributed as trout,* and 
 
 * The largest are found in the Hampshire and Wiltshire rivers, notably the Test, 
 Itchen, Avon, and Kennet, where they grow to 41b., or even more, in weight. The 
 principal English rivers, besides those mentioned, are, says Dr. Hamilton, the Lug, 
 Wye, Irvon, and Arrow, in Herefordshire ; the Teme (where yearling fish are termed 
 "pinks," and second-year fish " shutts," " shots," or "sheets"), Clun,and Corve, in 
 Shropshire ; the Trent, Dove, and Wye, in Staffordshire ; the Dove and Wye, in 
 Derbyshire ; the Dee, in Merionethshire ; the Derwent, Ouse, Wharfe, and Wiske, 
 in Yorkshire ; and the Eden and Esk in Cumberland. They are said to be 
 found in the Orkneys (contradicted in the " Field," Oct. 13th, 1888), but have only 
 been introduced into other parts of Scotland (viz., the Tweed, Ayr, and Clyde) 
 in recent times. In Ireland, grayling are wanting and wanted. In parts of Ireland 
 grilse are termed grayling, and in the markets of the Midlands pollan, an Irish 
 lake-fish, is sold as Irish grayling. (Vide "Angling for Coarse Fish," page 127.) 
 
96 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 it is usually impossible to say, until the experiment has been 
 tried, whether a river is or is not suitable for these fish. 
 One thing we know is necessary — pure water. 
 
 Small grayling are in condition all the year round ; but 
 the spawners (those two years of age and upwards) are only 
 at their best from August to February. Spawning in the 
 spring, they afford the fly-fisher sport during the autumn 
 and winter months, when trout are out of season. They 
 are not such good eating as sea trout, but when in condition 
 are, in my opinion, superior to the majority of brown trout. 
 While they do not play with the dash of a trout, they never- 
 theless die very hard, and give most excellent sport. Generally 
 speaking, they are, when feeding, easier to catch than trout J 
 but when much fished for, particularly in chalk- streams, they 
 get very shy. 
 
 Haunts and Habits of Grayling. — Except that in the 
 North the large fish are not often found on shallows, nor any, 
 large or small, in the roughest water, grayling may be looked 
 •for in all parts of a river. In Hampshire streams they may 
 be seen rising like trout, and are commonly fished for with a 
 dry fly; and those shallows which ai - e 1ft. to 4ft. in depth 
 often afford the best sport. In more rapid and undammed 
 rivers, the best places a,re the lower edges of deep pools, where 
 the water swirls round ; under banks, where the water is fairly 
 •deep and rapid ; the sloping banks on the edges of deep, swift 
 streams ; and particularly in long stretches of the river between 
 two pools, where the water is 3ft. to 4ft. deep, and neither 
 very slow nor very rapid. Generally speaking, grayling haunt 
 quieter water than trout, and especially favour the smooth 
 glides before or after a strong stream. 
 
 Grayling do not, like trout, swim near the surface when 
 inclined to feed, but dart perpendicularly from the bottom, 
 seize the fly, and instantly descend. They are enabled to do 
 this by means of a large air-bladder, which, so Dr. Hamilton 
 has discovered, works in connection with the back fin. When 
 the fin becomes erect, the bladder at once fills up with air, 
 and the fish rises to the surface ; when it lies over, the 
 bladder immediately gets smaller, and the fish drops to the 
 
GRAYLING-FLIES. 97 
 
 bottom. Grayling feed best in morning and afternoon during 
 tbe summer, and about mid-day in winter. On some rivers 
 the large fish hardly ever take the fly, and in the North fly- 
 fishing gives place to " swimming the worm " from the end of 
 October till after Christmas ; and in the Midlands it is prac- 
 tised throughout the winter, should the weather be sufficiently 
 genial. 
 
 Ply-fishing for Grayling much resembles fly-fishing for 
 trout. On the Hampshire rivers grayling are caught with 
 the floating fly, but the wet fly by no means fails to take 
 them. Mr. Halford gives me the following as being the best 
 Test grayling-flies : Wickham's Fancy (see page 32), which is 
 always useful ; the Red Tag* and Orange Bumble.f killers 
 in any stream; and the Adjutant Blue.J These are fancy 
 flies ; but imitations of the natural flies, especially the Duns, 
 are very killing. A pale-winged Dun, with an apple-green 
 body, dressed very small, is a particularly good grayling-fly. 
 Mr. T. E. Pritt, author of that beautiful work "The Book 
 of the Grayling" — where will be found Mr. Walbran's and 
 other accomplished anglers' pet casts — gives as his favourite 
 flies for Yorkshire and the Midlands the Crimson Tag,§ Dark 
 Needle, |! and Fog Blacky (see Fig. 63). In Derbyshire, the 
 Bumbles are, of course, great favourites ; and I may remark 
 generally, as to fancy grayling-flies, that they are always the 
 better for a little bit of colour and tinsel. Grayling occa- 
 sionally rise well to the May-fly, but when that occurs, having 
 recently spawned, they should be returned to the water. 
 
 * Hackle, blood-red gamecock. Body, copper-coloured peacock harl, two or 
 three strands twisted together (or a single strand of blue and yellow macaw tail- 
 feather). Tag, ibis, or scarlet seal fur, or scarlet wool. Hook, or 00. 
 
 t Hackle, honey-dun cock. Body, orange floss silk, ribbed with a strand of pea- 
 cock sword-feather, and with fine flat gold. Hook, long or 00 long. 
 
 J Wings, medium starling or pale coot. Body, a strand from the pinion or tail- 
 feather of an adjutant (or strip of quill from pinion-feather of an oldish starling). 
 Hackle and whisk, blue Andalusian. Hook, 00 or 000. The strand of adjutant is 
 stripped on one edge only, by tearing down the longer flue with the thumb and fore- 
 finger of the left hand. 
 
 § Hackle, bronzy feather from golden plover's breast (in full plumage). Body, 
 bright green peacock's harl, dressed full. Tag, crimson wool. 
 
 II Hackled with feather from darkest part of brown owl's wing. 
 
 •[ Wings, bullfinch's wing. Body, dark purple silk, dubbed with dark heron's 
 harl. Legs, from neck of starling. 
 
98 ANGLING FOB GAME FISH. 
 
 The rod and tackle for grayling are the same as those 
 used for river trout, but the gut near the fly must be very 
 fine. I never use more than two flies, and in quiet, clear 
 water often do best with only one. On the subject of dry- 
 fly fishing there is little to add to the remarks in Chapter II. 
 The great point is to distinguish a rising trout from a 
 rising grayling. The trout will keep near the surface, and 
 may of tenbe seen, while the grayling keeps near the bottom, 
 except just at the moment of rising. The grayling often 
 shows his back fin when he takes the fly, and Dr. Hamilton 
 tells me that two or three bubbles are nearly always left 
 after a rise. I have not noticed this myself. 
 
 In wet-fly fishing it is usual to cast right across the stream, 
 and allow the flies to slowly sweep round. Strike quickly and 
 
 Crimson Tag. Dark Needle. Fog Black. 
 
 Fig. 63. Cast of Grayling-flies for North-country Streams. 
 
 delicately at the least indication of a rise, and play the fish 
 very tenderly, as he has a mouth from which the hook easily 
 comes away. If he rises, but misses the fly, still go on 
 casting. A grayling will sometimes rise short half a dozen 
 times, and at last get hooked. In rather still water, which 
 you would not dream of fishing for trout, let the fly sink 
 well, and strike at the slightest movement in the water or 
 tightening of the line. Never cast up stream with the wet 
 fly for grayling. In the autumn and winter, do not lose heart 
 and go home because you have no rises; the fish may begin 
 to feed at any moment, and in one short half-hour you may 
 retrieve the fortunes of the day. 
 
 Bait-fishing for grayling should only be practised on 
 streams where the large fish absolutely refuse a fly, or in 
 
BAIT-FISHING FOR GRAYLING. 99 
 
 the North, after the middle of November, when fly-fishing 
 
 becomes useless. Grayling take almost any grub or larva, 
 
 but the two baits most xxsed. are gentles and worms. On 
 
 Herefordshire and Worcestershire grayling- streams an odd 
 
 method of fishing is practised with what is termed 
 
 the "grasshopper"* (Fig. 64). On to the point 
 
 of the hook stick half a dozen gentles. A stout 
 
 cast is generally used. A tiny quill float, not 
 
 sufficient to buoy up the leaded bait, is fixed to 
 
 the line, to show the angler about how deep 
 
 the bait — which should reach the bottom — is in 
 
 the water. The " grasshopper " is cast in likely 
 
 spots, and worked with a sink-and-draw motion 
 
 near the bottom. In lieu of gentles, a real grass- Fig. 64. The 
 
 Grasshopper. 
 hopper, redworm, or cabbage grub, may be used. 
 
 " Swimming the "Worm " is a method greatly practised in 
 
 the North after the fly-fishing is over. It is most successful 
 
 in cold weather, particularly after frosty nights, when the 
 
 water is low and clear; but the presence of snow-broth in 
 
 the stream is usually fatal to success. The tackle consists 
 
 of a very fine 3-yd. cast, terminated by a small round-bend 
 
 hook, the shank of which should be painted red, and which, 
 
 if not " sliced," should have a bristle lashed on to it, to keep the 
 
 worm from slipping down. A swan-shot is fixed to the line, 
 
 about 1ft. from the hook. The gut passes through a tiny 
 
 cork float, not much larger than a cob-nut, which is kept 
 
 in its place by a peg. The peg should project about l£in. 
 
 above the float, and be painted red. Small, well-scoured 
 
 redworms are the best baits, but brandlings will do. A rather 
 
 stiff fly-rod and dressed line are commonly used, but I should 
 
 give the preference to a Nottingham rod, reel, and line. All 
 
 being prepared, fix your float so that, as nearly as you can 
 
 guess, the bait will be 6in. from the bottom, and cast the 
 
 tackle into likely grayling-haunts, letting it swim down with 
 
 the stream. Sometimes you may walk along the bank and 
 
 * It is made thus : Wrap lead round shank of hook, and over lead wind green 
 Berlin wool, with a few turns of black wool at head. Lay a straw along each side, 
 and rib with yellow wool or thick silk. 
 
 DIV. III. I 
 
100 ANGLING FOB GAME FISH. 
 
 follow it. At the slightest check to the float, strike gently. 
 If the fish bite shyly, substitute Stewart tackle for the single 
 hook. Swimming the worm is described very fully, and the 
 tackle is illustrated, in Mr. Pritt's book, but in these few re- 
 marks all the essential points are noted. Grayling sometimes 
 take a minnow, but not often. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 CHAR, CHARR, OR CHARRE. 
 
 Habits and Haunts — Fly-fishing — Spinning — Fishing at Night 
 with the Worm. 
 
 j%y?*?HAR* are lake-fish, and thrive best in still, deep waters 
 i$ij of a low temperature. In appearance they much re- 
 semble trout, but are more gorgeous in colouring, particularly 
 just before spawning, when their bellies become a bright 
 crimson or scarlet — hence their Welsh name, torgoch, which 
 means red-belly. The front edge of the dorsal, ventral, and 
 anal fins, and upper edges of pectoral fins, are often a pure 
 white or orange colour. The eyes are golden, and the back a 
 bluish purple, tinged with gold. Should there be any difficulty 
 in deciding whether a fish is a trout or a char, examine the 
 roof of its mouth. If a trout, you will find a double row of 
 teeth running down the central bone, or vomer. If a char, 
 there will only be a few teeth, which will be found in the 
 more forward part of the bone. Char are found on many 
 lakes of the United Kingdom, but vary greatly in their habits 
 in different waters. In Scotland, they rise best to a fly in 
 Loch Doon, Ayrshire ; Loch Achilty, Ross-shire ; Loch Knockie, 
 Inverness-shire (in October) ; the Tarff, Kirkcudbright (late in 
 
 * For many particulars in this chapter relating to char I am indebted to 
 Dr. Day's "British and Irish Salmonidse." 
 
 i2 
 
102 ANGLING FOE GAME FISH. 
 
 the season); Corry Lair; and in Lochs Dochart, Ericht, and 
 Fruchie. They are found in a number of lakes, large and 
 small, in Ireland, and in the smaller lakes will sometimes 
 rise to the fly. In Lough Conn a char was once taken on 
 a salmon-fly. In Wales, char take the fly freely, but in the 
 Cumberland and Westmoreland lakes they do not come much 
 to the surface, or into shallow water, except when spawning. 
 They are said to take the fly in Coat's Water and Hawes 
 Water. The average size of this fish is something under Alb. 
 One of the largest ever taken was caught on a spinning bait, 
 last year, in Windermere, by Mr. Higham, of Bowness; it 
 weighed 21b. loz. Besides torgoch, char are termed gally-trout, 
 red-wame, and murneen. These fish are excellent eating, and 
 potted char is a well-known delicacy. At Howietoun, char have 
 been successfully interbred with trout. The offspring are not 
 sterile, as might have been expected. 
 
 For fly-fishing, very fine tackle should be used, and there 
 may be thi-ee, or even four, flies on the cast. The flies should 
 be drawn slowly, and the rod-point kept low, so that they 
 sink a little below the surface. Indeed, a shot or two to sink 
 the flies may sometimes be added with advantage. Char, when 
 inclined to rise, are not very particular in the matter of flies. 
 Ordinary lake-flies, dressed small, are commonly used. A 
 Red Spinner, with gold twist, I have known kill in Ireland ; and. 
 generally speaking, a little gold twist or tinsel, and a bit of 
 colour, are advisable. Mr. H. R. Francis, a veteran fly-fisher, 
 says the following fly has special attractions for char. It is 
 a variation of one of Mr. Colquhoun's flies : Bright red land- 
 rail wing, yellowish red hackle and body. There should be 
 a second hackle, with some fine gold twist, carried Palmer 
 fashion down the body. When the fish will not take the 
 flies cast in the usual manner, the cast should be shotted, 
 and trailed very slowly after the boat at the end of a long 
 line. 
 
 Spinning for char is much practised on Windermere, where 
 the local fishermen use a contrivance known as a " plumb-line." 
 The angler should use ordinary brook- trout spinning tackle 
 (see page 71), and for bait a Devon, quill minnow, or blue 
 
THE PLUMB-LINE. 103 
 
 phantom. A very heavy lead (loz. or more) should he put on 
 the trace, l^yd. from the hait, which should he trailed slowly at 
 the end of 50yds. or more of line. If it is cast out in Thames 
 fashion, it should be allowed to sink well before being drawn in. 
 If sport is not obtained, try lighter or heavier leads until your 
 bait is at the right depth. This difficulty of finding the depth 
 may be got over by the plumb-line already referred to. This 
 tackle consists of a strong cord, about 50yds. in length, which 
 carries five baits. At the end of the line is a large swivel, and 
 to the swivel is fastened a lilb. lead. Attached to the line are 
 five droppers,which vary in length from 6yds. to 10yds. The 
 shortest are nearest the lead. To each dropper is fastened a 
 trace with swivels, and at the end of each trace is a spinning 
 bait, usually of metal, home-made — one side silver, the other 
 copper. The boat is rowed slowly along, and the lead is let down 
 over the stem. Then follows a dropper, then some of the cord, 
 and another dropper ; and so on until all the line is in the water. 
 The heavy lead causes the main line to hang down nearly 
 perpendicularly in the water. The resistance of the spinning 
 baits to the water, as the boat moves along, keeps them and the 
 traces extended clear of the cord. In March, the Windermere 
 char are about 90ft. down in the deepest parts of the lake. They 
 come nearer the surface in the summer. About September they 
 come on to the shallows for spawning purposes, and are netted 
 during the autumn. The angler should bear their changes of 
 position in mind. 
 
 In some lakes, probably all, char take a worm well at night. 
 The boat is moored, and the tackle — which consists of a gut cast 
 and two small hooks, a yard above which is a ioz. pipe lead — is 
 let down a considerable depth into the water. Various depths 
 must be tried, until the fish are found. The baits are well- 
 scoured brandlings and redworms. The fish bite best just 
 before dawn. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 TEE SALMON. 
 
 Habits and Haunts — Waders and Dress — Bod and Tackle for 
 Fly-fishing — Knots — Standard Flies — Casting and Working 
 the Fly — Striking, Playing, and Gaffing the Fish — Spinning, 
 or Trolling — Fishing with Prawn and Worm — Trent Method 
 of Salmon-fishing. 
 
 <K/K^T the end of the procession of game fish comes, king of 
 *&lL all, the mighty salmon. Need I describe him ? I think 
 not. Of his life-history a brief account is given in Chapter I. 
 More useful to the angler will be a short description of his 
 haunts and habits, so far as they are involved in his capture. 
 Had I some ten times the space to devote to this one fish, 
 I could have touched upon the numberless controversies respect- 
 ing his habits and the ways of angling for him; but I am 
 here obliged to limit myself — not, perhaps, to the reader's 
 sorrow — to the best advice I am capable of giving in the matter 
 of tackle, and an account of the principles relating to salmon- 
 fishing which are generally accepted by the most experienced 
 anglers of the day. 
 
 Now as to his habits and haunts. His abiding-places in 
 rivers are usually the pools, in some of which he will never rise 
 to a fly — why, no one knows. In this he somewhat resembles 
 barbel. The angler who fishes a strange river will therefore lose 
 
HA.TJNTS AND HABITS OF SALMON. 105 
 
 much time and have poor sport unless he obtains the services 
 of a local fisherman, or gillie, to show him the pools (termed 
 " casts," or " catches ") in which salmon rise, and the best way 
 of fishing them. Many pools contain rising fish only when 
 the water is at a certain height — which height local anglers 
 know well. In a flood or spate, when the fish are running 
 up stream, a salmon may be looked for behind any rock, and 
 local experience is then not so valuable. In large, slow-flowing 
 rivers, such as the Shannon above Portumna, salmon are 
 caught on the fords — i.e., short pieces of the river where the 
 water shallows somewhat — and in only a few feet in depth 
 — spots which would be called " hills " on the Thames. The 
 habits of salmon vary much in different rivers. In one stream 
 they will rise in pools close to the sea; in another, not until 
 they have put fifty miles between themselves and the sea-coast. 
 In one river the fishing may be only good in the spring ; in 
 another, not until July. Therefore, before renting or visiting 
 a river, make yourself thoroughly acquainted with its character- 
 istics, or you may be greatly disappointed, and may consider, 
 perhaps with justice, that you have been swindled. In lakes, 
 salmon will be found more particularly off rocky or other pro- 
 jecting points, where the water is fairly deep. A narrow gut 
 between two lakes, where there is a gentle stream, is nearly 
 always a favourite spot. 
 
 In the spring, the kelts (there is an explanation of names 
 on page 6) are often a great nuisance, as they take the fly, 
 or any bait, far more eagerly than the clean fish. In the 
 summer months, unless the weather is very wet, the fishing 
 is usually at its woi'st, and is at its best in the autumn, after 
 the netting has stopped in the estuaries. In genial weather, 
 the fish rise best in the morning and evening, and worst in 
 the afternoon. Just after sundown is always a likely time. In 
 cold weather, the fishing is best after mid-day. Fresh-run fish 
 may be known by their silvery appearance and the presence 
 of sea-lice. They take the fly, or bait, more eagerly than those 
 that have been some time in the river. In the autumn, blotches 
 of red and black spots appear on the male fish, which are 
 then called red fish. By the way, when you hear a Scotchman 
 
106 ANGLING FOE GAME FISH. 
 
 speak of a fish, you may be certain lie means a salmon, as trout 
 are not called " fish " in Scotland. 
 
 Salmon rarely take the fly in salt water; but should many 
 fish be in an estuary, the experiment of casting a fly over 
 them should be tried.* 
 
 Waders and Dress. — All-wool clothing, knickerbockers, 
 thick, knitted stockings, Norfolk or other easy-fitting jacket, 
 of a thickness suitable to the season, and stout, well-greased 
 boots, form the best attire. Waders — which on many rivers are 
 absolutely necessary — require more consideration. The ordinary 
 thing is stockings or trousers of waterproof cloth. Over the 
 feet, outside the stockings, are drawn woollen socks, and over 
 these leather, or canvas and leather, shoes, called " brogues." 
 The whole arrangement is cumbrous, and inconvenient to put 
 on and off ; and I may say I greatly favour certain combination 
 waders made by Cording, of Piccadilly, in which the brogue and 
 stocking or trousers are all in one piece. They are on or off 
 in a moment. Their one fault is that the foot cannot be turned 
 inside out, to be dried either of perspiration or any water which 
 may have got in. When not wading, the angler should take 
 every opportunity of turning his stockings down, to ventilate 
 them. However, on any but a hot day, it is unwise, having once 
 got into a profuse perspiration, to turn down wading trousers, 
 which usually come high up on the back and chest. The 
 danger of a chill is very great. There are wading-trousers, 
 made by Cording, with a life-belt attached — not a bad idea 
 for some rivers, where the bottom varies considerably and sud- 
 
 * In July, 1888, Sir John H. Morris, K.C.S.I., and some friends, fishing near 
 Stornoway, in a bay about half a mile, or less, from the mouth of the Grimersta 
 river, took several salmon in absolutely salt water. In consequence of continued 
 dry weather, the salmon had been detained in the estuary for some time, and it was 
 about ten days before they showed any inclination to take the fly. While fly- 
 fishing for sea trout in the sea, the discovery was made that the salmon would take 
 the fly. They took only for a week, and sixty were killed on five rods. No salmon 
 have been caught in the place before or since. Sir John, who has very kindly given 
 me the most exact particulars, informs me that the depth of the water where the 
 fish were taken was 10ft. to 12ft. The weather on the first day was cloudy with a 
 good breeze ; but afterwards fish were taken on an ebbing tide with very little 
 wind. They rose best on rising tide with a good stiff breeze. The fly used on the 
 first day was the Wasp, on a No. 5 hook, worked deep in the water ; but larger 
 flies were afterwards used with equal success. Dr. Hamilton tells me that, in the 
 Fleet, a piece of water on the coast of Sutherland, between Dornoch and Goldspie, 
 salmon are commonly fished for with the fly during the first few hours of the rising 
 tide. There are many instances on record of salmon taking a bait in salt water. 
 
STEEL-CENTRED SALMON-RODS. 107 
 
 denly. There are many streams where trousers are not required 
 — I mean wading-trousers — and stockings will do, or even a 
 pair of knee-high, waterproof boots. Of stockings, the " Norge " 
 semi-waders are among the best ; they are kept up by means 
 of light tweed continuations, which make them look like 
 trousers. Waders may be of thin waterproof cloth for summer 
 use, or of stout felt, waterproofed on the outside, for spring 
 and autumn. There is real danger in standing in icy cold 
 water in waders intended for summer use. Therefore, when 
 making your purchase, consider the time of year and the tem- 
 perature of the water you are likely to wade in. Have plenty 
 of nails to the soles of the brogues, which should be riveted 
 to the sole-leather before it is fastened to the brogue. Nails 
 which are hammered or screwed in after the sole is complete 
 soon tumble out. It is a good plan to have two pairs of 
 wading-trousers, and use them on alternate days; there will 
 then be ample time for them to be dried inside.* 
 
 In deep, heavy streams, wading is sometimes only possible 
 by means of a metal-tipped staff; but in such streams none 
 but the young and strong should venture. Some rivers have 
 a way of running suddenly into deep holes ; therefore, on a 
 strange stream the angler should not wade deeply without 
 first having obtained some information from local people as 
 to any hidden dangers there may be. 
 
 Rod and Tackle for Salmon-fishing. — The rod should be 
 of greenheart,f 16ft. to 19ft. long, according to the purchaser's 
 strength. For boat work, 14ft. is a sufficient length. It should 
 be rather thicker than a Castle Connell rod at the butt, and 
 thinner near the point ; but it is very important not to have 
 a light, whippy top. The top must be a little heavy, or it will 
 
 * Wading boots or stockings can be easily repaired by means of a solution of 
 naphtha and indiarubber, obtainable at most of the waterproofers'. It should be 
 laid smoothly on the leaky spot with a knife, and allowed a few minutes to partly 
 dry. Then a piece of thin indiarubber or waterproof cloth, which has also received 
 a coating of the solution, should be laid over the leaky spot, smoothed down with 
 the fingers, to get out the air-bubbles, and left under at least a 101b. weight until 
 the following day. 
 
 t I have not the least objection to the new steel-centred, split-cane salmon-rods 
 beyond their price. A member of the Fly-fishers' Club caught some hundredweight 
 of salmon on one of these rods, and says it is still as good as new. It is a 
 capital plan to have the top joint of split cane, the rest greenheart. 
 
108 
 
 ANGLING FOE GAME FISH. 
 
 not lift a long line off the water. A good rod bends right 
 from the butt when being used. The rod-fittings should 
 be the same as those described on page 16, ex- 
 cept as regards the top ring, which should be 
 larger than the one there shown. No. 5, pattern 
 A (Fig. 65), which has a revolving inner ring, 
 is the best size and shape for the purpose. It 
 is immaterial whether the joints are spliced 
 together or fastened by ferrules. Spliced rods 
 cast a little the best, but ferruled rods are far 
 more convenient. The majority of anglers like 
 a metal reel with a check; I prefer either one 
 of the brake-reels, or a strongly-made, first 
 quality Nottingham reel, if fitted with a check 
 and my line-guard (see page 19). It should be at 
 
 least 4in. in diameter. Though I think that reels 
 Fir 65 Top 
 ring for Sal- of the Nottingham type, with large barrels,* will 
 
 in time supersede all others, for every kind of 
 fishing, it is only proper to 
 state that the great majority 
 of salmon - anglers still use 
 metal winches. The engraving 
 (Fig. 66) was made from one of 
 Farlow's metal winches which 
 has a check both noiseless 
 and adjustable. By turning 
 the screw, the check may be 
 lessened or increased at plea- 
 sure. "Winches of this kind 
 should be kept full (but not 
 to overflowing) of line, which 
 should nearly resemble that 
 described on page 20, but 
 must be longer and thicker — 
 how thick I cannot say, that 
 point depending in a great 
 
 Fig. 66. Metal Winch with Adjust- 
 able, Noiseless Check. 
 
 * So much line has to he held on a salmon-reel that, unless the reel is very large 
 indeed, the harrel may with advantage be smaller than is usually the case. Of 
 course, the larger the barrel, the less room there is for line on the reel. 
 
DRESSING FOE SALMON-LINES. 
 
 109 
 
 measure on the stiffness of the rod. Ninety yards of back 
 line, and 35yds. of casting line (tapered at both ends) is not 
 too much, except on small rivers. For salmon-lines, the dressing 
 already given (page 20) 
 is improved by the addi- 
 tion of one-third copal 
 varnish. Lines should al- 
 ways be dried after use, 
 by merely being unwound 
 on to the floor, or on to 
 some such line-drier as 
 that shown in Fig. 67, 
 which was invented by 
 Farlow & Co. 
 
 Line-drier. 
 
 Salmon-gut both thick and long is difficult to get, and 
 expensive; but as it lasts a long time, it is less costly than 
 it seems. It is difficult to improve on a 3-yd. cast of the 
 best salmon-gut (not tapered), the strands tied with the 
 "buffer" knot (see Fig. 68). A less troublesome (because no 
 silk whipping is necessary) but less strong gut-knot, is given 
 
 on page 22. A good and cheaper 
 C^TIZ cast may be made in the following 
 
 way : Take two casts of medium 
 gut, soak them well, and tie them 
 together. Hang them by the 
 middle over a hook attached to 
 the wall, and then separately 
 twist each end the same way with 
 the finger and thumb. Having twisted each end almost as 
 much as it will bear, lay the ends together, and twist them 
 both together the reverse way. This operation requires a little 
 skill and care, but the result is good. I have to acknowledge 
 my obligation to Mr. Pennell for this idea. A hank of 
 good salmon-gut is woi-th taking care of. It should be ex- 
 posed to the light as little as possible, and should be kept either 
 in a sheet of pure rubber, or in a piece of wash-leather. 
 
 Hooks for salmon should be of the best quality ; the barbs 
 
 — " Q Bag^ — 
 
 Fig. 68. The Strongest Knot 
 for Gut-casts. 
 
110 
 
 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 must not be cut very deep, and the points should be straight — 
 i.e., not turned out. Eyed hooks are coming into use for salmon- 
 flies, but I have heard them greatly abused, many anglers 
 preferring the old-fashioned gut loop, the faults of which are 
 that if of bad gut, or exposed much to the sun, they wear 
 out before the fly; and that when the wax on the tying-silk 
 perishes — as it will perish in time — the loops draw.* If eyed 
 hooks are used, the eyes must be large, for the thick gut has 
 to go twice through if the knot shown in Fig. 20, page 28 (which 
 is the best for the purpose) is used. The two best eyed hooks 
 for salmon are either the patent eyed hooks in which the eye 
 is made of fine wire, and brazed on separately (Fig. 69), or 
 
 Fig. 69. Double-eyed Hook with 
 Patent Eye. 
 
 Fig. 70. The Loop Eye. 
 
 the loop-eyed hook invented by Mr. Whitmore (Fig. 70).f 
 There is not a great deal to choose between them. They are 
 both very superior to the ordinary eyed hooks of commerce. 
 Double hooks are also a comparative novelty, and much abused 
 by old-fashioned anglers. I like them only for small flies, 
 which they cause to swim properly. A salmon-fly which swims 
 on its back or side is very little use. For an obvious reason, it 
 is necessary to put more pressure on the fish when it first takes 
 a fly on a double hook than if a single hook only is used. 
 
 * It has been suggested that salmon-flies might with advantage be tied on eyed 
 hooks, with a loop of gut projecting through the eye. Should the gut-loop wear 
 out before the fly, the metal eye would still remain, and the fly might be used until 
 the feathers were worn out. 
 
 t These hooks are made at Redditch, the first-mentioned by Warner & Sons, 
 those with loop eyes by Bartleet & Sons. 
 
BAG, BOX, AND GAG. Ill 
 
 There are few special knots to mention in this chapter. 
 The " buffer " knot for casts I have just given, the knot for eyed 
 hooks is illustrated on page 28 (Fig. 20), and the cast may be 
 knotted to the gut-loop of a fly according to that method. The 
 knot for joining the cast to reel-line is given on page 23. 
 
 Before fishing, be most careful to see that the line, casts, and 
 knots are all strong, sound, and free from defects, and that 
 the reel — which keep well oiled — is in working order. Do not 
 use very fine tackle for salmon, or you will most certainly 
 lose the best fish; but finer tackle than is ordinarily used 
 is strong enough, if there are no weak places in it. Note the 
 thickness of the tackle commonly used on the river, and let 
 yours be just a little finer. 
 
 With reference to bags and baskets for carrying the salmon 
 after they are landed, I need say but little. As salmon are 
 large fish, the bag is decidedly the most convenient, and those 
 which expand on the principle of the well-known Freke bag 
 are the best. As a rule, salmon-anglers have an attendant to 
 carry the fish. 
 
 There is a little instrument, invented by Mr. Alfred Jardine, 
 which should be of considerable service to salmon-fishers. It 
 is a gag to keep the fish's jaws well apart while the hook is 
 being extracted. . For pike-fishing it is invaluable, and has 
 recently been made in small sizes for other fish. Bearing in 
 mind that-salmon flies, which are costly things, frequently get 
 badly mauled while being extracted from the fish's mouth, I 
 should decidedly call this salmon-gag an economical invention. 
 
 Of cases and books for salmon-flies an endless variety is 
 kept in the tackle-shops. A box which is intended as a storage 
 place for flies should certainly be made of tin, with a closely- 
 fitted lid, to keep out moths and other insects. Never expose 
 salmon-flies to the light, except when they are being used. 
 The sun fades the colours — hence the folly of carrying them 
 on one's cap. A tarnished silver or gold body may be revived 
 by scraping with a knife, or rubbing with a pointed piece of 
 hard wood and plate powder. The colours of the feathers 
 may sometimes be renewed, if the fly is touched up with 
 Judson's dyes, applied by means of a camel-hair brush. 
 
112 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 Moths are ruinous to feathers ; therefore, keep spare flies in a 
 tin box in which is a pill-box, with perforated lid, containing 
 some substance obnoxious to moths, such as naphthaline 
 crystals. To destroy moths' eggs, sprinkle the flies with ben- 
 zine collas or chloroform, by means of a scent-spray. I am 
 indebted to my friend Mr. H. Keily for this idea. 
 
 Salmon-flies represent no flies known to naturalists, but 
 
 are probably taken by the fish for but no, I will not go into 
 
 that question further than I have on page 2. The present 
 fashion is to use gaudy flies. Our fathers used very sober- 
 coloured patterns, and seem to have killed as many salmon 
 as we do. Colour is rather important in a salmon-fly, size 
 very important. In spring and autumn the fresh-run salmon will 
 take larger flies than they will in the summer ; and in autumn, 
 the fish which have been some time in the river are only to be 
 tempted with small flies. In still water, use a much smaller fly 
 (sparsely dressed, and not over- winged) than in rapid streams. 
 Beginners nearly always use too large flies, and rarely provide 
 themselves with small ones. On the Shannon, Tweed, and 
 other large, swift-flowing rivers, gaudy flies, 3in. in length, are 
 often used in the spring. These large lures are little or no use 
 in small rivers; but if a river is deep, an attractive fly is 
 required, and of all colours, red and black are the two which 
 are most easily seen through any considerable depth of 
 coloured water. On sunny days, when the water is clear, use 
 light-coloured flies ; but on gloomy, dark days, a dark-bodied fly 
 is better — this, probably, because a light-coloured fly is less 
 easily seen against the sky than a dark one. Salmon rarely 
 see the fly from the same point of view that we do. 
 
 The most favourite fly of all is the Jock Scott* (Fig. 71), 
 
 * Tag, silver thread and light yellow silk. Tail, a topping and Indian crow. 
 Butt, black ostrich harl. Body, in two equal parts— first, light golden-yellow floss 
 silk, ribbed with silver thread ; above and below are placed three toucan feathers, 
 butted with black ostrich harl : second half of body, black floss silk, with Mack 
 hackle run down it, and ribbed with oval silver tinsel. Hackle at throat, eallina. 
 Wing— the under, two strips of black Turkey with white tips, two strips of bustard 
 and grey mallard with fibres of golden-pheasant tail, peacock sword-feather, red, 
 blue, and yellow dyed swan ; the upper, two strips of mallard, and a golden- 
 
 Cheasant topping over all. Sides, jungle-fowl. Cheeks, blue chatterer. Horns, 
 lue macaw. Head, black wool. 
 
STANDARD SALMON-FLIES. 
 
 113 
 
 which should be kept in at least three sizes; it is useful any- 
 where. Blue Doctor* (Fig. 72) and Silver Doctor I would place 
 
 Fig. 73. The Durham Ranger. 
 
 next ; they are simply invaluable flies. For bright, open pools, 
 the Durham Rangerf (Fig. 73) is excellent. The Butcher* and 
 
 * Tag, silver thread and yellow floss silk. Tail, a topping and blue chatterer. 
 Butt, red wool. Body, light blue floss silk, ribbed with silver oval. Hackle, 
 light blue run down body ; hackle at throat, jay. Wing, under, grey Turkey, 
 peacock wing, golden-pheasant tail, teal, red, blue, and yellow dyed swan ; wing, 
 upper, brown mallard, and topping over all. Horns, blue macaw. Head, red wool. 
 
 t Tag, silver thread and light yellow silk. Tail, topping and Indian crow. Butt, 
 black ostrich harl. Body, two turns of orange silk, two turns of dark red claret 
 seal fur, the rest dark blue seal fur. Tinsel, ribbed with silver oval. Hackle, 
 dark red claret from claret seal fur ; hackle at throat, medium blue. Wing, 
 four golden-pheasant tippets (two long and two shorter). Two junglecock 
 feathers projecting beyond the golden-pheasant tippets, and a topping over all. 
 Sides, junglecock. Cheeks, blue chatterer. Horns, blue macaw. Head, black 
 wool. 
 
 t The Butcher is dressed thus : Tag, gold twist and orange floss. Tail, one 
 topping. Butt, black ostrich harl. Body, two or three turns of red, ditto of 
 medium blue, ditto of red, and the rest of blue, pigswool. Broad silver tinsel. 
 Medium red claret hackle. Gallina on shoulder, tinder-wing, a tippet and gold 
 pheasant rump-feather ; over them strips of brown mallard, bustard, peacock-wing, 
 wood-duck ; and blue and yellow swan strips. Black head. 
 
114 ANGLING FOE GAME FISH. 
 
 Popham* are also first-class flies, and will kill almost any- 
 where. 
 
 Some dark flies should always be kept in the fly-book, for 
 gloomy days. One of the best of these is the Black and Teal 
 (Fig. 74), dressed according to the late Francis Francis' pattern.f 
 
 / ed 
 o 
 Fig. 74. The Black and Teal. 
 
 a, Head ; b, Gut-loop ; c, Shoulder Hackle ; d, Body ; e. Tinsel ; /, Butt ; 
 g, Tag ; h, Tail ; i, Under Wing ; j, Upper Wing. 
 
 It is good on most rivers, and particularly the Spey and the Tay. 
 There are two other sober-coloured flies — Western Butcher,+ 
 and August Brown§ — for the dressings of which I am indebted 
 
 * Tag, gold thread. Tail, a topping, and Indian crow. Butt black harl. Body 
 in three equal parts, butted with black ostrich harl ; the first, orange floss silk, 
 ribbed with gold thread, having Indian crow above and below. The middle joint, 
 yellow floss silk, ribbed with gold thread, with Indian crow as on other joint 
 Third joint, medium blue floss silk, ribbed with silver thread, with Indian crow as 
 before. Hackle, at throat only, jay. Wing— under, fibres teal, gallina, golden 
 pheasant tail, light brown turkey, bustard, red and yellow dyed swan ; upper, 
 two strips of mallard, and topping over all. Cheeks, blue chatterer. Horns, 
 blue macaw. Head, black wool. 
 
 t Black and Teal is dressed thus : Tag, silver twist and golden floss. Tail, one 
 topping. Butt, black harl. Body, two turns of orange floss, the rest black (floss, 
 horsehair, or mohair); in large flies fur is often used. Broadish silver tinsel. 
 Black hackle over three parts of the body. Gallina (the dark feather with the 
 large, round spots) on the shoulder. Wing, double (single in small flies) jungle- 
 cock, with topping over them, and two good-sized teal, or slices of widgeon, or 
 pintail, to form a body to the wing. Head, gold thread. 
 
 J Body, dark maroon mohair, silver twist. Winjts, grouse-feather, with two 
 strands blue macaw. Hackle, jay's wing, mixed with some few dark strands. 
 Tail, golden-pheasant hackle. 
 
 § Body, light brown mohair, gold twist. Wings of the gled tail or bittern. 
 Hackle, dark brown. Very useful in full water. 
 
A NEW SALMON-FLY. 115 
 
 to Dr. Hamilton. To these flies should be added the Dusty 
 Miller* (Fig. 75) — which, by the way, will often rise trout in 
 Southern streams — Parson, Thunder and Lightning, and the 
 Wilkinson. Mr. Senior tells me he has a good opinion of the 
 Bulldog,f a new fly invented by Strong, fishing-tackle maker, 
 of Cai-lisle, which has proved most successful, not only on the 
 Eden, but on many other rivers ; and a new edition of Sir 
 Richard,* brought out re- 
 cently by Tumbull, of Edin- 
 burgh. 
 
 Generally speaking, flies 
 from the foregoing list will 
 kill anywhere, if dressed the 
 proper size. If any must be 
 omitted, I should say, leave 
 out the Parson, August 
 Brown, and Thunder and 
 Lightning. Of course, you 
 must expect gillies and Fig. 75. The Dusty Miller. 
 
 fishermen, who only use 
 
 local flies, to say that they are no use. But do not believe 
 them. At the same time, do not by any means despise local flies. 
 Here and there are rivers in which the old, sober flies, much 
 resembling some of those used for lake trout, kill best. As a 
 rule, however, the flies I have mentioned, if used the proper 
 
 * Tag, silver thread and light yellow silk. Tail, a topping. Butt, black ostrich 
 harl. Body, embossed silver tinsel, and two turns of golden-yellow floss silk at 
 shoulder, ribbed with gold oval. Hackle at throat, gallina, with green olive under 
 it. Wing — under, black turkey with white tip, peacock wing, golden-pheasant tail, 
 bustard, teal ; upper, brown mallard, topping over all. Sides, jungle-fowl. Horns, 
 blue macaw. Head, black harl. 
 
 t Mr. Strong kindly gives me the dressing as follows : Tag, gold twist and ruby 
 floss. Tail, topping and blue chatterer. Butt, black hark Body— first half, silver 
 oval ; two toucan feathers above and below, tied in at joint, over that black harl ; 
 second half, light blue floss, ribbed with silver oval. Hackle, very dark blue. 
 Throat, teal. Under- wing, strips of golden-pheasant tippet ; over- wing, strips of 
 black and yellow swan. Cheeks, light drake, jungle-fowl, and blue chatterer; 
 golden-pheasant topping above. Head, black harl. 
 
 t Tag, silver twist and gold floss. Tail, topping, with Indian crow above and 
 below. Butt, green peacock harl. Body, black floss silk and silver twist. Hackle, 
 small speckled fowl. Throat, blue jay and guinea-fowl. Wings, two strips of 
 scarlet ibis, bustard, pintail, swan, dyed yellow and blue, with sprigs of light green 
 parrot and small bustard, and a topping. Sides, strips of summer duck. Cheeks, 
 light blue chatterer. Horns, blue macaw, from the red bird. Head, black. 
 
 DIV. III. K 
 
116 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 size, and chosen according to the colour and height of the 
 water, state of the weather, and time of year, will be quite 
 as successful as any others. Major Traherne, one of the 
 most experienced salmon-fishers in the United Kingdom, gives, 
 in the Badminton Library, a very short list of flies, "with 
 one or other of which " — to use his own words — " from the 
 beginning to the end of the season, and in any part of the 
 United Kingdom, salmon are to be killed, if at all." The list 
 consists of the Jock Scott, Durham Ranger, Childers, Butcher, 
 Popham, Thunder and Lightning, Silver Grey, Lion, Captain, 
 Black Jay, Claret Jay, Dirty Orange, Fiery Brown, and the 
 Spring Grub. The last is a peculiar form of wingless fly, 
 which is gradually coming into vogue : I have copied Mr. G. M. 
 Kelson's dressing,* as given in the Badminton Library. I 
 have not thought it necessary to give the dressings of all the 
 flies mentioned, as any good tackle-maker can supply them.f 
 For several of the dressings given I am indebted to Mr. Farlow, 
 who tied the flies from which the illustrations were made. 
 
 Casting and Working the Ply. — Casting a salmon-fly is 
 really very similar to casting a trout-fly, but the point of the 
 rod should follow rather a bolder curve, and more time should 
 be given between the backward and forward cast. The Spey or 
 switch cast is very useful in salmon-fishing, and so occasionally 
 is the horizontal cast.]] On this matter, pages 32-36 should be 
 
 * Tag, silver twist and light blue silk. Tail, scarlet ibis and blue macaw, in 
 married strips. Body in two sections, having three hackles (the shortest at the 
 tag, the longest at the head). Butt, a furnace hackle, dyed orange. The first half 
 of the body, yellow silk, ribbed with black chenille. In the centre is placed a 
 natural blue hackle. The second half of the body, black silk, ribbed with silver 
 tinsel : and the shoulder or head hackles, a natural coch-y-bondu, and a gallina, 
 dyed dark orange. 
 
 t Reliable dressers of salmon and trout flies in Scotland are : W. Robertson, 
 Glasgow ; Anderson, Edinburgh ; Garden or Benn, Aberdeen ; Malloch, Perth ; 
 Forrest or Redpath, Kelso ; Crockatt, Stirling ; W. Graham, Canonbie, for the 
 Border Esk. For Ireland, Captain Dunne ("Hi Regan") kindly gives me the 
 following list: In Dublin, Kelly, of O'Connell Street, and Flint, of Merchants* 
 Quay. In Cork, Haynes, of Patrick Street. In Limerick, Nestor, George Street. 
 In Kerry, Mrs. M'Carthy, High Street, Killarney. In Galway, N. Browne. For 
 Mayo, M. Hearns, of Ballina. In Donegal, for rivers (N.W.) and L. Melvin, Erne, 
 <fec, Rogan, of Ballyshannon. For the N.E. (Bann, Bush, Neagh, &c), Dan O'Fee, 
 of Coleraine. For Antrim, Miss M. Fleming, of the Vow, Bendoorg, Ballymoney. 
 For England, the leading London tackle-makers are unsurpassed ; but I may men- 
 tion Strong, of Carlisle ; Miss Ratliffe, St. Leonard' s-on-Sea ; Walbran, of Leeds ; 
 Hardy Bros., Alnwick ; and for Devonshire rivers, John Truman, of Chudleigh. 
 
 t To fish very wide pools, anglers sometimes get the gillie to walk out behind 
 them with the fly, and, when the necessary length of line is extended, switch the 
 fly forward. A long line can be got out by this method. 
 
WORKING THE SALMON-FLY. 117 
 
 consulted. In other respects the trout-fisher must forget all he 
 has learned on chalk or moorland streams. Little attention 
 need be paid to the fly falling lightly on the surface, but the 
 line should be fully extended on the water, and not fall " all of a 
 heap." Neither cast up stream nor across, but down and across, 
 as to point C in Fig. 76. Then let the stream carry the fly 
 
 Fig. 76. How to Cast for Salmon. 
 
 round to D, when a fresh cast can be made. When salmon lie 
 under the opposite bank, in slack water, the force of the current 
 in the centre of the stream will bear down on the line, and drag 
 the fly from the opposite bank before the fish have a chance of 
 seeing it. The only way to get over the difficulty is, just 
 before (just after is considered the easiest by some anglers) 
 the line touches the water, to jerk the rod a little to the right, 
 and so cause the line to belly up stream. This plan, for which I 
 am indebted to Major Traherne, sometimes overcomes the diffi- 
 culty, and gives a fish time to seize the fly; but these eddies or 
 slack waters on the other side of rapid streams are standing 
 grievances to both trout and salmon anglers. On one's own side 
 of the river they are, of course, easy enough to fish. 
 
 As the fly works round from C to D, the rod should gradually 
 follow it ; and, if you please, you may slowly lower and raise the 
 point of the rod a few inches, which will cause the feathers of 
 the fly to open and shut, if much line is not in the water. Many 
 experienced anglers say that to thus work the fly is unnecessary, 
 but it is very generally done. Perhaps the best plan is to fish a 
 cast first without working the fly, and then, if that fails, to work 
 it. If there is very little stream, the angler must of course 
 
 k 2 
 
118 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 draw the fly ; but in that case the water will probably be deep, 
 and the fly will have to be well sunk. In swift water, 
 woi'king the fly is not necessai'y, but in slow or dead water I 
 certainly think it should be woi-ked quietly. The proper way to 
 fish a pool is to commence at the head, and fish it foot by foot. 
 It iB often very important to sink the fly well. If the fish 
 will not come to the fly, the fly must go to the fish, even 
 if a shot or two has to be pinched on to the line to take it 
 there. In very clear, deep water, salmon may often be caught 
 by sinking the fly almost on to their noses, and then working 
 it slowly along with alternate sinks and di'aws, never bringing it 
 to the surface. If the fish are shy, try various plans : Draw 
 the fly slowly, then fast ; work it slowly, fast, and not at all ; 
 sink it, draw it near the surface — in short, tempt the fish by all 
 the means in your power. Above all, do not leave off because 
 the fish do not seem to be in the humour ; they may " come on' 
 at any moment. Salmon seem to care very little for the water 
 over them being whipped, and it sometimes seems as if they 
 could be worried into taking the fly. You need never think 
 that, because you have cast over a pool and risen no fish, 
 there are none in it, or at least no rising fish. Fish on, and if 
 your fly is about the right size, you will probably succeed. 
 
 If a fish rises, and misses the fly, he should be given a 
 short rest — about a quarter of a minute, but rather longer in 
 swift water than where the stream is gentle. Then cast 
 again, a little above the place where he rose, and, if that fails, 
 try a little lower down stream. Then, if still he comes not, 
 change the fly, and try a smaller one of the same pattern, 
 followed by other flies of various patterns. As a last re- 
 source, leave him until the evening, and then try him again. 
 In rather still water, I am inclined to think that, if a salmon 
 rises short, the fly should be at once changed for a smaller 
 one of the same or another pattern, because, in quiet waters, 
 a fish usually comes up quietly, and can inspect the fly ; there- 
 fore, if he does not take it, it may be presumed he does not 
 like the look of it. When fishing over a pool a second time, 
 it is generally a good plan to change the fly. Always be care- 
 ful to see that the fly does not swim on its back or side. On 
 
AN AMERICAN REMEDY FOR SULKING SALMON. 119 
 
 the size of flies, I have only to add to the foregoing remarks 
 that in the evening a larger fly may be used than during the 
 day. 
 
 Striking. — In swift streams, salmon more often than not 
 hook themselves, and no strike is necessary. In quiet water, 
 they frequently take the fly in a leisurely manner, and may 
 spit it out unless you strike; therefore, strike, and then look 
 out for squalls. The trout-fisher, from force of habit, may 
 find a difficulty in not striking in rapid streams. When the 
 salmon I'ises in fast-running water, the angler should make 
 no movement of the rod; but when he feels that the salmon 
 has the fly, he may with advantage put on, momentarily, a 
 little extra pressure, by uplifting the point of the rod, to get 
 the hook well in. 
 
 Flaying the Fish. — Large salmon often play the angler. 
 The vagaries of hooked salmon vary so greatly that to lay 
 down any general rules on this subject is difficult. It is little 
 use trying to check a fish of any size in his first brilliant 
 rush (if he makes one). Hold the point of the rod well up, 
 keep your fingers and clothes away from the handle of the 
 reel, and follow the fish as best and as fast as you can. 
 Recover your line at every opportunity, and try and keep 
 below your fish. Do not endeavour, even with the strongest 
 tackle, to pull his head off, or the hook may break away ; but 
 if he is making for snags, broken water, or other places where 
 you are certain to lose him, put all the strain on him you can 
 (but do not let point of rod get down) ; you may turn him, 
 and it is no worse to break the tackle then than later on. If 
 your salmon leap, lower the rod-point, and so slacken line, 
 raising it again immediately he regains the water. Should a 
 fish sulk, get below him, and try and pull his head down stream. 
 If this fails, stone him, stir him up with poles, pass rings of 
 metal or paper, or nooses, down the line on to his nose, and 
 annoy him in any other manner you can think of; and if in 
 doing so the line is accidentally cut, do not be surprised. The 
 Americans have recently brought out an automatic gaff, which 
 is attached to a cord, and can be passed down the line on to 
 
120 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 the fish's nose, of which it lays hold ; this is too revolutionary 
 altogether. On strong tackle, a big fish may sometimes be 
 played successfully with the hand when nothing can be done 
 with the rod. Major Traherne suggests this plan with salmon ; 
 I have often noted its advantages when sea-fishing. 
 
 Landing Salmon. — The gaff should have a straight and 
 very sharp point. One of the best is that invented by Mr. 
 Basil Field. It has a point-protector, which comes into place 
 automatically when the handle is closed (see Fig. 77). For gillies' 
 
 Fig. 77. Gaff with Point-protector, Telescopic Handle, and Sling. 
 
 use, one lashed on to an ash handle is best. Gaff a fish at the 
 first opportunity, but never attempt it when he is struggling. 
 Just lay the hook over him, and snatch it in with a very sharp 
 pull.* If a very large fish, take him near the tail, foi*, once 
 hooked in the tail, he is helpless, and cannot break away; 
 however, do not lose a good chance at any part, and stand 
 on no ceremony. Keep clear of the line. For kelts, a landing- 
 net should be used, but I prefer a gaff for salmon. A large 
 fish can often be gaffed ten minutes or more before he could 
 be inveigled into a net. If a gillie holds the net, he should 
 get a little below the angler, and sink it well; and whether 
 he has a gaff or net, he should stand still as a statue while 
 the fish is being brought near him. Not one gillie or pro- 
 fessional fisherman in ten can use a gaff or a landing-net 
 properly. 
 
 Spinning, or Trolling. — There are some rivers, or portions 
 of rivers, in which fly-fishing for salmon is regarded as being 
 next to useless, and spinning or bait-fishing has to be resorted 
 to. Oddly enough, there are also a few rivers in which a 
 
 • 
 
 * Fish intended for the market are usually gaffed in the belly, where the wound 
 is not noticeable. 
 
SPINNING BAITS FOR SALMON. 121 
 
 minnow seems to have no attraction for the salmon. The hest 
 spinning baits are loach, minnows, gudgeon, eel-tail* and parr- 
 tail. The use of the last-mentioned bait is not to be encouraged, 
 as pan- are young salmon, to kill which is illegal. For loach 
 (or colley) and gudgeon, the best tackle is a Francis flight or 
 a Chapman spinner (see page 83). For minnows, there is nothing 
 better than the Dee tackle illustrated on page 72. Loach also 
 spin well on this tackle. Natural baits are infinitely more 
 killing than the artificial; but of these latter the best is, un- 
 doubtedly, a medium-sized phantom minnow; next to this I 
 would place a small, shallow spoon, made of thin metal, and 
 thickly gold-plated on the outside. A new bait, called 
 " Swiveltail," has made a name recently, but I have not yet 
 tried it for salmon. Another new spinner is a salmon-fly 
 with fans at the head, which is sold by Watson & Hancock; and 
 Hardy's Halcyon spinner (see page 75) is also spoken well of. 
 A trace, with swivels and lead, is, of course, necessary. It need 
 not differ materially from the trace for Thames trout de- 
 scribed on page 92; but most professional spinners for salmon 
 prefer lead-wire, or strips of lead, twisted round the trace, 
 about 2yds. above the bait, to the more bulky sinker illus- 
 trated on page 71. Casting off the reel in the Nottingham 
 style, or with a quantity of line on the ground, as in the 
 Thames style of spinning for trout, is not commonly practised 
 for salmon; but either of these methods might be followed 
 with advantage where fly-fishing is useless. As a rale, the 
 bait is trailed after a boat. In rivers where the current alone is 
 sufficient to keep the bait spinning and off the bottom, the bait 
 is often trailed, and the boats work from side to side, gradually 
 dropping down stream. It has been stated, in one of the most 
 
 * It may be useful to repeat here the directions for making the eel-tail bait 
 which are' given in " Angling for Pike." Skin an eel to within about 6in. of 
 the tail, and cut off the flesh ; then cut the skin rather more than lin. above 
 the flesh. Take a large sneck or round-bend hook, mounted on stout salmon- 
 gut (on which is a pierced shot), put the point of the hook in at the cut end 
 of the eel, and bring it out about 2in. from the tip of the tail ; then gather 
 the loose skin up over the shot, which is resting on the top of the shank, and 
 tie it tightly round with thread. Next, turn so much of the skin as remains 
 above the tie back towards the tip of the tail, and sew down the edges, so 
 forming an artificial head. These baits can be kept in coarse, dry salt, but 
 should be soaked before being used. This is pike-bait— for salmon it should be 
 about half the size. 
 
122 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 modem (and probably the largest) works on angling ever 
 published, that salmon will not take a bait as it is being drawn 
 in. If this were the case, the men who troll for salmon with 
 spinning baits, on the Upper Shannon and other large streams, 
 would never catch anything, for, in quiet waters, the minnow, 
 colley, or gudgeon, as the case may be, has to be drawn 
 through the water, or it would not spin. Salmon will take 
 spinning baits whether drawn through the water or let out in 
 rapid streams, and worked very much in the same manner as 
 salmon-flies. If the stream will spin the minnow, the stream 
 should be allowed to do its work without assistance; but if 
 the stream has not the requisite power, the angler must come 
 to the stream's assistance. In summer, spinning for salmon 
 is little use. In the Trent, the favourite spinning baits, par- 
 ticularly in spring, are phantom minnows, 2in. to 2^in. in 
 length, and golden, or blue and silver, in colour. They are 
 worked in the deepest pools, as close as possible to the bottom. 
 These baits are cast off the reel, which must be of the free- 
 running, Nottingham type, and the line must be of the plaited 
 silk, not dressed. With this tackle the casts are made across 
 and slightly down stream, as in fly-fishing. 
 
 The Prawn is an exceedingly deadly bait — more deadly, 
 perhaps, than any other. It is generally used when the water 
 is low and clear, and fly-fishing is useless ; but salmon will 
 take it when the water is high, provided only it is clear. 
 Prawns are usually either salted or preserved in glycerine. 
 Before being placed in glycerine they should be boiled with 
 a little saltpetre until they change colour, and then be laid 
 separately on a cloth to dry. Salting is, I think, preferable. 
 An earthen jar is three-fourths filled with prawns, on the 
 top of which is placed as much salt as the jar will bold. 
 Water is then poured in until all the interstices are filled up 
 and the salt dissolved. The best prawn-tackle is that shown 
 in Fig. 78. The needle is put in at the tail and out at the 
 head of the bait, and the point then passed through the small 
 loop on the shank of the lowest double hook. A few turns of 
 red silk or thread are then taken round the tail, to make all 
 secure. A cast of single gut, as fine as may be safely used, 
 
PRAWN-TACKLE. 
 
 123 
 
 should connect the prawn with the reel-line, which should 
 he fine and dressed. There are no better rods for this purpose 
 than those of bamboo used for trolling. They must be fitted 
 with upright rings (see page 16). The amount of weight (split 
 shot or twisted lead-wire) on the line must depend, of course, 
 on the depth of the water and force of the stream. The 
 prawn should usually be fished as nearly in mid-water as 
 possible, and that fact must be the guide when the line is 
 being weighted. 
 
 Fig. 78. Prawn-tackle. 
 
 There are various ways of working prawn-tackle. It may 
 be trailed after a boat, or merely cast across and a little 
 down the stream, and allowed to work round, like the fly in 
 Fig. 76; or it may be cast into pools, allowed to sink, and 
 then worked with a sink-and-draw motion. At Castle Connell 
 they spin it, while at Galway it is worked close to the bottom, 
 like a worm. Generally speaking, the angler will cast out the 
 prawn, and let it sweep round with the stream, only drawing 
 the line if the stream is not sufficient to keep the bait off the 
 bottom. The tackle, if the lead is heavy enough, may be 
 cast off a Nottingham reel (in which case the line must be 
 
124 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 undressed), or oft' a Mallocli reel, which, as one peculiarity of 
 this reel is to kink the line, necessitates the use of small brass 
 swivels. Anyone who has acquired the art of collecting line in 
 his hand (as do Thames trout-fishermen), will probably find that 
 the pleasantest method of casting the reel only being brought 
 into requisition when the fish is being played. With these few 
 remarks I may safely leave the subject, first acknowledging 
 my indebtedness for some valuable hints obtained from Major 
 Traherae's article on the prawn in the Badminton series. 
 
 The Worm, which is not less odious to fly-fishers than 
 the prawn, was the bait commonly used for salmon by our 
 ancestors. Of worming for salmon I cannot pretend to any 
 extensive experience. The usual method, carried on when 
 the water is still thick, but clearing after a flood, which 
 is also occasionally good for the first few hours of a rise, is 
 to bait a large hook with three or four common garden 
 worms of the largest size (threaded for ^in. in the middle 
 of each of their bodies), and cast it into spots where 
 salmon are known to be plentiful. The worms are cast 
 repeatedly, and are allowed to trip along the bottom, and 
 sooner or later a salmon may seize them. When this 
 event happens, the fish should be given a few seconds to 
 gorge, and if he moves off at once, line should be paid 
 out, so that he feels no check. A weight on the line is, of 
 course, necessary, such as a pistol-bullet or several swan-shot, 
 placed some 2ft. or less from the bait. The weight must 
 depend on the depth of the water and strength of the current, 
 and the bait should be larger in very thick water than in 
 water only slightly coloured. Salmon will also take a worm in 
 clear water; and Mr. Cholmondeley-Pennell advocates the use 
 of Stewart tackle, with two No. 6 or No. 7 Kendal Sneck hooks, 
 placed l£in. apart, baited with one worm. The bait is cast, 
 and allowed to trip along the bottom, and is sunk by means 
 of lead-wire twisted round some very fine gut, the ends of 
 which are tied on to the cast. Then, if the lead catches in 
 the rocks, the fine gut breaks, and the cast remains uninjured. 
 The worm should be put straight on the hooks, which should 
 be of stout wire; and the strike should come immediately 
 

 SALMON-FISHING WITH FLOAT-TACKLE. 125 
 
 after the bite. Tbe angler should keep as much, as possible 
 out of sight, and cast up stream. In fact, the process is 
 very similar to worming for trout in clear water, described at 
 length on pages 67 to 70. The bad point about the process 
 is the number of fish which break away owing to the small- 
 ness of the hooks. Mr. Pennell's method answers very well 
 in small, rapid streams, but it is not so useful in large 
 rivers, or in pools in small, sluggish streams. 
 
 The Trent Method is the application of the well-known 
 Nottingham style of float-fishing to angling for salmon. The 
 float is made either of cork or from the quill of any large 
 bird (goose or turkey) ; the line is moderately fine, of undressed 
 silk, either plaited or twisted (the latter is the stronger, but 
 does not run so freely as the former), wound on a free-running, 
 centre balance, Nottingham reel, with or without an adjustable 
 check. A single hook is used, about 18in. above which should 
 be four or five swan-shot. The rod may be of bamboo cane, 
 or one of the Nottingham barbel-rods. For deep water the 
 float should be a slider — i.e., slide on the line, but prevented 
 from going up too far by a piece of indiarubber ring tied on 
 to the line, so large that it pi-events the float from slipping 
 up, but so small that it will go through the rings of the rod. 
 Mr. Francis Ley, an experienced Trent angler, and owner of 
 some of the best salmon-fishing on the Trent, very kindly 
 sent me a set of the tackle he uses. It is intended for deep, 
 heavy water. On the shank of the hook (No. 16, round-bend, 
 Kendal, or 2/0 Redditch, very stout in the wire) is whipped 
 a loop made from the silk running line (square, solid eight- 
 plait, undressed). This gives the bait plenty of play in the 
 water. Above the hook, and looped to it, is 2£ft. of stout 
 salmon-gut, knotted with the "buffer" knot; 18in. above the 
 hook is a swan-shot, and 8in. higher another swan-shot. On 
 the silk running line is a pipe lead of about ^oz., which rests on 
 the knot connecting the silk line and gut. The float is of cork, 
 about Sin. in length, tapered, and slightly curved. In ordinary 
 salmon-rivers the lighter tackle I have mentioned is often 
 heavy enough, but in the deep pools of the Trent very heavy 
 tackle is required. After the depth has been found (the dis- 
 
126 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. 
 
 tance from the worm to the float should be Sin. or 4in. greater 
 than the depth of the water), the tackle, if heavy, is cast out 
 directly off the reel; or if it is light, loops of line are pulled 
 out from between the rod-rings, and released as the tackle 
 flies out. It is then allowed to swim down stream for 20yds. 
 or more, line running freely off the reel. If the tackle is 
 heavy, it may be necessary to slightly check the reel, for it 
 is important to let the bait be carried by the stream a little 
 ahead of the float, so that the worm is presented to the 
 salmon before the gut. With light tackle the friction of the 
 reel is usually sufficient to effect this. What is known on 
 the Trent as "tight-corking" may be resorted to in very 
 swift streams. Heavy weights are needed on the line, and 
 the distance from the float to the bait should be at least 1ft. 
 greater than the depth of the water. The float in this method 
 is only allowed to travel down stream to about the spot the 
 salmon are, and is then checked. On its course it has to be 
 held well back, to cause the stream to lift the bait off the 
 bottom. After the worm has been a few minutes in one spot. 
 the float may be pulled back a little, and then be allowed to 
 work a little further down stream. 
 
 The Trent angler uses the brightest maiden lobs {i.e., 
 without the ring near the head) he can find, those culled at 
 night on a grass plat over a subsoil of marl being the best. 
 The worms should be well scoured in moss. Two worms are 
 placed on the hook. The hook-point is put into the head of 
 one worm, and brought out at its middle, and is then inserted 
 into the middle of the second worm, and threaded through 
 to its head. Prawns worked a little off the bottom, on Trent 
 tackle, will often kill when worms are useless. Finally, let 
 me say that the Nottingham style of fishing is extremely 
 artistic, and is to be by no means looked down upon because 
 the lure is a worm. It requires, if anything, more skill than 
 fly-fishing, and haunts of salmon which are otherwise un- 
 approachable can often be reached by this method. Those 
 who feel inclined to know more of this subject should read 
 the remarks on Nottingham fishing in " Angling for Coarse 
 Fish," where many details, for which I cannot find space 
 
YOUR PARDON I CRAVE." 
 
 127 
 
 here, are given at considerable length j and should get the 
 necessary outfit from one of the tackle-makers of Nottingham 
 or Newark. It is not the least use to attempt to fish after 
 this manner without the proper line and reel, and a rod with 
 upright rings. 
 
 This ninth chapter of my discourse on Game Fish brings 
 me to the end of my tether so far as salmon, trout, gray- 
 ling, and char are concerned, and I will conclude by 
 asking my fly-fishing friends to pardon my necessary 
 references to spinning and worming, my chalk-stream 
 readers to overlook my disquisition on fishing with the 
 wet fly, North-country anglers to forgive so much space 
 having been given to dry-fly fishing, and salmon-fishers 
 not to view the book with scorn because five chapters are 
 devoted to trout. 
 
 
DIVISION IV 
 
 Angling in Salt Water. 
 
Mr 
 
 
 il 1 1 i- 
 
ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 Fishing for Pleasure and Profit — Advantages of Fine Tackle — 
 A Cure for the Supercilious Fresh-water Angler — Angling 
 Sometimes out of the Question. 
 
 £0^! HOUGH angling in fresh water is of very great antiquity, 
 v£|jC as ancient, indeed, as it is delightful, not .until com- 
 paratively recent years has fishing with rod and line in salt 
 water come much into vogue, and even now the numher of 
 anglers who pursue that branch of the sport is extremely 
 limited. In salt water, fish are, generally speaking, less 
 difficult to catch than in fresh ; but for all that, there is a 
 right and wrong way to catch them, and he who takes the 
 latter path had best remain at home. The sport to be obtained 
 from sea fish is at times first-rate, and I have not the least 
 doubt but that there will be a steady increase in the number 
 of anglers in salt water. 
 
 Between fishing for pleasure and fishing for profit there 
 are many points of difference. In fishing for profit, the one 
 thing aimed at is a great catch. Elaborate apparatus, miles 
 of nets and lines, danger, toil, hardship, ay, loss of life — 
 all are involved in bringing to our markets the many thousand 
 tons of most wholesome food which kindly Nature has placed 
 within our reach. With the angler it is very different: 
 
 B 
 
2 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 he follows the recreation of the contemplative man only during 
 the hours which he can spare from the time devoted to the more 
 serious business of life. Angling books are written to make 
 those hours pleasant ones. 
 
 Now as to tackle. It is a popular delusion that sea fish 
 can be caught on anything. As the cunning trout is often 
 — alas ! too often — taken on the thick, hempen night-line of the 
 poacher, so are sea fish caught in deep water, at night, by the 
 fisherman, on the coarsest lines. But in the daytime, more 
 especially in shallow water, moderately fine tackle becomes 
 absolutely essential, and then it is that the angler has the 
 great advantage. "When the fish are biting fast at night, or, 
 during the day, in the gloomy depths of the sea, the fisher- 
 man will bring into the boat three fish for every one 
 caught by the angler, the simple reason being, that the 
 fish can be hauled up faster on coarse tackle than on 
 fine. The following little anecdote illustrates the advan- 
 tages of fine tackle in the daytime. Self, friend, and 
 gillie were about stepping into a boat on the shores of a sea- 
 loch in Scotland. I had a cane rod and a paternoster, and 
 advised my friend to bring the same; but, the gillie laugh- 
 ing at my tackle, and exclaiming that sea fish were never 
 caught on a rod, he decided to fish with hand-lines provided 
 by the man. I stuck to my paternoster, and he used two 
 hand-lines, the gillie holding a third. The result of the after- 
 noon's fishing was a fair take of fish, two-thirds of which fell 
 to the paternoster, the remaining third to the three hand-lines. 
 It was not a matter of superior skill, but merely of gut tackle 
 as opposed to hempen hand-lines. Not only had I most sport, 
 but it was certainly far more enjoyable playing the fish, and 
 lifting them into the boat in a landing-net, than hauling up 
 several fathoms of wet line, and dragging the fish on board 
 willy nilly. 
 
 The angler should not consider sea fish as unworthy his 
 notice by reason of the ease with which they are sometimes 
 to be caught. If he has that idea, let him spend a week 
 attempting to catch grey mullet. He will be completely cured 
 at the end of that time. 
 
HAND-LINES OCCASIONALLY NECESSAEY. 3 
 
 Lest I should be taken to advise that fine tackle should 
 always be used for sea fish, I may as well say here that there 
 are occasions when, owing to the depth of water and strength 
 of tide, strong tackle and very heavy leads become necessary, 
 no forms of which can be better, under the circumstances, 
 than those used by the professional fisherman. An excellent 
 and exhaustive work on sea fishing exists in Mr. Wilcocks' 
 " Sea Fisherman." It should be read by everyone, whether 
 sea fisherman or angler in salt water. 
 
 These few remarks are, I think, sufficient introduction. 
 "What follows is purely of a practical nature, unexpanded by 
 anything the least in the nature of padding, and will, I hope, 
 prove acceptable to the reader, to whom, Good Sport ! 
 
 b2 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 TACKLE. 
 
 A Useful Outfit — General Bod — Rings and Fittings — Fly Bod 
 — Lines — Beels and Winches — Gaff-hook — Landing-net — 
 Hooks — The Paternoster — Gut — Gimp — Knots — Modifications 
 of the Paternoster — the Sea Leger — Heavy and Light Float 
 Tackle — Spinning, Trailing, Whiffing and Bailing Tackle 
 — Sundries. 
 
 COp HE tackle required by the angler in salt water depends, 
 OIK of course, on the nature of the locality, and the fish he 
 proposes to catch. If the available fishing is in a shallow 
 harbour, heavy leads and long, coarse lines will, of course, 
 not be required ; while, on the other hand, if the fishing is 
 from a boat, where the water is very deep, and the tide runs 
 strongly, light paternoster tackle may be found quite useless. 
 Before visiting a strange place, it is as well to write to one 
 of the local hotel-keepers or fishmongers, and ask him for 
 information concerning the fishing from the shore, pier-head, 
 quay, or off the coast, as the case may be. Such informants, 
 being interested in attracting visitors, are sometimes apt to 
 exaggerate a little, so that the information gained is not 
 always so reliable as could be wished; but having made due 
 allowance for this, sufficient knowledge of the place will 
 usually be obtained to give a fair idea of the tackle required. 
 
A GENERAL ROD. 5 
 
 Generally speaking, a long, stout, cane rod, a large winch, 100 
 yards of plaited, tanned, hemp line, a hank of medium and one 
 of very stout salmon gut, a few yards of fine Patent Gimp, 
 eyed hooks of various sizes, leads of different weights, pierced 
 swan-shot, two floats — light and heavy — artificial spinning 
 baits, and spinning traces, form an outfit with which sea fish 
 may be caught all round the shores of the United Kingdom. 
 Now and again exceptional tackle is necessary ; and where 
 the necessity arises, the tackle to be used will be found 
 described in other portions of this work. In this chapter I 
 shall only deal with the tackle which is generally required. 
 When, as occasionaDy happens, owing to the force and depth 
 of the water, or to other reasons, there is no alternative 
 but to fish after the manner of professional fishermen, which, 
 as I have pointed out, partakes rather of the nature of business 
 than of pleasure or sport, the necessary apparatus can nearly 
 always be obtained from the local dealers. Even then some 
 modification of their tackle in the direction of fineness near 
 the hook is usually advisable. I have frequently heard 
 fishermen urge amateurs to fish from the shore, piers, and 
 in shallow water generally, with tackle that the professionals 
 use in deep-sea fishing. They doubtless do this with the best 
 intentions, but as they rarely or never fish from pier-heads 
 and the like themselves, they are usually altogether ignorant 
 of the best means of taking fish from such places. An angler 
 fishing for whiting pout, we will say, from Brighton Pier, 
 with a fine gut paternoster, will certainly catch five fish to 
 every one caught on the ordinary sea fisherman's hand-lines. 
 
 Rods. — I will now describe two very useful rods, the first 
 for general fishing, the second for fly fishing, but which, with 
 a short top, may be used for any other purpose. If the 
 angler is not likely to do any fly fishing, the second rod 
 may be omitted; while if he wishes to fly-fish, and expense 
 is a consideration, he can do without the first-named rod, 
 and use his fly rod for all purposes. It may be advisable 
 to say that anglers who have the necessary rods for fishing 
 in fresh water, need buy little or nothing specially for use 
 in the sea. The general rod should be in three joints. It is 
 
6 
 
 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 Fig. 1. Snake-shaped 
 Rod Ring. 
 
 best made of East Indian cane, with, two tops of well-seasoned 
 greenheart, and, when put up with the longest top, should 
 measure at least 15ft. An extra butt, 4ft. long, bringing 
 the rod to 19ft. in length, will be found occasionally very 
 useful. The angler, of com-se, does not want to use a 
 heavy, long rod, unless it is really necessary, but to be 
 without one when it is wanted is a great nuisance. For 
 boat work, a short rod is most handy; but from the shore 
 a long rod is advisable. The second top should be only a 
 foot in length, and made very strong. It is for use when 
 
 heavy leads are necessary, as in 
 spinning, or whiffing for big fish, 
 such as pollack and bass, and it 
 reduces the rod to lift, in length. 
 There will, of course, be winch 
 fittings on both butts. The best are those designed by Herr 
 Weeger and bearing his name. They are strong, and take 
 any sized winch. The very best rings for all kinds of rods 
 are what are called snake-shaped rings. They are illustrated 
 in Fig. 1. The line runs through 
 them more easily than through any 
 other pattern made, and never twists 
 round them — a very important con- 
 sideration. The ring I believe to be 
 the best for the top of the rod is one 
 I designed some years ago, and which 
 is commonly known as the " Bicker- 
 dyke " rod top ring (Fig. 2). It works 
 on pivots, and decreases friction by 
 adapting itself to whatever angle the 
 line makes with the rod. I have also 
 found that with this ring the line 
 rarely fouls the top of the rod, for, should it get round it, 
 the ring at once goes flat with the rod, and the line slides 
 off. At the most, a little jerk of the rod is all that is 
 necessary to set it free. There is, sometimes, an interior ring 
 (as shown in the illustration), which is capable of being 
 Bhifted round when any part gets a little worn. This is 
 
 Fig. 2. " BlCKERDYKE " 
 
 Rod Top Rihg. 
 
THE FLY ROD. 7 
 
 usually omitted in small rings. It is, as a rule, of steel, 
 but should be of ivory for sea fishing. I may, perhaps, be 
 prejudiced in favour of my own invention, but I should 
 not venture to recommend it here had it not received the 
 praises of a goodly number of accomplished anglers. Both 
 the snake rings and the top ring should be of considerable 
 size — much larger than those used on pike rods. The 
 fly rod should be a salmon or grilse rod, about 16ft. long, 
 made of greenheart or hickory — the former for preference. If 
 the angler is very strong, and can wield a longer and heavier 
 weapon, by all means let him obtain one, for he will be able 
 to make a very long cast with it. On the other hand, if he 
 feels a rod of 16ft. too much for his strength, he should be 
 content with one of 14ft. The fly rod should have an extra 
 top, only 6in. loug, for use in general fishing. It is not a 
 bad plan, when paternostering or float fishing, to have out a 
 second and stronger line, with leger tackle, baited for big 
 fish. The fly rod with the short top can be used for this 
 line. The winch fittings and rings of the fly rod should be 
 those already described. The joints of fly rods are sometimes 
 spliced together, and sometimes fastened with ferrules. The 
 latter method is the most convenient, but the spliced rods 
 cast best, and I rather prefer them. The splicing, however, 
 takes time, has to be carefully done, and is an undoubted 
 bother. Against this, it may be said that ferrules get loose, 
 and crack; and if a rod breaks, it is usually at the ferrule. 
 If the fly rod alone is purchased, and it is used for general 
 fishing, an extra butt may be added to increase the length 
 of the rod when desirable. In this case, the lower end 
 of the ordinary butt has to be fitted with a ferrule, as if 
 it were a middle joint. Mr. Senior, the angling editor of the 
 Field, has had a fly rod made with a telescope butt, which adds 
 an extra 2ft. on to the rod when it is required. I have given 
 this invention a trial, and should think that it would be very 
 useful in lieu of the extra butt on the rod I have described. 
 There are various methods of fastening the joints of ferruled 
 rods together, but in the best rods now made no fastenings 
 are necessary, the ferrules fitting one another so truly that 
 
8 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 they never cast out. They are known as suction ferrules, and 
 are, I believe, ground into one another, and fit as closely as the 
 plugs in gas taps. It is well to vaseline or soap them before 
 putting the rod together, or they may stick too fast. I have a 
 fly rod made on this principle, by Messrs. Warner & Sons, of 
 Redditch, which I put to the severe test of a month's fishing 
 without once taking it to pieces. At the end of that time 
 the joints were as tight as when first put together. I have, 
 therefore, some reason to believe that, in a few years, the 
 various contrivances for fastening together the joints of fly 
 rods will fall into disuse. The same manufacturers are makers 
 of the Hi Regan landing-net, and patent rod top ring, 
 referred to on pages 6 and 11 respectively. 
 
 Lines. — "Where expense is no object, a first-class eight-plait, 
 pure silk line, carefully dressed with linseed oil (not boiled oil), 
 is the very best line obtainable. For fly fishing it should be 
 tapered, and of the substance used in salmon fishing. Probably 
 the cheapest effective fly line made is the cable-laid cotton 
 line (No. 2) of the Manchester Cotton Twine Spinning 
 Company. The Company more than doubles the price of the 
 line if dressed, so that a good many persons prefer to dress 
 it themselves, at the cost of a few pence, with a mixture of 
 coal tar and paraffin (in the proportion of three to one). These 
 lines are not tapered. The Manchester Company make very 
 superior cotton hand-lines. For general bottom fishing and 
 spinning a medium jack line answers very well. Where 
 expense is an object, I can recommend the tanned eight- 
 plait hemp lines sold by nearly all tackle makers. I have 
 had one of these lines for five years, and it still shows no 
 signs of weakness ; but I am very careful with my lines, drying 
 them after use, and about once a week, when at the seaside, 
 washing them in fresh water. There is not the slightest 
 objection to the line for fly fishing being twisted; indeed, I 
 have cast with mere twisted lines, which were admirable in 
 every respect. It is surprising that they are not in general 
 use, as they are considerably stronger than plaited lines. 
 Anglers who can use Nottingham tackle will find a twisted 
 pure silk line, such as is used on the Trent, very useful for 
 
LINES. 9 
 
 float fishing and paternostering, but very bad for spinning. 
 If a fairly, fine twisted line is used, it should always be run 
 directly on or off the reel, and never allowed to lie in coils 
 on the ground, or it will tangle. Twisted lines, except those 
 intended for Nottingham fishing, which cannot be too soft, 
 are all the better for being dressed. 
 
 If hand-lines are required, they can be purchased at the 
 seaside from the dealers who supply the professional fisher- 
 men. The best are made of twisted horsehair, the elasticity 
 of which is very valuable when large fish have to be played 
 with the hand. Next to these are the ordinary hemp cords, 
 tanned, or dressed with a mixture of coal tar and turpentine 
 (for the latter I should substitute paraffin). Hand- lines com- 
 mence at about the thickness of a penny penholder, or a little 
 less. For drift-line fishing, light leads are strung on them, at 
 distances of two fathoms. A hundred yards is not too great 
 a length for any kind of line used in sea fishing. 
 
 The Reel, or Winch. — This must of a necessity be large, 
 as it has to hold many yards of line. The simplest, strongest, 
 
 Fig. 3. Nottingham Reel with Movable Check and Improved Line Guard. 
 
 and perhaps the best of all winches, is a plain — or with a slight 
 check — brass one; but anglers who know how to use Nottingham 
 reels will give them the preference. These latter are now made 
 with a check, which can be put on or off — a very great con- 
 venience. The one fault with Nottingham reels is that the bine, 
 
10 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 particularly if a stiff-dressed one, sometimes uncoils itself and 
 gets twisted round them. I have remedied this by fixing a 
 brass wire on the circumference, in the manner shown in Fig. 3. 
 If this fitting was more generally known, I believe no Notting- 
 ham winches would be made without it. The advantages of 
 the Nottingham reels are the ease with which they run, which 
 enables tackle of any kind to be cast out a long distance, 
 the line running off the reel as the tackle passes through 
 the air; the check of almost any degree of strength which 
 can be put on them, by pressing the little finger of the right 
 hand on the edge of the reel; and particularly the rapidity 
 with which they take up the line, owing to the large diameter 
 of the barrel on which the line is wound. One turn of a 
 Nottingham reel about equals two of an ordinary winch, so 
 that the advantage of a multiplier is gained without the intri- 
 cate mechanism, which is so objectionable. The reel shown in 
 Fig. 3 is a great favourite of mine, and I use it for most 
 purposes. It has a check which can be taken on or off; the 
 line cannot uncoil, by reason of the wire guard; and it is as 
 good as a multiplier. There are reels made, a combination of 
 the ordinary winch and the Nottingham reel. Some of them 
 are so made that there is no rim on which the little finger 
 can be placed as a check, but the " brake " reel and the Slater 
 reel are excellent. If more line has been bought than will go 
 easily on the reel, either cut some of it off, or buy a larger reel, 
 which will take all the line and ten yards more if necessary. 
 
 Gaff-Hook and Landing Net. — Before coming to the 
 lower — but not inferior — tackle, that round and about the 
 bait, some reference should be made to gaff-hooks and land- 
 ing-nets, which, with rods, reels, and lines, constitute what I 
 may term the "standing rigging" of the angler. The gaff- 
 hook should be a reliable instrument. The ordinary thing 
 sold in tackle shops screws into a handle, and, this screw 
 becoming loose as soon as the socket rusts a little, the 
 arrangement is very unsatisfactory. Something better, and so 
 simple that it may have been invented by the father of all 
 fishermen, is a long, fiat-shanked hook, with the end of shank 
 brought to a fine point, and turned outwards as shown in 
 
A TRUSTWORTHY GAFF. 
 
 11 
 
 n 
 
 Fig. 4. Gaff-hook. 
 
 Fig. 4. The end of the shank is hammered into a good ash 
 
 stick, and a lashing put round it (Fig. 
 
 5). It makes the most satisfactory gaff 
 
 with which I am acquainted, and any 
 
 one who can splice a rod can put this 
 
 gaff on its handle in three or four 
 
 minutes. When on fishing excursions I 
 
 usually bind the hook to the stick, and 
 
 keep it there. The binding — a piece of 
 
 hemp, old fishing line, in fact anything 
 
 .that comes first which is strong and not 
 
 too thick — should be waxed, and, if in- 
 tended for a permanency, is all the 
 better for a coat of paint, or the tar 
 and turpentine mixture used for dressing 
 lines. The point of the gaff should be 
 kept very sharp, by means of an occa- 
 sional file, and it is as well to stick it 
 in a wine-cork when not in use. The 
 best gaffs are now made with bayonet- 
 shaped points, invented by Dr. Brunton. 
 
 Some of the foregoing remarks apply 
 to landing-nets; for the screw arrange- 
 ment by which they are ordinarily fixed 
 into their heads either rusts or wears 
 loose, particularly under the influence of 
 salt water, in an inci'edibly short space 
 of time. A great improvement on the 
 screw was a square head fixed into a 
 square socket, and held in place by a 
 spring-catch, introduced some years ago. 
 It would be better suited for sea work 
 with a brass or bronze spring. The Hi 
 Regan* net has the best form of screw 
 
 •Captain Dunne ("Hi Regan ") invented this screw, 
 and I must take the credit — or discredit, as the case 
 ■> K on may be— of the fastening at the top of the bow. This 
 Handle? net is illustrated in " Angling for Game Fish."-J. B. 
 
12 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 I know. It is divided into two parts, which the natural 
 spring in the bow of the net has a tendency to keep open, 
 the result being that the screw fills out, and keeps tight, 
 even in a well-worn socket. The Hi Regan net folds 
 up for packing. As the sides are of highly tempered steel, 
 some other metal would be desirable for sea work — phosphor- 
 bronze, for instance. A capital net is made altogether of 
 wood, or wood and whalebone. It is 
 light and very durable. The bow is 
 formed of a strip of well-seasoned ash, 
 steamed and bent into shape. This 
 is bound on to a handle. A mere 
 ring of galvanised iron (Fig. 6), with 
 ends flattened and turned downwards, 
 bound into a handle, answers every 
 purpose. The net itself should be of 
 large mesh, and either tanned or dressed. 
 The object of the dressing is not so 
 
 Fig. 6. Galvanised Iron rrmrOi + n nrosprvp +Via n^t n« +n 
 Landing-net Ring. mucn to preserve tne net as to 
 
 render it stiff, so that hooks will not 
 entangle in it. "With an ordinary soft, small-meshed net, a big 
 fish, in his struggles for freedom, will sometimes mix up the 
 hooks and net into a tangle, which causes valuable time to be 
 lost. Fish often feed in an irregular kind of manner, taking any 
 kind of bait ravenously for half-an-hour, and then disdaining 
 the choicest morsels for the two hours following. It follows, 
 therefore, that the angler who is not prepared to make 
 the most of his opportunities — to make hay while the sun 
 shines — to catch the fish while they are feeding — will never 
 fill his creel. 
 
 Hooks. — Professional sea-fishermen generally tie a piece of 
 hemp snooding round the shanks of their hooks, the tops of 
 which are flattened to prevent the knot slipping off. This is 
 about as primitive and awkward a method as could well be ima- 
 gined. 
 
 In the deep-sea cod fisheries, hooks are sometimes used 
 which are more sensibly shaped. The end of the shank is 
 turned round to form an eye, and into this eye the snooding 
 
EYED HOOKS. 13 
 
 is fastened. Of late years, eyed hooks, as they are called, 
 have come greatly into use in fresh water, and they, 
 undoubtedly, have many advantages. The arguments pro 
 and con have been discussed at so much length in the 
 angling pi-ess, that I need not enter into them here; but I 
 will unhesitatingly say that for the angler in salt water 
 they are the most useful kind of hooks which can be ob- 
 tained. 
 
 In bass and pollack fishing, it is of the first importance 
 to have good hooks, and it is the worst possible economy 
 to buy cheap ones, which are certain to be badly tempered. 
 A hook should be neither over-tempered or brittle, causing 
 it to snap when subjected to a heavy strain, nor under- 
 tempered or soft, opening when the point is pulled against 
 the mouth of a fish. With so many different pattern hooks 
 to select from, it is a little difficult to say which is the 
 best. 
 
 Sea fish take the bait eagerly as a rule, and the exact shape 
 of the bend is not of very great importance, provided the 
 hook is not radically bad. For fly fishing in salt water, I 
 think the Sproat hook as good a one as can be made: it 
 may not hook so well as some other bends, which is not 
 of the same importance with bass as with trout, but it holds 
 well — a very important point in bass fishing. For the smaller 
 fish, a Round or Kendal Bend hook answers admirably. 
 Hooks are made with the points slightly twisted to one 
 side. They do very well for fly fishing or whiffing, but I do 
 not like them for ground fishing. Rather a longer shank 
 can be used in the sea than in fresh water, which is a decided 
 advantage, as the longer the shank the greater is the pene- 
 trating power possessed by the hooks. Hooks to be avoided 
 are those with points bending outwards away from the shank ; 
 these scratch more fish than they hook. A large barb is not 
 necessary. A sharp point is very essential; this depends 
 in the first instance on the hookmaker, afterwards on the 
 angler, who should sharpen up the point occasionally with 
 a needle or watchmaker's file. In sea fishing it is very 
 desirable to have hooks made of rather stouter wire than 
 
14 
 
 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 is usual in fresh-water angling. Some of the bends of 
 hooks are illustrated in Fig. 7. According to the draw- 
 ing, the Limerick hook has the point turned out in the 
 
 Kirby Long-shanked. 
 
 Kirby Short. 
 
 u 
 
 U u 
 
 Kendal Sneck. KendaL Sproat Round. 
 
 Fig. 7. Various Bends op Hooks. 
 
 Limerick. 
 
 objectionable manner I have commented upon. If this 
 point were turned inwards a little, so as to be parallel with 
 the shank, the hook at once becomes a very good one. The 
 
KNOTS FOR EYED HOOKS. 
 
 15 
 
 best method I know of fastening gut to eyed hooks, is that 
 shown in Fig. 8, invented by Major Tui-le. The end of the 
 gut, after being well moistened, is first put through the eye 
 
 Fig. 8. The Turle Knot. 
 
 on the side remote from the point, a slip-knot or noose is 
 then made (1), the hook passed through it (2), and the gut 
 pulled tight (3). In Fig. 9 is shown a simple knot which has 
 
 been well spoken of. My expe- 
 rience tells me that it is not alto- 
 gether safe, unless the eye of 
 the hook fits the gut closely. 
 Gut is fastened to hooks with- 
 out eyes by means of waxed 
 silk or thread lashed round 
 the end of gut and the shank. 
 The method of fastening off the 
 silk is shown in Fig. 10. Hav- 
 ing bound on the silk as far as 
 the end of the gut, the end 
 of the silk is laid along the 
 shank, and two more turns of 
 the binding taken with the loop 
 of silk. At each turn the hook 
 
 Fig. 9. A New Knot. 
 
16 
 
 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 passes through the loop. Each turn 
 over the end of the silk laid along 
 the shank, which should now be 
 pulled tight. This is most diffi- 
 cult to describe on paper, but 
 will, I hope, be understood by the 
 engraving (Fig. 10). It is the usual 
 method of fastening off bindings on 
 hooks, or near the ends of rods, 
 &c. Where a piece of binding has 
 to be done in the middle of a rod j 
 the same fastening is made in a 
 different manner (see Fig. 11). A 
 round piece of wood, such as a 
 penholder (the finger will do), is 
 laid along the thing bound, and 
 three turns taken with the silk 
 
 of the silk also passes 
 
 fig. 10. 
 Finish Off of Whipping. 
 
 over penholder and all. 
 The end of the silk is 
 passed undbr the three 
 turns of silk, the pen- 
 holder is then with- 
 drawn, and the silk 
 tightened. The process 
 is extremely simple, and 
 every angler should 
 
 Fig. 11. Finish Off of Whip- 
 ping in Middle of Rod. 
 
 know it. The best way of fastening 
 gimp to a conger or hake hook, is to 
 pass the end through the eye of the 
 hook, and bind it on with strong, waxed 
 thread, or soft copper wire. 
 A useful invention in connection with fig. 12. sliced Hook. 
 
 u 
 
THE SLICED HOOK. 
 
 17 
 
 hooks lias been patented by Mr. Marston, the editor of the 
 
 it lfi is i* 13 is ar to o 
 
 LLL 
 
 u 
 
 u 
 
 UU 
 
 r r 
 
 IAjvj 
 
 Uvj 
 
 000 00 JL i 3 it ,5 & 7 8 d 00 
 
 f f 
 
 o|i a 
 
 15 
 
 li 
 
 Q.tj.,y 
 
 Fig. 13. Hook Scale. 
 
 (TTie £op figures are the Redditch scale. The lower figures are the modern scale 
 referred to throughout this book.) 
 
 Fishing Gazette. It is called the " sliced hook " (Fig. 12), and 
 is intended to prevent the bait from slipping down the 
 
18 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 shank. It answers its purpose well, and is, of course 
 only used for those methods of fishing in which a portion 
 of the hait is pushed up the shank of the hook, and is 
 intended to remain there. 
 
 The variation in hook scales is the bete noir of writers on 
 angling. Different towns have different scales, and different 
 makers in those towns numher their hooks in different ways, and 
 sometimes vary their own nominal sizes. The only thing I can do 
 is to place before my readers a hook scale (Fig. 13), and let it be 
 an understood thing that when I refer to certain sizes of hooks 
 by a number, I refer to the lower numbers. The bend of 
 hook shown is a very good one. It is known as the Pennell- 
 Limerick, and is made by Messrs. Bartleet and Sons, of 
 Redditch. Hooks of that kind are numbered according to 
 the scale given. I forbear to enter into the turn-up or turn- 
 down eye discussion, as I am perfectly convinced that for 
 angling in salt water it matters little or nothing which are 
 used. My preference is for those turned down. 
 
 On the subject of eyes there is, however, a good deal to 
 be said — and sung too, might be remarked, only I refer 
 solely to the eyes of hooks. The large majority of eyes are 
 unnecessarily large and clumsy, and I must say that the 
 only really satisfactory eyes I have seen are those on the 
 Pennell-Limerick hooks made by Messrs. Bartleet and Sons, 
 and on some hooks patented by Messrs. Warner and Sons. 
 In the former, the wire is filed down at the end of the shank, 
 and turned into a very small, neat eye. In the latter, the 
 eye is made of a separate piece of fine wire carefully brazed 
 on. These hooks are somewhat expensive, but the double 
 grilse hooks, with the brazed eye, are first-rate for large 
 bass flies. 
 
 The Paternoster : Gut, Gimp, and Knots. — The pater- 
 noster is by far the most valuable piece of tackle used by the 
 angler in salt water. It consists of a length of gut, on the end 
 of which is a leaden weight, and from which project three or 
 more pieces of gut bearing the hooks. The weight of lead, thick- 
 ness of gut, or gimp — for that also is used — position and size 
 of the hooks, all vary according to circumstances, such as 
 
A TYPICAL PATERNOSTER. 
 
 19 
 
 I 
 
 size of fish, depth of water, and nature of bottom 
 typical paternoster (Fig. 14), take 
 a three-yard length of fairly stout 
 gut, and, after well soaking it, 
 make a one-and-a-half-inch loop at 
 one end, and a smaller one at 
 the other. On to the large loop 
 fasten the lead after the method 
 illustrated; then make a small 
 loop in the gut five inches 
 above the lead, fourteen inches 
 higher a second loop, and four- 
 teen inches higher still a third. 
 The hooks — No. 9 and No. 10 are 
 good general sizes — should be tied 
 or bound on to pieces of gut about 
 6in. or Tin. long. The hooks are 
 then fastened to the paternoster 
 in the following simple manner : 
 The loop on the paternoster is 
 put through the loop of the 
 gut on the hook ; the hook is 
 then put through the loop on 
 the paternoster, and the thing 
 is done. Fig. 15 shows the best 
 method of joining lengths of gut 
 together. "Without the silk bind- 
 ing (an idea of Mr. Cholmondeley 
 Pennell) it is the old fisherman's 
 knot, which is very commonly 
 used. In my experience it is un- 
 safe, and has caused me to lose 
 many fish. With the white silk 
 binding the knot is absolutely 
 safe, and also neat. Fig. 16 illus- 
 trates another very good gut knot, 
 which never comes undone, but is 
 not quite so neat as the one shown in Fig. 15 
 
 To make the 
 
 Fig. 14. 
 The Paternoster. 
 
 Its great 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 ANGLING IN SALT WATEE. 
 
 i& 
 
 & 
 
 Fig. 15. The Strongest Knot 
 for Tying Lengths of Gut 
 Together. 
 
 advantage is that it can be tied at any time. The illustration 
 
 hardly requires explaining; but it may be useful to say that the 
 
 first process in tying the knot is to lay the ends of the gut 
 
 over each other for about l^in., 
 tie them in a simple knot, and put 
 the ends through a second time 
 before pulling tight. In Ireland 
 the common reef-knot is a good 
 deal used for tying lengths of gut 
 together, but I am absolutely cer- 
 tain that it is not to be relied 
 on. The two knots illustrated are 
 
 safer and better than any that have yet been invented. Fig. 17 
 
 illustrates the simple method of tying a loop at the end of a 
 
 gut cast or collar. 
 
 The fisherman's 
 
 knot can be used 
 
 for this purpose, 
 
 but it makes, when 
 
 finished, almost the 
 
 same knot as the 
 
 one shown, and 
 
 takes rather more 
 
 time to tie. 
 
 There are several 
 
 methods of attach- 
 ing the running line 
 
 to the gut or gimp 
 
 tackle, but the knot 
 
 shown in Fig. 18 is 
 
 about the best. It 
 
 is known to sailors 
 
 as the common 
 
 bend, and is a very 
 
 useful knot for FlQ - 16 ' 
 
 many purposes con- 
 nected with matters outside fishing tackle. 
 
 Gut must always be either well soaked in cold water, or 
 
 Another Method of Joining Lengths 
 op Gut. 
 
PATENT GIMP. 21 
 
 moistened in the mouth until it is soft and can be tied without 
 cracking. Never put it in hot water, and avoid even luke-warm 
 water for the purpose, unless you are greatly pressed for time. 
 Hot water is ruinous to gut. It is always more satisfactory 
 to buy the gut in hanks and tie it, than to purchase the usual 
 three-yard casts sold by tackle-makers, as the knots in these 
 
 Fig. 17. Knot for Loops. 
 are not always reliable. Except in the manner already described, 
 anything in the nature of a silk binding over the knots is 
 quite unnecessary. I have so far only described the typical 
 paternoster. Where large fish are expected, it may be made 
 of the stoutest salmon gut, or gut less stout used double. I 
 do not advocate twisted gut for sea fishing, as strands of it 
 are apt to break without being noticed by the angler, who, 
 believing in the strength of his tackle, bears heavily on a big 
 fish, and loses it. In fresh water twisted gut is often used 
 with advantage ; but in salt water gut quickly becomes brittle, 
 and when one strand of a piece of twisted gut breaks, the 
 remaining strands, which have also grown brittle, are, of 
 course, not strong enough to hold a big fish. If double gut 
 
 Fig. 18. Attachment of Lines to Collars. 
 
 is used, the strands are best laid side by side, not twisted. 
 Mr. Cholmondeley Pennell has suggested laying two gut casts 
 side by side, and twisting them. The idea seems a good one. 
 The casts should, of course, be so arranged that they do 
 not come opposite to one another. As fine as salmon-gut, and 
 as strong, is a new Patent Gimp which has been introduced 
 
22 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 by Messrs. Warner and Sons, of Redditch. Inside the gimp, 
 surrounded by silk, are one or more strands of fine wire, made 
 of a patent composition wbicb does not corrode, and possesses 
 great tensile strength. I have tested some of this gimp, and 
 find it bears a strain nearly double that borne by the best 
 ordinary gimp of the same gauge. It probably has a great 
 future before it for sea-fishing purposes, for the ordinary gimp 
 is most unreliable stuff, and even when made with pure silk, 
 which is not often, can never be depended upon after a few 
 weeks' use. The Patent Gimp is first-rate for conger and hake 
 
 hooks. The gauges of gimp are 
 shown in Fig. 19. No. 00 in 
 the Patent Gimp will be found 
 strong enough for fish up to 
 201b. ; for conger, No. 1 or No. 2 
 should be used. Gimp cannot 
 be tied ; the loops have to 
 be made by turning the end 
 round, and binding with silk 
 or thread. As I have already 
 said, the paternoster tackle 
 admits of much modification. 
 If the water is very deep, the 
 lowest hook may be 18in. from 
 the lead, and the other hooks 
 2ft. or more apart; if the bottom is very rocky and foul, 
 the lowest hook must be put at such a height from the lead 
 that it does not catch on the bottom; and, on the other 
 hand, if the bottom is of sand or mud, and flat fish are 
 expected, the lowest hook should be on lOin. or 12in. of 
 gut, and be looped on close to the lead, so that the bait on 
 that hook lies on the bottom. There is one disadvantage in 
 making loops on the vertical gut portion of the paternoster; 
 it, to a certain extent, fixes the places where the hooks are 
 to be. A plan I often adopt myself, especially when the main 
 portion of the paternoster is of salmon gut, is to make no 
 loops, but to fasten on the hooks just above a knot, in the 
 manner shown in Fig. 20. The hooks may then be put 
 
 Fig. 19. Gauges of Gimp. 
 
CONGER TACKLE. 
 
 23 
 
 at any height, according to circumstances. If the main gut 
 line is served round with a little fine silk for a quarter of an 
 inch or less, to prevent friction with 
 the hook link, so much the better. 
 When fishing for conger, it is advis- 
 able to run brass swivels down the 
 line, and fasten the hook links to 
 them (Fig. 21). They prevent much 
 entanglement. 
 
 The hooks on a paternoster need 
 not, of course, be all of the same 
 size. For instance, a large one, FlG 20 Method of 
 
 mounted on gimp, may be put on FAWBnwoJIo ra Lno ta on to 
 the bottom loop, and be baited with 
 
 half a pilchard for a conger. It is very convenient, when 
 fishing strange water, concerning which no information is 
 
 Fig. 21. Hook mounted with Swivel on Paternoster. 
 obtainable, to use four or five hooks and a variety of baits, 
 which, in all probability, will soon enable the angler to see 
 what fish are to be caught. 
 
24 
 
 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 The Sea Leger. — This is a very useful piece of tackle for 
 catching flat fish, and for casting out at the mouths of rivers for 
 bass. A lead shaped as shown in Fig. 22 
 is strung on a foot of Patent Gimp. At each 
 end of the gimp are loops, and on the binding 
 of each loop a split swan-shot is fastened on, to 
 keep the lead from slipping off. Small glass 
 beads, put on the gimp before the loops are 
 made, will answer the same purpose. They 
 must fit the gimp tightly. Below the lead is 
 4ft. of gut — strong, medium, or fine, according 
 to the fish expected — terminated by the hook. 
 On to the other end of the gimp is looped a 
 piece of salmon-gut, about 2ft. or 3ft. in length, 
 and on this it is a good plan to have a second 
 hook, which, unless the tackle is cast some 
 considerable distance by the angler, will be a 
 few inches from the bottom. It may be looped 
 on to the line in the manner shown on page 
 23. The advantage of the lead sliding on a 
 foot of gimp is that, immediately the bait is 
 taken, the angler feels the pull of the fish, the 
 line being drawn through the hole in the lead. 
 "When the lead is fixed the fish has, of course, 
 to move it before the angler can perceive 
 a bite. If the Patent Gimp cannot be ob- 
 tained, copper or brass wire should be used, 
 as ordinary gimp is most unreliable. As a rule, 
 the leger is cast out and allowed to remain on 
 the bottom; but from a boat or pier it may 
 be used in a different manner, the lead being 
 kept suspended at such a height that the bait 
 is a few inches off the bottom. Pished in this 
 manner, it will occasionally take fish when the 
 paternoster fails; but the paternoster is the 
 most generally useful tackle for the pui-pose. 
 
 Float Tackle. — This I may divide into two 
 kinds — heavy and light; the former for use 
 
 u 
 
 ,i y 
 
 Fig. 22. The Sea 
 Leger. 
 
IMPROVED FLOAT TACKLE. 
 
 25 
 
 in the sea, the latter for harbour 
 fishing. For fishing in the open 
 sea, from piers, &c, the best form 
 of float is one similar to those 
 used by jack fishers — pear-shaped, 
 with a hole drilled down the centre, 
 through which the line passes. The 
 float is kept in its place by a long, 
 hard-wood plug, which fits the hole. 
 Beneath the float there is 5ft. or 
 6ft. of stout gut, terminated by a 
 hook. Sinkers of some kind are 
 necessary to keep the float erect; 
 and as the exact weight varies, de- 
 pending on the strength of the tide, 
 I have devised a little arrangement, 
 illustrated in Fig. 23, by which the 
 weight of the sinker can be increased 
 or decreased with great facility. I 
 take a piece of stout gut, 8in. in length, 
 knot the two ends together, and put a 
 few turns of waxed thread round it, 
 as shown at B. I then thread pierced 
 pistol bullets on to the loop A, the 
 first of which stops at the binding, 
 B. I can obviously put as many or 
 as few bullets on as may be neces- 
 sary. Loop A is then fastened to 
 the loop e on the gut, and the 2ft. 
 of gut (f) bearing the hook looped 
 on to the small loop, D. The ar- 
 rangement is very simple. To add 
 or to take away any of the bullets, 
 the loops A and E have to be un- 
 done, which is a matter of no diffi- 
 culty. The whole thing can be ac- 
 complished in a couple of minutes. Fig. 23. Heavy Float Tackle, 
 m , , « ,, a . , u , with Improved Arrange- 
 
 The top of the float should be ment of leads. 
 
26 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 painted a bright red, so as to be visible among tbe waves; 
 for tbe lower portion, any subdued tint will do. If tbe sea 
 is quite calm, a smaller float may be used — for instance, tbe 
 favourite one of Nottingham anglers, a large quill. If a fine 
 Nottingham silk line is used with this float tackle, something 
 much akin to the professional's drift-line fishing can be 
 managed where the water is not more than ten fathoms deep. 
 The boat is anchored in the tideway, as heavy leads as tbe 
 float will bear are put on the line, the float is shifted as far 
 from the lead as the water is deep — further if the tide is very 
 strong — and an extra 2ft. of gut is added below the lead. 
 The float is then let out for 20yds. or 30yds. or so, and 
 checked. The depth has to be found by plumbing. The line 
 must be fine, or it offers too great a surface to the water, and 
 causes the bait to be lifted too far from the bottom. 
 
 Light float tackle should be very similar to that used for 
 roach; any small float will do, those long and tapered being 
 best. The gut line should be fine, and tbe sinkers may be 
 either split shot, bitten or pinched on to the line a foot from 
 the hook, or lead wire twisted round a needle laid along the 
 gut, the needle being afterwards withdrawn, and the coil twisted 
 tighter. Float tackle for smelts should be of the finest gut, and 
 so weighted that only a small fraction of the float is visible 
 above the water; the slightest bite can then be perceived. 
 Small floats are usually attached to lines by the wire ring fixed 
 on one end of the float, and a movable quill cap slid on the 
 other. These quill caps are apt to cut the line, and split. The 
 best caps are made of a sort of oilcloth material. 
 
 SPINNING. TRAILING, WHIFFING, AND RAILING 
 TACKLE— ARTIFICIAL BAITS. 
 
 Professional sea fishermen rarely use spinning baits ; a portion 
 of, or a whole fish, dragged through the water, answering their 
 purpose. Their method answers admirably for mackerel; but 
 for bass and pollack a spinning bait has special attractions. 
 
 Spinning tackle consists of two parts : the flight — a length 
 of gut or gimp bearing the hook or hooks; the trace — a 
 length of gut or gimp bearing the sinker, and swivels to 
 keep the line from twisting. 
 
THE CHAPMAN SPINNER. 
 
 27 
 
 Spinning Flights. — Any small fish will do for spinning, and 
 the best tackle for the purpose (there 
 are many good ones) is, I think, 
 that known as the Chapman spin- 
 ner. The hooks shown in Fig. 24 are 
 not a good shape ; the triangles advo- 
 cated by Mr. Pennell, in which the 
 point is straight, and does not turn 
 out, are far better. The gimp on 
 which the hooks are mounted should 
 be white or silver, so as to make the 
 bait more attractive ; that above 
 the bait, brass. Brass gimp is gene- 
 rally stained by fresh-water anglers, 
 to take off some of the brightness, 
 which scares jack; but in the sea 
 the brightness goes off so quickly 
 that the staining is not necessary. 
 Some of the processes — for there are 
 several — are apt to weaken ordinary 
 gimp.* The number of triangles 
 shown are, except for a very large 
 bait, too many. I never use more 
 than two on one side and one on 
 the other. To bait, insert the leaded 
 spike in the mouth of the bait, right 
 up to the fans ; one hook of each of 
 the triangles is then fastened into 
 its side, and the affair is ready. If 
 the lead is too thick, it can be easily 
 pared down with a penknife. There 
 should be a foot of fine Patent Gimp, 
 terminated with a loop, above the 
 brass swivel. The Chapman spinner 
 is so excellent a piece of spinning 
 tackle that I need only mention one 
 other. It consists simply of one or 
 
 two triangles, attached to the end of 
 
 . . . ., ., , i • Fig. 24. The Chapman 
 
 a toot ot gimp, the other end being Spinner. 
 
28 
 
 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 looped. By means of a baiting-needle the loop of gimp is 
 inserted at the vent of the bait, and drawn out at its mouth, 
 and the triangle pulled up close to the belly. Sand-eels 
 and small eels are usually trailed after the boat on two 
 hooks, mounted one above the other (Fig. 25). They are, how- 
 ever, more deadly when spinning. A Chapman spinner without 
 lead, with small fans, and only two triangles, should be used as 
 a flight for the purpose (Figs. 26 and 27).* A lobworm is some- 
 times used as a spinning bait on the double hook tackle (Fig. 28). 
 
 J 
 
 J 
 
 t 
 
 Sf 
 
 Fig. 25. Sand-eel on Ordinary 
 Trailing Tackle. 
 
 Fig. 26. Chapman 
 Spinner for 
 Sand-eels. 
 
 Fig. 27. Sand-eel 
 on Chapman 
 Spinner. 
 
 The worm is threaded up the big hook until its head comes up 
 to the small hook, which, if eyed, is easily fastened, by a knot, 
 in its place on the gut. The small hook is caught in the 
 head of the worm, which then spins very well. Exactly 
 similar tackle is used for trailing a small conger or fresh- 
 water eel. Half an eel, on a Chapman spinner, is a very 
 
 * The Archer spinner, a new form of Chapman, illustrated in "Angling for 
 Pike," is also very good. 
 
SPINNING BAITS. 
 
 29 
 
 Fig. 28. Lobworm on 
 
 Spinning or Trail- 
 
 ino Tackle. 
 
 Fig. 30. Indiarubber 
 Band Bait. 
 
 Fig. 29. Gregory's Clipper Bait. 
 
30 
 
 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 good arrangement, but the cut end, -which comes next the 
 fans, must be tied up tightly with twine. One bit of eel will 
 sometimes last out a day's fishing. 
 
 Artificial Spinning Baits. — The 
 
 best are: A spoon-bait each side of 
 which is half gold and half silver; 
 a red phantom minnow ; Gregory's 
 Clipper bait (Fig. 29); the red, arti- 
 ficial, indiarubber sand-eel, with or 
 | without Hearder's Baby spinner at the 
 g head ; the Devon minnow ; and last, 
 W but far from least, two red india- 
 r. rubber bands (Fig. 30), cut, and caught 
 % by the ends on two hooks placed a 
 P* few inches apart. These, when drawn 
 S through the water, present a most 
 lifelike appearance. The tackle for 
 h them is made in a couple of minutes 
 * with two eyed hooks and a length 
 
 3 of gut. 
 ■ 
 
 £ Traces. — The trace is a very im- 
 
 portant portion of the spinning tackle, 
 n for on it depends whether or not the 
 P line is twisted up and kinked, and the 
 s angler's life made a burden. The best 
 £ manner of making a trace is illustrated 
 g in Fig. 31. At the lower end is a swivel 
 g of peculiar construction, to which the 
 loop on the flight can be easily attached ; 
 then follows 3ft. 6in. of Patent Gimp or 
 £ double salmon gut ; then a pair of good- 
 sized brass swivels; a boat-shaped lead, 
 strung below the level of the line, the 
 gimp through it being continued to 
 form a loop 4in. long; and lastly, 2ft. 
 more gimp or double salmon gut. The 
 long loop above the lead is a little idea 
 
THE TRACE. 
 
 31 
 
 of my own to enable additional leads to be 
 
 32, 33). Any number of these can be added. 
 
 especially, it is very necessary to 
 
 be able to add to or lessen the 
 
 amount of weight on the line, 
 
 as, during the daytime, it is, as 
 
 a rule, necessary to fish close to 
 
 the bottom, and as the depth 
 
 varies, so must, to a certain 
 
 extent, the leads ; but a great 
 
 deal can be done by merely 
 
 letting out or shortening line, 
 
 operations which have the effect 
 
 of sinking or raising the bait 
 
 respectively. The angler should 
 
 never purchase a trace in which 
 
 the lead is not below the level of 
 
 the line, and two swivels placed 
 
 somewhere below the lead. This 
 
 system of weighting a trace has 
 
 been used by sea fishermen for 
 
 many years, but the idea was 
 
 elaborated by the late Francis 
 
 Francis, and more recently by 
 
 Mr. Cholmondeley Pennell, for 
 
 angling in fresh water. Mr. 
 
 Wood's saddle lead, described in 
 
 " Angling for Pike," is also very 
 
 good. This trace is intended 
 
 for casting out a spinning bait. 
 
 When the bait is merely dragged 
 
 behind the boat, it is as well to 
 
 make the length of gimp below 
 
 the lead 4ft., 5ft., or longer. 
 
 In whiffing or railing for 
 mackerel a single hook is used, 
 to which is caught, by one end, 
 a strip of mackerel skin. Two hooks and 
 
 looped on (see Figs. 
 In pollack fishing 
 
 M 
 
 W 
 
 H 
 
 ■< 
 
 o 
 
 A 3 
 
 2 
 
 M B 
 
 £ 
 
 B w 
 
 z. 
 
 ¥ K 
 
 B 
 
 ■ *■* 
 
 SB 
 
 
 Bj 
 
 ' P 
 
 o 
 
 A N 
 
 two strips of skin, 
 
32 
 
 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 \p^. similar to the band bait (see page . 
 can sometimes be used with advanta 
 The trace shown in Fig. 31 answers 
 well for mackerel as for other fish ; bi 
 as some of my readers may wish to fisl 
 for mackerel from a yacht, whose faBt 
 sailing would render angling impossible, 
 I give an illustration (Fig. 34) of one of 
 the tackles used for the purpose on the 
 South coast. The whole thing, except 
 the lead, is made of hemp snooding, 
 which, with the line, has to be strong 
 enough to tow a 31b. mackerel after a 
 Bailing vessel. One or more flies are 
 sometimes added to the snooding. The 
 leads vary in weight from £lb. to 51b. 
 The distance from the junction with 
 the line bearing the lead to the end 
 hook should be from 2yds. to 5yds., 
 according to the weight of the lead. 
 The line bearing the lead should be 
 2ft. or 3ft. long. 
 
 Sundry Tackle, &c. — Among the 
 sundries, the " courge " (Fig. 35), a basket 
 
 Fig. 34. Hand-line for 
 Mackerel Hailing. 
 
 Fig. 35. Courge 
 
 for holding live sand-eels, stands first. 
 It has long been used in the Channel 
 Islands, and was introduced to our 
 fishermen by Mr. Wilcocks. I believe 
 they are to be obtained at Plymoutb. 
 
DISGORGER AND BAIT-BOX. 
 
 33 
 
 ding these, a finely-woven basket may be tried; but tbe 
 
 irge is specially shaped for towing after the boat. 
 
 Charts showing the depths of the sea, position of rocks, 
 it of tides, &c, are very useful additions to the sea angler's 
 jutfit. 
 
 A reel of silk, a reel of thread, and a piece of cobblers' wax 
 in a square patch of leather, should be owned by everyone 
 calling himself an angler. The varnish for bindings is composed 
 of six parts shellac, eight parts spirits of wine, and two parts 
 gum Benjamin. 
 
 The disgorger, for getting hooks out of fish, is very useful. I 
 once had one made with a corkscrew- 
 handle (Fig. 36), which was very effec- 
 tive with big fish. The handle was 
 leaded, and served to knock them on 
 the head. The little things sold in the 
 shops only answer for small fry. A 
 needle or watch maker's file is useful to 
 sharpen up hooks and the gaff. 
 
 The bait-box for rag and other worms 
 may be simply a large gentle-box ; but 
 for boat work, where something larger 
 can be carried, it should be of wood, 
 half covered, so that the worms have 
 a dark corner to lie in. It should be 
 made watertight by means of pitch, and 
 be kept very clean. A piece of board 
 about 2ft. by 1ft. is handy to cut fish- 
 baits on. 
 
 The plummet illustrated in section FlG - * Disgorger. 
 in Fig. 37 is used for taking the depth and one other pur- 
 pose. On its lower surface a hole (b) is scooped, in 
 which tallow may be placed. The nature of the bottom is 
 then easily discovered. The hook is put through the ring, 
 and into a piece of cork (a) let into the lead. Such a 
 plummet should weigh about half a pound. For use with 
 light float tackle, smaller plummets are necessary. They 
 are sold in all the tackle shops of the shape shown in 
 
34 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 Fig. 38. The larger plummet can be kept permanently 
 attacked to a light cord, on which the fathoms are marked 
 off. In that case the cork is not required. 
 
 I have given some account of hand-lines at the end of 
 Chapter IV., so that any description here is unnecessary, more 
 especially as hand-line fishing takes me rather outside my 
 subject. 
 
 Anglers who have the time should make up their own tackle. 
 Obtain the best hooks, gut, swivels, &c, money can purchase, 
 and from them make up the necessary forms of paternosters, 
 
 Fig. 37. Section of Plummet Fig. 38. Ordinary Lead 
 
 with Cavity for Tallow. Plummet. 
 
 legers, traces, &c. There is always a chance of a big fish when 
 angling in salt water, and it is necessary to have very sound 
 tackle. That purchased, except from a few of the first houses, 
 is thoroughly unreliable, and even the made-up tackle of the 
 best houses comes to pieces after a very little use. As long as 
 so many of the girls who do the binding and tying are paid 
 by piece-work this will probably be the case. 
 
 A few special pieces of tackle will be found detailed in their 
 appropriate places. 
 
 ■» >— » < ' 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 BAITS. 
 
 Bacon Skin — Cockles — Crabs — Cuttle — Earthworms — Eels — 
 Garfish — Gentles — Herrings — Horse-Mackerel — Lampems — 
 Limpets — Lugworms — Mackerel — Mudworms — Mussels — 
 Oysters — Pilchards — Prawns — Ragworms — Rode Ling — 
 Sand-eels — Shrimps — Smelts — Snails — Sprats — Squid — 
 Whelks — White Sandw orms — Grou nd- baits. 
 
 CfjFllHE difficulty of obtaining baits is very often the sea 
 XfiM. angler's greatest stumbling-block, for though sea fish 
 feed on a great variety of food, it is sometimes next to impos- 
 sible to obtain anything suitable. In the writer's youthful 
 days, he made his debut as a sea fisherman on Brighton 
 Pier. His ideas on the subject of angling were rather general 
 than particular, and knowing that most sea fish devour their 
 own species, he thought that any piece of fish would do for 
 bait. The result was a failure. Next day, having noted that 
 certain brother anglers placed mussels on their hooks, he 
 imitated them, and soon hauled over the side of the pier 
 three whiting pout, in the capture of which he experienced the 
 pure, unalloyed delight common to youngsters on taking fish for 
 the first time. If he had then been able to study the following 
 list of baits, he would probably have added to his basket. 
 
 I have endeavoured to make this chapter as comprehensive 
 as possible, so that, however badly off the angler may think 
 himself for bait, by looking through the long list given he 
 may chance upon something procurable. The names are 
 arranged in alphabetical order, for convenience of reference. 
 
 D 2 
 
ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 Bait-boxes, and the cutting-board, the use of which is 
 always advisable when fishing from a boat, have already 
 been described on page 33. 
 
 Bacon Skin. — Out of bacon skin a very fair imita- 
 tion sand-eel can be made (Fig. 39). The skin should be 
 6oaked, scraped, and cut into long, thin strips, about 
 iin. wide and Sin. or 4in. long. The point of the 
 hook is then put through the end of a strip, and the 
 hook carried right through to the top of the shank, 
 where a couple of turns of twist are necessary to 
 keep the skin in position. Bass and pollack often 
 take this bait freely. 
 
 Cockles. — These little shell-fish have not much 
 repute as a bait, except for whiting pout, but may 
 be tried when nothing better can be obtained. They 
 may be found, in some localities, along the seashore 
 when the tide is very low ; they lie a little below 
 the surface, and a small hoe, or rake, is often used 
 
 Bacon to di S them U P- 
 Skin 
 Bait. Crabs. — The common green crab is so well known 
 
 as hardly to need a description. It abounds among rocks, in 
 
 harbours, and may even be found among the stones of a pebbly 
 
 beach. In its ordinary condition it is not much used as a bait, 
 
 except for lobster pots, and, pounded up, as ground-bait. A 
 
 quantity may easily be obtained by sinking a piece of netting 
 
 stretched on to a hoop, in the centre of which is a piece of 
 
 meat. On lifting up the net, some crabs will usually be 
 
 found feeding on the meat. Crabs are a great nuisance to 
 
 the ground or bottom-fisher in harbours, taking bait after 
 
 bait off the hook. When about to cast its shell — a process in 
 
 which some are engaged at most periods of the year — the green 
 
 crab becomes very valuable as bait, and is then known as 
 
 Soft Crab. In this condition it is found biding under 
 
 stones and among nooks and crannies in harbours, which afford 
 
 the necessary concealment from its enemies. Mr. Wilcocks 
 
 recommends residents near harbours having muddy shores to 
 
 contrive a number of artificial shelters, by means of old, 
 
CUTTLE FISH AND EAETHWOEMS. 37 
 
 earthenware pots, old saucepans, &c., to the number of 200 
 or 300, placing them on the shore between half tide and low 
 water mark, so arranged that a small hole is left for the crab 
 to enter. By this means, baits are always available to the 
 angler — or someone else. Soft crabs are the best known baits 
 for flounders, and in brackish water fresh-water eels and bass 
 take them greedily. They are rather tough, and not easily 
 taken off the hook by fully-fledged individuals of their own 
 species. 
 
 The Hermit, or Soldier Crab, passes a hermit-like 
 existence in shells belonging to departed whelks. The soft, 
 tail poi-tion, is a good bait, used whole, for pout and haddock. 
 Occasionally, cod will take it. These crabs may be obtained 
 from trawlers and the owners of lobster-pots, and a few are 
 generally to be found among the rocks near low water mark. 
 
 Cuttle Fish. — This is the most ugly bait the angler in salt 
 water is likely to be concerned with. The body consists of a sort 
 of pouch, from which spread out a number of long arms, fur- 
 nished with suckers arranged in rows. They frequently take 
 the bait intended for other fish, and on being brought to the 
 surface should be promptly gaffed, and then pressed under water 
 again until they have expended the means of defence which 
 Nature has given them — a bag of ink-like fluid, which clouds 
 the water around them. A useful gaff for hooking up this 
 fish is made by lashing a large fish hook, or triangle of hooks, 
 with the barbs filed off, on to a stick. As a bait the cuttle is 
 very valuable, being not only liked by many fish, but possess- 
 ing such a degree of toughness that it is not easily washed or 
 bitten off the hook ; for fishing in a strong current it is very 
 suitable. Bass, cod, and conger most favour this bait; but 
 it is taken by many other fish. In fishing for haddock, it is 
 an excellent plan to place a piece of cuttle on the hook, 
 tipping the point with a mussel. 
 
 Earthworms. — Large lobworms are used for trailing for 
 pollack when nothing better can be obtained (see page 29), and for 
 ground fishing in brackish water. They should be tried when 
 ragworms cannot be obtained. They can be picked up in great 
 
38 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 quantities off closely-mown lawns, and by the sides of garden 
 paths, at any time during the night, unless the wind blows 
 roughly; on windy nights they should be searched for in 
 sheltered spots. They can, of course, only be seen by the 
 light of a lantern, and are more abundant after a showery 
 day than during a spell of dry weather. Redworms and 
 brandlings, which are found in old dungheaps, are also 
 occasionally used in harbour fishing with success. Earth- 
 worms can be kept for a considerable time in damp moss, 
 which should be changed occasionally and the dead worms 
 picked out. The longer the worms ai'e in the moss, the better 
 they are for bait. 
 
 Eels. — Small fresh-water eels, or elvers as they are called, 
 make excellent whiffing baits for bass and pollack. They are 
 not easily obtained, and should be sought for under stones in 
 brooks, an iron table-fork being held in readiness to impale 
 them immediately they are discovered. Young conger eels 
 make equally good baits for the same purpose; they are to 
 be found in little pools, and under rocks left bare by the 
 receding tide. In a bay where a stream trickles down a 
 valley, over the beach, and among the rocks, into the sea, they 
 lie under those rocks below high water mark by which the fresh 
 water passes. When the eels are too large for iise — over 
 6in. or 7in. in length — a portion of them can be used. To 
 bait with eels, see page 28. 
 
 The Garfish, Longnose, Snipe-Eel, or Sea-Needle. — 
 
 Small pieces of this fish, which is moi*e fully described in 
 Chapter IX., are sometimes tised as baits for conger, whiting. 
 and skate ; and a strip cut from its side is occasionally trailed 
 for pollack, mackerel, and bass. 
 
 Gentles. — These are the maggots found in fly-blown meat, 
 and are a very useful bait for bottom-fishing in fresh water. 
 Grey mullet will sometimes take them in harbours. They can 
 generally be obtained, during the summer months, at any 
 butcher's. They should be kept in bran or damp sand, in 
 a cellar or some other cool, dark place. . 
 
 The Herring. — This valuable 'food fish is very useful as a 
 
LAMPERN, LIMPET, AND LUGWORZVI. 39 
 
 bait for pout, cod, haddock, tui-bot, and conger; in fact, most 
 kinds of sea fish, will take it. It is generally to be obtained 
 from the fishermen, or at the fishmongers'. In some of the 
 Scotch lochs it sometimes takes the fly. As it is an oily fish, 
 it forms a good addition to the ground-bait net, and for 
 this purpose is largely used in America. 
 
 Horse Mackerel. — This fish is described in Chapter IX. 
 It is not much used as a bait, except in prawn nets and 
 lobster-pots. 
 
 Lamperns and Lampreys. — These fish, of which there 
 are several varieties, have the appearance of eels, but in the 
 place of a mouth have a sucking apparatus. They are chiefly 
 valuable as a bait for turbot, but the angler in salt water 
 will find them useful as a whiffing bait for pollack, mackerel, 
 and bass. In the spring, the lesser lamprey, a little creature 
 only about Gin. long, is to be found in the shallows of many 
 streams, probably scouring after spawning. For whiffing or 
 trailing, they are used in the same manner as small eels. 
 
 The Linipet. — This little fish inhabits a small, conical 
 shell, and is to be found closely adhering to rocks. Limpets are 
 not good baits, but whiting pout and sea bream will often 
 take them. The soft part, with a very small portion of the 
 hard part, should be placed on the hook, the point of which 
 should go through the hard portion. It is by no means a 
 lasting bait, unless dried for half an hour in the sun, when it 
 toughens. It is very little use to endeavour to pull limpets 
 from rocks, for the moment they are touched they put out 
 all their stick-fast powers to the utmost. A sudden tap with 
 a hammer easily knocks them from their hold. 
 
 Lngworms are excellent baits for most ground-feeding fish 5 
 but are unpleasant to fish with, having a fluid interior, which 
 runs out at the slightest provocation, on which account they 
 should be used whole. They are from 4in. to 6in. in length, 
 and may be easily found by digging with a garden fork in the 
 sand where worm casts are noticed. Whiting and whiting pout 
 take these worms greedily, and, as a matter of fact, they are 
 good baits for most sea fish. ' To keep lugworms, place them in 
 
40 
 
 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 a heap of wet sand and seaweed, in a cellar or other cool 
 
 place. 
 
 The Mackerel. — This fish is honoured with a chapter 
 
 to itself; it is, therefore, sufficient to say that a strip of its 
 skin, cut so as to be half blue and half 
 silver, about 3in. long and Jin. wide,* is the 
 best known bait for mackerel. The strip of 
 skin dangles at full length from a hook, 
 and, when drawn through the water, gives 
 a striking imitation of a young fish twist- 
 ing and twirling about (see Fig. 40). Congers 
 have a penchant for a bit of mackerel, which 
 should be tried when they are biting 
 shyly, taking other and softer baits off the 
 hook. Cod, whiting, turbot, skate, and 
 many other sea fish, will also take it. The 
 strip of skin used in mackerel fishing is 
 sometimes called a "last." 
 
 The Mudworm. — See Ragworm. 
 
 Fig. 40. The Mackerel The Mussel.— An invaluable and much 
 Bait, or "Last." . 
 
 used bait. Not the least of its virtues is the 
 
 length of time it will keep alive, when placed in a basket or hamper 
 
 cast into any quiet nook below high water mark. Mussels are found 
 
 on rocks, under seaweed, attached to the piles of piers, on a gravel 
 
 bottom — in fact, they are ubiquitous. Almost all sea-fish may 
 
 be caught with their assistance. If the fish are large-moutbed, 
 
 such as whiting, large mussels should be used ; while for pouts 
 
 small ones should be picked out. Some anglers bake them in 
 
 their shells for a few minutes before using for bait, but I cannot 
 
 recommend this plan. It certainly makes the mussel pleasanter 
 
 to use, but far less attractive to the fish. To open mussels 
 
 requires a little practice. The point of the knife should be 
 
 inserted between the shells at the broadest part, and given a 
 
 twist, which levers the shell open. The fish has somewhat the 
 
 appearance of an oyster turned yellow ; a small yellow heart, or 
 
 * Mr. Wilcocks says the "last" should be triangular in shape, the apex or top 
 being caught on the hook. 
 
OYSTERS, PILCHARDS, AND PRAWNS. 41 
 
 tongue, will be noticed. Into thi3 the point of the hook should 
 be stuck, taken right through, round the mussel, and in again 
 through the gristly part by which the shell was fastened to 
 the rocks. When fish are repeatedly robbing the hooks baited 
 with mussels, it is an excellent plan to tie a piece of cotton 
 or thread round the bait. Mussels, or portions of them, are 
 the common bait for dabs. When fishing at anchor for 
 mackerel they are sometimes used; they are good baits for 
 haddock, and, as I have said, are taken well by most sea fish. 
 
 Oysters, as fish baits, I have no personal experience of, but 
 their beards are used with great success, for bass and other fish, 
 by Mr. T. R. Sachs, an accomplished salt-water angler. Any 
 fishmonger's assistant would, no doubt, be able to supply the 
 beards by the hundred for a small consideration. I see no 
 reason why the other portion of the oyster should not be 
 equally killing, and imagine it would prove to be better than 
 mussels. 
 
 Pilchards, or Cornish sardines, as they are sometimes called, 
 are not often to be obtained far from Cornwall and Devon. 
 The flesh of this fish is an excellent bait for whiting, cod, 
 conger, haddock, and skate. The entrails, however, are better, 
 and will take almost any fish that swims in the sea. When 
 fishing for mackerel at anchor they should always be used, 
 if available. As they give off a large quantity of oil, they 
 form a valuable addition to any ground-bait mixture. In 
 cutting up a pilchard for bait, it is usual to scale it, cut 
 off the head and tail, split it up the back into two pieces, 
 remove the backbone, and then cut each side into as many 
 strips, a little under lin. wide, as it will make. When using 
 half a pilchard for conger or other large fish, the bait should 
 not be cut in half until the moment it is required, as the 
 oil which comes away from it when fresh cut, seems to 
 attract the fish. Pilchards are only taken in nets by pro- 
 fessional fishermen, from whom they are to be obtained. 
 
 Prawns are well known to every visitor to the seaside. They 
 may usually be obtained from the fishmonger, or by searching 
 with a hand-net in the pools, among the rocks, at low tide. 
 
42 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 Pollack will take them alive, and they are a good bait 
 for mullet, flounders, dabs, eels, and smelts, if peeled. This 
 operation is a little difficult unless the prawns are boiled, 
 but they are far more killing raw. 
 
 Ragworm, Mudworra, or Pollack Worm. — This is a 
 long, flat worm, about the size of a brandling, with a fringe 
 of legs on each side. It is found in mudbanks below and 
 about high water mark, and is easily obtained by digging. 
 The unsavoury black mud of harbours contains thousands 
 of these worms, and any fisherman's son will obtain a 
 can full for a few pence. The largest ragworms are found 
 under large stones, and in nooks and crannies between 
 rocks ; but they are not so plentiful as the smaller kind 
 in the mud. At places like Brighton, Hastings, and East- 
 bourne, where there are neither harbours nor creeks, they 
 are not found. Ragworms rank high among baits. Two or 
 three of them, hooked through the head, are a good whiffing 
 bait much liked by pollack. There is nothing better for 
 the bottom hook of a paternoster when harbour fishing, the 
 ragworm being much affected by flounders, dabs, and fresh- 
 water eels. For sand-smelt fishing they are the best bait 
 known. Ragworms should be kept in a little seaweed and 
 sea water, and looked over at least once a day, when the 
 water should be changed. A shallow, wooden box, about 1ft. 
 square, with a cover, is the best thing to keep them in. All 
 dead or wounded worms should be removed. Some people 
 keep these worms for a night in powdered saltpetre or salt. 
 This kills and toughens them ; but I doubt if they are so 
 attractive to the fish after this pickling process. 
 
 The Rock Ling, or Sea Loach. — This is a useful little 
 fish for pollack whiffing, but is not so good as a sand-eel, 
 or small conger or fresh-water eel, which latter it somewhat 
 resembles in shape. In colour, it is a light brown, with dark 
 spots down the sides of the back. They should be searched 
 for under stones, among rocks, and are sometimes taken with 
 fine float tackle — the hook baited with a shrimp, or soft part 
 of the limpet — in pools among rocks. Where fresh water runs 
 
THE SAND-EEL. 43 
 
 to the sea through seaweed-covered rocks they frequently 
 abound. They spin well on a Chapman spinner, or may he 
 arranged on the small, eel-trailing tackle shown on page 28, 
 Fig. 25. 
 
 The Sand-eel, Launce, Lant, or Horn-Eel is eagerly 
 devoured by all kinds of large fish, and is the most valuable 
 of baits. There are three varieties : The grey or brown back, 
 the green back, and the plum-coloured or purple back. 
 The two latter are launce, the first-named being the sand- 
 eel. In shape they are not unlike an eel, but are silvery. 
 They are found buried at the edge of the sand, when the 
 water is at its lowest, and are commonly obtained by digging 
 and raking, the best times for finding them being moonlight 
 nights during spring tides. Immediately one is seen, it should 
 be seized, for they bury themselves in the sand with great 
 rapidity. A better method of taking them is with a seine 
 net, worked either from boats or the shore. A seine net, and 
 the method of working it, will be found described in great 
 detail in Mr. Wilcocks' " Sea Fisherman." As so very few 
 amateurs are likely to require these nets, the description 
 here seems unnecessary. In the Channel Islands, the sand- 
 eel is used alive; and this system has been introduced by 
 Mr. Wilcocks to this country. To keep sand-eels alive, they 
 should be placed in a pear-shaped basket, called a courge (see 
 page 32), made of fine osier twigs, with an opening, closed by a 
 fiat piece of cork, and towed after the boat, or moored in a 
 suitable spot. Dead sand-eels are also excellent baits. They 
 can be either trailed, or worked on spinning tackle (see page 28), 
 for bass, pollack, and mackerel, or used on ground-lines for 
 whiting, mackerel, and, in fact, any kind of sea-fish. To bait 
 with these little fish, put the point of the hook in at the mouth 
 and out at the gills, catching up a small piece of skin below the 
 gills. If the tide is slack, the hook can be put through the back, 
 near the head. "When half sand-eels are used, they should not be 
 cut until they are required for the hook. Sand-eels are excellent 
 eating. For spinning purposes, they may be preserved for years 
 in spirits of wine, or King's preservative, sold at 157, Commercial 
 Road, London. 
 
44 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 Shrimps. — These well-known little creatures are very useful 
 baits. When alive, pollock will take them, and in their raw 
 state, if peeled, they are also a first-rate bait for mullet, smelts, 
 and small flat fish. For harbour fishing they are, however, 
 usually boiled ; but to do so is a mistake. To keep shrimps alive, 
 it is necessary to place them in a box, pierced with holes (a 
 finely woven basket will do), moored in salt water. 
 
 Smelts and Atherine, or Sand-smelts. — These little 
 fish abound in harbours and sandy bays. They are easily cap- 
 tured on a fine paternoster (see pages 54, 55), and large hauls 
 are sometimes made by means of fine-meshed seine nets. They 
 are a good bait, and can be used alive, trailed or mounted on 
 spinning tackle, when sand-eels are not to be obtained. They 
 are often used by professional fishermen for baiting long 
 lines, conger and turbot being very fond of them. Their 
 great fault is that they are soft, and easily spoiled ; thus, for 
 spinning, a good supply should be taken. The sand-smelt 
 may be distinguished from the smelt proper by having rays 
 in the second dorsal fin, which in the true smelt is adipose 
 or fatty, somewhat like that of the Salmonidcp. 
 
 Snails. — Garden snails may be used for whiting pout when 
 nothing better is obtainable. 
 
 Sprats. — As these valuable little food-fishes are only caught 
 during the autumn and winter months, they are not much 
 used by the angler in salt water; but they are a good bait, 
 and are taken by the fish which are caught on the pilchard bait. 
 
 Squid. — The squid is very similar to the cuttle fish, but is, 
 if anything, rather a better bait. There are several varieties. 
 All that has been said concerning the cuttle as a bait equally 
 applies to this fish. 
 
 Whelks. — I am not aware that whelks are used as a bait, 
 except for cod, and occasionally for pout. They are taken 
 by dredging, in lobster-pots, and on long lines, to which are 
 fastened small crabs strung on twine. 
 
 White Sandworms are found in sand and sandy mud. A 
 good many fish will take them, particularly sand-smelts. 
 
GROUND-BAITS. 45 
 
 Ground-baits. — Refei-ences to ground-baiting will be found 
 scattered through this book, and I need only here mention a 
 few recipes for some of these invaluable mixtures. One of the 
 best for use in slack water is that known in the Channel Islands 
 as chervin. It simply consists of very young shrimps, which are 
 caught in a fine-meshed net and salted down. A few spoonfuls, 
 mixed with a little water, are thrown in when it is desired to 
 attract grey mullet. Another mixture, which answers as ground- 
 bait for many sea fish, consists of green crabs pounded up, 
 and limpets, their shells broken, and themselves chopped up 
 small. Green crabs may also be pounded up with chalk or 
 oyster shells. Pilchard guts, or pieces of the fish cut up, are 
 extremely useful for attracting fish, owing to the amount of oil 
 given off. Fish meeting with globules of this oil very likely 
 follow up the scent until they come to the ground-bait, by which 
 is the angler's tackle. In France, America, and Australia, 
 ground-baiting is not uncommon; but it is little practised in 
 England. In America, herrings are pounded up in a mill to 
 make ground-bait for mackerel. At San Sebastian, balls of 
 clay, heads of sardines, and potatoes, are thrown in to attract 
 grey mullet ; crumbs of bread are sometimes thrown on the 
 surface of the sea for the same purpose. 
 
 I have spoken of ground-bait as attracting the fish. The 
 vulgar idea is that it possesses that property alone. It has, 
 however, two other virtues, which are, if anything, more valuable 
 than the first-named. It causes fish to feed; and secondly, it 
 lulls their suspicions. These remarks apply with equal, if not 
 greater, force to angling in fresh water. 
 
 The angler cannot be too particular about his baits. He 
 should have a goodly supply ; they should be the best obtainable, 
 and always be tended with care if kept for more than the day. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 BOD FISHING AND HAND-LINING. 
 
 Angling from Pier-heads — Ground-baiting — Paternoster ing — 
 Fishing with Float Tackle — Drift-line Fishing — Fly Fish- 
 ing — Angling in Harbours — Smelt and Sand-smelt Fishing 
 — Angling from the Open Shore — Hand-lining — Talcing 
 Marks. 
 
 ^T^VIER-HEAD, harbour, and shore fishing are all peculiarly 
 *$3p> adapted to those persons who, when in boats on the 
 restless ocean, are wont to render a votive, albeit unwilling, 
 offering to the sea god. It must be acknowledged that, as 
 a general rule, the quantity of fish taken from these places 
 is not great, but, more often than not, this is owing rather 
 to lack of knowledge and skill on the part of the angler 
 than to any scarcity of fish. I say this advisedly, for there 
 are a few salt-water anglers who rarely fish from piers 
 without being successful. At the same time, there are certain 
 places — carefully avoided, no doubt, by the said skilful anglers 
 — where, from causes not easily determined, the fish are few 
 and small. It should be remembered that fish which frequent 
 harbours and haunt the piles of piers are fished for a great 
 deal, and get shy, like, but not to the same extent as, their 
 harassed fresh-water brethren. Fine tackle, therefore, is very 
 advisable, and the importance of ground-baiting can hardly 
 be overrated. 
 
 When about to fish from a pier-head, or, indeed, anywhere 
 
PIER-HEAD FISHING. 47 
 
 else, the first tiling to do is to make some inquiries of local 
 anglers, the pier master, old salts, or the fishmonger, and 
 obtain some idea of the fish which are likely to be caught. 
 Knowing this, consult the chapter on Baits, and see what 
 are at your disposal. Do not be misled by being told in 
 winter of the fish which are caught during the summer, and 
 vice versa. For instance, it is little or no use fishing for bass 
 in December. If no reliable information can be obtained, 
 the best thing to do is to use your own judgment, trying all 
 kinds of baits and various methods of using them. Some 
 of the following fish may nearly always be expected: Bass, 
 between April and the end of August, or later; rock-fish, 
 pout, whiting, mackerel, coal-fish, pollack, horse-mackerel, 
 grey mullet, red mullet (rarely), codlings, smelts, congers, 
 flounders, plaice, dabs, chad (small sea bream), and cod 
 occasionally. There are also two prickly little fish, whose spines 
 inflict nasty wounds — the long-spined bullhead and the dragonet. 
 They are not unlike miller's thumbs. They may easily be known 
 by their ugliness and ferocious appearance. I cannot call 
 to mind any one place where all these fish are to be caught, 
 but the list is fairly representative of what may be expected. 
 Some of these fish, such as flounders and dabs, are not found 
 on a rocky bottom ; and others, e.g., wrasse and pout, are rarely 
 taken except on or near rocks. If the angler can discover 
 the nature of the bottom where he is fishing, he can in general 
 form a good idea of the fish he may expect and the best 
 baits to use. A very simple arrangement, used by sailors, 
 and shown in section on page 34, can be used where the 
 water is so deep that the bottom is not visible at dead 
 low water. It is simply a cone-shaped lead plummet, varying 
 in size according to the depth of water to be sounded, in the 
 bottom of which is a hollow space containing tallow; the 
 cord passes through the ring on the top. This weight is 
 let down to the bottom, and, on being hauled up again, 
 whatever is sticking to the tallow — sand, mud, fragments 
 of seaweed, shells, &c. — tells the angler of what the bottom 
 is composed. A little judicious plumbing will sometimes 
 determine the exact position of a cluster of rocks, near which 
 
48 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 it is very desirable to angle for certain fish, especially pollack, 
 coalfish, pout, and conger. As a sounding lead is often required 
 to take the depth when drift-line fishing, it is a good plan to 
 have the lead made according to the shape shown in 
 Fig. 37, when it will both take the depth and determine 
 the nature of the bottom. The cord to which it is attached 
 should be marked off in fathoms by pieces of twine put twice 
 or thrice round it, and then between the strands. In heaving 
 the lead, it is then only necessary to count the number of 
 knots which pass through the hand to know the depth in 
 fathoms. 
 
 A perusal of Chapter III. will give all the information 
 required concerning baits. It will be sufficient to say here, 
 that among the best are sand-eels, ragworms, mussels, beards 
 of oysters, pilchards (entrails or body), strips of mackerel 
 skin, and shrimps, alive for pollack and the lesser flat fish, 
 peeled but not boiled for most other fish. Ground-baiting, as I 
 said at the commencement of this chapter, is all-important 
 for success; several mixtures of the kind will be found on 
 page 45. In grey-mullet fishing, some of these are merely 
 thrown on the surface ; but more commonly the mixture is placed 
 in a weighted net (see Frontispiece), and sunk within a foot 
 of the bottom, as close as possible to the spot where the baits 
 are dangling ready for the fish to seize them. A judicious 
 shake now and again, given to the cord to which the net is 
 attached, sets loose some of the bait, which the fish seize. In 
 placing the ground-bait net, the angler should note carefully 
 the set of the tide, and place his tackle so that whatever is 
 washed out of the net is carried past his hooks. The ground- 
 bait not only attracts fish, but it induces them to take the 
 bait on the hook, under the belief that it is one of those 
 harmless fragments which have come out of the net. 
 
 The paternoster, rod and line, described in the second chapter 
 form the most generally useful tackle for fishing from pier-heads. 
 The hooks baited, the tackle should be let down into the sea. 
 and when the lead touches the bottom the bine should be 
 kept tight. "When a fish bites, the top of the rod will be 
 jerked slightly ; or if it is a big fish, there may be one dead, 
 
FISHING WITH THE PATERNOSTER. 49 
 
 heavy pull. I usually hold the rod in my right hand, and 
 bring the line over my first finger, then under the second, 
 third, and fourth. I thus detect very light bites by the pull 
 of the line, which is instantly felt on the back of the first 
 finger — bites which sometimes do not perceptibly move the 
 top of the rod. On feeling a bite, strike sharply, and if the 
 fish is hooked, play him carefully, keeping a tight line. 
 With regard to the strength of the tackle, that should vary 
 according to the sorts and sizes of fish which are caught off 
 the pier. If conger abound, the bottom hook should be 
 mounted on fine gimp (see page 23); and single salmon gut 
 is certainly not strong enough for large pollack, for these 
 fish cannot be "played," but must be held, otherwise they go 
 down to the bottom, and get " hung up " among seaweed and 
 rocks. Again, if the angler is obliged to fish from the top of 
 a lofty pier, where he can bring neither gaff nor landing-net 
 to bear on his fish, he must use rather a large hook, and 
 tackle strong enough to lift the largest fish he is likely to 
 catch on to the top of the pier. At the same time, if too 
 coarse tackle is used, the sport will be bad; and it is often 
 worth while to use very fine tackle, risking the chance of 
 losing a big pollack or conger, and make a good basket, 
 rather than use coarse, strong tackle, fit to hold a halibut, 
 and catch next to nothing. The size of the lead at the end 
 of the paternoster has to vary according to the force of the 
 tide, the depth of water, and thickness of the main line, for 
 the water exerts more pressure on a thick line than on a fine 
 one, and therefore renders necessary a heavier weight to 
 keep it down. In rough weather, very heavy leads are 
 necessary. The paternoster can be fished, when advisable, 
 twenty or thirty yards from the pier. To cast it out, a 
 quantity of line must be uncoiled, the lead drawn up within 
 about 10ft. of the top of the rod, and swung out after the 
 method described in spinning for bass in Chapter Y. Imme- 
 diately the tackle touches the water, let out more line, so 
 that it be not dragged back, and the advantage of distance 
 lost. 
 
 Float tackle (see page 25) is sometimes used off piers in ground 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 fishing, but it is only useful where the water is not deeper than 
 the rod is long. At greater depths, sliding floats may be used 
 (these slide down the line as the fish is pulled up, and allow the 
 line to be reeled in); but they do not always answer, and the 
 paternoster is preferable. One is shown in 
 Fig. 41. A piece of hog's bristle, which is 
 so long that it will pass through the rings 
 of the rod, but not through the rings on the 
 float, is tied on to the line. "When fishing 
 with the live sand-eel for bass and pollack, a 
 float is a decided advantage; and if a fine silk 
 line is used, the bait can be let out with the 
 tide for a long distance. This is similar to the 
 Nottingham method of fishing, described in the 
 chapter on bass. When fishing on the bottom, 
 with float tackle, it is necessary to find the 
 depth, and fix the float so that the bait hangs 
 a few inches above the bottom. For this pur- 
 pose, the small plummet shown on page 34 
 should be fastened to the hook, and let down 
 to the bottom, and the float moved until the 
 top of it is a little below the surface. If the 
 tide is rising, it will be necessary to put the 
 float higher every half -hour ; if it is falling, 
 to put it lower. Drift-line fishing, without a 
 float, and with or without sinkers, may also be 
 practised from pier-heads when the tide is 
 sufficiently strong to take out the bait — sand- 
 eels, ragworms, or live shrimps. The angler 
 should always keep his eyes open for bass, 
 mackerel, and grey mullet, all of which, at 
 times, feed on the surface, and if he sees them, 
 angle for them after the methods described in 
 this book. Both flies and spinning-baits can 
 be cast from piers which are not too high, and even from 
 lofty piers fish may be taken by this means, if they are 
 swimming close to the piles. 
 Night fishing is often very successful, particularly for cod and 
 
 Fig. 41. 
 Sliding Float 
 
HARBOUR FISHING. 51 
 
 conger, which latter fish are in the habit of coming into the 
 shallows at night in search of food. Sea bream also feed well 
 at night ; and, as a general rule, early dawn and sunset are far 
 better times to fish than during the day; and the best sport 
 is neai'ly always obtained during the two hours previous to 
 high water. 
 
 "When angling from pier-heads, it is always a good plan to 
 throw out a gimp leger, made according to the directions on 
 page 24, and baited with squid, herring, pilchard, mackerel, or 
 some other large bait, on good-sized hooks. This need not 
 necessarily be attached to a rod; but where the angler has a 
 stiff fly rod with the stout top, as described on page 7, he can 
 use it for this purpose. This line will take conger, bass, big 
 pollack, and (but rarely) red mullet or a wandering cod. 
 
 In harbour fishing, the methods employed are similar to those 
 described for pier-head fishing ; but finer tackle may generally 
 be used, for, as a rule, the fish do not run to any great size. 
 Here, again, it is important to know what is to be caught, and to 
 obtain all the information possible. The most common harbour 
 fish are dabs, flounders, and small pollack. If a river runs into 
 the harbour, fresh-water eels may also be expected, and bass in 
 the early autumn. Sea trout are also taken occasionally. As a 
 rule, the best baits to use are ragworms, soft crab, or peeled, 
 unboiled shrimps, on either paternoster, leger, or float tackle. 
 I imagine the beard of an oyster would also be a good bait. 
 If the leger is used, and bass are known to be in the harbour, 
 the bottom hook may be rather large, and baited with a piece 
 of squid (sand-eels, alive or dead, are better, if they can be 
 obtained) ; and, on a smaller hook, above the lead, either rag- 
 worms, soft crab, or unboiled, peeled shrimp. When it is desirable 
 to fish some distance out, this is the best tackle to use, for it 
 can easily be thrown out thirty or forty yards. The weight 
 of the lead must depend on the force of the current — an ounce 
 being often quite enough, three ounces not always sufficient. 
 Bass are mostly caught after August, and during spring tides. 
 If the angler is fishing just under the point of the rod, and 
 the water is deep and the current strong, the paternoster 
 should be used; but float tackle is preferable for water 18ft. or 
 
 E 2 
 
52 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 less deep. Gut of medium size is, as a rule, sufficiently strong. 
 Directions for using the paternoster have already been given. 
 The hooks for flounders and dabs need not be large — about 
 No. 7 or No. 8 — and I have noticed that I have caught most 
 of these fish when my tackle has been fine. 
 
 In some harbours the tide runs with great force, and the 
 best places to fish for bass are just by the edge of the 
 current, where very heavy leads are necessary to keep the 
 baits on the bottom. This fishing is usually done from a boat 
 anchored in the tideway. Professional fisherman use for this 
 purpose a boat-shaped lead, with a long, hemp snooding. A 
 better tackle is the sea leger, already described on page 24. 
 The leads for this will have to be specially cast, as they are 
 not commonly sold of the necessary weight. What weight is 
 necessary depends so much on circumstances — the strength 
 of the current, the depth of the water, and the thickness of 
 the line — that it is impossible to lay down any definite rules 
 on the subject. The lead should work on the stoutest gimp, 
 and be kept in its place by two small, split bullets, or glass 
 beads, fitting the gimp tightly. The hooks have to be large, 
 and on strong gimp or very strong salmon gut (not always to 
 be obtained), as fish play very heavily in the strong current. 
 Where the lead is so heavy that a rod cannot be used, I as 
 often as not adopt the tackle of the professional fisherman, 
 merely rendering it somewhat finer towards the hook end by 
 means of gut or fine gimp. 
 
 Smelt and sand-smelt fishing is a thing of itself. These 
 delicate little fish swim in shoals a little below the surface, 
 and should be fished for with roach hooks, on the finest of 
 tackle. It is most difficult to detect their bites; but skilled 
 London roach fishermen, among whom are some of the most 
 skilful anglers in the world, can catch them on light float 
 tackle, for they can detect very slight movements in the 
 float — invisible to ordinary eyes — which indicate the bites. Less 
 skilful anglers use a paternoster with three, four, or even more 
 roach hooks (No. or No. 1). The gut links to the hooks should 
 not be more than 5in. or 6in. in length, and put so far apart 
 that they do not entangle. The main line need not be thicker 
 
ANGLING FOE SMELTS. 53 
 
 than two thicknesses of ordinary sewing thread; and if this 
 fine line is used, a small pistol bullet is a sufficient weight. If 
 a coarser line is used, a lead weighing a half-ounce or an 
 ounce will be necessary, or the line will not run through the 
 rings of the rod. The best baits for sand-smelts are either 
 small pieces of ragworm or unboiled shrimp, and the hook should 
 just be tipped with the bait. As many of the bites cannot be 
 felt on the paternoster, and as the fish, when plentiful, and 
 in the humoui*, bite very freely, it is a good plan to strike 
 every few seconds, when fish will often be found hooked. This 
 is usually done; but I am inclined to think that, with an 
 exceedingly fine, undressed silk main line, such as Nottingham 
 anglers use for chub fishing, and a light cane rod, most of 
 the bites can be felt. I fish that way myself; but whichever 
 method is followed, the result will be very much the same. 
 Ground-bait is sometimes used for smelt fishing; but as a 
 rule it is not necessary. If there is no current, a little can 
 be thrown in occasionally, and allowed to sink; but if the 
 stream is strong, it should be put in a net, and sunk a few 
 feet below the surface, near the hooks. The spots in harbour3 
 where smelts are mostly found are near the outfalls of drains, 
 ditches, and streams of fresh water. The true smelt is not 
 often found on the South Coast, but the atherine, or sand- 
 smelt, abounds. On the East and West Coasts the atherine is 
 wanting, and the smelt plentiful. These fish are more often 
 angled for in harbours than elsewhere; but they are also 
 taken in bays and up creeks. 
 
 So far I have only dealt with fishing in harbours and from 
 pier-heads. In some places, angling may be carried on success- 
 fully from the open shore. Fly fishing from rocky points for 
 bass and pollack will be found described in Chapters V. and 
 VI. A paternoster can be used where it can be got out into 
 deep water. Those narrow inlets of the sea, such as one 
 meets with in Scotland, where they are called sea lochs, often 
 afford very fair rod fishing from the shore, as the water runs 
 deep in many places close to the edge. Whatever baits can 
 be obtained may be tried, especially the mussel; and the fish 
 taken will vary according to the locality. In some places 
 
54 
 
 ANGLING IN SALT WATEE. 
 
 whiting pout will abound, in others wrasse, and in others, 
 again, youthful coalfish, known in Scotland as cuddies — which 
 little fish, by the way, take a fly very well. In the south of 
 England, bass will often be taken; and there is always the 
 chance of a large pollack off any rock round which the tide 
 sets strongly, for pollack delight in a good flow of water. 
 
 Fish may sometimes be caught from the beach by throw- 
 ing out a line a considerable distance. An ingenious plan is 
 adopted by fishermen at Deal, and other places on the East 
 coast, by which many fish are taken ; it may hardly be termed 
 angling, but merits a description. The tackle (see Fig. 42) — to 
 
 Fig. 42. The Deal Shore Tackle. 
 
 begin at the far end of the line — starts with a button; then comes 
 a short piece termed the sling line, then a lead, and, following 
 that, the main line — with a few hooks, either on short snood- 
 ings or on the wire chopsticks described on page 57. An 
 essential part of the apparatus is a springy, ash stick, about 
 3ft. long, tapered, and with a two-pronged fork at the end. 
 The hooks being baited with squid, mackerel, or any bait 
 sufficiently tough, the fisherman coils his line carefully on the 
 shore, except the portion with the hooks, lead, and sling line ; 
 these he lays out in a line along the beach. He next places 
 the button, which is at the extreme end of the line, in the fork 
 
ANGLING FROM THE SHORE. 
 
 55 
 
 at the end of the stick, swings the lead once or twice, and then 
 casts it out as far as he can. The lead used weighs about ljlb. 
 The angler, with light tackle and dressed line, can throw out 
 his sea leger or paternoster just as far as the Deal fisher- 
 men can their heavy leads. Many Thames fishermen, indeed, 
 can cast much farther. There is occasionally one objection 
 to the light leger lead when used from the shore: the wash 
 of the waves brings it in shore; or, if the lead is not moved, 
 the line beyond the lead is washed back, and entangles with 
 the line above the lead. When this is the case, the pater- 
 noster should be used, but the ordinary pear-shaped lead 
 should be exchanged for a flat one. If two holes are 
 drilled in this flat lead, and stout 
 pieces of wire fixed in them, so that 
 the ends project Jin., a very light 
 lead will hold the bottom (Fig. 43). 
 I need hardly say that no leaded 
 tackle (unless used with a float) 
 should be thrown out over a rocky 
 bottom, for hooks, lead, and line, 
 are all sure to catch, and loss of 
 tackle is a certainty. The angler 
 must be some distance above rocks 
 to be able to fish them, except, as 
 I have said, with float tackle. As 
 a rule, flat fish alone will be taken 
 on a line thrown off a sandy shore ; 
 but if the place fished is at the 
 
 mouth of a river, bass (see Chapter V.) will often be caught 
 on the paternoster or leger. 
 
 Moat tackle is sometimes used from rocks with great success, 
 the fish taken being principally pollack and bass. The subject 
 is treated fully later on. The angler who is used to live-bait 
 fishing for jack will have no difficulty in casting his float 
 tackle, if not too light, 40yds. out to sea, or more. Easy 
 casting depends on three things : heavy tackle, a light line, 
 and a rod fitted with proper rings (see page 6). Light tackle 
 cannot be thrown with a heavy line. The best plan is to 
 
 Fig. 43. 
 
 Improved Paternoster Lead 
 
 for Throwing out on 
 
 Sandy Bottoms. 
 
56 
 
 ANGLING IN SALT WATEE. 
 
 use what is termed Nottingham tackle, and to cast from the 
 reel. I have gone into the matter in detail in the chapter on 
 bass fishing. 
 
 A few lines on hand-line fishing at anchor must bring this 
 chapter to a close. Hand-lining can hardly be termed angling, 
 but it is generally practised, and, as it must be resorted to 
 on a few occasions, when very heavy leads and coarse lines 
 are necessary, on account of the force and depth of the water, 
 this book would be incomplete without some description of 
 the method. A hand-line is simply a light, hemp cord, tanned 
 or dressed with a mixture of turpentine (or paraffin) and tar, 
 with a weight at the end, and two or more hooks, kept apart 
 by spreaders or chopsticks. Of this tackle there are several 
 varieties, but I need only mention two. The first is known as 
 
 the Kentish Rig, the illustra- 
 tion of which (Fig. 44) renders 
 any lengthy verbal description 
 unnecessary. The hooks should, 
 as a rule, be on gimp or gut, 
 stout or fine according to the 
 fish sought after. The swivels 
 and spreader should be of brass. 
 The spreader is wound twice 
 round a piece of leather, which 
 passes through the lead. The 
 line is fastened by going through 
 a slit in, and then round, the 
 leather. Each arm of the spreader 
 should be 9in. long, and the gut 
 attachment of the hooks about 2ft. 
 The weight of lead may be anything 
 from 21b. to 51b., according to circumstances. In using this 
 tackle, it is thrown overboard, and the line allowed to run out 
 until the lead touches the ground. It is then hauled up 2 A ft., 
 when the hooks will be just off the bottom. "When fishing 
 for flat fish, the lead may be a little lower. Another kind of 
 hand-line is made without the cross spreader, but with what 
 are termed chopsticks of wire, placed on the line above the 
 
 Fig. 44. Tackle for Hand-lining 
 (Kentish Eig). 
 
MARKS. 
 
 57 
 
 lead ; in fact, a paternoster, in which the hooks are kept 
 away from the main line by pieces of wire. Mr. Wilcocks' 
 method — the best with which I am acquainted — of making 
 this tackle is to take four turns at one end of each of the 
 brass-wire chopsticks, and so make a spiral coil, through which 
 the main line can be passed. A knot has to be placed above 
 and below each chopstick, and the portion of the line where 
 they work has to be served with waxed thread, to keep them 
 from wearing the line. To the end of the wires are attached 
 the gut lengths and hooks. The chopsticks should be 2ft. 
 apart, and the gut or snooding to the hooks as long as may 
 be without fouling. The advantage of this tackle is three 
 different depths being fished at one time. 
 
 V 
 
 Fig. 45. How to take Marks. 
 
 In using hand-lines, they should always be held in the hand, 
 and not tied to the boat seat and allowed to fish themselves. 
 Immediately a bite is felt a jerk should be given, and the 
 tackle hauled up, hand over hand, as quickly as possible, for 
 fish which are not played on a rod often get off the hook. 
 The fisherman who can haul the fastest takes the most fish. 
 Success depends most of all on the boat being at the right 
 spot, and for this the boatman is, of course, responsible 
 He finds his position by marks on the coast ; and people who 
 
58 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 do much, sea fishing should make a point of learning the 
 marks of the different places where fish abound, and how to take 
 them. Taking marks is a simple matter (see Fig. 45). Supposing 
 that the spot is a mile out at sea, look half a mile down the 
 coast to the left, and get an object near the shore — a lighthouse 
 — in a line with an object in the distance — a tree; then look 
 half a mile to the right, and get two more objects in a line 
 — say, a cottage and a church. These four objects constitute 
 the necessary marks for the spot in question, and four objects 
 are absolutely necessary. If a diagram is made, it will be 
 seen that lines drawn across the objects out to sea meet at 
 a certain point, which is the spot desired to be marked. To 
 find the spot again, it is necessary to first get, say, the light- 
 house and the tree and the boat in a line, and then row along 
 that line until the cottage covers the church. 
 
 Be advised to wear warm clothing when sea-fishing in an 
 open boat, and be provided with a good oilskin coat and 
 " sou'- wester." For winter work, fishermen's stockings (which 
 go over the trousers), of undressed wool, and long boots, are 
 capital things to wear. 
 
 Hand-line fishing is wet work, but in warm weather, when 
 the fish are plentiful and large, it affords good fun. The sport, 
 however, is usually very small compared with that afforded by 
 angling in salt water. 
 
 .;-.,._;. 
 
CHAPTER Y. 
 
 THE BASS 
 
 (BASSE, SALMON BASS, WHITE SALMON, or SEA DACE). 
 
 Appearance — Habits — Food — Methods of Angling for — Fly Fish- 
 ing — Spinning — Drift- lining — Nottingham Tackle — Ground 
 Fishing. 
 
 CERHE bass decidedly holds the highest place among those 
 tiftK sea fishes -which afford sport to the angler. It belongs 
 to the perch family; but when the prickly dorsal fin peculiar 
 to perch is not erect, it may be, and, indeed, sometimes is, 
 mistaken for salmon, and sold under that name by cunning 
 fish hawkers to unsuspecting visitors to the seaside. The 
 back of the fish is a dark blue, the sides and belly silvery. 
 The mouth is leathery, and hooks stuck in it rarely come 
 away ; but on the tongue and along the jaws are sharp-pointed 
 teeth, which frequently fray or cut the stoutest salmon gut, 
 as many a bass fisher knows to his sorrow. Bass vary from 
 a few ounces to 151b., or more, in weight, and there are 
 tales told of much larger fish even than that; but 101b. or 
 121b. fish are not common, the average size being somewhere 
 between 21b. and 41b. 
 
 Bass are not commonly found in the more Northern portions 
 of Great Britain, but abound on the South and South-West 
 coasts. They have been noticed in Berwick Bay and the 
 Firth of Forth, but are not common there. They are taken 
 on the East coast of Ireland, between Waterford and Belfast 
 Bay. 
 
60 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 In angling for these fish it is very essential to have some know- 
 ledge of their habits. As a general rule, bass do not approach 
 the shore much before June, and the large fish leave about 
 October. On the Devon coast they have been taken as early 
 as February, but are never seen there in numbers until March. 
 They seem easily affected by the temperature of the water, 
 and in warm, early seasons, may be expected in shore sooner 
 than when the spring is cold and late. Until August they 
 are found principally shoaling off headlands and along the 
 coast, but in that month they commence to work into estuaries, 
 where they deposit their spawn. They show a decided pre- 
 ference for those rivers which have sandy or gravelly bars 
 at their mouths. Round pier-heads and about large harbours 
 they are to be found during the summer, and a favourite 
 haunt is by wreckage, or any old hulk which has been moored 
 for years in one spot. In the estuaries, they work up and 
 down with the tide, and a point of beach stretching out 
 at the mouth of a river is a likely place to meet with them 
 for an hour-and-a-half after high water. In Cornish harbours 
 there are frequently spots where pilchards are cleaned, and 
 the entrails (a splendid bait for most sea fish) thrown into 
 the water. Bass and many other varieties of fish are often 
 attracted to such spots in great numbers, and may be easily 
 taken. As a geueral rule, the best bass fishing is had during 
 spring tides. While, on the coast, bass feed right in the surf, 
 where no one but a bass fisher would expect to find fish of 
 any kind, on calm days they may be seen basking a little 
 way off the rocks, and at such times it is useless to fish for 
 them; but immediately a breeze from seaward springs up 
 causing waves to break on the rocks, disturbing the myriads 
 of small marine creatures on which bass feed, then, knowing 
 that food is within their reach, they at once commence to 
 search for it, and may be successfully angled for by some 
 of the methods described later on. A breeze from seaward, 
 it will be noticed, gives the angler the best chance of success ; 
 but it should be borne in mind that, after a continuance of 
 windy weather, bass, as a rule, cease to feed on the surface, 
 and are to be taken in deeper water, close to the bottom. 
 
FLY FISHING FOE, BASS. 61 
 
 From eleven in the morning until five in the evening is, 
 generally speaking, the worst time for bass fishing — a fact 
 which has led some people to suppose that these fish are very 
 difficult to catch. If, however, the day is calm, and a breeze 
 springs tip from seaward, the bass, if they are off the rocks, 
 will feed whatever the hour may be. The exact position of 
 the fish may often be determined by watching the seagulls, 
 for these birds follow and hover over shoals of brit, on which 
 the bass feed, and are often to be found near. 
 
 The bass is a very ravenous fish, and its food is of the most 
 varied description. Small fry of almost any kind, marine insects, 
 and sandworms, probably form its staple diet. The live sand-eel 
 is a dainty morsel which it can hardly ever resist ; and in its 
 feeding generally it much resembles its handsome inland 
 cousin, the perch. 
 
 Fly fishing for bass, which has been practised for about 
 half a century, is, when the fish are feeding close to the 
 surface, by far the most sportsmanlike and pleasurable method 
 of catching them. The sport afforded is, indeed, little inferior 
 to salmon fishing, for the bass are almost as strong as salmon, 
 and what little they lack in strength they fully make up for 
 in numbers. The great difficulty is in finding the fish, for 
 it is little use casting where they cannot be seen breaking 
 the surface and playing, or rather feeding, in the surf. The 
 time spent in searching need not be wasted if the angler 
 is in a boat, for, while he is being pulled slowly along the 
 shore, he can trail a dead sand-eel, a strip of mackerel skin, a 
 spinning bait, or any of the thousand-and-one devices which 
 pollack, bass, mackerel, and a few other sea fish seize when 
 in motion. Immediately the bass are sighted the spinning 
 rod is taken in, and the fly deftly cast into the middle of the 
 shoal, the boat in the meantime having been sculled very 
 quietly to windward of the fish. But this brings me to the 
 question of tackle, which subject merits a paragraph to itself. 
 
 Almost any rod with which the line and fly can be " got 
 out" will do, for it is not difficult to cast a heavy line and 
 big fly with the wind ; but anyone who wishes to have the 
 weapon most suitable for the purpose, should provide himself 
 
62 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 with a good greenheart, grilse or salmon rod, the length of 
 which must depend on two considerations : first, whether the 
 fishing is principally from the shore or a boat; and, secondly, 
 the strength of the angler. In fishing from the shore, it is 
 desirable to have the rod as long as the angler can easily 
 manage; but for boat fishing, it need not be so long, as 
 the casts are shorter ; 16ft. is a very useful length. It 
 is not an impossibility to cast a line with the cane general 
 rod already described (page 5), but the joints should be 
 tied after the manner of fly rods, to prevent them "throwing 
 out." The salmon rod is, however, very desirable; it should 
 be rather stiff, and have, if possible, the snake rings described 
 on page 6 (failing these, large ordinary upright rings), and 
 the revolving top ring mentioned on the same page. None 
 of the fittings should be of steel or iron. Whether the joints 
 are spliced or fixed into one another is immaterial ; but if the 
 latter, the ferrules should be touched with vaseline or soft 
 soap before the rod is put together: this prevents the joints 
 from sticking. A stiff 16ft. fly rod, in three pieces, if fitted 
 with a stiff extra top only 6in. in length, can be converted into 
 an lift, rod, suitable for almost any kind of sea fishing. From 
 the rod we come to the line, and this may be the common 
 eight-plait hemp line used in harbour fishing. If expense is 
 no object, a tapered, silk, salmon line is best suited for the 
 purpose; and though tar or indiarubber dressings have been 
 recommended by two authorities on sea fishing, I must say 
 that, so far as my experience goes, the usual boiled oil dressing 
 commonly used for trolling lines appears to answer as well in 
 salt water as in fresh. An inexpensive line is described on 
 page 8. Bass, as I have indicated, play very strongly, some- 
 times running eighty yards or more of line off the reel; 
 and as nothing is more disappointing than to lose the largest 
 fish, I would advise not less than a hundred yards of line to be 
 provided. An old or rotten line should never be used for this 
 fishing; in fact, hooks, line, and gut casts should all be 
 carefully tested before being used. I always wash my line well 
 in fresh water before leaving the seaside, and diy it carefully. 
 This is a very necessary precaution. A large reel will obviously 
 
BASS FLIES. 63 
 
 be required, and this may be a plain brass cbeck winch, or — 
 what I much prefer — the large Nottingham wooden reel, with 
 a guard, and a check, which can be put either on or off, as 
 described on page 9. A reel invented by Mr. Jardine, the 
 well-known pike angler, is also admirably adapted for this 
 purpose. It is of metal, contains a check, and the line 
 on it dries more quickly than on ordinary reels, being wound 
 round several metal bars, which allow the air to get to the 
 very centre of it. Attached should be a gut cast, on the 
 strength of which a good deal depends. It should not be 
 more than three yards in length, and may consist altogether 
 of single lengths of the thickest salmon gut. If tapered, 
 the upper half should consist of two strands of gut laid side 
 by side, not twisted. If strong gut cannot be obtained, the 
 cast should be of double gut from end to end. For the benefit 
 of those anglers who make their own casts, the knots for 
 joining lengths of gut together are described on page 20. 
 
 The salmon fisher need not go far for flies, for any gaudy, 
 small salmon or large sea trout fly will do admirably for bass ; 
 but if flies have to be made or purchased, any of the following 
 patterns will be found to kill well. First I would place what 
 is practically the well-known Alexandra, with a white wing; 
 body thin, silver tinsel; tail, either peacock harl and a few 
 fibres of goose feathers dyed red, or the red feathers alone; 
 hackle, peacock herle; wing, peacock herle inclosed by two 
 grey goose feathers. Another good fly is made with a bright- 
 red pigswool body, rather thin, silver or gold twist; tail, a 
 rather long piece of red hackle, using similar hackle at the 
 shoulder ; wing, two tippet feathers jungle cock on either side, 
 and golden pheasant tail. If something simpler is desired, it 
 will be found that the thin end of a white tail feather, lashed 
 on the inside of the hook, so that the point comes through 
 it, will answer almost, if not quite as well, as its more gaudy 
 and elaborate rivals. I must not, however, forget to men- 
 tion a noted bass fly — the Shaldon Shiner — for the following 
 dressing of which I am indebted to "The Sea Fisherman:" 
 The body, broad silver tinsel, put on as thin as possible; the 
 tail, a small brush of scarlet feathers ; green, blue, and red pigs- 
 
64 
 
 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 wool at the shoulders; and wings, bright blue feathers, to which 
 are added half a dozen fibres of goose feather. There is an 
 instance on record when the bass in Dartmouth harbour 
 refused to look at artificial sand-eels, sole-skin, or other bait, 
 but eagerly took a well-known salmon fly called the Gold- 
 finch. It is dressed as follows : Tag, gold tinsel and black 
 floss ; tail, a golden pheasant topping ; body, gold-coloured 
 floss; pale yellow hackle; blue jay at shoulder; gold tinsel; 
 wing composed entirely of toppings; red macaw ribs, and 
 
 Fig. 46. Method of Fastening Bass Flies on Eyed Hooks to Gut. 
 
 Fig. 47. The Knot pulled Tight. 
 
 black head. Bass flies should always be tied on eyed hooks 
 or loops of gut, for the gut near the head of fly quickly gets 
 frayed and worn by the sharp teeth of the bass, and requires 
 frequently renewing. With the old method of attaching the 
 gut to the hook, as soon as the gut became worn, the fly, how- 
 ever good in other respects, at once became useless. I think 
 the best method of attaching gut to large flies tied on eyed 
 hooks is that shown in the accompanying Figures (46 and 47). 
 
CASTING THE FLY. 
 
 65 
 
 Major Tm-le's method (see page 15) is also very good, but 
 more suitable for smaller flies and books. If the gat is not 
 as strong as could be wished, an excellent plan is to make a 
 loop at the end of it, and attach the fly by the method shown 
 in the accompanying Figure (48). Two strands of gut are 
 thus offered to the teeth of the bass, 
 and the fly is rarely whipped off. In 
 fishing the mouths of rivers, it is as well 
 to use some of the better-class bass flies, 
 for there is always the off chance of 
 rising a salmon or sea trout on them. 
 
 The proper tackle for fly fishing having 
 been obtained, the next question is, how 
 and where to use it; and as fly fishing 
 may be a novel sport to some readers of 
 this book, it may be well for me to give 
 a description of the usual method of 
 casting an artificial fly. But however well 
 the angler may understand the method, 
 practice alone will enable him to throw 
 
 a fly well. Fly fishing in salt water is *ftJ * 8 - *"2°£ °? 
 
 ' jo Fastening on Bass 
 
 not nearly so difficult as fly fishing for Fly to Gut. 
 trout in rivers. In fishing from the 
 
 shore, the angler has frequently to cast against the wind, 
 so that it is better for the beginner to commence from a boat, 
 which can nearly always be placed to windward of the fish. 
 Before going out fishing, a little preliminary practice in a 
 field is very desirable. Francis Francis wrote that it was 
 impossible on paper to teach the tyro how to cast a salmon 
 fly, and that he should note how it is done, and then flail 
 away to the best of his ability until he can pitch the line out 
 somehow. The following directions may, however, be of some 
 service: Begin by casting a short line, about half as long 
 again as the rod. Let the line lay on the grass; then walk 
 back a few steps, so as to get away from it. Then stand 
 facing the end of the line, and let the rod point a little to 
 the right of it. To make the cast, it is necessary to first get 
 the line behind you; and to do this, bring the rod smartly 
 
 F 
 
bb ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 back over the right shoulder; hut immediately the rod has 
 reached a little beyond the perpendicular, check it suddenly, 
 and the line flies out straight behind; then pause a second 
 with the rod in this position (the longer the line, the longer 
 should be the pause), and vigorously swish the point of the 
 rod in the direction you wish to throw the fly. When, how- 
 ever, the rod has reached an angle of about 45°, check it, and, 
 as the line flew out behind you, now it will shoot out in front 
 of you, and fall lightly on the surface of the lawn, or water, 
 as the case may be. The mistake beginners make is to wave 
 the rod too violently, and, instead of letting the rod cast the 
 line, they try to do it by violent movement with their arms. 
 You do not want to whip the water, but merely to propel the 
 fly through the air at an imaginary point a foot or so above 
 that spot on the water where the fly is to fall. There is a 
 cast used on the Spey in which the line is not allowed to 
 fly out behind the angler, but is switched round almost in a 
 circle. It is difficult, and requires much practice. The bass- 
 angler should learn it, if he can find an instructor, for it is a 
 useful cast when fishing from the shore, with high cliffs rising 
 immediately in the rear. To do the Spey or switch cast properly > 
 a strong stream or tide is necessary, to extend the line ; but I 
 have seen it done fairly well on still water. When the line is 
 extended in front of the angler, it should be lifted a little 
 off the water, the bow of the line allowed to touch the water 
 near the angler's feet, and then switched overhand forward. 
 I have described this and other casts at considerable length 
 in "Angling for Game Fish." 
 
 Supposing, now, that the angler has mastered the art of 
 casting a fly, he should next study the best means of inducing 
 the fish to take it. If the fly is merely a white feather, it 
 should be drawn rapidly along the surface ; but if an elaborate 
 salmon fly, it should be worked in jerks, which has the effect 
 of alternately opening and closing the feathers and hackles, 
 and giving the fly the appearance of life. It is usual to cast 
 rather to the left, and then draw the fly to the right. In 
 time the angler may learn to cast from the left shoulder, and 
 fish, when desirable, from right to left. Immediately a rise, or 
 
PLATING THE BASS. 67 
 
 sudden tightening of the line, is seen, or a pluck at the top of 
 the rod felt, the angler should strike, and then look out for 
 squalls. The fish, if a large one, will probably at once run 
 out several yards of line, and in this first endeavour to get 
 free he should not be checked. As he slackens speed, the 
 finger should be placed on the reel, and more strain put 
 on him, and, as soon as possible, some line wound in. Suc- 
 cessive runs, longer or shorter than the first, follow, until the 
 fish, thoroughly exhausted, is brought up to the side of the 
 boat, the landing-net placed under him, and the angler has 
 killed his first bass. 
 
 There are some other points connected with fly fishing for 
 bass which are worthy of notice. The boat should never be 
 rowed through a school of these fish, for they are somewhat 
 shy, and, unless the boat is kept at some distance, very few 
 will be caught on the surface. When playing round pier- 
 heads, bass often take the fly ; and the shore fisher sometimes 
 meets with success off quays, rocky headlands, and points of 
 land at the mouths of rivers. He requires a heavy line to 
 throw out against the wind. The best fishing is, however, 
 usually obtained from a boat. In harbours, bass when hooked 
 often make for old piles and stumps, from which they should 
 be kept, so far as lies in the angler's power. 
 
 It should be remembered that bass, bike trout, rarely take 
 a fly unless there is a ripple on the water, and on calm days 
 they should be fished for with live sand-eels or smelts. A strip 
 of skin cut from the belly of the mackerel or bass, one end 
 of which is lashed on to the shank of the hook, is sometimes 
 cast like a fly, and is undoubtedly a good bait. As bass run 
 very large, and are exceedingly strong, I look upon the use 
 of two flies as a great mistake. Two flies do not catch more 
 fish, and they may cause the loss of the best fish of the day. 
 On very rough days, a large fly may be used; and when the 
 ripple is slight, a small Shaldon Shiner will sometimes 
 catch bass when everything else fails. In fishing narrow 
 channels, where the tide runs strongly, on days when the bass 
 do not show themselves, it is sometimes a good plan to let 
 out about 40yds. of line, with a fly or a piece of mackerel - 
 
 F 2 
 
68 
 
 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 skin at the end. The boat should be worked backwards and 
 forwards across the tide, dropping lower each time the 
 channel is crossed. The force of the stream takes out the 
 line down the channel, and the fly, or bait, is thus presented 
 to the fish before the boat has gone over them. In trolling 
 for salmon on the Shannon, and other rivers, the boat is 
 usually worked after this fashion. When flies are thus trailed, 
 the boat should be rowed rather fast. 
 Casting a spinning-bait from the shore is a very deadly 
 
 l 
 
 U 
 
 Fig. 49. Improved 
 Chapman Spin- 
 ner. 
 
 Fig. 50. Sand-eel 
 on Chapman 
 Spinner. 
 
 Fio. 51. Sand-eel on Ordinary 
 Trailing Tackle. 
 
 method of taking bass. Either the general rod, or the fly 
 rod with short top, may be used; the line must be dressed, 
 and not too stout, and the trace figured on page 31 is very 
 suitable for the purpose. The bait may be a sand-eel — which, 
 by the way, need not necessarily spin — or any small fish, 
 fixed on a Chapman spinner. Another very efficient flight 
 for small fish, but which necessitates the use of a baiting- 
 needle, is a large triangle at the end of a piece of gimp. 
 The needle is hooked in the loop of the gimp, inserted at 
 
CASTING THE SPINNING BAIT. 69 
 
 the vent of the bait, and brought out at its mouth, and the 
 triangle drawn up to the vent. If the sand-eel is used, it 
 may be placed on two hooks (Fig. 51), or on the Chapman 
 Spinner (Figs. 49, 50). If on the former tackle, the point 
 of the lower hook is put in at the mouth, and carried down 
 until the mouth of the bait touches the upper hook. The 
 lower hook is then brought out through the belly of the fish, 
 and the upper hook is put through its lips. If the lower 
 hook is made with a long shank, which has been softened 
 by heating in a flame, and then bent slightly, a twist will 
 be given to the body of the bait, which will spin. 
 
 The method of using this tackle is very similar to that 
 employed in spinning for jack in fresh water. The angler 
 takes his stand as near the fish as he can get, lets the trace 
 and bait hang loosely from the point of the rod, which he 
 holds in his right hand, resting the butt against his hip. 
 Then he uncoils some line off the reel, and, taking the rod 
 in both hands, casts the bait out in the direction of the fish. 
 The reel-line he holds in his left hand until the moment when 
 the bait is just starting on its voyage through the air; he 
 then releases the line, and the bait flies out any distance 
 from 20yds. to 70yds., according to the expertness of the 
 caster. This method of bass fishing is invaluable to the shore 
 fisher, for it enables him to command a large expanse of 
 water. It is hardly necessary to say, that as soon as the 
 bait touches the water, the angler commences to draw in the 
 line with his left hand (letting it run over the first finger 
 of the right hand), and between each draw moving the rod 
 slightly away from the bait, to keep the latter in constant 
 motion. "When all the line is drawn in, a fresh cast is made. 
 There is a method of casting off the reel without uncoiling any 
 line; it is described on page 71. Artificial baits are often used 
 for spinning ; among the best are red indiarubber sand- 
 eels, Devon baits, small spoon-baits, Hearder's baby spinners, 
 an imitation sand-eel, made out of a slip of pork-skin, soaked 
 and scraped (see page 36), and a very excellent spinner known 
 as Gregory's Clipper (illustrated on page 29). The natural 
 bait should always be used, when obtainable. In fishing from 
 
70 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 a boat, it is not usual to cast out the bait, but to trail it at 
 the end of 30yds. to 40yds. of line. In trailing, or "whiff- 
 ing," as it is called by professional sea fishermen, a baby 
 spinner, with two rag worms attached by the head to the 
 hook, forms an excellent bait. As bass feed at various 
 depths, it is well to commence fishing the bait near the sur- 
 face, gradually adding more lead until it sinks to such a 
 depth as to be visible to the fish. The boat should, if 
 possible, be worked across the tide, so that the fish see the 
 bait before the boat has gone over them. The rule as to 
 using small baits in fair weather, and large ones when the 
 waves are high, applies as much to spinning as to fly fishing. 
 Boats under sail frequently put out lines for bass, but the 
 tackle used has to be very strong and heavy, and is not 
 suitable for rod fishing. 
 
 Another excellent method of catching bass, though hardly 
 affording the variety or sport incidental to fly fishing and 
 spinning, is fishing with the live sand-eel or sand-smelt. For 
 this purpose professional fishermen use a hand-line, on which 
 light leads are strung and fixed at intervals of two fathoms, 
 terminating with about six fathoms of fine, unleaded line, to 
 which the hook and bait are attached. This tackle is used 
 from a boat moored in a tideway, and the force of the 
 current takes out the unleaded portion of the line, and, to a 
 certain extent, the leaded portion, the amount let out de- 
 pending in a great measure on the strength of the tide. In 
 very deep water, the nearest approach the angler can make 
 to this method is to use the sea leger described on page 24, 
 but slightly varying it by allowing at least an extra yard of 
 salmon gut or gimp below the lead. In this fishing there is 
 no object in the lead sliding on a length of gimp; and if 
 special tackle is made, it should be fixed ; but the leger 
 answers the purpose. If the current is strong, a good deal of 
 line has to be let out to get the bait low enough in the 
 water, and the angler must use his judgment as to the most 
 suitable amount of lead. It is, however, advisable, when 
 drift-line fishing, to have a second rod, on which is a line 
 without sinkers, for it frequently happens that bass will not 
 
NOTTINGHAM FISHING FOB BASS. 71 
 
 feed on or near the bottom, and take the bait within a few- 
 inches of the surface. The best baits are live sand-eels, sand- 
 smelts, or ragworms, the latter being a long way behind the 
 former. The hook should be put in at the mouth of the 
 sand-eel or smelt, and out at a small fraction of an inch 
 below its gills. When ragworms have to be used, two or 
 three are strung on to the hook through the head. 
 
 The peculiar style of fishing invented by the anglers of 
 Nottingham, which is now finding favour on the Thames, and, 
 indeed, all over the country, has been followed with great 
 success by a few bass fishermen. It is peculiarly suited for 
 fishing from pier-heads and bridges crossing estuaries or the 
 mouths of rivers. The tackle is much the same as that 
 illustrated on page 25, and consists of a single hook on stout 
 salmon gut, a few small bullets, a pear-shaped pike float, and 
 an undressed, twisted, silk line, rather finer than that used 
 for spinning. The check must be taken off the reel (see page 
 9), and the general rod described on page 5 can be used. The 
 bait may be any of those affected by bass, the living sand-eel 
 standing first; the live sand-smelt is also good, and pilchard 
 guts are excellent. A strip of silvery mackerel-skin may also 
 be used. As a rule, the float is only placed a few feet above 
 the bait, but occasionally it is found necessary to fish deeper. 
 The method of using this tackle is to cast it out to where the 
 fish are feeding, the weight of the float and sinker running the 
 line off the reel; but if the tide will carry the bait to the fish, 
 so much the better. The angler stands holding the rod as 
 if about to cast a spinning bait; but he uncoils no line. His 
 left hand clasps the rod below the reel, the right hand above 
 it, the little finger of the right hand pressing gently on the 
 rim of the reel, and acting as a check to it ; at the moment of 
 casting the bait, the pressure of the finger is taken off, to 
 allow the reel to revolve. The art of Nottingham fishing 
 is not learnt in a day, and, as the first few casts are apt to be 
 erratic, the angler will do well to practise in a lonely place. 
 After the float and bait are cast out, the angler can let the 
 tide take them still farther out, if it seems desirable, for the 
 light silk line will run off the reel very quickly and easily. 
 
72 ANGLING IN SALT WATEB. 
 
 I have found that the top ring described on page 6 greatly 
 facilitates the passage of the line. With Nottingham tackle, 
 float and bait can be cast out from rocky points beyond the 
 snrf, worked along the quays, harbour walls; and, as a matter 
 of fact, it is, in skilful hands, by far the most deadly form 
 of float tackle known. 
 
 Last of all, we come to ordinary ground fishing, which 
 may be carried on from boats, pier-heads, quays, and bridges, 
 by means of a two-hook paternoster (see page 19), made either 
 of stout salmon gut, double gut, or the fine Patent Gimp 
 already mentioned, which has the advantage of being not 
 only fine and strong, but also impervious to the sharp teeth 
 of bass. The size of hook must, of course, depend upon the 
 description and size of bait used. Live sand-eels, for instance, 
 require a good-sized hook (about No. 12), while the beard of 
 an oyster — a bait used and recommended by Mr. Sachs, a noted 
 sea angler — rather a small one (about No. 8). Pilchard guts 
 are good baits, and so are soft crabs, pieces of squid or 
 cuttle, and a slice from a pilchard. Ground-baiting (see 
 page 45), when it can be carried on, is very advisable, the 
 best ground-bait being a mixture of pilchard refuse and 
 pounded crabs. "When the water is not deeper than the 
 length of the rod, a large float may be fixed above the pater- 
 noster, and the tide allowed to carry out the tackle and 
 baits. When the angler finds one plan unsuccessful, he 
 should try another, and always choose that method of angling 
 best suited to circumstances and the locality. Where no 
 pier is available, and the bottom is not too foul, the paternoster 
 or leger can be thrown from the shore ; but (excepting, of 
 course, the mouths of rivers and quiet estuaries), owing to 
 the wash of the waves, so heavy a lead is usually required 
 to keep out the bait that the rod can rarely be used. At 
 Deal, the tackle described in Chapter IT., page 54, is used 
 for this purpose, and some very good takes of bass are made 
 with it. Pieces of cuttle, squid, or strips of mackerel-skin, 
 on account of their toughness, are good baits for use on 
 tackle which has to be cast any great distance. Casting from 
 the beach is often practised when it is too rough to go afloat. 
 
THE BRIXHAM METHOD. 73 
 
 There is only one other method of catching bass of interest 
 to the angler -with which I am acquainted, and I only know 
 of it by repute. It is followed, I believe, off Brixham. The 
 tackle consists of a long, stout, unleaded line, and a No. 3 
 or 4 Exeter Round bend hook, attached to a short piece of 
 strong snooding. The other end of the snooding is attached 
 to the eye of a baiting-needle, by means of which it is put in 
 at the mouth of the bait (any small fish 5in. or 6in. in length) 
 and out at its tail. The tail has a turn of thread put round 
 it, to keep the bait from slipping up the line; the snooding 
 is attached to the main line, and the tackle is ready. Pro- 
 fessionals fish with five or six of these lines, mooring their 
 boats across the tide, at some spot where they expect to 
 meet with bass. The baits are thrown out, fall by their own 
 weight to the bottom, and lie there until taken by the fish. 
 The method is very similar to trolling with the gorge-bait in 
 fresh water for jack, and I have no doubt that ordinary 
 trolling might be practised in the sea with success. The 
 hooks should, however, project much farther from the gills 
 of the bait than is usual in jack fishing. 
 
 Should the angler feel puzzled with so many different 
 methods to choose from, I would say, first let him study the 
 habits of the fish, and, aided by information from local 
 people, form some idea of the most likely spots on the coast 
 to find them. Having determined this point to his satis- 
 faction, let him consider which plan will enable him, in the 
 most simple manner, to place the bait before the eyes of the 
 bass. If he has a boat at his disposal, and can see the fish 
 sporting in the surf, he will probably try fly fishing. If he 
 fishes from a pier, he may also fly-fish if the bass are visible, 
 paternostering, spinning, or live-baiting if they are feeding on 
 the bottom or in mid-water. 
 
 I have treated the subject of bass fishing at length, and in 
 detail, not only because the fish offers an exceptional amount 
 of sport to the angler, but also because several of the 
 methods described are followed in angling for other varieties 
 of fish, and will be referred to hereafter. 
 
 ■ > .«— < . 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE POLLACK 
 (WRITING-POLLACK, WHITING-COLE, AND LYTHEJ ; 
 
 THE COALEISH 
 
 (RACE, BAUNING - POLLACK, SAITEE, C0AL8EY, 
 PODLEB, PILTOCK, PAB, BILLET, STEDLOCK, 
 CUDDEN, COOTH, SILLOCK, HABBINJ. 
 
 Appearance — Habits — Food — Coalfish — Methods of Angling for 
 Pollack and Coalfish — Fly Fishing — Spinning and Trailing 
 — Sand-Eels on Float Tackle — Ground Fishing. 
 
 cFFIiHE pollack, or lythe of Scotland, vies with the bass for 
 USES the first place in the estimation of the sea angler. 
 Though possessing great strength, which it does not disdain 
 to use, it is not so lively a fighter when hooked as its rival 
 but compensates in a measure for this by its size, dogged 
 perseverance to break the tackle, and wide distribution, being 
 met with in great numbers all round the British coast. In 
 appearance it is not unlike the whiting, but deeper and some- 
 what different in colour. Its back is olive-brown, paling into 
 a yellowish-white on the belly. When fresh out of the sea, it 
 has handsome, dark, glistening eyes. About 151b. is a very 
 large fish; specimens have been caught 201b. weight. Where 
 they run large, the angler may find his take average 31b. or 
 41b. each. Those caught in harbours are, as a rule, quite 
 small. 
 
 Pollack are found, as I have said, all round our coasts, 
 
HAUNTS OF POLLACK. 75 
 
 but more particularly where rocks are plentiful. In some 
 respects they resemble trout, haunting rocky headlands which 
 stretch far out to sea, and round which the tide sets strongly, 
 rising to a fly in the evening, and taking both live and dead 
 bait, and natural or artificial spinning baits. Spring affords 
 the best pollack fishing on the South-west coast of England — 
 March, April, May, June; while in Ireland and the North of 
 Scotland large pollack are also caught in September. Like 
 many other fish of prey, they seem to follow the herrings. 
 "While these are out at sea, few pollack will be found in their 
 usual haunts; but when the herrings enter the sea lochs of 
 the Scotch coast, their pursuers come in after them, and are 
 to be caught in great numbers. In the winter, the greater 
 portion of these fish retire into deep water ; but in the spring 
 they come inshore, the small ones leading the way — at least, 
 this is what I have been told by fishermen; but it rather 
 conflicts with a statement that pollack spawn in winter close 
 to the shore. As a matter of fact, they are occasionally caught 
 off pier-heads in winter. Their habits vary a good deal in 
 different localities. A good chart, showing the position of 
 sunken rocks, or a sailor well versed in the subject, is a very 
 useful addition to the outfit of the pollack angler, for many fish 
 will be found haunting sunken reefs at a considerable distance 
 from land. From my angling experiences I should imagine 
 that pollack feed on or near the bottom during the day, hiding 
 in seaweed, and rushing out to seize any unfortunate little 
 fish which passes within reach; and that in the evening they 
 come out from their lairs, and roam about in search of food. 
 "Whether this be so or not — and it is difficult either to prove 
 or disprove it — I have generally caught them best in the 
 daytime when my bait has been close to the bottom, and in 
 the evening when it has been in mid-water, or near the top. 
 
 The favourite food of pollack must be, I fancy, sand-eels, 
 for they are the bait with which the best sport is obtained; 
 but it must be confessed that pollack do not, as a rule, dwell 
 where sand-eels are plentiful, though occasionally they leave 
 their rocky fastnesses for a short stay on a sandy bottom, 
 where they banquet to their heart's content on the silvery 
 
76 
 
 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 launce. Sea worms of various kinds they take, but their 
 staple diet is probably small fish. 
 
 A word or two now as to the coalfish, called saithe in 
 Scotland, which resembles the pollack in so many respects 
 that I have placed the two in one chapter. They may be 
 distinguished from each other by slight differences of shape 
 and colour. The coalfish is the rounder of the two; the 
 colour of its back varies from dark green to blue; its lateral 
 line and belly are white. Placed side by side, the points in 
 which they differ are easily discernible; but apart, especially 
 when small, the two fish are often mistaken for one another. 
 As will be seen from the heading to this chapter, the coal- 
 fish has a large variety of local names. In habits it closely 
 resembles the pollack, and may be angled for in the same 
 fashion. As a matter of fact, people who go out fishing for 
 the one look upon catching some of both as a matter of 
 
 course. This last remark does 
 not apply to the English Chan- 
 nel, where coalfish are not plen- 
 tiful. In the North and North- 
 east they abound, and the angler 
 who fly -fishes in Scotch sea 
 lochs for pollack often finds the 
 number of cuddies, as youthful 
 coalfish are termed locally, so 
 gi*eat as to be quite a nuisance. 
 From three to five dozen are 
 sometimes taken in an evening, 
 not one of them over three-quarters of a pound. In Fig. 52 
 is shown a good cuddy fly. The wings are grey or white; 
 body, white wool, ribbed with gold tinsel; and the tail, red 
 wool. In Yorkshire cuddies are called parrs. The adult coal- 
 fish, however, is not to be despised, for it grows to a great size, 
 being sometimes taken as heavy as 301b. It is about as good to 
 eat as the pollack, which, when in good condition, fresh, and 
 carefully boiled, is rather better than second-rate cod. It 
 should be skinned or well scraped before being cooked. 
 
 Among the various methods of angling for pollack and 
 
 Fig. 52. Cuddy Flt. 
 
COZENING A POLLACK. 77 
 
 coalfish I put fly fishing first, for though, the largest takes 
 are not, as a rule, made in that way, still the sport obtained 
 is very superior, and the angler has to exercise some skill 
 prior to hooking the fish, instead of being merely rowed about 
 holding a rod or line, and waiting for the fish to hook 
 themselves. Fly rod, line, and casts I have already described 
 (see Chapter Y.), and I need only here say as to the former, 
 that it must be stiff and strong, and that both line and cast 
 must be capable of holding a 121b. fish in his first attempt to 
 run out line. That pollack must be held is a maxim which the 
 sea angler cannot learn too soon; thei'e is little or no playing 
 them. Give a pollack line, and down he goes straight to 
 his lair among rocks and seaweed, and, once there, you may 
 bid him, and a portion of your tackle, farewell, at least for 
 that day. It is the rarest thing possible to get a pollack 
 out of his stronghold, unless the water is so shallow that 
 the fish can be reached with an oar. I only once remember 
 getting a large one out of the seaweed in deep water, and, 
 for the benefit of other anglers who may be some time or 
 another similarly situated, will relate how it happened. We — 
 I had a friend with me — had been spinning, or rather trailing, 
 on the North-west coast of Scotland, not far from Cape "Wrath. 
 Five or six fish, varying from 31b. to 101b. in weight, had been 
 brought on board, when my friend suddenly had his rod dragged 
 almost out of his hand, and, before he could recover himself, 
 the fish was at the bottom, fast and firm as if moored there. 
 It was clearly a big fish, so we tried all we knew to get 
 him; but the sweeps were not long enough to reach to the 
 bottom, and rowing the boat round the spot, so as to pull 
 the line from various directions, which is sometimes successful, 
 was of no avail. Finally I bethought me of a plan which is 
 tried in the Galway river when salmon make for the arch 
 of the bridge — a proceeding which usually ends in their 
 breaking the tackle. Having made the boatman understand 
 that I wanted the boat placed right over the fish — a difficult 
 matter, as he understood very few words of English — I 
 asked my friend to lay down his rod, took the line in my 
 right hand, and pulled as hard as I dared. At the same 
 
78 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 time, I took a few coils of slack line in my left hand, a 
 after having pulled at the fish for about a minute, sudden 
 let go, at the same instant casting the slack line overboar 
 For a moment or two nothing happened, and then the lin 
 commenced to move slowly through the water — the ruse had 
 succeeded, and the pollack, imagining itself free, was swimming 
 away. Quickly seizing the line, I brought the fish, before 
 he had time to find out his mistake, to the surface, where, 
 after a few desperate struggles, he was gaffed. He was as 
 large as any we took that day. 
 
 But to return to fly-fishing. The tackle, as I have said, 
 must be strong. For big fish, ordinary salmon-gut is not strong 
 enough — it should be double; but for the smaller fish whicb 
 are usually caught in harbours and off pier-heads, single salmon 
 gut will do. As pollack usually feed near the bottom during 
 the daytime, the fly rod is only useful in the evening. The 
 fly can be cast from the rocks and off pier-heads, but most 
 fish are taken from a boat, which should be rowed within 
 casting distance of rocky points, reefs, and the places where 
 the fish are to be found. When a big pollack takes the fly, 
 he comes up with a splash, such as a dog would make leaping 
 into the water, and immediately he feels the hook goes straight 
 for the bottom — don't let him get there ! Sometimes lazy 
 anglers let out thirty yards or so of line, and trail their flies 
 behind the boat. Pollack and coalfish are often caught this 
 way, as also are bass, mackerel, and, very occasionally, herrings. 
 
 Spinning, trailing, whiffing, and railing are carried on for 
 pollack and coalfish in much the same manner as described 
 in the chapter on bass. There is, however, one great differ- 
 ence. During the day pollack feed near the bottom, and 
 therefore the line must be heavily leaded. If the fish are 
 not being caught (I am supposing that the tide is right — 
 flowing — and that the angler is on a well-known pollack 
 ground), the fault will probably lie in insufficient leads. By 
 the method I have explained on page 31, leads can be added 
 to the trace ad infinitum. It is a good thing to keep on 
 adding weight until it is found that the hooks catch occasion- 
 ally in the bottom. All that is then necessary is to shorten 
 
BAILING AND WHIFFING. 79 
 
 .e line a little, -which has the effect of raising the bait a 
 
 ot or two. This refers to trailing from a boat. If the 
 ngler is spinning from rocks, as he very well can, casting 
 iut after the manner described in Chapter V., he can fish near 
 \he bottom by allowing his bait, when cast ont, to sink be- 
 fore commencing to draw it back. Casting from the shore is 
 as useful in pollack as in bass fishing, and is not half so 
 well known as it ought to be. 
 
 The best natural bait for spinning is the sand-eel; next, 
 but not far distant, is a young conger about 6in. or 7in. 
 long. It is a most killing bait, and the great success of' the 
 red indiarubber sand-eel, as it is called, is no doubt owing to 
 its resemblance to this fish. Neither sand-eels nor other small 
 eels need spin. Both ragworms and lobworms are also used 
 as whining baits (see page 29). Any small fish, mounted on a 
 Chapman spinner (see page 29), will take pollack and coal- 
 fish, and any glittering or gaudy artificial bait will be found 
 killing. The Clipper bait already mentioned (see page 29) is 
 excellent, but hardly so good as a red phantom minnow, 
 about 4in. long. The indiarubber band bait (see page 29) is 
 also very good. Perhaps the best artificial bait of all is the 
 red indiarubber sand-eel, either with or without a baby 
 spinner at the head. It is usually mounted on one large 
 hook. I find the addition of a large triangle to this bait, 
 mounted on three inches of gimp, a great advantage. 
 
 Professional fishermen, and also amateurs, sometimes go 
 pollack fishing in sailing vessels. In that case, success 
 depends principally on the boat going over the right ground, 
 and the lines being sufficiently leaded. As a rule, a lead of 
 one, and sometimes two pounds weight, is necessary, when, I 
 need hardly say, a rod cannot be used. Trailing a bait be- 
 hind a sailing boat is called reeling, or railing; behind a 
 rowing boat, whiffing. I have preferred to use the fresh-water 
 terms in this book, as the methods described originated in 
 fresh-water angling. A very curious bait is used for pollack 
 in Torbay. It is called the Belgian grub, and consists of a 
 plaster of Paris caterpillar, moulded on the shank of a hook, 
 painted yellow or white, with a red head. Three or four of 
 
80 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 these are placed on a line, like a cast of flies, and trailed 
 after the boat, a cut rubber band being placed on the hook 
 of the end grub. 
 
 The most deadly way of taking pollack and coalfish is 
 with the living sand-eel, baited and used according to the 
 methods described in the last chapter. In shallow water, float 
 tackle, heavily leaded, can be used; but in deep water, the 
 same tackle, less the float, and with the addition of a yard 
 of gut below the leads, is better. The bait and line are carried 
 out by the force of the tide, and so much line should be let 
 out that the bait is a fourth of the way from the bottom. 
 A knowledge of the depth must first be obtained by sounding. 
 A good deal of judgment is necessary in letting out the line, 
 and practice alone will teach the angler the proper quantity to 
 let out. Where the water is under 20ft. deep, I prefer float 
 tackle, for the float can be put about as far from the lead as 
 the water is deep. This would seem to bring a foot or so of line 
 on the bottom; but, as a matter of fact, directly the float is 
 checked the tide carries out the line below the float, and 
 the bait is lifted several feet. Float tackle can sometimes 
 be very successfully used from the shore, especially if cast 
 out in the Nottingham fashion. Off an ordinary beach or 
 sandy shore no one should dream of casting out tackle for 
 pollack ; but where there is an inlet of the sea, with steep hills 
 coming down to the water's edge, and deep water within a 
 few feet of the shore — there, and in such-like places, pollack 
 may often be taken with float tackle. If sand-eels cannot be 
 obtained, two ragworms, hooked through the head, or live 
 shrimps, may be tried, but they are not nearly so good. To 
 keep the shrimps alive, it is necessary to float them in a small 
 wooden box with holes bored in it. They are hooked through 
 the tail. In fishing from pier-heads, when the tide is very slack, 
 it is sometimes a good plan to let out a gut line and hook, 
 without leads of any description, baited with ragworms or 
 sand-eels. The slight tide carries out the bait, and pollack are 
 often taken after this manner. I have already described the 
 drift-bines which are used by professional fishermen for taking 
 bass, pollack, &c. They have no advantage over the tackle 
 
GROTJND-LINE FISHING FOE POLLACK. 81 
 
 just mentioned, beyond, perhaps, the fact that they hear small 
 leads at every two fathoms, which tell the fisherman how much 
 line he has let out. 
 
 Concerning ground-line fishing for pollack and coalfish, 
 there is very little to be added to what has already been said 
 on the subject in Chapters IY. and Y. The paternoster 
 is the most useful tackle for the purpose, and the bait may 
 be pilchard entrails, or a piece of pilchard on shank of hook, 
 with the guts on the point. Ragworms and live shrimps are 
 also very good, and mussels will occasionally be taken. In 
 harbours and other places where fish run small, salmon gut 
 will be strong enough ; but where big fish are expected, double 
 salmon gut, or the Patent Gimp, will be advisable. Pollack 
 often gorge the bait, so a disgorger will be found necessary # 
 A good one is illustrated on page 33. 
 
 Before concluding this chapter, let me repeat that the 
 tackle for pollack and coalfish must be strong and reliable; 
 that the fish must on no account be allowed to dive into the 
 weeds, but be given the butt unmercifully; that the angler 
 can hardly fish too near the bottom in the daytime ; and that 
 the living sand-eel is the most deadly bait. I have said 
 nothing as to the sizes of hooks, because they vary so with 
 the bait used and the size of fish expected. The largest 
 hook in the scale shown on page 17 is not too large for a 
 101b. pollack; but a smaller hook, if good, will hold him, and 
 more fish will be caught on it than on a large one if a small 
 bait, such as a live shrimp, is used. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 GREY MULLET. 
 
 Habits — Food — Various Methods of Surface Angling — Mid-water 
 and Bottom Fishing — Fly Fishing. 
 
 'tySVjF the sea fish sought after by the angler, the grey mul- 
 Ji^S let is probably tbe most difficult to capture. It is 
 very generally distributed, and, having a great fancy for 
 brackish water, particularly that containing a slight admixture 
 of sewage matter, is to be found in large numbers in 
 harbours, docks, and estuaries. It sometimes grows to 101b. 
 in weigbt, or even lai-ger; but the general run is from lib. 
 to 31b. It gives good sport when hooked, and is very good 
 eating. Its natural food seems to be vegetable refuse, worms, 
 and certain kinds of seaweed, particularly that growing on 
 ships' bottoms and wood piles. Sboals of mullet will sometimes 
 follow a ship which is about to be overhauled, right into 
 the dock, working up and down its slimy bottom with their 
 noses. They do not disdain animal matter, but in one point 
 are very particular — the food must be soft. The baits which 
 they will at times take are varied in character, and include 
 gentles, ragworms ; peeled, unboiled shrimps ; soft, fat pork ; 
 thornback's liver, pilchard guts, wasp grubs, bread, paste, 
 boiled cabbage, and green silkweed. 
 
 Grey mullet are caught at Southampton, Dover, Jersey, 
 Plymouth, along the coast of the Mediterranean, and in 
 many other places; but there are certain spots where, though 
 very plentiful, they are rarely taken — Oulton Broad, for 
 example — the reason probably being that the right bait has 
 
SURFACE FISHING FOE MULLET. 83 
 
 not yet been discovered. For one angler who catches grey 
 mullet there are ten who fail ; and the failure is often owing 
 to ignorance of a very important fact concerning these fish : 
 they are so shy, that they usually refuse a bait unless distri- 
 buted around is a quantity of food of which the bait seems 
 a part ; in other words, ground-bait is necessary, 
 
 In summer, when the weather is warm, grey mullet are 
 often found feeding on the surface, but in cold weather they 
 feed deeper. During the winter they sometimes bite well 
 in harbours, a light gut paternoster, with very small hooks, 
 baited with ragworms, being used to take them; but even then 
 ground-bait is necessary, and the large fish will not come well 
 on the feed without it. Grey mullet feed very badly in brackish 
 water, and are more easily caught in the sea near breakwaters, 
 piers, and other structures, round the lower portions of which 
 they find their food. A good many are taken from Plymouth 
 breakwater. 
 
 A very certain method of surface fishing, when the sea is 
 calm, was described by Mr. Collier James, in the Fishing Gazette, 
 about two years ago. For bait he used the tough, upper crust 
 of a newly-baked, plain, bread bun, prepared by removing the 
 crumb, and cutting the crust in strips about ^in. wide, which 
 were kept in a covered tin for a few hours to toughen. 
 "When baiting, strips fin. long were torn off, and the 
 hooks, which were small, given one turn through them. 
 For ground - bait, he had breadcrumbs. His main line 
 was of horsehair, terminated by a length of twisted gut. 
 No leads were used, and small pieces of cork were attached 
 along the line at intervals. If the fish were not visible, 
 his plan was to row very quietly about spots frequented by 
 them, scattering a few breadcrumbs here and there. If 
 there were any mullet they would, after the boat had passed, 
 come up to the surface, and feed on the breadcrumbs, which 
 were only thrown out to discover the position of the fish. 
 The next thing was to lay out the line (the mullet would, 
 of course, disappear while this was being done), scatter a 
 few breadcrumbs round the baits, and row a distance of 
 thirty or forty yards, paying out the line for that distance. 
 
 g2 
 
84 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 After a little while, the mullet would again come to the 
 surface, take the bait, and be caught. The principal object 
 of having a hair line was because no rod was used, hair 
 possessing much elasticity, and therefore greatly favouring 
 the fisherman who plays a fish with his hand. I see no 
 reason why a rod should not be used with this tackle; it 
 would be a decided advantage in striking and playing the 
 fish. Yery few corks are necessary for this kind of fishing, 
 if the line is fine, and well greased. A well greased line will 
 float for a long time on the surface of the water; quite as 
 well, indeed, as if corks were strung along it. The best 
 grease for the purpose is the kidney fat of a red deer. It 
 is kept at several fishing-tackle shops in London for the dry- 
 fly fishermen of Hampshire. Mutton kidney fat, melted 
 with a little pure paraffin, answers very nearly as well; in 
 fact, nearly any grease will do. 
 
 A somewhat similar tackle to that just described is used 
 by local anglers at Nice. The main line is of horsehair, 
 tapered to three hairs at the fine end; the hook, which is 
 attached to gut, is small, and the bait, a piece of bread or a 
 ragworm. Along the line, at intervals of 1ft., are a series 
 of corks about the size of peas ; the lowest, which is as big as 
 a hazel nut, is about two-and-a-half feet above the bait. A 
 very long rod is used. The angler usually wades in, rod in 
 one hand, hook in the other, and, with a gentle sweep of the 
 arm, casts the bait out beyond the surf. 
 
 Once, on Dover pier, I saw a man angling for grey mullet 
 in a highly artistic manner, which proved successful. His 
 rod was long and light, and his line of twisted silk a trifle 
 thicker than that used on the Trent for chub, and not quite 
 three times as thick as ordinary sewing thread. At the end 
 of the line was a three-yard length of gut, half as thick as 
 salmon gut. He used three small hooks (about No. 10), one 
 at the end of the gut, the others as droppers. There were three 
 tiny cork floats on the line, and no sinkers. The sketch (Fig. 53) 
 shows their position and appearance. The end hook he 
 baited with the green weed found on piles in harbours, the 
 others with paste made from stale bread. The day was quite 
 
BAITS FOR MULLET. 85 
 
 calm, and the fish could be seen. He cast his tackle a few 
 yards off the fish, in such a way that the tide gradually woi'ked 
 the baits over them, a handful of breadcrumbs being first 
 thrown into the water to bring them on the feed. Fishing from 
 a height, the line above the corks was easily kept from sinking. 
 If the same tackle was used from a boat, the line would have 
 to be greased. I do not think better tackle than this can 
 possibly be devised for surface fishing for mullet in summer. 
 As these fish play strongly, and must not be held tightly, 
 having delicate mouths, from which the hook easily breaks 
 away, it is advisable to have not less than 60yds. or 
 70yds. of running line. The point which the angler has to 
 aim at in this kind of fishing is to get the ground-bait 
 and tackle over the fish, at the same time keeping as far away 
 from them as possible. Any noise or splashing of oars will 
 
 Fig. 53. Grey Mullet Surface Tackle. 
 
 to a certainty frighten grey mullet, as they are particularly 
 susceptible to sound. For instance, when gunnery practice 
 is being carried on from Dover Castle, it is rarely any good 
 fishing for mullet from the Admiralty Pier. 
 
 A word more as to baits, and this portion of the subject 
 is complete. Common flour paste is not a good bait, ordinary 
 soaked bread being far better. The bread cannot be too 
 wet, or the bait too soft, so long, of course, as it will stop on 
 the hook. Yery small portions should be used, not much 
 larger than a pea. Boiled and unboiled shrimps and prawns, 
 peeled, are useful baits when the angler can use the chervin 
 ground-bait described on page 45. Pilchard guts are also 
 very good, the angler ground-baiting with the same substance 
 chopped up very small. When one thing fails, another should 
 be tried. As a general ground-bait, pounded crabs are decidedly 
 good. To speak of substances thrown on the water, which 
 
86 ANGLING IN SALT WATEE. 
 
 are intended to keep the fish near the surface, and lull 
 their suspicions, as ground-bait, is, strictly speaking, incorrect ; 
 but anything in the way of fish food other than the hook- 
 bait, thrown in by the angler, is usually so termed, and I see 
 no reason to invent new expressions for the purposes of this 
 book. 
 
 Fishing for grey mullet on the bottom, or at mid-water, 
 does not require a lengthy description. In harbours and quiet 
 waters generally, very light tackle should be used; the gut 
 fine, but not fine drawn ; and the float a porcupine quill, tipped 
 with red paint, and so weighted with split shot, placed 1ft. 
 above the hook, that only the red tip of the float is showing 
 above the water. Any fine silk running line will do. A large 
 variety of baito and ground-baits have already been given. 
 Among the best for harbour fishing are ragworms and peeled, 
 unboiled shrimps. If there is any current, the ground-bait 
 should be placed in a small net, with a stone or two, and 
 let down into the water with a cord, the tackle being placed 
 about two yards below it, so that the stream washes the 
 ground-bait by the hook. When it can be managed, the net 
 should not be used, but the ground-bait cast in loose. 
 
 Grey mullet, as I have said, sometimes feed on the surface, 
 sometimes on the bottom. They also often feed at mid- water, 
 working up and down piles which are covered with weed, 
 rooting in it with their noses. For mid-water fishing a small 
 float is advisable; but when this, after a careful trial, fails, 
 the angler should try fishing on the bottom. He may then 
 either leger with bread paste, or place his float a foot farther 
 from the hook than the water is deep (a plummet for testing 
 the depth is shown on page 34). The hook link of gut will 
 then lie on the bottom. He should use ground-bait, and 
 strike at the slightest movement of the float. A paternoster 
 of fine gut, with small hooks, can be used instead of float 
 tackle, and in quite still water it is sometimes cast in without 
 the lead. 
 
 Our foreign friends, who in most matters piscatorial are far 
 behind us, have rather the advantage of us in mullet fishing 
 I have already described how mullet are caught at Nice and 
 
FLY FISHING FOE GREY MULLET. 87 
 
 other places in the Mediterranean. At San Sebastian an 
 elaborate ground-bait is made of chopped heads of sar- 
 dines, potatoes, and clay, squeezed into balls. Immediately 
 this is thrown in, the hook, baited with a very small square 
 of salted tunny, follows, and good sport is obtained. 
 
 Fly fishing for grey mullet in the daytime, though it is 
 often tried, is rarely successful. The fish will follow a fly, 
 but will rarely seize it. At night the fly fisher stands a 
 better chance, and will now and again take a few fish on a 
 white moth. The dressing of a night fly for mullet was 
 described in the following letter, published in the Fishing 
 Gazette of June 18, 1887 :— 
 
 "Sir, — I believe there are some rivers — generally shallow 
 ones — in which mullet will not take a bait. With regard to 
 flies, I have taken some mullet at night with a silver-bodied 
 moth : wing, owl's feather ; hackle, white ; tail, a bit of kid or 
 wash leather. The body should be first wrapped with wool, to 
 make it fat, and the tinsel wound over it. 
 
 "In the Gazette of September 3, 1881, Mr. J. D. Dougal 
 says that 'a man used to take them on the Clyde with a 
 white fly, on the hook of which he put the bivalved oval 
 spout fish, called on the Clyde Garrocher, the scientific name 
 being Mya arenaria. Part of the flesh of this — probably the 
 spout, which is exceedingly tough — he put on his fly. He 
 angled at low water, and took numbers, from 31b. to 51b. 
 each.' 
 
 "I think this plan would be worth a trial where the Mya 
 arenaria can be got, and I believe it is common on the British 
 coast. "I am, &c, E. Gosling. 
 
 " Aberffraw, Anglesey, June 13." 
 
 A gentle placed on a hook might be cast as a fly with suc- 
 cess, provided a few gentles were thrown among the fish, to 
 make them feed on that bait. I have not tried the experiment. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 TEE MACKEREL. 
 
 Habits — Whiffing and Trailing — Fishing from a Boat at 
 Anchor — What Not to Do. 
 
 fOHlHIS fish is good to catch, to eat, and to look at, and 
 ujX therefore takes a high place in the angler's estimation. 
 It is so well known that any description would be superfluous. 
 It abounds on the coasts of the more Southern portions of 
 these isles, and is found, but in less quantities, in the North. 
 Some millions are caught annually in nets and on lines; but 
 enough and to spare are left to meet the requirements of 
 anglers. Formerly, mackerel were supposed to leave our 
 shores during the winter months, and migrate to some 
 unknown region in the North; but it seems probable that 
 they merely retire into deeper water during the cold weather, 
 for they are now taken off the British coast at all seasons 
 of the year. The angler, however, if well advised, will not 
 trouble to seek them in winter, and will probably obtain his 
 best sport during the hottest months of summer. 
 
 Mackerel feed at vai'ious depths, but are mostly taken 
 within a few feet of the surface, when feeding on shoals 
 of small fry, called "brit" or "bret" in Devonshire, and 
 "mint" at Hastings. Sometimes they come so close to the 
 shore that the fishermen run out a seine net and inclose 
 thousands at one haul. On a hot, sunny day, they may be 
 seen breaking the surface, and capital sport may then be 
 obtained by casting gaudy flies among them from a boat, 
 or from the shore if they are near enough. The fish run 
 
FLY FISHING FOR MACKEREL. 89 
 
 about lilb. to 21b. in weight, so tbat very strong tackle is 
 
 not necessary; wbat is known as stout lake gut is quite 
 
 strong enough. If salmon gut is used, the fish can be dragged 
 
 in quicker, and a larger take will be made, unless the wind 
 
 is light, when most fish will be taken on the finer tackle. 
 
 The cast should be 3yds. long, and two or three flies may 
 
 be used. The extra flies are called droppers, and are best 
 
 attached to the line according to the method shown in the 
 
 diagram (Fig. 54), the main length of gut being served with silk 
 
 under the knot ; or the dropper may be 
 
 placed in the centre of a buffer knot. 
 
 The fly for cuddy, with a thinner body, 
 
 answers admirably for mackerel. If the 
 
 fish do not take the fly well, remove the 
 
 tail fly from the cast, put in its place 
 
 a No. 13 hook, and pass the point 
 
 through one end of a strip of mackerel 
 
 , . , , AN m , i -, , i j i Fig. 54. Method of Fasten- 
 
 skin (see page 40). Ihe bait should be i NG Droppers on to Fly 
 
 cast and worked, like a fly, in little Lines. 
 
 jerks, which gives it the resemblance of 
 
 a small fish struggling to escape from its pursuers. The strip 
 
 of skin is sometimes called a " last," or " lask," and should 
 
 not be cut straight down the side of the fish, but in a 
 
 slanting direction, so that half is belly skin — silver — and 
 
 half side skin — blue. It is the best of all baits for 
 
 mackerel, whether cast as a fly or trailed after a boat. 
 
 Mackerel fishermen often carry a wine cork or bung, on 
 
 which they lay the last, and then stick the point of the 
 
 hook through it. Beyond referring the reader to the remarks 
 
 on fly fishing and tackle in Chapters II. and V., I need only 
 
 add that, if the fish disappear below the surface, the angler, 
 
 if he has no whining or spinning tackle with him, should 
 
 add a light lead at the junction of the main line with the 
 
 cast, and, letting out about 30yds. of line, trail his flies, at the 
 
 rate of three miles an hour, until he falls in with another shoal 
 
 of fish. If they are feeding on the surface, he may take off 
 
 the lead and cast for them as before ; but if they do not 
 
 show themselves, he should continue rowing backwards and 
 
90 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 forwards over the spot where they seem to he. It is more 
 desirahle to row across than with or against the tide, as hy 
 so doing the line does not follow quite in the wake of the 
 boat. A spinning bait, or the "last," rigged on a lightly- 
 leaded trace, and cast out into a shoal, after the manner 
 described in Chapter V., answers quite as well as fly fishing. 
 The bait may be natural or artificial — a small spoon, Hearder's 
 Baby spinner, a silver Devon minnow — in fact, anything lively 
 in motion and bright in appearance. 
 
 Next comes the question, What is the angler to do if no 
 shoals of mackerel are visible? In that case, he must invoke 
 the assistance of an experienced local fisherman, who will take 
 him to the spots frequented by the fish, which spots, by the way, 
 vary with the season, being nearer shore in July and August 
 than in the colder months. Once on the mackerel ground, the 
 boat is sailed or rowed across the tide until the fish are met 
 with, when it is kept moving, as long as possible, through 
 the shoal. The spinning tackle used in bass fishing answers 
 admirably for mackerel, but for fishing from a rowing boat, 
 it need not be so strong. When under sail it is not usual 
 to bring the boat to to land every fish; and to haul a 21b. 
 mackerel up to the side of a boat which is going through the 
 water at three or four miles an hour requires fairly strong 
 tackle — good salmon gat is usually strong enough. Rods are 
 not much used in mackerel fishing from sailing vessels; still, 
 where the boat is travelling slowly, and the fish are near the 
 surface, they have their advantages. The constant hauling in 
 of thick, wet, sea lines with the hands is, to my mind, a thing 
 to be avoided on all possible occasions. But there are times — 
 when the fish are feeding deep down, and 21b., 31b., and 
 even 51b. leads are used — when the rod must be laid aside. 
 Hand-line tackle for railing or whiffing is illustrated in the 
 chapter on tackle, at page 32. In fishing from a rowing 
 boat, a lead of loz. (unless the line is very coarse) will 
 generally be found quite heavy enough; but if the trace is 
 made according to the principle described on page 31, other 
 leads can be added, if necessary. When the fish are not 
 found at one depth, other depths should be tried. About 
 
BAITS FOR MACKEREL. 91 
 
 thirty yards of line is quite enough to let out behind the 
 boat — in fact, a shorter line will occasionally lead to more 
 fish being caught, as winding in a great length of line often 
 consumes valuable time. The only respects in which spinning 
 or trailing tackle for mackerel differs from that used 
 for bass is in being finer, and in the length of gut below the 
 lead being longer — 2yds. to 5yds. in length. A cloudy sky 
 is generally considered best for mackerel fishing, but a 
 bright day will answer nearly as well, if the angler's tackle 
 is fine. 
 
 I have already described what is commonly considered the 
 best trailing bait — the " last " ; but I am inclined to think 
 that a sand-eel, baited as shown on page 28, Fig. 27, or 
 cut in half just before being dropped into the water, 
 the head half only being used, is nearly as good. Any 
 bit of fish-skin will do, if bright, and not too stiff — 
 e.g., a piece cut from a gurnard. When using any baits 
 of this character, unless the fish are biting freely, it is well 
 to jerk the line slightly every minute or so, an action which 
 gives a very life-like motion to the piece of fish-skin. The 
 artificial baits which mackerel will take are legion. Anything 
 that spins, is bright or highly coloured, and not too large, 
 they will rush at eagerly. When unprovided with bait — a not 
 infrequent occurrence — a strip of handkerchief is sometimes 
 placed on the hook, to be replaced by the "last" immediately 
 a mackerel is caught. A piece of clay pipe stem on the hook 
 shank is much believed in by some fishermen. If the Devon 
 minnow is used, it is best to have it either all silver or all 
 gold, and to have the hooks mounted on fine gimp. It is 
 ordinarily made with four triangles of hooks; but these are 
 too many for mackerel fishing. A couple of hooks, lashed 
 together at the tail, and a triangle on each side, will be found 
 more than sufficient — in fact, the latter may be dispensed 
 with. If a number of triangles are used, too much time is 
 lost in unhooking the fish. 
 
 It is asserted by fishermen, that when two lines are out, and 
 mackerel are hooked on each, both fish should not be hauled 
 in at once, but that one fish should be left out for the shoal 
 
92 ANGLING IN SALT WATEK. 
 
 to follow, until the other is taken off the line, and the hook 
 — rebaited if necessary — returned to the water. The natural 
 supposition would be that the struggles of a hooked fish 
 would alarm its companions; but fish are incomprehensible 
 things, and there may be something in the idea. It is a well- 
 known fact that perch and chub will follow a hooked brother 
 to the very side of the boat; and there are instances on 
 record of jack, trout, and salmon, when in pairs, having 
 suffered by their devotion for a dying comrade, by meeting 
 an inglorious death in the landing-net or on the gaff. 
 
 The methods already described are those most commonly 
 in use; but during the months of August, September, and 
 October, mackerel may be fished for with some success from 
 a boat at anchor. The best bait is a small live sand-eel, and 
 the tackle is similar to that used for pollack, a description 
 of which is given in Chapter VI. It is, of course, made up 
 finer, as the fish are smaller. If the sand-eels run large, they 
 should be cut in half. When fishing for pollack and bass 
 with sand-eels, the angler may sometimes find his hook 
 robbed of the bait in an inexplicable manner. "When this 
 happens, a very small sand-eel, or half a large one, should be 
 put on the hook, and shortly afterwards a shining mackerel 
 will very likely be lifted over the side. In ground fishing 
 for mackerel the bait should, as a rule, be kept near bottom. 
 If the water is deep, no float can be used; but if the depth 
 is 20ft. or less, a float is an advantage. The depth should 
 always be taken before commencing to fish, and the line 
 adjusted accordingly. If the fish are not found near the 
 bottom, other depths should be tried. Off the Channel Islands, 
 many mackerel are caught in this way at night, particularly 
 when it is moonlight. If sand-eels cannot be obtained, 
 pilchard guts should be used. It is not a bad plan to run 
 a piece of squid up the shank of the hook, and put some 
 pilchard gut on the point. Failing these baits, there are 
 ragworms and mussels; but they are not nearly so good, 
 and I am inclined to think that the beard of an oyster would 
 be better. If the tide runs strongly, a strip of mackerel skin 
 may be tried, cut, and placed on the hook in the manner 
 
AMERICAN METHOD OP MACKEREL FISHING. 93 
 
 already described, and worked vigorously in the water, to 
 make it as life-like as possible. 
 
 When mackerel are close in shore, during the early autumn, 
 they may often be taken from pierheads and in harbours in 
 the manner just described, and more during the night than 
 the day. In these positions ground-bait should be used, pil- 
 chard or herring refuse being the best. It can be let down 
 in a net close to the bait, and the cord shaken occasionally. 
 
 American mackerel fishermen use ground-bait largely, having 
 mills in which herrings are pounded up for the purpose. When 
 the mackerel have been attracted together, a bright metal fish, 
 well armed with hooks, is let down among them and jigged 
 about; it is eagerly taken by the fish. 
 
 So much, then, for what to do. A few lines on what not to do, 
 and the chapter is at an end. Do not, when yachting with a 
 friend, and his beautiful craft is making her eight knots an 
 hour — do not then get out the spinning rod, and a trace 
 bearing a |oz. lead, and patiently sit watching your spoon- 
 bait skip from wave-top to wave-top, as the yacht dashes 
 through the water. Rather, if your friend wants a fish or 
 two, induce him to shorten sail and to take a very slow turn 
 across the tide, you, meanwhile, having either put a ilb. lead 
 on your trace, or prepared a hand-line, bearing a lead 
 weighing lib. or more, according to the pace at which the 
 yacht is going. On meeting with fish, change the artificial 
 for a "last," and sail through the shoal backwards and for- 
 wards as long as possible. If your friend won't reduce sail 
 at your request, some good may be done with a very strong 
 hand-line and a 51b., or even heavier, lead. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 SOME OTHER SEA EISE. 
 
 Braize — Bream — Brill — Chad — Cod — Conger — Dab — Dogfish — 
 Dory — Flounder — Garfish — Gurnard — Haddock — Blake — 
 Halibut — Herring — Horse Mackerel — Ling — Plaice — Poor 
 Cod — Bed Mullet — Sea Trout — Skate— Smelt — Sole — Turbot 
 — Whiting — Whiting Pout — Wrasse. 
 
 TS preceding chapters I have described at length, and 
 j3jC in detail, various methods by which bass, pollack, grey 
 mullet, and mackerel — the four fish most highly esteemed by 
 the angler — are to be captured, and have also devoted a chap- 
 ter to sea fishing and angling generally. By the methods 
 described, with a few slight modifications, almost any of the 
 fish which are found on our coasts may be caught, and 
 therefore, in running quickly through a number of British sea 
 fish, I propose to make my remarks as concise as possible, 
 and to avoid needless repetition. Should the reader be in doubt 
 as to how to set about catching any of the fish described, 
 — a state of things which it will be my duty to prevent as 
 far as possible — I would advise him to read carefully the 
 earlier chapters, and, instead of endeavouring to find instruc- 
 tions and to copy them to the smallest detail — in other words, 
 to fish by rule of thumb — let him rather obtain general ideas 
 on the subject, and apply them with what modifications 
 circumstances may make necessary. Given a piece of salt 
 water containing a certain kind of fish — the problem being 
 how to catch them — the first thing to do is to consider what 
 bait they will take, and, secondly, the best means of placing 
 
BRAIZE AND BREAM. 95 
 
 that bait before them. "With reference to the first point, the 
 expei-ience of others must be the guide; but as to the other, 
 the angler having determined at what depth the fish probably 
 are, must so arrange his tackle that the bait reaches them. 
 For instance, in shallow water the float tackle can be used, 
 heavily leaded if the tide be strong, lightly if it be slack. If 
 the fish are bottom feeders, the float must be arranged so as 
 to bring the bait on the bottom, or the leger, or paternoster 
 with lowest hook close to the lead, may be used. For very 
 deep water heavy leads are necessary, and for deep water 
 combined with a strong tide, very heavy leads. As a matter 
 of fact, everything depends on circumstances, which vaiy 
 with the season and locality; and the man who has not the 
 intelligence to adapt his tackle and methods of fishing to 
 circumstances, need never expect to become an angler. Apolo- 
 gising for this slight digression, I have only to add that, for 
 convenience of reference, the fish in this chapter are arranged 
 alphabetically. 
 
 The Braize or Becker. — This fish is a member of the 
 bream family, and is not taken in large quantities on our 
 coasts. Its back is blue, sides and belly silvery. It feeds 
 both on the bottom and in mid-water, and, as it has a par- 
 tiality for mussels and ragworms, is sometimes taken by pout 
 and whiting fishers on their paternosters or hand-lines. It is 
 not often specially fished for. 
 
 The Bream, Chad-bream, Brim, or Bed Gilt-head. — 
 The sea bream is a large, handsome fish, somewhat prickly 
 to handle, and poor to eat. It is found all round our coasts 
 in large numbers, but is most abundant off Sussex, Devon, and 
 Cornwall. The largest fish, weighing five or six pounds, are, 
 as a rule, only caught so far out at sea that the depth of water 
 renders angling impossible. Hand-lines with heavy leads are 
 generally used, the bait being kept two or three feet from the 
 bottom. "Where the water is not too deep, bream may be taken 
 on the rod with paternoster tackle, but in shallow water it 
 is almost useless to angle for any but very small fish during 
 the day. In deep water, when there is little light, and where 
 semi-darkness prevails, they will bite at all times. The baits 
 
96 ANGLING IN SALT WATEK. 
 
 for bream are sand-eels — which are best of all — pieces of 
 pilchard or herring, mussels, or ragworms. Mr. Wilcocks par- 
 ticularly recommends the soft part of a limpet. In cutting 
 this bait, a small portion of the hard part is retained, through 
 which the point of the hook is put to keep the bait in position. 
 The hook should be any size between No. 12 and No. 15, 
 according to the bait used, and the run of the fish. Ground- 
 bait is very desirable, placed in a net and sunk, as already 
 described. Pilchard guts are best for this purpose, but, failing 
 these, other mixtures may be tried. The young of bream are 
 called chads, and, during the summer months, are taken in 
 large numbers with the rod and line from piers, in harbours, 
 and off the coasts of Devon and Cornwall. The best tackle 
 is the paternoster; the best baits, ragworms and pilchard guts. 
 The ground-bait net should always be used. The bream feeds 
 at various depths. The bottom should be tried first, then mid- 
 water, and even nearer still to the sui-face ; but for this the 
 paternoster is no use, unless a large float is put on the line 
 just above the gut length, and the tackle allowed to be carried 
 out by the tide. Care should be taken that the net is at the 
 same depth as the hooks, and that the ground-bait is washed 
 from it to the hooks. Most bream are caught during the 
 summer months. 
 
 The Brill. — This well-known flat fish is very rarely taken by 
 the amateur sea fisherman, unless he is the owner of a trawl 
 net. They frequent banks, and will take a large variety of 
 baits, especially sand-eels and smelts. 
 
 Chad are the young of the sea bream. 
 
 The Cod. — This most valuable food fish now and again 
 falls a victim to the angler, more often, indeed, than is generally 
 supposed. Only a few days back I read in a paper devoted 
 to angling and anglers, that during the week three fine cod 
 of eighteen, twenty, and twenty-eight pounds, were landed 
 from the pier at llfracombe. The places where codfish of 
 this size can be taken from the shore are very few and 
 far between. For these big fish very strong tackle is generally 
 used, but if a salmon of twenty or thirty pounds can be killed 
 
THE CONGEE. 97 
 
 on a single strand of gut, I do not see why anything stronger 
 should be necessary for cod. Squid is, undoubtedly, the best 
 bait, though pilchard, sprat, sand-eel, and herring are all good; 
 whelks can be tried if the other baits are not obtainable. 
 The hooks should be No. 19, or even larger, for the cod likes 
 a good mouthful, and usually disdains anything small. Pater- 
 noster or leger tackle is as good as any, and if hand-lines are 
 being used in very deep water, the Kentish rig, described at 
 end of Chapter IV., of suitable strength with large hooks, 
 answers admirably. Off the North coast of Scotland, large 
 numbers of cod are caught on hand-lines, but in the English 
 Channel the most the angler must expect are codlings. Still, as 
 I have said, there are places — Ilfracombe, for instance — where a 
 fair number of large cod are caught from the shore during the 
 year. 
 
 The Conger is a marine eel, and the largest of its kind. 
 It grows to an immense size, and I have heard of them being 
 taken over a hundred pounds in weight. When at Ilfracombe, 
 one winter, I saw the upper half of a conger brought in by 
 two fishermen. The fish was so strong and large that they 
 were unable to get the whole of it into their boat, and were 
 forced to cut it in half, and let the tail portion drop back 
 into the sea. From the weight of the portion brought in, it 
 seemed likely that the eel would have weighed about a hundred 
 pounds. I saw no reason to disbelieve their story, as a fish 
 of that weight would be immensely strong. Anglers from piers 
 and jetties rarely catch conger over six or seven pounds weight, 
 so that the tackle required need not be extraordinarily coarse. 
 A paternoster, or leger made of stout gimp, is advisable, and 
 between the hooks and the main line should be a swivel (see 
 page 23). It is not a bad plan to lay out a conger line when 
 angling for other fish. Gimp cannot be knotted to an eyed 
 hook. The best plan is to put ^in. of the gimp through the 
 eye, and then lash it strongly to the shank of the hook with 
 well-waxed thread or hemp. Conger rarely take a bait during 
 the daytime, except in very deep water, where the light 
 hardly penetrates. They are not often found on a sandy or 
 muddy bottom, their home being among rocks. To get really 
 
 H 
 
98 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 good takes of these eels, it is necessary to fish off a rocky 
 coast, such as that of Cornwall or the North of Scotland. 
 Angling in the ordinary sense of the word is out of the ques- 
 tion, for extremely strong tackle has to be used to dislodge the 
 fish from their strongholds, where they often manage to retire 
 on being hooked. Stout ordinary ground-lines are used, the 
 Kentish rig (see Chapter IV.) being as good as any. The hooks 
 for this fishing must be strong in the wire, and of considerable 
 size, not less than half as large again as the largest hook 
 figured on page 17. On the length of snooding, between the 
 hook and the spreader, should be one very strong brass swivel. 
 Unless the bottom is sand, the baits are fished near, but not 
 on, the bottom. I need hardly say that, fishing for big congers 
 being neai'ly always done from a boat, a fisherman who knows 
 the marks of the best grounds must accompany the amateur. 
 The best sport is obtained on dark nights. Though a voracious 
 fish, the conger is rather particular in his baits — they must 
 be soft and fresh. Squid is probably the best, being closely 
 followed by pilchards, sprats, herrings, and mackerel. The 
 principal bones should be taken out of fish baits, and squid 
 should be beaten to make it tender. A very strong gaff is 
 necessary to land a conger, and the fish should be stunned 
 by repeated blows on the head and near the tail with a short 
 staff kept for the purpose. Never hold up a conger — 
 or, indeed, any other eel — by the line. The portion of the 
 fish which is eatable is from the neck downwards for a 
 few inches. In the hands of a skilful cook much can be 
 done with it, and it has been whispered that there are 
 vendors of real turtle soup who make large purchases of 
 sea eels. 
 
 The Dab is a small, flat fish, found in most of our harbours, 
 estuaries, and sheltered bays, of which the bottom is sand or 
 mud, and, indeed, on most sandy bottoms round our coasts. 
 It is often mistaken for the flounder, but may be known by 
 being rough on the back and clear looking. Dabs are excel- 
 lent eating, especially in the spring, when they are in their 
 best condition. The tackle to use for them is the leger; 
 the gut may be fine, and the hook about No. 7 or No. 8. 
 
DOGFISH, DORY, FLOUNDER, AND GARFISH. 99 
 
 Lugworms ; peeled, unboiled shrimps ; and mussels, are the best 
 baits, and ragworms are also taken freely. 
 
 The Dogfish is the bete noir of the hand-line fisher. In 
 shape it is like a small shark. It has a spine in its tail, which 
 inflicts a nasty and sometimes a poisonous wound. It takes any 
 bait, is absolutely worthless when caught, and no one dreams 
 of fishing for it. Large ones drive other fish away. 
 
 Dory. — This curious-looking fish is not often taken by 
 the angler. It is, in shape, somewhat like a flat fish set on edge, 
 has a lantern-jawed kind of head, and is of a golden olive- 
 brown colour. It takes a live bait, and also a spinning bait, 
 but the latter rarely. It is never specially fished for, but 
 when one is seen, an endeavour should be made to catch it, for 
 it is most excellent eating. The best plan is to put any small 
 live fish on a hook, and get it, by float-tackle or drift-line, in 
 front of the doiy, which will probably take it. 
 
 The Flounder is a flat fish, usually of small size, which is 
 found mostly in harbours and estuaries, and sometimes pushes 
 its way up into perfectly fresh water. Of late years a number 
 have been placed in the Thames by the Thames Angling 
 Preservation Society, above Teddington, where they appear to 
 do well. Many are taken in the Canterbury Stour, where the 
 water is not even brackish. They may be known from the 
 dab by their smooth backs, and they lack the clear appearance 
 of their little cousin. Leger tackle, with two or more hooks, 
 is best suited for them, and tho best baits are soft crab, rag- 
 worms, shrimps, and lugworms. The first-named is to be pre- 
 ferred. In fresh or brackish water they take earthworms. 
 They are in best condition during the winter and early spring. 
 
 The Garfish, Sea Pike, Longnose, Snipe Eel, or Sea 
 Needle, is a long, slender fish, of greenish hue, with a bill not 
 unlike that of a snipe, along which are rows of sharp teeth. 
 It is a deep-sea fish, but comes inshore during the smnmer, 
 and is usually found with shoals of mackerel. It is taken with 
 mackerel lines and baits. Though edible, it is not good eating. 
 It varies in length from 18in. to 4ft., and is a fine bait for 
 whiting. 
 
 H 2 
 
100 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 Gurnard, or Gurnet. — There are two common varieties 
 of this fish, the red and the grey. They may be known by 
 their large, square-shaped heads, which are out of all propor- 
 tion to their bodies, and large, spinous dorsal fins. They are 
 very abundant round our coasts, and will take almost any bait. 
 They are to be caught near the bottom with paternoster tackle, 
 and also with mackerel tackle and baits. They do not run 
 very large, and are fairly good eating. They are mostly taken 
 when whiting fishing. 
 
 Haddock. — These fish are too well known to need de- 
 scription. They are plentiful off the East Coast and round 
 Scotland, but are found on all the shores of the United 
 Kingdom. They swim in large shoals, and are uncertain in 
 their feeding grounds, frequently shifting their position, pro- 
 bably in search of food. About two or three pounds is the 
 common weight, but they have been taken as heavy as fourteen 
 pounds. They are fished for near the bottom with the pater- 
 noster or hand-line tackle, and mussels are the standard 
 baits; pilchards, sprats, mackerels, and herrings are also 
 good, and a hook baited with squid and tipped with a mussel 
 is considered very killing. 
 
 The Hake is a voracious fish, which follows and levies toll 
 upon shoals of pilchards and herrings. It is not often taken 
 by the amateur fisherman, who, if he would go a "haking," 
 must make friends with the crew of a pilchard boat, and join 
 them on one of their expeditions, for, as the hake follows the 
 pilchards, these two fish can be captured at the same time — 
 while the lines are out for the one, drift nets are out for the 
 other. Hake vary from about four to fourteen pounds in 
 weight, and require strong tackle. The hook should be three 
 times as large as the largest in the scale given in this book, 
 and must be mounted on gimp, for the hake has many and 
 sharp teeth. The fishing is nearly always done at night, and 
 is generally unsuccessful during the day. A very heavy pater- 
 noster can be used with a rod, but one hook will be found 
 quite sufficient. The best bait is a whole pilchai'd. The 
 professional fishermen, of course, use hand-lines of various 
 patterns, of which one is as good as the other, the chief point 
 
HALIBUT, HERRING, AND HORSE MACKEREL. 101 
 
 being to have the right weight of lead so that the fish may- 
 see the bait. Hake feed at vai'ious depths, and if not met 
 with near the bottom, the line should be shortened. They 
 are very fair eating, and more generally appreciated than was 
 the case a few years back. They visit all our coasts, but are 
 more abundant off Devon, Cornwall, and the South-west of 
 Ireland tban elsewhere. 
 
 The Halibut is an immense, flat fish, which attains the 
 weight of five hundred pounds. It is caught more frequently in 
 the North than off the South coast. As a rule, it takes a large 
 fish, which has previously been hooked, and more often than 
 not it goes off with the fisherman's lines. Some friends of 
 mine, fishing for cod in the North of Scotland, got hold of 
 a halibut, which towed the boat about for an hour; but, 
 finally, they brought him to the surface. They then tried to 
 improve their hold by sticking the hooks of other lines into 
 him, but his hide was too hard for that. Finally, while they 
 were endeavouring to get a noose round him — their idea being, 
 I suppose, to tow him ashore — the boat lurched, the line broke, 
 and the halibut lived to fight another day. In The Field 
 of July 9, 1881, was recorded the capture of a halibut weighing 
 2cwt. It was caught on a line set for cod, and had taken a 
 cod weighing 21b. If anyone is inclined to fish for these 
 monsters, let him use strong tackle, large hooks, and a whole 
 squid, or any good-sized fish, as bait. 
 
 Herring. — This well-known fish is not often sought 
 after by the angler, but I mention it here because, in some 
 places, it takes a white fly well, and affords excellent sport. 
 In Strangford Lough, Co. Down, Ireland, many herrings are 
 taken in this way. The same thing occurs occasionally in 
 some of the Scotch sea lochs. 
 
 The Horse Mackerel, or Scad, is taken incidentally when 
 angling for other fish, particularly mackerel and pollack. It is 
 poor eating, and has two spines on the belly, near the tail, which 
 it knows how to use to the best advantage. It is sometimes 
 taken when angling from piers or the shore with a paternoster, 
 but is more often caught some distance from the shore. 
 
102 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 The Ling is an ugly, badly-proportioned fish, which, to 
 the casual observer, has the appearance of being a cros3 
 between a cod and a conger. It will take any good-sized 
 bait, and is by no means difficult of capture. Ling are caught 
 on conger and cod lines, take the same baits, and are fished 
 for in the same manner. They prefer a rocky bottom to any 
 other, are found all round otir coasts, and abound off Corn- 
 wall, the Scilly Isles, and some parts of Ireland. 
 
 Plaice. — Small specimens of this well-known flat fish are 
 often taken by the dab or flounder fisher, but the larger fish 
 are found at some distance from the coast. They like a sandy 
 or muddy bottom, and the usual baits are ragworms, lugworms, 
 or shrimps raw or boiled. I have caught several large ones 
 when baiting with mussels. Plaice of three pounds give 
 fine sport on light tackle. When plentiful, they are well worth 
 fishing for. Leger tackle should be used, with No. 12 hooks. 
 
 Power, Poor Cod, Pouting, White Eyes, or Gilli- 
 gant. — A small member of the cod family, only a few inches 
 in length. It abounds off the coast of Devonshire, and large 
 numbers are taken by persons fishing for whiting and pout. 
 The best bait is the ragworm. 
 
 The Red Mullet, or Surmullet, is not often caught by 
 the angler. It is found principally on the South and South- 
 east coasts of England during the summer, and is taken on 
 lines, in much the same places as smelts, and with the same 
 baits. The large majority of the limited number which fall 
 victims to hooks and lines are taken on trots, or spillers — 
 the sea fisherman's equivalent of the poacher's night-line. I 
 imagine that few salt-water anglers ever fish specially for 
 red mullet, they are so rarely caught. Among the baits which 
 they are recorded to have taken are lugworms, varm — the sea 
 tapeworm, found in the Channel Islands by digging under rocks, 
 close to low water mark — slips of fresh sardine or bits of 
 squid (in the Mediterranean), a slip from the tail of a cavally 
 (at St. Vincent, Cape de Verde), and ragworms. As red 
 mullet are not often taken over 14in. or 15in. in length, fine 
 gut tackle should be used, the same as I have advised for 
 
THE SEA TROUT. 103 
 
 smelt fishing. Mullet caught in nets sometimes run much 
 larger. 
 
 The Sea Trout. — For the first time this fish is included in a 
 work on sea fishing * and I include it for the simple and sufficient 
 reason that it is occasionally caught in the sea, and that 
 sea-trout fishing in salt water is a recognised branch of 
 angling. Naturalists and writers on angling have, from time 
 to time, been involved in discussions as to the number of 
 varieties of migratory trout. Personally, I incline to the 
 view that the number of species is very limited, and that 
 several so-called species owe their existence to careless 
 observers, who, on seeing a sea trout differing slightly in 
 appearance from his brothers — a difference brought about, 
 in all probability, either by some peculiarity in his food 
 or surroundings — at once imagine that they have found a 
 new species. I am not sure whether such fish may even 
 be termed new varieties, for under different circumstances 
 they quickly lose their peculiarities, and come out ordinary 
 sea trout. A barren hen ofttimes puts on cock's plumage, but 
 she is none the more a new variety or new species. These 
 remarks seem to me necessary because the reader of this book 
 may find himself considerably puzzled by the various names 
 given to the sea trout in different places. For the purposes 
 of this work, I include in the term sea-trout all those trout 
 which, like salmon, live in the sea, and only come into our 
 rivers to deposit their eggs and increase their species. 
 
 It is while sea-trout are waiting in bays and inlets of 
 the sea for a rise of water in the rivers to enable them 
 to ascend to their spawning grounds, that they are to be 
 caught by the salt-water angler. The best bait is a dead 
 sand-eel, which may merely be dragged along, or be given a 
 brilliant spin by being mounted on a Chapman spinner, 
 without lead on the spike, and with rather small fans (see 
 Fig. 26, page 28). Two triangles are sufficient — one near 
 the shoulders of the bait, the other close to the end of its 
 tail; but opposite to the shoulder triangle a single hook 
 should be lashed, which is merely used to stick in the bait, 
 
 * Further information on this subject is given in " Angling for Game Fish." 
 
104 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 so that the pull on each side is equal. The Chapman spinner 
 (shown on page 27) frequently requires some little modifi- 
 cation to adapt it to the shapes of various baits. The trace 
 (see page 30), and also the mounting of the spinner, should 
 be of ordinary salmon gut, and the lead should be, as a rule, 
 light, not more than ^oz. in weight. Occasionally, sea trout 
 feed near the bottom, when heavier leads should be used. 
 This fishing is usually done from a boat near the mouths of 
 rivers. The bait is trailed about thirty yards or more behind, 
 and the boat should be rowed rather quickly. Sea trouting 
 is not at all confined to a short season, for, from early spring 
 to late autumn, the fish are running up, or waiting to run up, 
 rivers. In the South of England it is rather an unusual 
 thing for sea trout to take a bait in salt water; but in the 
 North of Scotland, and notably the Kyles of Durness and 
 Tongue, many fish are taken this way. Sea trout are so little 
 sought after in salt water that I am quite sure there are 
 many bays and sea lochs, especially in the North of Scotland, 
 which have not yet been fished, where first-rate sport may be 
 had. As sand-eels are not easy to obtain, the angler should 
 provide himself with some artificial baits. I have found 
 small Devon minnows (silver, with a little transparent paint 
 of a golden-brown colour on the back), and " halcyons," as 
 good as any. The latter are practically Alexandra flies, fitted 
 with a pair of fans to make them spin. As a matter of fact, 
 sea trout will take almost anything in motion which is not 
 too large, and glitters. In fresh water I have what may be 
 termed the bad taste to prefer fly fishing for sea trout, to 
 salmon or any other kind of fishing, and I incline to the 
 opinion that, in salt water, where plentiful and on the feed, 
 no fish afford better sport. 
 
 As sea trout and salmon do not generally ascend rivers, 
 except in times of flood, it follows that during a long drought 
 a large number of fish collect at the mouths of rivers, and the 
 success of the salt-water angler is then greatest. The fish 
 sometimes take the bait best when the water in the rivers is 
 just beginning to rise, and they are working up close to 
 the river's mouth. 
 
SKATE, SMELT, SOLE, TTTEBOT, AND WHITING. 105 
 
 The Skate. — The skate, with, its first cousins, the thornback 
 and homelyn, finds place among those fish which are not specially 
 angled for, but which come to bag now and again when whiting 
 or conger fishing. They are large, flat fish, are found on sandy 
 and muddy bottoms, and have a liking for sand-eels, but will 
 take most fish baits. 
 
 Smelt and Sand-Smelt. — These delicate little fish, 
 which are found mostly in harbours and sheltered bays with 
 sandy bottoms, are easily caught in numbers with the rod and 
 line. I have already said all that need be said on the subject 
 on pages 44 and 52, to which the reader is referred. 
 
 Sole. — This admirable flat fish is not often taken by 
 the angler. It comes to hand occasionally when night fishing 
 with the sea leger (see page 24) on those muddy, oozy bottoms, 
 in which most flat fish delight. Lugworms are the best bait. 
 Any reader of this book possessing influence, either with sea 
 fishermen or our rulers, will do a national service if he uses 
 that influence to prevent the taking of immature soles — a 
 practice which is slowly destroying our sole fisheries. 
 
 Tnrbot. — A very limited number of my readers are 
 likely to catch turbot. These fish are found on banks well 
 known to the fishermen, and, when the spring trawling is over, 
 are sought after in rather deeper water with hooks and lines. 
 Smelts, sand-eels, herrings, and other fish baits are used, but 
 the turbot shows a decided preference for live baits, and on 
 this account the Dutch fishermen, who do an immense amount 
 of turbot fishing, bait their lines with lamperns, which are 
 very tenacious of life. The hooks for turbot should be large 
 and strong. Turbot are not always fished for close to the 
 bottom, though that is their general feeding-place. 
 
 Whiting. — Whiting are indescribably numerous all round 
 our coasts, and are taken in large numbers both by anglers 
 and professional fishermen. The general size is a pound 
 or a little more, but in some places they reach several pounds 
 in weight. Mr. Wilcocks says that the finest run of whiting 
 he ever saw caught averaged not more than two pounds. 
 They are usually found on banks of sandy mud, in from 
 
106 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 ten to about thirty fathoms, and, like most fish, prefer 
 shallow water in summer. Small ones are often caught off 
 pier-heads, but the larger fish are nearly always taken in 
 deeper water. Whiting are in the markets all through the 
 yeai 1 , but they hardly come within approachable distance of 
 the angler until the spring. The largest and best- conditioned 
 fish are caught in the summer and autumn. Visitors to South 
 coast watering places, who are taken short distances out to 
 sea by local fishermen for a few hours' hand-lining, do not 
 often catch very many whiting, but unlimited numbers of 
 pout and dogfish. The simple reason of this is that the fisher- 
 men do not, as a rule, take their customers to the best whiting 
 grounds, which are further out. A stranger to the coast 
 cannot find these places, as they are only discovered by acci- 
 dent, and are well known to the local men by certain marks, 
 which, when found, should always be made a note of. I hardly 
 know of a fish which repays the angler more for using fine 
 tackle than whiting, a fact which professional fishermen 
 appear to be gradually finding out, as many of them 
 now use hooks mounted on gut. As to tackle, the great 
 thing being to get the bait to the bottom, and keep 
 it there, it is obvious that many kinds may be, and are, 
 used. The best for the angler is, undoubtedly, the pater- 
 noster; and only when the depth of water is considerable, and 
 the tide so strong that a lead of over £lb. becomes essential, 
 should the rod and paternoster be dispensed with in favour of 
 hand-lines. Of these, the best is the Kentish Rig, illustrated 
 in Chapter IY. The paternoster should be of moderately stout 
 gut, and the hooks No. 9 or No. 10, the lowest one placed 6in. 
 above the lead, and two others at distances of 2ft. If hand- 
 lines are necessaiy, the hooks should be mounted on at least 
 2ft. of gut. The ground-bait net should always be used (see 
 page 45). Most commonly the boat is moored ; but sometimes 
 it is allowed to drift with the tide, fish being picked up here 
 and there. In hand-line fishing, the lead is dropped to the 
 bottom, and then raised 2ft. if the boat is moored, 3ft. if 
 drifting, so that the baits do not touch the bottom. They 
 should not do this in any case, and, the snooding being 2ft. 
 
"WHITING POUT AND WKASS3. 107 
 
 to 3ft. long, they are only kept from doing so, when the 
 boat is moored, by the run of the tide. With paternoster 
 tackle the lead, of course, rests on the ground. The best 
 baits are pilchards or their guts, large mussels, herrings, 
 squid, and lugworms. Pilchards and herrings have to be 
 scaled, split down the middle, boned, and tbe sides cut into 
 short strips, half silver and half blue — i.e., half back and half 
 belly. The size of the hook sufficiently determines the size 
 of the bait. Whiting often afford very good sport at night, 
 and bite particularly well in the early morning. 
 
 The Whiting Pout, or Rock Whiting.— If this fish 
 became exterminated, of which there seems no probability, 
 the fishermen of our South Coast watering-places, who make 
 a living by taking excursionists out whiting (?) fishing, would 
 quickly lose their business, for whiting pout and dogfish 
 innumerable are the fish they land for their customers. The 
 pout is a small variety of whiting, which is inferior in 
 many respects, particularly in size and edible qualities, to 
 the silver whiting. It is found over or near rocks not far 
 from the coast, and small ones are caught from pier-heads 
 and in harbours. The tackle, and method of using it, for 
 pout is exactly the same as for the silver whiting; but the 
 hooks (No. 7 or No. 8) and baits should be smaller. Ragworms 
 and small mussels are both good baits ; but the pout will take 
 many others, including those named for silver whiting. If 
 nothing better can be obtained, cockles, or the soft part of 
 limpets, may be tried. Many anglers think it an additional 
 attraction to keep raising and lowering the paternoster or 
 hand-line about a foot, the idea being that the movement 
 attracts the fish. A netful of crushed crabs, mussels, and 
 pilchard offal, is far more attractive. 
 
 The Wrasse, or Rockfish. — A very beautiful, but very 
 worthless, fish. It abounds all round our coasts, and is easily 
 taken on the paternoster. The hook should be No. 10, or 
 smaller; and for bait, soft crab, mussels, lugworms or rag- 
 worms. There are several varieties of rockfish, some more 
 beautiful than others. I have frequently caught them when 
 
108 
 
 ANGLING IN SALT WATER. 
 
 pout-fishing ; and they are usually to be had from pier-heads, 
 and even in hai-bours, if there are a few rocks scattered about 
 the foundation of the jetty. Wrasse are not often specially 
 fished for. 
 
 "With these few remarks on wrasse my task comes to an 
 end. It would not have been a difficult matter to fill twice 
 this number of pages with lengthy discourses on angling ; but 
 while knowingly omitting no fact likely to be of use to my 
 readers, I have throughout allowed the spirit of condensation to 
 guide my pen. I venture to hope that the information given is 
 not less than if I had doubled the length of the book. 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 A DJUSTABLE gorge trolling 
 •*•■ hook for pike, Div. ii. page 
 
 84 
 Alexandra fly, the, Div. iii. 46, 78 ; 
 
 Div. iv. 63 
 Anchor, floating, Div. Hi. 81 
 Anecdotes concerning trolling, 
 
 Div. ii. 90 
 Angler, definition of an, Div. i. 30 
 Ants' eggs as a trout-bait, Div. Hi. 
 
 67 
 Archer spinner, Div. ii. 65, 66, 76 ; 
 
 Div. iii. 83 
 Artificial baits for mackerel, Div. 
 
 iv. 90, 91 
 Baits nsed for angling in 
 
 salt water, Div. iv. 29, 30 
 Breeding of trout, Div. iii. 89 
 Atherine, the, as a bait, Div. iv. 44 
 Azurine, Div. i. 127 
 
 BABY spinner, Hoarder's, Div. 
 iv.69 
 
 Back lines, Div. ii. 30 
 
 Bacon-skin bait, Div. iv. 36 
 
 Bag for pike, Div. ii. 40 
 
 Bait, bees as, Div. i. 87 
 
 Blackbeetles as, Div. i. 87 
 Blood as a, Div. i. 49 
 Cheese as a, Div. i. 89, 90 
 Cockchafers as, Div. i. 87 
 Crayfish tail as a, Div. i. 85 
 
 Bait, earthworms as, Div. iv. pages 
 37, 38 
 Earwigs as, Div. i. 38 
 Gentles as, Div. i. 102 
 Grasshoppers as, Div. i. 87 
 Greaves as, Div. i. 76 
 Green peas as, Div. i. 103 
 Gudgeon as a, Div. i. 66, 98 
 Herring as a, Div. iv. 101 
 Herring-roe paste as, Div. i. 
 
 102 
 Horse-mackerel as, Div. iv. 39 
 Mackerel as a, Div. iv. 40 
 Moths as, Div. i. 87 
 Oyster as a, Div. iv. 41 
 Pilchard as a, Div. iv. 41 
 Sand-smelt as a, Div. iv. 44 
 Smelt as a, Div. iv. 44 
 Snails as, Div. iv. 44 
 Sprats as, Div. iv. 44 
 Squid as, Div. iv. 44 
 Wasps as, Div. i. 87 
 Wheat as, Div. i. 41, 42, 46, 
 51, 102 
 Bait-box, Div. i. 29 ; Div. iv. 33 
 Bait-cans, Div. i. 66 ; Div. ii. 35, 
 
 51 
 Baiting-needle, Div. i. 106 ; Div. 
 
 ii. 49 
 Baiting-up swims, Div. i. 62 
 Baits, board on which to cut, Div. 
 iv. 33 
 For barbel, Div. i. 75 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Baits for bass, Div. iv. pages 37-39, 
 
 08, 69, 72 
 For bream, Div. i. Ill ; Div. 
 
 iv. 39, 96 
 For carp, Div. i. 102 
 For chub, Div. t. 85, 87, 89 
 For cod, Div. iv. 37, 39, 40, 
 
 41, 44, 96 
 For conger, Div. iv. 38, 40, 
 
 41,44,97 
 For dab, Div. iv. 41, 42, 98 
 For dace, Div. i. 93 
 For eels, Div. iv. 37, 42, 97 
 For fishing in harbours, Div. 
 
 iv. 51 
 For grey mullet, Div. iv. 38, 
 
 85 
 For gudgeon, Div. i. 99 
 For haddock, Div. iv. 37, 39, 
 
 100 
 For mackerel, artificial, Div. 
 
 iv. 90, 91 
 For perch, Div. i. 65 
 For pollack, Div. iv. 37, 38, 
 
 39, 42, 44, 75, 79 
 For pout, Div. iv. 39, 107 
 For roach, Div. i. 33, 49, 58 
 For sand-smelt, Div. iv. 42, 
 
 44 
 For sea-fishing, Div. iv. 35-45 
 For tench, Div. i. 108 
 For Thames trout, Div. Hi. 92 
 For trolling, Div. ii. 85 
 For whiting, Div. iv. 38, 39, 
 
 40, 105, 107 
 Preserved, Div. ii. 76 
 Banana a roach-bait, Div. i. 49 
 Bank-fishing for roach, Div. i. 38- 
 
 42 
 Barbel, Div. i. 74-80 
 
 Appearance of, Div. i. 74 
 
 Baits for, Div. i. 75 
 
 Capture of, by Francis Francis, 
 
 on single hair, Div. i. 76 
 Clay-ball fishing for, Div. i. 
 
 79 
 Float-fishing for, Div. i. 78 
 Ground-baiting for, Div. i. 76 
 Hooks for, Div. i. 75 
 
 Barbel, legering for, Div. i. pages 
 75-78 
 Playing the, Div. i. 77 
 Taking spinning baits, Div. i. 
 
 75 
 Tight-corking for, Div. i. 78 
 Weight of, Div. i. 74 
 Barbel-fishing in river-pools, Div. 
 
 i. 76 
 Barbel-swims, Div. i. 74 
 Basket for sand-eels, Div. iv. 32 
 Bass, Div. iv. 59-73 
 
 Appearance of, Div. iv. 59 
 Baits for, Div. iv. 37-39, 68, 
 
 69, 72 
 Brixham method of taking, 
 
 Div. iv. 73 
 Fishing for, in harbours, Div. 
 
 iv. 51 
 Fishing for, in the tideway, 
 
 Div. iv. 67, 68 
 Fishing for, with Nottingham 
 
 tackle, Div. iv. 71 
 Fishing from the shore for, 
 
 Div. iv. 72 
 Fishing in a tideway, Div. iv. 
 
 52 
 Fishing with live sand-eel for, 
 
 Div. iv. 70 
 Flies for, Div. iv. 63, 64 
 Fly-fishing for, Div. iv. 61-67 
 Food of the, Div. iv. 61 
 Ground-baiting for, Div. iv. 
 
 72 
 Ground-fishing for, Div. iv. 
 
 72 
 Habits of, Div. iv. 60 
 Spinning for, Div. iv. 68, 
 
 69 
 Weight of, Div. iv. 59 
 Where found, Div. iv. 59 
 Basse, Div. iv. 59 
 Bass-flies, how to fasten, to gut, 
 
 Div. iv. 64, 65 
 Beam-paternoster for pike, Div. ii. 
 
 56,57 
 Becker, Div. iv. 95 
 Bees as bait, Div. i. 87 
 Belgian grub, Div. iv. 79 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Bickerdyke rod top ring, Div.i. page 
 15 ; Div. ii. 23 ; Div. Hi. 
 16 ; Div. iv. 6 
 Billet, Div. iv. 74 
 Binding, silk for, Div. ii. 40 ; Div. 
 
 iv. 33 
 Bindings, finish off of, Div. ii. 38, 
 
 40 ; Div. Hi. 21 
 Birds seized by pike, Div. ii. 4 
 Blaekbeetles as bait, Div. i. 87 
 Black fin, Div. Hi. 7 
 
 Slugs to bait with, Div. i. 86 
 Tail, Div. Hi. 8 
 Bleak, Div. i. 116, 117 
 
 Angling for, Div. i. 117 
 Appearance of, Div. i. 117 
 Fly-fishing for, Div. i. 117 
 How to find, Div. i. 117 
 How to get rid of, Div. i. 51 
 How to preserve for spinning 
 baits, Div. i. 116 
 Blood as a bait, Div. i. 49 
 
 As a ground bait, Div. i. 63 
 Blow-flies, Div. i. 38 
 Blow-line fishing for dace, Div. i. 
 97 
 Fishing on chalk streams, 
 Div. Hi. 47 
 Blue fin, Div. Hi. 7 
 Board to cut baits on, Div. iv. 33 
 Boat for lake-trout fishing, Div. 
 
 iii. 81 
 Bobbing for eels, Div. i. 121 
 Bob-flies, Div. iii. 52 
 Bottom-fishing, hooks for, Div. i. 
 9-21 
 In canals, Div. i. 59 
 Hods for, Div. i. 12-14 
 Box for baits, Div. i. 29 ; Div. iv. 
 33 
 For salmon-flies, Div. Hi. Ill 
 Brains as ground bait for chub, 
 
 Div. i. 89 
 Braize, Div. iv. 95 
 Brandlings, Div. i. 58, 66 ; Div. Hi. 
 
 7 ; Div. iv. 38 
 Bread-and-cheese paste, Div. i. 89 
 Breadcrumbs as ground bait, Div. 
 iv. 45 
 
 Bread-paste as a trout-bait, Div. 
 
 iii. page 67 
 Bream, Div. i. 110-113 ; Div. iv. 95 
 Appearance of, Div. i. 110 
 Baits for, Div. i. Ill ; Div. iv. 
 
 39,96 
 Bites of, Die. t. 113 
 Fishing in the Ouse for, Div. 
 
 i. Ill 
 Float-fishing for, Div. i. 112 
 Ground baits for, Div. t. Ill 
 Haunts and habits of, Div. i. 
 
 110, 111 
 Legering for, Div. i. 112 
 Size of, Div. i. 110 
 Breeding-pond for pike, Div. ii. 8 
 Brewers' grains, Div. i. 63 
 Brill, Div. iv. 96 
 Brim, Div. iv. 95 
 Brixham method of taking bass, 
 
 Div. iv. 73 
 Brown-bread-and-honey paste, Di v. 
 
 i. 108 
 Bucks, Div. i. 120 
 Buffer knot, the, Div. ii. 37, 38 ; 
 
 Div. Hi. 109 
 " Bulging " fish, Div. iii. 38 
 Bull-trout, Div. iii. 7 
 Bumbles, Div. iii. 59 
 Burbolt, Div. i. 126 
 Burn-tails, Div. iii. 8 
 Bustard fishing, Div. iii. 64 
 
 CADDIS, Div. i. 38, 75, 93, 
 117 
 Canals, bottom-fishing in, Div. i. 
 59 
 Pike-fishing in, Div. ii. 20 
 Candlemas-grey, Div. iii. 8 
 Cans for bait, Div. i. 66 ; Div. ii. 
 
 35,51 
 Carp, Div. i. 101-106 
 
 Appearance of, Div. i. 101 
 Baits for, Div. t. 102 
 Float fishing for, Div. i. 105 
 Ground-baiting for, Div. i. 
 102, 103 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Carp, habits anrl haunts of, Div. i. 
 
 page 101 
 Legering for, Div. i. 105 
 Size of, Div. i. 101 
 Tackle for, Div. i. 104 
 Carp-culture, Div. i. 101 
 Carp-fishing, triangles for, Div. i. 
 
 100 
 Two days', Div. i. 102-106 
 Without shot or float, Div. i. 
 
 103 
 Cast for fly-fishing in salt water, 
 
 Div. iv. 63 
 How to make up the, for moor- 
 land trout, Div. iii. 51, 52 
 Overhead, Div. iii. 32 
 Spey or switch, Div. iii. 35; 
 
 Div. iv. 66 
 Steeple, Div. iii. 33 
 Twisted, for salmon-fishing, 
 
 Div. iii. 109 
 Underhand, or horizontal, Div. 
 
 iii. 33 
 Casting for salmon, Div. iii. 117 
 In Nottingham style, Div. i. 
 
 44, 69 ; Div. ii. 53, 74, 75 
 Out pike-tackle, Div. ii. 70 
 Paternoster in Thames style, 
 
 Div. i. 70 
 Pike-tackle, Nottingham style 
 
 of, Div. ii. 53, 74, 75 
 Pike-tackle, Thames style of, 
 
 Div. ii. 52 
 The fly, Div. iii. 32-36 
 The paternoster, Div. iv. 49 
 Castle Connell rods, Div. iii. 107 
 Casts for moorland trout, Div. iii. 
 
 52 
 Tips to, Div. iii. 24 
 Chad, Div. iv. 96 
 
 Bream, Div. iv. 95 
 Chalk streams, blow-lino fishing 
 
 on, Div. iii. 47 
 Streams, minnow-fishing in, 
 
 Div. iii. 47 
 Streams, wet-fly fishing in, 
 
 Div. iii. 42-46 
 Streams, worm-fishing in, Div. 
 
 iii. 47 
 
 Chalk-stream trout, Div. iii. -pages 
 5, 12-48 
 Trout, characteristics of, Div. 
 
 iii. 13 
 Trout, flies for, Div. iii. 29-32, 
 
 44, 46 
 Trout, haunts of, Div. iii. 13, 
 
 14 
 Trout, salmon-flies for, Div. 
 
 iii. 46 
 Trout, spawning of, Div. iii. 
 13 
 Chapman spinner, Div. i. 72 ; Div. 
 ii. 3, 64, 65, 76 ; Div. iii. 
 83, 91 ; Did. iv. 27 
 Spinner for sand-eels, Div. iv. 
 
 28, 68 
 Spinner, large pike caught on, 
 Div. ii. 66 
 Char, Div. iii. 6, 101-103 
 
 Colouring of the, Div. iii. 101 
 Flies for, Div. iii. 102 
 Fly-fishing for, Div. iii. 102 
 Interbred with trout, Div. iii. 
 
 102 
 Large, Div. iii. 102 
 Or charr, Div. iii. 101-103 
 " Plumb-line " fishing for, Div. 
 
 iii. 102, 103 
 Spawning season of, Div. iii. 
 
 103 
 Spinning for, Div. iii. 102 
 To distinguish, from trout, 
 
 Div. iii. 101 
 Where found, Div. iii. 101, 
 
 102 
 Worm-fishing for, Div. iii. 103 
 Charts, value of, in sea-fishing, 
 
 Div. iv. 33 
 Cbeese as a bait, Div. i. 89, 90 
 Hook for, Div. i. 88 
 Objections to use of, as a 
 ground bait, Div. i. 77 
 Cherries a carp-bait, Div. i. 102 
 Chervin, Div. iv. 45 
 Chevender, Div. i. 81 
 Chevin, Div. i. 81 
 Chub, Div. i. 81-91 
 
 Baits for, Div. i. 85, 87, 89 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Chub, bottom-fishing for, Div. i. 
 page 87 
 Brains as ground bait for, Div. 
 
 i. 89 
 Dibbing for, Div. i. 87 
 Dry-fly fishing for, Div. i. 83 
 Fishing from punt for, Div. i. 
 
 90 
 Flies for, Div. i. 83 
 Float tackle for, Div. i. 88 
 Fly-fishing for, Div. i. 82-85 
 Haunts of, Div. i. 82 
 How to cook, Div. i. 81 
 How to distinguish, from 
 roach, dace, bream, and 
 rudd, Div. i. 81 
 How to play, Div. i. 90 
 Legering for, Div. i. 87 
 Lobworms for, Div. i. 85 
 Nottingham style of angling 
 
 for, Div. i. 88 
 Stupidity of, Div. i. 91 
 To bait with frog for, Div. i. 
 
 85,86 
 Trent method of angling for, 
 
 Div. i. 88 
 Weight of, Div. i. 82 
 Chub-flies, how to work, Div. i. 83 
 Clark's May-fly, Div. Hi. 40 
 Classification of fish, Div. i. 2 
 Clay-ball fishing for barbel, Div. i. 
 
 79 
 Cleopatra spinning bait, Div. ii. 79 
 Clipper bait, Div. ii. 78 
 
 Bait, Gregory's, Div. iv. 29 
 Clod-fishing for eels, Div. i. 121 
 Close season for coarse fish, Div. i. 3 
 Coalfish, Div. iv. 76-81 
 Coalsey, Div. iv. 74 
 Coarse fish, fishing for, in winter, 
 Dm?, i. 7 
 Fish, haunts of, Div. i. 3-9 
 Cobblers' wax, Div. iv. 33 
 Cochivie, Div. Hi. 7 
 Cockchafers as a bait, Div. i. 87 
 Cockle*, Div. iv. 36 
 Cod, Div. iv. 96 
 
 Baits for, Div. iv. 37, 39, 40, 
 41, 44, 96 
 
 Colley-bait, Div. i. page 123 
 Colloch, Div. i. 123 
 Coloured water, effects of, on fish, 
 Div. i. 7 
 
 Water, fishing in, Div. i. 7-9 
 
 Water, perch-fishing in, Div. 
 i. 71 
 
 Water, roach-fishing in, Div. 
 i. 53-56 
 Colouring shanks of hooks, Div. 
 
 i. 53 
 Comet spinning bait, Div. ii. 80 
 Conger, Div. iv. 97 
 
 Baits for, Div. iv. 38, 40, 41, 
 44,97 
 
 Tackle for, Div. iv. 23 
 Conger-eels, young, a3 baits, Div. 
 
 iv. 38 
 Continent, flies for game fish on 
 
 the, Div. Hi. 60 
 Cooth, Div. iv. 74s 
 Cornish sardines, Div. iv. 41 
 Courge, the, Div. iv. 32 
 Crab, hermit, Div. iv. 37 
 
 Soft, Div. iv. 36 
 
 Soldier, Div. iv. 37 
 Crabs, Div. iv. 36, 37 
 
 As ground bait, Div. iv. 45 
 Crayfish-tail as a bait, Div. i. 85 
 Creed wheat, Div. i. 33 
 Creel, author's, Div. Hi. 25 
 
 For bottom-fishing, Div. i. 30 
 
 For pike, Div. ii. 40 
 
 Kirker's patent, Div. Hi. 54 
 Creels, wooden, Div. Hi. 26 
 Creeper-fishing, Div. Hi. 66 
 Crystal hook, Div. i. 19 
 Cudden, Div. iv. 74 
 Cuddy-fly, Div. iv. 76 
 Cuddy, fly-fishing for, Div. iv. 76 
 Cutting-board for baits, Div. iv. 33 
 Cuttle-fish, Div. iv. 37 
 
 Gaff for, Div. iv. 37 
 
 DAB, Div. iv. 98 
 Baits for, Div. iv. 41, 42, 98 
 Dace, Div. i. 92-97 
 
 Appearance of, Div. i. 02 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Dace, baits for, Div. i. page 93 
 
 Blow-line fishing for, Div. i. 
 
 97 
 Bottom-fishing for, Div. i. 93 
 Canght on May-flies, Div. i. 96 
 Caught on wheat, Div. i. 94 
 Dry-fly fishing for, Div. i. 95 
 Flies for, Div. i. 96 
 Fly-fishing for, Div. i. 94 
 Ground-baiting for, Div. i. 94 
 Haunts of, Div. i. 92, 93 
 How to bait with lobworm for, 
 
 Div. i. 93 
 In barbel-swims, Div. i. 78 
 Large-headed, Div. i. 81 
 Baking for, Div. i. 94 
 Tackle for fly-fishing for, Div. 
 
 i. 94 
 Weight of, Div. i. 92 
 Dace-flies, Div. i. 96 
 Damper box, Div. Hi. 24 
 Dapping, Div. Hi. 47 
 
 With the green drake or 
 May fly, Div. Hi. 82 
 Deal shore tackle, Div. iv. 54 
 Dee minnow tackle, Div. Hi. 72 
 Derbyshire flies, Div. Hi, 59 
 Devon minnow, Div. ii. 80 ; Div. 
 
 Hi. 74, 83, 93 
 Devonshire flies, Div. Hi. 58, 59 
 Dibbing for chub, Div. i. 87 
 
 For trout, Div. Hi. 47 
 Disgorger for pike, Div. ii. 34 
 
 Improved, Div. i. 29 ; Div. 
 iv. 33 
 Dog-fish, Div. iv. 99 
 Dory, Div. iv. 99 
 
 Dress for pike-fisherman, Div. ii. 
 40 
 For salmon-fisherman, Div. 
 Hi. 106 
 Dressing for fly-lines, Div. Hi. 20 
 For pike-lines, Div. ii. 29, 30 
 For salmon-lines, Div. Hi. 109 
 Lines used in bottom-fishing, 
 Div. i. 18 
 Drift-line fishing, Div. iv. 26, 50, 
 
 80 
 Drift lines, Div. iv. 9 
 
 Drop minnow-tackle for trout, 
 
 Div. Hi. page 75 
 Dropper-flies, Div. i. 94 
 
 Marston knot for, Div. i. 95 
 Droppers, Div. Hi. 52 
 
 How to fasten, on to fly -lines, 
 
 Div. iv. 89 
 Knots for, Div. Hi. 53 
 Dry-fly fishing, Div. Hi. 37 
 
 Fishing for chub, Div. i. 83 
 Fishing for dace, Div. i. 95 
 Fishing in moorland streams, 
 
 Div. Hi. 50 
 Fishing, line for, Div. Hi. 
 
 19-21 
 Fishing, rod for, Div. Hi. 14 
 Drying lines, Div. ii. 30, 31 
 
 EARTHWOEMS as baits, Div. 
 iv. 37, 38 
 Earwigs as a bait for roach, Div. 
 
 i. 38 
 Eddies, how to fish, Div. i. 55, 58 
 Edible qualities of pike, Div. ii. 5 
 Eel-pout, Div. i. 126 
 Eels, Div. i. 118-122 
 
 Baits for, Div. iv. 37, 42, 97 
 Bobbing for, Div. i. 121 
 Caught on table fork, Div. i. 
 
 122 
 Clod-fishing for, Div. i. 121 
 Ground-bait for, Div. i. 120 
 Habits and haunts of, Div. i. 
 
 119 
 Legering for, Div. i. 119 
 Nets, wheels, and bucks for, 
 
 Div. i. 120 
 Snaring, Div. i. 122 
 Sniggling for, Div. i. 121 
 Varieties of, Div. i. 118 
 Eel-spear, improved, Div. i. 119 
 Eel-tail bait, Div. Hi. 121 
 
 For pike-fishing, Div. ii. 77 
 Egg paste as a trout-bait, Div. 
 
 Hi. 67 
 Eyed hook, loop, Div. Hi. 110 
 
 Hooks, Div. i. 96 ; Div. Hi. 
 26; Div. iv. 13 
 
GENEBAL INDEX. 
 
 Eyed hook?, gut loops on, Biv. Hi. 
 
 page 110 
 Hooks, knot for bass flies on, 
 
 Biv. iv, 64, 65 
 Hooks, knot for large flies 
 
 dressed on, Biv. i. 84 
 Hooks, knot for small, Biv. i. 
 
 21 
 Hooks, knots for, Biv. i. 21, 
 
 84 ; Biv. Hi. 27, 28 ; Biv. 
 
 iv. 15 
 Hooks, patent, Biv. Hi. 110; 
 
 Biv. iv. 18 
 
 FASTENING eyed hooks to gut, 
 Biv. i. 21 
 For ferrules, Biv. i. 15 
 Fastenings for rod-joints, Biv. ii. 
 
 24 
 Fern-web — bait for trout, Biv. Hi. 
 
 67 
 Ferox, Biv. Hi. 77 
 Ferrule, flexible, Biv. Hi. 17 
 
 Suction, Biv. Hi. 17 
 Ferrules, advantages and disad- 
 vantages of, Biv. iv. 7 
 Fastening for, Biv. i. 15 
 For pike-rods, Biv. ii. 24, 25 
 To repair broken, Biv. ii. 25 
 File for sharpening hooks, Biv. ii. 
 
 81 ; Biv. iv. 33 
 Fine tackle, the importance of, for 
 
 sea-fishing, Biv iv. 46 
 Finish off of bindings, Biv. ii. 3S, 
 
 40 ; Biv. Hi. 21 
 Fingerling, Biv. Hi. 7 
 Finnock, Biv. Hi. 7 
 Fish, classification of, Biv. i. 2 
 Fish-culture, Biv. ii. 7 ; Biv. Hi. 
 8-11 
 Experiments in, at Howietoun, 
 Biv. Hi. 85 
 Fittings for fly-rod, Biv. Hi. 16 
 Fl mnel-weed, Biv. i. 48 
 Flies, bass, Biv. iv. 63, 64 
 
 Chalk-stream trout, Biv. Hi. 
 
 29 32, 44-46 
 Char, Biv. Hi. 102 
 
 Flies, chub, Biv. i. page 83 
 Dace, Biv. i. 96 
 Fishing with natural, Biv. 
 
 Hi. 65 
 Floating, Biv. Hi. 29-32 
 For Derbyshire, Div. Hi. 59 
 For Devonshire, Biv. Hi. 58, 
 
 59 
 For Hampshire, Biv. Hi. 29, 
 
 46 
 For Ireland, Biv. Hi. 77 
 For Scotland, Biv. Hi. 77 
 For the Continent, Biv. Hi. 60 
 For Wales, Biv. Hi. 59, 77 
 For wet-fly fishing, Biv. Hi. 
 
 55-60 
 For Yorkshire, Biv. Hi. 55-58 
 How to tie, Biv. Hi. 78, 79 
 Lake-trout, Biv. Hi. 77 
 Moorland trout, Biv. Hi 55-60 
 Mr. Jardine's, Biv. Hi. 32 
 Perch, Biv. i. 72 
 Roach, Biv. i. 48 
 Eonald's list of, Biv. Hi. 46 
 Eudd, Div. i. 115 
 Salmon, Biv. Hi. 112-116 
 Sea-trout, Biv. Hi. 86, 87 
 Thames trout, Biv. Hi. 91 
 Trout, Biv. Hi. 55, 60 
 With membranous wings, Biv. 
 
 Hi. 61 
 Flights for spinning, Biv. ii. 59-66 ; 
 
 Biv. Hi. 91 ; Biv. iv. 27 
 Nottingham, Biv. ii. 63, 64 
 Pennell, Biv. ii. 62 
 Float for pike, Did. ii. 44 
 
 Sliding, Biv. i. 20 ; Biv. ii. 50 ; 
 
 Biv. iv. 50 
 Tackle, Biv. iv. 24-26, 55 
 Tackle for chub baited with 
 
 cheese, Biv. i. 88 
 Tackle for pike, Biv. ii. 42-53 
 Tackle for pike, when to use, 
 
 Biv. ii. 19, 20, 43 
 Tackle, how to use, Biv. iv. 50 
 Tackle, improved arrangement 
 
 of leads for, Biv. iv. 25 
 Tackle, leger, Biv. i. 47 
 Tackle, typical, Div. i. 24 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Float-fishing for barbel, Div. i. 
 page 78 
 For bream, Div. i. 112 
 For carp, Div. i. 105 
 For grey mullet, Div. iv. 86 
 For pollack, Div. iv. 80 
 Nottingham style of, Div. i. 62 
 
 Floating flies, Div. Hi. 29-32 
 
 Fly, how to fish with, Div. Hi. 
 37 
 
 Floats, Div. i. 26 
 
 Self-cocking, Div. i. 49, 113 
 
 Flounder, Div. i. 126 ; Div. iv. 99 
 Baits for, Div. iv. 37, 42, 99 
 
 Fly, how to cast the, Div. iii. 32- 
 36; Div. iv. 65. 66 
 How to work the, Div. iv. 66, 
 
 67 
 Pike, Div. ii. 91 
 
 Fly-books, Div. iii. 24 
 
 Fly-boxes, Div. iii. 24 
 
 Fly-box, Winchester, Div. iii. 24 
 
 Fly-dressers, Div. iii. 60 
 
 Fly-fishing at night, Div. iii. 64 
 Cast for, in salt water, Div. iv. 
 
 63 
 Double-handed rod for, Div. 
 
 iii. 50 
 For bass, Div. iv. 61-67 
 For bleak, Div. i. 117 
 For char, Div. iii. 102 
 For chub, Div. i. 82-85 
 For cuddy, Div. iv. 76 
 For dace, Div. i. 94 
 For grayling, Div. iii. 97 
 For grey mullet, Div. iv. 87 
 For lake trout, Div. iii. 78-83 
 For mackerel, Div. iv. 89 
 For perch, Div. i. 72 
 For pike, Div. ii. 90, 91 
 For pollack, Div. iv. 65, 6G 
 For roach, Div. i. 48 
 For radd, Div. i. 115 
 For salmon, Div. iii. 112-120 
 For salmon in salt water, Div. 
 
 iii. 106 
 For sea-trout, Div. iii.87 
 For Thames trout, Div. iii. 90 
 Gut for, Div. iii. 21 
 
 Fly-fishing, line for, in salt water, 
 Div. iv. page 62 
 Lines for, Div. iii. 51 
 Outfit, cheap, Div. iii. 60 
 Reel for, Div. Hi. 51 
 Rod for, Div. iv. 7, 61, 62 
 With wet fly, Div. iii. 61-64 
 
 Fly-lines, dressing for, Div. iii. 20 
 Grease for, Div. iii. 37 
 
 Fly-rod, Div.iv. 7, 61, 62 
 
 And tackle for dace, Div. i. 94 
 Author's, Div. iii. 14 
 Fittings for, Div. Hi. 16 
 For moorland trout, Div. iii. 
 
 50 
 Greenheart, Div. iii. 15 
 Reel for, Div. iii. 18 
 Split cane, Div. iii. 15 
 Telescopic butt for, Div. iv. 7 
 Winch for, Div. iii. 18 
 
 Fly-rods, the care of, Div. iii. 18 
 
 Food of pike, Div. ii. 4 
 
 Fordwich trout, Div. iii. 7 
 
 Fork-tails, Div. iii. 7 
 
 Francis flight for pike, Div. ii. 61 
 
 Freshwater shrimp, Div. i. 67, 73 
 
 Frogs, to bait with, for chub, Div. 
 i. 85, 86 
 To cast, for chub, Div. i. 86 
 
 GAFF for pike, Div. ii. 36 
 For salmon, Div. iii. 120 
 How to carry, Div. ii. 36 
 Method of fastening, to handle, 
 
 Div. ii. 36 
 Mr. Basil Field's. Div. ii. 37 
 "Use of the, Div. ii. 58 
 Gaff-hook, Div. iv. 10 
 
 Bayonet-point for, Div. iv. 10 
 Gag for salmon and trout, Div. Hi. 
 Ill 
 Jardine, for pike, Div. ii. 34 
 Gally-trout, Div. iii. 102 
 Garfish, Div. iv. 38 
 General rod, Div. iv. 5 
 Gentles, Div. i. 33, 31 ; Div. iv. 38 
 As bait for carp, Div. i. 102 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Gentles, to cast with, for chub, 
 Div. i. pages 85, 87 
 To keep, in winter, Div. i. 34 
 To raise and scour, in summer, 
 Div. i. 34 
 Gib-ash, Div. Hi. 7 
 Gillaroo, Div. Hi. 77 
 Gilligant, Div. iv. 102 
 Gilling, Div. Hi. 7 
 Gillion, Div. Hi. 7 
 Gilt-tails, Div. i. 58 
 Gimp, Div. iv. 27 
 
 Gauges of, Div. ii. 31 ; Div. 
 
 iv. 22 
 Patent, Div. ii. 32, 44 ; iv. 21 
 Gimp-stains, Div. ii. 32, 33 
 Gnat, spent, Div. Hi. 41 
 Gorge-hook for live bait, Div. ii. 49 
 Objections to the use of, Div. 
 ii. 45 
 Gorge-tackle, live-baiting with, 
 
 Div. H. 49 
 Gowland's May-fly, Div. Hi. 41 
 Graining, Div. i. 128 
 Grains, brewers', Div. i. 63 
 Grasshoppers as a bait, Div. i. 87 
 
 For trout, Div. Hi. 67 
 " Grasshopper," the, for grayling, 
 
 Div. Hi. 99 
 Gravel laspring, Div. Hi. 7 
 Gravelling, Div. Hi. 7 
 Grayling, Div. Hi. 6, 95-100 
 
 Description of the, Div. Hi. 95 
 Fly-fishing for, Div. Hi. 97 
 Habits of the, Div. Hi. 96 
 Hampshire flies for, Div. Hi. 
 
 97 
 Haunts of the, Div. Hi. 96 
 North-country flies for, Div. 
 
 Hi. 98 
 Spawning season of the, Div. 
 
 Hi. 96 
 The " Grasshopper " for, Div. 
 
 Hi. 99 
 Worm-fishing for, Div. Hi. 99 
 Grayling-rivers, Div. Hi. 95 
 Grease for fly-line, Div. Hi. 37 
 
 For lines, Div. ii. 44 ; Div. 
 Hi. 37 ; Div. iv. 84 
 
 Greaves, Div. i. pages 38, 63, 89 
 As ground-bait, objections to 
 use of, Div. i. 76 
 
 Green drake, the, Div. Hi. 39 
 
 Drake or May-fly, dapping 
 
 with the, Div. Hi. 82 
 Pea a carp -bait, Div. i. 103 
 
 Greenheart flj-rod, Div. Hi. 15 
 
 Gregory's clipper bait, Div. iv. 29 
 
 Grey drake, the, Div. Hi. 41 
 
 Grey mullet, Div. iv. 82-87 
 Baits for, Div. iv. 38, 85 
 Fishing for, at Nice, Div. iv. 
 
 84 
 Float-fishing for, Div. iv. 86 
 Fly-fishing for, Div. iv. 87 
 Ground bait for, Div. iv. 83, 
 
 85,87 
 Surface -fishing for, Div. iv. 83 
 Surface -tackle for, Div. iv. 85 
 Weight of, Div. iv. 82 
 
 Grey salmon, Div. Hi. 7 
 
 Grilse, Div. Hi. 7 
 
 Ground-bait, Div. iv. 45 
 
 Breadcrumbs as, Div. iv. 45 
 
 Crabs as, Div. iv. 45 
 
 Eels as, Div. i. 120 
 
 For grey mullet, Div. iv. 83, 
 
 85, 87 
 For mackerel, Div. iv. 93 
 For mackerel in America, 
 
 Div. iv. 45 
 For perch, Div. i. 71 
 For roach, Div. i. 35, 39, 61 
 Meat-bones as, Div. i. 71 
 Net, the, Div. iv. 48 
 On line, Div. i. 52 
 Pilchard-guts as, Div. iv. 45 
 Pollard in, Div. i. 63 
 Bice in, Div. i. 63 
 Sardines and potatoes as, Div. 
 
 iv. 45 
 Shrimps as, Div. iv. 45 
 Tne virtues of, Div. iv. 45 
 
 Ground-baiting for barbel, Div. i, 
 76 
 For bass, Div. iv. 72 
 For carp, Div. i. 102, 103 
 For dace, Div. i. 94 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Ground-baiting, remarks on, Div. 
 
 iv. page 48 
 
 Useful hints on, Div. i. 9-11, 
 
 39, 54, 62, 76, 94, 102, 
 
 103, 120 
 
 With lobworms for barbel, 
 
 Div. i. 76 
 With worms, Div. i. 54 
 Ground-baits for bream, Div. i. Ill 
 
 For roach, Div. i. 35, 39, 61 
 Ground-fishing for bass, Div. iv. 72 
 Ground-line fishing for pollack, 
 
 Div. iv. 77, 78, 81 
 Growth-rate of pike, Div. ii. 2 
 
 Of salmon, Div. iii. 4 
 Guard for Nottingham winch, Div. 
 
 iv. 10 
 Gudgeon, Div. i. 98-100 
 
 Appearance of, Div. i. 98 
 
 As bait for perch, Div. i. GG, 
 
 98 
 Haunts and habits of, Div. i. 
 
 98 
 In ponds, Div. i. 100 
 Tackle and baits for, Div. i. 99 
 Gudgeon-fishing, Thames method 
 
 of, Div. i. 99 
 Gndgeon-swims, the best, Div. i. 99 
 Gurnard, Div. iv. 100 
 Gurnet, Div. iv. 100 
 Gut for fly-fishinsr, Div. iii. 21 
 
 For pike-fishing, stains for, 
 
 Div. ii. 38 
 How to join lengths of, Div. 
 
 iv. 20, 21 
 Knot for, Div. i. 22 ; Div. iv. 
 
 20,21 
 Knot, the common, Div. iii. 23 
 Lines, how to take the curl 
 
 out of, Div. i. 41, 104 
 Loop, knot for, Div. iii. 23 
 Loops on eyed hooks, Div. iii. 
 
 110 
 Loops on salmon-flies, Div. iii. 
 
 110 
 Points, Div. iii. 24 
 Reliable knot for, Div. iii. 22 
 Staining, Div. i. 23, 52 ; Div. 
 ii. 38 , Div. iii. 51, 52 
 
 Gut, straightening, Div. i. pages 
 41, 104; Div. iii. 62 
 Versus horsehair, for fly-fish- 
 ing, Div. iii. 52 
 
 Gut-casts, to make, Div. iii. 22 
 
 Gut-collar, Div. i. 94 
 
 Gwyniad, Div. i. 128 
 
 TTADDOCK, Div. iv. 100 
 
 - L± - Baits for, Div. iv. 37, 39, 
 100 
 
 Hair, Div. i. 22, 24 
 
 Hake, Div. iv. 100 
 
 Halcyon bait, the, Div. iii. 75 
 
 Halibut, Div. iv. 101 
 
 Hambleden lock, pike-fishing inci- 
 dent below, Div. ii. 16 
 
 Hampshire flies, Div. Hi. 29, 46 
 Flies for grayling, Div. iii. 97 
 
 Hand-line fishing, Div. iv. 56, 57 
 
 Hand-lines, Div. iv. 8 
 
 Occasionally necessary, Div. 
 iv. 3 
 
 Harbin, Div. iv. 74 
 
 Harbour-fishing, Div. iv. 51-53 
 
 Harbours, baits for fishing in, Div. 
 iv. 51 
 
 Haunts of bass, Div. iv. 59 
 Of bleak, Div. i. 117 
 Of bream, Div. i. 110, 111 
 Of carp, Div. i. 101 
 Of chalk-stream trout, Div. 
 
 iii. 13, 14 
 Of char, Div. iii. 101, 102 
 Of chub, Div. i. 82 
 Of coarse fish, Div. i. 3-9 
 Of dace, Div. i. 92, 93 
 Of eels, Div. i. 119 
 Of grayling, Div. iii. 96 
 Of gudgeon, Div. i. 98 
 Of perch, Div. i. 64, 65, 72 
 Of pike, Div. ii. 6 
 Of pike in summer, Div. ii. 
 
 9-13 
 Of pike in winter, Div. ii. 
 
 13,14 
 Of pollack, Div. iv. 75 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Haunts of roach in still water, Div. 
 i. page 61 
 Of radd, Div. i. 114 
 Of salmon, Div. iii. 104-106 
 Of sea-trout, Div. iii. 86-88 
 Of tench, Div. i. 107 
 Of Thames trout, Div. iii. 90 
 Hearder's Baby spinner, Div. iv. 
 
 69 
 Heel-ball, for straightening gut, 
 
 Div. i. 41 
 Henley-on-Thames angling inci- 
 dent at, Div. i. 93 
 Hepper, Div. Hi. 7 
 Herling, Div. iii. 8 
 Hermit crab, Div. iv. 37 
 Herring, Div. iv. 101 
 As bait, Div. iv. 38 
 Rising to flies, Div. iv. 101 
 Herring-roe paste a carp-bit, Div. 
 
 i. 102 
 Herring-sprods, Div. iii. 8 
 High and coloured water, fishing 
 
 in, Div. i. 7-9 
 Hi-Regan landing-net, Div. iii. 25; 
 
 Div. iv. 8, 12 
 Holroyd's May-fly, Div. Hi. 41 
 Hook baited with paste, Div. i. 48 
 Crystal, Div. i. 19 
 For cheese, Div. i. 88 
 How to keep point of, sharp, 
 
 Div. i. 88 
 Marston sliced, Div. i. 21 ; 
 
 Div. Hi. 70 ; Div. iv. 17 
 "With bent shank, for worm- 
 casting, Div. i. 87 ; Div. 
 iii. 70 
 Hook-scale, Div. iv. 17 
 
 Round-bend, Div. i. 19 
 Hook-shanks, paint for, Div. i. 20 
 Hook- swivel, new, Div. ii. 44 
 Hooks, Div. i. 18; Div. iv. 12-18 
 Different bends of, Div. iv. 14 
 Eyed, Div. i. 96 ; Div. iii. 26 ; 
 
 Div. iv. 13 
 Eyed, patent, Div. iii. 110 ; 
 
 Div. iv. 18 
 File for the points of, Div. ii. 
 81 ; Div. iv. 13, 33 
 
 Hooks for bottom-fishing, Div. i. 
 pages 19-21 
 For dressing flies on, Div. iii. 
 
 26, 27 
 For perch, DtV. i. 68 
 For roach, Div. i. 35 
 For salmon-fishing, Div. iii. 
 
 109, 110 
 Importance of good, Div. iv. 
 
 13 
 Pennell -Limerick, Div. iii. 26 ; 
 
 Div. iv. 18 
 To bind gut or gimp to, Div. 
 
 ii. 38-40 
 To colour shanks of, Div. i. 53 
 "Whipping of, Div. i. 20 
 Horn-eel, Div. iv. 43 
 Horsehair versus gut for fly-fish- 
 ing, Div. iii. 52 
 Horse-mackerel, Div. iv. 18 
 
 As a bait, Div. iv. 39 
 Howietoun, experiments in fish- 
 culture at, Div. iii. 85 
 Hybrids, Div. i. 32 
 
 " TMPERCEPTIBLE " spinner, 
 
 - 1 - the, Div. iii. 73, 91 
 Indiarubber band bait, Div. iv. 29 
 For straightening gut, Div. i. 
 61 
 Ireland, flies for, Div iii. 77 " 
 Sea-trouting in, Div. iii. 86 
 
 JACK in roach-swims, Div. i. 
 42 
 Jardine gag, Div. ii. 34 
 
 Mr., large pike caught by, 
 
 Div. ii. 3 
 Reel, Div. iii. 19 
 Snap-tackle, improved, Div. ii. 
 47 
 John Dory, Div. iv. 99 
 Joining lengths of gut, Div. iv. 
 
 20, 21 
 Joints, suction, Div. ii. 24 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 KELT, mended, Div. Hi. page 7 
 Kelts, Div. Hi. 4, 7, 105 
 Kentish rig, the, Div. iv. 56 
 King's Preservative, Div. ii. 77 
 Kipper, Div. Hi. 4, 5 
 Kirker's patent creel, Div. Hi. 54 
 Knot for fastening dropper to cast 
 — a little-known method, 
 Div. Hi. 80 
 For fastening gimp or gut to 
 
 running-line, Div. ii. 37 
 For fastening reel-line to cast, 
 
 Div. Hi. 23 
 For gut, Div. i. 22 
 For gut-loop, Div. Hi. 23 
 For large flies dressed on 
 
 eyed, Div. i. 84 
 For small eyed, Div. i. 21 
 Reliable, for gut, Div. Hi. 22 
 The buffer, Div. ii. 37, 38; 
 
 Div. Hi. 109 
 The common gut, Div. Hi. 23 
 The strongest, for gut-cast, 
 
 Div. Hi. 109 
 To join gut to hook without 
 
 eye, Div. Hi. 61 
 Turle, Div. i. 21 ; Div. Hi. 27 ; 
 Div. iv. 15 
 Knots for bass-flies on eyed hooks, 
 Div. iv. 64, 65 
 For droppers, Div. Hi. 53 
 For eyed hooks, Div. i. 21, 84 ; 
 Div. Hi. 27, 28 ; Div. iv. 15 
 For gut, Div. i. 22 ; Div. iv. 
 
 20,21 
 For joining gut collar to main 
 
 line, Div. iv. 19, 21 
 To fasten droppers to cast, 
 
 Div. i. 95 
 To fasten gut length to 
 running-tackle, Div. i. 24 
 Kyles of Durness and Tongue, sea- 
 trout fishing in the, Div. 
 it. 88 
 
 LAKE and pond perch-fishing, 
 Div. t. 71 
 Lake-fishing for pike, Div. ii. 20 
 
 Lake-trout, Div. Hi. pages 6, 76-84 
 Characteristics of, Div. Hi. 76 
 Fishing, boat for, Div. Hi. 
 
 81 
 Flies, Div. Hi. 77 
 Fly-fishing for, Div. Hi. 78-83 
 Spinning for, Div. Hi. 83 
 Trolling for, Div. Hi. 83 
 Lakes, roach-fishing in, Div. i. 59 
 Lammas-men, Div. Hi. 7 
 Lampern, Div. i. 126 ; Div. iv. 39 
 
 Bait for barbel, Div. i. 75 
 Lamprey, Div. i. 126 ; Div. iv. 39 
 Landing pike, Div. ii. 58 
 Roach, Div. i. 39 
 Salmon, Div. Hi. 120 
 Trout, Div. Hi. 36 
 Landing-net, Div. i. 27 ; Div. ii. 
 36 ; Div. Hi. 81 ; Div. iv. 
 11 
 And ring for fly-fishing, Div. 
 
 Hi. 24 
 For moorland trout, Div. Hi. 
 
 54 
 Hi Regan. Div. Hi. 25; Div. 
 iv. 8, 12 
 Large-headed dace, Div. i. 81 
 Lask, Div. iv. 40, 89 
 Laspring, Div. Hi. 7 
 Last, Div. iv. 40, 89 
 Launce, Div. iv. 43 
 Laurel, Div. Hi. 7 
 Lead, improved, for spinning 
 traces, Div. ii. 67, 68 ; 
 Div. iv. 31 
 Paternoster, for throwing out 
 on sandy bottoms, Div. iv. 
 55 
 The "Fishing Gazette," Div. 
 ii. 69 
 Leads, Div. i. 24 
 
 For float-tackle, improved ar- 
 rangement of, Div. iv. 25 
 For spinning trace, Div. Hi. 71 
 Lead-wire, Div. i. 24 
 Leger, Div. i. 27 
 
 Float tackle, Div. i. 47 
 For pike, Div. ii. 57 
 Legering for barbel, Div. i. 75-78 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Lowering for bass, Div. iv. page 51 
 For bream, Div. i. 112 
 For carp, Div. i. 105 
 For chub, Div. i. 87 
 For eels, Div. i. 119 
 For perch, Div. i. 71 
 For pike, Div. ii. 19, 42, 57 
 For roach, Div. i. 52, 60 
 Lightning spinner, Div. ii. 81 
 Limpet, Div. iv. 39 
 
 To dislodge, from rocks, Div. 
 iv. 39 
 Line, dressing for pike, Div. ii. 29, 
 30 
 For dry-fly fishing, Div. Hi. 
 
 19-21 
 For fly-fishing in salt -water, 
 
 Div. iv. 62 
 Freezing, to prevent, Div. ii. 
 
 72, 73 
 Grease for, Div. ii. 44 ; Div. 
 
 Hi. 37 ; Div. iv. 84 
 Weighted with ground bait for 
 casting, Div. i. 105 
 Line-drier, Div. ii. 31 ; Div. Hi. 109 
 Line-guard, Div. ii. 28 ; Div. Hi. 
 
 19 
 Lines, back, Div. ii. 30 
 
 Dressing for, Div. ii. 29, 30 ; 
 
 Div. iv. 9 
 Drift, Div. iv. 9 
 Drying, Div. ii. 30, 31 
 For fly-fishing, Div. Hi. 51 
 For sea-fishing, Div. iv. 8 
 Grease for, Div. iv. 84 
 Kunning, for bottom-fishing, 
 
 Div. i. 17 
 Splicing, Div. ii. 30 ; Div. Hi. 
 20 
 Ling, Div. iv. 102 
 Lip-hooks, Div. ii. 61 
 Live bait, gorge -hook for, Div. ii. 
 
 49 
 Live-baiting for pike, Div. ii. 42-58 
 For Thames trout, Div. Hi. 
 
 93 
 For trout in lakes, Div. Hi. 84 
 New triangle for, Div. Hi. 94 
 "With gorge tackle, Div. ii. 49 
 
 Live baits for pike-fishing, Div. ii. 
 
 pages 50, 51 
 Loach, Div. i. 123 
 Lobster-pots, baits for, Din. iv. 30 
 Lobworm on trailing tackle, Div. 
 
 iv. 29, 37 
 Lobworm-catching, Div. i. 57 
 Lobworms for chub, Div. i. 85 
 
 Ground-baiting with, for bar- 
 bel, Div. i. 76 
 
 Maiden, Div. i. 58 
 
 Scouring, Div. i. 57 
 Lockfast joints, Div. Hi. 17 
 Loop-eyed hook, the, Div. Hi. 110 
 Lugnose, Div. iv. 38, 99 
 Lugworms, Div. iv. 39 
 
 To keep, Div. iv. 39 
 Lythe, Div. iv. 74 
 
 lyTACKEREL, Div. iv. 88-93 
 ■**■» Artificial baits for, Div. iv. 
 90,91 
 As a bait, Div. iv. 40 
 Baits for, Div. iv. 38, 39, 41, 
 
 89,91 
 Fishing at anchor for, Div. iv. 
 
 92 
 Fly-fishing for, Div. iv. 89 
 Ground bait for, Div. iv. 93 
 Ground bait for, in America, 
 
 Div. iv. 45 
 Habits of the, Div. iv. 88, 89 
 Spinning for, Div. iv. 90, 91 
 Tackle for, Div. iv. 32 
 Mackerel-skin bait, Div. iv. 31 
 Macks, Div. Hi. 7 
 Maiden lobs, Div. i. 58 
 Malloch reel, Div. ii. 74 ; Div. Hi. 
 
 124 
 Marks for sea-fishing, how to take, 
 
 Div. iv. 57 
 Marston knot for dropper-flies, 
 Div. i. 95 
 Sliced hook, Div. i. 21 ; Div. 
 Hi. 70 ; Div. iv. 17 
 May-flies, dace rising at, Div. i. 96 
 May-fly, Div. Hi. 65, 82 
 
 Author's wet, Div. Hi. 40 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 May-fly, Clark's, Div. Hi. page 40 
 Gowland's, Div. Hi. 41 
 Holroyd's, Div. Hi. 41 
 Season, Div. Hi. 39 
 Mealworms, Div. i. 49, 58 
 Meat-bones as ground bait, Div. 
 
 i. 71 
 Mended kelt, Div. Hi. 7 
 Miller's thumb, Div. i. 124 
 Minnow, Div. i. 123 
 
 Devon, Div. ii. 80 ; Div. Hi. 
 
 74, 83, 93 
 How to work the, for moor- 
 land trout, Div. Hi. 73 
 Phantom, Div. H. 79 ; Div. Hi. 
 
 83, 121 
 Quill, Div. Hi. 74, 93 
 Salvus, Div. Hi. 74 
 Spinning tackle, Div. Hi. 72 
 Trolling tackle, Div. Hi. 75 
 Watchet, Div. i. 72 ; Div. Hi. 
 74 
 Minnow-fishing in chalk streams, 
 
 Div. Hi. 47 
 Minnow-net, Div. i. 66 
 Minnow-trap, Div. i. 67 
 Minnows, how to catch, for bait, 
 
 Div. i. 66, 67 
 Moffat-men, Div. Hi. 7 
 Moor-ged, Div. Hi. 7 
 Mooring a punt, Div. i. 50 
 Moorland streams, dry-fly fishing 
 in, Div. Hi. 50 
 Trout, Div. Hi. 5, 49-75 
 Trout, casts for, Div. Hi. 52 
 Trout, characteristics of, Div. 
 
 Hi. 50 
 Trout, flies for, Div. Hi. 55-60 
 Trout, fly-rod for, Div. Hi. 50 
 Trout, how to make up the 
 
 cast for, Div. Hi. 51, 52 
 Trout, how to work the min- 
 now for, Div. Hi. 73 
 Trout, landing-net for, Div. 
 
 Hi. 54 
 Trout, spawning times of, Div. 
 
 Hi. 50 
 Trout, spinning minnow for, 
 Div. Hi. 71-74 
 
 Moorland trout, worming for, Div. 
 
 Hi. pages 67-70 
 Morgate, Div. Hi. 7 
 Mort, Div. Hi. 7, 8 
 Moscrop reel, Div. Hi. 19 
 Moths as bait, Div. i. 87 
 Mudworm, Div. iv. 40 
 Mullet, Div. iv. 82, 102 
 Mussel, Div. iv. 40 
 
 How to bait with the, Div. iv. 
 41 
 Musselburgh trout, Div. Hi. 7 
 
 "THAMES of pike, Div. ii. 2 
 -*~ ' Of salmon, Div. Hi. 6, 7 
 
 Of sea-trout, Div. Hi. 7, 8 
 Natural flies, fishing with, Div. 
 Hi. 65 
 Spinning baits, Div. H. 75, 76 
 Needle, baiting, Div. i. 106 ; Div. 
 
 H. 49 
 Net, ground-bait, Div. iv. 48 
 
 Minnow, Div. i. 66 
 Nets for eels, Div. i. 120 
 Night fishing for sea-fish, Div. iv. 
 50 
 Fishing with the fly at, Div, 
 Hi. 64 
 North-country flies for grayling, 
 
 Div. Hi. 98 
 Nottingham fishing, Div. i. 43 ; 
 Div. iv. 71 
 Flights, Div. ii. 63, 64 
 Method of cutting up worms, 
 
 Div. i. 55 
 Style of angling for chub, 
 
 Div. i. 88 
 Style of casting, Div. i. 44, 
 
 69 ; Div. ii. 53, 74, 75 
 Style of float-fishing, Div. i. 
 
 62 
 Style of roach-fishing, Div. 
 
 i. 60 
 Style of spinning, Div. ii. 71 
 Tackle, Div. iv. 26 
 Versus Thames style of fish- 
 ing, Div. i. 46 
 
CxENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Nottingham winch, advantages of, 
 Div. iv. page 10 
 "Winch, guard for, Div. iv. 10 
 Winch, improved, Div. iv. 9 
 
 REJECTION to the use of 
 ^-^ gorge-hooks, Div. ii. 45 
 
 Objections to the use of cheese as 
 
 ground bait, Div. i. 77 
 Orange fins, Div. Hi. 8 
 Overhead cast, Div. Hi. 32 
 Oysters as a bait, Div. iv. 41 
 
 PAINT for hook-shanks, Div. 
 i. 20 
 Par, or coal fish, Div. iv. 74 
 
 Or parr, Div. Hi. 6 
 Paste, Div. i. 35, 47, 52, 60 
 
 Brovvn-bread-and-honey, Div. 
 
 i. 108 
 Herring-roe, Div. i. 102 
 Hook baited with, Div. i. 48 
 Sweetened with honey, Div. 
 i. 102 
 Patent gimp, Div. ii. 32, 44 ; Div. 
 
 iv. 21 
 Paternoster, Div. iv. 18 
 
 Casting the, in Thames style, 
 
 Div. i. 70 
 For smelts, Div. iv. 52 
 Hook mounted with swivel on, 
 
 Div. iv. 23 
 How to cast the, Div. iv. 49 
 How to work the, Div. iv. 48 
 Lead for throwing out on 
 sandy bottoms, Div. iv. 55 
 Method of fastening hook- 
 links on to, Div. iv. 23 
 Modifications of the, Div. iv. 
 22 
 Paternostering for pike, Div. ii. 
 
 16, 19, 42, 53-57 
 Peel, Div. Hi. 7 
 Pennell flights, Div. ii. 62 
 
 Trolling-hook, Div. ii. 83 
 
 Pennell-Limerick hooks, Div. Hi. 
 
 26 ; Div. iv. 18 
 
 Pepper's trout, Div. Hi. page 76 
 Perch, Div. i. 64-73 
 
 Baits for, Div. i. 65 
 Ground bait for, Div. i. 71 
 Fishing for, in high and 
 
 coloured water, Div. i. 71 
 Fishing for, in lakes and 
 
 ponds, Div. i. 71 
 Fishing for, with freshwater 
 
 shrimp, Div. i. 73 
 Fishing with float tackle for, 
 
 Div. i. 70 
 Flies for, Div. i. 72 
 Fly-fishing for, Div. i. 72 
 Ground bait for, Div. i. 71 
 Habits and haunts of, Div. i. 
 
 64, 65, 72 
 Hooks for, Div. i. 68 
 Legering for, Div. i. 71 
 Spinning baits for, Div. i. 66, 
 
 72 
 Weight of, Div. i. 64 
 Perch-fishing, triangle for, Div. i. 
 
 73 
 Perch-paternoster, Div. i. 67 
 Phantom minnow, Div. ii. 79 ; Div. 
 
 Hi. 83, 121 
 Phinoc, Div. Hi. 7 
 Pier-head fishing, Div. iv. 47 
 
 Fishing, tackle for, Div. iv. 
 
 48,49 
 Pier-heads, fish caught from, Div. 
 
 iv. 47 
 Pike, angling for, Div. ii. 9-91 
 Appearance of, Div. ii. 1 
 Bag for, Div. ii. 40 
 Beam-paternoster for, Div. ii. 
 
 56, 57 
 Breeding-pond, Div. ii. 8 
 Creel for, Div. ii. 40 
 Disgorger for, Div. ii. 34 
 Edible qualities of, Div. ii. 5 
 Float for, Div. ii. 44 
 Fly-fishing for, Div. ii. 90, 91 
 Food of, Div. ii. 4 
 Gaff for, Div. ii. 36 
 Growth-rate of, Div. ii. 2 
 Haunts of, in summer, Div. ii. 
 
 9-13 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Pike, haunts of, in winter, Div. ii. 
 
 pages 13, 14 
 How to cook, Div. ii. 6 
 How to land, Div. ii. 58 
 How to play, Div. ii. 58 
 Jardine gag for, Div. ii. 34 
 Lake-fishing for, Div. ii. 20 
 Large, Div. ii. 3 
 Large, canght by Mr. Jardine, 
 
 Div. ii. 3 
 Large, caught on Chapman 
 
 spinner, Div. ii. 66 
 Legering for, Div. ii. 19, 42, 
 
 57 
 Live-baiting for, Div. ii. 42-58 
 Names of, Div. ii. 2 
 Paternostering for, Div. ii. 
 
 16, 19, 42, 53-57 
 Preservation of, Div. ii. 7 
 Seizing birds, Div. ii. 4 
 Snap-hooks for, Div. ii. 45 
 Spinning baits for, artificial, 
 
 Div. ii. 78-81 
 Spinning flights for, Div. ii. 
 
 59-66; Div. iv. 27 
 Spinning for, Div. ii. 19, 20, 
 
 59-81 
 Striking, Div. ii. 51, 52 
 Taking tench, Div. ii. 4 
 The Kenmure, Div. ii. 3 
 The spawning time of, Div. ii. 9 
 Trailing for, Div. ii. 20, 75 
 Voracity of, Div. ii. 5 
 "Where found, Div. ii. 6 
 Pike-fisherman, dress for, Div. ii. 
 
 40 
 Pike-fishing, eel-tail for, Div. ii. 77 
 General remarks on, Div. ii. 
 
 15,16 
 In canals, Div. ii. 20 
 Live baits for, Div. ii. 50, 51 
 Methods of, tabulated, Div. ii. 
 
 15, 21 
 Reel for, Div. ii. 28 
 Rod for, Div. ii. 22-27 
 Running-line for, Div. ii. 29 
 Sliding float for, Div. ii. 50 
 Stains for gut used for, Div. 
 
 ii. 38 
 
 Pike-fly, Div. ii. page 91 
 
 Pike-leger, Div. ii. 57 
 
 Pike-lines, dressing for, Div. ii. 
 
 29, 30 
 Pike-paternoster, Div. ii. 54 
 
 Count de Moira's, Div. ii. 
 
 55-57 
 Extempore, Div. i. 43 
 Pike-rod and its fittings, Div. ii. 
 22-27 
 Ferrules for, Div. ii. 24, 25 
 Pike-tackle, casting out, Div. ii. 
 70 
 Nottingham style of casting, 
 
 Div. ii. 53, 74, 75 
 Thames style of casting, Div. 
 ii. 52 
 Pilchard as a bait, Div. iv. 41 
 
 Guts as ground bait, Div. iv. 
 
 45 
 How to cut up, for bait, Div. 
 iv. 41 
 Piltock, Div. iv. 74 
 Pink, Div. iii. 7 
 Pith and brains, Div. i. 89 
 Plaice, Div. iv. 102 
 Playing pike, Div. ii. 58 
 Salmon, Div. iii. 119 
 Trout, Div. iii. 36 
 Plumbing the depth, Div. i. 37, 
 61 ; Div. iv. 47 
 The depth with Nottingham 
 tackle, Div. i. 43 
 Plumb-line fishing for char, Div. 
 
 iii. 102, 103 
 Plummets, Div. i. 28 ; Div. iv. 33, 
 
 34,47 
 Podler, Div. iv. 74 
 Pollack, Div. iv. 74-81 
 
 Appearance of, Div. iv. 74 
 Baits for, Div. iv. 37, 38, 39, 
 
 42, 44, 75, 79 
 Cozening a, Div. iv. 77 
 Fishing with live sand-eel for, 
 
 Div. iv. 80 
 Float-fishing for, Div. iv. 80 
 Fly-fishing for, Div. iv. 65, 66 
 Ground-line fishing for, Div. 
 iv. 77, 78, 81 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Pollack, habits of the, Div. iv. page 
 75 
 Haunts of the, Div. iv. 75 
 Spinning' for, Div. iv. 78 
 Weight of, Div. iv. 74 
 
 Pollack-worm, Div. iv. 42 
 
 Pollan, Div. i. 127 
 
 Pollard in ground bait, Div. i. 63 
 
 Ponds and lakes, angling for tench 
 in, Div. i. 108, 109 
 Gudgeon in, Div. i. 100 
 Roach-fishing in, Div. i. 59 
 Tench raked out of, Div. i. 108 
 
 Poor cod, Div. iv. 102 
 
 Pope, Div. i. 124 
 
 Pork a roach-bait, Div. i. 49 
 
 Potatoes, ground-bait, and bait for 
 carp, &c, Div. i. 63, 102, 
 106 
 
 Pout, Div. iv. 107 
 
 Baits for, Div. iv. 39, 107 
 
 Pouting, Div. iv. 102 
 
 Powan, Div. i. 127 
 
 Power, Div. iv. 102 
 
 Prawn-fishing for salmon, Div. iii. 
 122 
 
 Prawn-nets, Div. iv. 39 
 
 Prawns, Div. iv. 41 
 
 As bait for salmon in the 
 
 Trent, Div. iii. 127 
 Tackle for, Div. iii. 124 
 To preserve, Div. iii. 122 
 
 Preservation of pike, Div. ii. 7 
 
 Preservative, King's, Div. ii. 77 
 
 Preserved baits, Div. ii. 76 
 
 Pride, Div. i. 126 
 
 Punt, fishing for chub from, Div. i. 
 90 
 How to moor a, Div. i. 50 
 
 Punt-fishing, Div. i. 49 
 
 Q 
 
 UILL minnow, Div. iii. 93 
 Minnow, Bowness', Div.iii.14i 
 
 RABBITS' entrails, bait for 
 eels, Div. i. 120 
 Eace, Div. iv. 74 
 
 Ragworm, Div. iv. page 42 
 Railing, Div. iv. 79 
 
 Tackle for mackerel, Div. iv. 
 32 
 Raking for dace, Div. i. 94 
 
 Roach-swims, Div. i. 38 
 Rate of growth of pike, Div. ii. 2 
 Rauning pollack, Div. iv. 74 
 Redds, construction of, Div. Hi. 11 
 Red fish, Div. iii. 4, 7, 105 
 
 Gilt-head, Div. iv. 95 
 
 Mallet, Div. iv. 102 
 Redspinner rod, Div. iii. 51 
 Redworms, Div. i. 34, 58, 93 ; 
 
 Div. iv. 38 
 Reel, "combination," Div. iii. 19 
 
 For fly-fishing, Div. iii. 51 
 
 For fly-rod, Div. iii. 18 
 
 For pike-fishing, Div. ii. 28 
 
 For salmon-fishing, Div. iii. 
 108 
 
 Jardine, Div. iii. 19 
 
 Malloch, Div. ii. 74 ; Div. iii. 
 124 
 
 Moscrop, Div. iii. 19 
 
 Slater, Div. ii. 28 
 
 Sun, Div. ii. 28 
 
 Sun and Planet, Div. ii. 75 
 Reels, Div. i. 16 ; Div. iv. 9, 63 
 Rice in ground bait, Div. i. 63 
 River-pools, barbel-fishing in, Div. 
 
 i. 76 
 Roach, Div. i. 31-63 
 
 Appearance of, Div. i. 31 
 
 Baits for, Div. i. 33, 49 
 
 Bank-fishing for, Div. i. 38-42 
 
 Bites, Div. i. 39 
 
 Flies for, Div. i. 48 
 
 Fly-fishing for, Div. i. 48 
 
 Ground-baits for, Div. i. 35, 
 39, 61 
 
 Haunts of, in still waters, 
 Div. i. 61 
 
 Hooks for, Div. i. 35 
 
 Landing, Div. i. 39 
 
 Legering for, Div. i. 52, 60 
 
 Playing, Div. i. 41 
 
 Rods for, Did. i. 33 
 
 Striking, Div. i. 39 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 "Roach, tackle for, Din. i. page 35 
 To distinguish, from rudd, 
 
 Div. i. 114 
 Weight of, Div. i. 31 
 Winter baits for, Div. i. 58 
 Worms for, Div. i. 53 
 Roach-fishing, difficulty of, Div. i. 
 31 
 In high and coloured waters, 
 
 Div. i. 53-56 
 In lakes, broads, ponds, &c, 
 
 Div. i. 59 
 In winter, Div. i. 58 
 Nottingham style of, Div. i. 
 60 
 Eoach-swims, baiting up, Div. i. 
 62 
 Jack in, Div. i. 42 
 Raking, Div. i. 38 
 To find, Div. i. 36 
 Rock fish, Div. iv. 107 
 Rock ling, Div. iv. 42 
 Rock whiting, Div. iv. 107 
 Rod, a general, Div. iv. 5 
 
 Author's fly, Div. Hi. 14 
 Double-handed, for fly-fishing, 
 
 Div. Hi. 50 
 For dry-fly fishing, Div. Hi. 14 
 For fly-fishing, Div. iv. 7, 61 
 For pike-fishing, Div. ii. 22-27 
 For spinning the minnow, Div. 
 
 Hi. 71 
 Indiarubber knob for, Div. 
 
 Hi. 92 
 Redspinner, Div. Hi. 51 
 Thames-trout spinning, Div. 
 
 Hi. 92 
 Top ring, Bickerdyke, Div. 
 i. 15; Div. ii. 23; Div. 
 iii. 16 ; Div. iv. 6 
 Rod-bags, Div. ii. 27; Div. iii. 18 
 
 Materials for, Div. Hi. 51 
 Rod-fittings, Div. iv. 6 
 Rod-joint fastenings, Div. ii. 24 
 Rod-ring, snake-shaped, Div. i. 15; 
 Div. ii. 25; Div. iii. 16; 
 Div. iv. 6 
 Rod-spike, telescopic, Div. Hi. 18 
 Rods, Castle Connell, Div. iii. 107 
 
 Rods, fittings for, Div. i. page 14 
 For bottom-fishing, Div. i. 
 
 12-14 
 For roach-fishing, Div. i. 33 
 For salmon-fishing, Div. Hi. 
 
 107 
 Paint for, Div. Hi. 51 
 Steel-centred, Div. iii. 107 
 Varnish for, Div. ii. 27 
 Round-bend hook-scale, Div. i. 19 
 Rudd, Div. i. 114-117 
 
 Appearance of, Div. i. 114 
 Distinguished from roach, 
 
 Div. i. 114 
 Flies for, Div. i. 115 
 Fly-fishing for, Div. i. 115 
 Good take of, with fly, in 
 
 Lough Derg, Div. i. 114 
 Size of, Div. i. 114 
 Where found, Div. i. 114 
 Ruffe, Div. i. 124 
 Running line for pike-fishing, Div. 
 ii. 29 
 Tackle for bottom-fishing, 
 
 Div. i. 17 
 Tackle, tight-line fishing with, 
 
 Div. i. 38 
 Tackle versus tight line, Div. 
 i. 41 
 
 SADDLE-BACK tackle, Div. ii. 
 45-47 
 Saithe, Div. iv. 74 
 Salmon, Div. Hi. 101-127 
 
 Distinguished from sea trout, 
 
 Div. iii. 85 
 Fishing-rods for, Div. Hi. 107 
 Flies for, Div. Hi. 112-116 
 Fly-fishing for, Div. iii. 112- 
 
 120 
 Fly-fishing for. in salt water, 
 
 Div. iii. 106 
 Gaff for, Div. iii. 120 
 Gag for, Div. iii. Ill 
 Grey, Div. iii. 7 
 Growth-rate of, Div. iii. 4 
 Haunts and habits of, Die. Hi. 
 104-106 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Salmon, how to cast for, Div. Hi. 
 page 117 
 How to land, Div. Hi. 120 
 How to play, Div. Hi. 119 
 How to strike, Div. Hi. 119 
 Life-history of the, Div. Hi. 
 
 3-5 
 Local names of, Div. Hi. 6, 7 
 Migration of, Div. Hi. 3 
 Prawn-fishing for, Div. Hi. 122 
 Spinning baits for, Div. Hi. 
 
 121 
 Spinning for, Div. Hi. 120 
 Spinning in the Trent for, 
 
 Div. Hi. 122 
 Trolling for, Div. Hi. 120 
 White, Div. iv. 59 
 Worm-fishing for, Div. Hi. 124 
 Salmon-bass, Div. iv. 59 
 Salmon-fisherman, dress for, Div. 
 
 Hi. 106 
 Salmon-fishing, hooks for, Div. Hi. 
 109, 110 
 Reel for, Div. Hi. 108 
 Rods for, Div. Hi. 107 
 Trent method of, Div. Hi. 125 
 Twisted cast for, Div. Hi. 109 
 Waders for, Div. Hi. 106 
 Winches for, Div. Hi. 108 
 Salmon-flies, box for, Div. Hi. Ill 
 For chalk-stream trout, Div. 
 
 Hi. 46 
 Gut loops on, Div. Hi. 110 
 Standard, Div. Hi. 112-116 
 Theories concerning, Div. 
 
 Hi. 2 
 To preserve, Div. Hi. 112 
 To revive, Div. Hi. Ill 
 Salmon-fly, a spinning, Div. Hi. 
 121 
 Casting and working the, 
 
 Div. Hi. 116 
 Dressers, Div. Hi. 116 
 Salmon-fry, Div. Hi. 7 
 Salmon-gut, Div. Hi. 109 
 Salmonidse, distinguishing mark of 
 
 the, Div. Hi. 2 
 Salmon-lines, dressing for, Div. Hi. 
 109 
 
 Salmon-parr, Div. Hi. page 7 
 Salmon-peel, Div. Hi. 7 
 Salmon-river, renting a, Div. Hi. 
 
 105 
 Salmon-rod fittings, Div. Hi. 108 
 
 Top ring for, Div. Hi. 108 
 Salmon-scurfe, Div. Hi. 7 
 Salmon- spring, Div. Hi. 7 
 Salmon-trout, Div. Hi. 7 
 Salvus minnow, the, Div. Hi. 74 
 Samlet, Div. Hi. 6 
 Samlets and trout, distinctions 
 
 between, Div. Hi. 4 
 Sand-eels, Div. iv. 43 
 
 Basket for, Div. iv. 32 
 
 Fishing for pollack with, Div. 
 iv. 80 
 
 On Chapman spinner, Div. iv. 
 28,68 
 
 Tackle for, Div. iv. 28 
 Sand-smelt, Div. iv. 105 
 
 As a bait, Div. iv. 44 
 
 Baits for, Div. iv. 42, 44 
 
 Fishing for, Div. iv. 52, 53 
 
 Sardines and potatoes as ground 
 
 bait, Div. iv. 45 
 
 Cornish, Div. iv. 41 
 Scad, Div. iv. 101 
 Scale, hook, Div. iv. 17 
 
 Hook, round-bend, Div. i. 19 
 Scotland, flies for, Div. Hi. 77 
 Scouring lobworms, Div. i. 52 
 
 Gentles, Div. i. 34 
 
 Worms, Div. i. 57 ; Div. Hi. 69 
 Scratchings, Div. i. 63 
 Scurf, Div. Hi. 7 
 Scurve, Div. Hi. 7 
 Sea dace, Div. iv. 59 
 " Sea-Fisherman," the, Div. iv. 3 
 Sea-fishing, baits for, Div. iv. 
 35-45 
 
 Lines for, Div. iv. 8 
 
 Sounding lead for, Div. iv. 33 
 
 Spinning baits for, Div. iv. 
 29, 69, 79 
 
 Value of charts in, Div. iv. 33 
 Sea-fish, list of, Div. i. 32 
 
 Night-fishing for, Div. iv. 50 
 S a-leger, Div. iv. 24, 52 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Sea-loach, Div. iv. page 42 
 Sea-needle, Div. iv. 99 
 Sea-pike, Div. iv. 99 
 Sea-trout, Div. Hi. 85-88 ; Div. iv. 
 103, 104 
 Distinguished from salmon, 
 
 Div. Hi. 85 
 Fishing in salt water, Div. Hi. 
 
 88 
 Fishing in the Kyles of Dur- 
 ness and Tongue, Div. Hi. 
 88 
 Flies for, Div. Hi. 86, 87 
 Fly-fishing for, Div. Hi. 87 
 Haunts of, Div. Hi. 86 
 In lakes, haunts of, Div. Hi. 
 
 87,88 
 In tidal pools, Div. Hi. 86 
 Large take of, Div. Hi. 86 
 Local names of, Div. Hi. 7, 8 
 Spinning for, Div. Hi. 88 
 Tackle for, Div. Hi. 86 
 Worming for, Div. Hi. 88 
 Sea-trouting in Ireland, Div. Hi. 
 
 86 
 Self-cocking float, Div. i. 49, 113 
 Semi-gorge hooks for pike, Div. 
 
 H. 45, 48 
 Sewin, Div. Hi. 7 
 Shad, Div. i. 128 
 Shaldon Shiner, Div. iv. 63 
 Shed, Div. Hi. 7 
 Shedder, Div. Hi. 7 
 Sheep's blood in ground bait, Div. 
 
 i. Ill 
 Shore, angling from the, Div. iv. 
 53-64 
 Spinning from the, Div. iv. 38 
 Shrags, Div. Hi. 7 
 Shrimps, Div. iv. 44 
 
 As ground bait, Div. iv. 45 
 Freshwater, Div. i. 49, 67, 73 
 Silk for binding, Div. ii. 40 ; Div. 
 
 iv. 33 
 Silk-weed, Div. i. 48 
 Sillock, Div. iv. 74 
 Silver-greys, Div. Hi. 8 
 Silver-whites, Div. Hi. 8 
 Simen, Div. Hi. 6 
 
 Skate, Div. iv. page 105 
 
 Skegger, Div. Hi. 7 
 
 Skelly, Div. i. 81 
 
 Slat, Div. Hi. 7 
 
 Slater reel, Div. ii. 28 
 
 Sliced hooks, Div. i. 21, 86; Div. 
 
 Hi. 70; Div. iv. 17 
 Sliding float, Div. i. 20; Div. ii. 
 50 ; Div. iv. 50 
 Float for pike-fishing, Div. ii. 
 50 
 Slugs, to bait with, Div. i. 86 
 Smelt, Div. iv. 105 
 
 As a bait, Div. iv. 44 
 (Young of salmon), Div. Hi. 7 
 Smelt-fishing, Div. iv. 52 
 Smelt-sprods, Div. Hi. 8 
 Smelts, paternoster for, Div. iv. 52 
 Smolt, Div. Hi. 7 
 " Smutting" fish, Div. Hi. £8 
 Snails as bait, Div. iv. 44 
 Snake-shaped rod-ring, Div. i. 15; 
 Div. ii. 25; Div. Hi. 10; 
 Div. iv. 6 
 Snap-hooks for pike, Div. H. 45 
 Snap-tackle for small baits, Div. 
 ii. 48 
 For trolling, Div. ii. 85-88 
 Improved Jardine, Div. ii. 47 
 Improved triangle for, Div. ii. 
 
 46 
 The author's, Div. ii. 46 
 Snaring for eels, Div. i. 122 
 Sniggling for eels, Div. i. 121 
 Snipe-eel, Div. iv. 38 
 Soft crab, Div. iv. 36 
 Soldier crab, Div. iv. 37 
 Sole, Div. iv. 105 
 Sounding lead for sea-fishing, Div. 
 
 iv. 33 
 Soundings, taking, Div. iv. 47 
 Spawn, Div. Hi. 7 
 Spawning of trout, Div. Hi. 13, 50 
 Season for grayling, Div. Hi. 
 
 96 
 Season of char, Div. Hi. 103 
 Time of pike, Div. ii. 9 
 Spent fish, Div. Hi. 4, 7 
 Gnat, Div. Hi. 41 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Sperling, or sparling, Div.iii. page 7 
 Spey or switch cast, Div. Hi. 35 ; 
 
 Div. iv. 66 
 Spinner, Archer, Div. ii. 65, 66, 
 
 76 ; Div. Hi. 83 
 " Imperceptible," Div. Hi. 73, 
 
 91 
 Lightning, Div. ii. 81 
 Spinning bait, Cleopatra, Div. ii. 79 
 Bait, Comet, Div. ii. 80 
 Baits, artificial, for perch, 
 
 Div. i. 66, 72 
 Baits, artificial, for pike, Div. 
 
 ii. 78-81 
 Baits for perch, Div. i. 66, 72 
 Baits for salmon, Div. Hi. 121 
 Baits for sea-fishing, Div. iv. 
 
 29, 69, 79 
 Baits, how to cast, Div. iv. 69 
 Baits, natural, Div. ii. 75, 76 
 Flight, Thames, Div. ii. 59, 
 
 60 ; Div. Hi. 91 
 Flights, Div. iv. 27 
 Flights for pike, Div. ii. 
 
 59-66 ; Div. iv. 27 
 For bass, Div. iv. 68, 69 
 For char, Div. Hi. 102 
 For lake trout, Div. Hi. 83 
 For mackerel, Div. iv. 90, 91 
 For pike, Dw.it. 19, 20, 59-81 
 For pollack, Div. iv. 78 
 For salmon, Div. Hi. 120 
 For salmon in the Trent, Div. 
 
 Hi. 122 
 For sea-trout, Div. Hi. 88 
 For Thames trout, Div. Hi. 91 
 From the shore, Div. iv. 68 
 Minnow for trout, Div. Hi. 
 
 71-74 
 Nottingham style of, Div. ii. 
 
 74 
 Tackle, Div. iv. 26-32 
 Tackle, a simple, Div. ii. 63 
 Thames style of, Div. ii. 69-73 
 The minnow for moorland 
 
 trout, Div. Hi. 71-74 
 The minnow, rod for, Div. Hi. 
 
 71 
 Trace, Div. i. 72 ; Div. iv. 30 
 
 Spinning trace, improved arrange- 
 ment of leads for, Div. ii. 
 •pages 67, 68 ; Div. iv. 31 
 Trace, lead for, Div. Hi. 71 
 Splicing lines, Div. ii. 30 ; Div. Hi. 
 
 20 
 Split-eane fly-rods, Div. Hi. 15 
 Split shot, Div. i. 24 
 Spoonbait, Div. ii. 78; Div. Hi. 
 
 121 
 Sprag, Div. Hi. 7 
 Sprats as bait, Div. iv. 44 
 Sprods, Div. Hi. 7, 8 
 Squid as a bait, Div. iv. 44 
 Staff for wading, Div. Hi. 107 
 Stains for gimp, Div. ii. 32, 33 
 
 For gut, Div. i. 23, 52; Div. 
 ii. 38 ; Div. Hi. 51, 52 
 Stedlock, Div. iv. 74 
 Steeple cast, Div. Hi. 33 
 Stewart tackle, Div. i. 53, 54, 93 
 Stickleback, Div. i. 125 
 Stone-flies, box for, Div. Hi. 66 
 Fishing with, Div. Hi. 65 
 Stone-loach, Div. ii. 123 
 Straightening gut, Div. i. 41, 104; 
 
 Div. Hi. 62 
 Striking pike, Div. ii. 51, 52 
 Roach, Div. i. 39 
 Salmon, Div. Hi. 119 
 Suction joints, Div. ii. 24 
 Summer-fishing, hints on, Div. i. 5 
 Summer haunts of pike, Div. ii. 
 
 9-13 
 Sun and Planet reel, the, Div. ii. 
 75 
 Reel, the, Div. ii. 28 
 Surface-fishing for grey mullet, 
 
 Div. iv. 83 
 Surface-tackle for grey mullet, 
 
 Div. iv. 85 
 Surmullet, Div. iv. 102 
 " Swimming the worm," Div. Hi. 99 
 Swim, testing and plumbing a, 
 
 Div. i. 37, 38 
 Swims, barbel, Div. i. 74 
 
 Gudgeon, the best, Div. i. 99 
 Switch cast, Div. Hi. 35 
 Swiveltail, Div. Hi. 121 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 rTlACKLE, advantages of fine, 
 -*- Div. iv. page 2 
 
 Deal shore, Div. iv. 54 
 Dee minnow, Div. Hi. 72 
 Ply-fishing, for dace, Div. i. 94 
 For carp, Div. i. 104 
 For conger, Div. iv. 23 
 For gudgeon, Div. i. 99 
 For mackerel, Div. iv. 32 
 For sand-eels, Div. iv. 28 
 For sea-trout, Div. Hi. 86 
 Float, Div. iv. 24-26, 55 
 Float, for chub baited with 
 
 cheese, Div. i. 88 
 Float, for pike, Div. ii. 42-53 
 Float, typical, Div. i. 24 
 Minnow spinning, Div. Hi. 72 
 Minnow trolling, Div. Hi. 75 
 Nottingham, Div. iv. 26 
 Prawn, Div. Hi. 124 
 Bailing, for mackerel, Div. iv. 
 
 32 
 Saddle-back, Div. ii. 45-47 
 Spinning. Div. ii. 63 ; Div. iv. 
 
 26-32 
 Trailing, Div. iv. 68 
 Trolling, Div. ii. 82-87 
 Varnish for, Div. ii. 39 ; Div. 
 iv. 33 
 Tackle-books for bottom-fishing, 
 
 Div. i. 29 
 " Tailing " fish, Div. Hi. 38 
 Telescopic butt for fly-rods, Div. 
 
 iv. 7 
 Tench, Div. i. 107-109 
 
 Angling for, in ponds and 
 
 lakes, Div. i. 108, 109 
 Appearance of, Div. i. 107 
 Baits for, Div. i. 108 
 Eaten by pike, Div. ii. 4 
 Haunts of, Div. i. 107 
 How to bait with worms for, 
 
 Div. i. 109 
 How to improve edible quali- 
 ties of, Div. i. 108 
 Large, caught at Pangbourne, 
 
 Div. i. 107 
 Baked out of ponds, Div. i. 108 
 Weight of, Div. i. 107 
 
 Thames fishermen, wages of, Div. 
 Hi. page 90 
 Method of gudgeon-fishing, 
 
 Div. i. 99 
 Spinning flights, Div. ii. 59, 
 
 60; Div. Hi. 91 
 Style of casting paternoster, 
 
 Div. i. 70 
 Style of casting pike-tackle, 
 
 Div. ii. 52 
 Style of punt-fishing, Div. i. 
 
 49 
 Trout, Div. Hi. 6, 89-94 
 Trout, baits for, Div. Hi. 92 
 Trout, flies for, Div. Hi. 91 
 Trout, fly-fishing for, Div. Hi. 
 
 90 
 Trout, haunts of, Div. Hi. 90 
 Trouting, season for, Div. Hi. 
 
 90 
 Trout, live-baiting for, Div. 
 
 Hi. 93 
 Trout, size of, Div. Hi. 89 
 Trout, spinning for, Div. Hi. 
 
 91 
 Trout, weight of, Div. Hi. 89 
 Versus Nottingham style, Div. 
 i. 46 
 Tight-corking, Div. i. 46, 78 
 Tight-line fishing with running 
 tackle, Div. i. 38 
 Versus running tackle, Div. i. 
 41 
 Tips to casts, Div. Hi. 24 
 Top-ring, Bickerdyke, Div. t. 15 ; 
 Div. ii. 23 ; Div. Hi. 16 ; 
 Div. iv. 6 
 For salmon-rod, Div. Hi. 108 
 Torgoch, Div. Hi. 101 
 Trace for pike spinning tackle, 
 Div. ii. 67, 68 
 For spinning, Div. i. 72 ; Div. 
 iv. 30 
 Traces, Mr. Wood's lead for, Div. 
 
 H. 68 
 Trailing, Div. iv. 70 
 
 For pike, Div. ii. 20, 75 
 Meaning of, Div. ii. 59 
 Tackle, Div. iv. 68 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Trailing tackle for sand-eels, Div. 
 iv. page 28 
 Tackle, lobworm on, Div. iv. 
 29,37 
 Trent method of angling for chub, 
 Div. i. 88 
 Method of salmon - fishing, 
 Div. iii. 125 
 Triangle, a new, for live-baiting, 
 Div. iii. 94 
 Improved, for snap-tackle, 
 Div. ii. 46 
 Triangles for carp-fishing, Div. i. 
 106 
 For perch-fishing, Div. i. 73 
 Method of binding gimp to, 
 Div. ii. 38, 39 
 Trolling, advantages of the new 
 snap-tackle for, Div. ii. 87 
 Anecdotes concerning, Div. ii. 
 
 . 90 
 Bait, gimp tied in tail of, Div. 
 
 ii. 96 
 Bait, tail of, tied with thread, 
 
 Div. ii. 84 
 Baits for, Div. ii. 85 
 Directions for, Div. ii. 88, 89 
 For lake trout, Div. iii. 83 
 For salmon, Div. iii. 120 
 Meaning of, Div. ii. 59 
 On the Shannon, Div. iii. 122 
 Proper use of the word, Div. 
 
 ii. 17 
 Snap-tackle for, Div. ii. 85-88 
 With the dead gorge, Div. ii. 
 
 82, 85 
 Trolling-hook, adjustable gorge, 
 
 Div. ii. 84 
 Pennell's, Div. ii. 83 
 Trolling-tackle, Div. i. 82-87 
 Trout, artificial breeding of, Div. 
 
 iii. 8, 9 
 Bread-paste as a bait for, 
 
 Div. iii. 67 
 Chalk-stream, Div. iii. 5, 
 
 12-48 
 Dibbing for, Div. iii. 47 
 Drop minnow- tackle for, Div. 
 
 iii. 75 
 
 Trout, Fordwich, Div. iii. page 7 
 Gag for, Div. iii. Ill 
 Grasshoppers for, Div. iii. 67 
 How to land, Div. iii. 36 
 How to play, Div. iii. 36 
 Interbred with char, Div. iii. 
 
 102 
 Moorland, Div. iii. 5, 49-75 
 Musselburgh, Div. iii. 7 
 To distinguish, from char, 
 
 Div. iii. 101 
 Varieties of, Div. iii. 5 
 White, Div. iii. 7 
 Worming for, Div. iii. 67, 84 
 Trout-bait, egg-paste as a, Div. Hi. 
 
 67 
 Trout-fishing in the Middle 
 
 Thames, Div. iii. 89 
 Turbot, Div. iv. 105 
 
 Baits for, Div. iv. 39, 40, 44, 
 105 
 Turle knot, the, Div. i. 21 ; Div. 
 
 iii. 27 ; Div. iv. 15 
 Tying flies, Div. iii. 78, 79 
 
 TTNDERHAND or horizontal 
 *-' oast, Div. iii. 33 
 
 Useful hints on ground-baiting, 
 Div. i. 9-11, 39, 54, 62, 
 76, 94, 102, 103, 120 
 
 YAENISH for rods, Div. ii. 27 
 For tackle, Div. ii. 39 ; Div. 
 iv. 33 
 
 WADERS, Div. iii. 26, 55 
 For salmon-fishing, Div. iii. 
 106 
 To mend, Div. iii. 107 
 Wading, staff for, Div. iii. 107 
 Wasp-grubs, Div. i. 38, 60 
 
 Dipped in honey, Div. i. 102 
 Wasps as a bait, Div. i. 87 
 Watchet minnow, Div. i. 72 ; Div. 
 
 iii. 74s 
 Wax, Div. ii. 40 ; Div. iv. 33 
 
GENERAL INDEX. 
 
 Weeger winch-fitting', Div. ii. page 
 
 26 ; Div. Hi. 16 
 Weirpools, position of punt for bar- 
 bel-fishing in, Div. i. 76 
 Wet-fly fishing, flies for, Div. Hi. 
 55-60 
 Fishing in chalk streams, Div. 
 
 Hi. 42-46 
 Fishing with the, Div. Hi. 61 
 Fly-fishing with, Div. in. 61-(j4 
 Wet May-fly, author's, Div. Hi. 40 
 Wheat as bait and ground bait, 
 Div. i. 41, 42, 46, 51, 102 
 Creed, Div. i. 33 
 Dace caught on, Div. t. 94 
 Preparation of, Div. i. 33 
 Wheels, Div. i. 20 
 Whelks as bait, Div. iv. 44 
 Whiffing, Div. iv. 70, 79, 90, 91 
 A good bait for, Div. iv. 70 
 Tackle for mackerel, Div. iv. 
 32 
 Whipping of hooks, Div. i. 20 
 
 Of hooks, finish off of, Div. 
 iv. 16 
 White eyes, Div. iv. 102 
 Salmon, Div. iv. 59 
 Sandworms, Div. iv. 44 
 Trout, Div. Hi. 7 
 White-fish, Div. i. 81 
 Whiting, Div. iv. 105 
 
 Baits for, Div. iv. 38, 39, 40, 
 105, 107 
 Whiting-cole, Div. iv. 74 
 Whiting-pollack, Div. iv. 74 
 Whiting-pout, Div. iv. 107 
 Winch for fly-rod, Div. Hi. 18 
 Improved, Div. iv. 9 
 Nottingham guard for, Div. 
 iv. 10 
 Winch- fittings, patent, Div. ii. 26 ; 
 
 Div. Hi. 16 
 Winches, Div. i. 16; Div. iv. 9 
 
 Winches for salmon-fishing, Div. 
 
 Hi. page 108 
 Winchester fly-box, Div. Hi. 24 
 Winter baits for roach, Div. i. 
 58 
 Fishing for coarse fish, Div. i. 7 
 Haunts of pike, Div. ii. 13, 14 
 Roach-fishing, Div. i. 58 
 Wire for binding gimp to triangle, 
 
 Div. ii. 39 
 Worm, casting the, Div. Hi. 69 
 Swimming the, Div. Hi. 97 
 Worm-casting, hook with bent 
 shank for, Div. i. 87 ; 
 Div. Hi. 70 
 Worm-fishing for char, Div. Hi. 103 
 For grayling, Div. Hi. 99 
 For salmon, Div. Hi. 124 
 In chalk streams, Div. Hi. 47 
 Worm-oil, Div. i. 63, 108 
 Worm-tackle, throe-hook, Div. Hi. 
 68 
 Two-hook, Div. Hi. 68 
 Wormery, Div. i. 58 
 Worming for moorland trout, Div. 
 Hi. 67-70 
 For sea-trout, Div. Hi. 88 
 For trout in clear water, Div. 
 
 Hi. 67-70 
 For trout in lakes, Div. Hi. 81 
 For trout in thick water, Div. 
 Hi. 67 
 Worms, Div. i. 34, 57 ; Div. iv. 37, 
 39,42 
 Cockspur, Div. i. 58 
 For roach-fishing, Div. t. 53 
 Ground-baiting with, Div. i. 54 
 How to carry, Div. Hi. 69 
 How to cut up, Div. i. 55 
 To handle, Div. xii. 69 
 To scour, Div. i. 57; Div. Hi. GO 
 "Varieties of, Div. i. 58 
 Wrasse, Div. iv. 107 
 
 EEEATA. 
 
 Div. I., page 31, last line. 
 „ „ 32, first line. 
 
 For "rudd," read "roach." 
 For "roach," read "rudd." 
 
"Under the editorship of Mr. R. B. Marston the Gazette has attained a high 
 standing."— Daily Sews. "An excellent paper."— The World. 
 
 Iff y©n 
 
 to mm 
 
 Angler 
 
 And do not know the 
 
 > 
 
 o< FISHING GAZETTE, t» 
 
 send a Post Card, asking for a Copy, to the Manager of THE 
 FISHING GAZETTE, St. Dunstan's House, Fetter Lane, London. 
 The Gazette contains every week Twenty folio pages of 
 Original Articles on Angling of every kind. The Paper has 
 recently been much enlarged and improved. 
 
 SOME BOOKS FOR ANGLERS. 
 
 NEAR AND FAR : an Angler's Sketches of Home Sport and Colonial 
 Life. By William Senior (" Red Spinner "), Angling Editor of the Field ; 
 Author of " Waterside Sketches," &c. Crown 8vo, cloth, 6s. 
 
 FLOATING FLIES AND HOW TO DRESS THEM. By Frederic If. 
 Halford. With full Illustrated Directions, and containing Ninety Hand- 
 Coloured Engravings of the most Killing Patterns, together with a few Hints 
 to Dry-Fly Fishermen. Second Edition. Demy 8vo, cloth, 15s. 
 
 MODERN IMPROVEMENT IN FISHING-TACKLE AND FISH- 
 HOOKS. By H. Cholmondeley-Pennell. With Two Hundred Illustra- 
 tions. Crown 8vo, cloth, 2s. 
 
 WATERSIDE SKETCHES. By • ' Red Spinner " (Wm. Senior). Imp. 32mo, 
 boards, Is. 
 
 RECOLLECTIONS OF FLY-FISHING FOR SALMON, TROUT, 
 AND GRAYLING. By Edward Hamilton, M.D., F.L.S., &c. Ulus- 
 trated. Small post 8vo, cloth extra, 6s. 
 
 AN AMATEUR ANGLER'S DAYS IN DOVEDALE. Being an Account 
 of my Three Weeks' Holiday in July and August, 1884. Imp. 32mo, fancy 
 boards, Is. ; limp leather-cloth, gilt edges, Is. 6d. 
 
 HOW AND WHERE TO FISH IN IRELAND. By Hi Regan. With 
 
 Map, and numerous Text Illustrations. Second Edition, crown 8vo, 3s. 6d. 
 
 THE ART OF TROUT-FISHING ON RAPID STREAMS. By H. C. 
 
 Cutclifke, F.RC.S. Small post 8vo, cloth, 3s. 6d. 
 
 THE BOOK OF THE ROACH. By the late J. Greville Fennell. In 
 cloth, 2s. 
 
 FLY-TYING. By James Ogden. Illustrated. 2s. 6d. 
 
 London : 
 
 SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, & RIVINGTON, Limited, 
 
 St. Dunstan's House, Fetter Lane. 
 
Xsty JBajflflp, 
 
 is8W*w 
 
 Journal of f*|p Ijfonsp 
 
 Published Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 
 
 Ei'aUUkaTl 
 20 Year: J 
 
 PRICE 2d. 
 
 [Registered a* 
 a Newspaper. 
 
 S a Literary Journal of great practical use and interest 
 
 in every household, "The Bazaar, Exchange and Mart" 
 
 stands unrivalled, as the following list of subjects, whicr 
 
 have appeared or are about to appear, conclusively proves : 
 
 *British Cage Birds, by R. L Wallace; 
 
 *Violin Playing, by J. M. Fleming; *Turning for Amateurs, by the Rev. J. Lukin; 
 
 *Firework Making for Amateurs, by Dr. Browne; 
 
 *British Dogs, by Hugh Dalziel; 
 
 *Sea-Fishing for Amateurs, by Frank Hudson; 
 
 *Goat-keeping for Amateurs, by H. S. Holmes Pegler ; 
 
 The Fresh- water Aquarium, by the Rev. G, C. Bateman ; 
 
 Collecting Autographs, by the Rev. Dr. Scott; Roman Imperial Coins; 
 
 Basket Making for Amateurs, by F. Wright; 
 
 Etching for Amateurs, by Fred. Miller; *Bee-keeping, by W. B. Webster; 
 
 *Games of Patience, by Miss Whitmore Jones; 
 
 The Microscope, by J. Horner; Gilding and Silvering, by T. Wright: 
 
 The Marine Aquarium, by R. A. R. Bennett; *Monkeys, by A. Paterson ; 
 
 ^Mediterranean Winter Resorts, by E. A R. Ball; 
 
 Organ Work, by Arthur Hopkins; 
 
 Photography for Amateurs, by J. Eaton Fearn ; 
 
 Engravings and their Value; 
 
 * Roses for Amateurs, by the Rev. J. H. D'Ombrain; 
 
 Ventriloquism for Amateurs, by H. Woollen; 
 
 * These articles have since been republished in book form. See Catalogue, sent free by post. 
 
 Subscriptions. — These can commence at any time, and be for any period, 
 from I month to I year, but must be prepaid. The terms are : 
 
 i Month. 3 Months. 6 Months. 12 Months. 
 
 One Issue Weekly -/i i . . 2/8 . . 5/4 . . 10/8 
 
 Two Issues Weekly 1/9 .. 5/4 .. 10/8 .. 21/4 
 
 Three Issues Weekly 2/8 . . 8/- . . 16/- . . 32/- 
 
 Stamps received for small sums. P.O.'s and Cheques to be payable to 
 L. Upcott Gill. 
 
 "The Bazaar" can be obtained at the principal Newsagents', and at all 
 Railway Stalls. Price 2d., or direct from the Office for two stamps. 
 
 OFFICE: 170, STRAND, LONDON, W.C. 
 

 Catalogue of Practical Handbooks Pub- 
 lished by L. Upcott Gill, i/o, Strand, 
 London, W.C. 
 
 ANGLER, BOOK OF THE ALL-ROUND. A Compre- 
 hensive Treatise on Angling in both Fresh and Salt Water In 
 Four Divisions : i, Coarse Fish ; 2, Pike ; 3, Game Fish ; 4, Sea 
 *isn. Each Division is complete in itself, as named below. By 
 John Bickerdyke. With over 220 Engravings. In cloth, price 
 5* 6d. Large Paper Edition (200 copies only, signed and 
 numbered), bound in Roxburghe, price 2 is. to Subscribers. 
 
 Angling for Coarse Pish. A very Complete and Practical 
 Work on Bottom Fishing, according to the methods in use on the 
 Thames, Trent, Norfolk Broads, and elsewhere. Illustrated. Price 
 is., cloth 2s. (uncut). 
 
 Angling for Pike. A Practical and Comprehensive Work on 
 the most Approved Methods of Fishing for Pike or Jack ; including 
 an Account of Some New Tackles for Spinning, Live-baiting, and 
 Trolling. Profusely Illustrated. Price is., cloth 2s. (uncut). 
 
 Angling for Game Fish. A Practical Treatise on the Various 
 Methods of Fishing for Salmon ; Moorland, Chalk-stream, and 
 Thames Trout ; Grayling, and Char. Well Illustrated. Price 
 is. 6d., cloth 2s. 6d. (uncut). 
 
 Angling in Salt Water. A Practical Work on Sea Fishing 
 with Rod and Line, from the Shore, Piers, Jetties, Rocks, and from 
 Boats ; together with Some Account of Hand-Lining. Over 50 
 Engravings. Price is., cloth 2s. (uncut). 
 
 BEE-KEEPING, BOOK OF. A very Practical and Complete 
 Manual on the Proper Management of Bees, especially written 
 for Beginners and Amateurs who have but a few Hives. Fully 
 Illustrated. By W. B. Webster, First-class Expert, B.B.K.A 
 Price is.; in cloth, IS. 6d. 
 
 BEES AND BEE-KEEPING : Scientific and Practical. By 
 F. R. Cheshire, F.L.S., F.R.M.S., Lecturer on Apiculture at 
 South Kensington. In two vols., price ids. 
 
 Vol. I., Scientific. A complete Treatise on the Anatomy and 
 Physiology of the Hive Bee. In cloth gilt, price Js. 6d. 
 
 Vol. II., Practical Management of Bees. An Exhaustive 
 Treatise on Advanced Bee Culture. In cloth gilt, price 8s. 6d. 
 
 BICYCLES AND TRICYCLES OF THE YEAR 
 
 Descriptions of the New Inventions and Improvements for the Present 
 Season. Designed to assist intending purchasers in the choice of a 
 machine. Illustrated. By Harry Hewitt Griffin. (Published 
 Annually.) In paper, price is. 
 
 V All Books Post Free. CI.— 1 
 
BOAT BUILDING AND SAILING, PRACTICAL. 
 
 Containing Full Instructions for Designing and Building Punts, Skiffs, 
 Canoes, Sailing Boats, &c. Particulars of the most Suitable Sailing 
 Boats and Yachts for Amateurs, and Instructions for their Proper 
 Handling. Fully Illustrated with Designs and Working Diagrams. 
 By Adrian Neison, C.E., Dixon Kemp, A.I.N.A., and G. 
 Christopher Davies. In one vol., doth gilt, price js. 6d. 
 
 BOAT BUILDING FOR AMATEURS, PRACTICAL. 
 
 Containing Full Instructions for Designing and Building Punts, Skiffs, 
 Canoes, Sailing Boats, &c. Fully Illustrated with Working Diagrams. 
 By Adrian Neison, C.E. Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged 
 by Dixon Kemp, Author of "Yacht Designing," "A Manual ' of 
 Yacht and Boat Sailing," &c. In cloth gilt, price 2s. 6d. 
 
 BOAT SAILING FOR AMATEURS. Containing Par- 
 ticulars of the most Suitable Sailing Boats and Yachts for Amateurs, 
 and Instructions for their Proper Handling, &c. Illustrated with 
 numerous Diagrams. By G. Christopher Davies. Second Edition, 
 Revised and Enlarged, and with several New Plans of Yachts. In 
 cloth gill, price $s. 
 
 BOOKBINDING FOR AMATEURS: Being Descriptions 
 of the various Tools and Appliances Required, and Minute Instructions 
 for their Effective Use. By W. J. E. Crane. Illustrated with 156 
 Engravings. In cloth gilt, price is. 6d. 
 
 BROADS, THE LAND OF THE. By E. R. Suffling. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED EDITION.— The most Complete Guide to 
 the whole of the District — embracing the Broads and their Water- 
 ways of Norfolk and Suffolk — that has yet been published. A 
 good Map of the Broads, Rivers, Chief Roads, and Places named, 
 printed in four colours, accompanies the work. Price is. 6d. 
 
 CHEAP EDITION.— An abridged Edition of the above, with 
 some Plates of Characteristic Sketches by J. Temple. A good 
 and clear Map, in black and white, is also given. In Coloured 
 Cover, price is. 
 
 BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS, COLLECTING: Being 
 
 Directions for Capturing, Killing, and Preserving Lepidoptera and 
 their Larvae. Illustrated. Reprinted, with Additions, from " Practi- 
 cal Taxidermy." By Montagu Browne. In paper, price is. 
 
 CACTUS CULTURE FOR AMATEURS: Being 
 
 Descriptions of the various Cactuses grown in this country ; with 
 Full and Practical Instructions for their Successful Cultivation. 
 By W. Watson, Assistant Curator of the Royal Botanic Gardens, 
 Kew. Profusely Illustrated. In cloth gilt, price $s. 
 
 CAGE BIRDS, BRITISH. Containing Full Directions for 
 Successfully Breeding, Rearing, and Managing the various British 
 Birds that can be kept in Confinement. Illustrated with 
 COLOURED PLATES and numerous finely cut Wood Engravings. 
 By R. L. Wallace. In cloth gilt, price \os. 6d. 
 
CAGE BIRDS, DISEASES OF: Their Cause, Symptoms, 
 and Treatment. A Handbook which should be in the hands of 
 everyone who keeps a Bird. By Dr. W. T. Greene, F.Z.S. In 
 paper, price is. 
 
 CANARY BOOK. Containing Full Directions for the Breeding, 
 Rearing, and Management of all Varieties of Canaries and Canary 
 Mules, the Promotion and Management of Canary Societies and 
 Exhibitions, and all other matters connected with this Fancy. By 
 Robert L. Wallace. Second Edition, Enlarged and Revised, 
 with many new Illustrations of Prize Birds, Cages, &c. In cloth gilt, 
 price $s. ; Coloured Plates, 6s. 6d. j and in Sections as follows : 
 
 Canaries, General Management of. Including Cages and 
 Cage-making, Breeding, Managing, Mule Breeding, Diseases and their 
 Treatment, Moulting, Rats and Mice, &c. Illustrated. In cloth, 
 price 2s. 6d. 
 
 Canaries, Exhibition. Containing Full Particulars of all the 
 different Varieties, their Points of Excellence, Preparing Birds for 
 Exhibition, Formation and Management of Canary Societies and 
 Exhibitions. Illustrated. In cloth, price 2s. 6d. 
 
 CARD TRICKS, BOOK OF, for Drawing-room and Stage 
 Entertainments by Amateurs ; with an Exposure of Tricks as practised 
 by Card Sharpers and Swindlers. Numerous Illustrations. By Prof. 
 R. Kunard. Illustrated Wrapper, price 2s. 6d. 
 
 CHURCH EMBROIDERY: Its Early History and Manner 
 of Working ; Materials Used and Stitches Employed ; Raised and 
 Flat Couching, Applique, &c, &c, including Church Work over 
 Cardboard. A practical handbook for Church Workers. Illustrated. 
 In paper, price is. 
 
 CHURCH FESTIVAL DECORATIONS. Comprising 
 Directions and Designs for the Suitable Decoration of Churches for 
 Christmas, Easter, Whitsuntide, and Harvest. Illustrated. A useful 
 book for the Clergy and their Lay Assistants. In paper, price is. 
 
 COFFEE STALL MANAGEMENT, PRACTICAL 
 
 HINTS ON, and other Temperance Work for the Laity. In paper, 
 price is. 
 
 COINS, A GUIDE TO ENGLISH PATTERN, in Gold, 
 Silver, Copper, and Pewter, from Edward I. to Victoria, with their 
 Value. By the Rev. G. F. Crowther, M.A. Illustrated. In 
 silver cloth, with gilt facsimiles of Coins, price gft 
 
 COINS OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, A 
 
 GUIDE TO THE, in Gold, Silver, and Copper, from the Earliest 
 Period to the Present Time, with their Value. By the late Colonel W. 
 Stewart Thorburn. Of immense value to collectors and dealers. 
 27 Plates in Gold, Silver, and Copper, and 8 Plates of Gold and 
 Silver Coins in RAISED FACSIMILE. In cloth, with stiver fac- 
 similes of Coins, price js. 6d. 
 
COLLIE, THE. Its History, Points, and Breeding. By 
 Hugh Dalziel. Illustrated. Demy 8vo, price is.; cloth, 2s. 
 
 COLUMBARIUM, MOORE'S. Reprinted Verbatim from 
 the original Edition of 1735, with a Brief Notice of the Author. By 
 W. B. Tegetmeier, F.Z.S. Price is. 
 
 COOKERY FOR AMATEURS; or, French Dishes for 
 English Homes of all Classes. Includes Simple Cookery, Middle- 
 class Cookery, Superior Cookery, Cookery for Invalids, and Breakfast 
 and Luncheon Cookery. By Madame Valerie. Second Edition. 
 In paper, price is. 
 
 CUCUMBER CULTURE FOR AMATEURS. Including 
 also Melons, Vegetable Marrows, and Gourds. Illustrated. By 
 W. J. May. In paper, price is. 
 
 DEGREES, A GUIDE TO, in Arts, Science, Literature, 
 Law, Music, and Divinity, in the United Kingdom, the Colonies, the 
 Continent, and the United States. By E. Wooton, Author of "A 
 Guide to the Medical Profession," &c. In cloth, price i^s. 
 
 DOGS, BREAKING AND TRAINING: Being Concise 
 Directions for the proper Education of Dogs, both for the Field and 
 for Companions. Second Edition. By "Pathfinder." With Chapters 
 by HUGH Dalziel on Work of Special Breeds ; Trail or Drag 
 Hounds ; Training Bloodhounds ; Defenders and Watch Dogs ; 
 Sheep Dogs— Stock Tenders ; Life Savers — Water Dogs ; Vermin 
 Destroyers ; House Manners ; Behaviour Out of Doors. Illustrated. 
 In cloth gilt, price 6s. 6d. 
 
 DOGS, BRITISH : Their Varieties, History, and Characteristics. 
 By HUGH Dalziel, assisted by Eminent Fanciers. NEW 
 EDITION, Revised and Enlarged. Illustrated with First-class 
 COLOURED PLATES and full-page Engravings of Dogs of the 
 Day. This will be the fullest and most recent work on the various 
 breeds of dogs kept in England, and, as its Author is one of the 
 first living authorities on the subject, its accuracy can be relied 
 upon. Demy 8vo. In two Volumes, price 10s. 6d. each, as 
 follows : 
 
 Dogs Used in Field Sports. Containing Particulars of the 
 following, among other Breeds : Greyhound, Irish Wolfhound, 
 Bloodhound, Foxhound, Harrier, Basset, Dachshund, Pointer, 
 Setters, Spaniels, and Retrievers. Seven COLOURED Plates and 
 21 full-page Engravings. In cloth gilt, price 10s. 6d. 
 
 Dogs Useful to Man in other Work than Field Sports ; 
 House and Toy Dogs. Containing Particulars of the following, 
 among other Breeds : Collie, Bulldog, Mastiff, St. Bernard, New- 
 foundland, Great Dane, Fox and all other Terriers, King Charles 
 and Blenheim Spaniels, Pug, Pomeranian, Poodle, Italian Greyhound, 
 Toy Dogs, &c, &c. Coloured Plates and full-page Engravings. 
 In cloth gilt, price 10s. 6d. 
 
170, Strand, London, W.C. 
 
 DOGS, DISEASES OF: Their Causes, Symptoms, and 
 Treatment ; Modes of Administering Medicines ; Treatment in 
 cases of Poisoning, &c. For the use of Amateurs. By HUGH 
 DALZIEL. Second Edition. In paper, price is. ; in cloth gilt, 2s. 
 
 DUCKS AND GEESE: Their Characteristics, Points, and 
 Management. Splendidly Illustrated. In paper, price is. 6d. 
 
 EXHIBITION ACCOUNT BOOKS. For use at all Dog, 
 Poultry, Rabbit, and Cage Bird Shows. In Four Books, comprising : 
 I. Minute Book ; II. Cash Book ; III. Entries Book; IV. Ledger. 
 With Full Directions, and Illustrative Examples for Working them. 
 N.B. — The Set of Four Books is kept in Three Series: No. 1, 
 for Show of 500 Entries, 5s. the Set ; No. 2, for 1000 Entries, "js. 6d. 
 the Set ; and No. 3, for 1500 Entries, 12s. 6d. the Set. Larger 
 sizes in proportion. The books can be had separate. Minute 
 Book — No. 1, is. ; No. 2, is. 3d. ; No. 3, 2s. Cash Book — 
 No. 1, 2s. ; No. 2, 2s. 6d. ; No. 3, 4s. Entries Book — No. 1, 
 2s. ; No. 2, 2s. 6d. ; No. 3, 4s. Ledger — No. 1, 2s. ; No. 2, 2s. 6d. ; 
 No. 3, 4s, 
 
 FANCY WORK SERIES, ARTISTIC. A Series of Illus- 
 trated Manuals on Artistic and Popular Fancy Work of various 
 kinds. Each number is complete in itself, and issued at the uniform 
 price of 6d. Now ready — (1) Macrame Lace (Second Edition) ; 
 (2) Patchwork ; (3) Tatting ; (4) Crewel Work ; (5) Applique ; 
 (6) Fancy Netting. 
 
 FERNS, CHOICE BRITISH. Descriptive of the most 
 beautiful Variations from the common forms, and their Culture. By 
 C. T. Druery, F.L.S. Very accurate PLATES, and other Illus- 
 trations. In cloth gilt, price 2s. 6d. 
 
 FERRETS AND FERRETING. Containing Instructions 
 for the Breeding, Management, and Working of Ferrets. Second 
 Edition, Re-written and greatly Enlarged. Illustrated. In paper, 
 price bd. 
 
 FERTILITY OF EGGS CERTIFICATE. These are 
 Forms of Guarantee given by the Sellers to the Buyers of Eggs for 
 Hatching, undertaking to refund value of any unfertile eggs, or to 
 replace them with good ones. Very valuable to sellers of eggs, as 
 they induce purchases. In books, with counterfoils, price 6d. 
 
 FIREWORK- MAKING FOR AMATEURS. A most 
 complete, accurate, and easily understood work on Making both 
 Simple and High-class Fireworks. By Dr. W. H. Browne, M.A. 
 Price 2s. 6d. 
 
 FOREIGN BIRDS, AMATEUR'S AVIARY OF; or, 
 
 How to Keep and Breed Foreign Birds with Pleasure and Profit in 
 England. Illustrated. By W. T. Greene, M.D., M.A., F.Z.S.,F.S.S., 
 &c., Author of " Parrots in Captivity," &c. In cloth gilt, price 3s. 6d. 
 
 FOX TERRIER, THE. Its History, Points, Breeding, 
 Rearing, Preparing for Exhibition, and Coursing. By Hugh 
 Dalziel. Illustrated. Price is.; cloth, 2s. 
 
Published by L. UPCOTT GlLL, 
 
 GAME AND GAME SHOOTING, NOTES ON. Mis- 
 cellaneous Observations on Birds and Animals, and on the Sport 
 they afford for the Gun in Great Britain, including Grouse, Partridges, 
 Pheasants, Hares, Rabbits, Quails, Woodcocks, Snipe, and Rooks. 
 By J. J. MANLEY, M.A. Illustrated. In cloth gilt, 400pp., 
 Price js. 6d. 
 
 GAME PRESERVING, PRACTICAL. Containing the 
 fullest Directions for Rearing and Preserving both Winged and 
 Ground Game, and Destroying Vermin ; with other Information of 
 Value to the Game Preserver. Illustrated. By William Carnegie. 
 In cloth gilt, demy 8vo, price 2\s. 
 
 GARDENING, DICTIONARY OF. A Practical Encyclo- 
 paedia of Horticulture, for Amateurs and Professionals. Illustrated 
 with upwards of 2240 Engravings. Edited by G. NICHOLSON, 
 Curator of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew ; assisted by 
 Prof. Trail, M.D., Rev. P. W. Myles, B.A., F.L.S., W. Watson, 
 J. Garrett, and other Specialists. In 4 vols., large post 4to. 
 Vol. I., A to E, 552pp., 743 Illustrations ; Vol. II., F to O, 544pp., 
 811 Illustrations; Vol. III., P to S, 537pp., 564 Illustrations; 
 Vol. IV., T to Z, and Supplement of Pronouncing Dictionaiy, 
 Indices to Plants for Special Purposes, Recent Introductions, &c. 
 322 Illustrations. Price 15^. each. 
 
 GARDEN PESTS AND THEIR ERADICATION. 
 
 Containing Practical Instructions for the Amateur to overcome the 
 Enemies of the Garden. With numerous Illustrations. In paper, 
 price is. 
 
 GOAT, BOOK OF THE. Containing Full Particulars of the 
 various Breeds of Goats, and their Profitable Management. With 
 many Plates. By H. Stephen Holmes Pegler. Third Edition, 
 with Engravings and Coloured Frontispiece. In cloth gilt, 
 price 4s. 6d. 
 
 GOAT-KEEPING FOR AMATEURS: Being the Practi- 
 cal Management of Goats for Milking Purposes. Abridged from 
 "The Book of the Goat," by H. S. Holmes Pegler. Illustrated. 
 In paper, price is. 
 
 GREENHOUSE MANAGEMENT FOR AMATEURS. 
 
 Descriptions of the best Greenhouses and Frames, with Instructions 
 for Building them, particulars of the various methods of Heating, Illus- 
 trated Descriptions of the most suitable Plants, with general and 
 special Cultural Directions, and all necessary information for the 
 Guidance of the Amateur. Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged. 
 Magnificently Illustrated. By W. J. May. In cloth gilt, price $s. 
 
 GREYHOUND, THE : Its History, Points, Breeding, 
 Rearing, Training, and Running. By HUGH Dalziel. With 
 Coloured Frontispiece. In cloth gilt, demy 8vo, price 2s. 6d. 
 
 GUINEA PIG, THE, for Food, Fur, and Fancy. Illustrated 
 with Coloured Frontispiece and Engravings. An exhaustive book 
 on the Varieties of the Guinea Pig, and its Management. By 
 C. Cumberland, F.Z.S. In cloth gilt, price 2s. 6d. 
 
170, Strand, London, W.C. 
 
 HANDWRITING, CHARACTER INDICATED BY. 
 
 With Illustrations in Support of the Theories advanced taken from 
 Autograph Letters of Statesmen, Lawyers, Soldiers, Ecclesiastics, 
 Authors, Poets, Musicians, Actors, and other persons. Second 
 Edition. By R. Baughan. In cloth gilt, price is. 6d. 
 
 HARDY PERENNIALS and Old-fashioned Garden Flowers. 
 Descriptions, alphabetically arranged, of the most desirable 
 Plants for Borders, Rockeries, and Shrubberies, including 
 Foliage as well as Flowering Plants. Profusely Illustrated. 
 By J. WOOD. In cloth, price $s. 
 
 HORSE-KEEPING FOR AMATEURS. A Practical 
 Manual on the Management of Horses, for the guidance of those 
 who keep them for their personal use. By Fox Russell. 
 Price is. 
 
 HORSES, DISEASES OF: Their Causes, Symptoms, and 
 Treatment. For the use of Amateurs. By HUGH Dalziel. In 
 paper, price is. 
 
 JOURNALISM, PRACTICAL : How to Enter Thereon and 
 Succeed. A Manual for Beginners and Amateurs. A book for all 
 who think of " writing for the Press." By JOHN Dawson. In cloth 
 gilt, price is. 6d. 
 
 LEGAL PROFESSION, A GUIDE TO THE. A Prac- 
 tical Treatise on the various Methods of Entering either Branch of 
 the Legal Profession ; also a Course of Study for each of the 
 Examinations, and selected Papers of Questions ; forming a Com- 
 plete Guide to every Department of Legal Preparation. By J. H. 
 Slater, Barrister-at-Law, of the Middle Temple. Price 7s. 6d. 
 
 LIBRARY MANUAL, THE. A Guide to the Formation 
 of a Library and the Valuation of Rare and Standard Books. 
 By J. H. Slater, Barrister-at-Law. Second Edition. In cloth, 
 price 2s. 6d. 
 
 LILY OF THE VALLEY: All About It, and How to Grow 
 It ; Forced Indoors and Out of Doors, in Various Ways. By 
 William Roberts. In paper covers, price 6d. 
 
 MEDITERRANEAN WINTER RESORTS. A Prac- 
 tical Handbook to the Principal Health and Pleasure Resorts on the 
 Shores of the Mediterranean. By E. A. R. Ball. With a Map and 
 
 27 Illustrations. Fcap. Zvo, price 3s. 6d. 
 
 MICE, FANCY: Their Varieties, Management, and Breeding. 
 Re-issue, with Criticisms and Notes by Dr. Carter Blake. 
 Illustrated. In paper, price 6d. 
 
 MODEL YACHTS AND BOATS : Their Designing, Making, 
 and Sailing. Illustrated with 118 Designs and Working Diagrams. 
 A splendid book for boys and others interested in making and rigging 
 toy boats for sailing. It is the best book on the subject now pub- 
 lished. By J. DU V. GROSVENOR. In leatherette, price $s. 
 
Published by L. Upcott GlLL, 
 
 MONKEYS, NOTES ON PET, and How to Manage Them. 
 
 Profusely Illustrated. By Arthur Patterson. Cloth gilt, price 
 
 is. 6d. 
 MUSHROOM CULTURE FOR AMATEURS. With 
 
 Full Directions for Successful Growth in Houses, Sheds, Cellars, 
 and Pots, on Shelves, and Out of Doors. Illustrated. By W. J. 
 May. In paper, price is, 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY SKETCHES among the Car- 
 nivora — Wild and Domesticated ; with Observations on their 
 Habits and Mental Faculties. By Arthur Nicols, F.G.S., 
 F.R.G.S. Illustrated. In cloth gilt, price $s. 
 
 NEEDLEWORK, DICTIONARY OF. An Encyclopaedia 
 of Artistic, Plain, and Fancy Needlework ; Plain, practical, 
 complete, and magnificently Illustrated. By S. F. A. CAULFEILD 
 and B. C. Saward. Accepted by H.M. the Queen, H.R.H. the 
 Princess of Wales, H.R.H. the Duchess of Edinburgh, H.R.H. the 
 Duchess of Connaught, and H.R.H. the Duchess of Albany. Dedi- 
 cated by special permission to H.R.H. Princess Louise, Marchioness 
 of Lome. In demy tfo, 528pp., 829 I/lustrations, extra cloth gilt, 
 plain edges, cushioned bevelled boards, price 21s./ with COLOURED 
 PLA TES, elegant satin brocade cloth binding, and coloured edges, 
 31 s. 6d. 
 
 PAINTING, DECORATIVE. A Practical Handbook on 
 Painting and Etching upon Textiles, Pottery, Porcelain, Paper, 
 Vellum, Leather, Glass, Wood, Stone, Metals, and Plaster, for the 
 Decoration of our Homes. By B. C. Saward. Cheap Edition, 
 price $s. 
 
 PARROTS, THE SPEAKING. The Art of Keeping and 
 Breeding the principal Talking Parrots in Confinement. By Dr. 
 Karl Russ. Illustrated with COLOURED PLATES and 
 Engravings. In cloth gilt, price t>s. 
 
 PATIENCE, GAMES OF, for one or more Players. A 
 very clearly- written and well-illustrated Book of Instructions on How 
 to Play no less than Forty different Games of Patience. By Miss 
 Whitmore Jones. Illustrated. Second Edition. Price is. 
 
 PERSPECTIVE, THE ESSENTIALS OF. With nume- 
 rous Illustrations drawn by the Author. By L. W. Miller, 
 Principal of the School of Industrial Art of the Pennsylvania 
 Museum, Philadelphia. This book is such a manual as has long 
 been desired for the guidance of art students and for self-instruction. 
 The instructions are clearly set forth, and the principles are vividly 
 enforced by a large number of attractive drawings. Price 6s. 6d. 
 
 PHEASANT-KEEPING FOR AMATEURS. A Practi- 
 
 cal Handbook on the Breeding, Rearing, and General Management 
 of Fancy Pheasants in Confinement. By GEO. HORNE. Illustrated 
 with Diagrams of the necessary Pens, Aviaries, &c, and a 
 COLOURED FRONTISPIECE and many full-page Engravings of 
 the chief Varieties of Pheasants, drawn from life by A. F. Lydon. 
 In cloth gilt, price y. 6d. 
 
170, Strand, London, W.C. 
 
 PIANOFORTES, TUNING AND REPAIRING. The 
 
 Amateur's Guide to the Practical Management of a Piano without 
 the intervention of a Professional. By Charles Babbington. 
 In paper, price 6d. 
 
 PICTURE FRAME MAKING FOR AMATEURS. 
 
 Being Practical Instructions in the Making of various kinds of 
 Frames for Paintings, Drawings, Photographs, and Engravings. 
 Illustrated. By the Author of " Carpentry and Joinery," &c. Cheap 
 Edition, in paper, price is. 
 
 PIG, BOOK OF THE. Containing the Selection, Breeding, 
 Feeding, and Management of the Pig ; the Treatment of its 
 Diseases ; the Curing and Preserving of Hams, Bacon, and other 
 Pork Foods ; and other information appertaining to Pork Farming. 
 By Professor James Long. Fully Illustrated with Portraits of Prize 
 Pigs, by Harrison Weir and other Artists, Plans of Model 
 Piggeries, &c. In cloth gilt, price 10s. 6d. 
 
 PIGEONS, FANCY. Containing Full Directions for the 
 Breeding and Management of Fancy Pigeons, and Descriptions of 
 every known Variety, together with all other information of interest 
 or use to Pigeon Fanciers. Third Edition, bringing the subject 
 down to the present time. 18 COLOURED PLATES, and 22 
 other full-page Illustrations. By J. C. LVELL. In cloth gilt, price 
 I or. td. 
 
 POKER BOOK, THE. A Practical Book on Playing the 
 Fascinating Game of Draw Poker with Success. Price is. 
 
 POULTRY FOR PRIZES AND PROFIT. Contains: 
 Breeding Poultry for Prizes, Exhibition Poultry, and Management 
 of the Poultry Yard. Handsomely Illustrated. New Edition, Revised 
 and Enlarged. By Professor J AMES LONG. In cloth gilt, price 3s. 6d. 
 
 RABBIT, BOOK OF THE. A Complete Work on Breeding 
 and Rearing all Varieties of Fancy Rabbits, giving their History, 
 Variations, Uses, Points, Selection, Mating, Management, &c, &c. 
 NEW EDITION, Revised and Enlarged. Edited by KEMPSTER 
 W. Knight. With an additional chapter on "Hutch Rabbit 
 Farming in the Open," by Major Morant. Illustrated with 
 Coloured and other Plates. One handsome vol., price \$s. 
 
 RABBITS FOR PRIZES AND PROFIT. Containing 
 Full Directions for the Proper Management of Fancy Rabbits in 
 Health and Disease, for Pets or the Market, and Descriptions of 
 every known Variety, with Instructions for Breeding good specimens. 
 Illustrated. By Charles Rayson. In cloth gilt, price 2s. 6d. 
 Also as follows : — 
 
 Babbits, General Management of. Including Hutches, 
 Breeding, Feeding, Diseases and their Treatment, Rabbit Coverts, &c. 
 Fully Illustrated. In paper, price is. 
 
 Rabbits, Exhibition. Being descriptions of all Varieties of 
 Fancy Rabbits, their Points of Excellence, and how to obtain them. 
 Illustrated. In paper, price is. 
 
10 Published by L. Upcott Gill, 
 
 REPOUSSE WORK FOR AMATEURS : Being the Art 
 of Ornamenting Thin Metal with Raised Figures. By L. L. Haslope. 
 Illustrated. In cloth gilt, price is. 6d. 
 
 ROSES FOR AMATEURS. A Practical Guide to the 
 Selection and Cultivation of the best Roses, both for Exhibition or 
 mere Pleasure, by that large section of the Gardening World, the 
 Amateur Lover of Roses. Illustrated. By the Rev. J. Honywood 
 D'Ombrain, Hon. Sec. of the National Rose Society. Price is. 
 
 ST. BERNARD, THE. Its History, Points, Breeding, and 
 Rearing. By HUGH Dalziel. Illustrated. Demy 8vo, cloth, price 
 is. 6d. 
 
 SEA-FISHING FOR AMATEURS. Practical Instructions 
 to Visitors at Seaside Places for Catching Sea-Fish from Pier-heads, 
 Shore, or Boats, principally by means of Hand Lines, with a very 
 useful List of Fishing Stations, the Fish to be caught there, and 
 the Best Seasons. By Frank Hudson. Illustrated. Crown 8vo, 
 Price is. 
 
 SEASIDE WATERING PLACES. A Description of 
 nearly 200 Holiday Resorts on the Coasts of England and Wales, 
 the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, including the gayest and 
 most quiet places, giving full particulars of them and their attractions, 
 and all other information likely to assist persons in selecting places 
 in which to spend their Holidays according to their individual tastes ; 
 with BUSINESS DIRECTORY of Tradesmen, arranged in order 
 of the Towns. Sixth Edition. Illustrated. In cloth, price 2s. 6d. 
 
 SHEET METAL, WORKING IN : Being Practical In 
 structions for Making and Mending Small Articles in Tin, Copper. 
 Iron, Zinc, and Brass. Illustrated. Third Edition. By the Rev. 
 J. Lukin, B.A. In paper, price 6d. 
 
 SHORTHAND, ON GURNEY'S SYSTEM (IM- 
 PROVED), LESSONS IN : Being Instruction in the Art of 
 Shorthand Writing as used in the Service of the two Houses 
 of Parliament. By R. E. Miller. In paper, price \s. 
 
 SHORTHAND SYSTEMS; WHICH IS THE BEST? 
 
 Being a Discussion, by various Experts, on the Merits and Demerits 
 of all the principal Systems, with Illustrative Examples. Edited by 
 Thomas Anderson. In paper, price is. 
 
 SICK NURSING AT HOME : Being Plain Directions and 
 Hints for the Proper Nursing of Sick Persons, and the Home 
 Treatment of Diseases and Accidents in case of Sudden Emer- 
 gencies. By S. F. A. Caulfeild. In paper, price is. ; bound 
 in cloth, price is. 6d. 
 
 SKATING CARDS : An Easy Method of Learning Figure 
 Skating, as the Cards can be used on the Ice. In cloth case, is. 6d., 
 or in strong leather pocket book, price y. 6d.; or in extra calf, 
 satin lined, price $s. 6d. 
 
170, Strand, London, W.C. 11 
 
 SLEIGHT OF HAND. A Practical Manual of Legerdemain 
 for Amateurs and Others. New Edition, Revised and Enlarged. 
 Profusely Illustrated. By E. Sachs. Cloth gilt, 6s. 6d. 
 
 SNAKES, MARSUPIALS, AND BIRDS : A Book of 
 Anecdotes, Adventures, and Zoological Notes. A capital Book for 
 Boys. By Arthur Nicols,F.G.S.,F.R.G.S.,&c. Illustrated. Pricey. 
 
 TAXIDERMY, PRACTICAL. A Manual of Instruction to 
 the Amateur in Collecting, Preserving, and Setting-up Natural His- 
 tory Specimens of all kinds. Fully Illustrated with Examples and 
 Working Diagrams. By MONTAGU Browne, F.Z.S., Curator of 
 Leicester Museum. Second Edition. In cloth gilt, price js. 6d. 
 
 THEATRICALS AND TABLEAUX VIVANTS FOR 
 
 AMATEURS. Giving Full Directions as to Stage Arrangements, 
 " Making-up," Costumes, and Acting. With Numerous Illustrations. 
 By Chas. Harrison. In cloth gilt, price is. 6d. 
 
 TOURIST'S ROUTE MAP of England and Wales, 
 The. Third Edition, thoroughly Revised. Shows clearly all 
 the Main, and most of the Cross, Roads, and the Distances between 
 the Chief Towns, as well as the Mileage from London. In addition 
 to this, Routes of Thirty of the most Interesting Tours are printed in 
 red. The Map is mounted on linen, and is the fullest, handiest, and 
 best tourist's map in the market. In cloth, price is. 
 
 TOYMAKING FOR AMATEURS. Containing Instruc- 
 tions for the Home Construction of Simple Wooden Toys, and of others 
 that are Moved or Driven by Weights, Clockwork, Steam, Electricity, 
 &c. Illustrated. By James Lukin, B.A. In cloth gilt, price 4s. 
 
 TRAPPING, PRACTICAL: Being some Papers on Traps 
 and Trapping for Vermin, with a Chapter on General Bird Trap- 
 ping and Snaring. By W. Carnegie. In paper, price is. 
 
 TURNING FOR AMATEURS: Being Descriptions of the 
 Lathe and its Attachments and Tools, with Minute Instructions 
 for their Effective Use on Wood, Metal, Ivory, and other Materials. 
 New Edition, Revised and Enlarged. By James Lukin, B.A. 
 Illustrated with 144 Engravings. In cloth gilt, price 2s. 6d. 
 
 VEGETABLE CULTURE FOR AMATEURS. Con- 
 
 cise Directions for the Cultivation of Vegetables so as to insure 
 Good Crops in Small Gardens ; with Lists of the Best Varieties of 
 each Sort. By W. J. May. In paper, price is. " None more 
 simple and practically useful." — The British Mail. 
 
 VINE CULTURE FOR AMATEURS: Being Plain Direc- 
 tions for the Successful Growing of Grapes with the Means and 
 Appliances usually at the command of Amateurs. Illustrated. Grapes 
 are so generally grown in villa greenhouses that this book cannot fail 
 to be of great service to many persons. By W. T- May. 
 
 VIOLIN SCHOOL, PRACTICAL, for Home Students. A 
 Practical Book of Instructions and Exercises in Violin Playing, 
 for the use of Amateurs, Self-learners, Teachers, and others With 
 a Supplement on " Easy Legato Studies for the Violin." By 
 J. M. Fleming, i handsome vol., demy \to, half-Persian, price qs. 6d. 
 
12 Published by L. UPCOTT GlLL, 170, Strand, London, W.C. 
 
 WATERING PLACES OF FRANCE, NORTHERN. 
 
 A Guide for English People to the Holiday Resorts on the Coasts 
 of the French Netherlands, Picardy, Normandy, and Brittany. By 
 Rosa Baughan. In paper, price is. 
 
 WOOD CARVING FOR AMATEURS. Containing De- 
 scriptions of all the requisite Tools, and Full Instructions for their 
 Use in producing different varieties of Carvings. Illustrated. A 
 book of very complete instructions for the amateur wood carver. 
 In paper, price is. 
 
 London: L. UPC0T1 'GILL, 170, Strand, W.C. 
 
 Croum 8vo, cloth, with Illustrations, Price 5s. 
 
 For the Use ok Manufacturers, Mechanics, and Scientific Amateurs. 
 By ERNEST SPON. 
 
 Crown 8vo, cloth, 5s. 
 
 WORKJHOF HECBIPfS 
 
 (SECOND SERIES). 
 By ROBERT HALDANE. 
 Devoted mainly to subjects connected with Chemical Manufactures. An entirely New 
 Volume. Uniform in Size, Style, and Type with the Original " Workshop Receipts." 
 
 Crown 8co, cloth, 5«. 
 
 (THIRD SERIES). 
 By C. G. WARNFORD LOCK, F.L.S. 
 
 Devoted mainly to Electrical and Metallurgical Subjects. 
 
 Crown 8 to, cloth, 5*. 
 
 W@IIil@P BECEIPXI 
 
 (FOURTH SERIES). 
 By C. G. WARNFORO LOCK, F.L.S. 
 
 Devoted mainly to Handicrafts and Mechanical Subjects. 
 250 Illustrations, with Complete Index, and a General Index to the Four Series. 
 
 Demy 8vo, cloth, 6s. 
 
 SPONS' MECHANIC'S OWN BOOK: 
 
 A Manual for Handicraftsmen and Amateurs, complete in one large vol., 
 containing 700pp. and 1420 Illustrations. Second Edition. 
 
 Contents : 
 Mechanical Drawing : Casting and Founding in Iron, Brass. Bronze, and other Alloys ; 
 Forging and Finishing Iron ; Sheet-metal Working ; Soldering, Brazing, and Burning: Carpentry 
 and Joinery, embracing descriptions of some 400 Woods, over 200 Illustrations of Tools and their 
 Uses. Kxplanations (with Diagrams) of 116 Joints and Hinges, and Details of Construction of 
 Workshop Appliances, Rough Furniture. Garden and Yard Krections, and House- Building ; 
 Cabinet- Making and Veneering ; Carving and Fretcutting ; Upholstery ; Painting, Graining, 
 and Marbling; Staining Furniture. Woods, Floors, and Fittings; Gilding, Dead and Bright, ou 
 various grounds ; Polishing Marble, Metals, and Wood ; Varnishing ; Mechanical Movements, 
 illustrating contrivances for transmitting Motion; Turning in Wood and Metals; Ma-onry, 
 embracing Stonework, Brickwork, Terra-cotta. and Concrete ; Rooting with Thatch, Tiles, 
 Slates, Felt, Zinc, etc.; Glazing with and without Putty, and Lead Glazing; Plastering and 
 Whitewashing; Paperhanging; Gas-fitting ; Bell-hanging, ordinary anl electric systems; Light- 
 ing; Warming; Ventilating; Roads, Pavements, and Bridges; Hedges, Ditches, and Drains; 
 Water Supply and Sanitation; Hints on House Construction suited to New Countries. 
 
SOME BOOKS FOR ANGLERS 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON AND GO 
 
 WALTON AND COTTON'S COMPLEAT ANGLER. 
 
 The Lea and Dove Illustrated Edition. Being the One Hundredth Edition of Walton and 
 Cottons over-i onular work . "The Compleat Angler." Edited, with Live* of Walton and 
 Cotton by R. B. MARsTON, Editor of the Fishing Gazette, Hon. Treasurer of the Flv 
 iishers Club, &c. and containing a Reprint (by permission) of "The Chronicle of the 
 Compleat Angler, 'being a Bibliogra- hical Record of its >ariou< Editions and imitations 
 By THOMAS WESTWOOD and THOMAS SATCHELL. The principal Teature of ' thfs 
 Edition will be a set of fifty-four Full-page Photogravures, printed from Copper Plates, ou 
 tine ula'e paper, of views on the Lea, Dove, &c. 
 EDITION DE LUXE, in 2 vol-., royal 4to, each copy numbered and signed, to Subscribers 
 £10 10s. nett. 
 The DEMY QUARTO EDITION, bound in half morocco, gilt top, £5 5s. nett. 
 ''The noblest gift-book that has been issued for many years."— St. James' Gazette. 
 " Never has Walton been more honoured Among collectors, therefore, there is no ques- 
 tion but that the b >ok will be attractive. It will be one of the forms in which the work of 
 Walton will be most coveted."— Standard. 
 
 "These sumptuous \olmaei."— Spectator. "A truly magnificent edition."— Field. "This noble 
 edition."— Duili/ New*. 
 
 READY IN THE SPRING. 
 
 DRY PLY PISHING IN THEORY AND PRACTICE. 
 
 By Frederic M. Halford, F.L.S., Author of "Floating Flies and How to Dress Them," 
 "Detached Badger" ot the Field, Member of the " Houghton Club," "Flv Fishers' Club," 
 &C. An Edition de Luxe, limited to 100 copies, and th^ First Edition of "500 copies, are in 
 preparation, and will be published this season. Illustrated with Platen showing the Position 
 of the Rod and Line in making various Casts used in Dry Fly Fishing; also Coloured 
 and other Plates, giving the Li e History of the Mayfly; a Coloured Plan showing how the 
 Weeds in a River should be Cut, &c, &c. 
 
 CONDITIONS OF PUBLICATION. 
 
 Edition de Luxe, imperial octavo, printed on the best English hand made paper, hound in full 
 morocco, with gilt top, with the plates on mounts. Limited strictly to 100 copies. Each copy will 
 be numbered and signed. Price per copy. Subscribers, £,i 5s. 
 
 First Edition, royal octavo, printed on the finest printing paper, cloth extra, 500 copies. Price 
 per copy, Subscribers, £1 5s. 
 
 N.B.— All Coloured Illustrations are hand-coloured in both Editions, except the plans illustrat- 
 ing Chapters IV. and XIII. 
 
 FLOATING FLIES AND HOW TO DRESS THEM. A 
 
 Treatise on the most Modern Methods of Dre 5 sing Artificial Flies for Trout and Grayling. 
 
 Witli full illustrated Directions, and containing ninety Hand-coloured Engravings of the 
 
 most Killing Patterns, together with a few Hints to Dry-fly Fishermen. By Frederic M. 
 
 Halford, "Detached Badger" of The Field, Member of the Houghton dub, Fly-fishers' 
 
 Club, &c. Second edition, demy 8vo. cloth, 15s.. post free. 
 
 " Of Blue Duns and Bumbles, of hooks and their eyes, 
 Of Red Tags and Coachmen, and all sorts of flies: 
 Of Wickhams, Red Spinners, and others, ne'er failing 
 To lure out of water the trout and the grayling- 
 Here Halford discourses, and shows a collection 
 Of ninety fly-portraits, all limned to perfection : 
 A capital volume, and no one will doubt it. 
 No fisherman now should be ever without it ! "— Punch. 
 
 NEAR AND FAR : an Angler's Sketches of Home Sport and 
 
 COLONIAL LIFE. By Wsi. Senior (" Red Spinner "), Angling Editor of The Field, Author 
 of " Waterside Sketches," &c. Crown Svo, cloth, 6s. 
 " The author is not merely an expert all round angler, but is an all-round lover of nature ; and 
 he hast he very happy faculty of knowing how to describe what he sees and what he has done. He 
 has fished, and shot, "and hunted, and communed with nature the world over; and he describes his 
 adventures with a lightness and brightness of touch which to anyone who has in him the least 
 ove of nature cannot but be irresistibly charming."— Finking Gazette. 
 
 __ ^^ _• -_t — _ w- -»-, ■■-»<— i If you do not Vnow the paper, send a post-card to the 
 
 T^O A IN G LbK ^« Manager of THE FISHING GAZETTE, St. Dunstan's 
 
 A ^^ j^h^^^'V^ House, Fetter Lane, London. 
 
 TO anglers. — " ftbe Jfisbing (Sa3ette" 
 
 is Devoted entirely to Angling, and gives, every Saturday, Original Articles, Reports from 
 Rivers, Clubs, Correspondence ; and has a Splendid Show of Advertisements from leading 
 Fishing Tackle Makers, Fishing Hotels, &c. 
 __ ^ _ -«.t-^-. t -r^T> C* Send for a LIST OF BOOKS ON ALL KINDS OF 
 
 nrO A N CB LER S« ANGLING to Manager of THE FISHING GAZETTE, 
 
 -*• ^^ *r*.** 2mZ—Z v St. Dunstan's House, Fetter Lane, London. 
 
AT THE " FIELD " OFFICE, 346, STRAND, LONDON, W.C. 
 
 Fourth Edition. In post 8co, limp cloth, gilt, price 2s. bd., by post 2s. 8d. 
 WTTE ART OF SKATING; With Illustrations, Diagrams, and Plain 
 ^Directions for the Acquirement of the Most Difficult and Graceful Movements. By 
 Gbokgk Andkkso.n ("Cyclos"), Vice-President of the Crystal Palace Skating Club, and 
 for many years President of the Glasgow Skating Club. 
 
 Third Edition. Price 7s. bd., by post Is. lOd. 
 irrfiURE SKATING: Being the Theory and Practice of the Art as 
 "Developed in England, with a Glance at its Origin and History. By H. C. 
 Vandervkll and T Maxwell Witham (Members of the London Skating .Club) There 
 are thousands of skaters who attain a small amount of skill in Figure Skating and there 
 stop bectSse they neither know what to do, or how to do it A reference to this, the 
 acknowledged Text Book of Figure Skating, will solve any difficulty that may have stopped 
 progress for years. It now includes all the new Figures, with the new nomenclature which 
 has been authorised by the Skating Club. 
 
 Price 8d., by post £W. 
 
 TFHE "FIELD" LAWN TENNIS UMPIRES' SCORE-SHEET BOOK 
 
 1 (Sixty Sets), with Instructions for the Use of Umpires. Adapted for the Lse of 
 Umpires, as used at the Championship Meetings. 
 
 Fourth Edition. In demy Uto, on toned paper, and infancy cover, price 2s., by post 2s. 2d. 
 WTTF "ROOK OF DINNER SERVIETTES contains a New Intro- 
 ^ ductionon The Decoratio^i of Dinner Tables, and General Directions for Folding the 
 Serviettes There are Twenty-one different kinds given, with Ninety-two Woodcuts 
 illustrative of the various Folds required and the Serviettes complete. 
 
 Demy Bvo, price 5«. bd., by post 5s. 10a*. 
 
 tptt-r -ROTHAJISTED EXPERIMENTS ON THE GROWTH OF 
 ^WHEATBA^EY,AND THE MIXED HERBAGE OP GRASS LAND. By 
 William Fueam, B.Sc Lond., F.L.S., F.G.S., KS.S. 
 
 In demy 8vo, price 3s. bd., by post 3s. 9d. 
 
 UINTS ON THE MANAGEMENT OF HAWKS. By J. E Habtino, 
 
 i 1 Author of " A Handbook of British Birds," " Essays on Sport and Natural History. 
 
 Price Is., by post Is. 2d. With Full-Page Coloured Illustration and Woodcuts. 
 
 JiLAS'S SAND GROUSE : It* 
 
 Vreservation. By W. B. Tegetmeier. 
 
 PALLAS'S SAND GROUSE: Its Natural History, and a 
 
 * T>-^ rvntinn Rv W. B. TEGETMEIEK. 
 
 WHE RULES OF PIGEON SHOOTING. Published by Special Per- 
 1 nTissL ; the Hurlingham Club and the Gun Club Rules of Pigeon Shooting. Second 
 Edition. Bound together in cloth, gilt edges, price 6d. , by post 7d. 
 
 TT7TTF LAWS OF LAWN TENNIS, as adopted by the Marylebone 
 1 Cricket Club and the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club. Entered at 
 Stationers' Hall. Price 6d. , by post oid. 
 
 "FIELD" OFFICE, 
 
 346, STRAND, LONDON, W.C. 
 
IP LPS 1DIUT HRT1CLES 
 
 Have been known for nearly 100 years to be the best 
 which can be obtained ; the best articles are, in the long run, always the cheapest. 
 
 s&PvONN \i A.WQ W 
 
 tyft fORTHE CROWTHrftESTORATlON-, 
 VA &FOR BEAUT/FYINC THE HUMAN HMFi 
 
 ROWLANDS' MACASSAR OIL 
 
 Is the best and safest preserver and beautifler of the hair, and has a most 
 delicate and fragrant bouquet. It contains no lead or mineral ingredients, and 
 can also be had in 
 
 A GOLDEN COLOUR 
 
 for fair and golden-haired children, and people whose hair has become grey. 
 Sizes : 3/6, 7/- ; 10/6, equal to four small. 
 
 ROWLANDS KALYDOR 
 
 Is a most soothing emollient and refreshing preparation for the face, hands, 
 and arms. It removes all freckles, tan, sunburn, sting of insects, prickly heat, 
 chaps, redness, irritation and roughness of the skin, &c, produces a beautiful 
 and delicate complexion, and renders the 
 
 SKIN SOFT, FAIR, 
 
 and delicate ; it is warranted free from any greasy or metallic ingredients. Sizes : 
 4/6 and 8/6. Half-sized bottles at 2/3. 
 
 ROWLANDS' 0D0NT0 
 
 Is the best, purest, and most fragrant Tooth Powder; it prevents and arrests 
 decay, strengthens the gums, gives a pleasing fragrance to the breath, and 
 renders the 
 
 TEETH WHITE AND SOUND. 
 
 ROWLANDS' EUKONIA 
 
 Is a pure and delicate toilet powder, free from any bismuth or metallic ingredients 
 Sold in three tints, white, rose, and cream, 2/6 per box. Ask for 
 
 ROWLANDS' ARTICLES, 
 
 of 20, Hatton Garden, London, and avoid cheap, spurious imitations, under 
 the same or similar names. 
 
Purveyors by Special "Warrants to 
 H.M. THE QUEEN 
 and 
 by special H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES. BY special 
 
 APPOINTMENT. APPOINTMENT. 
 
 SPRATTS patent 
 
 Meat "Fibrine" Vegetable 
 
 DOG C A K ES 
 
 (WITH BEETROOT). 
 
 BEWARE OF WORTHLESS IMITATIONS! 
 SEE EACH CAKE IS STAMPED 
 
 SPRATTS PATENT and a "X-» 
 
 —.».»»♦♦♦■»♦♦■»♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ ♦♦♦»•»»»»----- 
 
 COD LIVER OIL 
 
 ID O G- GJLKIES. 
 
 Por Puppies after Distemper, and for Dainty Feeders and 
 Sick or Pet Dogs. 
 
 DISTEMPER POWDERS, WORM POWDERS, MANGE, ECZEMA, 
 and EAR CANKER LOTIONS, TONIC CONDITION PILLS, &c. 
 PAMPHLET ON CANINE DISEASES, 
 
 And full List of Medicines, Post Free. 
 
 Dog, Poultry, Game Houses Appliances. 
 
 •X-O POULTRY PLSilLllERS. 
 
 SPRATTS PATENT 
 POVIrTIT M £ A Ir. 
 
 The Most Nutritious and Digestible Food for Chicks and Laying Hens (being 
 
 thoroughly cooked). Samples Post Free. 
 
 New Edition of " THE COMMON SENSE of POULTRY KEEPING," 3d., Post Free. 
 
 GRANULATED PRAIRIE MEAT, " CRISSEL" 
 
 Price 25s. per cwt. Takes the Place of Insect Life. 
 
 "CARDIAC:" A TONIC POR POULTRY. 
 
 Price Is. per Packet, or 3s. per 71b. Bag. 
 
 GAME ^ZE-A-Xj- 
 
 SAMPLE AXD FUZL PARTICTTLAJtS POST FREE. 
 Extract from "THE FIELD ":—" Thanks to Spratts Pheasant Meal and Crissel, I 
 have reduced the cost a great deal, and reared a considerably greater average. With Spratte 
 Food they require no custards, ants' eggs, or, in fact, anything from hatching till they are 
 turned in coverts and eat corn."— Careful Sportsman. ^ 
 
 "The Common Sense of Pheasant Rearing," 3d., Post Free. 
 
:j;: t 
 
 ft 
 
 e 
 
 ES 
 
 "X," 
 
 2 8. 
 
 KZEIHJL 
 
 ,ic, 
 
 inces. 
 
 j. 
 
 j 
 
l&W) 
 
 " VINDOJIltO tO o 
 
 « SANTA »A»BA*A • 
 
 \ 
 
 e OF CAtlFOKNIA • 
 
 U 
 
 £0 
 
 3^ 
 
 io A«va«n 3Hi o 
 
 o THE UNIVERSITY o 
 
 g£ 
 
 SB 
 
 ° SANIA 8AK8AHA ° 
 
 B 
 
 a OF CAllfORNIA 
 
 u 
 
 €Q 
 
 3 in 
 
 o VSVTOV8 ViNVS o 
 
 / 
 
 < 
 
 < 
 u 
 
 O 
 
 • JO AWmi 3HJ. o 
 
 « AllS«AINn 3H1 • 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF o 
 
 Q3 
 
 ^S 
 
 r> 
 
 viNsoinvD jo o 
 
 o V»VMV8 V1NVS o 
 
 9 
 
 m 
 
 AiisaaAiNn 3Hi o 
 
 £ 
 
 o THE LIBRARY OF o 
 
 ^£ 
 
 * 
 
 n 
 
 o THE UNIVERSITY a 
 
 8 
 
 / 
 
 o viN»ojny3 iO o 
 
VHVSUV9 Y1NVS o 
 
 3 1205 00351 8378 
 
 Of CAUFOINIA a 
 
 
 
 < 
 
 14 
 
 A 
 
 3 
 
 
 Nt 
 
 
 
 
 "5 
 
 Jn 
 
 < 
 
 7 
 
 O JiilS*3AINn 3H1 °