ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY New York State Colleges OF Agriculture and Home Economics AT Cornell University THE GIFT OF WILLARD A. KIGGINS, JR. in memory of his father SH 439 c^^^S="""'-™«V Library The book of the all-round angler; a compr 3 1924 003 577 917 The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924003577917 The Book OF THE All- Round Angler. A COMPREHENSIVE TREATISE ON ANGLING IN BOTH FRESH AND SALT WATER. BY JOHN BICKERDYKE. WITH OVER 150 ENGRAVINGS. LONDON ■ L. UPCOTT GILL, 170, STRAND, W.C. 1888. 360184 PRINTED BY A. BRADLEY, 170. STRAKD, LONDON, W.C. CONTENTS. Introdtjction bt "Red Spinnee" (William Seniok). DIVISION I.— COARSE FISH. CHAPTER I. Some G-bneeal Peinciples. The Pishes 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 fob Bottom Fishing. Rods — Rpd-flttings — Reels and Winches — Running Liaes — Hooks — Gut, Hair, Knots, and Leads — ^Float Tackle and Floats — ^Leger and Pater- noster — ^Landing-net, &o., &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— Pishing with Silk-weed — Punt- fisMng — Legering for Koach — ^Fishing in High and Coloured Water — Oatchiag, Scouring, and Keeping LoWorms — Winter Fishing— Roach-fishing in Lakes, Ponds, Meres, and Canals. CHAPTER IV. The Perch. Habits — Baits — Minnow-catching — Patemoster- ing — Float-fishing — Legering — ^Lake and Pond Fishing. CHAPTER V. The Basbel. Habits and Haunts — ^Baits — ^Legering — Ground- baiting — Fishing with Float Tackle, Nottingham Style — Tight-corking — Clay-ball Fishing. CHAPTER VI. The Chub. Attributes — Habits and Haunts — Plies and Ply- fishing — Bait-casting — Fishing with Progs — Dibbing — Legering — ^Nottingham Fishing. CHAPTER VII. The Dace. Habits and Haunts — Bottom Fishing — Baits and Ground-baits — FHes and Fly-fishing — Eyed Hooks and Knots — ^Blow-line Pishing. CHAPTER VIII. The Gitdgeon. Habits and Haunts — Thames and other Methods of Gudgeon-fishing. CHAPTER IX. The Caep. Habits and Haunts — Baits— Two Days' Caj^j-fish- ing — Float-fishing — A Self-cocking Float — Legering. CONTENTS. V CHAPTER X. The Tench. Habits and Haunts — Baking a Pond — River Tencli — Baits an,d Ground-baits — Legering and Float- flsbing. CHAPTER XI. The Bbeam. Carp-Bream — Bream Plat — Habits and Haunts — Making a Night of it — Baits and Ground-baits — ^Ploat- fisMng and Legering — The Ouse Method — Pond and Lake Pishing. CHAPTER XII. The Rttdd. Habits and Haunts — Tackle and Baits — Plies 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 XV. Small-prt. Minnows — Stone Loach or CoUoch — Ruffe or Pope — Miller's Thumb or Bullhead — Stickleback. CHAPTER XVI. Pish not Commonly Caught by the Feesh-water Anglee. Lamprey — ^Flounder — Burbolt or Burbot — Azurine Roach — Vendace — ^Powan — Pollan — Gwyniad — Graining. Tl CONTENTS. DIVISION II.— PlItE. CHAPTER I. iNTEODtrcTOET. Appearance — Local Names — Rate of Growth — Size — Food — Voracity — Edible Qualities — Growing Scarcity — Necessity for Pisli-culture — A Breeding-pond — Haunts and Habits in Summer and "Winter — General Remarks on Pike-fisUng. 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 — Patemostering — Legering. CHAPTER lY. Dead-bait Fishing. Modem Spinning Flights — Traces — How to Prevent Sinking — ^Thames Style of Spinning — Trent Style of Spinning — ^Preserved Baits — ^Eel Tail — Artificial Spinning Baits. CHAPTER Y. Dead-bait Fishing, contimied. Trolling with the Dead Gorge — Improved Adjustable Gorge-hook — Trolling with Snap Tackle— Fly-fishing. CONTENTS. DIVISION III.— GAME FISH. CHAPTER I. iNTEODrcTOET. The Game Fish, of Great Britain — ^Popularity of Fly-fisliing — Peculiarities of Salmon and Trout, &c. — Simple Method of Trout-breeding. CHAPTER II. Chalk-steeam Teout. Hahits and Haunts — Rod and Tackle for Dry-fly Pishing — Eyed Hooks and Knots — Plies with Di-vided Wings — Casting the Ply — Playing the Pish — Pishing with the Floating Fly — The May-fly Season — Fishing with the Sunk or Wet Fly — ^Blow-line Pishing — Minnow and Worm Pishing. CHAPTER III. MoOELAND Teout. 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. liAXE Teottt. Habits and Haunts — Ferox and Gillaroo — Some ■Useful Flies — Ply-fishing from the Shore — Management of the Boat — Dapping with the Green Drake — Spinning or Trolling — The Live-bait — Worm-fishing. CHAPTER V. Sea Teotjt. Habits and Haunts — Some Standard Flies — ^Fly- fishing — Other Methods of Fishing. B 2 vm CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI. Thames Teout. Habits and Haunts,— Some likely Flies— Fly- fishing — Spinning — Live-baitiag — A New Tacile. CHAPTER YII. Gbatling. Habits and Haunts — ^Plies — Dry and "Wet Ply- fisbing — ^The Grasbopper — Swimming tbe Worm. CHAPTER yni. Char. H-abits and Haunts — Fly-fisbing — Spinning — ^Pisbing at Mgbt with tbe Worm. CHAPTER IX. Salmon. Habits and Haunts — Waders and Dress — Rod and Tackle for Ply-fishing — ^Knots — Standard Plies — Casting and Working the Ply — Striking, Playing, and Gaffing the Pish — Spinning or Trolling — Pishing with Prawn and Worm — Trent Method of Salmon-fishing. DIVISION IV.— SEA-FISH. CHAPTER I. Inteodtjctoet. Pishing for Pleasure and Profit — Advantages of Piae Tackle — A Cure for tbe Supercilious Fresh-water Angler — ^Angling Sometimes oiit of the Question. CHAPTER II. Tackle. A Useful Outfit — General Rod — Rings and Fittings — Ply-rod — Lines — Reels and Winches — GaiE-book — Landing- net — Hooks — Tbe 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 — Oocklea — Crabs — Cuttle — Earthworms — Eels — Garfish — 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 Sandworm — Ground-baits. CHAPTER IV. 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 — STottingham 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 Geet Mitllet. Habits and Food — Various Methods of Surface Angling — Mid-water and Bottom Fishing — Fly- fishing. I CONTENTS. CHAPTER Tin. The Mackerel. Habits — Whiffing and Trailing — Fishing from a Boat at Anchor — ^What not to do. CHAPTER IX. Some othee Sea-fish. Braize — Bream — ^Brill— Chad — Cod — Conger — Dabs — Dog-fish — Dory — Flounder — Garfish — Gnmard — Haddoei — ^ake — Halibut — Herring — Horse Mackerel — Ling — Plaice — Poor Cod — Red Mnllet — Sea Trout — Skate — Smelt — Sole— Turbot— Whiting— Whiting Pout — Wrasse. * ?■ ■ » ■< >< ■ PREFACE. HE inf ormatioii given in the following pages is based, for the most part, 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 thank several friends — specialists, I may term them, in various branches of angKng — 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 ' Tbis has been also published separately, under the title, " Angling in Salt Water.' Xll PEEPACE. to such, a pitch of perfection, and is such a large Bubject, 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 fiy-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 qf those anglers who d6 not require or cannot afford the whole work. Any repetition there may be is certainly inconsiderable, and should b,e 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 "as 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 PBEPACE. XUl 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 BICKERDTKB. INTRODUCTION. HE "AU-round Angler," after all, may be said to represent tie laasses of the brother- hood. 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 sahn,onidAll 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 PEECH. 65 banks 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 comers 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 hut over its hariks, and clearing after a flood, and the nights are frosty, and the days open, that the very best perah-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 — wiU 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, a 66 AN&LINa FOE COARSE FISH. a small artificial spinning bait, wiicli sTiould revolve very quickly, and be kept very brigbt. Of worms, the best are thoroughly well scoui-ed lobworms in winter, or at any time when the water is coloured, and redwoi-ms 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 when 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. VIII.). 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 scuU, boat-hook, or pole, into about 3ft. or 4ft. of water. A hole among the weeds, and the shallows below weirs, are 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 wintei', the minnows are found mostly in ditches and small streams which drain into the river. They do not then come Fib. 28. MiNNOW-NET ON Boat-hook. likely places in summer. * The best bait-cana have perforated zinc interiors, irhicli enable the minnows to be lifted oat without vetting the hands. When the can is carried, the water is aerated by washing against and tlirough 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 aerates 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 moat of the tackle shops. A MINNOW-TRAP. 67 well over the net, and often have to be driven into it by beating the wajier and poking the 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- « 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 obtailiable. 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. Fatemosteriug 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 Tia. 29. Perch Pateenoster. bS ANQLTSa FOB COABSE 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 gnt 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 link 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 patemostering 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 STJCCESSFUL PATBENOSTEBING. 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. Very 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. 'Kow hold the rod steady, and keep the line taut. In a moment you may feel a alight 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 mUd 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 ANOLiira fob coabse fish. ally applied to the reel. This cast must be carefully practised before the angler goes a-fisbing, unless be wishes to spoil bis own sport, and that of any friend be 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 oast 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 hoolr, 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 vritb. Float-tackle for Ferch.— 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 angles 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 Sin. 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 ttree 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 running-taokle, can cast his hook, baited with gudgeon or minnow, into aU 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 imder. ^egering for Fercli 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 Fond Fercb-fisliiug. — 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 aometimea 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 FOE COARSE FISH. bait* will often determine the most fishy spots, hut 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 Sin. long ; in 20ft., they would all be within an ounce or two of ^Ib. 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 artiflcial spinning baits are bought expressly for perch, I should recom- mend small gold or silver DeTons, very small gold and silver Clippers, or FarloVs " Watchet " minnow— in short, any very quick-spinning, brilliant bait. If a natural minnow is used, it cannot be mountied 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, Delow the lead being two small brass swivels. These are sold ready made. PEESH-WATEK SHKIMPS FOB PEECH. 73 mentioned in every book on bottom fishing for several centuries past. I met an angler last season who informed me that, when he foand the perch taking shyly, he always fished with a small triangle, one hook of which he put through the minnow's lip. With this aiTangement, 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. OHAPTBE V. THE BARBEL. Habits and Haunts — Baits — Legering — Ground-iaitimg — Fishing with Float Tackle in the Nottingham Style — Tight-corking — Clay-hall Fishing. ABBEL, when you can catcli tltetn, give better sport than 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 beUy 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 aometimes very poisonons. THAMES METHOD OP BAKBEL-PISHING. 75 depth considerable. In tie 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 67). Gentles and greaves are also good, and occasionally cheese is killing. In autumn, a small lampem 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. Legermg 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 ti-ifle 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 ouiTents 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 C0AB8E FISH. the fish. If the river is clear, the angler should cast to A, where the water is prohably deep. If the water is coloured, he should cast to B, where the pool usually shallows a little. Of course, aU pools are not alike, but there is, in most cases, a family like- ness. The punt might he 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 18 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 tiy the swim the morning after. Fie. 30. Position of Punt in Weir- pools, FOR BARBEL-EISHINO. * The late Francis Francis once caught a barbel weighing 6ilb. 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. GBOTIND-BAITING FOB 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 wonns 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 hai'd 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 oS half the harb of the hook when angling for leather-mouthed fish, such as barbel, chub, and carp. A touch or two with the file pn each side of the hook is also an advantage. 78 ANGLING FOR COABSE FISH. catch some large dace. When dace bite f redy 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-fisMng 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 TBENT ANGLEKS' COCOA NUT SHELLS. 79 very deadly metbod, 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, flshing, 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 oi'der, is shown in Fig. 21, on page 47. Cla.y-ball-fish,ing 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 stifE rod is desirable, and the tackle need not be very fine. If the oO ANGLING FOR COABSE FISH. bait is a worm, some broken -worms sbould, 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 caxefulness, and rise early enough, you will, no doubt, catch many barbel, and enjoy grand sport. CHAPTER VI. THJS CHUB (CHEVIN, CHEVENDER, LABGE-HEADED DACE, SKELLYj. Attributes — Habits and Haunts — Flies and Fly-fishing— Bait- casting — Fishing with Frogs — Dibhing — Legering — Notting- ham Mshinq. EIGHT good fish, to angle for, and a foul bad one to eat, 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 bot- tom-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 th& day he is caught. Fillet him, egg and bread- crumb the fillets, and fry in lytitter. There is another good recipe in the "Compleat Angler." 82 ANGLING POK COAESB FISH. Ms eyes not being red, as are the eyes of roaot and rudd, and by Ms 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 chevia of 51b. or over — that is, if you coUect specimen fish. Chub spawn in May, and afterwards — in June — stay for a week or two in the swift-running shaUows to scour themselves. Later on* they retire to their regular haunts, which are, for the most part, holes overhung by trees, 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 witMes 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 ia particular. Fly-fisbiug and Bait-casting for Chnb 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 spHt-cane fly-rod, a heavy, di'essed, 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 ones. Mr. W. Senior (" Red Spinner "), * In much-disturbed rivers, such as the Thames, chub only lemain on the shaUows a few weeks : but in quieter waters, such as the Bedfordshire Ouse, they are found in quite shallow water as long as the weather is warm, and in such places they flfford great sport to the fly-fisher. CHUB-rLIES. 83 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 body is of chenille tinsel, with a tail, iin. 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 taU-feather, tied down at head and tail. The former fly is best when the water is clear, arid 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 8i ANGLING FOE COASSE PISH. 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 nayigable, the fly-fisher must, of course, fish from the hank, 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 PvMed Tight. Fig. 31. Method of Fastening Gut to Chub-flies mounted on Eted 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 requii-e. The angler kneels, sits, or crouches in the stem, and casts his fly with a good splash close to the bank, under overhanging bbughs, and in every THE FROG-BAIT FOE CHTJB. 85 spot where there is the least chance of finding a chuh. 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, flle down half the barb, and sharpen the point ; bite on a No. 1 shot, Jin. 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 kUl 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 POK COARSE FISH. Fig. 32. If a large frog is used — for ctub 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, mor Coating with Perch-rod. Small Frog, for Casting with Fly-rod. Fig. 32. Baiting with Dead Frogs fob. 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 backwai-d 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 u LEGEEING FOE CHUB. 87 the shank end of whicli 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 hoot Fie. 33. Hook the size of which depends on the bait used. SSk, for Bees, wasps, black beetles, small frogs, cock- ^0^" '^^^' chafers, grasshoppers, moths, large flies — all are good baits for the purpose. 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 imwind 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 Chula is carried on either with the leger or with float tackle. Legering for chub difflers 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, Ob ANGLING FOE COAESE FISH. , and the leger nraet 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 got at with float tackle. The only method of float fishing' for chub worthy our con- sideration is that practised by the Trent anglers, and already described in the chapter on Roach, on pages 43 and 51, to which I beg to refer the reader. -The tackle, save that it is rather stronger, is in all respects the same. The rod should be the stouter one described on page 13. It is better to have the quUl 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 (Pig. 34) shows their relative positions, though the float shown is not a very good representa- ll tion of a quill. I always serve the gut round with silk at the spot where the leads are placed. The hook is shovm baited with cheese-paste ; the shape into which it is squeezed is very important. FIG. 34. Float r, i j- j. ■ n i j t -i Tackle fob Some anglers prefer a triangle, but I hardly wnHCHES! ^^^'^ ™-'-^® ^ ^^^ ^ •"• ^^^^ ^ single 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 Bound 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 CHTJB-BAITS. Hi) polish, SO that if some o£ the cheese tumbles ofE, 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-oheese 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 overhangiug 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- colov/red, 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 ofE, 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-taokle and baits we, if in a small stream, take up a position on the bank 20yd8. 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 rOK COAESE 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 cubes 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 ai'e in a good fish. Immediately after striking we reel up as fast 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 probably 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 whiflh 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 rypecks, 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 "FEAEFrLLEST 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 1 am right. Izaak Walton truly wrote that the chub is the "fearfuUest of fish;" but he is also the most greedy, and one of the most stupid. The sight of a man in motion, an unnatural 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 ; hut 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 drifting 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 ofE 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 1 can hope to make a careless person a good fisherman. CHAPTEE VII. TEH DACE (DARE OB DABT). Habits and Saunts — Bottom-fishing — Baits and Ground-baits — Flies and Fly-fishing — Eyed SooTcs and Knots — Blow-line Fishing. ACE are brigit, 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 dis- tinguished 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 con- taining coarse fish, and is frequently found in trout-streams, to the detriment of the trout; but it is absent fi-om 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 ; indeed, 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 PEOPEE HALF OF A LOBWOEH FOB DACE. 93 in barbel-swims, to tbe great discomfiture of the barbel-fisber, 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 purpose 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 large 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 very quiet, deep comer 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 hoot. 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 Jiage '54), and the same arrangement answers very well for the lobworm. All roach- 94 ' ANGLING POE COABSE PISH. baits will take dace, but I bave already mentioned tbe best. Botb roacb and dace are very variable in their feeding. One day, in the Loddon, I found tbe roacb take wbeat, and tbe dace gentles. Tbe following day I could only catcb dace on wbeat, and roacb on gentles. Dace can very often be caugbt witbout tbe use of ground- bait, but when fisbed for from a punt in tbe Tbames fasbion (see page 49), a ground-bait consisting of balls of clay, bran, and a few carrion gentles, is nearly always used. Tbe clay is very useful, as it sinks tbe balls of ground-bait rigbt in tbe swim, wbicb is usually ratber a rapid one. Tbe more feeding groimd-bait recommended for roacb (see page 35) also answers for dace, provided it is made stifB enougb to withstand tbe stream, and contains a small pebble to make it sink quickly; but it should be tbi'own in very sparingly, as dace are small feeders. If tbe angler is fishing after the Nottingham fashion (see page 43), he should occasionally throw in a few of tbe 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 tbe swim. It is no use ground-baiting tbe fish 20yds. down tbe river when your float and tackle only travel 15yds. Baking tbe 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 tbe trout-fishing which is obtaiued 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 (tbe stiffer tbe rod, tbe 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-rLT PISHING FOE DAOB. 95 fine gut 4iii. 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. Begianers should content themselres 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 ia Pig. 35). The only objection to it is that the files 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, kq 35. mabston Knot striking gently, but as quicUy as Dropper Flies. possible, when a fish rises at one of the files. 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. Veteran 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 fiy would do which had alighted on the surface of the 96 ANGLING FOB COARSE FISH. water. Any pull of tlie 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 tryiag it, but feel sure it is a good fly. Quill gnats and small governors 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 difPerence 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 sufB.cient 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 anglei-, 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 reaUy well cooked. ' Jw > ■» < I CHAPTEE VIII, THE GUDGEON. Habits and Haunts — Tackle and Baits — Thames and other Methods of Gudgeon-fishing. LITTLE fish, whicli takes the bait as eagerly as the most impatient angler could wish all through the hot weather, when no other fish, except chub, can be persuaded 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. Is. 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 EAKING FOE GUDGEON. 99 varying from 2ft. to 4ft. deep, wliere the bottom is sandy or graTelly, and the stream moderate. In September tbe 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 hair) cannot be too fine, and the hook should be very small — No. 12 or jSTo. 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 -J-in. 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 Gudgeou-fishiug 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 lOlbi, 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 bi'other 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 FOE. COABSE FISH. described on page 50. We sit facing down stream, precisely as if we were going to fish for roach, plmnb 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 great 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, where the fishing is done from the bank, a long-handled garden rake wiU 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 wiU sometimes rise to a fly, but have never seen such a thing happen. — e ^ gac u ^^— CHAPTEE IX. TEE GABP. Habits and Haunts —Baits — Two Days' Carp-fishing- ing — A Self-cocking Float — Legering. -Float-fisU- O fish is found in tte 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 this book. It has very large scales, one a barbule hanging from each side of commencement of long back fin, and its raouth. 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 rOE COAESB 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: iledworms and brand- lings, paste sweetened with honey, gentles, parboiled potatoes, green peas, boiled wheat, green wheat, wasp-grubs dipped in honey after haTing been put on the hook (I read this in the Fishing Oazette), 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. An y 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. Pew 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- CIKCIJMTENTING A CAEP. 103 baits. As soon as the ground-bait is ready we go down to the lake, divide our worms over two of the swims near the bank, adding a few balls of the 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 cai'p 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 water — 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. of£. 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 moderately 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 cove'r 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 ofE 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. 104 ANGLING FOE COAESE FISH. has the bait. I strike, and soon have the satisfaction of landing a fine carp, as big or as little as yon 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 Bound 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 np 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 natliral 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 admii-able mixture — we steal down to the lake, each with a camp-stool and two pegs cut thus — Ya Tb. to hold the rod, the butt of which goes over A and tinder 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 tfaeir bait a foot from the bottom. This plan should be tried when the other proves unsucceasfuL TWO DATS' CAEP-riSHING. 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, fresbly 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, rioat-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 f ollovring day we try iLegeriug for Carp, hoping to catch some of the fathers of the flock. My friend still uses his Kottingham 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 ANGLIM'G FOE COAESE FISH. greater accuracy than my friend. For hooks we use small triangles, and bait them by passing the loop of the hoot-link through a lump of half -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 ofB 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 ofE 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 I'e- 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 TENCE. Sdbits and Haunts — Raking a Fond — River Tench — Baits and Oround-baits — Legering and Float-fishing. ENCH are handsome fisli, wMct are more often found in 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 Bivers, 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 COABSB PISH. 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 mUd. 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 aU 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 heai-d 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 Fonds 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 THE HOOK FOE 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.). Yery 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 worm, 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 di-aw 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 Saunts — Making a Night of it — Baits and Ground-baits — Float-fishing and Legering — The Ouse Method — Pond and Lake Fishing. REAM 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 bi'eam, 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, sUver 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 FOB BEEAM. Ill 10ft. to 15ft. deep. At certain times of the day bream rise to the surface and sport, so that, by a very sUght 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 surface 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 61b., 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 Gronud-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, wiU 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 pau fresh (brewers') grains, half paU bullock's blood, half pail clean clay, with a few handfms of greaves, and a little crushed oilcake. The whole should be made into balls, and dried in the sun. 112 ANGLING FOB COABSB 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 Legeiriug 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 very 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 oarmot 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 large 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 — iu 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 Mm-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 BIGHT TIME TO STKIKB. 113 sHots are all that is required. A self-cocking float (see page 26) and no stot on the line, is better still if the gut 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 perfect 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. ■ >" «■ >; ■ CHAPTEE XII. TEH BUDD. Sdbits and Haunts — Tackle and Baits — Flies and Fly-fishing. DOUBT if tiere is a more handsome coarse fist tian the rudd — A kind of roach all tinged with gold. Strong, broad, and thick, most lovely to behold, as an old writer hatli it. Sudd differ from roach in being deeper, more glorious in colouring — resplendent with silver, orange, gold, and red — ^in the under lip proiecting, 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 sup- posed — ^wrongly, I believe — that rudd are hybrids between roach and bream. B/udd sometimes attain a weight of 41b., but are not often caught over IJlb. 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 esactly 291b., and among them were several varying from 2Jlb. to 31b. Budd 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. FLT-PISHING rOB BTJDD. 115 Tackle and Baits for Bndd. — Hudd take the same l>aits 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 sbank of the hook, which will keep the gentle in its place. When the fly is oast, 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 Ms line commence to tighten. The fish, when hooked, should be very lightly played, as they have delicate mouths ; and care should be taken not to alarm the rest of the shoal. Rudd are not quite such good eating as roach. K 2 CHAPTER XIII. THE BLEAK. Habits and Hav/nts — How to Preserve for Spinning Baits — Cast- ing a Gentle — How to Clear a Boach Swim — A Hint to Thames Trout-fishers. F 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 taUor, 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 sil- very, 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, and 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. 1 am indebtedf 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 baits are left in it, they lose their brilliancy. HOW TO FIND BLEAK. 117 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; br 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. CHAPTBE XIV. THE EEL. Habits and Haunts — Improved Eel-spear — Angling for Eels — Bucks and Wheels — Bobbing — Sniggling — Snaring — An Irish Method. WILL not trouble my readers witt the con- troversies whicli have taken place regarding tie different varieties of eels. Modem opinion tends to the view that there is only one species of eel, of which species there are, hroadly 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 sterUe 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 ia 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 reaUy 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 wiUows 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 comes out in bud. Then the eels come out of the mud. 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 Improved ■L J.1 T ■ /^ I. -n Eel-spear. 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 bai^;. 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 bci3,t, oron shore, do not hold him up by the line. 120 ANGLING FOE COAKSE FISH. but let him drop on tie groimd, or floor-boards of tbe 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 kiU 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 wiU 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 Uve 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 ]Ueth.ods of Taking Eels, which can hardly be termed angling, but to which I thiak 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 use these two baits, though they are quite as good as worms BOBBING AND SNIGGLING. 121 jor eels), I forbear to give any directions as to their use. Too much is known on tlie subject of night-lines ah-eady. 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 worsted, and join the lengths together. When this worm-necklace is several yards long, coil it up into one large 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 are, 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 mach else can be done. The tackle consists of a thia 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 ia the manner shown in Fig. 38. To use thia 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 ANGLING FOB COAESE FISH. in banis, 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 removed, 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 xisually 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. Tet 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 Thmmh or Bullhead— Stickleback. HE first two fish coming tinder the tei'm small fry are most useful as bait for trout, percli, and, occasionally for pike and salmon. Minnows are found in very many of the brooks and rivers of the United Kingdom. They rarely exceed SJin. in length, and in shape and colouring are not unlike a brown trout vfithout the red spots. In the spring, about spawning time, they put on most gorgeous hues. They are 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 directions 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 Jjoach., or CoUocb. of Ireland, sometimes also called the coUey-bait, lives for the most part under stones in 124 ANGLING FOB 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 has not the transparent appearance of that excellent little fish. Its nose, also, is much more pointed, and its mouth is adorned with six to ten feelers, or barbules. It is easily captured, the moAns operandi being to turn over a stone, and catch the shy little fish with the hand, or in a hand-net, or by means of a fork, on which latter method Mr. Blackmore has wiitten charmingly in " Lorna Doone." Loaching requires a certain amount of activity, and is not a suitable amusement for middle-aged gentlemen of majestic proportions. "When the stone is turned over, the loach wriggles rather than swims to antoher hiding place, and if the loacher fails in his first attempt, the loach generally gives him a second opportunity. "When loach lie under flat-bottomed stones, a tap with a hammer on the top of the stone will often stun the loach, and conduce to his capture. I have heard that loach may be taken with float tackle and a worm, but have never tried the experiment. Loach are most excellent eating, and are one of the best spinning baits for salmon and large trout. The Bnffe, or Fope, is a sweet-eating little fish, which rarely exceeds 3oz. or 4oz. in weight. It is a member of the perch family, and is shaped almost exactly like the common perch, but is marked and coloured very much like a gudgeon. It takes the 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 than those frequented by gudgeon, and rather on the edge of the stream than in it. "When caught, it should be handled with care, as the gill-covers are pointed, and can inflict unpleasant wounds. It gives ofE a nasty slime when handled. Pope are river fish, but are occasionally found in lakes. The nXiller's Thumb, or Bullhead, is a monstrosity among fresh-water fish, four-fifths of its body being a flat, sprawling head, likened, probably, to the miller's thumb because that useful member of the man of flour is supposed to spread from con- stantly feeling samples of meal. Miller's thumbs (the fish) are found principally under stones in rivers and brooks, and, ANGLING WITHOTJT 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 had eating themselves. Village 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 IJin. 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. Lam/prey — Flounder — Bmrbolt or Burbot — Azurine Roach — Vendace — Powan — Follan — Gwyniad — Graining. HIS chapter, of course, includes, not only rare fish, but those not commonly caught by anglers. The Lamprey is a peculiar, migratory fish, in shape very similar to an eel ; hut 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 varie- ties 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 vai'iety of lamprey, termed the pride or mud lamprey, does not appear to migrate. The Plounder 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 Bnrbolt, Burbot, or Eel Fout, is, in appearance, something between an eel and a cod-fish. It is rare, except in a few livers on the East Coast. It sometimes attains a weight of 81b., though the average weight is about IJlb. It is the only member of the cod family found in fresh water, and may be FRBSH-WATEK HBKBINGS. 127 known by its solitary barbule, its slender, elongated shape, and long, solitary anal fin. Living mostly on muddy bottoms, and feeding principally at nigbt, it is more often taken in eel-baskets and on nigbt-lines, tban by tbe angler. This fish is fairly good eating during the autumn and winter months. The Aznriue, 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 Looh- 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 Natu/ral and Geographical Science, and in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinhwrgh. Extracts from these articles will be found in Keene's " Practical Fishej-man." Fowau are silvery little members of the salmon tribe, which are found in great numbers in Loch Loinond, 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 FoUan, 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 duriilg 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 wiU 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 oUy. A fine Une, 128 ANGLING FOK COAESE FISH. baited with fresh-water shrimps, and buoyed with small frag- ments of cork, might, very likely, take poUan when they are swimming near the surface. The Gwyniad is a member of the salmon tribe, so like the powan, pollan, and vendaoe, 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. Tarrell'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 aUice 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 AsaLiSG FOR Pike. Angling for Pike. CHAPTER I. INTBODUGTOBT. Appea/rance — Local Names — Bate of Growth — Size — Food — Voracity — Edible Qualities — Growing Scarcity — Necessity for Fish-culture — A Breeding-pond — Saunts and Habits in Summer and Winter — General RemarTcs on Pilee-fishing. HE pike is in many respects a remarkable fish. In appearance 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 mshes. What form could quicker dart through a weed-bed than that long body and sharp snout, propelled by vigorous movements of the broad taU, the actipn of which is assisted by a large anal fin, and a dorsal fin, placed well back P What colour could less betray his whereabouts to the unfortunate fish on which he feeds, or (when he is young) to other pike «vho only await the chance to feed on him, than that dark- green back, shading to white on the belly, with yellow mark- iiigs on the sides? His mouth verily bristles with teeth — lopg, sharp-pointed ones on the edge of the lower jaw, which c^n 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 POK 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), haked (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 aU 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 Jib. 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 IJlb. 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 Sib. 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 ^Ib., 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 : PABrLOrS 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 helieve seven- eighths the stories about hig pike to be untrue; secondly, that one or two immense pike may have been taken, but that, with one exception,* no skeleton, oast, 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 371h. and 361b. respectively, and were exhibited a few years back at the Ksheries 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 Kemuure Castle, CO. Galway. The recorded weight of this fish is 721b. t Mr. Jardine has kindly furnished me with the following details concerning someofhis largest pike : ' ' My 371b. pike," he writes, ' ' was caught on Nov. 4th, 1879, in Buckinghamshire. Measurements : Extreme length, 47in, ; length, eye to tail, 391n. ; 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. pik& Extreme length, 46in. ; length, eye to tail, 38in. ; length of head, 12iin. ; 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 very small live dace, a 311b. female pike, of most elegant shape and exquisite condition and colourings. Extreme length, 44in. ; length, eye to tail, 36^in. ; length of head, llin. ; girth, 24in." B 2 4 ANGLING FOK PIKE. Pike are anything but vegetaiians. 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 unfre- quently 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 ^Ib. each. Occasionally a good-sized pike wiU 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 stm 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. Bichardson, of Grantham, stated that he had recently taken a pike weighing 231b. lOoz. on a ilb. tench. Mr. Jardine tells me that Saunders, the well-known te,xidermist, took from the bellies of three pike, which weighed 601b., several large tench weighing between 21b. and 31b. each. The pike were taken at Kingsfieet, where there is little else but tench for them to eat. PIKE IN THE KITCHEN. 5 times amazement and awe. Those that have ali-eady appeared in print do not require repetition; but 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 ScarifE Bay, Lough Derg. My bait was a S^in. spoon — an exceptionally large one. I had a run, played and landed the fish, and found it to be a pike weighing exactly 31b. The tail of a trout was sticking out of its mouth. I puUed out the trout, and found it had only just been 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 ^Ib. 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 more 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. G-iven 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. Pish 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 D ANGLING POK PIKE. begin tintil June 16tli, wMoL. is all too soon, and the fisli are not worth eating until tie 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 hilled), 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 stufBng 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 hutter, 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 considets kippered pike superior to the bulk of spent flsh— i.e., kippers— which are sold as kippered salmon. Pike should be kippered in autumn and winter, when in their best condition. y They are absent from the Isle of Wight. PIKE PEESEBVATION. 7 pike; now we use salmon-gut, witli a fragment of fine patent gimp near the hook, and sometimes fish eren 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 3Jlb. 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 he 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 difBculty. 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 tmequal parts — A, B, and (see Tig. 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 niunbers. 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 wiU 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- WHJiRE TO FISH. 9 resting anmsement. If carried out on commercial principles, it would probably pay as well as, or even better than, trout- breeding, for tbere are many waters in England well adapted for pike, but wHch, for the simple reason that no young piie are to be bought, are being stocked with trout, with very unsatisfactory results. Of course, in a trout-stream or sahnon-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 yoimg 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 fiesh 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 Fike 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 January — and will thus be able to note the difference in the position of the fish in 10 ANGLING POE PIKE. summer and winter. I have placed letters and figures in my 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 boathouae at Fig. 2. A Pike Eiver. 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 8ft. or A StTMMBE day's PIKE-PISHING. 11 more at a time, evidently in tte endeavour to get away from some feeding pike or perct. 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 lui-e 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 Uttle 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 (P, F, P) 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 FOE PIKE. in the bend, and a fiBh 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 outskii-ts 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 mUler 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 comers, 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 pUes (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 — tui'n 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 JANTJAET. 13 fishing we almost invariably fish near weeds or reeds, and always in moving water, altogether leaving nnfished the eddies and lay-bys. Sis months later we are at the boathouse again ; but not ai 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 ohiUy, but quite enough to ruffle the surface of the now fast-running rivei-. The brilliant green and yellow tints of summer have disappeared, and in their place are the more subdued, but hardly less lovely, colours which Nature 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. Prom 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 comer, sheltered from the stream by the debris of the reeds, and generally holds a fish or two. 14 ANGLING FOR PIKE. We tten go to tte mill, borrow the miller's punt, and fish for a short time at the tail of the m.ill 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 taU of the island (9) ; after which we go home with glorious appetites, and the wherewith 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 were 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 i-ivers, pike ai-e found among and close to weeds, i-eeds, 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 large 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 an3rwhere, 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 banks 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 imder exceptional circumstances. PRECEPTS. 15 pike-fishing days. First, when the pike are madly on the feed, and prowl ahout for food, when they are sometimes caught in very unlikely places; second, when they are only moderately himgry, 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 iu 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 rufles 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. Pishing 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 POa 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, aiEord better sport, as a rule, than calm ones. When rivers are clearing after a Qood, 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 teU 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 VAEIOTTS METHODS OP PIKE-FISHING. 17 bites from perch, but hooked 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. The 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 brolie 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 ? 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 troUed. 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 troUing. Strictly speaking, the word troUing 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 liiTe-baiting 18 ANGLING FOE 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-hoolcs, the latter gorge- hoohs. 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: f /"with sna^-tackle. Float-flshing < with semi-gorge-tackle. (yritb gorge-ta&le. Paternostering ■f'^S^"*?-'?''"?-, , ° \ with gorge-tackle (rarely or never used). T .„.-:_„ f with snap-tackle. . ^ ^ ( with goige-tackle (rarely or never used). /'Spinning with natural or artificial baits. Dead-baiting . . ] r with gorge-hook. (_Trolling| ^^u |n4.tackle. There are various modifications of these methods, which I will describe later on ; and there is a thing caUed 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 troUing-bait, with snap-tackle, to be worked without catching in the weeds, then, if we must fish, there is nothing for it but to troU with the dead gorge, for the gorge- hooks lie close alongside the bait, and do not catch in the weeds. PATEENOSTEE VSBSVS 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 Hve-hait 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 comer among weed and reed beds, where no other tackle, except a trolhng-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 flsh, 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 flsh see too clearly through the ,deception. On such days nothing beats the paternoster. In winter, when the water is free fi;om weeds, the angler can follow almost any method he fancies; but for very deep water he will flnd it better to use the paternoster, leger, or troUing-bait, rather than float or spinning tackle. Suppose, now, we are flshing 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 di-awn 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 bein^ on the bank, we cannot do c 2 20 ANGIilNG rOE PIKE. this). Clearly, the thing to do is to drop a paternoster in various corners of the pool, or to wort 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 test 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. Clearly, 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 learn 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 miU-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 cai;efully 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 4r—& 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 PILL 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 mom 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." CHAPTER II. TAGELK Bod and Fittings^Reel — Reel-guard — lAne — Line-winder— — Gimp-stain — Disgorger — Jardine Gag — Knots, &c. Gimp N this ctapter are described those items of tackle common to all kinds of pike-fisliing — 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 be- hoves 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 X^ttings. — 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 stifiness 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-KODS. 23 recently made of split cane — built-cane rods they are termed. They are certainly heavier than the rod made of single pieces of hamboo, 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 convenience, 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 Pig. 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 ^j^ j angle the line makes with the rod, and, for the same reason, lessens the likelihood of the top-joint getting warped sideways — a common complaint of pike-rods. The line, also, rarely gets badly fouled, for, should it get round the top, the ring at once 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. Bic- KERDYKE " KOD-TOP EiNG, WITH Interior Eevolving Ring op Phosphor- bronze. 24 ANGLINa POE PIKE. 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 it," as it is termed. A fastening some kind is obviously neces- ry- Several arrangements have come to use of late years to fasten e joints of fly-rods, any of which n be applied to a pike-rod. Per- ips the best are those made r Hardy Brothers, of Alnwick llustrated in " Angling for Coarse "), and by Farlow and Co. ig. 4 sufficiently explains the latter, liich, being possibly a little stronger an Hardy's, is preferable for pike- ds; but both fastenings are ex- illent. In Parlow's fastening the ;tle ring (3) pulls everything up ■m and tight, however much the rrules may be worn. Ferrules are metimes 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 termed 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, great deal has been written concerning the importance of 4. EOD-JOINT Fastening. A STBONG EEEEULE. 25 having ferrules made, not hj cutting lengths off brass tubing, but by moulding each one out of a piec,e 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 fin. The best-shaped rings are similar to the one shown Fig. 5. Snake-shaped Eod King. 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 hard as steel, which has the advantage of not rusting. I think it might with advantage be used for many item^s 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 iin. from the top, finish off as shown in Fig. 19, and well varnish. The ferrule will then probably last for years.' 26 ANGLING FOE PIKE. ilsiM ^mi mim 1 1 if', I'll I'M 1 in the illustration] of the Bickerdyke top-ring. As soon as the inside ring gets a little worn it is shifted rotind so that a fresh portion of its surface is exposed to the friction of the line. This is a good plan, but 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 45in., and the remainder foUow one another with these intervals : 6in., 7ia., 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 prefer a new and good fitting brought out recently by the maker of my rings. They take Fig. 6. New 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 B:i ,1,1 1I^(-^ K« P il :S™iai EOD PEBSEEVATION. 27 B, wMch is moved into position by loosening tte nut 0, and sliding B and along the plate D. Tlie operation is a very simple one, and done in ten seconds. The screw-nut is so made that it cannot possibly come ofE and be lost. It is the worst possible economy to buy a cheap pike-rod. For bottom-fishing a very 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 greased 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 warm bam- boo joints. Rods are nearly always kept iu 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 piit into a damp bag. The Beel should be strong, simple in construction, large Fig. 7. Nottingham Reel, with Adjustable Check. 28 ANGLING FOE 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 ofE 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) ofE the reel. This line -guard 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 combniation 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-guabd and Movable Check. LINE DRESSING. 29 When the line is hanging loosely, it 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 Kg. 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 with an oil dressing ; but for casting off the reel after the manney 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 FOE 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 dijEcult 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 enongh 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 ofC 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 ofE the reel on to the floor or table, leave it untouched all night, and wind up again in the morning. There are several " if s " 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 GIMP. 31 Fig. 9. Line-drier. mice to nibble it — for mice like boiled oil — and provided there is no earthquake, it will wind up without the least tendency to tangle. Notwithstanding all these " if s," 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. Tou 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. Keiming, of Little Britain, a gold- FiG. 10. Gauges of Gimp. 32 ANGLING FOE PIKE. lace and gimp manufacturer, very kindly carried out Bome 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 wire- 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 ghould 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. SUver 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 sUk. Mr. Oholmondeley-PenneU'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. Chohnondeley-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 duUing. 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 cyUader, 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 wUl stain the gimp in a few hours. I have often thought that if the bichlorate of platinum could be made into a stifB 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, I drachm; vaseline, i drachm. This makes about a piU-box full, which is sufficient to stain aU 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.* Bisgorger and Gag. — To remove the hooks from the pike * In the course of my experiments I found that brass 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, ^z., 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), ^z., and dilute sulphuric acid, IJoz. The bottle in which the operation is carried on should not be tightly stoppered, a small crack being left to act as a salety-Talve. DIV. II. D 34 ANGLING FOE PIKE. Fig. 11. The Jardine Gag (Pateht). we require, first of all, some inBtrumeiit 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, P, 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 r works down the spiral rod, 0, 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. Jardine'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 ^hown 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 FlO. 12. DISGORGKR. CANS FOR LIVE BAIT. 35 thing of tte kind (invented by Mr. Basil Field) is shown in the engraving (Pig. 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 (0), 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 theii- 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 FOE PIKE. spill a little water occasionally, by tipping the can to one side. The evaporation of the water from the flannel wiU 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 oU 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 gafE 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. ^l^oc^ & Sons, of Bed- ditch. The one defect in this in- vention is the spring, which, being of steel, if not kept well oiled, ^^- "ai^l™ mLlf ""''™° ™«te very quickly. An exceUent 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 BtrFFBE-KlirOT. 37 diagonally, and is released by tmhooking tlie end of the sling under the angler's left arm. In Pig. 15 is shown a capital gafC Tlie Gaff Closed. "^ ■ .^ ^ The Oaff 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, Victoria Street, HoUoway Eoad, 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 poi-tion 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. Choi- ^^^^J,^ 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-waied silk, or, which is perhaps better, very fine gut. The gut should Knot for Fastening Gimp ORGUTTO EnNNINO Line. 38 ANGLING FOE PIKE. be soaked for an hovir 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 fob Tying Lengths op 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 SOMBTHIITG WOETH LEAKNING. 39 black ink, forms a good winter stain, and there is also a brown ink which, is useful for the same purpose. Tor 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 sHk, which is thus bared, between the shanks of two hooks 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-sUk (A), or thread, along the shank, and, keeping it there, take three more turns with the binding B, C, 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 quickly, 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 bincUng, so far as I can see, is as neat as silk, and quite im- pervious to the teeth of pike. I have known the sHk binding to be bitten all to pieces in an afternoon's fishing, and a tackle to be thus rendered quite useless. A triangle bound on thus to gimp looks much neater than one with an eye at the end of the shank, to which the gimp is looped. Fia 19. Finish off of Whipping IN Middle of Kod. 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 puUing 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 sUk. 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 aU-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. BITTTONS, AVATJNt! 41 subject of clothing. But abjure buttons; they are the very 1 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-hoolcs — Pater- nostering — Legering, &c. NGLING for pike with, live fish is carried on either with float- tackle, with the paternoster, or with the leger. Float-tackle keeps the hait 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 paternoster, 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 i^aturally 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 rLOAT-TACKLE. 43 the water is coloured, and the pike are feeding, aa 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. FisMug with. Float-tackle is most useful when we wish our hait to be 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 oast, but to which it can be swept by the cui-- 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 stiffier should be the rod. Fig. 20 is an illustration of the tackle which is best for FiQ. 2a Float-tackle. 44 ANGLING FOE 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 11. 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 gi'een in summer and autumn, and be kept in its place on the gimp by means of a tiny plug of wood. Below the lead ia 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 Redditoh. 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 veiy large, be of greater size than a hen's egg. It is kept in its place on 21 HOOK ^^^ gi™P ^y 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 modem 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 12ui. or 18in. They keep the line from sinking (sometimes it siuks 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 efEort of the bait to escape, or a run from a pike.f It is perhaps as well for the beginner * Some plke-fisbennen use no lar^e 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 1 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 moyement 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 imder 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 raffle the surface, 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 PCte PIKE. it, the single hook 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-one fish resulted from twenty- two 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 triangle being near the bait's Fig. 23. Improved Triangle FOR Snap-tackle. NEW LIVE-BAIT TACKLES. 47 head, the other hanging ahout 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 carefuUy 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 Kg. 24. IMPKOVED 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 sho^ra 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. ■*» ANGLING FOE 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 Pig. 24. 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-gor'ge referred to above. It is, as I have said, simply a soKtary 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. GOEGE-BAITING WITH FLOAT-TACKLE. 49 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. witJi this tackle, it is necessary to hook fob Live wait from five to eight miuutes, meanwhile ^"^' [paying out line, if need be, for the pike must go where he will without the slightest check. Then gather up loose liue, 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 inf orma- ftion, 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 iNG-NEEDLE. to cock, when the lead will be on the bottom. The • The remarks on gorge-baiting in Chapter V. shoold be carefully read in con- nection with this subject. DIV. II. E 50 ANGLING FOE PIKE. distance from the lead to tlie 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 lit. 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 Vill allow, and the piece of rubber band passes through the rod-rings. Live-liaits. — 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 wiU not live imder water for any length of time. The usual PIKE-FISHING WITH FLOAT-TACKLE. 61 tackle for frogs is a large, single hook, either hitolied 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 particidarly 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, pioor 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 SOyds. 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 be laid down wMot can be applied to aU, or even the majority of, casea. 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 month 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 line. 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 light 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." 63 first uawound 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 as 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 FOE PIKE. SO it will add to tie 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 12ui. 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 bait, and the end triangle should be fixed on the side, about the middle. Fig. 27. Pike Patebnostee. 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 ofE. 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 PATEENOSTEEING FOB PIKE. 55 very slowly down tlie 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 miotion 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 there 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 patemostering. 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 foz. 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 FOR PIKE. WKlTER tEVEL 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 hites ; C, a common bottle-cork, slit, which supports bait and wire crossbar ; i), E, twisted wire crossbar, Sin. in length ; B, E, 7in. of gimp ; D, F, 2ft. or more of fine twine (fine gut would probably be better), terminated with a bullet. The hook poi-tion 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 cork 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 bo 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 wiU 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 : " Tou 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 Fig. 28. Count de Moira's Beam Paternoster. TACKLE FOK THICK WATEE. 57 live-bait tackle in, because tlie bait would swim into the reeds at once. It is impossible to keep tbe 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, su^orted (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 Pig. 29. Pike Legee. 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 wp 58 ANGLING POE PIKE. on the side of the bait, near the dorsal 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 nse 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. Playing and Itanding 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 straiu 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 crait. 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 puU, send it in, and lift the fish out without a moment's delay. G-aff near the 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. CHAPTBE IV. DEAD-BAIT FISEING. Modem Spinning Flights — Traces — Mow to Prevent KinMng — Thames Style of Spinning — Trent Style of Spinning — Preserved Baits — Eel-tail — Artificial Spinning Baits. BAD-BAITS, when used in pike-fishing, are either arranged so that they spin when drawn through the water, or are placed on troUing-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 troUing for the following 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 rOE PIKE. A hook of tte lowest triangle is caught in the tail of the bait ; the other triangles are fastened to its side, and the Hp-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, s^ems 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 Jib., 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 aU 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 wiU not get hooked. For this reason I MODERN SPINNING FLIGHTS. 61 muoli prefer those tackles in whicli tlie 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 iiight. 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 sufS- 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 fiying 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 Up-hooks of T)hos- "'^ Flight (Baited , , ° -^ ^ AND Unbaited). pnor- bronze. The diagrams show so clearly how the baits are mounted on these flights that a long, written description is unnecessary ; 62 ANGLING FOE PIKE. but the following points are worthy of mention : If the bait is a gudgeon, the lip-hook should be put through the top hp. Fig. 32. Pennell Flight (Baited AND UNBAITED) for SMALL BAITS. Fig. 33. Pennell Flight (Baited and UNBAITED) FOS LABGE BaITS. downwards; but if any other fish, through the under lip, upwards. The bait should lie perfectly straight down to the THE SPINNING TACKLE Off THE MIDLANDS. 63 commencement of tlie our\re in its tail, and tlie principal strain should be on tte lip-hook ; from the lip-hook, therefore, to the taU-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 skiU in its adjustment. It is shown on a bait in Pig. 34, and it will be seen that it is nothing more than two O A Fis. 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 he 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. tie 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 gUl and brought out at the mouth — a delicate operation ; or a sliding Up-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 i'ecommend ; 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 Up 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 FOEM OF CHAPMAN SPINNBK. 65 Tte fault in the original pattern was that, the gimp being 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. 35. Chapman Spinner.* 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 * Braas swivels can, and should, be stained in the same manner as gimp (see p. 33). DIV. II. P 66 ANGLING FOK PIKE. ingenious tackle can be used witi or without leads, leads being sold ■wMcli 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 and now adorns my dining-room. Neither of the two fish which escaped got ofE the hooks. There are various other mechanical contrivances for making baits spin; but the only one worth notice is the Fishing Fig. 37. AacHEB Spinner, THE PEEVENTION 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 pi'eferred, 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 staiaed (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 Pig. 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 fok Spinning Traces. The best form of lead for the trace is that shown in Pig. 38. It is made by Parlow & 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. Oholmondeley-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, balf-sugarloaf-shaped lead," I much prefer the one illustrated. F 2 zy 68 ANGLING FOK PIKE. small one a small lead, and more weigtt 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, Bipon, a very successful pike- fisherman, has invented a simple and useful lead for the spinning trace. Out of sheet lead about yjin. thick he cuts small, oval pieces of various sizes, an average size being about l^ia. 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 not given this lead an extensive trial, but feel sure it is 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 smaU 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 2^ft.t 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 Farlow'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 ordinai-y 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 box. 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 6in. 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 ofEers 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. Mi-. Wood's Saddle-lead, already described (page 68), is easily taken ofB the trace, and a smaller or larger one put on in its place. The Parlow 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 suificient 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 streams 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 vei-y 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 FOE 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 40yd8. 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 stifEer if the bait and trace are heavy. If these conditions are fulfilled, the spring in the rod wiU 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 wUl 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 AET OP 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 puU 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 puU 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 contiuuous 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 ^z.), 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 P " 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 tra«e, a short piece of lead-wire (the weight of which is not appreciable) he 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 FOB 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 plentifxd; but more experienced anglers frequently have good sport by casting down runs between weed-beds by the sides of rushes, and in nooks and comers 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, ti-y letting the bait sink nearly to the bottom, ajid 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., patemostering. 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 difPer considerably. Some have even gone so far as to say how many draws of the line should be made in a minute. My own practice is to draw the bail 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, hut heep 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 PEEEZES. 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 grease is available. Mr. 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 outs 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 eveiy 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 r^ethod is also useful 74 ANGLING FOE 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 carried 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 liue has the least tendency to kink. The ITottiugliaiii Style of Spuming is greatly in favour with many anglers. It requires more skill and practice than the Thames method, from which it difEers in the casting being done directly ofE the reel, and the use of an wmdressed, 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 ofB 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 ofE the side of it. Take a reel of cotton, pull some cotton ofE the end of it, and you have before you a working model of Mr. MaUoch's invention. The reel is then twisted back to its proper position, and the line wound in. A A WOED DETESTABLE. 76 great and very serious objection to ttis reel is that eacli coil puts a twist in tte 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, wmdressed, silk Kne 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 modem 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 systein 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 are two reels — the Sun-and-Planet and the Bume — 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 76 ANGLING FOR PIKE. mistake. Gudgeon also spin splendidly, but not being very bright baits, should be used in clear water only. RoacL. may be made to spin, after a' fashion, on a Chapman Spinner, or on the tackle shown in Pig. 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, cmd 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 preserving 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-moathed bottle, and spirits of wine poured over them. A good deal of grease comes oat 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 fresh, lots of bait. I have before me a bottleful of sprats wUcli 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.f 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 round-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. Oholmondeley-Pennell says of these baits that if placed in plenty of coarse, dry salt, they will keep for several weeks, and improve by j, „ ,g j, keeping ; but before being used they should, if tail Spinning 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 Koad, London. 78 ANGLING POK PIKE. advantage on one of Us fliglits, and tliat a good-sized eel can be used in the same manner, if sioi-tened by taking a piece out of the middle, and sewing the cut ends together again with strong Holland thread. f''i!'' Fig. 40. Spoon-bait. Fia. 41. Clippeb-bait. Artificial Spmning Baits are simplj legion; but the old-fashioned spoon-bait (Fig. 40), with certain improvements, stni holds its own among the best of them. It is now made with each side half gold-plate and half silver-plate ; and what AETIFICIAL SPINNING BAITS. 79 are termed "Norwicli" spoons are fitted with a glass eye. The Clipper (Fig. 41) is one of the best o£ 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 FOE PIKE. pensive ones, as tiey 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 silvered 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. Pig. 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 BADLT-MOUNTED BAITS. 81 pike. I have 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 a!J^iistio 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 vei'y 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 kiU 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. DIT. II. CHAPTER V. DH AD-BAIT FISHING fContirmedJ . Trolling with the Dead Gorge — Improved Adjustable Gorge- hook — Trolling with Snap-tackle — Fly-fishing. N the last chapter I diidded fishing with dead-baits for jack into fishing with spin- ning 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 regarijing 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. TroUing tackle is simple in the extrena^e. The only essential^, 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 Fig. 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 TEOLLING-BAIT. 83 and the lead on the shank of the hook into its belly 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 Pig. 47. Some troUers cut ofE all the fins ; others cut ofE the fins on one side . only, which gives the bait a slight, and, I think, J 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 troUer knows well, and the bait soon gets worn out in consequence.* Mr. Pennell advises the taij. to be cut off, and the gimp tied in the knot shown in Pig. 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- FiG. 46. Gorge Trolling Hook (Old Pattern). * As trolling baits are drawn tail foremost through the water, their gills fre- quently get forced open and broken. To avoid this, a piece of thread is some- times tied round the gills. I only adopt this plan when I am short of baits. g2 84 ANGLING FOE 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 op Trolling Bait tied with Thkead. 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 wiU 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 TROLLIN©. 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 stifEness. Tor use in shallow water, fewer leads should be in the bait than in deep water. I have said that I'od, line, hook, and baiting-needle, are the only pieces of tackle necessary for trolling. Personally, I like in addition about IJyd. 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. TroUers 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, ai*e 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 ITew 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 So ANGLING rOE PIKE. consequence to be dropped into tlie -water tail first, and could not be worked in small holes among weeds, as can ordinary trolling-baits, whiclx dart down througt 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. 60. On showing a sketch of this tackle to my friend, 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 Authob'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, axii every fish run was hooked and landed. Mr. Marston's experiences with his tackle are similar. THE TACKLE OF THE FTTTrEB. 87 It is obvious that tlie 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 I'ough-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 retui-ned 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 par^o of pike-tackles. oo ANGLING FOE PIKE. But enough, of tackles; let us now pass to tte important question, How to TroU. — The rod should be rather long, for, as a general rule, anything in the nature of a long cast is not advisable when troUing. 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 rod 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 hungry, 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-PenneU 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 TEOLL. 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 troUers 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 gi-eat 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 sti'iking, get him out of the weeds as best you can. A gaff with a long, stiff handle, is at times very useful. 90 ANGLING FOB 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 Pangbonme, 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 np, 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 foial. 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 piie. Finally, as to gorge-baiting, let me say that it should never be allowed on waters where pike are preserved, unless there are so 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 represents 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-troat 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 92 ANGLING FOE 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. DIVISION III. liGLisa FOR Game Fish. Angling for Game Fish. CHAPTBE I. mTROBVCTORY. The Game Fish of Great Britain — Popularity of Fly-Fishing — Peculiarities of Salmon and Trout, &c. — Simple Method of Trout-breeding, &c., &c. ROADLT speaking, all fisli whicli afEord sport to the angler are game fisli, but tte leading members of tke family of wHcli the. salmon is the head are certainly the game fish par excellence. It is of these fish — salmion, trout, and grayling — that I now propose to treat. A short account of char and ohar-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. Moreover, 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 this 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 Salmonidae "). B 2 a ANGLING FOE GAME PISH. 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, powin, pollan, and gwyniad. There are also several sea-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, howevei-, 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 fly-Qshevs 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-HISTOBT OF THE SALMON. 6 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. Ply-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 skiU, 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 lules 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 Salimmidoe will be found in Dr. Day's "British and Irish Salmonidse." There is an interesting chapter on the subject in Dr. Hamilton's " BecoUeotions of Fly-fishing for Salmon, Trout, and Grayling." 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 ANGLINa FOB GAME PISH. about the size of a small bui*n-trout, and with. much, the sam.e 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,t weighing, perhaps, as much as 101b., but more often 51b. or 61b. While on their journey up stream they feed but little. That they 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 ofE, 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 ahound 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 m 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 dif^rences before him, I am afraid the unscientific angler will sometimes have con- siderable difficulty in naming bis 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 Stormontfield) turned into the Tay on 29th Ma^, 1854, returned within two months weighing from 61b. to 9^1b. ! When turned in they weighed less than lib. WELL-MENDED KELTS. 6 ravenous ttings, and in tlieir 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 stUl in the river, and then are termed "well-mended kelts." The Varieties of Trout may be broadly divided mto 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 migratoi-y 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 larvae 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 b ANGLING FOB GAME FISH. are several varieties. Some lakes swarm witli imder-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 smaU scale — that the methods are similar, but reduced. Mies, 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 large feather and tinsel aiTangements, yclept salmon-flies, or he himseK 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 afBord 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). Pab, oe Pake — Stage between fry and smolt. Samlet, LOCAL NAMES. 7 Salmon Pae, Pink, Smelt, and Salmon-pet — Same as par. Speag, oe Salmonspkino — Same as par (Nortkumberland). Bbandling, Tingbeling, Black Fin, Bltjb Pin, Shed, Skecmjee, Geavelling, Hepfeb, Laspeing, and Geavel Laspeing — Same as par. Speeling, ob Spaeling— Same as par (Wales). Spawn — Same as par (Dart). Mooe-ged and MoRGATE — Same as par (Somersetshire). Steeamee — Same as par (Tamar). Geaveling — Same as par (South Scotland). Smolt — The second stage, before migration to the sea. Speods — Same as smolts ; sometimes applied to sea-trout. MoET — Smolts and sea- trout (Cumberland). Geilse — Male or female salmon on first return from the sea (England and Scotland). Peal, oe Peel — Same as grilse (Ireland). BoTCHEE — Same as grilse (Severn). Poek Tails — Grilse. B.ED Pish — Male salmon shortly before spawning. Summee Cock, Gib-fish — A spawning male (Northumberland). Baggit — Female after spawning, or (sometimes) just before. Gebling, Gillion, oe Gilling — On second return from the sea (Severn). Kelt — Male or female after spawning. Mended Kelt — Kelt partly recovered condition after spawning. Spent Pish, Slat — Same as kelt. Shbddeb — ^Female after spawning. Macks, Shbags — Same as shedder (Inverness). Moffat Men — ^Kelts (Tay). Judy — A kelt (Kerry). Laueel — A well-mended kelt — i.e., one that has recovered a good deal from effects of spawning (Severn). Kippeb — A fish too much out of condition to be otherwise treated than by kippering. SEA-TROUT. Salmon-tbotjt — Same as sea-trout.- Salmon-peal — Sea- trout (Devon and Cornwall). White Teotjt — Sea-trout (Ireland). Sewin — Sea-trout (Wales). Tetjef — Sea-trout (Devon). Sctjef, Scueve, SALMON-scrEF, ob Coohitie— Sea-trout (Tees). BotrND-TAiL — Sea-trout (Annan). Foed- wiCH Teout — Sea-trout (Kent, Stour). Lammas-men — Sea- trout in August (Scotland). Bull-tboitt — A variety of sea- trout found principally in Coquet and Tweed. Geet Salmon — Same as buU- trout (Tweed). Musselbitegh Teotjt — Bull- trout (Edinburgh and Dalkeith). Phinoc, oe Finnock — Sea- 8 ANGLING FOR GAME FISH. trout in grilse stage (Scotland). Hebung — Sea-trout in grilse stage (Nortt-country and South of Scotland). Whitling, or "Whitings — Sea-trout in grilse stage (Nortt-country). Mort — Grilse stage of sea-trout (Cumberland). SPBOD — Smolt stage (sometimes grilse stage also) of sea-trout (Cumberland). Yellow Fins, Orange Fins, Black Tails, Silter-whites, Silver-greys, Burn Tails — Par stage of sea-trout (North- country and Scotland). Smelt Sprods, Herring Sprods — Par stage of sea- trout (Cumberland). Oandlemas-gret — 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 necessaiy 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 lett band, 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 sMn 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 U)i- poUuted water, about Sin. 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 e^gs are placed in troughs) which will poison the water, or bear any fungoid growth likely to he communicated to the flsh. The eggs may be placed in a long, wooden trough (if wood is 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 carefidly 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, tfiey 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 PISH-CTILTTJRE. 9 trout-breeding as it is carried on by professional fisb-breeders ; but I wish more particularly to tell of a way by which 16,000 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 hatching 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 aU the fish-culturists, at prices varying from £7 10s. per box of 16,000 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 Sin. 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* flsh|)onds, 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 guai'anteed 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 Company, Milton, Burton-on-Trent. Miiland Counties : Burgess, Malvern Wells. Eastern Counties : Ford (coarse fish as well as trout), Caistor, Lincolnshire; Lieut.-Colonel Gustance, Norwich. ScotloMd: Armistead, Solway Fisheries, Dumfries ; Sir J. R. G. Maitland, Bart., Howietoun Fishery (J. B. Guy, Secretary), Stirling. 10 ANGLING POK GAME FISH. brook, from your redd to the pond, with netting, to save the fry from kingfishers, herons, &o. But all streams are subject to floods, and the safest way to deal with the ova is to prepare a trench for them hy 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 NECESSAK Fig. 1. Simple Arrangement fob Trout-breeding (Ground Plan). pipe (A) may be made of common red. Sin. drain-pipes. The trench (B)* can be lined with large half drain-pipes. The outlet (0) should be about 6in. wide, and open to the air. The bottom of the trench, or redd, should be covered with Sin. 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 (0), but allow the fry to pass down to the * Allow 2 square feet foi each 1000 eggs. For 15,000 eggs the dimensions of redd may he 2ft. in width by 15ft. in length ; or, better, ifl. by 30ft. HOW TO STOCK TBOtTT-STEBAMS. 11 brook, and from the brook to tbe 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 C Fig. 2. Simple Arrangement fob Trout Breeding (Section). outlet, in section. With lakes and large rivers already con- taining trout or other depredatory fish, unless trout of ^Ib. 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 ntimerous trout, pike, perch, &o., 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. GHALK-STBUAM TROUT. Sabits and Haunts — Bod and TacMe 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. 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 trayersing 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 are the Test and the Itchen ; 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 Oolne, trout never rise well to a fly except (on the two last-mentioned streams) during the annual rise of the May-fly. HATJNTS OF CHAIK-STEBAM TROTTT. 13 Generally speaking, tlie 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 showery, 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. Tou 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 I'ise 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 FOE 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 Bod for Biy-fly Fishing need not, so far as I can see, vary materially from the rod used for wet-fly fishing. It should be rather stifE 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 i^c^^^tamsmmmsss^^s^ MIDDLE JOINT. TOP JOINT SHOUT 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. Bods 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 Pig. 3. It is in three joints, each about 4ft. long, making in all a * Messrs. Warner & Sons, of Redditch. A GOOD FLT-EOD. 15 powerful lift. lOin. rod. When I require a shorter rod, I re- place the butt by the short handle, A (1ft. 6in.), which gives me a stifE, springy little 9ft. 4in. rod, possessing extra- ordinary casting power. I candidly do not believe a better rod, or one more generally useful, could 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 oast (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 he 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 stifE, it must not be thick and clumsy. The best greenheart rods are built somewhat on the lines of the Castle-Oonnell rods — veiy thin just above the handle, with little taper until within 2ft. or 3ft. of the point. If a rod is thin, and yet stifE, 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 ofE the water. • The makers intend to copy the rod in greenheart. Another first-rate rod is described in Chapter III. 16 AS-GLING FOK GAME FISH. Bod 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 STMke-shaped Rod Ring^ ' Bickerdyke " Rod-top Ring. Winch Fitting on the Weeger 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 othex's 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 King 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 Une, 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 StrCTION FBBErLES. 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 rig. 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 to throw out. Fig. 5. Flexible Ferkule. * 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. in. f in 2 \l in. "There are," he says, "many thousands of ferruled fishing-rods in use in this country (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 fit of the ferrules— the cohesion of one ferrule within the other. Yet for a rod to throw a/part here is one of the rarest accidents which the cmgler encoimters." In "Angling for Pike," a lockfast joint, made by Farlow, is illus- trated; and in " AngHiug for Coarse Fish," another, made hy 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 Bods. — Rods should he re-varnished with coachmakers' varnish every year. To remove the glitter of the varnish, rub it lightly witb fine sand-paper, and after- wards smooth with an oiled rag. Ferrules should be greased occasionally, or they wiU 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 foi'ce 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 he 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 iuto 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 Sin. 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 midtiplier 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. EEELS 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,