iBiiiiiiii^ililiiP^^^ 
 
ALBERT R. MANN 
 LIBRARY 
 
 New York State Colleges 
 
 OF 
 
 Agmculture and Home Economics 
 
 AT 
 
 Cornell University 
 
 THE GIFT OF 
 
 WILLARD A. KIGGINS, JR. 
 
 in memory of his father 
 

 DATE DUE 
 
 
 ^^y 5 s 
 
 198^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 GAYLORD 
 
 
 
 PRINTEOINU.S.A. 
 
 Cornell University Library 
 SH 459.C73 
 
 The Complete angler; a practical guide to 
 
 3 1924 003 437 617 
 
Hm| Cornell University 
 WM Library 
 
 The original of tliis 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/cu31924003437617 
 
ANGLmC. 
 
The HAND-BOOK j:.ibrary-No. 11. 
 
 Issued Monthly. tvtav inoi 
 
 SDBSCKIPtion Pkioe, $3.00 Pee Year. jix-^x, aowi. 
 
 Copyrighted, 1891, by Street d Smith. 
 
 Entered at the Post Office, New York, as Second-Class Matter. 
 
 THE COMPLETE ANGLER, 
 
 A PRACTICAL GUIDE 
 
 Bottom Fishing, Trolling, Spinning, 
 and Fly-Fishing. 
 
 WITH A 
 
 CHAPTER ON SEA FISHING. 
 
 / 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 STREET & SMITH, Publishers, 
 
 31 liose Street. 
 
,.:» -"!■ 
 
 4 
 
 5^ 
 
 5(o0l5t? 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 There are thousands of people who loTe a day's fishing, 
 but who have neither the time nor the inclination to make 
 a profound study of tlie gentle craft. They are often dis- 
 spirited and disappointed at their want of success. They 
 have sighed for a comprehensive, practical, yet handv man- 
 ual, which is neither too large for the pocket, nor too brief 
 to be useful. 
 
 Perhaps no out-door sport has so large or so fine a litera- 
 ture as angling. So full and, exhaustive are the various 
 treatises, that it appears presumptuous to place another vol- 
 ume on the already loaded shelves of the fisherman's library. 
 If anglers all belonged to the rich and leisurely grades of 
 society, I should certainly not have expanded my rough 
 fishing notes into a book. 
 
 I would direct attention to the various useful tables in the 
 Fisherman's Calendar, to the tried recipes, as well as to the 
 practical hints on the making and mending of fishing-gear, 
 fly-dressing, and odd memoranda, which will be duly appre- 
 ciated by those who have experienced the chagrin of tackle 
 breaking in the midst of a day's sport, or their stock of flies 
 becoming exhausted far away from the usual sources of 
 supply. A little ingenuity and patience will soon bring the 
 necessary skill and neatness to do these things well. 
 
 Though these things have been described ostensibly for 
 the guidance and instruction of the young and inexperienced 
 anuler, I am not without hope that it will be found suffi- 
 ciently valnabk, and full of suggestive practical hints, as to 
 commend itself to many an old angler as a necessary part of 
 his outfit. The Authob. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 THE GENTLE CKAPT. 
 
 CHAPTER. PAOB. 
 
 I.— Angling and Anglers ' 
 
 II.— Fish:— Their Habits, Senses, and Haunts 1^ 
 
 III.— The Rod and the Eeel 1° 
 
 IV.— The Line, Tackle, and Equipment of an Angler ^^ 
 
 BOTTOM-FISHING. 
 
 v.— Points to be Observed:— Striking, Hooking, Playing, and 
 
 Landing the Fish 35 
 
 VL— The Bottom-Fisher's Bait table 40 
 
 VII.— What to Fish For, and Where.— The Haunts of the Min- 
 now, Loach, Kuffe, Gudgeon, Bleak, Dace, Eoach, 
 
 Chub, and Bream 46 
 
 VIIL— What to Fish For, and Where, Continued- The Haunts 
 of the Carp, Tench, Barbel, Perch, Eels, and Lam- 
 preys 53 
 
 IX.— What to Fish For, and Where, Continued— Haunts of 
 
 the Trout, Grayling, Salmon, etc 59 
 
 TROLLING— FISHING IN MID-WATER. 
 
 X.— How to Fish for Pike. —Trolling. —The Tackle, Gorge- 
 Hooks, Trace, Baits, etc. 63 
 
 XI.— Spinning for Pike. —New Tackle. —The Pennell Flight.— 
 Sinking and Roving. —Fishing with the Snap-Tackle, 
 
 etc 71 
 
 XII. — Spinning with the Minnow 77 
 
 FLY-FISHrNG. 
 
 XIII— Throwing the Line and Flies.— Making a Cast.— Humor- 
 ing the Flies. —How to Fish a Stream.— How to Strike, 
 Hook, Play, and Land a Fish 82 
 
 XrV.—Trout:— Their Haunts, Habits, and Tastes.— Scotch and 
 Irish Fly-Fishing. -Monthly List of Flies. -General 
 
 Hints on Grayhng and Trout-Fishing 90 
 
 XV. — Artificial Flies, and How to Make Them. 96 
 
 XVI.— Artificial Flies and Their Varieties ! . . . .......... 165 
 
 FISHING WITH THE NATURAL FLY. 
 
 XVII —Dipping, Dabbing, or Daping 112 
 
 XVIII.— The Salmon:— Hints on Fishing For 115 
 
 SEA-FISHING. 
 
 XIX.— Fishing for Hake, Cod, Ling, Bream, Turbot, Mackerel, 
 
 Whiting, etc 126 
 
 XX. — The Fisherman's Calendar 128 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Weight of Fish 135 
 
 TTseful Recipes for Anglers 135 
 
 The Fisherman's Almanac. . , , , , J3y 
 
THE GENTLE CRAFT. 
 
 CHAPTEE I. 
 
 ANGLING AND ANGLERS. 
 
 Who can adequately describe the pleasures that surrouhd 
 the angler? Who can catalogue the charms that cling 
 around his pursuit? He pursues his avocation amid scenes 
 of natural beauty. It is he who follows the windings of the 
 silvery river, and becomes acquainted with its oourse. He 
 knows the joyous leaps it takes down the bold cascade, and 
 how it bubbles rejoicingly in its career over the rapids. He 
 knows the solitude of its silent depths, and the brilliancy of 
 its shallows. He is confined to no season. He can salute 
 Nature wheu she laughs with the budding flowers, and when 
 her breath is the glorious breath of Spring. The rustling 
 sedges make music in his ear ere the mist has rolled off the 
 surface of the water, or the dew been kissed from the grass 
 by the sun's rays. The lark sings for him, and the piping 
 bullfinch chirps along his path. The gorgeous kingfisher 
 heeds him net, and the water-hen scarcely moves from her 
 nest as he passes. The storm and the tempest scarcely 
 hinder his sport. He throws his line when ruddy Autumn 
 gilds the western heavens, and the fruit of the year hangs 
 heavy on the bough, or waves in golden abundance on the 
 uplands. Even stern Winter does not forbid him his enjoy- 
 ment. If he cares to pursue his favorite pastime, he may 
 do equally when the tall bulrushes, wavy reeds, and reed- 
 mace rattle with Decembei"'s winds, as when the marsh 
 marigold opes its big yellow eyes on an April day, or the tall 
 spike of the purple loose-strife mingles with the creamy hue 
 of the mead' w sweet, and is relieved bv the somber green of 
 the sedges. If he is an ardent sportsman, the whole year 
 is before him. VVhea the trout will not rise to the tempt- 
 
8 THE COMPLETE ANGLEB. 
 
 ing fly, or be seduced by the seductive bait, the voracious 
 pike will seize tlie spinning minnow and try the patience 
 and skill of the fislierm'an. 
 
 It was always so. In the infancy of mankind, the finny 
 tribes were pursued by a primitive people with as much ar- 
 dor as they are by civilized Englishmen at the present 
 time. Savage and cultivated nations equally followed, either 
 as a business or as a pastime, the occupation of capturing 
 fish with a line and hook, with or without a rod. We find 
 its praises celebrated in ancient poetry, and its memory em- 
 balmed in Holy Writ. The i'udest appliances of a savage life 
 have been used to aid the angler at his delightful task, and 
 science has not disdained to aid the modem fisherman in his 
 favorite sport. There are tribes who yet fashion fish-hooks 
 out of human jaw-bones; and our own progenitor smanaged 
 to insnare fish with hooks formed of flint. Indeed, the 
 Anglo-Saxon race have followed angling with an energy and 
 a zest far beyond any other European nation. We know 
 they pursued it as a profitable occupation in remote times, 
 and we have it on the authority of the Venerable Bede that 
 the people of Sussex were at one time rescued from famine 
 by being taught by Wilfred to catch fish. Among the- earli- 
 est printed books is one on fishing by a countrywoman of 
 our own. Dame Juliana Berners, Bernes, or Barnes (which- 
 ever it is), prioress of the nunnery of Sop well, near St Alban's. 
 This curious tract is entitled, "The Treatyse of Fysshynge 
 wyth an Angle," and appears by tlie colophon to have been 
 printed by old Wynkyn de Worde in 1496. The old lady 
 shows that if sport fails the ambitious angler, his time is not 
 spent in vain; for has he not "atte the leest, his holsom 
 walke, and mery at his ease, a swete ayre of tlie swete 
 sauvoure of the meede flowres, that makyth him hungry; he 
 hereth tlie nielodyous armony of fowles; he seeth the young 
 swannes, heerons, ducks, cotes, and many other fowles," wvth 
 theyr brodes; whyche me somyth better than alle the noyse 
 of houndys, the blastes of hornys, and the scrye of foulis, 
 that hunters, fawkeners, and fowlers do make? And," says 
 the good old lady, "if tlie angler take fysshe, surely there'is 
 no man merier he is in his spyryte." Then amid the many 
 other books tliat liave been written for the solace of the 
 angler, stands old Isuak Walton, with the "Complete 
 Angler," as immortal as the language in which it is written, 
 and the instincts of the people by whom it is read,- 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 9 
 
 I fancy, however, that few anglers care for that smat- 
 tering of science which too many modern writers throw over 
 the sport. They are somewhac indifferent to the "Kndi- 
 ments of Ichthyology," and are iieedlessof the classification 
 which their spoil might receive in a museum. They i-ather 
 want to know the habits of the fish, where lie frequents, tlie 
 state of his appetite, and the particular variety of his taste 
 at different seasons of the year, and in different waters. 
 They may know but little of entomology; but they know the 
 attractiveness of a i\Iay-fly to a speckled trout. Anglers 
 study natural history in a natural way, and in the best school 
 — that of experience; and hence they become not only the 
 best and keenest sportsmen, but almost the apostles of 
 sport in every part of the globe. 
 
 It was formerly the fashion to jeer at the angler — he was 
 cruel, foolish, and wrong — but we have outlived this sickly 
 sentimentalism; a stronger, liealthier, natural feeling per- 
 vades our national life. The whirling industry of the peo^ 
 pie requires some relaxation; and. can we wonder that the 
 thousand charms of ''the honest man's recreation" com- 
 mends it to thousands who wish for exercise and 
 amusement? Exercise is but of little use to the 
 dyspeptic, unless it is carried, out with a motive. The 
 love of sport, and the gentle excitement of angling, furnishes 
 that motive in the most unexceptional manner. It carries, 
 too, its votary out of the dull beaten track of mankind, and 
 places the city-pent, health-seeking, holiday-making angler 
 face to face with nature in her most unconventional moods. 
 
 Nor is this all. There is a fascination in this sport which 
 has captivated the greatest minds of the world. We have a 
 fine picture of the brave old Christopher North, as a child 
 in petticoats, "whipping a stream'' f or "wee troutie. " We 
 have him as the stalwart man, wandering through his native 
 hills and by the roaring stream, combining sport and phil- 
 osophy in a charming manner. What a host of names rise 
 up in connection with tlie«port! Sir Francis Chantrey, 
 
 "The Phidas of the second Greece," 
 
 as rugged Ebenezer Elliot calls him; the author of "Wa- 
 verly;" the inventor of the safety-lamp. Sir Humphry Davey; 
 Archdeacon Paley, the auther of the "Evidences of Chris- 
 tianity;"' burly Daniel Webster; the hero of Trafalgar; and 
 a thousand others whose names are "household words" for 
 
10 THE COMPLETE AHGLEB. 
 
 wit, learning, valor, piety, and truth, suggest themselves 
 as identified with the sport. Neither is the love of it con- 
 fined to the British isles; for across the Channel, up the 
 Rhine, nay, even in the solitudes of a Lapland forest, may 
 enthusiastic anglers be found. A friend speaks of the sport 
 he had on the Guadalqniver; another has "whipped" an Al- 
 pine stream with success. Wherever trout are to be found, 
 there will the fisherman be. The Pharaohs fished in the 
 Nile — the Romans paid fortunes for red mullet. The Church 
 took care of fishing-grounds in the middle ages, and some 
 of the best streams and lakes I know are near the ruins of an 
 old abbey or priory. 
 
 Who can say that it is, then, an ignoble sport? I have seen 
 it asserted that angling is so quiet, gentle, and contem- 
 plative, that I picture at once the snaring of tittlebats with 
 a crooked pin; or a dull afternoon in a punt, without a bite 
 — discovering after a world of patience that you have for- 
 gotten the bait. Ignoble and unexciting! Let those who 
 have felt the thrill of delight, when they have' hooked a 
 magnificent salmon, answer. There is a thin, tapering, 
 flexible wand, a fine, thin gut-line, a small fly, and a trial 
 of skill which generally ends in the triumph of the angler. 
 But if he is clumsy, or careless, he loses his pains and his 
 fish. There may be more exciting sports, but none that re- 
 quire a quicker eye, a more delicate hand and sense of touch, 
 readiness of resource, activity, and physical endurance. 
 Large fish are captured daily in their native element with 
 tackle which seems too frail to secure a gudgeon; yet it is 
 done by art and skill. The most active of river fish, bound- 
 ing, vigorous, and agile, succumb to the untiring patience 
 and well-exercised judgment and skill of the angler. At- 
 tempt to use rude strength, and your labor is in vain. 
 
 I wish to initiate the tyro into this marvelous art. I 
 wish to give him confidence in his strength and knowledge; 
 for although it is impossible to teach an art entirely by a 
 book, much may be learned from it. The lessons of ex- 
 perience may be acquired, so that practice, when attainable, 
 may not be thrown away in vain attempts, but rather that 
 it should be judiciously applied to the given end, prevent- 
 ing waste of time and disappointment of heart. I shall indi- 
 cate the best mode of practice, show what shallows to avoid. 
 The young angler will soon find that brethren look upon the 
 begt angler as the best man. He will find glorious com- 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEK. 11 
 
 panioTiship by the rivers and the streams. He will be sepa- 
 rated from the toilsome, hard-breiithing,hard-working world, 
 drinking in visions of beauty amid scenes uhich will remain 
 ever after among the most cherished memories of the 
 heart. 
 
 There is something fair and honorable in the "gentle 
 craft," whether pursued in still waters in the primitive, 
 honest, and easy fashion of bottom fishing — whether by the 
 more active exercise of trolling, or the most difficult but 
 most glorious fly-fishing — whether natural or artificial in- 
 sects are used — whether spinning or trolling with alive, dead, 
 or artificial bait in mid-water, or laying seductive worms, 
 gentles, or paste near the river bottom. Fish are not easily 
 entrapped by the uninitiated. Skill and experience must 
 be brought into play ere the angler can fill his creel, and 
 these must be aided by no little special knowledge. 
 
 The fly-fisher must be in a certain sense an artist and a 
 naturalist. He has to represent as best he can, by means of 
 different substances of varied delicacy, tissue, and color, 
 insects of the most diverse iorms and changeable hues. He 
 must do his work with the most perfect neamess. He must 
 know well the outward form of many varieties of insects, 
 their habits and localities, as well as the seasons in which 
 they live and die. He should know which is likely to prove 
 the most attractive food for the fish he angles for, and w-hen 
 to use it. Every kind and species ought to be associated in 
 his mind with the proper place and the proper season. To 
 do this well requires no little special knowledge, which I will 
 help him to attain, and then he will be able to appreciate 
 the truth of the doctrine, the "better angler the better man." 
 
 CHAPTEK II. 
 
 fish: theie habits, senses, and haunts. 
 
 "Ay," says the tender-hearted sentimentalist, "it is all 
 very well to "write enthusiastically on the pleasure of fishing, 
 but how about the poor fish?" 
 
 Hoio alout the poor fish? And we are forthwith treated 
 to the hacked .and hackneyed quotations from Dr. Johnson 
 and Lord Byron about Walton and anglers and angling. 
 Nay, only the other day a newly fledged philosopher talked 
 
12 THE COMPLETE AiJGLEK. 
 
 learnedly about the sense of pain in the lower animals, the 
 cruelty of baiting hooks and hooking fish, winding up with 
 the well-known quotation about the "poor beetle," fiudina; in 
 corporal sufferance "a pang as great as when a giant dies," 
 — which may be good poetry, but it is bad science. Shake- 
 speare did not know that pain is comparative only, and 
 depends on tlie organization of tlie nervous system, and if it 
 were not so, the death of the fish by the angler's hook is less 
 painful than that caused by the attack of other piscine 
 species which prey on them. For fish do not die a painful 
 death when taken ont of the water. Some fish die instan- 
 taneously, as the herring; others, as the eel, perch, and 
 pike, live long, and may be conveyed great distances from 
 one pool to another. It is even said that pike, moved by 
 an inscrutable instinct, will voluntarily cast themselves out 
 of the water and transport themselves, by a series of jumps, 
 to a neighboring river or pool. No one would grudge the 
 ravenous pike any amount of pain, for it is so cruel and 
 voracious that it preys upon its own species. I need not 
 point to the hand of nature, or justify the angler's art by 
 the doctrine of necessity. 
 
 Ere proceeding to treat of the senses and habits of the 
 fish, let me look at this oft-repeated charge of cruelty. 
 When the worm writhes on the hook, we know that it must 
 feel a certain amount of pain, tliough it is more than .prob- 
 able that its movements partly arise from an instinctive 
 effort to escape, for it equally wriggles and writhes when 
 merely held between the fingers. Nay, we even know that 
 cut in two the worm speedily recovers, and the missing tail 
 grows again. There are instances innumerable in the insect 
 world of an apparent insensibility to pain. Spiders will 
 lose a limb with equanimity. Urabs will hobble off. leaving 
 a claw behind. Frogs seem scarcely to heed also the loss of 
 a limb, and even man, in a sav;ige state, will bear an 
 amount of pain almost impossible to renlize. The Indian 
 taunts his tormentors when at the stake: and without agree- 
 ing with K. W. Emerson, who seems to think that when the 
 nervous system has received a certain shock pain ceases, 
 either by the fainting of the injured, or the flesh becoming 
 benumbed, we may fairly assume that "cruelty to animals," 
 as displayed by anglers, is not a crime of very deep dye. Perch, 
 pike, and even the timid roach, have been knrwn to bite 
 again with previous hoo]£s still sticking in their jaws. Chris- 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLES. 13 
 
 topher North humorously describes a trout going off with 
 your "hook in one cheek, and his tongue in the other;" and 
 there is abundant evidence to prove to those who are squea- 
 mish on tlie point, that it is not so very barbarous after all; 
 or they may satisfy their scruples by using none but artifical 
 baits; and they may be pleased to know that the best nat- 
 uralists do not impute the struggles of the fish to escape 
 from the hook to the sensation of pain, but rather to surprise 
 and indignation, at finding their free volition interfered 
 with; and that, according to Erasmus Wilson, "motion 
 alone cannot be taken as an index of sensation." 
 
 Ere he can capture a fish, the inexperienced angler will 
 find that he has much to learn; for though fish may be 
 deficient in sensation, they can see, hear, and move with 
 remarkable quickness. 
 
 The eye of a fish is not only large in proportion to its size, 
 but it is larger in thick and muddy waters than in clear 
 streams. It concentrates the diffused light of a thick 
 medium in a remarkiible manner. Hence it is necessary 
 that the angler should not only keep out of sight as mach 
 as possible, but that his attire should be of a dark and sober 
 tint. Not only must he beware of his shadow falling into 
 the stream, but he must know to some extent the laws of 
 reflection and refraction, or he will be unconsciously show- 
 ing his image to the fishes while pluming himself on his 
 skill in keeping out of sight. Hence a cloudy day is so 
 much superior to the brilliant sunshine for the purposes of 
 the angler. The sight of fishes is one of their highest sen- 
 tient endowments; and if the point of the hook but protrude 
 from the tempting bait, it will not lure the stupidest fish in 
 the muddy waters of a ditch. 
 
 I resided for some time in the neighborhood of a pond 
 where the fish were in the habit, of being fed. I could 
 never discover whether it was the sight of the feeder on the 
 brink, or the sound of his footstep, that first attracted them. 
 They were so fearless that thev boldly came to the water's 
 edge, and apparently unable to recognize whether it was 
 their master or a stranger feeding them. A hurried tramp 
 or noisy footstep at once sent them flying to the deeper 
 depths of their narrow home. I am inclined to think that 
 the hearing of fish is more acute than naturalists seem to 
 say is possible. A lump of ground bait, however loud the 
 Bplash, will not disturb them; and they soon seem to as- 
 
U THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 sociate the noise with the food; but an unusualsonnd will 
 scare them like sheep before a strange dog. No one can 
 resist the inference, that the footstep of the angler should 
 be as light as possible, and all unusual sounds should be 
 carefully avoided. 
 
 Do fish smell? Bottom-fishers are peculiarly interested in 
 this question. They, like the fly-fishers, are somewhat de- 
 pendent for sport on the presumption that fish are gifted 
 with a discriminating power of sight; but they also hold, 
 according to the traditions of their predecessors, that not 
 only can fish smell, but that their olfactory nerves are re- 
 markably acute; and acting on this presumption, we have 
 scented and colored pastes in great variety. Erasmus 
 Wilson places the sense of sight first, hearing second, and 
 smell third in fish. Indeed, he almost insinuates that the 
 difference between one bait and another, if equally attrac- 
 tive to the eye, would be scarcely perceptible. Judging 
 from a long experience, I am inclined to place the sense of 
 smell in a higher rank than that of hearing, practically, if 
 not anatomically. The water, it is true, cannot course 
 through the valvular openings which appear to serve as 
 nostrils, and it has to be expelled through the apertures 
 provided for that purpose, but they are always in motion; 
 and the membrane atid nerve are most beautiful and deli- 
 cate for conveying the impressjon to the brain. Odors 
 spread with great rapidity down a stream, and fish will 
 assemble from a great distance to a well-baited spot. Mr. 
 Moffat tells an anecdote of eel-fishing which is, no doubt, 
 true to the letter, of the attrac'iou of some large lob-worms 
 on a dark night to the fish; which seemed to have come 
 from a long distance, attracted by the sense of smell. 
 Asafoetida is said to have a peculiar attractiveness to trout; 
 as much, indeed, as valerian has to cats, or aniseed for rats. 
 From whatever cause it arises, a plain paste is not near so 
 effective a bait as when a little gin and honey is added. Mr. 
 Moffat evidently does not believe in gin, though the mid- 
 land bottom-fishers do. Let the angler for chub or roach 
 try both plans. Let the troller try the same stream with a 
 fresh fish and a stale one; let the perch-fishers try a dead 
 worm and then a live one; or let him set his trimmers with 
 both fresh and stale baits, and he will truly find that one is 
 taken and the other left. I was much struck with the d;s- 
 criminating power of fish in this respect when fishing for 
 
THE COMPLETE ANQLEE. 15 
 
 hake off the coast of Waterford. We had no regular bait, 
 which is a piece off the tail of the fish, but had to content 
 ourselves with some pieces of salted fish, herrings, and sprats. 
 Tlie promise of sport was not very brilliant, though we 
 knew that the fish were there, and could hear the dull heavy 
 thud from the neighboring boats as the fish were struck on 
 the back of the head with the boat stretcher. We toiled, 
 but in vain, until a bold ling seized my bait, and was 
 speedily in the boat, killed, and strips of his tail on our 
 hooks, three fathoms deep. Then we were rewarded^ The 
 fresh bait Were greedily taken, and we secured half a boat- 
 load of fine fish. An old Nottinghamshire angler, to whom, 
 when a boy, I was indebted for many valuable hints, told 
 me that when fishing in the Trent, he used to meet an old 
 collier, who was not only a most successful angler, but one 
 who could lure the fish on to his hook when everybody else 
 failed. This naturally excited the curiosity of the neigh- 
 boring fishermen; and as the taciturnity of the collier 
 equaled his skill, they resolved to find out his secret. They 
 watched him, and found that his pastes were colored and 
 scented; but with what? After an investigation not. much 
 unlike espionage, they discovered that a variety of essential 
 oils, saffron, and balsam of Tolu entered into the composi- 
 tion of the old man's pastes, and that he changed thenj 
 month by month to suit the varying appetite of the fish he 
 angled for. As balsam of Tolu is sweet, aromatic, and of a 
 lemon flavor, it migld be tempting to the piscine palate, 
 or attractive by its scent, which, by the addition of a little 
 potash, changes to the odor of clove pink. 
 
 Fish are so apt to adapt themselves to the particular water 
 and circumstances around them, both in color and food, 
 that one bait will not serve for all waters nor for all seasons. ' 
 The angler must study somewhat the waters he is fishing in, 
 its color and general appearance, and adapt his gear 
 accordingly; remembering that unusual sounds disturb the 
 fish, and the lashing of the water with the line, letting it 
 hang in links or hanks, will all operate against his success. 
 The fish must not be alarmed by the sight of the angler or 
 his siiadow: neither must his footstep be heavy, or his song 
 too loud. If he would profit by his higher intelligence, let 
 him not outrage common sense, but remember how often 
 instinct is higher than reason, and that the instinct and 
 senses of a fish are not the meanest in the animal creation. 
 
16 THE COMPLETE iNGfLEE. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE EOD AND THE REEL. 
 
 Angling, we are told, is becoming more and more a 
 science every day. Pish are becoming more wily, scarce, 
 and difScult to catch, while the sport is becoming increas- 
 ingly popular. New lines, new hooks, new bait, and new 
 tackle are being so constantly invented, that it is difficult 
 for the most practiced angler to become acquainted with 
 them all, much more the fish, cunning as they are. The 
 angler has, however, one consolation amid these new and 
 perplexing inventions — the old skill and the old appliances 
 have not lost their charm, and will yet secure a basket of 
 fish when the modern patent inventions are completely at 
 fault. A foi-midable list of articles is occasionally given as 
 necessary for an angler's outfit, suggesting the necessity of 
 a museum in which to store and label them. Anglers are 
 generally vain about their equipment, and our grandfathers 
 thought a particular coat of a dark color aided the sport. 
 The materials necessary for angling will depend in a great 
 measure on the locality and nature of the sport, whether 
 fly, trolling, or bottom-fishing. We have seen good sport 
 obtained with a willow rod, a horse-hair line with a bit of 
 dried sedge for a float, when the most expensive outfit was 
 comparatively useless for the purposes of sport. Attention 
 to minutiae is of infinitely more value than a mere expensive 
 outfit. Skill is of more importance than costly appliances, 
 though useless by itself; and even science is valueless with- 
 out experience. 
 
 Of course the angler must have a rod, and on the choice 
 of one he can exercise his taste, for they are as varied in 
 size, weight, material, pliancy, and price as the most fas- 
 tidious could wish. Any tackle-dealer will be only "too 
 happy" to satisfy the heart's desire of the young angler, 
 who, however, should know what he requires. 
 
 Tiie bottom-fisher's rod should be strong and light, Just 
 springy enough to strike a fish quickly, and sufficiently 
 supple to equalize the pressure from top to butt. Though 
 it need not be so limber as that used for fly-fishing, it 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLER, 17 
 
 should taper with equal precision from the butt to the top. 
 The length depends upon whether it is to be used from a 
 boat or punt, or from a bank. Tiie average length of a 
 bank rod should be about seventeen feet. In some instances 
 a twenty-feet rod would not bo too long, while half that 
 length would be sufficient when fishing frory a punt. If 
 furnished with two or three spare tops of different degrees of 
 stiffness and length, the bottom rod becomes the ''genei-iil 
 rod," and may be used for nearly every purpose. For roach 
 and dace fishing, the rod must be so light and so perfectly 
 under command as to enable the angler to "strike'^ with an 
 almost imperceptible turn of the wrist. 
 
 With respect to the material. If you purchase your rod, 
 as ninety-nine out of a hundred do, you will have plenty of 
 choice. You may have them of hazel, ash, lancewood, or 
 hickory, or judiciously combined with a whalebone top, 
 according to price and finish; but let it be handy, light, 
 well-balanced, and supple. Never have your rod in more 
 than four lengths, and if possible never exceed three. One of 
 three lengths with a hollow butt in which to place two or 
 three top-pieces, will be found the best for all general pur- 
 poses. ■ It may be fitted with a spike at the bottom, ringed 
 and fitted witli two winches or reels for trolling and fly- 
 fishing. 
 
 Exclusive of hazel, the woods ordinarily used in the 
 manufacture of rods, are three or four varieties of bamboo 
 cane, ash, willow, greenhart, hickory, and lancewood. 
 Hickory has, however, begun to be considered as the rod 
 woodjoar excellence, as it is light, strong, and solid; but for 
 butts, it gives way before ash and willow. It will not stand 
 boring, and after all it^ takes its place as the middle joint, 
 and leaves greenhart or split batnboo for the place of honor, 
 and the humbler woods of home growth in the grasp of the 
 angler's hand. The first time I saw greenhart as a portion 
 of a rod was in Lijnerick, and there I found it so highly 
 thought of, that entire rods WGye made from it. It is a 
 heavy wood, but extremely useful for tops, as it combines 
 strength, firmness, and elasticity in a remarkable degree. 
 I have seen yellow pine used for the butt of some old rods, 
 made when hollow butts were unknown. The bamboos and 
 canes speak for themselves. The split bamboo is jungle 
 cane, split into ilarrow slips, planed, smoothed, and glued 
 until it forms the exquisite top joint. There is a white 
 
18 'THE COMPLETE ANGLEE. 
 
 cane used for roach rods, for which it is admirably adapted. 
 The joints of the rod ought to be looked to carefully be- 
 fore tlie purchase is completed, paricularly if the rod is made 
 of reed or cane. In order to give an extra finish and even- 
 ness to the rod, the workman sometimes cuts aw^^y a part 
 of the bark or cilicious covering of the cane, to fit on the 
 ferule, so that the rod is not only weaker whei'e it ought to 
 be strongest, but it is liable to rot from the impossibility of 
 preventing the we' from getting in at the joints. So often 
 has the ordinary brass joints failed the angler in the moment 
 of his need, from this and other causes, that the spliced 
 rod finds much favor with those who live in the 
 country near the streams in which they ply their avoca- 
 tion. "They are simple and inexpensive, though somewhat 
 rude in construction. As many an ingenious youth would 
 like to try to make his own rod, I will endeavor to explain 
 the construction of two good rods which are within the reach 
 of any country youth. Select a number of pieces of straight 
 hazel, of different thicknesses, in the fall of the year, when 
 the sap is gone, and place them in any convenient place to 
 dry. Old Dam^ Barnes says an oven, but that plan is hardly 
 to be recommended nowadays. They should, however, be 
 turned frequently, to prevent their warping or drying " 
 irregularly. In the course of a year, or less, if the place is 
 warm and dry, the pieces may be matched together in 
 proportionate sizes. From the top of the thinnest cut eight 
 or ten inches, and bind on a taper piece of whalebone with 
 waxed thread — such as is used by saddlers is the best for the 
 purpose. The whalebone may be cut with a long slant, to 
 suit a corresponding slant in the hazel, or slightly split and 
 made to overlap a tapering point. The stock and middle 
 piece, and top, may be jointed together by a long splice, or 
 a fished joint. If intended to remain together for the 
 season, some saddler's wax may be rubbed between the 
 joints, and then neatly bound with .strong waxed thread. 
 Every angler should learn to bind a splice with neatness 
 and adroitness, in case of accident to his rod when in a 
 remote district. The waxed silk or cord should be neatly 
 and closely laid together, and tlie ends should be securely 
 fastened. To fasten off, lay the fore-finger of your left 
 hand over the bind, and with your right make four tui-ns 
 of the thread over it, then pass the end of your thread be- 
 tween the under side of your finger and the rod, and draw 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 19 
 
 your finger away, draw taut each of the four threads 
 separately, and when firm and tight, draw the end close, 
 and you have a neatly and firmly tied splice. When, how- 
 ever, the rod is to be taken asunder day, by day, a closely 
 stitched leather band is welted and drawn tightly over the 
 splice, and then whipped with twine, and as the leather 
 dries it becomes tight and firm. This forms a light, 
 useful rod. A piece of lancewood may be cheaply and 
 judiciously substituted for the spliced top for bottom-fish- 
 ing, and the butt may be made of yellow pine. 
 
 An exquisite rod for fly-fishing may be made in the 
 above manner, of ash for the butt, hickory for the middle 
 piece, and lancewood or split bamboo for the top, with a 
 whalebone top; or it may be made in two pieces, the bottom 
 of ash and the top of lancewood. The rings should not be 
 too close, nor the reel too heavy. Some curious calculations 
 have been made with respect to the rings of a rod, so as to 
 equally divide the strain, and by the whipping add strength 
 to the rod farthest from the ferules. We may add that the 
 reel should be placed near the end of the butt in single- 
 handed rods — six to eight inches will be found a convenient 
 distance. From a dozen to sixteen rings may be used, 
 according to the length of the rod, the first of which may ■ 
 be placed eighteen inches from the reel, and the next twelve 
 inches, decreasing in proportion until the end loop is 
 reached. The last ring should be about four inches from 
 the loop, and a longer distance on each side of the ferule. In 
 a spliced rod, the allowance to be made for the joints need 
 not be so great. These general hints will be sufficient for 
 all practical purposes. 
 
 There are several varieties of fancy rods sold in the shape 
 of bag rods and walking-stick rods. These can only be re- 
 commended for their portability. The former are made 
 in about two-feet lengths, so that they may be packed in a 
 portmanteau, or carried in a pocket. They are usually of 
 cane or other light material, and are useful for light fishing 
 in small streams. The walking-stick rod used to be a great 
 favorite with the amateur fishermen. It is made of bam- 
 boo, and the joints fit into one another in the same manner 
 as a telescope. A handle screws into the upper end, and a 
 ferule to the lower, so that it may be used as a walking- 
 stick. I cannot recommend the young angler to invest his 
 money in so fancy an article. 
 
20 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 The price of rods varies from fifteen cents to twenty 
 dollurs. A good useful rod may be bought for two dolkrs 
 and a half. Tiie cheap rods are only useful as toys for chil- 
 dren. Rods should be kept in a canvas bag; and as damp 
 is their great enemy, they should always be wiped dry before 
 being put away. If they liave been much used daring the 
 season tliey ought to be re-varnished. For this purpose 
 coaciimaker's varnish (copal) is the best. Two coats are 
 required, and the first should be dry ere the last is laid on. 
 If copal varnish is not to be had, an excellent substitute may 
 be made as follows: — Spirits of wine, 2 oz. ; orange shellac, 
 loz. ; gum benjamin, |- oz. The mixture must stand a 
 fortnight before using. Another receipt is as follows: — 
 Gum sanderach, 4 oz. ; shellac, 2 oz. ; gui;n benjamin, 1 oz. ; 
 spirits of wine, 3 pints. When dissolved add two ounces of 
 Venice turpentine. Dragon's blood will give it a warm red 
 tone; Vuhdyke brown a rich brown color; black sealing- 
 wax, dissolved in spirit? of wine, will make a fair black 
 varnish. In the absence of varnish of any kind, the rod 
 may be rubbed over with boiled linseed (drying) oil. The 
 practice ot painting rods is seldom followed now, and can- 
 not be recommended as a process for preserving rods from 
 the attacks of insects or damp. 
 
 The ferules and joints of an oi'dinary rod call for some 
 remark. Common rods are fitted with brass ferules, into 
 which the ends of the upper joints fit. When tlie latter^ 
 is of plain wood it is apt to swell by exposure to daTnp or 
 rain, or shrivel and shrink in the heat of the sun or a 
 dry wind, and, consequently, likely to come asunder in the 
 most critical time. No joints are to be trusted but those 
 which have turned brass sockets and brass tips to fit them. 
 Even the '•bayonet-joint" is sometimes essential, though 
 by no means indispensable. Should the brass joints become 
 "set," by damp or other causes, they may be released by 
 turning them in the flame of a candle or lamp; and even 
 the varnish may be preserved by twining a piece of writing- 
 paper round the joint previously. 
 
 The reel, or winch, may be considered as almost an 
 integral part of the fishing-rod, for it is useful in bottom- 
 fishing, though not necessarily so essential as in flj'-fishing 
 or jack-fishing. The characteristics of a good reel are 
 lightness, strength, and plainness. There are three varieties 
 in use— known as plain pillar-reels, stop-reels, and multi- 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEK. 
 
 21 
 
 plying- 
 
 j-reels. The latter is sometimes spoken of as "an 
 ingenious and valuable contrivance." Ingenious it may be, 
 and valuable to buy, but practically woitiiless in every-day 
 experience. It certainly enables a long length of line to be 
 wound up in a short space of time; but, as it has been re- 
 marked, "with a great waste of power" when a fish is at the 
 end of the line. Their use is much affected by those anglers 
 who admire fancy and scientific (?) contrivances. The 
 pliiin pillar-reel, with deep narrow grooves and side-plates, 
 and a tolerably large axle, still maintains its popularity, 
 (see page 38.) Its great drawback — that of giving out the 
 line with too great rapidity, and over- 
 running, and thereby choking itself, 
 and endangering the loss of the fish 
 at a critical period by a sadden 
 check — has been remedied by a 
 "check" contrivance, which, while 
 it allows the line to run out freely 
 when required, prevents the too 
 rapid action of the reel when the 
 strain has gone. This is effected 
 in two ways — one by a tooth 
 working with a spring in a 
 ratchet-wheel, and the other by a 
 friction-plate or washer. I like the KoUingham Keel, 
 latter plan the best: first, because it is noiseless; secondly. 
 
 Modern BeeL 
 it is less liable to get oui ol order, and when it does can 
 
22 THE COMPLETE AKGLEE. 
 
 easily be repaired; and, thirdly, because it can be adapted 
 to an ordinary plain brass reel at little cost. It is simply a 
 plate of thin spring, a little less than the diameter of the 
 reel, made slightly convex, and split in half a dozen places 
 to about one-third of its diameter. This plate is placed be- 
 tween the reel-drum and the supporting-plate. The best 
 reels are those in which the handle is fixed in the side-plate 
 of the reel-drum, as by this contrivance the ugly and tor- 
 menting crank may be dispensed with. The "Nottingham 
 reel" is a simple pillar-reel, of great freedom of working— 
 too free in fact— and perhaps the most perfect reel is one 
 manufactured in England. It is formed of composition, 
 which stands wet and hard usage remarkably well. The 
 veriest tyro need scarcely be told that the use of the reel 
 is to hold the running tackle for the purpose of playing, a 
 fish. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE LINE, TACKLE, AKD EQUIPMBKT OF AN AlfGLEE. 
 
 Important and useful as a well-balanced and carefully- 
 constructed rod is to the angler, he is more dependent on 
 his line and hooks for success than on the staff to which 
 they are attached. His rod may be rough, ill-fashioned, a 
 mere switch, or a washerwoman's line-prop, and yet not 
 prove fatal to his sport; but an ill-conditioned line, or a 
 badly-tempered hook will spoil all. Even the beautifully 
 finished, tapering, silver-mounted rod will not compensate 
 for defective gut or a brittle hook. The skillful cast, the 
 well-timed stroke, the judicious playing of the fish, are 
 thrown away by the snapping of a piece of steel or the sud- 
 den parting of a fine line. 
 
 Fishing lines are made of an endless variety of sub- 
 stances— -horse-hair, silk-worm gut, Indian grass or weed, 
 silk, hemp, cotton, either separately, or mixed, from six 
 feet to one hundred yards long, and in fineness, from a 
 single horse-hair to a clothes-line. 
 
 For bottom-fishmg fine horse-hair or gut is used. The 
 latter is more common, because it can be obtained in greater 
 lengths, and of more uniform consistency, and of varied 
 strengtli and thickness. It is made from the ordinary silk- 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEE. 23 
 
 worm, just at the stage of its existence when it is about to 
 spin the cocoon. This period is known by the caterpillar 
 ceasing to eat, and it is then killed by being tlirovvn into 
 boiling water. The body of the grub is divided gently in 
 the middle, and a greenish gelatinous gut is disclosed to 
 view. This is the organ which secretes the silky matter for 
 spinning the cocoon. This gut-like substance is taken by 
 the extremities and extended slowly and gradually until the 
 requisite length and thickness are obtained; the ends are 
 then fastened to iron pins, fixed, in a board the proper 
 length, and the air and sunshine left to dry and consolidate 
 the filmy substance. It is made of- different degrees of 
 tenuity, according to the purpose for which it is required, 
 whether for salmon, trout, or roach fishing. The best 
 quality is made in Spain; but a great deal is spoiled by a 
 cai-eless method of manufacture. Good gut should be 
 naturally round, thin, and transparent. I say naturally, 
 because there is in use a little machine, like a wire-drawer's 
 gauge, for reducing the diameter of gut and rounding its 
 flat and angular edges. This is useful to a certain extent, 
 but the gut so prepared is not only decidedly inferior to that 
 produced naturally, but is more expensive. Some gut- is 
 white and glossy — this should be avoided for bottom lines, 
 as it is more easily seen. To obyiate this disadvantage as 
 far as possible the gut must be stained. To do this proper- 
 ly the gut must be moistened, and then steeped in ink, 
 diluted with a little water — this will give it a bluish tinge. 
 Strong coffee dregs, in which a bit of alum has been dissolved, 
 will give the much-admired brown or peat color. The 
 water in which green walnuts have been boiled or steeped 
 will answer the same purpose. These colors will answer 
 every purpose. A variety of other and miscellaneous recipes 
 are given in the Appendix. 
 
 The winch-line, for fly-fishing, and for ordinary use in 
 bottom-fishing, if the angler uses the reel, is composed 
 either entirely of horse-hair or of a mixture of horse-hair 
 and silk, or of silk alone; the latter two are becoming more 
 common, but the former is the most durable. Silk, either 
 alone or mixed with hair, is so apt to rot, that there is a 
 great prejudice against its use, notwithstanding that it is 
 stronger and more easily thrown. Patent prepared silk is 
 now in general use for winch-lines, and is well spoken of. 
 I have used both the silk and the silk and hair mixed. 
 
24 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 with success; when I have tried the much-recommended 
 hair alone, I have found it thick, clumsy, and difficult to 
 manage. 
 
 The length of the reel-line must of course depend on the 
 size of the river in which one fishes. On narrow rivers twenty 
 yards will be ample; on broad rivers, or lakes, eighty 
 yards will not be too much; but whatever length is 
 used, the line must be so constructed as to taper 
 about twelve feet from the end until it terminates in the 
 thickness of salmon gut. Tapering lengths of salmon-gut 
 may be whipped or fastened to it, and the fly-line attached 
 direct without the "loosely-twisted hair," or triple-gut cast- 
 ing-line which usually forms the connection between the reel 
 and the fly-line. This, however, has yet many admirers 
 and many disadvantages. When tying or knotting hair or 
 gut, it must he rendered pliant by being soaked in warm 
 water. When the ends require to be tied or whipped 
 they may be moistened or flattened between the teeth. 
 When chafed or fretted they may be rubbed with a piece of 
 India-rubber, which will make them smooth again. To 
 make an ordinary casting-line, seven or eight lengths of 
 triple-twisted gut must be obtained and the ends joined by 
 the single slip-knot, wrapped with wax silk, and covered 
 with spirit-varnish. The pieces must be so selected and 
 joined as to taper gradually to the end, with four or five 
 lengths of picked gut tapering to where the bait tackle is 
 attached. 
 
 There are many plans of joining gut or hair together. 
 The plan of w-hipping two ends with silk is perhaps the 
 neatest, but the least reliable. The ends are laid by the side 
 of, each other, tightly whipped, and the end fastened off as 
 mentioned in whipping hooks. The ordinary knot, called 
 the fisher's knot, (fig. 1), is the one commonly used. When 
 the long ends are pulled tight it becomes a fast knot, easily 
 separated. It may be wrapped with silk, or the meshes 
 may be left the eighth of an inch apart, as recommended by 
 Mr. C. Pennell, and then carefully whipped. The advan- 
 tages claimed for this jilan are — that in case of a sudden 
 strain, such as striking a lai'ge pike or other cause, the 
 knot, instead of parting with the force used, would onlv be 
 drawn closer together, and the whipping would act as a" sort 
 of buffer. The old knot on stout salmon-gut will break at 
 a steady pressure of from twelve to fifteen pounds; but tied- 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEK. 25 
 
 with the Pennell-knot the gut will break at any otlier place 
 in preference to the knot, which is a neat contrivance. The 
 sailor's knot is a useful knot in. an emergency, though not 
 so neat as the foregoing. The two ends are crossed between 
 the left thumb and forefinger, the end pointing toward the 
 left lying at the top of tlie other; it is then bent backward 
 to the other end toward the body, until both ends meet in 
 opposite directions underneath. A simple hitch is made 
 with the two ends, as shown in fig. 2. On pulling the long 
 pieces a secure knot is made, which may be easily separated 
 
 Ffe. 1. Eg. 2. 
 
 Kg. 3. 
 
 when done with without injury to the gut. or it may be 
 whipped and varnished. The weaver's Tcnot is a more secure 
 knot than the above, but more clumsy. It is-thus made: — 
 The ends are crossed between the thumb and forefinger of 
 the left hand, but the end pointing to the right must lay at 
 the top in tliis case; tlie piece belonging to the opposite end 
 is then carried over the thumb at the back of the left end, 
 and brought between the two ends until it can beheld be- 
 tween the finger and the thumb, the right-hand end is 
 pushed through the loop, and the knot stands thus (fig. 3). 
 This, thougii a strong knot for silk, hemp, or cotton, can- 
 not be recommended eitlier for hair or gut. * These lines 
 must be dressed— that is, winch-lines, tro I ling-lines, and 
 salmon-lines — or else they will speedily rot, and in all cases 
 they must be dried ere they are put away. The lines may 
 be steeped in boiled linseed oil, in which a little japanner's 
 gold size has been dissolved, in the proportion of one-eighth 
 of the latter to seven-eighths of the former. If not found 
 hard enoush, a little more gold size will remedy' the defi- 
 ciency. Boiled linseed oil, in which a small knob of resin 
 has been dissolved in an earthenware vessel over a slow fire. 
 
26 THE COMPLETE ANGLEK. 
 
 will answer every purpose, and its antiseptic qualities are 
 far superior. Some add India-rubber and bees-wax to the 
 oil, and others copal varnish and camphor. In the absence 
 of any of the above ingredients white wax is very valuable 
 rubbed on the lines. When using any of the foregoing 
 dressings care must be taken that they are not used hot. 
 The superfluous dressing should bo removed by passing the 
 line between a folded piece of leather held between the 
 fingers. Two dressings of the oil and gold size will be 
 necessary, which should be given some months before the 
 line is used. 
 
 Fishing hooks are made for the angler's use of about 
 fourteen sizes, and there are several varieties, known by 
 the name of London, Limerick, Kirby, Kendal, round and 
 sneck bends, according to che place where they are made, 
 and the shape they are bent. They are made also of varied 
 length in the shanks, to suit the dijfferent purposes for 
 which they are used. For worm-fishing, the long-shanked 
 hook, perfectly round in the bend, so that neither barb nor 
 point inclines inward, is the best. For gentles, paste, and 
 grain, tlie short-shanked, sneck-bent hooks are preferred, 
 as the point of the hook is more easily kept covered and 
 secured for a longer time. Every angler should be able to 
 whip his own hooks on to the gut or hair. It is not difficult 
 to "whip," but it must be done neatly to be of use. The 
 best whipping is made of fine silk, waxed with saddler's 
 wax, that being preferable to shoemaker's wax for/angling 
 purposes. The whipping should be commenced near the 
 bend, and finished neatly by two slip-knots, and then var- 
 nished. The best varnish for this purpose, and for tackle 
 generally, is that made by dissolving shellac in double its 
 bulk of spirits of wine. One application will be found 
 sufficient. The gut or hair should be flattened and moist- 
 ened previous to whipping, by being drawn through the 
 teeth. When the hooks are wanted for bottom-fishing, the 
 gut need not be above eight inches long, and should be 
 furnished with a loop with a whipped fastening to attach it 
 to the line. Too large hooks should not be used in pro- 
 portion to the size of the bait. Fly-fishers approve of the 
 round- bend hook. Hooks are numbered according to size; 
 hut difEerent makers commence differently. Thus Bartlett's 
 largest hooks are No. 1^, the smallest 17. Addington, on 
 the contrary, commences at 13 and ends at 00. The num- 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 27 
 
 bers mentioned in these pages refer to the largest as N"o. 1. 
 All hooks should be tried before using. If they bend 
 easily, they are of little value, as they are too soft. If too 
 hard, they snap suddenly. The happy medium must be 
 chosen. 
 
 • Floats, so indispensable to the young and inexperienced 
 angler, may be purchased in all shapes and sizes at 
 the tackle shops. Small cork floats are the handiest 
 for general fishing, but for carp, roach, and chub, a 
 small quill must be used (figs. 4 and 5). When fishing for 
 
 pike with live bait, the float must be proportionately larger 
 (fig. 7). They may be easily made; an easily made, light, 
 and useful quill float is shown in fig. 5. It is made from 
 two quills cut through the middle, and each cut end slipped 
 over a plug of some light wood. A useful cement for join- 
 ing floats, tipping their ends to keep out the wet, and other 
 angling and general purposes, is made of 1 oz. of bees-wax, 
 5 oz. of yellow resin, melted together in an earthenware 
 vessel; an ounce of Venetian red may be added, and about 
 the same quantity of plaster of Paris. Let it boil slowly. 
 
28 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 stir it until thoroughly, incorporated, and then it should be 
 stirred until it cools. A small portion must be melted in 
 some convenient vessel for use as required. This is useful 
 if I he young angler aspires to the mau- 
 ufacture of cork floats. Generally 
 speaking, a little melted sealing-wax 
 and the tackle spirit varnish, is all that 
 is necessary, and answers every purpose. 
 The quills may be ornamented, as iu fig. 
 4, with colored silk; or the quill may 
 be dyed, or colored red; the liquid 
 dyes sold at the chemists' shops will 
 "form the best laboratory the "natty" 
 angler can resort to for this purpose. 
 A little vermilion or Brunswick green 
 added to the tackle Viirnish will 
 give his floats the brilliant red or 
 green tint he may wish. Though the 
 plainer and unobtrusive the tackle is 
 kept the better — green is, however, 
 better than red. On broad streams the 
 tumbler float is very useful, and it is 
 not generally known. Its appearance 
 is shown in fig. 8. I never saw one 
 sold, but I have made scores for my 
 friends, by taking out the upper quill 
 of an ordinary rotund cork float, and 
 adding a much longer one, with a 
 swan shot or lead pellet fastened in the 
 Fiff. 8. top. This pellet should be heavy 
 
 enough to cause the float to lie flat on the water, and it 
 should be sufficiently well balanced as to show the slightest 
 nibble by standing upright. I have cast this float with a 
 long line far into a broad stream, and indeed this is its use. 
 It is truly a float of the Nottingham school of anglers, and 
 a very good one it is. A few spare float caps, ma(le by cut- 
 ting quills into sections, and whipping a bit of waxed silk 
 round them to prevent them splitting, should form 25art 
 of the bottom-fisher's outfit. 
 
 The useful little plummet is necessary to ascertain the 
 depth of the water in bottom-fishing. Mine is made of 
 thin sheet-lead, rolled into the oval shape of fig. 9, a small 
 piece is uncoiled, and wrapped round the hook, and then 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEK. 
 
 29 
 
 Fig. 9. 
 
 carefully and quietly let into the water. Another form of 
 plummet is sold at the shops (fig. 10); the hook is slipped 
 througlithe ring A, and the point rests on a wood plug 
 in the bottom, B. 
 
 Tlie panier basket, or creel, is usually made 
 of wicker-work ; and these elegant baskets 
 known as "French made," are perhaps the 
 most popular. The size must be regulated 
 by the quantity of fish the angler expects to 
 capture. Damp grass is betttr than any other 
 material to keep the fish fresh and, cool. An 
 extra strap or two will be found useful to 
 attach the vuiter-proof coat, extra butt, or 
 other angling paraphernalia to the iiasket. 
 
 A haversack of water-proof cloth, similar 
 in shape to those supplied to the infantry, is in 
 my opinion one of the most useful articles 
 which an angler can have. It is easily 
 packed; and as the band can be easily fitted with "button- 
 holes, it can be attached to the brace-buttons on the left- 
 hand side, or to buttons stitched on purposely. A con- 
 
 Fig, u. 
 
 venient size is one of twenty inches long by twelve inches 
 deep, fitted with a flap and two burtons, as shown in fig. 12, 
 to which a short strap and buckle mav.be added. The 
 interior should be divided longitudiinilly by a tliird piece>. 
 and the seams should be carefully turned in, double-stitched, 
 and varnished. In it the angler may keep a whole variety 
 of requisites, and on occasions a change of linen. It may 
 
30 
 
 THE COMPLETE AKGLER. 
 
 be fitted with rings or buckles, so as to permit the shoulder- 
 straps to be taken off or put on at pleasure. 
 
 The drag-hook and cord (fig. 13.) is suggestive of 
 
 anything but pleasant ideas. It is about as awkward a piece 
 
 of furniture as a man could carry about with him. I would 
 
 ' rather lose a hook and line thau be troubled for' an hour 
 
 with oue. 
 
 Kg. 12. 
 
 The clearing-ring is, on the contrary, useful and easily 
 carried. It is used in clearing the line and hook when 
 entangled among weeds, roots of trees, or other en- 
 cumbrances in the bed of the river. One weighing six or 
 eight ounces, of the accompanying pattern, (fig. 14), can 
 be made by any blacksmitli. The iron in the thicker 
 parts should be of a pear-shaped section, the thinner and 
 
 Jig. 13. 
 
 Fig. 14. 
 
 sharper edge being in the interior. A piece of coi-d is 
 knotted to the upper end; it is then slipped over the line, 
 which guides it to the obstruction, and then by pulling the 
 cord the hook and tackle may be saved. 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEE. 
 
 31 
 
 The discorger is a useful little article, made of wood, 
 metal, or bone, of this shape (fig. 15). It is used for re- 
 leasing the hook from the throat of a fish. The- fork en- 
 ables the angler to force down the hook, and so release it 
 without the disagreeable process of opening the fish, which 
 sometimes has to be adopted. It enables the fly-fisher to 
 prevent his flies being mangled, ruffled, and damaged. The 
 disgoiger can be easily made by an ingenious boy out of the 
 handle of au old spoon. A hole drilled in "the handle 
 enables it to be attached by a piece of twine to the bift- 
 tou-hole. 
 
 The gaff is a large, sharp, deeply-barbed hook, similar 
 
 Fig. 15, 
 
 Fi2.ia 
 
 Jig; W. 
 
 to a large fish-hook, screwed in or fastened to the end of a 
 proper piece of wood, which may also be used for a landing- 
 net. It should be well tempered, and is indispensable in 
 landing large fish where the bank is h^h, or where the 
 landing-net cannot be easily used. There are several 
 varieties sold. 
 
 The landing net should be made of jointed brass, for the 
 convenience of packing. Where the bank of the river is 
 steep, or in fishing from a boat in a lake, it is indispensable. 
 The handle should screw on, and if in two pieces, so much 
 the better. I should be so arranged as to admit of a "fly 
 retriever" (fig. 17). Mr. Parker, an English gentleman, has 
 invented a modification of this apparatus, which shute up 
 
32 
 
 THE COMPLETE ANGLEE. 
 
 like a knife. The inner edge should be sharp, so as to Cut 
 away the branches and twigs overhead in which the line or 
 fly may become entangled. The net itself shonldbe so fine 
 as to enable the angler to secure minnows with it, and so 
 answer the double purpose of a landing and a minnow-net. 
 The angler's pocket-book or wallet is a very useful 
 article. The one I use is about seven inches long by about 
 five wide, and it opens like a tailor's pattern-book; it has 
 numerous pockets. When open it presents the above 
 appearance (tig. 18). The covers are made of thin mill- 
 board, and the divisions of card-board, glued to a section of 
 oil-skin cloth, and lined with black linen, etc., fitted with, 
 elastic bands, and bound with military braid. A few 
 pai'chment strips are stitched in the ce'iiter, as shown. 
 
 When closed it all rolls up, and is fastened by a strap or tied 
 band, at the option of the angler. It will contain scissors, 
 knife, pliera, wax-floats, hooks, gnt, hair, waxed silk, thread, 
 barley, needles, fly materials, though it is better to keep 
 these things separate in a similar case to surround the fly- 
 box. If deluded into the idea of keeping flies in a book, 
 you will regret it An excellent substitute for the book 
 above described may be made from one of Parkin & Gotto's 
 prize writing-cases, which are English-made, refitted by 
 placing a few strips of parchment where the blotting-pa])er 
 is. It forms aliamly water-proof book, and has the advantage 
 to the young angler of being cheap. Our book wassuggested 
 by, and is a modification of, this book. Fig. 18 shows a 
 winder for six bottom lines in the center. 
 
THfi OOMPIjETE anglee. 
 
 33 
 
 The minnow or live-bait kettle (fig. 19), should be 
 of tin, and fitted with straps to go over the shoulder. A 
 second lid, perforated, should be added, with a hand-net 
 to take out the bait, which otherwise are not improved by 
 the hand of the fisherman rubbing the scales off. The live- 
 bait kettle is used in trolling for trout and pike, and may 
 be purchased at the tackle-shops, but see tliat it is fitted 
 with straps. 
 
 A pair of waterproof stockings will be found useful; but 
 if not obtainable, two pairs of stockings should be worn, 
 and the boots made as waterproof as possible. The best 
 
 Fig. 19. 
 
 antiseptic waterproof material I know as a dressing for 
 fishing and shooting boots was given in one of the 
 magazines some thirty years ago. It is composed of three • 
 parts tallow, one oz. yellow resin, melted in a pipkin, and 
 rubbed into the boots when just warm. The soles and 
 uppers to be treated alike until they will soak no more. At 
 first it will slightly stain the stockings. If a good color 
 and polish is desirable, a little bees-wax dissolved in tur- 
 pentine, and mixed witli a little lamp-black, may be well 
 rubbed in, and when the turpentine has evaporated the 
 
34 The complete angler. 
 
 boots win be brilliant enough to charm the fishers, and be 
 warm and comfortable, besides lasting twice as long as they 
 otherwise would. Curriers' " dubbing," in which a little 
 resin has been melted, will answer as a substitute, but it 
 is not nearly so efEcacious as the above invaluable mix- 
 ture. 
 
 Common Brass £eel Scass Keel with Friction Flat& 
 
 Bait boxes for gentles, flannel bags for worms, a small 
 box for paste, or what is better for this purpose, a piece 
 of oiled silk, pieces of thin lead, or a box of split shot, are 
 adjuncts which the young angler will have to attend to. 
 Extra lengths of gut, lines, a spare float, float caps, swivels, 
 gimp, etc. 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEB. 85 
 
 BOTTOM -FISHING. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PoiifTS TO BE Observed. — Steikiis'G, Hookikg, Plat- 
 ing, AND Landing the Fish. 
 
 Thousands of men, however ardent their passion for 
 more noble sport may be, must content themselves 
 with the humble but interesting pastime of bottom- 
 fishing. It is not every one, however keen may be his 
 appetite for sport, that can indulge in frequent visits to the 
 running, brawling trout stream, and still less frequently to 
 the salmon rivers. If he fishes at all, he must fish in the 
 smooth, sluggish waters which are nearest at hand, and a 
 very respectable substitute it is to the town-immured sports- 
 man. A fly-fisher can roam where he pleases with his rqd, 
 creel, line, and flies; but though the fly-fisher may require 
 more skill, the bottom-fisher requires more art. He must, 
 if he wishes for sport, take a thousand precautions, and, 
 like a skillful general, have a thousand in reserve. He 
 must choose his ground with judgment, and prepare for his 
 campaign with foresight and skill. The attractive ground- 
 bait must prepare the way for the irresistible and tempting 
 morsel which is to follow, and reward the patient angler 
 for his trouble. To do these things well requires some 
 knowledge of the habits of the finny tribes, their haunts, 
 the most attractive baits, and those best adapted for the 
 season. 
 
 His rod must be strong and light, and should have one or 
 two tops in reserve, so as to adapt it to the various kinds of 
 fish. One of the best bottom-fishers I ever met always 
 carried aa extra joint with his rod of stout bamboo, which 
 was fitted at the bottom with a stout ferule and brass cap 
 tapped to hold a spud, drag-hook, gaff-hook, or landing-net, 
 while the upper end would fit the lower part of his rod. 
 
36 THE COMPLETE ANGIXH. 
 
 when necessary, by unscrewing the feru.e, and give him a 
 tweuty-feet sweep of a broad river. His rod consisted of 
 four lengths, each a little over four feet long, light, but 
 strongly made. This will answer for ordinary purposes, 
 but when fishing for roach, the rod diould be lighter than 
 is necessary for any other species of river fish. 
 
 There is some difference in experience and practice as to 
 the use of a winch in bottom-fishing. 5^or my own part, I 
 have not found it jssential, though always useful, if only to 
 shorten or lengthen the line. A good plan is to have a rod 
 ringed, and attach a small spring swivel (which may be 
 bought at any fishing-tackle retailer's) to the line, so that 
 it can be brought down to the lower rings at once, if 
 necessary to shorten the line. This has the effect of equal- 
 izing to a great extent the strain upon the rod, though not 
 to the same extent as the winch. 
 
 The lines used for bottom-fishing are those made of gut, 
 which should be as fine as possible, consistent with strength. 
 Some roach fishers use a single •horse-hair for their 
 bottom lines, though a fine silk-worm gut is equally as good, 
 and infinitely more reliable. The foot lines must, however, 
 be of the color of the water; light green is perhaps the best 
 general tint, and best adapted for clear water, as it resembles 
 a film of confervas, and the mode of dyeing it is elsewhere 
 described. They should not be left white, and it is of great 
 importance to have one or more foot lines stained of a red- 
 dish sandy hue for use after a flood. For roach fishing the 
 line should be of gut. For perch, a well-plaited horse-hair 
 line is the best, and many anglers use this as a reel line for 
 all purposes, and vary only the foot line. The line should 
 be weighted carefully and neatly with split shot, or what is 
 equally as good, fine strips of the thin lead with which tea 
 chests are lined, and which may be obtained of any grocer. 
 These strips are handy, and can be easily wound round the 
 lower links of the line; and are more readily adjusted, and 
 not so liable to injure the gut as split shot, which have iin 
 awkward knack of breaking, nipping, and pinching the line. 
 It is also more convenient to carry, less liable to be lost, and 
 can be taken off the line with less trouble, and what is more 
 important, with less liability of damage to the line than 
 the shot. 
 
 No hooks, as before mentioned, should be used without 
 being carefully tried. They should be whipped on to the 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 87 
 
 line as neatly and as delicately as possible witli slightly- 
 waxed silk the color of the iaii intended to be used. The 
 whipping must be neatly done to be successful. Hooks for 
 gentles, greaves, paste, and grain should be sneck-bent, 
 short in the shank, and may be whipped to the bend of the 
 hook, so that the bait may readily cover the wire, and not 
 slip off easily, which would be the case if the long-shanked, 
 and straight-bent hooks were used. The latter, however, 
 are tiie best for worm bait, as they enable the worm to 
 be threaded easily, while the bent hook is apt to injure the 
 bait, and render it less lively in the water. 
 
 Some bottom-fishers, particularly those who have been 
 in the habit of fly-fishing, seldom use a float, and talk 
 learnedly of their quick eye and sensitive touch, which 
 enables them to detect a bite in a moment, and strike their 
 fish. The young beginner, however, must have a float, 
 tlioiigh the smaller it is the better, except perhaps for 
 barbel fishing. Apart from the indication of a bite, or even 
 a nibble, it shows when the bait drags the bottom, or has 
 caught a weed. The ordinary float should never be allowed 
 to drag in the water, but should sit upright, and in smooth 
 water should have the point of the quill just above the 
 surface. Quill floats are the best for roach and carp fish- 
 ing, and cork floats are fancied for perch, tench, bream, and 
 barbel. The line should invariably rise perpendicularly 
 from the top of the float, so as to enable the angler to strike 
 promptly. Numbers of fish are lost through carelessly 
 allowing the line to lap over the float in coils, or hang in 
 the water, while their floats are slanting or dragging, and 
 their baits are being nibbled off. 
 
 To insure your float sitting nicely, two things must be 
 attended to: You must ascertain (if you do not know) the 
 depth of water. For this purpose a plumb is necessary, 
 and one made out of a coil of "tea lead," before mentioned, 
 is the best, as it can be lapped into a flat shape, which is 
 less cumbersome for the pocket. Place the plumb next on 
 your hook, and when it sinks the top of your float to the 
 surface of the water, you have the exact depth. If you are 
 fishing for gudgeons, tench, or barbel, you must fish close 
 to the bottom. If for roach, chub, or carp, from three to 
 six inches from it. Your float must be moved accordingly 
 down the line, and fastened in the ordinary way with a quill 
 float-cap. See that it i§ leaded properly, and stands upright 
 
38 THE COMPLETK ANGLEB. 
 
 in the water free from all obstruction, and ready to yield to 
 the slightest nibble; and if an ordinary made_ quill float, 
 examine it carefully to see if it is likely to admit water into 
 the quill, and so render it less buoyant. A little white 
 wax will at once stop any crevice or fissure. One thing 
 the young angler must learn quietly and by experience; 
 and that is to strike his fish promptly with a sharp 
 but slight jerk of the wrist. He must not do it violently, 
 for if he does, he will disturb and alarm the fish; neitiier 
 must he wait for the nibble until the bait is gone or the 
 fish hooks itself. The wrist must be turned toward you, 
 slightly to the right, with just sufficient force to lift the 
 bait a few inches. Many a day's fishing has been spoiled, 
 good tackle destroyed, fish tormented or rendered shy, by 
 the violent exhibition of strength in this neat and essential 
 portion of the angler's art. 
 
 The fish being hooked, my dear young angler, be merci- 
 ful in your strength. Do not be flurried, and jerk the fish 
 out of the water as if your life depended on your sending it 
 into the middle of the next meadow. If your tackle is 
 well chosen, you may lift your fish, of small size, out of the 
 water without "any struggle, or a very short one'. Some- 
 times you may alight on a shoal of small-sized fish, and 
 then it will be necessary to pull them at once to the surface 
 of the water, and allow them no play. This is particularly 
 the case with perch, for these bold gentlemen have strong 
 mouths, bite boldly, and are not easily frightened by a bit of 
 gut or horse-hair. Out with him at once, if possible, so 
 that he may not give the alarm to his companions. 
 Chub and barbel, and other large-sized fish should be 
 allowed a little play; the line must be kept tight to prevent 
 him going just where he pleases. He will soon begin to 
 tire, and show by his languid and enfeebled fins that he is 
 succumbing to the influences and skill brought against 
 him. Then bring a taut and shortened line to buar on 
 him; show him the butt-end of your rod, and bring his 
 head above water. Be careful, for he may want another 
 swim or two, and if so, indulge him, or slip the landing- 
 net under him; let him drop into it, and try another. 
 
 Sometimes when fishing with fine and delicate roach 
 tackle you may hook a lurge fish, which will try all your 
 skill. Yourtemper must be as smooth as a placid lake, 
 and your wrist as firm and as pliable as a fly-fisher's ere 
 
THE COMPLETE AKGLEE. 39 
 
 you can land the monster who is enthralled by the single 
 horse-liair line and diminutive hook. It will require all 
 your skill and address, but it may and can be done, and 
 you may boast of the event with real pride. 
 
 The bottom-fisher requires no little patience, a tolerable 
 selection of baits — the best of which I have endeavored to 
 describe; and ere I pass to the consideration of the baits, let 
 me dwell for a few minutes while I show, as clearly as I 
 can, how to bait a hook with a worm or worms. You must 
 first rub the ends of your forefinger and thumb of both 
 hands in sand, bran, cr dry earth, to prevent the worm 
 slipping, or otherwise you will have great difficulty in 
 properly adjusting the slimy gentleman on the hook. In- 
 sert the point of the hook at the head of the worm, and 
 work it gently over the bend, and up the shank, and along 
 the line, until not more than a quarter of an inch or so 
 hangs beyond the point of the hook, which must be left 
 to wriggle about. Large worms as a rule should have a 
 fourth of their length left loose; small worms should have 
 the barb of the hook close to their tails, AVhen dead, the 
 worms should be replaced immediately. It is a waste of 
 time to attempt to entice fish with a dead worm. Par- 
 ticular attention must be paid to the worm in putting it on 
 the hook, so that the skin may not be perforated by the 
 barb when once in the body; and the tail of the worm 
 should incline inward, so as to prevent, as far as possible, 
 the worm working the point of the hook through the skin. 
 Fish are quick in detecting the fine point of the hook. 
 
 If the worms are small, two maybe placed on the hook; 
 and this plan I prefer as a rule in practice, as it makes the 
 bait apj)ear more natural, and of course more deadly. It 
 may be done in either of these two ways: The larger of the 
 worms may be threaded in the way above described to about 
 half of its length, the hook may then be brought through, 
 and the worm passed on to the gut. A smaller worm is 
 then chosen, and the hook inserted at such a distance from 
 the head as to bring the point of the hook within a quarter 
 of an inch of the head of the worm. The upper worm is 
 then brought down to meet the smaller worm, and th,e tails 
 er twined within the bend of the hook. A second plan is to 
 insert the hook about midway down the worm, and bring it 
 out a little below the tail; and the second worm should have 
 the hook inserted half an inch below the tail, and brouglit 
 
40 THE COMPLETE ANGLEE. 
 
 close to the beaii. By this plan thei-e are two ends to 
 wriggle and make the bait appear more lively. I cannot 
 too strongly impress the young angler with the necessity of 
 baiting his hook with care, fqr on it his success will, in a 
 great measure depend. When I come to speak of bottom- 
 fishing for trout, I shall mention two or three other plans 
 of worm-baiting; but the young angler will find the above 
 sufficiently alluring for his purpose. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE BOTTOM-BISHEE'S BAIT TABLE. 
 
 • Those baits are the best and the most killing which are 
 natural to the season. Children do not look for cherries on 
 the trees in February, and fish seem to know that seed and 
 grain ought not to be coming down the stream in April. 
 Sometimes a strange and extemporaneous bait will succeed 
 when ar ordinary one will not; but it is the exception, not the 
 rule, and depends for success on the caprice or gluttonous 
 instinct of the fish, which may vary day by day, according 
 as it is surfeited or otherwise by its ordinary food. 
 
 1. Worms stand first in the bottom-fisher's list, and of 
 these the dew, twatcliel, or lobworm is the largest, and the 
 best bottom bait for large barbel, grayling, perch, trout, 
 bream, or eels, nay, even the lordly salmon does not disdain to 
 take one sometimes. You may find them in the gardens or 
 in the fields by digging at any time; but they may be found 
 by thousands at night, or in the early morning, in fields and 
 meadows after a fall of heavy dew or rain. It seems a 
 ridiculous, but none the less a good plan, to search for them 
 by the light of a lantern. In dry weather they sink deep 
 into the earth; but in that case, if you throw a quantity of 
 wet straw on the surface of the ground they will come out. 
 A strong solution of salt and water, or water in which wal- 
 nuts or their green shells have been boiled, will, it is sq.id, 
 bring them speedily to the surface; but it is better to dig 
 for them in moist mold or in the bottom of a ditch. 
 Sometimes a stick or a poker thrust into the ground and 
 well shaken will make them come to the surface. 
 
 2. The blue-head is a common worm in Ireland, and 
 not infrequent in Bng^land. Its head is blue — its body 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEK. 41 
 
 of a cream color, without nobs, and the skin of its belly 
 feels " sharply rougli " to the finger. It. scours readily, 
 and lives long in the water. It is an excellent bait; salmon 
 and trout bite at it readily, and few river-fish will pass it 
 by. They are sometimes to be found in commons, in rich 
 garden mold, round the roots of plants. It must not be 
 confounded with the marsh-worm, which is only fit for 
 ground-bait. 
 
 3. Brandlings are found in old dung-hills, and are capital 
 worms. They are striped across the back with red and 
 yellow. They should be well scoured in a piece of old 
 netting, or rag. 
 
 4. Red-worms. Those pinkish-colored, thin ivory 
 worms, common in old tan-heaps, are a good tough worm 
 for small fish. They are also found in old dung-heaps, 
 where the manure and soil meet, and occasionally by the 
 side of ditches. They must be lightly handled, and the 
 hook must be small-sized and light in the wire. They are 
 the best bait for gudgeons, and perhaps the best general 
 bait for all fish. 
 
 5. Blood-worms are found in the excrement of horned 
 cattle. They are also found in farm-yards. They are about 
 an inch in length, and are a killing bait if two or three are 
 put on the hook together, for small fish. 
 
 6. Tag-tail worms have the recommendation of being used 
 as soon as found, but they are by no means equal to the 
 foregoing. They are found in marly banks and in strong 
 clayey soil. They may be known by their light red color 
 and yellow tail. 
 
 Slugs and other worms have been recommended, and 
 may have been used with success nnder exceptional circum- 
 stances, for barbel, chub, or eels; but the foregoing worms 
 are much better. 
 
 Worms may be preserved and scoured in several ways. I 
 always adopt the old-fashioned plan of keeping them in 
 moss in a large unglazed earthenware flower-pot. The moss 
 must be clean picked, damped, and the worms placed at the 
 top, and a little cream or milk sprinkled over them, and 
 then set aside iu a cool place. If the worms are not for 
 immediate use, some well-rotted dung and rich mold is 
 placed at the bottom of the pot, and the moss kept damp. 
 Worms treated in this way quickly scour, are lively, and 
 Jong-lived in the water. Every day or two they are looked 
 
42 THE COMPLETE ANGLEB. 
 
 over, and the bruised and sickly ones thrown away. A 
 little bole Armenian is said to improve their toughness. 
 This plan will be found efficient, and cause but little trouble. 
 Mr. Blaine, in his " Encyolopsedia of Rural Sports, " 
 mentions a plan of soaking a clean coarse hempen or linen 
 cloth in water, in which some mutton suet has been boiled. 
 When cold, put it into a tub with the worms, and some 
 fresh mold, and tie over the top a linen cloth to admit air. 
 Keep the whole in a cool situation, and the worms will keep 
 lively and fit for use for many months. I have never tried 
 this plan. The first mentioned answers every purpose, and 
 enables the angler to keep the different sorts of worms 
 separate. 
 
 If worms are wanted quickly, they may be washed and 
 placed in a little chopped horse-hair. After an hour or two 
 they may be dusted with finely-powdered bole Armenian 
 and a little alum, and then placed in a bag with moss, im- 
 pregnated with the same mixture. 
 
 Scouring renders worms tough and lively on the hook. 
 Dead worms are utterly valueless as bait. 
 
 7. The maggot or gentle is an excellent bait for roach, 
 dace, carp, bream, and chub in the summer and autumn 
 months. They are procured in large towns at the fishing- 
 tackle shops, and in the country a supply can generally be 
 procured at the tallow chandler's. Perhaps the best for 
 angling purposes that can be procured are those obtained 
 by hanging some animal substance, such as a sheep's head 
 or bullock's liver, in a place where flies abound, and when 
 it is fully blown, place it in a tub half full of bran and sand 
 for the maggots to scour and clean themselves. They are 
 scoured and made tough by keeping them for three or four 
 days in a mixture of sand, meal, and bran. They must be 
 kept in a cool place, in a vessel filled with wet sand away 
 from the rays of the sun. If gentles are wanted in the 
 winter the same process must be followed in the latter part 
 of November, and when the piece of meat or game is well 
 blown it is laid in a tub or long box (the latter is best), half- 
 filled with dry pulverized cow-dung and sifted mold 
 moistened. The same compost is sifted over the carcass, 
 and gradually pressed down. The box may be then buried 
 in the earth, or placed in a cool situation. The gentles can 
 be taken from one end of the box without disturbing the 
 others. When turned into the chrysalis state, they are 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 43 
 
 useful for gi'ound-bait, and sometimes roach will tite at 
 them. The gentles obtained at a knacker's or botie boiler's 
 are nasty things, and should only be used as ground-bait. 
 They are truly carrion — disagreeable alike to carry and 
 handle, eating their way through the stoutest bag. 
 
 8. 21ie caddis-worm or straw-bait. This curious worm, 
 which is found at the edge of most rivers in its curious stony 
 shell, is the larvae of some of the angler's best flies. I have 
 found it an excellent bait in every stream where it is found 
 in England. There is scarcely any other bait about 
 the merits of which so many diverse opinions exist. 
 My opinion of its merits has been strengthened by many 
 angling correspondents. Caddis may be kept in a bag, if 
 dipped frequently in the water to keep them moist. One 
 of these singular grubs has been added with killing effect to 
 an artificial fly. 
 
 Tv^o of these baits are generally placed on the hook to- 
 gether. The hook must enter close under the head and be 
 brought out at the end, if two are used. If the hook is a 
 very small one, one only may be used; but it is necessary 
 that the hook and shank should both be covered. Artificial 
 caddis are sometimes used; and in the chapter on "Flies, 
 and how to Dress them," a plan of making them is described. 
 The above remarks apply equally to all kinds of grubs. 
 
 9. The meal-worm is a sort of grub common in old mills 
 where meal has been kept: it is not unlike, if not identical 
 with, the weevil of ship-biscuit. It is much liked by trout 
 and other fish; requires no scouring, and may be kept in 
 meal. 
 
 10. The wasp-grub is a soft milky grub, taken from a 
 wasp's nest. They require to be toughened by being 
 placed in an oven to be half baked before use. They may 
 be kept in a jar in a cool cupboard. Trout bite freely at 
 them, and it is said that a too frequent use of them spoils 
 the fishing for any other bait. 
 
 11. Salmon spaton. We are told that this is a poaching 
 contrivance — illegal and unsportsmanlike. It may be 
 bought preserved ready, and has a killing reputation. It 
 is difficult to prepare, as it is apt to become too hard or too 
 soft. One recipe says that it should be carefully washed 
 with cold water, and separated in a delicate manner from 
 all skin. Lukewarm water must be added, until it is per- 
 fectly clean from all film. The last water must be cold. 
 
44 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 The roe must then be left to dry in a hair sieve. Two 
 ounces of salt are then added to every pound of roe, and 
 well mixed with the fingers. The brine is then allowed to 
 drain off, and the roe is spread on a shallow dish near the 
 fire. The dish must be placed in an oblique direction, and 
 the roe stirred with the handle of a wooden spoon, until 
 each ovum has dried separately. To have each ovum per- 
 fectly clean, separately salted and dried, is the secret of the 
 preserving it. When cool, pot it, and keep the air from it 
 with melted suet or lard — covering the pots down with 
 bladder or oiled silk. Another recipe states that it should 
 be boiled for about ten minutes, and then washed, picked, 
 cleaned, and dried. Two ounces of salt, and a quarter of 
 an ounce of saltpeter, must then be mixed with it, and 
 spread before the fire until it becomes quite stiff. It is then 
 potted as above. Trout take this bait greedily; chub and 
 roach bite at it freely. It is threaded in siiigle grains on the 
 hook until it is covered — the finest grains being reserved to 
 cover the barb and point of the hook. A good plan, too, is 
 to string the grains of roe, like beads, with a fine needle 
 and pink thread, and then wind them round the shank and 
 head of the hook, reserving a fine one for the point. When 
 soft and broken it may be mixed with a little bread paste, 
 as salmon roe paste. 
 
 13. The cockroach. Trout and other fish bite at cock- 
 roaches at a mill-tail, from whence they might be supposed 
 to have come. 
 
 13. Greaves, familiarly known as "scratchings," are the 
 refuse of a tallow chandler's melting-copper, pressed into 
 large cakes. The best are, however, those made by the lard 
 "renderers" and refiners. To prepare it for use, it is 
 broken up and scalded. The whitest portions are cliosen 
 for the hook, and the others are used for ground-bait for 
 barbel, chub, etc. 
 
 14. Boiled malt, barley, or wheat, is a famous bait for 
 roach in the autumn, and is far better than brewer's 
 grains, which should only be used for ground-bait. If the 
 angler has time to prepare the grain himself, wheat should 
 be steeped all night in plenty of lukewarm water, and then 
 placed in a warm (not hot) oven for several lioni-s, until the 
 skin cracks and shows the white feciila. Malt, which 
 appears to Le a more attractive bait than either barley or 
 wheat, is prepared in a similar way; but for success it should 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEE. 45 
 
 not be allowed to get too soft, and should only just show the 
 inside. The plumpest grains should be chosen for the 
 hook, and the rest used as ground-bait. In September and 
 October I have found this a more attractive bait than any 
 paste. Sometimes the husks are removed, and the flour 
 kneaded to a fine paste. Some English anglers speak well of 
 boiled pearl barley as a bait for roach, and during the past 
 season I have tried it with success in English waters. 
 
 I never met with a bottom-fisher who was not •' great" in 
 the matter of paste, and able to sing loudly in praise of 
 this or that compound, either of his own invention, or of 
 some brother-fisherman's. 
 
 Plain paste is made by kneading moistened bread 
 crumbs between the fingers until it becomes adhesive. If 
 the stream is a running one, a little lint or cotton wool may 
 be mixed with it to prevent it being easily washed off the 
 hook. A small portion of vermilion is sometimes added to 
 give it a pink color. Stale bread is used for roach-fishing, 
 and new bread for chub-fishing. It is necessary that the 
 hands should be perfectly clean, or else the fish will not 
 touch the bait. It is best to carry the bread to the 
 river side, and make the paste just before using, as it 
 has a tendency to turn sour. 
 
 Greaves paste, for barbel, is made by dipping white bread 
 into water in which greaves have been boiled, and then knead- 
 ing it. The hook should have a small bit of greaves on the 
 point when this paste is used. 
 
 Sweet paste is made by adding honey to bread crumbs, 
 and then working it to a proper consistence. I think highly 
 of this paste for carp, chub, and roach, and it is improved 
 by adding a small quanity of gin. 
 
 Cheese paste is made of rotten cheese and bread for chub; 
 for roach, new cheese and stale bread. 
 
 Adhesive pastes are made of size obtained by boiling 
 parchment or white leather cuttings in water. Useful only 
 in rapid waters. 
 
 With respect to baits, almost any insect or small reptile 
 may be tried when ordinary baits fail, and succeed ia 
 deluding occasionally the most cunning fish. 
 
 Ground-bait,s are nearly as varied as the baits them- 
 selves, and should be freely used from twelve to fifteen 
 hours, and even twenty hours, before you fish the pitch. 
 
 Meal ground-bait is useful for chub, dace, roach, and. 
 
46 THE COMPLETE ANGLEB. 
 
 carp in deep waters. Bread, oatmeal, and bran, must be 
 well kneaded together with a little water until they will 
 form tough balls. Should be used with the sweet paste. _ 
 
 Boiled rice is a good ground-bait when fishing with 
 gentles, and one grain placed nicely on the hook will some- 
 times attract a roach. 
 
 Eaw rice and large grained white sago, the latter especially, 
 is useful when fishing with boiled malt. 
 
 Bread and clay, or bran and clay, kneaded together, and 
 a large stone placed in the middle, is a useful ground-bait 
 when fishing with paste. To the bran and clay gentles or 
 worms may be added, and thrown into the stream; and as 
 they creep out, the fish take them, and are encouraged to 
 take your finer bait. In deep water, this is one of the best 
 ground-baits. 
 
 Greaves boiled and mixed with clay or bran are the proper 
 ground-bait for barbel. Wet sand and carrion gentles, 
 and chewed bread, are all good ground-baits. 
 
 When fishing with worms, clay, malt-dust, and bran may 
 be mixed together with some chopped worms, and a little 
 bullock's or sheep's blood may be added and made into 
 tenacious balls. 
 
 The young angler should recollect that his object is to 
 attract the fish, and not to feed them, therefore when fish- 
 ing he should use the ground-bait sparingly. It should 
 always be of the same nature as the baits to be used, but of 
 inferior quality. Without the use of ground-bait in slug- 
 gish streams, the chances of the angler's success are but 
 small. 
 
 CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 What to fish for, and Wheee. — The Haunts of the 
 Minnow, Loach, Euffe, Gudgeon, Bleak, Dace, 
 EoACH, Chub, and Bream. 
 
 In suitable waters neai-ly every description of fish may be 
 caught by the bottom-fisher if he provides himself with 
 suitable tackle, uses it in the best manner, and in the suit- 
 able season. To be successful he should know somewhat of 
 the haunts of the fish, their method and time of feeding, 
 and, above all, when they are in season. During the pres- 
 
a?HE COMPLETE ANGLEE. 47 
 
 ent year I have been repeatedly annoyed by anglers taking 
 fish wiien they were not only unwholesome, but spawning, 
 and thereby destroying the poisonous fish and their future 
 sport. I have already touched upon the general habits of 
 fish — their sense of hearing, sight, and smell (Uhap. II. ;) 
 and to the remarks there made I would again direct the 
 young angler's attention, ere I touch upon the various kinds 
 of fish which will afford him sport with his rod, line, float- 
 bait, and sinkers. Following out the plan I proposed at 
 the commencement, I begin with the smaller fry, which 
 are easily caught, and though not of much value in 
 themselves, are useful as baits for the larger and more 
 valuable fish. 
 
 The minnow is well known to every schoolboy who has 
 seen a rivulet. Delicate in shape, rapid in motion, and 
 moving in shoals, they are at once bold, gregarious, and vo- 
 racious feeders. For the purposes of the troller and spinner 
 they are usually caught with a hand-net. A bent pin and a 
 small red worm enables a boy to catch any number. They 
 will take a crumb of bread or a gentle voraciously. If a 
 worm is used, tied to a horse-hair, they may be pulled out 
 by the dozen. Several of the old writers speak of min- 
 now as forming a nice dish when caught in sufficient num- 
 bers, but they are more trouble than they are worth. 
 
 The loach is not a pleasant fish to look at. His bnllefc 
 head and heavy shoulders give him a clumsy look. They 
 bite freely at a worm, and do not despise gentles. 
 
 The ruffe is a fierce-looking, bold biter, somewhat like 
 a small perch. They may be caught during the whole of 
 the summer months, and afford excellent sport to the 
 young angler. Wherever one is caught there will be plenty 
 of others. They lie in rather deep water, in a hole close 
 by the eddying of a stream. You may ground-bait with 
 clay balls, in which bits of worms have been rolled. 
 Though small, they form a respectable fry. 
 
 The gudgeon is a better known fish, and one that is 
 esteemed a choice morsel, even by gourmands. They bite 
 freely, and there are but few streams of any size where he 
 does not abound. I have caught them by the dozen in 
 canals and in the rivulets running into larger streams. 
 There is no difficulty in getting a respectable dish of this 
 fine-shaped and excellent fish, which are largely in demand 
 for live bait for jack, and occasionally for tiont. They are 
 
48 THE COMPLETE ANGLEB. 
 
 very prolific, and are supposed to spawn about May. The 
 tackle adapted to catch. them is a small light rod, a tine gut 
 or single hair bottom line, a very small hook, a small brand- 
 ling worm, a bit of paste, or a gentle. A light quill float is 
 generally used. A paste in whicli a little hemp-seed has 
 been mixed has been used and recommended as a ground- 
 bait. In all running streams and clear water the grand 
 secret of catching gudgeons is to rake the bottom of the 
 stream so as to stir up the mud and discolor the water. 
 The gudgeons fly to where they suppose their food to be, 
 and with a small well-scoured red worm, lightly threaded 
 to a small hook close to the bottom of the stream, tliey may 
 be caught by scores. If the worm is too big, use only the 
 head. When one spot has been fished, repeat the process in 
 another place. Gudgeons are too fond of " nibbling," but 
 otherwise they bite freely. There is another mode of an- 
 gling for gudgeons, but it is only excusable when in a hurry 
 for " live bait." The flat plummet is fixed just to an ordin- 
 ary perch hook, and attached to a horse-hair line. Two or 
 three hooks are suspended above the bullet, in the manner 
 of a "paternoster," and firmly looped in the manner of 
 "droppers," as described in "fly-fishing." These hooks 
 are baited with worms as before mentioned. The plummet 
 is let down to the bottom in a promising part of the stream, 
 and the hooks are suffered to lie on tlie bottom or float 
 about in the running water. If the line be held tight, 
 every bite will be perceptible, and the fisli caught, if the 
 youth is not in too great a hurry to strike. Epicures in all 
 ages of the world have admired the gudgeon when fried 
 crisp on butter and bread crumbs, and served hot with 
 melted butter for sauce. 
 
 The bleak is found in the majority of clear streams, 
 where there is a good current. They spawn in ilay or 
 June, and are soon as active as ever. Small as they are, 
 they are active, and shine like silver. In fine weather they 
 play on the surface of the water, and will bite freely at a 
 small brown fly, and, indeed, there are worse sports than 
 whipping for bleak on a summer's evening with a light rod, 
 fine tackle, and half-a-dozen flies attached to eight or nine 
 feet of gnt as droppers, on very fine hooks. When the 
 weather is colder, the bleak may be taken by a paternoster 
 line, made somewhat similar to that described in fishing for 
 gudgeon, but without a bullet. The hooks should be baited 
 
THE COMPLETE AKGLER. 49 
 
 with gentles, and the angler should choose a spot near a 
 rapid run of water, where the current flows quick from a 
 sluice, and near the whirling eddies of a liiill-tail. They 
 bite freely, and when gentles are scarce a little bit of white 
 leather from a liid glove may be placed on a hook on which 
 a little artificial fly lias been whipped. The float, if one is 
 used, should be light and small. They are cooked similar 
 to sprats, which they much resemble. 
 
 The dace, liise the minnow, belongs to the carp tribe, 
 and is equally reckless. He is somewnat elegant iu shape, 
 and he is one of the best fisli for the young angler. He is 
 not particular as to the bait you olfer him; he will spring at 
 the natural or ar.titicial fly at the surface of the water, and 
 take the fine red brandling, your paste, or gentle, at the 
 bottom. The tackle must, however, be as hue as that 
 recommended for roach-fishing. He varies somewhat in 
 size, and when large will tax all the skill of the youthful 
 fisherman. He is gregarious, loves the society of his fel- 
 lows, and delights iu the scours and rapid currents of most 
 rivers. He loves the free moving waters of a mill tail, or 
 the smart stream of a narrow arcneu bridge. Tne junction 
 of two streams affords him a suitable home. The dace 
 spawn early in the spring, and in May they are in condi- 
 tion. They seem almost to fly through the water, so rapid 
 are their movements. They will bite freely at the artificial 
 red and black palniers or spiders, particularly if the point 
 of the hook is tipped with a live gentle. They afford good 
 sport with the natural fly, as described in " dipping." The 
 flesh-fly, house-fly, or ant-fly may be used. In hot weather 
 they are to be sought for in deeper water. When bottom- 
 fishing for dace, use ground-bait of a hard tough nature. 
 Oatmeal, browned over the flre, mixed with treacle, and 
 then made up into small hard balls, I have found the best. 
 In hot weather they bite freely iu the morning and evening; 
 in colder weather in the middle of the day. For practicing 
 the young angler in the details of the gentle art, I think 
 dace fishing holds the very highest place, though he does 
 not rank high in the kitchen. 
 
 The roach has long been the shy object of the bottom- 
 fisher's art, and roacli-fishing demands special skill and 
 special appliances. The line must be of the finest gut, 
 stained to the color of the water; the hook must be of the 
 smallest^ with a short shank, and whipped with fine silk of 
 
50 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 a light pink or white color, and attached to a link of a 
 single hair or very fine gut. The siukei-s should be fixed 
 far above the baic, which should be but an inch or two 
 above the level of the ground. The float should be of the 
 lightest quill, and so weighted that only ihe tip appears 
 above the surface of the water. The rod should be long and 
 light, and those made of Spanish cane are the best I have 
 seen, as they permit the fish to be delicately and promptly 
 struck. When roach-fishing, the water should be plumbed 
 and ground-baited the evening before. If about to fish with 
 paste, the meal ground-bait before described will be the 
 best. The oatmeal and treacle ground-bait, described in 
 dace-fishing, may also be used with effect when angling, if 
 made into balls of a small size, and thrown near the fio.it. 
 Eoach do not generally lie in rapid streams, but in the 
 autumn months — and they should not be fished for at any 
 other time, as they are out of condition until the middle 
 of July — love the gravelly bed of a softly-fiowing deep 
 stream, along whicli the insects, grain, or other food is 
 gently carried along, close at bottom, but not touching it. 
 Long as tlie line may be, and it is sometimes necessary to 
 fish eight or nine feet deep, there should not be more than 
 eighteen inches or two feet between the tip of the float and 
 the end of the rod. Care must be taken, from time to time, 
 to see that the bait is on the hook, and that no part of the 
 hook is exposed. Early in the spring I have caught roach 
 with a fine red worm, but, as a rule, 1 prefer waiting until 
 August before I try for this subtle and shy fish. I find, in 
 August, they will bite early in the morning and late in the 
 evening, at gentles, or at salmon roe, though I seldom use 
 this seductive-bait. Caddis and gentles, when easily ob- 
 tained, are taken freely if the ground-bait has been attended 
 to. In the heat of the day, and during the evening, the 
 roach may be attracted by the yellow-fly, so common in cow 
 dung, if carefully " dipped" on the surface. I have taken 
 them with a blue-bottle, tipped with a gentle, frequently; 
 but the angler must be out of sight, and make no noise. 
 As the autumn progresses, the best bottom bait will be found 
 to be boiled malt, wheat, or pearl barley. If the former is 
 used, it must be so placed on the hook that the point and 
 shank of the hook is hid, and the tempting luscious inside 
 may be seen. If the hook, however, has a long shank, it is 
 fatal to success with large fish. A handful of malt may be 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEK. 51 
 
 thrown in as ground-bait, and large-grained unboiled sago, 
 and even rice is often found attractive. It requires, how- 
 ever, skill in playing a roach of some size, and I have seen 
 them frequently one pound and one and a half pounds weight 
 caught and landed when the bottom line was a single horse- 
 hair. The roach, like the carp, is fond of sucking at the 
 bait, and he should be struck firmly and delicately at the 
 slightest nibble. Pastes are largely used to attract roach, 
 and good sport is sometimes obtained by this means. Eoach 
 seem to like sweet paste, and that made with a little honey, 
 gin, and new bread, is often successful when plain paste 
 fails to attract. When the fish are on the feed, a plain paste, 
 provided it is made with clean hands, will be found all that 
 is necessary, I have sometimes found that the addition of 
 a little essense of anchovies to the paste have a killing effect 
 when all other means failed. The principle of success in 
 roach fishing, and with the majority of other members of 
 the carp tribe, is to have fine tackle, a delicate hook, a 
 sharp eye for the nibble, and plenty of patience. The 
 home of" the roach is on the deep side of the stream, and 
 under bridges. 
 
 The chub is to be found in nearly all English rivers. 
 He is a long, powerful fish, not very attractive in a gusta- 
 tive sense, but tolerably handsome-looking — a bold feeder 
 when he thinks nobody is looking, and not very fastidious 
 as to what he eats. He haunts deep holes, lies at the bot- 
 tom of old walls, and likes overhanging banks. He spawns 
 early, and is in season again about May. He has what the 
 phrenologists call large inhabitativeness, and may generally 
 be found in the same spot j'ear after year. In summer 
 weather, where no trout stream is near, the chub affords 
 some tolerable sport. He wiH rise freely at an artificial fly. 
 Eed spiders and palmers of various colors seem to be his 
 favorites. Imitate a humble-bee or a blow-fly and they 
 will rise freely. In the evening their fondness is for moths. 
 In dipping for them, the grasshopper, beetle, and cock- 
 chaffer may be used, and even a butterfly will not be re- 
 jected. The rod must be like a fly-fisher's, and fitted with 
 a winch and running tackle; for, when first hooked, Mr. 
 Chub makes a desperate effort to escape. He, however, 
 soon tires, and cries "enough. " The best plan of baiting 
 with live insects will be found in the chapter on " fishing 
 with the natural fly." To the bottom-fisher the chub is 
 
52 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 also an object of attraction in consequence of the sport he 
 affords. He is, however, shyer, if possible, than the roach, 
 and requires iine tackle to delude him. In the earlier 
 months of the year the chub prefers a red worm. They are 
 also fond of gentles and cheese paste, or little pellets of 
 tallow and cheese, flavored slightly with musk. I may 
 here mention, that gentles from a dead rat are held to be 
 more killing than any others in consequence of their musky 
 odor. The chub likes a fair-sized bait better than a small 
 one. The spinal-cord of a bullock, if in convenient bits, 
 will entice him, particularly if bullock's or sheep's brains 
 have been used as a ground-bait. Greaves (see Table of 
 Baits) are used as ground-bait, and the whiter pieces, kept 
 for the hook. The hook itself may be tipped with a live 
 gentle, and care must be taken that the greaves will not 
 prevent the fish being hooked when struck, in consequence 
 of their toughness and firmness. In the very early spring 
 he sometimes will bite at a minnow or small frog; but as 
 the fish, when caught, is one of the worse fish, possible f Dr 
 the table, he is not much sought after. 
 
 The beam is a common fish in all the rivers that fall into 
 fenny counties, or flow through marshy ground. They 
 spawn late in June or early in July, and rapidly multiply 
 and grow to a large size. They are broad, ugly, and coarse, 
 and have been likened to a pair of bellows. They bite 
 freely, but they have no little cunning, and it requires the 
 angler to be equally wary if he wishes to secure these un- 
 wieldy denizens of our broad, sluggish, still rivers. Eun- 
 ning tackle will be required, and the hook may be a No. 8 
 or 9, securely whipped to a gut foot-line. A quill float is 
 necessary, as the hook should touch or trail along' the bot- 
 tom. Clay and clotted bullock's blood makes an excellent 
 ground-bait. Eed worms are the best bait in the spriug, 
 early in the morning and late in the evening. In summer, 
 gentles and salmon roe, with greaves for ground-bait, prove 
 attractive. When the water is warm and gloomy, or a 
 slight breeze ripples the surface of the water, the beam will 
 bite, particularly after a warm drizzling rain. The bream 
 have a sort of fancy for a dew worm, bnt he sucks it and 
 does not bite. They must be struck delicately and at once. 
 When he is hooked he exerts his strength, and makes for a 
 weedy, sedgy bottom. The angler must keep him in the 
 open waters, or else the tackle will assuredly break. It re- 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 53 
 
 quires no little patience and skill to land a large beam, and 
 when lauded, liis skin is slimy, and not peculiarly pleasant. 
 In. the summer time he will rise at the natural fly. The stone- 
 fly, and blue-bottle are his particular fancy. In the evening 
 a moth will seduce him. His home is in the broad bends of 
 a river, he is sometimes found with his family beneath the 
 shade of an overhanging willow, particularly where 
 there is a good depth of water. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 What to Fish For, and Wheee, Continued. — The 
 Haunts op the Care, Tench, Barbel, Perch, 
 
 Eels, and Lampreys. 
 
 The carp is one of the most difficult fish to catch in the 
 bottom-fisher's repertoire. Patience, skill, ingenuity, and 
 the most delicate and lightsome touch is necessary to hook 
 him, and when hooked difficult of management. He is, 
 however, much esteemed when caught, and furnishes a re- 
 spectable dish to the cook. It has not fallen to my lot to 
 catch more than three or four carp during my angling ex- 
 periences, and they were taken in a pond which was full of 
 them. I have been tolerably successful in capturing most 
 other fish, but the Fates in this instance were against me. 
 The tackle must be that recommended for roach-fishing, 
 fitted to a running line, and the hook should be a No. 8. 
 The difficulty of capturing this gentleman has suggested all 
 kinds of fanciful baits, scented pastes, green peas, green 
 gentles, larvs, grains, and worms, not forgetting a grass- 
 hopper or a bluebottle-fly. The difficulty in capturing the 
 carp arises from his sly method of nibbling away the bait 
 without giving the expectant angler notice of his intention; 
 for this reason I think that boiled wheat or malt would be 
 more likely to entice his lordship to take the hook into his 
 mouth, particularly if the pitch had been well ground- 
 baited. When hooked he will struggle gamely; but beware 
 of the weeds. In April or May sweet pas1;e made with 
 honey, with a little scent, is said to entice them to swallow 
 the bait. Later in the year half a ripe cherry, or a green 
 pea boiled in sugar, is recommended. They spawn at the 
 
54 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 latter end of April or the beginning of May, and are very 
 prolific. They will not bite in cold or windy weather, and 
 m sunny weather they leave the muddy deeps, which they 
 love, for the shallows; and if the angler can keep out of 
 their visual range he may have a better chance of success 
 under these circumstances. The carp, however, do nothing 
 in a hurry; they like to contemplate the bait ere making 
 their meal. You may capture carp in the night, if you like 
 nocturnal sport; and a fnend who lives where carp abounds 
 says that he is successful with sweet paste, and he has tried 
 the balsam of Tolu paste mentioned in the second chapter, 
 and found it attractive. In stagnant waters, with deep 
 oozy bottoms, and near flood-gates, the carp loves to dwell. 
 The tench, with its shining dark olive coat, is one of 
 the best of the carp tribe. Its slimy mucous skin is said 
 to heal the ills of other fish; nay, even the ravenous and 
 cruel pike is said to respect this member of the carp tribe 
 out of respect for its healing virtues. It is said to be one 
 of the preventives of the plague, that it relieves pains in 
 the head, cures jaundice, and removes inftamniation in the 
 eyes. The tench, like the carp, will live a long time out of 
 water. It is no uncommon thing to catch tench of the 
 weight of two or three pounds; sometimes, in very favor- 
 able situations, they are found much heavier. The angler 
 should learn the haunts of the tench ere he fishes for him. 
 He should know the depth of the water, and whether the 
 bottom is a clayey, muddy, or gravelly one, for he must fish 
 only an inch or two from the bottom, and suit his ground- 
 bait to the bottom. If the bottom is a gravelly one, a 
 ground-bait of clay, carrion gentles, bullock's blood, and 
 chopped worms may be thrown in the day before, and the 
 hook baited with a fine red worm, well secured on a No. 6 
 or 7 hook, and, if not successful, a wasp grub or a cater- 
 pillar may be tried. In a muddy or clay bottom, later in 
 the year, gentles and garden slugs will be found good and 
 attractive baits. The sweet honey paste is perhaps the best 
 general bait. If the pitch is well ground-baited for a couple 
 of days with the bread and clay ground-bait (page 45), and 
 a few small pellets of the sweet paste thrown in the night 
 before, the angler will assuredly have good sport in the early 
 morning and evening, and all day in warm showery weather, 
 when they will not refuse a snail. Tiie tackle should be 
 strong; the rod should be long if the banks ai'e much 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEE. 55 
 
 encumbered with weeds, and fitted with running tackle, 
 the foot line should be of gut, about eight or ten feet long; 
 stained a light green. A small cork float should be used. 
 Tench are wary and careful with the bait; they do not gorge 
 it quickly, and require time. When the float lies flat it 
 shows they are rising with it. Then the fish may be struck 
 firmly, and when hooked it will be necessary to prevent the 
 fish from indulging his fancy of seeking the muddy bottom 
 or the sedgy, weedy banks. Keep his mouth open, and 
 though he starts spasmodically, as it were, from place to 
 place, he will soon tire. I have only met with the tench 
 in a few rivers, except where they were carefully preserved. 
 In ponds, however, they are plentiful enough, and afford 
 good sport from April to October. They spawn in the early 
 summer, and are wonderfully prolific. 
 
 The barbel derives its name from the peculiar beard or 
 wattles which hang about his mouth. Though not one of 
 the best fish for the table, and in this respect is much in 
 ferior to the tench, yet he is mucb sought after by anglers 
 in consequence of the sport he affords. They swim in- 
 shoals, and love the strong current of a deep river, par- 
 ticularly when it runs over a stony bed. Among old piles 
 by the side, in the deep currents of bridges, weirs, and 
 locks, they love to lie and feed on the insects borne down 
 by the current. The strong fins of the barbel enable him 
 to stem the strongest current. Use worms, tallow greaves, 
 gentles, cheese paste, bullock's blood, and pike. The best 
 bait is the lob-worm, well scoured and lively, on a No. 8 or 
 9 hook, made specially. The best time to fish is at night, 
 or in the early morning. When the lob-worm fails, greaves 
 or gentles may be used. A float is hardly necessary in the 
 fast currents, but as it serves to mark the depth of the 
 water, it may be used; but the angler must learn to depend 
 on his sense of touch if he wishes to become a successful 
 barbel-fisher. The rod should be strong, and the running 
 tackle equal to that used in salmon fishing. He requires 
 time to take the bait, and when struck it should be done 
 sharply. When hooked it will be difficult for him to es- 
 cape, strong as he is in the water. Let him have plenty of 
 line in deep water, as he will the sooner tire, particularly if 
 you keep a tight rein, and the end of your rod well up. 
 Half an hour is not to long to tire a fair sized barbel, and 
 his head should be kept out of the water. Isaak Walton 
 
56 THE COMPLETE AKGLER. 
 
 truly says that no one did over-bait the place for barbel. 
 The best ground-bait is that made of greaves, lob-worm, 
 bran, and clay. A punt is generally used, which 
 enables the angler to dispense with a long rod. They, 
 keep their noses at the bottom, and their heads up stream. 
 A cocki'oacb, water-snail, cheese, carefully prepared greaves, 
 and salmon roe have been recommended as excellent baits 
 for this fish, which, when caught, is despised by most 
 cooks. 
 
 The perch may be found almost everywhere, and of 
 almost every size. Dashing, bold, and courageous, they ' 
 afford the angler capital sport; and notwithstanding his 
 hu mpy back, he is not despicable when the cook has lavished 
 his art on him. It is by no means necessary to be so 
 particular about the nicety and fineness of the tackle in 
 fishing for perch. He is not afraid of a bit of gut, which 
 should be about a yard long, attached to a silk and hair 
 line, and armed with a Ko. 4 or 5 hook. The size of the 
 hook must, however, depend somewhat on the size of the 
 perch fished for. Even the smallest perch has a large 
 mouth, and will take a large sized bait readily. If a com- 
 mon bottom rod is used, the short top may be fixed. As a 
 rule, running tackle should always be used for perch, though 
 I have noticed that many perch-fishers in the rural 
 districts catch a fair basket of perch without running 
 tackle of any kind. There are many ways of fishing for 
 perch, dependent to a great extent on the size of the river, 
 and the size of the fish. If in docks or deep water, the 
 "paternoster" line should be used. This species of line 
 derived its name from the hooks being fixed at regular 
 distances, in the same manner as beads are fastened 
 on a rosary. For perch fishing they may be fastened 
 six or eight inches apart in short stout pieces 
 of gut. In some cases only two hooks are used, the 
 upper one being fastened contrary way to the bottom 
 hook, so as to hold a different kind of bait. When 
 four hooks are used, and the tackle is strong, it is recom- 
 mended in tidal waters to use a minnow or a gudgeon to 
 bait the lower hook, a fine lob-worm may occupy the next 
 hook, a shi'inip the third, and a gentle the upper or fourth 
 hook. When two liooks only are on the line, a large lob- 
 worm, or two smaller ones, may be placed on the lower 
 hook, and a shrimp on the higher, and loaded with a plum- 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 57 
 
 met or bullet at the bottom. It should always be borne in 
 mind that while perch only feed, as a rule, morning and 
 evening in rivers, in all tidal waters they are on the feed at 
 different times, according to the state of the tide, and on 
 the flow and ebb the predatory perch is on the lookout for 
 prey. In open water perch love to lie about mill pools, 
 locks, and bridges. They have a hankering after barges, 
 shipping, and timber. In more quiet streams they 
 like deep holes where there is an eddy; back-waters with a 
 sandy or gravelly bottom suit them, and in these places 
 there is no better general bait than the well scoured worm, 
 either red, marsh, or brandling, as described in the table of 
 baits. They do not like bright sunny weather, and the 
 angler will find the forenoons and the evenings, even in 
 cloudy weather, more suitable for perch-fishing than the 
 midday or sunshine. There is not much trouble to persuade 
 the perch to bite, and as he hunts in company, when one is 
 captured, there is a great probability of securing his com- 
 panions also. Excellent sport may be had with perch from 
 a quarter to a pound and a quarter in weight, for though 
 larger perch have been caught, they are by no means com- 
 mon. In the boiling eddies near mill streams you may fish 
 successfully for perch with a paternoster line, loaded with a 
 bullet to keep down the baits; but as a float would be worse 
 than useless, the angler will have to depend on his sense of 
 touch to know when he has a bite. Minnows are an attrac- 
 tive bait for lai'ge perch, and in comparatively tranquil 
 waters it is sometimes an irresistible bait. The hook must 
 be inserted behind the back fin, and the line well weighted, 
 about a foot above the bait, to keep it well down. Gud- 
 geons, stone-loach, and frogs, have been found effective in 
 attracting perch (see Chapter XII.) I recollect many 
 years ago hearing an old perch-fisher describe a plan of put- 
 ting a few minnows in a clear bottle nearly full of water, 
 and corking it, leaving a small air-hole, and then sinking it 
 in a river, with a cord attached. These act as a decoy to 
 the neighboring perch, who are curious to know the why 
 and the wherefore of the strange exhibition ; and 
 Mr. Fitzgibbon (Ephemera) mentions the plan as " poach- 
 the best way of securing the perch is to bait a 
 paternoster line with live minnows, and float it 
 by the bottle. Of all the months for perch-fishing. August, 
 September, aud October are the best. Some excellent 
 
58 THE COMPLETE ANGLEE. 
 
 sport is obtained earlier in the year. No ground-baiting is 
 necessary when fishing for peroh, though a few inferior 
 ivorins may be thrown in when moving to a fresh spot. 
 Let the perch always have a few seconds to gorge the bait. 
 When live shrimps are used they may be kept alive in damp 
 ziand or sandy gi-avel, or wet grass or hay in a basket. 
 
 Eels ; every angler knows the haunts of the eel, how he 
 hides under big stones, in holes under a bridge, by 
 aalf-sunk timbers, under projecting roots of trees, and a 
 host of similar places. He is caught at nights, by " bob- 
 ing," that is, by stringing large lob-worms completely 
 through with a needle, and tying them in the links with a 
 fitout piece of whipcord, at short intervals. These are 
 thrown into the river, either from a boat, lock, or foot- 
 bridge, and each end is held by a person who soon feels the 
 sharp nip of the eel, who bites so hard, so tenaciously, that 
 he submits to be pulled out of the water sooner than loose 
 his hold. Another plan is to tie a series of eel hooks, which 
 are made -with rings for the purpose, on to a piece of whip- 
 cord, some eight inches apart, bait with lob-worms; tie 
 a piece of lead or a bullet to one end, cast it into the stream 
 in a likely place, and fasten the other end by a peg in the 
 bank, or tie it firmly to the weeds, and leave it all night. 
 Another plan is to bait the hook with the worm, 
 tie a piece of stout line to the hook, and then 
 pull the line through the top ring of a trolling or other stout 
 rod, until the bait is tight to the top; hold the cord and rod 
 together, and place the bait near the haunt of the fish. If 
 the worm is a large one, the eel will not refuse it, but bite 
 greedily. The rod may then be withdrawn. The eel is, 
 however, not yet landed; he has immense muscular force in 
 his tail, which can only be overcome by a steady, strong, 
 but not too strong pull on the line. Gradually he uncurls 
 and permits himself to b6 pulled out. The moment he is 
 on shore, put your foot on his body, and cut off his head. 
 There is no better way of preventing the thousand contor- 
 tions and twists of the nimble gentleman round the tackle. 
 
 The lamprey belongs to the eel tribe, and is caught in 
 a similar manner; the gut of a fowl and other garbage may 
 be substituted in both cases for the worm. A small lam- 
 prey makes a good bait for several kinds of fish, if put on 
 the hook like a worm. 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEB. i59 
 
 CHAPTEE IX. 
 
 "What to Fish Foe, and Wheee, Continued— Haunts 
 OF THE Trout, Gkayling, Salmon, etc. 
 
 In the early spring months, ere the fly appears on the 
 rivers, the glorious trout may be lured with the red worm. 
 Fly-fishers afEect to despise this method of fishing, as being 
 childish, but it will take all their cunning and skill to suc- 
 ceed in capturing trout by its means in low clear water. It 
 is practiced early in March, in shallow streams, where the 
 trout are on the look-out for prey. It is sought as a refuge 
 when the waters are muddied and colored after a flood. 
 In the hot burning days of July, it enables the skillful angler 
 to fill his basket, when all flies would be refused. Worms 
 may be used as a tripping bait, as if borne along by the 
 stream near the bottom, or they may be used with a float, 
 as described in fishing for the coarser varieties of the river 
 tribes. In deep pools, under the shade of bushes and trees, 
 they are used instead of natural flies by the bush-fisher. 
 The tackle necessary for worm fishing for trout is similar to 
 that used by ordinary bottom-fishers.' The rod should be 
 long, flexible, and pliant — one seventeen or eighteen feet 
 will not be found too long, if not unwieldy and beyond the 
 strength of the angler. Tlie running tackle may be the 
 same as before described. The foot line of fine gut, with 
 the hook whipped on with red silk. The worm must be 
 placed on the hook as before described. Baiting with the 
 double worm ( page 39) will be found nearly as effective 
 and less troublesome. Different authorities argue in 
 different ways with respect to shotting the line. Unless the 
 worm is a large one, sinkers will be found necessary, 
 particularly if there is much wind. Plenty of worms are 
 indispensable; they are best kept in a flannel bag, which 
 may be fitted with a loop to hang on a button. The cast- 
 ing of the bait is of great importance. I have had equal 
 sport when fishing down-stream, as up-stream. The angler 
 in this must suit his convenience and the state of the water 
 There must be no jerking of the bait; it may be sent for- 
 ward, so as to fall lightly and athwart the stream, and be 
 
60 THE COMPLETE ANGLEB. 
 
 drawn gradually to the side. The line must be kept out of 
 the water as much as possible. This is easier don'e fishing 
 down stream than up, and if the angler can keep himself 
 out of sight, perhaps the advantages will be on his side, as 
 trout are generally on the look-out at the head of the stream 
 in the eddies, and scours for prey coming down. A bite is 
 easily distinguished by the sudden stoppage of the line. In 
 swift waters the bait is generally swallowed at once, in 
 deeper and quieter waters the trout seem to play with it ere 
 gorging it. It is difB.cult to know when to strike under 
 these circumstances, and it is certainly better to wait until 
 the bait has received one or two tugs than too be to hasty. 
 When the water is still and clear, every artifice must be tried 
 to keep out of sight. Kneeling will be found to be a good 
 pratice where the banks are open, and it is best to keep on 
 the shallow side of the stream, opposite to where the trout 
 generally lie. The angler must be up early if he wishers to 
 be successfnl. A dry July morning, or one when the rain 
 is vparm, will be found suitable for the sport — the lull after 
 a shower. In calms, the trout lie in the eddying rush at 
 the head of the pools; when the surface is rippled by the 
 wind, they lie at the tail of the pool. In deep streamy 
 depths, behind stones, in eddies they may be found watch- 
 ing for their prey. In shallow water great care is requisite, 
 as the trout are often at the very feet of the angler. The 
 days to be avoided are those which are dull, heavy, and 
 windy, and those which are clear with a westerly breeze. 
 When August is advanced, trout begin to refuse the worm 
 in clear streams. In flooded streams, where the river is 
 discolored, trout leave the deep current, and are to be 
 found in the shallows, in the quiet waters, at the tail of the 
 streams. Pools and streams in these circumstances should 
 be fished round, and trout will take the worm during the 
 whole of the season. 
 
 Trout may be taken by caterpillars, and two or three 
 screws or fresh-water shrimps will often entice him. He 
 may also be caught by- spinning with the minnow. 
 
 The grayling, which is not a common fish, will take a 
 small red worm in slightly flooded waters. They -will also 
 bite at the grasshopper, and do not despise a gentle. A 
 taking bait is to dress a No. 6 sneok-bent hook, on which a 
 pennyweight of lead is cast with green silk, with a split 
 straw on either side, ribbed with orange or yellow silk. Oa 
 
THE COJiIPLETE ANGLEK. 61 
 
 the bend of the hook a real grasshopper is placed with the 
 legs clipped off at the first joints. The angler should use a 
 small float, and keep the bait continuall}' ou the move, one 
 way or other. I ctmnot speak of the attractiveness of this 
 bait from practical experience. 
 
 There are times, particnlarly in the early part of the 
 season, when the waters are muddy and hign, wiien salmon 
 will bite greedily at worms and other lures of the bottom- 
 fishing. Many anglers — and their opinion is entitled to 
 every respect — are of opinion that it is unsportsmanlike to 
 catch salmon with any other bait than the artificial fly. It 
 certainly does not possess the charm that fly-fishing does, 
 but at the same time it affords capital sport when the fish 
 will not rise at the fly. The tempting lob-worm may be 
 used as a tripping bait in the same manner as that recom- 
 mended for trout; the line must be leaded to keep down the 
 bait. The salmon when hooked must be played and 
 maneuvered in the same manner as when fishing with the 
 artificial fly. 
 
 One of the best baits for salmon is the small silver and 
 black eels found in the sand on the sea-shore, known as 
 sand-eels. An artificial one has been made of white 
 leather, with a dark-colored stripe down the back. Sal- 
 mon may also be taken by shrimps, limpets, snails, but 
 shrimps are valueless as baits unless in salt or brackish 
 water. Salmon are also taken by spinning the minnow and 
 partail. The process is the same as that described in the 
 chapters on Trolling and S^Dinning for Pike. 
 
 Before I proceed, pei'haps I had in this place better 
 caution the tyro against the mischances likely to arise from 
 an awkward use of the gaff-hook. This ugly-looking im- 
 plement is, as before described, similar to a large fish-hook 
 fixed in a handle, varying, according to circumstances, from 
 18 inches to 4 feet in length. It is a useful implement 
 enough if skillfully managed, which is not always the case. 
 The spent fish should be brought to the side carefully, and 
 if it is not possible to bring him in to a shelving shore, to 
 the most suitable place, and the gaff should be slipped 
 underneath the fish and carefully driven in beneath the 
 pectoral fin by a sharp plunge, if you cannot insert the 
 point beneath the gills. An excellent gaff is one which 
 shuts, and has a handle which screws into two pieces. 
 Such a one can be slung over the shoulder without dan- 
 
62 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 ger, and is also useful for clearing weeds and other obstruc- 
 tions in the way of line, bait, and hook. Those anglers 
 who reside, or are staying near the sea-shore, will find a 
 few suggestive hints for the employment of their time, and 
 the use of their bottom-tackle, in the chapter on Sea- 
 Pishing. 
 
THE COMPLETE AiJGLEE. 63 
 
 TROLLING— FISHING IN MID-WATBR. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 How TO Fish foe Pike— Tkolliug— The Tackle, 
 Gorge-Hooks, Trace, Baits, etc. 
 
 Under tlie broad and generic term of " Fishing in Mid- 
 Water," I propose to treat of trolling, spinning, sinking 
 and roving with the dead, live, and artificial bait, for the 
 pike, and of spinning with the minnow for perch, trout, 
 and salmon. I place the pike in the place of honor, be- 
 cause those ingenious combinations of hooks and baits were 
 specially invented to tickle his throat, and the thousand 
 and one contrivances in the shape of artificial baits, with 
 their pleasant but somewhat uncomfortable appendages, 
 are for the delectation gf his avaricious maw and yo- 
 racious appetite. 
 
 The most curious part of the affair is, that no one pities 
 Ssox Lucius, which by the way is the scientific name for 
 the fresh- water shark, who is also called ' ' Jack, " when 
 under three pounds in weight, and pike, when he assumes 
 more colossal proportions. He is so greedy, so tyrannical, 
 so savage, that everybody's hand is against him, and he is 
 against everybody in general, and every fish in particular. 
 He flourishes and multiplies, notwithstanding his many 
 enemies, and he furnishes sport for the angler, which is 
 second only to fly-fishing in variety and excitement. Bot- 
 tom-fishing may be emphatically the " contemplative man's 
 recreation," and fly-fishing the acme of angling enjoyment, 
 but both can only be practiced in certain seasons of the 
 year, while trolling and spinning may be pursued with more 
 or less success in any season, in any water, and in any clime. 
 England is, however, its home, and I recollect the feeling of 
 
64 THE COMPLETE AffOLEB. 
 
 horror with which an Irish angler spoke of the practice of 
 an English " brother of the angle," who was capturing 
 large trout in the evening on one of the most beautiful lakes 
 in the country by spinning the minnow. This feeling is 
 easily understood by those living in the neighborhood of 
 good trout streams and salmon rivers who have not been de- 
 prived of the sport of fly-fishing during their lives. But 
 the fly-fisher living on the banks of many streams 
 find it the only substitute for the higher pursuit, and 
 those who have tried it know that it is not a bad substitute 
 at all, and that to succeed calls forth all the skill of the 
 angler, while at the same time it furnishes healthy exercise 
 for body, legs, and arms. 
 
 It is a tempting subject this fishing in mid-water. Every 
 troller can give you some anecdote or other of the omniv- 
 orous appetite of the pike, or has some pet bait with which 
 to catch him. I can only say in this place that pike spawn 
 generally early in March; that they deposit their ova amid 
 aquatic plants and weeds in shallowy streams, and then re- 
 turn to deep water, leaving their young to care for them- 
 selves, which they certainly manage to do from a very early 
 age — their principal enemies being their own parents, who, 
 when pressed for food, do not hesitate to bolt one of its own 
 species, though they prefer the offspring of the dace, roach, 
 or gudgeons. A hundred anecdotes rise up in the memory 
 of their seizing every living and moving thing from the 
 bowl of a spoon to the hand of a child. 
 
 The necessary outfit of a troller is somewhat difEerent 
 from that of the bottom and fly-fisher: in fact it should 
 be special, if success is to be achieved or desired. The rod, 
 for instance, should be light, firm, strong, and easily 
 wielded. If it could be so arranged as to be lengthened 
 when fishing with the live bait, a rod of twelve feet long, 
 made either of bamboo or hickory, would answer every pur- 
 pose. I like a fourteen-feet rod, but I know my case is an 
 exceptional one. The top joint of a good trolling-rod 
 should be made of greenhart, and hickory is allowed to be 
 best adapted for the other joints by the common consent of 
 the best troUers. Tliree tops of different lengths and elas- 
 ticity are necessary, however, to suit the varieties of troll- 
 ing, and the difEerent width of rivers, and they should vary 
 six inches in length. The end of the rod should be fitted 
 with a knob of some hard wood to rest against the hip-joint. 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 65 
 
 The rings of a trolling-rod are very different from those on 
 a general or fly-rod. They are solid, and jut out firmly 
 from the side of the rod, as they are formed hy braz- 
 ing a slightly elliptical steel hoop into a brass plate. The 
 ring should be nearly half an inch in diameter. Mr. Pen- 
 nell says 7-16 of an inch for the middle joints, and 
 5-8 of an inch for the bottom ring, which is of the 
 
 Fig. 22. 
 
 pronged shape, so as to prevent as much as possible the line 
 hitching over it. The top ring is made of various shapes, 
 all being designed to permit the free play of the line with 
 the minimum of any obstruction. From nine to twelve 
 rings are necessary, according to the length of the rod, in- 
 cluding the top and bottom rings. A well-seasoned hazel 
 rod, fitted with solid rings, will answer for a trolling-rod. 
 
ee The complete angleh. 
 
 The best cheap rod is one made of a long bamboo cane, 
 similar to those hung out at the fishing-tackle shops. The 
 rings should be smooth and finely polished, so as not to 
 chafe the line. 
 
 The best lines are those known as eight-plait dressed silk, 
 and should be from 50 to 80 yards long. With respect to, 
 the reel : I have before mentioned the essentials of a good 
 reel, and those remarks apply with great force to the reel 
 of a trolling-rod. It should be of sufficient size to hold 
 the line easily. It should wind by a handle fixed in the 
 side-plate, be fitted with a check and the break-spring, so 
 as to prevent the line paying itself out. 
 
 The troller also requires a bait-kettle and gaff. A series 
 of gorge-hooks, spinning-fiights, traces, swivels, as hereafter 
 described, will also be necessary. I will commence with 
 trolling proper, as it is generally understood, with the 
 gorge-bait. 
 
 Trolling with the Gorge-Bait. — The first essential 
 for this practice is the gorge-hook, which is an instrument 
 of somewhat deadly appearance, as will be seen by the an- 
 nexed engraving (fig. 20.) A is a double hook, brazed back; 
 B is the lead cast over the shank of the hook, and inclos- 
 ing a twisted wire shank, which protrudes more or less, and 
 ends in a loop, C, to which three or four feet of gimp is 
 attached. Gimp, I may mention, is highly essential in troll- 
 ing, as' gut is quickly frayed and cut by the weeds and re- 
 peated casting. There are two or three cautions necessary 
 to be given to the young troller. It is desirable that suf- 
 ficient lead should be attached to the hook to sink the bait 
 without the addition of any further sinkers. The lead 
 should not touch the bend of the hook, as is sometimes the 
 case, but should be left as in the engraving, A, so that the 
 lips of the bait may close over it, as at P. To bait the hook, 
 the loop of the gimp, E, is placed in the eye of the baiting- 
 needle, G. The needle is then passed through the mouth 
 of the bait, and brought out as near the center of the tail 
 us possible. The needle is then passed sideways tlirough the 
 tail at H, about the third of an inch, or less, from the end, 
 and this, when drawn tight, so that the mouth of the fish 
 rests upon the bend of the hook, forms the half knot, shown 
 at 0, by passing the needle through the loop. This plan is 
 now generally adopted in preference to the older plan of 
 tying the tail with white silk to the gimp, and stitching up 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEB. 
 
 67 
 
 the mouth of the fish. It will be seen that the tail of the 
 fish is cut short, as shown at H. 
 
 Another form of gorge-hook, or rather, one among a 
 number of others, has recently been introduced, which, I 
 think, is an improvement on any of the old forms. 
 I have not yet had an opportunity of trying it. 
 
 Siiring Gorge-Hook 
 at in use. 
 
 Open, after having suuct 
 the fish. 
 
 but as will be seen from the accompanying 
 illustration (fig. 33), it presents some marked 
 advantages, if they work well in practice. The shanks of 
 the triangular hooks. A, instead of being imbedded in the 
 lead, are attached to a piece of wire looped at the end, B, 
 and so arranged as to open widely at the end, in the man- 
 
68 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 ner of the old snap-tackle. The lead, 0, is cast round a 
 hollow cylinder, to the upper end of which a shank of wire 
 is cast, which passes through the loop of the hook-shank, 
 B, and ends in a loop, D, to which the ordinary gimp-trace 
 is attached. The manifest intention of the contrivance is 
 to cause the hooks. A, on the fish being struck, to fly out- 
 wardly, as in fig. 24, and so prevent the possibility of his 
 releasing himself except by the failure of the tackle. I can 
 see that the objection, in practice, to this otherwise ex- 
 cellent contrivance, would arise from the difficulty of re- 
 leasing the bait from the body of the fish, the possibility of 
 the spring giving way and showing the hooks too pro- 
 minently after a long cast, and stretching, if not tearing 
 open, the jaws of the bait, and catch every weed and 
 obstruction in its path. On the other hand, there can be 
 no doubt, that if the jack once got the head of the bait 
 inside its mouth, it would not easily escape. There is some 
 difEerence of opinion and in practice respecting the trace o'f 
 
 rc=" 
 
 Fis. 25. 
 
 the gorge-hooks. For many years I used, and many at the 
 present time continue to use, about a foot of gimp, whipped 
 permanently to the gorge-hook; then they attached a swivel, 
 more gimp, sinker, and then the reel-line, if not another 
 swivel. If the troller wishes for the sinker and the swivel, 
 one made in this fashion (fig. 35) will be found better than 
 merely running the wire through the middle of the lead. 
 The swivel of the best form is shown at A. It should be of 
 blue steel, and always kept well oiled. The lead, B, should 
 be cast on brass or iron wire, 0, and a loop left at D, or the 
 gut or gimp may be whipped to it at the same 
 place. It has the additional great advan- 
 tage of nearly preventing the annoying and almost 
 inevitable "kinks" which plagued the troller under the 
 old system. The new school of trollers, if I may so term 
 them, do not use a sinker except in spinning, and attach, 
 as before stated, the reel-line to the three or four feet of 
 gimp, as shown at B (fig. 30.) If the gimp is colored 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEE. 69 
 
 ■with brown or green variiisli, before alluded to, or clouded 
 in the manner mentioned in the appendix, the troller may- 
 proceed with a tolerable certainty of success. 
 
 The casting of tlie bait is an operation requiring some 
 attention and skill. Trollers generally cast the bait 
 directly from the reel, which necessitates a long rod and 
 great force. The more common and better plan is to un- 
 coil sufficient line from the reel to reach the distance you 
 intend to cast, and let it lie free at your feet. You hold the 
 rod in your right hand, and rest the butt against your hip. 
 With your right hand you draw the bait to within a yard 
 or so of the end of the rod, allow it to swing to and fro in 
 the direction you wish to cast, then throw it to the right or 
 left as the case may be, withdrawing your left hand at the 
 same time, and the line will run freely through the rings 
 as far as it has been uncoiled. This method of casting is 
 the same in spinning as in trolling proper. Short casts are 
 preferred to long ones, as a rule, and the troller should 
 bear in mind that the bait should rove about while the 
 line is being drawn in by the left hand by short and gentle 
 pulls. Eecollect you are fishing in mid-water, and your 
 bait should be kept thereabouts in water of medium depth: 
 if very deep, nearer the surface than the bottom. The 
 casts should be made somewhat up and from you, fishing 
 the portion of the river nearest you first, and then the 
 more distant spots. If possible, the fish should enter the 
 water bead downward, as if making a plunge, but this is 
 scarcely possible when a long line is cast. The runs be- 
 tween the weeds should be carefully fished. The bait 
 should not be lifted from the water until brought close to 
 the troUer's feet. Forty, fifty, and sixty yards is not an 
 uncommon distance to cast a gorge-bait; long distances, 
 however, are likely to injury the bait, and the less expe- 
 rienced angler casting half these distances is likely to meet 
 with better success. 
 
 Suddenly the angler finds his bait checked — it may be a 
 weed, possibly it is a fish. A few tugs, gentle, but with 
 somewhat of a wrenching motion, tell that the pike is ob- 
 taining a firm hold of the bait; slacken your line in the 
 meanwhile, and see that there is plenty uncoiled from the reel. 
 A slight check may be given to the bait, either to make it 
 appear that the bait is resisting somewhat the treatment it 
 is receiving, or to see if it is a, weed or a fish. If the latter, 
 
70 THE COMPLETE ANGLEB. 
 
 do not hurry him; a few minutes, from five to ten, must be 
 allowed him to gorge the bait, as he generally seizes it in 
 the middle first, and when "pouched," he generally moves 
 off to his favorite haunt. If Mr. Bernard's hook is 
 used, it may be advisable to strike; but with ordinary 
 tackle, the line may be pulled gently home, so as to allow 
 the points of the hooks to ingratiate themselves quietly into 
 the fish's maw. 
 
 When hooked, the fish may make violent efforts to escape, 
 and display no little indignation. A tight line must be 
 kept however. Keep him out of the weeds and bushes at 
 any risk, or you will lose both tackle and fish. It will be 
 better to risk losing the latter than both. When thoroughly 
 exhausted, he may be brought to land; float him on his side, 
 or he may still give you trouble, particularly if he gets en- 
 tangled among weeds. A knife gaff, or a double- one, is 
 perhaps the best assistance the troller can have to lift Esox 
 out of the water; but beware of his teeth — they are sharp. 
 The best plan of extracting the bait is to make a small slit 
 in the belly where the hook is, disengage the trace from the 
 line, and draw it through the aperture. 
 
 With respect to baits, the best of all is a gudgeon. A 
 bleak is also useful, particularly in murky weather, 
 and when the water is cloudy. In clear weather and light 
 water a smaller bait may be used than in high streams and 
 dull weather. Baits should, if possible, be kept alive until 
 . about to be used, when they may be killed by a blow or 
 two at the back of the head. When dead, they are best 
 kept in bran. A cloth kept damp also preserves their 
 freshness. Do not handle the bait too much. 
 
 Sometimes it is necessary to preserve the bait; brine is 
 used in country districts, but spirits of wine or strong gin 
 will answer the purpose best, if they can be nicely laid flat, 
 and the air kept from them. Mr. Peunell suggests that 
 they might be preserved in sardine air-tight cases, and sold 
 at the tackle-shops. 
 
 Pike may be caught in almost any weather when a breeze 
 is blowing, from June to the end of January; and the river 
 haunts of the pike generally are under the shade of the 
 water-lily leaves, between the opening of the bulrushes, and 
 generally opposite to the deeper waters, where its prey 
 abounds, or where the eddy is likely to carry its food. In 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEK. 71 
 
 winter it prefers the backwatei's and eddies, and in summer 
 I have -watched them just outside the run of the stream. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Spinnikg for Pike — New Tackle — The Pennell 
 Flight — Sinking and Eoving — Fishing with the 
 Snap-Tackle, &c. 
 
 Another, and indeed the most popular method of an- 
 gling in mid-water for pike, is spinning. It has all the ad- 
 vantages of the old-fashioned trolling, and has the addi- 
 tional attraction of affording much better sport. It may be 
 said to be to ordinary trolling what fly-fishing is to bot- 
 tom-fishing. It is to be preferred on all waters whei-e there 
 are not too many weeds, bushes, snags, or similar obstruct- 
 ions in the river. The trolling-rod will answer the purpose 
 of the spinner — indeed they are identical for all practical 
 purposes. The reel and reel-line is the same; the bait is, 
 however, not only a different matter, but it is differently 
 presented on a different class of hooks. The veriest tyro in 
 angling must have seen in the tackle-shop windows imita- 
 tion fish of various sizes, and of still more diverse material, 
 armed with the most formidable-looking hooks standing 
 out, hanging to arms of wire, and other contrivances, until 
 the idea suggests itself how a fish would dare to venture 
 near such a porcupinish monster. 
 
 Let me explain the principle of the spinning tackle. The 
 line is fitted with two, and sometimes more, swivels, which, 
 as before described, must be kept well oiled, so as to revolve 
 freely. The bait is attached to what is termed a flight of 
 hooks, or "spinning flight," in such a manner as to twist 
 or turn in the water like a thing of life, as it is moved to 
 and fro, suggesting the idea of a glittering, splendid fish, 
 wounded, or partially disabled, yet attempting to escape. 
 This flight is attached to a length of gimp, to which a 
 lead (fig. 25) is attached as a sinker, connected with the 
 swivels and the reel line. It is cast similarly to the gorge- 
 
72 
 
 THE COMPLETE ANGLEE. 
 SCBB PEBHEU. SPINNING FUOHT. 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLES. 73 
 
 bait, but hooks the fish in an entirely different manner, 
 which will be better understood by a reference to the follow- 
 ing representation of the Pennell trace and its description. 
 This is one of the best among scores of other flights, and 
 I use it for the purpose of illustrating the principles of 
 spinning, because it has the merit of simplicity, and it will 
 be found in practice nearly all that the angler can desire. 
 I have an artificial bait from Sweden before me, arm,ed 
 nearly in the same manner. The angler should keep two 
 or three of the smaller sizes by him. Fig. 36 shows a flight 
 which is made some six inches long, and is fitted for a 
 fair sized dace. Fig. 27 shows the manner of baiting the 
 fish, a gudgeon, on a 4^ inch flight, which is made with 
 only one flying triangle, as the three brazed hooks tied to 
 the short lengths of gnt A and B are called, and which in 
 spinning fly loose, not attached to the fish. The tail hook 
 with its reverse is made in one piece, and should be round 
 bent to give the proper turn to the fish. The reverse 
 hook is recommended to be made on the sneck principle, 
 and is firmly whipped to a piece of strong clear gut. The 
 lip-hook is made to move up and down the line by the 
 following means: a piece of fine wire or gimp is whipped to 
 the side of the hook, so as to leave two loops, an upper and 
 a lower one, shown at 0. The gut is passed upwards 
 through the lower loop, twisted two or three times round 
 the shank of the hook, and then passed through the upper 
 one. A good lip-hook is made with the loops formed out 
 of the steel of the hook itself. On loosening the coils of 
 gut round the shank of the gut, it may be slipped into any 
 required position. 
 
 To bait the flight it is necessary to first fix the tail- hook 
 in the manner described by Mr. Pennell himself. The 
 point is inserted " by the side or lateral-line of the bait 
 near to the tail, and passing it under a broadish strip of 
 the skin, and through the end of the fleshy part of the tail, 
 bring it out as near the base of the tail-fin as possible. 
 Next insert the small reversed hook in such a position as 
 to curve the bait's tail nearly to a right angle; finally pass 
 the lip-hook through both its lips, always putting it through 
 the upper lip first when the bait is a gudgeon, and through 
 the lower one first with all others. This is very important 
 in securing a very brilliant spin." Care should, however, be 
 tp,ken that the upper part of the body should be perfectly 
 
74 THE COMPLETE ANGLEE. 
 
 straight,- and that there should be no strain on the lips of 
 the bait. Fig. 27 also shows the fish baited as above described; 
 the upper triangle being dispensed with in the smaller fish. 
 The hooks should be fine in the wire, and whipped to 
 twisted gut for fine fishing, and to gimp, clouded or colored, 
 for every day work. The flying triangles are tied to stouter 
 and stiffer material; stout gut will be found generally suit- 
 able; but the author of the trace recommends gut gimp if 
 it can be easily procured. To make it stand well out from 
 the gimp, it is tied first in a half knot before being whipped. 
 This is' important to remember if the angler makes his own 
 flight. The wrappings of the hooks are colored variously 
 with red varnish or silver tissue. 
 
 The trace is made in ordinal y cases of clouded gimp, but 
 "fine fishers" use half a dozen lengths of salmon gut joined 
 together by the knot described in the chapter on lines. The 
 lead shown in the previous chapter is attached about half- 
 way along this line. The old traces were- always fitted with 
 from five and even six swivels. With the improved form of 
 lead, two or at most three, kept oiled and free from rust, 
 will be found amply sufficient for the greatest lover of 
 machinery. 
 
 The baits necessary are those described in the chapter on 
 trolling. The lead must be adjusted according to the weight 
 of the fish. 
 
 Artificial baits are so numerous that I need not do more 
 than direct the reader's attention to them. 
 
 The spoon bait is still used in many sizes in different 
 localities. The present mode of using it appears defective, 
 and the plan of adding a flying triangle at the side would 
 probably add to its efficiency. Archimedean fish and spoons 
 may be recommended generally when the real fish is not to 
 "be obtained. 
 
 The gigantic mass of wool and feathers, known as the 
 pike-fly, is used in some waters, particularly lakes, in the 
 same manner as salmon-flies. The wings are usually formed 
 of the eye feathers of a peacock's tail, atirt it is used with a 
 double hook in bright weather. In Sweden a curious bait 
 is just brought out. It Avorks similar to the spoon-bait 
 but is in the shape of an egg, which, on being seized, makes 
 the venturesome pike acquainted with a number of hidden 
 hooks, which are released by a spring or snap hidden in the 
 interior, 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEE. 
 
 75 
 
 Pike-fishing with Lite Bait. — I approach this por- 
 tion of pilie-fisliing, wliicli is called in angling books of a 
 quarter of a century since, "sinking and roving/', with 
 some qualms. As a fishing practice, it is least to be de- 
 fended, though perhaps the impalement of a live fish on the 
 
 Fig. 28. 
 
 Fig, 2% 
 
 hook appears worse than it really is. I give one of the 
 many plans of live- bait fishing. About eighteen inches of 
 stained gimp are formed and armed in this fashion, (fig. 28). 
 The bait is attached as shown in fig. 29. In baiting, the 
 gimp is passed with the baiting-needle through a hard piece 
 
76 
 
 THE COMPLETE ANGLEE. 
 
 of skin in one or two stitches, until the shanii of the hook 
 (A) is brought close up to the skin as shown. The flying 
 triangle (B) then hangs as shown. I can see no advantage 
 in the spring [snap. The old-fashioned snap-tackle was 
 adapted to smaller fish than the above, and for clear vratbr. 
 It was thus made with three hooks — two of No. 3 and one 
 8 or 9, tied at different angles. The smaller hook was 
 inserted beneath the back fin, and the hooks were laid by 
 the side of the bait. 
 
 A dace is "highly recommended," as the shopkeepers 
 would say, as a bait for snap-fishing. A gold or silver fish 
 is adapted for murky water and. dull days. A gudgeon and 
 even a minnow may be used with advantage on pro- 
 portionately-sized tackle. The bait is suspended in mid- 
 water by means of the sinker and a float, which may be one 
 
 ri3.3a 
 
 Fis.31. 
 
 large cork, or a series of smaller corks, varnished green, 
 and strung on to the line an inch or two apart. The ad- 
 vantages claimed for these are, that they permit the bait to 
 rove about more freely than a larger one, and are not so 
 liable to get entangled among the weeds; but the greater 
 advantage is the convenience they offer for fishing a long 
 way from the bank, as they act somewhat in the manner of 
 a tumbler float. The bait is best kept alive in a bait-can, 
 described in Chapter IV., and should be taken out by a 
 small hoop-net. 
 
 In striking the fish, either in spinning or with snap- 
 tackle, considerable force is necessary, and the stroke should 
 be repeated until the plunge of the fish shows that it has 
 taken effect. In the next chapter, or spinning with the 
 minnow, I have embodied some general hints on the sub- 
 ject. Huxing and trimmers are unwortliy of the name of 
 sport, however useful they may be for the purpose of cap- 
 turingf fish, 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 77 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 SPISTNING WITH THE MINKOW. 
 
 This is one of tlie most attractive branches of the angler's 
 art, and to me possesses peculiar attractions, for I have 
 succeeded in capturing nearly every kind of fish with the 
 minnow in nearly every part of England and Ireland, and 
 have not found it ineffective on trying it once or twice in 
 the deep salt sea. Premising that the general principles of 
 spinning with the minnow are similar to those mentioned 
 in connection with spinning for pike, and the minnow may 
 be caught and preserved as described at the end of this 
 chapter. 
 
 The tackle consists of a longer and somewhat lighter rod 
 than that used for general trolling. Gimp may be dis- 
 pensed with, and gut of varying fineness and strength sub- 
 stituted. The reel-line may be finer, and it need not be so 
 long. The arrangements of the hooks consists of one large or 
 body-hook, to slightly curve the fish, and a flying trace, 
 armed with one or more hooks, is appended. 6ne of the 
 simplest forms of hooks is one used largely in the North in 
 spinning for trout, and is highly spoken of. A is the lip- 
 hook, B the body-hook, and C the flying-trace, wliich may 
 have a double hook instead of a triangle. The position of 
 the fish, when baited, is shown by the fine outline. The 
 barb of the hook is inserted in the mouth of the fish, and 
 brought out just below the tail, as shown in fig. 32. In 
 fishing for trout I prefer the flying-trace, or drag, to be from 
 
78 
 
 THE COMPLETE ANGLEE. 
 
 two and a half to four inches behind the tail of the fish, as 
 shown at C, (fig. 33); but in finer water, or when fishing 
 for perch, I take off 0, and put on the smaller loop, D. In 
 bright water the lip-hook may be made smaller, and the 
 drag dispensed with altogether. Trout seize their prey by 
 the tail, perch and pike by the middle — hence the variation 
 in the tackle. The tackle should be whipped with white 
 silk or strong gut, and a swivel should be placed some 
 twenty inches above the bait, and a second one a yard far- 
 ther up. Lead may be cast round the shank of the body- 
 hook, or a few split shot added above the first swivel, to 
 keep the bait well down, particularly in swollen waters. 
 
 Fig. 34 
 
 when they are most deadly. In clearer waters they may be 
 dispensed with. In dark, gloomy days, in June and July, 
 and in warm summer nights, the minnow will be found a 
 deadly bait for trout. Par bait is used for the same purpose 
 on the banks of the Tweed. 
 
 The essentials of a perfect minnow-tackle are thus cor- 
 rectly epitomised by Mr. Pennell, the modern prophet on 
 spinning and trolling: — 
 
 " 1. As to hooks, (a.) an arrangement which will give a 
 brilliant spin to the bait; (b,) which will most certainly hook 
 any fish that takes it; (c,) and which will least often let him 
 escavie afterwards. 
 
 " 2. A trace, fine, strong, and clear of all encumbrances. 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 79 
 
 " 3. A lead so placed as to sink with the greatest rapid- 
 ity, and least disturbance or show in the water. 
 
 '•■ 4. The utmost simplicity of application in the whole 
 taclcle." 
 
 The foregoing (fig. 33) represents the author's realization 
 of the essentials, which I can cordially indorse. 
 
 In it will be seen "that A represents the lip-hook, 
 (whipped to the main link, and not movable;) B, a fixed 
 triangle, one hook of which is to be fastened through the 
 back of the minnow; C, a flying triangle, hanging loose be- 
 low its tail; D, a lead, or sinker, whipped on to the shank 
 of the lip-hook, and lying in the belly when baited." This 
 excellent tackle may be baited by pushing the lead well into 
 the belly of the dead minnow; the lip-hook is passed through 
 both its lips, the upper one first; and lastly, insert one hook 
 of the triangle B through its back, just below the back fin, 
 so as to bend the body to produce a brilliant spin. The 
 
 Ilg. 35. 
 
 diagram (fig. 34) should be the position of the bait when 
 properly baited. 
 
 This tackle combines all the requisites of minnow- 
 spinning, and may be successfully used for perch. An 
 excellent spinning-tackle for trout is also made by adding a 
 loose fly-triangle, whipped on some twisted gut, to a 
 3i-inch spinning-flight, as described in the previous chap- 
 ter, over the reverse hook, as shown by the dotted line. 
 
 The bait, in minnow-trolling, is swung across the pool, 
 as in trolling; and though there are various dogmas about 
 fishing up the stream and down the stream, as in fly-fishing, 
 the angler will do well to consult his own judgment, and be 
 guided by the character of the waters and surrounding cir- 
 cumstances. 
 
 In the last chapter of this little book J have given a few 
 hints on catching the minnow, in addition to those general 
 directions when speaking of this pretty fish in Chapter VII. 
 A good stock of minnows is highly necessary to an angler. 
 
80 
 
 THE COMPLETE ANGLEB. 
 
 and they should be small, silver-sided, and ahout an inch 
 and a half to two inches long. The coarser and dingier 
 members of the family are of little use. 
 
 In the far North minnows are captured by fthe following 
 ingenious contrivance: — A clean glass bottle is obtained of 
 the shape shown in fig. 35. A fine meshed net is tied over 
 the mouth. A, and a few crumbs of bread are placed inside. 
 It is then placed with its mouth to the current, in a stream 
 frequented by minnows; the water agitates the crumbs; 
 the little gentry assemble to see the fun, and quickly find 
 
 Tlie oia Snap TacklA^ 
 
 their way through the aperture B into the bottle, where 
 they are joined by their companions by the dozen. This 
 bottle is invaluable, through awkward to carry about. Miur 
 nows may by kept alive in a running stream in a wire-work 
 box. They should be carried alive in a bait-can. A very 
 good one is made to sling by the side of the angler, and so 
 ari-anged as to prevent the water spilling over the sides. 
 (See fig. 19). 
 
 Salted minnows are the alternative if live ones are not 
 to be had. They are chosen for this purpose a size larger 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEK. gl 
 
 than is necessary, as they shrivel up somewhat in the brine. 
 They should be left in the salt some twelve hours, and then 
 preserved in a glass bottle, well sealed. Or they may be 
 preserved in spirits of wine, as recommended for dace and 
 gudgeons. This plan has, however, the drawback of being 
 expensive. 
 
Sa THE COMPLETE ANGLEJl. 
 
 FLY-FISHING 
 
 CHAPTEE XIII. 
 
 Theowing the Line and Flies. — Making a Cast.— 
 Humoring the Flies. — How to Fish a Stream. — 
 How to Strike, Hook, Plat, and Land a Fish. 
 
 To become a good fly-fisher requires address, skill, nicety 
 of touch, and, above ail, practice. Experience aloue can 
 make the youthful angler proficient in the highest branch 
 of the angler's art. He has to capture the swiftest of the 
 finny tribes with tlje finest and frailest of material, in the 
 clearest of crystal streams. Other sports may be more 
 exciting tlian artificial fly-fishing, but there are none which 
 requires more adroitness, more intelligence, a quicker eye, 
 or a lighter hand. While the brain must be quick to 
 apprehend, the senses the most delicate, the body must be 
 roluist, the limbs active, and the eye watchful. You see 
 the fly-fislier with- his slender rod, gracefully waving his 
 line over his head, and the flies drop into the stream with 
 the lightness of a gossamer; the line does not even ripple 
 the water, and (he flies dance on the surface. Anxiously 
 the angler watches the miniature insects formed so cun- 
 ningly to deceive the cunning trout, who lies with his nose 
 up stream watching for his prey until 
 
 " He lifts his yellow gills above the flood. 
 And greedily sucks in the unfaithful food; 
 Then downward plunges with the fraudful prey, 
 .4.nd bears with joy the little spoil away. 
 Soon a smart pain, he feels the dire mistake, 
 The danger great; too late lie starts awake. 
 With sudden mgf he now aloft appears, 
 And in his eye convulsive anguish bears. 
 And now again impatient of the wound. 
 He rolls and writhes his straining body round; 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 83 
 
 Then headlong plunges 'neath the friendly wave, 
 With frantic strength tries hard his life to save. 
 Now hope exalts the fisher's beating heart; 
 Now he turns pale, now feiirs his dubious art. 
 He view the trembling fish with longing eyes, 
 While the line stretches with the unwieldly prize; 
 Each motion humors with his steady hands, 
 But one slight hair the mighty bulk commands; 
 Till tired at last, despoiled of all his strength, 
 The game athwart the stream unfolds his length; 
 And there, all efforts o'er, he floating lies, 
 Stretches his quivering fins, and gasping — dies." 
 
 Ere the young angler can realize all the delights of his 
 pursuit, he will have much to learn, and it will be his fault 
 if he does not profit by these instructions. He must re- 
 member, however, that all that a book can do is to point 
 out the right road, and pratice must do the rest. 
 
 The first lesson which the young fisherman has to learn 
 is to throw his line. To do this properly requires no little 
 address. The rod should be light, stiffish rather than supple, 
 and about twelve feet long. His winch should be fixed with 
 the handle toward the left, and he should draw out from 
 three to four yards beyond the topmost ring. The rings 
 must be in a right line with the winch, and the line should 
 run easily through them. The winch and rings should be 
 on the under-side of the rod; and for the first attempt, the 
 line should not be longer than the rod itself. The beginner 
 may now make his first cast. 
 
 To do this easily and gracefully the rod must be grasped 
 lightly by the right hand, just above the winch, where it 
 will balance properly. The thumb should be straight 
 along the upper part of the rod, and slightly bent, so that 
 the fleshy part of the thumb alone presses on the butt. 
 The upper end of the rod should point toward the left, and 
 the right elbow should be kept close to the side, free from 
 constraint, and the body in an easy posture. Take the tip 
 of your line, or, if armed, the bend of the hook, between 
 the forefinger and thumb of the left hand. You are now 
 supposed to be on the river's brink ready for your first cast. 
 Take it easy. If you are .flurried, you will fail. By the 
 motion of your right wrist and for-earm, bring the rod round 
 to the right, with the ])oint slightly lowered; and as the line 
 gets taut, let go the hook, point the end of the rod back- 
 ward; let it describe an irregular horse-shoe curve, and then 
 cast it forward by a flinging motion of the wrist and fore-arm. 
 
84 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 The line will double back as the point of the rod is lowered, 
 the end of the line will be carried forward, and fall lightly 
 on the surface of the water. As the line goes forward, raise 
 the elbow, and carry your arm forward to guide the line, 
 but not so strong as to check the fly. In all probability, to 
 the great chagrin of the young fisherman, splash will go the 
 line into the water, and propably the end of the rod with it. 
 
 Our young Walton should not despair, but strive to avoid 
 this drawback. He will best do so by keeping the body 
 upright and the chest backward. Stand with your left foot 
 a little forward, and flat on the ground, so as to afford a 
 firm purchase, while the right foot should have the toes 
 turned out, and the ball of the foot touching the ground 
 with a firm springy pressure; and if you are holding your 
 rod properly as you guide your line, you will find the butt 
 of the rod touching the under-side of your fore-arm, and 
 thereby preventing the end of the rod from falling too low. 
 A little practice will enable the tyro to throw a short line 
 with precision. He may then double the length of his 
 cast, and no longer using the wrist and fore-arm alone, the 
 whole of the arm may be used. The shoulder-joint should 
 replace the elbow-joint, so as to give the line a large easy 
 sweep, thrown well from the shoulders. 
 
 When eight or ten yards of the reel-line can be cast with 
 ease and facility in any direction in such a manner so as not 
 to allow more than three or four feet to fall lightly on 
 the water, the angler may add the foot or casting-line, made 
 as already described, of about six feet of silkworm gut, 
 (page 24). This will give some ten yards of line to throw 
 with, and the practice should be pursued until the gut-line 
 falls first on the surface of the water, before any of the 
 reel-line touches it. At first it will aid the beginner if he 
 practices on that side of the river where he has a good 
 breeze at his back. This will make his earliest efforts much 
 easier, and enable him to drop the flies lightly and gently 
 on to the surface of the water. When the angler can do 
 this, fish fine, and far off, he may fish from left to right, or 
 in the opposite direction to that above described. It is 
 well always to practice various methods of casting, so as to 
 avoid obstructions in or on the side of the river, and occa- 
 sionally to cast underhand. The left hand may be prac- 
 ticed likewise in casting, so as to relieve the right arm 
 when tired, but it is by no means essential to success. 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 8S 
 
 Avoid the coachman's twist or jerk, or away will go your 
 eiid-fly with a crack. Your motions should be easy, grace- 
 ful, and precise, not sudden, harsh, and violent. 
 
 The angler's eye must next be acquired. The line must 
 not only be thrown well, but with precision and accuracy. 
 The best method of practice is to have a mark in the water, 
 and endeavor to' throw below it, above it, beyond it, on 
 it, and on different sides of it, until you can do what you 
 wish with, tolerable preeisiort. You should practice throw- 
 ine the line where obstructions exist, until you can avoid 
 their entanglements and difficulties. Watch the movements 
 of an old angler under difficulties, and endeavor to imitate 
 them. In the compass of this little manual, it is impos- 
 sible to give more than general directions approved by prac- 
 tice, showing what errors to avoid, and what course to 
 pursue. 
 
 I presume at this stage of proceeding the beginner is 
 anxious to try his hand with a fly at the end of his casting- 
 line. If he had one before, he would have lost it again and 
 again. He may take a large single fly, tied at the end of a 
 length of gut, and loop it to the erd of his casting-line. 
 This is the tail fly, or stretcher, and with it you may prac- 
 tice until the rising of a fish shows you in the most pleasing 
 manner that you are becoming proficient. Do not, how- 
 ever, be too anxious to emulate the old gentleman above 
 you on the stream, who has a "oast" of five or six flies, 
 which he manages so deftly. Wait till next season before 
 you proceed beyond a single "dropper," as each additional 
 fly is called. Your casting-line may be lengthened from 
 two to three yards, which will be found a very convenient 
 length for a single-hand rod. 
 
 You must learn how to make the fly-cast, however, and 
 there are several plans of performing thai essential operation. 
 The ordinary cast is made by adding from one to four '-'bobs 
 or "droppers" to the casting-line, from twenty inches to 
 two feet apart. The droppers should hang from two to 
 three inches from the main line, and should be joined to it 
 by slipping the knotted end of the "bob" through the links 
 of the fisher's knot, described on page 34. This is a simple, 
 easy, and efficient mode of making a fly-cast, and especially 
 suitable for beginners. The droppers can be easily re'moved. 
 It should not be forgotten that the flies must be dressed on 
 the finest gut, and anything that will add to the strength of 
 
86 THE COMPLETE ANGLEE. 
 
 the line, without adding to its dimensions, should not be 
 overlooked. Mr. Stewart recommends a fly-cast somewhat 
 different to the above, and much more difficult to make. 
 He takes two flies dressed on long lengths of fine gut, and 
 ties the two ends of gut together, so as to have a fly at each 
 end. He then whips a length of gut about two and a half 
 inches above one of the flies, and to the end of the gut he 
 attaches another length of gut on which a fly has been 
 dressed, and so on until the required number have been 
 added. He claims for this plan the recommendation thai, 
 really each fly forms a continuation of the main line, and if 
 it does not strengthen, it certainly does not weaken it, 
 The old loop practice, once so common^ should never be 
 followed. 
 
 With two or three " casts " twisted round his felt wide- 
 awake hat, the young fly-fisher is ready to commence opera- 
 tions. His dress must be sober colored. He has his rod, 
 reel, fishing-basket or haversack, landing-net or gaff, and, 
 on his feet his waterproof boots and stockings. He has a 
 knife in his pocket, a pair of tweezers, a disgorger, scissors, 
 and his fly-hook. Let us hope the sandwich-case, spirit- 
 flask, or cigar or pipe-case is not forgotten. Thus 
 equipped for the day, he may sally forth ou his piscatory 
 campaign with pleasurable anticipation. 
 
 For all ordinary purposes a rod of some ten or twelve feet 
 long will be sufficient for all ordinary waters. The long 
 double-handed rod will be found tiresome and unmanage- 
 able when fishing for trout. Young fishermen should use a 
 stiffish rod, and indeed some authorities recommend, for a 
 variety of exceedingly profound reasons, that no other should 
 be used. Of the lines and casts we have already treated. 
 Let us now proceed to the fish. 
 
 One of the first trout streams I ever fished in presented 
 greater variety of scenery and water in a shorter space than 
 any other I have met with. While my eyes were feasting 
 themselves on beauty, a learned discussion commenced as 
 to whether the stream ought to fished "up" or "down." 
 Since that time a great deal of good paper and ink has been 
 wasted on the subject, but it is not yet decided author- 
 itatively either way. Excellent authorities can be brought 
 forward to prove that each plan is the correct thing. My 
 experience goes to show that, while it is more difficult to 
 fish up a stream, aud harder work, it is more trulj' scientific, 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 87 
 
 and is likely to bring a greater weight of fisli to the creel. 
 The fish, •which generally lie with their heads up stream, 
 are less likely to see the angler when he is going up than 
 when he is going down, and they can be struck easier, and 
 in their subsequent struggles they are less likely to disturb 
 the unfished water than when fishing down a stream, as 
 '•' troutie " generally rushes downward when he finds his' 
 jaw tickled with the barbed hook. To fish down a stream 
 is easier, is more common, and fair sport may be obtained. 
 Perhaps, after all, it is best to avoid dogmatically adhering 
 to either of these two schools of angling. Msh upward 
 whenever you can, even at a little inconvenience, and come 
 down on the opposite bank when the fish are likely to be 
 hungry. 
 
 As you approach the stream do so cautiously, and keep 
 out of sight as much as possible. Your lines will be all 
 the better if they have been rubbed with India-rubber, and 
 have been slightly soaked in water before you commence, 
 so as to have no harshness or awkward wavy coils on the 
 gut. Always remember that the flies should alight on the 
 water before your line like a rose leaf on a lady's vail. To 
 do this properly, the point of the rod must be kept well 
 up, and the shorter the cast the greater probability of suc- 
 cess. The most skillful angler cannot make his flies fall too 
 lightly, or keep too much out of sight. Nay, in some streams 
 and pools it will be necessary to kneel. If the current 
 is strong you may repeat the cast, and fish the river inch 
 by inch, as it were, if the pool or stream looks promising; 
 and the casts should be made partly up and partly across 
 the stream, so that the flies spread across the stream. 
 Watch your flies carefully the moment they alight on the 
 surface of the water, for that is the moment considered 
 the most deadly by all anglers, and when the fish is most 
 likely to mistake them for the real insect, and to seize 
 them. Strike at once, firmly but gently, before the fish 
 can eject the fly on finding his mistake. . Striking should 
 be done by a slight but quick motion of the wri^t, and in 
 the same direction as the rod is moving at the time. Au 
 excellent plan to fish a stream is, to keep away from the 
 bank, and fish the nearer side first, keeping the flies on the 
 surface, or but an inch or two below it, until the line gets 
 dragged by the stream. Then return to the tail of the 
 stream and fish the off-side in the same way. In very clear 
 
88 THE COMPLETE ANGLEB. 
 
 water this plan is essential to success. By all means the 
 fly-fisher should endeavor to give his flies as natural an 
 appearance as possible. He should humor them. If pos- 
 sible it should be allowed to drop lightly into the water 
 from a stone, leaf, grass-butt, or other substance on the 
 river. The quivering of the rod, the bobbing up and down 
 of the flies, moving them along by jerks, and a variety of 
 other contrivances, may be recommended to give them the 
 appearance of living insects. The best plan is to elevate 
 the point of the rod, so as to keep one or more of the 
 "droppers" skimming the surface of the water. Never 
 drag your flies straight across the water. Should they be 
 under water, any motion communicated to them is worse 
 than useless. If the trout hooked is a small one, out with 
 him at once without disturbing the water. If a large one, 
 pull it down stream. By doing this you have the force of 
 the current in your favor, the fish chokes rapidly, and 
 exhausts itself more rapidly. Playing a fish is the great 
 crisis of angling. The struggle of force has commenced, 
 and it is doubtful which will be the conqueror. But be 
 calm. Decide if you can if your fish be a large one, or a 
 small one hooked foul, that is, outside the mouth, in the 
 body, tail, or fin, which is often the case. A small fish 
 under these circumstances is as strong and as difiicult to 
 exhaust as a large one. If a large trout is deeply hooked, 
 he plunges at once to the bottom, and it will be necessary 
 to check him gently by raising the point of the rod. If 
 but slightly hooked, the fish struggles at first on the surface 
 of the water, as if by his antics he thought to get rid of 
 the troublesome bit of steel. If the top of the rod is 
 lowered, the weight of the line will cause him to descend. 
 You must, however, hold him well in hand. If he rushes 
 from you, keep going with him until you judge it is neces- 
 sary to check his career. At every pause turn the butt-end 
 of your rod to him, bringing the lower joints over your 
 right shoulder. The strain will then be equalized on your 
 tackle. Jf still vigorous, do not press upon him too hard; 
 let your ro"d come more to the perpendicular, and indulge 
 him with another run or^two. As he becomes weaker, wind 
 him up, so as to-make him sho>v himself. If his fins beat 
 languidly, and he is evidently weak, guide him with the 
 water, not against it, to some easy landing-place; and if the 
 landing-net or gaff is not handy, take him in th'e left hand, 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 89 
 
 but do not attempt to lift him outof the water by the line, 
 or take the hook out of his mouth while in the water if you 
 should be wading, or you may lose your labor, your temper, 
 and the fish at the same time. 
 
 If the fish is deeply hooked, he darts to the bottom, and 
 you may be certain you have him firm. Though this assur- 
 ence may give you more confidence, do not be rash. Ee- 
 member tliat the success of the angler's craft depends quite 
 as much on suaviter in modo as the fortiter in re. Lead 
 him into the open water gently, and do not let him have an 
 unlimited quautity of line, which, though it may tire the 
 fish, gives you less command over him. As his vigor 
 becomes reduced, and he turns on his side, keep his mouth 
 open at the surface of the water, so as to suffocate him. 
 This apparent paradox is by no means difficult of accom- 
 plishment. Always play your fish with a light hand, and 
 never seize your line in either hand either to shorten or let 
 out more line. It is an awkward, bad practice, and should 
 be avoided. 
 
 Occasionally the hooked fish, prior to taking his deep 
 dive, takes it into its head to perform some aerial evolutions, 
 which are exceedingly, trying to the angler's skill, as the 
 line may be easily broken by a stroke of the tail. It is best 
 to keep the line taut while the fish is rising, and slacken it 
 considerably as the fish falls, so as to prevent the tail 
 striking the taut line. In landing a fish, let the landing- 
 net be slipped under the fish, so that he may drop into it. 
 Bring him, if possible, to a shelving bank, but if this is not 
 possible, bring the exhausted fish close under the bank, and 
 slip the net under him. Do not frighten him, and let the 
 net be kept of a green color. If you use the galf, insert 
 it beneath "the gills while he is gasping, or strike it beneath 
 one of the pectoral fins. A landing-net or a gaff is indis- 
 pensable in fly-fishiug. 
 
90 THE COMPLETE ANGLEE. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIV. 
 
 Trout: their Haunts, Habits, and Taste.— Scotch 
 AND Irish Ply-Fishing. — Monthly List ob Flies. 
 — General Hints on Grayling and Trout Fish- 
 ing. 
 
 While the mere mechanical routine of the "gentle craft " 
 is easily acquired by those who have the desire to do so, and 
 who. possess the necessary patience, there is much to be 
 learned ere the tyro becomes the expert and scientific angler. 
 He must know the haunts of the fish, and tell almost at a 
 glance where the best fish lie, and choose intuitively, as it 
 were, the mort alluring baits, and those best adapted to the 
 season of the year, and the particular locality. Observa- 
 tion and experience must be the joint teachers of this 
 special knowledge, for no verbal directions can impart it. 
 There is also the fine feeling of a sportsman to be acquired, 
 which checks the mere butchery of the fish, otherwise than 
 by fair fishing, which places the love of sport above the 
 satisfactory basketful of shining beauties in their grassy 
 bed. The whole art of angling has been truly said to be 
 the knowledge of how, when, and where to fish, and what 
 to fish with. 
 
 The trout, which after all is the special object of the fly- 
 fisher's ambition, is a gentlemanly fish, of high instincts. 
 Not for him, are the slow sluggish stream or muddy waters. 
 He leaves them for coarser natures. He likes not grovel- 
 ing in the mud, but courses along the watery highway, 
 which runs clear over a gravelly bed. He is nice in his 
 taste, and prefers the sportive fly to the lowly grub. He 
 is not easily entrapped, he calls forth the highest skill of 
 the angler, and often comes off the victor in the encounter. 
 He is truly the fish of the spring, and is in the primest 
 condition when nature is decked in her gayest apparel. 
 From September to March he disappears from the angler's 
 calendar. He waits until the daisy shoots from the sod, 
 and then he delights in the shallows and the rougher 
 etreams, running into deeper water and sandy pools, where 
 
THK COMPLETE ANGLEK. 91 
 
 he sojourns during the heat of summer. In whirlpools and 
 holes he delights. He loves the sharp current of a mill 
 race, where he can retire hehind a rock or a big stone. 
 Sometimes he is to be found under bridges, or between 
 two arches which divide the current. He is gregarious and 
 loves his kind, and though his size and condition vary in 
 different countries, his main characteristics remain the same. 
 Beveling in beautiful scenes, he is susceptible of the in- 
 fluence of the weather, for when the storm rages he refuses 
 to bite at even his most, favorite food. 
 
 But what is the favorite food of the trout? On this 
 subject anglers cannot agree. , The taste of the fish varies. 
 He is hungry or the reverse, and from the experience of to- 
 day and to-morrow various theories have been propounded, 
 and learned discussions inaugurated, which only serve to 
 perplex the inexperienced and to amuse the expert angler. 
 There are as many different sorts of flies recommended as 
 there are days in the year. Nay, there are some who use 
 one fly in the early morning, another in the forenoon, a 
 third during the heat of the day, and a fourth in the even- 
 ing. The young angler may indulge these fancies when he 
 has plenty of time to spare, and has profited by the result 
 of my experiences and of those who have kindly advised me 
 in this disputed portion of our work. 
 
 Those flies will be found to be the best which approach 
 in shape nearest the common flies of the stream on which 
 you are fishing. The color is not so important as the shape, 
 if they are not too large and clumsy. The finest and best 
 will be useless if the fish are not on the feed. 
 
 I cannot here enter into an elaborate defense of these 
 propositions, which I hold to be truthful and likely to com- 
 mand the adherence of a large body of expert brethren of 
 the craft. I lay them down for the guidance of those who 
 have to acquire experience, so that they may not be misled 
 into continually changing their flies, and wasting their time 
 whenever they are not meeting with the success they feel 
 they deserve. In a succeeding chapter I have given full 
 and explicit directions concerning the flies, and here I 
 need say no more than, as a rule, a dark colored fly is best 
 for clear water, a lighter or yellow fly is more suitable for 
 darker waters, and has been found especially killing at the 
 close of the day. An excellent practice is to arrange the 
 *' cast " so as, if possible, to embrace the varied taste of Mr. 
 
92 THE COMPLETE ANGLEK. 
 
 Trout, or to meet his caprice. A black, brown, red, and 
 dim fly will always be found to kill well, and will prove 
 the happy medium between the opposing thories of the 
 theoretical and practical schools of anglers. Mr. Stewart, 
 for instance, i-ecommends, " When commencing a day's fish- 
 ing at any season, the angler should begin witli three or 
 four different varieties, say a black spider for the tail fly, a 
 woodcock wing with yellow silk and red hackle for the first 
 dropper, a hare-lng body and corn-bunting wing for the 
 second dropper, and a dun-colored i«pider for the fourth 
 fly." It will be easily seen whtch are the favorities, and 
 then the others maybe changed.' ' The tail fly and the third 
 dropper will be found almost invariably to be tlie most 
 deadly. Larger flies may be used in rivers not much fished, 
 but in well-fished clear streams the flies must be small and 
 neatly made. 
 
 So great is the difference of opinion among anglers of 
 experience, with respect to the number of flies necessary, 
 that Mr. Fitzgibbon ("Ephemera") gives a reduced list of 
 sixty-eight flies, while Mr. Eonald, in his "Fly-Fisher's 
 Entomology," seems to have exhausted the insect creatiom 
 in his endeavors to show all the flies a fly-fisher may use. 
 On the other hand, Mr. Stewart ("Practical Angler") gives 
 only six, which for curiosity we extract: — 
 
 1. A woodcock wing, with a single turn of a red hackle, 
 or landrail feather, dressed with yellow silk, freely exposed 
 on the body. For fishing in dark-coloi'ed waters this fly 
 may be dressed with scarlet thread. 
 
 3. A hare-lug (ear) body with a corn-bunting or chaf- 
 finch wing. A woodcock wing may also be put on the same 
 body, but should be made of the small light-colored feather 
 taken from the inside of the wing. 
 
 3. The same wing as the last fly, with a single turn of a 
 soft black hen hackle, or a small feather taken from the 
 shoulders of the starling, dressed with dark-colored 
 silk. 
 
 Thus for flies proper: now for the "spiders" or 
 hackles. 
 
 1. The black spider. This is made of the small feather 
 of the cock starling, dressed with brown silk, and is upon 
 the whole the most killing imitation we know. This fly was 
 shown to Mr. Stewart by the renowned James Baillie, and it 
 is used constantly by those gentlemen. 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 93 
 
 2. The red spider should be made of the . small feather 
 taken fi-orn the outside of the wing of the landrail, dressed 
 with yellow silk, and is deserving of a very high rank, 
 particularly in colored water. 
 
 3. The dun spider. This should be made of the small 
 soft dun or ash-colored feather taken from the outside of 
 the wing of the dotterel. As this kind is scarcej a feather 
 from the inside of the wing of the starling will have to serve 
 as a substitute. 
 
 I can speak to the general efficiency of all these, but 
 I cannot indorse the author's doctrine that they are suffi- 
 cient. 
 
 In another chapter I have given a list of forty of the 
 principal flies, selected from various sources, which have 
 the highest reputation as killers, and I have included a list 
 of spiders or Palmer hackles which may be used generally 
 throughout the year. I have found a yellow drake, dressed 
 on a blue body, wrapped with silver tinsel, with a strip of 
 golden pheasant, and blue jay feather, full at shoulder, 
 a killing fly everywhere. It is a favorite with one of the 
 most successful anglers on the Fergus and Shannon. Mr. 
 Charles Armstrong of Larch Hill has kindly forwarded me 
 the following hints, with respect to the best lakes and 
 streams in his neighborhood. With respect to trout and 
 trouting, he says, the principal trout lakes in Clare are 
 Inchiquin and Dromore. The flies used on both are very 
 much the same, and are known by the name of Inchiquin, 
 Dromore, and Lochabar flies. The colors distinguish them, 
 such as brown, black, cinnamon, claret, frieze-brown, etc. 
 They are nearly all fur or mohair bodies, and are tied on 
 N"os. 5, 6, and 7 hooks as follows. Gold tinsel tail, a couple 
 of turns of orange, yellow or green silk under jib, which 
 should consist of three fibers of brown mallard hackle to 
 suit body. The body should be of mohair, slight at the 
 tail, and getting fuller toward the head. Four turns of 
 tinsel on body. For the wing a little peacock blue breast 
 feather to form the body of the wing, and a sufficient 
 quantity of brown mallard to form each side wing. Pea- 
 cock or ostrich tail for head. 
 
 On some flies partridge and rail may be put on the wing, 
 instead of mallard. These flies of different colors hold good 
 daring the season. 
 
94 THE COMPLETE ANGLEK. 
 
 Hare's ear and hare's tail and yellow, with the wing of a 
 starling, are also good. 
 
 Lochabar is another name for the orange or green grouse 
 and rail, with the addition of a little pheasant butter feather 
 in the wing. 
 
 In February, cinnamon, copper-colored, deep brown, 
 and black are excellent. Large hare's ear and yellow or 
 orange, with gold breast. A small peal-fly (see Chapter on 
 the Salmon) is also good. 
 
 In March, the same flies may be used. Some of the flies 
 should have plain rail wings, as few spotted flies are yet 
 out. 
 
 In April, pale brown and cinnamon, rubbed with gold 
 cord, red hackles, partridge, and rail wings. An excellent 
 fly is one made of deep brown and claret, and all shades of 
 hare's ear are good. , 
 
 In the fly-fisher's month of May, the trout feed mostly in 
 the evening; and throughout this and the following 
 month, hare's ear, and all shades of Dromore flies, will 
 take well. In high winds the gaudy black fly should be 
 tried. 
 
 There are few fish taken in July, and the 'same flies are 
 used; and from this time to the end of October, the trout 
 will take the flies named for February. In the Clare lakes 
 trout run from 2 lbs. to 10 lbs. in weight. 
 
 The best flies for March are the February red, varieties of 
 spiders, cow-dung, March brown alder. 
 
 In April, the above flies, with the sand-fly, stone-fly, 
 gravel bed, yellow dun, iron blue, the jenuy-spinner, and 
 oak-fly. Attention should be paid to the description of flies 
 in the water, as some of the flies are partial, and only found 
 to be of any value on particular waters. 
 
 In May, nearly all the previous flies will secure a run. 
 The green-drake, sky-blue, and the fern-fly will be found 
 the best new ones. 
 
 In June, the gray-drake, the coch-y-bondhu, a beetle, the 
 great whirling-dun, "will be good for a change; but the May- 
 fly (green-drake) is the favorite. 
 
 I In July, the pale wing-dun, the July dun, the ant-flies, 
 silver-horns, with moths for the evening, are the fishy 
 favorites. 
 
 During August, the palmer-hackles and moths, the August 
 dun, house and blow-flies, are good for a change. 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 95 
 
 In September, the cinnamon-fl}', pale- blue, whirling-blue 
 dun, and the palmers, are sufficient with the moths. 
 
 For grayling, in streams where they abound, at the heads 
 and tails of streams they love to frequent, particularly if it 
 has a gravelly bottom, similar flies will be found talking, in 
 every sense of the term, if the hook is armed with a gentle 
 or grasshopper. 
 
 The accompanying plate gives illustrations of sixteen 
 useful flies. Fig. 1 is a useful beetle, with a shorter hackle; 
 it is the coch-y-bondhu of Irish fishermen. Figs. 2 and 3 
 are useful palmers, which, if dressed on larger hooks, form ' 
 excellent chub-flies. Fig. 4 is the golileii palmer. Fig. 5 
 is the house fly, and, if dressed with a brilliant harl, becomes 
 the bliie-bottle. Fig. 6 is the fern-fly. Fig. 7 is the 
 yellow sally. Fig. 8 is the oak-fly. Fig. 9 fairly repre- 
 sents the form of moths. Fig. 10 is tlie governor, and 
 the general form is that of the ant-flies. Fig. 11 is the 
 stone-fly. Fig. 12 is the March-bi-own; fig. 13 the blue 
 dun; fig. 14 the red spinner; fig. 15, wliirling-dun: fig. 
 16 the May-fly. 
 
 Tliere are several maxims which the young fisherman 
 would do well to remember. Tread lightly, and keep your- 
 self well out of sight. Always fish with as fine a tackle 
 as you can use, and think no time wasted in care and prep- 
 aration. 
 
 The best weather for fishing is probably when a warm south- 
 west wind dapples the surface of the water; but the direction 
 of the wind, with reference to the point of the compass, is 
 of less consequence than its power. It is exceedingly 
 difficult to fish up stream when the wind is blowing down; 
 but the splasli of the fulling line into the water (which it 
 will do under these circumstances, in consequence of the 
 force necessary to be used) is less likely to be noticed than 
 in calm weather. When there is no breeze, wait until the 
 motion of the line has subsided, and then draw the flies 
 slowly toward you. Never allow the flies to remain station- 
 ary. In sunny weather avoid letting your shadow fall into 
 the stream. Rather have the sun in your eyes. 
 
 The best time for fishing is in the forenoon, and later in 
 the evening, when the trout are on the " feed," whicii may 
 be easily seen by their rising; make the most of your time, 
 as quickly, quietly, and steadily as you can, or else you 
 will mourn lost sport in a hitched, tangled, or broken line. 
 
96 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 Do not be in a hurry to change your flies. If a fish 
 rises and refuses your .fly, give him a short rest, and try 
 him again. Eemember a trout cannot be enticed. If he 
 again refuses, proceed on your way. If a fish rises behind 
 you, do not " hark baclcj" he is looking for other prey than 
 yours. 
 
 However tempting it may be to wade, and however well 
 prepared you may be, do not do so unnecessarily; it only 
 disturbs the fish, spoils your neighbor's sport, and is not 
 Conducive to the health of those who happen to have even 
 an iron constitution. 
 
 Trout will seldom rise immediately after a flood, as they 
 have been too well fed. The lyater is best after sufficient 
 rain to just color it. 
 
 Fishing at night, or in dull weather, the flies shoiild be 
 larger than those used in clear weather during the day. In 
 dull, wet weather, the flies take better when they sink be- 
 neath the surface of the water. A large moth-fly is best for 
 night-fishing, and not more than two need be used. In the 
 heat of summer the addition of a "gentle" to the fly will add 
 much to its attractiveness. For special directions adapted 
 for each month, the reader is referred to the " Fisherman's 
 Calendar, " (Chapter XX). 
 
 CHAPTEK XV. 
 
 ARTIFICIAL FLIES, AND HOW TO MAKE THEM. 
 
 Cheap as artificial flies may be bought, and experienced 
 as the professional hands may be in their manufacture, 
 every angler has felt, from time to time, the want of the 
 special knowledge to make his own flies, or alter existing 
 ones. If the angler practices when young, he soon acquires 
 an expertness which he never forgets, and which will serve 
 him in his need, and enable him to find an agreeable occu- 
 pation on many a wet afternoon, when unable to pursue his 
 favorite sport. 
 
 It is difficult to say anything that is new on this subject, 
 or even to clothe the old practice with new expressions; 
 but I will endeavor to describe the process clearly and 
 concisely. 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEB. 97 
 
 The necessary implements are few. At first, a small 
 hand-vise will be necessary, a small pair of brass nippers, a 
 pair of fine scissors, curved at the points, and a pair with 
 very sharp and fine points, a needle (which may be fitted 
 into a small handle) for dividing wings and picking out 
 dubbing. 
 
 The materials used by the fly-dresser of the present day 
 are somewhat more simple tlian was formerly thoiiglu pos- 
 sible — shape being more attended to and variety of material 
 less. Feathers of various kinds are not only the most 
 suitable but last longer than almost any other substance that 
 has been employed for the purpose, and they are supple- 
 mented with fine hair and silk. In selecting feathers, great 
 care is necessary, and they should be plucked from bird 
 when in full plumage, and every description of bird may be 
 laid under contribution for this purpose. Hackles taken 
 from the neck of the common co3k are very useful when of 
 a proper color and shape. The fibers should taper gradu- 
 ally from the root, and where they should be longest, to- 
 ward the point. The dun or blue hackle is particularly 
 difficult to obtain of the right color, with the fibers of the 
 proper length, which is about half an inch. The feathers 
 of the cock-starling have a high repute in the north, as 
 combining good color with that medium strength which 
 avoids harshness on the one hand, and softness on the other. 
 Feathers of the landrail are also highly esteemed, taken 
 from outside the wing, being of a reddish-brown color. 
 The dotterel feathers are also useful, but apt to get soft in 
 the water. The gray-plover, golden-plover, thrush, 
 partridge, grouse, woodcock, and snipe, are commonly used. 
 Even a. tomtit's tail does not escape, while the peacock and 
 ostrich tails, or single fibers of their plumes, are in common 
 use, when dyed, for bright and variously-colored flies. Tlie 
 wings of the flies are made from the wing-feathers of the 
 corn-bunting, lark, starling, chaffinch, woodcock, landrail, 
 and other birds. 
 
 Fur and hair are used for the bodies of flies, under the 
 name of "dubbing." These are wanted of eveiw shade, 
 and are usually obtained at the furrier's. A hare's ear, the 
 fur of the water-rat, the fur of the bear, of various shades, 
 badger's hair, the fur of the squirrel, and field-mouse, are 
 also in request. Hog's down is the best hair, and should be 
 obtained about Christmas. It may be dyed any color. 
 
98 *rHE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 Mohair is sometimes used, and colored worsted is only used 
 for salmon and pike flies. 
 
 For tying the flies, fine marking silk of different colors 
 is necessary, some hard shoemaker's or saddler's wax, some 
 colorless wax, of which we give the recipe, a variety of 
 hooks, with a little gold and silver twist, and the fly- 
 di'esser has all the materials for making flies of any 
 pattern. 
 
 Bpforo commencing to make your flies, arrange all your 
 materials in the handiest possible way under your eye. 
 Let your gut be of the finest description, the hooks adapted 
 to the size of the fiy, with the wings, hackles, dubbing, 
 and silk assorted. The flies are generally divided into 
 two varieties — hackles, variously called "palmers" or 
 " spiders; " winged flies, dressed with dubbing, or with 
 hackles, in imitation of gnats, midges, and other flies, 
 while "spiders" represent caterpillars and other embryo 
 flies. 
 
 The first process, that of " arming the gut " is thus per- 
 formed. It is essential that every angler should learn to 
 arm liis gut and tie his hook, as it is the foundation of the 
 bottom-fisher's, as well as the fly-fisher's, art. The gut is 
 first coiled, and the end fiattened and softened between the 
 teeth, so as to make it broad and prevent it slipping. - The 
 hook is then taken in the left hand between the forefinger 
 and thumb, with the back uppermost, and the barbed point 
 downward, so as to leave the shank bare. The gut is 
 laid along the upper portion of the shank, and is secured by 
 a slip-loop of well-waxed silk, about the middle of the 
 shank, opposite the barb of the hook. The gut and hook 
 are tlien whipped firmly and neatly together, in regular 
 screw-like twists, until you come to the end of the shank, 
 v/here a few turns of the thread will form the head, and a 
 slip-noose fastens the silk. If well and neatly done, it will 
 present the appearance of fig. 36. This is the foundation 
 of all flies. 
 
 To make the palmer-hackle, or spider, great care is neces- 
 sary, but the operation is not a difficult though a critical 
 one. Still holding the hook as before, you take the feather, 
 lay it with tlie root toward the bend of the hook, wrap the 
 thread two or three times round it, and then cut off the 
 root end. Fig. 37 will show tlie hook at this stage. There 
 are two processes of forming the spider open to the student. 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 99 
 
 He may wind the feather neatly round the hook, until 
 he reaches the bend of the hook, where he may fasten off, 
 and release any fibers that may have become entangled 
 during the winding. He may then clip away any long 
 rough points, the end of the feather, and the silk, and his 
 fly will represent flg. 38. Another process, and a better, 
 is to rim the thread, after tying the hackle on, (as fig. 3?), 
 along the center of the feather, and with the forefinger and 
 thumb of the right hand twist them together until the 
 feather is rolled round the thread, and in this state wrap it 
 
 Fig. 35. 
 
 Fii'. 37. 
 
 fig. 38. ri3.5X Fig. 40. 
 
 round the hook, taking care that the fibers stick out well to 
 represent the legs of the insect, until you come to the bend 
 of the hook, when it may be fastened off with the whip- 
 fastening, or a succession of hitch-knots. The feathers 
 must be long enough to hide the hook, as shown in fig. 39. 
 To make a palmer-hackle, representing a luscious cater- 
 pillar, (fig. 40), the latter process cannot be followed. 
 When the hackle-feather is fastened on (fig. 37), some floss- 
 silk, peacock or ostrich tail, or dubbing is used, twisted 
 round your waxed thread, and wrapped round the shank of 
 
100 THE COMPLETE ANGLEU. 
 
 the hook to form the body; but bewiire of getting it too 
 bulky. Fasten at the head, then wind the hackle, as first 
 described, and fasten at the tail. If dubbed with either 
 gold or silver twist, it must be attached to the shank of the 
 hook witii the hackle, and wound over the dubbing and body 
 before the hackle is brought down. The ends must be cut 
 away and the silk fastened. It is better not to cut the 
 hackle feathers, but they must be neatly released with the 
 needle, so as to approach the regularity of the engraving, 
 fig. 38. Occasionally, hackles are made from the bend, and 
 wrapped toward the shank, or reversely to the plan above 
 described; and this plan is adopted when wings have to be 
 added on small hooks. The hacRle, in this oase, will have 
 to be tied first by the tip, and not by the root. 
 
 The great difficulty in dressing a winged fly is to put the 
 wings on neatly. It is thus done: The hook is armed as 
 in fig. 36; but the whipping is not continued to the end of 
 the shank; it stops some three or four turns off, and the 
 feathers are added which are to form the wings. These 
 wings are generally composed of a few fibres of some appro- 
 priate feathers, those taken from the wing of some small 
 bird, those lying on the inside of the wing being generally 
 the longest, lightest, and most esteemed. To whip these 
 fibers on neatly, and make them lie properly, is a difficult 
 operation. You take these feathers firmly between the 
 forefinger and thumb of the right hand, and lay them on 
 the bare shank of the hook with the roots toward the bend, 
 as shown in fig. 41. The thread must be wliipped three or 
 four times firmly round the butt-ends of the fibers, as shown, 
 above, and the remainder of the butt-ends cut off. It is 
 necessary now to divide the wings, by passing the silk 
 between them, and crossing it as you bring it up, bend the 
 fibers back and form the head. The fly may now be finished 
 in two or three ways, principally dependent on whether it 
 is to be dressed with hackle, dttbbing, or have a tail. If 
 with dubbing, a little is twisted on to the thread until it is 
 rolled completely round it. It is then wrapped round the 
 the hook, so as to form the body of the fly, and the thread 
 fastened off as in fig. 43. A few hairs of the dubbing 
 must be picked out round the head to give it the feathery 
 appearance represented. 
 
 If dressed with a hackle, the wing should remain as in 
 fig. 41, and the root-end of the hackle attached, and wound 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEK. 
 
 101 
 
 to the bend as described in the spider, and the end of tlie 
 thread should be fastened off with a slip-knot. The wing 
 fibers must then be taken between the forefinger and thumb 
 of the left hand, reversed, and bent down over the back of 
 the fly. This done, pass the thread behind the wings, and 
 twist it two or three times close and tight over the base of 
 the wings. The fibers must be divided exactly in the 
 middle, with the dubbing-needle. Pass the thread between 
 them, and wind it round the bottom of one of the wings, 
 crossing it as you bring it round under the other. Now 
 whip the silk behind the wings, form the head, fasten ofE 
 the ends, touch it and all knots with a little varnish, and 
 you have an excellent fly complete, as in fig. 42, without the 
 
 Tig. 41. 
 
 Tig. 42. 
 
 Fiff. 43. 
 
 tail, which appendage is added before the body is attached 
 or the wings reversed. It is formed of two hairs or fibers, 
 which can be added when the gut is armed, or immediately 
 after the wings are attached. If necessary to wind gold or 
 silver twist round the body of the fly, first tie on the tail, 
 and then the gold twist, spin on the dubbing, wind it np to 
 -the wings carefully, fasten with the slip-knot and leave the 
 end of the thread hanging. Take the gold twist and wind 
 it with regular intervals up to the wings, fasten it, and cut 
 away the loose twist. The hackle may then be wound for 
 a couple of turns over twist and dubbing, and then fasten 
 down, cutting away the loose end. The thread may then 
 be brought through the wings, and the fly finished ^^ 
 before. 
 
102 THE COMPLETE ANGLEB. 
 
 A good fly should have both wings equal; it should be 
 well proportioued, and should sit easily on the water. In 
 arming your gut, see that it is done with silk the color of 
 the body of the fly, and it should be waxed with colorless 
 wax. If the body of the fly is to be of silk, you may make 
 it while arming the gut, and tie on the hackle and wings, 
 bring the. hackle down two or three turns over the body, 
 (fig. 43), fasten off, reverse the wings, tie them neatly, and 
 always varnish the knot. If the wings are tied on last, they 
 often sit better, though they may not last so long as those 
 tied in the manner above described. If the beginner fails 
 at first, he, by perseverance, will find his difficulties disap- 
 pear. Let him get good models as he progresses, and he 
 will find our directions sufficiently explicit to enable him to 
 make any useful fly. The illustrations, figs. 43 and 44, 
 showing a dun-fly and the May-fly, are shown as roughly 
 made by a tyro in the art. They are also shown in a perfect 
 state in figs. 13 and 16, in our plate of "Trout Flies." 
 
 Artificial caddis-worm for bottom-fishing is thus made: 
 wings full, and a brownish-red hue, which should slant over 
 a yellow floss silk body, covered with goldbeater's skm, and 
 ribbed with brown silk; a lap or two of bronze peacock 
 tail will finish the head. On warm windy days it will be 
 found very attractive. 
 
 At first the beginner may fix the bend of the hook in a 
 
 table or hand-vise, and use the nippers to twist the hackle 
 
 under the wings, particularly when the wings are placed on 
 
 •the natural way at first. He will, if moderately handy, soon 
 
 dispense with these itnpedimetiia. 
 
 Now with respect to the color of the flies. A wide 
 range of material fails to give the fly-maker every tint he 
 requires, so that he is obliged to have recourse to the dyer's 
 art. 
 
 With respect to the dyeing of materials for fly-making, 
 I have found Judson's simple dyes easy of application, and 
 giving nearly every variety of tint, by judicious admixture. 
 In order, however, that the ambitious fly-fisher should have 
 every convenience at command, I give a few tried recipes 
 for making the dyes themselves. 
 
 The green drake dye. — To make the famous Jlay-fly well 
 is the acme of the fly-dresser's art, and end of the great 
 difficiilties is the propiT color for the wings, which are 
 generally formed of the dattled i'ltathers fron; the under side 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEE. 103 
 
 of a mallard's wing, dyed yellow green, which is somewhat 
 difficult to imitate. Mr. Parker's method is as follows: — 
 " Boil two or three handfuls of yellow wood one hour in a 
 quart of soft water; wash tlie mallard hackles in soap atid 
 hot water, then boil them a short time with a large spoonful 
 of alum and tartar in a little pipkin with a pint of water, 
 take them out and immerse them in your yellow decoction, 
 and simmer them slowly for an hour or two. The shorter 
 the simmering the paler the yellow of the feathers; take them 
 out and wash them in clean hard water." When there is 
 occasion for dyeing yellow green, add a little blue, more or 
 less according to the shade of green you wish to give to the 
 yellow. If Judson's dyes are used, the feathers must be 
 washed and prepared -to receive the color as above, and a 
 green can be mixed easily to the exact tint. Mr. Eonald, 
 the great authority on flies, gives, however, another method. 
 He makes a mordant by dissolving about a quarter of an 
 ounce of alum in a pint of water, and then to slightly boil 
 the feathers in it to get the grease out of them, after which 
 to boil them in an infusion of fustic to procure a yellow, 
 and then subdue the brightness of the yellow by a liitle 
 copperas. 
 
 Bun feathers. — Feathers may be dyed any shade of dun 
 and yellowish dun by this means, which is the foundation 
 of all good dyes. The feathers are placed in a saucepan 
 with a quantity of soft water/and when thoroughly wetted, 
 a small quantity of copperas (sulphate of iron) is added, and 
 the whole simmered gently for a few minutes. This gives 
 the mordant a base. The liquor is then removed, and the 
 feathers are covered with a small quantity of soft water, and 
 when simmering, a small quantity of powdered Aleppo galls 
 is added. Of course the tint will depend on the quantity of 
 each material used, for by increasing the quantities the 
 color changes to almost every tint of dun. Logwood, 
 maddei', walnut peels, alder tree, bark, and other astringent 
 dye-woods may be used instead of galls, always using soft 
 water, and obtaining the light color before the dark. The 
 fixing liquid is made from copperas, sulphate of alum, 
 acetate of alum, or acetate of copper; if they are then well 
 washed and simmered in a strong decoction of woad or 
 v/tlA, {Reseda luteola,) dyers' weed as it is commonly called, 
 they will acquire a brilliant yellow color. White " feathers 
 may be dyed dun^ by first siminering them in alum water 
 
104 THE COMPLETE ANGLEE. 
 
 until thoroughly soaked, and then boil them with fustic, 
 shumac, and a small quantity of copperas. 
 
 To stain feathers an olive dun, etc. — Make a very strong 
 infusion of "the outside brown coating of an onion, by allow- 
 ing the whole to infuse by the fire for twelve hours. If 
 dun feathers are boiled in this dye, they will become an 
 olive dun, and white feathers a yellow. If a small piece 
 of copperas be added, the latter color will become a use- 
 ful muddy yellow, darker or lighter as may be required, and 
 approaching to a yellow-olive dun, according to the quantity 
 of copperas used. 
 
 To dye feathers various shades of red, amber, and brown, 
 — First, boil them in alum mordant, already mentioned; 
 secondly, boil them in an infusion of fustic strong enough 
 to bring them to a bright yellow, (about a tablespoonful 
 to a pint of water); then boil them in a dye of madder, 
 peach wood, or Brazil wood. To set the color put a few 
 drops of dyers' spirits {i. e. nitrate of tin combined with a 
 small quantity of salt), which may be had from a silk-dyer, 
 into the last-mentioned dye. 
 
 To turn red hackles brown. — Put a piece of copperas, the 
 size of half a walnut, into a pint of water; boil it, and while 
 boiling put in the red feathers. Let them remain in it 
 until, by frequent examination, they are found to have 
 taken the proper color. 
 
 To dye feathers dark red «:?j^jowrj»Ze.—Hackels of various 
 colors, boiled (without alum) in an infusion of logwood 
 and Bi'azii wood-dust until they are as red as they can be 
 made by this means, may be changed to a deeper red by 
 putting them into a mixture of muriatic acid and tin, and 
 to a purple by a warm solution of potash. As the muriatic 
 acid is not to be saturated with tin, the solution must be 
 made diluted. If it burns your tongue much, it will burn 
 the feathers a little. 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEE. 105 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 ARTIFICIAL FLIES AND THEIK VARIETIES. 
 
 In the preceding chapter I have indicated generally the 
 flies to be used in the various months and seasons. I will 
 now describe the material of which they are made, and their 
 general names, which, however, vary in different localities. 
 There is not a fly mentioned but what has been tested by 
 experience to be useful for trout and grayling throughout 
 the United Kingdom. I am not an advocate for a large 
 assortment of flies. If the angler knows the district and 
 the waters he intends fishing, half a dozen varieties, adapted 
 to the season and the circumstances, will prove as a rule 
 sufficient. In giving the following list I have selected those 
 adapted to various localities. 
 
 In the earlier months of fly-fishing, say from February 
 to the end of April, the first ten will be found good and 
 effective: — 
 
 1. The February red. — Body dark red, squirrel's fur, 
 equally mixed with claret-colored mohairs, but the latter 
 predominating at the tail of the fly. Let it be warped 
 with brown silk, and the wings taken from a reddish-dnn 
 covered feathers of the wing; of a mallard. 'Legs, a hackle 
 stained of a claret color. Hook, Nos. 9 and 10. 
 
 3. The Hue dun. — This fly remains on the angler's list 
 until October. The body of water-rat's fur ribbed with 
 yellow silk, a dun hen's hackle for the legs. The wings, a 
 feather from a starling's wing, with a double grizzled cock's 
 hackle for tail. Hook, No. 10, (fig. 13). _ 
 
 3. Hojland' s fancy . — This is an evening fly, useful for 
 dace. Dark brown silk body, red hackle legs, with tail 
 formed of two strands of the same; wings, woodcock's tail. 
 Hook, No. 10. 
 
 4. Furnace fly. — This useful fly derives its name from 
 the furnace hackle, which is not often met with. The out- 
 side fibers are a beautiful dark red, while that portion of 
 them next the stem is black. They are obtained from the 
 I^ecl^ of a cocl?. This flj is ma4e with ^.n orsinge-colored 
 
106 THE COMPLETE ANGLEK. 
 
 silk body, with a fieldfare's feather for wings, and a furnace 
 hackle for the legs. 
 
 5. The March brown. — This is a showy fly, and bears 
 many names, as the dun drake, cob-fly, brown-caughlan and 
 turkey-fly, (fig. 12), It is a nearly universal favorite. It 
 may be thus made of three sizes, on Nos. 8, 9, or 10 hooks. 
 Body, deep straw-colored silk wound over with reddish- 
 brown fox hair. The wings should stand erect, made of the 
 light fibers of a hen pheasant's wing; a honey dun hackle 
 may be used for the legs, and two fibers of the wing may be 
 used for the tail. When more than one fly is used at the 
 same time, the tail-fly should be ribbed with gold twist, and 
 the color may be slightly varied. 
 
 6. A March Irown, as it is called, is also made with 
 water rat's fur, ribbed with yellow silk, partridge hackle 
 for legs. "Wings, tail feather of the partridge, and the tail 
 two fibers of the same. Hook, No. 10. 
 
 7. llie red spi?iiier is a fine showy fly, dressed thus: 
 body, red-hog's down, ribbed with gold twist and tied on 
 with brown silk; wings, starling's wing feather; legs, bright 
 amber-red hackle; tail, two fibers of the same feather. 
 Hook, No. 9, (fig. 14). 
 
 8. Carshalton coclc-tail. — A dun fly, and will be found a 
 pood killer in many streams as well as its native Wandle. 
 Body, light blue fur; legs, dark dun hackle; wings, the 
 inside feather of a teal's wings; tail, two fibers of a while 
 cock's hackle. Hook, Nos. 9 or 10. 
 
 9. The pale yellow dun. — Excellent from April to the 
 end of the season. Body, yellow mohair, or marten's pale 
 yellow fur, tied with yellow silk; wings, the lightest part 
 of a feather from a young starling's wing. Hook, No. 
 12. 
 
 10. The soldier palmer. — Body, bronze-colored peacock 
 harl, ribbed with a fine gold twist, and two black-red or 
 furnace hackles, struck with strict regularity from the tail 
 to the shoulder. Hook, Nos. 10 or 11. A general fly and 
 special favorite with grayling, (fig. 40). 
 
 11. Coch-y-hondhii. — Body, short and full, of black 
 ostrich and brilliant peacock harl twisted together; wings 
 and legs, a dark furnace cock's hackle of the purest black 
 and red color. Hook, Nos. 10 and 11. This is a famous 
 fly, says Ephemera; if fish will not rise at it, you may 
 conclude they are not on the feed, They either take it for 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEE. 107 
 
 a small red and black caterpillar, or for round black and 
 red beetle. Fine, warm, ciondy days are the best for its 
 successful use. Its shape is shown in fig. 1, but the hackles 
 are too long. 
 
 12. The orange dun. — Another fly in request on the Test 
 and other southern streams. Body, red squirrel's fur, ribbed 
 with gold thread; legs, red hackle; wings, from the star- 
 ling's wing; tail, two libers of red cock's hackle. Hook, 
 No. 9. 
 
 13. Cow-dung fiy is in season throughout the year, and 
 is useful chiefly in dark, windy weather. Body, dull lemon- 
 colored mohair; legs, red-hackle; wings, from feathers of 
 the landrail, or starling's wing, (fig. 9). Hook, JSTos. 8 
 or 9. 
 
 14. Stone-fig. — Wings, a mottled feather of the hen 
 pheasant, or the dark-gray feather of a mallard, rather in- 
 clining to red, to be dressed large, long, and flat; body 
 yellow-brown mohair, mixed with light hare's-ear fur, and 
 ribbed with yellow silk, so distributed in making the body 
 of the fly that the under and hinder parts may exhibit 
 most yellow to the fish; legs, a brown-red hackle; tail, 
 two fibers of the brown mallard, (fig. 11). Hook, Nos. 5, 
 6, or 7. 
 
 15. The oak-fig or down-looker. — During the last fort- 
 night in April the fly-fisher should never angle without this 
 fly. It is called by some the ash-fly, cannon-fly, and 
 woodcock-fly. It is found on the trunks of trees by the 
 river-side iu a state of quietude, its wings lying close to 
 its back, and its head looking downward; hence one of 
 its names. In May and June this fly is also in season, 
 and it will kill well in deep streams, and on pools that 
 are ruffled by a strong but tepid wind. I shall give but 
 one way of dressing it, as follows: — Body, yellow, mohair, 
 ribbed regularly with dark brown silk; legs, honey-dun 
 hackle, wound thrice under the wings, which are to lie flat 
 and short, and be made of the wing feather of a young 
 partridge or hen pheasant. To be tipped with pale gold 
 twist. Hook, Nos. 8, 9, or 10. 
 
 16. Ihe sandfly. — Equally good for trout or grayling, 
 from April to the end of September. The fur from a hare's 
 neck, twisjed round silk of the same color; legs, a ginger- 
 hen's hackle; wings, the feather from the landrail's wing. 
 Hook, ^0. 9. « 
 
108 THE COMPLETE AKGLEB. 
 
 17. Tlie alder-fly.— Bodj, and dark claret-colored fur,_ as 
 that which a brindled cow yields, and that of a copperish 
 hue, from a dark-brindled pig or a brown-red spaniel's ears; 
 upper wings, red fibers of the landrail's wing, or red tail 
 
 ■ feather of the partridge, lower wings of the starling's wing 
 feather; legs, dark-red hackle; horns and tail of fibers, the 
 color of the legs, the horns or antennm to be shorter than 
 the body of the fly, but the tail a little longer. Hook, Nos. 
 
 9 and 10, (fig. 8). 
 
 18. The hare's-ear dun. — A killing fly, and in great 
 favor in Hampshire. Body, the fur of the hare's ear; 
 wings, the feathers from a starling's wing; tail, two fibers 
 of tlie brown feather from a starling's wing. Hook, No. 
 10. 
 
 19. Tlie blue bloiv. — Wings, from the tail feather of a 
 tomtit; body, a blue water-rat's or monkey's fur; legs, a 
 fine light-blue hackle; tail whisks, two blue hairs. 
 
 30. Gravel or spider fly, appears toward the latter end 
 of April; where it is met with it may be fished with all day, 
 and the trout take it freely. Water-rat's fur; legs, black 
 hackle, wings, the feather from a partridge. Hook, Nos. 
 
 10 or 11. It may also be made with a dark dun hackle, 
 which I prefer instead of the partridge feather. 
 
 31. Black gnat. — A capital fly for dace as well as trout, 
 and may be used from April to the end of the season. 
 Body, black hackle, or ostrich harl, tied with black silk; 
 wings, the feathers from a stariing's wing. Hook, No. 13, 
 (fig. 42). 
 
 23. Red ant. — This is the small red ant, and there is 
 another of the same size, called the black ant. and two 
 others named the large black and red ants. Body, pea- 
 cock's harl, made full at the tail and spare toward the head; 
 legs, red or ginger cock's hackle; wings, from the light 
 feather of the starling's wing, (fig. 10). 
 
 23. The hracken-cloth is a kind of beetle. If made upon 
 a large hook, it will be found an excellent fly for the lakes 
 in Scotland. Body, peacock's liar], made full at the tail 
 and spare toward the head; legs, red or ginger cock's hackle; 
 wings, from the light feather of the starling's wing. 
 
 24. Broivn palmer-Jiackle. — Body, brown floss silk, or 
 brown fur, or mohair of a deep amber, or a rich brown 
 ostrich harl, ribbed alternately with gold and silver twistj 
 legs, a red cock's hackle. Hook, No's, 4, 5, or 6, 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 109 
 
 35. Red palmer-hacMe. — Body, dark-red colored mohair, 
 with a little richly tinted red fur intermixed, to be ribbed 
 with gold or silver twist; legs, a blood-red cock's hackle. 
 Hooks, Nos. 6 or 7, (fig. 3). 
 
 26. Goldeii palmer-hackle. — Body, green and gold pea- 
 cock's harl, ribbed with gold twist; a bright-red cock's 
 hackle, worked with a rich green silk. Hook, Nos. 5, 6, 7, 
 or 9, (fig. 4). 
 
 27. Peacock, palmer-hackle. — Body, a rich full fiber of 
 peacock harl, ribbed with wide silver platting. Make a 
 head to this palmer with a bit of scarlet mohair. Legs, a 
 dark grizzled hackle, dressed with red silk. Hook, Nos. 5 
 or 6. This hackle, dressed very large, will kill Thames 
 trout and chub. 
 
 28. A good general palmer. — Body, long and tapering of 
 yellow nioliair; legs, a good furnace hackle, wound on from 
 tail to shoulder; head, black ostrich harl. Hook, Nos. 5, 6, 
 or 7, (fig. 40). 
 
 29. T/ie whirling dun. — Body, water-rat's fur, ribbed 
 with yellow silk; wings, cock starling's wing-feather; legs, 
 blue-dun hackle; tail, two fibers of a grizzled hackle. 
 Hook, Nos. 8 or 10, (fig. 15. 
 
 30. Dotterel hackle. ^-Hodj, yellow tying silk, with a 
 very little blue rabbit's fur spun on it, so as to show the 
 yellow of the silk; wings and legs, dotterel hackle round 
 the shoulder. Hook, No. 12, sneck bend. 
 
 31. Golden plover hackle. — Body, yellowish-green floss 
 silk; wings and legs, golden plover back feathers. Hook, 
 Nos. 10 and 11. 
 
 32. Green drake. — Appears late in May or early in June. 
 This short lived insect is not to be found on every stream. 
 Body, yellow floss silk, ribbed with brown silk; the ex- 
 treme head and tail coppery-peacock's harl; legs, a red or 
 ginger hackle; wings, the mottled wing of a mallard stained 
 clive; tail or whisk, three hairs from a rabbit's whiskers. 
 Hook, No. 6. 
 
 33. Gray drake. — Body, white floss silk, ribbed with dark 
 brown or mulberry silk; head and top of the tail, a peacock's 
 hai'l; legs, a grizzle cock's hackle; wings, from a mallard's 
 mottled feather made to stand upright; tail, three whiskers 
 of a rabbit. 
 
 34. Tlte little yellow sally. — Body, light buff-colored fur; 
 wings, the yellow feather under the thrush's wing to stand. 
 
110 THE COMPLETE ANGLEE. 
 
 erect; legs, a very small yellow dun hackle; tail, two fibers 
 of the same. 
 
 35. Moths. — White: body, white floss silk; white 
 wings and legs, and black head. Brown: wings, light 
 brown mallard; legs, a twine or two of red hackle, with 
 a fiber or' two for the tail; body, brown silk, twisted 
 tightly with gold wire. Green moth: brown mottled 
 wings, with a twist of brown hackle for wings; body, 
 light brown, finished with bright green silk; no tail. 
 Hooks, 9 and 10. The general shape is shown by fig. 9. 
 
 4Iode of Twisting a Horse-hair Line^ 
 
 36. Fern fly. — This is an admirable May and summer fly. 
 The proper sized hook is No. 10, and when the water is 
 very low, a size smaller. The body is to be made of deep 
 brilliant-colored orange silk, whipped sparingly with fine 
 gold wire; wings, lying rather flat, to be made of the light 
 mottled fibers of a young partridge's wing feathers; legs, a 
 turn or two of a small fiery-red hackle. Hook, ISTos. 11 and 
 13, (fig. 6). 
 
 37. The tvasp fly is dressed thus: Body, light-orange 
 mohair, dubbed in very thin ribs, and alternated with black 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEK. IH 
 
 ostrich harl, neatly and finely. Form the head of bronze 
 harl; legs, two turns of a light-brown red hackle. Hook, 
 7, 8, and 9; and make the wings of a partridge hackle or 
 mottled mallard's feather* 
 
 38. The governor. — Body, bronze-colored peacock's harl, 
 tipped with red silk; legs, black; red hackle; wings, from 
 the starling or partridge tail feathers. Hook, No. 8, 
 (fig. 10). 
 
 39. House-fly. — Body, black ostrich harl, dressed rather 
 full; wings, a lark's wing feather to be flat and extended; 
 legs, a dark dun hackle. Hook, Nos. 9 and 10. In autumn, 
 on windy days, this fly is often greedily taken by trout 
 and grayling. It is a better fly for chub and dace, 
 (fig. §). 
 
 40. Tlie Mayfly, (fig. 16).— This fly is very difficult to 
 dress. The body is formed of yellow-green mohair; wings, 
 mallard's feather, dyed yellow; a black head; legs, yellowish 
 hackle; tail, three strands from a rabbit's whisker, or from 
 a black bear. See receipts in Chap. XV. 
 
112 THE COMPLETE A2JGLER. 
 
 FISHING WITH THE NATURAI. FLY. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 DIPPING, DABBIN-G, OE DAPIIfG, 
 
 During the heats and droughts of summer, when the 
 waters are low and clear, and the fish betake themselves to 
 the shadow of the water-lilies and weeds, both the bottom 
 and the fly-fisher may practice fishing with the natural fly. 
 Indeed, it varies agreeably the somewhat monotonous pas- 
 time of the bottom-fisher; and there are few rivers where it 
 may not be practiced, wherever a trout, grayling, chub, or, 
 occasionally, a carp or roach may be found. It is a practice 
 only adapted for such streams as have overhanging banks, 
 shaded by foliage and fringed with shrubs, which hide the 
 person of the angler. The art of dipping is simply to drop a 
 natural fly, fixed on your hook, so gently on to the surface of 
 the water that it may seem but the sportive tendency of the 
 insect, and not the artificial line of the angler. It is a some- 
 what difficult operation to do this successfully, for it requires 
 a light hand, light tackle, and the most deficate manipula- 
 tion. 
 
 Let us see the tackle necessary to practice this quite, se- 
 ductive, sleuth-like, piscatory sport. The length. of the rod 
 must depend on the situation and closeness of the waters. 
 If the banks are shrouded with trees and shrubs, then a 
 thirteen or fourteen feet rod, fitted with a light reel, will be 
 best. If the banks are comparatively open and unsheltered, 
 then a long rod will be necessary. One eighteen feet long 
 will not be too long, as it will enable the angler to keep well 
 out of sight, and use a blow-line. The line itself should be 
 of fine tried stout gut, about a yard long, attached to a foot 
 silk line, which may be lengthened or shortened according 
 to circumstances. The hook should be short in the shank 
 and neatly whipped, and of sizes adapted to the bait you 
 use. 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEB. 113 
 
 The living insects used as baits for this description of 
 fishing are various. Iloiise-flies, wood-flies, stone-flies, 
 green and gray drakes, blue-bottles, moths, cockchafers, 
 grasshoppers, beetles, bees, ants, are used according to cir- 
 cumstances. Whatever fly is on tlie water, or whatever 
 insect is plentiful along the river-banks or water-side, may 
 be used with effect. Great care is, however, requisite in 
 placing the insect on the hook, so as not to kill it or harm 
 it. If properly hooked, it ouglij; to display all its natural 
 motions, but it cannot do this if it is roughly handled or 
 clumsily used. If one fly only is used, insert the hook 
 under one of its wings, and bring it out betvveen them at 
 the back. If two flies are used, the first fly must be hooked 
 betvveen the wings, at the upper part of the back, and the 
 second fly be placed with the head reversed, and the hook 
 inserted under one of its wings, and come ont at the back. 
 This is an excellent mode of baiting, and generally proves 
 a seductive one for the fish. The May-fly is hooked-through 
 the thorax, and then placed heads to tails. In baiting with 
 grasshoppers, the hook may be placed under its head or 
 lodged in its body, or passed through the upper part of the 
 back. The fly-baits may be caught with a gaiize-net, and 
 kept in a box full of air-holes. House and wood-flies are, 
 however, apt to be too nimble for the angler when the box- 
 lid is opened. An old powder-horn, with a few perfora- 
 tions, answers very well as a receptacle for these agile 
 gentry, as only one can escape at a time through the 
 aperture. 
 
 Dipping may be practiced from the middle of May to the 
 end of August. Chub and roach will rise at the natural fly 
 in September, on warm evenings. During the day trout 
 and grayhng will rise at the May-fly, wlien on the water, 
 and in the evenings they seem to prefer a blue-bottle, 
 house-fly, or moth. The fish, however, do not jump at the 
 bait; they appear lazily to rise, snck in the flies as they 
 flutter on the top, for they should never be allowed to sink 
 beneath the water. Strike gently; do not play the fish long; 
 tire him by keeping his head well out of the water; and then 
 bring him quietly to the side. 
 
 In bush-fishing the angler must be divested of all incum- 
 brances as far as possible. Ills equipment must be placed 
 in a haversack under his coat; he must approach his scene 
 of action noiselessly and unseen. Having fixed on a suitable 
 
lit THE COMPLETE ANGLEK. 
 
 spot twirl your foot-line round the top pieces of your rod, 
 so as to avoid the twigs and branches. Let it hang over the 
 river; untwist tlie line gently by turning the rod, and then 
 let the flies gently alight, fluttering at the top of the water. 
 If tliei'e are any weeds near, so that the fly may appear to 
 have Jumped from tliem, so much the better. The angler 
 must keep out of sight and make no noise. The fish — and, 
 generally, it is big fish that are caught with the natural 
 fly — open their lordly Jaws, and generally hook themselves. 
 If a few giubs or brandlings are thrown in ere you begin, 
 the fish appear more greedy to swallow your bait. Every- 
 thing will depend on the caution and tact of the angler. 
 
 Where the banks are more open, a longer line may be 
 used, and the fly may be suffered to blow about by the 
 wind, or be gently cast to some likely spot. This is difB- 
 cult to accomplish: for everything like violent whipping 
 must be scrupulously avoided. A gentle motion of the fore- 
 arm must only be used, and the line brought gently round, 
 and the bait allowed to touch the water softly. Occasionally, 
 the fly may be gently "chucked" beneath some overhanging, 
 bushes; but this is scarcely possible without the angler show- 
 ing himself. On narrow rivers no reel or winch is necessary 
 — nay, it is rather an incumbrance. The casting-line may 
 be fixed to the upper point of the rod, and then cast with'- 
 out fear. 
 
 "When using beetles or cockchafers, the shield, or exter- 
 nal wings, should be cut off, and the hook inserted at the 
 back of the neck and out at the middle of the back, so as to 
 permit the feet to hang downward. If the water is 
 open, and the surface rippled with a breeze, a split shot 
 may be attached to the line some distance above the bait, 
 soas to sink it a few inches. This plan hardly comes 
 within the denomination of dipping, which is generally 
 practiced when the sun is shining, and the fish are off the 
 feed, from ten o'clock in the morning until four in the 
 afternoon. 
 
 Many plans have been tried to dip with an artificial bait, 
 but without any great success. The plan recommended by 
 Ephemera (Mr. Pitzgibbon) is perhaps the best. He recom- 
 mends that a "pair of wings should be made of the feathers 
 of a landrail," (see chapter on "Artificial Flies, and how to 
 dress them,") and on the bend of the hook put one or two 
 caddis. The head of one caddis should go up close to the 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEK. 115 
 
 wings. Angle with a stiff rod, about fourteen feet long, a 
 foot-line, eight feet long, and a hook Xos. 5 or 6. Let the 
 bait float down the stream, just below the surface, then 
 gently draw, it up again, a little irregularly, by shaking the 
 rod, and if there be a fish in the place it will be sure to take 
 it. If you use two caddis with the wings, put the hook in 
 at the head and out of the neck of the first, and quite 
 through the other from the head to the tail. Two brand- 
 lings or red worms may be fished with in the same way. 
 
 I have caught roach frequently with a house-fly and a caddis 
 attached, by dipping; but of the merits of the above plan 
 for trout I cannot speak from experience. Whore there are 
 no bushes or other shelter for the angler, an artificial one 
 may be made of a hurdle ar.d busher, or othei- handy 
 contrivance. It must, however, be fixed some time before 
 the angler commences operations. - 
 
 CHAPTEE XVIII. 
 
 THE SALMOSr, BINTS ON TISHING FOR, 
 
 The salmon is undoubtedly and pre-eminently the monarch 
 of the rivers and the streams. His size, vigor, grace, and 
 proportion stamp him as the "noblest; Roman of them all." 
 Out of the water he has long enjoyed the highest reputa- 
 tion; but until recently he has been simply the illustrious 
 stranger, of Avhose good qualities we saw and acknowledged, 
 but of whose history we were ignorant. We have been 
 guilty of such gross mistakes respecting this noble fish, 
 that, until a short time since, we were literally extirpating 
 the salmon from our rivers. Now, however, a better sys- 
 tem prevails under improved knowledge. Even now but 
 few fisherman can tell how many different species of this 
 magnificent and common fish there are in our waters. 
 Nay, even professed ichthyologists have been at fault on this 
 matter. 
 
 Leaving the history of the salmon to other and abler 
 pens, I may be permitted to describe the approved method 
 of capturing this princely fish. I will take the rod as the 
 first, if not the most essential portion, of the salmon-fisher's 
 equipment. In my remarks on rods in. general, I have 
 
116 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 described the principle on which a rod should be made, and 
 the material of which it should be constructed. A salmon 
 rod should be from sixteen to eighteen feet long. Though 
 not one of the shortest or weakest of mankind, I have 
 found that the twenty-feet rod becomes too tiresome 
 and unwieldy for daily use. A rod eighteen feet long at 
 the outside, with a top of greenheart or of split bamboo, 
 springing gracefully from top to butt, balanced with a 
 wincli containing from eight to a hundred yards of stout 
 line, is one that would deliglit the heart of the most ardent 
 brother of the angler. The winch may be one of those con- 
 taining a break spring, or what the makers call a spring 
 washer. The new composition reel, which is at once light, 
 compact, easily worked, not deranged by heat or water, 
 seems to have every essential quality of a good reel, though 
 time alone can prove its endurance. The runnino' line 
 should be of plaited silk, and the casting line of the 
 strongest gut — the three-ply twisted is generally recom- 
 mended. The fly cast should be of the strongest single gut, 
 well tested, and selected with great care The lengths may 
 be joined together with the single fisherman^s knot"; but the 
 knot elsewhere described, with a buffer whipping, is the 
 best of all. Salmon flies are dressed somewhat differently to 
 those used for trout. They are so whipped as to leave a 
 small but strong loop of stout gut at the extreme end of the 
 shank, close to the head of the fl.y. The end of the fly-cast 
 is slipped through this, and knotted with a single knot; a 
 running hitch-knot is then made round the gut, and, when 
 drawn tight, makes a strong,neat,compact knot which, while 
 firm, admits of the fly being changed easily when required. 
 Some anglers attach a drop-fly some four feet from the end 
 fly, but the best anglers do not. One fly will be found quite 
 enough to maneuver and manage properly by the tyro in 
 salmon-fishing. 
 
 Ere we proceed to the consideration of the flies them- 
 selves, and hooks on which they ought to be dressed, per- 
 haps the method of casting a salmon-line and maneuvering 
 the flies ought to be considered, as they differ soiiiowjiat 
 from the ordinary fly-fishing, in consequence of the greater 
 length and weight both of the rod and the line, twenty-five 
 and even thirty yards of line having been frequently thrown 
 by skilled anglers. The best and clearest directions for 
 salmon-casting are those given by a well-known angler in 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 117 
 
 salmon rivers, and an author of no little repute. He says: — ■ 
 "The salmon rod is to be held with both hands, one 
 above, and' the other below, the winch. In throwing from 
 the right side, the right hand is to grasp the rod above the 
 winch, the left below it. In casting from the left shoulder, 
 the left hand is to be first, and the right last; that is, it must 
 ckitch the rod between the winch and the extreme butt-end 
 of the rod. In fishing down a river on its right side, the 
 left shoulder cast is to be used; in fishing from the left bank, 
 the right shoulder throw is the proper one. Stand at the 
 head of a stream, looking down it as ii; runs from you, the 
 bank on your right side is the right-hand bank, that on the 
 left the left-hand shore. In ascending a river, the kft-hand 
 blink is on your right side, and the right-hand bank on your 
 left. This explanation may be deemed superfluous, but I 
 fancy it will enable me hereafter to be more perspicuous 
 than if I had not given it. 
 
 '■I'll suppose the salmon-fisher coming down the right 
 side of a river, and that abov6 him, to his right, are cliffs 
 or trees — how can he bring back to that side over his right 
 shoulder, rod and line, without causing them to come into 
 collision with the impediments behind him on his right? 
 He can do so in two ways — the first in greater part wrong, 
 the other perfectly right. The first and imperfect way I 
 call the back-handed cast. It is performed thus: The 
 point of the rod held nearly perpendicularly up before you; 
 the forward and upward slanting direction being very slight 
 indeed; the point of the rod is swept to the left, and'with it 
 the line to its entire development; then the hands, no, not 
 both, but the right one, wrist and fore-arm are turned over, 
 backward to the right, and the rod brought round in the 
 same direction; the line is turned over circularly, and pro- 
 pelled down or obliquely across the current. I frequently 
 throw in'thisway, for the purpose merely of easing the arms, 
 fatigued from the monotonous action of throwing overhand 
 from the right or left shoulder. It will be seen that the 
 effect of this throw will be to carry the line clear frpm the 
 bank over the current's course, and caiise it to alight down 
 sti'eam to the right. Notwithstanding, the action of the 
 arms must be cramped, for it is reversed in the overhanded 
 throw, and the east must be very limited in extent. Besides, 
 when fishing from the right bank of a river, the fly^can never 
 be so neatly worked against the water with the right -hand 
 
118 THE COMPLETE AKGLEK. 
 
 holding the rod above the winch, as when the left hand 
 holds it there." 
 
 The second method of casting from the right bank, and 
 which is the proper one, I will' now explain: 
 
 "You hold your rod, the left hand being above the winch, 
 and the right one beneath it; left leg foremost, and left side 
 toward the river. 
 
 "You bring your rod round, by, over, and beyond the 
 point of your left shoulder, which motion will carry the line 
 to its full extent upward over the bed of the river, and 
 feeling that the line is so extended, you bring back a little, 
 in the direction you are going to cast, the point of the rod, 
 and making use chiefly of the action of the left arm, you 
 propel the line forward by a motion you give the rod, as if 
 you were going to strike at something hovering in the air 
 before you. The forward motion of the rod will be checked 
 at a short distance, unless you bend forward with it, and 
 the line will be sent straight out, the fly and gut-line to 
 which it is attached coming first in contact with the water. 
 
 "Giving the arms and bending the body too much with 
 the rod, in making the cast, is a very bad habit, as it brings 
 the point of the rod too close to the surface of the water, 
 deadens its elasticity, and causes the line to fall in a loose 
 and slovenly manner on the water. This left shoulder cast 
 is only absolutely necessary when you are fishing from 
 beneath the right bank of a river, and have behind you 
 impediments to a right hand sweep of your rod and line. 
 If the right bank be flat or shelving, if it be clear of ob- 
 structions, I can see no material objection to right- shoulder 
 casting from oif it. 
 
 "The straight right-shoulder cast is done thus: The 
 right hand holds the rod above the winch, the left below it, 
 the right side is next the river, and of course the right foot 
 is foremost. You bring your rod and line boldly and freely 
 in a fine, easy, wide, semicircular sweep over your right 
 shoulder, and then you send them forward by communi- 
 cating to the right fore-arm sharp action, as if you were 
 going to hit something elevated before you with the soft 
 part of your closed hand, on the little-finger side. 
 
 "If all this compound action — bringing back the rod and 
 line over the right shoulder, and then sharply sending them 
 forward — he performed dashingly and energetically, with- 
 out nervousness, stint of sweep uud strength, your fly will 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLES. 119 
 
 be sent straight away to its destinution, similarly to, but 
 not so swiftly as an arrow shot from above at an object 
 sitting beneath you on the water, at a distance of twenty- 
 five or thirty yards. The straight casts, whether from the 
 left or right shoulder, are, generally speaking, the best. 
 At any rate, executed by a proficient, they are always the 
 neatest, and should by beginners be the first learned and 
 practiced to perfection. 
 
 "They can be performed with great accuracy, so as to en- 
 able the angler to determine almost to an inch the precise 
 spot on which his fly is to fall. They cause the fly and 
 casting-line to touch the water first, and enable you to com- 
 mence working the fly, or showing it to the fish, sooner 
 than you could do if much of the winch-line came in con- 
 tact with the water simultaneously with the casting-line. 
 The effect of the straight-cast is less disturbance to the 
 water than that of any species of cast; the only defeat that 
 can be attached to it is, that you cannot by its means throw 
 so far as by using the side, or rolling-cast, but you can 
 throw it more neatly. 
 
 "Your fly and gut-line must fall always flrst upon the 
 water, and not roll on to it by means of the winch-line first 
 coming into contact with the liquid surface. The rolling 
 descent of the line and fly should be avoided totis veribus, 
 with mortal might and main. The error of the majority 
 of salmon-fishers lies in their working the fly through the 
 water with too much force and rapidity. I advise gentle 
 working of the fly through and against the water, with no 
 more action than is required to display before the eyes 
 of the fish the artificial bait attractively; with no more 
 speedy power than can be easily compassed by a pursuing 
 
 These remarks embody the essential principles of casting 
 the salmon-fly. With respect to the maneuvering the fly on 
 the water, there is no such difference of opinion as in fishing 
 for trout. There are no up and down stream-men. The fly 
 must not be allowed to float down with the current, but 
 worked up against it, up and down beneath the surface of 
 the water, not dangled on the top, as in dipping. The rod 
 must not be allowed to remain still, but work up and down, 
 gradually drawing the fly toward the point of the rod, up 
 stream until it sweeps over the possible haunts of the 
 salmon. The &j, under this motion, seems like a thing of 
 
120 ' THE COMPLETE ANGLEK. 
 
 life from the action of the water, and when the waters are 
 high and cloudy, a large fly possesses an attraction which 
 few salmon can resist. It will be obvious, that with the tip 
 of the rod lower in proportion than in trout-fishing, the 
 angler has no light work to perform when fishing for 
 salmon. 
 
 The salmon-fisher must never be disheartened^ If there 
 are salmon in the water, there is a chance of catching them 
 by any one possessing the necessary skill, and no little per- 
 severance. With a creature so impulsive, the angler need 
 never despair. Even though streams runs pure as crystal, 
 and the water is low, fine tackle and suitables flies will do 
 wonders. 
 
 He will sometimes rise at your fly, refuse it, and come 
 again. This will try the angler's patience, test his expe- 
 rience, and prove his skill. Do not be in a hurry; haste 
 may spoil all. Some able sportsmen will say — "Cover him 
 again directly;" others advocate a few minutes' rest. Per- 
 haps the latter is the best play in well-fished waters. Again 
 and again will Mr. Salmon rise at the tempting bait, and 
 still refuse it, and yet be hooked at last. If he should re- 
 fuse altogether let him remain quiet for a few minutes, and 
 try a fresh fly. If this does not tempt him, try a smaller 
 fly of the first pattern, and work the fly so that it sinks a 
 few inches beneath the surface. At length he will show his 
 "silvery sides' in earnest. If you can help it, do not strike 
 in a hurry, or you may jerk the fly from him. Watch for 
 the turn after he has seized the bait, and then strike. If 
 you feel the fish before this occurs, you will of course strike 
 at once. The rattle of the reel announces that the contest 
 has begun. If the salmon is fresh run, he will seize the bait 
 with eagerness, and hook himself. When the water is low 
 and bright much judgment is required; for too much haste 
 in striking will spoil all. 
 
 Away goes the startled and indignant fish; swift goes the 
 line from the reel; and then the angler watches his oppor- 
 tunity to check the mad career of the fish. He can only do 
 this by letting the fish feel the pressure of the line and the 
 hook as he turns, and kw&y the fish dashes again, and per- 
 haps indulges in some gyrations in the air, in the hope of 
 breaking tlie line with his tail. If you can, just let him 
 feel the line when he gets to a long distance, so as to induce 
 him to turn, aad exhaust Jiiiaseli by rapid races, backward 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEK. 121 
 
 and forward. Beware of bullying the fish when first 
 hooked, or he may lead you a pretty dance over rapids and 
 shallows and through pools, where the angler must follow. 
 If the banks are clear of rocks and trees, it is not difficult 
 to do this; but, otherwise, the chances are all in favor of the 
 fish. A few turns will show the habits of the fish, and he 
 must be treated accordingly. Some fish are sulky, and lie 
 like a stone at the bottom, and will not stir even when well 
 stoned. Others take to the leaping and jumping exercises. 
 Some dash to and fro, while others take the straight course, 
 either up or down river. Patience and coolness are re- 
 quisite, for the angler is apt to be carried away by the ex- 
 citement, lose his presence of mind, commit some bungle, 
 and snap goes some part of the tackle. Do not listen, how- 
 ever, to the advice of a by-stander, but use your own judg- 
 ment. If you fail, you will, at least, have gained experience, 
 while, if you see the scaly gentleman turn exhausted on his 
 side your pleasure will be the more intense. A fair-sized 
 fish will take you an hour to kill, others will occupy your 
 time and skill for two or three hours. 
 
 While on this part of the subject, let me give the young 
 salmon-fisher a few general hints: 
 
 When tired, leave off fishing until "tired nature is 
 restored." 
 
 Do not fish when your style is careless or indifferent. 
 It is better to take a nap than be surprised by a sharp-set 
 salmon. 
 
 You must be up early to obtain the best casts. 
 
 Always play your fish with as little line as possible. Butt 
 him as soon as he exhibits signs of weariness. 
 
 When the fish leaps in the air, lower the top of your rod, 
 so that the line may fall slack. 
 
 Endeavor to direct the fish into clear and open water, 
 away from narrow channels, choked bottoms, overhanging 
 banks. 
 
 Do not, if possible, attempt to haul in the line with your 
 hands. Knn backward if you have the opportunity. Al- 
 ways use your legs rather than your hands. If in a boat, 
 and the salmon rushes towards you, it may be imperatively 
 necessary, with a common reel to your rod, to haul in the 
 line through the rings to let it fall at your feet, and in this 
 predicament a multiplying reel is valuable, and, indeed, this 
 IS its only value. 
 
122 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 Pish the water well, and do not think the time misspent, 
 if there be salmon in the river; for in no sport is persever- 
 ance better rewarded than in salmon-fishing. 
 
 It requires great experience to know the haunts of the 
 salmon. On most rivers guides are accessible whoknowthe 
 run of the water, and the most likely places for the fish. 
 Without such help the angler will "have to exercise his 
 own judgment, which will be assisted by the study of the 
 following hints: 
 
 Salmon, as a rule, lie on a stony, and avoid smooth, 
 muddy, and even gravelly bottoms. They are seldom to be 
 found in a long, straggling reach of shallow water, which 
 does not lead directly to some pool, or still, deep water. A 
 swift stream, on the contrary, running into some stilLwatery 
 depths, is much frequented by the best fish. Salmon are 
 seldom found in the middle of the current, they avoid it, 
 and lie at the sides, close to pieces of rock. Where the 
 stream is but light, and equally difEused, the salmon is quite 
 as likely to be in the middle of the stream as at the sides. 
 It has a fancy for the quiet water between two currents 
 formed by pieces of rock intercepting the stream. Where 
 the streams unite, there the salmon lie. 
 
 I have pointed out, in a previous chapter, the method of 
 bottom-fishing for salmon. I will now touch upon the 
 tender ground of the flies. 
 
 There are some anglers who aflEect to believe that it little 
 matters what combination of colors or materials you use — 
 salmon, will rise at them. That mere patterns are absurd 
 we do not believe, though mere form is perhaps of less con- 
 sequence in salmon-fishing than in fishing for trout. The 
 size of the fly is, however, of more importance. When the 
 waters are high, large flies are fi-equently taken; when low 
 and clear, smaller flies are imperatively necessary. Old 
 anglers used to affirm, that in dull weather a bright fly 
 should be used, and in bright weather a dull fly. Modern 
 anglers know better than this, and practice has confirmed 
 their knowledge. Bright insects belong to sunny weather, 
 as philosophy and reason have pointed out. 
 
 Before I proceed to describe the different sorts of salmon 
 flies, let me advise the young angler to make his own. He 
 will find it a great advantage, and a source of great recrea- 
 tion; and to enable him to judge of how they should lookj 
 liere are six or seven beauties, old frien,(3[8 Qf ffiiue. 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 123 
 
 From the 1st of February to the 10th of March, writes 
 an old and experienced angler, the flies used are very large, 
 as the water is generally high. Those most in use and 
 highly approved of are: — 
 
 1. Body, half light orange, half blue silk, ribbed with 
 broad silver tinsel and gold twist. The hackle should be 
 light-blue all over the body, under the shoulder a blue Jay, 
 orange silk bag, with one of darker hue just over it; a 
 large lapping for tail, with ten or twelve of the largest-sized 
 lapping for wings. Sprigs of the leading tail feathers of 
 the golden pheasant, and four long feelers of blue and yellow 
 macaw. It is dressed on a No. 3 and 4 hook with a long 
 shank. 
 
 3. The goldfinch, which is made with a gold-colored floss 
 silk body, blacli silk tag tipped with gold tinsel, yellow hackle 
 
 Fig. 46, 
 
 The QoIdfiDoB.^ 
 
 and gold tinsel over body, blue jay at the shoulder, king- 
 fisher over the butts of the wings, which are to consist of 
 eight or nine golden pheasant topping of middling size, 
 feelers of red macaw; head, black ostrich; tail, golden 
 pheasant lappings. Dressed on a No. 5 or 6 hook. This 
 is one of the -best flies in use, though the golden pheasant 
 toppings render it somewhat expensive. Fig. 45 and fig. 3 
 are varied dressings of this fly. 
 
 3. Black fly, with deep yellow hackle. 
 
 4. Magpie.^—¥Li\\t black, half orange silk body, with 
 black hackle and gaudy wings. 
 
 5. Black silk body, black hackle, bright and gaudy 
 wings. 
 
 6. Orange silk body, black hackle, brilliant wings. 
 
124 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 7. The colonel. — Gold-colored silk body, with a black 
 hackle and brilliant wings. 
 
 The whole of the above are to be tied on four or five twist 
 gut. 
 
 Large gray donkey's fur flies are useful as a change. 
 
 From the 10th of March to the 1st of April, if the water 
 holds high, the same flies are recommended; but if it be- 
 comes clear, a smaller size will be necessary. 
 
 From April 1, to May 1, all shades of green flies an- 
 swer well, with green hackles. One made with green 
 peacock body, with a black hackle, is highly spoken of. 
 Green and brown, olives, gray flies, black, all shades of 
 brown, are killing flies. The color of the natural fly on 
 the water should be watched as nearly as possible. I have 
 often been most successful by so doing. 
 
 The salmon peal or grilse begin to run about the 20th of 
 May. The flies must now be mnch smaller, and the tackle 
 much lighter. Orange body with the jay hackles, blue 
 bodies with the same, black bodies, brown bodies of all 
 shades, and Lochabars, (see Chapter XV.) All shades of 
 green and olives will hold good during the remainder of the 
 season. 
 
 An excellent fly is thus made, and may be used 
 wherever a salmon may rise, (fig. 4.) A yellow 
 mohair body, ribbed with gold twist and ■ black hackle; 
 long yellow floss silk, tipped with golden rail, a small 
 topping? bine jay at shoulder, brown turkey or kite tail 
 feathers for the wings, mixed with golden pheasant tail 
 and neck feathers; guinea-hen and teal, and a topping 
 over all; blue mohair head, and blue and yellow macaw 
 feelers. Hook, No. 6. 
 
 Another good fly is one made with a mixed blue, green, 
 and yellow body, silver tinsel, black hackle, peacock wing 
 feather for wings, and a tail of red mohair, with a No. 7 
 or 8 hook. 
 
 A third fly is one with a body half pale red, and the 
 remainder orange mohair, ribbed with gold twist; legs, 
 turkey's wings, red huckle, with a black and white tail 
 feather of the turkey for wings. 
 
 In the early portion of the year, orange body with the 
 broad gold twist, smoky hackle, wings dark-brovvn from the 
 bittern, (fig. 1.) As the summer advances, a fly, with yel- 
 low silk Dody, ribbed with gold twist, blood-red hackle, aud 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEE. 125 
 
 wings taken from the wing of a turkeycock, brown and 
 mottled added to a few of the green fibers fi'om the eye of 
 a tail feather of a peacock, (fig. 3.) 
 
 I can only indicate the varied assortment of salmon flies 
 which find favor with salmon-fishers in this elementary 
 guide. If the young angler is puzzled in choosing a fly, 
 he should always observe one point — to suit the size of the 
 fly to the depth and clearness of the water, using brilliant 
 flies in the sunshine, and dull flies in murky weather. Sal- 
 mon will rise when the barometer is rising, but will not 
 when it falls, and, as a rule, they do not bite in the middle 
 of the day. 
 
126 THE COMPLETE ANGLEK. 
 
 SEA-FISHING. 
 
 CHAPTEK XrX. 
 
 FISHIKG FOB HAKE, COD, LING, BREAM, TUEBOT, MACKEREL, 
 WHITING, ETC. 
 
 In this age of excursions, wlien everybody, more or less, 
 passes some time at the sea-side, it may be useful to give 
 a few hints as to the sport which may be obtained by the 
 angler, or rather by one who uses a line and hook by the_ 
 shore, on the " deep sea wave," or in a tidal river or 
 estuary. 
 
 Let me, however, premise that few sea fish afford much 
 sport in the angler's sense. Some enthusiastic Waltonians 
 ■would probably call it butchery, but a large quantity of fish 
 may be caught, and though, from the strength of the 
 tackle, there is but little chance of the fish breuking away, 
 still it is not free from excitement, and affords an oppor- 
 tunity of changing the monotony of , a sea-side residence, 
 and of securing a basket of fish. 
 
 For rOd-fishing, except sea trout, there is but little op- 
 portunity. At low water, on rocky projections, a species 
 of perch may be caught with a rod and line freely. The 
 hook is baited with a bit of garbage, the inside of a cockle, 
 periwinkle, or other small shell-fish; probably a bit of paste 
 would answer the same purpose, as these small fish bite 
 freely, and are by no means so timorous as their river con- 
 geners. I have caught a fish not much unlike a gudgeon, 
 or rather a smelt, in the same manner by the dozen, and 
 when fried they make anything but a despicable addition to 
 the breakfast table. 
 
 Far up in the rivers, by the side of old piles, bridge piers, 
 or near a boat landing, some excellent sport maybe obtained 
 by fishing for smelts, crabs and flounders, with a rod, line, 
 and worm, or a piece of mussel. These latter extraordni- 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 127 
 
 ary-looking fish bite freely, and have but little fear of the 
 line. Whiting, of fair size, will also take a worm, a bit of 
 fresh fish nicely wrapped over the hook, freely, if fished for 
 about a foot from the bottom, where the stream is not too 
 strong. A piece of eel chopped will attract a smelt iu tidal 
 rivers. 
 
 When mackerel are off the coast, they may be canght 
 freely from a boat, with a rod and line, or a line only, if 
 turned up and down, and the hook baited with a piece of 
 red cloth, or piece of fresh fish. The spoon bait is also at- 
 tractive to the larger and better fish. It may be dragged 
 after the boat, or leaded and cast freely with the hand and 
 leverage of the rod. 
 
 Whiting and tnrbot, and other flat fish are attracted by 
 the sand-eel, found on the sea-shore. The hooks are tied 
 by short lengths of line to a cross-bar of wood fixed to the 
 principal line, and the hooks much smaller than those used 
 in ordinary sea-fishing. 
 
 Hake, bream, ling, conger-eel, gurnet, and several kinds 
 of flat fish are caught from a boat, in the cool of the even- 
 ing and during the night, in from two to seven fathoms, of 
 water, with a strong sea-line and a large hook, which puts 
 an ordinary angler's hook entirely in the shade. > ' 
 
 Hake is a common fish, though it is seldom seen inland. 
 It partakes somewhat of the cod in shape, and they are 
 caught of all weights in the autumn months. They are 
 fished for on a sandy bottom, some mile or two miles from 
 shore, at varying depths, ranging from three to six fathoms. 
 A sinker is first placed at the end of the line, and the depth 
 ascertained and marked by a link on the line. The hook is 
 then baited with a piece of the tail of the fish, rolled round 
 so as the white flesh is seen, a'hd the hook completely hid. 
 If fresh fish is not obtainable, salt may- bo used, but it 
 should be soaked carefully before using; the bait, sinker, 
 and line is then cast over the side, so that the bait may 
 nearly touch the bottom. The spare end is belayed, or 
 fastened to the boat seat or suitiable place. The fisherman 
 holds the line in his hand, and if an adept, he has one in 
 each hand, which he "saws" over the side of the boat, which 
 gives the bait an "up and down" motion. The boat is 
 motionless, save by the heaving of the swell, for it is held 
 by' a stone or grapnel. Suddenly, without previous warning, 
 the fisherman feels a sharp tug at one of his lines, he lets 
 
128 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 the other line run to its length, and commences to haul in 
 the fish with both hands, so that the line falls in coils at his 
 feet. The weight of the fish is not so perceptible as might 
 be imagined, until it nears the surface, then its gi'eat mouth 
 and eyes are anything but pleasant objects to the timorous 
 angler. Quickness and dexterity is now requisite to lift in 
 the fish, or else he will soon be ofE the hook. As soon as 
 he is in the boat, strike him with a boat-stretcher behind 
 the head, so as to kill him by breaking the spinal cord. A 
 sharp knife will aid you in slicing a longitudinal piece from 
 his tail, with which to bait the hook, and the same process 
 is repeated. The foregoing plan of catching sea fish may 
 vary in different localities. 
 
 For the benefit of my town-bred readers visiting at the 
 sea-side, let me caution them against attempting to fish 
 from a boat without they have the assistance of a practiced 
 hand, for an accident is not unlikely, iu consequence of the 
 power of the fish and the necessity of killing him imme- 
 diately. Smaller fish are kept alive in the "wells" of regu- 
 lar fishing-boats and smacks. I am now writing for the 
 benefit of amateurs. 
 
 Some sport, or rather fun, may be obtained at the- sea- 
 side, by bobbing for crabs from a pier-head or projecting 
 point of rock. A cinder is tied to a piece of cord, properly 
 weighted and dropped along the bottom, inch by inch, in 
 all the likely places for a crab to hide. As soon as tb.e 
 cinder comes near his claws, he seizes it firmly and with 
 proverbial obstinacy holds it tight until he is drawn to the 
 surface. 
 
 A fisherman will gladly take a stranger with him for a 
 night's fishing for a "consideration," and to those in quest 
 of a new sensation I recommend the investment. 
 
 CHAPTEE XX. 
 
 THE EISHEEMAN'S CALENDAR. 
 
 After describing the angler and his equipment, what to 
 fish for, and where, the question Tiaturally arises: When are 
 we to fish? We have known tyros, and even people who 
 ought to biive known better, to rush to the-river side on tlie 
 first fine day with their rods, creels, and tackle, heedless 
 
THK COMPLETE ANGLER. 129 
 
 that the fish were out of season, and consequently unwhole- 
 some. I will therefore review the angler's year, and show 
 what to fish for in each month, in answer to the question of 
 when to fish. 
 
 January. — Chill and inhospitable as January sometimes is, 
 it is a month that sometimes affords a little sport to the angler 
 on a mild and open day. Jack and perch will bite freely at 
 a live bait if you can procure one. Minnows, which may 
 be caught by thousands when you do not want them, are 
 somewhat scarce now, and without them you may fish for 
 perch in vain. If, however, you search in a quiet, retired 
 nook in the creeks and brooks, you may find them; but you 
 will have to do it quietly. You may find them in an out- 
 of-the-way hole, and secure them by means of a hand-net; 
 nay, I am not certain that the minnow-bottle would not 
 answer the purpose best. If you are bent upon securing 
 the sharp-set jack, by all means secure a fair-sized dace 
 rather than a gudgeon, it will be seen better in the murky 
 waters. Toward the latter end of the month, the finest 
 roach may be taken. A fine red worm will be found the 
 most tempting bait if you know where there are any red 
 worms to be found. Boiled pearl-barley, allowed to get 
 cold, and then cut into suitable bait pieces, will be found 
 attractive, nest to freshly made clean bread-pasle. Don't 
 be afraid of the damp and muddy banks of the river; put 
 on your waterproofs, and you may easily secure a fair basket 
 of fish. Grayling, too, may be caught, in suitable waters. 
 The famed char may be caught also in January. The fly- 
 fisher should air his budget of feathers, furs, and dubbings, 
 and flies, in the sun, Just to see that the motii is not taking 
 his-revenge on his effigies Take out your rod, and examine 
 the splices of your top-joint, and see that the n'ildewisnot 
 seizing the ring fastenings, or decaying the varnish. A 
 glance at the fly-hooks will not be amiss 
 
 February. — This month is not an enticing season for the 
 angler. Perch, jack, and roaoh may be still taken in open 
 weather. Grayling will rise to the fly, if the angler can 
 tickle his fancy with a tempting one a few iinihes beneath 
 the surface. A light dun will often prove effective; if the 
 angler knows what flies are earliest in the stream, let 
 him use one of the same kind: he wi'l not regret the 
 trouble. Salmoiufishiug commences this month; but the 
 angler should rather look to and air his "fishing-boots, wad- 
 
, 130 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 ing-stockings, and flies than to tlie fish. If you do try your 
 luck with a fly, let it be a big and gaudy one. 
 
 March. — Though salmon-fishing is sometimes in its prime 
 this month, yet the prospect of sport depends somewhat on 
 the state of the rivers, and whether there is any "snow- 
 broth" about; Salmon fishers should remember to hang 
 their lines up to dry on their return home. You 
 may tickle a trout's memoi-y and make his month water by 
 a delicate blue dun. The February-red, the cow-dung, and 
 the brown dun and the March brown, are a good selec- 
 tion for trou tie's bill of fare in the merry month of 
 March. , Remember, jack are spawning; perch and gray- 
 ling are heavy with spawn, and should not be taken even 
 where the law- does not interfere to prevent it. 
 
 April. — Trout-fishing commences, and salmon-fishing is 
 in its zenith. The artificial flies must now decrease 
 somewhat in size, as the waters are becoming clearer. The 
 trout will take a small dace in the larger streams, and 
 the minnow, and even a fine scoured lobworm, has an 
 attraction for them, and the salmon will not refuse the 
 latter. In addition to the flies mentioned in the chapter 
 for trout-fishing, try the yellow dun on bright days. The 
 hawthorn is not to be despised. As the month passes on, 
 the iron-blue and other flies of that class will be found 
 taking. It is thought that ' the larger trout are too 
 voracious to be in good condition until May. If the spring 
 is a forward one, carp and tench may be taken; Jack, 
 grayling, and perch are spawning. Spring is now coming 
 on apace; the hedges are green, and the sides of the streams 
 are redolent with life. 
 
 May. — Every north stream is now open, and the fly-fisher 
 is in his glory. The bottom-fisher, however, finds his 
 occupation gone. Barbel, carp, tench, bream, chub, roach, 
 and gudgeon, are spawning. Eels run well, but setting a 
 night-line hardly becomes an angler, though it is the only 
 engine that can be depended on for capturing them. 
 After rain, when the water in the river runs high or is 
 colored, perhaps the spinning-minnow will afford the 
 best bait for trout. In clearer waters, in rivers where 
 the stone-fly abound, its larvfe, or " creepers," form a 
 most seductive bait. The most sagacious of the trout 
 family are deceived by it. In a i-etired nook or cranny 
 on the banks of the rivers, or under damp mossy stories, 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEK. 131 
 
 they ni'ay be looked for and found. The yellow May-fly 
 now appears as a precursor to the May-fly. The stoiie-fly 
 jerks along the surface of the water, and the black gnat 
 lies thick on the water, but the angler should beware of its 
 sting. The yellow "sally" on some streams forms an ex- 
 cellent bait; but in others, gray and green drakes are in re- 
 quest, and the "alder" forms a morsel seldom refused. Dip- 
 ping with either of these flies on warm days will secure a 
 good basketful of fish. The appetite of the finny tribes, 
 however, is satiated by the plentiful supply of food, and it 
 is only by presenting the most attractive bait that the angler 
 can succeed. In the very early morning, or in the "gloam- 
 ing," a pail' of light wings, and the top of the hook cover- 
 ed with a gentle or a creeper, will bring the angler a run, 
 and furnish him with a breakfast or a supper. 
 
 June. — Beautiful, indeed, are the flowers of the field on 
 a June morning, when the dew is still upon them, and be- 
 fore the heat of the sun makes their beautiful heads droop. 
 Salmon will not now take the large and gaudy flies; their 
 appetites require to be tickled with a choice, pretty, and 
 delicate morsel, no bigger than a trout-fly. The sea-trout 
 (servius) and grilse are coming up. Bottom-fishing com- 
 mences, but the fish are not in condition yet. Dace will 
 take a gentle, which, with red worms of the tiniest de- 
 scription, form the best bait for_ roach. Trout will rise to 
 any of the flies mentioned for May. All kinds of dun- 
 flies, fern-flies, and the coachman, is adopted for evening 
 sport. All flies must be small and delicate in size. The 
 jenny-spinner (which, by-the-by, is very difficult to imitate) 
 will be found useful. Trout will take the fly well, par- 
 ticularly in the early mornings and evenings. Dipping 
 is the only plan of catching them in. the sunny mid-days, 
 but the angler should keep well out of sight. Loch trout- 
 fishing may be successfully p);acticed when a "fiush" is 
 found; a well-scoured bait in raising water will be found 
 the best. In falling water fish, as a rule, are gorged with 
 food, and indifferent to the most tempting morsel, 
 
 July. — The glorious summer is now upon us, and the 
 eventide is beautiful in its soft delicious loveliness. ^The 
 waters are low, and the salmon is scarcely to be tempted; a 
 nice fly, sunk a few inches beneath the surface, will, how- 
 ever, sometimes tempt him. A neat bunch of lobworms 
 or a spinning-minnow may be tried as a change for his 
 
132 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 lordship. The sea-trout and grilse in some rivers will afford 
 good sport, if tempted with a silver horn, with its ringed, 
 black, and silver body — the golden-eyed gauge wing, red 
 and black ant-flies, the July dun, the "hopper," (wh^ch is 
 sometimes too familiar) are the best ilies. Moths are more 
 suitable in the evening. Grubs and larvae of all kinds will 
 be freely taken — meal-worms, and the wasp, grub, tough- 
 ened, will add to the angler's resources in July. A cock- 
 roach is not despised by trout. Chub, dace, barbel, carp, 
 gudgeon, &c., begin to bite freely. Look out for the dace 
 with a small fly in shallow running streams, and chub under 
 the friendly shade of the bushes with a palmer-fly. The 
 cheese paste will not be rejected' by the latter gentleman, 
 and barbel will take the same morsel freely. Koacli, 
 perch, and jack are still suffering from the effects of spawn- 
 ing, but not so in 
 
 August. — For it is the bottom-fisher's carnival. He 
 may secure as many fish as he can carry, if he is indus- 
 trious, and possesses a fair amount of skill, and at- 
 tends to these directions. Let him look after his 
 gentles, and try to secure a few bred from a dead rat. 
 The roach are delicate in their appetite, but even 
 the biggest among them will look at a fly tipped with 
 a gentle. The best trout lying lazily at the bottom of tlie 
 stream may be tickled with the same bait, if a shot is added 
 to sink the line, and it is brought up and down and moved 
 by a series of jerks. It is worth while trying, for the trout 
 are in capital condition. The flies that may be tried are 
 the orange, cinnamon, and the August dun. Some of the 
 earliest flies may be tried with success; indeed, in some 
 rivers, night is the only time to fish for trout, and the proper 
 baits are black, white, and gray moths. Salmon are not 
 insensible to the charms of a fine moth. Ciiar may be 
 taken with a spinning-minnow, and may be tried with a 
 fly. Throughout the month, fish of all kinds are in good 
 condition. 
 
 September. — The salmon-fisher on many of the rivers 
 finds his occupation gone, the fish begin to breed, and 
 should be left quiet. In the early weeks .the whirling blue 
 dun, the little pale blue, and the willow-fly may be tried for 
 trout, but they should not be disturbed during the last fort- 
 night in any river. Dace and gudgeon are in demand for 
 trolling purposes, for jack are in fine condition, and bite 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 133 
 
 freely. Perch may be caught by spinning with a moderate- 
 sized dace or minnow — if the former is used, a jack is often 
 tempted by it. This is the month for bottom-fishers; all 
 coarse river fish bite with avidity. Cockroaches and blue 
 bottle-flies have a wonderful charm for the chub in deep 
 holes. Eoach will look at the willow-fly, and many kinds 
 of fish will rise at night to a moth. Lobworms will now 
 be at a premium. They should be well scoured and watched 
 day by day, so that the dead and diseased worms may be 
 removed. 
 
 October. — This is an excellent month for the troUer and 
 spinner, and while you have the chance, try and secure a 
 stock of baits — a friend adds, if you can. I have already 
 given the pike-fisher hints as to how to preserve his bait for 
 a season, when fish are plentiful and baits scarce. Roach 
 will take boiled malt and pearl-barley now freely, ix pre- 
 sented in a neat and delicate form. Barbel and bream are 
 in good way for their excellent condition. Except you have 
 access to a grayling stream, put away your fly-tackle after 
 drying it carefully. Varnish your rod when you take it to 
 pieces, and see that it is well dried, rub boiled oil over the 
 brass-work. In the absence of more suitable baits, pike 
 will take mice, fi'ogs, and other strange morsels, but the 
 trout and salmon fishing season is over. 
 
 November. — Bleak and disagreeable as this month too 
 frequently is, the enthusiastic angler will find much to re- 
 ward his preueverance, particularly if he has secured a good 
 stock of pike-bait and minnow for perch-fishing. Perch 
 are in good condition, and you will find him in deep still 
 _water after a flood, or near to a gentle eddy, where tliefood 
 is brought by the water. Eoach of the largest kind may 
 be taken in deep water. Bream, chnb and grayling are in 
 fine condition. Barbel may be coaxed with greaves and. 
 chopped lampreys, if the frost holds off. Pike are ravenous, 
 and will take almost anything. Other sports, however, in- 
 terfere with the angler's recreation, and if the weather is 
 not propitious, he had better stay at home. 
 
 December. — Jack and roach are still to be taken in open 
 weather, and are well worth the trouble. Trolling, which 
 affoi'ds the angler plenty of exei-cise, is. however, the only 
 endurable sport for the most enthusiastic Waltonian. Some 
 fish are taken from under the jce. Char, grayling, and 
 perch will bite freely if you know their winter haunts and 
 
13 i THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 habits. The angler may, however, cheer himself by par- 
 taking of the excellent bait which Christmas generally 
 presents, and hope for coming triumphs in the approching 
 spring. 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEB. 135 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 THE WEIGHT OF FISH. 
 
 As it is inconvenient to carry a weighing machine about, and as an- 
 glers will persist in guessing at the weight of the fish, I give here a 
 scale which will enable them to ascertain -with tolerable precision the 
 weight of the fish when in good condition. It must be borne in mind, 
 however, that the weights given are only approximate. See page 136. 
 
 USEFUL KECIPES FOB ANGLEES. 
 
 To keep Moth from Feathers and Tackle. — Pepper them profusely 
 and keep them from the damp. Tobacco-leaf cut small and dispersed 
 among the feathers and tackle is very useful. Put no faith in camphor, 
 as it evaporates. Turn the tackle and feathers out and expose them to 
 the air once or twice in the winter. 
 
 Varnish for Hooks and Tackle. — ^Dissolve shellac, cr even sealing- 
 wax, in double the bulk of spirits of wine; allow it to dry before using. 
 One application is sufficient. 
 
 Varnish for Rods. — The best coachmakers' varnish. Two coats, each 
 thoroughly dried, is requisite. 
 
 White Wax. — Two ounces of best resin, one-quarter ounce wf bees- 
 wax, simmer for ten minutes in a pipkin ; add one-quarter ounce of 
 tallow, and simmer for a quarter of an hour; pour the whole into a 
 basin of water, and work it about with the fingers until it is tough and 
 pliable. 
 
 Liquid Wax. — Dissolve some cobblers' wax in spirits of wine; shake 
 up before using, and lay it on the silk with a feather. It is capital for 
 weak or frayed silk, as the spirit evaporates and leaves the wax behind. 
 
 DIEECTIONS FOE STAINING, GIMP. 
 
 Soak brass gimp in a solution of bichlorate of platinum, mixed in 
 about the proportion of one part of platinum to eight or ten of water, 
 until it has assumed the color desired. This will take from a quarter 
 of an hour, to two or three hours, according to the strength of the solu- 
 tion; then dry the gimp before the fire, and while warm give it a coat 
 of "lacquer" With a brush. 
 
 The above process is only applicable to brass gimp; copper and 
 silver gimp do not take the stain properly. 
 
 TO STAIN GUT THE COLOE OF WEEDS, WATEE, etc. 
 
 Maie an infusion of onion coatings as before directed, and when 
 quite cold put the gut into it, and let it remain until the hue becomes 
 as dark as required. A. strong infusion of green tea- wiU dye gut a 
 useful color. 
 
136 
 
 THE COMPLETE ANGLEB. 
 
 
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THE COMPLETE ANGLEB. 
 
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138 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 So will warmed writing ink; tte gut to be steeped in it a few min- 
 utes, and immediately afterwards to be wasted clean in spring water. 
 You will obtain another good color by steeping gut for three or four 
 minutes in a pint of boiling water, in which you have put a teaspoonf ul 
 of alum, a bit of logwood the size of a hazel nut, and a piece of copperas 
 the size of a pea. To make your gut a water color, take a teaspoonful 
 of common red ink, add to it as much soot, and about a third of a tea- 
 cupful of water; let them simmer for about ten minutes; when cool, 
 steep your line until it is stained to your fancy. 
 
 This is a verj' good color for the purpose, but should be applied 
 gradually, taking out your gut frequently to examine the depth of the 
 tint, lest it should become too dark. 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 
 
 139 
 
140 
 
 THE COMPLETE ANGLEB. 
 
THE COMPLETE ANGLEB. 
 
 141 
 
THi m AND mm seriis 
 
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