CONTENTS
| Maxims and Hints for an Angler | [1] |
| Miseries of Fishing | [25] |
| Maxims and Hints for a Chess Player | [55] |
| Maxims and Hints on Shooting and Other Matters | [81] |
THE FOLLOWING EXTRACTS
FROM THE
Common-Place-Book
OF THE
HOUGHTON FISHING CLUB
ARE RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
TO HIS
BROTHER ANGLERS
BY A
MEMBER OF THE CLUB.
London,
March, 1833.
MAXIMS AND HINTS
FOR
AN ANGLER.
"You see the ways the fisherman doth take
"To catch the fish; what engines doth he make?
"Behold! how he engageth all his wits,
"Also his snares, lines, angles, hooks, and nets:
"Yet fish there be, that neither hook nor line,
"Nor snare, nor net, nor engine can make thine;
"They must be groped for, and be tickled too,
"Or they will not be catch'd, whate'er you do."
John Bunyan
MAXIMS AND HINTS
FOR
AN ANGLER:
BY
A BUNGLER.
[Loosely thrown out, in order to provoke contradiction, and elicit truth from the expert.]
I.
Are there any fish in the river to which you are going?
II.
Having settled the above question in the affirmative, get some person who knows the water to show you whereabout the fish usually lie; and when he shows them to you, do not show yourself to them.
III.
Comparatively coarse fishing will succeed better when you are not seen by the fish, than the finest when they see you.
IV.
Do not imagine that, because a fish does not instantly dart off on first seeing you, he is the less aware of your presence; he almost always on such occasions ceases to feed, and pays you the compliment of devoting his whole attention to you, whilst he is preparing for a start whenever the apprehended danger becomes sufficiently imminent.
V.
By wading when the sun does not shine, you may walk in the river within eighteen or twenty yards below a fish, which would be immediately driven away by your walking on the bank on either side, though at a greater distance from him.
VI.
When you are fishing with the natural May-fly, it is as well to wait for a passing cloud, as to drive away the fish by putting your fly to him in the glare of the sunshine, when he will not take it.
VII.
If you pass your fly neatly and well three times over a trout, and he refuses it, do not wait any longer for him: you may be sure that he has seen the line of invitation which you have sent over the water to him, and does not intend to come.
VIII.
If your line be nearly taut, as it ought to be, with little or no gut in the water, a good fish will always hook himself, on your gently raising the top of the rod when he has taken the fly.
"Whence he is to be instantly whipt out by an expert assistant, furnished," &c.
To face page 6.
If you are above a fish in the stream when you hook him, get below him as soon as you can; and remember that if you pull him, but for an instant, against the stream, he will, if a heavy fish, break his hold; or if he should be firmly hooked, you will probably find that the united strength of the stream and fish is too much for your skill and tackle.
X.
I do not think that a fish has much power of stopping himself if, immediately on being hooked, he is moved slowly with the current, under the attractive influence of your rod and line. He will soon find that a forced march of this sort is very fatiguing, and he may then be brought, by a well-regulated exercise of gentle violence, to the bank, from whence he is to be instantly whipt out by an expert assistant, furnished with a landing-net, the ring of which ought not to be of a less diameter than eighteen inches, the handle of it being seven feet long.
XI.
If, after hooking a trout, you allow him to remain stationary but for a moment, he will have time to put his helm hard a-port or a-starboard, and to offer some resistance. Strong tackle now becomes useful.
XII.
Bear always in mind that no tackle is strong enough, unless well handled. A good fisherman will easily kill a trout of three pounds with a rod and a line which are not strong enough to lift a dead weight of one pound from the floor, and place it on the table.
XIII.
Remember that, in whipping with the artificial fly, it must have time, when you have drawn it out of the water, to make the whole circuit, and to be at one time straight behind you, before it can be driven out straight before you. If you give it the forward impulse too soon, you will hear a crack. Take this as a hint that your fly is gone to grass.
XIV.
Never throw with a long line when a short one will answer your purpose. The most difficult fish to hook is one which is rising at three-fourths of the utmost distance to which you can throw. Even when you are at the extent of your distance, you have a better chance; because in this case, when you do reach him, your line will be straight, and, when you do not, the intermediate failures will not alarm him.
XV.
It appears to me that, in whipping with an artificial fly, there are only two cases in which a fish taking the fly will infallibly hook himself without your assistance, viz.
1. When your fly first touches the water at the end of a straight line.
2. When you are drawing out your fly for a new throw.
In all other cases it is necessary that, in order to hook him when he has taken the fly, you should do something with your wrist which it is not easy to describe.
XVI.
If your line should fall loose and wavy into the water, it will either frighten away the fish, or he will take the fly into his mouth without fastening himself; and when he finds that it does not answer his purpose, he will spit it out again, before it has answered yours.
XVII.
Although the question of fishing up or down the stream is usually settled by the direction of the wind, you may sometimes have the option; and it is, therefore, as well to say a word or two on both sides.
1. If, when you are fishing down-stream, you take a step or two with each successive throw, your fly is always travelling over new water, which cannot have been disturbed by the passing of your line.
2. When you are fishing up-stream, you may lose the advantage of raising so many fish; but, on the other hand, you will have a better chance of hooking those which rise at your fly, because the darting forward of a fish seizing it has a tendency to tighten your line, and produce the desired effect.
3. If you are in the habit of sometimes catching a fish, there is another great advantage in fishing up-stream, viz. whilst you are playing and leading (necessarily down-stream) the fish which you have hooked, you do not alarm the others which are above you, waiting till their turn comes.
XVIII.
The learned are much divided in opinion as to the propriety of whipping with two flies or with one. I am humbly of opinion that your chance of hooking fish is much increased by your using two flies; but I think that, by using only one, you increase your chance of landing the fish.
XIX.
When you are using two flies, you can easily find the bob-fly on the top of the water, and thus be sure that the end-fly is not far off. When you are using only one fly, you cannot so easily see where the fly is; but I think that you can make a better guess as to where the fish is likely to be after you have hooked him.
"You will find it difficult, with all your attractions, to overcome the strong attachment," &c.
To face page 12.
XX.
Also, when you are using two flies, you may sometimes catch a fish with one of them, and a weed growing in the river with the other. When such a liaison is once formed, you will find it difficult, with all your attractions, to overcome the strong attachment of the fish to your worthless rival the weed.
XXI.
If the weed will not give way in the awkward juncture above alluded to, you must proceed to extremities. "Then comes the tug of war;" and your line is quite as likely to break between you and the fish, as between the fish and the weed.
XXII.
When, during the season of the May-fly, your friends, the gentlemen from London, say that they "have scarcely seen a fish rise all day," do not too hastily conclude that the fish have not been feeding on the fly.
XXIII.
The only "rising" which is seen by the unlearned is the splash which is made by a fish when he darts from a considerable depth in the water to catch an occasional fly on the surface. There is, however, another sort of "rising," which is better worth the skilful angler's attention, viz.
XXIV.
When a fish is seriously feeding on the fly, he stations himself at no greater depth than his own length, and, making his tail the hinge of his motions, he gently raises his mouth to the top of the water, and quietly sucks in the fly attempting to pass over him. A rising of this sort is not easily seen, but it is worth looking for; because, although a fish feeding in this manner will rarely go many inches on either side for a fly, he will as rarely refuse to take one which comes (without any gut in the water) directly to him.
XXV.
If your fly (gut unfortunately included) should swim over a fish without his taking it, look out well for a darting line of undulation, which betokens his immediate departure; and remember, that it is of no use to continue fishing for him after he is gone.
XXVI.
The stations chosen by fish for feeding are those which are likely to afford them good sport in catching flies, viz.
1. The mouths of ditches running into the river.
2. The confluence of two branches of a stream, which has been divided by a patch of weeds.
3. That part of a stream which has been narrowed by two such patches.
4. Fish are also to be found under the bank opposite to the wind, where they are waiting for the flies which are blown against that bank, and fall into the river.
XXVII.
If, during your walks by the river-side, you have marked any good fish, it is fair to presume that other persons have marked them also. Suppose the case of two well-known fish, one of them (which I will call A.) lying above a certain bridge, the other (which I will call B.) lying below the bridge. Suppose further that you have just caught B., and that some curious and cunning friend should say to you in a careless way, "Where did you take that fine fish?" a finished fisherman would advise you to tell your inquiring friend that you had taken your fish just above the bridge, describing, as the scene of action, the spot which, in truth, you know to be still occupied by the other fish, A. Your friend would then fish no more for A., supposing that to be the fish which you have caught; and whilst he innocently resumes his operations below the bridge, where he falsely imagines B. still to be, A. is left quietly for you, if you can catch him.
XXVIII.
When you see a large fish rising so greedily in the middle of a sharp stream, that you feel almost sure of his instantly taking your May-fly, I would advise you to make an accurate survey of all obstructions in the immediate neighbourhood of your feet—of any ditch which may be close behind you—or of any narrow plank, amidst high rushes, which you may shortly have to walk over in a hurry. If you should hook the fish, a knowledge of these interesting localities will be very useful to you.
XXIX.
When your water-proof boots are wet through, make a hole or two near the bottom of them, in order that the water, which runs in whilst you are walking in the river, may run freely out again whilst you are walking on the bank. You will thus avoid an accompaniment of pumping-music, which is not agreeable.
XXX.
Never mind what they of the old school say about "playing him till he is tired." Much valuable time and many a good fish may be lost by this antiquated proceeding. Put him into your basket as soon as you can. Everything depends on the manner in which you commence your acquaintance with him. If you can at first prevail upon him to go a little way down the stream with you, you will have no difficulty afterwards in persuading him to let you have the pleasure of seeing him at dinner.
XXXI.
Do not be afraid of filling your pockets too full when you go out; you are more likely to leave something behind you than to take too much. A man who seldom catches a fish at any other time, usually gets hold of one (and loses him of course) whilst his attendant is gone back for something which had been forgotten.
XXXII.
If your attendant is a handy fellow at landing a fish, let him do it in his own way: if he is not, try to find a better man, or go home. Although so much depends upon his skill, you will rarely derive much comfort from asking him for his opinion. If you have had bad sport, and say to him, "Which way shall we go now?" he will most probably say, "Where you please, sir." If you ask him what he thinks of the weather, he is very likely to say that last week (when you were in London) it was "famous weather for fishing;" or he will perhaps say, that he expects that next week (when you are to be at home again) it will be very good. I never knew one of these men who was satisfied with the present hour.
XXXIII.
Do not leave off fishing early in the evening because your friends are tired. After a bright day, the largest fish are to be caught by whipping between sunset and dark. Even, however, in these precious moments, you will not have good sport if you continue throwing after you have whipped your fly off. Pay attention to this; and if you have any doubt after dusk, you may easily ascertain the point, by drawing the end of the line quickly through your hand,—particularly if you do not wear gloves.
XXXIV.
No attempt is here made to give directions as to the best seasons for cutting the woods which are fittest for the making of rods, or as to the mode of preparing them; because the worst rod which is kept for sale at the present day is probably as good as the best of the first few dozen which any amateur is likely to make for himself.
XXXV.
Lastly—When you have got hold of a good fish, which is not very tractable, if you are married, gentle reader, think of your wife, who, like the fish, is united to you by very tender ties, which can only end with her death, or her going into weeds. If you are single, the loss of the fish, when you thought the prize your own, may remind you of some more serious disappointment.
R. P.
Rod Cottage, River Side,
31st May, 1829.
POSTSCRIPT.
I forgot to say, that, if a friend should invite you to his house, saying that he will give you "an excellent day's fishing," you ought not to doubt his kind intention, but you certainly ought not to feel very sure that you will have good sport. Provide yourself for such a visit with everything which you may want, as if you were going into an uninhabited country. Above all things, take a landing-net with you. Your friend's (if he has one) is probably torn and without a handle, being a sort of reticulated shovel for taking fish out of the well of a punt. Take warning from the following story:—
The boy exclaiming, "Damn 'un, I miss'd 'un," instantly threw a second brick-bat.
To face page 23.
Mr. Jackson and Mr. Thompson went last week to the house of Mr. Jenkins, for a few days' fishing. They were received with the utmost kindness and hospitality by Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins, and on the following morning after breakfast, the gardener (who was on that day called the fisherman) was desired to attend them to the river. Thompson, who had a landing-net of his own, begged to have a boy to carry it. Jack was immediately sent for, and he appeared in top boots, with a livery hat and waistcoat.
Arrived at the water-side, Thompson gave his gnat-basket to the boy, and told him to go on the other side of the river, and look on the grass for a few May-flies. Jack said that he did not exactly know what May-flies were, and that the river could not be crossed without going over a bridge a mile off. Thompson is a patient man, so he began to fish with his landing-net for a few May-flies, and after he had necessarily frightened away many fish, he succeeded in catching six or seven May-flies.
Working one of them with the blowing-line much to his own satisfaction, and thinking to extract a compliment from his attendant, he said, "They do not often fish here in this way—do they?" "No," said the boy, "they drags wi' a net; they did zo the day afore yesterday."
Our angler, after much patient fishing, hooked a fine trout; and having brought him carefully to the bank, he said, "Now, my lad, don't be in a hurry, but get him out as soon as you can." Jack ran to the water's edge, threw down the net, and seizing the line with both hands, of course broke it immediately.
Nothing daunted, Thompson now mended his tackle and went on fishing; and when he thought, "good easy man," that the very moment for hooking another trout was arrived, there was a great splash just above his fly;—and the boy exclaiming, "Damn un, I miss'd un," instantly threw a second brick-bat at a rat which was crossing the river.
Mine host, in order to accommodate his friends, dined early; and when they went after dinner to enjoy the evening fishing, they found that the miller had turned off the water, and that the river was nearly dry,—so they went back to tea.
R. P.
F. R. Lee, Esq., R.A.