ANGLING.

“When I was a mere schoolboy,
Ere yet I learnt my book,
I felt an itch for angling
In every little brook.

“An osier rod, some thread for line,
A crooked pin for hook;
And, thus equipp’d, I angled
In every little brook.

“Where sticklebacks and minnows
Each day I caught in store,
With stone-roaches and miller’s thumbs:—
These brooks afford no more.

“But I a little angler,
With crooked pin for hook,
Would shun each noisy wrangler,
To fish the little brook.”

What can be more delightful than angling? Not indeed so much on account of the fish we may catch, but for the pleasantness of the recreation itself, for the cool streams, the shady trees, the little sunny nooks, the tiny or gigantic cascades, the meandering rills, the still pools, “with sedges overhung;” the picturesque mill-wheels, the deep mill-ponds, “smooth sheeted by the flood;” and above all, for the hair-breadth escapes, for the duckings, for the hazards, for the triumphs. We do not wonder at boys being fond of angling, it is almost an instinct with them, and has long been a favourite amusement with boys of all degrees, ages and constitutions. Therefore we shall be somewhat comprehensive in our notices of this interesting sport, that every boy who can bait a hook and hold a line may be an angler if he will.

A WORD ABOUT FISH.

First, however, let us say a word about fish in general, before we come to fish in particular. Fish or fishes are, to speak scientifically, a class of vertebrated animals (having a backbone) inhabiting the water; which breathe through the medium of that fluid by means of branchiæ or gills, instead of lungs; which swim by means of fins, and are mostly covered with scales. They are also generally furnished with a white membraneous bag close to the backbone, called the air bladder, by the dilatation or compression of which it is supposed they can rise or sink in the water at pleasure. All parts of their bodies seem to aid them in swimming in the water; their fins, their tails, and the undulation of their back-bones assist progression, and their whole structure is as much adapted for swimming as that of a bird is for flight.

The fins of fish consist of thin elastic membrane, supported by bony rays, and are denominated according to their position—dorsal on the back, pectoral on the breast, ventral near the vent, anal that between the vent and the tail, and caudal the tail fins. The dorsal and ventral fins appear to balance the fish, and the pectoral to push it forward; while the tail fins are the grand instruments of motion, and enable the creature to dart forward almost as rapidly as the bullet from a gun.

With regard to the senses of fishes, the eye holds the first place; but this is best adapted for seeing under water. Of the organ of hearing there is no outward sign. The organ of taste is thought to be very unsensitive, and the sense of touch but slightly developed. To preserve their own existence, and to transmit it to their posterity, seems to be their only enjoyment; they move forward in pursuit of whatever they can swallow, conquer, or enjoy, and their insatiable appetite impels them to encounter every danger, whilst to their rapacity there seems to be no bound. A single pike has been known to devour a hundred roach in three days. The fecundity of fish is prodigious. The number of eggs in the codfish often amounts to more than three millions; those of flounders are above a million, of the mackarel 500,000, of the sole 100,000, and of the lobster 20,000; but the sturgeon is far more productive than any of these, as it has been known to have more than twenty millions of eggs!

Without saying any more about “Fish in the abstract,” as the angler called his “catch,” when he returned without one, we must go to the art of “catching fish;” and the first thing to be attended to is the necessary fishing apparatus, which may be increased to any extent; but the young angler would be wise to limit his stock as much as possible. We have fished many a hundred miles of water, and killed many a thousand of fish, with no better equipment than this:—One rod of about fourteen feet long, with three tops,—one stiff top, for bottom fishing and trolling, and two for fly-fishing. Two reels or winches, one holding a silk and hair line of thirty-five yards in length for fly-fishing, and the other holding a similar line, of forty yards, but much stronger, for bottom fishing, trolling, &c. One moderate-sized creel or fishing basket. One tin bait-box for worms or gentles; one tin live-bait can for carrying pike baits or minnows; and one strong bag for carrying ground-bait. A landing-net; some shoemaker’s wax in a piece of soft leather; a large clasp-knife; a pair of sharp-pointed scissors; a pocket-book, the centre filled with leaves of flannel to hold flies, and the remainder fitted up with gut, hooks, silk, baiting-needles, a pair of small pliers, split shot, floats, &c.

ABOUT THE ROD.

The rod is a material article in the young angler’s catalogue, and much care should be taken to procure a good one. The fishing-tackle shops keep a great variety, made of bamboo cane, hazel, hickory, and other kinds of wood. Rods are of different lengths, some fitted as walking-canes, and others made to pack in canvass bags; the latter are preferred, because you may have them any length, and they are more true. Those made of bamboo cane are the best for general angling; but the rods made of the white cane much superior for fine fishing, particularly for roach, being very light in weight, but stiff.

CHOOSING THE ROD.

In choosing a rod (not a school rod, for no one likes to choose that), observe that it is perfectly straight, when all the joints are put together and that it gradually tapers from the butt to the top, and is from twelve to sixteen feet long. A bad rod is likely to snap in striking a heavy fish. Rods fitted with several tops are at once the best and most convenient. Some anglers have one rod for trolling, another for barbel, perch, or other heavy fish, as well as one for fly-fishing—which boys may have when they become men—but a thoroughly good rod will suit the juvenile for all purposes. We have now one with which we can fish for anything, from a bleak to a pike, by only changing the top and second joints.

A good trolling rod should be made of the choicest stout and well-seasoned bamboo cane, from fourteen to sixteen feet in length. When trolling with the gorge, or live-bait fishing, a long rod is necessary, to enable the angler to drop in his baited hook over high sedges, rushes, &c. as also when the water is bright, for he should then keep as far away from it as he can, which a long rod enables him to do while dipping, casting, or spinning his bait. If either a jack or pike see him, it is very rare indeed that he will take the bait; and again, with a long rod you will be able to drop your baited hook in some very likely place for jack or pike, such as a small hole, division, or clear place among a bed of weeds, in a river or any other water where there are any weeds.

There is some difference of opinion among anglers about the number of rings necessary for trolling rods: those who have their line on a thumb winder, or on a bank runner, seldom place more than two or three rings on their rod, and others have only one large ring at the top; but if a winch is used, there should be a ring to every joint including the butt; make each ring of double twist wire, fixed so as always to stand out, and nearly large enough to admit the top of your little finger; the top joint should have two rings, the top one nearly three times the size of the others; this prevents any obstruction of the line running, which is of material consequence. When not in use, rods should be kept nicely stowed in a moderately dry place, and they ought to be well scraped and revarnished every three years; should the joints become loose by shrinking, they should be slightly moistened. Should any accident befall a rod while fishing, and you should not have a spare top with you, your only remedy will be to splice your rod. To do this the ends of the broken pieces for about two inches must be laid parallel to each other, and then tightly bound together with waxed silk, or very strong yellow hempen twine.

LINES OR BOTTOMS.

Next to the rod the line is of the utmost importance. Good lines should be well twisted. The twisted lines should be made wholly of silk, or silk hair, but those made of gut are the strongest and best for young anglers; the twisted hair are the cheapest, and the single horsehair the finest. The young angler will find a line of about four yards in length the most useful. A single gut line, with a small porcupine float, is commonly useful for general fishing; the plaited silk lines are the best for trolling, and are less inclined to break or tangle than the twisted.

SHOTTING THE LINE

The line must be shotted, that the float may partially sink in the water; and in putting on the shots, place them all together within three inches of the bottom loop of the line; to which loop fix the loop of the hair or gut to which the hook is tied. When you make a line of silk, gut, or hair, remember it must be always finest at the bottom, where the hook is fastened, very gradually increasing in thickness to the top.

THE FLOAT.

There are various kinds of floats, each adapted for different kinds of fishing. The principal are: 1. Tip-capped floats; 2. Cork floats; 3. Plugged floats. The tip-capped floats are made of several pieces of quills, or of reed for the middle, and ivory or tortoiseshell for the top and bottom, and narrow at each end, gradually increasing in circumference to the middle. They are superior to all others for angling in waters which are not very rapid, particularly in roach fishing, as the least movement or fine bite sinks them below the water. The tip-capped float is also best for pond fishing for carp and tench, as it requires but few shot to sink it, and consequently disturbs the water but little when cast. The young angler should note that the caps which fix the lines to the float are not rough at the edge, as this roughness chafes and weakens a fine line; should this be the case, he should smooth them before use. The best caps are made of gutta-percha.

Cork Floats are generally made of quills at the top, with a piece of cork, which is burned or bored in the middle to admit the quill, and then filed or ground down smooth and painted. The bottom is plugged with wood, and has a ring to let the line pass through. Cork floats are well calculated to fish in heavy or rapid streams, as they require a great many shot to sink them, which weight of shot prevents the baited hook from passing too rapidly over the bottom. Cork floats are made of various sizes and forms; instead of common quills, some introduce the quills of the porcupine, which make an excellent strong float. Except for live-bait fishing a tapering cork float is preferable to a round one.

Plugged Floats.—These kind of floats are the cheapest, and made of indifferent quills, some of them of one goose quill with a wooden plug at the bottom, from which they take their name: they are very apt to loosen by the plug coming out. They are often used by the young angler, because they are cheap; but we may say in the words of the ancient Roman, “Bad is the best.”

REELS OR WINCHES.

A reel or winch is a most necessary addition to the rod and line, as it enables you to vary the length of your line at pleasure, and to play your fish. The best winches are those to fix in a groove on the rod, and are fastened with brass ferrules made for the purpose on the butt, because you can fasten such a winch to any sized joint.

There are three kinds of winches, check, multipliers, and plain: the multiplying winch is apt soon to get out of order, unless carefully and constantly oiled, and is otherwise the least efficient and most expensive of the three. I would recommend young anglers at first, to purchase a plain and strong winch, which will answer every purpose, and be much less expensive. A check winch is, however, the best.

REEL LINES

Are mostly made of silk and horsehair, twisted or plaited together, but some are made entirely of silk. I prefer the latter, as it is less likely to twist, runs more freely, and is less likely to rot. The length of lines vary from fifteen to eighty yards; but for general purposes thirty or five-and-thirty yards is quite long enough. The line should always be unwound after a day’s fishing, as, if it is allowed to remain wet on the reel, it soon rots.

HOOKS.

Hooks are to be bought at the angling shops, of all sizes, and suitable for the kind of fish to be caught. There are great controversies among adept anglers about hooks, which are sometimes as violent as those upon politics or religion. Some anglers prefer what are called the Limerick hooks, some the Kendal; while others again prefer the Kirby or Sneckbend. We are hooked to the Kirby, as we consider those to be by far the best for holding the fish—a most important particular. The hooks found most suitable for the following fish are these:—

HOW TO BAIT A HOOK.

To bait a hook with a worm, use the following method: First enter the point of the hook close to the top of the worm’s head, and carry it carefully down to within a quarter of an inch of its tail; to do which you must gently squeeze or work up the worm with your left thumb and finger, while with your right you are gradually working the hook downwards. The small lively piece of the worm at the point of the hook moving about will entice the fish; but, mind, if too much of the worm hangs loose, though it may entice fish to nibble, yet they will seldom take the whole in their mouth, so as to enable the angler to hook them; on the contrary, he is frequently tantalized with a bite, and, when he strikes, finds part of his worm gone, and his fish too. Therefore, to bait a hook well with a worm is necessary to ensure hooking a fish when you strike; and it consists in drawing the worm without injuring it (use him as you would a friend, Walton says) quite over and up the shank of the hook, leaving only a small lively part of the tail below. If you bait with half a worm, prefer the tail end, and enter the point of the hook into the top part, and bring it down nearly to the end of the tail, leaving only a very small piece of it loose. If you bait with two worms on the same hook, draw the first up above the shank, while you put the second on in the same manner as directed with one worm, but enter the hook near the tail of the second worm; then draw the first one down on the second over the shank of the hook, and all will then be well covered, and the bait will be a very bon-bon for perch, chub, carp, barbel, and all large fish; but when angling for gudgeon, and other small fish, half a red worm is sufficient, and the tail end is best. If blood-worms are used, put on two or three, in doing which be tender, or you will burst them.

BAITS.

The principal baits are—

  1. The Lob-worm.
  2. The Brandling.
  3. The Marsh-worm.
  4. The Tagtail.
  5. The Ash-grub.
  6. Cowdung Bait.
  7. Caterpillars.
  8. Cabbage-worms.
  9. Crab-tree-worms.
  10. Gentles.
  11. Cad-worms.
  12. Flag-worms.
  13. Grasshoppers.
  14. Wasp-grub.
  15. Cockchafers.
  16. Bread Paste.
  17. Cheese Paste.

1. Lob-worms are found in gardens or churchyards, late in the evening; they have a red head, a streak down the back, and a broad tail. This is a good worm for salmon, chub, trout, barbel, eels, and large perch.

2. Brandling is found in old dunghills, rotten earth or cow-dung, and the best in tanners’ bark. It is a good bait for any kind of fish.

3. The Marsh-worm is found in marshy grounds, or on the banks of rivers; and is a good bait for trout, perch, gudgeon, grayling, and bream.

4. The Tagtail is found in marly lands or meadows, after a shower; and is a good bait for trout when the water is muddy.

5. The Ash-grub is found in the bark of trees. It is a good bait for grayling, dace, roach, or chub.

6. Cowdung Bait is found under cowdung, from May to Michaelmas; and is good bait for grayling, dace, roach, or chub.

7. Caterpillars can be found on almost every tree or plant. Almost any small caterpillar will answer.

8. The Cabbage caterpillar is found on cabbages.

9. The Crabtree-worm can be taken by beating the branches of the crab-apple.

10. Gentles. These are bred in putrid meat—liver producing the best—or may generally be obtained from the butchers. They are an excellent bait for most kinds of fish.

THE CADDIS FLY.

11. Caddis is found in ditches, or on the sides of brooks. It is an excellent bait for trout, grayling, roach, dace, or chub.

12. Flag-worms are found among flags in old pits or ponds, and are good bait for grayling, tench, bream, carp, roach, and dace.

13. Grasshoppers are found in sun-burnt grass, and are good bait for chub, trout, and grayling.

14. Wasp-grubs are to be obtained from wasps’ nests, and are a good bait for most fish that will take gentles.[2]

[2] Wasp-grubs will keep better, and be easier to fit on the hook, if they are baked for half-an-hour.

15. Cockchafers are found humming round the bushes at about dusk on a summer evening, and everywhere, and sometimes in cowdung; are a capital bait for chub, though not for anything else.

16. White-bread Paste is prepared by dipping white bread in water (soaking and squeezing it in the corner of a pocket-handkerchief is the best way), and then working it a little in the palm of the hand. It is a good bait for carp, tench, chub, or roach. Some add a little honey.

17. Cheese Paste is made with fresh cheese, worked up in the hand. It is a good bait for chub.

18. Ground Bait should be used in the spot about to be fished, and, if possible, the night before, and should be fresh. For carp, chub, roach, or dace, use white bread soaked in water, and mixed with bran, pollard, or meal. For barbel, chandler’s greaves, boiled and worked up into a ball with clay. Gentles may also be used as ground bait for any of the above.

TO BAIT WITH GREAVES.

First select the whitest pieces from those you have soaked, and put two or three of them upon your hook, or as much as will cover it from the bend to and over the point; these pieces should be put on the hook separately, one after the other—not a large piece doubled, as some slovenly boys will do, for then the hook is prevented from entering firmly the fish you may strike. These little particulars of baiting are of considerable advantage to young anglers, who ought to remember also that it is a bad practice to soak greaves in hot water, for it makes them rotten, and they in consequence soon fall off the hook.

TO SCOUR AND PRESERVE WORMS.

To do this, the young angler should provide himself with a quantity of fresh moss. Wash out all the earth and squeeze it, but not too dry; then put it into a jar and squeeze it lightly down: throw in the worms upon it. The jar should be kept in a cool place in summer, and the moss changed once in three or four days. Gentles should be thrown into a mixture of damp sand or bran to scour them, and will be ready in two or three days.

THE PLUMMET.

Plummets are used by anglers for sounding the depth of a stream or hole. They are of two kinds, either the folding plummet, or the common plummet. The folding plummet, which is the better, is made of a slip of sheet lead, folded up; and this the young angler should never be without.

PLUMBING THE DEPTH

Is performed in the following manner: If a folding plummet, unfold about two inches of it, pass the hook over its side, and then fold the plummet up again: your hook is now secured from drawing away from the plummet. As success depends much in angling at a proper depth, the young angler should take due pains, and measure the depth accurately before he begins fishing. When the plumb-lead touches the bottom, and the top of the float is even with the surface of the water, you will have the true depth.

LANDING-HOOK AND LANDING-NET.

The landing-hook or gaff is a large hook, which is sometimes barbed like a fish-hook, and sometimes plain, fastened to one end of a handle; this latter is occasionally composed of several pieces, which run one into another, like the slides of a telescope. A landing-net is a small net mounted on a iron ring, which is fastened, like the landing-hook, to the end of a handle or pole.

CLEARING RING AND LINE.

The clearing-line is made of several yards of strong small cord, to the end of which is fastened a heavy ring of lead or brass. If the hook should get fast in a heavy weed, post, or anything else, this ring is put over the butt of the rod, and suffered to slip down the line to the hook. The rod should be held in the right hand, the top pointing downwards, the clearing-line in the left, the ring falling on the hook, from its weight, generally clears the hook from what it may have struck against. If not, the angler should hold the rod firmly, and draw the line sideways, and break away. In this case, the angler seldom loses more than a hook, if he acts as above directed; but without the assistance of a clearing-line he frequently loses his float as well as his hook and line, and sometimes breaks his top joint. The brass clearing-rings are to be preferred, because they are jointed, and in consequence can be used when the angler has a winch in his rod, in which case the leaden ring could not be passed over the winch.

DRAG-HOOK.

The drag is a piece of iron with three or four stout wire hooks without barbs, placed back to back, fastened to a strong cord line, and which is used to draw away weeds.

BANK RUNNER.

The bank-runner is mostly used in the day-time, when the angler is fishing for roach, barbel, &c. It is stuck in the bank, the bottom being strong turned wood, sharpened for the purpose, with a winder at the top for the line, which should be from forty to sixty yards long, made of silk, thin cord, or plaited Dutch twine. But there should be a cork and bullet to the line, and the bait a dace or gudgeon, which should swim about mid-water.

LIVE-BAIT KETTLE.

This should be of an oblong form, and not round; bright inside, and brown out. In getting out the bait, never put your hand into the water, which frightens the fish, and, by heating the water, makes them sickly and dull; but make use of a small net, which is easily carried in the fish-kettle, by having a piece of the lid cut away in one corner.

DISGORGER.

This is an instrument with a forked top, about six inches long, made of iron, brass, or bone. Its use is to get the hook from a fish when swallowed; and in using it, the forked end is thrust down upon the swallowed hook with one hand, while the line is held tight with the other: pressure disgorges the hook, and it is then easily drawn out. In attempting to get a gorged hook from a fish without this instrument, you run a hazard of breaking the hook and hurting yourself. When the fish is hooked through the lip, the angler has only to hold the fish steadily in one hand, while with the other he carefully disengages the hook.

ANGLING AXIOMS.

1. Never fish any water without leave from the proprietor, unless it be water that is free to all comers.

2. Never use unfair bait, or attempt to take fish in any but a fair and sportsmanlike manner.

3. Never start on a day’s fishing without first considering the wind, weather, and water.

4. Never let your shadow fall on the water.

5. Use the finest tackle of which your fishing will admit.

6. Never begin bottom fishing without first plumbing the depth.

7. Never intrude upon another fisherman’s water.

8. And always remember that nothing is lost by politeness.

ACCOUNTS OF THE VARIOUS FRESH-WATER FISH,
WITH THEIR HABITS, HAUNTS, SEASONS, AND THE METHODS OF TAKING THEM.

THE SALMON.

The Salmon is the king of fresh-water fish. It is handsome in form, its head is small, its nose pointed, its back and sides grey, its belly silvery, and its flesh the well-known salmon colour. The male may generally be distinguished by its having the lower jaw more “hooked,” or turned up at the point, than the female; the head is also generally somewhat longer, in comparison to the rest of the body.

Salmon bite best from six till eleven in the forenoon, and from three in the afternoon until sunset, especially when there is a moderate breeze upon the water. The chief months to angle for them are March, April, May, and June. They are to be fished for with lob-worms, or in spinning with minnows, but a large artificial fly is the most killing bait. The rod, for a boy, should not be less than fifteen feet long, with a good running line, and the reel should contain at least fourscore yards. The hook must be large and long in the shank. Few of our young readers, however, will be able to go salmon fishing till they have reached maturity, and, therefore, to give detailed instructions as to the modes of capturing the fish would be superfluous.

THE TROUT.

This beautiful fish is much prized. Izaak Walton says of it, “It is more sharp-sighted than any hawk, and more watchful and timorous than your high-mettled merlin is bold.” In its habits it is a very solitary and predacious fish.

The trout are found in lakes and rivers and minor streams, and are finest in appearance from the beginning of April to the end of July or middle of August: their principal spawning time is from November to January. The most brilliant and beautiful trout are generally found in streams that flow rapidly over rocky or chalky bottoms. They feed upon worms, minnows, and other small fish, but their favourite food consists of insects, flies, caterpillars, &c. upon which they thrive and fatten prodigiously.

In angling for the trout we must have a stout rod and running tackle. The principal baits for him are natural and artificial flies, minnows, and worms. The minnow is, perhaps, the most taking bait for large trout: it should be cast lightly on the water, and drawn trippingly against the current so as to spin. The angler must strike directly his bait is seized. The favourite haunts of the trout are scours, mill tails, eddies, pools, the roots of overhanging trees, and the “nethers” of bridges and weirs.

THE JACK OR PIKE.

The mighty luce or pike, says Walton, is taken to be the tyrant, as the salmon is the king, of the fresh waters. His aspect is savage but by no means repulsive, and when in fine condition a large pike is altogether a grand-looking fish. His teeth are very sharp and very numerous, being upwards of seven hundred, and his voracious appetite is such that nothing comes amiss to him. He has been known to swallow the plummet, and the clay and bran balls of ground bait of the angler, and he will prey upon “rats and mice and such small deer,” with ducks, geese, and even swans, which he has been known to pull under water. He often grows to an enormous size (no wonder), and has been taken upwards of ninety pounds in weight.

Pike are fond of dull, shady, and unfrequented waters, with a sandy, chalky, or clayey bottom, and are found among or near flags, bulrushes, or water docks. They seldom seek a very rapid stream, although weirs and mill-pools are often their favourite retreat in the early summer months—that is, in June and July, when they have recently spawned. In winter they retire into the depths, eddies, and waters little acted upon by the current.

The pike is in its prime during October and November, but is in season from June to February; the baits used for it are gudgeon, minnows, chub, and bleak, and should be about three or four inches in length. The rod should be strong; the line of dressed silk, at least sixty yards long, wound upon the winch already described. Hooks for trolling, called dead gorges, and other sorts for trolling, snap, &c. and fishing needles, are to be bought at every shop where fishing tackle is sold; in the choice of the first, let them not be too large, nor their temper injured by the lead on the shanks, nor the points stand too proud; and although usually sold on wire, it is recommended to cut off the wire about half an inch from the lead, and with a double silk, well waxed, fasten about a foot of good gimp to the wire, with a noose at the other end of the gimp large enough to admit the bait to pass through to hang it upon the line. The best baits are gudgeon and dace of a middling size; put the baiting needle in at the mouth and out at the middle of the tail, drawing the gimp and hook after it, fixing the point of the hook near the eye of the fish; tie the tail to the gimp, which will not only keep it in a proper position, but prevent the tail from catching against the weeds and roots in the water. Thus baited, the hook is to be fastened to the line and dropped gently in the water near the sides of the river, across the water, or where it is likely pike resort; keep the bait in constant motion, sometimes letting it sink near the bottom and gradually raising it. When the bait is taken, let the pike have what line he chooses. It will be soon known when he has reached his hole, which he generally flies to, by his not drawing more. Allow him ten minutes for gorging the bait, wind up the line gently till you think it is nearly at its stretch, and then strike. Manage him with a gentle hand, keeping him, however, from roots and stumps, which he will try to fasten the line upon, till he is sufficiently tired, and a landing net can be used; but by no means, however apparently exhausted he may be, attempt to lift him out with the rod and line only.

In trolling, the bait hook should never be thrown too far; in small rivers the opposite bank may be fished with ease, though the violence of its falls upon the water in long throws soon spoils the bait by rubbing off its scales. In angling for pike always prefer a rough wind. If a pike goes slowly up a stream, after taking the bait, it is said to be the sign of a good fish.

THE GUDGEON.

Is one of the most delicious fish for eating, although small in size. It bites freely from the latter end of spring until autumn, in gloomy warm days, from an hour after sunrise to within the same space of its setting; and during the rest of the year, in the middle of the day, when it is warmest.

In angling for gudgeon the tackle must be very fine, a single hair or fine gut fine, a hook No. 8 or 9, a short rod and line, and a small tapering cork float. The gudgeon will take the small red-worm greedily, and blood-worms—the first is perhaps the best. A rake or the boat-hook should be kept frequently stirring the bottom. To the spot so stirred gudgeon assemble in shoals, expecting food from the discolouring of the water. They are apt to nibble at the bait; the angler ought not, therefore, to strike till the float goes well down.

GUDGEON AND BREAM.

Should any young angler desire a good day’s fishing for gudgeon, and a pleasant walk into the bargain, he should seek out some sequestered gravelly stream, and providing himself with a rake with a long handle, he may have sport till he is tired of it. He will find the fish scattered up and down every river in the shallows during the heat of summer, but in winter they get into deeper water. Gudgeon are to be fished for there with your hook always touching the ground.

THE ROACH.

The roach is a handsome fish either in or out of the water. It inhabits many of our deep still rivers, delighting most in quiet waters. It is gregarious, keeping in large shoals. It delights in gravelly, sandy, or a kind of slimy marl bottom, under a deep gentle running stream; in summer it often frequents shallows near the tails of fords, or lies under banks among weeds, under the shades of boughs, and at or opposite the mouth of a rivulet or brook, that empties itself into a large river. In winter the roach like to get into clear, deep, and still waters.

The tackle for roach must be fine and strong, a twelve-foot rod and a five-foot line, a porcupine float, and hooks No. 11 or 12. The bait, gentils, bread-paste, boiled wheat or red worms. The ground bait should be damp meal or bran, mixed with soaked bread or clay (the former best). In fishing for roach in ponds, chew and throw in white bread. The hook should be No. 6, and the bait either touch the bottom or lie within one inch of it. As many gentils should be put on the hook as will cover it, all but the barb. Strike directly the float goes down.

The season for roach fishing in the Thames begins about the latter end of August and continues through the winter. To London Bridge and among the shipping below it, numbers of roach return in June and July, after having been up the river to spawn, and many of them are taken by means of a strong cord, to which is fastened a leaden weight, more or less, according to the strength of the current; a foot above this lead a twine twelve feet long is joined to the cord, and to this twine at convenient distances are tied a dozen hair links, with roach hooks at the ends; these are baited with white snails or periwinkles, the fisherman holds the cord in his hand, and easily feels the biting of the fish, which is a signal to pull up, and frequently five or six are taken at a haul.

ROACH AND DACE.

THE DACE.

Dace are gregarious—are great breeders—very lively—and during summer fond of playing near the surface. Their haunts are deep water, near the piles of bridges, where the stream is gentle, and has a sandy or clayey bottom. They like deep holes that are shaded by water-lily leaves, and under the foam caused by an eddy; in the warm months they are to be found in shoals on the shallows and gravels.

The baits for dace are red-worms, gentles, and small flies, natural or artificial, used as in fly-fishing for trout. In angling for dace with worms, maggots, &c. the tackle cannot be too fine, the float small, the hook No. 9, the shot a foot from it; by baiting the place with a few maggots before fishing, the diversion will be increased. If you angle in an eddy between two mill streams, and the water is only two or three feet deep, there will be a greater chance of success than where it is deeper; bait and strike as in roach fishing. The ground-bait may also be the same.

Fish for dace within three inches of the ground, especially where the ant fly is the bait under water. In fishing, take advantage if you can of a still, warm, gloomy day, or go in a summer’s evening to a gravelly or sandy shallow, or tail end of a mill-stream, and as long as the light continues the dace will yield diversion.

THE PERCH.

“Perch feed on perch,” is an old maxim; the perch being the only one of all fresh-water fish that feeds on its own kind. His excuse is a prodigious appetite, like that of Saturn, who ate his own offspring. Notwithstanding this wicked propensity, the perch is a beautiful fish, the back and part of the sides being a deep green, marked with broad black bars, pointing downwards; the spaces between are golden, the belly white, and the fins tinged with scarlet. They vary greatly in size. The largest perch we ever caught weighed three pounds twelve ounces, and was taken with a roach bait near Richmond. Their general length is about ten or twelve inches.

Perch are found in ponds and in clear rivers with pebbly, clayey, or sandy bottoms. They are fond of water moderately deep, and frequent holes near to gentle streams where there is an eddy, the hollows under banks, among weeds and roots of trees, piles of bridges, or in ponds which are fed by a brook or rivulet. The perch is a bold biter in the summer, but scarcely ever in the winter. In the middle of a warm sunshiny day, you are sure to have him with a proper bait. In the winter he bites best in large quiet eddies, to which he retreats after the first heavy flood.

The baits for perch are various, as well as the manner of using them. Of worms, the best are brandlings, and red dunghill-worms, well scoured. The hook may be varied from No. 2 to 6, being well whipped to a strong silkworm gut, with a shot or two a foot from it. Put the point of the hook in at the head of the worm, out again a little lower than the middle, pushing it above the shank of the hook upon the gut; then put the point of the hook into the worm again the reverse way, and draw the head part down so as to cover the hook entirely. This is the most enticing method that can be adopted in worm-fishing. Use a small cork float to keep the bait at six or twelve inches from the bottom, or sometimes about mid-water. In angling near the bottom, raise the bait very frequently from thence almost to the surface, letting it gradually fall again. Should a good shoal be met with, they are so greedy that sometimes they may be all caught.

Other baits for perch are cadbait and gentles; but the best and most enticing bait is a live minnow. If you find the fish shy, try not long in one spot. In baiting your hook with the minnow, fix your hook through his upper lip, and use a small reel with your rod. Your hook should be No. 5, fastened to a link of gut.

THE GRAYLING.

The grayling is a fish of elegant form; the back is of a dusky purple, the sides of a fine silvery grey, with the scales in long parallel rows or lines (from which the fish derives its name), marked with black spots, irregularly placed. It is rather a hog-backed fish; and, from the nose and belly touching the ground together, is supposed to feed mostly at the bottom. In length it seldom exceeds sixteen inches, but some have been caught upwards of five pounds in weight.

The haunts of the grayling are in rapid, clear streams, particularly such as flow through mountainous countries. They are usually taken in the same manner as the trout, and with similar baits. They do not bite freely till late in August, or early in September, and may be found at the tails of sharp streams and in deep water. They rise more boldly than the trout, and if missed several times will still pursue the bait. They will bite during the whole of the cold cloudy days; but the preferable time to look after them is between eight and twelve o’clock in the morning, and from four in the afternoon till after sunset. Grasshoppers, wasp-grubs, maggots, and the artificial fly, are the most killing baits.

THE CHUB.

This fish takes its name from the shape of the head, not only in our own, but in other languages. The head and back are of a deep dusky green, the sides silvery. The tail is forked, and very black at the end, and altogether the chub is rather a handsome fish, although its flesh is not much in esteem.

The haunts of the chub are in rivers whose bottoms are of sand or clay, or which flow over a gravelly bottom, in deep holes, under hollow banks; in summer, particularly where shaded by trees, &c. they frequently float on the surface, and are sometimes found in streams and deep waters, where the currents are strong. In ponds fed by a rivulet they grow to a large size.

To fish for chub at the bottom, you should have a stout long rod, a strong line (and if you use a reel, you will be the better able to fish under bushes), with two yards or more of the best silkworm gut at bottom; a hook proportionate to the bait used; a swan-quill float; and the line so shotted, eight or ten inches from the hook, as to sink the float to a quarter of an inch above the surface. The same groundbait is to be used as for carp. The best baits are greaves, cheese paste, or the tail end of a well-scoured lob-worm. The cockchafer is also a very tempting bait, especially towards dusk: no float or shot are required for this.

After baiting your hook with a cockchafer, move it two or three times near the surface, as in the act of flying; then drop it in the water, tapping the rod gently, which will cause the appearance of its struggling to escape. This attracts the chub, who are so fond of this bait, that they will rise two or three at a time to seize it. But mind and be ready with your landing-net.

The chub will take a grub, wasps, maggots, paste of fine new bread worked in the hand, and tinged with vermilion, to make it look like salmon-roe; but the best bait for bottom or float-fishing for the chub is new Cheshire cheese, worked with the crumb of a new roll, or the pith from the backbone of an ox. In baiting with the cheese, put a round lump the size of a cherry on a large hook, so as to cover the bend, and some way up the shank; fish six inches from the bottom, or in cold weather the bait may lie on the ground. When there is a bite, the float will be drawn under water: strike immediately, and give him play, holding a tolerably tight line, to keep the fish clear from weeds and stumps.

The best time for fishing for chub is chiefly before sunrise to nine in the morning, and from four till after sunset in the summer; but, in winter, the middle of the day is best. In hot weather, the chub is to be fished for at or near the top of the water, and not deeper than midwater; and in cold weather, close to or near the bottom; and the main point in taking the fish is for the angler to keep himself out of sight. A very deadly way of killing chub, and certainly the most artistic method, is with the artificial fly, used as in trout fishing. Flies are made expressly for this purpose, and of these the best are red and black palmers, and the Marlow buzz.

THE CARP.

Carp are esteemed among the richest fresh-water fish we have in the kingdom, and are as cunning as foxes. The angler, therefore, must be “wide awake” to catch him, and also as patient as a saint. He may, however, fish for him at any time in the day during warm weather. The bait may be either worms or paste. Of worms, the bluish marsh or meadow is the best; but a red-worm, not too big, will do: of paste, the best is made of bread and honey; and the spot intended should be well baited beforehand. In a large pond, to draw them together, throw in either grains, or soaked bread worked up with meal or bran; follow this with a few of the small baits you intend to angle with.

Whilst you are fishing, chew a little bread, and throw it in about the place where your float swims. In fishing for carp in ponds, the bait and about half a foot of the gut nearest the hook should lie on the bottom; otherwise the carp will continually suck the bait off. When the carp has fairly taken the bait, you will perceive the float move steadily away or under water, then strike, and not till then. In this way, with due patience, you will prove a match for these crafty fish.

THE TENCH.

The tench is one of our most useful fresh-water fishes, for the ease with which it may be preserved, and the goodness of its flesh. It is very usual to breed it in ponds, but naturally, like many others of the carp tribe, it is generally found in lakes and still waters; its favourite haunts are in places well shaded with bushes or rushes. In standing waters, it lies under weeds, near sluices, and at pond-heads.

The best baits for tench are bread paste and red worms, but he usually prefers the latter. He feeds best in the three hot months. The worm should be put on the hook in the method directed for perch, but the hook itself should be of a somewhat smaller size. Use a light float and strong gut line, and let the bait swim within an inch or two of the bottom.

THE POPE, OR RUFF,

Is something like a perch in shape, but more bluff and bulky. He is found principally in slow, deep, quiet rivers, which have a loamy bottom. The spawning time is in April. The best baits for him are red-worms and brandlings. The places where he is to be had are where the water is deep and still; and these places should be baited with some clay-balls, with which worms are mixed. Should the water be muddy, worms will do alone; but if clear, clay must be used to render it opaque before you fish. The fish will bite at any time of a warm summer’s day, when the sky is cloudy. In angling, use a No. 8 or 9 hook, with a quill float; and the moment you see the float disappear, strike.

THE BREAM.

The bream, at full growth, is a large and stately fish, and is oftentimes as fat as a hog. He is principally found in large ponds or in lakes, and in still rivers where the waters are deep and shaded by weeds; and may be taken throughout the latter part of summer and autumn.

The baits are many: paste made of white bread and honey, gentles, wasp-grubs, and brandlings; but much the best general bait is the tail end of a lob-worm. Use lob-worms, cut in pieces, brewers’ grains, or greaves, as groundbaits in the places where you intend to angle. Use a gut line, quill float, and hook the same as for perch. Sound the bottom, which should be eight or ten feet deep, and stand at least two yards from the bank from which you fish; the bait should just touch or trip along the bottom.

THE FLOUNDER.

The flounder is a well-known flat-fish very common about our own coasts; and should any of our young friends be at the seaside, it is well that they should know how to take flounder. They are also found in rivers, at some distance from the sea. They may be taken in May, July, and August,—not in June, as that is their spawning time. The best baits are red-worms and marsh-worms, on a No. 6 hook; and you should fish at the bottom.

THE FLOUNDER.

EELS.

Eels are denizens of the mud; but they are fond of clean not foul mud, and ought never to be sought after in filthy places. There are many modes of taking them: by rod and line, by dead line, by sniggling, by bobbing, and by spearing. When a rod is used, you should put a brandling or red-worm on a No. 8 hook; the bait should touch the bottom; and, when you have a “bite,” the float should be drawn quite under water before you strike.

The dead line is a line of whipcord, with hooks about two feet asunder, baited with lob-worms or small fish, and having a weight at the end. You should also have a bank-runner—a reel on a pin or stake stuck into the ground on the edge of the bank; the line and baits should be thrown in, and left for the eels to amuse themselves with,—looked to, and drawn up at your leisure.

In sniggling, a lob-worm is put upon a stout worsted needle; the line is on a winder; and the fish will be found near flood-gates, wharfings, bridges, piles, holes in the banks of rivers, ponds, and canals. The bait should be put into the lurking-places of the eel, by means of a stick with a forked head; and when the bait is taken, which will easily be known by the pull of the string, strike.

Bobbing for eels.—In this process long red-worms are strung on threads of worsted, until a bunch as large as the two fists is formed around a piece of lead. The whole is sunk to the bottom, or nearly so, then raised a little, then depressed, so as to induce the eels to bite. When this occurs, heave up without hurry. The number of eels taken in this way is often prodigious.

In spearing eels, the spearer usually goes into the mud in a pair of pants or mud pattens, pieces of square board fastened into the heel to prevent sinking. He takes an eel-spear in his hand, something like Neptune’s trident, and progs the mud all over, and the eels are caught between the forked blades of the spear. Great numbers of eels are taken in this way on the muddy ooze of salt or fresh-water rivers.

THE STICKLEBACK AND MINNOW.

The stickleback is a dark-coloured little fish, found in ditches and ponds. They are best caught with a small hand-net, and are occasionally used as bait for perch. The minnow is very beautiful in appearance, being of a rose colour underneath, and may be taken with a worm and a No. 13 hook at any time of day; but more easily with a small hand-net. They are commonly found in little rivulets, rills, or small sandy streams, and are highly prized by the angler as baits for many kinds of fish.

THE BARBEL.

The barbel is a bold, sturdy, handsome-looking fish, although its flesh is coarse to the eater; but he is a rare fellow for sport, and often affords great amusement as well as chagrin to the angler by his bolting off with the line by a “coup de barbel,” and breaking it with his tail. Izaak Walton says, that barbel “flock together like sheep.”

Barbel are to be found in the strongest runs of water. In summer, they love the shallowest and sharpest streams, and will lurk under weeds, and will root and dig in the sand like pigs. Sometimes he retires to deep and swift bridges, or to flood-gates or weirs, and will rest himself against piles or hollow places. In winter he gets into deep water.

BARBEL WITH GOLD CARP.

In fishing for barbel in large streams, you should go out in a boat provided with greaves, gentles, and red-worms; and, before you begin fishing, you should throw in plenty of groundbait—such as soaked greaves, bran and clay made into small balls, maggots, or lob-worms. They may be angled for with a stout rod, strong running line, cork float, and No. 7 or 8 hook, baited with marshworms or greaves. The barbel being a sharp biter, strike the moment you feel a nibble. He may be caught from May to October all day, but best in the morning and evening. After he is struck he will frequently make a run, but you must play him gently; keep him clear of weeds, and try to get him into deep water; and when you have him, mind he does not bounce out of your hand and drop down the stream again.

NATURAL FLY-FISHING, OR DIPPING.

Fishing with a fly may be practised either with the natural fly, usually called “dipping,” or with the artificial fly; in which latter case the sport is called “fly-fishing,” or sometimes “whipping.” Dipping requires a moderately long and stiff rod, of about twelve or thirteen feet. The line should not be above a yard in length from the end of the rod, but the reel should contain sufficient to play the fish if necessary. When the river is much overhung with bushes, it is a good plan to wind the line round the end of the top joint, leaving only a few inches dependent; and then, having thrust the rod through some small opening in the bushes, gradually to unwind the line by turning the rod in the hand, so as to drop the fly on the water in the most gentle manner. In this insidious way large fish are often taken with any of the flies which are in season and found at the time on the banks of the river which is fished, especially if they are only just coming out, and the fish are not yet satiated with them. It is quite needless to give a list of the natural flies which are likely to prove serviceable to the fisherman, because he has only to look for those which at the time are tempting the fish, and then to endeavour to find them on the banks, and at once to try their powers. In the case of chub, however, he will find grasshoppers and humble-bees more useful than any of the flies, and yet they are neither of them often seen upon the waters, and may be considered exceptional cases. The fish which will generally take the natural fly are grayling, trout, chub, and dace.

FLY-FISHING AND ARTIFICIAL FLIES.

For this delightful sport, which captivates alike the sexagenarian and the schoolboy, rods and tackle of the finest quality are required. It is true, that a good workman will take fish even with a willow wand, but still he would do far better with a rod turned out by a good maker; and few young hands will be able to do much without a well-finished specimen of the art of rod-making. The rod should be strong, yet fine, and either of dressed silk, or silk and hair mixed. The lower portion, called the foot-length, is of gut, generally occupying about five or six feet of it, to which one, two, or three flies are attached, the one at the end being called a stretcher, and the others droppers.

The fly-fisher should be able to make his own flies, as there is a great advantage in being able to “do for oneself;” and it may sometimes happen that he may be out of a particular fly when far away from “fly shops.”

MATERIALS FOR MAKING FLIES.

Feathers of various kinds; hairs of various kinds; very fine sewing silk; gold and silver twist. Of the first, the young fly-fisher must provide himself with the feathers of the duck, cock, grouse, snipe, bittern, woodcock, partridge, landrail, starling, jay, golden plover, and peacock. Of the second, the fur from Tommy’s tail, from the skins of squirrels, moles, and water rats, camel’s hair, hare’s ear, fur from its neck, the yellow fur from the neck of the martin, mohairs of different shades, camlets, black horsehair, hog’s down dyed various colours. And with these, gimps, silks, and tinsel, a good pair of pliers, and a pair of fine-pointed scissors.

In making your fly, imitate as nearly as possible the natural fly you wish to represent; to do this properly, it will be well to dissect a natural fly, and to imitate its several parts, and then to reconstruct it with a reference to the whole. With a hook of the proper size, and a feather of the right colour, the fly-maker may now commence. His feather must be stripped down on each side, leaving just so much as will do for the wings at the fine end; a piece of fine gut, free from imperfection, and properly tested as to its strength; dubbing or hackle; and a piece of fine silk well waxed with shoemaker’s wax.

Let the essay be now made. Hold your hook in the left hand, wrap the silk round the bare hook two or three times, and put the finest end of the gut on the under side of the hook. If you are working for a tackle fly, begin at the band and work up to the head, after turning three or four times round the hook and gut; fasten on the tackle, and continue the winding of the silk until it reaches the end of the hook, then turn it back two or three times, to form the head. The dubbing must now be twisted round the silk, and wrapped upon the hook for nearly half the proposed length of the body; fasten it there by a single loop, that both hands may be at liberty to manage the tackle.

When sufficient of the feather is wound upon the hook, the remainder should be held under the thumb of the left hand, and the entangled fibres picked out with a needle. The silk and dubbing must now be twisted over the end of the tackle, until the body of the fly is of the length required, and then fastened. If gold or silver twist is used, the twist should be fastened to the lower end of the body before the dubbing is applied to the silk.

To make a winged fly, the same method must be observed in tying on the hook; then take the feather which is to form the wings, and place it even on the upper side of the shank, with the roots pointing towards the bend of the hook; fasten the feathers, by winding the silk over it, and cut the root end close with a pair of scissors, and divide the wings as equally as possible with a needle, passing the silk two or three times between them, to make them stand in a proper position; bring the silk down the shank of the hook the proposed length of the body, and fasten it, then apply the dubbing to the silk, and twist it towards the wings; fasten in the hackle for legs, and wind it neatly under the wings, so as to hide the ends of the cut fibres: the silk must be fastened above the wings—be careful of this.

It would be impossible for us, nor would it be very useful to the young fly-fisher, to give him directions for making every kind of fly. We may, however, throw out a few hints concerning the making of most of the flies in common use, and of the materials employed.

1. The green drake or May fly.—This is one of the most killing trout flies, but it is seldom in the water for a longer period than three weeks. The time of its appearance varies in different rivers, but it generally rises about the last week in May, and continues for about three weeks. The wings are made of the light feathers of a grey drake, dyed a pale yellow-green colour, by being boiled for a minute or two in a decoction of green vitriol. The body is formed of amber-coloured mohair or silk ribbon, with dark green silk; the head of peacock’s harl, and the tail of three long hairs taken from a sable muff.

2. The black gnat.—The body of this fly is made of black ostrich harl, and the wings of a pale starling’s feather; it must be dressed short and thick. It is in use from the end of April till the end of May, and is a good killer when the water is low.

3. Hare’s ear.—The wings are made from the feather of a starling’s wing, the body from the fur of the hare’s ear, the legs of a ginger cock’s hackle.

4. Cock tail.—Wings of the light feather from a snipe’s wing, the body of yellow mohair.

5. Whirling dun.—Wings of a snipe’s feather, body of blue fur wrapped with yellow silk, and a blue cock’s hackle for legs; the tail of two hairs from a coloured muff.

6. Grey drake.—Wings of a dark grey feather of the mallard, the body of white silk, striped with dark silk, the head of a peacock’s harl, and the tail of three hairs from a sable muff.

7. Cowdung fly.—The wings of the feather of a landrail, the body of yellow camlet, mixed with a little brown bear-fur, and a ginger hackle for legs; the wings should be dressed flat.

8. Bee fly.—The body of thread of various colours, arranged in stripes of the following order:—black, white, light yellow, white, black, white; the legs of a black hackle; the wings from the feathers of a blue pigeon’s wing: the body must be dressed thick.

9. Red palmer.—The body of dark-red mohair, ribbed with gold twist, and wrapped with a red cock’s hackle.

10. Peacock palmer.—The body of a peacock’s harl, wrapped with a dusky-red cock’s hackle.

11. Kingdom fly.—Wings of a woodcock’s feather, the body of white silk, striped with green, and the legs of a red cock’s hackle.

12. White gnat.—The wings of a small white feather, the body of white silk, and the legs of a red cock’s hackle.

13. Blue dun.—The wings of a starling’s feather, the body of blue fur from a water rat, mixed with a little lemon-colour mohair; the tail is forked, and should be made of two fibres from the feather used for the wing.

14. Red ant.—The wings of a light starling’s feather, the body of peacock’s harl made thick at the tail, and a ginger hackle for legs.

15. Gold spinner.—Wings of a starling’s feather, body of orange silk, ribbed with gold twist, and the legs of a red hackle.

16. Great white moth.—Wings of a feather from the wing of a white owl, the body of white cotton, and a white cock’s hackle wrapped round the body.

17. Governor.—Wings of a woodcock’s feather, the body of a peacock’s harl, tied with orange silk.

18. March brown.—Wings of the dark mottled feather from the tail of a partridge, the body of fur from a hare’s ear, well mixed with a little yellow worsted, and a grizzled cock’s hackle for legs.

19. Stone fly.—Wings of a dusky-blue cock’s hackle, or a mottled feather from a hen pheasant, the body of dark-brown and yellow camlet mixed, and a grizzled hackle for legs; the wings should be flat.

20. Black silver palmer.—The body of black ostrich harl, ribbed with silver twist, and wrapped with black cock’s hackle.

21. Willow fly.—The wings of dark grizzled cock’s hackle, the body of blue squirrel’s fur, mixed with yellow mohair.

22. Yellow palmer.—The wings of white hackle, dyed yellow, the body of yellow silk.

23. Black palmer.—The body of black ostrich’s harl, wrapped with a black cock’s hackle.

24. Black palmer ribbed with gold.—The body of peacock’s harl, wrapped with a black cock’s hackle, and ribbed with gold twist.

25. Marlow Buzz or Cock-a-Boundhu.—This is one of the most killing flies known, and should never be off the line during the trout season. The body of peacock’s harl, ribbed with gold twist, and a dark-red cock’s hackle over all.

26. The Grouse Hackle.—This is also a very killing fly, especially late in the evening, during June, July, and August. Body of brown fur, ribbed with gold twist, and a grouse hackle over all; hook No. 10.

The foregoing list comprises twenty-six of the most killing flies; and the following are the months in which they will be found to kill best.

February, red cowdung fly, blue dun; March, brown; April, black gnat, stone fly, gravel or spider fly, the green tail, brown, blue dun; May, green drake, grey drake, oak fly, hazel fly, little iron blue and yellow sally; June, hare’s ear, cock tail, whirling dun, marlow buzz, bee fly, kingdom fly, white gnat, blue gnat, blue dun, governor, fern fly; gold spinner; July, red ant, red spinner, yellow dun, coachman, fern fly; August, whirling blue, red spinner, pale yellow dun; September, willow fly, silver twisted blue, whirling blue.

It would of course be impossible, in a work of this description, to give a list of all the artificial flies used by experienced fishermen, but the above are a few of the most killing. For bleak, dace, roach, chub, &c. a piece of a maggot, or a small piece of white leather, should be placed at the end of the hook.

Having thus given the “order of flies,” natural and artificial, we may imagine the young fly-fisher, with rod in hand, proportionate to his strength and the breadth of the stream, ready to throw his fly; but let his rod and running tackle be in good order, and the idea of the coachman’s whip out of his mind. He is not to flog the water, but to tickle it. The novice should teach himself to handle the line, by beginning with it alone, (i. e. without flies or hook,) trying a short length first, and lengthening it gradually. In using the rod, it should be drawn vigorously back, though without a jerk, and thrown forward again when the line has reached its full extent behind. Take care in doing this, that the fly be not whipped off. When tolerably expert, put on one fly, and try awhile with that, adopting two or three when able to use them properly.

In fly-fishing keep as far from the water as possible, especially if fishing for trout. Let only the flies touch the water, and keep moving them gently and slowly on the surface. When a fish rises, let not a moment elapse before you strike, and do it sharply.

When you have two flies on your line, you must try to throw your line so that the bottom fly shall reach the water first; it must be done always as lightly as possible, so that it may resemble a natural fly settling upon the water. You must suffer the line to float gently down the stream, at the same time working it towards you.

The best time for angling with the fly is when there is a gentle breeze upon the water; south and west winds are to be preferred, when the water has been disturbed by heavy rains and is just resuming its natural colour, or when the day is dull and cloudy. The best time, morning and evening. In cold weather the fish bite deeper, and you should then let the fly sink a little. Take care to have the wind in your back, and the sun in your face, if possible.

When you see a rise, throw your fly about half a yard above the fish’s nose, and let it fall down with the stream; watch it narrowly, and strike as the fish rises, giving him an “infinite little moment” to taste. When you have hooked, play your fish carefully, keeping up his head and running him down the stream, at the same time steering him towards you. If you see a fish rise at a natural fly, throw your bait a little before him, so that he may take it as “one of the number.”

To know what flies the fish are most likely to take, observe what natural flies are about the water, or on the grass, trees, or bushes in the vicinity of the river; and take that fly which is the most in abundance, either natural or artificial at your discretion.

Such are a few practical particulars concerning angling and fly-fishing, sufficient to enable any young angler to begin. For more abundant information we refer him to Mr. Stoddart and Mr. Stewart, for fly-fishing, Mr. Cholmondeley Pennell for pike-fishing, “Hewitt Wheatley” for grayling fishing, and Mr. Francis Francis for the various modes of bottom fishing.