Henne shall ye make your flotys in this wyse. Take a fayr corke that is clene without many holes. and bore it {11} thrugh wyth a smalle hote yren : And putt therin a penne iuste and streyghte. Euer the more flote the gretter penne & the gre | ter hole. Thenne shape it grete in the myddis and smalle at bo | the endys. and specyally sharpe in the nether ende / and lyke vn | to the fygures folowynge. And make theym smothe on a gryn | dyng stone : or on a tyle stone. ¶ And loke that the flote for one heer be nomore than a pese. For two heeres : as a beene. for twel | ue heeres : as a walnot. And soo euery lyne after the proporcōn. ¶ All manere lynes that ben not for the groūde must haue flo | tes. And the rennynge grounde lyne must haue a flote. The ly | enge grounde lyne wythout flote.
Ow I haue lernyd you to make all your harnays. Here I woll tell you how ye shall angle. ¶ Ye shall angle : vnderstonde that there is .vi. manere of anglyng. That one is at the grounde for the troughte and other fisshe. A nother is at ye grounde at an arche / or at a stange where it ebbyth and flowyth : for bleke : roche. and darse. The thyrde is wyth a flote for all manere of fysshe. The fourth wyth a menow for ye troughte wythout plumbe or flote. The fyfth is rennynge in yt same wyse for roche and darse wyth one or two heeres & a flye. The syxte is wyth a dubbyd hoke for the troughte & graylyng ¶ And for the fyrste and pryncypall poynt in anglynge : kepe ye euer fro the water fro the sighte of the fysshe : other ferre on the londe : or ellys behynde a busshe that the fysshe se you not. For yf they doo they wol not byte. ¶ Also loke that ye shadow not the water as moche as ye may. For it is that thynge that woll soone fraye the fysshe. And yf a fysshe be afrayed he woll not bi | te longe after. For alle manere fysshe that fede by the grounde ye shall angle for theim to the botom. soo that your hokys shall renne or lye on the grounde. And for alle other fysshe that fede {12} aboue ye shall angle to theym in the myddes of the water or somdeale byneth or somdeale aboue. For euer the gretter fisshe the nerer he lyeth the botom of the water. And euer the smaller fysshe the more he smymmyth aboue. ¶ The thyrde good poynt is whan the fysshe bytyth that ye be not to hasty to smyte nor to late / For ye must abide tyll ye suppose that the bayte be ferre in the mouth of the fysshe / and thenne abyde noo longer. And this is for the groūde. ¶ And for the flote whan ye se it pul | lyd softly vnder the water : or elles caryed vpon the water softly : thenne smyte. And loke that ye neuer ouersmyte the strengthe of your lyne for brekynge. ¶ And yf it fortune you to smyte a grete fysshe wyth a smalle harnays : thenne ye must lede hym in the water and labour him there tyll he be drownyd and ouercome. Thenne take hym as well as ye can or maye. and euer bewaar that ye holde not ouer the strengthe of your lyne. And as moche as ye may lete hym not come out of your lynes ende streyghte from you : But kepe hym euer vnder the rodde / and euermore holde hym streyghte : soo that your lyne may sus | teyne and beere his lepys and his plungys wyth the helpe of your croppe & of your honde.
Ere I woll declare vnto you in what place of the water ye shall angle. Ye shall angle in a pole or in a stondinge water in euery place where it is ony thynge depe. The | re is not grete choyse of ony places where it is ony thynge de | pe in a pole. For it is but a pryson to fysshe. and they lyue for ye more parte in hungre lyke prisoners : and therfore it is the lesse maystry to take theym. But in a ryuer ye shall angle in euery place where it is depe and clere by the grounde : as grauell or claye wythout mudde or wedys. And in especyall yf that there be a manere whyrlynge of water or a couert. As an holow ban | ke : or grete rotys of trees : or longe wedes fletyng aboue in the water where the fysshe maye couere and hyde theymself at certayn tymes whan they lyste Also it is good for to angle in depe styffe stremys and also in fallys of waters and weares : and in floode gatys and mylle pyttes. And it is good for to angle where as the water restyth by the banke : and where the streme rennyth nyghe there by : and is depe and clere by the grounde {13} and in ony other placys where ye may se ony fyssh houe or ha | ne ony fedynge.
Ow ye shall wyte what tyme of the daye ye shall angle ¶ From the begynnynge of May vntyll it be Septem | bre the bytynge tyme is erly by the morowe from foure of ye clocke vnto eyghte of the clocke. And at after none from foure of the clocke vnto eyghte of the clocke : but not soo good as is in the mornynge. And yf it be a colde whystelyng wynde and a derke lowrynge daye. For a derke daye is moche better to angle in than a clere daye. ¶ From the begynnynge of Sep | tembre vnto the ende of Apryll spare noo tyme of the daye :
¶ Also many pole fysshes woll byte beste in the none tyde.
¶ And yf ye se ony tyme of the daye the trought or graylynge lepe : angle to hym wyth a dubbe acordynge to the same month And where the water ebbyth and flowyth the fysshe woll byte in some place at the ebbe : and in some place at the flood. After yt they haue restynge behynde stangnys and archys of brydgys and other suche manere places.