The best way to angle with the cad-bait, is to fish with it on the top of the water, as you do with the fly; it must stand upon the shank of the hook, in like manner with the artificial fly; if it come into the bend of the hook, the fish will little or not at all value it, nor if you pull the blue gut out of it; and to make it keep that place, you must, when you set on your hook, fasten a horse hair or two under the silk, with the ends standing a very little out from under the silk, and pointing towards the line; this will keep it from sliding back into the bend; and thus used, it is a most excellent bait for a Trout. You may imitate the cad-bait, by making the body of chamois, the head of black silk.
I might here notice several sorts of flies, with the colours that are used to make them; but for the reasons before given, that their colours alter in several rivers and soils, and also because, though I name the colours, yet it is not easy to choose that colour by any description, except so largely performed as would be over large, and swell this small piece beyond my intended conciseness, which are easy and short, if rightly observed, are full enough, and sufficient for making and finding out all sorts of flies in all rivers. I shall only add, that the Salmon flies must be made with wings standing one behind the other, whether two or four; also he delights in the most gaudy and orient colours you can choose; the wings I mean chiefly, if not altogether, with long tails and wings.
CHAP. IV.
OF ANGLING AT THE GROUND.
Now we are come to the second part of angling, viz. under the water, which if it be with the ground-line for the Trout, then you must not use any float at all, only a plumb of lead, which I would wish might be a small bullet, the better to roll on the ground; and it must also be lighter or heavier, as the stream runs swift or slow, and you must place it about nine inches or a foot from the hook; the lead must run upon the ground, and you must keep your line as straight as possible, yet by no means so as to raise the lead from the ground; your top must be very gentle, that the fish may more easily, and to himself insensibly, run away with the bait, and not be scared with the stiffness of the rod; and if you make your top of black thorn and whale-bone, as I before directed, it will conduce much to this purpose: neither must you strike so soon as you feel the fish bite, but slack your line a little, that so he may more securely swallow the bait, and hook himself, which he will sometimes do, especially if he be a good one; the least jerk, however, hooks him, and indeed you can scarce strike too easily. Your tackle must be very fine and slender, and so you will have more sport than if you had strong lines, which frighten the fish, but the slender line is easily broke; with a small jerk. Morning and evening are the best times for the ground-line for a Trout, in clear weather and water, but in cloudy weather, or muddy water, you may angle at ground all day.
2. You may also in the night angle for the Trout with two great garden worms, hanging as equally in length as you can place them on your hook; cast them from you as you would cast the fly, and draw them to you again upon the top of the water, and not suffer them to sink; therefore you must use no lead this way of angling; when you hear the fish rise, give some time for him to gorge your bait, as at the ground, then strike gently. If he will not take them at the top, add some lead, and try at the ground, as in the day time; when you feel him bite, order yourself as in day angling at the ground. Usually the best Trouts bite in the night, and will rise in the still deeps, but not ordinarily in the stream.
3. You may angle also with a minnow for the Trout, which you must put on your hook thus: first, put your hook through the very point of his lower chap, and draw it quite through; then put your hook in at his mouth, and bring the point to his tail, then draw your line straight, and it will bring him into a round compass, and close his mouth that no water gets in, which you must avoid; or you may stitch up his mouth; or you may, when you have set on your hook, fasten some bristles under the silk, leaving the points about a straw’s breadth and half, or almost half an inch standing out towards the line, which will keep him from slipping back. You may also imitate the minnow as well as the fly, but it must be done by an artist with the needle.
You must also have a swivel or turn, placed about a yard or more from your hook, observing you need no lead on your line, for you must continually draw your bait up the stream, near the top of the water. If you strike a large Trout, and it should break either your hook or line, or get off, then near to her hole, if you can discover it, or the place you struck her, fix a short stick in the water, and with your knife loose a small piece of the rind, so as you may lay your line in it, and yet the bark be close enough to keep your line in, that it slip not out, nor the stream carry it away: bait your hook with a garden or lob-worm, your hook and line being very strong, let the bait hang a foot from the stick, then fasten the other end of your line to some stick or bough in the bank, and within one hour, you may be sure of her, if all your tackle hold.
The next way of angling is with a troll for the Pike, which is very delightful; you may buy your troll ready made, therefore I shall not trouble myself to describe it, only let it have a winch to wind it up withall. For this kind of fish, your tackle must be strong, your rod must not be very slender at the top, where you must place a small slender ring for your line to run through; let your line be silk, at least two yards next the hook, and the rest of strong shoe-maker’s thread; your hook double, and strongly armed with wire, for above a foot; then with a probe or needle, you must draw the wire in at the fish’s mouth and out at the tail, that so the hook may lie in the mouth of the fish, and both the points on either side; upon the shank of the hook fasten some lead very smooth, that it go into the fish’s mouth, and sink her with the head downward, as though she had been playing on the top of the water, and were returning to the bottom; your bait may be small Roach, Dace, Gudgeon, Loach, or sometimes a Frog; your hook thus baited, you must tie the tail of the fish close and fast to the wire, or else with drawing to and again, the fish will rend off the hook, or, which I judge neater, with a needle and strong thread, stitch through the fish on either side the wire, and tie it very fast: all being thus fitted, cast your fish up and down in such places as you know Pike frequent, observing still, that he sink some depth before you pull him up again. When the Pike rises, if it be not sunk deep, you may see the water move, or at least you may feel him; then slacken your line, and give him length enough to run away to his hold, whither he will go directly, and there pouch it, ever beginning, as you may observe, with the head swallowing that first, thus let him lie, until you see the line move in the water, and then you may certainly conclude he hath pouched your bait, and rangeth abroad for more; then with your troll wind up your line, till you think you have it almost straight, then with a smart jerk hook him, and make your pleasure to your content. Some use no rod at all, but hold the line in links on their hand, using lead and float. Others use a very great hook, with the hook at the tail of the fish, and when the Pike rises, then they strike at the first pull. Others put a strong string or thread in at the mouth of the bait, and out at one of the gills; then over the head, and in at the other gill, and so tie the bait to the hook, leaving a little length of the thread or string betwixt the fish and the hook, that so the Pike may turn the head of the bait, the better to swallow it, and then as before; after some pause, strike. Some tie the bait-hook and line to a bladder or bundle of flags, or bull-rushes, fastening the line very gently in the cleft of a small stick, to hold the bait from sinking more than its allowed length, half a yard. The stick must be fastened to the bladder or flags, to which the line being tied, that it may easily unfold and run to its length, and so give the Pike liberty to run away with the bait, and by the bladder or flags, recover their line again. You must observe this way to turn off your bait with the wind or stream, that they may carry it away. Some use, for more sport, if the Pike be a great one, to tie the same to the foot of a goose, which the Pike, if large, will sometimes pull under the water. Before I proceed to give you each sort of bait for every kind of fish, give me leave to add a caution or two, for the ground-line and fishing, as I did for the natural and artificial fly, and then we shall go on.
There are two ways of fishing for Eels, proper and peculiar to that fish alone; the first is termed by some, angling for Eels, which is thus: take a short strong rod, and exceeding strong line, with a little compassed, but strong hook, which you must bait with a large well-scoured red worm, then place the end of the hook very easily in a cleft of a stick, that it may very easily slip out; with this stick and hook thus baited, search for holes under stones, timbers, roots, or about flood-gates; if there be a good Eel, give her time, and she will take it; but be sure she has gorged it, and then you may conclude, if your tackling hold, she is your own.