68 best's art of angling 



strono- line, anrl bait vour hook with a larse lob- 

 worm and go to sncli places abovemeiitioned 

 where eels hide themselves in the dav-iiiiu% out 

 tne bait genily into the hole, bv the help of a 

 cleft stick, and if the eel is there he will certainiy 

 bile, let him tire himself hv tua:ui nor, before you 

 offer to puii him out, or else he will break your 

 li'ie. 'J'he other method is csiWed hobbDiZ- In 

 order to perform this you must scour souie large 

 lob$, and with a needle run a twisted silk, or 

 worsted, through as many of the.ii from end to 

 end, as will ligiitly wrap a dozert times round 

 your liand ; make tiiem into links, and fasten 

 them to strong packthread or whip cord, two 

 yards lon^:, then make a knot in the line about 

 six or eight inches from the worms, afterwards 

 put three quarteis of a pound of lead, made in a 

 j)yramidal form, on the cord; the lead must bg 

 made hoi low three part'^ of the wny up it, and 

 then a hole miiSt be bored throusrhit, bjoenousi,"h 

 to put the cord tiirough and let the lea4 slide 

 down to the knot. Then fix all to a manageable 

 pole, and use it in muddy water. Wlien the 

 fishes tug, let them have time to fasten, then 

 drav/ them gently up, and hoist them quick to 

 shore. A boat called a puiit is very useful in 

 this kind of fishing. Some u^e c\x\ eel spear lo 

 catch eels with, which is an instrument with three 

 or four forks or jagged teeth, which they strike 

 at random into the mud. 



Common eels grow to a large size, sometimes 

 so great as to weigh fifteen or twenty pounds,, 

 but that is extremely rare. The eel is the most 

 universal offish, yet is scarce ever found in the 

 Danube, though it is very common in the lakes- 

 and rivers of Upper Austria. 



