PERCH. 



33 



wliich is generally at the edge of the reeds, ;iii<l ,i place 

 is usually selected where the \v;itei' is so deep tlifit two 

 or three traps uuiy he hiid on the top of cnch other 

 \\ithoiit projecting above the surface. More attention 

 shouhl be paid, however, to the nature of the place 

 than to the de])th of the water, ;iii(l the weir shoidd 

 be constructed close to the edge of the reeds. When 

 the traps have been set, tlie weir is covered with large 

 pine-branches full of needles, in order that its interior 

 nia}' be only dindy lighted. 



The sinking-traps are generally set singly at a. 

 distance of some yards fVoni each other; they are used 

 in places where the water is so deej) or the bottom so 

 stony that a weir cannt)t be constructed. These traps, or 

 sometimes the kind of traps called 'ri/ssja (fig. 7), are 

 also set in narrow straits or streamlets between neigh- 

 bouring lakes, for the Perch most often makes its way 

 to the spawning-place through channels of this nature. 

 At the entrance of the straits or the mouth of the ri\er, 

 standing nets {Idgcindt), are set at the edge of tlie reeds 



I 



the fail' sex. Tliere are several modes of angling for 

 Percli, and a description of them is necessary. One 

 imist fn'st jiay attention not only to the time of year, 

 but also to tlie hour of day, best suited for angling. 

 Ascension Day is known by fishermen as the first 

 day for angling. This is not quite correct every year, 

 but still it roughly gives us the time. The surest guide 

 is given by the growth of a reed, Anindo phragmifp.s. 

 As soon as this plant has grown to a height of an inch 

 or two abo\e the surface of the Avater, the spawning- 

 season of the I'erch is ovei', and (jue can then with all 

 certainty begin fishing. The best season, we may take 

 it, begins in the last da3-s of May and ends at the be- 

 giiuiiug of September. The best time of day is froiri 

 sunrise till 9 a. m. and fi-om (j p. m. till sunset. With 

 regard to the weather we may say that cloudy days are 

 better tlian very bright ones, and a light breeze than 

 a dead calm. All fishes bite best just after rain, espe- 

 cially if it has lasted long. The most suitable spots 

 are generally ^vell known. A stranger to tlie water 



Fig. 7. Ryssja. 



near the spawning-place. Tiiese nets have their advan- 

 tages, and may be used during the whole summer. They 

 onlv require to be taken up in the morning and set at 

 night, operations which do not take much time. \Mien 

 the spawning-season is over, these nets are placed off 

 stony headlands, in narrow creeks, etc.; and as all the 

 fish hug the shore, or more strictly the edge of the reeds, 

 they are always set at right angles to the shore, not 

 parallel to it. At the time -when the Perch have depo- 

 sited their sjiawn and disperse in order to find their 

 suninier haunts, they are sometimes taken, though sel- 

 dom in large numbei-s, in drag-nets. In order to have 

 am' sut-cess with the draf>:-net durini;" summer, one must 

 choose a cloudy day when there is a lin^ht breeze, 

 or only go out at night. To use a drag-net on a 

 bright summer day, is one of the most useless things 

 one can do. During summer, with the exception of 

 occasional catches in a net or drag-net, perch-tishing is 

 generally carried on with rod and line. Angling for 

 Perch is in many places one of the darling amusements 

 of high and low, and a pleasure not disdained even liy 



Scandinavian Fishts. 



should choose a spot at the edge of the reeds, off .stony 

 headlands and in places Avhere there are sunken twigs 

 and tree-trunks (Sw. Jagor). At such spots are gene- 

 ralh" to ])e found numbers of bleak, minnow and 

 small fry of all kinds, a store of food of which 

 the Perch does not omit to take advantage. In lakes 

 where the shores do not offer such favourable spots 

 for fishing, one may look for points out in the bights 

 where the bottom is sandy or stony. If no such 

 spots are to be found, one may form an artificial ang- 

 ling-place by sinking twigs and stones a little way 

 from the shore. 



As angling maj- he practised at spots of a different 

 nature and in a vai-iety of ways, special names have 

 been invented for the various modes. When the angler 

 stays on shore or close to land, it is called ahote-fi^liing, 

 but when he fishes at some distance from shore in 

 deeper water, it is called deep-water fishing. In shore- 

 fish iug earth-worms are generally used as bait, the best 

 being those taken from under old woodpiles or in un- 

 maiiured soil, as the fish always prefers them to worms 



5 . 



