34 



SCANDINAVIAN FISHES. 



taken from dunghills. Insects, flies, gadflies, etc. may 

 also be used, l)ut only when the Perch rises to the sur- 

 face, for at the bottom it takes such bait less freely. 

 In deep-irater fishing minnows are the most useful bait, 

 and if earth-^vorms are employed, one should chose the 

 lob^vorm, which may be caught by torchlight of an even- 

 ning. The shelled tails of crayfish too are regarded 

 by the Perch as a delicate morsel; but it is not easy 

 to fasten them on the hook, they often fall off, and one 

 must always put on a fresh one after every bite. At 

 a pinch one may also make use of cheese. For this 



Fig. 8. Fisliing-tackle used in winter; a and h: rods, t> and d: ice- 

 shovels, e: fisliing-sled, with ice-chisel fastened at the side. 



purpose new cheese is cut into slices, Avhich are then 

 kneaded in wiirm water and cut into the shape of worms. 

 Tliis l)ait does not dissolve in ^vater, but still it is only 

 a last resource. In putting the jjait on the hook great 

 care should l)e taken that the point of the hook is quite 

 concealed. When small fish are used as bait, the 

 hook should l)e inserted in tlie ])ack with the point di- 

 rected towards tlie liead of the fisli. When worms are 

 used, one need only \n\i on tlie hook a part of the worm 

 large enougli to conceal it entirely; but when the Perch 

 bites less freely, the whole worm should be used, the 



hook being inserted in the thick end and the other end 

 being allowed to trail behind. To insert the hook in the 

 middle of the worm letting both ends dangle, as some 

 people do, deserves to be called feeding, not fishing. 



In shore-angling a 'float-rod' {flotspd) is used, in 

 deep-water fishing a 'feeling' or 'sinking' rod {kdnn- or 

 snnkspo). The angler who chooses the former mode, 

 makes his ^vay to steep shores, rocky points or stony 

 lieadlands, and must content himself with the smaller 

 fish which swim near shore. If he fishes in a boat 

 or coble, he generally makes his craft fast at the edge 

 of the I'eeds by grasping a handful of them and either 

 sitting on it or t'wisting it round a thole. It is only 

 with difiiculty that he can use more than one rod, as 

 he is bound to take great care that the hook does not 

 catch in weed or rubbish, in which case it must be 

 disentangled by the help of a withe, a ring or something 

 of the kind. In dec|)-water fishing the angler prevents his 

 boat or coble from drifting by means of a cord fastened 

 to a large stone or a grapnel. From three to five rods 

 are used, the number varying according to the skill of 

 the fisherman. In order to be able to attend to them 

 all, he sits in the middle of the boat with his face to- 

 wards the bow, and on one or two boards laid across 

 the boat he arranges one rod, sometimes two, on each 

 side, and casts the third or fifth out over the bows. 



Winter-angling (fig. 8), though seldom remunera- 

 tive in comparison with the trouble that must be taken, 

 is still considered l^y many to be good sport. The or- 

 dinary season for it is the beginning of ^vinter before 

 the ice is too thick, and towards spring when the days 

 begin to grow warmer. The necessary tackle is com- 

 posed of a short, curved rod {metfrd) with hook and 

 line, a small ice-chisel (isbill) for cutting holes in the 

 ice, a shovel to keep the holes clear, and lastly a fishing- 

 sled or simply a creel to contain the fish as well as 

 the rest of the tackle, and also to serve as a seat for 

 the fisherman. The success of this mode of fishing 

 greatly depends upon the fisherman's knowledge of the 

 spots where the Perch has its winter haunts. These are 

 generally at the edge of the deep water in the creeks 

 or off steep shores and headlands. The fisherman makes 

 his way to a spot of this kind, cuts a small hole in the 

 ice, and when he has cleared away all the loose bits 

 of ice from the liole, lets down the hook to the l)ottom 

 and takes in so nuich line that the hook hangs from 

 4 to 6 inches from the l)ottom. He then sits down 



the sled or the creel iind keeps moving his hand 



on 



