xMAY BE USED IN WINTER. 53 



the rivers are very full the fidh have a super- 

 abundance of food, and are not so easily tempted. 

 They are, too, cruising about in various di- 

 rections, and, even where abounding, more dif- 

 ficult to find. 



Neither do the rigours of winter prevent 

 sport with these baits ; for a friend and myself 

 killed, the very first week of this year (1849), 

 in a sharp frost, with the snow lying six inches 

 deep, and that portion of the line which had 

 been wet and was out of the water, converted 

 into a long, attenuated icicle — in such weather 

 we killed several dishes of very fine Grayling. 



In connection with this subject, I may say, 

 that a most remarkable regulation has lately 

 been made by a club in possession of one of 

 the best pieces of Grayling water in England. 

 It is this : that Grasshopper fishing shall 

 only be allowed from the 1st of October to the 

 1st of February ! — a virtual prohibition, as few 

 men have energy enough for winter angling : 

 and those who have, find the large fish full of 

 spawn in December and January ; thus, in one 

 day, destroying more than in ten years of 



D 3 



