PERCH. 241 
give the tackle a trial. In river Perch fishing, the 
worm should just dribble along the bottom ; in ponds, 
it should float about 8 inches or a foot above it ; and in 
lakes a little more, according to the depth. 
It is usually advantageous not to strike too soon in 
fishing for Perch as compared with other species. The 
Perch rarely quits a bait, especially a worm, when he 
has once attacked it; indeed, if allowed, he will fre- 
quently “gorge” or swallow it entirely ; but this, again, 
is an inconvenience in another direction. The best 
general rule is to let the float be carried well under 
water before striking. 
In rivers and streams the “Nottingham plan” will 
often be found the most killing mode of worm fishing 
for Perch. As in other cases, a few broken worms 
thrown in occasionally as ground bait will assist in 
attracting the fish, 
Perch most commonly swim in shoals, so that when 
one is caught others may be expected to follow. In 
Windermere I have watched these shoals, and found 
them to consist not infrequently of many hundreds. In 
Slapton Ley, Devonshire, they can hardly be said to be 
in ‘shoals,’ as the whole water swarms with them, and 
I have frequently caught them there literally as fast as 
I could bait. Asa rule, however, they are quite insig-. 
nificant in the matter of size, very few of those that I 
caught or saw exceeding a few ounces in weight. They 
are smaller than even the Windermere fish. Perch are 
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