BAITS. i07 



■' ' It is of littli* consequence wIutc they — ».*'., niglit-liiies — 

 are liiid, ji.s thev will succeed in streams, when tlic Eels arc in 

 search of food, as well as in the still, deep holes of rivers; 

 and thev will take frojjs, black snails, worms, roach, dace, 

 j;udj;eons, minnows — which two last are the best — loaches, 

 bleaks, ami millers' thumbs;' a suflicient (juantity of links, of 

 twelve hairs, should be doubled — or use twisted gut, and a hook 

 tied to each link ; these are to be noosed, at proper distances, 

 to a piece of cord fifteen fi-et long ; bait the hooks by making 

 an incision with the baiting-needle under the shoulder, and 

 thrusting it out at the middle of the tail, drawing the link after 

 it; the point of the hook should be upright towards the back of 

 the bait-fisli ,- fasten one end to the bank, or a stub, and cju»t 

 the other into the water, but not to the extent of the line, as 

 Eels will run a little before the gorge ; the lines should be 

 taken up early in the morning; such of the lines as have Eels 

 at them will be drawn very tight. Dark nights in July, 

 August, and September, are the best for this kind of lishing. 



" Hooks proper for this method of taking Eels may be pur- 

 chased, either doui)le or single, and are called Eel-hooks. 

 When a double hook is used, I shoidd say the following mode 

 of baiting is better than .Mr. Daniel's. Without a baiting- 

 nccdlc, enter the ponit at the fish's mouth, and bring it out at 

 the tail, letting the two liooks lie close to the mouth of the 

 bait, a-H described in baiting the gorgc-h<K)k for trolling. 



" TrimnuTs, baited with a live gudgeon, are sure to be taken 

 by Eels. The wire to which ho<jks are fixed sliould be strong 

 and tempered, a.s the Eel stmgglo hard to free himself. \ cry 

 large Eel."* arc caught in the lakes of Cumberland and West- 



