48 2^fo North Country Angler. 



CHAP. XIII. 

 Of the Creeper^ or Water Cricket. 



JL AM not so vain as to think no other anglers 

 have made such useful discoveries and improve- 

 ments in the art of angling, as I have done : 

 however, as I have not heard or read of any such, 

 I shall, tor the benefit of the society, inform my 

 reader how I came to know this bait, and how I 

 fish with it. 



1 have often in the mornings catched trouts, 

 with their bellies very full, and when I had cut 

 out the maw, to see what they have fed on, have 

 observed more of these creepers than any other 

 thing; some of them half digested, some newly 

 taken, upon which I concluded, that these baits 

 might be found in the streams where I catched 

 the trouts; and turning up some stones by 

 the side of the stream, I found several of them, 

 and putting one of them on my brandling hook, 

 I got a good trout with it at the first trial. 

 You may believe that I was pleased at this dis- 

 covery, and found it the most killing bait I had 

 ever fished with before : but they were soon gone, 

 and in three weeks *after I could not see one of 

 them; only, here and there the skin sticking 

 upon a stone. 



I observed, however, that under the stones 

 where I used to find them, there were great flies ; 

 some with short thick wings, some with very long 

 double wings ; I got several of these, and fished 

 with them as I had done with the creeper, and 



