136 TROLLING IN THE OLD AND NEW WORLD. 



to me by Englishmen sojourning by the lakes in 

 the North of Italy, as well as on the banks of 

 the lakes and rivers of several parts of Germany, 

 in which immense trout are found, have assured 

 me of their success by means of trolling, and par- 

 ticularly by practising that branch of it which is 

 called ' spinning.' They have frequently killed 

 from six to ten very large trout, as large as 

 salmon, before noon, by spinning with the bleak, 

 gudgeon, or some other small fish. Trolling is 

 very successful in taking the gigantic trout of the 

 New World. An angler finding himself without 

 the delicate tackle necessary for fly-fishing, in 

 some remote part of the world where fish abound, 

 may, if he have a few hooks only and any- 

 thing to make a line with, very soon cut a rod 

 out of the next wood, ring it, adjust his hooks 

 into a flight of spinning-tackle, and work away 

 successfully with this rude gear. Towns are 

 generally built by large rivers, and most of the 

 latter, in this land of ours, breed pike, and some 

 of them, like the Thames and Trent, very large 

 trout. Such fish generally refuse the fly, are 

 seldom taken by bottom-fishing, but commonly 

 fall before the prowess of the troller. I have 

 just mentioned a few of the inducements that 

 ought to lead us to cultivate the art of trolling, 

 particularly as it is not surrounded with difficulties, 

 and as it is a smart exercise, requiring as much 



