186 BOTTOM-FISHING BAITS. 



and for the generality of other fish of the carp 

 tribe, from three to six inches from it. When 

 the plummet sinks the float so that the upper tip 

 is even with the surface of the water, you have 

 the exact depth. Withdraw your plummet, and 

 move the float downwards on your line, as ma.ny 

 inches as you wish your bait should be from the 

 bottom of the water. Fasten your float properly 

 by the usual means, and see that it stands in the 

 water clear of any obstruction to its yielding to 

 the slightest nibble. Green, yellow, or brown is 

 the best colour for a float. 



BOTTOM-FISHING BAIT*;. Worms are the most 

 general baits, and, except at certain seasons, the 

 best. Scarcely a river fish will refuse them. 

 They are decidedly the best baits in spring, and 

 at all times when" the waters are clearing after a 

 fall of rain. I will classify them for the purposes 

 of angling. 



The dew or lob-worm is the largest used by 

 anglers, and the best bottom-bait for large river 

 fish. Salmon, trout, barbel, chub, tench, perch, 

 and eels take it freely. The middle-sized are the 

 best ; but two of the smaller-sized placed on the 

 hook at the same time form a most attractive bait. 

 Dew-worms come out in pairs by thousands 

 towards night, in fields and meadows, after a fall 

 of rain or heavy dew, and disappear into their 

 holes after sunrise, when the dew is dried up by 



