THE YOUNG ANGLER. 



269 



Sometimes he will remain stationary for hours in one spot ; and, 

 although it is considered unfair, he is then often taken with eel-spears, 

 landing- hooks, and similar instruments. But no matter how coarse 

 he eats, he gives the angler good sport, not unmixed with fear for 

 the safety of his tackle ; for when of large size, he is an extremely 

 strong and crafty fish, and will use every expedient to get off the 

 hook, or else snap the line, which, unless the angler exerts his skill, 

 he will certainly achieve. Before fishing for barbel, throw in plenty 

 of ground-bait, and continue to do so at intervals ; the best bait Js 

 one made of soaked greaves, bran, and clay, mixed together in balls 

 about the size of an egg ; a quantity of worms chopped into pieces 

 make also a very gboH bait ; salmon or trout spawn, maggots, and a 

 paste composed of sheep's suet^ cheese^ and honey, mixed together, 

 are likewise very tempting to this fish. The barbel being a very sharp 

 and quick biter, you must strike smartly the moment you see a nibble, 

 then let him run some distance before you turn him ; keep- him away 

 from weeds, strive to get him into deep water, play him until he has 

 lost all his strength, and then haul to land. In the Thames, barbel 

 are usually fished for from punts or boats ; a strong rod is necessary, 

 with running tackle, gut line, quill float, and a No. 7 or 8 hook ; 

 the bait should always touch the bottom of the stream. 



THE EEL. 



The eel, as every boy 

 knows, is a slippery sub- 

 ject, and unless properly 

 managed, gives more 

 trouble to get the hook 

 out of him, and to keep 

 him from twisting the 

 line into knots, after he is 

 caught, than to catch 

 him ; and, cruel as it may 

 seem, the only way to 

 save your tackle after he is trolled out is to set your foot on him 

 and then cut off his head. There are three varieties of eel common 

 to this country the sharp-nosed, the broad-nosed, and the snig-eel, 

 all differing in the shape of their noses. In length, the eel is found 

 from one to three feet, and often longer ; they vary in colour, some 

 being a dark olive brown on the back, or light brown, but 

 generally of a silvery whiteness on the belly. The head is flat ; 

 the eyes very near the mouth, iris reddish ; the gill opening a good 

 way back, close to the fin, and the lower jaw the longest. The eel 

 leaves our rivers to spawn in the sea, and neither mill-dam nor flood- 

 gate can retard its progress at this season. The young first appear 

 on our coast, and at the mouths of our rivers, in March and April, 

 when they are about half an inch or an inch in length, and always 

 swim in a double column, one close to the other, and thousands in 

 each column. They love muddy and still waters, and are in season 

 all the year round. There are several methods of taking them 



