PREFACE. 



As it might not be deemed kind in me to inflict upon the 

 reader my thousand reasons for writing and illustrating this 

 book with pencil sketches copied from life, 1 will therefore 

 merely state that my experience of many years in the prac- 

 tice of the gentle art, which has led me through so many 

 scenes of beauty and loveliness, has made me wish that 

 all the world might learn the enjoyment conferred by the 

 practice of angling. 



I have endeavored to portray the recreations of the an- 

 gler in America, with his implements and his game ; add- 

 ing a small tribute to the temperate and industrious class 

 of men who follow for a livelihood the hazardous business 

 of fishing on the broad seas. 



An outline of the progress of fish-culture in Europe and 

 America is also given, with pencil sketches illustrative of 

 the art of hatching and rearing fishes, including stairs and 

 fish-passes for enabling fishes to surmount mill-dams and 

 falls. 



The fishes of our coast and estuaries, and the peculiar 

 methods adopted for their capture, form not <Jnly a sealed 

 book to Europeans, but to those anglers in America also 

 who confine their recreations to fresh-water attractions. 

 Each game fish affords a distinct interest, with peculiarities 

 worth studying. 



My sketches may lack artistic finish, but possess the 

 merit of correct outline; and in the words of Raphael, 

 " The outline is the picture." The reader may be assured 

 that fishing, whether for recreation or gain, entices its vo- 

 taries to unexplored sources of revenue and pleasure. 



