li))on liini twelve viitURf, some twenty, some 

 nrore, some less, yet I iiuist coiilmct tln.'ii) iiiiil 

 s:iy, if lie lie Tiillie's lioiiest niiiii, Ik; is llicii tlio 

 niisli'i's i-iifficieiit tnuii : ilierc is lequircil in liiiii 

 iniicli iialioiK-e iiiid conslaiioy, tlie one will taku 

 from liim anguish, the other error; he mnst love 

 the S|iort earnestly, for no love, no hick ; he mnst 

 have linmlile lli(in;.'hts and luimhie gestures, for 

 lie must not disdain to kneel, to lie Krovelliiif;, to 

 .Maud liarehead, nay to do any hiiinlile action to 

 allaiii his |ini-|inse: he must lie of a strong con- 

 slitntion, (jr he is like u> imdergo the worst ter- 

 rors of tempests. Lasily lor his n]i|iarel: it 

 must he warm anil wholHsomc, not garnished or 

 glittering, the one is wholesome liir his hody, the 

 other is much olUmsive to hisspoit. For as the 

 fish is of a most pmu sight, so they arc of a 

 most nice conceit, and where they once take of- 

 fence, no llaiiery can reconcile them: therefore 

 his apparel nmsl he sad and deep colored like 

 the water, plain and close to his ho(iy, and in- 

 deed so like a shadow that it will give no sliud- 



^{)c iTarmci'g iiloutljln iUsitor. 



47 



For his instruments there are angle rods, lines, 

 corks, hooks, and other pocket instruments that 

 htluug to one Of all ol them. 



Angle rods are of divers kinds as some of one 

 Jiiece, as those which are for the pike and other 

 great devom-iiig lisli, and those are commonly 

 made of good ground hazel, heiiig of an equal 

 higness at hoth ends. Others of two pieces, the 

 liody of a fine grown gronnd witchen or an elm, 

 and the t0|> of a small gronnd hazel, well sea- 

 soned, straight and tongh, others of two, three or 

 more [lieces; and these commonly arc made of 

 canes one a degree less than another, and so let 

 in one into another into strong and close well 

 soldered sockets; and the lop of a strong, 

 smooth and pliant whalebone; and indeed these 

 rods are the most snfficient for any ordinary 

 ajigliiig whatsoever, and because there is so great 

 rlioice of them to he honght almost in every 

 hnberdaslier's shop, I will not trouble yon with 

 any further relation of them, but leave them to 

 J'our best election. 



Next the angU-rods are lines, some of hair and 

 some of silk, and hoth of hair nnd silk, and 

 these lines are various as any thing whatsoever 

 ^ belonging to the angler. Some (as those which 

 are fi.r the smallest fish) being twisted of thr(;e 

 hairs, some of seven, .some of nine, and the big- 

 gest are but of eleven. To the line of three 

 hairs yon may add one silk, to that of five yon 

 may add two, and to the greatest nmiiber of"idl, 

 yon shall add hilt three silks at the uttermost: 

 for the length of yonr lines, though the oidinary 

 size be betwixt three and four liillioms, yet you 

 must pioporlion them, aeeordiug to the dc'inh 

 and breadth of the river wherein you angle, and 

 according to your place of standing when you 

 atigle. The white and the grey hair are the 

 least disrei lied in the water, and so the best, the 

 blaek yield too much shadow and so do both the 

 russet and brown, yet is the green exceeding 

 good ill some waters, especially where there are 

 many weeds and fiowers. 



Next to the lines are the corks or vvarninL'- 

 givers when the fish bitelli, and these vary little 

 in their shapes, but much in their bigness, the 

 least cork belonging to the least line, tind the 

 bigger to those of bigger qnaiititv; the fashion 

 of tiie coiU in general is like a pear wiili a quill 

 running through the midst, in which the line 

 IKissclh, and is fastened by a wed^'e made of 

 another qnill; it is to be let higher "or lower at 

 yonr pleasure: there he corks made of other 

 lashious, some sharp at both end.s, some llat, 

 some round like an apple, but none a.re better 

 than that which was first of all described. 



After all these I place the hooks, which are 

 the iTiost inateiial instrmnenls of all other: and 

 are of the greatest diversity of shapes, for ihev 

 are almost as sevenil, as the several sorts of 

 fishes, yet all of one matter and substance, that 

 is to say, of strong steel wire well hardened. J 

 could here enter into a large deseripiion of the 

 manner, form and fashion of making them, and 

 how both to temper them and to solder them ; 

 hut because they are so generally to be bought 

 in every shop, I will save that labor and re^cr 

 you to the makers and sellers, who for five pence 

 or a shilling will furnish you with many pairs, 

 and show you which is for the small fish, uhieh 

 for the great, which for those of middle size. 

 As thus you inny buy these bare hooks, so you 



may also buy nil manner of flies for every mouth 

 in the river, and for every fisli, lliat hiicth at 

 those baits, espc^cially the irout, the eheviii, and 

 the harhell. Now if you will be so industrious 

 as to make ihe.^e things yourself, then having 

 provided wire, silk, wool, feathers, ai.d the like, 

 lay hut tlio examples beliiru you and undo one, 

 and you shall fiud it iriost easy to tiiuke-Hii hun- 

 dred. 



Now lastly, under the name of those which I 

 call pocket instruments, 1 comprehend all other 

 necessary adjuncts, as a l)ox fur yourselves, a 

 board lor your lines, and pliiinh to sound the 

 depth of water, a large ring to nnliisten the hook 

 in the water when it is entangled, a bag of red 

 cloih for worms, a home li)r maggots and baits of 

 that nalnre, a c;m fur live flie.«, a cas^e ibr needles, 

 thhiible, silk and threjid, for ware aiul loose 

 hairs, a pouch with many purses anil curious 

 scrip wherein to carry all your geltings. 



'J'lie next thing now which siiccoedelh in place 

 are baits and the general uses of them, and of 

 these there are an innuite number, every fish in 

 a manner taking delight to feed on several tneats. 

 I will hrieHy therefore run over the names of 

 most of them ami only touch and pitch iqion 

 those which are most niateri;H ; the first baits, 

 then are uornies of all kinds, the centil. the bol), 

 the dare, the scarrah, frog, grashopper, the 

 spawn of wasps and hornets, the young brood of 

 bees, small snail.^, roclies, menowes, niiller- 

 tlinmhe and the like; then there are dead baits, 

 ns] paste, elottered blood, beasts' livert, corn, 

 cheeseparings, branihle berry, &c. and every one 

 of these have their several seasons and several 

 fishes, as the worm, the bob, and the dare are 

 good I'or small fish and middle sized fish in May, 

 the brown files in June, the magot in .Inly, snails 

 ill August, the grasshopper in September", and so 

 likewise of all the rest as you may find out by 

 experience. 



But not to puzzle yourself or your memory 

 with many niullipliciiies and confusions, you 

 shall then understand, that if you angle for de- 

 light and for the conquest of the cumiing fishes 

 which arc not the greatest, then if you angle in 

 a small brook and a gentle sireaui, then your 

 only excellent bait is the red worm; but if yon 

 angle In a great broad stream and <leep chaniiel, 

 then there i.s no bail comparable to the magot 

 and the liohworm ; if you angle for greater prey 

 or fish of higher estimation, whether it be in 

 snwill or great streams, in standing lakes or still 

 waters, there is no bait comparable to rank and 

 strong otter cheese, or else otter cheese beaten 

 with fine white bread crums to a gentle paste, 

 for there is not any fish that swimnielh which 

 will refuse to bite at this if it lie in its wake. 



Now afier all this knowledge it is mete that 

 our angler he well experienced in knowing 

 which seasons he good, which bad for the prac- 

 tice of his art ; for to run bl-ndfold into a busi- 

 ness, or to do things <iut of season, is to over- 

 throw that you most affect, or like (bllv, to cut 

 down the bough on which you stand." There- 

 fore yon shall understand that it is not good to 

 angle in the summer time (which I account from 

 April to October) in tli^ extreme heat of the 

 sun, as from nine o'clock in the forenoon till 

 three in the afternoon, lior by any means after 

 five in the evening, for in, these li'oius the fish 

 are-lodg'il and wid not bite; all other hours a:e 

 proper for the recre;itioii, pirovided you liegin not 

 much before sunrise, nor ct^nliune "it long after 

 snuspt; a soulh wind is profitable, iiorlh and 

 east drive fish into their lioOes. A dark close 

 day is good to angle in, so is warm air, net ileus 

 and gentle showers. 



]t is good an^^liiig afier land floods and over- 

 flows of water, the rivers being drawn ag.iiu 

 w^ilhiii their own banks and the water newly 

 purged fluni unch-aunes.s. Aiid laslly in all 

 your summer angling observe ever to choose the 

 coolest hours and the closest seat-ous. 



Now touching your ser.sous for the winter 

 angling, which is accounted from, Se|itcmher to 

 March, yon are to do ;ill things etmtrary to your 

 summer angling, that is to apply your exei^oise 

 in the strength and heat of the day",' !is at high- 

 noon, or hum nine in the morning, tiill 'hree'^in 

 the afjernoon.and to let pass both tin; dark fiostv 

 morning and the cold unpleasant evening ; for 

 all maimer of fish aie of a subtle rinaliiv and 

 will hardly bite but where they may di'scenl, and 

 that makes them to forbear whe'n 1 >y the too 



much bri«litness of the sun they discern too 

 much, US III the sninmor, and by the want of the 

 sun and day they discern too "liitle in winter ; 

 and therelore observe you a mean betwixt these 

 two, and you shall hardly err. Now you shall 

 here also nnderstaud that as this winter angling 

 at highnoou (which I reckon liom eleven o'clock 

 to two) IS generally good in most places; yet it 

 IS most good 111 puiiils and standing walerB that 

 are deep, thick and oozeing at the bottom, so 

 that 111 the best of the day, neither man. rod, 

 hue nor hook are transparent. Again, if you 

 angle m rivers that ebb and flow, as ourThames, 

 Trent, Sevcrnc and the like; if it be where the' 

 lido ruu,5 high and strong, then the best season 

 for angling is in the ebb or falling of the water ; 

 but if it be where the tide is scant and doth no 

 more but bring the river lo a glory, there the 

 best angling is at the flood, for shallow and Iran.s- 

 pareiit waters, like weak judgments, lay open 

 their inteniions and so are prevented; when 

 deep sounds like deep judgment.*, conceal their 

 purposes and so make tli'ir prey slaves to their 

 inventions. Lastly, (and there i.s" nothing more 

 authentic iiiid certain) when you see any fish 

 phiy upon the top of the water, to catch at flies, 

 and to smack and suck upon the air, or when 

 yon shall perceive the pike to shoot and pursue 

 the smaller fry, and that the roch, the dace, the 

 gudgeon and the nienow are chased liom their 

 haiiuts or little pits of their abode, then I assure 

 yon is a most excellent time lor angling ; and 

 when you see any thing contrary to these thiug.s 

 before declared, then keep up'yonr angle, and 

 bestow your time in other recreations. 



The next tiling now that fulleih in my way, is 

 to speak something of the haunts of fishes and 

 where they live and make their abode ; for to 

 seek (as the proverb is) a needle in a bottle of 

 hay is a pleasuro so unpleasurablc, that no man 

 will pursue it; therelbre if yon he a scholar, 

 newly entered into the school of angling, and 

 would begin with the smaller sort of fish, and 

 such as are both most frequent, and soonest de- 

 ceived, as are the gudgeon, the roch, the dace, 

 the whitling, the loach ami the bullhead, then 

 you shall know that their haunts are (Ibr the 

 most part) in shallow streams, which are bright 

 and transparent, where the pebble and sand may 

 he discerned, yet full ol' little pits and obscuri- 

 ties where they may dive down and lie hid from 

 devourers, Ibr muddy and oozing places they 

 care not, and though they do and w ill live in 

 ponds and still waters, yet it is constraint and ne- 

 cessity, not free will, neiiher are these fi«h sweet 

 or pleasant (as those in the river) hut have the 

 taste of tlie soil where they live slaves and not 

 free denisons. 



If you will angle for eels, the best angling 

 for that sport is U|ion the heads of spiles, within 

 the dams, close iintn wharves, or upon dyers' 

 slaves, and such like places, and as near as "you 

 can immediately alter some innundalioii or over- 

 flow of water; or inslanily nfler lluieder or 

 tempest: for upon these occasions they break 

 their beds and range abroad, ami then they ate 

 so eager they will bite at anything. Now iii this 

 action you must have your line very strong, as 

 of seven hairs and one silk, yet therewithal ^t-ry 

 short as not above ei:;hl feet at the most ; it must 

 he plumbed with good store of learl, so as it may 

 rather sink into the mud, than float anything 

 above the mud ; the hook mnst be preily anil 



ro 1, but in any case no cork tit all, fijr you 



must iiiideisiaiid that uiii must in no wise strike 

 till palpably joii feel ifie eid to pluck: nor must 

 you do that action rashly neillier. hut with great 

 discretion hold the line only siitf and no more, 

 and so sufiir the lish In f'lay herself weary, and 

 wiili palieuce and sufferance draw the prey unto 

 you. The only hail in which the eel takes de- 

 light, is the red worm, and next it litile pieces of 

 sheep's guts, and Ibr want of these, your rank 

 otler-chcese hath no fellow. Thus in as brief 

 notice as 1 can I have delivered unio yon the 

 whole substance of this art. 



Fruiii Ilill'i N. II. i'atriol. 

 Death «( the Old .Soldier. 



Only a few (i;iy3 hcfore the retin'n of ihecuitoi- foin 

 a winter residence at the Siiuth where he is happj' to 

 say, that he h.is realized a restoraliun and relief in 

 the milder climate and a simple speedy leniciJs from 

 what he had long cou.iiclercil an inearaijle c.ilarVh and 

 asthma, the death at Loudon of Thomas Haynss, 



