238 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 



ficial than by the natural spinning-bait. Formerly 

 a "spoon" about three-quarters of an inch long was 

 very killing in many waters ; but as with Pike and 

 Trout so with Perch, this bait seems latterly to have 

 lost much of its attractiveness. A stone Loach, a 

 Minnow, or a very small Gudgeon, are all good spinning- 

 baits, and should be used both in lakes and rivers with 

 the tackle described for _/?;/^ lake spinning (p. 123), or for 

 river Minnow-spinning (p. 116), as the case may be. 



With a gaudy red fly dressed on, say, a No. 10 hook, 

 I have also had good sport, but its legitimate province is 

 confined to large shallow lakes, and then is only prac- 

 tically worth consideration in bright hot weather and a 

 dead calm. The flies may be either "trailed" or cast 

 by hand ; the former plan being usually best until the 

 position of a shoal of fish is ascertained, and the latter 

 afterwards. As already observed, however, both the 

 methods of Perch-fishing above described, are only really 

 much worth consideration in the great lakes, where they 

 often come in very opportunely to fill what would other- 

 wise be a blank day, the most impracticable weather for 

 Trout being commonly the most favourable for Perch. It 

 certainly does occasionally happen that good baskets may 

 be made with the spinning-bait in rivers. I have done 

 it repeatedly in the Kennet, below Hungerford, but 

 then the fish of this river — in my opinion the best Perch 

 water in England — run very large, averaging from one to 

 two pounds, and, owing to strict preservation, are compa- 



