PERCH. 243 



give the tackle a trial. In river Perch fishing, the 

 worm should just dribble along the bottom ; in ponds, 

 it should float about 8 inches or a foot above it ; and in 

 lakes a little more, according to the depth. 



It is usually advantageous not to strike too soon in 

 fishing for Perch as compared with other species. The 

 Perch rarely quits a bait, especially a worm, when he 

 has once attacked it ; indeed, if allowed, he will fre- 

 quently " gorge" or swallow it entirely ; but this, again, 

 is an inconvenience in another direction. The best 

 general rule is to let the float be carried well under 

 water before striking. 



In rivers and streams the " Nottingham plan" will 

 often be found the most killing mode of worm fishing 

 for Perch. As in other cases, a few broken worms 

 thrown in occasionally as ground bait will assist in 

 attracting the fish. 



Perch most commonly swim in shoals, so that when 

 one is caught others may be expected to follow. In 

 Windermere I have watched these shoals, and found 

 them to consist not infrequently of many hundreds. In 

 Slapton Ley, Devonshire, they can hardly be said to be 

 in " shoals," as the whole water swarms with them, and 

 I have frequently caught them there literally as fast as 

 I could bait. As a rule, however, they are quite insig- 

 nificant in the matter of size, very few of those that I 

 caught or saw exceeding a few ounces in weight. They 

 are smaller than even the Windermere fish. Perch are 



