Preface. v, 



do I pretend to be a better fisherman than hundreds more 

 that are found in almost any big town and city in England. 

 I know just enough to amuse myself, but I do claim to be 

 an observant angler ; one who notes any strange thing 

 that comes his way, and who does not rest contented until 

 he has reasoned out for himself the why and wherefore of 

 it. Added to this, I have had peculiar advantages that 

 does not come within reach of the generality of my poorer 

 brethren. I have been an angler from my earliest boy- 

 hood, and constantly thrown in the society of men who 

 are angling gems of the very first water. 



These are a few of the considerations that prompt me 

 to hope for a favourable reception at your hands, of this 

 little volume. I won't promise you an elaborately illus- 

 trated, and finely got-up book, but I will promise you a 

 most carefully written, and at the same time plain essay on 

 pike and perch fishing, so that the veriest novice will not 

 stumble during his journey through its pages. For I have 

 taken the liberty of assuming that some of you are novices 

 pure and simple, who know next to nothing on the subject 

 here specially treated. 



The principles 1 lay down are the principles of economy, 

 coupled with the most effective results that a lifetime's ex- 

 perience has suggested and studied from many and various 

 standpoints. I also dedicate this volume to my fellow 

 working men anglers, and ask them to treat it and me as 

 favourably as they can. 



J 898. John Wm. Martin, 



<' The Trent Otter:' 



