THE MINNOW.] 



ANGLING. 



[the eel. 



Isaac, who further states, that in the Thames 

 many have been taken weighing two and 

 a-half pounds ; and Mr. Jesse mentions that 

 the largest he had known taken, weighed three 

 pounds ; but if we are to credit Mr. Pennant, 

 tlie London fishmongers sometimes see them 

 as large as five pounds. 



THE BLEAK. 



The bleak, or blink, is common throughout 

 England, and abounds in the Thames, and over 

 rivers in the vicinity of London. Libbald 

 says it is a native of Scotland ; but whether 

 this opinion has received due confirmation we 

 are not aware. It is gregarious, swimming in 

 large shoals, and spawning in May, when its 

 scales are rough to the touch. It is a small 

 and active fish, and may be taken with a small 

 red worm, gentles, or a fly. In angling for it, 

 the tackle must be very fine. 



THE GUDGEON. 



The common gudgeon abounds in the Euro- 

 pean continent, as it also does in the southern 

 parts of England. Like many of its compeers, 

 however, it is unknown in Scotland. Its 

 usual length is from five to six inches ; but it 

 is stated by Mr. Pennant, tliat those caught 

 in the Kennet and Cole are three times the 

 weight of those taken elsewhere. The largest 

 he ever heard of was taken near Uxbridge, 

 and its weight was half a pound. The 

 gudgeon frequents the shallows during the 

 hot months ; and before the winter finally sets 

 in, retires into deeper waters. It is angled for 

 near the ground, with a small red worm. 



THE MINNOW. 



This is a pretty little fish, and is common to 

 the continent of Europe, to England, and the 

 southern parts of Scotland. Isaac Walton 

 tells us that this fish is "a sharp biter at a 

 small worm ; and, in hot weather, makes ex- 

 cellent sport for young anglers, or boys or 

 women that love that recreation ; and in the 

 spring they make of them excellent minnow- 

 tansies ; for being washed well in salt, and 

 their heads and tails cut oiF and "gutted, and 

 not waslied after, they prove excellent for that 

 use ; that is, being fried with yolks of ecrt^a, 

 the flower of cowslips, and of primroses and 

 1010 



a little tansie. Thus used, they make a 

 dainty dish of meat." It may be so ; but 

 speaking for ourselves, we are by no means 

 admirers of some of the piscatory dishes recom- 

 mended by the enthusiasm of old Isaac. 



THE LOACH. 



This fish we have often heard called the 

 "Beardie" in Scotland, where it is common, 

 as it is in both England and on the continent 

 of Europe. It has six cirri on the snout, and 

 its nose is destitute of spines. It haunts 

 streams with gravelly bottoms covered with 

 large stones, under which it lurks- It does 

 not often exceed four inches in length, and it 

 feeds upon worms and aquatic insects. It is 

 very prolific, spawning in the spring. It is 

 considered a nutritious food for man, and is an 

 excellent bait for eels. 



THE EEL FAMILY. 



Of this family there are given, in the Natu- 

 ralisfs Library, eleven species as the repre- 

 sentatives in British fauna. " When it is 

 stated," says the writer on fish in that work, 

 " that the type or most characteristic repre- 

 sentative of this family is the common eel, 

 one of the most familiarly known of our native 

 fishes, little more need be added to convey an 

 idea of the general appearance of the species. 

 Diflering considerably from each other in the 

 details of their structure, they possess in 

 common, a long, narrow, serpent-like body, 

 which, owing to the conformation of the ver- 

 tebral column, is extremely flexible; the greater 

 part of the body surrounded by a low, nearly 

 continuous fin ; scales so minute as to be, for 

 the most part, almost invisible, and the surface 

 frequently invested with a slimy mucus. The 

 cseea are wanting ; but all have an air-bladder, 

 which sometimes assumes a very peculiar 

 form." The common eel being the type, we 

 will confine ourselves to a brief notice of it. 



THE COMMON EEL. 



The sharp-nosed eel is regarded as the 

 common one, although the hroad-nosed is in 

 many parts equally abundant. It is found in 

 all the fresh waters of this country ; and, with 

 the exception of the Arctic regions, and a few 

 of the rivers, such as the Wolga and some of 



