"Z ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 



the refinements of angling. With the hope of inducing my 

 readers to think for themselves, and not go a-fishing on mle- 

 of-thumb principles, I have devoted a few pages to some 

 general remarks on the habits and peculiarities of what are 

 termed "coarse fish" — remarks earnestly commended to the 

 notice of beginners in the gentle art. 



For the purpose of a book on angling the scientific classifi- 

 cation of fish is a little inconvenient; I will therefore divide 

 the fish which are found in and around the United Kingdom 

 into the four following classes : — 



1. Fish affording Sport to the Angler in Fresh Water: 

 Salmon, trout, grayling, char, pike or jack, roach, perch, 

 barbel, chub, dace, gudgeon, carp, tench, bream, rudd, bleak, 

 and eels. 



2. Small-fry, or Fresh-water Fish insignificant from their 

 size, some of which are used as Bait for other Fish : Minnow, 

 loach, ruffe or pope, miller's thumb or bullhead, and stickleback. 



3. Fish which are Bare, or are not commonly taken hy 

 Anglers in Fresh Water : Lamprey, flounder, burbolt or burbot, 

 graining, gwyniad, ide, pollan, powan, vendace, and azurine 

 roach. 



4. Sea-fish: Bass, pollack, coalfish, grey mullet, mackerel, 

 braize, bream, brill, chad, cod, conger, dabs, dogfish, dory, 

 flounder, garfish, gurnard, haddock, hake, halibut, herring, 

 horse mackerel, ling, plaice, poor cod, red mullet, sea trout, 

 skate, smelt, sole, turbot, whiting, whiting pout, and wrasse. 



Of the first class, salmon and trout are usually captured 

 by means of an artificial fly cast on the surface of the water, 

 and by small natural or artificial fish, so arranged as to spin 

 when drawn through the water. They are also fished for 

 with worms, and a few other baits worked both on the bottom 

 and near the surface of the water; and trout are fished for 

 with natural flies. Grayling are mostly fished for with the 

 artificial fly, but great numbers are also taken with worms 

 and gentles worked in a peculiar manner. Char are caught 

 occasionally with flies, but more often with leaded spinning 

 minnows, and at night time with wonns. Pike are almost 

 altogether fished for with small fish, dead or alive, or repre- 



