HAUNTS OF PERCH. 65 



banks where there is a gentle stream, by the side of withies the 

 roots of which grow out into the water, and along old camp- 

 shedding, i.e., where the banks have been shored up with slabs of 

 timber. Quiet corners in weir and mill pools are also favourite 

 spots. They are not often found in summer where the bottom 

 is muddy, or where there is no stream, unless the river be in 

 flood. About October, after a few sharp, frosty nights, perch 

 begin to form shoals and get into deep water, and where one is 

 caught, there should the angler patiently wait for a few minutes, in 

 the hope of catching others. When the water becomes coloured, 

 perch go into shallower swims, and all that I have written on 

 pages 7 and 53 applies to them. When the water rises, perch 

 retreat into the eddies, and it is when the river is all hut over its 

 hanks, and clearing after a flood, and the nights are frosty, and 

 the days open, that the very hest perch-fishing is had. Then it 

 is that the angler passes down the river from one eddy to 

 another, pulling out fish almost as quickly as he can drop in 

 his paternoster. When the water is low and bright, the sport 

 with the fish, both in summer and winter, is very uncertain. 



Men who know only a little about fishing are apt to have the 

 ideas that perch are always in holes, always in shoals, and, until 

 experience teaches otherwise, that they always feed voraciously. 



It will be noticed from the foregoing remarks, which apply 

 more particularly to good-sized rivers, that these views are 

 incorrect. In very small streams, however, the deeper portions 

 — often called the holes — will nearly always contain the best fish. 

 A hole in a small stream would be a shallow in a large river. 



It is not so much the time of year as the temperature, height, 

 and colour of water, which influences the position of fish. If I 

 were asked what swims to fish for perch in December, I could not 

 give an answer; but if I were asked where to fish when the 

 thermometer is at 30deg., and the water at summer level and 

 quite clear, I might be able to form an accurate opinion 

 on the subject. On this point, the introductory chapter should 

 be consulted. 



Fercb. Baits. — These are either live baits — minnows, small 

 gudgeon, or the fry of coarse fish — or worms or fresh-water 

 shrimps. There is no other bait worth trying, except, perhaps, 



a 



