CHAPTEE XYI. 



FISH NOT COMMONLY CAUGHT BY FBESE- 

 WATEB ANGLERS. 



Lamprey — Flounder — Burbolt or Burhot — Azurine Boach — 

 Vendace — Bow an — Bollan — Gwyniad — Graining. 



HIS chapter, of course, includes, not only rare 

 fish, but those not commonly caught by 

 anglers. 



The Lamprey is a peculiar, migratory 

 fish, in shape very similar to an eel ; but in 

 lieu of a mouth it has a sucking apparatus, 

 with which it holds on to stones at the 

 bottoms of rivers. There are several varie- 

 ties of this fish, one of which — ^the sea lamprey — is deemed an 

 edible luxury. The lampern is a small, migratory kind of 

 lamprey, which makes an excellent bait for turbot, and is also 

 used for trailing or whiffing in the sea. It is sometimes taken 

 by trout, chub, barbel, and eels. A small variety of lamprey, 

 termed the pride or mud lamprey, does not appear to migrate. 



The Plounder is a little flat-fish, which is usually found in 

 the brackish water of estuaries, but sometimes makes its way up 

 rivers into perfectly fresh water. It is easily taken on a leger 

 baited with a lobworm, and, indeed, will take most of the baits 

 used by the bottom fisher. It prefers quiet streams, where the 

 bottom is a sandy mud. Flounders begin life swimming on 

 edge like roach or bream, with an eye on each side of the head ; 

 but in a month or two, they flap along the bottom on one side 

 like other flat-fish, and both eyes come on to the upper side. 



The Burbolt, Burbot, or Eel Pout, is, in appearance, 

 something between an eel and a cod-fish. It is rare, except in 

 a few rivers on the East Coast. It sometimes attains a weight 

 of 81b., though the average weight is about l|lb. It is the only 

 member of the cod family found in fresh water, and may be 



