THE LAKE-FISHINa BOAT AND GEAR. 81 



go home. With regard to striking, it is impossible to lay 

 down any general rules. Everything depends on the way the 

 fish rise. Usually, if the breeze is light, the angler cannot 

 strike too quickly. 



Fishing from a Boat is delightfully simple work. If there 

 are two anglers, each takes an end of the boat,* which drifts 

 sideways over the best fishing-grounds. These are usually 

 shallows varying from 3ft. to 12ft. in depth, and the more rocky 

 the better. Many fine trout will also be found at the edge of 

 weed and reed beds. If the wind is light, the boat will not drift 

 too fast, but in a breeze a small stone, attached to a rope, should 

 be towed from amidships on the windward side of the boat. When 

 much rope is let out, the boat will travel more slowly than if the 

 rope were short. Floating anchors are sometimes used in lieu of 

 the stone. Take a few feet of 12in. plank, about l§in. in thick- 

 ness ; make a hole at each corner. Attach a light cord to each 

 hole, and tie the four ends of the cords in a knot, about 6ft. from 

 the boat. Each end must be the same length. To the knot fasten 

 a piece of rope. Nail a few pieces of lead on to one edge of the 

 board. This will cause it to float upright in the water. The 

 rope is fastened amidships to the boat. The flat surface of the 

 anchor offers great resistance to the water, and so causes the 

 boat to drift very slowly. 



No special tackle is necessary for this sort of fishing ; but a 

 short rod is preferable to a long one, and a short-handled, large- 

 hooped landing-net will be found very useful. The casts should 

 not be made straight out from the boat, but rather to the left or 

 right, the flies being drawn across, and not against, the waves. 

 If the breeze is strong, draw the line very slowly, and let the 

 wind belly out the line, and carry the flies along the water in the 

 same direction as the boat is drifting. The angler who can 

 manage this will catch many more fish than he who works his 

 flies in other ways. When the ripple is very slight, the trout 

 sometimes take the flies best if they are drawn against the 



* A boat for lake-fishing should be rather beamy. Swivel rowlocks are very 

 advisable. A stool fixed to the centre of the boat has been lately introduced. It 

 has many advantages over the ordinary cross-seat. It is not a bad plan to put a 

 piece of board from seat to seat, and sit on it. 



