THE THAMES ANGLER. 23 



boiling water poured on them and then chopped fine, is an 

 excellent bait for dace, chub, and barbel ; the small leather- 

 looking white pieces should be picked out for baiting, and the 

 refuse worked up with clay and bran for ground-bait. Salmon 

 roe is considered an excellent bait by many for fish where 

 gentles are used ; I have, however, never had any good sport with 

 it : the fishing-tackle shops all keep it in small pots. Of caddis, 

 cow-dung bobs, and the different kinds of grubs, slugs, and 

 water-crickets I shall say nothing, as they are not baits of 

 common use, but may be found serviceable for trout, chub, and 

 dace when gentles are scarce. Cockchafers, grasshoppers, and 

 bees, are good for chub in the summer ; I much prefer the 

 former, which is really a killing bait. Birds, mice, frogs, <fcc, 

 are used in jack fishing when nothing else can be obtained, and 

 the fish are on the feed ; they may do in the Lake districts, but 

 I don't believe a bit in them in the Thames. 

 Of— 



GROUND-BAITS 



I shall say but little here, as a minute description will be given 

 of them when speaking of the different fish ; they are made of 

 clay, loh-worm nmon gentles, bran, pollard, bread, greaves 

 chopped very fine, grains, and mill-sweepings. Mr. Blakey, 

 in his very good book on " Angling/ 1 begins a chapter on bait- 

 ing the ground thus: — "Those who live near a river, and 

 especially 1 1 1 < ■ - < • whose premises adjoin ir. id select an even 



bottom and a place moderately deep, and regularly feed the fish. 

 Make everything convenient for the Bp >rt ; put op a hurdle, if 

 there be no bu and tuck evergreen branches between the 



bars ; make it last in the ground, rather leaning ov< r the water. 

 If there be an eddy, or Bcarcely any Btream, yon may hang up 

 a liver or a dead cat on a Bloping stick for wan; "t' a tree, so 

 that the maggots may drop from it in such a Bp t that they will 

 get to the bottom about where you fish: <>r it i- better to pro- 

 vide carrion gentles and worms, and bait the place exactly day 

 after day. If there be a Btream, make ball- of day. maggots, 

 and worms, bread, greaves, snails, and any living things you 

 can get, only use enough clay to sink them — in other words, 

 make the ground-bait rich ; when you are going to fish put the 

 same quantity of bait, but make it poor, and you are as sure of 

 sport as you wet your line. Whoever fishes a pond or river 



