122 THE PRACTICAL FISHERMAN. 



with egg and breadcrumbs. To fillet the fish over night and sprinkle 

 a little salt over it is a good plan. The head should not be thrown away, 

 for, like the carp, its palate is a tit-bit, and there is some very " pretty 

 picking " from the fleshy caput of Master "Loggerhead." 



The methods to be employed in the capture of this fine sporting fish 

 are various and all interesting. For my own part, I prefer chub fish- 

 ing on the Thames to almost any other kind of sport on that river. For 

 example, I know of nothing more agreeable on a fine summer's evening 

 than to drop down gently piloted, may be, by some fair rower at a dis- 

 tance of from 10yds. to 15yds. from the osiers fringing the water's edge, 

 and throw the red palmer, or white moth if twilight's gentle shades 

 render the red palmer useless. Both the black and red palmers, or, 

 indeed any well hackled fly will ever do execution, but absolute quietude 

 must be observed. I mean by this that quietude and gentleness of move- 

 ment are necessary more than that it is necessary to abstain from speak- 

 ing. In fishing with an artificial fly always remember to neatly tie a piece 

 of white kid on the hook. This, for some occult reason is a valuable 

 " wrinkle " worth remembering. 



Before proceeding to detail the modus operandi of chubbing with the 

 ordinary running tackle I will give directions for " dapping " with the live 

 frog. Of course, for "frog" the tyro may also read cockchafer, grass- 

 hopper, humble bee, cricket, or bluebottle et hoc genus omni. The rod 

 required is a longish rod with upright rings, and a soft line without knots. 

 On to a No. 6 or 7 hook, hook a young frog, taking merely a slight 

 hold of the back skin ; about a foot above the frog have a pistol bullet 

 or one a trifle larger ; wind up your line until the pistol bullet hangs at 

 the eye of the top joint of the rod ; you have then but a foot of the line 

 with the frog on, hanging loose, and this, having selected your place, you 

 can easily push through boughs and bushes until the point be over the 

 required spot ; or should it be unusually thick, you may turn the line 

 two or three times round the top till the frog lays close to the rod. By 

 turning the rod the reverse way of course this will unwind when required. 

 Being now over the spot where chub are supposed to be, yourself hidden 

 by the tree or the foliage, give out line, which with a slight shake of the 

 rod the weight of the bullet will begin to draw out ; allow it to draw 

 out gradually until the frog just touches the top of the water, but do 

 not let the bullet or more than an inch or so of the line touch the water 

 indeed, it were better if none at all touched it. Of course, immediately 

 a ohub comes up and smacks his great white lips over the toothsome 

 morsel, strike and proceed to kill your fish as soon as possible. The 

 tackle naturally must be of the strongest description consistent with light- 

 ness, to resist the first terrific plunges of the fish. The process is not 



