THE EEL. 357 



A successful night's eel fishing, however, depends upon the following 

 conditions : First and foremost it must rain in all senses of that uncom- 

 fortable word; secondly, reliable waterproof clothing is indubitably 

 necessary ; thirdly, an expert old hand a fisherman as commander-in- 

 chief properly supplied with a " wee dram drappie " at intervals. Given 

 all these requisites the following is the modus operandi of a night's eel 

 fishing : 



Towards dusk the fisherman, laden with the most intricate and laby- 

 rinthine of nets called a ''flue " net, trudges his way towards a certain 

 preserved pond or lake which report says is filled with eels, which no one 

 can catch in quantity. But your fisherman reasons thus, & priori " if 

 the eels cannot be caught by rod and line, it clearly is because they have 

 an objection to the means used ; if, on the contrary, the means used 

 jumps with their predilections, all difficulty vanishes." He, therefore, at 

 the mouth of the penstock through which the overflow of water escapes, 

 affixes his net, which is about 16yds. in length, and tapers off to a sharp 

 extremity. 



The inside of this net contains several funnel-shaped bags, the wide 

 part open towards the mouth, and the lesser ends pointing towards the 

 close meshes of the extremity. The reason for this formation is obvious. 

 It is easy enough for the fish to effect an entrance, but unconscionably 

 difficult for them to re-ascend through the small holes of these funnels 

 which open inwards and towards them. Therefore, the only attention 

 required by the net is an occasional clearing from weeds, dead water rats, 

 debris, &c., and eels. Three or four times during the term of darkness is 

 sufficient for this process, if the rubbish be not excessively plentiful and 

 the eels not very numerous. A string for the better handling of the 

 extremity .of the net should be attached to it, and this pegged to the 

 ground in a position which in the darkness will not be overlooked. 



In order to render the picture of our supposititious night's eel fishing 

 complete, it is necessary for the reader to imagine himself within reach 

 of a sharp flood-swollen brook, which is, perchance, too wide for netting 

 in the way indicated above, but in which at various stages eel pots and 

 baskets may be judiciously placed. These eel pots are usually made on the 

 same principle as the aforesaid net, that is, they contain the trapping 

 arrangement in the shape of a funnel, which, once entered, allows of no 

 escape. Owing to the instinct of seeking the lower parts of streams 

 which prompts eels to travel a flood, there is nothing, during such a 

 night as I am referring to, to do to the baskets or pots but place them in a 

 convenient position so as to embrace, by their congregated mouths, the 

 entire width of the water. This may be impracticable, of course, but we 

 will, in the present instance, suppose that it is not. 



