360 THE PRACTICAL FISHERMAN, 



rod as a sort of probe into all sorts of odd out-of-the-way places, such as 

 roots of trees, beneath large stones, boulders, &c., by the sides of stumps, 

 and especially in the indentations to be seen in summer through clear 

 water in the mud of either pond or stream. Therein often lie eels of 

 size, and the tyro should be very careful to learn how to detect these, so 

 that no chance be left untried to increase his bag. Immediately the 

 worm is pushed against the olfactory nerves of a recumbent eel as he 

 is ever unable to withstand taking it he instantly opens his jaws and 

 closes his vicious little dagger-like teeth over it, biting, even to the wire, 

 with relentless strength and pertinacity. The wire may then be with- 

 drawn, and the fish will remain in possession of the bait and the needle, 

 having fiercely shaken, with wonted ferocity, the top of your improvised 

 rod. Let five minutes now elapse for the pouching of the worm. Then 

 smartly tug at the line, and by so doing you fix the needle crosswise in 

 the animal's throat. Struggle as your captive may, he cannot get away 

 from the snare ; for a needle so fixed is really and truly harder to extract 

 or to break from than a hook. Out, therefore, his eelship is drawn, and 

 your capture by " bobbing " is accomplished. 



The other method is by means of night lines ; but let me first say that 

 wherever other fish are preserved night lines should not be used. Trout, 

 for example, feed largely at night, and many a good fish has met its 

 death in the river Thames, as well as in other rivers, because of the 

 deadly line lying so unobtrusively on the bottom throughout the quiet 

 night. Night lines should be of good cable laid cord, which has been 

 previously soaked in hot water to remove the size, and stretched almost 

 to breaking point to dry. The hooks are ordinary Eedditch hooks, 

 flattened in the shank, and tied. These are either baited with min- 

 nows, or other small fish, by passing the point in at the mouth and 

 out at the tail ; or, in the case of larger fish-bait, by means of a 

 baiting-needle, which leaves the hook out of the side of the mouth. 

 Worms, pieces of fish offal, young birds, mice, or frogs, are all of use ; 

 especially frogs in the early summer, which, I am informed, they never 

 refuse. These baited hooks, whilst the main line is still stretched out, 

 are attached to it, so as to be readily undone in the morning. The whole 

 of the baits are then gathered up by the right into the left hand, and 

 neatly tied close up together, just below the hook- shanks. By doing as 

 here directed, a number of long lines may be baited far from the water, 

 and carried there without fear of entanglement. The baits when in the 

 water should not be able to get within a yard of each other, so that no 

 two eels could co-operate in mutual endeavours to free themselves, 

 a result which will inevitably ensue if they should manage to entwine 

 their tails. 



