130 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 



And now I shall tell you that which may be called a secret ; I 

 have been afishing with old Oliver Henley, now with God, a noted 

 fisher both for trout and salmon ; and have observed that he 

 would usually take three or four worms out of his bag, and put 

 them into a little box in his pocket, where he would usually let 

 them continue half an hour or more, before he would bait his 

 hook with them : I have asked him his reason, and he has re- 

 plied, " He did but pick the best out to be in readiness against he 

 baited his hook the next time." But he has been observed, both 

 by others and myself, to catch more fish than I or anybody that 

 has ever gone afishing with him could do, and especially sal- 

 mons ; and I have been told lately, by one of his most intimate 

 and secret friends, that the box in which he put those worms was 

 anointed with a drop, or two or three, of the oil of ivy-berries, 

 made by expression or infusion ; and told, that by the worms re- 

 maining in that box an hour, or a like time, they had incorpo- 

 rated a kind of smell that was irresistibly attractive, enough to 

 force any fish within the smell of them to bite. This I heard 

 not long since from a friend, but have not tried it ; yet I grant 

 it probable, and refer my reader to Sir Francis Bacon's Natural 

 History, where he proves fishes may hear, and doubtless can 

 more probably smell : and I am certain Gesner says, the otter 

 can smell in the water, and I know not but that fish may do so 

 too. It is left for a lover of angling, or any that desires to im- 

 prove that art, to try this conclusion. 



I shall also impart two other experiments, but not tried by 

 myself, which I will deliver in the same words that they were 

 given me by an excellent angler and a very friend, in writing ; 



where they can be dispensed with, as the sockets of your screws will wear 

 and your reel become shaky ; a miserable fault. The reels made in this 

 country, by the Messrs. Conroy, are better than those imported. 



The line should be at least sixty yards, of silk and hair (twisted rather 

 than braided) ; and, as Mr. Chitty recommends, about the thickness of the 

 " D " string in the third octave of a harp. Some, however, prefer silk 

 throughout; others, the hair and silk of greater thickness than that just 

 given ; and others, very strong hair alone. The bottom line, in every case, 

 should be of strong salmon gut, dyed of various hues, from a dark reddish 

 brown to an amber color, so as to suit the water. — Am. Ed. 



