THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 221 



and baits for other fish. And first I shall tell you of the minnow 

 or penk.* 



The minnow hath, when he is in perfect season and not sick, 

 which is only presently after spawning, a kind of dappled or 

 waved color, like to a panther, on his sides, inclining to a greenish 

 and sky-color, his belly being milk-white, and his back almost 

 black or blackish. He is a sharp biter at a small worm ; and in 

 hot weather makes excellent sport for young anglers, or boys, or 

 women that love that recreation, and in the spring they make of 



* Cyprinus Phoxinus, called minnow or minim from the Latin mini- 

 mus, on account of diminutive size, and penk, or rather pink, from the 

 bright red color which tinges its belly in summer. 



The minnow is a favorite bait for pearch and trout. They should be 

 taken with a small net, and placed in a large tin pail, covered by a lid 

 pierced with many small holes so as to let in the air but exclude the sun. 

 When carrying them to the fishing-ground it is not well to change the 

 water very often, though this should be done occasionally to freshen them, 

 great care being taken not to bruise them, as then they quickly die. They 

 should be lifted out with a small piece of millinet stretched across a 

 bowed whalebone. In fishing for pearch, it is better to hook them through 

 the lips (taking care not to wound them more than necessary), as that fish 

 takes in the bait lengthwise ; in lake bass fishing, the hook should be 

 passed tenderly under the dorsal fin, so that the spine is not injured; in 

 trout-fishing, the minnow should be placed on a gang of small hooks, 

 thus : Take a piece of good gut, on the end of it tie two hooks opposite to 

 each other ; about an inch above them put two more in the same manner ; 

 then with a loop of gut tie on another hook above the two last, in such a 

 manner that it may be slipped up or down according to the size of the 

 minnow. Put the upper hook through the lips of the fish, one of the 

 middle hooks through the body, and one of the last ones through the tail, 

 so that it is somewhat bent ; attach the gut to your bottom line or leader 

 by a small swivel, and your leader to your running line by another swivel, 

 and thus the minnow being made to spin becomes equally attractive and 

 dangerous to the trout, especially in spring. Small fish of any kind are 

 often called minnows or minnies in this country, and used as such ; but the 

 best bait is the minnow proper {Hydrargira Diaphana), which may be 

 easily known by its pellucid beauty, and the bright, silvery shiner {Leu- 

 ciscus Allidus). The angler will also see in many brooks a pike-looking 

 fish never more than three inches long, which is an excellent bait. 



Aristotle, J\ a/. Hist, (vi., 14), says that the Phoxini, unlike any other 

 river fish, " are bred without sexual congress, for as soon as born and how- 

 ever small, they have ova." A notion at once seen to be erroneous. — Am- 

 Ed. 



