1 62 Insect- Bait Fishing. 



"small" clear water; and I am .convinced that from 

 May to July better sport may often be obtained 

 with it than with any other lure, with the excep- 

 tions of the creeper and the May-fly. 



The Grub. 



Besides the aquatic larvae already noticed, many 

 imperfect insect forms bred of the earth, and even 

 less prepossessing in appearance than the creeper, 

 have long been known to the angler as very deadly 

 baits. Walton recommends the " young brood of a 

 wasp " and the " spawn of the beetle " as very good 

 lures for roach and dace ; Cotton gives the " ash- 

 grub" and the "dock -worm" as great favourites 

 with grayling; and almost all writers since their 

 days have included these and other grubs in their 

 list of generally accepted baits for river-fishing. 



For myself, I never use grubs; but as many 

 trout anglers on Tweed and Clyde set great store 

 by them, it may be as well to give them a place 

 here. Those chiefly used are the common earth- 

 grubs. They will generally be found on turning up 

 garden soil, turf, old coal-dross heaps, or old banks 

 of earth. The roots of the common dock, too, are 

 a favourite harbour. According to Mr Wood, in 

 their larval state they remain in the ground for 

 three years, increasing so much in size and fat that 



