1 92 Minnow-Fishing. 



calls for the constant exercise of close observation, 

 of cool judgment, of decided action, and of no small 

 degree of manipulative skill; while, as a sport, it 

 exerts that enlivening and captivating influence 

 over its votaries which constitutes one great charm 

 of all good and true fishing, evoking in its pursuit 

 feelings now of earnestness and enthusiasm, now of 

 uncertainty and fear, now of hope and exultation. 

 And when I add that the trout captured with 

 this lure are generally the best which the stream 

 contains not even excepting those taken with the 

 May-fly I think I have said enough to convince 

 the novice that minnow-fishing, in the hands of 

 an adept, must prove an exhilarating pastime, a 

 scientific sport, and an " art worth his learning." 



But we must first catch the minnows, if ever we 

 are to catch the trout in the act of devouring them ; 

 and happily .this is, in general, not very difficult to 

 do. In flooded waters they will be found in the 

 easy shallow eddies near the banks, at the mouths 

 of burns or the outlets of field-drains, at the shallow 

 edges of pools, and amongst grass or aquatic plants 

 at the river -side. In low clear water they are 

 not confined to these retreats ; they venture farther 

 into the open stream, and may be taken almost 

 anywhere. Many methods of capture have been 

 suggested, and sometimes one may answer, and 

 sometimes another. Minnow-traps, of a convenient 



