THE ANCIENT ART OF TROLLING 99 



It shocks us in these days of Mundella Acts to 

 read the statement that the month of April will be 

 found most propitious to the pastime of trolling, 

 because the weeds 'which have couched all winter 

 have not yet erected their heads to annoy the bait 

 or frustrate the hopes of an impatient fisherman. 7 

 The river is also then free from fog and filth, and the 

 fish, which have lately cast their spawn, are now more 

 hungry and ready for their prey, not so apt to forsake 

 the bait as they did in March. The pike fishers of 

 Nobbs's day were rather afraid of the depth of winter, 

 and after the October or November floods the angler 

 is recommended to lay aside his tackle for the season. 



Nobbs attached his hooks to wire that should 

 not be rugged or knotty, but sound and strong. The 

 wire seems to have been made in lengths, and not 

 in one twisted piece as later, and the joining prin- 

 ciple enabled our ancestors to shorten it to the 

 length of the bait's body. They were content with 

 a decidedly short line ; certainly, the modern angler 

 would consider thirty yards too short by half. The 

 incipient winch is outshadowed in a paragraph which 

 says that 'as to the managing of the line, you may 

 wind it upon a reel that turns upon a ring, with your 

 finger in it, having no more in your hand than you 

 make use of, so you may unwind it at your leisure.' 



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