236 THE PERCH 



little river, rod in hand, dropped in a baited pater- 

 noster, and immediately pulled out two six-inch perch. 

 The whole of this length of the stream, so much as there 

 was of it, seemed alive with these small and ravenous 

 fish. There was not a half-pounder among them. 

 I paid the place many visits afterwards, taking a big 

 bait can with me, and transplanted some hundreds 

 of the pigmies to larger and more suitable waters. 



But in rivers such as the Thames, Avon, Trent, 

 Severn, &c., it is usually a matter of difficulty to induce 

 large perch to bite, unless the water be clearing after 

 a flood and of exactly the right colour. Then for 

 two or three days the fishing may be really good. 

 More than half the battle in a large river is to know 

 where to find the fish, their position varying con 

 siderably with the time of year and the height, colour, 

 and temperature of the water. I have given such full 

 and yet extremely condensed and concise information 

 on this subject in the ' Book of the All-round Angler/ 

 that I may perhaps be pardoned making a short 

 extract from that work. 



1 About June, after spawning, perch are found in 

 rather shallow water, where the stream runs fairly 

 fast. All through the summer they remain for the 

 most part among the weeds, but not out of the stream. 

 When the weeds begin to rot, they are found scattered 



