i$2 THE PERCH. 



take a great deal of perseverance to catch them. 

 As the late J. J . Manley, wrote respecting 

 perch-fishing: "If ever you should capture one 

 of 4 Ibs. invite all your piscatorial friends to an 

 oyster supper (3^. 6d. per dozen) with still Moselle, 

 or better, Chablis ; for you have accomplished the 

 object of your life, and fulfilled your mission ; you 

 have nothing else worth living for." And to quote 

 again my reverend friend, " What bait will a hungry 

 perch not take ? for he is well-nigh omnivorous. 

 Varieties He will take any kind of worm, from the 

 of bait tail of well-scoured lob, delicate as the 

 best prepared tripe or cod's sounds, to a bunch 

 of stinking brandlings, the effects of the handling 

 of which carbolic soap and a scrubbing brush can 

 hardly efface in a week. He will take a salmi 

 of gentles, a nubble of paste, an artificial spinning- 

 bait of almost any pattern ; yea, even a gaudy fly 

 in some waters. As for ordinary spinning and live 

 baits gudgeon, dace, roach, chub he has little 

 choice generally speaking, though perhaps a 

 gudgeon is his favourite. And what ' specimen ' 

 live bait will he not seize ? When you are fishing 

 for large jack, a perch of 2 Ibs. (say) will take a bait 

 intended for a pike of 12 Ibs., as if he had any quan- 

 tity of capacity for internal storage, which, however, 

 is not the case ; indeed, at times he is by no means 

 well on the feed, and like other fish though perhaps 

 not to the same degree is affected by wind and 

 weather, and by other circumstances ; but when they 

 are biting boldly, and the angler drops his bait quietly 

 into the midst of a shoal of perch, if he fishes care- 

 fully and does not hook and lose fish, he may capture 

 nearly every one of them." Mr. C. Pennell's wide 

 experience testifies to this. He says : " 1 have seen 



