1-' THAMES FISHING. 



set of the hooks which are used in Thames trout 

 fishing, so as to make it spin as it ought to do. 

 The angler sits or stands on the top of the piles of 

 the weir, the foaming water rushing through them 

 with great force and noise. The torrent then forms 

 eddies, and little whirlpools in the basin below, and 

 from which as the water expands itself, it again 

 resumes its calm and stately movement In the 

 position I have described, the angler has to cast 

 his line into the foaming basin, and this a skilful 

 practitioner will do to a distance of from thirty to 

 forty yards. The great art, however, is in gather- 

 ing up the line properly in the hand for a second 

 cast, so that it may not become entangled, or be 

 checked in its progress. When the position of the 

 angler is considered, this is no easy task, especially 

 as the loss of his balance might precipitate him 

 into the torrent below. I do not mean to say that 

 all Thames trout are taken by anglers while in 

 this position, as some persons troll from boats or 

 the banks of an ait, but the best, and generally the 

 most successful fishing, is from the tops of the 

 weirs. 



Among the few celebrated Thames anglers, I 

 must mention Mr. G. Marshall first, because I be- 

 lieve him to be the best, taking him as a bait and 

 fly-fisher. His forty years practice in angling has 

 tended to make his mind and body active and 

 vigorous, and few of his brethren of the rod 



