TROLLING. 67 



behind the tail fasten it securely. Your scissors 

 are then brought into play ; the fins are cut close 

 off, and the tail neatly cropped, so as to afford no 

 catching point for the weeds in which you are to 

 fish. It is true that a fish thus manipulated bears 

 no greater resemblance to its original self than a 

 swathed pappoose to a sprawling baby ; but the 

 pike is probably guided at least as much by smell 

 as by sight, and it is intended to drop this delicate 

 morsel immediately under his worship's nose. He 

 looks upon the lure as a maimed and helpless vic- 

 tim, and at once takes advantage of its assumed 

 condition. 



Many Thames fishermen troll throughout the 

 season, but the practice is more general in the 

 early part, from July to October, before the weeds 

 have rotted down sufficiently to render spinning 

 practicable. Standing at the head of the punt, 

 you throw your bait with an easy spring to a 

 moderate distance, right or left, dropping it under 

 the bank, beneath roots, or in any casual opening 

 in the weeds which will admit of its passage. Long 

 casts are not necessary, but an adept will toss the 

 bait to an inch where he intends it to drop, and 

 the leaded weight carries it at once to the bottom 

 where the great sulky pike, 



" Husn'd in grim repose, expects its evening prey." 



