28 ELEMENTS OF ANGLING. 



be needful to work it out by a succession of pushes 

 and twists, but this seldom happens with a 

 perch. 



A more frequent difficulty is to find that the 

 perch has swallowed both worm and hook, and in 

 extreme cases it is necessary to kill the fish first 

 and then to perform a surgical operation with the 

 knife. But often it is possible to run the first or 

 second finger along the line and down the fish's 

 throat until the hook is felt. Then with the tip of 

 the finger in the bend acting as a lever, it is a 

 simple matter to get the hook out. Those who 

 hesitate to do this can use the disgorger in the 

 knife in the same way, but the finger is a better 

 instrument, especially for a small perch which is to 

 be returned, as it is less likely to do the fish any 

 serious injury. The novice must know that the 

 perch is a delicate fish, and if it loses blood from 

 the gills or stomach by the extraction of the hook 

 it is not likely to recover. It is therefore more 

 humane to kill a small fish which has bled at all 

 than to return it to the water. Fortunately, with 

 practice the angler learns to tighten on a biting fish 

 in time to prevent its swallowing the bait, and so to 

 avoid the risk of causing it needless injury. A fish 

 hooked merely in the mouth suffers no after in- 

 convenience or even discomfort, as is proved by 



