DAPING FOR CHUB 29 



the slightest symptom of a touch strike smartly ; indeed, the 

 bait should never be drawn out of the water to repeat the 

 throw without a strike ; by this means both perch and trout 

 may often be taken. It is the best way of taking good chub, 

 combined with exercise and motion, and is pleasanter than 

 the practice of daping, or float-fishing. With regard to the 

 former, no better instructions have ever been given than those 

 of Izaak Walton. My advice on this point is brief. Having 

 found out the holes and spots where the chub are, and having 

 decided how they can be fished, let the angler first see that 

 his rod and line are all in proper trim, and his hook carefully 

 baited.* The spot must then be approached with the utmost 

 caution ; he must keep out of sight behind some bush or tree, 

 on his hands and knees if need be. If he cannot accomplish 

 this he must do the best he can, and having reached the spot 

 he intends to fish from, he must try perfect quiet, and give the 

 fish time to recover from the alarm he has thrown them into. 

 Next, protruding his rod at an angle of 45 over the water, 

 with as little flourish or disturbance as possible, he may allow 

 the baited hook to fall from the hand in which he has held it, 

 so that it may hang some six or eight inches from the water ; 

 gradually and very gently he may move the point of the rod 

 over the spot where the fish are thickest ; having arrived so 

 far, he may drop his bait smartly on the surface of the water. 

 If the chub rises and gobbles it down directly (as, if the angler 

 has conducted his operations properly, will most likely be 

 the case) he must not strike immediately, or the fish will 

 splash upon the top of the water, and so disturb every chub 

 within yards of the spot. But he must allow the fish to turn 

 his head well down, and then give him a gentle pull (not a 

 sharp strike), and put a strong persuasive drag on in order to 

 lead him away from the spot, so that he may not by flying 

 about all over the hole disturb the others, for, if he is permitted 

 to do so, the angler will barely take another fish in the hole, 

 whereas by conducting his measures properly he may take 

 three or four or more. Having landed his fish with as little 



* Before the angler ever attempts to fish any special hole, swim, pitch, 

 or cast, let him study the spot, and settle in his own mind how it can best 

 be fished to advantage ; how this bough or that obstruction, may be avoided ; 

 how the wind acts with reference to them ; how an eddy may be used or 

 avoided, and how the spot can be approached best without his being seen 

 or heard. By so doing, in many cases, he will avoid the disappointment so 

 often consequent upon hastiness ; and the practice of such consideration 

 will, in time, so improve his judgment and quickness that this portion of 

 his art will appear almost like intuition to the less considerate angler. F. F. 



