HOW TO FISH A PATERNOSTER 67 



and then commence at the top of the eddy or stream, and fish 

 the eye, or first eddy, carefully, for there the best fish lie. Drop 

 the tackle to the bottom, keeping a tight line, so that the lead 

 touches the bottom, but with no slack line ; let it rest a minute, 

 and if no bite come, lift it, and move it from left to right, or 

 vice versa, round about you, until the immediate neighbour- 

 hood is fished ; then, lifting the tackle out of the water, swing 

 it out a yard or two farther down stream, let it rest a minute, 

 and then draw it towards you, a foot or so at a time, until the 

 tackle comes home, when repeat the cast, lengthening the 

 distance each time, until the place is fished out, or you have to 

 move lower down. If you get a bite, do not strike at the first 

 nibble, but drop the point of the rod so as to yield a little line ; 

 but when you feel a quick " pluck, pluck, pluck," strike 

 firmly, but not too heavily, and remember that the heavier 

 the fish you expect to catch, the more time you must give them, 

 as they are slow and cautious, and if the hook be not well 

 in their mouths, you will lose them to a certainty when 

 good-bye to sport. I always use a landing-net if the fish is over 

 half a pound ; if under, I lift him in at once, as it saves so 

 much time, from the other hooks often getting hung up in 

 the net. Take care how you handle Master Perch, for he has 

 sharp spines and gill points, and will frequently resent rough 

 and unskilful handling by a sharp stab or two. 



When two persons are paternostering from a punt, they 

 should stand side by side in the stern of the punt, fishing 

 right and left, merely bringing the rod round to the fisherman, 

 who will take the fish off and rebait ; much depends upon the 

 puntsman, and his skill in holding and managing the punt, in 

 paternostering. A bungler will be sure to spoil the fishing. 



The localities in which to look for perch vary with the 

 season. Early in the summer the angler will find them in 

 the streams, as in gudgeon-swims, into which they come when 

 the ground is raked or disturbed, and here they often take the 

 angler's gudgeon worm ravenously ; indeed, perch occasion- 

 ally take a worm almost as well, and in some cases even better 

 than they do the minnow. They are often taken on the 

 ledger, and these are frequently the best fish too. Some 

 time since, I was fishing with a friend on the Thames ; we were 

 dace-fishing with the float line ; he had a paternoster out on 

 his side of the boat for perch ; I had a ledger on my side for 

 barbel ; I had at least a dozen bites, and caught two or three 

 nice perch, while he never got a touch, with a choice minnow 



