WINDERMERE 81 



Perch fishing on Windermere gives great pleasure 

 to a host of visitors, and perch fishing has been 

 described as the chief industry of Bowness. These 

 bold-biting fish exist in the lake in hundreds 

 of thousands, and are mainly captured by float- 

 fishing from a boat. Minnows and small red 

 worms are used as bait, and there is scarcely any 

 limit to the number of fish that may be caught. 

 The perch taken in this way are exceedingly 

 small, and those who are ambitious to catch larger 

 fish use a paternoster, fishing in deeper water. 

 It need hardly be remarked that a paternoster is 

 a small leaden plummet with a yard of gut 

 attached, and on which two hooks are used. The 

 perch taken in this way are larger only by com- 

 parison ; for although one of 2 Ibs. 3 oz. has. 

 been taken, the over-abundance of perch in the 

 lake keeps down the average size to an extreme 

 degree. 



Whatever mode of perch fishing is adopted, care 

 should be taken that the bait is actually on the 

 bottom, as a suspended worm or minnow is always 

 an object of suspicion. The fish may be seen swim- 

 ming round it, but that is as far as they will go. 



An old method of perch fishing is still practised 

 by local anglers with a " beam " a piece of stout 

 wire about a foot in length and weighted in the 

 middle. To each end is fastened a length of gut 

 bearing a hook. A line is fastened to the weight, 

 and the contrivance is worked like an ordinary 

 hand-line. 



I have more than once expressed the opinion 

 that the millions of perch that exist in Winder- 

 mere, by overtaxing the food supply, may go 

 far to ruin the lake for angling. 



G 



