142 ENGLISH LAKE DISTRICT FISHERIES 



fishery rights in the lake, the litigants being the 

 inhabitants of Hawkshead and Colonel Sandys. 

 The former claimed the rights of fishing, but it was 

 decided that these were vested in Colonel Sandys ; 

 hence the imposition of fees and licences. Seeing 

 that the public have had the right of fishing from 

 time immemorial, the latter can hardly be said to 

 be drawn in a generous spirit. One licence has to be 

 taken to fish for pike and perch ; a second for trout ; 

 a third to use a boat ; and each and all of these are 

 for a single day only. Then there are ten or twelve 

 conditions attaching to each licence, one of 

 which, for instance, is that " towing a line through 

 the water by rowing will be considered otter-fish- 

 ing" These matters are mentioned so that the 

 unwary angler may be on the alert ; and on 

 Esthwaite Water he will need to be a " contempla- 

 tive " angler indeed lest he transgress. 



The setting of Esthwaite is pastoral rather than 

 rugged, being surrounded by farm lands and cop- 

 pice woods. Two promontories nearly divide it, 

 and the best view of the lake is obtained from an 

 eminence on the west side looking north. Its 

 chief feeder rises on Yewdale Fells, and its effluent 

 is Cunsey Beck, which flows into Windermere. 



The lake contains trout, pike and perch in large 

 quantities. Although fairly good trout may be 

 had in some parts of the lake, the principal fishing 

 is for pike and perch. The pike here are good, 

 they come freely, and a decent catch may always 

 be depended on. As well as in summer, they bite 

 well in September and October, which is seldom 

 the case in Windermere. To an angler accus- 

 tomed to fish in the South or Midlands this may 

 seem a commonplace, but the fact is that both 



