DAPING FOR CHUB. 43 



daping or float-fishing. With regard to the former, no 

 better instructions have ever been given than those of 

 Tzaak Walton. My advice on this point is brief. Having 

 found out the holes and spot where the chub are, and 

 having decided how they can be fished, 1 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 

 a 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 



1 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, und 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. 



