HOW TO DO IT. i>71 



See, the line stops again ; lift it gently, 'tis but a stick or 

 a piece of weed. Now it stops once more, and by the 

 tremulous motion of the line it is a fish pull him out ; 

 ' and so oil.' The great object in this kind of fishing is 

 to let the worm roll along naturally, and to steer the line 

 clear of all obstacles, so that no check may occur while 

 working the worm through and round every likely hole, 

 stone, or hanging bank. You never need try even the 

 likeliest-looking place more than twice, for usually the 

 bait will be taken even at the first swim, if it is taken at 

 all. Of course the angler must make himself as invisible 

 as he can ; and when an open or clear shallow bit occurs, 

 he must cast up stream and fish it down towards himself 

 if he wants to catch fish in it. \Vhen the angler has a 

 bite, he must drop the point of the rod for a second or two, 

 and then strike ; and when he strikes, if the fish does not 

 prove too heavy, he must lift him out smartly with the 

 point of the rod and drop him upon the bank. In this 

 manner of fishing, in some of the little becks in Cornwall, 

 when a boy I have pulled out five and six dozen of bright 

 little trout in a day's fishing, not one of which would per- 

 haps reach half a pound. The angler can, of course, if 

 he likes, use Mr. Stewart's tackle, when he can strike at 

 the slightest touch without waiting ; but as there are three 

 hooks, although he will perhaps catch more fish, he will 

 much more often experience the annoyance of being hung 

 up in the thousand and one obstructions that abound in 

 such becks. Added to this, he does not want to skin the 

 stream, but to have a pleasant fishing ramble and to leave 

 some fish for another day. 



In larger brooks, or in rivers, worm-fishing becomes 

 altogether a different . affair. It is more often adopted 

 when the rain has swelled and thickened the streams than 

 at any other times. Many of the best worm-fishers, how- 

 ever, follow it with great success when the water is low 



