The Eel 



live minnows; this applies to both pond as 

 well as river fishing. 



The eel requires considerable indulgence 

 when he takes the bait, and as soon as he 

 is pulled out of the water, whether big or 

 little, the angler should stamp his foot 

 across his body, holding the line tight with 

 one hand and with the other cut through his 

 gills with a sharp knife, taking care of 

 course not to cut the gut, which is almost 

 always some distance down his throat. 

 This is the quickest and most humane 

 method to prevent the slippery rascal from 

 tying the line full of knots and twisting 

 it inextricably round his body, very often 

 breaking the line and so getting away. In 

 fact he is so lively on being taken from the 

 water that more often he gets away than 

 is captured. For that reason the eel is 

 not a fish suited to women anglers, as the 

 extraordinary contortions could hardly be 

 managed by them. With boys, the case dif- 

 fers, for they enjoy the excitement and diffi- 

 culty of unhooking the wriggling terror, 

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