CONCERNING THE CRUELTY OF 

 ANGLING 



IT is not intended in this chapter to de- 

 fend anglers against those who assert 

 our favorite pastime is cruel, though 

 most non-anglers do ; it is their privilege to 

 be innocent of the true state of things in 

 angling methods. Walton's well known 

 remark on hooking a frog, " as if you loved 

 him," is more to the point I wish to make. 

 The angler's chief attribute should be pa- 

 tience, to tear out a hook bodily from the 

 gullet of a fish is just what Walton wished 

 to be avoided. And it is this practice which 

 is quite common to those using bait who 

 are often guilty of unnecessary cruelty, 

 because most fish swallow, sometimes deep 

 down, the bait taken. It is absolutely im- 

 possible to extract the hook from an eel 

 that invariably takes the bait two or three 

 inches down his throat. Most anglers 

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