150 FISHES AND FISHING. 



the worm will gradually disappear, being sucked in 

 by the fish, and the line will be drawn in ; when 

 you see this, draw the line tight, the eel will close his 

 mouth, then give a smart jerk, the point of the needle 

 sticks against the side of the throat, and as the fish 

 pulls, gets quite across it, and holds him fast ; he will 

 adhere firmly to his resting-place by the convolutions 

 of his tail and body; keep the line tight, but do not 

 attempt to draw your line in beyond that ; force the 

 point of your bank-runner into the ground, and take 

 a turn over the pin that is used to wind it up, taking 

 in line as the eel gives way ; by degrees he will yield 

 a little at a time, till at last he is out of his retreat, 

 land him, detach the gimp from the line, and press- 

 ing the eel's throat, the head part of the needle, 

 which has been sharpened on purpose, will pass 

 through the skin, and may easily be drawn through. 

 The great advantage of this mode of fishing for eels is, 

 that if there be not one in the hole, there is no danger 

 of getting foul, as if a hook had been used ; that you 

 can use this method at a time of the day, with the 

 sun out, when you could not successfully angle for 

 other fish ; and that your prize is worth having, be- 

 ing generally from one pound and a half to three 

 pounds. When a dam was made above and another 

 below Thames-lock, all the water was pumped out of 

 the lock in order to perform some repairs ; several^ 



