50 BOTTOM FISHING IN THE NOTTINGHAM STYLE. 



angler must operate on a wasp's nest with a good deal of 

 caution. Carefully note the hole from which the wasps pass 

 in and out, and cut a sod that will fill it nicely, then walking 

 boldly up to the hole light the thin end of the gunpowder 

 paste, then thrust it into the hole, which hole must be in- 

 stantly stopped up with the sod already mentioned. Stamp 

 your heel on this to force it in tight. After a few minutes, 

 when the wasps have become suffocated, the angler can dig 

 the cakes out with a spade. Brush all the loose wasps from 

 the comb and pop it into a bag and make "tracks" away 

 from the spot in case of the return of any wasps. These 

 grubs are very tender, and cannot be used very well without 

 some preparation. Some anglers bake them in the oven for 

 a few minutes, but I think the best plan is to put the cakes 

 in a jar, then put the jar in a saucepan of water and steam 

 them over the fire, but don't let any of the water get to the 

 comb. This renders them tough and enables them to hang 

 on the hook. A few minutes of this treatment will render 

 them tough enough. Now take the grubs that are uncovered 

 and with the embryo wasps put them in a bag with some 

 bran for ground bait.^ The good grubs are carefully picked 

 out and put in a tin for the hook bait ; they will keep good 

 for two or three days prepared as described. This is a very 

 killing bait, and I have known bags of from twenty to forty 

 chub being made by its means in a day's fishing. Chub will 

 also take a lump of paste or a bit of cheese, and the more the 

 cheese smells, or the more gamey it is, the better the chub 

 likes it. A piece the size of a small gooseberry is a very good 

 bait, or a bit of rotten Cheshire cheese mixed with a little 

 bread makes a very good chub bait for a change ; even a 



1 When chub fishing with wasp grub, put five or six grubs on the 

 hook, and let them go down the stream forty or fifty yards ; and do 

 not be afraid of a rattling stream, for there, very often, the big 

 fish lay. 



