54 BOTTOM FISHING IN THE NOTTINGHAM STYLE. 



tions properly, and got his bait quietly on the surface of tlie 

 water, a chub, perhaps, will rise and gobble it down instantly. 

 If he does, then the angler must not strike instantly, but 

 allow him to turn his head well down and then give him a 

 very gentle pull. If the fish be struck on the very instant 

 the chub bites, he will splash about on the top of the water 

 and scare all the fish within yards. The fisher must then 

 look for a handy hole close by, through which he can poke 

 the landing net, and after carefully landing his fish he retires 

 a few yards and rebaits his hook, and after waiting a few 

 minutes until the chub have recovered their equanimity, he 

 again pokes his rod through and repeats the operation. After 

 a brace of chub have been taken by this means, they generally 

 become disturbed in that place, and the best plan is to leave 

 it and look for another. Small frogs are a very good bait for 

 this kind of fishing. Hang a very little bit of the skin of 

 the back on the bend of the hook, and put it gently on the 

 surface of the water, as described before. As soon as it 

 touches the water the frog will strike out and try to swim 

 away, when if there is a chub within reasonable range, the frog 

 will prove such an attraction that he cannot help taking it, 

 and with it the hook. July and August, when the weather 

 is very hot, is the best time for this class of sport, indeed 

 good bags of chub may be made by this means, when the 

 weather is too hot for anything else. 



When you are fishing this method under an overhanging 

 bank and no bushes line the bank, it will be necessary to 

 crawl to the spot on hands and knees, or even on your belly. 

 An old friend who once saw me capture a three-pound chub 

 that had his home in a deep hole under a high over-hanging 

 bank, termed it taking a mean advantage of the fish. The 

 weather was very hot, and so after catching a big humble 

 bee, and putting him carefully on the hook, I crawled to the 

 edge and just poked the rod top and my own nose over. I 

 dropped the bee carefully on the water. It began to buzz and 



