BOTTOM FISHING. 47 



As the season advances, they locate under hollow banks 

 and by whirling eddies, or smooth, gravelly-bottomed 

 swims, but towards September and October they frequent 

 the deepest parts of the river, near roots, sunken sticks, 

 or in other fastnesses. Perch are gregarious; care should, 

 therefore, be taken not suddenly to disturb a hole or swim. 

 They will run eagerly at the minnow, especially in the 

 summer months, but the method by which most sport 

 may be derived from them is to cast for them with a trio 

 of artificial red palmers or caterpillars (double-hooked), 

 attached to a moderately strong fly cast, one at the point 

 and the others mounted upon gut lengths, and attached 

 as droppers. These are used as small flies, just as when 

 working them for trout, with this exception when a fish 

 is hooked no action is taken whatever. The hooked fish 

 will quickly be shown, and will work the remaining 

 palmers infinitely better than the rodster can, and, in- 

 credible as it may seem, by this means each lure ^w ill have 

 secured its capture in a very short time after the first was 

 hooked. The difficulty of landing these contributions 

 adds in no small degree to the diversion.* It sometimes 

 happens when the casts are full fine, or the fish extra 

 large, that a loss of a portion of the gut, together with its 

 appendage, is experienced ; but this is an unusual occur- 

 rence, more particularly if sound and strong casts be used. 

 The best way to land a string of perch is to secure the 

 endmost one in the net first, and when this is done the 

 rest seldom get into mischief, and are generally easily 

 landed. There are numerous methods of extracting perch, 

 and if it be true that the amount of diversion derived 

 from sport is in proportion to the novelty introduced, 

 perch fishing presents important attractions. The arti- 



* When black bass do not run over a pound or two in weight, I invari- 

 ably use the method of the text ; especially if the first fish chances to be 

 hooked on the " hand " fly; the "end " fly in this case plays beautifully 

 and, nine times out of ten, a second bass will strike it. 



