AND OF STILL WATERS. 77 



over, out of one hole, and have heard of twice 

 ten dozen being taken." It is at starvation 

 times such as those that the perch merits his 

 name of " the greedy perch, bold biting fool," 

 as the Complimentary Ode to Izaak Walton has 

 it ; but at less rigorous seasons, and when he is 

 not over plentiful, there are few fish more in- 

 telligently wary than he. Indeed in waters that 

 are much fished perch attain an experience 

 of bait and fishing-tackle which would do credit 

 to many anglers, who often insult a perch's 

 intelligence by fishing for him with a monstrous 

 apparatus of hog's bristles, shots, and bone 

 bought at a tackle-maker's, under the fond delu- 

 sion that it is the "right sort" of paternoster. 

 As Mr. Francis rightly observes about such 

 abominations, "if he (the perch) condescends 

 to take your minnow at all, he will take it 

 probably without the hook." 



There are several ways of fishing for perch, 

 but paternostering from a punt is the most 

 common and the most successful as to mere 

 numbers. The largest and best fish, however, 

 are more apt to take a spinning minnow; and 



