4 ANGLING. 



fourteen or fifteen feet desirable, with which he can swing 

 out a good length of line. To this will be fixed a winch 

 or reel with some thirty yards of line. Suppose he is 

 fishing in four or five feet depth of water, he will be able 

 to fish some three or four and twenty feet from the shore. 

 If he wishes to cast his line still further out he must draw 

 it down from above the second or third ring, as described 

 hereafter, in Nottingham angling, and thus he may get 

 out another eight or ten feet. 



As pond fish, and indeed all fish in still water, bite 

 very slowly and nibble a good deal first, the float 

 gives ample warning of a bite to the angler; and he 

 may lay his rod down on the bank without any detri- 

 ment to his fishing, and resume it as soon as he has 

 a bite. For the more convenient exercise of this plan it 

 is usual to stick a forked stick a yard or so out into the 

 water, so that the butt of the rod and reel rests on the 

 shore, and the body of the rod is supported above the 

 water in the fork of the stick. A light line of fine but 

 strong Derby silk, which will not sink to the bottom 

 too heavily, and so entangle in the weeds, &c., is best. 

 The float may be as light as it possibly can be consistently 

 with the power to fish comfortably a too light float will 

 sometimes blow about in the wind, and will not swing out 

 well. Three or four shreds of rush tied on the line make 

 a light and very unobtrusive float, and in clear water that 

 is a point worth studying. 



The whole of the tackle from some distance above 

 the float to the hook should be of single gut, as fine 

 as can be fished with, considering the strength required. 

 The bait should always rest on the bottom, as pond 

 fish feed chiefly on the bottom : the depth, therefore, 

 between the float and the hook should be somewhat 



