494 PRACTICAL LESSONS IN THE GENTLE CRAFT. 



care, your own ; then get him to the bank as soon as you 

 can, into your landing net and mind his fin. It is a 

 curious fact, but nevertheless an indisputable one, that 

 perch will frequently refuse a minnow on the paternoster, 

 and yet take it greedily if put on to a hook, attached to 

 a shotted and floated line ; so that it may ,be always wisely 

 remembered that if they refuse the one, the other method 

 may be tried with advantage. Small gudgeon are a 

 capital bait for large fish, and if they persistently refuse 

 the paternoster, a light spinning flight may be rigged up 

 and tried, with a possible chance of success. Stone loach 

 will also kill perch, and in waters that are brackish and 

 subject to tidal influences, live shrimps are a killing lure. 

 They are best kept in an open basket in wet sand, and 

 care should be taken that they are never packed close 

 together. Caddis worms, wasp grubs, and occasionally 

 gentles, attract the notice of our striped friend ; but having 

 done with the subject of live-baits as applied to fish, 

 nothing will be found of greater killing power than the old 

 and well-known bait, the worm of various classes, and first 

 in order I take the lob. . No perch angler should be with- 

 out worms, for it frequently happens, and particularly 

 in the autumn, and a little later on, that they will take 

 worms freely, when minnow and gudgeon are totally dis- 

 regarded. Worms cannot be too bright and tough, or 

 too well scoured for perch-fishing, and lobs want a week at 

 least in moss, and well looked after, if the weather is warm, 

 before being fit for the hook. If they are wanted for 

 immediate use, put them in a pot of tea-leaves squeezed 

 dry, and let them remain for a few hours ; it will be found 

 that the tannin, presumably, has had a miraculous effect. 

 In waters where there are deep, slow eddies, with little or 

 no stream, some of the largest perch, and now and again a 



