522 PRACTICAL LESSONS IN THE GENTLE CRAFT. 



once, for dace fight hard and pluckily, and upon such fine 

 tackle as this, and in such a boil of water, will not yield 

 till they've had a sharp fight for victory. For its size 

 nothing plunges more violently at first, and proper care 

 should always be taken in striking a fish at such a place, 

 from the extreme probability that a trout or two may be 

 lying there, and that one of the spotted beauties may have 

 bolted your worm, or bunch of caddis or gentles. In ground 

 baiting for dace I know of nothing better than plenty of 

 carrion gentles, obtained from bone boilers' and crushers' 

 places of business. These, mixed with coarse pollard or 

 bran, and put loosely into balls of clay, will be found as 

 useful as anything ; but care should be exercised in the 

 quantity given, as dace are greedy feeders at all times, 

 and if they get thoroughly gorged with food, will cease 

 biting at the baited hook, as a matter of course. 



As I have already said, no better practice for the embryo 

 trout-fisher can be obtained than fly-fishing for dace. An 

 ordinary trouting rod will do as well as any ; the cast 

 should be of the finest gut, and two or three flies may be 

 used tied on hooks of small pattern : when, however, a 

 beginner in the graceful art of fly-fishing is desirous of 

 obtaining instruction and accuracy in throwing a fly, one 

 only is sufficient. Small black and red palmers and black 

 enats are good and staple flies for dace whipping, and 

 occasionally, if the black flies have a gentle put upon the 

 tip of the hook's point, it seems to possess extraordinary 

 attractive qualities, and the fish will dash at it madly. In 

 lieu of gentles, supposing them to be unattainable, a bit of 

 wash-leather with the point of the hook pushed through it will 

 be found an efficient substitute. The best method of fishing 

 the Thames shallows is to throw from a boat, having a heavy 

 stone, or, better still, a small anchor, so as to effectually 



