A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



presence there would be a far greater number 

 of trout in the rivers, and where care is taken 

 to kill as many pike as possible, the trout 

 have greatly increased in numbers. 



In ancient times, before there were facilities 

 for obtaining sea water fish, what are now 

 called ' coarse ' fish were highly prized and 

 fed in ponds and rivers ; more especially in 

 the ponds and rivers owned by the monks and 

 abbots of St. Albans, Westminster and Ely. 

 Sir Francis Bacon constructed the considerable 

 series of ponds which are still called the pond- 

 yards at Gorhambury, close to the Redbourn 

 road. Here he bred and fed and caught carp 

 and other coarse fish which were at that time 

 looked upon as excellent eating. Cardinal 

 Wolseley, whose country residence was Moor 

 Park, Rickmansworth, also often occupied his 

 leisure hours in fishing in the river Gade. 



An interesting case was tried in James II.'s 

 reign as to whether the right of fishing in 

 the river, which was at that time called the 

 Quick but is now known as the Colne, 

 belonged to the lord of the manor. In the 

 year 1688 Algernon Earl of Essex sent five 

 farmers ' armed ' to fish and carry away fish 

 from the Quick river. Thomas Kilby 

 brought an action against them that on the 

 first day of September, 1688, they broke the 

 close called Ware eight, the close called Seize 

 eight, also Long eight and Lagershott eight in 

 the parishes of Watford and St. Stephens and 

 did fish and carry away 1,000 pickerells, 

 1,000 tenches, 1,000 carpes, 1,000 roaches, 

 200 pykes, 200 pearches and 200 trouts, and 

 trod down the grass to the great damage, etc. 

 The five farmers set up a plea that the Earl of 

 Essex was seized of the manor of Meredin 

 or Morndon in his demesne as of fee and 

 that the Earl of Essex from time immemorial 

 had the sole right of fishing in the Quick 

 river, and that the damage to the grass was 

 unavoidable in fishing the river. Thomas 

 Kilby denied the Earl of Essex's claim and 

 himself claimed the exclusive right of fishing 

 there. Tried at Hertfordshire assizes before 

 two judges and a jury, a verdict was given 

 for Thomas Kilby, the jury having found 

 that the Earl of Essex had not as lord of the 

 manor the right of fishing in all the river 

 Quick. 



Several of the rivers in the county were 

 preserved for the kings of England, and 

 sometimes only the trout were reserved for 

 the king notably at Kings Langley and 

 Bushey. 



Cormorants were kept at Theobalds by 

 King James I. for catching fish, and also by 

 successive Lords Salisbury at Hatfield. 



A large pike was caught at Totteridge in 



1797 which weighed 40 Ib. and measured 3^ 

 feet long and 2 feet in circumference. Inside 

 this pike was found a tench weighing 4 Ib. 

 In 1839 Wants Inn, Broxbourne, was well 

 known as the principal fishing station with 

 the largest subscription club near the metro- 

 polis. 



At the present time the only fish in the 

 Hertfordshire rivers that is really prized is 

 the trout, and to a less extent the grayling. 

 The beautiful and highly scientific branch of 

 fishing for trout which is yearly coming more 

 into favour is the fishing with the dry fly, 

 that is, watching for a rising fish and then 

 casting a dry fly above the fish and letting the 

 fly float down over the fish, instead of the old 

 method of submerging the fly and guiding it 

 across the current, as is usually done in the 

 more rapid rivers. 



The streams of this county are wonderfully 

 prolific in insect life, and besides the number- 

 less flies which breed in our rivers, there are 

 large numbers of larvae, shrimps and water 

 snails. With so large a choice of food our 

 river trout are much more dainty feeders than 

 the trout that inhabit the mountain rivers, 

 and are therefore much more difficult to 

 tempt with the artificial fly, and it is only 

 when the trout are rising freely at the natural 

 fly that the dry fly fisherman can hope to 

 make a good basket in the Hertfordshire 

 rivers. Mr. Halford, who is the greatest 

 living authority on dry fly fishing, and who 

 has often fished the principal Hertfordshire 

 streams, thus describes the modus operandi. 

 ' The angler selects his fish, gets behind him 

 (that is below him), and prepares for a cast up 

 stream. Then taking two or three false casts 

 in the air to judge the distance the fly is 

 thrown with the intention of making it fall 

 gently a foot or two above the rising fish and 

 exactly in his line. The slightest clumsiness 

 on the part of the angler is fatal and puts the 

 fish down for the next half hour.' Thus not 

 only is great skill required in casting, but 

 great knowledge of entomology is also re- 

 quired, which the fisherman can only acquire 

 by his own habits of observation. 



In most of the chalk streams in Hertford- 

 shire the mayfly, which belongs to the family 

 Epbemeridte, is present, and where there are 

 large numbers of these insects the best sport 

 is always to be had. The trout during the 

 ten days or fortnight that this fly is on the 

 water eat them with great avidity, and also 

 freely take the artificial fly when skilfully cast. 



So greedy are the fish when the fly is 

 numerous, that they are apparently unable to 

 distinguish colour. Sir Herbert Maxwell, 

 when fishing in the Gade at Cassiobury in 



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