35 



Smelt 



Is a fish not unlike the trout, only longer in pro- 

 portion to its size. It is commonly found about 

 six inches long; but near Warrington they are 

 often caught measuring twelve or thirteen inches. 



This is a fish of passage, and visits the Thames 

 and other large rivers twice a year, in March and 

 August. The first time they will advance as far 

 as Chiswick ; but at the last, they make a stand 

 about Blackwall. 



In March, if the spring be mild, prodigious 

 quantities of this fish make their appearance in 

 the river Mersey, which often seems of a greenish 

 colour, from the vast quantities of smelts which 

 then swim about. At this time every boat, every 

 fisherman, and every net are employed ; and even 

 the boys with cabbage-nets catch these fish, which 

 are double the size of those usually caught in the 

 Thames; oftentimes the baskets, pails, boats, and 

 the very banks, are filled with sparklings, as they 

 are called in Cheshire, which are frequently sold 

 at fourpence per score. 



The best way of angling for them is with a pater- 

 noster line, with small shot to sink it under water. 

 Your bait should be earth-bobs, gentles well scoured, 

 paste, or the fish itself cut into small pieces, suffi- 

 cient to cover your hook. They are seldom caught 

 by angling, as they stay but a little time after they 

 have spawned, though in the salt part of the Mersey 

 they may be caught with nets all the year round. ; 



Mullet. 



The mullet is much like a dace in shape, and 

 has a flat head with a sharp snout; and when 

 largest, his size is above a foot and a half long. 



