148 TROUT. 



never violently. A very little experience will teach 

 you not to be too much in a hurry to land your fish 

 when you have hooked him; and when you have done 

 so, to do it coolly, and with great caution, lest you snap 

 your line. I should not omit to mention, what our 

 great master insists upon as of great importance as it 

 really is in thus angling for trout; namely, to keep your 

 worm in motion by drawing it towards you, as if you 

 were angling with a fly. Lob-worms are the best 

 bait for deeps, and for muddy waters, while red-worms 

 and brandlings are best for clearer waters. 



Fishing for trout requires exquisite skill, for no fish 

 are so nice in biting, so choice in taking the bait, or so 

 shy of the hook. If they see the line, they will seldom 

 bite at all; if they see the angler, never; therefore, if 

 you fish for them with a single hair at the hook, or for 

 two or three links above the hook, you will catch five 

 for one that you catch if you fish with a link of twisted 

 hair. A very large trout will sometimes break away 

 from a single hair; but a very large trout may, with 

 skill, be taken with a single hair. 



In angling for trout, you must use a strong rod, with 

 a flexible top, running tackle, and a multiplying winch* 

 The line must be of fine gut, and if you will use a float, 

 it should be a quill- cap float. 



Paul Finder, in " Bentley's Miscellany," tells a story 

 of the voracity and daring of some of these larger fish, 

 which shows that though, when not inclined to feed, 

 you may tempt them in vain, they will at other times 

 suffer themselves to be caught by the veriest bungler. 

 An elderly gentleman, fishing at Rickmans worth, on the 



