THE ANGLER'S GUIDE, 



and then pulling up the bunch of worms 

 gently, they will not be able to disentangle 

 their teeth from the worsted before you lift 

 them on the land, or into the boat, if you are 

 fishing from one. This is quite an ancient 

 method of catching eels. 



Another, and a much more successful way, 

 is with an eel-basket or pot ; it is made with 

 osier twigs, and has a mouth, or entrance, like 

 a rat or mouse-trap, so that the eels can go in 

 but cannot get out, and it is baited with small 

 fish ; it is then sunk in the river with a brick 

 tied to it, in any likely place, and during the 

 night the eels run into it, and sometimes 

 completely fill it ; it is then taken out in the 

 morning. Where we lived in the country for 

 a short time, there was a small run of water 

 from the river, at the bottom of our garden, 

 and one day we saw eels running along in it ; 

 we went to a basket-maker in the neighbour- 

 hood and got a basket made, and the first 

 night we put it down we caught several, and 

 the next night about half a peck, and very 

 fine eels they were. We sent some in to our 

 next-door neighbour, who thanked us ver 

 ftmch for them, as he was very fond of them ; 

 and he asked us where we caught them. We , 



