68 BEST'S ART OF ANGLING. 



strong line, and bait your hook with a large lob- 

 worm, and go to such places abovementioned 

 where heel? hide themselves in the clay- time, put 

 the bait gently into the hole, by the help of a 

 cleft stick, and if the eel is there he will certainly 

 bite, let him tire himself by tugging, before you 

 offer to pull him out, or else he will break your 

 line. The other method is called bobbing, In 

 order to perform this you must scour some large 

 lobs, and with a needle run a twisted silk, or 

 worsted, through as many of them from end to 

 end, as will lightly wrap a dozen times round 

 your hand; make them into links, and fasten 

 them to strong packthread or whip-cord, .two 

 yards long, then make a knot in the line about 

 six or eight inches from the worms, afterwards 

 put three quarters of a pound of lead, made in a 

 pyramidal form, on the cord ; the lead must be 

 made hollow three parts of the way up it, and 

 then a hole must be bored through it, big enough 

 to put the cord through, and let the lead slide 

 down to the knot. Then fix all to a manageable 

 pole, and use it in muddy water, When the 

 fishes tug, let them have time to fasten, then 

 draw them gently up, and hoist them quick to 

 shore. A boat called a punt is very useful in 

 this kind of fishing. Some use an eel spear to 

 catch eels with, which is an instrument with three 

 or four forks or jagged teeth, which they strike 

 at random into the mud. 



Common eels grow to a large size, sometimes 

 so great as to weigh fifteen or twenty pounds, 

 but that is extremely rare. The eel is the most 

 universal of fish, yet is scarce ever found in the 

 Danube, though it is very common in the lakes 

 and rivers of Upper Austria. 



