breed in ditches by slime and blackish eggs. If you 

 intend to troll with a frog, you must choose the yellow- 

 est you can get: first put your hook in his mouth, 

 which you may do from May-day to the end of August, 

 afterwards, some say, his mouth grows up, and so con- 

 tinues at least six months, without eating, and is sus- 

 tained, no one knows how (but the great Creator). 



Put the arming wire in at his mouth and out at his 

 gills, and then with a fine needle and silk sow the upper 

 part of his leg with only one stitch to the arming-wire, 

 or tie the frog's leg to the upper joint of the wire; use 

 him gently and he will live the longer : when you have 

 thus baited, you may fasten your line to a bough, a 

 bunch of flags, or a bundle of straw, and by the help of 

 the wind they will cross a pond or mere. Some will 

 tie four or live live baits to bladders, and let them 

 swim down the river, whilst they walk softly along the 

 shore : others will fasten baits to ducks and geese, and 

 so let them swim about the pond ; if there is store of 

 Tikes you may see excellent sport this way, for some, 

 times a gi'eat Pike will draw a duck under the water. 

 This is the most proper to fish w ith live baits, and so 

 gage your line with a forked stick with a nick or notch 

 at one end of it, and put in line enough for him to have 

 his full liberty of pouching. This is the ordinary way 

 of fishing after that manner. 



CHAP. XII. 



HO& to strike a Pike and land him. 



WHEN you have diverted yourself as long as you 

 think proper, and can guess by the running of the Pike, 

 what progress he hath made in his repast, by his rang- 

 ing about for more; you may then hook him with a 

 gentle jerk, and so take your fill of sport: for though 

 we say of a Pike as of a thief ; give him rope enough and 



