PIKE AND OTHER FISHING 



Hairbreadth 'scapes of parish clerks from such pike as never 

 were had no attractions for him : naturalist first and angler 

 after, this from Curiosities of Natural History shows him in 

 both capacities : — 



' We well remember, one fine day in August last, going out 

 on a gudgeon-fishing expedition. A luxurious dog-cart carried 

 us quickly to Surley Hall, well known to Etonians. There we 

 foimd the Charon of this part of the river, Finmore by name, 

 waiting for us in his punt. This old man's family has had the 

 fishing of the water for more than a hundred years ; and the 

 old man himself knows every hole and patch of weeds in the 

 river just about Windsor as well as a Londoner does the shops 

 of Regent Street. 



' In the punt were placed three chairs and three fishing- 

 rods, two punt-poles with sharp iron spikes on their ends, 

 called in these parts " rypecks " : why or wherefore they have 

 received this name we cannot ascertain ; lastly, an enormous 

 iron rake. Three anglers occupied the three chairs : two of 

 them were great salmon-fishers, who, but a few weeks ago, 

 thought a fish under twenty pounds nothing ; they were now 

 pleased by catching a little gudgeon not a quarter of an ounce 

 in weight. The laziness of gudgeon-fishing is indeed laziness. 

 " If " (as most aptly remarked at the time) " you exert your- 

 self in the least, the whole thing is spoilt." It is quite contrary 

 to the rules to put on one's own bait, to alter one's own float, to 

 take the captured fish off the hook ; all is done by Charon, 

 who not unfrequently has quite enough to do. Everything 

 prepared, the boat is pushed out into the middle of the river, 

 the two rypecks are fixed firmly into the ground at the bottom, 

 and the boat is fastened to them across the stream. The first 

 operation is to rake up the bottom well with the big rake. 

 Immediately this is done, all the gudgeon in the neighbour- 

 hood flock to the place, and if they are in a biting humour, 

 begin instantly to be caught. Bold biters are these gudgeon ; 

 they take the hook with a rush, and down goes the float deep 

 into the water. This is capital fun when the fish are on the 



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