84 THE COMPLETE ANGLER. [PART I. 



short white worm, like to and bigger than a gentle, or a Cod- 

 worm, or a Case-worm, any of these will do very well to fish 

 in such a manner. 



And after this manner you may catch a Trout in a hot even- 

 ing ; when, as you walk by a brook, and shall see or hear him 

 leap at flies, then if you get a grasshopper, put it on your 

 hook, with your line about two yards long, standing behind a 

 bush or tree where his hole is, and make your bait stir up and 

 down on the top of the water. You may, if you stand close, 

 be sure of a bite, but not sure to catch him, for he is not a 

 leather-mouthed fish : and after this manner you may fish for 

 him with almost any kind of live fly, but especially with a 

 grasshopper. 



VEN. But before you go further, I pray, good Master, what 

 mean you by a leather-mouthed fish ? 



Pise. By a leather-mouthed fish I mean such as have their 

 teeth in their throat, as the Chub or Cheven ; and so the Bar- 

 bel, the Gudgeon, and Carp, and divers others have ; and the 

 hook, being stuck into the leather, or skin, of the mouth of such 

 fish, does very seldom or never lose its hold : but on the con- 

 trary, a Pike, a Perch, or Trout, and so some other fish, which 

 have not their teeth in their throats, but in their mouths, which 

 you shall observe to be very full of bones, and the skin very 

 thin, and little of it ; I say, of these fish the hook never 

 takes so sure hold but you often lose your fish, unless he have 

 gorged it. 



VEN. I thank you, good Master, for this observation ; but 

 now what shall be done with my Chub or Cheven that I have 

 caught. 



Pise. Marry, Sir, it shall be given away to some poor body, 

 for I '11 warrant you I '11 give you a Trout for your supper: 

 and it is a good beginning of your art to offer your first-fruits 

 to the poor, who will both thank God and you for it, which I 

 see by your silence you seem to consent to. And for your 

 willingness to part with it so charitably, I will also teach you 



