A DAY ON THE OLD WEST RIVER 107 



Now here is a nice little dace about five inches long ; we 

 put the large lip hook through both lips, with the point 

 uppermost, and then insert the small treble about half-way 

 between the back fin and the tail ; that dace kicks like a 

 thing of life, so we go on twenty yards from the scene of our 

 first success, and drop him just over the little bed of lily 

 pads, in a clear space, then work him all over that space, 

 and try another, searching all the water that is getatable. 

 No luck, so on we go, tossing him to the far end of that long 

 bit of clear water right down the middle and gradually 

 working him back inch by inch ; still no luck ; so on to 

 that flag bed a little lower down, where you noticed a swirl 

 some few minutes ago. Carefully now, crouch down behind 

 that huge bunch of red flowers, and take stock of the sur- 

 roundings : behind the flag bed there is an underwater 

 jungle, on the further side there is a nice little clear space ; 

 pop him carefully in just there, and bring him round to the 

 front. Ah! a tug what is it? We tighten up after a 

 few seconds, and a perch one and three-quarter pounds is 

 securely hooked by that small treble and safely landed. 

 Now if that treble had been fixed anywhere else except 

 about an inch or so from the tail of the bait, I should most 

 certainly not have taken that perch ; had it been an ordi- 

 nary snap tackle just fixed under the back fin, the chances 

 are he would never have got so much of the bait in his 

 mouth as to be hooked, and if there had been only a single 

 lip hook the chances would have been less. I am very 

 fond of a paternoster tackle as described. 



On we go by the roadside river and road just here 

 faithfully follow each other ; we drop in here and there ; 

 disturb a little chestnut-coated vole now and again ; try 

 everywhere, but sport is slack. We can, however, look 

 round and admire Nature, see the rooks busy on the freshly 

 turned soil, from which such a bountiful harvest has lately 

 been gathered, see the lonely farms dotted at long intervals 

 here and there, sit down and enjoy the lunch packet, and 

 thank the Giver of all good that we are permitted to enjoy 



