THE EEL. 67 



they lay with only their heads out, watching for 

 |>rey ; also ahout flood-gates, wears, bridges, and 

 oid mills, and in the still waters that are foul and 

 muddy ; but the smallest eels are to be met with in 

 all sorts of rivers and soils. They conceal them- 

 selves in the winter for six months in the mud, and 

 they seldom rove about in the summer in the day- 

 time, but all night long ; at which tune you may 

 take a great number of them, by laying in night- 

 lines, fastened here and there to banks, stumps of 

 trees, &c. of a proper length for the depth of the 

 water, leaded so as to lay on the ground, and a pro- 

 per eel-hook whipped on each, baited with the fol- 

 lowing baits, which he delights in, viz. garden- 

 worms^ or lobs, minnows, hen's guts, fish -garbage, 

 loaches, small gudgeons, or miller's thumbs, also 

 small roaches, the hook being laid in their mouths. 

 There are two ways to take them in the day- 

 time, called sniggling and bobbing. Sniggling 

 is thus performed : take a strong line, and bait 

 your hook with a large lob-worm, and go to such 

 places above-mentioned, where eels hide them- 

 selves in the day-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 him- 

 self 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 ; after- 

 wards put three quarters of a pound of lead, made 



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