ANGLING. 



and oils, which many have prescribed for 

 enticing fish to bite, are in the opinion of 

 the most experienced anglers, only idle 

 chimseras. 



Worms are best put on hooks, by run- 

 ning the hooks in at the head of one 

 worm, and out about his middle, drawing 

 it up over the shank, and putting on a se- 

 cond worm beneath the first, in the mid- 

 dle of whose body the point of the hook 

 is to be concealed; the tails of both 

 worms hanging loose will entice the fish. 



Ground bait is often used with good 

 effect, particularly for barbel and for 

 perch. It should be a general rule, that 

 the ground bait should be always inferior 

 to that which is used on the hook; greaves 

 therefore should not be used, as is cus- 

 tomary with some ; but for this purpose, 

 malt grains, bran, blood, parts of lob- 

 worms, and clay, all worked up together 

 and made into small balls, is the most 

 proper composition ; and two or three 

 of these balls, thrown into the place 

 where you desire to '>sh, is sufficient at a 

 time. This may be repeated now and 

 then, but much should not be used ; for 

 if this should be done, the fish will glut 

 themselves, and become less eager for the 

 bait on the hook. 



A good ground bait is made for perch, 

 by taking three or four balls of the stiffest 

 clay that can be procured, making holes 

 in them, putting one end of a lob- worm 

 into each hole, and closingthe clay fast on 

 them. These balls should then be thrown 

 into the water, about a yard from each 

 other, when the worms, being alive in the 

 balls, will move and twist about, which 

 tempts the fish to feed upon them. But 

 by angling with worms of a superior kind, 

 the fish will on sight of them leave those 

 in the clay, and seize the others with the 

 greatest avidity. 



The tackle necessary for fishing con- 

 sists of fishing rods, lines, links of hair, and 

 of other materials usual ; hooks, floats, 

 spare-caps, split shot, bait of different 

 sorts, including ground bait, shoemakers' 

 wax, twine, silk, a clearing ring, which 

 being passed over the rod, when the hook 

 is entangled, and drawn down the line by a 

 strong twine attached to it for the pur- 

 pose, to the hook or below it, if the ob- 

 struction is caused by weeds, will either 

 free the hook or break the line near it, 

 and prevent its being strained in any other 



lace, by pulling the twine with sufficient 

 >rce. A landing net is also useful to 

 land large fish ; and a gaff, when fishing 

 for salmon, to be used for the same pur- 

 VOL. I, 



pose ; which instrument consists of a large 

 hook attached to the end of a pliable 

 stick ; by passing the hook into the nose 

 or gills of the fish, it may be easily lifted 

 out of the water, for which purpose a 

 landing net is too small. A disgorger is 

 also necessary, to put down the throat of 

 a fish, when he has gorged the hook, till 

 you touch it, when on pulling the line it 

 will be free. The disgorger is formed 

 by a piece of flat wood, about six inches 

 long, and half an inch wide, forked at the 

 ends. To these articles a fish-basket 

 should be added, to carry the iish in. 



Fishing rods are made of various 

 lengths, according to the sort of fish they 

 are intended for; those for salmon are 

 about 18 feet long, those for trout 14 or 

 15 feet, those for pike the same as for 

 salmon ; and for other fish, either the 

 trout or the salmon, rods may be used ac- 

 cording to their size and strength. All 

 rods should be made to taper evenly from 

 the buts; and when not formed of pieces 

 of the natural growth, which should al- 

 ways consist of ground shoots, they 

 should be made of cleft, timber, as sawed 

 pieces can never be depended on. Ash 

 or hickory are best for the lower joints, 

 yew for the next, and the extremity of the 

 top should always consist of whalebo ne ; 

 the fewer joints used in the rod the more 

 equal will be its elasticity in every part ; 

 some have the joints formed with screw 

 ferules, and some with sliding connections 

 retained by plain ferules ; but none are 

 better for the elasticity of the rod, and 

 for security, than simple spliced joints, 

 secured by well waxed twine ; some re- 

 commend those latter joints to be previ- 

 ously glued together, before the waxed 

 twine is applied, with glue prepared with 

 strong lime water : but it is obvious that 

 the wet to which rods are exposed must 

 render glue of little use : thick white 

 paint, or some of the varnish hereafter 

 mentioned, would probably cement the 

 pieces together more durably. Whatever 

 may be the number of permanent joints, 

 the long rods need not be made to sepa- 

 rate into more than three long pieces, and 

 a short top ; and the short rods into two 

 pieces, and a short top ; the lower joint 

 of trout rods should be bored hollow, to 

 contain a second top ; for every trout rod 

 should have two tops made for it ; one 

 very pliable for fly fishing, and the other 

 stiffer for bait; the top not in use will be 

 conveniently and safely kept in the hol- 

 low butt. The rod should be furnished 

 with rings for the line to pass through, 

 from the top to within tw<> feet of the 



