ANGLING. 



reel ; and when it is completed, it should 

 be well varnished over with a varnish form- 

 ed by boiling a little scraped Indian rub- 

 ber, or coutchouc, in half a pint of drying 1 

 linseed oil till it dissolves ; the varnish 

 should be skimmed, and be used warm. 

 The rod, after being- varnished, should be 

 laid aside till quite dry ; the varnish will 

 then appear on it like a fine thin bark, 

 will be very durable, and will preserve it 

 from being- worm eaten, and from other 

 injuries. The hollow part of the rod 

 should be rubbed inside with linseed oil, 

 three or four times each year, which may 

 be done by a rag* dipped in the oil, and 

 tied to the end of a stick. 



Hair lines should be long, round, clear, 

 and free from knots, frets, or scales. For 

 fly fishing, a line should be prepared from 

 nine to twelve yards long, gradually ta- 

 pering to the extremity. It is formed of 

 a number of links of hair, twisted first, 

 and then knotted to each other. The 

 four lowest links consist of three hairs 

 each, with the weak tops cut off all of a 

 length ; the next four links have four hairs 

 each ; the third four links five hairs; and 

 so on till the line is completed. The 

 links are to be knotted together with the 

 fisherman's or water knot ; the short 

 ends of the hairs are to be cut oflT pretty 

 close to the knots, and the knots to be 

 whipped over with well-waxed silk. A 

 loop should be made at each end of this 

 line: the upper loop to fasten it to the 

 end of the running line at the top of the 

 rod, and the lower loop to fasten the 

 lower links to, which should never con- 

 sist of more than two or three, of either 

 gut or hair, for fly or bottom fishing. 



The best colours for lines are pale 

 bluish, green, or watery grey, and light 

 bay. 



Running hair lines, or those all of one 

 thickness, are made on engines prepared 

 and sold at the fishing-tackle shops. They 

 may likewise be made by passing hairs 

 through three short tubes made of quills 

 or reeds, secured by pegs at the lower 

 ends. The hairs are to be knotted toge- 

 ther at the top, and the quills being then 

 turned round all together between the 

 fingers will form an equal twist above 

 them ; which being drawn out, according 

 as the quills are turned round, make the 

 line, fresh hairs being still put into the 

 quills at the lower ends as the upper hairs 

 are worked into the line. 



The most excellent hooks are those 

 made of the best tempered fine steel wire, 

 longish in the shanks, and strong- and ra- 

 ther deepish in the bend ; the barbs well 

 formed, and the point fine and straight, 



and as true as it can be set to be level with 

 the shank, which last for fly fishing should 

 be tapered off to the end of it, that the fly 

 may be finished the neater. Hooks made 

 in this manner so as to lie all in one plane, 

 are much better than twisted so as to pro- 

 ject at one si-.le: they do not make so 

 large an orifice when the fish is hooked, 

 nor are they so liable to break the hold as 

 the others. The two kinds being fairly 

 tried against each other for several sea- 

 sons, considerably more fish were missed 

 in the rising, and in biting at the bottom, 

 and much more lost after being hooked 

 with the crooked hooks, than with those 

 above recommended. The best hooks of 

 the kind are made in Limerick. 



Floats for angling are mude of many 

 kinds, as of swan quills, goose quills, Mus- 

 covy duck quills, and porcupine quills. 

 The first is the best, when light baits are 

 used in rivers or deep waters, and the 

 others for slow water, or ponds not very- 

 deep. For heavy fishing, with worms or 

 minnows, a cork float is best, made of a 

 pyramidical form, with a quill placed in it 

 lengthwise for the line to pass through. 

 Quill floats must carry shot enough to sink 

 them, so as that the top may appear above 

 water, that the slightest nibble may be 

 better perceived. The cork floats should 

 have sufficient shot placed beneath them 

 on the line, to make them stand upright 

 when the shot is off the bottom, by which 

 it may be known when the shot is on the 

 ground ; for then the float will fall on one 

 side, and no longer stand upright. 



Anglinghasbeen divided, bythosewho 

 have written on the subject, into many 

 other kinds besides those mentioned. Of 

 these, float angling and ground angling* 

 may be easily understood from what has 

 been mentioned already. Night angling is 

 performed nearly in the same way as day 

 angling; but in it the larger and more 

 conspicuous bait, such as garden worms, 

 snails, and minnows, are best. Some lay 

 long lines in rivers at night, with short 

 lines furnished with hooks attached to 

 them at certain intervals ; and some use 

 lines fastened to floats of various sorts ; 

 but these modes of fishing can scarcely be 

 called angling, properly speaking. The 

 largest and finest fish are often caught by 

 these methods. 



Sea angling has nothing particular in it, 

 but that small parts of fish, clams or crabs, 

 are mostly used in it for bait. The same 

 fish may be caught at the heads of piers 

 and the mouths of rivers, and by the same 

 bait as at sea, therefore fishing in such 

 places is classed with sea angling. 



Lastly, trimmer angling is a spec.t 



