142 tllE COMPLETE ANGLER. PART la 



Pikes in Spain, and that the largest are in the lake Thrasy- 



mene in Italy; and the next, if not equal to them, are the 



Pikes of England; and that in England, Lincolnshire 



boasteth to have the biggest. Just so doth 



Thi* he hat taid 



before, in chap. Sussex boast of four sorts of fish, namely, 

 an Arundel Mullet, a Chichester Lobster, 

 a Shelsey Cockle, and an Amerly Trout. 



But I will take up no more of your time with this rela- 

 tion, but proceed to give you some Observations of the 

 Carp, and how to angle for him; and to dress him, but 

 not till he is caught. 



CHAP. IX. 



Observation* en the CARP ; with Directions how to fish for him. 



Piscator. THE Carp is the queen of rivers ; a stately, a 

 good, and a very subtil fish ; that was not at first bred, 

 nor hath been long in England, but is now naturalized. 

 It is said, they were brought hither by one Mr. Mascal, 

 a gentleman that then lived at Plumsted in Sussex, a 

 county 1 that abounds more with this fish than any in 

 this nation. 



You may remember that I told you Gesner says there 

 are no Pikes in Spain ; and doubtless there was a time, 

 about a hundred or a few more years ago, when there 

 were no Carps in England, as may seem to be affirmed 

 by Sir Richard Baker, in whose Chronicle you may find 

 these verses : 



()) For proof of tliis fact, we have the testimony of the Author of the Book 

 of Fishing with Hooke, and Line, 4to. Lond. 15QO, already mentioned fh the 

 Life of Walton ; who, though the initials only of his name are given in the title, 

 appears to have been Leonard Masral, the translator of a book of Planting and 

 Graffinf. 4to. 1589, 1599. and the Author of a book On Cattcl, *to. J5Q6. Fuller 

 in bis Worthies, Sussex, 11.1, seems to have confounded these two persons : the 

 latter of whom, in the tiact first above-mentioned, speaks of the former by report 

 only : besides which, they lived at the distanre of seventy years from each other, 

 and the Author of the book Of Fishing is conjectured to be a Hampshire man. 



