70 ANGLING. 



be worse than useless, the angler will have to depend on hia 

 sense of touch to know when he has a bite. Minnows are 

 an attractive bait for large perch, and in comparatively tran- 

 quil waters it is sometimes an irresistible bait. The hook 

 must be inserted behind the back fin, and the line well 

 weighted, about a foot above the bait, to keep it well clown. 

 Gudgeons, stone-loach, and frogs, have been found effective 

 in attracting perch, (see Chapter XII.) I recollect many 

 years ago hearing an old perch-fisher describe a plan of put- 

 ting a few minnows in a clear bottle nearly full of water, 

 and corking it, leaving a small air-hole, and then sinking it 

 in a river, with a cord attached. These act as a decoy to 

 the neighbouring perch, who are curious to know the why 

 and the wherefore of the strange exhibition. I find that 

 Mr Fitzgibbon (Ephemera) mentions the plan as " poach- 

 ing " for perch, and that the best way of securing the perch 

 is to bait a paternoster line with live minnows, and float it 

 by the bottle. Of all the months for perch-fishing, August, 

 September, and October are the best. Some excellent sport 

 is often obtained earlier in the year. No ground-baiting is 

 necessary when fishing for perch, though a few inferior 

 worms may be thrown in when moving to a fresh spot. 

 Let the perch always have a few seconds to gorge the bait. 

 When live shrimps are used they may be kept alive in 

 clamp sand or sandy gravel, or wet grass or hay in a basket. 

 EELS AND LAMPREYS. The ordinary bottom-fisher 

 scarcely troubles himself about these troublesome but 

 luscious gentry, which are to be found more or less in every 

 river, ditch, and stream in the United Kingdom. I have 

 seen them when no thicker than thin grass ascending the 

 Shannon and Fergus in myriads in the spring of the year, 

 wriggling their small bodies over the sluice-gate, up the 



