106 Gentil and Creeper Fishing. 



The Gentil or Maggot 



GENTILS or Maggots may be got almost at any time, 

 during the Angling season, at the tan-pits. To breed 

 them, get a piece of liver and scotch it, hang it on a crop- 

 stick over a box, outside, wherein you have crumbled clay 

 and bran, or sand, into which they will drop when large, 

 and from which box you may always take them, well 

 scoured and fit for use. They are esteemed a very 

 universal bait for all river fishes, save pike and salmon, 

 and are considered by some Anglers as so alluring that 

 the Angler should never go out without a supply of 

 them. The writer, however, cannot say so much for 

 them, since he considers them much inferior to any of the 

 cadis-worms, or the clap-bait, and not very pleasant to 

 use ; he, therefore, recommends those, when in season, 

 to be used in preference to the Gentil. 



The Creeper or Water-cricket. 

 PLATE II. cxcvii. 



THE Creeper is the Stone or May-fly in its embryo state, 

 that is, in its shell, husk, or case, before " it chips" as 

 the Anglers say. It is one of the very best baits for 

 killing large trout, &c. It is found in becks, among the 

 gravel by the sides, or in the shallows, among smallish 

 stones, and under flattish ones that do not touch the 

 bottom altogether, and by the edges of rivers in similar 

 places. It is, of course, the exact shape of the May-fly, 

 minus the wings. It is a good bait to fish with, being 

 very tough, and will live a considerable time out of water; 

 though it will live longer among wettish moss or grass, 

 and be more lively if kept in a tin box, or horn, well 

 perforated with holes on the top. 



The fly-rod may be used to fish the Creeper ; but, as 



