446 THE COMPLETE ANGLEE. [PART II. 



wondered how a trout should so suddenly disengage himself, 

 from so great a hook as that we bait with a minnow, and so 

 deep-bearded as those hooks commonly are ; when I have 

 seen by the fore-named accidents,, or the slipping of a knot 

 in the upper part of the line, by sudden and hard striking, 

 that though the line has immediately been recovered, 

 almost before it could be all drawn into the water, the fish 

 cleared, and was gone in a moment. And yet, to justify 

 what he says, I have sometimes known a trout, having car- 

 ried away a whole line, found dead three or four days after, 

 with the hook fast sticking in him : but then it is to be 

 supposed he had gorged it, which a trout will do, if you be 

 not too quick with him, when he comes at a minnow, as 

 sure and much sooner than a pike : and I myself have also, 

 once or twice in my life, taken the same fish with my own 

 fly sticking in his chaps, that he had taken from me the day 

 before, by the slipping of a hook in the arming. But I am 

 very confident a trout will not be troubled two hours with 

 any hook, that has so much as one handful of line left behind 

 with it, or that is not struck through a bone, if it be in any 

 part of his mouth only : nay, I do certainly know that a 

 trout, so soon as ever he feels himself pricked, if he carries 

 away the hook, goes immediately to the bottom, and will 

 there root like a hog upon the gravel, till he either rub out, 

 or break the hook in the middle. And so much for this sort 

 of angling in the middle for a trout. 



The second way of angling in the middle, is with a worm, 

 grub, cadis, or any other ground-bait l for a grayling ; and 

 that is with a cork, and a foot from the bottom, a grayling 

 taking it much better there, than at the bottom, as has been 

 said before ; and this always in a clear water, and with the 

 finest tackle. 



To which we may also, and with very good reason, add 

 the third way of angling by hand with a ground-bait, as a 

 third way of fishing in the middle, which is common to both 

 trout, and grayling ; and, as I said before, the best way of 

 angling with a worm, of all other I ever tried whatever. 



And now, sir, I have said all I can at present think of, 

 concerning angling for a trout and grayling, and I doubt 



1 The grass-hopper is an excellent bait for grayling. ED. 



