THE FRESHWATER EEL. 



183 



some of the methods described in this work. In the pages of 

 Yarrell and Couch the student of Ichthyology will find them 

 illustrated and described at length. 



THE FRESHWATER EEL. 



(Murcena anguilla.) 



As the Freshwater Eel is very numerous in most harbours 

 and tidal rivers, the following directions 

 may not perhaps be considered out of 

 place in the present work : 



They may be taken both by bobbing 

 and by hook and line. 



Bobbing is usually practised from 

 a boat, and in the following manner : 

 Procure forty or fifty large worms, and 

 string them on worsted or coarse thread 

 by passing a large needle through 

 them from head to tail, then make a 

 coil of them by wrapping them round 

 your hand, and tying them across with 

 a piece of strong twine or tape, which 

 will not be so likely to cut them. Fasten 

 the bunch securely to a piece of strong 

 fishing-line or whip-cord twelve feet in 

 length (fig. 49). 



If unable to procure a needle suffi- 

 ciently large, tie the worsted with fine 

 waxed silk to a piece of iron or brass 

 wire, seven inches in length, and of the 

 thickness of a stocking needle. 



You must provide a bell-shaped 

 piece of lead of about three ounces in 

 weight, cast with a hole through the 

 centre, which slide down over the line 

 as shown in the cut. 



The best rod for this fishing is a clean cut off a fir plank 

 eight feet in length, planed round, an inch and a half in thick- 



FIG. 49. Lead and Clot of 

 Worms for bobbing from 

 a boat. 



