234 BARKER'S DIRECTIONS FOR NIGHT-FISHING. 



moonlight ; but in a dark night the perpetual fouling of 

 the tackle upon the grass, bushes, and other things, will 

 render the sport anything but pleasant to say nothing 

 of the agreeable prospect of hooking a rheumatic fever 

 along with the fish. However, should any angling 

 enthusiast be desirous of trying what favours the cloud 

 of night may bestow on him, I would advise him to go 

 forth with a policeman's lantern buckled round his 

 waist, which he will find a very useful article indeed, as 

 it will enable him to see to apply the bait, bring the fish 

 to land, or disengage the tackle when fouled ; the slide 

 allowing it to be opened or shut at pleasure ; at the 

 same time he will do well to use nothing but tackle of 

 the stoutest description in night-fishing, which the dark- 

 ness will sufficiently conceal. 



I will now quote Barker's directions for night-fishing, 

 an authority quoted by the venerable Walton himself. 

 It appears he was in the habit of using both worm and 

 fly alternately as the degree of darkness varied ; but I 

 will let him describe his operations himself, as detailed 

 in a letter to his patron. He says, " I went presently to 

 the river, and it proved very dark : I threw out a line 

 of three silks and three hairs twisted for the uppermost 

 part ; and two silks and two hairs, for the lower part, 

 with a good large hook. I baited my hook with two 

 lobworms, the four ends hanging as neat as I could 

 guess them in the dark. I fell to angle. It proved 

 very dark, so that I had good sport : angling with the 

 lobworms as I do with the flies, on the top of the water : 

 then you must loose a slack line down to the bottom as 

 nigh as you can guess ; then hold your line straight; 



