ioo A BOOK ON ANGLING 



breed of trout, and hardly ever will any two be found to agree 

 in all points. 



I am, however, writing rather upon angling than natural 

 history, and therefore I recur at once to the legitimate purpose 

 of my work, merely throwing out a hint which may often find 

 amusement for the speculative naturalist, who may be an 

 angler also. But if trout are various in their forms and shapes, 

 no less various are the means employed to take them, there 

 being hardly any of the numerous plans adopted for wiling 

 fish from their watery domains which may not be successfully 

 applied to the capture of trout (for the trout feeds equally at 

 the top, in the middle, and at the bottom of the water), while 

 the baits and lines employed to take them are far more 

 numerous than those used for any other fish fly-fishing with 

 live and artificial fly, spinning with every kind of real and 

 artificial bait, and bottom-fishing in a hundred various ways, 

 being all more or less in vogue with the adepts in trout-fishing. 



The salmon-fisher rejoices in the vigour and size of his 

 quarry, and exercises his patience and skill in the capture of 

 the noble twenty-pounder, which gives him half an hour's wild 

 excitement and pleasure ; but his skill and patience will often 

 be taxed to the uttermost, and vainly, many a time and oft, in 

 the attempt to hook some wily old four or five-pound brook 

 trout, who may be feeding rapidly and constantly under his 

 very flies which, tied on almost imperceptible gut, fall like 

 gossamer above him, and float fruitlessly down o'er his head as 

 like the real thing as human cunning can contrive. Nay, you 

 shall even float the li ve fly, drake, stone, or what-not, over him 

 so deftly that nothing in your deception seems to you wanting, 

 You shall offer him worm, minnow, and cad bait, or drop the 

 all but irresistible cockroach or cricket within his ken, while 

 you remain concealed. He may wave his fan-like tail coyly, and 

 take a nearer glance askance at your bait, but proves a very 

 St. Anthony to your temptation. He will perhaps come to it 

 like a bulldog, making your heart jump into your mouth, but 

 he will even then " pull up sharp on the post/' as turfites say, 

 and refuse it. Do what you will, 999 times out of a thousand 

 his virtue is ancient Spartan, and his cunning modern Spartan ; 

 but haply on the thousandth, in some sheltering flood, a fair 

 deceiver, which proves to be the " worst devil of all " to him, 

 in the shape of a fat worm or minnow, tempts him he gobbles 

 it down, and dies the death. Happy you if it be your worm or 

 minnow. There is far greater skill, caution, patience, and 



