i 9 4 A BOOK ON ANGLING 



/^-fishing as any gentleman could be guilty of more this 

 deponent sayeth not. It would be thought that where worm- 

 fishing is prohibited, every other species of bait-fishing would 

 be also prohibited, yet is this not the case, for on many waters 

 dibbing with the natural fly which is, perhaps, the most 

 deadly style of fishing of any in experienced hands is per- 

 mitted, while minnow and worm are excluded, and even called 

 poaching. I have noticed that the piscatorial mind has a 

 strange way of looking upon the word poaching. With many 

 people " poaching " means fishing in any other way than that 

 favoured by the appellant. It, in fact, as Hudibras has it, 



Compounds for sins they are inclined to, 

 By damning those they have no mind to. 



Had I my will I would never allow a trout to be caught with 

 anything but the artificial fly, and should, under such circum- 

 stances, look upon all bait-fishing as poaching, no matter how 

 employed. But as men are constituted, each has his favourite 

 mode of fishing, and all must be served. The only things I 

 resolutely bar and will not hold admissible under any circum- 

 stances are salmon roe and wasp-grub. The first because it is 

 illegal and destructive of the salmon (for to bait your hook 

 with three or four salmon to catch one trout is very bad 

 economy) ; while the second spoils the sport of others, for 

 where wasp-grub has been used to any extent, sport ceases. 

 In all other respects, if worm, minnow, and natural fly are 

 allowed, what should be prohibited ? It is the common 

 practice in many places to fish gentles for trout, precisely as 

 though you were fishing for roach, using a fine quill float, and 

 throwing in a few gentles from time to time ; but I never could 

 abide fishing for trout with a float it is an insult to the prince 

 of bold-biting fish still it is practised in the quiet eddies and 

 holes with great effect, too, and Mr. Stoddart, who is a great 

 authority upon worm-fishing, as I have said, recommends the 

 use of a float on small lakes and pools. With respect to what 

 methods of fishing are fair and what not, the most satisfactory 

 and safe plan to go on would appear to be guided by the 

 custom ; if a person confines himself to the custom of the place 

 he cannot be far wrong. But if he is told that he is to confine 

 himself to any special kind of fishing for instance, if he has a 

 day's fishing granted to him on condition that it is fair fly- 

 fishing and he "just slips on a worm because they don't rise 

 very well," then he is not only a poacher but an unmitigated 

 " cad," who ought to be kicked off the premises. 



