326 BROADLAND SPORT 



fastened to the stick, the other is wound round the inside of the 

 fork to hold the skein in its place, and finally fastened by 

 being drawn through a split in the end of one of the two 

 forks ; and it is to this end of the line that the poacher attaches 

 his baited hook. It is clear that if the crotched stick be sus- 

 pended pointing downwards, a pull ever so slight will draw 

 the line from the slit, and thus release the skein of running 

 line so that the fish is not checked while he gorges the bait, 

 and is only pulled up on attempting to move away. Armed 

 with one or more of these ingenious devices, the poacher goes 

 to the water at dusk, and attaches them to boughs lying 

 just under the surface, if possible, or, at anyrate, in unnotice- 

 able places ; but the submerged boughs, of course, afford the 

 best security, as, even after a fish has been caught, nothing 

 can be seen from above of what is transpiring below the 

 surface. Modifications of this favourite trick are numerous, 

 and are suited to the peculiarities of the stream or lake. 

 Most keepers are up to the old plan of fastening night-lines 

 to dead boughs or pieces of wood, and leaving them to drift 

 about, the poacher taking the chance of being able to get them 

 out again ; while many a good fish falls a victim to a dead 

 bait thrown in and left to sink to the bottom, especially in 

 flood time, when they feed close to the bottom and congregate 

 in quiet corners. 



Snaring also is much in vogue in Broadland, and if a 

 native happens to have the good luck to see a fish lying in an 

 accessible spot he has it out in no time. A pole of some sort, 

 or a bough of a tree, is sure to be handy, whilst he soon 

 adapts his boot-laces to a workable snare, and the rest is 

 quickly accomplished. 



Spearing fish by night has quite died out and is not likely 

 to be revived, whilst the nature of the district hardly per- 

 mits the use of lime, dynamite or chemical compounds. 



With regard to legitimate angling, the number of fish 

 taken per annum since 1890 in Broadland is large. On one 

 private water, for example, the owner has constantly landed 

 over thirty fish in a day to his own rod. On the Waveney 



