AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 



115 



that rear themselves thick to oppose the rushing waters, 

 covered with eagles and cormorants, and the little islands 

 all seem to be swimming backwards. And now she flies 

 across a shoal — at first glimpse the little skiff seems to rest 

 securely on the bottom; at the next, the solid bottom ap- 

 pears deceitfully to recede from beneath her, and leave her 

 to founder in the dark waters of a bottomless swirl. And 

 again, before he is aware of it, she seems to have approach- 

 ed so near the falls that nothing can prevent her from going 

 over side foremost. All these false appearances rushing in 

 succession, quick as thought, upon the mind of the troubled 

 cockney, turn his brain with dizziness." 



The PERCH is another well known and popular fish, and 

 in point of beauty ranking nearly equal to the former. 

 Their favourite places of resort are about bridges, mill 

 pools, in and near locks, about shipping, floats of timber in 

 navigable rivers and canals, and at the entrance of docks; 

 also in deep and dark still holes, and in bending and still 

 parts of rivers, at the mouths of sluices and flood gates, 

 and near the sides where reeds and rushes grow. It is not 

 necessary to wait long in a place, for if there are any perch 

 about, and they are inclined to feed, they will soon take 

 the bait; and if you meet with several of them in a still 

 hole, and they are well on the feed, with care, you may 

 often take them all; for, if not disturbed or alarmed by let- 

 ting one fall from your hook, they will, one after the other, 

 take the bait almost immediately after it settles in the water. 

 Give plenty of time when you have a bite, that the fish 

 may gorge before you strike, for more perch are lost by 

 the angler striking too soon, when he perceives a bite, than 

 by breaking the tackle, after they are fairly hooked. It is, 

 therefore, of the first consequence that the angler, when 

 fishing for perch where he has reason to think he shall meet 

 with some heavy ones, to keep cool and collected when he 

 perceives a bite, giving the perch two or three moments' 

 time to gorge the bait before he strikes, because he then 

 has an opportunity of fixing the hook securely in the perch's 

 paunch, or stomach, from which place it will never draw; 

 but if you strike too soon, that is, while the baited hook is 

 only in the mouth, and if you do fix the hook in the roof of 

 or the side of the mouth, recollect how tender and brittle 

 that part of the perch is, and how frequently, by his plung- 

 ing and struggling, the hook tears away from such a tender 

 or insecure hold; and when this does not occur, the hole 

 which the hook has made soon becomes enlarged. If then, 

 while you are playing a heavy perch, he unfortunately gets 

 round or among some strong weeds, the line will become 

 slack about the mouth of the fish, and the hook comes or 

 draws avvay from its hold. 



Perch abound most in deep, dark, and sluggisli rivers; 

 but in those rivers whose currents run so strong and fast. 



search for perch, particularly in the bends and still parts 

 thereof. When angling in these bends or coves of a river, 

 or in still places laying under the wind, it is proper to keep 

 continually gently moving or drawing your float a little 

 to the right or left, or to lift it out of the water a few inches 

 occasionally, and let it gently drop in again, as this way of 

 acting frequently inclines fish to seize the bait, fearing it is 

 moving away from them, though they have seen the bait 

 stationary, but not being much on feed, would not take the 

 trouble of moving for it, till it seemed likely to make its 

 escape. 



When a heavy perch is hooked, play him until he is 

 quite spent, before you attempt to land him, fearing he 

 may be slightly hooked; by thus acting, the reader will see 

 he not only secures a large perch, but very probably may, 

 by such careful and skilful way of angling, fill his basket 

 with them; and they are fish worth all the trouble attend- 

 ing the taking, either for the anglers' own tables, or for 

 making a present of: and also further note, that when perch 

 are well on the feed, and you should be distressed for bait, 

 you may bait your hook with the eyes of those other fish 

 you have taken, or the eye of any other fish, and perch 

 will freely take it. The proper depth to fish for perch is 

 mid-water, or six inches from the bottom. When fishing 

 for large perch you should bait with live minnows, or 

 shrimps, on a floating line; the float should be a cork one, 

 and of tolerable size; the line of India grass, or choice 

 twisted gut from four to six yards long. The hooks from 

 one to three, and size of No. 6. ; the bottom hook tie to 

 about nine inches of gut; then loop it to the line above this; 

 about eighteen inches higher up the line place another, 

 wliich tie to about three inches and a half of gut; then take 

 a leaden pellet, with a hole through it about an inch long, 

 and as thick as a tobacco pipe, and fasten it securely to the 

 line, within about eighteen inches of the bottom hook, 

 and about eighteen inches above this, place another hook, 

 secured as before described, and then your perch line is 

 complete. Some anglers, when perch fishing in very deep 

 water, say from sixteen to thirty feet, use four or five hooks 

 on a line, but three will be found sufiicient for the deepest 

 water, and in shallower two; because, though it is known 

 that perch swim at all depths, yet experience will prove 

 that two to one are killed on the bottom hook to what are 

 killed with the highest up on the line; therefore, it is ne- 

 cessary to place the float so as to let the bottom hook nearly 

 touch the bottom. In still waters, when it is calm, if 

 you throw in the water occasionally a few handfulls of 

 loose sand and gravel, it will often move the perch to feed; 

 but when it is a mild breezy day, the perch are then on the 

 rove, and will take a bait in good earnest; if there be nei- 

 ther wind nor rain, your only chance to find perch on the 



