THE PERCH 113 



acquainted, is to fry him in butter, and then serve him 

 up with rich, hot shrimp sauce. In Scotland, they 

 make what is called a " water-souchie " of him; but 

 this is a flabby, wishy-washy affair altogether; the 

 flavour of the fish is lost in that of the onion, and you 

 wish in vain that you could lose the taste of the onion 

 as easily. 



Being a bold biter, and a somewhat unscrupulous fish, 

 the perch is very readily attracted by bait, and very 

 quickly caught. When he bites, he requires rather 

 more time than might be imagined from his bold and 

 determined character; but experience will soon con- 

 vince the angler that, whenever the perch escapes, it 

 is, generally speaking, because he has not been allowed 

 time enough to get the hook well into his gullet. The 

 perch requires considerable indulgence in this respect, 

 especially when angled for with a gudgeon. 



Almost all kinds of tackle, however common and 

 unpretending, will do for catching perch. The rod 

 should be rather stiff, light, and not larger than is 

 necessary to clear the weeds and other obstacles which 

 sometimes line the sides of perch haunts. The line 

 should be of hair, about nine hairs in thickness ; the 

 hooks about No. 4, and the bottom gut a yard in length 

 at least. Some anglers use gimp, but there can be no 

 necessity for tackle of such strength : salmon and trout 

 are killed with gut, and why not perch 1 



Most anglers use a float in perch - fishing. This 

 method undoubtedly saves trouble and attention in 

 still water ; but in strong streams and boiling eddies, 

 where the best perch-fishing is often to be obtained, it 

 is of no use whatever. In this case the line must be 

 kept down with a bullet attached to it, below the bait ; 

 or a paternoster, as it is called, well leaded, may be 

 made use of. To the hooks — and in this mode of 

 angling you may have as many as you like — small 

 gudgeons or minnows should -be fixed by the nose or 

 the back fin ; and when the fish bites in the running 

 stream, the angler will feel the short, quick jerks which 

 indicate a perch run under such circumstances. These 

 8 



