132 ANGLING 



spin, and produce little rippling circles all about him, he 

 will soon see the chub rise leisurely out of the deep, 

 and gently suck the bee into his mouth, as a City 

 alderman laps up his calipee. In this manner, precisely, 

 the large one just recorded was caught in the river 

 Thames. 



Occasionally a chub will take a minnow or frog ; but 

 this happens very seldom, and only at the close of the 

 spring. Baits have been recommended for different 

 sections of the season, for chub-fishing; but many of 

 them are fanciful, and some very nasty. Flies and 

 worms will capture him at all times ; and he is scarcely 

 worth being very nice about. Grasshoppers are fine 

 bait whenever you can get them ; and little pills made 

 of tallow and cheese, flavoured with musk, are said to 

 be peculiarly tempting. The French fish for him with 

 cherries ; but many of the anglers in France consider 

 the bait of more value than the fish, and seldom give 

 themselves any trouble about him. 



The chub requires ground -bait in a general way, 

 which may be made according to the recipe already 

 given. 



As this fish will rise at a fly, those who like it may 

 whip away for him at the end of summer, when there 

 is nothing better to be done. 



The best season of the year for chub-fishing is from 

 June to the end of August j but he may be caught all 

 the year round. Evening and morning are the best 

 parts of the day, as he seldom feeds when the sun is 

 high. The angler must be cautious and still, for the 

 chub is a shy, suspicious fish ; and if two or three are 

 taken in rapid succession out of the hole where they are 

 assembled, they will grow fearful, and change their 

 haunts for some time. 



The chub is soon killed in a general way ; but when 

 he is large he is exceedingly difficult to manage, and is 

 a very troublesome customer with delicate tackle. Per- 

 severance and patience, however, are sure to beat him ; 

 and if devoid of these qualities, the angler had better 

 break his rod, and renounce the craft for ever. 



