266 PIKE AND OTHER COARSE FISH. 



whereas live minnows often are not The tackle described for 

 float-fishing with the live minnow, with a No. 6 hook, or ' 5 ' 

 where the fish run small, and either No. i or No. 3 float is also 

 best suited to worm fishing, and the best worms are brandlings, 

 scoured as previously described at page 225. 



There is no need to go into the details as to the ' where ' of 

 perch-fishing with the worm, inasmuch as it is applicable to all 

 sorts and conditions of waters, running or stagnant, where the 

 fish are to be found. In striking with the worm, as with the 

 live minnow, it is better not to be in too great a huriy, but to let 

 him fairly swallow the bait or run away with it, as when once 

 he takes it into his mouth he is not, like the roach and dace, in 

 the habit of quitting it again without some considerable provoca- 

 tion. It is well, however, not to leave the bite too long before 

 striking, as, if allowed, the perch will frequently gorge or swallow 

 it entirely, which occasions a loss of time and an unpleasant 

 operation in extracting the hooL 



The best general rule is to let the float be carried well 

 under or away before striking. The stroke should be a gentle 

 one, consisting of a sort of cross between a twitch and a 

 jerk, and approximating as much to the pull as either. In 

 rivers and streams the Nottingham style of fishing with the 

 worm for perch will often be found the most killing, and in this 

 case the bait should not actually touch or dribble along the 

 bottom. 



I cannot help fancying that the two-hook worm tackle 

 recommended for trout-fishing would be found very suitable 

 for ordinary pond and river fishing with the worm, whether for 

 perch, tench, carp, or other fish. This is the result also of the 

 few experiments I have had an opportunity of trying, by con- 

 trasting the two methods at the same time and place. I should 

 be glad if any of my readers, with more available leisure than 

 I now have, would give the two-hook system a trial. Its 

 advantages are, of course, that the worm is presented to the 

 fish alive, and in a natural, instead of dead or half-dead and in an 

 unnatural position, and that the fisherman strikes immediately. 



