103 



out his watcli to time me, and in the first fifteen minutes I 

 caught eight fime Dace ; by the time the half hour was up, I had 

 caught twenty. I had no occasion to speak a word, for I never 

 saw a man so stunned ; the colour went from his face, and he 

 stood aghast. At last he said, " Tou may fancy how disgusted 

 I feel with myself at my conceit in thinking I was a fisherman, 

 and that because I could not catch them no one else could. 

 Now you have taken the worms from the same bag and caught 

 this lot of Dace. I will sell off my fishing tackle this very day, 

 and renounce the craft for ever." I told him not to be too 

 hasty, and that it only required a little practice to make him a 

 good angler ; but he would hear no reason, so I put the Dace in 

 his basket, lapped up my tackle, and went to get the glasses. 

 In all my fishing excursions, I never saw a man so much amazed 

 as he was. I have seen him several times siace, but he says 

 he will never make another attempt at fishing so long as he lives. 



Tou may ground bait for Dace the day before you fish, with 

 five or six hundred dew worms, but you must remember when 

 you are baiting for Dace, you are doing the same for all other 

 kinds of fish, for there is not a single fish that swims in fresh 

 water but wiU more or less take the bait. 



The Rod for Dace fishing should be twelve feet long, and 

 very light, the lighter the better, if the action be in the right 

 place, and it strikes sharp from the top. A three-inch common 

 reel, varnished to keep the rain from swelling the wood, is most 

 suitable. One hundred yards of line for this style of fishing 

 should weigh three drams, not a fraction more, else it will be 

 too thick. Tour tackle should be fine gut, one yard long, and 

 your hook No. 8. Let the bottom shot be one foot from the 

 hook. Tou will require a quUl float, but the size must be 

 regulated according to the stream and the depth of water in 

 which you are going to fish, but it should be always as small 

 as possible. 



THE AET OF BOTTOM FISHING FOE DACE. 



When the water is clear and low in summer, select a swim froin 



