PREFACE. 
As it might not be deemed kind in me to inflict upon the 
reader my thousand reasons for writing and illustrating this 
book with pencil sketches copied from life, I will therefore 
merely state that my experience of many years in the prac- 
tice of the gentle art, which has led me through so many 
scenes of beauty and loveliness, has made me wish that 
all the world might learn the enjoyment conferred by the 
practice of angling. 
I have endeavored to portray the recreations of the an- 
gler in America, with his implements and his game; add- 
ing a small tribute to the temperate and industrious class 
of men who follow for a livelihood the hazardous business 
of fishing on the broad seas. 
An outline of the progress of fish-culture in Europe and 
America is also given, with pencil sketches illustrative of 
the art of hatching and rearing fishes, including stairs and 
fish-passes for enabling fishes to surmount mill-dams and 
falls. 
The fishes of our coast and estuaries, and the peculiar 
methods adopted for their capture, form not only a sealed 
book to Europeans, but to those anglers in America also 
who confine their recreations to fresh-water attractions. 
Each game fish affords a distinct interest, with peculiarities 
worth studying. 
My sketches may lack artistic finish, but possess the 
merit of correct outline; and in the words of Raphael, 
“The outline is the picture.” The reader may be assured 
that fishing, whether for recreation or gain, entices its vo- 
taries to unexplored sources of revenue and pleasure. 
