AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION 



studying angling. 



That " all work and no play 

 makes Jack a dull boy " is a 

 saying the truth of which can 

 not be denied, whether it be 

 applied to boys of young or 

 mature years. Occasional rec- 

 reation is required to maintain 

 good health, but it must not be 

 allowed to interfere with serious work of any nature. 

 With the hope that those whose inclinations tend 

 toward the harmless and health-giving sport of an- 

 gling, and others who may l)ecome converts to it, 

 may both find necessary and helpful instruction in 

 the art from its pages, this work has been prepared. 



The difficulties to be met with in endeavoring to 

 teach one how to fish successfully through the me- 

 dium of a book are best explained in the following 

 passage from the introduction to Isaac Walton's 

 Compleat Angler, published in 1653. The extract 



