104 NOTES ON" PISH AND FISHING. 



" Who has not seen the Scarus rise, 

 Decoy'd and caught by fraudful flies p " 



And Dr. Badham quotes the following interesting passage 

 from (Elian : — 



" The Macedonians who live on the hanks of the river Astreus, 

 are in the habit of catching a particular fish in that river by means of 

 a fly called hippurus. A very singular insect it is ; bold and troublesome 

 like all its kind, in size a hornet, marked like a wasp, and buzzing like 

 a bee. These flies are the prey of certain speckled fish, which no sooner 

 see them settling on the water than they glide gently beneath, and, before 

 the hippurus is aware, snap at and carry him as suddenly under the 

 stream as an eagle will seize and bear aloft a goose from a farm-yard, 

 or a wolf take a sheep from its fold. The predilection of these speckled 

 fish for their prey, though familiarly known to all who inhabit the 

 district, does not induce the angler to attempt their capture by impaling 

 the living insect, which is of so delicate a nature that the least handling 

 would spoil its colour and appearance, and render it unfit as a lure. 

 But adepts in the sport have contrived a, taking device, ' captiosa 

 qucedam rnachinatio' to circumvent them ; for which purpose they 

 invest the body of the hook with purple wool, and having adjusted 

 two wings of a waxy colour, so as to form an exact imitation of the 

 hippurus, they drop these abstruse cheats gently down the stream. 

 The scaly pursuers, who hastily rise and expect nothing less than a 

 dainty bait, snap the decoy, and are immediately fixed to the hook." 



This is circumstantial enough; and it may be taken for 

 granted that the " speckled fish " was a member of the 

 numerous Salmonidce family who are still open to a rise 

 being taken out of them. 



The manufacture of fishing tackle at the present time 

 is an art in itself, and intimately connected with Fishing 

 as a Fine Art. I need hardly say there is tackle and 

 tackle, dear and good, dear and bad, cheap and bad, and 

 cheap and (sometimes) good. There is first-rate tackle 

 of all kinds made in the capitals of the three king- 

 doms, in London, Edinburgh, and Dublin. I must confess 



