308 



NOTES ON FISH AND FISHING. 



sauce, especially with the slimy, rancid stuff which is now 

 so often sold under that name ; and perhaps the more you 

 disguise the dace the better. At all events, if you are 

 minded to eat him, do what I have recommended in the 

 case of other fresh-water fish — clean him as soon as pos- 

 sible, and, after rubbing a little salt or lemon along the 

 backbone, dry him in the open air — in the sun, if it is 

 shining — before cooking after any fashion. I notice that 

 Mr. Senior advocates baking dace in a jar with layers of 

 spice, bay-leaves, and vinegar, and also pickling after the 

 manner of fresh herrings. Our Jewish friends have a 

 great liking for dace, and consume them in large numbers 

 (at least when they can get them) during their " fasts." 



Like the chub, the dace can be caught with a fly or by 

 bottom fishing ; and here let me give our little friend the 

 credit of being a most sporting fish for his size. He is 

 game to the backbone, fighting for dear life to the very 

 end ; and hence a half-pound dace affords pretty sport 

 enough with a light, single-handed fly-rod. As they do 

 not generally spawn till the end of May or beginning of 

 June, according to the warmth of the season, they are 

 hardly in takeable condition till the middle or end of July. 

 On the Thames August is the best month for daceing with 

 a fly. They are then on the shallows, and being a very 

 shy, quick-sighted, and nimble fish, the fly-fisherman must 

 be as careful as possible in his movements, and strike very 

 quickly to a rise. Almost any small fly is to their taste, 

 or perhaps I should say sight, black and red palmers, 

 ditto gnats of a small size, duns, and cinnamons, or Mr. 

 Pennell's small trout and grayling flies, being all service- 

 able. But, like chub and rudd, when they decline an 

 ordinarily dressed fly they will often eagerly rise at one 



