THE EEL. 



103 



gut being almost useless and quite unnecessary, as 

 strength of tackle is the only requisite. Eel-fishing 

 is often little good in the daytime, though I 

 had, many years ago, some very large eels from 

 Wimbledon Lake when carp-fishing ; the eels gave 

 me so much trouble that I abandoned worms for 

 paste-bait in consequence. If you fish for eels with 

 rod and line, let everything be strong, and let the 

 bait rest on the bottom. Bobbing for 

 eels is a peculiar and nasty method ; a 

 great bunch of lobworms, threaded on worsted, 

 knotted together, and the line run through a lead 

 placed above the worms, is lowered to the bottom 

 of the river ; the rod employed being a stout stick. 

 The tug of a biting eel is plainly felt, he is lifted 

 upwards and allowed to drop off into a bucket. 

 This method is , usually followed from a punt or 

 boat at nighttime ; the eels are caught by their 

 teeth catching in the worsted. 



To realise what numbers of eels a river con- 

 tains, a night must be spent in an eel-house ; 

 and an eel-fishery is very valuable. About Sep- 

 tember, or later in some rivers, when the fish 

 descend, nets are set in the weirs ; the net Eel- 

 being fixed on a square frame, which "^ts 

 fits in a groove in the weir-beams. The nets 

 are much like trawl-nets in shape; the purse 

 (or lower end of the net) is closed by a knotted 

 rope, the nets being allowed to hang streaming in 

 the weir-run, their frames being pushed down in 

 the grooves with a hooked pole. Dark nights and 

 flood water are chosen, and when there is a big run 

 of eels the nets have to be frequently lifted, or the 

 weight gets unmanageable. Two men are required, 

 the work of hauling being both hard and dangerous, 



