EEL FISHING AND TRIMMERS. 309 



point of the hook should be upright towards the back of the bait- 

 fish ; fasten one end to the bank, or a stub, and cast the other into 

 the water, but not to the extent of the line, as Eels will run a little 

 before the gorge ; the lines should be taken up early in the morning ; 

 such of the lines as have Eels at them will be drawn very tight. 

 Dark nights in July, August, and September, are the best for this 

 kind of fishing.' 



" Hooks proper for this method of taking Eels may be purchased, 

 either double or single, and are called Eel-hooks. When a double 

 hook is used, I should say the following mode of baiting is better 

 than Mr. Daniel's. Without a baiting-needle, enter the point at the 

 fish's mouth, and bring it out at the tail, letting the two hooks, lie 

 close to the mouth of the bait, as described in baiting the gorge-hook 

 for trolling. 



" Trimmers, baited with a live Gudgeon, are sure to be taken by 

 Eels. The wire to which hooks are fixed should be strong and well 

 tempered, as the Eel struggles hard to free himself. Very large Eels 

 are caught in the lakes of Cumberland and Westmoreland, by trim- 

 mers, baited with small Trout or Pearch — there called Bass — ^with 

 the back fin cut ofi'. On Derwentwater — Keswick lake— it is a com- 

 mon practice for parties to engage a fisherman, who provides twenty 

 or thirty trimmers ; the tops being painted bright red and white, that 

 they may be seen at a distance. The party should be in the boat by 

 four o'clock, A. M., at the latest ; the fisherman then baits the trim- 

 mers with live Bass, small Trout, or Minnows, and places them at 

 equal distances across the lake, spreading to the extent of from half 

 to three-quarters of a mile ; and if there are two or three boats 

 belonging to the party, and the Pike and Eels are on the feed, the 

 great diversion is to see the trimmers carried off by fish, in different 

 directions at the same time, when all becomes animation and exertion 

 in the. difi'erent boats ; all rowing towards the trimmers, and eager to 

 seize on their prey ; and very large Pike and Eels are often caught 

 in this manner." 



