•may likewise be made by passing hairs 
through three short tubes made of quills or 
reeds, secured by pegs at the lower ends. 
The hairs are to be knotted together at the 
top, and the quills being then turned round 
all together between the fingers, will form 
an equal twist above them ; which being 
drawn out according as the quills are turned 
round, make the line, fresh hairs being still 
put into the quills at the lower ends as the 
upper hairs are worked into the line. 
The most excellent hooks are those made 
of the best tempered fine steel wire,longish 
in the shanks, and strong and rather deepish 
in the bend ; the barbs well formed, and 
the point fine and straight, and as true as it 
can he set to be level with the shank, which 
last for fly fishing should be tapered off to 
the end of it, that the fly may be finished 
the neater. Hooks made in this manner, so 
as to lie all in one plane, are much better 
than twisted so as to project at one side ; 
they do not make so large an orifice when 
the fish is hooked, nor are they so liable to 
break the hold as the others. The two 
kinds being fairly tried against each other 
for several seasons, considerably more fish 
were missed in the rising, and in biting at 
the bottom, and much more lost after being 
hooked with the crooked hooks than with 
those above recommended. The best hooks 
of the kind are made in Limerick. 
Floats for angling are made of many kinds, 
as of swan quids, goose quills, Muscovy duck 
quills, and porcupine quills. The first is the 
best, when light baits are used in rivers or 
deep waters, and the others for slow water, 
or ponds not very deep. For heavy fishing, 
with worms or minnows, a cork float is best, 
made of a pyramidical form, with a quill 
placed in it lengthways for the line to pass 
through. Quil floats must carry shot enough 
to sink them, so as that the top may appeal- 
above water, that the slightest nibble may 
be better perceived. The cork floats should 
have sufficient shot placed beneath them on 
the line to make them stand upright when 
the shot is off the bottom, by which it may 
be known when the shot is on the ground ; 
for then the float will fall on one side, and 
no longer stand upright. 
Angling has been divided by those who 
have written on the subject into many other 
kinds besides those mentioned. Of these 
float angling and ground angling may be 
easily understood from what has been men- 
tioned already. Night angling is performed 
nearly in the same way as day angling ; but 
>11 it the larger and more conspicuous bait, 
such as garden worms, snails, and minnows, 
are best. Some lay long lines in rivers at 
night, with short lines furnished with hooks 
attached to them at certain intervals ; and 
some use lines fastened to floats of various 
sorts ; but these modes of fishing can scarcely 
be called angling properly speaking. The 
largest and finest fish are often caught by 
these methods. 
Sea angling has nothing particular in it, 
but that small parts of fish are mostly used 
in it for bait. The same fish may be caught 
at the heads of piers and the mouths of 
rivers, and by the same bait as at sea, 
therefore fishing in such places is classed 
with sea angling. 
Lastly, trimmer angling is a species of 
float angling. The float consists of a round 
piece of cork, six inches in diameter, with a 
groove cut at its edge, in which the line is 
coiled, except so much next the hook as to 
allow it to hang in mid-water, and so much 
at the other end as will reach to the bank. 
When a fish takes the bait, and runs with it, 
the line unwinds off the trimmer without 
giving any check ; but it will he prudent to 
give a slight jerk to secure the fish when 
yon come to take up the line. This method 
is very successful in canals, large ponds, or 
other still water. 
Before concluding this article it will be 
proper to notice, that the weather has 
much influence on fish. When the wind is 
in some points few fish will bite : the most 
unfavourable is the eastern quarter. A 
warm lowering day, with flying showers, 
and a slight ripple on the water, is the most 
favourable. Water slightly disturbed pre- 
vents fish from seeing the tackle, and in it 
they take the bait most readily. Hence, 
whatever tends to disturb it so as to hide 
the line, without totally obscuring the bait, 
is of advantage. In waters affected by the 
tide, the flood is the best time for angling ; 
hut the ebb should not be neglected. Whirl- 
pools, eddies, mill-tails, sides of bridges, and 
beneath their arches, are places where fish 
more readily bite, chiefly for the above rea- 
son; and in general a certain degree of 
darkness in the water, whether occasioned 
by the shade of buildings, rocks, or other 
bodies, or caused by the agitation of its sur- 
face, or by muddy streams flowing into it, 
is favourable to angling. 
The proper season for fishing is in general 
from the beginning of spring to the end of 
autumn ; but this depends much on the na- 
ture of tlie fish angled for: some may be 
caught at all times; others, as those of pas- 
