March 4, 1893] 
SUPPLEMENT TO THE PISHING GAZETTE 
161 
a few roach would be a paternoster in little eddies or on 
the erass, in about two feet of water, with the tail of lob. 
Thames (Oxford). —No takes are to hand. River 
in flood and coming down very much coloured. Pros¬ 
pects for the next few days very bad.— C. Herbert. 
Thames (Snnbury).— Messrs. E. Clarke and Sons 
have been able during the last week to find about ten 
dozen of roach and dace, and a few perch. The bank 
anglers in different places have been getting some roach 
and dace, and a few jack. 
Thames (Teddington). —The fishermen have been 
getting a few lamperns at the weir, and the high and 
rising water is the time for them to get up. Some were 
taken at the Monkey Weir. 
Thames (Twickenham). — The report from the 
tidal waters is that, owing to the state of the water, 
nothing has been done. 
Thames (Windsor). —The heavy rains have caused 
a still further rise in the water here, which is now over 
the banks, and in all probability will be much higher 
to-morrow, so that anglers will be unable to trace its 
course in many parts, taough a tew of the knowing ones 
visit their favourite corners when waters are very high, 
and invariably make good baskets. Some handsome 
roach have been caught; one taken by a London angler 
was quite a prize fish, it weighed IJlb. As regards 
probable state of water, I fear there will be very little 
chance for anything but roach for the remainder of the 
season of 1892-93, which closes on the 14th inst.—B. E. 
Bambribge. 
Ancholme District. — Three thousand trout fry 
were put into a .local brook on Saturday last, and 
250 very fine yearlings up to 7in. long, went into 
another water to-day. Both lots were supplied from 
the Manor Fishery, Caistor. Water clouded again, and 
weather unsettled.— Thomas Ford. 
Barle (Dulvertou). —Fair baskets are being killed. 
It still remains cold, and the water is very high. Kill¬ 
ing flies, Blue Uprights, winged and hackled, and 
Hare’s-flex. Heavy gale commencing to blow from 
west-south-west, and glass rapidly falling.— Iron Blue. 
Dove and Tributaries. —Rivers and banks have 
been in a state of flood. Some few anglers have been 
out, but we have not heard of much being done. Trout 
should be in good condition in a fortnight now.—D. and 
W. H. Foster. 
Darn. —On the lower Dapplin water, Mr. Kelsall, 
Crieff, killed twenty whitling one day last week. 
Dden (Carlisle). —On Thursday, February 23, two 
spring fish were killed in the association waters, near 
Carlisle, one by Mr. Waters, the other by Mr. Baxter ; 
each fish was about 151b. On Friday, Mr. Joseph Fox 
landed a beauty of 161b. at Rickerby Rocks. Sunday’s 
snow, and the subsequent heavy rain has brought a 
heavy flood, and the river will not be in order this week. 
I am glad to hear that the association has, after all, 
obtained the trout fishing between Wetheral and 
Warwick on the west side. The salmon poachers are 
had to choke off. Though five of them, with lantern 
and gaffs in possession, were locked up during Thursday 
night, and fifteen others summoned for last Saturday, 
all being convicted, the inspector of water bailiffs tells 
me he has taken out summonses for about a dozen more. 
The fish they are getting are not diseased, but weakly 
spawned-out fish making their way down to sea. This 
season, the plea that these marauders are doing good to 
the river as scavengers, will not hold water.— Silver 
Grey. 
Exe and Canal (Exeter).— On the 26th inst., the 
river came down in heavier volume than at any previous 
time this season. It was, in fact, one of those good 
old rousing floods, which have been conspicuous by 
their absence for some considerable time—water over 
the banks in all directions, main river rushing along 
like a racehorse, and tumbling over the weirs d la 
“ Niagara Falls.” Such a thorough flushing should 
certainly brighten piscatorial prospects, and no doubt, 
when water is again fined down, fish of all kinds will 
be well on. Our old veteran pikeist, Sergt. Shepherd, 
is well to the front this week with a very handsome 
brace going 161b. The heaviest fish—a 10-pounder— 
gave ten minutes’ capital sport before coming to the gaff, 
and was in first class condition. Both fish were taken 
in Mr. Dingle’s backwater in an afternoon’s fishing, and 
Sergt. Shepherd is certainly to be congratulated on 
killing the best brace in local water for the present 
season. At the Guard’s Gardens, Mr. A. J. Roberts 
had a couple of small ones, 3jlb. and 2jlb., and Mr. 
Kdsley a very pretty pair of perch, lib. and Jib. 
Messrs. Edwards and Jackman did not succeed in 
finding any of the “ Tiverton Leviathans” last Thurs¬ 
day, but secured eight fair fish, largest about 51b. I am 
afraid the salmon rod fishermen will have to postpone 
their opening day somewhat, as the river will certainly 
be too thick for a day or two yet.— Red Palmer. 
Fen Waters (South Lincolnshire). —We have 
had another interval of bad weather, which in some 
places has been productive of heavy floods. In some 
districts the floods have been heavier than for a long 
time past, and fears were entertained for the safety of 
the banks, so great was the pressure of water. From 
what I have heard, angling came largely to a standstill 
from the floods ; but these have been followed by snow, 
and, though it also has moved away again, it must have 
had its effect. The season is now getting very short for 
legitimate angling in the drains, and, naturally, anglers 
will want to make the moat of it; so, if all goes well, by 
the end of the week work will begin again. Nearly the 
whole of the sport of late has been confined to pike, and 
from what I can make out, the season has been a pretty 
good one.— Limpet. 
Idle (North Notts.) . —The past week has been 
very unsettled, and there has been rain, and snow, and 
wind, followed by a keen frost. As a consequence 
angling has heen at a discount, but as the weather has 
turned mild again, and the snow is disappearing or had 
disappeared rapidly, it may be expected that operations 
will recommence shortly—possibly by Saturday. At 
present the river is a good deal out of order, but it will 
quickly get into trim if the weather holds fine. Local 
anglers will soon be thinking about giving the trout a 
turn. As yet nothing has been said of them worth 
mentioning, but it is supposed they have done pretty 
well during the winter.—L. 
Lea and Stort. —In the open competition at Waltham 
Abbey, Mr. Bramley, of the Stepney Brothers A.S., 
took the first prize, as he did in the previous contest; 
Mr. J. Lapwood securing second honours. There will 
be another open competition on the 26th inst. Some 
valuable prizes are to be had. Mr. Sowerbutts, of Com¬ 
mercial-street, gives a pike and perch rod ; Mr. H. Avis, 
of the King’s Arms Hotel, Waltham Abbey, a timepiece 
and a meerchaum pipe; “Spliced Joint,” a heating 
flask ; in addition to the above there will be money prizes. 
Entries for the above may be made up to 12 o’clock on 
the morning, or to Mr. Tom Sowerbutts up to the pre¬ 
vious Saturday. Mr. Joe Hawkins, of the Park A.S., 
had, amongst other fish, a very good roach of 9Joz. A 
dace of lOfoz. was taken in the neighbourhood, w-hich 
has, I understand, been sent for preservation, as dace of 
this weight are not often caught in the Lea or tributa¬ 
ries. Mr. Goodson, of the Edmonton and Tottenham 
A.S., had a tew nice roach on the 26th ult. The secre¬ 
tary of this club wishes me to announce that ,£1 153. 6d. 
was the amount found when their benevolent fund box 
was opened last week.—“ Spliced Joint.” 
Leicester. —With the near approach of the close 
season fof coarse fish, anglers continue to avail them¬ 
selves of every opportunity to finish up well, although 
owing to adverse atmospheric circumstances angling 
has not been up to the usual standard lately. This 
week has atoned somewhat for past shortcoming, the 
local society’s waters affording encouraging sport. 
Amongst the roach Mr. Lowe took one lot of 141b., 
among which was one fish 21b. 12oz., and on another 
occasion this angler secured 101b., best fish 11b. 9oz. 
Mg. Prime, another well-known follower of the sport, 
took lots of 121b. and 101b, largest brace scaling 
21b. Soz. Other good takes were those of Messrs. Iliffe, 
Hobbs, and Frisby. In the higher reaches and at the 
back waters at Aylestone, chub fishing has been most 
actively pursued. The finest brace shown fell to the 
share of Mr. J. Parsons, who also took dace and roach. 
Several other subscribers to the L.A.S. had nice catches 
of fish. Anglers have not wandered far from home in any 
vast numbers, but the river at Blaby, Narborough, and 
Croft has received the most attention. A good many of 
the fraternity who fish the Wreake Valley waters have 
been showing up at Brooksby, Frisby, and Asfordby, 
and results in this pleasant part of Leicestershire have 
been fairly satisfactory. On Tuesday Mr. C. Baugh 
landed a capital lot of pike from Groby Pool on the 
estate of Lady Stamford, best fish weighing 91b. After 
a miserable day on Wednesday, the weather took a 
change for the better on Thursday, when lovely spring¬ 
like warmth prevailed. Waters are now in pretty good 
order. 
Lugg and Arrow (Leominster).— Both these 
streams are now running quite out of order for fishing, 
owing to the heavy rain which fell this week ; the rivers 
have been very high and muddy, and no angling has 
been done. The trout came in season on Thursday, the 
2nd ; but there is little prospect of any being taken this 
week. In this part sport should be good. The Pinsley 
is coloured : no angling done in it this week.— Gwtnnb. 
Ltigg, Arrow, and Pinsley (Kingsland).— 
These rivers are much swollen, and, with the exception 
of Pinsley (which has a short course;, there is no proba¬ 
bility of being in order for fishing before middle of next 
week, 8th or 9th inst. Snow was lying deep on the 
higher Radnorshire hills last evening, and throughout 
to-day (Wednesday) heavy storms of rain have fallen 
which in all probability will dissolve the snow and cause 
a he.avy flood, in which case next week will be a blank. 
Trout fishing opens to-morrow (2nd), and it is qnite pos¬ 
sible the Pinsley will be in condition by end of week. It 
is good early fishing, trout being forward. The latter 
part of grayling season—since the present year came in 
—has been one of the worst I remember. February Red, 
Blue Dun, Red Palmer, and Cowdung Fly should be the 
best flies to begin with.—R. T. Williams. 
Medway, Maidstone.— Water is very thick, but 
the anglers are having some good sport with the roach 
and bream in the slacks ; some good catches being the 
result.—W. Shrubsole. 
Nene (Peterborougfli). —Sport has not been very 
lively here during the past week. We have had con¬ 
siderably much rain, which has caused the floods to come 
up and spoil angling on the banks of the streams, &c., 
but despite this, several old anglers have been out in 
boats, and roach and bream seem to be taking 
pretty well. Pike have started to run. Some 
good sport amongst the pike has been obtained in the 
Oundle district, which is noted for the excellent pike 
that have been taken there, one which was taken last 
season scaled 211b., and now adorns the wall of the Jolly 
Anglers Clubroora, Albert-place. What is a stumbling- 
block to anglers is that the weeds in the river want 
cutting, and when this work has been effected we shall 
hear of some good baskets of fish being taken. An 
interesting little incident occurred at Foulmere, 
Cambridgeshire, a short time since. A heron 
met with its death in a most remarkable manner. The 
bird was found dead by the side of a stream with a large 
trout in its mouth, by which it had evidently been 
choked. The bird had apparently caught the fish, which 
weighed lib., in the water, and had tried in vain to 
swallow it whole. The heron had evidently died in 
gi-eat agony, as all around the spot where it was found 
was much disturbed. The bird was not a large speci¬ 
men, being only a last year’s bird. The bird and the 
trout are to be preserved in the same manner as they 
were found.—E. A. S. 
Norfolk, Suffolk, and Camhridgfeshire Rivers. 
—|There is a general improvement in all our waters, aud, 
with a little extra care, anglers can find plenty of swims 
they can fish. The worst is the terribly filthy muddy 
state of the banks, left by the floods. The rivers are 
still high, but not too much so. I should recommend 
the Ouse—Little Ouse, or Cam, as the best places to try. 
Of course, if we get some rain, only a little will upset all 
calculations again, as the earth is so full of water, and 
it rises in about an hour after rain.—-W illiam Howlett. 
Ouse, Derwent, &c. (Yorks.).— A fair number of 
fishermen have turned out during the past week, both 
on the Ouse and Derwent. Some good baskets of roach, 
dace, and chub have come in from the Clifton, Bishop- 
thorpe, and Fulford lengths of the main river. Messrs. 
Walton, Nendick, Henderson, Bell, and a few others, 
have shown some fine samples, chiefly roach. Pike 
anglers have been at work, both in the Derwent and the 
Pocklington Canal, and some have been rewarded with 
fair results. The latter waters afford the best sport in 
this part of Yorkshire to the winter pike fisherman, the 
major portion of which is rented by the York Angling 
Association. Day tickets are issued to non-members at 
2s. 6d. each. Two parties visited this canal on Satur¬ 
day, and, for nine rods, took over thirty fish, but more 
than twenty of them had to be returned, as being under 
the 20in. measurement. The best fish daring the day 
were taken by Messrs. Slater and Matthews, weighing 
one fish each of djlb., and Mr. J. Gibson one of 31b. lloz. 
—Ronald. 
Ouse (Great Poxton, St Neots). —We have had 
another flood, but it is all within the banks, and clear¬ 
ing very fast. By the time this appears the water will 
be all that can be desired ; it has driven the jacks up all 
the creeks and into all the bays, and great numbers have 
been seen in all the places: those who like good jack 
fishing may have their desire to the full. Some very fine 
roach have been taken this week, three by one rod, over 
lib. each ; likewise some good bream.— William 
Ducker. 
Ouse (Huntingdon). —If rain holds off, the back¬ 
waters will be fishable at the beginning of the week, but 
the main river will not be for a week.—H. Rout. 
Plymouth. —The fishing has commenced on all our 
rivers, and already some good baskets have been taken. 
The water is in good condition and there are plenty of 
fish, and if this present weather should last some good 
sport may be expected. They are rising to the Blue 
ITpright, March Brown, and Blue Silver Twist. For 
those of your readers who are contemplating learning 
the art of fly-fishing, a few practical hints may be of 
service. The rod (which should be of very good seasoned 
wood) should be made of hickory and ash butt, with 
lancewood and cane top, or greenheart throughout, and 
be from 10ft. to 12tt. long, and sufficiently pliant to 
throw a fifteen or twenty-yard cast with little exertion, 
or it becomes tiring if you have several hours’ fishing. 
Some people prefer a stiff rod. but this is a matter to be 
left to the fishermen themselves. The line should be 
made of silk, with just sufficient hair in it to keep it 
from snarling up ; they throw better than the ones com¬ 
posed entirely of silk. A good line, if you have plenty of 
work for it, is the water-proof silk, which is the ordinary 
silk line, dressed with boiled oil and gold size. This is 
absorbed by the line, and, in addition to making it 
stiffer, it preserves it from the action of the water. To 
the end of the line is attached a gut trace, or casting 
line, 3yds. long, which I prefer to be dyed a pale blue with 
vegetable dye. Great disappointment, with loss of fish, is 
often experienced through the gut proving rotten and 
breaking, owing either to its being stained with ink, 
which, as a general rule, contains a mineral, or through 
gut being kept too long. Some people vary the colour of 
the gut, especially when the river is coming down some¬ 
what of a beer colour, and use a colour to match ; but we 
must bear in mind that the fish do not see the river in 
the same light as we do. We look down through the 
dense water to a dark bottom, whereas, the fish are 
looking up at a bright sky; therefore, I prefer a pale 
blue colour. The number of flies that are used vary, 
some persons will only use one at the end, which is 
called the Stream fly ; others another tied on about 
eighteen inches or two feet above the Stream fly, this is 
called the Bob. Some, again, attach another still fur¬ 
ther up the line, but, as a general rule, I use two only, 
and sometimes one. I have lost many a fish by the Bob 
getting foul in some weed whilst I have been playing a 
fish on the Stream fly. Tickets for any of the rivers, 
and all information how to get to them, can be obtained 
from the agents. Hoarder and Son, 195, Union-street, 
Plymouth.— William Hearder. 
Severn (Shrewsbury). —The rough fishing is virtu¬ 
ally at an end, and it is probable thar no sport will be 
obtainable before March 15, on which date the close time 
commences. However, “permits” to capture coarse 
fish are granted in this locality by the Severn Conserva¬ 
tors, and angling societies should take advantage of 
these to clear the river of as many pike as possible.— 
Piscator. 
Severn, Vyrnwy, Tanat, and Cain (Llanymy- 
nech). —The trout fishing season is commencing most 
inauspiciously, as rain has fallen persistently for more 
than twenty-four hours, and which, aided by a very strong 
south-west wind, has flooded all these rivers. The rain 
has washed away all the snow from the Welsh hills, and, 
as the temperature is much higher than for some time 
