THE FISHING GAZETTE 
[June 17, 1893 
4G1 
sporting purposes only. The sub-committee also 
unanimously agreed to call the attention of the 
conservators to the great injury done to the 
Thames fish during the breeding season by 
launches and by swans and ducks. It will be very 
])leasing to the angling public to find that an 
association, which consists mainly of riparian 
owners and county gentlemen, is interesting itself 
in the Thames fisheries. 
The House of Lords have practically decided 
that four millions of ])eople, who provide some¬ 
thing like .t2.5,0U0 a year to be spent on the 
^’hames, have no right to be represented on the 
board of conservators. In other words, the Bill 
which has passed the House of Commons, by 
which four members of the London County 
Council would have seats on the board, has been 
thrown out by the Hou.se of Lords, ard it seems 
likely that the government of the Upper Thames 
will remain in the hands of the riparian owners 
for the present. But in consequence of the 
action of the Lord.®, a parliamentary inquiry into 
the constitution of the board, now becomes very 
]irobable. Templar. 
Corresponir^ncE 
[TTe do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions 
expressed by our Correspondents.^ 
A LATE JllSE OF PALE OLIVE. 
Dear Mr. Marston, —Sport fair here. A la’ge 
rise of ])ale olive last night at 9 p.m., and I killed 
a brace on 0 0 0 hooks. Would not take an 0 at 
all. Is this new ? It is to me.—I am, &c., 
Longparish. _ E. J. P. 
A MAY-FLY NOTE FKOM MR. JAMES 
OGDEN. 
Sir, —Having been very much interested in 
reading the May-fly notes in last week’s Fishing 
Gazette, I am induced to offer a few comments 
u]ion the subject. Having been out every day on 
different rivers since the fly first made its ap¬ 
pearance this season, I can fully endorse many of 
the remarks of your valued correspondents. I do 
not remember the fish ever being so hard to 
please, in fact, I think there are very few rivers 
where a really good rise has taken place, and this 
was especially the case with the big fish. On 
some days, particularly, I noticed that it was 
the small fish alone which took the fly. 1 
have frequented the haunts of some of the 
big fish almost daily, and have seen the 
natural fly pass over them in numbers un¬ 
noticed. I tried every likely pattern of floating 
May-fly with which I am acquainted, and, although 
I had a great variety, it was difficult to find a 
favourite; but, as they say in the north, things 
are never so bad but they might have been 
worse. I only had two days’ sport worth men¬ 
tion, on the best of which I got ten and a half 
brace, eighteen out of the twenty-one avearging 
a pound each. I much prefer to use the floating 
fly than the sunk or buzz, but there are times on 
most days through the May-fly season,before and 
after the rise, when a good hackle fly, “ worked 
properly,” will often add a great weight to the 
basket. I have met with many good dry fly 
fishermen who cannot conceive that there is any 
art or pleasure in using a buzz-fly, and, if used as 
I have so often seen it—by throwing it and allow¬ 
ing the stream to carry it down with no more life 
in it than a dead leaf, this is not to be wondered 
at. I maintain there is as much skill required to 
work a hackle-fly properly as in the floating. My 
method is never to allow it to remain still and 
with the hackle closed, but to work it in the water 
so as to open and close the hackle as much as pos¬ 
sible. (E.\cept for very rough water, I contend that 
a hackle-fly should be dressed as sparingly as pos¬ 
sible.) By the same rule, many people say they 
never could do much with the Alexandra, and when 
1 ask them how they use it, they say, “well, as I 
use any other fly.” The Alexandra, same as with 
the Scorcher, when used as a trout fly is most 
deadly on any stream worked as a sunk fly, with 
continuous and irregular jerks made to represent 
as near as possible something struggling to 
escape. 'I'his is the great secret to the success of 
all sunk or hackle flies. James Ogden. 
Cheltenham. 
THE NEW THAMES FISHERY BYE-LAWS. 
Sir, —Y^ou and your friends have succeeded in 
stamping out the worst features of the New 
Thames Bye-laws, for which all Thames fisher¬ 
men thank you most sincerely. But, perhaps, 
you may give ear to the bitter cry of a humble 
Thames perch fisher. 
(fc) To any roach, dace, gudgeon, bleak, or minnows 
taken for use as bait provided that except for the pur¬ 
pose of baiting eel baskets, no person shall be entitled 
to have in his possession or under his control more than 
fifty of such fish for use as bait at any one time, or to 
fake by himself, his servants, or agents more than fifty 
of such fish on any day. 
Bye-law 28, clause h, provides for the number of 
fish which may be retained as haii. Regarding 
the first four kinds I make no complaint, but it 
is too absurd to include minnows. 
You, sir, know how soon they vanish in a long 
day’s paternostering, having constantly to be 
renewed, as they lose their activity, and this, 
whether the fish are well on the feed or not; 
indeed, in the latter case, there is more need of 
lively baits. 
Now, it seems I may just have fifty minnows 
in my well and no more, and if these run out— 
as they would be sure to do early in the day—am 
forbidden to take a few others ! 
It is clear that no angler is on the board ; but 
there must be a lawyer, who could have quoted 
the legal maxim, “De minimis non curat lex,” 
and translated it (perhaps needfully), “ The law 
has a soul above minnows ! ” 
When Dr. Johnson made a dreadful error in 
his dictionary and it was pointed out, his answer 
was “ Ignorance, sir, pure ignorance.” 
J ust now, too, eminent statesmen (?), engaged 
in watching the “jumping cat,” and ready to 
turn their coats at a moment’s notice, boast how 
they “ keep an open mind.” 
Let us hope the conservators do likewise, and 
that a word spoken in season may cause them to 
correct what can only be a stupid slip. 
But worse seems to remain behind, to my un- 
Icgal mind—I won’t say I'Hegal mind just yet, 
though I don’t know what I may come to. 
By Rule 38 any number of unincorporate 
persons shall mean a person. 
38. In these bye-laws, unless there is something incon¬ 
sistent or repugnant in the context, the words and 
expressions hereinafter mentioned shall have the fol¬ 
lowing meaning (that is to say) : 
Person.—Shall mean any number of persons or any 
body of persons corporate or unincorporate. 
Suppose I ask a couple of friends to come into 
my punt, do we legally become one person, and 
thereby entitled only to the fifty minnows to be 
shared between ^ls ? Or, if rash enough to invite 
a lady, do we become one person according to 
Thames law, and without the intervention of 
clergyman or registrar ? If so, anglers must be 
careful indeed. 
Perhaps “ Templar ” will notice this. 
Anglers know how influential your good word 
is. Do, please, speak it in the above case, and 
earn the gratitude of the likes of—Yours 
sincerely, W. P. H. 
June 11. - 
THE NEW CONCESSIONS. 
Sir, —I am told by one who holds a ticket of 
the Cambridge and Ely Association, that since 
the granting of privilege tickets to London 
anglers to their district, that that association has 
resolved to grant no more tickets except to those 
living within a certain radius of the water, for 
fear of being overrun by London anglers. Now, 
where a fare is five shillings and upwards, and 
after the fare being paid only season tickets can 
be obtained, even if the said season tickets do 
not exceed 5s., there will never be any great 
influx of anglers under such conditions. It is 
also great ly to be regretted that such unbrotherly 
ideas should sway local anglers towards their 
London brothers. 
I think the railway companies would do wisely 
in their own interest if they fostered a National 
Union of angling clubs, and granted privilege 
tickets to such Union only, one condition to be 
that no club renting water for their own exclu¬ 
sive use should be granted privilege tickets, 
unless tickets were granted to members of such 
National Union at such prices for both season 
and day fishing as should not be prohibitive.— 
I am, &c., A. J. Marriott, 
Chairman, Waltonian Angling Society. 
FISHERY RIGHTS IN THE SUFFOLK 
STOUR. 
Sir, —An important case is now before Mr. 
Justice North, which unless properly defended 
may deprive the public of the right of angling 
they have hitherto freely enjoyed on a consider¬ 
able portion of the Suffolk Stour, Lord Ash¬ 
burton and Mr. Nocton claiming the whole of 
the fishing from bank to bank, between Stratford 
Bridge and Boxford. An action for fishing 
therein, from land not owned by either of the 
plaintiffs, has been commenced against Donald 
Flint, a member of the Good Intent Angling 
Society, and an interim injunction has been 
granted, which will certainly be made perpetual 
unless a good defence is immediately set up. 
There is strong ground for believing such a 
defence can be successfully made, but there is 
not an inntant to lose, and Flint is only a work¬ 
ing man, without the means of carrying on such 
a case alone. He has provisionally secured 
advice, and Mr. P. Edward Dove, author of 
“ Public Rights in Navigable Rivers,” is to appear 
on his behalf. The prospect is certainly hopeful, 
although some costs have been incurred, con¬ 
sequent upon the case being at first undefended. 
A small committee has consequently been formed, 
and it has been resolved to ask the public to help 
us with funds, which will, it is hoped, be the 
means of enabling Flint to defend the case, and 
of preserving the Stour as hitherto for the 
followers of Izaak Walton.—I am, &c., 
T. Crumplen, Hon. Treasurer. 
12, Regent-street, London, S.W., June 14,1893, 
FLY-FISHING FOR DACE. 
Sir, —Can you or any of your readers kindly 
tell me a good place to fly-fish for dace near 
Richmond, Kingston, &c. ? and a hint as to flies 
will greatly oblige.—I am, Ac., 
A. W. Wavering. 
[If you will communicate with Mr. W. H. 
Thomas, 8, Hafer-road, Clapham Common, he will 
not only tell you of the best spots, but will no 
doubt accompany you. He is thoroughly 
acquainted with the whole of the water.] 
TROUT FISHING IN GERMANY. 
Sir, —In the Fishing Gazette of March 4 ap¬ 
peared a letter, signed “ Rook,” under this head¬ 
ing, which I have no doubt made other angler’s 
mouths to water as it did mine. Alas 1 that I 
should have to signalise another instance of how 
an enthusiast may lead his brethren astray. 
Writing on the spot, I should like to give my 
version of things. 
“ Rook ” says that by staying at the Hotel zum 
Weissen Hirsch, at Schwarzburg (not Rudolstadt- 
Schwarzburg, which is the title of the Prince of 
these dominions), one can get splendid fishing 
in the Schwarza free. The Schwarza is an ideal 
trout stream, but, unfortunately, it is strictly 
preserved, and the landlord of the hotel has no 
right to an inch of it. All that he has, at a 
distance of three miles, is an inconsiderable 
brook, which I have carefully prospected, called 
the Lichte, a feeder of the Schwarza. As regards 
the size of the fish, mine host, who seems 
thoroughly straightforward, says that he once 
heard of a 21b. trout, but that he is very proud 
of 4-pounders. “Rook” further says that the 
pension at the hotel is 34 marks a day. The 
hoard is 4 marks and lodging extra; the rooms 
running from 1.50 (into which the landlord says 
he would be very sorry to put me) up to 4.50, in 
July and August, and something less in other 
months and for a prolonged stay. I have been 
en pension in many places, but this is the first 
time I have ever known board and lodging to be 
counted separately. 
I feel bound to make these corrections, inas¬ 
much as it is a long expensive journey from 
England to Schwarzburg, and I believe other 
readers of the letter I venture to criticise would 
be as profoundly disappointed as I am. I can 
only conjecture that “ Rook” must have jumbled 
up one or two places in his mind when writing 
about this one. I am sure that his misstatements 
were quite unintentional, and I willingly bear 
testimony to the prompt kindness with which he 
answered sundry questions I addressed to him.— 
I am, Ac.. M. B. 
Schwarzburg, Thiiringen, June 7, 1893. 
