THE FISHING GAZETTE 
487 
June 24, 1893] 
JOTTINGS BY THE WAY. 
Mr. J. P. Connellan Las started the coarse fish 
season at Amberley, and, considerinsf the stateness of 
the water, had fair sport. He asks if wo would add the 
Pulborongh and Amberley tides, as they form an im. 
portant part of the programme when fishing these 
waters. Certainly ; and thank him for the suggestion. 
*###** 
The Billingsgate fish porters were recently startled, 
while unloading the fish tanks, at the sight of a man 
*■ serenely and peacefully cradled among the fish, which 
w'obbled around him as the tank was moved.” After he 
had been well shaken (for he was sound asleep), in 
answer to the question, “ What are you doing here ? ” 
he replied: “I’m working my passage to London. I 
worked it on a smack from Hull to Grimsby, and as I 
have some friends in London, I thought I should like to 
see them, so I got in among the fish.” He gave his 
name as John Waterhouse, and was carried—after being 
washed and scraped—before the Lord Mayor, charged 
with travelling on the railway without a ticket. 
###*## 
Pollack fishing is being prosecuted with fair results 
just now near Exmouth, fish of 101b. and I tlb. falling 
to one rod. Bass are very plentiful in the river, but 
the clearness of the water is prejudicial to heavy 
baskets. # # # 
An impression prevails amongst some London anglers 
that onli/ a gold medal is to bo fished for in the “ All- 
England Competition,” pr-omoted by the JIiiU Timea, 
on July 24. The first prize is ^617 lOs., and the gold 
medal; second, .£10 ; third, £5 ; fourth, £3 ; fifth, £1; 
five at £1 ; four at 15s. ; four at lO.s. ; and ten at 5s. 
each. It will thus be seen that £50 in cash will bo 
distributed in addition to a gold medal. 
###### 
A CORRESPONDENT Writes me lamenting the loss of 
fish by poisoning, which appears to be very rife just 
now, and closes his letter by describing a means of 
capture, which, he thinks, “ should satisfy any ordinary 
poacher.” It is not my intention to publish this latest 
addition to a very long list of illegal methods for the 
wholesale slaughter of fish ; and, as this decision will 
not be 1‘egretted by angler-sportsmen, it is to be hoped 
that a sharp eye will be kept on other than members 
of our angling clubs. 
#*«*## 
Many and various are the suggestions for celebrating 
i ho 3(t0th birthday of Izaak Walton. It is sincerely to 
be hoped that the frequenter.9 of the stream in which 
Ihe author of “ The Compleat Angler ” loved to lure the 
finny denizens, will organise a gigantic competition in 
aid of the preservation socteties, and that some of the 
money realised be devoted to increasing the stock of fish 
in the Lea; although a visit to Ware on Tuesday 
revealed the fact that, in addition to a monster trout 
which roams between the bridge and the boom, the 
water is not badly stocked. Another suggestion, which, 
I believe, originated with the Junior Ply-fi-hsrs, is 
that a casting competition should be held, open to all 
comers. We shall see what we shall see ! 
*#*#** 
A CONTEMPORARY states that on Tuesday evening 
last a thirsty sparrow hopped to the edge of the famous 
fountain in the Temple, intent on a “ drink.” Tliere is 
nothing extraordinary about this. But what reads like 
“ a fish story ” is the part which says : “ one of the fish 
suddenly leaped from the basin and seized the sparrow 
by the leg. The bird, squealed, chirped, and struggled, 
but another fish came to the assistance of its brother, 
and between the two they dragged the poor sparrow 
into the water and killed it.” 
####** 
The new Central Association water is evidently worth 
a visit. Mr. W. Stretch, of the North London Club, on 
the 18th inst-, succeeded in taking 141b. of bream 
At Amberley, on the same date, Mr. McDonnell took 
101b. 6oz. of bream (heaviest fish 31b. 4,^oz.), and, whiLt 
ledgering, a take which he did not weigh-in—a full.y- 
opened umbrella, to which was attached a lady’s hand¬ 
bag, ####*# 
There is a rather interesting bit of history connected 
with the famous pond at Fontainebleau, which has just 
been cleared of all its carp, perch, and gudgeon. The 
pond abounded chiefly in fine carp, and when Prince 
Frederick Charles of Prussia had his headquarters in 
Ihe historic ch:iteau daring the occupation of France by 
the Germans in 1870 he gave orders that a wholesale 
fishing expedition should take place. Nets and tackle 
were accordingly requisitioned by the troops, but none 
could be found. The local anglers had either hidden or 
destroyed their piscatorial paraphernalia, and the “ Red 
Prince” could consequently taste but very few of the 
carp for which he longed. Now, however, the pond has 
to be cleared, as mud has been accumulating in it for the 
space of twenty-five years, a state of aft'airs which caused 
a sort of epidemic among the fish in 1837, when the 
surface of the water was covered with hundreds of dead 
carp. The fishes drawn out of the ijond in nets have 
been placed temporarily in the smaller ponds around the 
chateau. ###### 
As evidence of the “forward” character of the 
present season, Messrs. Richardson, of Ye Pluckie 
Perche, 77, Finsbury-pavement, notify us that they 
have wasp grub bait in stock. This is fully a month or 
six weeks before the usual time. • Dragnet. 
V/RINKLES AND HINTS. 
Oy’Sters as large as soup-plates grow off the coast of 
Virginia. _ 
The Scotch herring fishery is now the greatest in the 
world, employing 12,000 boats and 100,000 people. 
On Thursday morning a very fine specimen of the 
sword fish was caught in the salmon nets of the Solway, 
near Annan. 
One of the largest hauls of mackerel over known on 
the Western Cosat was made recently in the West Bay 
at Abbotabury, Dorset, when over 30,000 fine fish were 
landed. _ 
The Colourtng oe Trout. —The colouring of trout 
depends on the colour of the bottom of the river or stream 
in which he lives, and on the purity of the water and 
the plenty or otherwise of food. Of them all, however, 
trout which have access to salt water posmss the 
most dazzling silver tints, owing to the variety and 
abundance of food at their command. 
Migratory fish are hatched and partly matured in 
fresh water. They feed and grow in the sea, it is true, 
but they are never caught there, so that their protection 
and preservation should be in the hands of those who are 
not so deeply interested in making them a saleable 
commodity. Besides all this, there must be some con¬ 
sideration for the sportsman, who, without question, 
spends in the neighbourhood in which he fishes ten 
times as much money as all the fish he catches, if sold, 
would fetch. _ 
A Living Pop-Gun. —In the Eastern seas, from 
Ceylon to Japan, there abounds a little fish, belonging 
to the genus Cliulndon, which secures its prey by means 
of an instrument like the blow-pipe used by boys for 
projecting peas. The nose of this fish is a sort of heak. 
through which it has the power of propelling a drop of 
water with force enough to bring down a fly. Its aim is 
very accurate, and it rarely misses its object. The un- 
su.specting victim sits on a weed or tuft of grass near the 
water ; the fish approaches cautiously, stealthily pro¬ 
jects its tube, takes a sure aim, and lets fly, when down 
drops the insect, to bo swallowed by its captor. 
Mr. William Hearder, of Plymouth, says that 
pouting and chad are to be had in large quantifies 
round our coast. The finest fish are taken in from 
sixteen to twenty fathoms, although within 200 yards 
from the shore. Some time since he rigged up an 
endless line that reached the bottom. It was furnished 
with loz. pipe leads and a wire outrigger, with gut hook 
at every fathom, and the bait small pieces of rag-worm. 
The mode of using it was as follows : The boat was 
anchored according to bearings, and when it had settled 
in position, the two fishermen (for it took two to work 
the line) placed themselves one in the stern and one in 
the bow, and the line was baited and lowered to the 
bottom. There was no waiting for a bite, but the one 
in the bow gradually hauled up the line and took off 
what fish were hooked, the one in the stern merely 
passing the 1 no down again, first baiting the hooks 
that required it. _ 
Saving that when yon knock him on the head a fish 
quivers as terribly as a man in extreme agony, we know 
nothing about the sensibility of fish. A salmon is 
marvellously adapted to the conditions amid which it 
lives. It can cleave through tons of water falling 
perpendicularly ; yet its fins and its tail, which seem to 
hold the iiropelling power, are not less fragile than the 
wings of a bat. It can be killed without injury to its 
contour, and a plaster cast of it cxn be made ; yet no 
mechanician can devise an instrument which will lie in 
the water and move as it does, and no theory of 
dynamic.s has explained either its postures in the water 
or its motion. Softer and more pliable than any woman, 
it has the strength of a mole, which, proportionately, is 
greater than that of an elephant; simple in its organisa¬ 
tion as it seems, its movements are as inimitable by any 
human cantrivance as the flight of a bird hai proved 
to be. ___ 
Fighting-Fishes. — There is a little hot-tempered fish, 
known as lielta pwjnax, which is kept as a sort of 
domestic pet by the Siamese to display its prowess for 
the edification of the Mongolian intelligence. “ When 
in a state of quiet,” says Cantor, “ its dull colours 
present nothing remarkable; but, if two bo brought 
together, or if one sees its own image in a looking-glass, 
the little creature becomes suddeuly excited, the raised 
fins and the whole body shine with metallic colours of 
dazzling beauty, while the projected gill-membrane, 
waving like a black frill round the throat, adds some¬ 
thing of grotesqueness to the general appearance. In 
this state it makes repeated darts at its real or reflected 
antagonist. But both, when taken out of each other’s 
sight, instantly become quiet.” The fighting-fishes, as 
the Siamese call them, are kept, a contemporary tells us, 
in globes like gold-fish, and fed from time to time with 
the larviio of mosquitoes. The Siamese are as wild after 
their combats as the Malays are for cock-fighting, and 
often stake large sums, or even the freedom of them¬ 
selves and their families, on the prowess and skill of a 
particular Betta. The licence to exhibit fish-fights is 
tomed by government, and brings in a cinsiderable 
revenue to the King of Siam. 
GROUND BAIT. 
A FISHING club, which has its headquarters withiil a 
hundred miles of Rotherham, had made all arrangements 
for the annual match, when at the last moment it was 
found that for some reason or the other the water where 
the affair was due to come off was unavailable, and the 
officials were in despair. Luckily, however, the secretary 
bethought himself of a large mere about twenty miles 
away, on which some years before he had once had good 
sport. So the proprietor of the lake was immediately 
written to, and he, being a good sort, albeit he took 
little interest in fishing, at once wired back, “ Yes, come 
and welcome. I will make arrangements for you.” 
Nothing could be more satisfactory than that, and on 
the eventful day fifty members, all confident of success, 
went down by an early train, and were met at the 
entrance to the estate by the head gardener. “ T’ Squire 
sez yer can go onywheear abaht t’ park an’ ’ave a Ink 
rahnd, but yer mustn’t go near t’ waiter till after one 
o’clock,” he explained. At which everybody looked 
puzzled and angry at the thought of having to wait four 
hours before commencing operations. “ But the fish 
will be off the feed by then,” grumbled one. “ No, they 
wean’t,” returned the gardener, emphatically; “yer 
wean’t miss nowt, for t’flsh wean’t begin bitin’ till then.” 
Most of the party made the beat of a bad job and 
started to explore the park, but two of the number had 
got their curiosity aroused at such an extraordinary 
reversal of the usual state of things that they set to 
and argued it out, each trying to explain the matter in 
an entirely different method. The dispute waxed hot 
and strong, and as both refused to abandon their pet 
theories they decided to refer the matter for decision to 
the gardener. So they hunted him up and one of them 
said : “ Are you quite sure that the fish in the mere will 
not take any sort of bait before dinner time ? ” 
“ Sartain sure,” replied the gardener. “ Then can you 
tell us the explanation of such a iihenomenon ? ” the 
second disputant went on, slipping a coin into the man’s 
horny palm. At the touch of the silver a smile—not an 
insipid, meaningless grin, but a real substantial quarter- 
inch crown plate smile with bevelled edses—spread over 
the old chap’s face as he replied : “ Well, yer see, it’s 
this way. We ran all t’ waiter off a week sin’, so of 
course there’s nowt in, but t’ Squire—’e’s t’ kindest- 
’earted man i’t’ world—as sooin as ’e knew ’at yer wor 
cornin’ ’o ordered ’alf-a-dozen live perch fra Sheffield, 
an’ they wean’t be ’ere till t’ nooin train ! ”—Yorlcshira 
Weekly Post. __ 
The wise men tell us that the whale lives about four 
hundred years. A whale would be a good thing for a 
man to buy who hated to part with a pet after he 
became attached to it. _ 
A WELL-KNOWN angler went fishing on the Thames. 
He was met by a boating party, who inquired of him, 
“ How many fish have you caught to-day?” “I have 
caught some queer fish,” replied the angler, “ I will tell 
you about them, and leave you to count for yourselves. 
I caught nine fish without a tail ; then I caught six 
without a head ; then I caught ten without an eye, and 
half of eight.” How many did the angler catch? 
Answer, 0 (none). ___ 
A GOOD-NATURED angler fell asleep in a train, and 
was carried far beyond his destination. “ Pretty good 
joke this is, isn’t it?” said he to a brother angler. 
“ Yes ; but a little too far-fetched ” was the rejoinder. 
How He Told a Fish’s Sex.— First angler : “ That’s 
a female fish that you’ve just pulled in.” Secondangler : 
“What makes you think so?” First angler: “Oh, 
because it has a large tongue.” 
Browser (in old book shop): “ How dusty one gets 
hauling down old books ! ” ’Bowser (receiving price for 
books) : “ Well, it’s only a fair exchange ; dust for dust. 
You take some away and you leave a little sum.” 
She Me.ant Well.— Have you met the literary 
attendant in a book-store who cm give you no end of 
information about books and tell anecdotes about the 
authors who wi’ote tho:n ? Mr. B. went into a book¬ 
store on Washington-street not long ago. A pretty, 
dark-eyed little lady glided to his side. She suggested 
several books as worthy of his porusal. Do you 
think I'll find this interesting as a story ? ” asked Mr. B., 
holding up for her inspection a recent novel. “Oh, 
dear, no; that is of no earthly use. Besides being 
slackly written, the idea is fiat. Everyone says so. We 
don’t recommend it to our customers.” Mr. B. went 
out and stood on the corner, and felt dizzy for a few 
minutes. Ho wrote that book. 
An amateur angler went to fish in a Scotch stream, 
provided with the finest rod and reel that money could 
buy, the most invincible taekle, and the moat improved 
fly-hooka. Having flogged the water for hours without 
getting a nibble, ho had the mortification of seeing an 
old fisherman near him pull out the trout by dozens with 
nothing but a bit of stick and a string. Puzzled and 
disappointed, he at last went up to the old man and 
asked him, “ What is the meaning of this ? How comes 
it that 1, with the most perfect appliances, catch 
nothing, while you, with only the clumsiest tools, are so 
successful?” To which the old man replied. The 
luea-niTi^ o’t, sir, I tukG it to bo this that I lu fishiii for 
fish, and ye’re fishin’ for fun ! ” 
