ANGLING, or the art of fishing with rod and line, includes those branches of the piscatorial trade which are usually followed, not so much for profit, as for pleasant recreation. That the practice of “casting angles into the brook” had its origin in necessity, the mother of so many inventions, can hardly be doubted; but it is equally clear that the refined skill exhibited in this pursuit at the present day has been derived from leisure and the love of sport, aided by the more delicate gear which modern ingenuity has invented for the deception of the finny race.

The comparative merits of angling, and of the kindred occupations of the fowler and the huntsman, are not likely to be determined by any portraiture which a lover of these exciting amusements might draw of their various excellencies, but must depend on the tone and temper of mind possessed by different persons, and their greater or less accordance with individual tastes. This much, however, may be safely stated as a general and admitted truth, that the value of a pursuit increases in proportion as it becomes attainable by the mass of our fellow-creatures; and as angling is a much cheaper and more convenient pleasure than either hunting or shooting, it may> in so far as regards those advantages, claim a decided preference. Be it remembered that Dr Johnson’s description of a rod with a fly at one end and a fool at the other [7:3:133] is not admitted among the memorabilia of the lovers of old Izaak Walton.

The recreation of angling has been followed by many of the best and wisest of men in modern ages. Sir Henry Wotton found from experience, that after prolonged study of worldly occupation, it was “a rest to his mind, a cheerer of his spirits, a diverter of sadness, a calmer of unquiet thoughts, a moderator of passions, a procurer of contentedness;" and, besides the immediate excitement of the sport itself, few occupations yield so much pleawure to the lovers of rural scenery and the admirers of he picturesque. The most beautiful scenes in nature usually adorn or consist of the banks of lakes and rivers; and the composition of a perfect landscape, whether in nature or art, is incomplete without the accessory of either tranquil or flowing waters. The pursuits of the artist and the angler are therefore peculiarly compatible, and each lends an interest to the other.
The lofty woods, the forests wide and long,
Adorn’d with leaves and brandies fresh and green,
In whose cool bowers the birds with many a song
Do welcome with their quire the summer’s queen;
The meadows fair, where Flora’s gifts a song
Are intermixed with verdant grass between;
The silver scaled fish that softly swim
Within the sweet brook’s crystal watery stream:
All these, and many more of His creation,
That made the heavens, the angler oft doth see;
Taking therein no little delectation,
To think how strange, how wonderful they be;
Framing thereof an inward contemplation,
To set his heart from other fancies free;
And whilst he looks on these with joyful eye,
His mind is rapt above the starry sky.

Markham, in his Country Contentments, describes not only he outward apparel, but the inward qualities, of an angler. He must be generally accomplished in all the liberal sciences, and, as a grammarian, ought to be qualified to write and discourse of his art in true and fitting terms. He must be possessed of sweetness of speech to entice others to so laudable an exercise, and of strength of argument to defend it against envy and slander. “Then nust he be strong and valiant, neither to be amazed with terms, nor affrighted with thunder; and if he is not temperate, but has a gnawing stomach that will not endure nuch fasting, but must observe hours, it troubleth the mind and body, and loseth that delight which only maketh pastime pleasing.” “He must be of a well-settled and constant belief, to enjoy the benefit of his expectation; for then to despair, it were better never to be put in practice: and he must ever think when the waters are pleasant, and any thing likely, that there the Creator of ill good things hath stored up much of plenty; and though your satisfaction be not as ready as your wishes, yet you must hope still, that with perseverance you shall reap the fulness of your harvest with contentment. Then he must be full of love both to his pleasure and his neighour—to his pleasure, which otherwise will be irksome and tedious—and to his neighbour, that he never give offence in any particular, nor be guilty of any general destruction: then he must be exceeding patient, and neither vex nor excruciate himself with losses or mischances, as in losing the prey when it is almost in the hand, or by breaking his tools by ignorance or negligence; but with pleased sufferance amend errors, and think mischances instructions to better carefulness.”

In regard to the antiquity of angling, it has been traced by some to the time of Seth, who is asserted to have taught it to his sons; and so highly have others esteemed the knowledge of the art, as to maintain that its rules and maxims w¢re engraven on those pillars by which an acquaintance with music, the mathematics, and other branches of useful knowledge, was preserved by God’s appointment from extinction in the days of Noah. It is frequently alluded to in the holy Scriptures; as in Isaiah, xix. 8, “The fishers also shall mourn, and all they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament, and they that spread nets upon the waters shall languish so in the prophet Habbakuk, i. 15, “They take up all of them with the angle, they catch them in their net, and gather them in their drag; therefore they rejoice and are glad.” We deem it unnecessary to multiply quotations from ancient authors, whether sacred or profane; but shall rest satisfied with pointing out, at the close of this article, the principal works on angling which have appeared in our own language, and in relation to the practice of the art in British streams.

As expert angling never was and never will be successfully taught by rule, but is almost entirely the result of assiduous and long-continued practice, we purpose being very brief in our disquisition on the subject. We shall commence by stating our belief that fly-fishing, by far the most elegant and interesting branch of the art, ought not to be regarded exclusively as an art of imitation. It no doubt depends on deception, which usually proceeds on the principle of one thing being successfully substituted in the likeness of another; but Bacon’s distinctive definitions of simulation and dissimulation place the subject in a truer light. As simulation consists in the adoption or affectation of what is not, while dissimulation consists in the careful concealment of what really is—the one being a positive, the other rather a negative act—so the great object of the fly-fisher is to dissimulate in such a manner as to prevent his expected prey from detecting the artificial nature of his lure, without troubling himself by a vain effort to simulate or assume, with his fly, the appearance of any individual or specific form of insect life. There is, in truth, little or no connection between the art of angling and the science of entomology; and therefore the success of the angler, in by far the greater proportion of cases, does not depend on the resemblance which subsists between his artificial fly and the natural insect. This statement is no doubt greatly at variance, as well with the principles as the practice of all who have deemed fishing worthy of consideration, from the days of Isaiah and Theocritus, to those of Carrol and Bainbridge. But we are not the less decidedly of opinion, that in nine instances out of ten a fish seizes upon an artificial fly as upon an insect or moving creature sui generis, and not on account of its exact and successful resemblance to any accustomed and familiar object.

It may be asked, upon what principle of imitative art the different varieties of salmon-fly can be supposed to bear the most distant resemblance to any species of dragonfly, to imitate which we are frequently told that they are intended? Certainly no perceptible similarity in form or aspect exists between them, all the species of dragonfly, with the exception of one or two of the sub-genus Calep-terix, being characterized by very clear, lace-like, pellucid wings, entirely unadorned by those fantastic and gaudy colours, borrowed from the peacock and other “birds of gayest plume,” which are made to distinguish the supposed resemblance. Besides, the finest salmon-fishing is in mild weather during the colder seasons of the year, and in early spring, several months before any dragonfly has become visible on the face of the waters, as it is a summer insect, and rarely makes its appearance in the perfect state till the month of June. If they bear no resemblance to each other in form or colour, how much more unlike must they be, when, instead of being swept down the current, as a real one would be, the artificial fly is seen cross-îng[7:3:134] and recrossing every stream and torrent, with the agility of an otter, and the strength of an alligator? Now, as it is demonstrable that the artificial fly generally used for salmon bears no resemblance, except in size, to any living one; that the only tribe which, from their respective dimensions, it may be supposed to represent, does not exist in the winged state during the period when the imitation is most generally and most successfully practised; and if they did, that their habits and natural powers totally disenable them from being at any time seen under such circumstances as would give a colour to the supposition of the one being ever mistaken for the other; may we not fairly conclude that, in this instance at least, the fish proceed upon other grounds, and are deceived by an appearance of life and motion, rather than by a specific resemblance to any thing which they had previously been in the habit of capturing? What natural insect do the large flies, at which sea-trout rise so readily, resemble? These, as well as gilse and salmon, frequently take the lure far within the bounds of the salt-water mark; and yet naturalists know that no such thing as a salt-water fly exists, or at least has ever been discovered by their researches. Indeed no true insect inhabits the sea. What species are imitated by the palmer, or by three fourths of the dressed flies in common use? An artificial fly can, at the best, be considered only as the representation of a natural one which has been drowned, as it is impossible to imitate the dancing or hovering flight of the real insect over the surface of the stream; and, even with that restricted idea of its resemblance to nature, the likeness must be scarcely perceptible, owing to the difference of motion, and the great variety of directions in which the angler drags his flies, according to the nature and special localities of the current, and the prevailing direction of the wind.

The same observations apply, with almost equally few exceptions, to bait-fishing. The minnow is fastened upon swivels, which cause it to revolve upon its axis with such rapidity, that it loses every vestige of its original appearance; and in angling with the par tail, one of the most killing lures for large trout, the bait consists of the nether half of a small fish, mangled and mis-shapen, and in every point of view divested of its natural form.

Fly-fishing has been compared, though by a somewhat circuitous mode of reasoning, to sculpture. It proceeds upon a few simple principles, and the theory is easily acquired, although it may require long and severe labour to become a great master in the art. Yet it is needless to encompass it with difficulties which have no existence in reality, or to render a subject intricate and confused, which is in itself so plain and unencumbered. In truth, the ideas which at present prevail on the matter degrade it beneath its real dignity and importance. When Plato, speaking of painting, says that it is merely an art of imitation, and that our pleasure arises from the truth and accuracy of the likeness, he is surely wrong; for if it were so, where would be the superiority of the Roman and Bolognese over the Dutch and Flemish schools? So also in regard to fishing: The accomplished angler does not condescend to imitate specifically, and in a servile manner, the detail of things; he attends, or ought to attend, only to the great and invariable ideas which are inherent in universal nature. He throws his fly lightly and with elegance on the surface of the glittering waters, because he knows that an insect with outspread gawzy wings.would so fall; but he does not imitate (or if he does so, his practice proceeds upon an erroneous principle), either in the air or on his favourite element, the flight or the motion of a particular species, because he also knows that trouts are much less conversant in entomology than Μ. Latreille, and that their omnivorous propensities induce them, when inclined for food, torisewiflμ equal eagerness at every minute thing which creepeth upon the earth or swimmeth in the waters. On this fact he generalizes,—and this is the philosophy of fishing.

We are therefore of opinion that all, or a great proportion, of what has been so often and sometimes so well said about the great variety of flies necessary to an angler, —about the necessity of changing his tackle according t 0 each particular month throughout the season,—about one fly being adapted solely to the morning, another to noonday, and a third to the evening,—and about every river having its own particular flies, &c. is, if not erroneous, at least exaggerated and misconceived. That determinate relations exist between flies of a certain colour and particular conditions of a river, is, we doubt not, true; but these are rather connected with angling as an artificial science, and have but little to do with any analogous relations in nature. The great object, by whatever means it is to be accomplished, is to render the fly deceptive; and this, in fact, we believe to be more frequently effected when fishing with flies which differ in colour and general appearance from those which are upon the water. When a particular fly prevails upon a river, an artificial one in imitation of it will never resemble it so closely as to appear the same to those below (i. e. the fish): on the contrary, a certain degree of resemblance, without any thing like an exact similitude, will only render the finny tribe the more cautious through suspicion; while a different shape and colour, by exciting no minute or invidious comparisons, would probably have been swallowed without examination. Indeed, it seems sufficiently plain, that where means of comparison are allowed, and where exact imitation is at the same time impossible, it is much better to have recourse to a general idea, than to an awkward and bungling individual representation. How often has it been asserted, with all the gravity of sententious wisdom, that the true mode of proceeding in fly-fishing is to busk your hook by the river-side, after beating the shrubs to see what colour of insect prevails. A very expert angler, who perhaps carried the opposite theory rather too far (although he always filled his pannier), was in the habit of stirring the briars and willows to ascertain what manner of fly was not there, and with that he tempted the fishes.

It is admitted, that during mid-summer, when the weather is calm, the sky clear, and the river low, and when what is called fine fishing is necessary, a close imitation both of the appearance and motions of the natural fly may frequently be tried with advantage; in which case the tackle may be allowed to drop gently down the stream: but it more usually happens, from the style of fishing practised during the vernal and autumnal states of a river, that the hook is not deceptive from its appearing like a winged fly which has fallen from its native element, but from its motion and aspect resembling that of some aquatic insect. When the end of the line first falls on the surface of the water, the fish may be deceived by the idea of a natural fly; and it is on that account that the angler should throw his tackle lightly and with accuracy, and it is on that account also that we would advise the more frequent throwing of the line: but so soon as the practitioner begins to describe his semicircle across the river, the character of the lure is changed, and the trout then seizes the bait, not as a drowning insect, but as a creature inhabiting its own element, which had ventured too far from the protection of the shallow shore or the sedgy bank. That this is the case, a subsidiary argument may also be drawn from the fact, that in most rivers the greater number and the finest fish are generally killed by [7:3:135]the drag-fly, which, during the process of angling, swims an inch or two under water.

Nevertheless, as these opinions of ours may not accord with the practice of other anglers, we shall proceed somewhat more methodically to explain a few of the principles of the art as usually received and followed.

The great secret in fly-fishing, after a person has acquired the art of throwing a long and a light line, is perserverance,—that is, constant and continuous exertion. Fish are whimsical creatures, even when the angler, with all appliances and means to boot, is placed apparently under he most favourable circumstances. Let him, however, ommence his operations with flies which, upon general principles, he knows to be good,—for example, a water-mouse body and dark wing, hare-ear and moorfowl wing, red hackle and teal or mallard wing. It may frequently happen that for an hour, or even two hours, he will kill nothing; but then it will as often happen that for another couple of hours he will pull them ashore with a most pleasing celerity.

Next comes a pause of another hour or more, during which little or nothing is obtained, so that if the intermediate period is frittered away, success is doubtful or impossible. We believe that the appetites and motions of the finny tribes are regulated and directed by certain (to us) almost imperceptible changes in the state of the atmosphere, with which, as they do not proceed from any determinate or ascertained principles of meteorological science, it is not easy for the angler to become acquainted; and therefore the only method to remedy the désagrément thus arising, is to fish without ceasing as long as he remains by the “pure element of waters.” The art of angling, if worthily followed, and with an observant eye, will probably one day or other be the means of throwing considerable light on the science of electricity, it present one of the most obscure, though at the same time the most important and influential, of all the subjects of physical learning.

The best natural flies, either to use fresh, or to serve as models for the artificial kinds, are, first, the different sorts of stoneflies (Phryganea and Limnephilus), which are usually found by the water-side. Their common colours are various shades of brown; they have pretty long feelers or antennae, which, in a state of repose, are bent over their shoulders and along their sides; their wings are held decumbent, or close to the sides. They fly heavily, and are produced from aquatic larvae called caddis or case-worms, remarkable for their curious dwelling-places, which are hollow tubes composed of sand, small shells, and pieces of wood, agglutinated together, and made heavier or lighter, according to circumstances, that they may the more easily sink or swim. They are open at either end, and the worm crawls along the stones and gravel, by protruding its legs at the anterior extremity. They disencumber themselves from their aquatic habitations, and assume the winged state in spring and the earlier part of summer. Secondly, The different kinds of May flies (Ephemerae), called green drakes, &c. are also produced from larvae, which, for a long time previous to their appearance as perfect insects, have inhabited the waters.

There are many species of this genus, all of which are greedily sought for by trout. They are easily known by their tapering abdomens, veined wings, short antennae, and the long slender setae or hairs which terminate their bodies. They chiefly abound from May to mid-summer. Thirdly, The small black or ant-fly, is the winged female of the common black ant, and occurs in the nests or hills of that insect during the summer and autumnal months.

There is scarcely any season of the year, excepting the winter months, in which an experienced angler may not successfully ply his trade.^[1. Although Izaak Walton, that “great master in the art of angling,” informs us that no man should in honesty catch a trout till the middle of March, yet the grayling is in best condition during the winter season. “I do assure you,” says Charles Cotton, in the second part of the Complete Angler, “which I remember by a very remarkable token, I did once take, upon the sixth day of December, one, and only one, of the biggest graylings, and the best in season, that ever I yet saw.or tasted; and do usually take trouts too, and with a fly, not only before the middle of this month, but, almost every year, in February, unless it be a very ill spring indeed; and have sometimes in January, so early as new-year’s tide, and in frost and snow, taken grayling in a warm sun-shine day for an hour or two about noon; and to fish for him with a grub it is then the best time of all.” ] In the mid-summer season, when the pools are very clear and shallow, and the streams almost dried up, little can be done without a stirring breeze; so also after a heavy summer flood, immediately ensuing a continuance of dry weather, when the mountain torrents are a sheet of dingy foam, and the crystal depths of the river are converted for a time into an opaque flow of muddy water, the fly-fisher’s occupation’s gone. But when the turmoil ceases, and the soft south wind begins to disperse or break in upon the dense array of clouds, so as to chequer the streams, and rocks, and “pastoral melancholy” of the green mountains with the enlivening beams of the returning sun, with what pleasure does the angler approach the banks of a favourite and accustomed river! How various and delightful are his sensations! Custom cannot stale their infinite variety :—on the contrary, the longer and more assiduously the pleasure is pursued, the greater the immediate enjoyment, and the more extended the train of agreeable remembrances for after-days. How exciting the first cast into a breeze-ruffled pool, when the unwetted gut still lies in rebellious and unyielding circles on the surface, and yet almost at the same moment the sounding reel gives notice that these circles have been instantaneously stretched into a straight and tightened line! Then comes the long and continuous vibration of rod and reel, indicating the secure hooking of a goodly fish; or that sullen and pulse-like tug, by which a still goodlier one, when hooked in a deep pool, frequently manifests a desire to dig its way to the bottom; or that more interrupted music which results from the fantastic leaps of some whimsical individual, which skims and flounders on the top of the water like a juvenile wild-duck.

The ordinary rules for fly-fishing are, to be most assiduous when the streams are somewhat disturbed and increased by rain,—when the day is cloudy, and the waters moved by a gentle breeze, especially from the south. If the river contains long placid pools, then a steady stirring breeze is very desirable, as angling in such situations resembles lake-fishing, where nothing can be achieved upon a glassy surface. If the wind is low and the weather clear, of course the best angling is in the swiftest streams, and in those curling and perturbed eddies which head the smoother depths. In fishing the smoother pools of no great depth, be careful that the shadows of neither rod nor angler come upon the surface; but if a person is skilful in other respects, he need not fear his own shadow in a broad river, but wade boldly down the centre of the stream, fishing its various depths and currents before him and on either side. In clear rivers the flies should be small and rather slender-winged; but when the waters are muddy or increased by rain, a larger lure may be [7:3:136]made use of. When the streams are brown with rain, an 'orange-coloured fly is good; in very clear weather a lightcoloured one; and a dark fly is advisable for troubled waters.

Though a great deal no doubt depends on a quick eye and an active and delicate hand, we are no great advocates for what is called striking a fish. If a large trout rises in a deep pool, it may be of advantage so to do; and this will be sufficiently accomplished by inclining the rod quickly aside, so as to draw out a few inches of the line; for if the reel is not allowed to run, this operation is apt to snap the gut, or otherwise injure the tackle. But if a trout, whether great or small, rises in a current or rapid stream, the sudden change in its position, immediately after it has seized the fly, is generally quite sufficient to fix the barb, without any exertion on the part of the angler.

A variable state of the atmosphere is bad for angling; but neither is a uniformly dull gloomy day the most favourable. It is scarcely possible to lay down any general rules on this branch of the subject. We have half filled a pannier during an electric hail-storm, when “sky lowered and muttered thunder,” and the aspect of the day was such as to deter more experienced though less zealous sportsmen from leaving the shelter of their homes. If the river is not too low, we always prefer what in ordinary language might be called a fine cheerful day, more particularly if there is a fresh breeze. And what we would more particularly press upon the notice of the angler, as soon as he becomes master of the line, is, that he should cast his flics more frequently than is the usual practice, and, generally speaking, fish rapidly. This should be more especially attended to in streams where the trout are numerous and not large.

Before enumerating and describing the different kinds of artificial flies in greatest repute, we shall mention a few of the principal materials used by the fly-fisher. The articles which he employs in common with those who prosecute the other branches of the trade, are of course rods, hair and gut lines, reels and hooks, panniers and landing-nets; but in addition to these he must be provided with a great variety of feathers, such as the slender plumes called hackles, from the necks and backs of common poultry, and the wings of a considerable number of birds, such as woodcocks, snipes, rails, plovers, ducks, grouse, partridges, and others. The furs of quadrupeds are also indispensable; and of these the most useful are hares, squirrels, moles, martens, mice, and water-rats.

The most esteemed hackles are the duns. The red, striped down the centre with black, and the red with a blackish root, are likewise useful, and more easily obtained. Since the introduction of Spanish poultry (by which name are designated the black breed with white tops), black hackles are now more common than formerly. The proper time for plucking hackles is about Christmas. The feathers of the ostrich and peacock are of frequent service; and for salmon and sea-trout the gaudy plumes of parrots and other brilliantly attired foreign species, however unlike the generality of our northern insects, ought to be collected by every fly-fisher.

The silks commonly used by the angler arc of three kinds :—l<tf, Barbers’ silk, used double, for splicing the top-pieces of rods; 2dly, a more delicate kind, for fastening on the rings through which the reel-line runs; 2dly, fine netting silk for whipping hooks and dressing flics. When we mention a pair of small pliers, fine-pointed scissors, needles, and wax, we have noted the principal materials for the angler’s trade.

In regard to rods, their length and formation arc so much matters of individual taste, that few general rules can be laid down upon the subject. According to Daniel, the wood should be cut about Christmas, and allowed^ to season for a twelvemonth. Hazel is very generally used, especially that from the cob-nut, which grows to a great length, and is for the most part very straight and taper. The but-end should rather exceed an inch in diameter, and the shoots for stocks, middle pieces, and tops, should be as free from knots as possible. The tops are made from the best rush ground shoots. All these pieces should be kept free from moisture till the ensuing autumn, when such as are required to form a rod are selected; and, after being warmed over a gentle fire, they are set as straight as possible, and laid aside for several days. They are then rubbed over, by means of a piece of flannel, with linseed oil, which produces a polish, and brings off the superfluous bark: they are then bound tight to a straight pole, and kept till next spring, by which time they will be seasoned for use. They are then matched together in due proportions, in two, three, or more parts, according to the desired length, or the opinion of the maker as to the number of pieces of which a rod should be composed. A well-constructed spliced rod of no more than two pieces casts a line with fully as much force, neatness, and accuracy as any other; but it is inconvenient to a traveller, or to any one whose dwelling is not close upon a stream. If the pieces are not ferruled, they must be spliced so as to join each other with great exactness. The principal object to be kept in view in the formation of rods in general is, that they should taper gradually and bend regularly. A frequent defect is their bending too much in the middle, owing to that part not being sufficiently strong.

We have said that the length of a rod is rather a matter of taste than of established rule. It must, however, bear a relation to the size of the river and the nature of the expected capture. A trouting rod is usually made from 12 to 14 feet in length, though some prefer them of greater extent, as giving more command over lakes and spreading pools. It should be made as light as is consistent with strength and durability, as a heavy rod is cumbersome, fatiguing, and unwieldy; and a light one gives a more ready power in casting under hollow banks, or among trees or bushes. For pike and barbel a proper length is 16 feet; for perch, chub, bream, carp, eels, and tench, a shorter rod may be used; and 8 or 10 feet is sufficient for dace, gudgeon, ruff, bleak, &c. The portability of a rod depends of course on the number of joints; but its excellence being almost in the inverse ratio, care must be taken not to sacrifice its goodness merely for the sake of a convenient form.

According to Mr Bainbridge, the best rods are made from ash, hickcry, and lance-wood; ash for the bottom piece, hickery for the middle, and lance-wood for the top-joints. If real bamboo can be procured of good quality, it is preferable to lance-wood. Rose-wood and partridge-wood from the Brazils may also be used for the top-pieces. The extreme length of the top-piece is usually composed of a few inches of whalebone. The rings for the reelline may be made by twisting a piece of soft brass-wire round a tobacco-pipe, and soldering the ends together. They ought to diminish in size as they are made to approach the top, and must form a straight and regular line with each other when the rod is put up for use.

In finishing a rod the usual varnish is copal varnish, or Indian rubber dissolved over a slow fire in linseed oil. It may be stained by a dilution of nitric acid or oil of vitriol. When rods are stored for the winter, after use, they ought to be rubbed over with tallow or salad oil. As few anglers require to make their own rods, we deem it unnecessary to enter into a full detail of a mechanical practice which can only be sufficiently executed by an individual of professional[7:3:137] experience. We shall merely mention, that, in addition to the woods already named, elder, holly, yew, mountain ash, and briar, all of which are indigenous to this country, furnish materials to the makers of rods.

As lines may be purchased from the tackle-makers at a cheaper rate than they can be made by an amateur whose time and labour are of value for any other purpose, we shall not here enter into a detail of their formation. The best hair is procured from the tail of a well-grown stallion. 31ack hair is generally strong, but the colour is not very serviceable. Transparent and almost colourless hair is the most approved; and it ought to be round, regular, and free from blemishes. In the formation of lines each hair in a link should be equal, round, and even, which proportions the strength and prevents single hairs from breaking, and thus weakening the others. Chesnut or brown-coloured hairs are best for ground angling, especially in muddy water. Some anglers stain their lines a pale green for fishing in weedy waters. Black is occasionally used in streams which flow from mosses, and are themselves of an unusually dingy hue.

The following are some of the methods used by anglers for dyeing their lines, whether of hair or gut.

For a pale watery green.>— To a pint of strong ale add half a pound of soot, a small quantity of walnut leaves, find a little powdered alum; boil these materials for half or three quarters of an hour, and when the mixture is cold steep the gut or hair in it for ten or twelve hours.

For a brown.— Boil some powdered alum till it is dissolved; add a pound of walnut-tree bark from the branches when the sap is in them, or from the buds, or the unripe fruit. Let the liquid stand till nearly cool, and skim it; then put in the gut or hair, and stir it round for about a minute, or till it appears to have imbibed the desired tint. It ought not to be strongly tinctured, as it is apt to rot when too dark. For a bluish watery tint the above ingredients are also used, with the substitution of logwood instead of walnut.

For a yellow.— The inner bark of a crab-tree boiled in water, with some alum, makes a good yellow, excellent for staining tackle used among decayed weeds, the colour of which it closely resembles.

A tawny hue is obtained by steeping hair among lime and water for four or five hours, and then allowing it to soak for a day in a tan-pit. In the absence of other ingredients, both gut and hair may be easily stained by being left for twenty-four hours in strong tea, either with or without a few log-wood scrapings.

The hair to be dyed ought to be selected from the best white. Silken or hempen lines may be tinted by a decoction of oak bark, which is said to add to the durability of these materials.

We shall now proceed to consider the subject in relation to the different species of fish which form the principal objects of the angler’s art.

The Salmon. (Salmo Salar.)

As the natural history, classification, and characteristic distinctions of fishes will be given at length under the article Ichthyology in this work, we shall not here enter into any description of either the structure or habits of the class, but confine ourselves for the present almost entirely to such points as are most essential to the practical knowledge of the angler.

This fine fish delights in large and rapid rivers. It bites best from six in the morning till eleven in the forenoon, and from three in the afternoon till sunset. A moderate breeze is of advantage; and the best months are March, April, May, and June. The salmon is justly regarded by the angler as the king of fish; and when we consider that they occasionally measure four feet in length, and weigh upwards of 70 pounds, we may conceive how difficult a capture and how valuable a prize they sometimes prove. The most successful bait, as well as the most agreeable in the usage, is the artificial fly. This is made in imitation both of dragonflies and butterflies of various kinds; but the principles which we have already endeavoured to establish at the commencement of this article make it unnecessary to describe the natural species. Even those who most warmly advocate the necessity of imitating existing insects in the formation of their lures, admit that the salmon is so capricious as frequently to rise at an artificial fly which bears no resemblance to any natural form of insect life.

The following are the descriptions of six artificial flies which have been found very successful in raising salmon. No. 1 (see Plate XLV. fig. 1) is recommended as a spring fly, and is composed of the following materials: Wings of the dark mottled brown or blackish feather of a turkey; body of orange camlet mixed with a little mohair; and a dusky red or bright brown cock’s hackle, plucked from the back where the fibres are longest, for the legs. The hook should be of the same size as represented in the plate; and it has been observed that all large salmonflies should be dressed upon two or three lengths of gut twisted together, and that the silk in dressing be brought beyond the shank of the hook, and wrapped four or five times round the gut, so that it may not be speedily cut by the sharpness of the steel.^[2. Bainbridge’s Fly-Fither’s Guide, p. 96. ] This same fly, dressed with the wings of a somewhat brighter shade, and with the addition of a little gold wire or thread wrapped round the body at equal distances, will also serve for a more advanced season of the year. No.2 (see Plate XLV. fig. 2) is of smaller size, and may sometimes be dressed upon very strong single gut. Any feather of a coppery or dingy yellow colour, if not too coarse in the fibres, will be suitable for the wings; the body is of lemon-coloured mohair, mixed with a small portion of light brown fur or camlet, with a pale dusky ginger hackle over the whole. The chief object to be attended to in dressing this fly is to produce that uniform hue, devoid of gaudy colouring, from which it has received the name of the quaker fly. Of No. 3 (see Plate XLV. fig. 3) the wings are made from the plumes of a cormorant, or from the mottled feathers of a dark mallard: the body is of dark sable, ribbed with gold wire, over which a dusky red hackle is thickly wound: the mottled feathers of a drake are used for the tail; and previous to fastening off, a small portion of flos silk should be unravelled and fastened at the extremity of the hook. This fly, though, like the preceding, of a somewhat sombre cast, is frequently used with success in summer. No. 4 (see Plate XLV. fig. 4) belongs to the gaudy class of lures, “which,” says Mr Bainbridge, “however fanciful or varied in shade or materials, will frequently raise fish when all the imitations of nature have proved unsuccessful; indeed so fastidious and whimsical are the salmon at times, that the more brilliant and extravagant the fly, the more certain is the angler of diversion.” In this, of course, we perfectly agree. The wings of the fly in question are formed of the extreme end of a Guinea fowl’s feather, not stripped, but having the fibres remaining on both sides of the middle stem. A blood-red hackle is fastened on with the wings, and so arranged [7:3:138]as to extend beyond them: the dyed feathers used by f military men will suit, if another showy biped, the scarlet maccaw, is not accessible. The green feather which forms the eye of the peacock’s tail should be fastened at the head, and left hanging downwards, so as to cover the body for the space of half an inch; and a few filaments of the same part of the feather may be fastened at the tail. No. 5 has the wings formed from the darkish brown speckled portion of a bittern’s wing stripped off from the stem: the head ought to be of the same colours as the body, which is formed of the reddish brown part of a hare’s fur, and deep copper-coloured mohair; a bittern’s hackle is put over the body for legs, and a forked tail is added, made of a pair of single filaments of the same feather as the wings. Of No. 6 the wings are formed of the mottled feathers of a peacock’s wing, intermixed with any fine plain dusky red; the best mixture for the body is the light brown inner hair from a bear’s skin, sable fur, and gold-coloured mohair; gold twist, a large black cock’s hackle, and a red one a little larger, with a bit of deep red mohair for the head. In addition to these, we might enumerate the brown fly, the blue fly, the king-fisher, the prime dun, the great palmer, the golden pheasant, the gray mallard, and many others; but such as are above described will suffice for the purposes of the present treatise. Fig. 6 of Plate XLV. represents an excellent spring fly; and an approved summer kind is shown on the same plate, fig. 5.

It may be stated at once, that so far from imitating nature, the maker of salmon flies can scarcely form them in too unnatural and extravagant a manner. Let him call in the aid of fancy at all times and places, at least in this country; for the cold and cloudy clime of Scotland assuredly furnishes nothing resembling the hires most frequently and most successfully used. The superabundant use of gold and silver wire ought, however, to be avoided, as it not only causes the fly to sink too much in the water, but prevents its being neatly or lightly thrown. Spring flies for salmon are usually made of a larger size, though not so gaudily dressed as those of summer.

A salmon rod is generally proportioned to the size of the river which the angler frequents; but it ought not to be less than 15 feet in length. The reel ought to be large enough to contain 80 or 90 yards, so as to admit of abundance of line being given out when required; for many fish, when struck, run out to a great distance, and with such immense rapidity as to prevent the possibility of the angler’s moving in the proper direction with "sufficient quickness. A salmon, for the most part, darts violently up the stream; and, as the command and direction of the fish is more easily kept with a short than a long line, it is advisable to prevent his getting too far ahead, by keeping the rod well back in the opposite direction, and by running towards him along the margin of the stream. When he gains the head of the current, a salmon frequently throws himself several times out of the water, on which occasions the angler must yield him freely a little of the line; but during his general and less violent manoeuvring, he will of course be the sooner exhausted the more firmly he is held. When he appears to be making for some safe haunt or secret sheltering place, the great object is to turn him towards safer ground, either by relying on the soundness of the tackle, or, if he proves very powerful as well as very obstinate, then a pebble or two may be thrown, so as to fall a little in advance of his position, and he will probably turn himself round. Some fish become very sulky, and will lie after being hooked, for a long time, motionless near the bottom. In this case also the pebbles must be had recourse to; for the more a fish is kept in motion, the sooner he becomes exhausted. When he begins to show his side, and exhibits other unequivocal symptoms of exhaustion, a favourable landing-place should' be looked for; and when the proper time arrives, which can only be learned by the (sometimes dearly bought) lessons of experience, then is he to be drawn by degrees to the gravel bank, or the gaff applied, and the prize secured.

When feeding, salmon are usually found at the foot of a strong stream, terminating in an eddy or whirlpool. “And first,” says our father Walton, “you shall observe that usually he stays not long in a place, as trouts will, but, as I said, covets still to go nearer the spring-head; and that he does not, as the trout and many other fish, he near the water side or bank, or roots of trees, but swims in the deep and broad parts of the water, and usually in the middle, and near the ground; and that there you are to fish for him; and that he is to be caught as the trout is, with a worm, a minnow, which some call a penk, or with a fly.”

When the water is either too much discoloured for the use of the artificial fly, or, running into the opposite extreme, becomes (especially in very still weather) too clear and bright, salmon may be successfully angled for with the worm. In this case trolling tackle is sometimes used.

In trolling with minnow or other small fish, the foot lengths ought to be about three yards long, and furnished with one or two swivels, to prevent the line from twisting, as well as to enable the bait to play freely. A lead or shot proportioned to the strength of the stream should be fastened to the line, about a foot above the bait. The top of the rod should be stiffer than that used for fly-fishing; and when the hook is baited, it ought to be thrown first across, and then drawn up the stream.

The salmon fry leave the spawning beds early in spring, and ere long make their way towards the sea. In a few months they again seek their native streams, having, during a very short period, attained to the weight of several pounds. Without entering into the merits of the much-disputed question (still in some points of difficult solution) as to the difference or the identity of samlets, salmon fry, salmon trout, white trout, gilse, and salmon, suffice it to say, that all the migratory kinds of trout, usually characterized by their small number of spots, their silvery colour, and the superiority of their flesh, may be angled for with much larger and more gaudily plumed flies than those used in the capture of river-trout. Flies dressed upon the same principles as those used for salmon, but of smaller size, will be found well adapted for whitings, and the different kinds of sea or migratory trouts above mentioned.

The Common Fresh-water or River Trout. ( Salmo Fario)

This species varies greatly in size and colour, in accordance probably with the nature and abundance of its food, the strength and depth of the river in which it occurs, and the physical properties of soil and climate. Fish seem, more than most animals, to depend on peculiar and unappreciable circumstances, for the full and characteristic development of their characters; and they consequently exhibit great contrariety of aspect among individuals of the same species. If a canal or reservoir, or any other great accumulation of water, is formed by the hand of man, where the hand of nature had from time immemorial recognised only some small and solitary streamlet, the lapse of a very few years produces large and heavy fish, where none but trouts of the most trifling size had ever been seen before. The writer of these observations kept a minnow little more than half an inch long in a glass tumbler for a period of two years, during which time there was no perceptible increase in its dimensions.
[7:3:139]

Had it continued in its native stream, subjected to the fattening influence of a continuous flow of water, and a consequent increase in the quantity and variety of its food, its cubic dimensions would probably have been 20 times greater; yet it must have attained, prior to the lapse of a couple of years, to the usual period of the adult state, in regard to birds and quadrupeds, the individuals of the ame species are not distinguishable from each other by any peculiarities either of form or colour, at least within the limits of a restricted locality; but it appears to be otherwise with several species of fish, more especially trouts. Those of the Clyde and Tweed, although both rivers draw their primary sources almost from the same mountain, present a constant and well-marked difference in their external aspect; and a corresponding dissimilarity exists among the characteristic varieties of almost every river and lake in Scotland; “which I tell you that you may the better believe that I am certain, if I catch at rout in one meadow he shall be white and faint, and very 1ike to be lousy; and as certainly, if I catch a trout in the next meadow, he shall be strong, and red, and lusty, and much better meat. Trust me, scholar, I have caught many a trout in a particular meadow, that the very shape and the enamelled colour of him hath been such as hath eyed me to look on him; and I have then with much Measure concluded with Solomon, ‘ Every thing is beautiful in his season.’”^[3. Walton’s Complete Angler, p. 128, edit. 1823. ]

No fish affords the angler more varied or more constant sport than the trout. For nine months in the year, under favourable circumstances, fly-fishing may be practised for it with success. Westerly and southerly winds are the most favourable, especially in spring; but during warm and cloudy summer weather, the point from which the wind blows is of slight consequence. “He who considers the wind,” says Solomon, “will never sow ;” and the same remark is not inapplicable to angling. Whoever desires to become a successful practitioner in the art, must angle in all weathers, and under every variety of circumstances, however unpropitious the prospect may be. Trout are generally supposed to rise more freely during a dark and lowering day, following a clear bright night, as brilliant moonshine detains them in their lurking-places; and on the ensuing day they are consequently more inclined for food. On the other hand, after a gloomy or darkish night they are less easily tempted, having glutted themselves with moths and other nocturnal insects, which, during the summer months, are abundant on the waters. In throwing the line the angler should endeavour to make his gear fall as lightly as possible on the surface, and his flies should drop opposite, or somewhat above his own position, and then be played gently and neatly downwards and across the stream. When a trout is seen to rise at a natural fly or other insect, the artificial one should be offered him by being thrown, not directly over him, but about a yard higher up the stream; and, if he is inclined to rise again, he will probably meet it half-way. When a fish, on being hooked, descends beneath the surface, and struggles in the depths below, it is a pretty sure sign that he is well secured; but when he flounders on the surface, or leaps occasionally into the air, more care is necessary, as in that case the hook will frequently be found to be only skin-deep. In playing and landing a large trout the same precautions are necessary as in salmon-fishing, although in regard to smaller fish, if the angler is standing in the centre of a stream, and finds it inconvenient to wade frequently ashore, a few additional turns will exhaust the capture, which may then be drawn rapidly and steadily to the hand, and secured by a firm grasp behind the gills. We have frequently practised a summary method of landing even tolerably sized fish, which, though it cannot always be effected, is, when possible, a great saving of time. If, from the moment the trout is struek, he is prevented from redescending in such a manner that the upper part of his head and eyes are retained above or on a level with the surface, he will for the space of a good many seconds be so much astonished as to be incapable of any active exertions, and will frequently allow himself to be drawn in that position, and without resistance, straight ashore.

The following flies are in repute among anglers. The black gnat appears about the end of April. The body is formed of a black strip from an ostrich feather, and ought to be dressed thick and short; the wings of a pale starling’s feather, or dressed as a hackle with a pale dun.

The March brown or dun drake is frequently visible by the middle of March. The wings are made from the mottled feathers of a partridge’s tail, and the body of hareear fur, intermixed with a little yellow worsted; a grizzled hackle for legs.

The hazel fly is of a round form, and difficult of imitation. It is a killing fly in May and June, especially where bushes abound. The body is composed of ostrich harl of two colours, black and purple twisted together; the wings of the sandy-coloured feathers from under the wings of a thrush, or the reddish plumes of a partridge’s tail; a bluish hackle, twisted pretty full, serves both for the under wings and legs.

The great dark dun, according to Mr Bainbridge, is one of the earliest flies which appear upon the water, and may be used in February, if the weather is mild. The wings are formed from the dun feathers of a mallard’s wing; the body of mole-fur, mixed with a little dark brown mohair; a dark grizzled hackle for legs. Salmon frequently rise at this fly, which may be used with success early in the morning during the whole fishing season.

The wrens tail has no wings: the body is of sable fur, with a little gold-coloured mohair, and a feather from the tail of a wren.

The grouse hackle is also wingless: the mixture for the body is dark olive, dusky yellow, and a little gold-coloured mohair. It is formed of a fine mottled grouse’s feather of a reddish brown, running a little dusky towards the hütend of the stem, and the downy portion, if any, plucked away.

The stonefly is found along the edges of streams, and is a favourite article of food among trout. It is a species of Phryganea, and springs from a caddis or aquatic larva. The wings lie flat, and are imitated by the mottled feather of a hen-pheasant or peahen. The body is composed of dark brown fur from a bear’s skin, or the deeper part of a hare’s ear, mixed with yellow camlet or mohair; a longish grizzled haekle is wrapped under the wings.

The mealy brown or fern fly is excellent for grayling in May. Its wings should be formed from the under part of a throstle or fieldfare’s wing, especially from such feathers as have a yellowish tinge. Its body is of a dusky orange, from the light brown fur of a fox’s breast, with a pale dun hackle for legs.

The orange fly has four wings made of the blue feather of a mallard-teal. The head is of the dark fur from a hare’s ear; the body gold-coloured mohair mixed with orange-camlet and brown fur, a small blue cock’s hackle for legs. This is said to be an alluring fly to young salmon.
[7:3:140]

The hares ear îs chiefly used as a drop-fly. The wings 'are from the light part of a starling’s wing feather, and the body of dark hare-ear fur. According to Daniel, when the streams are deep, the same body winged with a railwing’s feather and a red hackle is very killing during the summer season.

The yellow dun is used in the morning and evening during the months of April and May, and again in September. The body, is made of yellow yarn unravelled, or with marten’s fur, and mixed with a little pale ash-coloured fox-cub fur; the wings are formed upright, from the under part of a snipe’s wing, with a pale dun hackle for legs.

The hawthorn fly is in use from the middle of April to the end of May, from ten o’clock till three. It has transparent wings, which may be imitated with the palest feather of a snipe or mallard’s wing; horn shavings, or the membranous substance found in the core of an apple, serve the same purpose; the body is of black ostrich harl, with a black hackle for legs.

The summer dun has a thicker form than most of the dun flies, and is dressed upon a short-shanked hook. Mole-fur ribbed with ash-coloured silk is employed for the body; the wings are from the wood-pigeon, with an ash-coloured hackle for legs.

The black-hackle fly is an approved lure during warm weather, early in a summer morning. The body is formed of a thin-dressed ostrich harl, cut close; the wings, four in number, are from the pale feather of the starling’s wing.

The red spinner is used as a dropper. The wings are formed of the grayish feather of a drake, tinged with reddish yellow; the body a red hackle, with a twist of gold. This fly is eagerly taken by chub in the evenings of July.

The little yellow May or willow fly resembles the green drake, on a small scale. The body is formed of yellow fur from the marten’s neck, or of yellow worsted unravelled, and mixed with a very small portion of hare-ear fur; the wings are of mallard’s feather dyed yellow. This fly appears early in May, and may be used till the appearance of the green drake, of which it is the usual precursor.

The brown dun is made of otter’s fur mixed with lemon-coloured mohair; the wings are from the fieldfare, with a ginger hackle for legs. This is an excellent fly towards the approach of twilight.

The green drake or May fly appears about the second or third week of May, and continues about a month. The body is made of hog’s down, or light bear’s hair, intermixed with yellow mohair; or of barbers’ yellow silk only, warped with pale flos silk, and a small strip of peacock’s harl for the head: a bittern’s hackle is the best imitation of the legs and dark stripes of the body; with the long hairs of the sable or polecat for the tail. The rayed feathers of a wild mallard, dyed of a greenish yellow, suffice for wings.

The blue blow is a very small fly used during the summer months, and for the first fortnight in August. It is made of a lapwing’s top, or any dark blue fur, dressed on a very small hook. The wings are of thistle-down or bluish-white hackle.

The black midge is also a small species, the body of which is dressed with brownish-black silk, and a blue cock’s hackle. It is taken freely after a shower in the summer evenings.

The gray drake follows the green of the same name, although they sometimes occur together. It is an excellent afternoon fly for large trouts. The body is formed of a dirty-white ostrich harl, dressed with flesh-coloured silk, and ribbed with a dark-grizzled cock’s hackle; the head is made of peacock’s harl, like that of the green drake; the wings from a mottled mallard feather, or that' of a mallard-teal, and the tail of sable or polecat’s hair.

The cinnamon fly has four wings, large in proportion to the body. They are made from the pale reddish-brown feathers of a hen, dressed full; the body of dark brown fur, with a ginger hackle for legs. This fly, according t 0 Mr Bainbridge, is excellent for the Welsh rivers during the months of August and September.

The sandfly forms an excellent lure, and may be very generally used from April to September. The wings are formed from the sandy-coloured feathers of the landrail’s wing, with a ginger hackle for legs; and the bright sandy-coloured fur from the neck of a hare, mixed with a little orange mohair for the body. If dressed as a hackle, the feathers from under the thrush’s wing resemble the natural hue of the wings of the insect.

The great black ant makes its appearance in sultry weather, from the middle of June to the latter end of August. The wings are made of the pale-blue feathers from beneath a snipe’s wing, or from a tomtit’s tail. The body is of black ostrich harl, made thick towards the tail and beneath the but of the wings; the legs of a reddish-brown hackle.

The great red ant is nearly contemporaneous with the preceding, which it resembles in size and form. The wings are made of a light starling’s feathers; the body of gold-coloured mohair, or copper-coloured peacock’s harl, with a ginger hackle for legs.

Among the preceding flies will be found some which will assuredly suit for any river, or for any period of the fishing season. The angler who places implicit confidence in the generally received opinion, that in every stream, and at each season, there is one particular fly in much more special request than any other, will do well to prepare for an unknown river, by making ready a couple of lines, each with three flies all of different kinds. For example, a March brown at the end of the line, a dun hackle, with a lighter or darker body to suit the weather or complexion of the stream, for the first dropper, and a red hackle with peacock body for the second dropper; or, 2dly, a sand fly at the end, with a grouse hackle or wren’s tail, with orange body, for the first dropper; and a pale yellow or cream-coloured hackle over a bluish body, or one of the ant flies, as the second dropper. These are promising flies for most seasons of the year, though, like the others, they require to be changed according to the circumstances of time and place, or the varying caprices of the finny tribes.

As night fishing is a favourite amusement with many anglers, we shall describe a few of the flies in most repute for the practice of nocturnal sport.

The white moth, with wings made from the feathers of a white owl, the body of white ostrich harl, with a white cock’s hackle over it.

The brown moth is winged from the feathers of a brown owl, or the back feathers of a brown hen; the body is of dark bear’s hair, covered with a brown cock’s hackle.

The mealy cream is made from the tawny feathers of a white owļ for the wings, with some soft fur of the same colour, and a pale yellow hackle for the body.

The following selection has been recommended by an experienced angler, in relation to the alleged succession of flies during several of the principal months of the fishing season. Is/, For March, a dun fly, made of dun wool, and the feathers of a partridge wing; or the body made of black wool, and the feathers of a black drake: 2d , For April, a stonefly, the body made of dark wool, dyed yellow under the wings and tail: 3d , For the beginning of May, a ruddy fly, made of red wool, and bound about [7:3:141]with black silk, with the feathers of a black cock hanging dangling on his sides next his tail: 4 th, For June, a greenish fly, the body made of black wool, with a yellow list on either side, the wings taken off the wing of a buzzard, bound with black broken hemp: 5 th, The moorish fly, the body made of dusky wool, and the wings of the blackish ιail of a drake: 6 th, , The tawny fly, in great repute till the middle of June; the body made of tawny wool, the wings contrary, one against another, composed of the whitish mail of a white drake: 7 th, For July, the wasp fly, the body made of black wool, cast about with yellow silk, and the wings of drakes’ feathers: 8 th, The steel fly, approved in the middle of July; the body made with greenish wool, cast about with the feathers of a peacock’s tail, and the wings made of those of a buzzard: 9 th, For August, the drake fly, the body made with black wool cast about with black silk, the wings of the mail of a black drake, with a black head.

When rivers are very low and clear, from a long continuance of summer drought, it has been recommended to use a pair of wings made from the feather of a landrail, or the mottled feather of a teal, with a well-cleaned gentle fixed upon the hook. During a similar condition of the water, even when no wind is stirring, and the sun shining in its greatest lustre, trouts may be taken with a small wrens tail, grouse, smoky dun, or black hackles, the angler fishing straight down the water, by the sides of streams and banks, and keeping well out of sight, with as long a line as can be neatly managed, and the foot-lengths very fine. At these times the fish may be often seen with their dorsal fins above water, and with skilful management may be made to snap at the above-named flies, When one is hooked, the rest dart off; but if the angler keeps concealed, they will return again in a very short time; and thus several fish may be taken even in summer from the clearest pools. Another plan has also been recommended as likely to prove successful when the weather is bright and the water low: Take a line of about a yard in length, and fix it to a short, stiff rod, and having baited the hook with a natural fly, such as the stonefly, or the gray or green drake (Ephemerae), drop it between bushes over steep hollow banks, or under the projecting roots of trees.

In fishing a river with which the angler has no previous acquaintance, the most approved practice is to try the eddies which are frequent at the corners of streams, and where the circular movement of the current throws out a frequent sustenance for the finny race. There the larger trout often lie; and it must consist with the experience of every angler, that an excellent capture is sometimes made repeatedly from some small spot behind or beside a particular stone, where from day to day one well-sized fish seems to succeed another in the favourite feeding ground. In this knowledge of peculiar localities consists the chief advantage of a previous acquaintance with the water. The smaller fish are found in most abundance in the widely spread and shallow streams, as well as in the extended parts of pools of no great depth. As a general rule, the angler may be advised to fish with the wind on his back and the sun in front, which not only gives him a greater command of his line, but prevents himself or his shadow from being so distinctly perceived. A strict adherence, however, to this plan is by no means advisable, as the angler’s position in relation to sun and wind must frequently vary with the natural course of the river, the obstruction of overhanging wood, and the greater or less command of pool and stream presented by the varying form of the adjoining shore.

As bait-fishing for trout, though regularly followed by some is less generally admired and practised than the more elegant use of the artificial fly, fewer words will suffice. When the streams are swollen and discoloured, fine' trout may be taken with a running line without float, and so leaded that it shall touch the ground without resisting the force of the stream. The lead should be fixed about eight or ten inches above the hook; and the best baits are well-scoured earthworms. The dew, the garden, and the lob worms are one and the same in species, although they vary considerably in form, size, and colour, according to age, and season, and the nature of the soils. The lobworm, according to Daniel, is of two sorts, the old, knotted, the young, without knots, which some for distinction call maiden lobs, and others red worms. The latter kind, with a red head, a streak down the back, and a broad tail, are the most esteemed. By some they are called squirreltails. These and other worms, it need scarcely be observed, are easily obtained in fields and gardens, especially where there has been any recent mixture of vegetable or animal remains. They may be preserved for a considerable period, and even improved in their texture and condition, by being kept in damp moss, changed from time to time, and occasionally wetted with a little new milk. In dry weather, when worms are difficult to be obtained, they may be procured by emptying a few buckets of water in situations where they were known to occur during a moister season. The brandling worm is streaked from head to tail in alternate circles of a red and yellow hue, and is darker at its anterior than posterior portion. They occur in old dunghills, in heaps of rich vegetable mould, and among rotten tan bark. They have this advantage over the others, that they may be used without preparation or scouring. Though the choice of worms does not seem a very suitable subject for poetry, it has been thus versified by Mr Gay in the Rural Sports :
You must not every worm promiscuous use,
Judgment will tell thee proper baits to choose:
The worm that draws a long immod’rate size,
The trout abhors, and the rank morsel flies;
And if too small, the naked fraud’s in sight,
And fear forbids, while hunger does invite.
Those baits will best reward the fisher’s pains,
Whose polish’d tails a shining yellow stains;
Cleanse them from filth, to give a tempting gloss
Cherish the sullied reptile race with moss;
Amid the verdant bed they twine, they toil,
And from their bodies wipe their native soil.

The preceding rhymes apply chiefly to the kind called gilt-tails. Gentles are the larvae of different kinds of carnivorous winged flies. They may be kept in a mixture of oatmeal and bran, and are readily produced in a piece of liver, or any other flesh or fish, exposed in an earthen vessel to prevent their escape when grown to a proper size. All kinds of maggots, as well as those called gentles, serve admirably for the more delicate kinds of bait-fishing. The caddis worms, before alluded to as the larvae of the Phryganea or stonefly, when taken out of their cases, are a favourite bait for trout; and different kinds of grasshoppers are likewise used with great success. The creeper or water cricket, an aquatic ∙ larva, found under stones within the water-mark, ought also to be attended to by the natural bait-fisher.

The palmer worms or wool beds are the hairy caterpillars of certain nocturnal moths. Though refused by almost all birds except the cuckoo, they are swallowed by trouts, and may be preserved alive for many weeks in a box with damp earth, strewed over with the leaves of the tree or bush on which the species was observed naturally to feed.

The young brood of wasps and bees are useful to the angler; and for eight or ten days after their first appearance in summer there is no better or more killing bait [7:3:142]than a small reddish beetle called the bracken clock in the north of England, the Melolontha horticoa of naturalists. Salmon roe is greatly lauded by Barker, who appears to have been the first to discover its merits. “I have found an experience of late which you may angle with, and take great store of this kind of fish. First, it is the best bait for trout that I have seen in all my time, and will take great store, and not fail if they be there. Secondly, it is a special bait for dace or dare, good for chub, or bottlin, or grayling. The bait is a roe of a salmon or trout. If it be a large trout, that the spawns be any thing great, you must angle for the trout with this bait as you angle with the brandling, taking a pair of scissors and cut so much as a large hazel-nut, and bait your hook; so fall to your sport,—there is no doubt of pleasure. If I had known it but twenty years ago, I would have gained a hundred pounds only with that bait: I am bound in duty to divulge it to your honour, and not to carry it to my grave with me. I do desire that men of quality should have it, that delight in that pleasure. The greedy angler will murmur at me, but for that I care not.”

Many kinds of pastes are prized by the bait-fisher. They may be used for chub, carp, and bream in September and during all the winter months, and may be made up about the size of a hazel-nut; if fqŗ roach and dace, the bigness of a pea will suffice. All pastes are improved by being mixed up in the making with a little cotton wool, which makes them firmer and more tenacious, and hang better on the hook. They suit well for fishing in quiet places, with a small hook and quill float. We shall here subjoin a few recipes for the making of fishing pastes, which, although we introduce them under the head of the river-trout, may be regarded as equally efficacious in the capture of other kinds of fish.^[4. Red paste maybe made with a large spoonful of fine wheat-flour, moistened with the white of an egg, and worked with the hands until tough. A small quantity of honey or loaf-sugar finely powdered must be added, together with some cotton-wool spread equally over the paste when pressed flat in the hand; it must be well kneaded, to mix the cotton thoroughly; colour it with a little vermilion. A small piece of fresh butter will prevent it from becoming hard, and it will keep good a week. White paste may be composed of the same ingredients, omitting the vermilion; and yellow paste in like manner, with the addition of turmeric. Salmon paste — Take one pound of salmon-spawn in September or October; boil it about 15 minutes, then beat it in a mortar until sufficiently mixed, with an ounce of salt and a quarter of an ounce of saltpetre; carefully pick out the membrane in which the spawn is contained, as it is disengaged from it; when beat to a proper consistence, put it into gallipots, and cover it over with bladders tied down close, and it will keep good for many months. Various oils were formerly in great repute among anglers for rubbing over their baits, but as we believe their beneficial effects were entirely imaginary, we shall not occupy our pages by their repetition. A single extract from Izaak Walton will suffice. “And now I shall tell you that which may be called a secret: I have been a-fishing with old Oliver Henley, now with God, a noted fisher both for trout and salmon, and have observed that he would usually take three or four worms out of his bag, and put them into a little box in his pocket, where he would usually let them continue half an hour or more before he would bait his hook with them. I have asked him his reason, and he has replied, ‘ he did but pick the best out, to be in readiness against he baited his hook the next time.’ But he has been observed, both by others and myself, to catch more fish than I or any other body that has ever gone a-fishing with him could do, and especially salmons; and I have been told lately, by one of his most intimate and secret friends, that the box in which he put those worms was anointed with a drop, or two or three, of the oil of ivy-berries made by expression or infusion; and told that by the worms remaining in that box an hour, or a like time, they had incorporated a kind of smell, that was irresistibly attractive, enough to force any fish within the smell of them to bite.” We need scarcely remind the reader of the “Complete Angler,” that that admirable work is of higher value for the manner in which the subject is discussed, and the beautiful accessories of pure style,, poetical sentiment, and picturesque illustration, than for the amount of direct practical information which it conveys. The simplicity and goodness of Izaak Walton’s nature seem to have induced a greater degree of credulity than was always consistent with an accurate perception of the truth, and hence every chapter abounds with statements which could not pass current in these more critical days. As a useful work in relation to the mere angler, it cannot be said to hold a high rank, although it must ever delight the general reader, and all who desire to refresh themselves by “the pure well of English undefiled.” ]

Minnow-fishing for trout is a favourite pastime with many anglers, and the process is one by which very large fish are frequently captured. The tackle used resembles that for salmon, but is lighter and finer, with a single line of gut at the bottom. The hooks vary in size according to the general dimensions of the trout angled for; and the middlesized and whitest minnows are the most esteemed. The following were Walton’s directions for baiting, with a view to this department of the sport. Put your hook in at his mouth and out at his gill; then having drawn your hook two or three inches beyond or through his gill, put it again into his mouth, and the point and beard out at his tail, and then tie the hook and his tail about very neatly with a white thread, which will make it the apter to turn quick in the water: that done, pull back that part of your line which was slack when you did put your hook into the minnow the second time; I say, says Walton, pull th a t part of your line back so that it shall fasten the head, so that the body of the minnow shall be almost straight on your hook: this done, try how it will turn by drawing it across the water or against a stream; and if it do not turn nimbly, then turn the tail a little to the right or left hand, and try again, till it turn quick. We may add, that the practice of fishing with the artificial minnow is justly discarded by all judicious anglers. For representations of the minnow tackle, and hooks baited, see Plate XLV,, fig. 12, 13, and 19.

The Great Lake Trout. (Salmo Ferox. ) ^[5. We are indebted for the principal materials of the following account of this interesting fish to a manuscript of Sir William Jardine s, with which we have been kindly favoured by the author. It forms part of a series of Memoirs on British Fishes, which that assiduous naturalist has been for some time past preparing for the press. ]

It appears that the gray or great trout of the British fresh-water lakes, though never described or characterized as a distinct species, has at various times excited the attention of ichthyologists. Trout of enormous dimensions are mentioned by Pennant as occurring in the Welsh lakes; and Donovan gives Loch Neagh in Ireland as another locality. Very large trout have been killed in Ulis-water in Cumberland, and still larger in Loch Awe in Argyllshire. The late Mr Morrison of Glasgow claimed the merit of discovering these fish in the last-named locality about 40 years ago; and the largest recorded to have been killed there weighed 25 pounds. Mr Lascelles, a Liverpool gentleman, has also of late years been equally assiduous and successful in their capture; and it appears that any persevering sportsman is almost certain, with the proper tackle, to obtain specimens in Loch Awe, of this great fish, weighing from 10 to 20 pounds. The largest we have lately heard of weighed 191 pounds. It is said to be by far the most powerful of our fresh-water fishes, exceeding the salmon in actual strength, though not in activity. The most general size caught by trolling ranges from 3 to 15 pounds: beyond that weight they are of uncommon occurrence. If hooked upon tackle of moderate[7:3:143] strength, they afford excellent sport; but the general method of fishing for them is almost as well adapted for catching sharks as trout; the angler being apparently more anxious to have it in his power to state that he had caught a fish of such a size, than to enjoy the pleasure of the sport itself. However, to the credit of both parties, it may be stated, that the very strongest tackle is sometimes snapped in two by its first tremendous springs. The ordinary method of fishing for this king of trouts is with a powerful rod, from a boat rowing at the rate of from three to four miles an hour, the lure a common trout from three to ten inches in length, baited upon six or eight salmon looks, tied back to back upon strong gimp, assisted by two swivels, and the wheel-line strong whip-cord. Yet all this, in the first impetuous efforts of the fish to regain its liberty, is frequently carried away for ever into the crystal depths of Loch Awe!

When in their highest health and condition, and indeed during the whole of the time in which they are not employed in the operation of spawning, these fish will scarcely ever rise at a fly. At these periods they appear to be almost entirely piscivorous; so, with the exception of night lines, baited also with trout, trolling is the only advisable mode of angling for them. The young, however, rise very freely at ordinary lake-trout flies, and are generally caught in this way from one to one and a half pound weight. They occur abundantly near the outlet of the lake.

About the middle of August, and during the three following months, the parent fish retire, for the purpose of spawning, to the deep banks of the lake in the neighbourhood of the gorge, and into the gorge of the lake itself, where it empties its immense waters, forming the river Awe. They are said to remain engaged in this operation for two or three months, and at this time their instinctive tendencies are so far changed, that they will rise eagerly at large and gaudily dressed salmon-flies, and may be either angled for from the banks, or trolled with a cross line, where the outlet of the lake is narrow. They do not appear either to ascend the rivers which enter the loch, or to descend the Awe to any extent, though an occasional straggler has been taken some way down the river. Their spawning places are exclusively on the banks, or at the gorge of the loch, and they never attempt to seek the salt-water. When in good season, and in their strongest condition, they appear to roam indiscriminately through every part of the loch, though there are certain spots which may be depended upon than others, and where an experienced angler will have little difficulty in hooking one of these fine fish. To their great strength we may observe that they add unequalled rapacity; and after attaining to the weight of three or four pounds, they appear to feed almost exclusively on smaller fish, and do not spare even their own young. A small trout of this species, not weighing more than l½ pound, will often dash at a bait not much inferior to itself in size; and instances are recorded of larger fish following with eager eye, and attempting to seize upon others of their own kind after they had been hooked and were in the act of being landed by the angler. It is probably on account of this strong manifestation of a more than usually predaceous habit, that Sir William Jardine has named the species salmo ferox.

When in perfect season, and full-grown, it is a very handsome fish, though the head is always too large and long to be in accordance with our ideas of perfect symmetry in a trout. The body is deep and thickly formed, and all the members seem conducive to the exercise of great strength. The colours are deep purplish brown on the upper parts, changing into reddish gray, and thence into fine orange-yellow on the breast and belly. The whole body, when the fish is newly caught, appears as if glazed over with a thin tint of rich lake-colour, which fades away as the fish dies, and so rapidly, that the progressive changes of colour are easily perceived by an attentive eye. The gill-covers are marked with large dark spots; and the whole body is covered with markings of different sizes, and varying in amount in different individuals. In some these markings are few, scattered, and of a large size; in others they are thickly set, and of smaller dimensions. Each spot is surrounded by a paler ring, which sometimes assumes a reddish hue; and the spots become more distant from each other as they descend beneath the lateral line. The lower parts of these fish are spotless. All the fins are broad, muscular, and extremely powerful^- and it is from the number of their bony rays that the specific characters which distinguish this species from the common trout (salmo farid) are the most easily and accurately evolved. The dorsal fin is of the same colour with the upper part of the fish; it is marked with large dark spots, and contains fifteen rays, which number exceeds by three that which characterizes the common trout. The caudal fin is much larger and more fleshy. The pectoral, ventral, and anal fins, are very muscular on their anterior edges, and of a rich yellowish-green colour, darker towards their extremities. They contain respectively 14, 10, and 12 rays, whereas the numbers in the corresponding fins of the common trout are 13, 9, and 11. The tail is remarkable for its breadth and consequent power. In adults it is perfectly square, or might even be described as slightly rounded at its extremity: in the young it is slightly forked, and appears to fill up gradually as the fish advances in age. In the common trout, on the contrary, the forked shape of the tail is a permanent characteristic.

The flavour of this great lacustrine species is coarse and indifferent. The colour of the flesh is orange-yellow, not the rich salmon-colour of a fine common trout in good season. The stomach is very capacious, and on dissection (differing singularly in this respect from the salmon) is almost always found gorged with fish.

We have bestowed a somewhat lengthened notice on the species above described; but we doubt not that the novelty of the subject will not only plead our excuse, but render the information now given highly acceptable both to the sportsman and the naturalist. It is certain that a more attentive examination of the finny tribes which inhabit our lakes and rivers would bring to light several new species, and more clearly illustrate the history of others which are still involved in obscurity.^[6. Mr Lascelles lately killed two trouts in Loch Laggan, which weighed 12 pounds each. These were probably of the same species ιth the great trouts of Loch Awe. In that magnificent chain of English lakes of which Windermere is the chief, and which includes Grassmere and Rydal, we think the species not synonymous with the salmo ferox of Jardine. The lake trouts, properly so lied, of these beautiful waters, when full-grown, seem to range from three to five pounds, and have in one or two rare instances been ken or the weight of six and even eight pounds. Those of Ullswater, again, which does not belong to what we have denominated the mdermere chain, correspond more nearly in size and other characters with the species found in the lakes of the Scotish Highlands, e would particularly recommend to the attention of sportsmen the great fresh-water river trout, or bull trout as we believe it is metιmes called. This is regarded by some anglers as an aged or overgrown individual of the ordinary kind (salmo fario) ; and by others, especially when found in the autumn, as a lake trout which had left its more usual haunts for the purpose of spawning. The curacy of the latter opinion is, however, interfered with by the occasional occurrence of this variety in such unambiguous situa tions as the Clyde above the falls, the waters of which have no communication with any lake. This species sometimes attains th weight of 8, 10, or even 12 pounds; but it differs from the Loch Awe trout ŉ being generally, if not exclusively, found in riven Those of many of the lesser Highland lakes, such as Loch Ard and Loch Chon, ascend the mountain streams in the autumn to spawn and in the ordinary practice of angling (with the. artificial fly) are rarely caught above the weight of three pounds. We last year (1829 received some very singular trouts from a small loch called" Lochdow, near Pitmain, in Inverness-shire. Their heads were short an round, and their upper jaws were truncated like that of a bull-dog. They do not occur in any of the neighbouring lochs, and bav not been observed above the weight of half a pound. Trouts of the ordinary shape likewise occur in Lochdow. ]

The gigantic species of the Swiss lakes, one of which, [7:3:144]killed in the lake of Geneva, weighed 67 pounds, are probably identical with those of Loch Awe, Ullswater, &c. Though equal to salmon, both in size and strength, they differ in their habits from those fish, and do not appear at any time to seek the waters of the ocean. Indeed their existence in the lake of Constance, the available communication of which with the sea is cut off by the falls of Schaffhausen, demonstrates their independence of saline waters. It does not appear, from any information which has reached us on the subject, that these great continental lake-trouts ever rise at the artificial fly.

In Loch Ard there is a finely formed and beautiful variety of the common trout, varying in its matured condition from one and a half to three pounds in weight. It affords excellent sport to the angler fishing from a boat about 50 yards off the deeper parts of the shores. They rise freely to small salmon or sea-trout flies, dressed after the model of a gray or green drake.

The rich and varied supply of all kinds of tackle, which may be obtained in the shops of the principal dealers in our larger cities, induces us to abstain from any description of the different hooks employed in minnow and other bait-fishing, as such details are not very intelligible without the aid of numerous engravings. ’More knowledge will be gained by a few minutes’ inspection of the articles themselves in the hands of an intelligent workman, than can be conveyed by the most elaborate treatise on the subject.

Having described the characteristic modes of angling for salmon and trout, the two species which so greatly surpass all the others in the amusement yielded to the angler, we shall now proceed to a briefer consideration of some of the remaining subjects of our sport.

The Char or Case Char. (Salmo Alpinus.) The Torgoch or Red Char. (Salmo Salvelinus.)

These fish, which, in a culinary point of view, are deservedly the most highly prized of all the permanently freshwater species, arc scarcely attainable by the angler’s skill. Of late years they have risen more freely than in former times in the meres of the north of England; but the capture of a char by rod and line is still regarded as an uncommon occurrence. They appear to retire during the warmer months to the deepest of the still waters, as the fishermen engaged in throwing their nets for pike, perch, and trout, over the very grounds where, during the colder season of the year, the char abound, never catch any of these fish in summer. Although a good deal has been written upon the subject, it does not appear that the distinctive history of the two species above named has been as yet made out. Both the case char and the red char are found in Windermere; and the principal distinction in their habits and history consists in this, that the former ascends the rivers, where it spawns about Michaelmas; whereas the latter deposits its ova along the shores of the lake, and not till the end of December or the beginning of the year. In angling for char the same flies may be used as those best adapted for the smaller-sized laketrouts; and as the latter occur wherever the former is found, the spojtsman has the better chance of making amends for the probable disappointment which will attend his pursuit of the one, by a more successful capture of the other.

The Grayling. (Salmo ThymdlluS.)

This fish loves the clear streams of mountainous countries. It is common in Lapland, where its intestine is used as rennet, along with rein-deer milk, in the formation of cheese. It is a bold and sportive fish, but more tender in the mouth than the trout. It rises well to the camlet fly, and to several of the other small-sized trout-flies. We killed it readily in Switzerland with a moorfowl wing and hare-ear body. They may also be taken with the caddis worm and other ground baits. According to the Rev. Mr Low, the grayling is frequent in the streams of the Orkney Islands, though very rare in the rivers of the mainland of Scotland.

The Pike. (Esox Lucius.)

This “fell tyrant of the liquid plain” is not regarded as indigenous to the waters of'Britain, but is said to have been introduced in the time of Henry VIII. That it was well known in England at an earlier period is however evident, both from the book of St Alban’s, printed by Wynken de Worde in 1496, and from the account of the great feast given by George Nevil, archbishop of York, in the year 1466. There is in truth no evidence either of its non-existence in this country at a remote period, or of its importation during comparatively recent times.

The voracity of this fish is almost unexampled, even in a class remarkable for their omnivorous propensities. Goslings, young ducks, and coots, water-rats, kittens, and the young of its own species, besides every kind of freshwater fish, have been found in the stomach of the pike. It is said to contend with the otter for its prey, and has been known to pull a mule into the water by the nose. This fish is in season from May to February, and is angled for by trolling with a strong-topped rod. The hooks are generally fastened to a bit of brass wire for a few inches from the shaft, to prevent the line from being snapped. Different methods are used in angling for pike. Trolling, in the more limited sense of the word, signifies catching fish with the gorge hook, which is composed of two, or what is called a double eel-hook; live bait-fishing is practised with the aid of a floated line; and snap-fishing consists in the use of large hooks, so baited as to enable ι the angler to strike the fish the moment he feels it bite, immediately after which he drags it nolens volens ashore.

Trolling for pike may be practised during the winter months, when trout fishing has ceased; and the colder season of the year is in fact more convenient for the sport, owing to the decay or diminution of the weeds which usually surround their favourite haunts. With the exception of chub and dace, which bite pretty freely at the bottom all winter, scarcely any other fish can be relied upon for sport during the more inclement portion of the' year. To bait a gorge hook, take a baiting needle, and hook the curved end to the loop of the gimp, to which the hook is tied; secPlate XLV.fig.20; then introduce the point of the needle into a dead bait’s mouth, and bring it out at the mid· die of the fork of the tail, by which means the piece of leal which covers the shank of the hook, and partof the connect ing wire, will lie concealed in the interior of the bait: Ŵ shank will be in the inside of its mouth, and the barbsorthe outside, turning upwards. See Plate LXV. fig. 24. T∣ keep the bait steady on the hook, fasten the tail part just [7:3:145]above the fork to the gimp, with a silk or cotton thread; or a neater method is, to pass the needle and thread through the side of the bait, about half an inch above the tail, so as to encircle the gimp in the interior. The baits used vary in weight from one to four ounces, and the hooks must be proportioned to the size of the fish with which they are baited. The barbs of the hook ought not to project much beyond the sides of the mouth, because, as the pike generally seizes his prey crosswise, and turns it before it is pouched or swallowed, if he feels the points of the hook he may cast it out entirely.

In trolling for pike, it is advised to keep as far from the water as possible, and to commence casting close by the near shore, with the wind blowing from behind. When the water is clear and the weather bright, some prefer to fish against the wind. “After trying closely,” says Mr Salter, “make your next throw further in the water, and draw and sink the baited hook, drawing it straight upwards near to the surface of the water, and also to right and left, searching carefully every foot of water; and draw your bait with the stream, because you must know that jack and pike lay in wait for food with their heads and eyes pointing up the stream, to catch what may be coming down; therefore experienced trollers fish a river or stream down, or obliquely across; but the inconsiderate as frequently troll against the stream, which is improper, because they then draw their baited hook behind either jack or pike when they are stationary, instead of bringing it before his eyes and mouth to tempt him. Note. — Be particularly careful, in drawing up or taking the baited hook out of the water, not to do it too hastily, because you will find by experience that the jack and pike strike or seize your bait more frequently when you are drawing it upwards than when it is sinking. And also further observe, that when drawing your bait upwards, if you occasionally shake the rod, it will cause the bait to spin and twist about, which is very likely to attract either jack or pike.”^[7. The Trotter’s Guide, by T. F. Salter, Lond. 1820. In the work above quoted will be found a full account of the necessary imple- m θ n ts, and the most approved practice, in this department of the art. ]

These fish are partial to the bends of rivers and the bays of lakes, where the water is shallow, and abounding in weeds, reeds, water lilies, &c. In fishing with the gorge hook, and the angler feels a run, he ought not to strike for several minutes after the fish has become stationary, lest he pull the bait away before it is fairly pouched. If a pike makes a very short run, then remains stationary for about a minute, and again makes one or two short runs, he is probably merely retiring to some quiet haunt before he swallows the bait; but if, after remaining still for three or four minutes, he begins to shake the line and move about, the inference is that he has pouched the bait, and feels some annoyance from the hook within, then such part of the line as has been slackened may be wound up, and the fish struck. It is an unsafe practice to lay down the rod during the interval between a run and the supposed pouching of the bait, because it not unfrequently happens that a heavy fish, when he first feels the hooks in his interior, will make a sudden and most violent rush up the river or along the lake, and the line is either instantly broken, or is carried, together with both the rod and reel, for ever, beyond the angler’s reach. “When the pike cometh,” says Colonel Venables, “you may see the water move, at least you may feel him; then slack your line and give him length enough to run away to his hould, whither he will go directly, and there pouch it, ever beginning (as you may observe) with the head, swallowing that first. Thus let him lye untill you see the line move in the water, and then you may certainly conclude he hath pouched your bait, and rangetb about for more; then with your trowl wind up your line till you think you have it almost streight, then with a smart jerk hook him, and make your pleasure to your content.”^[8. The Experienced Angler, p. 36. Third edit. Lond. 1668. VOL. III. ]

The fresher and cleaner the bait is kept, whether for trolling, live-bait, or snap-fishing, the greater is the chance of success.

As pike, notwithstanding their usual voracity, are sometimes, as the anglers phrase it, more on the play than the feed, they will occasionally seize the bait across the body, and, instead of swallowing it, blow it from them repeatedly and then take no further notice of it. The skilful and wily angler must instantly convert his gorge into a snap, and strike him in the lips or jaws when he next attempts such dangerous amusement. The dead snap may be made either with two or four hooks. (See Plate XLV. fig. 21.) Take about twelve inches of stout gimp, make a loop at one end, at the other tie a hook (size No. 2), and about an inch farther up the gimp tie another hook of the same dimensions; then pass the loop of the gimp into the gill of a dead bait-fish, and out at its mouth, and draw the gimp till the hook at the bottom comes just behind the back fin of the bait, and the point and barb are made to pierce slightly through its skin, which keeps the whole steady: now pass the ring of a drop-bead lead over the loop of the gimp, fix the lead inside the bait’s mouth, and sew the mouth up. (See Plate XLV. fig. 22.) Thiswill suffice for the snap with a couple of hooks. If the four-hooked snap is desired (and it is very killing), take a piece of stout gimp about four inches long, and making a loop at one end, tie a couple of hooks of the same size, and in the same manner as those before described. After the first two and the lead are in their places, and previous to the sewing up of the mouth, pass the loop of the shorter gimp through the opposite gill, and out at the mouth of the bait; then draw up the hooks till they occupy a position corresponding to those of the other side: next pass the loop of the longer piece of gimp through that of the shorter, and pull all straight: finally, tie the two pieces of gimp together close to the fish’s mouth, and sew the latter up.

Some anglers prefer fishing for pike with a floated line and a live bait. When a single hook is used for this purpose, it is baited in one or other of the two following ways: Either pass the point and barb of the hook through the lips of the bait, towards the side of the mouth, or through beneath the base of the anterior portion of the dorsal fin. (See Plate XLV. fig. 25.) When a double hook is used take a baiting needle, hook its curved end into the loop of the gimp, and pass its point beneath the skin of the bait from behind the gills upwards in a sloping direction, bringing it out behind the extremity of the dorsal fin; then draw the gimp till the bend of the hooks are brought to the place where the needle entered, and attach the loop to the trolling line. (See Plate XLV. fig. 23.) Unless a kind of snap-fishing is intended, the hooks for the above purpose should be of such a size as that neither the points nor the barbs project beyond either the shoulder or the belly of the bait.

Snap-fishing is certainly a less scientific method of angling for pike than that with the gorge or live bait; for when the hooks are baited the angler casts in search, draws, raises, and sinks his bait, until he feels abite. He then strikes with violence, and drags or throws his victim on shore; for there is little fear of his tackle giving way, [7:3:146]as that used in snap-fishing is of the largest and strongest kind. “This hurried and unsportsman-like way of taking fish,” it is observed in the Trailers Guide, “can only please those who value the game more than the sport afforded by killing a jack or pike with tackle which gives the fish a chance of escaping, and excites the angler’s skill and patience, mixed with a certain pleasing anxiety, and the reward of his hopes. Neither has the snap-fisher so good a chance of success, unless he angles in a pond or piece of water where the jack or pike are very numerous or half starved, and will hazard their lives for almost any thing that comes in their way. But in rivers where they are well fed, worth killing, and rather scarce, the coarse snap-tackle, large hooks, &c. generally alarm them. On the whole, I think it is two to one against the snap in most rivers; and if there are many weeds in the water, the large hooks of the snap, by standing rank, are continually getting foul, damaging the bait, and causing much trouble and loss of time.”

Pike sometimes rise at an artificial fly, especially in dark, windy days. The fly ought to be dressed upon a double hook, and composed of very gaudy materials. The head is formed of a little fur, some gold twist, and (if the angler’s taste inclines that way, for it is probably a matter of indifference to the fish) two small black or blue beads for eyes. The body is framed rough, full, and round, the wings not parted, but made to stand upright on the back, with some small feathers continued down the back to the end of the tail, so that when finished they may exceed the length of the hook. The whole should be about the bulk of a wren. The largest pike ever killed in Britain was taken with a peacock-feather fly in Loch Ken, near New Galloway. It weighed 72 pounds.^[9. Daniel’s Rural Sports, vol. ii. p. 275. ]

During clear and calm weather in summer and autumn, pike take most freely about three in the afternoon: in winter they may be angled for with equal chances of success during the whole day: early in the morning and late in the evening are the periods best adapted for the spring.

The Carp. (Cyprinus Carpio.)

This fish, like the preceding, is asserted to have been introduced into England by Leonard Mascal, a gentleman of Sussex, early in the 16th century; and in good company, if there is truth in the old distich,
Turkies, carps, hops, pickerell, and beer,
Came into England all in one year.

The carp is, however, mentioned as a dayntous fysshe, though scarce, by Juliana Barnes, in the year 1496. It attains to a prodigious size in the waters of the south of Europe, and in the Lake of Como is said sometimes to weigh 200 pounds. It breeds more freely in ponds than in rivers, although those of the latter are more esteemed. Angling for carp requires, according to Walton, “a very large measure of patience.” The haunts of this fish in the winter months are the broadest and least disturbed parts of rivers, where the bottom is soft and muddy; but in summer it usually lies in deep holes, near some scour, under roots of trees, and beneath hollow banks, or in the neighbourhood of beds of aquatic weeds. In ponds they thrive best in a rich marl or clayey soil, where they have the benefit of shade from an overhanging grove of trees.

Small carp bite eagerly, but the larger and more experienced fish are deceived with difficulty. The rod should be of good length, the line strong, furnished with a quill float, and ending in a few lengths of the best silk-worm gut. The hook is proportioned to the size of the bait, and a single shot is fixed about 12 inches above it. “Three rods,” says Daniel, “may be employed; one with the bait at mid-water, another a foot or less from the bottom, and the third to lie upon it when the line and lead are not discovered, as in the two former; the places intended to be fished in should, the night before, be ground-baited with⅛ grains, blood, and broken worms, incorporated together with clay, the hook baits should be red worms taken out of tan, flag or marsh-worms, green peas so boiled as to soften, but not to break the skin, and throwing some in now and then. When this bait is used (which should be with one on the hook to swim a foot from the ground), in case of a bite, strike immediately; a large carp, upon taking the bait, directly steers for the opposite side of the river or pond.”^[10. Ibid. p. 257∙ ] During hot weather, when these fish are about to spawn, and whilst lying among the weeds near the surface, they may be angled for with a fine line, without either sink or float. The hook may be baited with a red worm, a pair of gentles, a caterpillar, or a cad bait, and thrown lightly as in fly-fishing, and then drawn towards the angler. If it can be made to fall first upon the leaf of some water plant, and then dropped upon the surface, the chance of success will be increased. The best months arc May, June, and July, and the most advisable times of the day are from sunrise to eight in the morning, and from sunset during the continuance of twilight, and onwards through the night. It is the opinion of many, though we cannot trace the origin of the idea, no doubt an erroneous one, that the 10th of April is a fatal day for carp.

The Bream. (Cyprinus Brama.)

This fish breeds both in deep, slow-running rivers, and in ponds. It prefers the latter. The most enticing bait is a well-conditioned earthworm, although the angler also uses paste made of bread and honey, wasp grubs, grasshoppers, &c. Boiled wheat serves well for ground-baiting the spot on the preceding nights, and some fasten a number of worms to a piece of turf, and sink it to the bottom. When the ground has been thus prepared, and the tackle put in order, the angler should commence his labours by three or four in the morning. Let him approach the place with caution, so as not to be perceived by the fish, and cast his hook neatly baited with a live and moving worm, in such manner that the lead may lie about the centre of the prepared ground. The bream is a strong fish, and runs smartly when first struck; but after a few turns he falls over on his side, and allows the angler to land him without much trouble. He is by no means so lively as the carp. The best hours for bream are from four till eight in the morning, and from four in the afternoon till eight in the evening. In the river Trent, near Newark, there are two kinds of bream. The common species is that called the carp bream, from its yellow colour; and it sometimes attains the weight of eight pounds. The other species or variety, regarded by Mr Revett Shepherd as a nondescript, never exceeds a pound in weight. It is of a silvery hue, and is known by the name of white bream.^[11. Linn. Trans. vol. xiv. p. 537- ] The bream, though rare in Scotland, occurs in Loch Maben.

The Tench. (Cyprinus Tinca.)

This species is a lover of still waters, and his haunts in rivers are among weeds, or pools well screened by bushes. Tench are found spawning from June till September, and they are in the best condition from the latter month till the end of May. The tackle should be strong, with a swan or goose-quill float for ponds, and a piece of cork for rivers. The hook (in size from No. 4 to 6) should [7:3:147] be whipt to sound silk-worm gut, with two or three shot Aexed to it at the distance of a foot. The bait should float about a couple of feet from the surface, and should be drawn occasionally gently upwards, and allowed slowly to sink again. Small marsh worms, middle-sized lobs, or the red species found in rotten tan, are to be recommended. « He will bite,” says Walton, “at a paste made of brown bread and honey, or at a marsh-worm, or a lob-worm: he inclines very much to any paste with which tan is mixed, and he will bite also at a smaller worm with his head nipped off, and a sod-worm put on the hook before that worm; and I doubt not but that he will also in the three hot months, for in the nine colder he stirs not much, bite at a flag-worm, or at a green gentle: but can positively say no more of the tench, he being a fish that I have not often angled for; but I wish my honest scholar may, and be ever fortunate when he fishes.”

The Barbel. ( Cyprinus Barbus.)

In a c ulina ry point of view this is one of the worst of the fresh-water fishes. It is gregarious, and roots among the soft banks with its nose, like a sow. The angling 1 season commences in May, and continues till September. The most approved hours are from daylight till ten in the 'morning, and from four in the afternoon till about sunset. The line should be strong and rather heavily leaded, so that the bait may float about half an inch from the ground. Considerable caution is required in playing this fish, as he is apt to run off when struck, with great violence, towards some stronghold, and in so doing sometimes breaks both rod and line. He is rather nice in his baits, which must be kept clean and sweet, and untainted by musty moss. “One caution,” says Mr Daniel, “in angling for barbel, will bear repetition: never throw in the bait farther than enabled by a gentle cast of the rod, letting the plumb fall into the water with the least possible noise. It is an error to think that large fish are in the middle of the river: experience teaches the fallacy of this opinion: they naturally seek their food near the banks, and agitating the waters by an injudicious management of the plumb will certainly drive them away. It is incredible the quantities of barbel sometimes caught by this method. Persons of great veracity have asserted that upwards of one hundredweight have been taken in one morning.”

The Chub. (Cyprinus Cephalus.)

The rivers of England are stored with a much finer variety of fresh-water fish than those of Scotland. The chub occurs in the Annan. It is however a fish but lightly esteemed, either for sport or the table. He is a dull fish on the hook, bites eagerly, and is soon tired. Caution is requisite on the part of the angler, as the chub is naturally fearful, and sinks towards the bottom of the stream on the slightest alarm. The baits used are maggots, beetles, grasshoppers, salmon-roe, &c. Black and dun flies gaudily dressed, and ribbed with gold or silver twist, are well adapted to take them in streams. They likewise rise at the red-spinner. But perhaps the best way to secure this fish is by dibbing with a grasshopper. As chub are often seen in some favourite haunt lying near the surface of the pool, the angler, concealing himself as much as possible, ought to move his rod cautiously over the spot, and drop his bait gently upon the water, a few inches in advance of the fish’s head. The landing net is particularly necessary in angling for chub, as the best spots are generally encumbered by trees or bushes, which prevent the fish from being drawn to hand, or pulled ashore.

The Bace. ( Cyprinus Leuciscus.)

This fish is of gregarious habits, and haunts the deeper waters near the piles of bridges, shady pools, and beneath the masses of collected foam caused by eddies. In the warmer months of the year they also congregate in the shallows. They rise at a variety of flies, and are likewise angled for with red worms, brandlings, &c. Above Richmond, as soon as the weeds begin to rot, a grasshopper used as an artificial fly is found very successful in hot weather among the shallows. This mode can only be practised in a boat, with a heavy stone to serve as an anchor, fastened to a few yards of rope. The boat drifts gently down the stream, and the stone is dropped whenever the angler considers himself in the neighbourhood of a likely place. Standing in the stern, he first throws directly down the stream, and then to the right and left; and after trying for about a quarter of an hour in one spot, he again weighs anchor, and proceeds to another station.

The Roach. ( Cyprinus Rutilus.)

The carp has been named the “water-fox” on account of his subtlety, and the roach the “water-sheep,” by reason of his silliness. This fish makes good soup, though very bony, and otherwise not much esteemed. The season for roach fishing in the Thames, where it attains to a larger size than elsewhere, commences about the end of August. “Next let me tell you,” says Walton, “you shall fish for this roach in winter with paste or gentles, in April with worms or caddis, in the very hot months with little white snails, or with flies under water; for he seldom takes them at the top, though the dace will. In many of the hot months roaches may be also caught thus :—Take a May-fly or ant-fly; sink him with a little lead to the bottom, near the piles or posts of a bridge, or near to any posts of a wear—I mean any deep place where roaches lie quietly—and then pull your fly up very leisurely, and usually a roach will follow your bait to the very top of the water, and gaze on it there, and run at it, and take it, lest the fly should fly away from him.”^[12. Complete Angler, p. 218. ] Vast shoals of this species ascend the streams in the parish of Killearn, from Loch Lomond, and are caught by nets in thousands. Their emigration from the loch, however, continues only for the space of three or four days towards the end of May.^[13. Statistical Account of Scotland, vol. xvi. p. 100. ] The Bleak. ( Cyprinus Alburnus.)

This small and active fish may be angled for with what is called a pater noster line, which consists of half a dozen fine hooks fastened about 6 or 8 inches from each other. These may be baited with gentles, or more variously, to increase the temptation, with a gentle, a small red worm, a fly, &c. and thus several fish may be hooked at the same time. In angling for bleak the tackle must be very fine. In fresh streams they rise well at the black gnat, or any other small sad-coloured fly.

The Gudgeon. (Cyprinus Gobio.)

Gudgeons are angled for near the ground with a small red worm. They frequent the shallows during the hot months, and retire before winter to the stiller and deeper waters. As an article of food they are highly esteemed.

The Minnow. ( Cyprinus Phoxinus.)

This is the fish by means of which most youthful anglers commence their experience of the art. “He is a sharp biter,” says Walton, “at a small worm, and in hot [7:3:148]weather makes excellent sport for young anglers, or boys, 'or women that love that recreation; and in the spring they make of them excellent minnow-tansies; for being washed well in salt, and their heads and tails cut off, and their guts taken out, and not washed after, they prove excellent for that use; that is, being fried with yolks of eggs, the flower of cowslips and of primroses, and a little tansie. Thus used, they make a dainty dish of meat.”

The Loach. ( Cobitis Barbatula.)

The loach is entirely a ground fish, living in clear and gravelly streams. It is an excellent bait for eels, and is also a nutritious food for man, though of a slimy and somewhat forbidding aspect.

The Eel. (Anguilla Vulgaris.)

This well-known and snake-like species has its favourite haunts in the muddy bottom of the bays of lakes, among weeds, under large stones, and in the clefts of the banks of rivers. The habits of the eel are nocturnal, and the largest and finest are usually caught with night-lines. They are troublesome fish, from their great tenacity of life, and the tortuous motions by which, in their endeavours to disengage themselves, they entangle or destroy the angler’s tackle. They afford little amusement to those accustomed to the more elegant branches of the art.

The isle of Ely, according to some authorities, was so called in consequence of its being the place from whence the kings of England were anciently supplied with eels. Indeed Cambridgeshire is still famous for this fish.^[14. “Here I hope I shall not tresspass upon gravity, in mentioning a passage observed by the reverend professor of Oxford, Doctor Prideaux, referring the reader to him for the author’s attesting the same. When the priests in this part of the country would still retain their wives, in despight of whatever the pope or monks would doe to the contrary, their wives and children were miraculously turned all into eels (surely the great into Congers, the less into Greggs}, whence it had the name of Eely. I understand him, a Lie of Eels.” (Fuller’s Worthies. Cambridgeshire.) ] The Perch. (Perca Fluviatilis.)

This gregarious fish is angled for with a worm or minnow. It is a bold biter during the warm months of the year, though very abstemious in the winter season. When a shoal is met with, great sport is frequently obtained. A small cork float is used, and the bait is hung at various depths, according to circumstances, a knowledge of which can only be obtained by practice. In angling near the bottom, the bait should be frequently raised nearly to the surface, and then allowed gently to sink again. When the weather is cool and cloudy, with a ruffling breeze from the south, perch will bite during the whole day. The best hours towards the end of spring are from seven to eleven in the morning, and from two to six in the afternoon. In warm and bright summer weather, excellent times are from sunrise till six or seven in the morning, and from six in the evening till sunset.

The first printed work on angling in the English language is by Dame Juliana Barnes or Berners (The Trea-tyse of Fysshinge with an Angle), and forms part of the Book of St Alban's, emprented at Westmestre by Wynken de Worde, in 1496. Of this book there are various old editions, and it has, we believe, been twice reprinted in modern times. It is less useful to the angler than curious in the eyes of the bibliographer. Hawking, Hunting, Fouling, and Fishing, with the true measures of Blowing, &c. now newly collected by W. G. Faukener. 4to, Lond. 1596. A Book of Fishing with Hooke and Line, and of all other Instruments thereunto belonginge, made by L. Μ. 4to, Lond. 1590. This work contains remarks on the preservation of fish in pools, and some improvements on the directions of the “religious sportswoman” Juliana Barnes. L. Μ. signifies Leonard Mascall. A Neu Book of good' Husbandry, very pleasaunt, and of great profite, both for gentlemen and yeomen; conteining the Order and Maner of Making of Fish-pondes, with the Breeding, Preseruing, and Multiplyinge of the Carpe, Tench, Pike, and Troute, and diverse kindes of other Fresh Fish. Written in Latine by Janus Dubrauius, and translated into English at the speciale request of George Churchey, Fellow of Lion’s Inne, the 9th Februarie 1599. 4to, Lond. 1599. Certain Experiments concerning Fish and Fruit, practised by John Taverner, Gentleman, and by him published for the benefit of others. 4to, Lond. 1600. The Secrets of Ang. ling; teaching the Choicest Tooles, Baytes, and.Seasons for the taking of any Fish in Pond or River: practised and ’familiarly opened in Three Bookes. By J. D., Esquire. 8vo, Lond. 1613. The author of this work is named in the third edition of Walton’s Angler as one Jo. Davors; but, from an entry in the books of Stationers Hall, as given in the second volume of “British Bibliography,” p. 355, he is mentioned as John Dennys, Esquire. Large extracts from this work are given by Sir Egerton Bridges,in the last volume of his Censura Literaria. The poetry, of which several passages are quoted by Walton, is remarkable for its beauty. As the volume is rare, we shall here present the reader with a few stanzas.
You nymphs that in the springs and waters sweet
Your dwelling have, of every hill and dale,
And oft amid the meadows green do meet
To sport and play, and hear the nightingale,
And in the rivers fresh do wash your feet,
While Progne’s sister tells her wofull tale;
Such ayd and power unto my verses lend
As may suffice this little work to end.
And thou, sweet Boyd, that with thy watry sway
Dost wash the cliffes of Deignton and of Weck,
And through their rocks with crooked winding way
Thy mother Avon runnest soft to seek;
In whose fair streams the speckled trout doth play,
The roach, the dace, the gudgin, and the bleike;
Teach me the skill, with slender line and hook,
To take each fish of river, pond, and brook.

In comparing the amusement of angling with the excitement to be derived, from gaming and other pleasures, he adds—
0 let me rather on the pleasant brinke
Of Tyne and Trent possess some dwelling place,
Where I may see my quill and corke down sinke,
With eager bite of barbel, bleike, or dace;
And on the world and his Creatour thinke,
While they proud Thais painted sheet embrace;
And with the fume of strong tobacco smoke
And quaffing round are ready for to choke.
Let them that list these pastimes then pursue,
And on their pleasing fancies feed their fill;
So I the fields and meadows green may view,
And by the rivers fresh may walke at wille,
Among the dazies and the violets blue,
Bed hyacinth and yellow daffodil,
Purple narcissus like the morning rayes,
Pale ganderglas, and azore culverkayes.
I count it better pleasure to behold
The goodly compasse of the lofty skie;
And in the midst thereof, like burning gold,
The flaming chariot of the world’s great eye;
[7:3:149]
The wat’ry clouds that in the ayre uprol’d
With sundry kinds of painted colours flie;
And faire Aurora lifting up her head,
All blushing rise from old Tithonus bed.
The hills and mountains raised from the plains,
The plains extended levell with the ground,
The ground divided into sundry vains,
The vains enclos’d with running rivers round,
The rivers making way thro’ nature’s chains,
With headlong course into the sea profound;
The surging sea beneath the vallies low,
The vallies sweet, and lakes that lovely flow.

Then follow the two stanzas quoted at the beginning of this article. Our next work on angling is The Pleasures of Princes, or Good Men’s Recreations; containing a Discourse of the General Art of Fishing with the Angle, or otherwise, and of all the hidden secrets belonging tĥere-unto; together with the Choyce, Ordering, Breeding, and Dyetting of the Fighting Cocke; being a worke never in that nature handled by any former author. Lond. 1614, 4to. This work forms part of the second book of the English Husbandman, by G. Μ. (Gervais Markham.) A Briefe Treatise of Fishing; with the Art of Angling. Lond. 1614, 4to. This work is little else than a reprint from a portion of the Book of St Alban’s, and forms part of the Jewell for Gentric, by T. S. Cheap and Good Husbandry, by Gervais Markham. 4to, Lond. 1616. This work contains a chapter on Fish and Fish-Ponds. Country Contentments; or the Husbandman’s Recreations, by J. Μ. In the fifth and sixth editions of this volume (4to, Lond. 1633 and 1639), will be found, the Whole Art of Angling, as it was written in a small treatise in rime, and now, for the better understanding of the reader, put into prose, and adorned and enlarged. This work is a prose version, with additions, of Davors’ Secrets of Angling. The Country Gentleman’s Companion, 2 vols. 12mo, Lond. 1753, is a reprint, without acknowledgement, of Markham’s work. The Art of Angling; wherein are discovered many rare secrets very necessary to be known by all that dĕlight in that recreation, written by Thomas Barker, an antient practitioner in the said art. 12mo, Lond. 1651. In an epistle to the reader, prefixed to the first edition, and in the dedication of the two last to Edward Lord Montague, Barker speaks of himself as having practised angling for more than half a century. He also says he was born and educated at Bracemcall, in the liberty of Salop, being a freeman and burgesse of the same city; adding, “if any noble or gentle angler, of whatever degree soever he be, have a mind to discourse of any of these wayes and experiments, I live in Henry the 7th’s Gifts, the next doore to the Gatehouse, in Westm. My name is Barker, where I shall be ready, as long as please God, to satisfye them, and maintain my art during life, which is not like to be long.” See British Bibliography, by Sir Eg. Bridges and Joseph Hasclwood, vol. ii. p. 356. The Compleat Angler, or the Contemplative Man’s Recreation; being a discourse of Fish and Fishing, not unworthy the perusal of most anglers. 12mo, Lond. 1653. This is the first edition of Izaak Walton’s celebrated work. It went through five editions during the author’s lifetime; and in the course of its republication was enlarged and unproved. The fifth edition forms the first part of the Universal^ Angler, by Walton, Cotton, and Venables, 12mo, Lond. 1676; and is accompanied by a second part (written by Cotton), which treats more fully of fly-fishing. The l l 7"0 sevent h editions were published in 1750 and

ð J, by Moses Browne, author of the Piscatory Eclogues and other works. The eighth edition was published by Sir θ. 1n Hawkins in 1760, and has been succeeded by many 3 ler Ş siuc . e that period, of which the most recent and most beautifully adorned is that by John Major, with an introductory essay and illustrative notes. 8vo, Lond. 1823. The third edition of the Compleat Gentleman, by Henry Peacham, 4to, Lond. 1661, contains a chapter concerning Fishing. The Experienced Angler, or Angling Improved; being a general discourse of Angling. 8vo, Lond. 1662. This work, of which there arc several editions, is by Colonel Robert Venables. Its fourth edition forms the third part of the Universal Angler. Angling Improved to Spiritual Uses, forms part of an octavo volume entitled Occasional Reflections upon several Subjects, by the Hon. Robert Boyle. 8vo, Lond. 1665. In a volume called The Epitome of the Art of Husbandry, by J. B. Gent. I2mo, Lond. 1669, are brief experimental directions for the right use of the angle. The author’s name was Blagrave. The Angler’s Delight; containing the whole Art of Neat and Clean Angling; wherein is taught the readiest way to take all sorts of Fish, from the Pike to the Minnow, together with their proper baits, haunts, and time of fishing for them, whether in mere, pond, or river. As also the method of fishing in Hackney River, and the names of all the best stands there; with the manner of making all sorts of good tackle fit for any water whatsoever. The like never before in print. By William Gilbert, Gent. 12mo, Lond. 1676. The Compleat Troller, or the Art of Trolling, by Robert Nobbes. 8vo, Lond. 1682. There are several editions of this work, of which the third and fourth are appended to the Angler’s Pocket-Book. Gentleman’s Recreations; treating of the Art of Horsemanship, Hunting, Fowling, Fishing, and Agriculture. Fol. Lond. 1686. The Gentleman’s Recreation, in four parts, viz. Hunting, Hawking, Fowling, Fishing. 8vo, Lond. 1674. (By Nicholas Cox.) The Angler’s Vade Mecum, or a compendious yet full Discourse of Angling. By T. Chectham. 8vo, Lond. 1681. Northern Memoirs, calculated for the meridian of Scotland; wherein most or all of the Cities, Citadels, Seaports, Castles, Forts, Fortresses, Rivers, and Rivulets, are compendiously described; to which is added, the Contemplative and Practical Angler, by way of diversion; with a Narrative of that dextrous and mysterious Art experimented in England, and perfected in more remote and solitary parts of Scotland; by way of Dialogue: writ in the year 1658, but not till now made publick. By Richard Franck, Philanthropus. 8vo, Lond. 1694. Of this curious volume a reprint was published of late years. The Gentleman Fisher; or the Whole Art of Angling. 8vo, Lond., second edition, 1727. The True Art of Angling, by J. S. 24to, Lond. 1696. The Compleat Fisher, or the True Art of Angling, by J. S., third edition, 1704. The preceding work, revised and corrected by W. Wright and other experienced anglers, was republished in 1740. The Compleat Fisherman; being a large and particular account of all the several ways of Fishing now practised in Europe; by James Saunders, Esq. of Newton-Awbery, upon Trent. 12mo, Lond. 1724. The Genteel Recreation, or the Pleasure of Angling; a Poem: with a dialogue between Piscator and Corydon. By John Whitney, a lover of the Angle. 8vo, Lond. 1700. The School of Recreation, or a Guide to the most ingenious Exercises; by R. H. 8vo, Lond. 1701. The Secrets of Angling, by C. G. 12mo, Lond. 1705. The Angler’s Sure Guide, or Angling Improved and Methodically Digested, by R. H. Esq. 8vo, Lond. 1706. The Innocent Epicure, or the Art of Angling; a Poem. 8vo, Lond. 1697. The whole Art of Fishing, being a Collection and Improvement of all that has been written on this subject; with many new experiments. 12mo, Lond. 1714. The second edition of this work is entitled The Gentleman Fisher, or the whole Art of Angling. 8vo, Lond. 1727. A Discourse of Fish and Fish-Ponds·, by a Person of Honour. 8vo, London.
[7:3:150]

The author of this work was the Hon. Roger North. A subsequent edition (of which there were more than one) bears the date of 1713. It was also published as an appendage to the Gentleman Farmer. 8vo, Lond. 1726. The Country Gentleman’s Vade Mecum, by G. Jacob, Gent. 8vo, Lond. 1717; and the Compleat Sportsman, by the same author (1718), of which the 3d part relates to Fish and Fishing. England’s Interest, or the Gentleman and Farmer’s Friend, by Sir John Moore. 8vo, Lond. 1721. The Gentleman Angler, Lond. 1726. Piscatory Eclogues (by Moses Browne). 8vo, Lond. 1729. Of this work there are several editions. Sportsman’s Dictionary, or the Gentleman’s Companion in all Rural Recreations. 2 vols. 8vo, 1735. The British Angler, or a Pocket Companion for Gentlemen Fishers, by John Williamson, Gent. 8vo,Lond. 1740. The Art of Angling, Rock and Sea Fishing, with a Natural History of River, Pond, and Sea Fish, by R. Brookes. 8vo, Lond. 1740. Of this treatise there have been various reprints, at different periods, up to the year 1807. Angling, a Poem. 12mo, Lond. 1741, 2d edit. The Art of Angling improved in all its Parts, especially Fly-fishing, by Richard Bowlker. 12mo, Worcester. Published some time preceding the year 1759. There is a recent edition (1806) by Charles Bowlker, Ludlow. The Angler’s Magazine, or Necessary and Delightful Store House; wherein every thing proper to be known relating to his art is digested in such a method as to assist his knowledge and practice upon bare inspection; being the completest manual ever published upon the subject, largely treating of all things relating to Fish and Fishing, and whereby the angler may acquire his experience without the help of a master. By a Lover of that innocent and healthful diversion. 12mo, Lond. 1754. The Angler’s Eight Dialogues, in Verse. 8vo, Lond. 1758. The Art of Angling, eight Dialogues, in Verse. 8vo. The Universal Angler, or that art Improved in all its Parts, especially in Fly-fishing. 8vo, Lond. 1766. The Complete Sportsman, or Country Gentleman’s Recreation, by Thomas Fairfax. 8vo, London. The Complete Fisherman, or Universal Angler. 8vo, Lond. (2d edit.) Lond. 1778. The Angler’s Complete Assistant, being an Epitome of the whole Art of Angling. 4th edit. 4to, London. The True Art of Angling. 12mo, Lond. 1770. Translation of a Letter from the Hanover Magazine, No. 23, March 21, 1763; giving an account of a method to breed fish to advantage. 8vo, Lond. 1778. The Angler’s Museum, or the whole Art of Float and Fly Fishing, by Thomas Shirley. 12mo, Lond. 1784. The Fisherman, or Art of Angling made Easy, by Guiniad Charfcy, Esq. 8vo, London. The North Country Angler, or the Art of Angling as practised in the Northern Counties of England. 8vo, Lond. 1786. A Concise Treatise on the Art of Angling, by Thomas Best, Gent. 8vo, Lond. 1787. Of this work there have been published many editions, of which the 9th is dated 1810. An Essay on the Right of Angling in the River Thames, and in all the other public Navigable Rivers. 8vo, Reading. A Letter to a Proprietor of a Fishery in the River Thames; in which an attempt is made to show in whom the right of Fishing in public streams now resides. 2d edit. 8vo, Reading, 1787. The Natural History of Fishes and Serpents, by R. Brookes; to which is added, an Appendix, containing the whole Art of Float and Fly Fishing. 8vo, Lond. 1790. The Young Angler’s Pocket Companion, by Ralph Cole, Gent. 12mo, Lond. 1795. The Modern Angler, being a practical Treatise on the Art of Fishing, &c., in a series of Letters to a Friend; by Robert Salter, Esq. 12mo, London. Angling in all its branches reduced to a complete Science, in three parts, by Samuel Taylor, Gent. 8vo, London, 1800. Practical Observations on Angling in the River Trent. 8vo, Newark, 1801. Every

Man his own Fisherman, by Thomas Smith. 24to, London. The Driffield Angler, in two parts, by Alexander Mackintosh of Great Driffield, Yorkshire. 8vo, Gainsborough. The Angler’s Pocket Book; to which is prefixed, Nobbes’ celebrated Treatise on the Art of Trolling, 8vo, Norw. The New and Complete Angler, or Universal Fisherman, by Richard Pollard, Esq. of Clapton, Middlesex. 8vo, Lond. 1802. Rural Sports, by W. B. Daniel. 4to, Lond. 1802. Part of vol. ii. relates to fly-fishing, and the other kinds of angling. The Kentish Ang- 1er, or the Young Fisherman’s Instructor; showing the nature and properties of Fish which are angled for in Kent. 12mo, Canterb. 1804. The Complete Angler’s Vade Mecum, being a perfect Code of Instruction on the above pleasing Science, &c., by Captain T. Williamson. 8vo, London, 1808. The Angler’s Manual, or concise Lessons of Experience, which the proficient in the delightful recreation of Angling will not despise, and the Learners will find the advantage of practising; containing useful Instructions on every approved method of Angling, and particularly on the management of the Hand and Rod in each method. 4to, Liverpool, 1808. The Fisher’s Boy, a Poem, by W. H. Ireland. 8vo, 1808. The Angler’s Manual, or concise Lessons of Experience, &c. 8vo, 1809. Practical Observations on Angling in the River Trent. 12mo, 1812. Daniel’s Rural Sports. Royal 8vo, 1812. Howitt’s. Foreign Field Sports, Fisheries, &c. 4to, 1814. The Secrets of Angling, by J. D. (Davors); augmented by W. Lawson. 8vo, 1814. The Angler’s Guide, by T. F. Salter. 8vo, 1815. Art of Angling, by Charles Bowlker. 12mo, 1815. The Fly-Fisher’s Guide, by G. C. Bainbridge. 8vo, 1816. W. H. Scot’s British Field Sports. Royal 8vo, 1818. The Angler’s Vade Mecum, by W. Carroll. 12mo, 1818. Sportsman’s Repository, by J. Scott, 1820. The Trailer’s Guide, a new and complete Practical Treatise on the Art of Trolling for Jack and Pike; to which is added, the Best Method of Baiting and Laying Lines for large Eels. By T. F. Salter, author of the Angler’s Guide. Small 8vo, Lond. 1820. Instructions to Young Sportsmen, by Lieutenant-Colonel Hawker. Royal 8vo, 1824. Salmonia, or Days of Fly-Fishing. By an Angler (the late Sir Humphry Davy). 12mo, Lond. 1828.

The preceding extensive list will probably suffice for the instruction and guidance of the most studious angler. Those who are curious in regard to bibliographical details concerning the different editions of the earlier works may consult a Catalogue of Books on Angling, 8vo, 1811, published by Mr Ellis of the British Museum, and originally printed in the British Bibliographer.
[table]
[7:3:151]