Part 6 (1/2)

You must for this kind of Angling, have a tolerably strong Rod and tackle, you may begin trolling about the middle of March, and continue to the end of October. The very best of fish are taken with the Minnow, it is an active bait to fish with, and keeps the Angler pretty well on the _qui vive_. When the water is in order, that is, after it is a little swollen and discoloured by recent rain, it frequently proves a most destructive bait, and will take Salmon as well as Trout. Those Anglers who are desirous of a few good fish, will find it their interest to use it on every suitable occasion, independent of the good fish to be had with it, it is next to fly fis.h.i.+ng, the most animating and exciting method of angling. To make your Minnow spin well, one or two swivels should be used, attached to the gut, which should be about a yard in length and of fine and good quality. In fis.h.i.+ng the Natural Minnow with two hooks, one of them must be large enough to pa.s.s through the body of the bait, going in at the mouth, and pa.s.sing out at the tail; the other, rather larger than a May-fly hook, should go through the under, and pa.s.s out at the upper lip. In trolling with only two hooks, be careful to give your fish time to gorge, otherwise by striking too quickly, you will miss your prize by pulling the bait out of his mouth. With three or more hooks, which is termed fis.h.i.+ng at snap, you cannot strike too soon as the fish is generally caught by one of the loose hooks. If the fish you have hooked be not too heavy, the best plan is to land him at once by a quick and sudden jerk. In fis.h.i.+ng the Minnow, if in still, deep water, let it sink a little at first, then draw it quickly towards you, making the bait spin well and briskly, which is effected by the swivel. In streams, especially if they be rapid, cast up and down, but chiefly athwart, by so doing your bait shows greatly to advantage. Trolling in the Tees is not much practised; the difficulty of procuring Minnows at the precise time when wanted, is I suppose the reason. But there are artificial Minnows which in heavy waters will kill well; those sold by Frederick Allies, South Parade, Worcester, and by Farlow, Tackle Maker, in the Strand, London, are excellent, the price for Trout reasonable, two s.h.i.+llings and six pence. The former is styled the Archimedean, the latter the Phantom Minnow, which collapses when struck by a fish. The best river I have ever trolled in, and I do not suppose there is a better in England, is the Eden, which takes its rise a few miles from Kirby Stephen, in Westmoreland, thence to Carlisle, and so seaward, running for the most part over a gravelly and sandy bottom, and full of good Trout, so that splendid sport may be had by trolling when the water is in proper order. The Greta is an excellent trolling stream, but the fish are not near the average weight of those in the Eden. It is not a bad plan when the water is low and fine, and Minnows are easily procured, because you may then see where they are, especially on a sunny day, to catch as many as you want, (which you may do, with small hooks baited with very small red worms,) and then cure them. Of course those cured are not so good and durable as the fresh, but still they are found to take fish very well. And thus provided with artificial and pickled auxiliaries, the indefatigable troller will never be brought to a stand. For what can be more provokingly annoying to an angler, than to have to leave off in the very midst of sport, merely for want of baits?

MAGGOTS

May easily be had; any description of flesh exposed to the sun is soon full of them, for choice I should prefer horse flesh; when sufficiently large they are an excellent bait for Trout; preserve them in tin case (with holes to admit air,) filled with bran, where they will scour a trifle and keep alive some days; when you fish with them, use a Palmer sized hook, and a single No. 5 shot corn, and when the water is as low or almost as much so as it well can be, your gut need not be leaded at all.

WASPS AND HUMBLE BEE GENTLES.

These Gentles are excellent for both Trout and Chub, preserve them the same way as Maggots, and use the same sized hook.

DOCKEN GRUB.

This grub is found, as it name indicates, at the roots of dockens: the body of it is somewhat similar to a Maggot, it is a good bait for Trout and Chub, and may be kept some time in a woollen bag containing fine sand; fish will often take it when they refuse the worm, you may begin to fish with it in February and continue to do so during the season.

Small May-fly hook and one No. 5 shot corn.

CREEPER,

Found underneath stones having a little water and gravel or sand underneath them, may be kept in a May-fly horn, but soon die for want of water; a good bait early and late, or in streams on a hot day. A No.

6 shot corn and May-fly hook, fished like the worm.

CADISS, OR CAD BAIT,

Found in brooks or rivers, encased in little straw or gravel husks: a curious little grub similar to a gentle in size, with a dirty yellow body and black head. Palmer sized hook, shot corn No. 6, or your hook slightly leaded on the upper part of the shank, round which have the hackle of a Landrail or dyed Mallard. Kills well with hackle when the water is slightly discoloured.

WORMS.

”You must not every Worm promiscuous use.”--GAY.

The best for Spring fis.h.i.+ng are the Marl or Meadow worms, the Gilt Tail, the Squirrel Tail and the Brandling, are excellent in Summer. A Lob Worm well scoured is a good bait early in the morning, either in Spring or Summer. When you fish with the Brandling, it is a killing way to have two on your hook, letting the head of the second Brandling hang a little way over the tail of the first, or you may put heads and tails together; always procure your worms, and put them to some good moss, some time before you want them; after three or four days, by adopting this method, they will be clean, bright and tough; a glazed earthen jar is the best thing to keep them in, and in Summer set your jar in as cool a place as possible; by attention in changing your moss every fourth day, or so, you may preserve and keep your worms a long time.

Moss from heaths and waste lands, is the best you can get; always be careful to pick from the moss all blades of gra.s.s, leaves, or dirt adhering thereto. Put your worms into water if you want them scoured quickly, and let them remain in it for twenty minutes or half an hour, they come out in an exhausted state, but soon recover on being put into good clean moss. Bole Armoniac will also scour them very speedily. As to gum ivy and ointment put to worms to entice fish, such practises I hold to be mere matters of fancy, and I do not deem it necessary to give instructions in reference thereto. It is my opinion only time and trouble thrown away, and you may depend upon this as a fact, that if fish will not take a bright clean worm, the addition of unguents will be found useless. As I have observed elsewhere, it is the eye and not the sense of smell (if they have any) which guides, influences, and directs fish in their choice of food.

You may breed worms in abundance by the aid of decayed vegetables and leaves, mixed with marl or any kind of soil; the Brandling or Red Worm are found in Pig's and other dung, also in Tanner's bark.