Sidebilder
PDF
ePub

or two at first starting. If you have plenty of time on your hands, groundbait your place two or three times before you fish, but take care that no one else finds this out and avails himself of the fruit of your labours. A little bullocks' blood from a slaughter-house is a most valuable, though extremely nasty, addition to your ground-bait,

THE TENCH

is almost exclusively a pond fish, though it has now been introduced into some rivers, out of which it generally makes its way to the stagnant dykes in the adjoining marshes, if there be any. When on the feed, it is by no means a difficult fish to take. This is only carly in the mornings and late in the evenings, except on warm wet days in summer, when they will feed all day. A gut line, cork or quill float, and No. 7 or 8 hook, baited with a red worm, which should almost touch the bottom, will seldom fail to take them in April, May, or June. In the later part of the season gentles will sometimes answer better than worms. Ground-bait with a few hands-full of gentles mixed with wet bran, and occasionally throw a few in close to your float while fishing. If worms are to be used, a small quantity of grains and blood, as recommended for bream, will work wonders if thrown in overnight at the spot where you intend to fish. They are generally associated with carp in ponds, and in fishing for the one you will frequently take the other. It is as well to use a float that will carry a good quantity of shot, so as to sink your bait at once out of the reach of small roach and perch, especially when you bait with gentles.

THE DACE

is a fish which affords the angler no little sport. It is something like a miniature chub in appearance, but much more game and a bolder biter. The same baits as are used for the roach will take him, with the addition of greaves and the artificial fly. In fishing for barbel in the Thames, they are often taken with the former of these two baits, or with gentles. They will also take a worm with more readiness than the roach, and the caddis-worm is a very destructive bait in spring. The same tackle as used for roach will do, with a trifle larger hook, say 9 or 10; but you need not be so particular as to the fineness of the gut, as, though rather shy fish, they are not so particular in their biting, which they do boldly, and should be struck immediately. They are found in more rapid streams and in shallower water than the roach, and a heavier ground-bait is consequently necessary. The best plan is to mix clay with the bread and bran recommended for roach, and, if you are baiting with gentles, put a few live gentles into the middle of each ball. This is also a great "dodge" in barbel fishing. Of flies they will take any natural one, and nearly any small artificial one; but the point of the hook should be covered with a gentle, or, if this be not procurable, a small piece of wash-leather. This is advisable in using an artificial fly for any of the carp tribe, as they nearly always smell at the fly before taking it, unless in a very rapid stream. The whereabouts of the shoals of dace is generally to be discovered by their rising at flies, &c.; but if they are not rising, and the water is not clear enough to enable you to see them, fish in moderately deep eddies by the side of rapid streams.

THE BLEAK

is a small fish, not unlike a sprat, of the most beautiful silvery lustre. He will take almost any bait and rise to a very small artificial fly. In roach or dace

fishing with gentles he is a perfect nuisance, taking your bait long before it has time to sink to the bottom, where, however, he will not trouble you very much. If you want to catch bleak, take a gut line about 3 yards long, put about six hooks on it as directed for fastening flies to a collar, throw a few crumbs of bread or a little bran on the surface where you see them rising, and when they are in full rise (which they will be in about two minutes), having attached this to your reel-line, cast this as you would flies, without either float or shot: you will soon feel them tug; in fact, you may see them bite, and may pull three or four out at a time. We once caught nearly three hundred in about a couple of hours in this way. The bleak is a very useful bait in spinning for jack or very large trout, owing to its silvery brightness.

THE GUDGEON.

This well-known little fish, small as it is, affords much sport to the angler. Use a light rod, float suitable to the stream, fine line, and No. 10 to 12 hook, baited with a blood-worm or small red worm. Take the depth exactly in shallowish water, say from 2 to 4 feet, and let your bait drag the ground. Do not strike so quickly as in roach fishing, but wait till the cap of your float is under water. They will take gentles with tolerable freedom, and we have caught them with the caddis when they absolutely refused the worm. Instead of ground-baiting, get a rake to rake the bottom, or, in very shallow water, stand in the water and stir up the mud or gravel with your feet, which is the method most practised in the Trent. They are a valuable bait for the carnivorous fish, both when used alive and dead,-in fact, the best live bait that can be used, and also are excellent eating, almost equalling the smelt in deli

cacy.

In fishing for the gudgeon, you may often catch the POPE or RUFF, a small sort of perch, but coloured somewhat like the gudgeon. It is not found in every river, but, in those where it is found, it may be caught without the least difficulty, not that it is worth the trouble of fishing for. It will hardly ever refuse a small worm at the bottom of the water.

Of the MINNOw, StickleBACK, STONEBACK, and BULLHEAD one need scarcely speak, as, though useful as baits, they are not worth fishing for with a rod and line. To catch minnows for baits, use a small meshed net spread across a common hoop (an iron one), with four or five strings attached to the sides and tied to a piece of cord, which should be fastened to a pole about nine or ten feet long. Throw some crumbs of bread or red worms into the water over this net, which should be allowed to lie flat on the bottom, and when the shoal of minnows are feeding on them over the net, draw it up suddenly. In choosing minnows for baiting, do not take the largest: "the medium size and the whitest are the best," says old Walton. Any minnows will, however, do for live bait for perch. The stoneback or loach is a capital bait for night lines, and may be used for spinning. Two of the finest jack we have seen caught were taken in the latter way by this bait. It is not unlike a gudgeon, but longer in proportion to its size, without scales, and has a profusion of barbs or wattles round its mouth.

There is a fish in some rivers called

THE BURBOT or EEL-POUT,

which grows to two or three pounds' weight and is excellent eating, but is seldom caught with a line, though occasionally with night lines. For this reason

we will dismiss him, merely observing that he is an ugly-looking fish with a big head, lots of barbs at his mouth, a thin tail, and of a sort of brownish colour, with dark purplish spots. It is the only fresh-water fish of the cod tribe in this country.

THE EEL

is also unworthy the consideration of the sportsman, and is best caught with night lines; but as, in fishing for other fish, our readers may often have the misfortune to catch one, a piece of advice may here be given. Directly you have got him out of the water, put your foot on him and cut through the back of the neck, so as to sever the back-bone and render him helpless, when the hook may be extracted without trouble.

BAITS.

There are endless varieties of baits, all good in their season, but the chief of these is the worm. Of this there are several kinds:

1. The LOB-WORM, which may be found on lawns and garden-paths at night after a shower of rain, or in a heavy dew. Some little adroitness, which practice alone can give, is requisite in catching them, as they retire into their holes in an instant when disturbed. This is beyond doubt the best worm for fishing, but is almost equalled by

2. The RED WORM, a smaller species, of a deep red colour, and good for nearly all fish. Part of a red worm answers well for small fish which could not take in even part of a lob.

3. The BRANDLING, a striped worm, found in dung-hills and tan-heaps. This requires much "scouring" before use.

4. The MARSH-WORM is the common earth-worm, with somewhat of a bluish head, and is of less use than the others.

We next come to an important class of so-called worms, viz., the larva of various insects. CATERPILLARS of all kinds are a deadly bait, more particularly the smooth ones. The little green sort found on oak trees from April to July are especially destructive.

The BLOOD-WORM is the larva of a species of gnat, and is found in stagnant puddles, sometimes in such numbers as to appear as if the whole had been converted into blood. It is about half an inch long and of a brilliant red colour. Several of them must be used at once in baiting.

The CADDIS-WORM of various kinds is almost too well known to need description, and is a deadly bait in its season for trout, dace, and roach. We once took a number of gudgeons out of a small stream with this bait when they refused the red worm.

In using all these worms, the angler should consider the state of the water he is fishing in. In low bright water a small red worm is to be relied on; but in thick or heavy water a big lob is best.

Be careful to scour your worms by keeping them in clean damp moss for some days before using them. A well-scoured worm is tougher and livelier, and a brighter-looking bait altogether, than one fresh from the earth.

To keep worms in a tolerable condition for fishing, a mixture of gardenmould and tea-leaves is much used. This will not do well for the lob-worm. In dry weather, when the worms do not appear at night, a few pails of water thrown on the lawn will often bring them up in an hour or so.

There are many other grubs, &c., all of which are good in their season; but

the best of all is the GENTLE, or larva of the blow-fly. When scoured with a little sand, or, if you can give a little longer time, bran, they are an almost universal bait.

Of natural FLIES we will say nothing here, as we verily believe there is no insect that a fish will refuse, and have treated of the more special ones in mentioning the different fish, with, we think, the omission of the grasshopper only, a most deadly bait for trout, grayling, chub, and dace.

FISH BAITS we have already spoken of, but we may here add sprats as a first-rate and cheap bait for spinning for pike in winter. ARTIFICIAL BAITS had better not be used while the natural ones are attainable.

The best PASTES have been mentioned in their places. Wheat and malt boiled in milk until quite soft are a favourite bait for roach and bream with many anglers.

The green "silk weed," twisted up into little balls, has been lately recom.mended as a bait for roach, but we have much doubt as to its utility.

FLY-FISHING.

We will now proceed to give a few hints on this most delightful branch of the gentle art.

For trout it is not only one of the most successful, but also is the only method permitted in most rivers. The grayling and the dace afford capital sport to the fly-fisher, as also the chub. Salmon-of which we will not treat here, as those of our readers who are fortunate enough to get the opportunity of salmon fishing will not have any difficulty in procuring plenty of that example which is so far superior to precept―are caught with the artificial fly, and even the pike is sometimes taken by a strange-looking half-fly half-bird. Firstly, of your rod. This should be much lighter and more pliable than a bottom-fishing rod: about 12 feet is the most convenient length, and neither too stiff nor too "whippy." You had better get some old hand to choose one for you if possible, but if you cannot, endeavour to pick out one that plays truly when shaken in the hand, and appears to become gradually more flexible as it tapers. Do not take one beyond your strength: it is as bad as an overheavy cricket-bat. You will require a winch, containing 30 yards of line of fine silk, or tapered silk and hair mixed (some prefer the one, some the other). At the end of this fasten by a loop in the ordinary way 3 yards of round, fine, even gut, to which attach your fly. After you have attained some dexterity, more than one fly may be used; but the utility of this practice is questionable, and we strongly dissuade a novice from attempting it, unless he wishes to bring his tackle into utter grief every two or three casts.

Now as to casting. We believe that all the written directions on the subject would not be of half so much good as one hour with an experienced flyfisher. Our directions are, therefore, get some one to show you-not by words, but by actual example.

As regards a stock of flies, do not fill your book too full: an entomological museum is not wanted, though most of the tackle-makers will endeavour to persuade you to the contrary. The number of species of real use is not so large as people pretend. We will merely give the names of the different sorts of most utility, without directions for making them, as in these days, when the best London makers will send the best flies by post to almost any part of the globe, and these flies only cost two or three shillings a dozen, it is hardly worth

the trouble of making them oneself. The names here given will be known by

any good tackle-maker.

1. Hofland's fancy

2. The Francis

3. The alder-fly

4. The cinnamon

5. The March brown

6. The red spinner

7. The blue dun

[blocks in formation]

A few red and black palmers of various sizes, and a few large red palmers, with double hooks for chub fishing, will be found very useful. It will be as well to have Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8 of several sizes and shades, as the insects they are intended to represent vary much with the state of the weather and period of the year.

Trout begin to rise in some rivers about the middle of March, when the March brown and the blue dun are the best flies. In fact, they are the best flies to commence the season with in every river. At this time your only chance of taking anything is in the middle of the day. Later on in the season fish earlier and later, the middle of the day being now useless, unless wet or windy, when the angler who has the pluck to venture out gets the pull of the fine-weather fisherman. In a lake, in fact, it is next to useless to fish unless a strong breeze be blowing or rain falling. The latter end of April and beginning of May are the most glorious time for the fly-fisher, except, perhaps, in those rivers where the May-fly is found, where the fish will not rise freely till it puts in an appearance. About this time the alder-fly in the morning, and Hofland's fancy, the Francis, or the duns in the evening, will do much execution. At the end of May or beginning of June the May-fly appears. The artificial imitation will kill early in the morning and late in the evening. Throughout May the stone-fly is an excellent fly, especially late in the evening. The sedge-fly will also do well at this time. After the disappearance of the May-fly the trout will not rise much in the daytime; but the sedge-fly, coachman, and various moths will come in very usefully after sunset.

Remember that, if you can see a trout, he can generally see you, and that no whipping will induce him to rise. Look out carefully for big fish rising under an overhanging tree, and sucking down every fly that passes over them. If you can, let your fly fall a foot or two above them, so thai the current may bring it down over their noses; but don't pitch it behind them or right on their heads. Where a big stone or stump obstructs the stream and forms an eddy, throw your fly so that the stream may bring it round the obstacle into the comparatively still water, where a trout delights to lie in wait for what loats down. You will soon know if he takes your fly.

In playing a trout, remember never to let your line become slack. This, indeed, should not be done with any fish, but a trout, unless very well hooked, will almost invariably break his hold in such a case.

The grayling, a fish not found in many rivers, will take most of the small duns, and has the advantage of coming into season just as the trout leaves off: the best month for fly-fishing for grayling being October. In fishing for grayling, let your flies sink a little.

Of fly-fishing for dace we have already spoken. The big double-hooked palmers should be thrown under the boughs of trees about August and September, when you will frequently be rewarded by hooking large chub.

« ForrigeFortsett »