A Book On Angling
A Book On Angling
A Book On Angling
BOOK ON
ANGLING
FRANCIS FRANCIS
BY
Edited witlv ait introduction- by
S&HERBERT MAXWELL,Bi
LIBRARY
VMVBRSiTY OP
A BOOK ON ANGLING
1. THE POPHAM. 2. THE JOCK SCOTT.
3. THE CLARET JAY. 4. THE LEE BLUE.
5. THE DUN WING. 0. THE BUTCHER.
A BOOK ON
ANGLING
BEING A COMPLETE TREATISE ON THE
ART OF ANGLING IN EVERY BRANCH
BY
FRANCIS FRANCIS
EDITED WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
SIR HERBERT MAXWELL, BT.
CONTAINING NUMEROUS PLATES IN
COLOUR AND OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS
PHILADELPHIA
J. B. L1PPINCOTT COMPANY
LONDON: HERBERT JENKINS LTD.
I
920
The Mayflower Press. Plymouth, England. William Brendon & Son Ltd.
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION
BY SIR HERBERT MAXWELL, BT.
036
vi A BOOK ON ANGLING
split-cane trout rod (for salmon fishing commend me still to
sound greenheart), nor of the convenience of a Malloch reel in
minnow fishing, nor of the virtue of adhesive tape which has
rendered ferrule- jointed salmon rods as obsolete for all time
as muzzle-loading shot-guns. To these and other changes I
will venture to call attention in notes yet I wonder whether
;
supposing the angler to have put up fly (we call them flies for
a
convenience, but birds, bats, or battle-axes would be equally
appropriate terms of similitude) supposing, I say, the fly
selected be neither too large to scare the salmon nor too small
to attract its attention, it is possible to divine what particular
colour may suit the fancy of a fish newly arrived from the sea.
I have killed salmon with the fly in thirty-one different
rivers in England, Scotland, Ireland, and Norway, and have
never been able to detect preference on the part of the fish
for any particular colour or shade of light and dark.
EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION vii
"
assume, it is a fancy of my own I want to try."
"
I don't think it's the proper fly at all for this water,"
"
rejoined the other. Have ye not got a Wulkinson in your
"
box ?
The new accounted for seven fish from eight rises 22 lb.,
fly
22 lb., 20 lb., 18 lb., 16 lb., 16 lb., and 8 lb. I have used it on
many other rivers since that day, and found it just as good as
any other pattern and no better In justice, however, to the
!
the same size. I then started back for Cromwiel but had not ;
this fly, I have ventured to give its likeness in Plate XVI, Fig. 2. It is dressed
thus Tag and body all in one, gold tinsel ribbed with gold twist, orange hackle
:
eye-shot, which" is at all worth his notice, that he does not take
stock or toll of (p. 245).
After every cast, just as the fly falls on the water, he takes a
couple of paces backwards that is, in the direction of the
head of the pool, and so continues till he reaches the top. This
plan is the easiest way to fish a stretch of dead water, for the
backward paces after the cast straighten out the bag in the line.
Moreover, even in a brisk stream, a salmon will often move to a
fly brought up from behind him, which he has refused to
notice when shown him in the ordinary way. Times without
number has this happened in my experience. The most
memorable instance of it was on 26th February, 1900. I began
fishing Kilfedder stream on the Helmsdale from the top, water
very high, but in fine colour. I touched three fish going down,
but none of them took hold. Arrived at the tail of the pool I
began backing up before reaching the head of it I landed five
;
than time for a cast over the head of Salzcraggie, where, fishing
down this time, I landed another salmon, the eleventh in
eleven consecutive rises. One advantage of this mode of
fishing a pool is that, whereas it is easier to guide a salmon
down-stream than to lead him up against the current, there is
less chance when playing him of disturbing water over which
the fly has not yet passed.
Since Francis fished, observed and wrote, considerable
advance has been achieved in our knowledge of the life-
history of the salmon. The systematic marking of both clean
fish and kelts, undertaken and maintained through a long
series of years, first, by the late Mr. Walter Archer, and
HERBERT MAXWELL.
MONREITH,
March, 1920.
PREFACE
TO
FRANCIS FRANCIS.
THE FIRS, 1867.
PREFACE
TO
xvi
CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION BY SIR HERBERT MAXWELL, BT. v
PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION
PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION ...... xiii
xvi
CHAPTER I
BOTTOM FISHING
The Origin of Angling Pond-Fishing Punt-Fishing The Nor-
folk Style Bank-Fishing The Gudgeon The Pope The
Bleak The Roach The Rudd The Dace The Chub The
Barbel i
CHAPTER II
BOTTOM-FISHING continued
CHAPTER IV
MID-WATER FISHING
The Pike Spinning Trolling with the Dead Gorge Live Bait-
ing, etc 70
CHAPTER V
ARTIFICIAL FLY-FISHING
\
Varieties of Trout Instructions as to Rods and Tackle How
to use them Weather How to Choose Flies Dress Night -
Fishing 99
CHAPTER VI
ARTIFICIAL FLIES
Contrast of Systems Copying Nature and Copying Nothing
List of Faes for each Month . . . . .
.134
B xvii
xviii A BOOK ON ANGLING
CHAPTER VII
ON LAKE-FISHING, ETC.
PAGE
Lake-Fishing Daping -The Creeper The Beetle The Worm .
184
CHAPTER VIII
SPINNING FOR TROUT
CHAPTER IX
THE SALMON
The Rod The Reel and Line How to use them Casting
Striking Playing a Salmon Sea Trout Fishing . . 226
CHAPTER X
SALMON FLIES
List of Salmon Flies General Flies List of Flies for Scotch
Rivers 248
CHAPTER XI
SALMON FLIES continued
CHAPTER XII
SALMON FLIES continued
List of Flies for Wales and England List of Sea Trout Flies .
311
CHAPTER XIII
TACKLE MAKING AND FLY DRESSING
On making
The Method of Dressing the Salmon Fly ....
Tackle, Knotting, etc. How to Dress the Trout Fly
324
CHAPTER XIV
CONCLUSION
On Hooks The Bait Table Recipes and Notabilia .
.341
INDEX 361
ILLUSTRATIONS
FRONTISPIECE
i. The Popham. 2. The Jock Scott
3. The Claret Jay. 4. The Lee Blue.
The Dun Wing. The Butcher.
.......
5. 6.
PLATE TO FACB PACK
I. LANDING NETS, ETC. 9
II. THE SLIDER AND OTHER FLOATS, ETC 49
.....
III.
V.
VI.
SPINNING TACKLES BAITED
93
VII. i. DRY FLY WATER ON THE TEST
A WHITE TROUT STREAM, BALLINAHINCH .121
VIII.
IX.
2.
.
.
. .211
134
2.
"THE
PlTLOCHRY HEAD, RlVER TAY .....
SHOT," FLOORS CASTLE WATER, RIVER TWEED
227
XII. BIRCH GROVE. A SALMON CAST ON THE WYE 241
....
. .
249
2.
Bt.)
2. The Tartan.
269
BOTTOM -FISHING
The Origin of Angling Pond-Fishing Punt-Fishing The Norfolk Style
Bank-Fishing The Gudgeon The Pope The Bleak The Roach
The Rudd The Dace The Chub The Barbel.
the hook and a hammer and dives to the bottom, and there he begins crack-
ing and knocking to pieces the masses of shell-fish. The fish draw round to
feed. The diver selects his fish, and literally thrusts the hook into its mouth,
and his friend above pulls it up. F. F.
f ^Elian, writing in Greek about 115 A.D., instructs his readers in fly
fishing, and recommends a red tackle. ED.
2 A BOOK ON ANGLING
history of angling. Our business lies with the present, and
with a very brief notice we shall dismiss the past.
One of the first treatises in the English language on angling
is that of Dame Juliana Berners, or Barnes, in the Book of
St. Albans. It is entitled The Art of Fysshynge with an Angle,
and was published in 1496. There were other authors who
added to the stock of angling literature, but the next one of
note was the well-known Izaak Walton, who wrote The Con-
templative Man's Recreation, and first published it in 1653, and
in fifteen years it ran through five editions. Since then, with
the additions by Cotton and Venables, the book has run through
an extraordinary number of editions.*
From that time down to the present the number of writers
upon angling matters has abounded beyond measure, and the
one of the richest branches of literature
literature of angling is
we have. writers have increased, each one adding his
As the
particular notion or two to the common stock, so has the art
progressed towards perfection, and, long ere this, fish would
have become extinct, but that nature has wisely ordained that,
as the fishermen become learned in their art, the fish shall
become learned also, and thus hickory and horsehair, gut and
steel,are robbed of a portion of their destructiveness and ;
although our dear old friend and father Izaak no doubt would
form a most agreeable fishing companion, we question, if he
revisited the scenes of his former exploits, with the same tackle
he used then, whether he would not find rather more difficulty
" "
in pleasuring some poor body with the contents of his creel
than he was wont to do.
The must be
art of angling, as pursued in the present day,
divided into three branches Bottom, Mid-water, and Top or
Surface-fishing. The first comprehends bait and float-fishing of
every kind the second spinning, trolling, and live-baiting,
;
and the last, daping and fishing with the artificial fly. As the
first has by far the greater number of followers, owing to the
greater facilities offered for its pursuit, we shall commence
with that.
BOTTOM-FISHING may be subdivided into still-water and
stream-fishing. Still-water is usually the first essay of the
cork float (Plate II, Fig. 2, p. 49) carrying four or five No. i
shot, the last of which should be a good foot from the hook ;
his hook should be upon rather finer gut than the line, and the
best general size he will find to be about No. 6, 7, or 8, it does
not matter a great deal which. If there be many roach in the
pond, and he desires to take them chiefly, perhaps the latter
size. If carp, tench, and perch, then the former is best.
Let him plumb the depth accurately, and having fixed upon
a nice spot, near weeds, but quite clear of them at the bottom,
let him fix his float so that the bait may just touch the bottom,
not swim in mid-water. His hook should then be baited with
a well-scoured red worm, and having thrown in a dozen or so
of bits of broken worm round about the spot he is going to fish,
let him drop his bait in softly, and having stuck a forked stick
into the bank for his rod to rest on,* let him lay his rod down,
and keep out of sight, until he has a bite. Pond-fish always bite
slowly, and before they move away with the bait give ample
time to the angler to reach his rod and take it up.
While his rod is, as it were, fishing for itself, he will do well to
look out for another spot near his own ground, to which, by
casting in a few odd broken worms or gentles from time to
time, he can allure the fish, so that when he is tired of his
present pitch, he can go to another already baited. Thus he
will lose no time in his fishing, and will be enabled, by working
* If it be
necessary for his rod to extend over the pond, by resting the
part in front of the reel on the fork, and by pressing the part behind the
reel down by means of a hooked stick forced into the ground, the ro4 can
be kept in position and out of the water easily. F. F f
4 A BOOK ON ANGLING
from spot to spot like this, to fish over a good deal of the
ground advantageously.
The above is the best general plan for the young angler to
adopt. If, however, he intends angling for any particular fish,
he will find the method of doing so described under its special
head in another part of this chapter.
and having once decided upon this, and properly baited it, he
should not be in a hurry to quit it for another. He must select
a spot where there is the best appearance of fish. He may see
the fish sailing about at the bottom, or in mid- water, or jump-
ing about on the surface in which case he will not have much
difficulty in deciding : but it may happen that the water is
deep and quiet, and he will not have this method of determin-
ing upon his fishing ground. Let him, then, if not too lazy, get
up very early in the morning, and take a walk by the river-
side ;and soon after daybreak, when all is yet quiet, he will
see the fish begin to break the water, and roach, dace, barbel,
bream, and other fish will jump about, or put up their heads,
as if to see what sort of a day it is to be. Let 'him then note
where these rises are the thickest, and choose that place. The
angler can do the same thing late in the evening ; but the fish
do not as a general rule move nearly so freely then as in the
morning.
If he has no means of
obtaining this information, and knows
not whom to ask which are the recognised swims, let him walk
along the banks of the river and note where the grass is well
worn by the long dwelling or treading of muddy feet and let
;
him look out for traces of clay, bran, or other debris of ground-
baits, which are usually sufficiently visible to point out the
desirable spot. If none of these serve, then he must
rely upon
his own judgment,
choosing a swim neither too deep nor too
shallow as regards the water, nor too swift nor
sluggish for the
stream. The neighbourhood of
good overhanging banks or
large bushes, a bank of weeds, or a deep hole, to form harbours
for the fish, is
always desirable. The ground should also be|as
BAITING THE SWIM 5
just touch the bottom while about an inch of the float is above
the surface. Some fish require the bait to drag a little more
than others, and for them, of course, a longer allowance of
depth on the line must be made. Having ascertained the depth,
take off the cap of the float, take a half-hitch of the line on the
top to secure it, and replace the cap, which should fit pretty
tightly to prevent any slipping or coming off. Then bait the
hook, drop the tackle into the water, and let it go with the
stream ;
as it goes down follow it with the rod-point, keeping
the point always as directly over the float as possible. If there
be no disturbance of the float but it swims serenely on, let it go
on to the point which you have marked out as the end of the
stream, or as far as the time allows and before withdrawing it
;
slip the hand behind the gulls and grip the fish firmly, lifting
him out at the same time. Some persons put the finger and
thumb into the eyeholes of the pike, and lift him out thus but;
To face Page 9.
* If one a far
possible wear a glove for this delicate operation. It gives
firmer grip. ED.
t In gaffing a salmon from the shore, the gaff should invariably be laid
over the fish, and drawn firmly home without jerk or violence. In landing a
salmon from a boat, the gaff may be laid under the fish without risk of
fouling the line. ED.
io A BOOK ON ANGLING
will keep off damp, no protection from cold. This stool
it is
also goes easily with the rod, and weighs but a trifle.
In bank-fishing perfect quietude is very advisable and if
;
and the angler should bear this in mind, that anything which
comes between the water and the sky frightens the fish
instantly whereas if there is a high bank, a tree, a plantation,
;
having also a spare rod with a well weighted line with a float,
which acts as a dead line beside him, while fishing with the
other rod in the usual way. The fish caught are chiefly roach
and bream ;
for the first, barley-meal is the ground-bait, and
for the second, boiled barley, the hook-baits being principally
gentles and worms. Large takes are frequently made, and it
is common to estimate the take by the stone weight.
The rods used in bank and punt bottom-fishing with the
float, differ considerably. In punt-fishing the rod should be
light and handy, and from ten to twelve or thirteen feet in
length. If longer than the constant striking through a
this,
long day's fishing tires the arm. Still it is always advisable
for the angler to use as long a rod as he can conveniently
manage, as it gives him not only a longer swim but more
power over it. Bamboo cane is the most usual material
employed. Punt rods of solid wood are often rather too heavy,
and the white cane too light for the work. Many anglers, how-
ever, prefer rods made of solid wood, as they are supposed to
stand heavy work better, though I have not found that they
do so. The best rod to stand work I ever had, was a single
stick of bamboo without joint or ferrule of any kind, with
merely a spliced top lashed to it of some eighteen inches or two
feet in length. I have used this rod for twenty years, and it is
as straight as ever it was. For solid rpds hickory is the best
wood.
For bank-fishing the rod should be longer and larger, and it
is seldom the custom to use a rod of less than fifteen or sixteen
feet in length while on the Lea and elsewhere fishermen use
:
punt fishing, to strike at the end of every swim. The wear and
tear, therefore, is nothing like so much in a bank as in a punt
12 A BOOK ON ANGLING
rod,and a lighter material can be employed. It is astonishing
what a difference in the wear and tear of rod-tops the addition
or subtraction of a dozen or so of shot on the line makes. For
example, suppose your dozen shot weigh only the eighth of an
ounce. Suppose you only strike sixty times in an hour, which
is very far under the mark, and suppose you fish a good day of,
many good fish, hooks, and much time are lost both in playing
the fish and in repairing losses. Still, as I have said, many
excellent fishers (for roach particularly) do employ it, and it
certainly is a very pretty bit of sport to kill a roach of a pound
and a half in a nice eddy with a single hair. Young fishermen
should always go through a course of single-hair fishing.
Nothing contributes to give them such a delicate touch and
such an accurate perception of the exact amount of strain their
rods and tackles will bear as fishing with single hair. And no
bottom-fisher is worth the name who cannot (if his fish be well
hooked and tackle sound) kill a two-pound roach in a sharp
stream with a single hair. Gut should be stained slightly to
suit the water, and a very pale green and light amber are the
only colours ever required. It is the custom to stain gut of a
deep ink blue, but this colour is far more discernible in the
water than the plain undyed gut is. Gut is of two sorts, good
and bad. Good gut can be easily told by either the eye or the
touch. Good gut should be round, clear, bright, hard, even
in size, and almost colourless. Bad gut is flat, greasy, dull,
raffy, or rough and frayed, uneven in size, and of a green
tinge ;
indeed the greener it is the worse it is. This is the gut
that is chiefly used for drawing purposes. Bad gut may often
be had for a little money, but it is never
cheap to the angler.
When not using it, always as much as possible keep your gut
from the light, for damp hardly rots it sooner than sunlight.
The best reels for bottom-fishing are the plain reels with
a light check. Do not have a multiplier even at a gift. It
is an abomination.* In using hair from a punt, unless you hold
the line loose in your hand, the check will be almost too much,
and a plain winch is preferable. Your winch should hold forty
or fifty yards of fine line. This running or reel line should
be of very fine dressed silk undressed, it is apt, when wet, to
;
cling about the rod and rings, and it also rots sooner. (In
the Nottingham style undressed lines are required.) Never
use any mixture of horsehair in your reel line, as it is so apt to
knot and tangle that it is always catching in something. In
using the long cane rods mentioned above, the Lea fishers do
not often use a reel or running line at all, but simply fasten their
lines to the eye of the rod- top. When a good fish is hooked
they play him for a time with the whole rod, which, from its
* The author
might be of a different opinion now. Multiplying reels of
American make are highly praised by those who use them, and are reckoned
indispensable in tarpon fishing, ED.
i4 A BOOK ON ANGLING
length, enables them to follow the fish and keep over him
almost anywhere he may choose to go. As he becomes more
tractable they unscrew and drop off a joint or two, until,
having him almost supine, half the rod is thus dropped and the
fish is led in by a small light rod of some three or four
joints,
and of very manageable dimensions.
Of floats for stream-fishing, I have before said they should
be suited to the water. I may now say that there are several
sorts, but I never use but two. For heavy streams cork
floats of various weights, and tapering gradually both
ways
to the ends (the longest taper below), and for light streams
a porcupine quill. These two can be had of any size, to take
fifty shot or five. Floats are also made of quills, tapered and
fastened up in lengths, and heavily varnished, and also of reeds
of various lengths, etc. ; but although they are very pretty
<
to look at, they do not stand enough wear and tear for my
money. (For floats various, see Plate II, p. 49.)
Hooks are of many sorts and sizes, and should be suited
to the fish to be angled for. The best size for ordinary roach,
dace, and barbel-fishing, whether from the bank or punt,
is that which will carry one or two
gentles well, and that is
from No. 7 to 10. There are a great variety of hooks the
Limerick, the Kirby, the sneck bend, and the round bend.
The first is sometimes used for bottom-fishing, but more often
for fly-fishing. The barb is so rank, however, that it often
takes some time to unhook the fish. Of the other patterns
it is difficult to decide which is the best. Tastes vary so
much that they all have their supporters. Some like the
sneck bend, and some the round bend, and some like the
old Kirby some modifications of one or the other. I generally
use a hook of not quite a round bend, but with the point
deflected to the side a little (not too much), and bent inwards
the least trifle in the world ; and, added to this, I do not hold
with the shank being too short. It is a great fault.
Having now given an account of general bottom-fishing,
I shall proceed to treat of the various fish taken
by this means
in order, with the plans and baits
employed in capturing
them, beginning with the easiest of the angler's pursuits, and
so working my way through all grades until the proud position
of M.A.-ship, or, as the old joke has it, of Senior
Angler is
reached.
GUDGEON-FISHING 15
always been a favourite pursuit with the fair sex. I feel that I
might be sarcastic here, and draw morals of divers kinds.
But I refrain, for I have enjoyed many a day's gudgeon-
round the spot are very plentiful, but more often two applica-
tions of the rake will be found sufficient.
Gudgeon, however, not only multiply in running streams,
they thrive well in ponds. I once threw the contents of my
bait-can into a dirty horse-pond, and the gudgeons bred in
it and did well there, and lived in it for years, furnishing me
with bait upon emergencies. Indeed, the water must be very
foul indeed which a gudgeon will not be able to exist in.
The gudgeon is a most agreeable acquaintance at the
breakfast table. There is a crispness and piquancy about his
discussion, when duly fried and neatly served, which is highly
gratifying.
While fishing for him, the young angler is apt to pull up a
fish somewhat similar in appearance at the first glance, and
this is
would be held by any London angler and they are the chief
i8 A BOOK ON ANGLING
and best roach-fishers to be a most unusual prize for what ;
snap the hair in the strike when aided by the length of line,
the weight of tackle, and a sharp stream.
The best hook-baits for roach are, as I have intimated,
first, maggots, or gentles as they are more commonly called
gentle), and then let it down the swim twirling about alive,
and you will often get ten or a dozen good fish if you do not
lose one or two before they find out their mistake ;perhaps
then they will take to pulling your gentle off, or, as before,
squeezing out the intestines, carefully avoiding the hook
meanwhile. Then must you string the gentle on to the hook
bodily, passing the hook into the thick end, and the point
coming out at the small end or head, and thus you may
delude a few more. Oft-times, too, when they find that the
ground-bait is rather a dangerous neighbourhood, or when
perhaps they may see the punt too clearly, they will remain
below the ground-bait, catching the atoms as they sail by.
The best fish nearly always do this, arid rest quite at the end
of the swim. Then cast your ground-bait a good way off down
ROACH-FISHING 21
the swim. Let out a few yards extra of line and fish farther
off, and you will often get sport in that way when the fish
will scarcely bite at all close to the boat. All these dodges
and any more which may suggest themselves to the angler,
should be employed when the fish are biting shyly. change A
of bait will often procure a fish or two, and should never be
neglected. In fact, a judicious changing backwards and
forwards in this respect will be found highly necessary to tickle
the jaded appetites of the well-fed aldermanic roach, and
by one means or the other something like a take may generally
be made, provided the fish are there.* Many of the above
plans, it will be seen, are equally feasible in bank-fishing.
The following plan is an ingenious one it was communicated
;
fishing alone will make a fair bag on an indifferent day. The above hints
are, of course, unnecessary save for the tyro. F, F.
22 A BOOK ON ANGLING
renew the colouring matter about every quarter of an hour,
"
and, said my informant, no matter how low or bright the
water, you will get sport when none of the boats or fishermen
near you will perhaps be able to get any."
Among other baits much favoured by roach are creed
malt and boiled wheat it must be boiled until it cracks,
;
of this, the angler may whip with a gentle if the fish are
inclined to rise well, and he will be pretty sure to get good
sport.
Large roach are often taken also with the lob worm when
barbel-fishing. The ground-baits for roach are as various
as the hook-baits. In still streams and quiet eddies these
should be scattered loosely in, without any admixture of
clay or any sinking matter, but the angler in doing so must
always calculate whereabouts his bait is likely to ground,
and fish there for if he baits in one place, and fishes a few
;
yards off it, his ground-bait will do him more harm than no
bait at all would. Never overbait roach ; a very little bait
will draw them together, and a few scraps occasionally will
be all that is necessary to keep them on the watch. And
therefore a little bait scattered over a space where all can
get at it is better than a mass where only two or three can
plunge their noses into it and succeed in gorging themselves.
There is no plan so absurd, so literally destructive of sport,
as that pursued by the majority of Thames fishermen, with
their huge piles of puddings of clay, bran, gentles, greaves.
24 A BOOK ON ANGLING
bread, and what not an occasional ball or two mixed up with
;
it touches the bottom, and scatters all over the swim but as
;
all these fish were taken with the tail of the lob worm when
we had baited for barbel. Never before or since, through
many long years' experience, have I seen such a take of dace
on the Thames, nor one at all approaching it for average size.
In the Colne, and the Hampshire Avon, and the Usk, however,
I have often seen dace that would weigh full three-quarters
of a pound, and even more. The dace is gregarious, and
spawns in May or June, and gets into fair condition again by
the middle of July. By August they get on the shallows,
where they may be taken in large numbers, by whipping
with almost any small fly, or even with a single gentle some ;
people, to make the fly more attractive, point the hook with
a gentle ;others, as I have recommended in roach-fishing,
use a small shred of kid or wash-leather. I have found the
inner rind of a scrap of stringy bacon answer the purpose
better perhaps than either, being a kind of compromise
between the two that is, something to taste, and not liable
;
there be much wind you cannot see the rises, and when you
feel them it is too late to strike dace, as they reject the fly
with great quickness hence the use of the gentle, or bacon
;
rind, to make them retain their hold. They are very quick
of sight, and on a too sunny day the angler will experience
the disappointment of seeing fish after fish, and often two or
three at a time, follow his fly for yards without taking it ;
when this is the case, try a smaller fly and finer tackle, and
don't forget the bacon or gentle.
All the methods, and arts, and tackle, recommended for
catching roach, are applicable to dace, and the hooks are of
a similar size, only as the dace is rather more carnivorous,
the angler will find worms, greaves, and gentles preferable
to farinaceous food ; and although roach and dace for the
most part bite in the same swims, yet, if the angler desires
more particularly to fish for dace, he must choose a rather
swifter and heavier swim ;
dace bite rather quicker and
sharper than roach, and the slow suck down, that so often
betrays a good roach, is not so common in dace-fishing. One
good plan of attracting small dace is to rake the bottom, as
in gudgeon-fishing, when little or no ground-bait will be
needed.
When fly-fishing for dace, be cautious and quiet, as they
are easily alarmed, and a slight wave, or unusual ripple on
the water, will instantly stop their rising. There is no bait
so good for taking dace as a red worm, or the tail of a small
lob worm next to that, I give the preference to gentles and
;
greaves.
Dace are a troublesome fish to get into a trout stream,
as their habits and food being similar to that of the trout, they
take much of the food from the trout, and being a restless
hardy fish, and, moreover, in the height of condition when
the trout are spawning, they pick up a vast quantity of the
eggs shed by the trout, and owing to these and other causes
they soon considerably outnumber and override the trout.
THE CHUB 27
The greatest number of dace I ever saw together was in the
pools in the river Usk, a mile or two below Brecon. The
pools were alive with them, and they ran very large I saw
;
or any large trout fly will also kill well, and casting in as far
under the boughs as may be practicable. When the chub
rises to the fly, the angler must be a bungler indeed who
gradually and very gently he may move the point of the rod
over the spot where the fish are thickest having arrived so
;
far, he may drop his bait smartly on the surface of the water.
If the chub rises and gobbles it down directly (as, if the angler
has conducted his operations properly, will most likely be
the case) he must not strike immediately, or the fish will
splash upon the top of the water, and so disturb every chub
within yards of the spot. But he must allow the fish to turn
his head well down, and then give him a gentle pull (not a
sharp strike), and put a strong persuasive drag on in order to
lead him away from the spot, so that he may not by flying
about all over the hole disturb the others, for, if he is permitted
to do so, the angler will barely take another fish in the hole,
whereas by conducting his measures properly he may take
three or four or more. Having landed his fish with as little
* Before the
angler ever attempts to fish any special hole, swim, pitch,
or cast, let him study the spot, and settle in his own mind how it can best
be fished to advantage how this bough or that obstruction, may be avoided
; ;
being over the spot you want to fish, release the line, and the
weight of the bullet will draw it out directly. As the frog
glides down towards the surface, ease the line slowly, as it
is not desirous to plump him or the bullet into the water,
but to keep him on the surface, so that not an inch of the line
should touch the water, but the frog should just rest, as it
were, upon the surface, the bullet being a foot above him and
quite out of the water, of course. The moment the frog touches
the water, he will begin to strike out, and in his ineffective
attempts to swim away he will kick up such an attractive bob-
bery on the top of the water that all the chubs within reasonable
range will come to see what the disturbance is, and to a cer-
tainty they will think it necessary to take the disturber of
the peace into custody.
Tastes differ. Some like frogs, and some cockchafers and
some humblebees. I have another friend who is a very success-
ful angler for large chub on the Thames, and who vows that
no respectable chub is seen out after the grey of the morning.
He then goes out, and rows very gently up-stream as far away
from the spots he intends to fish as possible, and drops down
the river with the most intense caution, with muffled rowlocks
and carpet slippers, like a housebreaker, grasping his jemmy
or fishing-rod, and with hardly a breath or motion. He knows
the exact spots, calculates his distance nicely, and casts an
artificial cockchafer into the holes, the hook being attractively
of gooseberries.
As chub are rather shy, the angler, particularly if he is in a
* It is ED.
long since cheese of any kind could be had at that figure !
32 A BOOK ON ANGLING
punt or boat, must fish for them some distance from him, and
he must, therefore, when throwing in his bait, calculate
whereabouts it will ground or be dispersed on the bottom
rather nicely, because over that part of the swim he must fish
the most carefully. This should not be nearer to him than ten
yards, and from twelve to twenty will be better. Use Notting-
ham tackle, which will be described presently. The float,
of course, must suit the stream. The hook, if greaves or cheese
be used, should be a small triangle, and the depth plumbed
so that the bait may travel naturally along the bottom without
"
dragging" too much. The Nottingham tackle used in light
corking will be about the tackle for this purpose. The
tackle dropped in, and the swim commenced, the rod is held
almost upright, the point inclining a little forward. If the
weight of the stream does not take the line out fast enough,
it must be handed off the reel. The great object is not to check
the line, but to let the bait travel steadily onward. Presently
the float disappears and the angler must strike smartly and
firmly (as he may have a good length of line to lift off the water)
back over his right shoulder. If he has hooked his fish, he
then winds steadily on him until he winds him up into the
swim under the point of the rod, when, if he has been brought
up from any distance, he is usually fit for "
the landing-net.
"
In this kind of fishing, which is called traveller fishing
(the float being the traveller), a long swim is made if the
bottom admits it, and it iscommon enough to strike fish forty
or even fifty yards off. Many sorts of fish are caught in this
way, as I shall show.
Chub are often, too, caught when float-fishing in the ordinary
roach and dace style, either from punt or bank, mostly,
however, at the extreme end of the swim, and if there be a chub
about, a swim of some five or ten yards extra will often be
rewarded with a good one. Many trout and even salmon
rivers abound in chub, as the Welsh Wye and Irvon, where
they are a positive nuisance to the angler, and take the place
and food of better fish. I once, when fishing the Wye with a
very light eleven-foot trout rod, had two of these brutes on
at the same time of about two pounds each, and no landing-
net. I was fishing a very promising run of trout and grayling
water, and, to my disgust" they quite spoiled all chance of
sport in it. They are very abundant also in the Kennet, Wind-
rush, and many other excellent trout streams, which suffer
severely by their superabundance.
THE BARBEL 33
The scales of chub, as well as those of bleak, were formerly
valuable for the nacre upon them to the artificial pearl-makers,
but a better substitute has long rendered them valueless.
It is but seldom the angler would either spin or use a live
bait for chub, as their taking it is rather the exception than
the rule, though they do take both spinning and live baits
at times. Besides cheese and greaves for bottom baits, chub
are very partial to various grubs and caterpillars, to the black
slug, to snails, gentles, and worms. The chub likes a large
and fat mouthful, so that the hook may be well covered.
I always look upon the chub with somewhat of veneration ;
for was it not that historical chub, that chub Dagon in fact,
with the white spot on his tail, that was the first fish that
introduced me to old Izaak ? I trow it was, and well do I
remember, although so many years have passed away, how
from that chub I devoured the work to the end. Venator and
Auceps I cared nought for. I care nothing for them now.
They were simple nuisances they are excrescences, wens,
;
when they come in the morning, less than twelve hours after,
they find the fish collected together, doubtless, but gorged
with the worms so profusely provided for them, and so close
to the place where the punt-poles are to be driven in, and the
punt or boat fixed, that the fish, startled, even if they are
36 A BOOK ON ANGLING
hungry, get shy of the boat and retire to a distance. On the
Trent they do not put the bait into clay, but let it scatter down
the stream ; and as they fish a long way from the stand or
boat, as the case may be, the barbel are not alarmed by the
proximity of the angler. Whether the angler fishes from a
stand on the shore, or from a boat, the method is the same.
The object is to let the hook-bait travel over the whole distance
along which the ground-bait has been scattered, dragging,
like the ground-bait, slowly along the bottom. (For barbel,
which are a ground-routing fish, the bait should always touch
the bottom.) Coming, then, to the spot which has been baited,
and having determined the depth, so as to let the bait drag
slightly, cast in some ten or a dozen broken worms, in order to
set the fish biting again taking care, of course, to keep the
bait as much in a line as possible with the spot which you have
taken the depth of. The float should be of the sort used by the
Nottingham fishers, and described hereafter. The hook should
be a straight round-bend worm-hook, of about No. 5 or 6, and
tied upon fine but round stained gut. The nearest shot should
be at least a foot or fifteen inches from the hook, or, if it be
requisite that the bait should drag much, even more than that
distance. The bait should be the tail of a bright-red well-
scoured lob worm, neatly threaded on the hook, with barely
one- third of an inch of the tail off the point of the hook, which
should always be thoroughly covered and concealed in the bait.
Be sure that your hook-bait is always a part of the best and
liveliest worm you can select. Having baited the hook, drop
it into the water, and allow it to travel onwards as described
in Nottingham fishing.
Barbel are often taken with the lighter appliances used in
roach-fishing, and excellent sport is thus enjoyed. Should the
angler use greaves or cheese as a bait, no change in the style
of fishing is needed, save that the cheese should drag on the
ground as lightly as possible, or it will come off the hook.
In fishing with a stationary bait, two plans are also adopted.
The first is by the use of the ledger, and the second by the clay
ball. The ledger is composed of a perforated lead, usually a
good-sized bullet, through which the line runs freely a shot
;
being fastened on the line, about two feet above the hook,
to prevent the bullet from sliding farther down towards the
hook. (See Plate I, Fig. 3, p. 9.) In this tackle a flat lead
is shown, but a perforated bullet can be used if preferred.
The hook for ledger-fishing is generally a size or so larger
THE STEWART WORM-TACKLE 37
than that used for float-fishing, and is baited with a clean and
lively lob worm :
though greaves and even gentles are some-
times used for a change, worms are the greatest stand by.
In baiting the hook, some people take off the head of the
worm, if it be large, preferring only to cover the hook well.
As I have said, in baiting a barbel hook generally, only the
smallest portion of the tail of the worm should be allowed
beyond the point of the hook. The tackle is then swung and
pitched forward to the requisite distance i.e. where the fish
are supposed to be the most plentiful and the lead is allowed
;
let him run, if he be a big one, and play him to the best of his
ability. The weight of the lead will help him much in tiring
the fish ; the hold seldom gives if the hook be of good size, as
the mouth of a barbel is very leathery and tough.
I will now recommend a species of tackle for this sort of
shy, he will get three or four or more nibbles for one bite :
and as the bait is a rather long and large one, and the hook
likewise, it is useless to strike unless the fish has it in his
mouth. Let the angler then adopt the Stewart worm-
tackle, shown in Plate IX, Fig. 2, page 211, consisting
of three small fly-hooks tied on one above the other, at in-
tervals of half an inch or so (the hooks should be rather
larger and stouter than those used for trout) and let him
fix his worm on these and strike at every nibble, and the
result will astonish your Thames puntsman considerably.
38 A BOOK ON ANGLING
Indeed, by laying the rod down and stopping the reel, the fish
as often as not will hook themselves. After catching a few
fish, whether by float or ledger, if the fish go off biting a little,
throw in two or three broken worms to set them on the feed
again ;
but the angler must beware of overfeeding them
while the fish are biting, as many a day's sport is spoilt by this
foolish habit.
The next stationary way of fishing is by what is called the
clay ball. This plan is used chiefly from a punt or boat, and
is often successful in clear water ; it is employed, too, chiefly
when gentles or greaves are used as a bait, about half a dozen
gentles or a small piece of greaves being stuck on a perch-
hook. About a foot or more above the hook, a little bit of
stick, of about an inch in length, is fastened cross-wise ;
this is for the purpose of holding the ball on the line. A lump
of stiff clay, of the size of an orange, is then taken, and some
gentles being enclosed in it, it is worked up with bran over the
piece of stick on to the line. The gut between the ball and the
hook is then wound round the ball and drawn into the clay,
which is squeezed and worked over it, so that only the hook
shall protrude beyond the proper end of the ball, which is
then dropped to the bottom the hook with the gentles show-
ing just outside the ball, in the most attractive way (see
Plate II. Figs. 8 and 9, p. 49). Soon the gentles in the clay
force their way out, and the fish taking them from the ball,
almost invariably take those on the hook also ; the angler
strikes when he feels a bite, which he does almost as easily
as with the ledger, and the strike shakes and breaks off the
clay ball, leaving the line free to play the fish. Some anglers,
to make the lure more deceptive, enclose the hook in the clay
ball and let the fish dig it out, but it is not necessary; a stoutish
rod and tackle are required. This is a very killing plan, when
the fish are biting shyly but it cannot, of course, be practised
;
very fine takes with this bait, once taking many heavy fish,
my first four being five, six, eight, and twelve pounds re-
spectively. It is not often used, however, as the barbel
retires to winter-quarters at the first smart frost, and the
lamperns seldom run in any numbers until a frost or two
has occurred.
Fishing for barbel with fine roach tackle is, however,
certainly productive of the most sport, though it is not the
way to make a large bag for, if the angler be using fine
;
BOTTOM-FISHIN G continued
42
NOTTINGHAM TACKLE 43
tackle or letting out long line, it is requisite to moderate their
pace. As the right hand is engaged in holding the rod, this
is effected by the pressure of the fore-finger of the left hand
on the edge or circumference of the revolving reel, according
as the pace is required to be regulated, while by increasing
the pressure the run of the line may be stopped altogether.
If thisprecaution be not taken, the reel, when in full impetus,
turns round so much faster than the line runs out through
the rings, that it is apt to overrun the line, and a sad tangle
is the result. This part of the operation requires practice
and a good deal of practice. Indeed, the whole system is
much more difficult than the one in ordinary use on the
Thames but to compensate for this it is much neater and
;
portioned to the fish that for dace, roach, etc., being equal
to a No. 8. The float is composed solely of some eight inches
of a good sound goose-quill, the top of which is painted to
make it watertight, the bottom having a ring whipped on to
it for the line to pass through. The float has no caps, as being
usually attached to the running line (instead of to the tackle
as in the Thames fishing) it is fastened on with two half
hitches. This float carries about from four to six BB shot,
the lowest of which is a good foot above the hook, so as to
allow the bait to drag for some inches on the bottom without
catching the others are placed at intervals of six inches or
;
so up the tackle. This is far better and less visible, and the
line swims straighter and less wavily in the water than in the
Thames plan, where the shot are all crowded together at
one spot (some six or eight inches above the hook). With
this tackle Trent anglers fish for roach, dace, perch, gudgeon,
chub, and bream, and in a light or slow water occasionally for
barbel though for regular barbel-fishing in the heavy streams,
;
be about the right depth, casts his tackle out to the exact
distance from the shore at which he intends to fish, and
allows his float to drift down the stream. If it floats in quite
an upright position without the slightest symptom of dragging,
the line is too short, and the depth below the float must be
increased. If the float bob under, the shots are on the ground,
and the line must be shortened below the float, and so on.
Thus after four or five swims are tried he hits, by judgment,
the right depth, which is for the worm to trip or drag slightly
over the bottom without the shot coming in contact with it,
for if the worm be properly hooked, and the bottom not foul,
the tackle will nearly always carry the worm with it should;
nor allow any to hang loose from the reel, because a line so
light as the fine Derby twist would inevitably twist up and
tangle, and it would catch at the first ring so, to overcome
;
all these difficulties, he with the left hand takes hold of the
rod, and rings get wet, it becomes very difficult to get the
light line to run, even by the most assiduous wiping and ;
factorily.
If he goes for barbel-fishing the angler generally uses a
rod and tackle a trifle heavier and larger. This is called
"
light corking," because the float used is a light cork one.
48 A BOOK ON ANGLING
This will carry sufficient weight to enable the tackle to be
cast off the reel.* It will be evident that the angler has
here no need to draw off line in the left hand as in dace-
fishing. In roving for barbel the process is similar to that
for roach and dace, but larger worms are used, and the tail
of a nice livery lob is placed upon a hook some two or three
sizes larger. Roving for barbel is not often resorted to if
the angler can manage to bait a pitch the day before. Indeed,
in order to increase the chance of sport, it is not unusual to
bait two or three days before and to repeat the baitings at
some twenty or twenty-four hours' interval two or three
times.
It will often happen that the hole or swim to be fished is
some distance from the shore and is deeper than can be con-
veniently cast from the rod deeper, perhaps, than the
"
length" of the rod. When this is the case a float called a
slider is used. The slider, as may be supposed from its
name, is not a fixed float, it has a ring at the top and another
at the bottom, standing out sideways so that the line may
travel freely through them. To use this float, it is slipped
on the line through both rings, and finds its resting-place
upon the uppermost shot of the sinkers. When it is dropped
into the water it floats in its proper position, but the sinkers
carry the bait to the bottom, drawing line enough for that
purpose with them down through the float rings. Now, the
depth having been carefully plumbed previously, is marked
on the line by the tying on of a little fragment of india-rubber
elastic, which offers just enough resistance to prevent the
line running any farther than is requisite through the small
float rings, upon which therefore the bit of india-rubber rests,
keeping the bait at the required depth below. Should a fish
bite, of course the check of the india-rubber allows the float
to be pulled down in the usual way, but it does not offer
sufficient resistance to prevent either its being wound up,
*
This cast, however, is by no means easy to acquire. Even the old
Thames spinner or ledger-fisher will find it no certainty, and at the com-
mencement will very often find his float round his head, or his rod, perhaps,
or anywhere but where he wants it to be ;
but patience, practice, and perse-
verance do much ;
and the chief direction to be borne in mind is, to avoid
anything like a jerk : a smooth regular sweep is that which has to be prac-
tised in the delivery or casting of the tackle. Having gently swung the
tackle backwards, bring it forward again with a steady regular sweep, and
release your hold of the line without any abrupt action, and keep the little
finger close to the circumference of the reel so as to be able to put on pressure
to prevent overrunning of the line or to stop it altogether, as may be desired.
PLATE II.
sixty yards of line and strikes his fish at times a long way off.
In this kind of fishing the rod is held and the tackle employed
in the way that is described in chub-fishing.*
* I have been told, since the first edition of my book was published, that
my drawing and apprehension of the action of the slider as respects the
position of the bait is wrong, that the float is so checked that the bait,
instead of dragging slightly somewhat behind it, acquires precisely the
reverse position, bending just as much in front of the float as I have shown
it behind. Now I do not hesitate to say that this is simply impossible, for
no bait and float could continue to travel so. If the bait touches the bottom
at all, the line must bulge or project slightly over in front of the hook and
bait, however slightly ; and if the float be held back so tightly that the line
is kept back, and the bait travels before the line, then I aver that the bait
must absolutely be swept off the bottom altogether, and that it would be
impossible to keep up such a constant nicety of alternate tension and giving
off of line as should keep the bait to the bottom, and yet before the line
and float. Besides, so much tension would draw the float and bait nearer
to the bank, and therefore out of the swim in most cases. The whole of this
theory is founded upon a considerable misapprehension as to the manner in
which a fish takes a bait. The idea is, that as the line projects rather in front
of the bait, it would come in contact with the fish's nose before the bait did,
and scare him. Now that is supposing that every bait comes straight down
the stream dircctlv upon the fish's nose. Let anyone stand upon a bridge
and look down at fish feeding, and he will see that nine baits out of ten are
taken sideways, the fish making a side dart either to one side or the other.
50 A BOOK ON ANGLING
In ground-baiting a pitch, the Nottingham fishermen
seldom use clay or any substance of that kind, but break
up the worms and cast them in alone. The number used
runs from eight to twelve or even fourteen hundred as the
case may require. They are not distributed too widely,
but kept within the limits it is desired to fish, and twenty
hours at least are allowed for the ground-bait to be con-
sumed. Having baited their pitch, if the water be low and
clear, they take care when they approach to fish, not to come
too close to their swim or to make any disturbance, but they
stand well above the place where they expect to find the fish,
often fifteen or twenty yards above it, striking thirty or even
forty yards off. Thus they do not alarm the fish, but often
manage to get good sport in a water and at a time where
and when a Thames angler would seldom think of fishing at all.
The principal baits they use are worms, scratching or
greaves, cheese, and creed-malt. In all float-fishing their
practice is superior to that of the Thames, and this appears
to be so much recognised now, that Nottingham tackle and
that style of fishing are very commonly adopted, but only
in punt-fishing. The much more workmanlike, scientific,
and deadly method pursued by the accomplished Nottingham
bank-fisher is almost unknown to the generality of Thames
anglers, yet it is quite high art in float-fishing from the bank,
and is not at all easy to perform well. I strongly recommend
anglers who can afford it to take a turn on the Trent, and put
themselves under the tuition of a Nottingham adept it ;
as he sees a worm, grub, etc., passing him, and consequently, save once now
and then, his nose would not need to come in contact with the line at all.
The float should be checked so that as little of the line as possible should
touch the bottom, and only the bait should drag to achieve perfection ; but
as to the bait curving down-stream and drifting along the bottom before
the float, it is easier to imagine it than to practise it. F. F.
CHAPTER III
BOTTOM-FISHIN G continued
The Bream The Carp The Tench The Eel The Perch Paternoster! ng,
etc.
OF anglers carp
flat or silver bream.*
golden
The former is by far the best
fish both for size and quality, the latter being of no
particular value for the table, and not reaching any great size,
seldom exceeding one pound. The bream is very widely dis-
tributed, and is found alike in rivers, ponds, and lakes. In rivers
it prefers quiet, deep holes with a loamy or sandy bottom. The
deepest holes in ponds are likewise those preferred. The
bream spawns about the latter end of May, and takes some
time to recover condition. Bream are gregarious, swimming
in large shoals, and when inclined to feed, vast numbers of
them may be taken, as, although somewhat of a nibbler,
yet if time is given to him, the bream will almost always take
the bait in the end. If the angler does not know, but is desirous
to find out the whereabouts of a bream haunt in a river, let
him watch the likely spots early and late, and he will see one
every now and then prime or rise up like a large roach, but,
from some peculiarity, the bream, when it does this, almost
always leaves a large bubble on the surface, which the roach
does not do. When the angler notes a bubble or two of this
sort left after the priming of large fish, let him watch the spot
narrowly and he may soon perhaps satisfy his doubts as to
whether there be bream there or no.
Bream have very roving habits, often disappearing without
any apparent reason from a haunt they have affected for two
or three years, and taking to some other hole or eddy. In
my river (a part of the Colne) I see this peculiarity often
*
They are distinct species, the breamflat being Abramus blicca. ED.
52 A BOOK ON ANGLING
exemplified, for they will be in one hole in a large shoal on one
day, and on another perhaps half a mile off.
Having chosen a swim, the angler should ground-bait and
fish it after the same method as that directed for barbel ;
and with bream, as with barbel, worms are the best bait,
though they will take gentles and other grubs. The hook
used should be a size or two smaller than that employed for
barbel, as the bream likes a smaller bait but in other respects
;
but some years after, when the ponds became more popular and
* Mr. Greville Fennell, in thecolumns of the Field, has corrected me in
this,and says that the carp-bream are held in high estimation on Trent side.
I have never eaten them there, and therefore cannot offer an opinion ; but
the Thames bream are certainly indifferent fare, and very bony. F. F.
54 A B00K ON ANGLING
fishermen more plentiful, have visited them and fished them
I
in vain, although the carp were still in them in abundance, and
might be seen rolling and grubbing all around the hook.
Carp, owing to their caution, often live to reach a very large
size, growing to between twenty and thirty pounds in weight.
A large carp, too, is not only cunning before he takes your bait,
but he quite appreciates the value of large masses of weeds to
help him it, and as the angler is compelled to
in getting rid of
fish as finely as possible,and with not too large a hook nor too
coarse gut, the wary old fellow will sometimes give you the
slip even after he has been well hooked.
The usual method of fishing for carp is to employ a small
light float and fine tackle, and to fish in the method recom-
mended for " Pond-fishing generally." The hook should not
be above No. 7, or 6 at the outside ;the shot fine and some
distance from the float, as the mere gravity of the hook, and
worm will carry them to the bottom the gut fine, round; and
;
and therefore, while your bait dashes off one way, Master Carp
dashes off the other.
It is best to take your depth the evening before you intend
to fish, so that you need not disturb the spot when you come in
the morning. A longish bamboo rod will be found useful for
this kind of angling, as it is advisable to swing your float as
far off from the shore as possible.
If it be not possible to select and bait your pitch beforehand,
it will be only necessary to follow the directions for pond-
you can manage to bait your pitch, then select say, two places.
Let the bottom be clear of weeds, and the spot be near rushes,
or in some part where you see carp usually feeding. Then, go
in the morning (if there are eels in the pond) and throw in a few
handfuls of broken worms, gentles, or any other ground-bait
you may select for if you are fishing with worms and there be
;
eels in the pond, in all probability (as they are unusually busy
at night] they will gobble up all the worms before the carp can
get a chance ;
and this is one of the miseries you have to
endure in carp-fishing when using worms, viz. that when you
expect a bite from some noble carp, which is cruising coyly
round your hook, some wretched little eel comes and takes
your worm, and the hauling of the little brute out is sure to
scare the carp. It is better, perhaps if they will take paste or
any of the many vegetable or mealy baits recommended for
them in the water you are going to fish to ground-bait with
them. In some places and at some seasons the worm is pre-
ferred, at others, paste. Having baited your pitch once or
twice, or if you like oftener, come to the water with your rod all
ready, your hook baited (and take care to see that it is well
covered) ; pitch your float as quietly as you can out to the
requisite distance, lay down the rod in the fork mentioned in
Pond-fishing, and flip a few bits of ground-bait in round about
your float. When you see a nibble do not be in a hurry, for at
the best the carp is a slow biter, and the float will often bob and
wriggle about for half a minute or so before the bite is con-
firmed ; get the rod carefully and cautiously in hand without
disturbing the line or float, and when the float goes under and
sails majestically away, and not till then, you may raise the
variety which carp are said to take. For paste, both plain
"
and honey paste, see Bait Table." I Lave heard of anglers
employing paste coloured red but have no faith in it ;
paste
56 A BOOK ON ANGLING
mixed up with gin or with brandy is also said to be irresistible,
but I cannot say that I have found it so, although assured of
a float, but a rod with ledger tackle, with tolerably stout gut,
and baiting the hook with a piece of potato he would throw in
the tackle in the usual way, and allow the lead to rest on the
bottom, slackening the running line. In time a bite would
ensue ;
the fish would carry away the potato, and as he went
off for two or three feet, the line would be yielded to him easily
and without check, and would run freely through the bullet,
when the strike brought matters to an explanation, and, as the
gut was pretty stout, he was not allowed, even though a big
fish, to have everything his own way. The potato should be
parboiled just sufficiently to make it stick well on the hook.
In this way, Mr. Goodwin assured me that he used to take two
or three large carp whenever he went to fish for them, the
evening being the preferable time. Stout tackle can be used
thus, because the gut rests on the bottom, and the carp cannot
see it as he can when it runs directly from the bait up through
the water. It is for this reason that I always recommend, in
carp-fishing, that the bait should rest on the bottom, and some
inches of the line likewise; for, though the carp will detect the
finest gut, as I have said, when the bait is pendent, yet he will
not notice the coarsest tackle if it rests on the bottom. Indeed,
I once took a seven-pound carp on an eel line with coarse string
snooded hooks, in a pond where no one has ever been able by
ordinary float and line-fishing to catch the carp at all, though
they abound in the pond, and are of large size. In using paste
baits, the angler will find it to his account, if instead of using
a single hook he employs a small brazed triangle, or three hooks
CARP AND TENCH 57
brazed together back to back, such as are used on spinning
tackles. This holds the paste on far more firmly, thus resisting
the carp's power of suction, and gives the angler a better
chance of hooking him. The hooks must be completely buried
in the paste, and the bait should be the size of a moderate
gooseberry.
Some anglers in fishing a pond employ various devices to
hide themselves from the sharp eyes of the fish, and stick in
bushes by the margin, or even hurdles to shelter them. I never
found this particularly desirable, though there can be no harm
in it ; but it is most needful that the angler should move
with perfect caution, and should not stump about on the bank
a very few steps of an Irish jig, for example, on the bank,
would be fatal to all hopes of sport for an hour or two. The
angler need never be afraid to lay down his rod, as the bite is
always so slow that he has ample time to regain it before striking
time but when he takes it up he must take it up carefully and
;
I The tench is
THE TENCH
a better fish for
(Tinea vulgaris)
the table than the carp, and if
days they will feed well, while at other times you will not
manage to get a fish in a week and though this is not always the
;
little tench of less than half a pound weight then one or two
;
fine tench of nearly two pounds after this the fun grew fast
:
that I must have captured about thirty fine tench, not one of
which would be under a pound and a quarter, and many of
them topped two pounds and a half. Where all these large fish
could have packed themselves in this mite of a pond without
ever attracting notice, I could not imagine. Tired of pulling
them out, I left off in the evening while the fish were yet biting
freely. I went there again the next day, and caught one tench
of three-quarters of a pound but, though I fished there many
;
water, and he actually appeared none the worse for all he had
gone through. Thinking then that he had earned his life, I
gave him his liberty, and turned him into a small pond, and a
twelvemonth after, when we were netting it, we got him out,
and he had grown about half a pound. I have seen some tench,
however, that have died in a much shorter time, though
generally they have tough lives.
What truth there may be in the old story of the medical
powers of the tench, I cannot pretend to say. He is rather
slimy as to his skin, and if, like the bream, he
"
can part with his
slime freely, it might prove efficacious, like parmacety for an
"
inward wound probably but I can assume no other way in
;
times, such as very hot still days when the trout will not move,
when sniggling an old eel out of his hole in some lock or hatch-
gate is not altogether unamusing, while three or four of these
fish form a by no means unpleasant change in the angler's bill
of fare. And as at times the angler may be glad so to amend
his supper or dinner, I give a brief account of the best way of
taking eels.
Eels are principally caught in traps constructed for the
purpose. These are made mostly at mill weirs and such places,
but often independently of them. Stages are erected, and on
them are set large baskets called " bucks." They are also
taken in smaller baskets, called pots or wheels, which are set
under banks, or in the runs between weeds. In the winter time
they are speared, a spear being thrust into every likely looking
spot in mud banks, where they are thought to be concealed,
SNIGGLING EELS 61
needle lightly into the end of the stick, and holding one end of
the string in the left hand and the stick in the right, the angler
" "
must prospect and look out for some hole in the bank,
under a stone, or the side of lock walls, etc., which may be
likely to hold an eel and directing the worm at the point of
;
* A
simpler and more effective way is to lay the eel's tail on a stone or the
thwart of a boat and give it a severe blow with a cudgel or stone. This
paralyses the creature. ED.
62 A BOOK ON ANGLING
and pull if from the stick when the angler feels the tug, he
;
should draw the stick gently away from the spot, and give the
eel time to swallow the worm when he has reason to think it
;
has done so, he must give a slight pull, and the needle, which
has gone inside the worm straight down the eel's throat, will
turn across in his gullet, and hook him safely. Now conies the
tug of war. The eel will refuse to quit his hole very likely, and
turning his tail about in its sinuosities, will firmly resist all
efforts to withdraw him ;
but the angler has only to be patient,
and keep up a steady strain on the string, and he will in time
tire the eel out, and it will come out of its hole, when it will be
driven up the brooks, and the perch are driven into the few
eddies that exist. Here, while the river is tearing down outside
in a spate, from one to two hundred, and sometimes more,
perch will often be congregated in a space of some ten or
twenty square yards, perhaps. After these fish have battled
with the frosts of winter, on short rations for weeks, what
chance has a minnow among such a host, or what chance even
a hundred minnows ? No wonder, then, that you pull them
up two or three at a time, one for each minnow the only
;
fashion that would make you think the perch must not only
have swallowed the bait, but half digested it whereas, in ;
and so his lordship having taken a half turn, and a brief survey
of the wretched trembling culprit, who with policeman hook
stuck into him, Alderman Perch looking at him angrily and
hungrily, and limbo gaping at him from Mr. Alderman's
stomach, is drawn up as useless and thrown on one side ;
seek the surface, and even to jump out of the water. Therefore
if the minnow be not kept down, it will be much above the head
and if no bite come, lift it, and move it from left to right, or
vice versa, round about you, until the immediate neighbour-
hood is fished then, lifting the tackle out of the water, swing
;
ally take a worm almost as well, and in some cases even better
than they do the minnow. They are often taken on the
ledger, and these are frequently the best fish too. Some
time since, I was fishing with a friend on the Thames we were
;
other two pounds and a quarter, and the one which got away
was larger than either of them. We lost a great many fine fish
in the course of the day, I in particular losing nearly as many
as I caught. I had another excellent day's sport on the Kennet
last season, though of a mixed character, consisting of pike
and perch, and which I have alluded to in the chapter on the
pike.
THE
;
tion so much more easily that, if they are not tolerably hungry,
they will often refuse the bait. This is especially the case
with good fish. Many a time have I, when fishing rather high,
seen a good ten or a dozen pounder come up with a dash at
the bait, and after following it for a yard or two, turn tail
and leave it, when, probably, had I been fishing deep, he would
just have put his nose out of the weed and snapped my bait.
But there is a great advantage in fishing high when the fish
are hungry. You cover so much more ground that is to
say, the fish can see the bait so much farther off. If the
"
out goes thirty or forty yards of line. There's a throw,
"
Smith, my boy ! He likes to see his bait spin like a humming
"
top. Look at that, Smith, my boy can you make a bait
!
"
spin like that ? Possibly Smith cannot make a bait spin
in that wonderful way, and cannot throw above twenty or
thirty yards of line, but somehow Smith, with a short line,
runs more fish than our fast friend. It has been the popular
myth that a bait travelling at railway pace, and spinning
like one long line of silver, is the correct thing, because it
imitates a fish in an agony of terror. This argument is sheer
nonsense, as fish do not conduct themselves like dancing
dervishes or ballet-masters, and perform pirouettes when in
a fright. They run away and turn, perhaps, from side to side,
as the swimmer does, to gain increased power by concen-
trating every effort now to one point, and then, as a relief,
to the other. The long, slow wobble of a badly spinning bait
is much more like the real thing no doubt, but it is necessary
to make the fish turn somewhat rapidly in order that the
pike may not have too much uninterrupted inspection of the
eight or ten hooks that encumber one side of the lure, and in
order to present the silver side, constantly changing and
flashing in the light, to attract the attention of the fish, which
a badly spinning bait will not do ;
and it is to be borne in
mind, that unless the bait spins very well indeed when drawn
rapidly through the water, it will, when drawn only moderately
slowly, as is preferable, hardly spin at all therefore it is
;
cane, the only kind that should be used for it is bamboo, the
other canes having hardly sufficient substance in them.
Other persons prefer it made of solid wood, and of all woods
hickory is the best, with a strong spliced top. That is the
rod I prefer. But, whichever may be adapted, the rod should
be ringed with good sized stout, upright rings, to allow the
line to run through them with perfect freedom. If the angle
does not require to convey the rod from place to place, but is
in the habit of fishing the same water, and has a convenient
place for it, a single stick of bamboo, with winch fittings and
a short solid spliced top spliced into it, will be found as useful
and effective a rod as can be employed. I used a similar one
for years when I almost lived on the Thames, and never had
reason to complain of it, as it was both light and powerful.
It will be found very advantageous with the ordinary rod to
have two tops, the one a little shorter and stiffer than the
other, for heavy baits and big fish, as the use of heavy baits
with an ordinary top would soon strain and wear it out. Atten-
tion should be paid from time to time to the eye at the top of
the rod whence the line is delivered, as this is apt to wear
into grooves from the constant running friction of the line,
and if not seen to, these grooves get so sharp that they will
in once or twice using cut all the dressing off even a new line.
A very good plan is to have enclosed in the wire eye a movable
bone or mother-of-pearl ring, which can be turned round at
pleasure so as to shift the place over which the line runs.
Many eyes have been invented for the purpose of delivering
the line with the least amount of friction, and various
* The
fine, but exceedingly strong, line used in tarpon fishing has largely
supplanted the dressed silk lines in the use of spinning baits ED.
f The length of pike rods has been generally reduced in late years. ED .
76 A BOOK ON ANGLING
mechanical contrivances have been put into use, but I have
seen none yet worth adopting.*
A plain winch is best with not too heavy a check, so as to
run the line off easily if the fish requires it. A winch that
will hold sixty or seventy yards of medium sized dressed
eight-plait line is desirable, and it should be pretty stout in
the frame, as it will have to stand wear and tear and rough
usage in all sorts of weathers. For this reason the metal
reels will be found preferable to the wooden ones.
The last, and perhaps most important, point to be con-
sidered is the flight of hooks on which the bait is to be fixed ;
To fatt rajfe 76
SPINNING FLIGHTS, LEADS, ETC.
SPINNING TACKLE 77
depend upon that the simpler the tackle, and the fewer
it
hooks there are in it (combined with a fair arming of the
bait and a reasonable chance of hooking the fish of course),
the better. A great many pike do continually escape from
spinning tackle, and these are mostly the best fish and a ;
he seizes the bait, takes it across his jaws, that is, the head
and tail protrude on each side of his mouth. Savage perhaps
with hunger and rage he drives his long tusks almost through
the bait. Now, the hooks being also buried in the bait, they
must either be torn out of it, or the bait be dislodged from the
firm grip of the pike's tusks, before the hooks can be stuck
into him. It often happens that the angler will play a good
pike for some minutes solely by the fish having his teeth
stuck deeply into the bait, and not having the sense to open
his mouth, or from his refusing to relinquish his prey. The
firsttime he comes to the surface of the water he gasps for
breath, his huge mouth gapes, he gives his head a shake and
out tumbles the bait, hooks and all,* not one of them having
had hold. Away then goes pikey, quite satisfied with his
entertainment pro tern., and wondering what that ugly two-
legged monster with the hop-pole in his hand, and who looked
in such a state of perplexity and stew, had to do with the
matter. There is another reason why pike often get off through
the barbs of the hooks not being fleshed in the pike, and that
is, from the bad shape of the hooks, the points being far too
long and the barbs much too rank. I have touched more
Tojace Pafe'7S.
SPINNIVG TACKLES BAITED.
BAITING THE TACKLE 79
the whilom worthy host of the Star, Mr. Stewart, who wanted
the pike taken out of the stream, as they had almost destroyed
all the trout will, if still alive, well remember the slaughter of
that day the strike, however, would almost have broken
;
stroke took one or two hooks clean through the jaws. Where
pike are at all shy, this tackle would be useless, as there was
visible more of the hooks than of the bait. If the angler
wishes to fish very neatly and without show, he can, if using
the white brazed triangles, wrap the silk lapping over with
stout silver foil. This will protect the silk from the fishes'
teeth, show little or nothing to alarm, and, if anything, lend
an attractive brilliancy to the bait.
Before using any tackle composed of brazed triangles, the
angler should test each hook carefully, more particularly if
they are at all old or have been used and laid by for any length
of time, or if they show any trace of rust, as the brazing often
destroys the tempering of the hooks ; at least, I conclude so,
as I have frequently found hooks in the state I have mentioned,
though apparently stout and well looking, snap at the slightest
stroke, and many a good fish have I thus lost from neglecting
this necessary precaution.
The simplest tackle in the way of triangles I have met with
is that used
by the Nottingham spinners. It is composed of
only two triangles and a lip-hook. The lip-hook is a fixed one.
The loop of the gimp is passed up through the gill of the fish
*
Only twice in my life have I ever achieved this feat when I have had
any large number of fish run. The largest fish was ten pounds ;
the rest
about three and four pounds each. The day was very windy and boisterous,
and the fish hungry. Mr. Stewart and myself had as many fish to carry
home as we could manage. The set of hooks I used was very large, and
had three triangles on one side and one on the other. I gave the fish plenty
of time, and then struck them as hard as I could with safety to my rod.
Usually, the angler will find that upon a fair average he loses fully one-
third of the runs he has, if he keeps a fair and honest score. On some days
he will lose nearly a half when the fish run badly, on others of course much
less this may be modified to some small extent by improved tackle, but
;
and a bait thus put on, if it be properly hung, spins very well,
and shows enough arming sufficiently disposed over the main
parts of thebody to hook any fish that runs and takes it fairly.
Nottingham fishers more often use a roach for baiting in this
way than any other fish, and certainly a roach thus baited
spins with even less difficulty than it does when baited on a
Thames tackle with the tail crooked as is the custom
there.
Some time since I invented a tackle for Thames trout, which
was also made up by the tackle makers for pike. The object
of that tackle was to obtain fewer but more effective hooks.
It was a modification of Col. Hawker's, or, as Mr. Pennell
reminds us, Salter's tackle, with a single instead of double
strand of gut, a sliding lip-hook, and no lead cap. If the angler
will turn to the chapter on spinning for trout he will find the
circumstances relating to that tackle described, and in Plate
IX, Fig. 7, page 211, he will find an engraving of the tackle.
I originally intended this tackle to be baited by detaching
the two portions and baiting the hook with the assistance of a
bait needle but this process was troublesome and the tackle
;
with the minimum of hooks. And having hit upon this plan
of baiting the tackle, and being quite satisfied of its efficiency,
I shall now never use any other. I used it all the last season
and had some capital sport with it, holding and killing more
large fish with it, and losing fewer fish than I have lost for
half-way up the metal helps to keep the bait on and in its place.
The other end of the brass has fixed on it a pair of wings or
fans, on the Archimedian screw principle ; these extend on
either side of the mouth of the bait and communicate to it the
spinning action. Above these wings is an eye in the brass from
which a pair of triangles on one side, and a single one on the
other, hang and form the arming of the bait one of the hooks
;
of the upper triangle on one side, and the single one on the
other being hooked into the bait, serve also to keep it to-
gether. But in spite of all this, when there is the constant strain
caused by casting and drawing against stream, the barbs will
at times work loose and allow the fans to come up and away
from the mouth, so that a short interval will appear between
the fan and the head of the bait, which is very undesirable.
To the eye is fixed a swivel to which the trace is fastened in
the usual manner. Some of these artificial spinners are
without the fans, and the spin is given to the bait by simply
bending the tail, brass and all, the brass keeping the tail
properly crooked. Some, again, have the fan at the tail, the
tail being cut off, the spear thrust in at the tail and out at the
mouth, an artificial tail being thus given to the bait. Most of
these aids to spinning are leaded so that the weight is concealed
in the body of the bait ;
but although it may be desirable to
hide the lead and to show as little tackle as possible to alarm
the fish, I have always found that the thrusting of a lead into
the fish soon knocks the bait to pieces, and the belly and thorax
are liable to cut out more or less speedily. Again, in these
aids to spinning many of them require the baits to be fitted
with some exactness to the apparatus and the apparatus to
the bait. The best of them all, perhaps, is the Chapman
spinner (see Plate V, Figs. 8 and 9, p. 78). But, however
good they may be in one sense, there are many objections to
them and my advice to the young spinner is to learn how to
;
convey the fish alive to the river (see Plate I, Fig. 6, p. 9, for
illustration of a live-bait can), and if it be a long journey and
warm weather, there will be much difficulty in keeping them
alive.* A small pair of bellows will greatly aid this, for by
putting the nozzle to the bottom of the water, and blowing
it two or three times, the water is aerated afresh, to the great
two or three yards extra off the reel between each cast, and
just after the angler has made his cast, when all the line is out.
Holding the rod above the reel firmly in his right hand, with
which he clasps the line to the rod, and with his left hand|
taking hold below the reel the point of the rod being elevated
in the air at an angle of about forty degrees, and the bait hang-
ing downwards some five or six feet from the rod-point let
him wave the bait gently backwards, either to the right or
*
Salting and other methods of preserving baits have been completely
superseded by bottling them in a solution of formalin. ED.
t Some anglers hold the rod only with the right hand, the hip forming a
rest and a pivot, the line being held in the left ;
this is awkward and lacks
the capability of precision, which is desirable whether in casting, working,
or striking. It also gives the right arm too much to do, and in a long day's
spinning with a fourteen or fifteen feet rod this will be found a consideration.
F. F.
CASTING THE SPINNING BAIT 87
across his body to the left, so as to get the swing ; and when
the bait has reached the full extent of the swing let him sweep
his rod forward rapidly, feeling the weight of the bait and
lifting it slightly as he delivers it, opening or loosening his
right hand, when he has reached about two-thirds length of
the sweep, so as to release the line just as he gives the lift
spoken of, and directing at the same time the point of the rod
towards the spot he desires to reach the line will thus run
freely through the rings, the bait will fly through the air, and
if the strength and the lift be properly given, and the rod
pointed aright, his bait will hardly fail to reach the point
aimed at. To do this well and effectively will require some
little practice. The bait should not be lifted too high or it will
make too much splash when it falls but practice alone will
;
enable the angler to judge of this. When the bait falls in the
water, he must allow it to sink to the depth he requires, and
then he must bring the rod down parallel with the surface,
resting the butt against his right hip or thigh. If the water is
deep, and the angler desires to fish deep, he may let the point
of the rod almost touch the surface of the water. Then,
gripping the line again to the rod with his right hand, he must
commence drawing it in with his left, loosing the grip of the
right hand at every draw, and lifting the rod-point and working
the bait in shoots, as it were, after each draw. Thus, he must
keep on drawing the line in, letting it fall in free coils at his
feet as before, until he has brought all the line once more
to the shore. If these directions be properly carried out, the
bait will come traversing the water about mid-water, spinning
and shooting in a way very attractive to the pike. By raising
the point of the rod he may, of course, work the bait nearer
to the surface if required.
The length of cast which an angler will find it convenient
to make is that which he can not only cast but fish best.
Some anglers can cast from thirty-five to forty-five yards ;
speed, when the left hand is carried well back, is about forty
draws per minute." This, as Mr. Pennell says, is a medium
pace.
To fish a stream properly, that method is the best which
enables you to cover the most water with the greatest ease
and the shortest time, and the best way is to cast across and
rather down-stream, and to repeat it three or four yards
farther down and nearer to you until you have fished all the
water you can cover when move on. Always fish your cast
out and do not be in a hurry to withdraw the bait, as pike often
follow it and take it close to the boat or the bank. Greville F.
tells a story in the Field of one following the bait with such
good will that, missing it, he ran his head against a post and
stunned himself, and was thus lifted out in the landing-net
without more ado. Some anglers prefer to cast up-stream
where there is not much current, and draw down, under the
impression that the fish has thus a better chance of seeing the
bait but straight casts up or down should be avoided as much
;
off ;but if he feels nothing of this, let him tighten the line by
raising the point slightly, when he will be able to decide the
question at once. If he has reason to believe that the check
proceeds from a fish, he must strike directly and straight back
and firmly, holding his fish rather tightly for the first few
seconds, so as to embed the hooks in the pike's hard mouth
before letting him work his wicked will he can then ease him
;
a little and play him to the best of his ability. Some anglers,
when they feel a run, give the fish a few seconds. This is
quite optional but it is not necessary, as a pike seldom
;
can avoid it, but sideways and downwards parallel with the
water as it were and for this reason if he strikes up, the
:
hooks come into contact with the hard horny roof of the
pike's mouth, and this is one mass of teeth, into which it is
almost impossible to drive a hook deeply whereas, if he strikes
;
only without the barbs are buried in the pike's jaw the second
strike will certainly make assurance doubly sure by sending
the barbs home. Therefore I leave the angler to adopt which-
ever course he pleases. I never strike twice but then I am
;
if possible,
particularly if he is a big one, keep the point of the
rod behind him so as to pull the hooks into his mouth instead
of out of it. If the fish be straight down-stream below you,
rather drop to him than pull against him, for if when you are
so pulling he happens to open his mouth and give his head a
shake or two, it is a hundred to one that he shakes himself
free, unless your hold is very good indeed. If a pike comes to
the top of the water, standing on his tail as it were (as if you
" "
were weighing him), and with open mouth grins ghastly
at you, shaking his head to and fro savagely, you are in no
little danger of losing him. I have lost scores in this way.
The only thing to do is to drop the point of the rod and let
him have nothing to struggle against, when he will speedily
recover his horizontal for if you hang on to him, you are
;
unusually lucky if you kill him. Get the point of the rod down
to the surface of the water if he shows symptoms of coming
to the top, so that the weight of line may aid in deterring him.
90 A BOOK ON ANGLING
If you him for a turn or two, let not
lose a fish after playing
a moment pass before throwing again to the spot where you
lost him, and he will possibly take the bait again for pikey ;
our fisherman, attempted to land it while it was some distance off, and as
he held the net extended it jumped out again into the water and escaped ;
ten minutes afterwards I caught the. same fish again. I have, too, known a
fish go through the bottom of an old net, and playing a heavy fish in this
predicament offers both variety, novelty, and excitement. F. F.
f The gaff is a most useful auxiliary here, for big fish particularly. F. F.
j I lost a ten-pound fish in this way in the Kennet some time since : I
was perch-fishing and the net was much too small for him, I had no assistant.
The bank was too rotten to finger him a dozen times I got his tail in the net,
;
but he always contrived to slip out at the critical moment. At last I slipped
it over his head, determining to fetch him out with a swing, but at the instant
of reaching the bank he jumped out again and into the water, leaving the
paternoster hooks fast in the net. F. F.
GORGE-BAITING 91
Cast it into a hole, and let it sink then lift the point of the
;
watch, and wait five or even ten minutes to steady his excited
* I invented some
years since a little leathern machine for carrying
baiting needles and disgorgers ; as these implements are so easily mislaid
and difficult to find, that they are always missing when wanted. It was
simply buttoned on to one of the breast-buttons of the angler's coat, and
was thus always at hand. Mr. Bernard, of Piccadilly, took up the idea and
made several. F. F.
92 A BOOK ON ANGLING
nerves, as recommended by old authors if he does, he de-
serves to get into difficulties but he waits until he thinks the
fish has gorged the bait, keeping the line all clear for a run
in case the fish moves. In about five minutes, if he does not
move, he have pouched or gorged, when the angler can
will
gather in all the loose line and give him a persuasive tug.
As he will probably be tugging at the poor wretch's vitals he
need not pull very hard. If the fish moves soon, the angler
must use his own discretion as to whether it may be worth
while waiting to see if he will seek another hold or whether
he has bolted the bait at short notice. Savants telegraph
clerks probably pretend that they can tell by certain tremb-
I am not so
lings of the line whether a fish has pouched or not ;
because he may get off without being killed, which the gorge
bait necessitates to every fish indiscriminately. As I have
said, it is not a nice way of fishing ;
the fish is very apt to
reject the bait on feeling the lead within it, or from not being
very hungry, and the waiting is tedious, and the whole affair
is so unsatisfactory and savage that let those follow it who
"
list, for I'll none of it. Nobbes, who is called the father of
trolling," gives very special and particular directions with
respect to it. To those who desire to know more of it, I say,
read Nobbes.
Live baiting is the next method for discussion, and the only
brought out above the vent, or a little nearer to the tail, and the
gimp is drawn through, so that part of the gimp and the
shanks of the hooks are hidden under the skin (see Plate VI,
Figs. 9 and 10, p. 93). This plan is only adopted when very
long throws requiring a good deal of force are required, as, if
any other mode of baiting is practised, the bait is apt to be
thrown off the hook by the force employed. It is a very cruel
plan, however. When such plans as there are adopted, as is
often the case by pot-hunting anglers with two or three or more
rods, I would ask what difference there is between them and
trimmer-fishing.* One can scarcely be held to savour more of
poaching than the other.
A very killing plan, also much adopted, more particularly
by the Thames anglers, is to use a paternoster with a couple of
gimp hooks, and a bait on each. By this means every inch of
water can be thoroughly searched, but as, when the pike runs,
the lead or the spear hook and bait is apt at times to catch in a
stone or weed, the fish have a fairer chance of getting off than
with the float. Small baits and short law must, of course, be
the order of the day. Some people set their faces altogether
against the use of a live bait but when the snap style is used,
;
* In
fact, the above is trimmer-fishing in disguise, the rod being a sort of
neutral introduced to conceal enemies' goods, which are certainly contraband
of fishing thus employed. F. F.
94 A BODKIN ANGLING
hooked in spinning than by any other means. I have often
seen one angler spinning, and another live baiting, and I have
seen the spinner take at the rate of five fish for the live baiter's
one. Where, then, is the objection ? It certainly is not a
pretty way of fishing, and I dislike it because it is not so
pleasant or lively a way as spinning and it never can or will
;
all sorts, sizes, fashions, and colours at the tackle makers', and
as people have so many whims on this point, I leave the angler
to choose for himself. Sir S. Baker, the great African traveller
and Nile explorer, formerly a correspondent of the Field, once
called my attention to a bait he had used with great success in
Turkey. " It was made out of a daguerreotype of an old lady ;
and the old lady," as he called it, beat the spoon hollow. He
took the plate (which was silvered on one face and coppered on
VARIOUS BAITS FOR PIKE 95
the reverse), cut a rude resemblance of a fish out of it, turned
the lobes of the tail reverse ways to make the bait spin, armed it
well, and it succeeded admirably, never giving the spoon a
chance. The otter (previously referred to in perch-fishing) is
also a useful lure at times. And Mr. Hearder's plano-convex
bait is an excellent one for general spinning either in fresh or
salt water, and any fish which will take a spinning bait may be
taken by the plano-convex. It is made of various sizes to suit
the sort of fish angled for, and is contrived upon much the
same principle as the other just alluded to. As regards the
imitations of fish used for artificial baits, they are so numerous
that it is quite impossible to catalogue them ;
made of every
metal, from tin to silver, and of all sorts of substances, from
bone or horn and glass to indiarubber and leather, the angler
must be difficult to please if he cannot select one to suit him
from the stock usually displayed in our fishing-tackle shops.
Perhaps as easily made and as effective a bait as any, is formed
in the following way Take a thin bar or strip of lead, of
:
suitable length and expanded at the latter end into a tail, lash a
wire eye on to the upper end ;wrap this over and over, round
and round, with worsted or wool, moulded so as to shape a
body then get two strips of kid glove, one olive for the back
;
of the bait, and one white for the belly these must be stretched
tightly on the wool body and sewn on to it ;] the leather
should be well varnished, and the tail twisted as usual. I
recommend this bait to the notice of economic anglers. If
they like to put a strip of silver leaf along either side, under
the varnish, and define a head and eyes, they may render it a
little more attractive ;
but it will be found quite killing enough
without it indeed, I doubt if any better artificial bait than
this is made. It will stand a good deal of wear and tear, and has
the advantage of being soft to the fish's teeth. In an artificial
bait I certainly prefer a soft one to a hard one when it is soft
;
and the head of a small eel are cut off and joined together, and
one large hook being run down through the centre, so as to
bend the tail sufficiently, it becomes a by no means ineffective
spinning bait, though somewhat of the rudest. I have seen it
used on a long horsehair knotted line, with a yard of fine
whipcord, one coarse swivel, and a small bullet. The line is
coiled round the arm, and no rod being used, the bullet is swung
round and then jerked out into the water, being drawn in hand
over hand. When a run ensues, the fish is struck and played
by hand. This is perhaps the rudest fashion of spinning for
pike extant, and must be a relic of the barbarous ages, I should
imagine.
It is no uncommon thing for a pike to take a worm I once
;
captured four in one evening with a small red worm and roach
tackle, losing two others, which managed to cut the hook off ;
Having now told the young angler how to prepare and bait
his tackle, and what tackle may be used, with the methods of
using them, how to hook, play, and land his pike, I shall tell
him where to fish for him. When I say where to fish for him,
HAUNTS OF THE PIKE 97
I do not mean in what localities ;
for if I knew any good
localities, Ishould keep them to myself, as my own experience
tells me that good pike-fishing is far more scarce than good
the very next day a pot-hunter came and took four of them,
and carried them away.
Confound all pot-hunters,
Frustrate these knave punters, etc.
say Ifor they are the curse of most waters and of all fair
;
find the best sport. Pike prefer the shallower waters, especially
when feeding, as there bait is the most plentiful. If there be a
shallow margin, and then a sudden deepening of the water, the
fish are fond of lying just on the edge, between the two at
least that is where they more often take the bait, and a bait
pitched off the shore into the deepish water, and spun rapidly
towards the shallow, as if seeking to escape in that direction,
"
will be pretty sure to get a bid." The angler should always
take care to pay especial attention to the neighbourhood of
weeds, reeds, or flags the last-named are very favourite
;
lairs with pike, and when they exist to any extent, the angler
will find his account in sending a boat or a Newfoundland dog
into them, to beat the fish out, half an hour before he begins to
fish. It may seem
a strange direction to give, but it must be
evident that the pike be yards deep in a reed or weed bed
if
they will hardly catch sight of the bait outside. If the weed bed
has occasional holes and open spaces in it, it will be advisable,
before having recourse to the clearing-out system recom-
mended, to try them with the dead gorge. In such a place you
98 A BOOK ON ANGLING
aremore safe to kill with it than with a dead snap, as you can
hang on to your fish with more safety and should he make a
;
in the heavier streams. With the autumn floods, they get into
the weed beds, or the large still spots where a back-water
debouches, or below an island. In such places they will
be often found gathered together in large numbers, on some
favourite spot of ground but a few yards square. Always try
such spots carefully, or you may miss the fish altogether, and
yet if you take one, you may, by sticking to the same locality,
catch a dozen or more. I once caught twenty-four in two days
from under the apron of Hampton Court weir.
CHAPTER V
ARTIFICIAL FLY-FISHING
Varieties of Trout Instructions as to Rods and Tackle How to use them
Weather How to choose Flies Dress Night- Fishing,
trouble.
To commence at the beginning, I will suppose that the
angler a
isnovice, and intends to try his hand with a single-
handed rod. This should not be less than eleven, nor more than
thirteen feet in length between these extremes he may suit his
;
Gould. A
hollow cane rod, with ash butt, 12 ft. 8 in. long ;
13 oz. 8 dr.*
That the reader may get an accurate comparative view
of these, I put them together :
1 Gould . . .
13 12 12 8
2 Cheek . . .
14 6 n 7
3 Bowness . . .
13 4 n 8
4 Alfred . . .
13 8 12 4!
arm and grasp get tired there is not that certainty and precision
in the cast that is advisable. For all these reasons, and many
more which it is needless to enumerate, I hold that a double-
hand trout rod is far preferable to a single one, and I am sure
that any fisherman who gives them a fair trial will come to
the same conclusion that I have. I have made many converts
by inducing single-hand rod fishers to try one of my doubles
for a day.
JThe ordinary length of a double rod is from about 14 ft.
to 14 ft. 6 however, like a long rod, and I usually prefer
in. I,
one of 14 ft. 6 in. Such a rod should be tolerably pliable, while
the selection of the wood may be left to the tackle-maker.
I will, however, describe two rods which I use, and with
which I am quite content. The rod I generally fish with is
three jointed, the two lower joints being of bamboo and the
top of a single splinter of greenheart it has upright rings.
;
This rod, however, is rather stiff in the two lower joints, but
as there is plenty of flexibility in the top, a little care enables
me to throw not only a very long line, but small flies without
much danger. I had it made to pattern by Ogden, of Chelten-
ham ; and
originally the top was spliced, and was some three
or four inches shorter, and the reason for this was as follows.
A season on the Border had shown me that when fishing the
streams in that part of the kingdom the angler cannot tell
when he starts, whether before the day is over he may have to
use fly, worm, or minnow and to carry a rod with a spare
;
top for these purposes, and to be changing the top now and
then is inconvenient, and therefore I had a rod made which
might answer without alteration for all these purposes, and I
found that it answered very well indeed but not requiring
;
fly-fishing rested with the top, the splices suffered, and I had
TROUT RODS 105
when the smallest sized flies are not needed and with a
;
the first dropper, the next the second and so on. In putting
flies on to the casting line, always put the heaviest fly on as
the stretcher, for if this practice be reversed, the heaviest fly
receiving the greatest momentum goes first, and is apt to
double over the lighter one, and thus the drop will fall over
the stretcher, and a foul will be the consequence or to ;
avoid this so much force will need to be used that the flies will
alight in anything but gossamer fashion. It is almost un-
before you get the gut too short for use, the fly will probably
be worn out. If you want to be very secure, hold the knot
against the knot in the cast line, the fly pointing upwards
and from it, and tie a single tie, and then another, between
the tie and the end knot, and it is impossible to have any
slip but in this instance you will most likely find it necessary
;
to cut the whole of the tie off, and will lose more than half an
inch of gut. Where the droppers are not required to be
removed, I have seen the dressed upon long strands of
flies
gut, and the gut tied into the casting line as a part of it some
four inches above the fly, but I do not like the plan. Some
persons, again, adopt the plan of forming a slip loop in the
casting line, by tying each end of a strand round the gut of
the other strand, slipping the knotted end of the dropper
between, and then drawing the knots home tightly, as shown
in Plate III, Fig. 2, page 66 but this is troublesome to open,
;
inclined to think that the hair used in such cases was not at
first of the best quality. I think there is greater ease and
comfort in fishing with a plaited, tapered, mixed line, well
made and of good material, than with either of the others.
The line should be bought to suit the rod and here is a
;
rising right under your nose, as if they knew all about it, and
were determined to make the best of their time ; and when
at last the spare top or the old one, by the assistance of a bit
of wet paper and some lashing, is once more set up, the rise
is over, and not a trout is to be seen. This is the pleasant est
aspect, but at the worst (and this is something awful to con-
template) the refractory brazing resists all efforts to release
it,and the angler has to put his rod over his shoulder and
stalk gloomily home from two or three to ten or a dozen
mortal miles, and all because he has neglected to suit his line
SUIT THE LINE TO THE ROD log
limber, will not support a heavy line, and the angler goes on
threshing the water, coming down on the surface with a
splash sufficient to frighten away every fish within fifty
yards, all the while straining and warping his top aD to pieces,
as it keeps bending and groaning under the infliction, and
perhaps actually in the end does smash from pure weariness,
" " "
and then, Oh, the wood is rotten and Confound that
!
"
rogue of a rod maker and the poor tackle maker gets a
!
the bank with caution, let him choose the most likely spot to
commence operations. Before commencing, however, he
should be sure to see that his casting line is thoroughly straight
and even with no bends or turns in it, as these will cause an
unnatural glitter on the line, and displacement of the water.
Now, there are two ways of fly-fishing, viz. with the dry
fly and with the wet fly. Some fishermen always use one plan,
others almost as pertinaciously use the other. To use either
of them invariably is wrong. Sometimes the one will be
found to kill best and sometimes the other. In fine waters,
particularly in the southern counties, where fly-fishing for
trout is certainly more of a systematic art that it is in the
north, the dry fly is greatly used, and with very deadly effect
at times. In very calm, bright, and still weather, when a wet
fly will often be useless, the dry fly will be taken most con-
fidingly. In rough, windy weather the wet fly is preferable,
but I shall return to this subject presently. At present, as
the angler is supposed to be a novice, he will hardly commence
with the dry fly as it is rather more difficult to fish with than
the wet. We will suppose that he has soaked his gut by
allowing it to remain some minutes in the water. Old or used
gut will soak much quicker than new indeed, the angler
will often find a good deal of trouble in getting new gut
properly soaked. In this case, having wet it, he should draw
it through his fingers, but not too roughly lest he fray the
swifter than the backward one. When the point of the rod
has reached an angle of about 45, the motion should be
checked or eased, so as to gradually check the line and let it
fall lightly on the water. If this be not done, or a sort of
forward cut be made, as though the angler were chopping at
the opposite bank with his rod, the line is cast clean and hard
down into the water and the flies make a splash. This may
be requisite in very windy weather, particularly if the wind be
adverse, but in such circumstances light throwing is of less
consequence, as the water will probably be rough, and the
only object is to get the line out at all. If the angler follows
LONG CASTING NOT RECOMMENDED 113
these directions properly, his line will fall neatly and well in
the water. He should let it rest a second or so, then commence
raising the point of his rod gradually until it almost reaches
the position he started from, when he must, with a swift drag,
raise the line sharply and neatly from the water, fetching
the line back over his shoulder, and repeat his cast as already
shown.
When by practice he can manage this throw neatly and
well, he may let out a little more line, and so go on increasing
the length of his throws, until he gets about twice the length
of his rod out. For a first lesson he will find this sufficient;
with this he had better practise until he can throw lightly and
well towards his mark. Subsequent practice will no doubt
enable him to cast three times the length of the rod, and
every yard which he becomes able to cast over that is good
work, but he should remember that long casting is one thing,
but to fish a long cast properly is quite another. Many anglers
may throw sixteen or seventeen or even more yards of line
who cannot fish it. It is only the thoroughly experienced
fly-fisher who can fish these long casts properly. A green
hand may by dint of raising his hand to the level of the crown
of his hat and slashing away at the imminent risk of tackle
and everything else, be able to get it out somehow. But what
a spectacle he becomes when, failing to get such a length of
line off thewater properly, he finds one of the flies in his
whiskers and the other perhaps fast in his creel or an adjacent
bush. Let the young angler be content with doing what he does
do well ; increasing his range of practice by little and slow
degrees,and making sure fishing of every extra foot he gains.
I consider from eighteen to twenty yards a very long throw
with a single-handed rod, and there is not an angler in a
thousand that can throw it ; while, of those who can throw
it (properly), not one in a hundred can fish it. I may add
that I measure length of a cast from the reel. In long throws,
the difficulty lies in getting the line quickly and neatly off
the water, and for this purpose, of course, the draw should
be made much sooner than in short throws. All casts with
the single-handed rod should be made with the forearm.
The upper arm should never come into play ; the elbow
should be kept not quite close to the side, but near it, and
always down and, in casting, the top joint should be allowed
;
angler will find that even for long throws very little more
H4 A BOOK ON ANGLING
force than usualis required indeed, the less force used the
;
better. The
great proportion of anglers use double the force
that would be needed to cast a much longer and lighter line
than they do cast.
I will now suppose the angler to have acquired the art of
casting tolerably well. Having cast his line out into the
stream, so as to have it all clear and straight, he should make
his first cast up-stream, parallel and as close as he conveniently
can to the bank on his own side of the stream, as here the best
fish are lying in wait. The line will come floating down towards
him with the stream, and he should never draw it faster than
the stream, or it will travel faster than the natural flies which
are coming down with it, and this will beget suspicion on the
part of the fish, besides making an unnecessary disturbance
in the water. All that he has to do is to keep steadily raising
his rod so as to keep the fly near the top of the water, and
to have as little slack line in the water as possible. Some
people work their flies ; but unless the fly be sunk rather
deeply in the water (when it is mistaken rather for some
quick darting water larva than a fly), this is bad, and often
destructive of sport. Watch the flies upon the water how
they come floating down. They do not dart and spring and
shoot about that is, the great majority of them do not.
There are one or two, as the stone fly and certain spider flies,
that do so. If fishing with these, motion may be given to them,
but with three-fourths of the flies it is worse than unnecessary.
Let the fly come properly home and then make another cast
about a yard farther from the bank, and so go on covering
fresh water at every throw, until you have fished the entire
water, each throw representing a radius to the quarter of a
circle, when you can take a step or two farther up the stream
and repeat the process.
Now, this is the way to fish a stream thoroughly when you
are, as it were, searching for fish and do not know the stream
or where they may come up, but if the fish are rising fairly
it is a needless waste of time. Cast, then, over the rising fish,
and fish over the likely spots, and don't dwell upon barren
water. In casting over a rising fish be careful not to put the
line across him, as the sight of the whole of the casting line
coming down immediately over his head will not increase his
confidence. Throw beside and above him, and allow him to
see as much as he likes of the fly and as little as possible of the
line. In Plate VI, page 93, the Fig. 3 is the right way and
UP-STREAM OR DOWN-STREAM ? 115
down every fish for twenty yards can see him coming, and
the best will cease rising and take shelter under some weed.
Again, if he hooks a good fish that requires play he must
take it down over unfished ground disturbing every fish for
some distance, or create much disturbance of the water and
risk breaking the hold or the tackle. If the wind or the
falling the top of the rod. It will then be taken for a larva,
spider, or some other water insect, and he will thus improve
his chance of sport. Indeed, I have known very good fishermen
fish soand take very good fish.
Here is another wrinkle. To fish a stream to the best ad-
Raising the point of the rod high in the air, so as to lift as much
of his line as possible clear of the water without lifting the fly
altogether off the surface, he must make a sharp forward and
downward cut, and the fly without going behind him at all
will rise from the water and describe a large arc of a circle
in the air towards the point he wishes. A wind at the back
will much facilitate the making of this cast effectually. Occa-
sionally he will meet with a piece of water where the trees are
not only close at his back but where their branches stretch
out over the water, often just above his head. This is usually
tabooed ground, as not one fisher in a thousand can cast a
"
fly in it. Here, however, recubans sub tegmine," the largest
trout lie, and therefore it is as well that the angler should take
some trouble to learn how to fish such a spot. Now, suppose
the branches to be some five feet only above the surface of the
stream, and the banks well bushed. The angler must stoop
down on one knee, extend the rod over the water, parallel to it,
some eighteen inches above it probably he will find it easier
to fish it down-stream if at all rapid and letting a line out
about half as long again as the rod with the fingers of the hand
which grasps the rod turned downwards towards the water's
surface, the back of the hand being upwards he must be
particular about this, as the whole virtue of the cast lies in
the peculiar position and the reversal of the hand he must
twitch the line sharply off the water and directly up the stream,
being careful not to bring the point of the rod too far round,
or the fly will catch the bushes on the bank on his own side,
nor higher than suffices to fetch the line off the water, or he
will take hold of the branches above it. When the line is
fairly extended up-stream he may make his cast by bringing
his hand back again over the same distance it has just travelled,
but as he does so he must reverse the position of the fingers
of his hand, these being brought upwards while the back of the
hand is brought under towards the water. The whole secret
of the cast lies in this turning over of the hand. If this be
done properly, the angler can fish such spots safely, and can
pitch his fly fairly and lightly across the stream, while in no
other way that he can devise will he be able to do more than
to cast it directly down the stream, or if it ever chances to go
across, it will go with such a splash as will render the cast
worse than useless, while he will be perpetually fouling in the
branches above or catching on the surface of the water behind
or up-stream. This cast is difficult to learn and requires much
n8 A BOOK ON ANGLING
practice, but when once mastered the angler will find it of the
greatest advantage, and he will be able to drop his fly just where
he chooses. For this casting a stiff rod is decidedly requisite,
or the angler will not be able to get his line quickly and cleanly
enough off the surface when about to make his cast, for he
does not raise it directly off the water, as in ordinary casting,
but rather pulls it through it, and if the rod gave too much
it would be brought so far round before the line was
got off
the water that the fly would catch in the bank.
I have now told the young fly-fisher how to suit himself
with rod and tackle and how to fish a stream, and I will add a
few general directions which have been gathered by long
experience, watchfulness, and by thinking nothing which
occurs on the water, or in connection with it, unworthy of
notice or consideration. And, firstly, as to the weather when
the angler should go fly-fishing, and these remarks very much
apply to all other kinds of fishing. Most of us are aware of the
old rhyme :
too heavy and is up-stream, be sure that you have the best
wind that can blow. I have had some of the best days I ever
had in my life with a north or east wind, and some of the worst
with a south or west one. Some will say, choose a cloudy day
with the wind here or there, and some a rainy day with the
wind nowhere some say, never fish in thundery weather,
;
south and south-west wind and plenty of fly. Upon the other
hand, how often will the angler go out upon a day which he
would have picked out from the whole year, had he the choice,
and do little or nothing. There are some days, nice, brisk,
cloudy days, with a steady breeze, and not too much fly, and
the water in good order, which the angler may pretty well
count upon as being good days, and be seldom deceived,
though he may sometimes even then but as to picking out a
;
day when he can be sure that the fish will not feed, it is beyond
his skill. He may of course chance to be right and he may
chance to be wrong, and the longer he is a fisherman the more
he will discover that he does not know how a day may turn out
until he turns out his creel at night. It not unfrequently
* The cause of
evening fog upon a river in summer is the reverse of what is
here suggested. The air, warmed by the day's sunshine, is charged with
vapour derived from evaporation and carried in an invisible state till the air
meets the chill from the water, when the vapour is suddenly condensed into
minute particles of water, each of which reflects light, rendering the air opaque.
A similar effect is created by grinding a piece of clear glass into opaque white
powder. ED.
PLATE VII.
ings and mornings are not to be relied on. The angler should
never go out on the day after a flood a flood always brings
;
down much food, and the fish are generally gorged and lazy.
If the water clears well the day after may be a good day ;
If it clears slowly, the day after that will be found even better.
Fish do not always lie in the same spots when feeding ;
angler, by letting his fly work down from the head of the stream
to the end, may perhaps pick up a fish, but the hooking of
one fish will be the signal for all the rest to rush up into safety
and deep water. In hot weather, too, the best fish may be
observed under the deep shades of overhanging boughs, lying
within an inch or two of the surface, and merely lifting their
noses very quietly to the top, as fly, beetle, or grub comes
floating to them. Whenever the angler sees a fish rising in
*In small brooks a good trout takes up his berth, which is generally a
likely one for the run of the food, and does not wander far from it. The
stream is his purveyor. In larger rivers they are more of wanderers and
have to follow the food, while every flood will alter the currents and runs.
F. F.
122 A BOOK ON ANGLING
such a spot, do not let him be deluded by the very slight
disturbance it makes in rising into the belief that it is a small
fish nine times in ten it is a good fish, and often a superior
;
one and worth all the caution and skill he can use, and in such
spots, if the angler can get his bait properly to the fish, he will
mostly take. In windy weather, always fish the bank towards
which the flies are blown, for close to, almost touching, the
bank the big trouts will be often picking the struggling flies
off the sedges or grass as they try to escape. You cannot then
fish too close to the bank.
In fishing a stream when the fish are rising under the opposite
bank, if the angler can make his fly touch the bank, or even
rest upon it, so that it will drop lightly or rather be swept off
into the water, it will be found a very killing method ;
but
this requires to be done with great caution, lest the fly take
hold of anything. Short grass, earthy banks, or rocks are the
most preferable substances on which to practise this feat.
Should the angler, when throwing close to bushes, hang his
fly up to a branch or spray, let him not use any violence
in trying to get it off again;
a very gentle pull will often cause
the fly to come off|and even to unwind itself from any twig it
may have lapped ground and to drop into the water safely
(when haply a rise and a good fish may reward the angler's
gentleness), whereas a sharp tug would probably have fixed
the fly in the obstruction inextricably, and a breakage have
ensued. Try a steady pull but not a hard one ;
if this fails,
a short sharp stroke will sometimes save the tackle, but always
"
try gentleness first, for persuasion is better than force."
Some trees the angler can venture, and with comparative
safety, to throw closer to than others, the smooth hanging
shape of the leaves and brittleness of the twigs being less
dangerous but beware of oak or hawthorn, a fixture in either
;
get well below him, let out a longish line, sink the point of the
rod to the level of the water, and put a steady strain on
straight down-stream. The fish may perhaps for a time be
able to resist this strain, but patience and perseverance will
fetch him out at last ; even if he has gripped the weed in his
mouth, as fish will do, he must open his mouth eventually,
particularly as he has the fly in it straining and pulling at him.
I do not say that this plan is always successful, but it more
often is than not, while to attempt to pull the fish against or
across the weed is almost certain destruction a gentle sawing
;
I told you I'd catch him, and here he is." The keeper looked
at the fish, and his bump of veneration, I could see, was
greatly enlarged. Evidently he thought me a dangerous
customer, and well he might, for I made his finny charges
stand and deliver to a very considerable amount before I
them. I never told him how I had circ ivented his pet,
I26 A BOOK ON ANGLING
but I found out that my suspicions as to how it had always
been fished for were correct.
Yes ;
there is nothing pays better with good fish than a
little careful preliminary study of their territory. Never fish
them rashly or without due consideration, or you do more
harm than good. If a good fish rises at the fly and refuses it,
you should not cast again immediately ; give him a few
minutes' rest to recover himself, and take advantage of any
cloud or puff of wind that may occur when you throw again.
If he again comes short, give him another rest, and try a dry
fly over him it that fails let the fly sink well six or eight
;
inches, or even more, under water, and if that does not succeed,
either change the fly or leave him the latter for choice.
If fish are rising short, rolling over the fly, or flapping at it
with their tails to drown it, oblige them at once by letting it
rod to withdraw the tackle, but the line was too long and
dragged, and I fancied it had taken hold of a weed. I then took
the line in by hand, and found that, instead of being caught in
a weed, the fly had been picked up by a good fish. I struck him
with the hand and eventually killed him. The hint was not
lost on me : I had thrown over a good fish some seven yards
above, not five minutes before, and he had risen and refused ;
I now cast over him again, and allowed the fly to sink to mid-
the bank at his back, so that his head did not appear above the
sky line, they would not appear to see him at all, and would
take the fly without hesitation, provided no sudden or violent
motion were made to attract attention. Height, therefore, is
130 A BOOK ON ANGLING
not an advantage, and wading up-stream (provided no disturb-
ance be made in the water) is.
With regard to dress, some people are inclined to ridicule
the idea of there being any necessity for attending to it at all.
I am very sure, however, that excellent grounds exist for
not being too conspicuous in this respect. The trout is a very
gentlemanly fish, and does not like loud dressing ; positive
black and white, too, or anything which glitters or is unusual,
should be carefully eschewed, particularly on the upper and
more conspicuous part of the person. A tall black hat, or one
" "
of the genus called shiner I do not recommend ;
and
though I would rather fish in the Bishop of Winchester's stream
than in his lordship's company when in full canonicals, I should
equally consider Mr. Chadband in his cerements an objection-
able party for successful trout ing on a shy or well-fished stream;
while a stage coachman in a white top-coat and shiny hat would
be fully as unacceptable. I even dislike a highly varnished
rod. Who has not seen the flash of a rod waving in the air
when half a mile distant ? and surely so unusual and startling
a phenomenon cannot but be calculated to disturb the
equanimity of so sharp-eyed a creature as the trout. The
angler must not always consider, because the spot where a trout
lies is apparently out of the direct range of his vision, that there-
fore he is invisible to the trout ; because, owing to the refrac-
tion of the rays of light consequent on their passing from the
rarer medium of air into the denser medium of water, the direct
line of vision becomes broken on reaching the water, and takes
a much more perpendicular direction. The reader will under-
stand this by placing a coin in an empty pan, so far out of the
line of sight as to be hidden by the side of the vessel, and then
filling the pan with water, when the coin previously hidden will
be plainly visible. The same thing of course takes place
inversely with respect to the fish seeing the fisher, with this
remarkable difference, that the line is still farther diverted
from the direct line of vision, and therefore the fish can see at a
greater angle of divergence than the fisherman, and conse-
quently a fish lying under a bank between the angler and
himself can often see his enemy, when by no possibility could
the angler see him.
It is as well that the angler should bear this little bit of
science in mind, as it will often account for a fish not rising,
when every other reason fails. Owing to this peculiarity, a fish
can to a certain extent see behind him as it were, and can take
NIGHT-FISHING 131
in a much wider scope of objects than a cursory consideration
would give him credit for, and the more so as his eye is
peculiarly adapted to his element in this respect, as affording
him increased facilities for seeing his way to a living in the
world. The organ of sight is the chief one upon which fish rely,
and is much more keenly developed than any other. Feeling is
probably the next sense in proportionate development, as the
nervous organisation of fish is usually rather full and perfect,
and the slightest vibration in the water is felt by them appar-
ently instantaneously. Taste and smell are no doubt also
tolerably acute, but I do not think hearing is of so much
consequence to them as some of the other senses though the
;
angler will not find a loud or unusual noise in any way advan-
tageous to him.
The size of flies to be used must be regarded by the water to
be fished to some extent, but it is as common a fault to fish
with too small flies as it is to use too large ones. On very well
preserved and much-fished streams, as the Wandle, for example,
very small flies are the favourite cast, but I have often seen a
coarser one, with larger flies, beat it hollow particularly if a
;
hurry, yet let no time be wasted. If the angler has any doubt
about the state of his flies, he should never fish a moment in
doubt, but run the cast through his hand. A short cast is the
best ; too long a line is unmanageable and uncertain at night,
and there is no need for it, as the fish will, if you conduct your-
self quietly, rise close to you indeed, I have often, when
wading, seen them within a yard or so of my legs. The fish
rise
which are most likely to take well are those which get in close
under the banks. They are old soldiers, and pick a bellyful of
insects almost off the long grass, scarcely rising at all while
;
the fish which rise in the mid-stream and make such a pother
are for the most part but middling or little ones, Fish the
NIGHT-FISHING 133
banks, therefore, carefully, for even if you do not see or hear a
rise anywhere, there is always hope under the bank. At night,
a fly drawn against the stream will be taken almost as readily
as one floating down which of course is not the case by day.
It is seldom so dark but that the angler can see a little ; and,
although he will not detect perhaps the exact rise, yet he will
see a slight ripple, which will be sufficient to guide his fly to the
right spot. If, however, he cannot see the rise, let him listen
carefully, and now and then he will hear a faint tinkle like the
falling of a big water-drop ;
that is the rise of a trout, and his
ear must then guide him to the right spot. He will often hear
"
a suck," like a slobbery kiss that is not a trout feeding but
;
ARTIFICIAL FLIES
Contrast of Systems Copying Nature and Copying Nothing List of Flies
for each Month.
by anglers
and tackle makers in the way of identifying each fly.
1. Fig 2.
Fig
Fig 3.
please. It will often, too, occur, when trout are feeding strongly
upon a particular fly, that they will take something entirely
different in preference to a bad imitation of the insect they are
feeding on, or even a fair imitation put over them in a some-
what different way from those which are passing over them,
because the one does not challenge comparison while the other
does, from which the colorologists argue that it is not necessary
to trouble your head with considerations of what is on the
water. But there are times, again, when the fish will be rising
furiously, and the angler may exhaust his tackle book over
them without getting a rise if he has not the exact fly. I could
cite hundreds of instances of this. I mention only one, the most
recent I can call to mind.
Last season I was fishing the Itchin, at Bishopstoke it was
;
getting towards dusk, the fish came on to rise very rapidly, fly
after fly did I try, in the very thickest of the boils, covering
half a dozen fish at every cast; every likely fly I could think of
was tried and rejected, and not a single rise could I get the ;
fly they were rising at was a very small one, but, small as it was,
they knew perfectly well the difference between it and others
of the same size, even though it was evening. By great
difficulty I got one of the flies, and saw it was a red spinner.
I was able to find a red spinner without much trouble, and in
less than twenty minutes I had two and a half brace of fine fish,
136 A BOOK ON ANGLING
when the rise was over. The general principles so much
favoured by our friends in the north, in their selection of flies,
would have been utterly useless here. There is no doubt that a
general selection of a dozen flies (upon the principles advocated
by the author of The Practical Angler, Mr. Stewart) for the
entire season, makes very easy work of it, and the angler is not
much puzzled as to selection. Such a system may suit the
northern rivers, but, upon our well-whipped southern streams,
where the trout are exceedingly wary and well-educated, the
fish like a little more attention paid to their fancies and we
;
fisher adhere to the form, colour, and size of those flies at all ?
Why have they wings and legs and bodies like flies ? Why are
they of the same size ? Why does he not fish with a bunch of
feathers of any colour, and tied on anyhow ? Why should he
have any choice in the matter ? Why even have a dozen flies ?
and why should one kill one day and not another ? It is clear
that he has a choice and a variety because the fish have, and
"
he finds it necessary to
" pander to their base tastes and
fancies to some extent. His art is unquestionably a decep-
tion, and he must allow that he is deceiving the fish with
the imitation of a fly. Then I do not see how he can get out of
the sequence that the better the imitation the more likely it is
to deceive, and if he is obliged to consult the fishes' tastes at all,
"
"jWHAT FLY IS UP ? 137
the more sedulously he consults them the more likely he is to
please them, and this is all that we Southerns do. This is a
position which I do not think it is possible to upset. Nor do I
see what can be said beyond it. If it be urged that colorology
is easier, demands less study, consideration, or variety, that
streams, is
The February Red. For a representation of the natural
fly, see Plate VIII, Fig. 12, page 134. I have the dressing of
this fly from Mr. Ackers, the president of the Leintwardine
Club, as it is much
in favour in that part of the country. It
belongs to the Perlidae, and is a member of the same family
as the great stone fly, the smaller willow fly, and the still
smaller needle brown. Their wings, of which they have two
sets, are hard, horny, and shining, and are folded flat on the
back in a very small space and, though comparatively small-
;
The Blue Dun (see Plate VIII, Fig. 4, p. 134). This is perhaps
one of the best known and most generally used flies in the
kingdom. It is known equally as the early dark dun, the
hare's ear, and the cock-tail. In Lancashire, Cumberland,
and that district, it is the blue and olive bloa in Yorkshire, ;
fleck, and the blue upright in fact, its names are as endless
;
in the shade is all the real difference that exists between them.
For tin Early Blue Dun, or olive dun, hare's ear body wound
on with olive silk two turns of a medium blue dun hackle,
;
shiny brown feather, the "more brilliant " and transparent the
better. This is nearer to Ephemera's directions than any
others. The body and legs are all pretty plain sailing, but the
great difficulty in the fly rests in the wings. There are various
feathers used for the wing of this fly, none of which, to my
mind, at all accurately represent it, for the wings are so
brilliant, sparkling, and transparent, that a mere mass of
dull feathers would seem a hopeless imitation indeed the ;
red cock's hackle for legs two long strands of the same for
;
the tail ; wing, the bright glassy golden feather from the
wing of a thrush. It is a very elegant fly, if the fishes be
discriminators of beauty.
The Cow-dung or Lion Fly. This is one of the most useful
of the land flies, particularly on windy days, such as the
angler may expect in March and April. Wherever there be
meads and cows, there the angler may be sure, particularly in
MARCH FLIES 147
the spring, to find the cow-dung fly, and a large number may
always be observed, thanks to the wind's agency, upon the
water, where, maugre their savoury origin, they afford much
delectation to the hungry trout. Hook, No. 8 or 9 body, ;
one of the lighter shade being chosen. The angler need not
cast this fly like a zephyr. Naturally, when blown into the
water, it flops in like a beetle, but it immediately recovers
its presence of mind, and sits on the water, though some-
what stupidly in appearance, quite as if it was used to it ;
"
great frequenter of Tweed, where it abounds, A nasty little
nuisance you can neither do with it nor without it." It
!
the insect, the angler will observe that the wings, which are
closely folded over the body, overlap at the tail, are of a fine
shining brown, similar in colour and texture to the wings of
148 A BOOK ON ANGLING
the well-known alder fly. These, however, are only the upper
wings under them, and joining the body about a third of
;
hackle fibres on the under or breast side snipped off (as indeed
all buzz dressed flies, except the actual palmers, should be
Granting even the palmer theory, can the trout mistake the
small insect dressed with some three turns of a red hackle and
half a strand of herl for a huge hairy caterpillar of more than
a dozen times its size ? Is this reasonable, or is it not simple
nonsense ? Then, it is often called the coch y bondu, when
dressed with a hackle with a black centre. Now, if this really
be meant for an imitation of the coch y bondu, it is a very bad
one. The coch y bondu, which is identical with the bracken
clock, the Marlow buzz, the shorn fly, the fern webb, etc. etc.,
is not a fly or palmer but a winged beetle, like unto a
very
small cockchafer, and which makes its appearance in some
150 A BOOK ON ANGLING
localities (for it is very local and abounding sometimes on one
or two miles of a river and absent from the next one or two) in
the balmy airs of June. Yet we use this fly even in February,
and it takes. We use it, moreover, as the cocky bondu on rivers
where the natural insect is never seen, and still it takes well at
times. It is more than probable that the fish mistake it either
for a water spider or the larva of some beetle or fly which it
may possibly resemble. There are many spiders, as I have
already pointed out, which lead an aquatic existence, and I am
very much of Mr. Stewart's opinion that the angler does not
sufficiently take these useful aids to his art under his considera-
tion. But although I can speak tolerably positively as to what
it is not mistaken for, I do not pretend to speak nearly so
little iron-blue, etc. etc., of Wade (who has more than a dozen
different dressings and names for this fly) little dark bloa of
;
Jackson, little dark dun, etc. etc. "Ephemera" does not mention
this fly at all, unless a whirling dun, given in April, is meant for
it. Jackson does not give this fly till June, though all other
authors introduce it in April. Nevertheless, he does give its
transformation or imago in May. It comes on whenever there
is a glint of sunshine on the cold and windy days towards the
end of April, and the trout appear very averse to let any of
them escape. The angler may be wondering at the dullness of
the fish. All perhaps has been quiet he has hardly taken a
;
if you have the skill and the patience, sit down in some
sheltered nook, pull out your fly book, choose your finest hooks
and gut (hook, No. u
or 12), and set to work. Have you an
old fly with a mole's fur body, or any silk for that colour, or
even a shade lighter, as the fly varies from light lead colour to
mole's fur ? Good !on with it ;
not too fast nor too thick,
however. The shank of your hook will be almost sufficient for
the tail end of the body, and will be almost of the right colour.
Now, two turns of a dark slate-blue dun hackle, and now,
almost upright, a wing composed of very fine dark smoky blue,
or lead-coloured feather. Wade recommends the small feather
in the cormorant's wing or the tomtit's tail Ronalds,
;
breast of water-hen ;
and Jackson, wing of water-hen so the ;
tyer can take his choice. The fact is, the wing varies in dark-
ness or lightness, as does both the body and hackle. Tail, did
say ? True, we had forgotten the tail, but it is not of
154 A BOOK ON ANGLING
much consequence, and I as often use it without as with, as
the the living insect is stuck upwards from the water, and,
tail in
I am inclined to think, is unnoticed by the trout. However, as
it is well to have your fly perfect if you wish it, tie in at the end
of the whipping a couple of strands of a lighter hackle than the
one you use. The natural insect has rather a prominent head,
and eyes of a bright brown colour, and if you like to take half
a turn of reddish squirrel fur at the extreme shoulder it will
improve the fly. The iron-blue comes out on bleak days early
in the season, when there is a glint of sunshine ;
but there is
another little dark dun which much resembles the iron-blue,
but is not so dark, being a shade or two lighter throughout, and
the body should be lightly ribbed with fine straw-coloured silk.
This fly, often taken for the iron-blue, comes on several'.times later
in the season. It is quite possible that it may be a reproduction
of the iron-blue, as the iron-blues themselves vary in depth of
colour slightly, being lighter on one river than another. It is a
valuable lure, and the angler should have two or three shades of
it, for I have often been puzzled, though having different
shades, in hitting the exact hue, and colour is, as I have before
said, a great point with the trout.
And now look sharp, for half an hour has passed while you
have been rummaging out your materials and tying your fly ;
time you are revenged for his previous contempt, for you have
him fast under " a severe course of steel " that shall speedily
tame his rampant energy. So safe at last
: ! A
beauty, and
two honest pounds in weight, as I am a living angler and a
sinner. Bravo he will grace your basket right worthily but
!
;
lose no time in looking at him, you will have time for that
anon, whenthe fish have ceased rising again. Always make
hay you can while the sun shines and the iron-blues
as fast as
are coming, swirling thick and fast, and luck be with you,
brother angler. Three cheers for your iron-blue may it be
!
angler's.
After a few days the iron-blue casts his coat, and you may
find yours, perhaps, on some warm evening, covered with the
APRIL FLIES 155
small flecks of their whitish exuviae,* and swarms of a beautiful
little insect are careering round you. This is the delicate little
Jenny Spinner or Spinning Jenny. Curiously enough,
while Jackson does not give the iron-blue, he gives its imago,
under the name of the little white spinner, and he places it
early in May.
"
By Theakstone it is called the pearl-drake.
Ephemera" does not mention it. Wade calls it the evening
bloa. It is not at all an easy insect to imitate, so transparent
are its colours and so slender its proportions. It is almost as
great a favourite with the trout, however, as in its earlier form.
Imprimis, the tail is to be made of two strands of a light blue
dun hackle. The body is peculiar at the head and tail it is of a
:
"
A little dark dun with a brown head, not exactly similar to, but very
much like the Iron Blue, is found in August, and then a spinner like the
Jenny Spinner has an orange-coloured head, and the extremity of its body a
lighter colour.
"
There is also upon some waters a rather smaller ephemeral fly, similar
in colour to the Jenny Spinner, whose metamorphosis does not change much,
in tint, from the original. It <s to be found in some seasons upon the Blythe,
in Staffordshire;
but upon lake Tal-y-llyn, in North Wales, this insect is
so numerous, on warm evenings, as to form clouds, settling upon the dress
of a person passing by the lake (or upon any other object), where, in five or
ten minutes, it changes its coat, leaving the old one upon the dress, etc.,
which, if of a dark colour, becomes spangled with seemingly white spots.
The tail increases to quite four times its original length when this change
takes place."
I have seen this
strikingly exemplified on the upper waters of the Test,
where it is a great favourite with the fish. I have seen the river covered
ith rises when it is on, and have tried every fly I could think of in vain.
156 A BOOK ON ANGLING
even at the best, as they will do that of flies more easily
imitated.
The Black Gnat. This would be another very useful fly,
but is also difficult to imitate from its exceeding diminutive-
"
ness. This fly has been called the fisherman's curse,"
because when the fish are rising at it well, they are said to
seldom take the imitation or any other fly. Still I have had a
good deal of sport with it, when but a few, or indeed none of
them, have been on the water ; I confess, however, when they are
on very thickly, and the trout have been taking them freely or
almost exclusively, that I have found imitation though not
my
altogether useless, yet greatly at a discount. Nevertheless, as
I have said, it is occasionally a useful fly, when it dwells rather
in the trout's memory than in his eye, and I know good anglers
who are even very partial to the use of it, and who as often
put it into their cast as any other fly. Choose your smallest
hooks, take a black ostrich herl with the shortest fibre you can
find if not short enough, clip the body when tied up with a
fine pair of scissors ; two turns of a very small black hackle for
legs ; some eschew legs altogether it certainly makes the fly
less bulky.Wings, two very fine clear slips of a starling's
feather, and dressed as low and flat as you can conveniently
fix them. The fly is hardly abundant till the warmer suns of
May bring it forth, but then it sometimes is very thickly on.
On a hook three sizes larger put the same dressing, the body
being, of course, comparatively stouter, with wings and legs to
match, or you may use a dark lead-blue dun hackle, and you
have
The Hawthorn Fly (see Plate VIII, Fig. 18, p. 134). A land
fly, but at times by no means a useless ally of the angler's
where hedges abound. Both the above flies are found more
plentifully towards the end of the month.
The Gravel Bed or Spider Fly (see Plate VIII, Fig. 17, p. 134).
This is rather a local fly, and is not found upon every river,
but when it is found it is a great favourite with the fish but ;
long as the hook, a black cock's hackle, but not too much it of
two turns are fully sufficient wings, two fine slips from the
;
at this time of the year, that one need not use it, unless a
special fancy for it be indulged in. Dress it on a No. 10 hook
of reddish fur from a hare's poll, mix well with buff fur, to give
it the sandy tinge ; legs, hackle from buff Cochin hen wings,
;
turn of two of green floss silk to finish off and give the
green tail, which is, in reality, a mass of eggs about to be
deposited by the insect, and which have that tinge legs,;
tail to head is a pale red and a fine gold wire is usually run up
over the hackle the reverse way the wings are full, and are a
;
the tail off and the fly will pass muster fairly for many other
small flies, which it somewhat resembles, throughout the
season.
The flies which I consider indispensable for April, in con-
junction with those of March, are the yellow dun, brown
spinner, iron-blue (two shades) the black and quill gnats
; ;
the sand fly or the sedge, the latter preferred ; and, where
they are abundant, the gravel bed and grannom cannot be
omitted.
MAY. The Stone Fly (see Plate VIII, Fig. n, p. 134) is now
out in considerable numbers where it is found. A few may
be found towards the end of April, but early in May is the most
favourite period for its full appearance. It is used naturally by
daping or dibbing principally, but on windy days the artificial
fly will often be found useful. This fly runs upon the water
as
easily and nimbly as on the land, and with its double wings up
may often be seen half fluttering, half running, making its way
at a rapid pace across the stream, seldom remaining quiescent
as do so many other flies when sitting on the water's surface ;
essaying a flight, for which its heavy body is not very favour-
able, down it plumps on the water, and away it scuttles at a
great pace to the nearest bank. The angler may therefore
freely work his imitation, the liveliness he thus imparts to it
being perfectly natural and just.
On some rivers it is called the May fly, but the green drake
has a prior claim to the title, though possibly not a better one,
FLIES FOR MAY 159
as the green drake seldom appears in large numbers until June
has commenced.* The female stone fly is much larger than the
male, and is the one principally used by anglers. The hook
should be No. 7, or No. 6 may even be used. Body, large and
full of mixed hare's ear and water-rat with a few strands of
dirty yellow mohair worked in, the tail part being exclusively
of a somewhat brighter yellow ribbed distinctly with yellow
silk ; legs, a grizzled dark blue dun cock's hackle tail, two ;
wing. The horns or feelers on the stone fly are very marked,
and if it be thought desirable to have them, may be dressed
upright of two rabbit's whiskers. The larva of this fly is used
for fishing even more than the fly it is called the crab or
;
imitation, but never did much with it, even when the
natural fly was abundant on the grass and bushes by the
river side. However, as it certainly has a high reputation, I
uppose somehow and in some places it must have earned it,
I give it for its legendary worth, which shows the value of
I aracter, for from my own experience I should certainly
omit it. Hook, No. 9 or 10 body, orange floss silk. The
;
very closely and neatly, a strand or two being left out for the
legs ;tail, two strands of a buff hackle ; wings of the finest
and brightest pale blue feather that can be got the tern or
sea-swallow is chiefly used, but I think fine blue hackle points
would be preferable. Perhaps the best way is to dress it
hackle fashion or buzz, and to take off nearly all the breast
portion of the feather, leaving the upper part to do duty for
wings, and the mohair for legs. A pale blue dotterel hackle
will be found as good a feather for the purpose as can be
used. I have been rather particular with this fly as it appears
or others very similar to it do at intervals until the end of
the season. When it comes on the trout will often take it for
some time to the exclusion of many other flies which may be
coming down the water simultaneously.
The Alder or Orl Fly (see Plate VIII, Fig. 15). This is
one of the best flies that comes upon the water ;
it varies
the trout, for some days gorged and glutted with the unwonted
excess, are torpid and disinclined to move. In this nature
162 A BOOK ON ANGLING
seems to assist them, as very feV flies come on the water im-
mediately after the May fly.
The green drake is, as I have said, an imperfect insect, the
female becoming the grey drake and the male fly the black,
or, as it is sometimes called, the death drake, this term being
used from a foolish belief that it kills the female or grey drake.
Many anglers hold it to be next to useless to attempt to use
the artificial fly when the May fly is well on but this belief is
;
and between every cast the angler will have to make several
false casts, or casts in which the fly does not touch the water,
to shake the wet from the fly and to get it as dry as possible.*
To make the fly float has been the great desideratum with
fly dressers. The floating May flies of Mr. Ogden, one of the
best dressers of trout flies in England, have been widely
circulated, and they are, as are all his trout flies, beautiful
specimens of skill and neatness. They certainly do attract a
great number of fish to rise, and when the fish run large so
that in opening their mouths they take the whole fly in a
gulp they are most valuable flies, but where the trout are
small, as half or three-quarter pounders, there is this objection
to them they are so bushy that when a small trout attempts
to seize them he is very apt to run his nose against some of the
feathers which stand out from the fly and to drive the hook
before him instead of seizing it in his mouth, and thus the fish
is often missed and scared entirely, when he really rises fairly
to the fly. Their floating capabilities are undeniably excellent ;
when they get thoroughly wet, however, they take some time
to dry. The angler, in using Mr. Ogden's green drakes, should
therefore have two or three ready at the same time, so that
one dry while the other is fishing
may with respect to the
;
four hackle points, two long and two short, for the superior
and inferior wings or poisers, dressed well outwards, so as to
support the fly on the water. These hackles should be the
grizzled and blue dun hackle found on the Andalusian cock ;
said, I found the trout taking it well, and others tell me that
they have done so likewise. I give the dressing, and the angler
can please himself. Body, pale yellow crewel, ribbed with light
tawny brown silk legs, pale lemon-coloured hackle wings,
; ;
pheasant hooks,
;
Nos. 7 and 8.
The Fcetid Brown, or mushroom fly, is one of the same order
and genus as the last. It has its name from its emitting a
faint foetid odour when handled. It is not very much appreci-
ated by anglers generally. On warm evenings, towards the
end of May, and throughout June and July, it may be seen
in small whisks or swarms, skipping up and down over the
water now amongst the willows low upon the water, now
high in the air, seldom settling, but constantly hovering over
the water. It is a fine, fat, and tempting bait, and late in the
afternoon, or early in the evening, may be seen thickly on the
water. Dress it on a No. 8 or 9 hook body full, of mixed
;
picked out for the legs on a grizzled blue dun hackle may be
used wings also full and little starling for the under wing,
;
JULY. The Red and Black Ants are very favourite flies
during July they are of course more plentiful on some waters,
:
the legs, a red cock's hackle, and wings of the light shining
part of a starling's feather.
The Black Ant should be tied similarly, save that the body
should be composed of black ostrich and peacock herl mixed
and tied in at the waist, with black silk ; legs black cock's
hackle, and wings of the darker portion of the starling's feather.
The House Fly. There is a fly very similar in appearance
to the house fly, but I do not think it is the same being less
neat and more ragged in its appearance than the house fly,
looking rather, if I may use the expression, like a dissipated
house fly out of luck which is found in the fields, and a good
deal by the river side, and on the water during the warm
months. It may at times be used with great advantage, when
other flies fail and I have had good sport with it. It is so
;
similar to the house fly, that one dressing will serve both.
Hook, No. 9, body fat, and of two or three strands of any
170 A BOOK ON ANGLING
rusty dark bluish feather from the heron's back, wound on as
though it were herl. Tied in on each side, at the tail, are two
fine shreds of buff-coloured silk ; these are brought up the
sides and tied in when the body is finished off, to
represent the
whitish streaks along the sides of the natural fly. Legs, black
cock's hackle ; wings, the dark part of a starling's wing
these should be dressed as flatly as may be convenient.
The house flies are more abundant, and kill better on the
water towards the end of the season, however, as they are then
weak and blind.
getting
Hammond's Adopted. A fly of the foetid brown kind, but
with lightish spots or markings on the wings, is often to be seen
sporting like the foetid brown, and even with it on many rivers ;
it is the brown
skipjack of some localities. I do not find it
noticed much in any tackle book, unless it be the light pied
dun of Theakstone. I should not dress it precisely as he does,
however, preferring dark hare's ear and mole's fur for the
body, a grizzled blue dun hackle for legs, and hen pheasant's
wing for the wings hook No. 8. I believe this is the same fly
;
and, if the angler likes to add the horns, two strands of a bright
speckled mallard's feather will be a capital imitation. There
is another which is perhaps a greater favourite still with the
and tied with yellow silk well waxed tail, two strands of
;
and ii. The spinner of this fly resembles the common red
spinner.
The Willow Fly (see Plate VIII, Fig. 13, p. 134) much re-
sembles the needle brown, and like it belongs to the neurop-
terous flies of the family Perlidae. It is seen on warm days at
intervals through the winter. Mr. Ronalds recommends
it to be dressed buzz. Body, mole's fur spun on yellow silk ;
next, the ordinary blue dun, and lastly, a light pale blue dun,
almost silvery. The three darkest of these shades should be
ribbed with fine yellow glovers' silk the light one need not bej
;
The wings and hackles should keep pace with the bodies in
shade. Of yellow duns the angler should have one size only
of the large yellow dun previously mentioned the common
;
flies, which are prime favourites when they come on, will
kill better.
presently give a short list of
I shall flies, as they
are requisite to a tolerably complete equipment.
176 A BOOK ON ANGLING
GENERAL FLIES
Of the general flies which are most useful to the angler, and
which he will find it very advisable to have a stock of, there
are, first,
The Francis Fly. It may seem egotism in me to place
this fly first on the list but since its invention, from the
;
I
;
ribbed with very fine gold wire legs, a small dark coch-y-
;
bondu hackle (red with black centre and tips) wings, wood-;
body, bright red crewel, ribbed with gold thread legs and
;
woodcock wing may be put to the same body, but should be made
from the small light-coloured feather from the inside of the wing.
3. Woodcock wing with a single turn of a soft black hen hackle,
or a small feather taken from the shoulders of the starling, dressed
with dark-coloured silk.
angler may best venture to omit if he finds even this list too
long. The remainder I look on as indispensable for general
work. Of course, if the angler knows and fishes any particular
river, he may get through the season well enough perhaps with
a bare dozen of flies. If he wanders at all, he will do well to
have all the above flies, and specially and particularly the
duns and spinners. Most people have preferences, and I
have mine, and if I were to choose the two flies which I do most
with in the course of a year, I would select the alder and the
yellow dun in various shades, and next to them the blue dun
sedge, soldier palmer, and the governor.
two lighter) gold thread. This may be varied slightly and ad-
;
gold twist.
If there be salmon about the last four flies of sea trout size will
often rise them.
6. Teal wing orange crewel or floss body ; red hackle, gold
;
thread.
7. Wing from jay's wing, of pale bluish tinge and darkish towards
the butt ; body and hackle as in No. i.
8. Wing as in the last fly ; body, dark blue silk ; fine silver twist,
and black hackle. May be varied with an orange-yellow silk body,
and gold twist. A good sea trout fly.
9. Wing as before body, hare's ear and water-rat fur mixed
;
DEAR SIR,
First,wish to endorse what you say on p. 232 of
I
your new work, viz., that fish may be taken on the Scotch
lakes with most of the usual English river flies. Of these
I prefer the yellow dun, the red spinner (great), the soldier,
black gnat, black palmer, and alder (I take these from Ronalds),
and I have used these with great success in perfectly still
water, or with the slightest curl. But for rougher water
and the Scotch lakes are ordinarily rough enough I use larger
flies, andenclose you patterns of my especial favourites.
I
Nos. 3 are irresistible
i, 2, 4, 5, 6 are nearly as deadly.
;
red ;tail, two fibres of red parrot a turn of gold tinsel at tail; ;
wing, woodcock.
5. Body, lower half lightish yellow, upper scarlet, ribbed with
gold thread hackle, a brown red with dark centre
; tail, two ;
6. Body, bright medium blue well ribbed with fine gold tinsel ;
tail, two fibres of red hackle dressed buzz, with the small blue
;
barred feathers of the jay wing, with most fibres on the wing,
;
1. Is neither more nor less than the common blue dun. Blue
dun body ; ditto hackle ; and starling wing, two whisks for tail.
2. Is a small March brown.
3. Is the August dun.
4. Medium orange floss body and gold thread ; black hackle ;
body, rufous (red hair colour) red hackle, and medium starling
;
wing.
9. Tinsel and tail as before cinnamon silk body medium brown
; ;
ON LAKE-FISHING
Lake-Fishing Daping The Creeper The Beetle The Worm
probably too deep for the trout to see conveniently, and to rise
from at the fly. On a calm evening, however, the best trout
will often be found lying close in to the shore with their backs
almost out of the water, and here they will take fly after fly,
with scarcely more motion than a trout of a quarter of a pound
would be supposed to make but in these calm evenings don't
;
"
what a remarkably fine fish how very unfortunate
! if you!
u
yo cast, for that it is a lazy careless sort of sport, to be
carried out anyhow but remember this, friend student, if a
;
just as you are thinking least of fish and fishing, and have
mechanically cast your fly out to its full extent, when the point
of the rod is well down, up he comes, perhaps with a splash that
frightens you out of your wits. You strike hurriedly and five
times as hard as you ought to do, and all the harder because the
stroke comes from the butt instead of from the top. A heavy
fish and light tackle, with a hard strike tells its story and
;
away goes your pet fly, and you have no other of the same
pattern within five miles
The waters wild close o'er the child,
And you are left lamenting.
then you come home and find that Jones, who isn't half as
good a fisherman as you are, and is only patient and pains-
taking, has a couple of much better fish than any you have.
"
Ah if you'd only but no matter, you won't be had in that
!
reeds very carefully they are favourite harbours for the best
fish. Wherever you see little islets of rocks or cairns, by no
means pass them without a trial. If trees border the loch,
under them will be found the scaly prey waiting for whatever
heaven or the wind may send them by shaking the leaves.
Where streams and rivulets enter the lake, you should be
particularly sedulous in your attentions, as here you will be
sure to find sport of the best. If, when in a boat, you hook a
good fish, remember that the first thing he will inevitably do is
to dart off the shallow into the deeper water take care that in ;
if the boat be, as the boat of the Celt too often is, ragged as to
are but moderately so, the fish being more capricious and
apparently shyer, and sport, though sometimes good, is less
certain in them. These lakes often have better fish than the
" "
free risers." Some, again, are termed sulky lakes," and are
very hard to get fish from at all, though occasionally, but
likes to abjure a body and have nothing but hackle and wings,
and to put two gentles on in place of it, he will probably get
some good fish if he perseveres with his " sinking and draw-
ing." Of course, if he makes half a dozen or a dozen casts, and
"
then gets tired of it, throws it up, and says, It is of no use," it
will be of no use. It must be tried fairly ;
for big trout, even
in sulky lakes, are not to be found over every yard of the
bottom, and still less disposed to feed at any or every hour of
the day. In many sulky lakes the trout only rise well after
dark, when admirable sport may often be had.
igo A BOOK ON ANGLING
ON DIBBING OR DAPING
Fishing with the natural fly, or, as it is termed, dibbing or
daping, ranks next to fishing with the artificial fly. It is a
much simpler process, but requires a great deal of nicety. The
easiest style in which to use the natural fly is with the blow-
line, but the blow-line is hardly fair fly-fishing ;indeed,
dibbing, more especially with the May fly, is so destructive
when worked by an adept, that it is more then a question
whether it should be held fair fishing at all. However, as many
clubs and good anglers do follow and profess it, and as in many
lakes it yields almost the only sport got from them, I will e'en
treat of it.
The blow-line is thus employed. The line is composed of
the lightest, loosest, and airiest floss silk so web-like that
the least puff of wind will drive it before it. Light and loose as
it is, it has abundant strength. The rod used generally
resembles the mast of a fishing-smack, being of the lightest
cane, but as long as it can be obtained or worked. It generally
runs to nineteen or twenty feet, and often beyond that. As a
foot-line or cast, there is some two feet or more of very fine gut,
and a hook to match. On this hook is impaled a live May fly.
Put the hook into the thorax about the throat, and bring it out
again just below the wings. Some anglers use two flies, and
two hooks are then employed, tied, not back to back, but side
to side, and then opened wide enough to get the two flies on
comfortably I do not commend the plan as it makes too bulky
;
a bait. The angler then chooses that bank of the stream whence
the wind is blowing, and walks up the bank ; when he sees a
good fish rise, he turns his back to the wind, faces the fish, lets
out line enough just to clear the ground holds the rod per-
fectly upright, and allows the wind to take the line out over the
river, which, if but a very moderate breeze is on, it will do
easily. When it is bellied out half-way or three-parts across
the stream, judging his distance carefully, the angler slowly
lowers the point of the rod, so that if he has measured his
distance pretty rightly the fly will light where or whereabouts
the fish is rising, and a little above it of course, and as the fly
can be lowered on to the water au naturel like thistledown, and
by the skilful working of the rod-point can be made even to skip
and flutter up and down on the surface like the natural insect
in the enjoyment of the most rabid and demonstrative liberty,
and as no line need be visible, and nothing need touch the
FISHING WITH NATURAL FLY 191
water but the fly, if a fish be taking (as most fish are when
the May fly is on) and the angler be anything but a bungler,
a riseshould be almost a certainty. When a fish rises at a fly
give him time enough to get the fly into his mouth before you
strike as the May fly is a largish fly, the trout will possibly not
;
take the entire fly quite in his mouth at the first gulp, but sucks
it in slowly, and a strike then
may eventuate in the hook coming
away without the fly, and a scared fish. I have often known
this to be the case, and were it not for the misses the fish would
have a bad chance against the blow-line but a miss or two of
;
or three times the wings will most likely become wet and the
fly will be useless.
Having baited the hook as in blow-line fishing, let out
rather more line than the length of the rod (the angler will
soon find out how much he can manage), take the line about
six or eight inches above the hook between the finger and thumb
of the left hand, wave the rod and the bagged line backwards
and forwards once or twice to get the spring, and, if possible,
to wait for a slight air or puff of wind (it is needless to say that
it is very desirable to get the wind in your favour in this kind
of fishing), then, as you intend to cast, raise both hands before
you as though casting the fly with both hands, as it were,
towards its destination at the proper moment, when the
;
acceptances.
Behoves you then to ply your finest art.
Prospect the place, look for an open space through the boughs
and foliage, just over some good fish. You must approach
the spot with great caution, poking your rod with the line
wound round it before you now you are opposite to the spot,
;
over the right spot, gently drop the bait on the surface there is ;
strange"way of looking
" upon the word poaching. With many
people poaching means fishing in any other way than that
favoured by the appellant. It, in fact, as Hudibras has it,
Compounds for sins they are inclined to,
By damning those they have no mind to.
Had I my will I would never allow a trout to be caught with
anything but the artificial fly, and should, under such circum-
stances, look upon all bait-fishing as poaching, no matter how
employed. But as men are constituted, each has his favourite
mode of fishing, and all must be served. The only things I
resolutely bar and will not hold admissible under any circum-
stances are salmon roe and wasp-grub. The first because it is
illegal and destructive of the salmon (for to bait your hook
with three or four salmon to catch one trout is very bad
economy) ; while the second spoils the sport of others, for
where wasp-grub has been used to any extent, sport ceases.
In all other respects, if worm, minnow, and natural fly are
allowed, what should be prohibited ? It is the common
practice in many places to fish gentles for trout, precisely as
though you were fishing for roach, using a fine quill float, and
throwing in a few gentles from time to time but I never could
;
ON CRAB OR CREEPER-FISHING
Here, again, is a method
of bait-fishing very widely indulged
in, which really very deadly in skilful hands, and which might
is
be held poaching if any bait-fishing is, nevertheless it is not. The
crab or creeper is the larva of the stone fly, and may be found
running about amongst the stones on the wet strands of rivers
where the stone fly is plentiful, during the month of April and on
through much of May, according to the season, a week or two
sooner or later. In appearance it resembles strongly a black
"
insect which we used to call in my early youth the Devil's
coach horses/' an insect which perhaps will be recognised by
its habit of erecting its tail, or the latter half of its body, in the
air, when disturbed. I believe its proper name is the rose
beetle. Like to it is the creeper, save that it has horns or
feelers on the head, and somewhat similar appendages to the
tail. It is not a prepossessing looking insect. It is very active,
and not so very easy to catch. However, the laddies by the
river-side will always collect the angler a good stock of them
for a consideration if they are to be obtained.
The method of using the creeper very much resembles that
used in lob worm fishing in the larger brooks and rivers, but
with this remarkable difference, that whereas the lob worm
is most deadly when the water is coloured slightly, the creeper
is most deadly when it is low and bright. The later the creeper
can be fished in the season the better the chance is with trout.
The method of using it is as follows The gut should, of course,
:
and doubtless with a tender bait like this, this plan is worth
consideration. I generally, however, when I have used it,
slipping down to the bend of the hook, I lash into the shank of
the hook a short bristle, leaving about a quarter of an inch of it
pointing out and upwards towards the gut, and this prevents
the bait from slipping down, while it forms no resistance
whatever to baiting. Choose the creeper with the most yellow
about it (as we believe do the trout) for preference. This, I
fancy, is the female, and trout favour the feminine gender with
more flies than the stone fly. Take the hook and insert the
point at the top of the thorax, threading the bait upon the
196 A BOOK ON ANGLING
hook, as it were, until the point comes out about the middle
of the belly, and the insect hangs pretty straight upon the
hook, the shank buried in the body, and but the point visible.
Great care is required in casting, as the bait is very tender,
and therefore the line should not greatly exceed the length of
the rod, unless the angler be very skilful. No shot is necessary
unless the water be heavy. In ordinary streams it will sink
to mid-water easily enough, where it will for the most part
be taken. If the water be heavy, however, a single large shot
will do. Bite it on a foot above the hook. It is almost im-
possible to fish creepers properly without wading. Enter the
stream, stooping cautiously if the water happen to be very
open and thin, and cast upwards and outwards, letting the
bait come down almost level with the place where you stand,
lifting the bait by raising the point of the rod slightly now
and then, if you have reason to suppose that it is getting
near the bottom, taking a careful step, or even two, upwards,
at every cast or so. Try the edges of streams just out of the
rough water, the turn of an eddy, the eye of the stream, and
where it commences to turn off under overhanging banks or
trees with a fair stream under them, the tails of rough pools
anywhere where good fish may be on the watch, save still water,
where it is next to useless to try it. The eye should detect
the bite before the hand does. If you wait for the hand to
" "
denote to you the jog, jog a good trout gives when he takes
a bait, ten to one you will be too late. As the bait never does,
or never ought to, touch the bottom (as, being so tender, it is
very soon destroyed), the instant the line checks as it comes
down-stream towards you don't wait to wonder what it may
be, but strike. The loss or damage of your bait is certain in
either case, whether you have a bait and miss it, or whether
you take hold of a stick, weed, or stone, so you may as well
strike and chance it. Do not strike too hard. Strike quickly,
lightly, and firmly ;
and as the best fish come at the creeper,
get them down to you as soon as possible, and with as li ttle ado,
so as not to disturb the others above. The greatest nuisance
of this fishing is that you are so perpetually called upon to renew
your bait, for every run, every stroke, and every hitch destroys
it.
Perhaps the most deadly time of any to use the creeper
isabout the period when the chief transition from creeper to
going on
fly is ;
and he is a muff who with a fair chance in his
favour cannot fill a basket with good trout then.
A tiny fly-box, of funnel shape, with a small exit, is the best
BEETLE-FISHING 197
BEETLE-FISHING
Various beetles, both land and water, may be used in pre-
cisely the same way as the creeper. Anglers do not, as a rule,
pay half enough attention to the various species of Coleoptera
on which the trout feed. Yet the importance of this kind of
food, not only to trout but to many other sorts of fish, may be
seen by cutting open a trout when they are perhaps rising
badly, when a large proportion of the contents of the fish's
stomach will be found to be beetles and a good basket may
;
bend form the back, and tie it off then tie a bit of
tightly, to ;
silk tightly round over all to separate the body and form the
thorax. Cuts of two artificial beetles may be seen at Plate X,
Figs. 5 and 6, page 219.
ON WORM-FISHING
There are two methods of worm-fishing one which I am
and one which I care nothing about.
excessively partial to,
The first and simplest the dolce far niente of trout fishing
is ;
but a light rod no bother about what flies will or will not
;
suit ;
no tackle beyond a yard of gut and two or three hooks
in a piece of brown paper a small bag of moss with well-
;
the latter for preference in one pocket, and a flask of the dew
" "
that shines in the starlight when kings dinna ken in the
other. Far, far beyond all care away from rates, taxes, and
;
court, hospital, or church the pre- Adamite hills with the eternal
sky above them your inspiration the pure breeze of heaven,
;
but half an inch of tail left beyond the point. Now you are
ready. Yonder is a small cascade some two feet in width ;
drop the worm into it, and let the stream take it where it will.
Soh ! No sooner is it clear of the down draught, and near
" "
the edge of the little basin, than there is a pluck, pluck at
the line. Drop the point of the rod for a brief second to let
him get the worm in his mouth then give a short sharp stroke,
;
and a lift of the rod-point, and you pull the little rascal out
flopping on the bank, a noble quarter-of-a-pounder. Never
mind on with another worm and try again. Let it run close
;
felt the check, and has left it. Don't worry him leave him,
and he may take in a few minutes, but not if you show him
the worm too often. Now try by the side of that stone, and
steer nicely through that little channel, cut between the rocks.
200 A BOOK ON ANGLING
See, the line stops again ; lift it gently, 'tis but a stick or a
piece of weed. Now it stops once more, and by the tremulous
"
motion of the line it is a fish pull him out ; and so on."
The great object in this kind of fishing is to let the worm roll
along naturally, and to steer the line clear of all obstacles, so
that no check may occur while working the worm through
and round every likely hole, stone, or hanging bank. You
never need try even the likeliest looking place more than
twice, for usually the bait will be taken even at the first swim,
if it is taken at all. Of course the angler must make himself
as invisible as he can; and when an open or clear shallow bit
occurs, he must cast up-stream and fish it down towards
himself if he wants to catch fish in it. When the angler has a
bite, he must drop the point of the rod for a second or two,
and then strike ; and when he strikes, if the fish do not prove
too heavy, he must lift him out smartly with the point of the
rod and drop him upon the bank. In this manner of fishing in
some of the little becks in Cornwall when a boy I have pulled
out five and six dozen of bright little trout in a day's fishing,
not one of which would perhaps reach half a pound. The
angler can, of course, if he likes, use Mr. Stewart's tackle,
when he can strike at the slightest touch without waiting, but
as there are three hooks, although he will perhaps catch more
fish, he will much more often experience the annoyance of
the shank of the hook out of the way * then take the second
;
worm, put the point into the middle of the worm, and thread
it on the hook up towards the head, leaving about half an inch
of head beyond the point of the hook draw down the first
;
any part of the worm in his mouth with Stewart's tackle with-
out having one or two of the hooks in his mouth.
In worm-fishing, it is often indispensable to wade. Indeed,
in nine times out of ten, particularly in fine water fishing, the
angler will have to wade more or less. In thick water he may
avoid this somewhat. He must, of course, wade up-stream,
casting into every likely spot as far as he can above him, allow-
ing the bait to roll down-stream until it travels down level
with him. The side of a big stone or rock, the edge of sharp
streams, narrow runs between weeds or stones, the gravelly
tails of pools or just before a rapid, under bridges or by bridge
* In a worm, a small bag of sand to dip the worm into will greatly
baiting
facilitate the operation by enabling the thumb and finger to take a firm
hold. F. F.
FISHING WITH WORM 203
lie watching for the first chance of the food that cornes down.
If the young angler will note carefully, he will see that small
sticks, straws, flies, and whatever may come down, usually
take a turn round this eddy before they are swept down-
stream. As the rapid narrows where it makes its shoot, all
food is brought together in a small compass, and is also swept
into this eye, where the best trout lie expecting it.
In casting a worm, it is advisable to commence with a line
no longer than the rod, and this may be increased while throw-
ing in the usual way. In bringing out the line behind over
the shoulder, the return must not be made so abruptly as it
is with the fly, or the worm will speedily be whipped off or torn,
but while bringing the rod to the forward motion a much
wider and rounder sweep must be made. The line must be
perfectly extended, with the worm at the extreme end of it,
"
and, if I may so express it, at rest," before the return is made.
The worm will consequently fall so low that it touches the
surface of the water before it is again impelled forward, and,
if a good worm-fisher is watched when at work, this will be
while the unskilful angler will feel tug after tug, and, unless
the fish are savagely hungry, will not kill one in six. I am of
course speaking of localities where the trout are accustomed
FISHING WITH WORM 205
to be fished for with a worm, not in unsophisticated preserves
where we may say of a worm
gathering the line up in the palm of his left hand and giving it
out thence, so that no slack hangs about anywhere.
The way of casting a spinning-bait Thames fashion has
already been described in jack-fishing, and need not be repeated
here, as the modus operandi is the same for trout as for pike.
The rod should be a little longer than that used for jack-
fishing, but not so stout. Thames trout-rods are usually of
bamboo, the favourite length from fourteen to fifteen feet.
The line is of well-dressed fine eight-plait silk. The commonest
kind of tackle in use among the Thames trout-fishers precisely
resembles that used for jack-fishing, shown in Plate IV, Fig. i,
p. 76. It is very seldom indeed that more than three triangles
and a lip-hook are used, and, of course, the flight of hooks
is tied upon gut, and not gimp and, being intended to take
;
a smaller bait, the hooks are smaller and tied on closer to-
gether. Some people occasionally use a reverse hook to
secure the bend next to the last triangle, but, though useful,
it is not indispensable. Some, again, use a single hook at the
tail. This hook, being a size or two larger, is hooked into the
tail, so as to make the bend of the hook form the crook. I
206
SPINNING FOR THAMES TROUT 207
out of every ten get off after being hooked, solely because
we have fished for a fish as large and powerful as a salmon,
and often in water as rough and heavy as that which salmon
are found in, but with roach hooks to hold him when hooked.
Can anything be more absurd ? The fish runs, is hooked, gives
one turn over in the stream, or perhaps is hauled about for
five minutes or more, and then off he goes, with a very strong
reminder that a bait which conducts itself in the fashion which
a spinning-bait does is not safe feeding. I could almost venture
to assert that there is not a trout of seven or eight pounds and
upwards in the Thames but has been served in this way half a
dozen times and then we marvel that Thames trout should
;
* Instead of the
plain single tail-hook shown in the engraving, one of
Mr. Pennell's double reverse hooks should be used for large trout ; or the
angler can, if he prefers it, use this tackle exactly as it is figured, by employing
it and baiting it as prescribed for the pike at page 84. It is an admirable
. kle either way.
208 A BOOK ON ANGLING
say, that, the trout runs well and takes the bait fairly, there
if
In the early part of the season the trout will be found in the
open streams ;
but as the season advances, and the nights
get warm, and the water low and clear, they appear to draw
more up to the weirs. Perhaps bait is more plentiful there at
such times. Although it is the custom to fish for them with
a neat little bait about three and a half inches long, yet I have
known the best fish hooked with a large jack-bait and gimp-
tackle after they had been fished over with the usual small
baits for weeks in vain. Probably the larger bait tempted
them and, indeed, if the angler should see a Thames trout
;
feeding, he will more often see him chasing a large bait than
a small one.
Owing to their shyness of the spinning-bait,, it has become
greatly the practice of late years to fish for them with a live
bait, sinking and drawing with but a couple of shot and a
WARINESS OF THAMES TROUT 209
larger stock of big flies, like the stone and May fly, in the
river, so as to tempt the fish to look after that kind of food, it
cannot be doubted that many more fish would thus be taken.
I have heard of many good fish also being taken with grilse
flies.
hook myself, as not being nearly so likely to lose the fish when
hooked. If, however, triangle or double hook tackles be used,
the rules given for Thames trouting or pike spinning with
these tackles on a larger scale will equally apply. To make
it spin well, however, a minnow should be bent rather more
than a dace or gudgeon. If the reader will glance at the
engraving of the baited tackle in Plate IX, Fig. 6, page 211,
he will form a better idea of the method than any mere
directions can afford him.
There is another tackle used by some anglers, sometimes
MINNOW-FISHING 213
called the bead or drop minnow. The tackle is made and
is used much
after the same system as that shown in Plate V,
Fig. 7, page 78, as being employed by the Nottingham
spinners. From the junction of the lip-hook depends a pear-
shaped pellet of lead, secured to the tackle by a small ring.
The tackle is not reeved through the gill as in the Nottingham
plan, but the bead of lead is forced into the minnow's mouth,
which is then closed by means of the lip-hook, the first triangle
being hooked in just behind the back fin, so as to give the bait
a bend, the second triangle hanging loose just beyond the tail.
It is by no means a bad tackle for a small hooked pattern, but
I do not like the plan of putting lead inside the minnow ;
baits thus treated very soon wear out and cut through at
the gills and throat ;
the bait too, is rather apt to wobble
in this method of baiting. This form of tackle is much com-
mended by Mr. Pennell in his Book of the Pike.
Before using minnow tackle, the angler should always
soak it well, as everything works and spins better after a soak-
ing than when stiff and hard. All the swivels, too, should be
looked to that they may work in the freest possible manner
and without a hitch ;
and if any swivel does not work well,
and cannot by oiling or greasing and working be got into good
order, it is better to discard it and use another, as in practice
it will be found useless.
The minnows may be carried in a small tin box, strapped
to the left side, as in the natural May fly-fishing ;
and as at
times there may be a good deal of wading, and the angler
may have to bait while wading, which is an awkward job
unless he walks out of the water to the bank, which is not
always desirable, the angler should have buttoned to his hip
a leather socket to fit the butt of his rod. You will find, brother
angler, a wonderful comfort in this ;
for example, when land-
ing your fish, put the butt in the socket, and hold your rod by
the left hand ;you then have perfect command over your
fish without any strain on the arm, and you have your right
hand perfectly free to work the net and lift the fish out when
;
you have lifted him out and disposed of your net, the rod
ests in the hollow of the arm, and both hands can be employed
1
upon the fish and the hooks.
And now as to casting. Unless you are casting long casts
from the bank, you do not adopt the Thames style, but with
a long rod, and rather more line out than the length of the rod,
you swing the bait upwards by the underhand swing. This is
214 A BOOK ON ANGLING
the general plan, but I adopt a much better one, and get out
more line than can be got out in this way, by adopting the
method described at page 45 in Nottingham dace-fishing.
By this plan the angler can get out nearly twice the length
of his rod and that is enough to work pleasantly with.
;
Do not spin too fast, or you run away from the fish, but spin
just fast enough to make the bait spin well, which it should
do easily. If a fish makes a dash in the water at the bait,
but misses it, spin steadily on as though he had not done so,
and he may come again. For although a trout may once in a
way take a bait when it is checked (and I have known them
even to pick it off the bottom), yet a sudden stoppage is more
likely to alarm than reassure the already shy fish.
There
are only certain parts of a stream where fish take the minnow
well ; for instance, in the rough water at the head of the
stream for a few yards, and again, though not so well, at the
extreme tail the body of the stream seldom gives many fish.
;
I do not mean to say that the angler will not get one now and
then, particularly if the fish are plentiful but by far the best
;
place for the minnow is the first few yards of each stream.*
is far preferable.
When a fish runs, some anglers hit him hard, and some
raise the point of the rod and tighten the line, and hold on to
strike until youthe tug of the fish if you do you will often
feel
scare him. The best time for the minnow is at the commence-
ment of a flood, when the water is rising, as the fish are then all
over the water in search of the food that is beginning to come
down.
The same plan may be used for preserving minnows as I
have recommended for large trout and jack-baits, namely, of
preserving them in spirits of wine.* It is a far better one than
the commonplan of salting, as salting the minnows renders
them so that every run will be likely to cost you a fresh
soft,
bait whether you get a fish or no, while the colour and brilliancy
are much impaired. One thing, however, I have remarked,
and I have heard other anglers remark the same thing, though
it may only be a fancy difficult to prove, viz. that trout seem
but, as I have said, I have heard other anglers make the same
remark, and I see no reason why a fish should not indulge
in a taste.
With regard to spinning a minnow in small trout rivers,
I have only this advice to give do not do it if it be a fair
:
when the trout will not take the fly fairly before dark, they
should have the benefit of their knowledge. Large bags would
* See first footnote on p. 86. ED,
216 A BOOK ON ANGLING
not be made thus, but moderate sport in fair weather would
be got through the season. In some rivers much of the water
is heavy and not very favourable mayhap for fly-fishing, and
midway between the anal and ventral fins, cut off the fins,
thread the big hook down through the bait, beginning at the
tail, and bending the fine end of the cut on the bend of the
hook to give the twist, hook on the lip-hook, and let the tri-
angle hang loose. N.B. Take particular care the water-
bailiff does not note your operations, or you will very probably
be fined for killing salmon fry for this reason I say little
;
fact, though now and then one would fight very boldly and
well, too often they behave as a trout might be imagined to
do if he had been drinking success to the May fly rather too
freely.
Grayling should not be fished for till August they are
;
not worth eating before that, and not very good then. A
September fish is better than an August fish, October better
than September, and November best of all. All through the
winter, on a warm, sunny midday, you may get sport and
;
through deeper water than the trout or no, I cannot say but ;
grayling ;
and my advice to the young hand at grayling-
fishing is fish away, never mind "two straws what the water
may be, fish the whole of it, and fish it out, and never neglect
the deep still reaches, as grayling lie and take better in them
(particularly early in the season) than trout do ;
if fish are not
moving, search the banks well, and you always have a chance
with the grayling. Of course I am not assuming that you will
always be certain of sport, but I have often had the best sport
when I have not seen a fish rise save at my own fly.
A grayling rises very quickly, and also refuses quickly, and
when he does rise you can hardly strike too soon ; but as,
more particularly in deepish water, he has to rise from some
depth, you should not hurry the fly in casting, but make your
cast rather drag. For this reason, fishing up-stream and
drawing down is not the best method of fishing, because you do
not give the fish time, and all experienced grayling fishers cast
directly across stream as close as possible to the opposite bank,
where the best fish of course lie, and let it drag slowly round
down-stream, bringing it round by so directing the point of the
rod even to your own bank. For the same reason, a little bit of
tinsel is often used in grayling flies, which in all other respects
do not differ from those used for trout. Grayling are very
partial to the little blue and yellow duns and spinners, and
these always prove the great piece de resistance in the choice of
flies for grayling. A grayling, though he is not difficult, unless
very much whipped over, to rise to your fly, is scarcely so easy
to basket. It is not at all uncommon for him to rise four or five
times, sometimes refusing altogether, and sometimes taking
after all. A
trout seldom rises fairly above twice, and if he
refuses twice you may leave him, as you do more harm than
good in casting over him. Not so with a grayling after three
:
or four rises, give him a minute, and then come over him again
either with the same or a fresh fly, and he will as often as not
fasten.
When you have hooked a grayling, your next job is to land
him ;and here though his play, as I have said, is by no means
so lively and varied as that of the trout, yet is the kind of
resistance he makes more dangerous to the hold you have of
him than the running to and fro of the trout, for your grayling
PLATE X.
Fig 3. 4.
Fig
Flo 6.
opposite point and direction of that hold, and usually hangs all
his weight on the line at the same time. Having a very soft and
delicate mouth, it is common enough for them to break away ;
and the bigger the fish the more tenderly you must treat them.
There are twice or three times the number of grayling lost after
hooking that there are of trout.
Of course, the grayling rises best in the morning and evening
when the flies are about thickest, that is, during the summer
and autumn, but he will none the less, as I have said, rise all
day to some extent. In winter, the middle day fishing is the
best evening, save under very favourable circumstances
;
pitch your bait into every likely place, particularly into every
deep eddy and swirly hole, working it up and down, sinking
and drawing with constant short jerks of the wrist, never
320 A BOOK ON ANGLING
allowing it to remain still an instant, until the whole of the
water be thoroughly searched ;
at every touch strike pretty
smartly, but not violently, and disturb the water as little as
possible in landing your fish, as in October and November,
when this deadly lure is chiefly used, the fish are often congre-
gated in good numbers in any favourite hole, and with caution
many may be caught before the rest are scared. Wheatley
recommends a float as an addendum to this process out on it !
has been clearly proved there that when it is not used the big
grayling rise much more freely to the fly. It is certainly an
artificial bait, and that is all that can be said for it ; if it be
*
Grayling are undoubtedly indigenous in the rivers of the English east
coast from the Yare of Norfolk to the Humber, including the Trent and all
its tributaries. Its presence there dates from a remote period when these
rivers were tributaries of the Rhine as it flowed through the great plain now
covered by the North Sea. That the grayling is not indigenous to the Thames
(where it has been introduced in recent years) seems either to imply that
some obstruction prevented its access to that river from the Rhine, or to
confirm the theory of Sir Andrew Ramsay (1814-1891), sometime President
of the Geological Society, that the Thames originally flowed from east to
west into the Severn Valley, and that its course was reversed in consequence
of the depression which formed the North Sea and an eastward tilt of the
chalk and eocene beds through which the Thames flows. ED.
GRAYLING v. TROUT 223
the German and Swiss rivers and that they should also be
;
has succeeded fairly. It has been brought also into the Clyde,
where it has thriven well. But there are very many other
rivers, as several of the tributaries of the Thames, where it
could be easily naturalised, as the two Colnes, the Windrush,
parts of the Mole, the Darent, the Wey, the Brent, and others,
for not every river which will suit the grayling
it is ;
whereas
almost any river, if not already overrun with coarse fish, will
suit the trout, if there are any shallows at all for it to spawn on.
Grayling love deep eddies and quiet reaches, but they also
like sharp and rapid shallows a weedy shallow which ends in
a deep safe eddy, with a gravelly bottom, and loamy hollowed-
out banks, being the especial abiding-place of grayling ;
and
where these alternate with sharp bends, full of nooks and
corners of refuge, the stream will suit grayling to admira-
tion.
I must touch on one other point before
I have done with
if, for example, it holds five thousand trout you cannot put
five thousand grayling into it as well, and still keep up the
number and condition of your trout. But if, for the sake of
extending your sport for many months, or for the variety, you
are satisfied with a slight diminution in the weight of your
baskets of trout, then you can do well enough ; or, if this does
not suit, then you must resort to a large system of artificial
feeding. To what extent we can or could carry this point of
the question in an open stream, is a calculation which experi-
ments in fish culture, to be carried out in the future, alone can
assure us of. Everybody can understand that if a field of
turnips will support fifty sheep for a month, and you turn
twenty cows into it as well, the field will not support the
additional call made on it for the same period but if you
;
*
Probably most persons interested in or owning line trout streams would
gladly get rid of grayling altogether, were that possible. Grayling spawn in
spring, when there is the maximum of insect life to keep trout busy ; but
trout spawn in late autumn when flies are scarce, and grayling, in the height
of condition at that season, feed sumptuously upon trout spawn. ED.
CHAPTER IX
THE SALMON
The Rod The Reel and Line How to use them Casting Striking-
Playing a Salmon Sea Trout Fishing
hickory and a hundred yards of line put into his hands, with a
salmon freshly hooked at one end of the line.
There is a story told of a pawky old Scot whose wife was
very ill, but who, tempted by the fine ply in which"
the rivei
was, had just slipped away and stepped down to tak a cast o'
her." He had just risen and hooked a splendid fish which was
336
PLATE XI.
awa' bock thin, Donald, and tell her joost to hing on till a've
kill't the fusshe." The words were hardly out of his mouth,
when, as if to punish him for his inhumanity, the salmon gave
"
a great spring and broke away. Was ever the likes o' that ?
"
it's joost a judgment was the exclamation, as handing the
!
did ye hear o' the big fusshe the news o't tint me i' the morn ?
"
Hey, mon, that was a fusshe !
THE ROD*
The first consideration for the would-be salmon-fisher is the
rod. This should be proportioned to his height and strength.
Nothing looks so absurd as a little ambitious individual
labouring under a huge threshing-machine as big as a sloop's
mast, which he is manifestly unequal to the wielding of easily ;
and not only does it look badly, but it works badly. A rod
two or three ounces heavier or inches longer than is comfortable
to the angler, tells dreadfully between the shoulders and on the
loins in a long day's fishing and it is useless to suppose that
;
light and short will become heavy enough, and long enough
too, in a long day's work. My advice, therefore, to the young
salmon-angler is, not to overweight himself in his choice of a
rod at the outset, but to work up to a heavier and longer
weapon, which practice and time may eventually enable him
to manage. Something, too, depends upon the kind of fishing
he is going to undertake. If it be boat-fishing upon a lake, a
fifteen-foot rod is quite long enough, so that there be plenty of
stuff in the butt and the lower part of the next joint, for lake
fish often run and pull tremendously.
The most sporting fish I ever hooked in the whole course of
my life was a fish of twelve pounds, which I hooked from the
shore on Loch More at Thurso. I never saw such a fish he ;
was a regular flyer, and was more out of the water than in.
Plunging and leaping from the water, as dolphins are always
depicted as doing, particularly on signboards, he took out
clear, withoutstopping for a second, over one hundred yards
of line ; and,had I not chanced to have one hundred and
twenty on my he would certainly have broken me. The
reel,
late Sir F. Sykes, a first-rate rod, was run out and broken,
with one hundred yards, on the same spot but a few days
before. At about one hundred and ten yards I got on terms
with him ;and, to see this twelve-pound fish leaping out of
the water, at such a distance from me that he did not look
larger than a good-sized trout, it was difficult to imagine that
there was any connecting link between us. I had no boat,
and wading was out of the question. Another ten yards and
he would have bid me good-bye. But the tackle was new and
sound, the rod well set up in the lower joints, and for the last
twenty or thirty yards I let him have it heavily ;
and this,
with the weight of the line, stopped him. So that, in lake-
fishing, if your rod be short it must not be weak.
In boat-fishing on a river also a long rod is not desirable.
Where a long rod is of advantage is upon a good-sized sporting
river, fishable from the shore, where you have broken ground
and water, and where you must often run with your fish ;
have
II
rf she rod be
:i$t is
: . :=
-
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if
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rather
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ne productions
-
makers
r.ship
,
^ ^ ve one by me
.:-
"
it B v^y
oBindi anglers
; :: ;-:e angler
-c splices,
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t out of
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tie your
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ance is
RODS
nd
tearj
tweaj
:aqm
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rodr,
Bamboo rods
..
f ^ ^&'
^
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and t
kilkd bondp
rods
> *
wood and grcenhcar
weigl arlow's:-
No. i, i*feet,greenl*a
No. 2,10 icr!
.led
hickory
.
line of that length can easily be turned end for end when at all
worn, and will serve as two good lines, which is a matter of
economy, whereas in a sixty or seventy yards line turned thus
you would soon get into the weak part in a good run that you
would always be in danger, because the pull would come just
at the distance where a fish is at his strongest at the end of
a forty or fifty yards run,*
Formerly salmon lines were twisted and made of horse-hair
alone, or of horse-hair and silk but eight-plait dressed silk
;
lines having been introduced, the others are now not often
used, as the eight-plait silk line which has been carefully and
well dressed runs through the rings so much more smoothly,
is less liable to kink or catch, and does not hold so much water,
besides throwing better against the wind. Tapered lines, or
lines which are gradually reduced to a smaller size towards the
end, are usually much preferred. Their cost is greater, but
they have this advantage they cast more evenly, and do
:
not sink so deeply in the water towards the point, and are
therefore fetched off it more easily, and, as already stated, as
the length of the cast is governed by the quantity which can
be easily and quickly withdrawn from the surface, it will
at once be seen that there is a, considerable advantage in a
well-tapered line. It must be remembered that heavy rods
and heavy waters require heavy lines but unless the angler
;
wishes to strain his top joint, and open the splices, he should
never use a heavy line to a light rod. It is inconceivable what
an amount of mischief in wear and tear, and what a lot of bad
* Here again present-day anglers enjoy a convenience unknown to Francis.
Of a reel line 1 50 yards in length, not more than 40 or 50 yards need be of
"
the weight necessary for casting, the rest consisting of tarpon backing,"
which, being very fine and as strong as an eight-plait dressed silk line, enables
one to use a much smaller and lighter reel. ED.
THE CASTING LINE 233
on the Tay and such broad heavy waters also, three flies are
used habitually. The salmon fly should always be tied upon a
hook with a loop eye at the head. Whether this loop be formed
as part of the hook itself, or be lashed on, matters not here.
Supposing it to exist, pick out a nice round, lengthy strand of
gut, if the fly be used as a single fly or as a stretcher if a ;
eye, take a turn of the gut round the eye until the point is on
* Various substitutes for ut have been introduced of late
. years, and per-
sonally I have quite abandoned gut in spring salmon-fishing, using only the
material sold as " Demos." Its strength is much greater than that of the
best gut it costs about sixpence a yard and is supplied in 40 yard lengths.
But it requires care in handling. A figure-of-eight knot at the head of the
fly is quite safe but if, as often happens in windy weather, a knot forms
;
accidentally in the cast, a very slight jerk will snap it. That is the only draw-
back I know to Demos. Its merits are that it has no glitter, the casting line
is in one piece, it is of extraordinary strength and absurdly cheap. Fishing
with a friend in the Spey one March, he had the misfortune to lose his casting
line through the reel line breaking. It was a new' cast for which he gave
fifteen shillings. A similar accident to myself would have cost me just one
shilling !ED.
234 A BOOK ON ANGLING
the same side as the gut first came through the eye, then return
it through the eye again, and you have it looped on to the eye
of the hook. The end, however, is still loose, and it is evident
that at any strain it would slip back again through the eye.
Then take the fly in your left hand, take hold of the fag end,
and make a complete turn round the gut, and put the end
through the tie or opening thus formed in fact, make a
regular tie knot, and draw it tight, after the style of tying
shown in Plate III, Fig. i, page 66. Repeat the operation so
as to make two knots lying side by side, as closely as possible.
Pull the knots home as tightly as you can, by taking the fag
end between your teeth or pliers, then pull the gut and slide
the knots down to the eye, cut off the end, and your fly is
ready to be looped on to the cast.
And now we will suppose that the angler is suited with rod,
line, cast, and flies. We will assume that he knows something
of fly-fishing, has at least used a single-handed trout rod.
The motions gone through with the rod point are precisely
similar with a single and a double-handed rod, save that a
somewhat wider sweep is made with the latter. The left hand
holds the rod below the reel, and the right grasps it at a
convenient spot above sufficient line is let off the reel for the
;
cast ;
the point of the rod is waved backwards over the right
shoulder ;
the right hand comes almost to the level of the
shoulder (in long casts a trifle above it). Give the line time to
extend itself backwards, making a sweep round with the point
of the rod, still feeling the line as you do so;
direct it towards
the mark as in trout-fishing. You can either make the curve
(or the cast rather) towards the ear or away from the ear. The
first will be found most suitable when fishing with a short line,
but the latter is indispensable when fishing with a long one,
as in no other way can the line be got off the water so quickly
or neatly. This is the right shoulder cast. To ease the muscles
and to suit a particular airt of wind, or the direction or bank
of the stream, it is often advantageous to cast from the left
shoulder instead of the right. To do this reverse the hands
the right below, the left above the reel and bring the rod to
the left shoulder instead of the right. The other motions are
the same as in the right shoulder cast, save that in the left
hand cast it will be found easier to make the sweep towards
or nearer to the ear.
The length of your cast must be governed by your ability,
but always, when actually fishing, cast well within yourself
THE ART OF CASTING 235
that is, so that you can fish the cast well and thoroughly, and
have perfect command over your rod top and line. A greater
mistake cannot be made than to overcast either your throw
or yourself. Some anglers are so fond of making long casts
just toshow off, that they will risk cutting a fly to pieces rather
than move a few yards ;
others will so overcast their throw,
that by the time the fly reaches the salmon's home, if a fish
should rise, the rod is too upright or far back to allow them to
make a clean firm stroke the fish is only half hooked, and a
bungle is pretty sure to ensure. Begin with about twice the
length of the rod, not more, and when you can get that out well,
increase the length.
on paper to teach the tyro how to cast a
It is impossible
salmon fly. Nothing but practice will do it. Even actual
showing and demonstration are not of much use until he can
command the rod to some extent. Let him note how it is done,
and then flail away to the best of his ability for a day or two
until he can pitch the line out somehow. Then let him get
some adept to instruct him how to get it out properly, and to
correct any fault in his manipulation. After that, practice,
practice, practice, and watching a performer now and then
at work will do the rest.
Another rule of great importance I would here emphatically
lay down, and that is, never use more strength or vigour in
making a cast than is absolutely necessary, for all beyond that
is not only downright waste of power, but positively defeats
the end the fisher has in view. Let him study, not how much
strength he can put into the cast, but"how little not how much
;
"
noise he can make by swooshing his rod through the air,
but whether he cannot avoid making any at all. And if any
old angler, who has been accustomed to adopt the former plan,
will only try the latter a few times, I am confident that the
result will positively amaze him. It is astonishing how hard it
is at times, with all your force, to send a fly against or through
the wind truly and fairly, and how easy it really is to do with
little or no force at all. When I hear an angler's rod " swoosh-
"
ing through the air on a windy day, as one often may hear
it seventy or eighty yards away, I think it very extraordinary
that he should never by accident have discovered that all that
force and noise is not only superfluous, but mischievous and
;
but as it was for a wager, and many gentlemen were looking on,
the fact is indisputable.
There is a very good dodge which is practised when a very
long cast is required to be fished. Having as much line as you
can cast out, draw a yard or two off the reel and let it hang
down between the hand and reel as in spinning when you have
;
made the forward impulse, and the fly is rushing towards the
point sought to be reached, open the hand that clasps the rod
and line, and the impetus and weight of the line will take with
it some of the loose line, and when it touches the water the
hang or drag of the stream will carry out the rest. Before
fetching the line off the water for a new cast, the part so
THE SPEY CAST 237
let out must be drawn in and allowed to hang loose as
before.
In making a long cast the difficulty is to take all the time
possible to allow the line to straighten behind without allowing
the fly to touch the ground. For long throwing, the best wind is
no wind because, although it may be supposed that a wind
;
at your back may help the fly forwards, it does not help it
backwards, and the quantity you can send forward is, as I have
said, determined by the quantity you can extend fairly back-
wards. But for ordinary fishing the performer who can fish some
six or seven-and-twenty yards, and fish it well (for there is all
the difference in the world between casting and fishing), is a
very excellent performer.
I have mentioned switching* in trout -fishing, but it is
but he does not send the fly back over the shoulder, but rather
fetches it in towards his feet, and he must take care that in
doing so it does not come too high above the surface of the
water, or it will not catch the water again at the right spot.
About two or three yards above him to his right hand, and a
little in front of him, the fly must touch the water, but must
their humours as well as you can, and suit your arts to your
customer as near as may be. If that fails, try perseverance.
Versatility is good, but perseverance will often carry the day
against all comers. How often have I seen a salmon regularly
bullied into rising by an obstinate customer who wouldn't
take no for an answer, but who kept flogging on till the favour-
"
able moment arrived, when Ah there he is at last and
! :
"
hooked too, by jingo just as often as I have seen a girl take
!
home, or when the the stream, and the line tight and
fly is in
straight, raise and the point of the rod slightly as you
fall
work the fly up-stream, raising and drawing at the same time,
until you have the fly far enough up-stream. Never work it
too far so as to lose full and strong command over it if you ;
do, it may hap that a salmon will rise when you have very
little power or room left to strike him.
ON STRIKING
"
Well, when you see the boil and feel the pluck," what
then|? Why, when you do so, you are all right, and may
raise your rod smartly, with a fair tug, over your shoulder.
If you and don't feel him, don't be too hasty
see the boil only, ;
and the fish away with his cast and some six or eight yards of
line. On going to the spot towards which the line had pointed,
he found a large stone under water, reclining against the near
wall of the channel, but leaving a nice little triangular hole
below, of which the stone formed the hypotenuse ; through
this the salmon had popped on his down-course, threading
the eye of the needle with my friend's line in the most dexterous
manner. Of course a little knowledge here would have saved
everything and captured the fish.
everytmr
242 A BOOK ON ANGLING
ON PLAYING A SALMON
Having hooked your fish, the next point to consider is the
playing of him, and in this important point, during the first
half of the battle, the angler will be guided very much by the
fish ;
in the latter half the positions will probably be reversed.
What can the angler do when he hooks a heavy determined
fish ? All that he can do is just to let him take his own way,
merely persuading him strongly against the folly of his conduct
when he evinces a disposition to run into needless danger,
endeavouring to keep the hook in him, diplomatically if
possible, until he is amenable to reason. To be sure, in taking
him down-stream, if an awkward rock lies far out, and rather
in the way, by the above gentle persuasion he may point
his head so as to drive clear of it. If he goes on the far side,
and the rod is not long enough to lift the line over it, the
connection between the fish and the angler will probably
cease. In taking a fish, or rather being taken by a fish down-
stream which is always the best course that can be taken
the angler should keep up with the fish if possible. Indeed a
salmon should never be allowed to have a yard more of line
out than is positively necessary. The fisherman should never
spare his legs at the expense of his line. If he does, the fish
may, and often does, suddenly turn and dart in the opposite
direction, drowning the line, which it is impossible that the
angler can get in as quickly as the fish swims, and thus all
power over the fish is for a time lost, and the bagged line is
liable to take hold of any sunken obstruction that may occur,
"
and, as in all such cases," obstructions appear to be specially
"
made and provided," a drowned line is too often a lost fish.
If a fish shows a determination to go to a fall, or rapid, or
other undesirable spot where you cannot follow nor stop him,
you must butt him. Some writers describe this by recommend-
ing you to throw the end of the butt well forward, presenting
it to the fish as it were, and putting the rod well to or over
frees the fish more often than any have lost many a
other. I
" "
jigg erm g nsn an d> on the other hand, I certainly have
caught many such but I know of no feeling so unpleasant
;
bull trout sold in the London shops for prime Scotch salmon. F. F.
TACKLE FOR SEA TROUT 247
now in the water and now out indeed, an hour or
;
two's
white trout fishing, when the fish are in the humour, is about
as lively and pleasant a sport as the angler can desire ;
and
as salmon trout often take the fly well up to six and seven
pounds weight, where they are found of that size, the sport
is little inferior to the best grilse-fishing.
As to where they are to be sought, that experience alone
will determine, as they abound in many lakes to profusion
and take nobly in them. I have myself caught a hundred-
weight of them in a day in a lake. They are found in most
salmon rivers, and in smaller streams which are too shallow
for salmon. The smallest mountain beck will often when in
spate give good sport. They also take in salt water, and are
quite as likely to be found in the mouth of the river as they
are in the highest pool up amongst the mountains, for they are
great and pertinacious travellers. You may catch them in
salmon pools, in dull eddies, and in sharp streams^; so I can
give no advice which would be of any value on that score.
A double-handed trout rod or a light grilsing weapon will
be found the most advisable rod for sport.* The gut should be
single, round and sound, and not too coarse, but stouterUhan
you would use for ordinary trouting, and two flies may well
be used, as you will often have a fish at each when luck attends
you. They take bait as freely as fly, and are the most sporting
and game fish which the angler meets with. I append a list
of sea-trout flies to the list of salmon flies.
*
Right for fishing a river but in smaller streams or fishing a lake from
;
a boat a single-handed trout rod is quite effective and less tiring. ED.
CHAPTER X
SALMON FLIES
List of Salmon Flies General Flies List of Flies for Scotch Rivers
h the under wing i the upper wing j the cheek k the head
; ; ; ;
I
loop.
I have been many years collecting this list of flies, of the
pale blue floss silk, with hackle a shade or two darker, wound
on from tail to^head (this is varied at times with blue jay's
feather) silver tinsel (in large flies of all kinds the tinsel may
; fe
times used over the blue hackle. The wing is a mixed wing,
containing fibres of bustard, dark turkey, argus pheasant, and
claret, blue, and yellow fibres of stained swan feathers, the
latter predominating. In smaller flies mallard and pintail are
* Reference to the above
paragraph has been made in the introduction to
this edition. ED.
f Unluckily Mr. Francis's scale has never been adopted as the standard ;
red and blue fibres, and two toppings over it red crewel head. ;
a red gold, or orange. Tag, gold twist and two turns of bright
yellow floss tail, red and yellow sprigs mixed with gallina,
;
then orange pig's wool over this is ribbed side by side, gold
;
twist and tinsel and black floss (a bit of unravelled coarse sew-
ing silk does better) first the twist, then the tinsel, then the
black silk yellow hackle from tail to head, bustard hackle at
;
thrown in here and there, and over all a topping with blue
macaw ribs black head. For the orange variety read orange
;
commencing from the orange wool the blue wool picked out in
;
the body blue hackle, a shade darker from almost the middle
;
floss silk, then golden pig's wool, merging into orange golden ;
orange hackle over the wool, red orange hackle over that, and
two or three or more short toppings tied in at the breast,
instead of shoulder hackle wing, a tippet feather with a cock
;
of the rock (not the squared feather) on either side, and one
above, strips of pintail or wood duck on either side, and as
many toppings as you can pile on seven or eight or more if
you like. These are often tied on with the turn bent inwards at
Ballyshannon, and it gives them more play in the water.
Kingfisher's feathers on either cheek, and blue macaw ribs ;
* Doubled feathers mean where a short feather is laid on over and beside
a long one of the same kind. F. F.
252 A BOOK ON ANGLING
salmon, having resisted all ordinary persuasiveness, require
to be very strongly appealed to. But if you substitute a
golden olive hackle, with a medium claret above that, and blue
jay at shoulder, and reduce the number of toppings, and tie
into the wing a couple of gold pheasant saddle feathers over
the tippet feather, a capital working parson, a sort of curate, is
produced, fit for hard every-day work.
We now come to the bourgeois, and begin with one whose
very name is ensanguined.
The Butcher (Farlow's) This is a very general favourite
.
;
ditto of medium blue, ditto of red, and the rest of dark blue
pig's wool broad silver tinsel
; medium red claret hackle,
;
and wood duck and he adds, "I've killed lots of fish with
;
Having given the butcher and baker, the trades will not be
complete without
GENERAL SALMON FLIES 253
The Candlestick Maker. This is a fly to light the salmon to
bed with. I dressed one as a whim some years since, and sent
it to a friend, who reported favourably of it to me since then ;
it has done useful service. The body, for the lower half, is black
silk ; the upper, black pig's wool, very bushy towards the
shoulder, and picked out at the breast hackle, golden-olive,
;
The last four flies are dressed of various sizes to suit the
water.
The Claret* Tag, gold twist and gold floss tail, a topping, ;
and slips of blue and red macaw butt, 'black ostrich, two
;
tail, and tippet, mixed fibres with guinea hen and teal and
yellow.
Black and Teal. Tag, silver twist and golden floss tail,
;
one topping butt, black herl body, two turns of orange floss,
; ;
feather with the large round spots, not the small speckled grey)
on the shoulder wing, double jungle cock with topping over
;
them, and two good-sized teal, or the small feather of the black
partridge, one on either shoulder to form a body to the wing ;
wood duck hackle over that, and dark blue or green hackle on
shoulder, or rather as a ruff over the wing under wing, a ;
to 7.
TWEED FLIES
turns of black herl body, two turns of light orange floss, then
;
breast. Over the whole of the wool a coch y bondu hackle (red
with black centre), stained a bright red-orange, two turns of
black hackle over it, and a light blue hackle on the shoulder ;
the lowest, and black floss the upper from the joint is tied,
;
few fibres of the blue wool picked out at the breast wings, ;
two strips from the dun brown feather sometimes found in the
tail of a turkey. This fly is a special favourite on the Kirkcud-
stained a dark orange-red, the black part being left on for the
shoulders, and over this a lavender hackle wing, two strips of ;
one of orange, two of claret, and the rest of black pig's wool ;
broad silver tinsel black hackle from tail to head light blue
; ;
4/5. or 6 -
The White Tip. This fly is like the last in every particular,
save that there is no orange in the body, and the wings are two
slips of the feather from a wild duck's wing with white tip and
butt, and black in the middle. Size from 5 to 8.
The Toppy. A noted old Tweed fly, and a perfect speci-
men of the simplest form of salmon fly. Tag, ruby floss tail, ;
tinsel two turns of red hackle next the tail, black hackle
;
for the rest of the fly wings, two strips of dark turkey tipped
;
body, ruby floss, two or three turns, and darkish red pig's wool
picked out at breast orange hackle at shoulder, silver twist
; ;
tinsel (if large fly twist with it) light blue hackle on shoulder
; ;
to 10 or ii.
The Golden Mallard (I never heard a name for this fly, so
I have christened it). It is a capital fly, and will kill elsewhere
than the Tweed. Tag, gold twist tail, one topping and king-
;
turns of yellow, and the rest of black pig's wool silver tinsel, ;
black hackle, and two slips of good red gled for wings. The
flies are not large, the ordinary grilse size and smaller.
Mr. Herbert Maxwell, of Monreith, has, since the publica-
tion of the last edition, sent me an account of the Galloway
* And retains it to this day. ED.
t James Wright is now no more, alas ! ED.
THE GALLOWAY RIVERS 259
yellow-orange merging into scarlet and claret for half the body ;
THE BLADENOCH
"
A spring river, but at no season so good as the Cree,
fair
as the fish are very shy. The same flies will kill well-dressed
larger, but the favourite is the dun wing, as dressed by Wright,
of Sprouston (see Tweed, p. 256). Sizes from 4 to 6 in spring
down to 9 or 10 in summer. The Butcher (p. 252) is a prime
favourite also for spring.
THE LUCE
"
This is a late river, but the fish run far heavier than in
either of the others, a twenty-pound fish being by no means a
rarity. favourite fly is dressed as follows.
My
"
Tag, gold tinsel, tail red parrot, teal, and yellow macaw ;
the fish slaps are sometimes built up, and in short a general
state of neglect and ignorance of what is law prevails. As to
the stake netting in the Solway, into which these rivers
debouch, I need not tell you that the Scotch shore fairly bristle
with nets it is a marvel fish get through and up at all.
;
'
There are other streams in Ayrshire and up the West coast,
which have their peculiar flies, but were you to notice all the
rivers, your book would swell to two or three volumes on
salmon alone, which I presume is not your intention.
"
L
HERBERT MAXWELL."
"
Add to the Minnick flies for a low bright water the follow-
"
ing, known as the Dusty Miller."
"
Tag, silver dark olive floss tail, one topping butt,
tinsel, ; ;
tail, mallard, teal, green parrot and lavender swan, jungle cock
at cheek head black. ;
Hook 9 to n. (Plate XIX, Fig. 2.)
THE AYRSHIRE STINCHAR
"
Is water if the nets were off, I doubt not it would be
a fine ;
Drake wing * (light), red and black body, with brown hackle,
"
and Mr. Hay adds, I have seen a jungle cock feather do well
in heavy water late in the season."
with plenty of black at the butt for the shoulder medium gold
;
tinsel ; wings, two slips of grey drake under, and two of light
dun turkey over.
No. 2 is very much the same, only the body is a trifle yellower
at the tail the tail is made of tippet sprigs, and the body is
;
these flies are rough, and well picked out with medium fine
gold twist, the hooks being 7 and 8.
No. 4 is a floss silk body tag, gold tinsel; tail, black par- ;
"
Captain Stewart tells me that he always uses the different
varieties of dun and white tip turkey and brown mallard as
dressed by Jamie Wright, of Sprouston (see Tweed flies), that
*
Pintail, or the lighter mallard feathers. F. F.
262 A HOOK ON AN(,LIN(,
I. nl. nii<
loppiii/; .MM! i' 'I Indmii CTOW, "i luff "I flo ill-: ,
wool,
I" i/' "I II
y ">< Ii
y l>oiidn li;i< !:! wil h bl;i< I .1'
ICCOrdifl| , ,
Imiild. i
win/;, ol ni. ill. iid, l-.d.
.
ini:-;<d :uif| l;i.V( nd< y How i
Uli'l' I. .Kl'l
t'.|>|>HI/; nVf I
will/; , iM.id, hl:if I In ll
I'll! Mir ',prf i;ilif y nf hnlli MM ,< w;ilT. I', Mir dim win,",
I/' (mm , I-. I
.', .i<
oiln,f; If, MM S< M! "II
MM AI'J I'll UN I LI I
Oil- Ill
i'l. .UK! MIM l.niioir. iiv i ill |MI;;|;III| ;IIK| W;il' 'lli.il
iM I. I In M M I- I In I MM <
lil< I .,IM .
n| Ml*' A I M -|i| II llll
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;ilmn .1 .1
p.i
f l i n rivci loi I IM kill ill ;ilinnii Ir IM i
,
Hi
'
.1 nil. ill. I I In (hi 'I .11. < illl.il .Mill I lie |n< .ll n||. ,H<
|M ,
'
|.
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nil/; 1 1 W.lli I
.
will. 1 1 .1 Ml l.i 1 1 II y \V<>|| 1. 1 I in I
,
,lll.| I Mil In |||/;|ilc||
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inn. win. 1 1 loo /;
in',' d'i <.,<) .in nn|. ilmn |..
i
li.ip nnrlil dn.
" "
'
n y i
/;illn ,
-,;iid win n MM \ \v< i oir i
.;ilioi);dl\ IIM Inn d dm in/;
"
Mi. M i
I .r MM .,r;|. If III I |i IIMMI in. n Vi'llnir.
.1 .1 II \ M I.I 1 1 I In dl.t|.'< I I. .1 .1 dl.il. < I
,
.11 id 1 1 Wr lllir.lil III "
II
SOIHC III'". In -.In .Mid MM WHS, .Hid nllii r. In lull I. III. .MM I
mi).
i
,
my cl of tht wholi
1
I'll in 1 1
i "-i \vii 1 1 in \ .
i
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M i- 1 i .'i ii" '
.ni ni MI i <>i i IM \\ .I.HI- i.i. v .ii. i
and ( collcnt ipori
i
ofttft hftd lowtr down on thi Ptrk tnd Durri watti r.ni i IM Ddt if i
I i ii .1.
|
IN upon when IM rn.rly n < fi Ii (
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1 1
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MM i, |, n,. |, ,,l in HiMllin . ...
r|j|i|jr|)
in. ill Hi. | .it- M -I
I
u
PLATE XV.
SALMON FLIES.
1. THE BEAULY SNOW FLY.
2. THE BLACK DOG.
3. THE PURPLE KING.
THE ABERDEENSHIRE DEE 263
these are very long in the shank, with the Limerick bend. The
large class of flies run from about No. 2 in the given scale,
down to No. 6, but with this condition the shank of the hook
:
tailed gled of the largest fibre, or of red dun turkey of the like
colour. Of course, these feathers must be of thin substance
and fine in the fibre, to give them play, and they are to be
set apart a rather nice operation to do neatly, the strips
requiring to be carefully prepared first by tying in at the
extreme butt no head, as it is thought to cause a ripple, while
;
the sharp head of the regular Dee fly cuts the water with a
smooth even gliding motion, opening and shutting its large
fibres with most life-like appearance.
The Tartan (Plate XVII, Fig. 2, p. 269) is a strange-looking
fly and is rather a troublesome fly to dress. Tag, gold tinsel ;
tail, gold pheasant rump body, half orange and half scarlet-
;
(that is, only one side of it to be used, the other being stripped
off), and on top of this, the large blue-grey hackle or feather
from the heron's back and rump the larger the better, they
;
cannot be too large, as when the hackle is laid on, the fibres
are expected to extend from the very head to the farthest bend
of the hook. It is an awkward feather to lay on, as are all
heron's hackles, being very delicate. It should be tied in, to
commence from as low down as it can be conveniently tied,
264 A BOOK ON ANGLING
so as to leave enough for a good thick brush from the head.
If in winding on the hackle, any of the red hackle fibres under
it be wound in, they must be picked out afterwards with the
fly of the two. The tail, body, etc., are precisely similar to
those of the gled wing a quantity of the down or fluffy part
;
of the golden eagle's feather the part on and above the thigh
is, I fancy, the best is then wound on like a hackle, till the fly
looks like the butt end of a largish eagle's feather itself; on
the shoulder is of course the invariable teal hackle wings, ;
THE DON
The Don debouches a very short distance from the Dee,
but no two rivers can well be more dissimilar. The Dee running
through the wildest moorland and mountain scenery, and hav-
ing no trout in it worth notice, and the Don running through
beautiful pastoral and well tilled districts, and looking more
like a Hampshire than a Highland salmon stream, and con-
taining perhaps as fine trout as any river in Scotland. Yet the
salmon seem to like very similar flies a small reduction in
;
point of size being made. The Don flies are not so large as
those for the Aberdeen Dee, though after the same fashion.
PLATE XVI
Figl. 2.
Fig
SALMON FLIES.
1. THE GORDON. 2 THE SIR HERBERT.
3. THE WILKINSON. 4. THE MAR LODGE.
THE DON AND THE DEVERON 265
Indeed, smallish Dee flies are fair sized Don flies and, as on ;
the Dee, the Gled Wings and Tartans are standard flies on Don,
and are varied by using brown or grey mallard wings. Beyond
these are
No. i. Tag, silver tinsel tail, a few fibres of gold pheasant's
;
herl ; body, black pig's wool silver twist hackle, black with
; ;
7 to 10.
No. 2. Tag, tail, and butt as before body, about two-fifths ;
yellow and half medium red pig's wool gold twist hackle ; ;
the shoulder, but longer in the fibre than the bend of the hook ;
THE DEVERON
Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the Don described are standard
flies last
THE NESS
The Ness is a large and heavy river issuing from a very
large lake, Loch Ness, which is fed by several good salmon
streams, of which the Garry is perhaps the most noteworthy.
266 A BOOK ON ANGLING
The Garry is an excellent early spring river, whereas the Ness,
through which all the Garry fish run, is but an indifferent one.
The Ness is a fair summer river, and also gives plenty of grilse
and large sea trout to the rod later on, the salmon run of the
largest size. The streams and pools on the Ness are remarkably
fine and bold. The casts are mostly fished from a boat, though,
in places, they can be fished from the shore.
For so large a river as the Ness, the flies used are very small.
One of the best killers, which I found to answer on the Ness
better than any fly I could dress or obtain, was an old Thurso
pattern which I obtained from Mr. Dunbar years ago. I had
three of them, and they had lain in my book for years without
being used but if you keep a fly long enough, it is sure to come
;
"
in useful at last. Johnnie Macdonald"
joost liked the look
o' 'em," and I joost took Johnnie's adveece," and I did well
with them when I distinctly failed with other flies. They had
been dressed small, I conclude for very young and late patterns,
if they were meant for the Thurso.
body, yellow one-third, the rest dark red (almost claret) pig's
wool ;
silver tinsel medium blue mohair tied on in locks at
;
thread, and the other light blue floss silver twist hackle,
; ;
light blue (only down to the silver), blue jay at the shoulder.
So far the fly is a compromise between the two Doctors. The
wing, however, is peculiar, having a greasy look from the two
gold pheasant rump feathers in it. Imprimis, two tippet
feathers, with a jungle cock on either side as long as the hook,
over these again two gold pheasant rump feathers (same size
NESS FLIES 267
as the tippet), one topping over all blue macaw ribs and ;
hackle over the wool only, with a light purple claret at shoulder;
mixed wing of gold pheasant tail, pintail, gallina fibres, red,
yellow and orange swan fibres, kingfisher cheeks, and blue
macaw ribs.
No. Tail, one topping
6. body half yellow and half lightish
;
for ribs. This is also a capital general fly the body is some- ;
what like one of the Conon bodies. The same fly, with pea-
green pig's wool and hackle makes a good change.
No. 7. Tag, silver tinsel, and one turn of ruby floss tail, ;
and slips of brown mallard and pintail over it, two short pea-
green parrot feathers over the butts of these feathers; blue
macaw ribs.
No. Tag, silver tinsel and orange floss butt, black ostrich
8. ; ;
yellow and orange swan, brown and grey mallard and gold
pheasant tail, a few sprigs of tippet, one topping over all ;
half up the body for a small fly if large, a few turns of silk
;
and thin yellow pig's wool, above this dirty olive-green mo-
hair ; silver tinsel pea-green hackle from tail to head, blue
;
The two Doctors and the Popham are often used with
advantage, and the Claret and the Highlander may be found
useful at times.
The Ness flies are usually small, not larger than grilse flies,
and even in heavy water a very moderate sized fly is sufficient.
They run from 6 or 7 to 10 or n.
THE CONON
The Conon a large river which has some capital tributaries,
is
the best of which, perhaps, is the Blackwater, which for its
length is usually very well stocked with fish. The upper parts
of the Conon are very pretty and tempting, containing fine
streams and good pools, but the lower reaches are heavy and
dull. The fish for the most part run through them without
resting long, and while they do rest rise but indifferently.
Here are three flies for the Conon, all of which are first-rate
general flies and will kill anywhere.
No. i. tail, one topping and
Tag, two turns of silver tinsel ;
wing, one tippet, with bright peacock over it, short jungle
cock on either side as before.
No. 3. Tag and tail as before. Body, olive-yellow changing
PLATE XVII.
peacock wing.
The size of these flies for the Conon will vary from medium
salmon down to small grilse size, or from 5 to 8 or 9.
THE LOCHY
I give now four flies for the Lochy. The Lochy flies should
be dressed smaller even than the Ness, not much above sea
trout size. These patterns are from Mr. Farlow, of 191 Strand.
No. i. Tag, silver twist tail, a topping and three or four
;
and the rest of black crewel gold tinsel a black hackle only ; ;
herl ; body, pale blue silk fine silver thread doubled lightish
; ;
red claret hackle from butt to head, two turns of blue jay on
shoulder wing, gold pheasant tail and tippet sprigs mixed
;
No. 3. Tag, silver twist and ruby silk tail, sprigs of tippet ;
black partridge, or, failing in that, a bit of dark teal and gallina
mixed butt, black ostrich herl body, two turns of blue, and
; ;
THE THURSO
The Thurso is one of the best early spring rivers in Scotland,
and seldom fails in yielding sport. It is not a large river, but
is fed by several small lakes. It is extremely prolific, but
rather a dull dead stream, is perfectly open, devoid of high
banks, and easy to fish. For all these reasons it is a capital
T
270 A BOOK ON ANGLING
river to enter a green hand on, or for those who are not equal
to much fatigue, or to whom wading is tabooed. The flies for
it should be dressed on good-sized hooks the middle sizes,
;
not so large as Dee and Tay hooks, nor so small as Ness flies,
being preferable. These patterns are also from Farlow's the ;
coloured fly, but of late years they prefer more showy ones.*.
The Dhoon Fly. This was originally a Mahseer fly used
in the Himalayas. How it came to be adopted here I cannot
say, but it kills on one or two other rivers, particularly in spring
on the Welsh Wye, where it is called the Canary. Tag, gold
tinsel and ruby floss tail, a topping ;butt, black ostrich herl
; ;
Sir Francis Sykes. Tag, silver twist and blue floss tail, ;
one topping and sprigs of teal and blue macaw body, dark ;
doubled wing,;
mixed of gold pheasant tail, bustard, tippet,
wood-duck, blue, red, yellow, and green swan sprigs red head. ;
head red.
Switching Sandy: Tag, silver^tinsel and light orange-red
floss; tail, a topping and tippet sprigs; butt, black ostrich
herl body, three turns of dark blue floss, two of yellow-green
;
flies for Thurso are, the Britannia, the Childers, the Namsen,
the Butcher, and Major. Sizes from 4 to 9 or 10.
THE LAXFORD
Patterns also from Farlow's.
The Lascelles. Tag, silver twist, and lemon-yellow floss ;
wool of the same colour silver twist, with black silk beside it,
;
and 10.
272 A BOOK ON ANGLING
very clear both in the Awe and Orchy, single gut must always
be used."
No. 4. The Canary. This fly is more often called the
"
Goldfinch," and I mention the fact, as another fly has already
been saddled with the same appellation. I have given one
Goldfinch dressing, but as there is some variety in this, I give
the Colonel's as well.
Tag, gold tinsel and gold-coloured floss tail, a topping, and ;
" "
when the water is low and he concludes,
; the above four
flies are the only ones I ever use, and I find that I kill as many
fish as my neighbours, sometimes more when they fail to ;
and teal body, two turns of medium pea-green floss, and the
;
feather body,
; two turns of yellow pig's wool, the rest darkish
blue mohair, with a pinch of fiery red pig's wool thrown in at
the shoulder silver tinsel
;
black hackle wing, silver grey
; ;
tinsel and gold twist hackle, bright orange, light blue on the
;
floss, the rest darkish pig's wool silver tinsel hackle, black,
; ;
almost black turkey, with light (not quite white) tips, and one
topping over all. It will be seen, if examined, that there is
nothing in the composition of this fly which can be cut. The
butt is of wool or crewel, as is also the head the body is almost
;
solid ;
the pig's wool at the joints may be chewed, but cannot
be destroyed. The only hackle is at the shoulder, and that,
as I have
said, is well protected. The kelts may do their
worst with it. It is almost, if not quite, impervious. It kills
well also on the Helmsdale. I had the pattern of Farlow.
As it is only for heavy spring v/aters it is dressed large. (Plate,
XVII, Fig. 3.)
THE SHIN
Is a very fine river, often showing excellent sport. In the
spring the salmon are seldom found above the falls, but as the
summer gets on, the higher reaches become better stocked.
This river was for many years in the hands of my poor old
friend Andrew Young, whose name is so well known in the
history of the salmon. Since his death it has been let out in
rods.
Patterns from Snowie.
No. i. Tag, gold tinsel and orange floss ; tail, one topping ;
butt, black ostrich; body, one-third gold floss, the rest light
olive-green mohair silver tinsel
; black hackle
; blue jay on ;
two turns, one-third yellow, the rest very dark olive pig'?
wool hackle, black, blue jay on shoulder
; under wing, a ;
lander.
THE OYKEL
Patterns from Farlow.
No. i. Tag, silver twist and pale yellow floss tail, a top- ;
si ver twist, bright red floss, and silver tinsel (the floss in the
strands of gallina and blue jay, about one turn of each, over
all black heron's hackle, not too thick, but reaching to the
bend wing, gold pheasant tail and tippet fibres, over it some
;
crewel head.
No. 2. Tag, gold twist and orange-yellow floss tail, a ;
florican and galling, with dirty red and yellow fibres, brown
mallard over and a few gallina fibres over that, blue macaw
ribs black head.
;
No. 3. Tag, gold twist, burnt sienna floss tail, tippet and ;
hooks from 6 to 8.
THE BRORA
The Brora is a river which has for many years remained in
the same hands, and as little is known about it by the public,
THE BRORA AND THE HELMSDALE 277
no doubt the renters have a pretty good thing, and are wise
enough to keep the knowledge of their sport to themselves.
Patterns from Snowie.
No. i. Tag, silver twist, and gold-coloured floss tail, one ;
butt, black ostrich; body, half orange floss and half black
mohair hackle, gallina only at shoulder
;
under wing, a bit ;
bustard on either side, a topping over all the mane very much;
The Butcher and Childers are also capital flies on the Brora,
and the Popham is also said to kill well at times. Flies from
6 or 7 to 9 or 10.*
THE HELMSDALE
Is a small river, rather dependent on rain;f and though it
often yields good sport in the spring, it is often for some period
too low for fishing as the summer conies on.
Patterns from Snowie.
*
My acquaintance with the Brora is limited to three consecutive days in
March, 1909, when my gillie prescribed the Green Highlander (Plate XVIII,
Fig. 2), as the only true medicine. Nor had I cause to complain, for I had
thirteen fish in the three days. ED.
t The Helms dale is considerably larger than the Brora. Since Francis's
day its salmon angling has been developed in a degree without parallel in
any other river except the Wye. Not only have all the river and sea nets
been removed, but by raising the level of the lochs at the head of the river, a
steady flow of water is secured throughout the summer months, and angling
is carried on all the time. ED,
278 A BOOK ON ANGLING
No. i. Tag, silver twist and orange floss tail, one topping ; ;
butt, black ostrich body, three turns of orange floss, the rest
;
butt, blue ostrich herl body, ruby floss three turns, olive and
;
THE BEAULY
Is a fine large river, and belongs chiefly to Lord Lovat. The
weir is a hard one to get up, and in the weir pool great numbers
of fish are often congregated. Here, two or three years since,
the Master of Lovat had in three days perhaps the most extra-
ordinary sport ever had in Great Britain.
Patterns from Snowie.
There is a singular fly used on the Beauly, which is there
termed the Snow Fly, and as long as there is any snow water
on the river that fly kills well far better indeed than any ;
Beauly Snow Fly (Plate, XV, Fig. i). It boasts neither tag
nor tail the body is of lightish blue pig's wool, rather
;
fig 4
Fig 3.
THE FINDHORN
The Findhorn is a very fine and lovely river, and the pools
and streams perfection. At one time there was no river in
Scotland that gave such sport to the rod, but nets near the
mouth, and incessant netting of the lower pools thin the fish,
and injure the sport greatly.
It can be fished from the shore, but some of the casts require
the full length of the wing, over it sprigs of gold pheasant tail,
a good many sprigs of both red and blue macaw, slips of brown
gled and dark bustard on either shoulder, nearly half the
;
length of the wing, the tips of two blue macaw feathers the ;
flies, and held sweet converse upon matters piscatorial, day by day, and I
have seldom enjoyed a week more thoroughly than that I spent at Altyre ;
he was then apparently in the pride of his strength and the prime of man-
hood. How beautifully he tied the salmon fly, blending its colours into one
harmonious combination, and with what a workmanlike and skilful hand
he hurled it across the waters but alas and in truth it will be long ere I
;
" "
shall look upon his like again ! F. F.
THE FINDHORN 281
floss*; broad gold tinsel rather light blue hackle, blue jay
;
body, black floss broad silver tinsel and gold thread side by
;
yellow heads, and bodies made black for claret or green, and
vice versa. These eight patterns I generally adhere to through-
out the year, by dressing them one, two, and three sizes smaller.
Blue bodies may be substituted in the case of the black and
two clarets, with advantage to the angler and detriment to
the fish. The wings of two are far too long, but this you need
not mind. All should have one or two toppings (shortish)
for tails, and if the wing is dressed thinner it is an immense
improvement, where economy is no object, to put two long
toppings on the wing.
"$Yours
" truly,
A. P. GORDON GUMMING."
THE TAY
The Tay is a splendid river. The water is heavy, but some of
the pools and streams are magnificent. The fishing on the lower
part of the river is mostly from a boat, and the style is called
' ' ' '
harling. Three rods are used, and the boat is rowed to and fro
over the casts. Two of the rods usually have a couple of flies
on each, and the third a phantom minnow, and it is not an un-
common thing for two of the rods to have a fish on at the same
moment, and I have even heard an instance or two of all three of
them being at work simultaneously. A few of the casts, however,
can be fished from the shore, and where this is the case, the
sport is of a very superior kind for, owing to the size of the
;
THE TAY 283
river and weight of the stream, Tay fish nearly always show
great sport. The Tay has been rendered famous by poor
Leech, as it was on one of the best known parts^of the river
that the immortal Briggs killed the great salmon. A magnifi-
cent piece of water it is, and is known by the euphonious
title of Hell Hole. The system of letting fishing on the Tay
is a capital one, as it provides fishing for a large number of
body, black mohair ; gold and silver tinsel with orange silk
between two or three black hackles
; ; gallina at shoulder ;
and over that black ostrich herl. The fly is then separated by
hackles into three divisions, and each of these divisions is in
two joints of different coloured floss. The lower joint is
scarlet and black, above this is another jay hackle and black
herl. The second joint is lemon and scarlet, and above this
is a scarlet hackle and black herl. The third joint is orange
and medium blue floss, over this medium blue hackle, and
above that a darkish orange coch y bondu hackle. Wing,
large cock of the rock or two orange hackles, strips of bustard,
argus, lightish turkey, lavender, yellow, and red swan, one
topping over all, jungle cock at cheeks ;peacock herl head.
284 A BOOK ON ANGLING
The Murray. Tag, silver twist tail, yellow pig's wool
; ;
butt, black ostrich body, darkish red claret hackle the same
; ; ;
two strips (that with the light edge to the extreme tip of the
feather being preferred).
The patterns of the above four flies were furnished to me
by Mr. Paton of Perth, the great obeah-man of angling
mysteries in that district, and a first-rate artificer of all
sporting requisites. Any angler going to the Tay will scarcely
fail to look in on him for a chat and advice.
The Wasp (Blue). Tag, silver twist tail, tippet and red
;
tinsel;
medium blue hackle (only over blue wool), black
hackle at shoulder peacock head
; wing, two strips of dun
;
in a few hours on the Stobhall water four clean run fish in the
beginning of May."
The Waterwitch. There are two specimens of this fly, one
with a rough pig's wool body, and this is the larger fly, and one
of floss, but the colours are similar. Tag, silver tinsel and
golden floss tail, a;topping butt, black ostrich
;
body, one- ;
third yellow, two-thirds lightish blue hackle, jay (only over the
;
summer and autumn, and the Lion at the close of the season,
are what I chiefly depend on and, armed with a proper
;
THE SPEY
The Spey another magnificent river, which often gives
is
mostly from the bank,* and the banks are frequently high,
while the stream is not only heavy but often tremendously
rapid and rough as is the bottom, an indifferent fisherman
cannot expect much sport on the Spey. It is a very long
river, having many mountainous tributaries, and thus it often
keeps up and out of condition for fishing for a much longer
time than is agreeable to the angler. This is frequently the
case in spring, when the snows on the mountains are melting,
and when sport to any extent cannot well be relied on. After
the great bulk of the snow is gone, in the early summer, when
the river is settling steadily down and the grilse are beginning
to come up, is perhaps the best time for the Spey.
The Spey flies are very curious productions to look at,
it being customary to dress them the reverse way of the
hackle is wound some gold tinsel, not side by side with the
silver, but quite independent of it. This aids the glitter of the
fly, and strengthens and keeps the hackle secure. At the
shoulder a teal hackle wing, a good wad of gold pheasant
;
tail, with two long strips of grey mallard with brownish points
over it. The fly can be varied by using a brown hackle and
* " "
True, if bank fishing be held to include deep and difficult wading in
this swift river. ED.
THE SPEY 287
brownish black with light blue dun tip tinsel, gold and silver
;
and silver twist over hackle as before teal shoulder, and two
;
as before.
For these last two patterns I am indebted to my friend
Mr. C. Grant of Aberlour. Mr. Grant very kindly furnished
me with minute particulars as to the dressing, dyeing, etc.,
and I cannot put his directions in a better form than he has
put them himself, and therefore I append his letter. In it
he describes two other flies I had not the patterns of, viz.
" " "
the Green Dog and Purpy." They are well-known
standard flies on the Spey, and may be dressed down to the
" "
smallest size for midsummer the ;
Black and teal already
described will be found very hard to beat on the Spey.
"DEAR SIR,
of purple (Berlin wool), stone red, dyed from the moss on stones,
and scarlet wool. The dubbing of Green King is composed
of green Berlin wool, stone red, yellow, a little orange, and
scarlet.
In spring the Purple King is of a less red colour than one
used at present. The Green King at that period is more
green, but, as the season advances, more red is used in both,
and redder feathers. I enclose some dubbing of each to fit
the present season.
Without having any prejudice against gaudy flies, I would
prefer Purple and Green Kings with their numerous offspring,
provided I could get proper hackles to tie them, to any flies
288 A BOOK ON ANGLING
that can be used on the Spey. The flies which I have sent
you be in size next month (July), and I have no doubt but
will
that they will kill upon any river in Scotland.
The dubbing of Green Dog is the same as Green King,
feather a little lighter, with gold-colour spate and pea-green
thread at equal distances on the body of the hook or fly. The
'
dubbing, dark blue and stone red, with gold spate and purple
thread on body of fly at equal distances."
CHAPTER XI
SALMON FL I ES continued
high than too low, running as it does from such a very large
lake as Lough Erne, which, indeed, is rather two large lakes
than one. The river is very rarely too low for sport, and even
in the hottest and brightest weather sport is possible. As
Dr. Shell's letter gives the history of the Parson, I trust he
will excuse me for making the information upon such an
MY DEAR SIR,
I send four Parsons I have borrowed from Mr. Hobson,
and I will send you a couple made with summer duck in the
"
wing. The first Parson," and called from him, was used by
the Rev. Arthur Meyrick, of Romsbury it was two large
;
silk bodies.
The late Mr. William Larket, of Derby, put cock of the
rock in the wing. I think I put the first fur body to the fly-
it was orange pig's wool. Mr. Larket and then Mr. Hobson
altered the fur to a mixture of red and yellow. Mr. Hobson
added to this the purple and fiery brown under the wing,
which Pat McKay borrowed and adopted, and nothing has
beaten this pattern. Yours
S. SHEIL.
head, black.
No. 5. Tag, silver twist and puce floss tail, a topping ;
floss, three turns, the rest of dark orange pig's wool, silver
twist light red claret hackle, grouse ditto at shoulder
;
wing, ;
taking-looking fly.
No. 6. Tag, silver tinsel and mulberry floss tail, a topping, ;
broad gold tinsel hackle, brown when held down, but golden-
;
under wing some tippet and tail sprigs with gallina, and a
brown mallard wing over, kingfisher on shoulder, and blue
macaw ribs.
No. The H.I.S. This fly will be found noticed in the
7.
"
letter of a friend under Owenmore and Ballycroy." Tag,
silver tinsel tail, a topping, and some tippet
;
body, orange- ;
LOUGH MELVIN
On this fine lough, which is some seven miles in length,
and contains salmon, grilse, charr, lake, gillaroo, and other
trout in abundance, and is not far from the Erne, the flies
used are as sober as those of the Erne are often gaudy.
No. I. The O'Donoghue. This is a prime favourite. Tag,
gold tinsel and orange floss; tail, a topping; butt, black
ostrich ; body, olive-yellow pig's wool, merging into bright
292 A BOOK ON ANGLING
fiery claret, and that again into black, gold twist body, ;
wing, a tippet feather, with brown mallard wing over, and blue
macaw ribs black head. ;
No. 2. Tag, silver twist and pale blue floss tail, a top- ;
ping body, half orange pig's wool and half black, silver
;
body, mulberry pig's wool hackle the same, with blue jay
;
No. 4. The same as the last, save that the body and hackle
are of a lightish olive.
I obtained the above from the fishermen at Lough Melvin,
when fishing it some years since. Hooks from 7 to 10.
LOUGH GILL
Another large lough near Sligo. There is a very favourite
fly used there which sometimes kills on Lough Melvin it ;
is called the Lough Gill fly. Tag, silver twist and orange floss ;
a broad ring in the centre of dark dirty red, a few fibres of the
same warped into the breast as a hackle blue jay hackle on ;
hook No. 9.
THE MOY
The Moy is a large and rather open river, resembling, above
the weirs, some of the streamy upper reaches of the Thames,
where rush-beds abound it flows from Lough Conn, a very
;
three turns of lake floss, and the rest of light orange floss ;
not on the back, three or four toppings over it for wing blue ;
The grouse fibres help the wing. This and the last are good
general flies, and most of the Moy flies are more or less generally
useful patterns hooks 10 to 12.;
large a river the Moy flies are small. The fish are mostly
grilse, and only grilse flies, and those, at times, of small size,
are needed. In the spring, when larger fish are now taken,
they may be used two or three sizes larger. Writing to Hearns
294 A BOOK ON ANGLING
lately for patterns, he sent me all the old patterns above, and
with this addition it is a beautiful fly to the
;
eye, so I give it.
No. 7. Tag, gold tinsel tail, two toppings
; butt, white ;
ostrich body,
;
three turns of orange floss, the rest of violet
floss ; gold tinsel dark purple hackle (rather of a lavender
;
hooks 7 and 8.
LOUGH CONN
Patterns also from Hearns. The Erris flies are curious
specimens of art, and by no means easy to tie. They are
mostly jointed flies, many of them having also manes from
the back of each joint, and some with a turn or two of hackle,
also at the joint.
No. i. Tag, gold thread; tail, a topping; butt, black
ostrich, four of them being composed of black
five joints,
floss, each divided by three turns of gold thread, the top or
shoulder joint being of yellow floss at the third joint from
;
the tail three turns of an olive hackle are laid on from each ;
red, the next light claret, the next dirty red again, the next
darkish purple-claret, and the top one just under the wing
orange the hackle at the shoulder is a dark red stained brown,
;
with blue jay over it the wing, mallard and gold pheasant
;
cock butt, black ostrich body, five joints, yellow and black
; ;
from the back of each joint, the first darkish claret, second
dark red, third darker claret, fourth darker red, fifth a mixture
of yellow, brown and red just under, as a support to each
;
gold pheasant tail, and brown mallard, one topping, and blue
macaw ribs black head.
;
hackle, and make the wings of fine dark mallard, with blue ribs,
and you have a fly that will kill not only in Erris, but all over
Ireland. Hooks from 6 to 10, and in low summer water sea-
trout size.
There are a great variety of these jointed bodies used in
Erris some have blue and yellow, or blue, yellow, and black
;
"
Dear F. The flies on the Owenmore and Owenduff rivers
some years ago were always what is called jointed/ and were
'
made in two ways the first had the joints made of hackles
;
different colours of floss silk for body, with three rings of twist
at the end of each, and standing out from these joints three
long tags of different coloured mohair, ordinary mixed wing,
and hackle at shoulder. It is a very difficult fly to tie, and not
worth a rush when tied, except that in its dry state it looks
very pretty, when in the water, on the contrary, it all bags
together, and I never did much good with it. The fly, on the
contrary, with the plain turkey wing was an invention of our
own, and killed 48 salmon and 137 white trout in one week,
on the Owenduff. The fly with the mallard wing and fiery
body also kills right well on both rivers, and so do the Ballina
flies, more especially one of Pat Hearns', called the Thunder
and Lightning. An equally great pet is the enclosed, with the
frayed gut. He is confoundedly ugly, sir, having been com-
posed by your humble servant but treat him with respect,
;
for this very year that identical specimen has slain six Salmo
salar in the river Erne that thou knowest of. I enclose four
or five more of what MacGowan calls Ballycroy flies, but they
are awful impostors (on second thought I don't, for they are no
use at all). The fish, in fact, like plain, sober mallard and
turkey, and furnace hackles, with either orange or brown
bodies/and a jay about the shoulders.
H. I. S."
green joints, others of all the colours in the rainbow, and with
manes of all sorts of colours. I will not fatigue the reader and
* I never
could understand how the Nicholson, which was a regular Erris
notion, got on to the Tay, but the course of its introduction becomes pretty
clear from the above. The fly referred to strongly resembles the Nicholson.
F. F.
GALWAY RIVERS 297
burden my fly list with their description, but will merely
describe the plain flies referred to in the above letter.
No. 4. This is the fly that killed the 48 salmon and 137 white
trout in a week. N.B. The white trout at Ballycroy run up to
six or seven pounds weight, and average from two to three
pounds. Tag, gold thread tail, a slip of mottled brown
;
black hackle (over brown mohair only), gold thread over the
orange, and gold tinsel over the black part of body wing, rich ;
shoulder ;
blue jay over brown mallard wing, and black head,
hooks 9 and 10.
The fly which is lauded for the Erne will be found under
that river as the H. I. S.
No. 2. Tag, gold tinsel and orange floss tail, gallina body,
; ;
head.
No. 4. This is a weird-looking fly the contrast between the
;
dark blue body and light yellow hackle is so strong. Tag, gold
tinsel and light orange floss tail, a topping
; body, dark blue
;
No. 5. Tag, gold twist and yellow floss tail, teal, mallard,
;
ribs, black head. Vary this fly with a black hackle and all ruby
body, no blue.
No. 6. Tag, silver thread and light blue floss tail, a topping ; ;
black head.
These flies vary pretty much in the order in which they are
described, from 7 to n.
Ireland. Tail, brown mallard, and some purple fibres from the
peacock's breast body, fiery red pig's wool (like to the dark
;
strands from the peacock's breast. Both body and hackle may
be made darker at pleasure. Hooks 10 to n.
Fern, from which it runs, gives fair sport at times. Loch Fern
is not a large lake, and is weedy and shallow it is hardly worth
;
THE SHANNON
The Shannon a very large and heavy river. The water in
is
ibis and blue macaw butt, black ostrich body, of floss silk,
; ;
feather (cock of the rock might do) about the length of the
hook, on either side of this two shorter orange-yellow macaw
feathers, and a smallish tippet outside of them, over these an
orange hackle, and over this four or five large toppings, over
these some gold pheasant tail and gallina sprigs (loose),
blue macaw ribs medium orange ruff of mohair
;
hook ;
No. 4.
No. 3. Tag, silver tinsel and medium green floss tail two ;
jay at shoulder ; wing, a short cock of the rock, and two short
orange-yellow macaw or toucan feathers, these not quite so
long as the hook, over them mixed sprigs of gallina stained
yellow, blue, and red macaw head black hook No. 9.
; ;
These two flies are rather grilse flies but a size or two
;
tyer also. The flies he sends are capital general flies, and would
killanywhere.
No. i. Tag, silver twist and light orange floss ; tail, sprigs
of green, hue, yellow, and red body, ruby ; floss, silver twist ;
hackle, medium claret, jay at shoulder ; wing, mixed fibres,
red, green, and blue, and gallina, with a small bunch of tippet
in the middle, two slices of brown mallard over, red macaw
ribs, black head.
No. 2. Tag, silver twist and ruby floss tail, red, yellow, ;
floss hackle, blue jay all the way up, orange at shoulder
; ;
blue floss ; hackle, blue jay all the way up, orange at shoulder ;
THE LAUNE
The salmon enter Killarney through the Laune, in the
upper part ofjwhich good sport is often had. The Laune is a
fine wide river, rather heavy down towards Killorglin, but
streamy and likely in the upper reaches. The fish do not rest
long in it in the early part of the season, when they make at
once for the lakes. Later on, however, good sport may be
got in it.
turkey, with a few fibres of tippet and blue macaw thrown in.
No. 2. This fly resembles the last, save that the body is in
four joints ruby, red, and orange alternately. The main
:
head, black.
All the Laune bodies must be dressed as spare as possible,
the hackles are short in fibre, and of the same size as in the
Killarney and Flesk flies and a peculiarity of the fishermen
;
in this part of the world is, that they use a hook some two sizes
larger in the bend than would commonly be used for the same
fly, breaking off a piece of the shank of the hook to get the fly
to the right size.
THE LEE, CORK 303
The fliesfor Killarney, the Flesk, and Laune, were tied for
me by the fishermen there, when I was fishing in that quarter
some years ago.
places, however, it breaks out into fine bold pools and streams,
which form the very beau-ideal of the angler. It is not a very
early river, though occasionally giving a spring fish or two to the
persevering angler but it gives capital sport later on. In
;
topping butt,
; a scrap of yellow mohair body, bluish silver- ;
grey wool or fur ; fine silver twist silver grey dun hackle ;
;
hackle over the blue part, and silver-grey cuckoo dun over the
grey part ; medium orange hackle on shoulder wing, as ;
with dark brown mallard wing over blue macaw ribs, largish ;
body grey fur (same colour as in the Lee flies) for one-third of
the body, the remaining two-thirds of medium yellowish-green
mohair hackles to match, silver-grey cuckoo dun (clipped)
;
over the grey, and green of the same shade over the green,
orange hackle at shoulder narrow gold tinsel
; wing slips
;
butt, black ostrich body, darkish blue, claret and grey fur,
;
with blue claret and grey hackles to match, the lower (or blue
one) clipped, yellow hackle at shoulder, with a turn or so of
black hackle over it wing, sprigs of bustard, brown turkey,
;
body, apple-green floss, fine gold twist, blue jay hackle all up,
orange hackle on shoulder wing, gold pheasant tail (streaked),
;
body and hackles, dark blue and dark claret (half and half) ;
No. 4. Tag, silver tinsel and orange floss tail, tippet and ;
7 or 8 to 10 or n.
THE sum
To obtain patterns of the Suir and Nore,
I wrote to Mr.
fore, only a few old patterns to send you. The two flies marked,
'
it can be varied to suit any taste you must use argus pheasant
;
hackle round the shoulders. Both these flies are tied by my-
self, and have killed many fish.
"
The little grey fly is also famous to the Suir, and the other
flies I have found very good on the Nore."
and lemon tag a small tippet feather for under wing, a little
;
sprigs of small tippet, brown mallard over it, and yellow gallina
over that (wing rather thin) black head. The size of the flies
;
peacock herl (the blue eye of the feather forming the butt end
of the wing) head, rough, and of yellow pig's wool.
;
No. 5. Tag, silver tinsel, and black pig's wool tail, green ;
THE NORE
The patterns Nore are also from Mr. Staples.
for the
No. i. Tag, silver tinsel and olive-yellow pig's wool tail, ;
No. 2. Tag, gold tinsel, and medium blue pig's wool tail, ;
Indian jay, and fibres of a buff hackle body, dark red (tending ;
short kingfisher feather black head. The flies run from No. 7
;
to 12.
The Nore is more of a summer river than the Suir, and the
above pattern will kill well late in the season.
THE BUSH
Is a smallish and not very interesting river, being dull and
heavy, and wanting in that briskness of stream and broken
water which the experienced salmon-fisher loves to see but ;
whereas in the Bann, a river six times the size of the Bush, flowing into the
sea only six miles to the west of that little river, no salmon run until near
midsummer. ED .
THE BUSH 309
The following four were also made for me, through the
flies
No. i butt, peacock herl body, two turns of light orange floss,
; ;
No. 4. The Early. This is the same as No. i, save that the
butt is yellow mohair the body and hackle are some two
;
floss, the rest orange pig's wool (lighter towards tail, dark
towards shoulder), gold tinsel, just above and beside it, a
narrow thread of red, almost scarlet floss hackle, bright ;
head.
No. 2. The Grace. Tag, gold tinsel and yellow floss ; tail, a
topping butt, black ostrich
; body, dark rich ruby floss ; ;
THE BANN
The following four flies are also by William Doherty and
Son :
shoulder wing,
;
mixed bustard, grey mallard, and peacock, a
few fibres of tippet and red parrot, one topping, red and blue
macaw ribs black head.
;
No. 3. The Blue Jay. This is the Blue Doctor dressed with
jay, instead of blue hackle, with a mixed wing as before, and
one topping.
No. 4. The Green Grouse. Tag, gold thread and reddish
orange floss tail, a topping
; butt, brown ostrich ; body, ;
tippet, one topping and blue macaw ribs head, black ostrich ; ;
hooks from 4 to 7.
CHAPTER XII
List of Flies for Wales and England List of Sea Trout Flies
THE USK
i.The Llanovtr. This fly being the production
of the lateLord Llanover, I have distinguished it
NO. Usk.
by his name. It is one of the best killers on the
orange and yellow pig's wool mixed, the other half lemon pig's
wool ; hackle, light orange the hackles in all Usk and Wye
;
flies are long and full, and dressed from head to tail silver ;
feather and yellow macaw body, olive and yellow pig's wool
;
turkey head,
; peacock herl. This fly is varied with a tail as
in No. i body, dirty brown orange and hackle, dark grizzled
; ;
blue dun.
No. 3. Tail and tag as in No. I body, medium orange floss, ;
No. 4. Tag, gold tinsel tail, red parrot body, dirty yellow,
; ;
THE WYE
The Usk flies Wye but I add some flies
do well also on the ;
and scarlet ibis body rather full, of bright yellow golden floss
; ;
hackle, long and full, the bluest that can be got, fine gold tinsel ;
hackle, blue dun, long and full wing and tail as in No. i. ;
Add to the above the Dhoon fly, there called the Canary.
See page 270 for the dressing of it.
WELSH RIVERS 313
brown mallard over it, blue macaw ribs and black head.
Add to these two flies, " Powell's Fancy " (see the Bush,
"
p. 309) and The Baker," page 252, dressed smallish, and
there are four killers for the Dovey. Hooks from 6 to 10, or
even smaller in low water. Patterns from Farlow's.
THE CONWAY
The following patterns were sent to me by C. Blackwall,
Esq., the secretary of the Con way Club and the patterns ;
sprigs of yellow swan, wood duck, and Indian jay (the blue
out of the wing) butt, black ostrich body, one-third yellow
; ;
ribs ;black head. This fly is Mr. Blackwall's own fancy, said
to be very deadly, and I have given his name to it.
pNo. 3. Tag, as before tail, a topping with slips of wood-
;
jay to be tied outside the wing). This is the old Con way
pattern, j
swan, tippet and wood duck sprigs butt, black ostrich herl
; ;
laid on under and beside it, blue jay at shoulder wing, plenty ;
a bunch of coppery peacock herl. The other two flies are very
similar, only the bodies are orange crewel, and the hackles a
WELSH RIVERS 315
shoulder wing,
;
a short tippet and golden pheasant's rump
feather, over this bustard, with golden pheasant's tail (the
streaked feather), the latter much predominating head, ;
peacock herl.
No. 2 is a pattern of Mr. Harrison's own devising. Tag,
silver tinsel tail, a small tippet feather
; body, two turns of ;
yellow crewel, the rest of light red crewel, the usual colour of
blotting-paper, silver tinsel lightish brown hackle, medium
;
ostrich.
Mr. Whitlow also sent a somewhat similar fly with apple-
green body and hen pheasant's wing. Hooks 5, 6, and 7, and
smaller for fine water.
The Butcher (No. 2 dressing, p. 252) kills well also in the
Tivey.
THE CORTHY
The following two flies for the Corthy were also forwarded
by Mr. Harrison and the patterns are good both for salmon
;
and sewin :
from 5 to 8.
THE ESK (BORDER)
Mr. Rowell, the tackle-maker of Carlisle, whose name I have
already favourably mentioned in connection with the Annan,
also sends me patterns for the Esk and the Eden, and the
commendation bestowed upon his Annan flies may be also
extended to these.
No. i. Tag, gold tinsel ; tail, gold pheasant saddle sprigs ;
teal sprigs with light dun turkey over split into sprigs.
No. 2. Much the same fly, only the body is bright medium
(inclining to darkish) blue, with a few sprigs of blue, and one or
two of bright yellow in the wing. All the rest as before.
No. 3. Tag, gold tinsel ; tail, tippet sprigs body, some ;
THE EDEN
Is one of the finest of our English salmon rivers, and if properly
THE EDEN 317
treated, would be one of the most productive. It still produces
a great quantity of salmon, and affords a good deal of sport,
though the spoon is found more deadly even than the fly in it.
Mr. Rowell supplies these patterns, as in the last river.
No. i I call The Chimney Sweep ; it is a very striking fly, as
it is the only thoroughly black fly I ever saw, but that it is a
favourite on the Eden Mr. Rowell vouches, as he says it will
kill when none of the others will, and I certainly shall try it
elsewhere. The tail is a single topping the tinsel medium
;
silver but the body, hackle, and wings are all black. The
;
floss ;
silver tinsel hackle dressed as before of darkish
;
gold pheasant tail and dark dun turkey, with a few sprigs of
claret and yellow swan.
No. 4. Tag, gold tinsel, tail, some tippet body, ruby floss ; ;
and picked out at the shoulder, with a coch y bondu hackle over
it;
under wing, gold pheasant rump, upper mixed black (not
very bright), gold pheasant tail, cock pheasant tail, sprigs of
blue, yellow, red, and green.
No. Tag, gold tinsel and some orange-yellow crewel tail,
5. ;
of teal, gold pheasant tail, bright blue and red. All the bodies
of these flies are dressed rather sparely, and the hooks are
about 6 and 7.
No. i. Tag, silver tinsel tail, a topping and red and blue
;
3 i8 A BOOK ON ANGLING
macaw; body, three turns of medium
butt, black ostrich;
orange the rest of darkish blue pig's wool
floss, broad silver ;
tinsel ;
medium blue hackle, blue jay at shoulder wing, a ;
used more or less on the Tweed, where they are termed whitling
flies, and it shall go hard but some of these flies shall kill sea
trout wherever they are found to rise in Scotland. The sizes of
sea trout flies run from the No. 12 hook in the salmon scale
down to about three sizes smaller.
No. i. Of all the sea trout flies I know of this is about the
best. It will kill almost anywhere either in Scotland, Ireland,
;
Three sizes of this fly should always be kept on hand, from the
largest to the smallest sea trout size.
No. 2. Much the same dressing the body bright orange
;
Two sizes.
No. 5. Tail, short golden floss body, ruddy orange, gold ;
half black, fine gold thread hackle, coch y bondu wing, two ; ;
dark coch y bondu, with only a little red at the tips of the
fibres wing, two shreds from the black and white wing
;
Large size.
320 A BOOK ON ANGLING
No. Tag, pale blue floss
3. tail, sprigs of golden pheasant
;
feather), and tippet, with some teal over head, black. Small ;
size.
No. Tag, silver twist and ruby floss tail, mixed sprigs of
5. ;
body, dark blue floss, gold thread black hackle, with a red-
;
tail, red parrot body, medium purple claret pig's wool picked
;
medium blue floss, the rest black pig's wool mingled with a
few fibres of lightish brown or dirty grey fur to give the body
a sort of rusty appearance, silver thread black hackle wing, ; ;
plain, from the jay's wing, choose a bit which is dark towards
the butt. Two sizes.
No. Tag, golden-yellow floss
2. tail, sprigs of red and ;
golden pheasant with four or five sprigs 'of blue macaw. Size,
full. With this fly I once killed nearly a hundredweight of
SEA TROUT FLIES 321
white trout in one day on the Doohullah lakes. It is a great
Connemara favourite.
No. Tail, a small topping
3. body, one turn of ruby floss,
;
the rest of black floss, silver thread black hackle only one- ;
third down wing, a darkish bit from a jay's wing. Size small.
;
Good in the Newport river, and most of the rivers and lakes in
that neighbourhood.
No. 4. Tag, gold tinsel tail, a sprig or two of brown
;
cock. The last two flies are good on the Lennan and at
Gweedore, and generally on the north-west of Donegal. Largish
size.
No. Tag, light orange floss
6. tail, golden pheasant tippet ;
body, light orange floss wing and hackle, a grouse hackle left
;
No. i. Tag, silver tinsel and orange floss tail, tippet and ;
blue and green sprigs body, blue mohair, rough hackle, red
; ; ;
little dark red picked out at the shoulder, silver tinsel hackle, ;
black wing, dark jay, and some tippet sprigs over. All these
;
tippet body, dark sandy red (red hair red), gold thread.
;
wool, gold thread very dark blue hackle, a nice streaky bit of
;
lighter than the last fly hackle, the same colour, gold thread
; ;
pheasant, and over them dark jay's wing black head. Same;
turns of orange floss, the rest black ostrich herl black hackle ; ;
wing.
No. 3. Tag, silver thread tail, three strands of bustard
; ;
wing.
No. 4. Tag, gold tinseltail, brown mallard
; body, one- ;
bit of speckled cock pheasant tail, a wad of the same being tied
on at the breast as a hackle, and then clipped. All these flies
are of the smallest size used for sea trout.
With such a list of sea trout flies as I have given in the last
half-dozen pages, scarcely any lake or river in the kingdom can
fail to be well suited.
CHAPTER XIII
as to flatten it and prevent its slipping then lay the gut and
;
the end of the silk against the shank of the hook, the ends
reaching rather short of the bend then, holding both in place
;
with the bend and shank of the hook between the left finger
and thumb, take the silk in the right, and wind it firmly round
the gut and hook, commencing at the head or end of the hook,
and laying coil beside coil until the gut is covered and bound
securely to the hook then fasten off the silk either by two
;
prefer the two half hitches, as, although perhaps less neat, they
are more secure. The coils should of course be drawn tight, and
the loose end of the silk snipped off. The lashing may then be
touched with shellac varnish (see Recipes and Notabilia,
P- 357) and the hook put aside in a dry place till required for
>
reserved for the upper part of the line, or that to which the
running or reel line is tied, and the finer for the part near the
hook, and it graduates in stoutness from one to the other. Gut
should be moistened in luke-warm water (if time can be spared,
cold is better), before it is tied and the older the gut is the
;
more thoroughly soaked it must be, and the more carefully and
closely the knots must be drawn together, as it gets brittle with
age. To tie two threads of gut together, place two ends side by
side, overlapping each other for a couple of inches or so, and
then tie the knot shown in Fig. 3, Plate III, page 66. Draw it
closely home, and snip off the short ends. This knot is generally
secure enough, if it be properly drawn home but to render it
;
more secure, I generally touch the knot, when the gut is quite
dry, with a drop of shellac varnish. If, however, this be not
thought secure enough, then it is usual to take another turn
in the fold, as shown in Fig. 4. The double folds, though they
make rather a large knot, render a slip impossible. There is
another way used when dropper flies are needed to be fastened
in, and that is shown in Fig. 2 in the same plate, but I have
noted that elsewhere. Some people whip the ends of the gut
on to the main line so as to secure the knot, but the whipping
always frays off, and is practically useless. In securing the gut
line to the reel line, it is usual to have a loop at the end of the
gut. The end of the reel line having merely a knot in it, take
the end of the reel line and pass it through the loop, as shown
in Fig. 5, Plate III, page 66. But if you wish to be able to undo
the line with ease and quickness when you require to change or
have finished fishing, then it is advisable to use the slip knot
shown in Fig. 6, when by pulling the loose end of the line
smartly, the hitch is released.* In making a loop in a gut line,
I usually prefer the knotted loop, as shown in Fig. 6, to the
having lashed on the gut down towards the bend, take either
a piece of crewel or silk, or even two or three (according as you
require the substance of the fly to be) peacock's or ostrich
herls, break off the weak points, lay the herls together, and
tie the ends in a mass on to the bend of the hook (see Plate
XXI, Fig. i) then select a hackle from the neck of a red
;
little bit off on each side near the tip (see Plate XXI, Fig. 10),
so that the fibres may not be tied in. Then comes the question
whether you desire your palmer to be dressed with hackle all
over from head to tail, whether it shall be dressed half-way
down, or only at the shoulder of the fly. If the hackle is to go
from tail to head, it is tied on at the same time as the herl. If
not, then the silk must be warped up from the tail to the
TO DRESS TROUT FLIES 327
required spot and having tied on the tip of the hackle, you
;
must carry the silk on to the shoulder of the fly, and fix it with
a half hitch.* Then take hold of the peacock's herls and wind
them round and round the hook side by side, up to the silk,
when seize them down with two or three turns of the silk and a
half hitch (see Plate XXI, Fig. 2) cut off the refuse herl, not
;
varnish to make all secure. Then take hold of the hackle either
with the fingers or spring tweezers, and taking care that the
fibres point in the right direction, wind it carefully on up to
the head of the fly, until it reaches the silk, pressing the fibres
down so that they point tailwards while doing so then seize ;
it down and tie off as in the case of the herl (see Plate XXI,
Fig. 3) cut off the refuse, not too closely, leaving a scrap
;
of the quill still on, which lap over and tie down firmly,
finishing off with the silk to the end of the hook snip the ;
silk off and touch the tie with varnish, and you have a red
palmer.
Of course all other palmers are tied in the same way. When
they are very large and thick-fibred, two or more hackles are
used. Some tie them both on together, and wind them on at
the same time and some use one up first, and then tie on
;
tie the end on at that part of the hook where the thorax of the
fly would be. This may be done either when the hook is being
tied on to the gut, or afterwards, when the body is being
warped on, a turn of the silk being taken over the herl or
dubbing to secure it while the hackle is being tied on. The silk
is then wound up to the shoulder the body worked up to it
;
and tied off two or three turns of the hackle are then taken,
;
by which time that too will reach the shoulder, and can be tied
* This is one way, and the one commonly adopted. My own plan, how-
ever, to lash in the tip of the hackle while I am tying the hook to the gut,
is
when the hackle is to be either from the middle of the body or at the shoulder
only this plan makes the body less clumsy. Of course, if it is to run from
:
head to tail or tail to head rather the hackle should be tied in at the same
time as the herl or crewel. As it is very liable to break and the body then
comes to pieces, to prevent this, some persons spin the herls round on the
silkby twirling them together ;
then turning them on the hook, silk and all,
and avoiding the hackle, carry and herl to the head simultaneously, and
silk
tie oft the herl with the silk without trouble, and snip off the end. F. F.
328 A BOOK ON ANGLING
off, when the wing is put on, and all is finished. But be sure
not to overhackle your fly it makes it lumpy and unnatural ;
as a rule, nine fly tyers in ten overdo this. No fly has more than
six legs, and the imitation is none the more faithful for having
sixty. Some flies have the hackle put on from tail to head, like
a palmer or the sedge fly, as I have shown ; others have this
same make, but the hackle is much more thinly laid on. When
this is the case, strip off the fibres from one side, and only tie
on the single side left on the quill (see Plate XXI, Fig. 10). Be
sure you strip off the right side, or you will find the hackle will
not roll on. To tie on the wing, select carefully a fragment of
some feather, as the wing of jay, pheasant, starling, or black-
bird, and strip it off neatly, taking care not to split or separate
the fibres. The wing being held between one finger and thumb,
the butt ends of the fibres are pinched together by the other, so
as to compress them without, if possible, bending or doubling
up the wing (see Plate XXI, Fig. 12). This is then laid to the
head of the hook and set in the direction it is desirable to make
it stand, and two or three turns of the silk taken over it, the
silk being then fastened off in the usual way.
If a pair of wings are to be set on, it is as well to pick a strip
of two separate feathers from both wings of the bird ; by this
means the feathers will set properly, and each wing of the fly
will have the bright and glossy side outwards, and exposed to
the gaze of the fish. Lay the strips side by side, and hold them
between the finger and thumb. Then nip the butts of the
feathers with the other finger and thumb, so as to get the wing
into as good a shape as possible for tying on. Lay the feathers
to the hook, and take two or three turns of the silk firmly over
them to secure them, and if the set of the wings be satisfactory,
part them with a needle, and clip off the refuse. It is always
advisable to make flies not less than twelve hours before using,
so as to allow the varnish to set. Some flies require tails, and
some tinsel to mark the joints of the fly. When this is the case,
after lashing on the gut and taking one half hitch to secure it,
lay the tail to the hook just above the bend it is usually
composed of two or three fibres of some feather and lap it on
securely. Tie in the tinsel with the dubbing (see Plate XXI,
Fig. 5) ;and after having wound on the dubbing and fastened
if off, wind the tinsel on spirally, with a gap between each turn,
on, the single thread tied off, the hackle wound over it, the
same thread tying oft the hackle and wing afterwards. But
such as may prefer it can use a double thread, by commencing
to lap on the gut in the middle of the silk, beginning with a
half hitch, and leaving half the silk hanging down at the
head, and so wind on to the tail with the other half (see Plate
XXI, Fig. 7) the tail thread being used to work the dubbing,
while the upper thread ties off the hackle and wings. This is
certainly the safest plan should the dubbing thread fray
at all.
/, the hackle g,
; the shoulder hackle h, ;
the under wing ;
/, the loop.
perhaps, and makes the fly swim more accurately, it is not safe,
as the gut at the head of the fly soon gets wounded, and then
your fly is useless for ever. Some lash a piece of stout single or
treble gut, doubled on to the shank of the hook, leaving a small
eye just above the end of the shank, and through this eye a
strand of gut is passed and made fast by a knot, hitch, or jamb ;
will suppose that the body is of silk. Cut off enough floss to
make the body and to spare, also as much tinsel as may be
needed, and tie the ends of them in close down to the butt in
the usual way (see Plate XXII, Fig. 4) If the hackle is to reach
.
from head to tail, the point of the hackle must also be tied in,
if only half or two-thirds of the
way down the body, it can be
tied in after the silk and tinsel is tied in at its proper place, and
then left to hang (Fig. 4) The tying silk is then wound on up
.
it so that it lies perfectly even and flat, and then wind it care-
* The
fly here will require two pairs of them ; they should be short and
strong, and of the shape shown in Plate XXI, Fig. 8. He will also require
two pairs of scissors, one of a stoutish build, such as a pair of nail scissors,
for cutting rough feathers, tinsel, etc., and one very fine pair to nip oft fine
fibres neatly. The points of these should always be in good order. They
should be kept in a leathern sheath, and out of the ken of all females, or they
will be looked on as lawful spoil and degraded to lace work, or to some hideous
muslin enchantment designed to entrap some wretched gudeeon. F. F.
334 A BOOK ON ANGLING
round and round the hook, so as to make one round, even,
fully
shining body of floss silk. Simple as this may seem, it is not
easy to turn out a first-rate silk body. The body should grad-
ually, but imperceptibly, increase a little in thickness towards
the shoulders ; when it reaches the tying silk tie off the floss
and then lay on the tinsel, which should be wound on in good
bold spiral rings up to the shoulder, where that also is tied off
(Fig. 5). -Next comes the hackle, and that is wound on,
following the course of the tinsel, and lying side by side with it
(on the upper side of the tinsel, of course). Tie the hackle off,
and then pass the silk round tightly four or five times, and
finish with a hitch (Fig. 6). Touch the silk with varnish to keep
all secure, and lay the fly aside until dry, when the hackle can
be pressed down into its place, and the wing can subsequently
be tied on as in Fig. 7.
At this stage it often occurs that another hackle is used, and
two or three turns of a different colour are employed to add
contrast to the fly. The length of the fibres must here be
attended to these must be properly matched, and if the fibres
:
this time you have held between the left finger and thumb,
and see how it sets. Should any of the feathers have turned
or not set well, you must work the wing about until they are
righted, or you may have to slacken the silk, or even, if things
are very bad, to rearrange the feathers, or even to shear off the
offending fibres. No special directions can be given in such a
case ;practice alone will enable the fly tyer to overcome such
difficulties. When all sets right, take three or four sharp turns
with the silk, and then a half hitch. If you want the fly to be
very firm and strong in the wing, touch the tie now with a drop
of varnish, and lay it aside until dry.
If an under wing as well as an over wing be used, of course
it must be tied on first, and then the over wing. Cheek feathers
that is, short feathers, as kingfisher or small jungle cock,
which are often put on at the shoulder on either side of the
wing to give additional brilliance to the fly or toppings over the
wing are always put on after the main portion of the wing,
and both are often very troublesome to get to set well. The
cheek feathers will sometimes turn any way but the right when
THE SET OF THE WING 337
the silk presses on them, and here also practice alone will
enable the tyer to contend with the difficulty.
When the feathers of the wing are tied safely on, cut off the
refuse at the head of the fly, pretty closely to the tie, unless
you have toppings to put on. Toppings before being laid on
should be nipped with the thumb-nail at the butt, and the quill
bent slightly, so that they may, when tied on, have the proper
set (see Plate XXII, Fig. 9, p. 331) ;
and one of the most difficult
operations I know of is to make half a dozen toppings set and
lie well together ;
one or the other, particularly if they be
" "
pretty large ones, will stare or point out of the right direc-
tion, thus rendering the fly, which in other respects is an
artistic and well- tied chef-d'oeuvre, the visible sign of a tyro
and a bungler. Many a time have I arranged a wing of toppings
a dozen times over before I could get them to set properly.
To avoid having to drill such an awkward squad, the tyro
should select the toppings he is about to employ with care.
They should all be of the same form and bend, and the quills
straight and true, for if one quill turns towards the left, and
another towards the right, unless he can nip them properly
and with certainty, so that they shall take the tie kindly, they
will assume their natural bias.
Not that it matters two straws to the fish whether the
topping bends one way or the other, for in the water the stream
soon corrects all such little eccentricities in fact, it is possible
;
that the fish may prefer them so, as having more play and
motion. They are often dressed upside down, and stand like
" "
a Prince of Wales' plume in the Erne Parson ;
but it is not
the fish he has to please but that hostile critic at the other
table, that chap Jones, who can knock off two flies to your one,
and whose hackles and toppings never stare, whose tails curve
upwards in one right line (not several), and whose wings drop
into their places like magic, and never want rearranging, while
his heads don't come to pieces on handling. Ah! what a treat
it is to see Jones take your fly out of the vice, and to hear him
"
ask What is this meant for ? and what makes you prefer a
"
fly with a tail like a turkey cock ? What makes you, eh ?
why, envy, hatred, malice, and all uncharitableness make
you. But never mind, your bungle wipes Jones's eye for all
that, and catches that eighteen pounder in an unguarded
moment which he missed the other day so equilibrium, as far
;
pig's wool, mohair, seal's fur, or whatever the substance may be,
pull it into short lengths, particularly pig's wool or mohair, pick
out the coarse fibres, and then lay a sufficient quantity along in
the palm of your hand and roll it over and over by the fingers,
as already directed in trout flies. The body will most probably
be too thick, and you must pull off or pick out as much with
your dubbing needle as you may think desirable, until the body
BLACKER'S METHOD 339
isreduced to the proper size. If there be not enough dubbing
on the silk for the whole body you must feed the silk with a
fresh supply. If a hackle needs to be tied in, say half-way up,
put on only as much dubbing as will reach that spot, or, if
need be, pull it off, tie in the hackle, and then feed the silk with
more dubbing. When the body is long enough, pull off any
refuse dubbing, and tie the silk itself with a couple of half
hitches then your spare end, above alluded to, comes into
;
in at the butt, and worked down by the point, so that the point,
which is much the weakest part of the hackle, has the most
pulling and chafing. Then this hackle, as well as the dubbing
and the tinsel, has to be tied off at the tail, and what is to
conceal all that mass of tying off ? Even if the tail is put over
the top side of it it can only partially hide it, and a terribly bun-
gling affair a tail so tied on would be, while below there is a
perfect mass of tying exposed, with nothing at all to hide it.
Again, if a shorter hackle is to be used, a turn or two is to be
taken ;
it is to be fastened off under the wings but the
;
will eschew his easy method and stick to his difficult one.
To explain the full method of tying the jointed flies with
manes, mid-hackles, and herls, of Erris and elsewhere, would be
a work of supererogation, as no tyer will venture to begin with
such patterns, and when he is able to tie according to the direc-
tions I have furnished him with, quickly and well, he will hit
off the method of tying any other pattern which may be possible
or desirable without difficulty. Practice is the great thing, and
a cessation of even a few months throws one back in the art
more than would be believed by the uninitiated.
CHAPTER XIV
CONCLUSION
On Hooks The Bait Table Recipes and Notabilia
341
342 A BOOK ON ANGLING
only half a hook. This I have seen on many occasions, when
not the slightest blame was due to the angler, save for his buy-
ing untrustworthy hooks. As a rule, the angler should always
try his hooks. Stick the point carefully into a piece of soft
deal, and then give the gut a smart (not too smart) tug, and if
the hook stands you may fairly rely upon it. This is advisable
with all hooks, for, though good tackle makers, as a rule, do
usually buy good hooks, and pay a fair price for them, a few
bad hooks may creep into every packet.
But, if an over-tempered hook be a nuisance, an under-
tempered one is ten times more so. An under-tempered hook
springs or opens with very little persuasion that is, the bend
;
as I find. But, if the hooks and gut be good, and the flies
be well tied, they cannot be had for the money, so as to leave
the tackle maker who sells them a fair profit."
"
Well, we shall see."
Three or four days after I walked into my friend's house.
He was out. I went into his sanctum, where his rod hung
always ready for action. On one of the nails below it hung a
collar of gut, and the fly showed that it had been used but an
hour or so before. I recognised the fly as one of the dozen my
friend had bought at Snooks's, and, taking it in my hand, I
found the point and barb entirely gone, the hook having
broken at the bend. Just as I made the discovery my friend
entered. I turned to him with the fly in my hand, and, holding
"
it out, I uttered but one word, and that word was Snooks."
My friend was a little irate and a little confused. He had had
hold of a good fish in the mill-tail, a three-pounder the fish :
fishing, so, taking town his rod, we strolled together down the
" "
stream. He rigged up another Snooks in the meantime,
and, coming to a good cast under some trees, he rose and
hooked a handsome two-pounder. The fish gave one flounder
on the top, and he was away. We
looked for the cause, and,
lo ! the hook was the counterpart of the one I had seen hanging
on the nail the barb and point were gone at the bend.
;
" "
Snooks again quoth I, emphatically.
!
it may be seen in Plate XXII, Fig. 10, page 331. It has many
of the advantages of the Kinsey hook. Whether hooks should
be heavily or lightly ironed will always depend on circum-
stances not worth considering here.
Passing from salmon, we come to trout hooks ; and for
large flies up to sea trout size there is nothing like a good
bold Limerick, unless it be the Kinsey pattern before noticed,
which would be the perfection of a sea or lake trout hook.
In lake or still water fishing the fly should swim upon an even
keel, and therefore no sneck bend or twisted point should be
employed, or the balance cannot be fairly maintained. In
swift or troubled water this is not of so much consequence. In
small trout flies the point must be twisted slightly, or the hook
will often fail to take hold at all, for the body and the hackle
will often stand out sufficiently to help to guard the point to
some extent, and if the hook chance to be taken flat or side-
ways in the mouth of a good fish, it may be pulled from his
mouth without the point coming in contact with the flesh at
all. To prove this, let the reader lay such a fly flatly between
two pieces of softish card and draw it out it will come out
:
the barb be too long or too fine either, as both point and barb
often come into contact with bony and rough work, and should
be constructed accordingly.
Hooks for pike-spinning in particular should always be of
stouter wire than others, as the mouth of the pike is so bony
as to require an extra hard stroke and it is particularly
;
essential that they should be not too long or fine either in point
or barb, and the barb should not be ranked nearly so much as
nine- tenths of them are. I have seen triangles with the barbs
ranked more than in an ordinary Limerick hook, and when
this is the case, if two or three hooks take hold, hardly any
reasonable tackle will stand the stroke that is required to
detach the hooks from the bait, and to force the barbs home
into the pike's jaw. I know the extreme difficulty and force
required to ram such a barb through, by having once buried
one in the ball of my thumb, and the resistance caused by the
badly ranked barb, in my efforts to bring it through and turn
the hook out at the shank, was something incredible. It is
owing to this fact that eight pike get off out of every ten which
are lost when hooked in spinning. Two or three rank barbed
hooks take hold, and the barbs are not driven home. You
may never get a sufficient strain on the fish to drag them home
(no easy matter either), and the first moment a loose line or a
turn occurs, away come the hooks. To my fancy, pike hooks
in spinning require almost more care and consideration in
construction than any others, and probably they receive less.
With regard to the shape of the hooks best adapted for
spinning-tackle, Mr. Pennell makes a statement which, if it be
borne out by long experience, is so striking that it settles the
question beyond all argument. He says that the sneck bend
hook possesses 100 per cent more killing power than the
Limerick bend, and 50 per cent more than either the Carlisle or
Kirby bend and further, that whereas it requires an average
;
point in, but to tear the hook open. Consequently, with such
a hook, when the short sharp stroke peculiar to roach fishing
is given, the hook springs instead of burying the point and
BAIT TABLE
The Red Worm. This is a very general favourite with
fishermen. In the Nottingham district it is called the cock-
spur. It will kill almost any fresh-water fish, but is used
chiefly for roach, gudgeon, dace, tench, and carp. It is found
in heaps of dead and decaying leaves, or vegetable matter, in
rotten dung or dead wood. The best way to procure and keep
a stock of them is to put a little manure, mould, a few cabbage
stumps or mowed grass and dead leaves, with a bit of rotten
matting or old carpet, and water it well now and then. This
BAITS 35i
will breed and keep them. To scour them, put them in a pan
with a bit of refuse damp netting or old cheese-cloth.
The Brandling or Gilt-tail is a beautiful little worm to look
at, being clad in alternate rings of yellow and red. It is a more
lively worm than the last, and is used for most of the fish
named above, in common with the red worm. It also comes
in for fine worm-fishing in the Scotch and Border streams, for
which the red worm would be a size or two too small. It is
found in old dung heaps, or rotten tan chiefly, but a good many
may be found in rank vegetable matter in a state of moist
decay. It is a nasty worm to handle, exuding a filthy yellow
secretion of a most disagreeable smell. A little moss, in
addition to the means recommended for the red worm, will be
useful in scouring it.
picked out daily, they will live and do well in confinement for
a long time. Near the mouth of a drain is a favourite place for
356 A BOOK ON ANGLING
small fry, and a good place for the bait-net. In cold weather
they take to the deeper streams, and are difficult to procure.
In floods they must be sought in eddies and any quiet spot.
In the winter, minnows are difficult to find in rivers. At this
time they are usually packed away in thousands in some small
hole under a root or bank in some little tributary brook, or up
some large pipe drain. There are various ways of preserving
baits. One is to salt them, but this so discolours them and
makes them so soft that it is objectionable. The next is to
preserve a lot in a wide-necked bottle or jar, pack them pretty
tight, and fill up with spirits of wine. Gin will do, but spirits of
wine does much better. * The other way is to paint them thinly
over with glycerine. Either of the last methods preserves the
colour and toughens the bait.
Paste is made of the crumb of new loaf, worked up with a
drop or two of water and very clean hands. It may be made
plain or sweetened with honey, or flavoured to fancy, or even
coloured with pigments. Cover the hook with it ;
some work
up wool with to keep it better on the hook. Roach, carp, and
it
other fish affect pastes.
Pearl Barley, boiled, makes an excellent bait for roach, and
when the fish are inclined to take paste, they will take pearl
barley ;
care must be taken not to overboil it, or it becomes
too soft to stay long on the hook.
Boiled Wheat or Barley must be boiled until the outer skin
bursts, which takes some time often two hours. Wheat is a
good bait for roach, and barley is used in Norfolk to ground bait
for bream.
Cheese forms a good bait for a change with chub or barbel.
Cut it up in morsels of the size of small gooseberries, and use
pretty much like paste.
The provender of fishes is endless in its items, and almost
anything edible may be converted into a bait. For example,
fish will dine very much like humanssay upon bacon and
peas, and bread and cheese bacon being a capital bait at
;
times for barbel, peas for carp, bread for roach, and cheese for
chub, and the art of the angler consists in consulting their
tastes and tickling their palates.
and simmer for a quarter of an hour then pour the mass out
;
desirable, t
To Stain Gimp. Bright brass gimp is very easily seen by the
fish. To it soak it in a solution of bi-chlorate of
discolour
platinum mixed with water (i of platinum to 8 or 10 of water) ;
the best of servants are careless about this, and boots worth
*
Naphthalene perhaps best of all. ED.
is
prop them open with sticks, and let the sun's rays strike down
into them. Never allow your mackintoshes to be hung up on a
peg, for more mackintoshes are spoilt by this plan than by all
the wear you can give them. The peg point cracks the rubber
by stretching it, and a new mackintosh is often rendered leaky
in one night. Even if hung up by the loop, which is appended
to them for that purpose, there is a heavy drag upon two points,
which will, sooner or later, produce the same result. I always
spread mine over a chair back, or fold up and put it away in a
cupboard when not wanted. Never mind what waterproof ers
say about hanging up. Repairing is their business, and wearing
out is yours. Many a time have I got wet through with a nearly
new mackintosh, and from no other reason than a minute peg
split, not bigger than a pin's point.
Dry Lines. All lines and nets after using should be spread
out, or hung up, to dry. A trolling or fly line can be unwound,
and either wound round the back of a chair or laid upon the
sideboard in loose coils but by no means put them away in the
;
least damp, or when you see them again they will be found to be
perfectly rotten and useless.
To Preserve Gut, Silk, Tinsel, etc. Neither keep it in too
dry, or rather warm, a place, lest it become brittle, nor in a
damp place, where it will become rotten. Do not expose it
either to the air more than possible or to the sun, for light
appears to have a very deleterious effect upon gut and silk a
;
THE END
INDEX
Artificial Salmon flies continued
Dun wing, 256
Alderon Stream, River Tay, 283, Plate XX. Durham ranger, 256
Angling Literature, 2 Dusty miller, 279, Plate XIX
Artificial flies, for Eagle, 264
Lake trout, 166 Early, 309
General trout flies, 176. The Francis, Francis' favourite, 279, Plate XIX
coachman, Holland's fancy, governor, the Gamekeeper,- 3 15
Edmead, Greenwell's glory, grouse hackle, Garibaldi, 310
partridge hackle, soldier palmer Gledwing, or redwing, 263
Monthly list of Golden mallard, 258
March. The February red, the blue olive, 310
dun, early blue dun, red spinner, March Goldfinch, 255
brown, cow-dung, needle brown, red and Gordon, 265, Plate XVI
black palmers, 143 Grace, 309
April. Yellow dun, brown spinner, Green grouse, 310
large yellow dun, little iron-blue, jenny king, 287
spinner, black gnat, hawthorn, gravel bed, Guinea hen, 253
sand fly, grannom, sedge fly, quill gnat, Highlander, 268
150 H.I.S., 291
May. Stone fly, oak fly, little sky blue, Inchiquin, 298
the alder, pale evening dun, little yellow Indian crow, 272
May fly, 158 Jock Scott, 256
June. Green drake, grey drake, coch y John Scott, 277
bondu, Bracken clock, or fernwebb, fern Judge, 309
fly, yellow Sally, barm fly, foetid brown, Kate, 257
caperer, 161 -
Lascelles, 271
July. The red and black ants, the Laxford, 271
house fly, brown skipjack, or Hammond's Lee blue, Frontispiece
adopted, the wrentail, the white moth, the Lion, 285
brown moth, green midge, blue midge, the Llanpver, 311
ashy dun, July dun, black and brown McGildowny, 309
silver horns, 169 Major, 250
August. August dun, the cinnamon, Mar lodge, 265, Plate XVI
172 Murray, 284
September. The whirling dun, the Namsen, 254
willow fly, 173 Nicholson, 283
Salmon flies, 248 O'Donoghue, 291
The Anthony (yellow and orange), 303 Orange and grouse, 293
Baker, 252, 313 Parson, 251, 289
Beauly snow, 278 Policeman, 285
Bittern, 279, Plate XIX Popham, 254
Black and yellow, 258 Powell's fancy, 309, 313
Black and teal, 254 Priest,270
Black dog, 283 Purple king, 287
Blackwall, 313 The Ranger (black), 250
Black ranger, 275, Plate XVIII (blue), 251
Blue jay, 310 Shannon, 299
Britannia, 255 Sir Francis Sykes, 270
Butcher, 25.?, 272, 315 Sir Herbert, 265, Plate XVI
fly, 309 Snow fly, 275, 278
Canary, 273 Spey dog, 286
Candlestick maker, 253 Switching Sandy, 271
Captain, 313 Tartan, 263, 283
Childers, 253 Teal wing, 257
Chimney sweep, 377 Thunder and lightning, 293
Claret (or fiery brown), 253, 295, 301 Toppy, 257
Claret jay, Frontispiece The Wasps, 284
Colonel, 250 Waterwitch, 285
Denison, 266 Welshman's fairy, 313
Dhoon fly, 270 White tip, 257, 319
Doctor, 249 wing, 257
silver,. 250, 257 Wilkinson, 265, Plate XVI
blue, 257 Sea trout flies, 318
Drake wing, 256 Stewart's flies, 178, 179
Duke of Sutherland, 270 Trout flies, 134
3 6l
362 A BOOK ON ANGLING
Trout flies continued Trout flies continued
Alder, or orl fly, 160 Yellow dun, larger, 152
Ashy dun, 171 Sally, 168
August dun, 172 Artificialperch baits, 68, 69
Barm fly, or nobbier, 168 pike baits, 95
Black ant, 169 spinners, 84
gnat, 156
palmer, 194
B
Blue dun, hare's ear, etc., 143 Baiting a worm, 5
early, 144 Baiting needle, 91, Plate VI
Blue midge, 171 Bait table, 350 et seq.
Brown bent. See Wrentail Ballinahinch, white trout stream, 121, Plate
moth, 171 VII
skipjack or Hammond's adopted, 170 Bank-fishing, 4
spinner, 152 Barbel-fishing, 33
Caperer, 169 Beetles, 354
Cinnamon, 173 Beetle-fishing, 197, Plate IX
Coachman, 176 Birch Grove, a salmon cast on the Wye, 241,
Cob fly. See March Brown Plate XII
Coch y bondu, or Bracken clock, etc., 167 Bleak-fishing, 17
Cocktail. See Blue Dun Blow line. See Live Fly Fishing
Cow-dung, or lion fly, 146, 173 Blowing the trumpet, 21
Downhill. See Oak Fly Bottom-fishing, i
Edmead, 177 Bream-fishing, 51
February red, 143 Butt, right way of giving the, 243, Plate XIII
Fern fly, 167
Foetid brown, 168
Francis, 176
Governor, 177 Caddis, 353
Grannom, or greentail, 157 Carp-fishing, 53
Gravel bed, or spider fly, 156 Casting float tackle, 45, Plate VIII
Green drake. See May Fly line for trout, 106
midge, 171 for salmon, 232
Green well's glory, 177 spinning bait, 87
Grey drake, 166 trout fly, in
Grouse hackle, 177 salmon fly, 234
Hammond's adopted, 170. See Brown worm, 203
skipjack Cement, 358
Hare's ear. See Blue Dun Chapman's spinner, 84, Plate V
Hawthorn fly, 156 Cheese bait, 356
Hofland's fancy, 177 Chub-fishing, 27
House fly, 169 Clay ball-fishing, 38, Plate II
Jenny spinner, 155 Clearing ring, 9, Plate I
July dun, 172 Clod-fishing for eels, 62
Large yellow dun, 172 Cockchafer, 38-9, 353, 354
Little blue, or sky blue, 160 Cockroach, 354
iron-blue, 152 Colonel Hawker's tackle. See Salter's Tackle
yellow May fly, 161 Cork floats, 3, 15, 93, &c., Plate II
March brown, or cob fly, 146 Crab, or creeper-fishing, 195, 354
May fly, or green drake, 161 Cricket, the, 354
Needle brown, or Spanish needle, 147, 173
Nobbier. See Barm fly D
Oak fly, or down-hill, 159
Orl fly. See Alder Dace-fishing, 25
Pale evening dun, 160 Daping, or dibbing for chub, 29
Palmers. See Red Hackles for trout, 190
Partridge hackle, 177 Disgorger, 90, Plate VI
Peacock fly, 150 Dress for fishing, 130
Quill gnat, or spent gnat, 158 Dressing for lines, 357
Red and black hackles, 148 Drop-minnow, 213
Red ant, 169 Dropper flies, how to fasten, &c., 106, Plate III
Dry fly-fishing, 128
palmer, 148
spinner, 144
Sand fly, 157
Sea trout flies, 318
Eel-fishing, 60
Sedge fly, 157 Entomological system, the, 134, 135
Silver horns (black and brown), 172
Ephemeridae, the, 140
Sky blue. See Little Blue
Soldier palmer, 178
Spanish needle. See Needle brown
Spent gnat. See Quill Gnat Fish-baits, 85, 86, 135, 136, 355
Spider fly. See Gravel Bed The flight for spinning, 76
Stone fly, 158 Float-fishing for trout, 189
Whirling dun, 173 Floats. See Cork Floats
White moth, 171 Floors Castle. See Shot
Willow fly, 174 Fly dressing (trout), 324, Plate XIII
Wrentail, Brown bent, etc., 170 (salmon), 331, Plate XIV
Yellow dun, 151 Francis's spinning tackle, 81, 207, Plate IV
INDEX 363
French style of barbel-fishing, 38
Frog-fishing, 30, 94
Frogs, large and small, 355 Natural history of trout flies, 139
Night-fishing with fly, 131
Norfolk baits, 6
angling, 10
Gaff, the, 9 Notabilia. See Recipes, etc.
Gaffing a salmon, 249, Plate XIV
General flies. See Artificial Flies Nottingham angling, 42
Gentles. See Maggots spinning tackle, 74, 80, Plate V
Gimp, to stain, 358
Gorge-fishing for pike, 91, Plate I
Grapnell, or drag, 9, Plate I
Grasshopper, orgrub fishing, 219, 354, Plate IX Otter lure, the, 95
Grayling-fishing, 216
Greaves, 353
Ground-baits, 5
Grubs, 353 Palmers, 178, 354, the theory of, 148
Gudgeon-fishing, 15 Par-tail fishing, 216
Gut, to dye, 357 Paste bait, 22, 356
to preserve, 359 Paternostering, 65, 66, Plate IV
Pearl barley, 356
H Pennell's spinning tackle, 83, Plate IV
Perch-fishing, 63
Hearder's plano-convex bait, 95 Phryganidae, the, 140
Hooks, a chapter on, 341 et seq. Pike-fishing, 70
drawing, 359 float, Plate II
oil for, 360 fly, 95
Humblebee. See Cockchafer Pitlochry Head, River Tay, 227, Plate XI
Hung up in casting the fly, 122 Plumbing the depth, 6
Plummets, ib., Plate I
Pond-fishing, 3
Pope-fishing, 16
India-rubber glue, 358 Pouching the bait (pike), 92
Punt-fishing, 10
Preserving fish baits, 85, 86, 215, 355
gut, silk, tinsel, etc., 359
Jiggering, 244
K
salmon, 228 W
Rudd-fishing, 24
Ruffe. See Pope
Running, or reel lines. See Lines Wasp-grub, 194, 219, Plate IX
Water boots, 358
Waterproofs, 358
Wax-liquid, white, dry, 357, 358
Wheat or barley, 356
Whitling, the. See Sea Trout
Salmon-fishing, 226, 242 Winch's bottom-fishing, 13 ; Nottingham, 42 ;
Salter's minnow tackle, 81 spinning, 75, 76; trout, no; salmon, 231
Scratchings. See Greaves 232
Sea trout-fishing, 246 Wind and weather, 116, 118
Selection of trout flies, a, 179 Working the fly for trout, 114
Shade-fishing. See Daping salmon, 238
Shot, the, Floors Castle water, River Tweed, Worm-fishing, 198
227, Plate XI Worms, 350-352