Every Boy's Book: A Complete Encyclopaedia of Sports and Amusements Part 15

17. _Cheese Paste_ is made with fresh cheese, worked up in the hand. It is a good bait for chub.

18. _Ground Bait_ should be used in the spot about to be fished, and, if possible, the night before, and should be fresh. For carp, chub, roach, or dace, use white bread soaked in water, and mixed with bran, pollard, or meal. For barbel, chandler's greaves, boiled and worked up into a ball with clay. Gentles may also be used as ground bait for any of the above.

TO BAIT WITH GREAVES.

First select the whitest pieces from those you have soaked, and put two or three of them upon your hook, or as much as will cover it from the bend to and over the point; these pieces should be put on the hook separately, one after the other--not a large piece doubled, as some slovenly boys will do, for then the hook is prevented from entering firmly the fish you may strike. These little particulars of baiting are of considerable advantage to young anglers, who ought to remember also that it is a bad practice to soak greaves in hot water, for it makes them rotten, and they in consequence soon fall off the hook.

TO SCOUR AND PRESERVE WORMS.

To do this, the young angler should provide himself with a quant.i.ty of fresh moss. Wash out all the earth and squeeze it, but not too dry; then put it into a jar and squeeze it lightly down: throw in the worms upon it. The jar should be kept in a cool place in summer, and the moss changed once in three or four days. Gentles should be thrown into a mixture of damp sand or bran to scour them, and will be ready in two or three days.

THE PLUMMET.

Plummets are used by anglers for sounding the depth of a stream or hole.

They are of two kinds, either the folding plummet, or the common plummet. The folding plummet, which is the better, is made of a slip of sheet lead, folded up; and this the young angler should never be without.

PLUMBING THE DEPTH

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Is performed in the following manner: If a folding plummet, unfold about two inches of it, pa.s.s the hook over its side, and then fold the plummet up again: your hook is now secured from drawing away from the plummet.

As success depends much in angling at a proper depth, the young angler should take due pains, and measure the depth accurately before he begins fishing. When the plumb-lead touches the bottom, and the top of the float is even with the surface of the water, you will have the true depth.

LANDING-HOOK AND LANDING-NET.

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The landing-hook or gaff is a large hook, which is sometimes barbed like a fish-hook, and sometimes plain, fastened to one end of a handle; this latter is occasionally composed of several pieces, which run one into another, like the slides of a telescope. A landing-net is a small net mounted on a iron ring, which is fastened, like the landing-hook, to the end of a handle or pole.

CLEARING RING AND LINE.

The clearing-line is made of several yards of strong small cord, to the end of which is fastened a heavy ring of lead or bra.s.s. If the hook should get fast in a heavy weed, post, or anything else, this ring is put over the b.u.t.t of the rod, and suffered to slip down the line to the hook. The rod should be held in the right hand, the top pointing downwards, the clearing-line in the left, the ring falling on the hook, from its weight, generally clears the hook from what it may have struck against. If not, the angler should hold the rod firmly, and draw the line sideways, and break away. In this case, the angler seldom loses more than a hook, if he acts as above directed; but without the a.s.sistance of a clearing-line he frequently loses his float as well as his hook and line, and sometimes breaks his top joint. The bra.s.s clearing-rings are to be preferred, because they are jointed, and in consequence can be used when the angler has a winch in his rod, in which case the leaden ring could not be pa.s.sed over the winch.

DRAG-HOOK.

The drag is a piece of iron with three or four stout wire hooks without barbs, placed back to back, fastened to a strong cord line, and which is used to draw away weeds.

BANK RUNNER.

The bank-runner is mostly used in the day-time, when the angler is fishing for roach, barbel, &c. It is stuck in the bank, the bottom being strong turned wood, sharpened for the purpose, with a winder at the top for the line, which should be from forty to sixty yards long, made of silk, thin cord, or plaited Dutch twine. But there should be a cork and bullet to the line, and the bait a dace or gudgeon, which should swim about mid-water.

LIVE-BAIT KETTLE.

This should be of an oblong form, and not round; bright inside, and brown out. In getting out the bait, never put your hand into the water, which frightens the fish, and, by heating the water, makes them sickly and dull; but make use of a small net, which is easily carried in the fish-kettle, by having a piece of the lid cut away in one corner.

DISGORGER.

This is an instrument with a forked top, about six inches long, made of iron, bra.s.s, or bone. Its use is to get the hook from a fish when swallowed; and in using it, the forked end is thrust down upon the swallowed hook with one hand, while the line is held tight with the other: pressure disgorges the hook, and it is then easily drawn out. In attempting to get a gorged hook from a fish without this instrument, you run a hazard of breaking the hook and hurting yourself. When the fish is hooked through the lip, the angler has only to hold the fish steadily in one hand, while with the other he carefully disengages the hook.

ANGLING AXIOMS.

1. Never fish any water without leave from the proprietor, unless it be water that is free to all comers.

2. Never use unfair bait, or attempt to take fish in any but a fair and sportsmanlike manner.

3. Never start on a day's fishing without first considering the wind, weather, and water.

4. Never let your shadow fall on the water.

5. Use the finest tackle of which your fishing will admit.

6. Never begin bottom fishing without first plumbing the depth.

7. Never intrude upon another fisherman's water.

8. And always remember that nothing is lost by politeness.

ACCOUNTS OF THE VARIOUS FRESH-WATER FISH,

WITH THEIR HABITS, HAUNTS, SEASONS, AND THE METHODS OF TAKING THEM.

THE SALMON.

The Salmon is the king of fresh-water fish. It is handsome in form, its head is small, its nose pointed, its back and sides grey, its belly silvery, and its flesh the well-known salmon colour. The male may generally be distinguished by its having the lower jaw more "hooked," or turned up at the point, than the female; the head is also generally somewhat longer, in comparison to the rest of the body.

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Salmon bite best from six till eleven in the forenoon, and from three in the afternoon until sunset, especially when there is a moderate breeze upon the water. The chief months to angle for them are March, April, May, and June. They are to be fished for with lob-worms, or in spinning with minnows, but a large artificial fly is the most killing bait. The rod, for a boy, should not be less than fifteen feet long, with a good running line, and the reel should contain at least fourscore yards. The hook must be large and long in the shank. Few of our young readers, however, will be able to go salmon fishing till they have reached maturity, and, therefore, to give detailed instructions as to the modes of capturing the fish would be superfluous.

THE TROUT.

This beautiful fish is much prized. Izaak Walton says of it, "It is more sharp-sighted than any hawk, and more watchful and timorous than your high-mettled merlin is bold." In its habits it is a very solitary and predacious fish.

The trout are found in lakes and rivers and minor streams, and are finest in appearance from the beginning of April to the end of July or middle of August: their princ.i.p.al sp.a.w.ning time is from November to January. The most brilliant and beautiful trout are generally found in streams that flow rapidly over rocky or chalky bottoms. They feed upon worms, minnows, and other small fish, but their favourite food consists of insects, flies, caterpillars, &c. upon which they thrive and fatten prodigiously.