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THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


THE 


COMPLETE   ANGLER 


BY 

IZAAC  WALTON  AND  CHARLES  COTTON. 


BV 

G.  CHRISTOPHER    DAVIES, 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  SWAN  AND  HER  CREW,"  "WILDCAT  TOWER,"  ETC. 


LONDON : 

FREDERICK    WARNE    AND    CO. 

AND  NEW  YORK. 


PREFACE. 


HE  popularity  of  "  The  Complete  Angler,"  written 
by  Izaac  Walton  and  Charles  Cotton,  is  so 
deservedly  great,  that  no  excuse  is  necessary 
for  its  introduction  into  the  series  known  as  "  The  Favourite 
Library "  and  "  The  Chandos  Classics,"  notwithstanding 
the  great  number  of  editions  through  which  it  has  already 
passed.  Indeed,  no  set  of  English  classics  would  be  com- 
plete without  it. 

As  the  present  edition  will,  from  the  lowness  of  its  price, 
have  a  wide  circulation  among  all  classes,  the  encumbrance 
of  notes  seems  to  be  necessary  both  to  explain  the  allusions 
in  the  text,  and  to  prevent  the  promulgation  of  erroneous 
notions  concerning  Natural  History,  for  Walton  was  some- 
times mistaken  in  his  beliefs.  Furthermore,  in  order  to 
make  the  book  as  useful  and  comprehensive  as  possible,  the 
Editor  has  thought  it  well  to  add  concise  and  practical 
directions  with  respect  to  the  modern  art  of  angling,  wherein 
will  be  found  the  results  of  his  own  experience,  and  a  digest 


055 


vi  PREFACE. 


of  the  experiences  of  others.  Much  has  been  written  about 
the  art  of  angling,  but  generally  that  which  has  been  of  high 
value  has  also  been  high  priced.  The  Editor  hopes  that 
this  book,  though  low  priced,  will  not  be  made  of  less  value 
by  the  insertion  of  the  angling  directions.  Angling  is  now 
one  of  the  fine  arts  (it  is  a  very  fine  art  indeed),  and  in 
every  new  fishing  book  the  Editor  has  read  he  finds  some 
new  idea  or  valuable  wrinkle.  As  long  as  this  is  the  case, 
there  cannot  be  too  many  new  angling  books  written. 

Notes  at  the  foot  of  the  page  are  a  horrible  nuisance, 
distracting  the  attention  of  the  reader  to  the  greatest  degree. 
It  therefore  seemed  better  to  lump  them  together  at  the  end 
of  each  chapter  in  the  shape  of  an  appendix,  and  the  reader 
can  please  himself  whether  he  refers  to  them  or  not.  If  he 
only  desires  to  read  the  prose-poetry  of  the  text,  he  can  skip 
the  chapters  in  smaller  type  ;  and  if  he  turns  to  the  book  for 
practical  directions,  he  can  look  at  the  appendices  only.  The 
arrangement,  therefore,  is  this ;  A  chapter  of  the  text,  and 
then  an  appendix  containing,  first,  ^^Historical  Notes^'  chiefly 
from  Hawkins,  and  referred  to  by  the  smaller  letters  in  the 
text ;  secondly,  "  General  Notes  "  by  the  Editor,  referred  to 
by  numerals  ;  and  third,  a  "Practical  Essay  "  by  the  Editor. 

The  majority  of  the  woodcuts  are  from  Major's  beautiful 
edition  ;  to  these  are  added  modern  cuts  illustrative  of  fish- 
ing-tackle, etc. 

With  a  sense  of  the  honour  done  to  him  by  the  Publishers 
when  they  requested  him  to  prepare  this  edition,  and  an 
equal  sense  of  his  own  deficiencies  for  the  task,  the  Editor 
lays  down  his  pen,  and,  turning  round  to  the  fire,  sees  in  the 
red-hot  coals  pictures  of  many  a  happy  fishing  day  long 
since  past,  while  outside  the  autumn  winds  blow  hard,  and 


PREFACE.  vii 


the  rain  beats  against  his  study  window.  And  there  are 
pleasant  days  to  come,  God  willing  :  the  salmon  are  rushing 
up  the  rivers  fast  as  the  spates  are  sweeping  down  ;  the 
weeds  are  rotting,  and  the  pike  are  gathering  in  the  deep 
holes ;  the  trout  are  preparing  to  double  their  numbers ;  and 
work  must  and  shall  stand  aside,  for  some  days  at  least,  of 
the  next  seasons. 

To  all  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come  the  Editor  sends 
an  angler's  greeting. 


2  Jesmond  Gardens, 
Newcastle-on-Tyne. 


CONTENTS. 


editor's  preface    ...... 

life  of  izaac  walton      ..... 

THE  SUBSEQUENT  HISTORY  OF  THE  "COMPLETE  ANGLER'' 
THE  EPISTLE  DEDICATORY,   BY  WALTON     . 
WALTON  TO  THE  READER    ..... 
COMMENDATORY  VERSES       .  .  .  ,  . 

PART  I. 


V 

I 

13 

16 
18 
23 


iFirst  Dag. 

CHAPTER  I. 

A    DIALOGUE    BETWEEN    PISCATOR    (AN    ANGLER),  VENATOR    (A 

HUNTER),  AND  AUCEPS  (A  FALCONER)  .  .  .33 

.Scconli  Oag. 
CHAPTER  II. 

OF  THE   OTTER,  OTTER-HUNTING,   AND    OBSERVATIONS    ABOUT 

THE  HABITS  OF  THE  CHUB        .  .  .  .  .      ZZ 

STfjirU  Bag. 
CHAPTER  III. 

HOW  TO   FISH   FOR   AND  COOK  THE  CHAVENDER  OR  CHUB  .   IIO 

CHAPTER  IV. 

OBSERVATIONS  OF  THE  NATURE  AND   BEEEDING  OF  THE  TROUT, 

AND  HOW  TO  FISH   FOR  HIM  ;  AND  THE  MILKMAID'S  SONG   I20 

CHAPTER  V. 

MORE  DIRECTIONS  HOW  TO  FISH  FOR,  AND  HOW  TO  MAKE  FOR 
THE  TROUT  AN  ARTIFICIAL  MINNOW  AND  FLIES;  WITH  SOME 
MERRIMENT  .  .  .  .  •  •  .145 


CONTENTS, 


JTourtfi  ©ag. 

Page 

CHAPTER  VI. 

OBSERVATIONS  OF  THE  UMBER  OR  GRAYLING  ;  AND  DIRECTIONS 

HOW  TO   FISH   FOR  HIM  .  .  .  .  .189 

CHAPTER  VII. 

OBSERVATIONS  OF  THE  SALMON ;  WITH  DIRECTIONS  HOW  TO  FISH 

FOR  HIM  .  .  .  .  .  .  .194 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

OBSERVATIONS  OF  THE  LUCE  OR  PIKE ;   WITH  DIRECTIONS  HOW 

TO  FISH   FOR  HIM  ......   2IO 

CHAPTER  IX. 

OBSERVATIONS  OF  THE  CARP ;   WITH  DIRECTIONS  HOW  TO  FISH 

FOR  HIM  ,  .  .  .  .  .  .243 

CHAPTER  X. 
OBSERVATIONS  OF  THE  BREAM;  AND  DIRECTIONS  TO  CATCH  HIM   256 

CHAPTER  XL 
OBSERVATIONS   OF   THE   TENCH  ;    AND  ADVICE  HOW  TO  ANGLE 

FOR  HIM  .......   266 

CHAPTER  XII. 

OBSERVATIONS  OF  THE  PERCH  ;  AND  DIRECTIONS  HOW  TO  FISH 

FOR  HIM  .  .  .  .  .  .  .271 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
OBSERVATIONS    OF    THE    EEL,    AND    OTHER    FISH    THAT    WANT 

scal::s  ;  and  how  to  fish  for  them       .  .  .278 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
observations  of  the  BARBEL  ;  AND  DIRECTIONS  HOW  TO  FISH 

for  him  .  .  .  .  .  .  .291 

CHAPTER  XV. 

OBSERVATIONS  OF  THE  GUDGEON,  THE  RUFFE,  AND  THE  BLEAK ; 

AND  HOW  TO  FISH   FOR  THEM  ....  299 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
IS  OF  NOTHING,  OR  THAT  WHICH  IS  NOTHING  WORTH  .  304 

iFiftfj  {last)  Bag. 
CHAPTER  XVII. 

OF  ROACH  AND  DACE,  AND  HOW  TO  FISH  FOR  THEM  ;  AND  OF 

CADDIS .      ,313 


CONTENTS.  xi 

CHAPTER  XVIII.  ^''*^'' 

OF  THE  MINNOW  OR  PENK,  OF  THE  LOACH,  AND  OF  THE  BULL- 
HEAD OR  miller's  thumb      .  .  .  .  .329 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
OF  SEVERAL  RIVERS;    AND  SOME  OBSERVATIONS  OF  FISH  .  335 

CHAPTER  XX. 
OF  FISH-PONDS,  AND   HOW  TO  ORDER  THEM  .  .  .  341 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
DIRECTIONS   FOR  MAKING  OF  A  LINE,  AND  FOR  THE  COLOURING 

OF  BOTH  ROD  AND  LINE  .  .  .  .  .345 

NOTE. — Each  Chapter  has  an  Editorial  Appendix, 


PART  II. 

BEING  INSTRUCTIONS  HOW  TO  ANGLE  FOR  A  TROUT  OR  GRAYLING 
IN   A  CLEAR  STREAM. 

THE  LIFE  OF  CHARLES  COTTON       .  .  ,  r  .363 

JFtrst  Sag. 

CHAPTER  I. 
A  DIALOGUE  BETWEEN  PISCATOR  JUNIOR  AND  VIATOR.  .  379 

CHAPTER  II. 
DITTO  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .388 

CHAPTER  III. 
DITTO  .  .  .  .  .  .  ,398 

^ecouti  Bag. 

CHAPTER  IV. 
angling  at  the  "top,"  at  the  "middle,"  and  at  the 
"bottom"         .  .  .  .  .  .  .403 

CHAPTER  V. 
OF  FLY-FISHING  AND  FLY  MAKING  .  .  .  .405 

CHAPTER  VI. 
A  PRACTICAL  LESSON  ON  FLY-FISHING  FOR  TROUT  AND  GRAY- 
LING .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .413 


Xli  CONTENTS. 


Page 

CHAPTER  VII. 

LISTS  OF  ARTIFICIAL  FLIES  FOR  THE  MONTHS  OF  JANUARY, 
FEBRUARY,  MARCH,  APRIL,  AND  MAY;  SHOWING  ALSO  HOW 
TO  DIB  OR  DAPE  WITH  THE  GREEN  DRAKE  OR  MAY- FLY,  AND 
HOW  TO  MAKE  THAT  FAMOUS   FLY  ARTIFICIALLY     .  .  42I 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

OF  THE  STONE-FLY  ;  ALSO  A  LIST  OF  FLIES  FOR  JUNE,  JULY, 
AUGUST,  SEPTEMBER,  OCTOBER,  NOVEMBER,  AND  DECEM- 
BER; WITH  SOME  GOOD  REMARKS  ON  THE  GREEN  DRAKE 
AND  STONE-FLY,  AND  ON  POACHING  .  .  .  .435 

^irU  {last)  Bag. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

A  SHORT  DIALOGUE,  AND  A  LAPSE  IN  ANGLING  ON  THE  PART 

OF  PISCATOR;    VIATOR   FISHES   SUCCESSFULLY  BY  HIMSELF  444 

CHAPTER  X. 
SHOWING  HOW  TROUT  AND  GRAYLING  ARE  BEST  COOKED  .  446 

CHAPTER  XI. 
TEACHES  THE  ART  OF  ANGLING  AT  THE  BOTTOM  WITH  WORMS, 

GRUBS,  AND  CADDIS       ......  449 

CHAPTER  XII. 

CONTAINS  DIRECTIONS  TOUCHING  ANGLING  AT  THE  MIDDLE 
WITH  A  MINNOW  FOR  TROUT,  AND  WITH  A  WORM,  GRUB,  OR 
CADDIS  FOR  A  GRAYLING.  FAREWELL  BETWEEN  PISCATOR 
JUNIOR  AND  VIATOR      ......  456 

APPENDIX  THE  LAST  .  ,  .  .  .  0461 


LIFE  OF   IZAAC  WALTON. 


|ZAAC  WALTON  was  born  at  Stafford,  on  the 
Ninth  of  August,  1593.  We  are  in  absolute 
ignorance  of  how  and  where  he  passed  his 
youth  ;  but  we  feel  sure  that  it  was  a  simple, 
manly,  and  godly  youth.  The  early  years  of  it  would  pro- 
bably be  spent  at  Stafford,  where,  too,  he  may  have  imbibed 
that  love  of  angling  which  stayed  with  him  in  late  years, 
and  gave  rise  to  the  most  beautiful  English  pastoral  of  its 
kind.  We  can  only  imagine  the  journey  of  the  youth  to 
London  town  to  work  his  way  in  the  world  ;  but  in  the  year 
1643  we  find  him  settled  in  London,  and  following  the  trade 
of  a  sempster.  He  had  a  shop  in  the  Royal  Bourse,  on 
Cornhill.     Sir  John  Hawkins  says :  "  In  this  situation  he 


THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER, 


could  scarcely  be  said  to  have  elbow-room,  for  the  shops 
over  the  Bourse  were  but  seven  feet  and  a  half  long  and 
five  wide ;  yet  here  did  he  carry  on  his  trade  till  some  time 
before  the  year  1624,  when  he  dwelt  on  the  north  side  of 
Fleet  Street,  in  a  house  two  doors  west  of  the  end  of 
Chancery  Lane  .  .  .  and  in  this  house  he  is,  in  the 
deed  above  referred  to,  said  to  have  followed  the  trade  of  a 
Hnendraper.  It  further  appears  by  that  deed  that  the  house 
was  in  the  joint  occupation  of  Izaac  Walton,  and  John 
Mason,  hosier,  from  whence  we  may  conclude  that  half  a 
shop  was  sufficient  for  the  business  of  Walton ! " 

We  would  rather  conclude,  however,  that  he  was  a  whole- 
sale merchant,  and  that  the  small  shop  was  in  reality  an 
office,  where  it  is  possible  that  he  and  Mason  may  have  been 
in  partnership. 

He  afterwards  moved  to  a  house  in  Chancery  Lane,  a  few 
doors  higher  up  on  the  left  hand  than  the  former. 

Walton  was  married  twice.  His  first  marriage  was  to 
Rachel  Floud,  a  descendant  of  Archbishop  Cranmer,  at 
Canterbury,  in  the  month  of  December,  1626.  He  had 
seven  children  by  this  marriage ;  but  they  all  died  young, 
and  his  wife  died  in  1640.  He  was  married  again,  about 
the  year  1646,  to  Anne,  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Thomas  Ken, 
Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells,  one  of  the  seven  that  were  sent 
to  the  Tower,  and  who  at  the  Revolution  was  deprived  and 
died  in  retirement.  Walton  seems  to  have  been  as  happy  in 
the  married  state  as  the  society  and  friendship  of  a  prudent 
and  pious  woman  of  great  endowments  could  make  him. 

At  the  age  of  fifty  he  retired  from  business,  upon  a  very 
moderate  fortune,  which  was,  however,  amply  sufficient  for 
his  simple  needs.     He  left  London,  "judging  it  dangerous 


LIFE   OF  JZAAC   WALTON. 


for  honest  men  to  be  there,"  and  lived  sometimes  at  his 
native  town,  "but  mostly  in  the  families  of  the  eminent 
clergymen  of  England,  of  whom  he  was  much  beloved." 

Angling  was,  of  course,  his  recreation  at  all  convenient 
times,  and  he  appears  to  have  chiefly  fished  in  the  river  Lea. 

In  the  year  1662  his  wife  died,  and  was  buried  at  Wor- 
cester. 

Living  while  in  London  in  the  parish  of  St.  Dunstan's 
in  the  West,  of  which  Dr.  John  Donne,  Dean  of  St.  Paul's, 
was  vicar,  he  became  a  frequent  hearer  of  that  excellent 
preacher,  and  at  length,  as  he  himself  says  in  some  verses  at 
the  end  of  his  Life  of  Dr.  Donne,  his  convert.  Upon  his 
decease  in  163 1,  Sir  Henry  Wotton  (of  whom  more  here- 
after) requested  Walton  to  collect  materials  for  a  Life  of  the 
doctor,  which,  it  seems.  Sir  Henry  had  undertaken  to  write; 
but  Sir  Henry  dying  before  he  had  completed  the  Life, 
Walton  undertook  it  himself,  and  in  the  year  1640  printed 
and  published  it,  with  a  collection  of  the  doctor's  sermons, 
in  folio.  As  soon  as  the  book  came  out,  a  complete  copy 
was  sent  as  a  present  to  Walton  by  Mr.  John  Donne,  the 
doctor's  son,  afterwards  doctor  of  laws,  and  one  of  the 
blank  leaves  contained  his  letter  to  Mr.  Walton.  The  letter 
is  yet  extant  and  in  print,  and  is  a  handsome  and  grateful 
acknowledgment  of  the  honour  done  to  the  memory  of  his 
father. 

Dr.  King,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Chichester,  in  a  letter  to 
Walton,  thus  expresses  himself  concerning  this  Life  :  *'  I  am 
glad  that  the  general  demonstration  of  his  (Dr.  Donne's) 
worth  was  so  fairly  preserved  and  represented  to  the  world 
by  your  pen,  in  the  history  of  his  life ;  indeed  so  well,  that, 
besides  others,  Mr.  John  Hales,  of  Eaton,  affirmed  to  me  he 

1 — 2 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


had  not  seen  a  Life  written  with  more  advantage  to  the  sub- 
ject, or  reputation  to  the  writer,  than  that  of  Dr.  Donne." 

Sir  Henry  Wotton  dying  in  1639,  Walton  was  importuned 
by  Bishop  King  to  undertake  the  writing  his  Life  also,  which 
Walton  accordingly  did. 

Before  Walton's  time  the  literature  of  angling  had  been 
very  scanty.  In  the  year  1653,  when  he  was  sixty,  Walton 
published  his  "  Complete  Angler."  It  at  once  attained  a 
wide  popularity,  reaching  a  second  edition  in  1655,  a  third 
in  1664,  a  fourth  in  1668,  and  a  fifth  (the  last  in  the  author's 
life)  in  1676.  Each  edition  was  improved  and  altered  from 
its  predecessor :  in  the  second  edition  a  new  interlocutor, 
AticepSy  was  introduced  ;  the  third  and  fourth  editions  had 
several  entire  new  chapters ;  and  the  fifth  contains  no  less 
than  eight  chapters  more  than  the  first,  and  twenty  pages 
more  than  the  fourth. 

When  the  fifth  edition  was  being  prepared,  his  friend  and 
adopted  son,  Charles  Cotton,  wrote  a  second  part  in  pursu- 
ance of  a  prior  arrangement  between  Walton  and  himself. 
This  second  part  being  approved  of  by  Walton,  was  added 
to  the  book,  and  they  came  out  together.  Mr.  Cotton's 
book  had  the  title  of  the  "  Complete  Angler ;  being 
Instruction  how  to  Angle  for  a  Trout  or  Grayling  in  a  Clear 
Stream  "  (Part  II.),  and  it  has  ever  since  been  received  as  a 
second  part  of  Walton's  book.  In  the  title-page  is  a  cypher 
which  Cotton  had  caused  to  be  cut  on  stone  and  set  up 
over  the  door  of  a  small  fishing-box  that  he  had  erected 
near  his  dwelling  on  the  bank  of  the  Dove. 

Two  years  after  the  Restoration  Walton  wrote  the  Life  of 
Mr.  Richard  Hooker,  author  of  the  "Ecclesiastical  Polity;" 
he  was  enjoined  to  undertake  this  work  by  his  friend  Dr. 


I 


LIFE  OF  IZAAC  WALTON.  5 

Gilbert  Sheldon,  afterwards  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  who 
by  the  way  was  an  angler.  Walton  also  wrote  the  Life  of 
George  Herbert ;  it  was  first  published  in  duodecimo  in 
1670.  Walton  nevertheless  professes  himself  to  have  been 
a  stranger  to  the  person  of  Herbert. 

Two  of  these  Lives,  viz.,  those  of  Hooker  and  Herbert, 
we  are  told,  were  written  under  the  roof  of  Walton's  good 
friend  and  patron  Dr.  George  Morley,  Bishop  of  Winchester. 
In  the  year  1670  these  Lives  were  collected  and  published 
in  octavo,  with  a  dedication  to  Dr.  Morley,  and  a  preface 
containing  the  motives  for  writing  them. 

A  book  which  had  been  published  by  Col.  Robert 
Venables  some  years  before,  called  the  "  Experienced 
Angler ;  or.  Angling  Improved,"  was  sometimes  bound  up 
with  Walton's  and  Cotton's  books,  and  the  three  were  sold 
under  the  title  of  the  "  Universal  Angler."  It  has  a  preface 
signed  I.  W.,  undoubtedly  of  Walton's  writing. 

In  his  eighty-third  year  Walton  wrote  the  Life  of  Dr. 
Robert  Sanderson,  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  which  was  published 
together  with  several  of  the  bishop's  pieces  and  a  sermon  of 
Hooker's  in  octavo,  1677. 

Walton  was  a  Royalist  and  a  friend  of  Royalists,  as 
appears  by  the  following  quotation  taken  from  Ashmole's 
"  History  of  the  Order  of  the  Garter,"  page  228  :  "  Nor  will 
it  be  unfitly  here  remembered  by  what  good  fortune  the 
present  sovereign's  lesser  George^  set  with  fair  diamonds, 
was  preserved,  after  the  defeat  given  to  the  Scotch  forces 
at  Worcester,  ann.  4  Car.  II.  Among  the  rest  of  his 
attendants  then  dispersed.  Colonel  Blogue  was  one,  who, 
taking  shelter  at  Blore-pipe  House  in  Staffordshire,  where 
one  Mr.  George  Barlow  then  dwelt,  delivered  his  wife  this 


6  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

George  to  secure.  Within  a  week  after  Mr.  Barlow  himself 
carried  it  to  Robert  Milward,  Esq.,  he  being  then  a  prisoner 
to  the  Parliament  in  the  garrison  of  Stafford  ;  and  by  his 
means  was  it  happily  preserved  and  restored,  for  not  long 
after  he  delivered  it  to  Mr.  Izaak  Walton  (a  man  well  known 
and  as  well  beloved  of  all  good  men,  and  will  be  better 
known  to  posterity  by  his  ingenious  pen,  in  the  Lives  of 
Dr.  Donne,  Sir  Henry  Wotton,  Mr.  Richard  Hooker,  and 
Mr.  George  Herbert),  to  be  given  to  Colonel  Blogue,  then 
a  prisoner  in  the  Tower ;  who,  considering  it  had  already 
past  so  many  dangers,  was  persuaded  it  could  yet  secure 
one  hazardous  attempt  of  his  own  ;  and  thereupon  leaving 
the  Tower,  without  leave-taking,  hasted  the  presentation 
of  it  to  the  present  sovereign's  hand." 

Besides  the  works  of  Walton  above  mentioned,  there  are 
extant  of  his  writing  verses  on  the  death  of  Dr.  Donne, 
beginning  "  Our  Donne  is  dead ; "  verses  to  his  reverend 
friend  the  author  of  the  "  Synagogue,"  printed  together 
with  Herbert's  "Temple ;"  verses  before  Alexander  Browne's 
poems,  octavo,  1646,  and  before  Shirley's  poems,  octavo, 
1646,  and  before  Cartwright's  plays  and  poems,  8vo.,  165 1. 

In  1683,  when  he  was  ninety  years  old,  Walton  published 
"  Thealma  and  Clearchus,  a  pastoral  history  in  smooth  and 
easy  verse,"  by  John  Chalkhill,  Esq.,  an  acquaintance  and 
friend  of  Edmund  Spenser,  and  to  this  poem  he  wrote  a 
preface  containing  a  very  amiable  character  of  the  author. 
He  lived  but  a  very  little  time  after  the  publication  of  this 
poem,  for  he  ended  his  days  on  the  15th  day  of  December, 
1683,  in  the  great  frost  at  Winchester,  in  the  house  of  Dr. 
William  Hawkins,  a  prebendary  of  the  church  there,  where 
he  lies  buried. 


LIFE  OF  IZAAC   WALTON, 


In  the  cathedral  of  Winchester,  in  a  chapel  in  the  south 
aisle,  called  Prior  Silksteed's  Chapel,  on  a  large  black  flat 
marble  stone,  is  this  inscription  to  his  memory ; 

HERE  RESTETH  THE  BODY  OF 

Mr.  IZAAC  WALTON 

WHO  DYED  THE   15TH  OF   DECEMBER 

1683 

ALAS  !    HE'S  GONE  BEFORE 
GONE  TO  RETURN  NO  MORE 
OUR  PANTING  HEARTS  ASPIRE 
AFTER  THEIR  AGED   SIRE 
WHOSE  WELL-SPENT  LIFE  DID   LA?T 
FULL  NINETY  YEARS  AND   PAST 
BUT  NOW  HE  HATH   BEGUN 
THAT  WHICH  WILL  NE'ER   BE  DONE 
CROWNED  WITH  ETERNAL  BLISS 
WE  WISH  OUR  SOULS  WITH   HIS 


VOTIS  MODESTIS  SIC  FLiiRUNT  LIBER  I 


The  issue  of  Walton's  marriage  were  a  son  named  Izaac 


and  a  daughter  named  Anne. 


The  foregoing  Life  is  chiefly  founded  on  that  written  by  Hawkins. 


WALTON'S  WILL. 


August  the  Nijith^ 
One  Thousand  Six  Hundred  Eighty-three, 


In  t{)e  Name  of  ffioti,  Amen.  I,  Izaak  Walton,  the  elder,  of 
Winchester,  being  this  present  day  in  the  ninetyeth  year  of  my  age, 
and  in  perfect  memory,  for  which  praised  be  God ;  but  considering 
how  suddainly  I  may  be  deprived  of  both,  do  therefore  make  this 
my  last  will  and  testament  as  followeth  :  And  first,  I  do  declare 
my  belief  to  be,  that  there  is  only  one  God,  who  hath  made  the 
whole  world,  and  me  and  all  mankind ;  to  whom  I  shall  give  an 
account  of  all  my  actions,  which  are  not  to  be  justified,  but  I  hope 
to  be  pardoned,  for  the  merits  of  my  Saviour  Jesus.  And  because 
the  profession  of  Christianity  does,  at  this  time,  seem  to  be  sub- 
divided into  Papist  and  Protestante,  I  take  it  at  least  to  be  con- 
venient to  declare  my  belief  to  be,  in  all  points  of  faith,  as  the 
Church  of  England  now  professeth ;  and  this  I  do  the  rather  be- 
cause of  a  very  long  and  very  true  friendship  with  some  of  the 
Roman  Church.  And  for  my  worldly  estate  (which  I  have  neither 
got  by  falsehood  or  flattery,  or  the  extreme  cruelty  of  the  law  of 
this  nation),  I  do  hereby  give  and  bequeath  it  as  followeth  :  First, 
I  give  my  son-in-law.  Doctor  Hawkins,  and  to  his  wife,  to  them  I 
give  all  my  title  and  right  of  or  in  a  part  of  a  house  and  shop  in 
Paternoster  Row,  in  London^  which  I  hold  by  lease  from  the  Lord 

8 


WALTON'S    WILL. 


Bishop  of  London  for  about  fifty  years  to  come.  And  I  do  also 
give  to  them  all  my  right  and  title  of  or  to  a  house  in  Chancery 
Lane,  London,  wherein  Mrs.  Greenwood  now  dwelleth,  in  which 
is  now  about  sixteen  years  to  come.  I  give  these  two  leases  to 
them,  they  saving  my  executor  from  all  damage  concerning  the 
same.  And  I  give  to  my  son  Izaak  all  my  right  and  title  of  a  lease 
of  Norington  Farme,  which  I  hold  from  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Win- 
ton  :  And  I  do  also  give  him  all  my  right  and  title  to  a  farme  or 
land  near  to  Stafford,  which  I  bought  of  Mr.  Walter  Noell ;  I  say, 
I  give  it  to  him  and  his  heirs  for  ever;  but  upon  the  condition 
following,  namely :  if  my  son  shall  not  marry  before  he  shall  be  of 
the  age  of  forty  and  one  years,  or,  being  married,  shall  die  before 
the  said  age,  and  leave  no  son  to  inherit  the  said  farme  or  land, 
or  if  his  son  or  sons  shall  not  live  to  attain  the  age  of  twenty  and 
one  years,  to  dispose  otherwise  of  it,  then  I  give  the  said  farme  or 
land  to  the  towne  or  corporation  of  Stafford,  in  which  I  was  borne, 
for  the  good  and  benefit  of  some  of  the  said  towne,  as  I  shall  direct, 
and  as  followeth  (but  first  note,  that  it  is  at  this  present  time  rented 
for  twenty-one  pounds  ten  shillings  a  year,  and  is  like  to  hold  the 
said  rent,  if  care  be  taken  to  keep  the  bam  and  housing  in  repair). 
And  I  would  have  and  do  give  ten  pound  of  the  said  rent  to  bind 
out  yearly  two  boys,  the  sons  of  honest  and  poor  parents,  to  be 
apprentices  to  some  tradesmen  or  handycraftsmen,  to  the  intent 
the  said  boys  may  the  better  afterward  get  their  own  living.  And 
I  do  also  give  five  pound  yearly  out  of  the  said  rent,  to  be  given 
to  some  maid-servant  that  hath  attained  the  age  of  twenty  and 
one  years,  not  less,  and  dwelt  long  in  one  service,  or  to  some 
honest  poor  man's  daughter  that  hath  attained  to  that  age,  to  be 
paid  to  her  at  or  on  the  day  of  her  marriage.  And  this  being  done, 
my  will  is,  that  what  rent  shall  remain  of  the  said  farme  or  land, 
shall  be  disposed  of  as  followeth  :  First,  I  do  give  twenty  shillings 
yearly,  to  be  spent  by  the  Maior  of  Stafford,  and  those  that  shall 
collect  the  said  rent  and  dispose  of  it  as  I  have  and  shall  here- 
after direct ;  and  that  what  money  or  rent  shall  remain  undisposed 
of,  shall  be  imployed  to  buy  coals  for  some  poor  people,  that  shall 


lO  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

most  need  them,  in  the  said  towne ;  the  said  coals  to  be  delivered 
the  first  weeke  in  January,  or  in  every  first  weeke  in  February :  J 
say  then^  because  I  take  that  time  to  be  the  hardest  and  most 
pinching  times  with  poor  people ;  and  God  reward  those  that  shall 
do  this  without  partiality,  and  with  honesty  and  a  good  conscience. 
And  if  the  said  maior  and  others  of  the  said  towne  of  Stafford  shall 
prove  so  negligent,  or  dishonest,  as  not  to  imploy  the  rent  by  me 
given  as  intended  and  exprest  in  this  my  will,  which  God  forbid, 
then  I  give  the  said  rents  and  profits  of  the  said  farme  or  land  to 
the  towne  and  chief  magistrates  or  governors  of  Ecleshall,  to  be 
disposed  of  by  them  in  such  a  manner  as  I  have  ordered  the  dis- 
posal of  it  by  the  towne  of  Stafford,  the  said  farme  or  land  being 
near  the  towne  of  Ecleshall.  And  I  give  to  my  son-in-law.  Dr. 
Hawkins,  whom  I  love  as  my  own  son ;  and  to  my  daughter,  his 
wife ;  and  my  son  Izaak ;  to  each  of  them  a  ring,  with  these  words 

or  motto:  "Love  my  memory.     I.  W.,  obiit .f  to  the  Lord 

Bishop  of  Winton  a  ring,  with  this  motto  :  "A  mite  for  a  million. 

I.  W.,  obiit . ;"  and  to  his  friends  hereafter  named,  I  give  to 

each  of  them  a  ring,  with  this  motto :  "A  friend's  farewell.    I.  W., 

obiit ."     And  my  will  is,  the  said  rings  be  delivered  within 

forty  days  after  my  death ;  and  that  the  price  and  value  of  all  the 
said  rings  shall  be  thirteen  shillings  and  fourpence  apiece.  I  give 
to  Dr.  Hawkins  "  Doctor  Donne's  Sermons,"  which  I  have  heard 
preacht  and  read  with  much  content.  To  my  son  Izaak  I  give 
Doctor  Sibbs  his  "Soul's  Conflict;"  and  to  my  daughter  his 
"Bruised  Reed;"  desiring  them  to  read  them  so  as  to  be  well 
acquainted  with  them.  And  I  also  give  unto  her  all  my  books  at 
Winchester  and  Droxford,  and  whatever  in  those  two  places  are  or 
I  can  call  mine,  except  a  trunk  of  linnen,  which  I  give  to  my  son 
Izaak ;  but  if  he  do  not  live  to  marry  or  make  use  of  it,  then  I 
give  the  same  to  my  granddaughter,  Anne  Hawkins.  And  I  give 
my  daughter  "  Doctor  Hall's  Works,"  which  be  now  at  Farnham. 
To  my  son  Izaak  I  give  all  my  books,  not  yet  given,  at  Farnham 
Castell ;  and  a  deske  of  prints  and  pictures ;  also  a  cabinett  near 
my  bed's  head,  in  which  are  some  little  things  that  he  will  value, 


WALTON'S   WILL.  II 


though  of  no  great  worth.  And  my  will  and  desire  is,  that  he  will 
be  kind  to  his  Aunt  Beachame,  and  his  Aunt  Rose  Ken,  by  allow- 
ing the  first  about  fifty  shillings  a  year,  in  or  for  bacon  and  cheese, 
not  more,  and  paying  four  pounds  a  year  towards  the  boarding  of 
her  son's  dyet  to  Mr.  John  Whitehead  :  for  his  Aunt  Ken,  I  desire 
him  to  be  kind  to  her  according  to  her  necessity  and  his  own 
abilitie;  and  I  commend  one  of  her  children,  to  breed  up  as  I 
have  said  I  intend  to  do,  if  he  shall  be  able  to  do  it,  as  I  know  he 
will ;  for  they  be  good  folke.  I  give  to  Mr.  John  Darbyshire  the 
"Sermons"  of  Mr.  Anthony  Farringdon  or  of  Dr.  Sanderson, 
which  my  executor  thinks  fit.  To  my  servant,  Thomas  Edgill,  I 
give  five  pound  in  money,  and  all  my  cloths,  linnen  and  woollen, 
— except  one  suit  of  cloths,  which  I  give  to  Mr.  Hollinshed,  and 
forty  shillings, — if  the  said  Thomas  be  my  servant  at  my  death ;  if 
not,  my  cloths  only.  And  I  give  my  old  friend,  Mr.  Richard  Mar- 
riot,  ten  pounds  in  money,  to  be  paid  him  within  three  months 
after  my  death ;  and  I  desire  my  son  to  shew  kindness  to  him  if  he 
shall  neede,  and  my  son  can  spare  it.  And  I  do  hereby  will  and 
declare  my  son  Izaak  to  be  my  sole  executor  of  this  my  last  will 
and  testament ;  and  Dr.  Hawkins  to  see  that  he  performs  it,  which 
I  doubt  not  but  he  will.  I  desire  my  burial  to  be  near  the  place 
of  my  death,  and  free  from  any  ostentation  or  charge,  but  privately. 
This  I  make  to  be  my  last  will  (to  which  I  shall  only  add  the  co- 
dicil for  rings),  this  Sixteenth  day  of  August,  One  Thousand  Six 
Hundred  Eighty-three. 

Witness  to  this  Will.  Izaak  Walton. 

The  rings  I  give  are  on  the  other  side.  To  my  brother,  John 
Ken ;  to  my  sister,  his  wife  ;  to  my  brother.  Dr.  Ken ;  to  my  sister 
Pye ;  to  Mr.  Francis  Morley ;  to  Mr.  George  Vernon ;  to  his  wife  ; 
to  his  three  daughters ;  to  Mrs.  Nelson ;  to  Mr.  Richard  Walton ; 
to  Mr.  Palmer ;  to  Mr.  Taylor ;  to  Mr.  Tho.  Garrard ;  to  the  Lord 
Bishop  of  Sanmi ;  to  Mr.  Rede,  his  servant ;  to  my  cousin,  Doro- 
thy Kenrick  ;  to  my  cousin  Lewin ;  to  Mr.  Walter  Higgs  ;  to  Mr. 
Charles  Cotton ;  to  Mr.  Richard  Marryot :— 22.     To  my  brother 


12 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


Beachame ;  to  my  sister,  his  wife ;  to  the  Lady  Ann  How ;  to  Mrs. 
King;  Dr.  PhilHp's  wife;  to  Mr.  Valentine  Harecourt;  to  Mrs. 
Eliza  Johnson ;  to  Mrs.  Mary  Rogers  j  to  Mrs.  Eliza  Mil  ward ;  to 
Mrs.  Dorothy  Wollop ;  to  Mr.  Will.  Milward,  of  Christ  Church, 
Oxford  j  to  Mr.  John  Darbyshire ;  to  Mr.  Underill  j  to  Mrs.  Rock ; 
to  Mr.  Peter  White  ;  to  Mr.  John  Lloyde ;  to  my  cousin  Creinsell's 
widow;  Mrs.  Dalbin  must  not  be  forgotten  : — 16. 

IzAAK  Walton. 

Note,  that  several  lines  are  blotted  out  of  this  my  will,  for  they 
were  twice  repeated,  and  that  this  will  is  now  signed  and  sealed 
this  Twenty  and  fourth  day  of  October,  One  Thousand  Six  Hun- 
dred Eighty-three,  in  the  presence  of  us : 
WiinesSj  Abraham  Markland, 
Jos.  Taylor, 
Thomas  Crawley. 


AMVVELL  CHURCH. 


THE  SUBSEQUENT   HISTORY  OF   "THE  COMPLETE 
ANGLER." 


Seventy-four  years  after  Walton's  death,  the  Rev.  Moses  Brown, 
at  the  instigation  of  Dr.  Samuel  Johnson,  revived  "  The  Complete 
Angler  "  by  issuing  a  new  edition,  spoiling  it,  however,  by  a  process 
oipolishiiio.     This  was  in  1750.     In  1759  a  second  edition  of  it 
was  pubHshed.     In  1760  Mr.  John  Hawkins  (afterwards  Sir  John 
Hawkins)  published  an  edition  with  well- written  Lives  of  Walton 
and  Cotton,  and  copious  notes,  which  are  of  sufficient  value  to  be 
retained  in  almost  every  subsequent  edition.     Then  followed — 
In  1766,  a  second  edition  of  Hawkins'. 
1772,  a  third  edition  of  Brown's. 
1775,  a  third  edition  of  Hawkins'. 
1784,  a  fourth  edition  of  the  same. 
1792  and  1797,  fifth  and  sixth  editions  of  Hawkins',  by  his 

son,  John  Sidney  Hawkins. 
1808,  Bagster's  edition,  printed  in  three  sizes. 
1 8 10,  a  facsimile  reprint  by  Bagster. 

181 5,  Bagster's  second  edition,  edited  by  Sir  Henry  Ellis,  of 
the  British  Museum,  and  printed  at  Broxboume. 

1822,  Gosden's  edition. 

1823,  Major's  edition,  a  very  beautiful  and  complete  one, 

and  a  great  favourite. 

1824,  a  second  edition  of  the  above,  the  smaller  illustrations 

of  which  are  incorporated  with  the  present  edition. 
13 


14  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

1825  (about),  Dove's  reprint  of  Hawkins'. 

1824  and  1826,  reprints  of  Hawkins'  by  Whittingham. 

No  date,  Cole's  edition. 

1825,  Pickering's  first  edition. 

1826,  „  second  edition. 

1833,  Professor  Rennie's — very  poor,  but  which  had  seven 
reprints  at  different  dates  subsequently. 

1835,  Major's  third  edition. 
1S39,  reprint  of  Major's  by  Lewis. 
1842,      „  „  Washboume. 

1836,  Pickering's  third  edition:  this  is  a  very  handsome  book 

in  two  large  volumes;  it  has  many  illustrations, — 
those  of  fish  by  Inskepp  being  good,  but  those  of 
scenes  by  Stothard  depicting  the  anglers  in  attitudes 
which  no  angler  could  ever  assume. 

1837,  a  reprint  of  Walton  by  Tilt. 
1844,  Major's  fourth  edition. 

1847,  1848,  1852,  American  editions  by  Dr.  G.  W.  Bethune, 

which  have  many  merits. 
18 5 1,  Causton's  edition. 
1853,  Ephemera's  edition,  published  by  Messrs.  Ingram  and 

Cooke;   reprinted  in  1854,  and  again  by  Messrs. 

Routledge  in  1859. 
1856,  Jesse's  edition,  published  by  Bohn.     This  is  a  perfect 

olla  podrida  of  notes  and  illustrations. 
1858,  a  miniature  reprint  by  Groombridge. 
i860,  a  re-issue  by  Nattali  and  Bond  of  Pickering's  edition 

of  1836. 

1863,  a  pocket  edition  by  Bell  and  Daldy. 

1864,  the  Elzevir  edition  by  Bell  and  Daldy. 
1869,  the  "Complete  Angler"  by  B.  Murray. 

1877,  a  facsimile  of  the  first  edition  of  1653  by  Elliot  Stock. 


"Beitig  a.  DifcouTfe  of 

FISH  ancL  FISHING, 

Not  -unworthy  thepexiifal  of  moft  Anglers. 

Simon  Petexyati,  JgodMiing;  cndileyfaU,  We 
tdfo  Hit  ^0  ^Nith  thee.   John,  21.  j» 

XoTvcUm,  Priivtcd l)y  r.  Mucey  fbi  Rich.  Harriot^ in 
S.  Dun/tans  Chmci-yaii  Ileetftreet,  16  5^, 


\Facsifnile  of  Title-page  of  the  Originai  EdiiionJl 


THE   EPISTLE   DEDICATORY. 


TO    THE     RIGHT    WORSHIPFUL 

JOHN  OFFLEY,  Esq., 

OF  MADELEY   MANOR,    IN   THE   COUNTY  OF   STAFFORD. 


My  most  HONOURED  Friend, 
Sir, — I  have  made  so  ill  use  of  your  former  favours,  as  by  them 
to  be  encouraged  to  entreat,  that  they  may  be  enlarged  to  the  pa- 
tronage and  protection  of  this  book :  and  I  have  put  on  a  modest 
confidence  that,  I  shall  not  be  denied,  because  it  is  a  discourse  of 
^sh  and  fishing,  which  you  know  so  well,  and  both  love  and  practise 
60  much. 
You  are  assured,  though  there  be  ignorant  men  of  another  belief, 

16 


THE  EPISTLE  DEDICATORY.  17 

that  angling  is  an  art :  and  you  know  that  art  better  than  others ; 
and  that  this  truth  is  demonstrated  by  the  fruits  of  that  pleasant 
labour  which  you  enjoy,  when  you  purpose  to  give  rest  to  your 
mind,  and  divest  yourself  of  your  more  serious  business,  and  (which 
is  often)  dedicate  a  day  or  two  to  this  recreation. 

At  which  time,  if  common  anglers  should  attend  you,  and  be 
eye-witnesses  of  the  success,  not  of  your  fortune  but  your  skill,  it 
would  doubtless  beget  in  them  an  emulation  to  be  like  you,  and 
that  emulation  might  beget  an  industrious  diligence  to  be  so ;  but 
I  know  it  is  not  attainable  by  common  capacities.  And  there  be 
now  many  men  of  great  wisdom,  learning,  and  experience,  which 
love  and  practise  this  art,  that  know  I  speak  the  truth. 

Sir,  this  pleasant  curiosity  of  fish  and  fishing,  of  which  you  are 
so  great  a  master,  has  been  thought  worthy  the  pens  and  practices 
of  divers  in  other  nations,  that  have  been  reputed  men  of  great 
learning  and  wisdom ;  and  amongst  those  of  this  nation,  I  remem- 
ber Sir  Henry  Wotton  (a  dear  lover  of  this  art)  has  told  me,  that 
his  intentions  were  to  write  a  discourse  of  the  art,  and  in  praise  of 
angling ;  and  doubtless  he  had  done  so,  if  death  had  not  prevented 
him ;  the  remembrance  of  which  hath  often  made  me  sorry ;  for  if 
he  had  lived  to  do  it,  then  the  unlearned  angler  had  seen  some 
better  treatise  of  this  art,  a  treatise  that  might  have  proved  worthy 
his  perusal,  which,  though  some  have  undertaken,  I  could  never 
yet  see  in  English. 

But  mine  may  be  thought  as  weak,  and  as  unworthy  of  common 
view ;  and  I  do  here  freely  confess,  that  I  should  rather  excuse 
myself,  than  censure  others,  my  own  discourse  being  liable  to  so 
many  exceptions;  against  which  you.  Sir,  might  make  this  one,  that 
it  can  contribute  nothing  to  your  knowledge.  And  lest  a  longer 
epistle  may  diminish  your  pleasure,  I  shall  make  this  no  longer  than 
to  add  this  following  truth,  that  I  am  really, 

Sir, 
Your  most  affectionate  friend. 

And  most  humble  servant, 

Iz.  Wa. 
2 


TO  THE   READER  OF  THIS   DISCOURSE, 

BUT    ESPECIALLY 

TO  THE   HONEST  ANGLER. 


I  THINK  fit  to  tell  thee  these  following  truths,  that  I  did 
neither  undertake,  nor  write,  nor  publish,  and  much  less 
own,  this  Discourse  to  please  myself ;  and,  having  been  too 
easily  drawn  to  do  all  to  please  others,  as  I  propose  not  the 
gaining  of  credit  by  this  undertaking,  so  I  would  not  wil- 
lingly lose  any  part  of  that  to  which  I  had  a  just  title  before 
I  began  it,  and  do  therefore  desire  and  hope,  if  I  deserve 
not  commendations,  yet  I  may  obtain  pardon. 

And  though  this  Discourse  may  be  liable  to  some  ex- 
ceptions, yet  I  cannot  doubt  but  that  most  readers  may 
receive  so  much  pleasure  or  profit  by  it,  as  may  make  it 
worthy  the  time  of  their  perusal,  if  they  be  not  too  grave  or 
too  busy  men.  And  this  is  all  the  confidence  that  I  can 
put  on,  concerning  the  merit  of  what  is  here  offered  to  their 
consideration  and  censure  ;  and  if  the  last  prove  too  severe, 
as  I  have  a  liberty,  so  I  am  resolved  to  use  it,  and  neglect 
all  sour  censures. 

And  I  wish  the  reader  also  to  take  notice,  that  in  writing 
of  it  I  have  made  myself  a  recreation  of  a  recreation  ;  and 

18 


TO   THE  READER.  19 

that  it  might  prove  so  to  him,  and  not  read  dull  and  tedi- 
ously, I  have  in  several  places  mixed,  not  any  scurrility, 
but  some  innocent,  harmless  mirth,  of  which,  if  thou  be  a 
severe,  sour-complexioned  man,  then  I  here  disallow  thee 
to  be  a  competent  judge ;  for  divines  say,  there  are  offences 
given,  and  offences  tiot  given  but  taken. 

And  I  am  the  willinger  to  justify  the  pleasant  part  of  it, 
because  though  it  is  known  I  can  be  serious  at  seasonable 
times,  yet  the  whole  Discourse  is,  or  rather  was,  a  picture  of 
my  own  disposition,  especially  in  such  days  and  times  as  J 
have  laid  aside  business,  and  gone  a-fishing  with  honest  Nat 
and  R.  Roe  ;  but  they  are  gone,  and  with  them  most  of  my 
pleasant  hours,  even  as  a  shadow  that  passeth  away  and 
returns  not. 

And  next  let  me  add  this,  that  he  that  likes  not  the  book 
should  like  the  excellent  picture  of  the  trout,  and  some  of 
the  other  fish  ;  which  I  may  take  a  liberty  to  commend, 
because  they  concern  not  myself. 

Next  let  me  tell  the  reader,  that  in  that  which  is  the 
more  useful  part  of  this  Discourse,  that  is  to  say,  the  obser- 
vations of  the  nature,  and  breeding,  and  seasons,  and  catch- 
ing of  fish,  I  am  not  so  simple  as  not  to  know  that  a  cap- 
tious reader  may  find  exceptions  against  something  said  of 
some  of  these ;  and  therefore  I  must  entreat  him  to  con- 
sider, that  experience  teaches  us  to  know  that  several 
countries  alter  the  time,  and  I  think  almost  the  manner  of 
fishes'  breeding,  but  doubtless  of  their  being  in  season  ;  as 
may  appear  by  three  rivers  in  Monmouthshire,  namely, 
Severn,  Wye,  and  Usk,  where  Camden  ("Brit.  Fishes,"  633) 
observes,  that  in  the  river  Wye,  salmon  are  in  season  from 
September  to  April ;  and  we  are  certain  that  in  Thames 

2—2 


20  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

and  Trent,  and  in  most  other  rivers,  they  be  in  season  the 
six  hotter  months. 

Now  for  the  art  of  catching  fish,  that  is  to  say,  how  to 
make  a  man — that  was  none — to  be  an  angler  by  a  book ; 
he  that  undertakes  it,  shall  undertake  a  harder  task  than 
Mr.  Hales,  a  most  valiant  and  excellent  fencer,  who,  in  a 
printed  book  called  "A  Private  School  of  Defence,"  under- 
took to  teach  that  art  or  science,  and  was  laughed  at  for 
his  labour — not  but  that  many  useful  things  might  be  learnt 
by  that  book,  but  he  was  laughed  at  because  that  art  was  not 
to  be  taught  by  words,  but  practice ;  and  so  must  angling. 
And  note  also  that  in  this  Discourse  I  do  not  undertake  to 
say  all  that  is  known,  or  may  be  said  of  it,  but  I  undertake 
to  acquaint  the  reader  with  many  things  that  are  not  usually 
known  to  every  angler ;  and  I  shall  leave  gleanings  and 
observations  enough,  to  be  made  out  of  the  experience  of 
all  that  love  and  practise  this  recreation,  to  which  I  shall 
encourage  them,  For  angling  may  be  said  to  be  so  like 
the  mathematics,  that  it  can  never  be  fully  learnt ;  at  least 
not  so  fully,  but  that  there  will  still  be  more  new  experi- 
ments left  for  the  trial  of  other  men  that  succeed  us. 

But  I  think  all  that  love  this  game  may  here  learn  some- 
thing that  may  be  worth  their  money,  if  they  be  not  poor 
and  needy  men  ;  and  in  case  they  be,  I  then  wish  them  to 
forbear  to  buy  it,  for  I  write  not  to  get  money,  but  for  plea- 
sure, and  this  Discourse  boasts  of  no  more ;  for  I  hate  to 
promise  much  and  deceive  the  reader. 

And  however  it  proves  to  him,  yet  I  am  sure  I  have  found 
a  high  content  in  the  search  and  conference  of  what  is  here 
offered  to  the  reader's  view  and  censure :  I  wish  him  as 
much  in  the  perusal  of  it,  and  so  I  might  here  take  my 


TO   THE  READER.  21 

leave ;  but  will  stay  a  little  and  tell  him,  that  whereas  it  is 
said  by  many  that  in  fly-fishing  for  a  trout  the  angler  must 
observe  his  twelve  several  flies  for  the  twelve  months  of  the 
year :  I  say,  he  that  follows  that  rule  shall  be  as  sure  to 
catch  fish,  and  be  as  wise,  as  he  that  makes  hay  by  the  fair 
days  in  an  almanac,  and  no  surer  ;  for  those  very  flies  that 
use  to  appear  about  and  on  the  water  in  one  month  of  the 
year,  may  the  following  year  come  almost  a  month  sooner 
or  later,  as  the  same  year  proves  colder  or  hotter ;  and  yet, 
in  the  following  Discourse,  I  have  set  down  the  twelve  flies 
that  are  in  reputation  with  many  anglers,  and  they  may 
serve  to  give  him  some  observations  concerning  them.  And 
he  may  note,  that  there  are  in  Wales  and  other  countries, 
peculiar  flies,  proper  to  the  particular  place  or  country  ;  and 
doubtless,  unless  a  man  makes  a  fly  to  counterfeit  that  very 
fly  in  that  place,  he  is  like  to  lose  his  labour,  or  much  of  it ; 
but  for  the  generality,  three  or  four  flies,  neat  and  rightly 
made,  and  not  too  big,  serve  for  a  trout  in  most  rivers  all 
the  summer.  And  for  winter  fly-fishing — it  is  as  useful  as 
an  almanac  out  of  date !  And  of  these,  because  as  no  man 
is  born  an  artist,  so  no  man  is  born  an  angler,  I  thought  fit 
to  give  thee  this  notice. 

When  I  have  told  the  reader,  that  in  this  fifth  impression 
there  are  many  enlargements,  gathered  both  by  my  own 
observation  and  the  communication  with  friends,  I  shall 
stay  him  no  longer  than  to  wish  him  a  rainy  evening  to 
read  this  following  Discourse ;  and  that,  if  he  be  an  honest 
angler,  the  east  wind  may  never  blow  when  he  goes  a-fish- 
ing.  I.  W. 


22 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


Prw^S"  tfexl^  p>/ty^i^  </V-  -piviw 


For  Do'^.  C.  Bewmount. 

pray  S'^,  Accept  this  pore  presant,  by  the  as  meane  hand 
that  brings  it  from 

Y'  affec.  servant, 

IzAAK  Walton. 


COMMENDATORY    VERSES. 


TO    MY  DEAR    BROTHER    IZAAK   WALTON, 

UPON   HIS 

"COMPLETE  ANGLER." 

Erasmus,  in  his  learned  Colloquies, 
Has  mixt  some  toys,  that  by  varieties 
He  might  entice  all  readers ;  for  in  him 
Each  child  may  wade,  or  tallest  giant  swim. 
And  such  is  this  Discourse :  there 's  none  so  low 
Or  highly  learned,  to  whom  hence  may  not  flow 
Pleasure  and  information ;  both  which  are 
Taught  us  with  so  much  art,  that  I  might  swear 
Safely,  the  choicest  critic  cannot  tell 
Whether  your  matchless  judgment  most  excell 
In  angling  or  its  praise ;  where  commendation 
P'irst  charms,  then  makes  an  art  a  recreation. 

'T  was  so  to  me  :  who  saw  the  cheerful  Spring 
Pictur'd  in  every  meadow ;  heard  birds  sing 
Sonnets  in  every  grove ;  saw  fishes  play 
In  the  cool  crystal  springs,  like  lambs  in  May ; 
And  they  may  play,  till  anglers  read  this  book  ; 
But  after,  't  is  a  wise  fish  'scapes  a  hook. 

lo.  Floud,  M.A. 


23 


24  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


TO   THE 

READER   OF   THE   "COMPLETE   ANGLER." 

First  mark  this  title  well :  my  friend  that  gave  it 
Has  made  it  good ;  this  book  deserves  to  have  it. 
For  he  that  views  it  with  judicious  looks, 
Shall  find  it  full  of  art,  baits,  lines,  and  hooks. 

(The  world  the  river  is ;  both  you  and  I, 
And  all  mankind,  are  either  fish  or  fry.) 
If  we  pretend  to  reason,  first  or  last 
His  baits  will  tempt  us,  and  his  hooks  hold  fast. 
Pleasure  or  profit,  either  prose  or  rhyme. 
If  not  at  first,  will  doubtless  take  in  time. 

Here  sits,  in  secret,  blest  theology, 
Waited  upon  by  grave  philosophy 
Both  natural  and  moral ;  history, 
Deck'd  and  adorn'd  with  flowers  of  poetry ; 
The  matter  and  expression  striving  which 
Shall  most  excell  in  worth,  yet  seem  not  rich. 
There  is  no  danger  in  his  baits ;  that  hook 
Will  prove  the  safest  that  is  surest  took. 

Nor  are  we  caught  alone, — but,  which  is  best. 
We  shall  be  wholesome,  and  be  toothsome,  drest, 
Drest  to  be  fed,  not  to  be  fed  upon : 
And  danger  of  a  surfeit  here  is  none. 
The  solid  food  of  serious  contemplation 
Is  sauc'd,  here,  with  such  harmless  recreation, 
That  an  ingenuous  and  religious  mind 
Cannot  enquire  for  more  than  it  may  find 
Ready  at  once  prepared,  either  t'  excite 
Or  satisfy  a  curious  appetite. 


COMMENDATORY   VERSES.  25 

More  praise  is  due;  for  'tis  both  positive 
And  truth, — which,  once,  was  interrogative, 
And  utter'd  by  the  poet,  then,  in  jest — 
Et  piscatorem  piscis  amare  potest, 

Ch.  Harvie,  M.A. 


TO  MY  DEAR   FRIEND,    MR.    IZAAK  WALTON; 

IN 

Praise  of  Angling,  which  we  both  Love. 

Down  by  this  smooth  stream's  wand'ring  side, 

Adorn'd  and  perfum'd  with  the  pride 

Of  Flora's  wardrobe,  where  the  shrill 

Aerial  choir  express  their  skill — 

First  in  alternate  melody, 

And  then  in  chorus  all  agree — 

Whilst  the  charm'd  fish,  as  extas/d 

With  sounds,  to  his  own  throat  deny'd, 

Scorns  his  dull  element,  and  springs 

r  th'  air,  as  if  his  fins  were  wings. 

'T  is  here  that  pleasures  sweet  and  high 
Prostrate  to  our  embraces  lie  : 
Such  as  to  body,  soul,  or  frame. 
Create  no  sickness,  sin,  or  shame. 
Roses,  not  fenc'd  with  pricks,  grow  here ; 
No  sting  to  th'  honey-bag  is  near ; 
But,  what 's  perhaps  their  prejudice, 
They  difficulty  want,  and  price. 


26  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

An  obvious  rod,  a  twist  of  hair, 
With  hook  hid  in  an  insect, — are 
Engines  of  sport  would  fit  the  wish 
O'  th'  epicure,  and  fill  his  dish. 

In  this  clear  stream  let  fall  a  grub ; 
And,  straight,  take  up  a  dace  or  chub. 
I'  th'  mud,  your  worm  provokes  a  snig ; 
Which  being  fast,  if  it  prove  big. 
The  Gotham  folly  will  be  found 
Discreet, — ere  ta'en  she  must  be  drown'd. 
The  tench,  physician  of  the  brook. 
In  yon  dead  hole  expects  your  hook  j 
Which  having  first  your  pastime  been, 
Serves  then  for  meat  or  medicine. 
Ambush'd  behind  that  root  doth  stay 
A  pike  \  to  catch — and  be  a  prey. 
The  treacherous  quill  in  this  slow  stream, 
Betrays  the  hunger  of  a  bream. 
And  that  nimble  ford,  no  doubt. 
Your  false  fly  cheats  a  speckled  trout. 

When  you  these  creatures  wisely  choose 
To  practise  on,  which  to  your  use 
Owe  their  creation, — and  when 
Fish  from  your  arts  do  rescue  men, — 
To  plot,  delude,  and  circumvent. 
Ensnare  and  spoil,  is  innocent. 
Here  by  these  crystal  streams,  you  may 
Preserve  a  conscience  clear  as  they  \ 
And  when  by  sullen  thoughts  you  find 
Your  harrassed,  not  busied,  mind 
In  sable  melancholy  clad, 
Distemper'd,  serious,  turning  sad ; 
Hence  fetch  your  cure,  cast  in  your  bait, 


COMMENDATORY  VERSES.  27 

All  anxious  thoughts  and  cares  will  straight 
Fly  with  such  speed,  they  '11  seem  to  be 
Possest  with  the  hydrophobic. 
The  water's  calmness  in  your  breast, 
And  smoothness  on  your  brow  shall  rest. 

Away  with  sports  of  charge  and  noise, 
And  give  me  cheap  and  silent  joys. 
Such  as  Actaeon's  game  pursue. 
Their  fate  oft  makes  the  tale  seem  true. 
The  sick  or  sullen  hawk,  to-day. 
Flies  not ;  to-moiTow,  quite  away. 
Patience  and  purse  to  cards  and  dice 
To  oft  are  made  a  sacrifice ; 
The  daughter's  dower,  th'  inheritance 
O'  th'  son,  depend  on  one  mad  chance. 
The  harms  and  mischiefs  which  th'  abuse 
Of  wine  doth  every  day  produce. 
Make  good  the  doctrine  of  the  Turks, 
That  in  each  grape  a  devil  lurks. 
And  by  yon  fading  sapless  tree, 
'Bout  which  the  ivy  twin'd  you  see. 
His  fate 's  foretold,  who  fondly  places 
**  His  bliss  in  woman's  soft  embraces. 
All  pleasures  but  the  angler's  bring, 
I'  th'  tail,  repentance  like  a  sting. 

Then  on  these  banks  let  me  sit  down, 
Free  from  the  toilsome  sword  and  gown ; 
And  pity  those  that  do  affect 
To  conquer  nations  and  protect. 
My  reed  affords  such  true  content. 
Delights  so  sweet  and  innocent. 
As  seldom  fall  unto  the  lot 
Of  scepters,  though  they  're  justly  got. 
1649.  Tho.  Weaver,  M.A. 


2S  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


TO   THE   READERS 

OF 

My  most  ingenious  Friend's  Book,  "The  Complete 
Angler." 

He  that  both  knew  and  writ  the  Lives  of  men, 
Such  as  were  once,  but  must  not  be  again ; 
Witness  his  matchless  Donne  and  Wotton,  by 
Whose  aid  he  could  their  speculations  try : 
He  that  conversed  with  angels  such  as  were 
Ouldsworth  and  Featley,  each  a  shining  star 
Showing  the  way  to  Bedlam ;  each  a  saint, 
Compar'd  to  whom  our  zealots,  now,  but  paint. 
He  that  our  pious  and  leam'd  Morley  knew. 
And  from  him  suck'd  wit  and  devotion  too. 
He  that  from  these  such  excellencies  fetch'd. 
That  he  could  tell  how  high  and  far  they  reach'd ; 
What  learning  this,  what  graces  th'  other  had ; 
And  in  what  several  dress  each  soul  was  clad. 
Reader,  this  he,  this  fisherman  comes  forth. 
And  in  these  fisher's  weeds  would  shroud  his  worth. 

Now  his  mute  harp  is  on  a  willow  hung, 
With  which,  when  finely  touch'd  and  fitly  strung, 
He  could  friends'  passions  for  these  times  allay, 
Or  chain  his  fellow-anglers  from  their  prey. 
But  now  the  music  of  his  pen  is  still. 
And  he  sits  by  a  brook  watching  a  quill : 
Where  with  a  fixt  eye,  and  a  ready  hand, 
He  studies  first  to  hook,  and  then  to  land 
Some  trout,  or  pearch,  or  pike ;  and  having  done, 
Sits  on  a  bank,  and  tells  how  this  was  won. 
And  that  escap'd  his  hook,  which  with  a  wile 
Did  eat  the  bait,  and  fisherman  beguile. 


COMMENDATORY   VERSES.  2g 

Thus  whilst  some  vex  they  from  their  lands  are  thrown, 
He  joys  to  think  the  waters  are  his  own ; 
And  like  the  Dutch,  he  gladly  can  agree 
To  live  at  peace  now,  and  have  fishing  fi-ee. 

April  3,  1650.  Edw.  Powel,  M.A. 


TO   MY   DEAR    BROTHER    MR.   IZAAK  WALTON, 

ON    HIS 

"COMPLETE  ANGLER." 

This  book  is  so  like  you,  and  you  like  it. 
For  harmless  mirth,  expression,  art,  and  wit, 
That  I  protest,  ingenuously,  't  is  true, 
I  love  this  mirth,  art,  wit,  the  book,  and  you. 

Rob.  Floud,  C. 


CLARISSIMO   AMICISSIMOQUE   FRATRI,    DOMINO 
ISAACO  WALTON, 

ArTIS    PlSCATORIiE   PERITISSIMO. 

Unicus  est  medicus  reliquorum  piscis,  et  istis. 
Fas  quibus  est  medicum  tangere,  certa  salus 

Hie  typus  est  salvatoris  mirandus  Jesu, 
Litera  mysterium  quselibet  hujus  habet. 


30  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

Hiinc  cupio,  himc  cupias,  bone  frater  arundinis  Ix^hv ; 

Solvent  hie  pro  me  debita,  teque  Deo. 
Piscis  is  est,  et  piscator,  mihi  credito,  qualem 

Vel  piscatorem  piscis  amare  velit. 

Henry  Bayley,  A.M. 


AD  VIRUM  OPTIMUM   ET  PISCATOREM  PERITIS- 
SIMUM,  ISAACUM  WALTONUM. 

Magister  artis  docte  piscatoriae, 
Waltone,  salve !  magne  dux  arundinis, 
Seu  tu  reducta  valle  solvs  ambulas, 
Praeterfluentes  interim  observans  aquas, 
Seu  forte  puri  stans  in  amnis  margine, 
Sive  in  tenaci  gramine  et  ripa  sedens, 
Fallis  perita  squameum  pecus  manu ; 
O  te  beatum  !  qui  procul  negotiis, 
Forique  et  urbis  pulvere  et  strepitu  carens, 
Extraque  turbam,  ad  lene  manantes  aquas 
Vagos  honesta  fraude  pisces  discipis. 
Dum  csetera  ergo  poenb  gens  mortalium 
Aut  retia  invicem  sibi  et  technas  struunt, 
Donis,  ut  hamo,  aut  divites  captant  senes, 
Gregi  natantum  tu  interim  nectis  dolos. 
Voracem  inescas  advenam  hamo  lucium, 
Avidamve  percam  parvulo  alberno  capis, 
Aut  verme  ruffo,  muscula  aut  truttam  levi, 
Cautumve  cyprinum,  et  ferb  indocilem  capi 
Calamoque  linoque,  ars  at  hunc  superat  tua, 
Medicamve  tincam,  gobium  aut  esca  trahis, 


COMMENDATORY   VERSES.  3 1 


Gratum  palato  gobium,  parvum  licet, 

Prasdamve,  non  acque  salubrem  barbulum, 

Etsi  ampliorem,  et  mystace  insignem  gravi. 

Hse  sunt  tibi  artes,  dum  annus  et  tempus  sinunt, 

Et  nulla  transit  absque  linea  dies. 

Nee  sola  praxis,  sed  theoria  et  tibi 

Nota  artis  hujus  \  unde  tu  simul  bonus 

Piscator,  idem  et  scriptor ;  et  calami  potens 

Utriusque  necdum  et  ictus,  et  tamen  sapis, 

Ut  hamiotam  nempe  tironem  instruas  ! 

Stylo  eleganti  scribis  en  Halientica 

Oppianus  alter  artis  et  methodum  tuse,  et 

Prsecepta  promis  rite  piscatoria, 

Varias  et  escas  piscium,  indolem  et  genus. 

Nee  tradere  artem  sat  putas  piscariam, 

(Virtutis  est  hsec  et  tamen  quaedam  schola 

Patientiamque  et  temperantiam  docet), 

Documenta  quin  majora  das,  et  regulas 

Sublimioris  artis,  et  perennia 

Monimenta  morem,  vitae  et  exempla  optima, — 

Dum  tu  profundum  scribis  Hookerum ;  et  pium 

Donnum  ac  disertum  ;  sanctum  et  Herbertum,  sacrum 

Vatem  ;  hos  videmus  nam  penicillo  tuo 

Graphice,  et  perita,  Isace,  depictos  manu. 

Post  fata  factos  hosce  per  te  Virbios. 

O  quoe  voluptas  est  legere  in  scriptis  tuis ! 

Sic  tu  libris  nos,  lineis  pisces  capis, 

Musisque  litterisque  dum  incumbis,  licet 

Intcntus  hamo,  interque  piscandum  studes. 


32 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


AD  ISAACUM   WALTONUM,   • 

ViRUM    ET    PiSCATOREM    OPTIMUM. 


IsAACE,  macte  hac  arte  piscatoria  ; 
Hac  arte  Petnis  principi  censum  dedit ; 
Hac  arte  princeps  nee  Petro  multo  prior, 
Tranquillus  ille,  teste  Tranquillo,  pater 
Patriae,  solebat  recreare  se  lubens 
Augustus,  hamo  instructus  ac  arundine. 
Tu  nunc,  amice,  proximum  clari  est  decus 
Post  Caesarem  hami,  gentis  ac  Halienticae : 
Euge  O  professor  artis  haud  ingloriaj, 
Doctor  cathedrae,  perlegens  piscariam  ! 
Nae  tu  magister,  et  ego  discipulus  tuus, 
Nam  candidatum  et  me  ferunt  arundinis, 
Socium  hac  in  arte  nobilem  nacti  sumus, 
Quid  ampHus,  Waltone,  nam  dici  potest  ? 
Ipse  hamiota  Dominus  en  orbis  fuit ! 

Iaco:  Dup.,  D.D. 


■  ^i^  ^M^9^ 

^^^2^-4^1 

THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


PART   THE   FIRST. 
CHAPTER  I. 

CONFERENCE   BETWIXT  AN   ANGLER,  A  HUNTER,  AND  A 
FALCONER;    EACH  COMMENDING  HIS  RECREATION. 


PiscATOR,  Venator,  Auceps. 


PiSCATOR. 

OU  arc  well  overtaken,  gentlemen,  a 
good  morning  to  you  both ;  I  have 
stretched  my  legs  up  Tottenham  Hill 
to  overtake  you,  hoping  your  business 
may  occasion  you  towards  Ware,  whither 
I  am  going  this  fine,  fresh  May  morn- 
ing. 

33  a 


34  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

Venator.  Sir,  I  for  my  part  shall  almost  answer  your 
hopes  ;  for  my  purpose  is  to  drink  my  morning's  draught  at 
the  Thatched  House  in  Hoddesdon,*  and  I  think  not  to  rest 
till  I  come  thither,  where  I  have  appointed  a  friend  or  two 
to  meet  me :  but  for  this  gentleman  that  you  see  with  me, 
I  know  not  how  far  he  intends  his  journey;  he  came  so 
lately  into  my  company,  that  I  have  scarce  had  time  to  ask 
him  the  question. 

AUCEPS.  Sir,  I  shall  by  your  favour  bear  you  company 
as  far  as  Theobald's,^  and  there  leave  you  ;  for.  then  I  turn 
up  to  a  friend's  house  who  mews^  a  hawk  for  me,  which  I 
now  long  to  see. 

Ven.  Sir,  we  are  all  so  happy  as  to  have  a  fine,  fresh, 
cool  morning ;  and  I  hope  we  shall  each  be  the  happier  in 
the  other's  company.  And,  gentlemen,  that  I  may  not  lose 
yours,  I  shall  either  abate  or  amend  my  pace  to  enjoy  it ; 
knowing  that,  as  the  Italians  say,  "  Good  company  in  a  jour- 
ney makes  the  way  to  seem  the  shorter." 

Auc.  It  may  do  so.  Sir,  with  the  help  of  good  discourse, 
which  methinks  we  may  promise  from  you  that  both  look 
and  speak  so  cheerfully  ;  and  for  my  part  I  promise  you,  as 
an  invitation  to  it,  that  I  will  be  as  free  and  open-hearted  as 
discretion  will  allow  me  to  be  with  strangers. 

Ven.  And,  Sir,  I  promise  the  like;  . 

PiSC.  I  am  right  glad  to  hear  your  answers,  and  in  confi- 
dence you  speak  the  truth,  I  shall  put  on  a  boldness  to  ask 
you.  Sir,  whether  business  or  pleasure  caused  you  to  be  so 
early  up,  and  walk  so  fast ;  for  this  other  gentleman  hath 
declared  that  he  is  going  to  see  a  hawk  that  a  friend  mews 
for  him. 

Ven.  Sir,  mine  is  a  mixture  of  both,  a  little  business  and 


THE   CONFERENCE.  35 


more  pleasure ;  for  I  intend  this  day  to  do  all  my  business, 
and  then  bestow  another  day  or  two  in  hunting  the  otter,^ 
which  a  friend,  that  I  go  to  meet,  tells  me  is  much  pleasanter 
than  any  other  chase  whatsoever  :  howsoever,  I  mean  to  try 
it ;  for  to-morrow  morning  we  shall  meet  a  pack  of  otter- 
dogs of  noble  Mr.  Sadler's,"  upon  Amwell  Hill,  who  will  be 
there  so  early  that  they  intend  to  prevent  [forestall]  the  sun- 
rising. 

PiSC.  Sir,  my  fortune  has  answered  my  desires,  and  my 
purpose  is  to  bestow  a  day  or  two  in  helping  to  destroy 
some  of  those  villanous  vermin  ;  for  I  hate  them  perfectly, 
because  they  love  fish  so  well,  or  rather,  because  they 
destroy  so  much  ;  indeed,  so  much  that,  in  my  judgment, 
all  men  that  keep  otter-dogs  ought  to  have  pensions  from 
the  king,  to  encourage  them  to  destroy  the  very  breed  of 
those  base  otters,  they  do  so  much  mischief. 

Ven.  But  what  say  you  to  the  foxes  of  the  nation, 
would  not  you  as  willingly  have  them  destroyed  ?  for 
doubtless  they  do  as  much  mischief  as  otters  do. 

PiSC.  Oh,  Sir,  if  they  do,  it  is  not  so  much  to  me  and 
my  fraternity,  as  those  base  vermin  the  otters  do. 

Auc.  Why,  Sir,  I  pray,  of  what  fraternity  are  you,  that 
you  are  so  angry  with  the  poor  otters } 

PiSC.  I  am.  Sir,  a  brother  of  the  angle,  and  therefore  an 
enemy  to  the  otter ;  for  you  are  to  note,  that  we  anglers 
all  love  one  another,  and  therefore  do  I  hate  the  otter,  both 
for  my  own  and  for  their  sakes  who  are  of  my  brotherhood. 

Ven.  And  I  am  a  lover  of  hounds ;  I  have  followed 
many  a  pack  of  dogs  many  a  mile,  and  heard  many  merry 
huntsmen  make  sport  and  scoff  at  anglers. 

Auc.  And  I  profess  myself  a  falconer,  and  have  heard 

3-2 


^6  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

many  grave  serious  men  pity  them,  it  is  such  a  heavy, 
contemptible,  dull  recreation. 

PiSC.  You  know,  gentlemen,  it  is  an  easy  thing  to  scoff 
at  any  art  or  recreation  ;  a  little  wit  mixed  with  ill-nature, 
confidence,  and  malice,  will  do  it ;  but  though  they  often 
venture  boldly,  yet  they  are  often  caught,  even  in  their  own 
trap,  according  to  that  of  Lucian,  the  father  of  the  family 
of  scoffers. 

Lucian,  well  skilled  in  scoffing,  this  hath  writ,— 
Friend,  that 's  your  folly,  which  you  think  your  wit ; 
This,  you  vent  oft,  void  both  of  wit  and  fear, 
Meaning  another,  when  yourself  you  jeer. 

If  to  this  you  add  what  Solomon  says  of  scoffers,  that 
"  they  are  an  abomination  to  mankind,"  let  them  that  think 
fit  scoff  on,  and  be  a  scoffer  still  ;  but  I  account  them 
enemies  to  me  and  to  all  that  love  virtue  and  angling. 

And  for  you  that  have  heard  many  grave,  serious  men 
pity  anglers ;  let  me  tell  you.  Sir,  there  be  many  men  that 
are  by  others  taken  to  be  serious  and  grave  men,  whom  we 
contemn  and  pity.  Men  that  are  taken  to  be  grave,  because 
nature  hath  made  them  of  a  sour  complexion  ;  money- 
getting  men,  men  that  spend  all  their  time,  first  in  getting, 
and  next  in  anxious  care  to  keep  it ;  men  that  are  con- 
demned to  be  rich,  and  then  always  busy  or  discontented  : 
for  these  poor  rich  men,  we  anglers  pity  them  perfectly, 
and  stand  in  no  need  to  borrow  their  thoughts  to  think 
ourselves  so  happy.  No,  no.  Sir,  we  enjoy  a  contentedness 
above  the  reach  of  such  dispositions,  and  as  the  learned  and 
ingenuous  Montaigne  says — like  himself,  freely,  "When  my 
cat  and  I  entertain  each  other  with  mutual  apish  tricks,  as 


THE  CONFERENCE.  37 


playing  with  a  garter,  who  knows  but  that  I  make  my  cat 
more  sport  than  she  makes  me  ?  Shall  I  conclude  her  to 
be  simple,  that  has  her  time  to  begin  or  refuse  to  play  as 
freely  as  I  myself  have  ?  Nay,  who  knows  but  that  it  is  a 
defect  of  my  not  understanding  her  language  (for  doubtless 
cats  talk  and  reason  with  one  another),  that  we  agree  no 
better  ?  And  who  knows  but  that  she  pities  me  for  being 
no  wiser  than  to  play  with  her,  and  laughs  and  censures  my 
folly  for  making  sport  for  her,  when  we  two  play  together?" 

Thus  freely  speaks  Montaigne  concerning  cats ;  and  I 
hope  I  may  take  as  great  a  liberty  to  blame  any  man,  and 
laugh  at  him  too,  let  him  be  never  so  grave,  that  hath  not 
heard  what  anglers  can  say  in  the  justification  of  their  art 
and  recreation ;  which  I  may  again  tell  you  is  so  full  of 
pleasure,  that  we  need  not  borrow  their  thoughts  to  make 
ourselves  happy. 

Ven.  Sir,  you  have  almost  amazed  me  ;  for  though  I  am 
no  scoffer,  yet  I  have,  I  pray  let  me  speak  it  without  offence, 
always  looked  upon  anglers  as  more  patient  and  more 
simple  men  than  I  fear  I  shall  find  you  to  be. 

PiSC.  Sir,  I  hope  you  will  not  judge  my  earnestness  to 
be  impatience  ;  and  for  my  simplicity,  if  by  that  you  mean 
a  harmlessness,  or  that  simplicity  which  was  usually  found 
in  the  primitive  Christians,  who  were,  as  most  anglers  are, 
quiet  men,  and  followers  of  peace  ;  men  that  were  so  simply 
wise,  as  not  to  sell  their  consciences  to  buy  riches,  and  with 
them  vexation  and  a  fear  to  die ;  if  you  mean  such  simple 
men  as  lived  in  those  times  when  there  were  fewer  lawyers; 
when  men  might  have  had  a  lordship  safely  conveyed  to 
them  in  a  piece  of  parchment  no  bigger  than  your  hand, 
though  several  sheets  will  not  do  it  safely  in  this  wiser  age ;  I 


38  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

say,  Sir,  if  you  take  us  anglers  to  be  such  simple  men  as  I 
have  spoken,  then  myself  and  those  of  my  profession  will 
be  glad  to  be  so  understood.  But  if  by  simplicity  you 
meant  to  express  a  general  defect  in  those  that  profess  and 
practise  the  excellent  art  of  angling,  I  hope  in  time  to  dis- 
abuse you,  and  make  the  contrary  appear  so  evidently  that, 
if  you  will  but  have  patience  to  hear  me,  I  shall  remove  all 
the  anticipations  that  discourse,  or  time,  or  prejudice  have 
possessed  you  with  against  that  laudable  and  ancient  art ; 
for  I  know  it  worthy  the  knowledge  and  practice  of  a  wise 
man. 

But,  gentlemen,  though  I  be  able  to  do  this,  I  am  not  so 
unmannerly  as  to  engross  all  the  discourse  to  myself;  and 
therefore,  you  two  having  declared  yourselves,  the  one  to  be 
a  lover  of  hawks,  the  other  of  hounds,  I  shall  be  most  glad 
to  hear  what  you  can  say  in  the  commendation  of  that  re- 
creation which  each  of  you  love  and  practise ;  and  having 
heard  what  you  can  say,  I  shall  be  glad  to  exercise  your 
attention  with  what  I  say  concerning  my  own  recreation 
and  art  of  angling,  and  by  this  means  we  shall  make  the 
way  to  seem  the  shorter ;  and  if  you  like  my  motion,  I 
would  have  Mr.  Falconer  to  begin. 

Auc.  Your  motion  is  consented  to  with  all  my  heart; 
and  to  testify  it,  I  will  begin  as  you  have  desired  me. 

And  first,  for  the  element  that  I  use  to  trade  in,  which  is 
the  air,  an  element  of  more  worth  than  weight — an  element 
that  doubtless  exceeds  both  the  earth  and  water;  for  though 
I  sometimes  deal  in  both,  yet  the  air  is  most  properly  mine. 
I  and  my  hawks  use  that  most,  and  it  yields  us  most  re- 
creation :  it  stops  not  the  high  soaring  of  my  noble,  gene- 
rous falcon ;  in  it  she  ascends  to  such  a  height  as  the  dull 


THE  CONFERENCE,  39 

eyes  of  beasts  and  fish  are  not  able  to  reach  to  ;  their  bodies 
are  too  gross  for  such  high  elevations  :  in  the  air  my  troops 
of  hawks  soar  up  on  high,  and  when  they  are  lost  in  the 
sight  of  men,  then  they  attend  upon  and  converse  with  the 
gods  ;  therefore  I  think  my  eagle  is  so  justly  styled  "Jove's 
servant  in  ordinary ; "  and  that  very  falcon,  that  I  am  now 
going  to  see,  deserves  no  meaner  title,  for  she  usually  in  her 
flight  endangers  herself,  like  the  son  of  Daedalus,  to  have 
her  wings  scorched  by  the  sun's  heat,^  she  flies  so  near  it ; 
but  her  mettle  makes  her  careless  of  danger ;  for  then  she 
heeds  nothing,  but  makes  her  nimble  pinions  cut  the  fluid 
air,  and  so  makes  her  highway  over  the  steepest  mountains 
and  deepest  rivers,  and  in  her  glorious  career  looks  with 
contempt  upon  those  high  steeples  and  magnificent  palaces 
which  we  adore  and  wonder  at ;  from  which  height  I  can 
make  her  to  descend  by  a  word  from  my  mouth  (which  she 
both  knows  and  obeys),  to  accept  of  meat  from  my  hand,  to 
own  me  for  her  master,  to  go  home  with  me,  and  be  willing 
the  next  day  to  afibrd  me  the  like  recreation. 

And  more :  this  element  of  air  which  I  profess  to  trade 
in,  the  worth  of  it  is  such,  and.it  is  of  such  necessity,  that 
no  creature  whatsoever,  not  only  those  numerous  creatures 
that  feed  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  but  those  various  creatures 
that  have  their  .dwelling  within  the  waters,  every  creature 
that  hath  life  in  its  nostrils  stands  in  need  of  my  element. 
The  waters  cannot  preserve  the  fish  without  air,  witness  the 
not  breaking  of  ice  in  an  extreme  frost  :^  the  reason  is,  for 
that  if  the  inspiring  and  expiring  organ  of  any  animal  be 
stopped,  it  suddenly  yields  to  nature  and  dies.  Thus  neces- 
sary is  air  to  the  existence  both  of  fish  and  beasts,  nay,  even 
to  man  himself:  that  air  or  breath  of  life  with  which  God 


40  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

at  first  inspired  mankind,  he,  if  he  wants  it,  dies  presently, 
becomes  a  sad  object  to  all  that  loved  and  beheld  him,  and 
in  an  instant  turns  to  putrefaction. 

Nay  more,  the  very  birds  of  the  air,  those  that  be  not 
hawks,  are  both  so  many  and  so  useful  and  pleasant  to 
mankind,  that  I  must  not  let  them  pass  without  some  ob- 
servations. They  both  feed  and  refresh  him — feed  him  with 
their  choice  bodies,  and  refresh  him  with  their  heavenly 
voices.  I  will  not  undertake  to  mention  the  several  kinds 
of  fowl  by  which  this  is  done  ;  and  his  curious  palate  pleased 
by  day,  and  which  with  their  very  excrements  afford  him  a 
soft  lodging  at  night — these  I  will  pass  by ;  but  not  those 
little  nimble  musicians  of  the  air,  that  warble  forth  their 
curious  ditties,  with  which  nature  hath  furnished  them  to 
the  shame  of  art. 

As  first  the  lark,  when  she  means  to  rejoice,  to  cheer 
herself  and  those  that  hear  her ;  she  then  quits  the  earth, 
and  sings  as  she  ascends  higher  into  the  air,  and  having 
ended  her  heavenly  employment,  grows  then  mute  and  sad, 
to  think  she  must  descend  to  the  dull  earth,  which  she  would 
not  touch,  but  for  necessity. 

How  do  the  blackbird  and  thrassel  with  their  melodious 
voices  bid  welcome  to  the  cheerful  spring,  as  in  their  fixed 
months  warble  forth  such  ditties  as  no  art  or  instrument 
can  reach  to ! 

Nay,  the  smaller  birds  also  do  the  like  in  their  particular 
seasons,  as  namely  the  leverock  [lark],  the  titlark,  the  little 
linnet,  and  the  honest  robin,  that  loves  mankind  both  alive 
and  dead. 

But  the  nightingale,  another  of  my  airy  creatures,  breathes 
such  sweet  loud  music  out  of  her  little  instrumental  throat, 


THE  CONFERENCE.  4 1 

that  it  might  make  mankind  to  think  miracles  are  not 
ceased.  He  that  at  midnight,  when  the  very  labourer  sleeps 
securely,  should  hear,  as  I  have  very  often,  the  clear  airs,  the 
sweet  descants,  the  natural  rising  and  falling,  the  doubling 
and  redoubling  of  her  voice,  might  well  be  lifted  above  earth, 
and  say,"  Lord,  what  music  hast  Thou  provided  for  the  saints 
in  heaven,  when  Thou  affordest  bad  men  such  music  on  earth?" 

And  this  makes  me  the  less  to  wonder  at  the  many 
aviaries  in  Italy,  or  at  the  great  charge  of  Varro's  aviary,  the 
ruins  of  which  are  yet  to  be  seen  in  Rome,  and  is  still  so 
famous  there,  that  it  is  reckoned  for  one  of  those  notables 
which  men  of  foreign  nations  either  record,  or  lay  up  in  their 
memories,  when  they  return  from  travel. 

This  for  the  birds  of  pleasure,  of  which  very  much  more 
might  be  said.  My  next  shall  be  of  birds  of  political  use.  I 
think  'tis  not  to  be  doubted  that  swallows^  have  been  taught 
to  carry  letters  between  two  armies.  But  it  is  certain,  that 
when  the  Turks  besieged  Malta  or  Rhodes  (I  now  remember 
not  which  it  was),  pigeons  were  then  related  to  carry  and 
re-carry  letters.  And  Mr.  G.  Sandys,*^  in  his  Travels,  relates 
it  to  be  done  between  Aleppo  and  Babylon.  But  if  that  be 
disbelieved,  it  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  the  dove  was  sent 
out  of  the  ark  by  Noah,  to  give  him  notice  of  land,  when  to 
him  all  appeared  to  be  sea  ;  and  the  dove  proved  a  faithful 
and  comfortable  messenger.  And  for  the  sacrifices  of  the 
law,  a  pair  of  turtle-doves  or  young  pigeons  were  as  well 
accepted  as  costly  bulls  and  rams.  And  when  God  would 
feed  the  prophet  Elijah  after  a  kind  of  miraculous  manner, 
He  did  it  by  ravens,  who  brought  him  meat  morning  and 
evening.  Lastly,  the  Holy  Ghost,  when  He  descended  visibly 
upon  our  Saviour,  did  it  by  assuming  the  shape  of  a  dove. 


42  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

And  to  conclude  this  part  of  my  discourse,  pray  remember 
these  wonders  were  done  by  birds  of  the  air,  the  element  in 
which  they  and  I  take  so  much  pleasure. 

There  is  also  a  little  contemptible  winged  creature,  an 
inhabitant  of  my  aerial  element,  namely,  the  laborious  bee, 
of  whose  prudence,  policy,  and  regular  government  of  their 
own  commonwealth  I  might  say  much,  as  also  of  their 
several  kinds,  and  how  useful  their  honey  and  wax  are  both 
for  meat  and  medicines  to  mankind  ;  but  I  will  leave  them 
to  their  sweet  labour,  without  the  least  disturbance,  believing 
them  to  be  all  very  busy  at  this  very  time  amongst  the 
herbs  and  flowers  that  we  see  nature  puts  forth  this  May 
morning. 

And  now  to  return  to  my  hawks,  from  whom  I  have  made 
too  long  a  digression  ;  you  are  to  note,  that  they  are  usually 
distinguished  into  two  kinds  ;  namely,  the  long-winged  and 
the  short-winged  hawk  :  of  the  first  kind  there  be  chiefly  in 
use  amongst  us  in  this  nation,^ 

The  gerfalcon  and  jerkin. 

The  falcon  and  tassel-gen tel, 

The  laner  and  lanaret. 

The  bockerel  and  bockeret, 

The  saker  and  sacaret. 

The  merlin  and  Jack  merlin, 

The  hobby  and  Jack  : 
There  is  the  stelletto  of  Spain, 

The  blood-red  rook  from  Turkey, 

The  waskite  from  Virginia  : 
And  there  is  of  short-winged  hawks, 

The  eagle  and  iron. 

The  goshawk  and  tarccl, 


THE  CONFERENCE.  43 

The  sparhawk  and  musket, 

The  French  pye,  of  two  sorts. 
These  are  reckoned  hawks  of  note  and  worth  ;  but  we  have 
also  hawks  of  an  inferior  rank, 

The  stanyel,  the  ringtail, 

The  raven,  the  buzzard. 

The  forked  kite,  the  bald  buzzard. 

The  hen-driver,  and  others  that  I  forbear  to  name. 
Gentlemen,  if  I  should  enlarge  my  discourse  to  the  obser- 
vation of  the  eires,  the  brancher,  the  ramish  hawk,  the 
haggard,  and  the  two  sorts  of  lentners,  and  then  treat  of 
their  several  ayries,  their  mewings,  rare  order  of  casting,  and 
the  renovation  of  their  feathers ;  their  reclaiming,  dieting, 
and  then  come  to  their  rare  stories  of  practice ;  I  say,  if  I 
should  enter  into  these,  and  many  other  observations  that  I 
could  make,  it  would  be  much,  very  much  pleasure  to  me ; 
but  lest  I  should  break  the  rules  of  civility  to  you,  by  taking 
up  more  than  the  proportion  of  time  allotted  to  me,  I  will 
here  break  off,  and  entreat  you,  Mr.  Venator,  to  say  what 
you  are  able  in  the  commendation  of  hunting,  to  which  you 
are  so  much  affected  ;  and,  if  time  will  serve,  I  will  beg  your 
favour  for  a  further  enlargement  of  some  of  those  several 
heads  of  which  I  have  spoken.     But  no  more  at  present. 

Ven.  Well,  Sir,  and  I  will  now  take  my  turn,  and  will  first 
begin  with  a  commendation  of  the  earth,  as  you  have  done 
most  excellently  of  the  air ;  the  earth  being  that  element 
upon  which  I  drive  my  pleasant,  wholesome,  hungry  trade. 
The  earth  is  a  solid,  settled  element :  an  element  most 
universally  beneficial  both  to  man  and  beast :  to  men  who 
have  their  several  recreations  upon  it,  as  horse-races,  hunting, 
sweet  smells,  pleasant  walks :  the  earth  feeds  man,  and  all 


44  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

those  several  beasts  that  both  feed  him  and  afford  him 
recreation.  What  pleasure  doth  man  take  in  hunting  the 
stately  stag,  the  generous  buck,  the  wild  boar,  the  cunning 
otter,  the  crafty  fox,  and  the  fearful  hare  ?  And  if  I  may 
descend  to  a  lower  game,  what  pleasure  is  it  sometimes  with 
gins  to  betray  the  very  vermin  of  the  earth  !  as  namely,  the 
fitchet,'^  the  fulimart,  the  ferret,  the  polecat,  the  mould-warp, 
and  the  like  creatures  that  live  upon  the  face  and  within  the 
bowels  of  the  earth  !  How  doth  the  earth  bring  forth  herbs, 
flowers,  and  fruits,  both  for  physic  and  the  pleasure  of  man- 
kind !  and  above  all,  to  me  at  least,  the  fruitful  vine,  of 
which,  when  I  drink  moderately,  it  clears  my  brain,  cheers 
my  heart,  and  sharpens  my  wit.  How  could  Cleopatra  have 
feasted  Mark  Antony  with  eight  wild  boars  roasted  whole  at 
one  supper,  and  other  meat  suitable,  if  the  earth  had  not  been 
a  bountiful  mother.-*  But  to  pass  by  the  mighty  elephant, 
which  the  earth  breeds  and  nourisheth,  and  descend  to  the 
least  of  creatures,  how  doth  the  earth  afford  us  a  doctrinal 
example  in  the  little  pismire,  who  in  the  summer  provides 
and  lays  up  her  winter  provision,  and  teaches  man  to  do  the 
like  !  The  earth  feeds  and  carries  those  horses  that  carry  us. 
If  I  would  be  prodigal  of  my  time  and  your  patience,  what 
might  not  I  say  in  commendations  of  the  earth  ?  that  puts 
limits  to  the  proud  and  raging  sea,  and  by  that  means  pre- 
serves both  man  and  beast,  that  it  destroys  them  not,  as  we 
see  it  daily  doth  those  that  venture  upon  the  sea,  and  are 
there  shipwrecked,  drowned,  and  left  to  feed  haddocks;  when 
we  that  are  so  wise  as  to  keep  ourselves  on  the  earth,  walk, 
and  talk,  and  live,  and  eat,  and  drink,  and  go  a-hunting :  of 
which  recreation  I  will  say  a  little,  and  then  leave  Mr.  Piscator 
to  the  commendation  of  angling. 


THE  CONFERENCE.  45 


Hunting  is  a  game  for  princes  and  noble  persons  ;  it  hath 
been  highly  prized  in  all  ages  ;  it  was  one  of  the  qualifications 
that  Xenophon  bestowed  on  his  Cyrus,  that  he  was  a  hunter 
of  wild  beasts.  Hunting  trains  up  the  younger  nobility  to 
the  use  of  manly  exercises  in  their  riper  age.  What  more 
manly  exercise  than  hunting  the  wild  boar,  the  stag,  the 
buck,  the  fox,  or  the  hare  1  How  doth  it  preserve  health, 
and  increase  strength  and  activity ! 

And  for  the  dogs  that  we  use,  who  can  commend  their 
excellency  to  that  height  which  they  deserve  1  How  perfect 
is  the  hound  at  smelling,  who  never  leaves  or  forsakes  his 
first  scent,  but  follows  it  through  so  many  changes  and 
varieties  of  other  scents,  even  over  and  in  the  water,  and 
into  the  earth  !  What  music  doth  a  pack  of  dogs  then  make 
to  any  man,  whose  heart  and  ears  are  so  happy  as  to  be  set 
to  the  tune  of  such  instruments !  How  will  a  right  grey- 
hound fix  his  eye  on  the  best  buck  in  a  herd,  single  him  out, 
and  follow  him,  and  him  only,  through  a  whole  herd  of  rascal 
game,  and  still  know  and  then  kill  him  !  For  my  hounds, 
I  know  the  language  of  them,  and  they  know  the  language 
and  meaning  of  one  another  as  perfectly  as  we  know  the 
voices  of  those  with  whom  we  discourse  daily. 

I  might  enlarge  myself  in  the  commendation  of  hunting, 
and  of  the  noble  hound  especially,  as  also  of  the  docibleness 
of  dogs  in  general ;  and  I  might  make  many  observations 
of  land  creatures,  that  for  composition,  order,  figure,  and 
constitution,  approach  nearest  to  the  completeness  and 
understanding  of  man  ;  especially  of  those  creatures  which 
Moses  in  the  Law  permitted  to  the  Jews,  which  have  cloven 
hoofs,  and  chew  the  cud ;  which  I  shall  forbear  to  name, 
because  I  will  not  be  so  uncivil  to  Mr.  Piscator,  as  not  to 


4^  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

allow  him  a  time  for  the  commendation  of  angling,  which 
he  calls  an  art ;  but  doubtless  it  is  an  easy  one ;  and,  Mr. 
Auceps,  I  doubt  we  shall  hear  a  watery  discourse  of  it,  but 
I  hope  it  will  not  be  a  long  one. 

Auc.  And  I  hope  so  too,  though  I  fear  it  will. 

PiSC.  Gentlemen,  let  not  prejudice  prepossess  you.  I 
confess  my  discourse  is  like  to  prove  suitable  to  my  recrea- 
tion, calm,  and  quiet :  we  seldom  take  the  name  of  God  into 
our  mouths  but  it  is  either  to  praise  Him  or  pray  to  Him ;  if 
others  use  it  vainly  in  the  midst  of  their  recreations,  so  vainly 
as  if  they  meant  to  conjure,  I  must  tell  you  that  it  is  neither 
our  fault  nor  our  custom  ;  we  protest  against  it.  But  pray 
remember,  I  accuse  nobody;  for  as  I  would  not  make  a 
"watery  discourse,"  so  I  would  not  put  too  much  vinegar 
into  it,  nor  would  I  raise  the  reputation  of  my  own  art  by 
the  diminution  or  ruin  of  another's.  And  so  much  for  the 
prologue  to  what  I  mean  to  say. 

And  now  for  the  water,  the  element  that  I  trade  in.  The 
water  is  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  creation,  the  element  upon 
which  the  Spirit  of  God  did  first  move,  the  element  which 
God  commanded  to  bring  forth  living  creatures  abundantly; 
and  without  which,  those  that  inhabit  the  land,  even  all 
creatures  that  have  breath  in  their  nostrils,  must  suddenly 
return  to  putrefaction.  Moses,  the  great  lawgiver  and  chief 
philosopher,  skilled  in  all  the  learning  of  the  Egyptians,  who 
was  called  the  friend  of  God,  and  knew  the  mind  of  the 
Almighty,  names  this  element  the  first  in  the  creation  ;  this 
is  the  element  upon  which  the  Spirit  of  God  did  first  move, 
and  is  the  chief  ingredient  in  the  creation  :  many  philoso- 
phers have  made  it  to  comprehend  all  the  other  elements, 
and  most  allow  it  the  chiefest  in  the  mixtion  of  all  living 
creatures. 


THE   CONFERENCE.  47 


There  be  that  profess  to  believe  that  all  bodies  are  made 
of  water,  and  may  be  reduced  back  again  to  water  only : 
they  endeavour  to  demonstrate  it  thus  : 

Take  a  willow,  or  any  like  speedy-growing  plant,  newly 
rooted  in  a  box  or  barrel  full  of  earth,  weigh  them  all  to- 
gether exactly  when  the  tree  begins  to  grow,  and  then 
weigh  all  together  after  the  tree  is  increased  from  its  first 
rooting,  to  weigh  a  hundred  pound  weight  more  than  when 
it  was  first  rooted  and  weighed  ;  and  you  shall  find  this 
augment  of  the  tree  to  be  without  the  diminution  of  one 
drachm  weight  of  the  earth.  Hence  they  infer  this  increase 
of  wood  to  be  from  water  of  rain,  or  from  dew,  and  not  to 
be  from  any  other  element.  And  they  affirm  they  can 
reduce  this  wood  back  again  to  water  ;  and  they  affirm  also 
the  same  may  be  done  in  any  animal  or  vegetable.  And 
this  I  take  to  be  a  fair  testimony  of  the  excellency  of  my 
clement  of  water. 

The  water  is  more  productive  than  the  earth.  Nay,  the 
earth  hath  no  fruitfulness  without  showers  or  dews ;  for  all 
the  herbs  and  flowers  and  fruit  are  produced  and  thrive  by 
the  water ;  and  the  very  minerals  are  fed  by  streams  that 
run  underground,  whose  natural  course  carries  them  to  the 
tops  of  many  high  mountains,  as  we  see  by  several  springs 
breaking  forth  on  the  tops  of  the  highest  hills ;  and  this  is 
also  witnessed  by  the  daily  trial  and  testimony  of  several 
miners. 

Nay,  the  increase  of  those  creatures  that  are  bred  and 
fed  in  the  water  is  not  only  more  and  more  miraculous,  but 
more  advantageous  to  man,  not  only  for  the  lengthening  of 
his  life,  but  for  preventing  of  sickness  ;  for  it  Is  observed  by 
the  most  learned  physicians,  that  the  casting  off  of  Lent 


48  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

and  other  fish  days,  which  hath  not  only  given  the  lie  to  so 
many  learned,  pious,  wise  founders  of  colleges,  for  which  we 
should  be  ashamed,  hath  doubtless  been  the  chief  cause  of 
those  many  putrid,  shaking,  intermitting  agues,  unto  which 
this  nation  of  ours  is  now  more  subject  than  those  wiser 
countries  that  feed  on  herbs,  salads,  and  plenty  of  fish ;  of 
which  it  is  observed  in  story,  that  the  greatest  part  of  the 
world  now  do.  And  it  may  be  fit  to  remember  that  Moses 
appointed  fish  to  be  the  chief  diet  for  the  best  common- 
wealth that  ever  yet  was.* 

And  it  is  observable,  not  only  that  there  are  fish,  as 
namely  the  whale,  three  times  as  big  as  the  mighty  elephant, 
that  is  so  fierce  in  battle,  but  that  the  mightiest  feasts  have 
been  of  fish.  The  Romans  in  the  height  of  their  glory  have 
made  fish  the  mistress  of  all  their  entertainments  ;  they 
have  had  music  to  usher  in  their  sturgeons,  lampreys,  and 
mullets,  which  they  would  purchase  at  rates  rather  to  be 
wondered  at  than  believed.  He  that  shall  view  the  writings 
of  Macrobius,  or  Varro,  may  be  confirmed  and  informed  of 
this,  and  of  the  incredible  value  of  their  fish  and  fish-ponds. 

But,  gentlemen,  I  have  almost  lost  myself,  which  I  con- 
fess I  may  easily  do  in  this  philosophical  discourse  ;  I  met 
with  most  of  it  very  lately,  and  I  hope  happily,  in  a  con- 
ference with  a  most  learned  physician,  Dr.  Wharton,  a  dear 
friend,  that  loves  both  me  and  my  art  of  angling.  But, 
however,  I  will  wade  no  deeper  in  these  mysterious  argu- 
ments, but  pass  to  such  observations  as  I  can  manage  with 
more  pleasure,  and  less  fear  of  running  into  error.  But  I 
must  not  yet  forsake  the  waters,  by  whose  help  we  have  so 
many  known  advantages. 

And  first  to  pass  by  the  miraculous  cures  of  our  known 


r 


THE  CONFERENCE.  49 

baths,  how  advantageous  is  the  sea  for  our  daily  traffic^ 
without  whi(jh  we  could  not  now  subsist !  How  does  it  not 
only  furnish  us  with  food  and  physic  for  the  bodies,  but 
with  such  observations  for  the  mind  as  ingenious  persons 
would  not  want ! 

How  ignorant  had  we  been  of  the  beauty  of  Florence,  of 
the  monuments,  urns,  and  rarities  that  yet  remain  in  and 
near  unto  old  and  new  Rome,  so  many  as  it  is  said  will 
take  up  a  year's  time  to  view,  and  afford  to  each  of  them 
but  a  convenient  consideration !  And  therefore  it  is  not  to 
be  wondered  at,  that  so  learned  and  devout  a  father  as  St. 
Jerome,  after  his  wish  to  have  seen  Christ  in  the  flesh,  and 
to  have  heard  St.  Paul  preach,  makes  his  third  wish,  to 
have  seen  Rome  in  her  glory ;  and  that  glory  is  not  yet  all 
lost,  for  what  pleasure  is  it  to  see  the  monuments  of  Livy, 
the  choicest  of  the  historians  ;  of  TuUy,  the  best  of  orators  ; 
and  to  see  the  bay-trees  that  now  grow  out  of  the  very 
tomb  of  Virgil !  These,  to  any  that  love  learning,  must  be 
pleasing.  But  what  pleasure  is  it  to  a  devout  Christian  to 
see  there  the  humble  house  in  which  St.  Paul  was  content 
to  dwell,  and  to  view  the  many  rich  statues  that  are  made 
in  honour  of  his  memory !  nay,  to  see  the  very  place  in 
which  St.  Peter  and  he  lie  buried  together !  These  are  in 
and  near  to  Rome.  And  how  much  more  doth  it  please 
the  pious  curiosity  of  a  Christian  to  see  that  place  on  which 
the  blessed  Saviour  of  the  world  was  pleased  to  humble 
Himself,  and  to  take  our  nature  upon  Him,  and  to  converse 
with  men :  to  see  Mount  Sion,  Jerusalem,  and  the  very 
sepulchre  of  our  Lord  Jesus !  How  may  it  beget  and 
heighten  the  zeal  of  a  Christian  to  see  the  devotions  that 
are  daily  paid  to  Him  at  that  place!     Gentlemen,  lest  I 

4 


50 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 


forget  myself,  I  will  stop  here  and  remember  you,  that  but 
for  my  element  of  water,  the  inhabitants  of  this  poor  island 
must  remain  ignorant  that  such  things  ever  were,  or  that 
any  of  them  have  yet  a  being. 

Gentlemen,  I  might  both  enlarge  and  lose  myself  in  such- 
like arguments ;  I  might  tell  you  that  Almighty  God  is 
said  to  have  spoken  to  a  fish,  but  never  to  a  beast ;  that  He 
hath  made  a  whale  a  ship  to  carry  and  set  His  prophet 
Jonah  safe  on  the  appointed  shore.  Of  these  I  might  speak, 
but  I  must  in  manners  break  off,  for  I  see  Theobald's 
house.  I  cry  your  mercy  for  being  so  long,  and  thank  you 
for  your  patience. 


THEOBALD  S   HOUSE. 


Auc.  Sir,  my  pardon  is  easily  granted  you  :  I  except 
against  nothing  that  you  have  said  ;  nevertheless  I  must 
part  with  you  at  this  park  wall,  for  which  I  am  very  sorry ; 
but  I  assure  you,  Mr.  Piscator,  I  now  part  with  you  full  of 
good  thoughts,  not  only  of  yourself,  but  your  recreation. 
And  so,  gentlemen,  God  keep  you  both. 


THE  CONFERENCE.  51 

PiSC.  Well  now,  Mr.  Venator,  you  shall  neither  want 
time  nor  my  attention  to  hear  you  enlarge  your  discourse 
concerning  hunting. 

Ven.  Not  I,  Sir:  I  remember  you  said  that  angling  itself 
was  of  great  antiquity  and  a  perfect  art,  and  an  art  not 
easily  attained  to  ;  and  you  have  so  won  upon  me  in  your 
former  discourse,  that  I  am  very  desirous  to  hear  what  you 
can  say  further  concerning  those  particulars. 

PiSC.  Sir,  I  did  say  so  ;  and  I  doubt  not  but  if  you  and 
I  did  converse  together  but  a  few  hours,  to  leave  you  pos- 
sessed with  the  same  high  and  happy  thoughts  that  now 
possess  me  of  it ;  not  only  of  the  antiquity  of  angling,  but 
that  it  deserves  commendations  ;  and  that  it  is  an  art,  and 
an  art  worthy  the  knowledge  and  practice  of  a  wise  man. 

Ven.  Pray,  Sir,  speak  of  them  what  you  think  fit,  for  we 
have  yet  five  miles  to  the  Thatched  House ;  during  which 
walk  I  dare  promise  you  my  patience  and  diligent  attention 
shall  not  be  wanting.  And  if  you  shall  make  that  to  appear 
which  you  have  undertaken — first,  that  it  is  an  art,  and  an 
art  worth  the  learning,  I  shall  beg  that  I  may  attend  you  a 
day  or  two  a-fishing,  and  that  I  may  become  your  scholar 
and  be  instructed  in  the  art  itself  which  you  so  much 
magnify. 

PiSC.  O,  Sir,  doubt  not  that  angling  is  an  art :  is  it  not 
an  art  to  deceive  a  trout  with  an  artificial  fly }  a  trout !  that 
is  more  sharp-sighted  than  any  hawk  you  have  named,  and 
more  watchful  and  timorous  than  your  high  mettled  merlin 
is  bold  ;  and  yet  I  doubt  not  to  catch  a  brace  or  two 
to-morrow  for  a  friend's  breakfast.  Doubt  not,  therefore, 
Sir,  but  that  angling  is  an  art,  and  an  art  worth  your  learn- 
ing.    The  question  is  rather,  whether  you  be  capable  of 

4 — 2 


52  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


learning  it  ?  for  angling  is  somewhat  like  poetry,  men  are 
to  be  born  so  :  I  mean,  with  inclinations  to  it,  though  both 
may  be  heightened  by  discourse  and  practice  ;  but  he  that 
hopes  to  be  a  good  angler,  must  not  only  bring  an  inquiring, 
searching,  observing  wit,  but  he  must  bring  a  large  measure 
of  hope  and  patience,  and  a  love  and  propensity  to  the  art 
itself  f  but  having  once  got  and  practised  it,  then  doubt 
not  but  angling  will  prove  to  be  so  pleasant  that  it  will 
prove  to  be  like  virtue,  a  reward  to  itself 

Ven.  Sir,  I  am  now  become  so  full  of  expectation,  that 
I  long  much  to  have  you  proceed,  and  in  the  order  you 
propose. 

PiSC.  Then  first,  for  the  antiquity  of  angling,  of  which  I 
shall  not  say  much,  but  only  this  :  some  say  it  is  as  ancient 
aS'  Deucalion's  flood ;  others,  that  Belus,  who  was  the  first 
inventor  of  godly  and  virtuous  recreations,  was  the  first  in- 
ventor of  angling ;  and  some  others  say,  for  former  times 
have  had  their  disquisitions  about  the  antiquity  of  it,  that 
Seth,  one  of  the  sons  of  Adam,  taught  it  to  his  sons,  and 
that  by  them  it  was  derived  to  posterity ;  others  say,  that 
he  left  it  engraven  on  those  pillars  which  he  erected,  and 
trusted  to  preserve  the  knowledge  of  the  mathematics,  music, 
and  the  rest  of  that  precious  knowledge  and  those  useful 
arts  which  by  God's  appointment  or  allowance  and  his  noble 
industry,  were  thereby  preserved  from  perishing  in  ^^oah's 
flood. 

These,  Sir,  have  been  the  opinions  of  several  men  that 
have  possibly  endeavoured  to  make  angling  more  ancient 
than  is  needful,  or  may  well  be  warranted  ;  but  for  my  part, 
I  shall  content  myself  in  telling  you,  that  angling  is  much 
more  ancient  than  the  Incarnation  of  our  Saviour ;  for  in 


THE  CONFERENCE,  53 


the  prophet  Amos  mention  is  made  of  fish-hooks ;  and  in 
the  book  of  Job,  which  was  long  before  the  days  of  Amos, 
for  that  book  is  said  to  be  writ  by  Moses,  mention  is  made 
also  of  fish-hooks,  which  must  imply  anglers  in  those  times. 

But,  my  worthy  friend,  as  I  would  rather  prove  myself  a 
gentleman,  by  being  learned  and  humble,  valiant  and  in- 
oftensive,  virtuous  and  communicable,  than  by  any  fond 
ostentation  of  riches ;  or,  wanting  those  virtues  myself, 
boast  that  these  were  in  my  ancestors  (and  yet  I  grant  that 
where  a  noble  and  ancient  descent  and  such  merit  meet  in 
any  man,  it  is  a  double  dignification  of  that  person) ;  so  if 
this  antiquity  of  angling,  which  for  my  part  I  have  not 
forced,  shall,  Hke  an  ancient  family,  be  either  an  honour  or 
an  ornament  to  this  virtuous  art  which  I  profess  to  love  and 
practise,  I  shall  be  the  gladder  that  I  made  an  accidental 
mention  of  the  antiquity  of  it,  of  which  I  shall  say  no  more, 
but  proceed  to  that  just  commendation  which  I  think  it 
deserves. 

And  for  that,  I  shall  tell  you,  that  in  ancient  times  a  de- 
bate hath  arisen,  and  it  remains  yet  unresolved :  whether 
the  happiness  of  man  in  this  world  doth  consist  more  in 
contemplation  or  action } 

Concerning  which,  some  have  endeavoured  to  maintain 
their  opinion  of  the  first,  by  saying,  that  the  nearer  we 
mortals  come  to  God  by  way  of  imitation,  the  more  happy 
we  are.  And  they  say  that  God  enjoys  Himself  only,  by  a 
contemplation  of  His  own  infiniteness,  eternity,  power,  and 
goodness,  and  the  like.  And  upon  this  ground,  many  clois- 
tcral  men  of  great  learning  and  devotion  prefer  contempla- 
tion before  action.  And  many  of  the  fathers  seem  to  ap- 
prove this  opinion,  as  may  appear  in  their  commentaries 


54  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

upon  the  words  of  our  Saviour  to  Martha  (Luke  x.  41, 

42). 

And  on  the  contrary,  there  want  not  men  of  equal  autho- 
rity and  credit,  that  prefer  action  to  be  the  more  excellent ; 
as  namely,  experiments  in  physic,  and  the  application  of  it, 
both  for  the  ease  and  prolongation  of  man's  life  ;  by  which 
each  man  is  enabled  to  act  and  do  good  to  others,  either  to 
serve  his  country  or  do  good  to  particular  persons.  And 
they  say  also,  that  action  is  doctrinal,  and  teaches  both  art 
and  virtue,  and  is  a  maintainer  of  human  society ;  and  for 
these,  and  other  like  reasons,  to  be  preferred  before  con- 
templation. 

Concerning  which  two  opinions,  I  shall  forbear  to  add  a 
third  by  declaring  my  own  ;  and  rest  myself  contented  in 
telling  you,  my  very  worthy  friend,  that  both  these  meet 
together,  and  do  most  properly  belong  to  the  most  honest, 
ingenious,  quiet,  and  harmless  art  of  angling. 

And  first,  I  shall  tell  you  what  some  have  observed,  and 
I  have  found  it  to  be  a  real  truth,  that  the  very  sitting  by 
the  river's  side  is  not  only  the  quietest  and  fittest  place  for 
contemplation,  but  will  invite  an  angler  to  it ;  and  this 
seems  to  be  maintained  by  the  learned  Peter  Du  Moulin,' 
who  in  his  discourse  of  the  fulfilling  of  prophecies,  observes, 
that  when  God  intended  to  reveal  any  future  events  or  high 
notions  to  His  prophets,  He  then  carried  them  either  to  the 
deserts  or  the  sea-shore,  that  having  so  separated  them  from 
amidst  the  press  of  people  and  business,  and  the  cares  of 
the  world,  He  might  settle  their  mind  in  a  quiet  repose,  and 
there  make  them  fit  for  revelation. 

And  this  seems  also  to  be  intimated  by  the  Children  of 
Israel   (Psalm  cxxxvii.),  who   having  in  a  sad   condition 


THE   CONFERENCE.  55 

banished  all  mirth  and  music  from  their  pensive  hearts,  and 
having  hung  up  their  then  mute  harps  upon  the  willow-trees 
growing  by  the  rivers  of  Babylon,  sat  down  upon  these 
banks,  bemoaning  the  ruins  of  Sion,  and  contemplating 
their  own  sad  condition. 

And  an  ingenious  Spaniard^  says,  that  "rivers  and  the 
inhabitants  of  the  watery  element  were  made  for  wise  men 
to  contemplate,  and  fools  to  pass  by  without  consideration." 
And  though  I  will  not  rank  myself  in  the  number  of  the 
first,  yet  give  me  leave  to  free  myself  from  the  last,  by  offer- 
ing to  you  a  short  contemplation,  first  of  rivers  and  then  of 
fish ;  concerning  which  I  doubt  not  but  to  give  you  many 
observations  that  will  appear  very  considerable :  I  am  sure 
they  have  appeared  so  to  me,  and  made  many  an  hour  to 
pass  away  more  pleasantly,  as  I  have  sat  quietly  on  a  flowery 
bank  by  a  calm  river,  and  contemplated  what  I  shall  now 
relate  to  you. 

And  first,  concerning  rivers  :  there  be  so  many  wonders 
reported  and  written  of  them,  and  of  the  several  creatures 
that  be  bred  and  live  in  them,  and  those  by  authors  of  so 
good  credit,  that  we  need  not  to  deny  them  an  historical 
faith.» 

As  namely  of  a  river  in  Epirus,  that  puts  out  any  lighted 
torch,  and  kindles  any  torch  that  was  not  lighted.^  Some 
waters  being  drunk  cause  madness,  some  drunkenness,  and 
some  laughter  to  death.  The  river  Selarus  in  a  few  hours 
turns  a  rod  or  wand  to  stone ;  and  our  Camden  mentions 
the  like  in  England,  and  the  like  in  Lochmere  in  Ireland. 
There  is  also  a  river  in  Arabia,  of  which  all  the  sheep  that 
drink  thereof  have  their  wool  turned  into  a  vermilion  colour. 
And  one  of  no  less  credit  than  Aristotle,  tells  us  of  a  merry 


56  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

river,  the  river  Eluslna,  that  dances  at  the  noise  of  music, 
for  with  music  it  bubbles,  dances,  and  grows  sandy,  and  so 
continues  till  the  music  ceases,  but  then  it  presently  returns 
to  its  wonted  calmness  and  clearness.  And  Camden  tells 
us  of  a  well  near  to  Kirby  in  Westmoreland,  that  ebbs  and 
flows  several  times  every  day ;  and  he  tells  us  of  a  river  in 
Surrey,  it  is  called  Mole,  that  after  it  has  run  several  miles, 
being  opposed  by  hills,  finds  or  makes  itself  a  way  under- 
ground, and  breaks  out  again  so  far  off,  that  the  inhabitants 
thereabout  boast,  as  the  Spaniards  do  of  their  river  Anus, 
that  they  feed  divers  flocks  of  sheep  upon  a  bridge.  And 
lastly,  for  I  would  not  tire  your  patience,  one  of  no  less 
authority  than  Josephus,  that  learned  Jew,  tells  us  of  a  river 
in  Judea  that  runs  swiftly  all  the  six  days  of  the  week,  and 
stands  still  and  rests  all  their  Sabbath. 

But  I  will  lay  aside  my  discourse  of  rivers,  and  tell  you 
some  things  of  the  monsters,  or  fish,  call  them  what  you 
will,  that  they  breed  and  feed  in  them.  Pliny  the  philoso- 
pher says,  in  the  third  chapter  of  his  ninth  book,  that  in  the 
Indian  Sea,  the  fish  called  balcs7ta,  or  whirlpool,  is  so  long 
and  broad  as  to  take  up  more  in  length  and  breadth  than 
two  acres  of  ground ;  and  of  other  fish  of  two  hundred 
cubits  long ;  and  that,  in  the  river  Ganges,  there  be  eels  of 
thirty  feet  long.  He  says  there,  that  these  monsters  appear 
in  the  sea  only  when  tempestuous  winds  oppose  the  torrents 
of  waters  falling  from  the  rocks  into  it,  and  so  turning  what 
lay  at  the  bottom  to  be  seen  on  the  water's  top.  And  he 
says,  that  the  people  of  Cadara,  an  island  near  this  place, 
make  the  timber  for  their  houses  of  those  fish-bones.  He 
there  tells  us,  that  there  are  sometimes  a  thousand  of  these 
great  eels  found  wrapt  or  interwoven  together.    He  tells  us 


THE  CONFERENCE,  57 


there,  that  it  appears  that  dolphins  love  music,  and  will 
come  when  called  for  by  some  men  or  boys  that  know  and 
use  to  feed  them ;  and  that  they  can  swim  as  swift  as  an 
arrow  can  be  shot  out  of  a  bow;  and  much  of  this  is  spoken 
concerning  the  dolphin  and  other  fish,  as  may  be  found  also 
in  the  learned  Dr.  Casaubon's  "  Discourse  of  Credulity  and 
Incredulity,"  printed  by  him  about  the  year  1670.^ 

I  know,  we  islanders  are  averse  to  the  belief  of  these 
wonders;  but  there  be  so  many  strange  creatures  to  be  now 
seen,  many  collected  by  John  Tradescant,^  and  others  added 
by  my  friend  Elias  Ashmole,  Esq.,''  who  now  keeps  them 
carefully  and  methodically  at  his  house  near  to  Lambeth 
near  London,  as  may  get  some  belief  of  some  of  the  other 
wonders  I  mentioned.  I  will  tell  you  some  of  the  wonders 
that  you  may  now  see,  and  not  till  then  believe,  unless  you 
think  fit. 

You  may  see  the  hog-fish,  the  dog-fish,  the  dolphin,  the 
coney-fish,  the  parrot-fish,  the  shark,  the  poison-fish,  sword- 
fish,  and  not  only  other  incredible  fish,  but  you  may  there 
see  the  salamander,  several  sorts  of  barnacles,  and  Solan 
geese,  the  bird  of  Paradise,  such  sorts  of  snakes,  and  such 
birds'-nests,  and  of  so  various  forms,  and  so  wonderfully 
made,  as  may  beget  wonder  and  amusement  in  any  be- 
holder ;  and  so  many  hundred  of  other  rarities  in  that  col- 
lection, as  will  make  the  other  wonders  I  spake  of  the  less 
incredible ;  for  you  may  note,  that  the  waters  are  Nature's 
store-house,  in  which  she  locks  up  her  wonders. 

But,  Sir,  lest  this  discourse  may  seem  tedious,  I  shall  give 
it  a  sweet  conclusion  out  of  that  holy  poet  Mr.  George 
Herbert,  his  divine  "  Contemplation  on  God's  Providence." 


58  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

Lord,  who  hath  praise  enough  ;  nay,  who  hath  any  ? 

None  can  express  Thy  works,  but  he  that  knows  them; 
And  none  can  know  Thy  works,  they  are  so  many, 

And  so  complete,  but  only  he  that  owes  them. 

We  all  acknowledge  both  Thy  power  and  love 

To  be  exact,  transcendent,  and  divine ; 
Who  dost  so  strongly  and  so  sweetly  move, 

Whilst  all  things  have  their  end,  yet  none  but  Thine. 

Wherefore,  most  sacred  Spirit,  I  here  present, 
For  me  and  all  my  fellows,  praise  to  Thee; 

And  just  it  is  that  I  should  pay  the  rent, 
Because  the  benefit  accrues  to  me. 


And  as  concerning  fish,  in  that  psalm  (Psalm  civ.),  where- 
in, for  height  of  poetry  and  wonders,  the  prophet  David 
seems  even  to  exceed  himself,  how  doth  he  there  express 
himself  in  choice  metaphors,  even  to  the  amazement  of  a 
contemplative  reader,  concerning  the  sea,  the  rivers,  and 
the  fish  therein  contained!  And  the  great  naturalist  Pliny 
says,  "that  nature's  great  and  wonderful  power  is  more 
demonstrated  in  the  sea  than  on  the  land."  And  this  may 
appear  by  the  numerous  and  various  creatures  inhabiting 
both  in  and  about  that  element ;  as  to  the  readers  of 
Gesner,^  Rondeletius,"  Pliny,  Ausonius,"  Aristotle,  and 
others,  may  be  demonstrated.  But  I  will  sweeten  this  dis- 
course also,  out  of  a  contemplation  in  divine  Du  Bartas*=  (in 
the  fifth  day),  who  says : — 

God  quicken'd  in  the  sea,  and  in  the  rivers. 
So  many  fishes  of  so  many  features. 
That  in  the  waters  we  may  see  all  creatures. 
Even  all  that  on  the  earth  are  to  be  found, 
As  if  the  world  were  in  deep  waters  drown'd. 


THE  CONFERENCE.  59 


For  seas— as  well  as  skies — have  sun,  moon,  stars ; 
As  well  as  air— swallows,  rooks,  and  stares ; 
As  well  as  earth — vines,  roses,  nettles,  melons, 
Mushrooms,  pinks,  gilliflowers,  and  many  millions 
Of  other  plants,  more  rare,  more  strange  than  these. 
As  very  fishes  living  in  the  seas ; 
As  also  rams,  calves,  horses,  hares,  and  hogs, 
Wolves,  urchins,  lions,  elephants,  and  dogs ; 
Yea,  men  and  maids  ;  and,  which  I  most  admire, 
The  mitred  bishop  and  the  cowled  friar  j 
Of  which,  examples,  but  a  few  years  since, 
Were  shown  the  Norway  and  Polonian  prince. 


These  seem  to  be  wonders,  but  have  had  so  many  con- 
firmations from  men  of  learning  and  credit,  that  you  need 
not  doubt  them  ;  nor  are  the  number  nor  the  various  shapes 
of  fishes  more  strange  or  more  fit  for  contemplation  than 
their  different  natures,  inclinations,  and  actions  ;  concerning 
which  I  shall  beg  your  patient  ear  a  little  longer.^^ 

The  cuttle-fish  will  cast  a  long  gut  out  of  her  throat, 
which,  like  as  an  angler  doth  his  Hne,  she  sendeth  forth  and 
puUeth  in  again  at  her  pleasure,  according  as  she  sees  som.e 
little  fish  come  near  to  her ;  and  the  cuttle-fish,  being  then 
hid  in  the  gravel,  lets  the  smaller  fish  nibble  and  bite  the 
end  of  it,  at  which  time  she  by  little  and  little  draws  the 
smaller  fish  so  near  to  her,  that  she  may  leap  upon  her,  and 
then  catches  and  devours  her;  and  for  this  reason  some 
have  called  this  fish  the  sea-angler. 

And  there  is  a  fish  called  a  hermit,  that  at  a  certain  age 
gets  into  a  dead  fish's  shell,  and  like  a  hermit  dwells  there 
alone,  studying  the  wind  and  weather,  and  so  turns  her 
shell  that  she  makes  it  defend  her  from  the  injuries  that 
they  would  bring  upon  her. 


60  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

There  is  also  a  fish  called,  by  ^lian/  in  his  ninth  book  of 
Living  Creatures,  chap.  i6,  the  Adonis,  or  darling  of  the 
sea  ;  so  called  because  it  is  a  loving  and  innocent  fish,  a  fish 
that  hurts  nothing  that  hath  life,  and  is  at  peace  with  all 
the  numerous  inhabitants  of  that  vast  watery  element :  and 
truly  I  think  most  anglers  are  so  disposed  to  most  of  man- 
kind. 

And  there  are  also  lustful  and  chaste  fishes,  of  which  I 
shall  give  you  examples. 

And  first  Du  Bartas  says  of  a  fish  called  the  sargus ; 
which,  because  none  can  express  it  better  than  he  does,  I 
shall  give  you  in  his  own  words ;  supposing  it  shall  not 
have  the  less  credit  for  being  in  verse ;  for  he  hath  gathered 
this  and  other  observations  out  of  authors  that  have  been 
great  and  industrious  searchers  into  the  secrets  of  nature. 

The  adulterous  sargus  doth  not  only  change 

Wives  every  day,  in  the  deep  streams,  but,  strange ! 

As  if  the  honey  of  sea-love  delight 

Could  not  suffice  his  raging  appetite, 

Goes  courting  she-goats  on  the  grassy  shore, 

Homing  their  husbands  that  had  horns  before. 

And  the  same  author  writes  concerning  the  cantharus 
that  which  you  shall  also  hear  in  his  own  words : 

But,  contrary,  the  constant  cantharus 
Is  ever  constant  to  his  faithful  spouse  ; 
In  nuptial  duties  spending  his  chaste  life ; 
Never  loves  any  but  his  own  dear  wife. 

Sir,  but  a  little  longer,  and  I  have  done. 


THE  CONFERENCE.  6l 


Ven.  Sir,  take  what  liberty  you  think  fit,  for  your  dis- 
course seems  to  be  music,  and  charms  me  to  an  attention. 

PiSC.  Why  then,  Sir,  I  will  take  a  liberty  to  tell,  or  rather 
to  remember  you  what  is  said  of  turtle-doves :  first,  that 
they  silently  plight  their  troth,  and  marry ;  and  that  then 
the  survivor  scorns,  as  the  Thracian  women  are  said  to  do, 
to  outlive  his  or  her  mate,  and  this  is  taken  for  a  truth  ;  and 
if  the  survivor  shall  ever  couple  with  another,  then  not  only 
the  living  but  the  dead,  be  it  either  the  he  or  the  she,  is 
denied  the  name  and  honour  of  a  true  turtle-dove.*!  ^^ 

And  to  parallel  this  land  rarity,  and  teach  mankind  moral 
faithfulness,  and  to  condemn  those  that  talk  of  religion,  and 
yet  come  short  of  the  moral  faith  of  fish  and  fowl ;  men  that 
violate  the  law  affirmed  by  St.  Paul,  Rom.  ii.  14,  15,  to  be 
writ  in  their  hearts,  and  which  he  says  shall  at  the  last  day 
condemn  and  leave  them  without  excuse;  I  pray  hearken  to 
what  Du  Bartas  sings,  for  the  hearing  of  such  conjugal  faith- 
fulness will  be  music  to  all  chaste  ears,  and  therefore  I  pray 
hearken  to  what  Du  Bartas  sings  of  the  mullet. 

But  for  chaste  love  the  mullet  hath  no  peer ; 
For  if  the  fisher  hath  surprised  her  pheer  [mate], 
As  mad  with  woe,  to  shore  she  followcth, 
Prest  to  consort  him  both  in  life  and  death. 

On  the  contrary,  what  shall  I  say  of  the  house  cock,  which 
treads  any  hen,  and  then,  contrary  to  the  swan,  the  partridge, 
and  pigeon,  takes  no  care  to  hatch,  to  feed,  or  to  cherish  his 
own  brood,  but  is  senseless,  though  they  perish. 

And  it  is  considerable  that  the  hen,  which,  because  she 
also  takes  any  cock,  expects  it  not,  \/ho  is  sure  the  chickens 
be  her  own,  hath  by  a  moral  impression  her  care  and  affection 


62  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

to  her  own  brood  more  than  doubled,  even  to  such  a  height 
that  our  Saviour,  in  expressing  His  love  to  Jerusalem, 
Matt,  xxiii.  37,  quotes  her  for  an  example  of  tender  affection; 
as  His  Father  had  done  Job  for  a  pattern  of  patience. 

And  to  parallel  this  cock,  there  be  divers  fishes  that  cast 
their  spawn  on  flags  or  stones,  and  then  leave  it  uncovered 
and  exposed  to  become  a  prey  and  be  devoured  by  vermin, 
cr  other  fishes  ;  but  other  fishes,  as  namely  the  barbel,  take 
such  care  for  the  preservation  of  their  seed,  that  unlike  to  the 
cock  or  the  cuckoo,  they  mutually  labour,  both  the  spawner 
and  the  melter,  to  cover  the  spawn  with  sand,  or  watch  it,  or 
hide  it  in  some  secret  place,  unfrequented  by  vermin  or  any 
fish  but  themselves.^^ 

Sir,  these  examples  may  to  you  and  others  seem  strange, 
but  they  are  testified,  some  by  Aristotle,  some  by  Pliny,  some 
by  Gesner,  and  by  many  others  of  credit ;  and  are  believed 
and  known  by  divers  both  of  wisdom  and  experience,  to  be 
a  truth  ;  and  indeed  are,  as  I  said  at  the  beginning,  fit  for 
the  contemplation  of  a  most  serious  and  a  most  pious  man. 
And  doubtless,  this  made  the  prophet  David  say, "  They  that 
occupy  themselves  in  deep  waters  see  the  wonderful  works 
of  God : "  indeed  such  wonders,  and  pleasures  too,  as  the 
land  affords  not. 

And  that  they  be  fit  for  the  contemplation  of  the  most 
prudent  and  pious  and  peaceable  men,  seems  to  be  testified 
by  the  practice  of  so  many  devout  and  contemplative  men, 
as  the  patriarchs  and  prophets  of  old  ;  and  of  the  apostles 
of  our  Saviour  in  our  latter  times,  of  which  twelve,  we  are 
sure,  He  chose  four  that  were  simple  fishermen,  whom  He 
inspired  and  sent  to  publish  His  blessed  will  to  the  Gentiles; 
and  inspired  them  also  with  a  power  to  speak  all  languages. 


THE  CONFERENCE.  63 

and  by  their  powerful  eloquence  to  beget  faith  in  the  unbe- 
lieving Jews  ;  and  themselves  to  suffer  for  that  Saviour 
whom  their  forefathers  and  they  had  crucified  ;  and,  in  their 
sufferings,  to  preach  freedom  from  the  incumbrances  of  the 
law,  and  a  new  way  to  everlasting  life  :  this  was  the  employ- 
ment of  these  happy  fishermen.  Concerning  which  choice, 
some  have  made  these  observations. 

First,  That  He  never  reproved  these  for  their  employment 
or  calling,  as  He  did  scribes  and  the  money-changers.  And 
secondly,  He  found  that  the  hearts  of  such  men  by  nature 
were  fitted  for  contemplation  and  quietness ;  men  of  mild, 
and  sweet,  and  peaceable  spirits,  as  indeed  most  anglers  are: 
these  men  our  blessed  Saviour,  who  is  observed  to  love  to 
plant  grace  in  good  natures,  though  indeed  nothing  be  too 
hard  for  Him  ;  yet  these  men  He  chose  to  call  from  their 
irrcprovable  employment  of  fishing,  and  gave  them  grace 
to  be  His  disciples,  and  to  follow  Him  and  do  wonders.  I 
say  four  of  twelve. 

And  it  is  observable,  that  it  was  our  Saviour's  will,  that 
these  our  four  fishermen  should  have  a  priority  of  nomination 
in  the  catalogue  of  His  twelve  apostles.  Matt.  x.  2,  Acts  i.  13  ; 
as  namely,  first,  St.  Peter,  St.  Andrew,  St.  James,  and  St. 
John,  and  then  the  rest  in  their  order. 

And  it  is  yet  more  observable,  that  when  our  blessed 
Saviour  went  up  into  the  mount,  when  He  left  the  rest  of  His 
disciples  and  chose  only  three  to  bear  Him  company  at  His 
Transfiguration,  that  those  three  were  all  fishermen.  And 
it  is  to  be  believed,  that  all  the  other  apostles,  after  they 
betook  themselves  to  follow  Christ,  betook  themselves  to  be 
fishermen  too  ;  for  it  is  certain,  that  the  greater  number  of 
them  were  found  together  fishing  by  Jesus  after  his  Rcsur- 


6^  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

rection,  as  it  is  recorded  in  the  2ist  chapter  of  St.  John's 
Gospel,  ver.  3  and  4. 

And  since  I  have  your  promise  to  hear  me  with  patience, 
I  will  take  a  liberty  to  look  back  upon  an  observation  that 
hath  been  made  by  an  ingenious  and  learned  man,  who 
observes,  that  God  hath  been  pleased  to  allow  those,  whom 
He  Himself  hath  appointed  to  write  His  holy  will  in  Holy 
Writ,  yet,  to  express  His  will  in  such  metaphors  as  their 
former  affections  or  practice  had  inclined  them  to ;  and  He 
brings  Solomon  for  an  example,  who  before  his  conversion 
was  remarkably  carnally  amorous ;  and  after,  by  God's  ap- 
pointment, wrote  that  spiritual  dialogue,  or  holy  amorous 
love-song,  the  Canticles,  betwixt  God  and  His  Church ;  in 
which  he  says.  His  beloved  had  eyes  like  the  fish-pools  of 
Heshbon. 

And  if  this  hold  in  reason,  as  I  see  none  to  the  contrary, 
then  it  may  be  probably  concluded,  that  Moses,  who  I  told 
you  before  writ  the  book  of  Job,  and  the  prophet  Amos, 
who  was  a  shepherd,  were  both  anglers  ;  for  you  shall  in  all 
the  Old  Testament  find  fish-hooks,  I  think,  but  twice  men- 
tioned :  namely,  by  meek  Moses  the  friend  of  God,  and  by 
the  humble  prophet  Amos/  Concerning  which  last,  namely 
the  prophet  Amos,  I  shall  make  but  this  observation  :  that 
he  that  shall  read  the  humble,  lowly,  plain  style  of  that  pro- 
phet, and  compare  it  with  the  high,  glorious,  eloquent  style 
of  the  prophet  Isaiah  (though  they  both  be  equally  true), 
may  easily  believe  Amos  to  be,  not  only  a  shepherd,  but  a 
good-natured  plain  fisherman.  Which  I  do  the  rather  believe, 
by  comparing  the  affectionate,  loving,  lowly,  humble  epistles 
of  St.  Peter,  St.  James,  and  St.  John,  whom  we  know  were 


TtlE   CONFERENCE.  6$ 

all  fishers,  with  the  glorious  language  and  high  metaphors 
of  St.  Paul,  whom  we  may  believe  was  not. 

And  for  the  lawfulness  of  fishing :  it  may  very  well  be 
maintained  by  our  Saviour's  bidding  St.  Peter  cast  his  hook 
into  the  water  and  catch  a  fish,  for  money  to  pay  tribute  to 
Caesar. 

And  let  me  tell  you,  that  angling  is  of  high  esteem  and 
much  use  in  other  nations.  He  that  reads  the  voyages  of 
Ferdinand  Mendez  Pinto,'  shall  find,  that  there  he  declares 
to  have  found  a  king  and  several  priests  a-fishing. 

And  he  that  reads  Plutarch'  shall  find  that  angling  was  not 
contemptible  in  the  days  of  Mark  Antony  and  Cleopatra, 
and  that  they,  in  the  midst  of  their  wonderful  glory,  used 
angling  as  a  principal  recreation.  And  let  me  tell  you,  that 
in  the  Scripture,  angling  is  always  taken  in  the  best  sense, 
and  that  though  hunting  may  be  sometimes  so  taken,  yet  it 
is  but  seldom  to  be  so  understood.  And  let  me  add  this 
more,  he  that  views  the  ancient  ecclesiastical  canons,  shall 
find  hunting  to  be  forbidden  to  churchmen,  as  being,  a 
turbulent,  toilsome,  perplexing  recreation ;  and  shall  find 
angling  allowed  to  clergymen,  as  being  a  harmless  recrea- 
tion, a  recreation  that  invites  them  to  contemplation  and 
quietness. 

I  might  here  enlarge  myself  by  telling  you  what  com- 
mendations our  learned  Perkins"^  bestows  on  angling  ;  and 
how  dear  a  lover,  and  great  a  practiser  of  it  our  learned 
Doctor  Whittaker  was,  as  indeed  many  others  of  great 
learning  have  been.  But  I  will  content  myself  with  two 
memorable  men,  that  lived  near  to  our  own  time,  whom  1 
also  take  to  have  been  ornaments  to  the  art  of  angling. 

Tlie   first    is    Doctor  Nowel,^  sometime   Dean   of   thd 

c 


66 


THE    COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


cathedral  church  of  St.  Paul's  in  London,  where  his  monu- 
ment stands  yet  undefaced  :  a  man  that  in  the  Reformation 
of  Queen  Elizabeth,  not  that  of  Henry  VIII.,  was  so  noted 
for  his  meek  spirit,  deep  learning,  prudence  and  piety,  that 
the  then  Parliament  and  Convocation  both,  chose,  enjoined, 
and  trusted  him  to  be  the  man  to  make  a  catechism  for 


public  use,  such  a  one  as  should  stand  as  a  rule  for  faith 
and  manners  to  their  posterity.  And  the  good  old  man, 
though  he  was  very  learned,  yet  knowing  that  God  leads 
us  not  to  heaven  by  many  nor  by  hard  questions,  like  an 
honest  angler,  made  that  good,  plain,  unperplexed  catechism 
which  is  printed  with  our  good  old  service-book.  I  say,  this 
good  old  man  was  si  dear  lover  and  constant  practiser  of 
angling,  as  any  age  can  produce ;  and  his  custom  was  to 


THE  CONFERENCE.  6> 


spend,  besides  his  fixed  hours  of  prayer  (those  hours  whichj 
by  command  of  the  Church,  were  enjoined  the  clergy,  and 
voluntarily  dedicated  to  devotion  by  many  primitive 
Christians) ;  I  say,  besides  those  hours,  this  good  man  was 
observed  to  spend  a  tenth  part  of  his  time  in  angling  ;  and 
also,  for  I  have  conversed  with  those  which  have  conversed 
with  him,  to  bestow  a  tenth  part  of  his  revenue,  and  usually 
all  his  fish,  amongst  the  poor  that  inhabited  near  to  those 
rivers  in  which  it  was  caught ;  saying  often,  "  that  charity 
gave  life  to  religion  ;"  and  at  his  return  to  his  house,  would 
praise  God  he  had  spent  that  day  free  from  worldly  trouble^ 
both  harmlessly  and  in  a  recreation  that  became  a  church- 
man. And  this  good  man  was  well  content,  if  not  desirous, 
that  posterity  should  know  he  was  an  angler  ;  as  may 
appear  by  his  picture,  now  to  be  seen,  and  carefully  kept, 
in  Brazenose  College  ;  to  which  he  was  a  liberal  bene- 
factor. In  which  picture  he  was  drawn,  leaning  on  a  desk, 
with  his  Bible  before  hirn,  and  on  one  hand  of  him  his  lines, 
hooks,  and  other  tackling  lying  in  a  round  ;  and  on  his 
other  hand  arc  his  angle-rods  of  several  sorts  ;  and  by  them 
this  is  written,  "That  he  died  13  Feb.,  1601,  being  aged 
95  years,  44  of  which  he  had  been  Dean  of  St.  Paul's 
Church  ;  and  that  his  age  had  neither  impaired  his  hearing, 
nor  dimmed  his  eyes,  nor  weakened  his  memory,  nor  made 
any  of  the  faculties  of  his  mind  weak  or  useless."  'T  is  said, 
that  angling  and  temperance  were  great  causes  of  these 
blessings,  and  I  wish  the  like  to  all  that  imitate  him,  and 
love  the  memory  of  so  good  a  man. 

My  next  and  last  example  shall  be  that  under-valuer  of 
money,  the  late  Provost  of  Eton  College,  Sir  Henry  Wotton 
— a  man  with  whom  I  have  often  fished  and  conversed,  a 

6 — 2 


68  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


man  whose  foreign  employments  in  the  service  of  this 
nation,  and  whose  experience,  learning,  wit,  and  cheerful- 
ness, made  his  company  to  be  esteemed  one  of  the  delights 
of  mankind  :  this  man,  whose  very  approbation  of  angling 
were  sufficient  to  convince  any  modest  censurer  of  it,  this 
man  was  also  a  most  dear  lover  and  a  frequent  practiser 
of  the  art  of  angling ;  of  which  he  would  say,  "'Twas  an 
employment  for  his  idle  time,  which  was  then  not  idly 
spent ;  for  angling  was,  after  tedious  study,  a  rest  to  his 
mind,  a  cheerer  of  his  spirits,  a  diverter  of  sadness,  a  calmer 
of  unquiet  thoughts,  a  moderator  of  passions,  a  procurer  of 
contentedness  ;"  and  "that  It  begat  habits  of  peace  and 
patience  in  those  that  professed  and  practised  it."  Indeed, 
my  friend,  you  will  find  angling  to  be  like  the  virtue  of 
humility,  which  has  a  calmness  of  spirit,  and  a  world  of 
other  blessings  attending  upon  It.  Sir,  this  was  the  saying 
of  that  learned  man. 

And  I  do  easily  believe,  that  peace  and  patience,  and  a 
calm  content,  did  cohabit  in  the  cheerful  heart  of  Sir  Henry 
Wotton  ;  because  I  know  that  when  he  was  beyond  seventy 
years  of  age  he  made  this  description  of  a  part  of  the  pre- 
sent pleasure  that  possessed  him,  as  he  sat  quietly  in  a 
summer's  evening,  on  a  bank,  a-fishlng.  It  is  a  description 
of  the  spring;  which,  because  it  glided  as  soft  and  sweetly 
from  his  pen,  as  that  river  does  at  this  time,  by  which  it 
was  then  made,  I  shall  repeat  it  unto  you : — 


This  day  dame  Nature  seem'd  in  love ; 
The  lusty  sap  began  to  move ; 
Fresh  juice  did  stir  th'  embracing  vines ; 
And  birds  had  drawn  their  valentines. 


THE   CONFERENCE.  69 


The  jealous  trout,  that  low  did  lie, 

Rose  at  a  well-dissembled  fly ; 

There  stood  my  friend,  with  patient  ski!!, 

Attending  of  his  trembling  quill ; 

Already  were  the  eaves  possess'd 

With  the  swift  Pilgrim's  daubed  nest ; 

The  groves  already  did  rejoice 

In  Philomel's  triumphing  voice, 

The  showers  were  short,  the  weather  mild, 

The  morning  fresh,  the  evening  smiled. 
Joan  takes  her  neat-rubbed  pail,  and  now 

She  trips  to  milk  the  sand-red  cow ; 

'*Vhere,  for  some  sturdy  foot-ball  swain, 

Joan  strokes  a  syllabub  or  twain. 

The  fields  and  gardens  were  beset 

With  tulips,  crocus,  violet ; 

And  now,  though  late,  the  modest  rcse 

Did  more  than  half  a  blush  disclose. 
Thus  all  looks  gay  and  full  of  cheer, 
To  welcome  the  new-livery'd  year. 


These  were  the  thoughts  that  then  possessed  the  undis- 
turbed mind  of  Sir  Henry  Wotton.  Will  you  hear  the  wish 
of  another  angler,  and  the  commendation  of  his  happy  life, 
which  he  also  sings  in  verse  t  viz.,  Jo.  Davors,  Esq. 


Let  me  live  harmlessly ;  and  near  the  brink 
Of  Trent  or  Avon  have  a  dwelling-place. 

Where  I  may  see  my  quill  or  cork  down  sink 
With  eager  bite  of  perch,  or  bleak,  or  dace ; 

And  on  the  world  and  my  Creator  think : 

Whilst  some  men  strive  ill-gotten  goods  t'  embrace. 

And  others  spend  their  time  in  base  excess 

Of  wine,  or  worse,  in  war  and  wantonness. 

Let  them  that  list,  these  pastimes  still  pursue, 
And  on  such  pleasing  fancies  feed  their  fill ; 


70  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

So  I  the  fields  and  meadows  green  may  view, 
And  daily  by  fresh  rivers  walk  at  will, 

Among  the  daisies  and  the  violets  blue, 
Red  hyacinth  and  yellow  daffodil, 

Purple  narcissus  like  the  morning  rays, 

Pale  gander-grass,  and  azure  culvcrlscys. 

I  count  it  higher  pleasure  to  behold 
The  stately  compass  of  the  lofty  sky; 

And  in  the  midst  thereof,  like  burning  gold, 
The  flaming  chariot  of  the  world's  great  ey25 

The  watery  clouds  that,  in  the  air  up-rolFd, 
With  sundry  kinds  of  painted  colours  fly; 

And  fair  Aurora,  lifting  up  her  head. 


The  hills  and  mountains  raised  from  the  plains, 
The  plains  extended  level  with  the  ground ; 

The  grounds  divided  into  sundry  veins. 

The  veins  enclos'd  with  rivers  running  round ; 

These  rivers  making  way  through  nature's  chains 
With  headlong  course  into  the  sea  profound ; 

The  raging  sea,  beneath  the  valleys  low, 

Where  lakes  and  rills  and  rivulets  do  flow. 

The  lofty  woods,  the  forests  v/ide  and  long, 

Adorn'd  with  leaves  and  branches  fresh  and  green. 

In  whose  cool  bowers  the  birds,  with  many  a  song, 
Do  welcome  with  their  choir  the  summer's  queen ; 

The  meadows  fair,  where  Flora's  gifts  among 
Are  intermix'd,  with  verdant  grass  between ; 

The  silver-scaled  fish  that  softly  swim 

Within  the  sweet  brook's  crystal  watery  stream. 

All  these,  and  many  more  of  His  creation 

That  made  the  heavens,  the  angler  oft  doth  see ; 

Taking  therein  no  little  delectation. 
To  think  how  strange,  how  wonderful  ihey  be  I 


THE   CONFERENCE.  71 


Framing  thereof  an  inward  contemplation 
To  set  his  heart  from  other  fancies  free ; 

And  whilst  he  looks  on  these  with  joyful  eye. 
His  mind  is  wrapt  above  the  starry  sky. 

Sir,  I  am  glad  my  memory  has  not  lost  these  last  verses, 
because  they  are  somewhat  more  pleasant  and  more  suitable 
to  May-day  than  my  harsh  discourse.  And  I  am  glad  your 
patience  hath  held  out  so  long,  as  to  hear  them  and  me ; 
for  both  together  have  brought  us  within  the  sight  of  the 
Thatched  House.  And  I  must  be  your  debtor,  if  you  think 
it  worth  your  attention,  for  the  rest  of  my  promised  dis- 
course, till  some  other  opportunity,  and  a  like  time  of 
leisure. 

Ven.  Sir,  you  have  angled  me  on  with  much  pleasure  to 
the  Thatched  House  ;  and  I  now  find  your  words  true,  "  that 
good  company  makes  the  way  seem  short ; "  for  trust  me. 
Sir,  I  thought  we  had  wanted  three  miles  of  this  house,  till 
you  shewed  it  me.  But  now  we  are  at  it,  we  '11  turn  into 
it,  and  refresh  ourselves  with  a  cup  of  drink,  and  a  little 
rest. 

PiSC.  Most  gladly.  Sir,  and  we  '11  drink  a  civil  cup  to  all 
the  otter-hunters  that  are  to  meet  you  to-morrow. 

Ven.  That  we  will.  Sir,  and  to  all  the  lovers  of  angling, 
of  which  number  I  am  now  willing  to  be  one  myself;  for, 
by  the  help  of  your  good  discourse  and  company,  I  have  put 
on  new  thoughts  both  of  the  art  of  angling,  and  of  all  that 
profess  it ;  and  if  you  will  but  meet  me  to-morrow,  at  the 
time  and  place  appointed,  and  bestow  one  day  with  me  and 
my  friends  in  hunting  the  otter,  I  will  dedicate  the  next  two 
days  to  wait  upon  you,  and  we  two  will  for  that  time  do 
nothing  but  angle,  and  talk  of  fish  and  fishing. 


72 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


PiSC.  'T  is  a  match,  Sir  ;  I  '11  not  fail  you,  God  willing,  to 
be  at  Amwell  Hill  to-morrow  morning  before  sunrising. 


APPENDIX   I. 


HistoricalNotes. 

•  The  Thatched  House  at  Hoddesdon  is  stated  by  the  Rev. 
Moses  Brown  to  be  seventeen  miles  from  London  by  the  Ware 
Road.  It  is  now  quite  unknown,  but  it  is  supposed  that  a  thatched 
cottage,  once  distinguished  by  the  sign  of  the  Buffalo's  Head, 
standing  at  the  farther  side  of  Hoddesdon,  on  the  left  of  the  road 
in  going  towards  Ware,  was  the  actual  building. — Major. 

^  A  house  built  by  Lord  Burleigh  in  Herts,  and  by  his  son,  an 
Earl  of  Salisbury,  exchanged  with  James  I.  for  Hatfield  House. — 
Ephemera. 


"  Mr.  Ralph  Sadler  was  the  grandson  of  Sir  Ralph  Sadler,  so 
conspicuous  in  the  reigns  of  Henry  VIII.  and  Queen  Elizabeth. 
"  He  delighted  much  in  hawking  and  hunting,  and  the  pleasures 
of  a  country  life ;  was  famous  for  his  noble  table,  his  great 
hospitality,  and  his  abundant  charity  to  the  poor." — Hawkins* 

^  Mr.  George  Sandys,  a  very  pious,  learned,  and  accomplished 
gentleman,  was  the  youngest  son  of  Dr.  Edwin  Sandys,  Archbishop 
of  York.  He  published  his  "  Travels  to  the  Holy  Land,  Egypt," 
in  folio,  1615  (frequently  reprinted),  and  made  an  excellent  Para- 
phrase on  the  Psalms,  Canticles,  and  Ecclesiastes,  in  verse ;  and 
also  translated  Ovid's  "  Metamorphoses,"  Grotius's  "  Tragedy  of 
Christ's  Piwsion,"  i2mo.,  1640,  &c.     He  died  in  1642. — H. 

7.3 


74  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

^  Markham,  in  his  "  Country  Contentments,"  has  a  whole  chap- 
ter on  the  subject  of  the  "Angler's  Apparel  and  Inward  Qualities/' 
some  of  which  are — "  That  he  be  a  general  scholar,  and  seen  in  all 
the  liberal  sciences ;  as  a  grammarian,  to  know  how  to  write  or 
discourse  of  his  art  in  true  and  fitting  terms.  He  should,"  says  he, 
"have  sweetness  of  speech,  to  entice  others  to  delight  in  an  exercise 
so  laudable.  He  should  have  strength  of  argument,  to  defend  and 
maintain  his  profession  against  envy  and  slander." — H. 

"A  man  would  think,  now,  that  with  proper  habits,  good  tackle 
in  his  pannier,  and  so  much  science  in  his  head,  our  angler  would 
stand  a  pretty  good  chance  to  catch  fish ;  but,  alas  !  those  are  little 
to  the  purpose,  without  the  Christian  virtues  oi  faith,  hope,  and 
charity;  and  unless  two  at  least  of  the  cardinal  virtues  can  be  per- 
suaded to  go  a-fishing,  the  angler  may  as  well  stay  at  home ;  for 
hear  what  Mr.  Markham  says  as  \o  fortitude:  'Then  must  he  be 
strong  and  valiant ;  neither  to  be  amazed  with  storms  nor  affrighted 
with  thunder ;  and  if  he  is  not  temperate,  but  has  a  gnawing  sto- 
mach that  will  not  endure  much  fasting,  but  must  observe  hours, 
it  troubleth  the  mind  and  body,  and  loseth  that  delight  which 
maketh  the  pastime  only  pleasing.' " — H. 

'  Dr.  Peter  du  Moulin,  Prebendary  of  Canterbury,  and  chaplain 
to  Charles  II.  He  was  author  of  several  pieces  on  the  Romish 
controversy. — H. 

^  John  Valdesso,  who  wrote  in  Spanish  "The  Hundred-and- 
Ten  Considerations  of  Signor  Valdesso,"  which  was  translated  into 
English  by  Nicolas  Farrar.     Oxford,  1638,  small  4to, — H. 

^  From  cooling  sulphuretted  hydrogen  gas. — Rennie. 

*  Meric,  son  of  Isaac  Casaubon,  born  at  Geneva  in  1599,  but 
educated  at  Oxford,  was,  for  his  great  learning,  preferred  to  a  pre- 
bend in  the  cathedral  of  Canterbury,  and  the  rectory  of  Ickham, 
near  that  city.  Oliver  Cromwell  would  have  engaged  him  by  a 
pension  of  ,^^300  a  year  to  write  the  history  of  his  time,  but  Cas- 


HISTORICAL  NOTES,  75 

aubon  refused  it.  Of  many  books  extant  of  his  writing,  that 
mentioned  in  the  text  is  one,  viz.,  "Of  CreduUtie,"  &c.,  Lond. 
1668,  p.  143.  He  died  in  1671,  leaving  behind  him  the  character 
of  a  rehgious  man,  loyal  to  his  prince,  exemplary  in  his  life  and 
conversation,  and  very  charitable  to  the  poor. — Wood's  "Athen. 
Oxon."— H. 

^  There  were  three  of  the  Tradescants,  grandfather,  fiither,  and 
son  :  the  son  is  the  person  here  meant ;  the  two  former  were 
gardeners  to  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  the  latter  to  King  Charles  I. 
They  were  all  great  botanists,  and  collectors  of  natural  and  other 
curiosities,  and  dwelt  at  South  Lambeth  in  Surrey,  and,  dying 
there,  were  buried  in  Lambeth  churchyard.  His  house,  known 
by  the  name  of  Turret  House,  still  remains,  and  is  in  the  occu- 
pation of  Charles  Bedford,  Esq.  Mr.  Ashmole  contracted  an 
acquaintance  with  the  last  of  them,  and,  together  with  his  wife, 
boarded  at  his  house  for  a  summer,  during  which  Ashmole  agreed 
for  tlie  purchase  of  Tradescant's  collection,  and  the  same  was 
conveyed  to  him  by  a  deed  of  gift  from  Tradcscant  and  his  wife. 
Tradescant  soon  after  died,  and  Ashmole  was  obliged  to  file  a  bill 
in  Chancery  for  the  delivery  of  the  curiosities,  and  succeeded  in 
his  suit.  Mrs.  Tradescant,  shortly  after  the  pronouncing  of  the 
decree,  was  found  drowned  in  her  pond.  This  collection,  with 
wliat  additions  he  afterwards  made  to  it,  Mr.  Ashmole  gave  to  the 
University  of  Oxford,  and  so  became  founder  of  the  Aslimolean 
Museum.  A  monument  to  the  three  Tradescants,  very  curiously 
ornamented  with  sculptures,  is  to  be  seen  in  Lambeth  churchyardj 
and  a  representation  thereof,  in  four  plates,  and  also  some  par- 
ticulars of  the  family,  are  given  in  the  "  Philosophical  Transac- 
tions," vol.-  Ixiii.,  Part  I.,  p.  79,  et  seq.  The  monument,  by  the 
contribution  of  some  friends,  to  their  memory,  was,  in  the  year 
1773,  repaired ;  and  the  following  lines,  formerly  intended  for  an 
epitaph,  inserted  thereon: 

Know,  stranger,  ere  thou  pass,  beneath  this  stone 
Lie  John  Tradescant,  grandsire,  father,  son. 


76  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

The  last  dy'd  in  his  spring  ;  the  other  two 

Liv'd  till  they  had  travell'd  art  and  nature  thro' ; 

As  by  their  choice  collections  may  appear, 

Of  what  is  rare  in  land,  in  seas,  in  air ; 

Whilst  they  (as  Homer's  Iliad  in  a  nut) 

A  world  of  wonders  in  one  closet  shut. 

These  famous  antiquarians — that  had  been 

Both  gardeners  to  the  Rose  and  Lily  queen — 

Transplanted  now  themselves,  sleep  here.    And  when 

Angels  shall  with  their  trumpets  waken  men, 

^.nd  fire  shall  purge  the  world,  these  hence  shall  rise, 

And  change  their  gardens  for  a  Paradise. 

The  Tradescants  were  the  first  collectors  of  natural  curiosities 
in  this  kingdom ;  Ashmole  and  Sir  Hans  Sloane  were  the  next. 
— H. 

I'  Ashmole  was,  at  first,  a  solicitor  in  Chancery ;  but  marrying  a 
lady  with  a  large  fortune,  and  being  well  skilled  in  history  and 
antiquities,  he  was  promoted  to  the  office  of  Windsor  Herald,  and 
wrote  the  "  History  of  the  Order  of  the  Garter,"  published  in  1672, 
in  folio.  But  addicting  himself  to  the  then  fashionable  studies  of 
chemistry  and  judicial  astrology,  and  associating  himself  with  that 
enthusiast,  John  Aubrey,  Esq.,  of  Surrey,  and  Lilly  the  astrologer, 
he  became  a  dupe  to  the  knavery  of  the  one  and  the  follies  of 
both,  and  lost  in  a  great  measure  the  reputation  he  had  acquired 
by  this  and  other  of  his  writings.  Of  his  weakness  and  superstition 
he  has  left  on  record  this  memorable  instance  :  "nth  April,  1681, 
I  took,  early  in  the  morning,  a  good  dose  of  elixir,  and  htrng  three 
spiders  about  my  neck;  and  they  drove  my  ague  away.  Deo 
gratiasy — H. 

^  Conrad  Gesner,  an  eminent  physician  and  naturalist,  was  born 
at  Zurich  in  1 5 1 6.  His  skill  in  botany  and  natural  history  procured 
him  the  appellation  of  the  Pliny  of  Germany,  and  Beza,  who  kne\< 
him,  scrupled  not  to  assert  that  he  concentred  in  himself  the 
learning  of  Pliny  and  Varro.     Nor  was  he  more  distinguished  for 


HISTORICAL  NOTES.  77 

his  learning  than  esteemed  and  beloved  for  probity  and  sweetness 
of  manners ;  notwithstanding,  he  laboured  under  a  pressure  of 
poverty  to  a  degree  that  compelled  him  to  write  for  sustenance, 
and  that  in  such  haste,  that  his  works,  which  are  very  numerous, 
are  not  exempt  from  marks  of  it.  Besides  a  "Bibliotheca  sive 
Catalogus  Scriptorum  Lat.  Gr.  et  Heb.  tam  extantium  quam  non 
extantium,  Tig.  1545 — 48,"  he  wrote  "Historia  Animalium,"  and 
"De  Serpentium  Natura,"  to  both  of  which  works  Walton  frequently 
refers.     He  died  in  1565. — H. 

°»  Guillaume  Rondelet,  an  eminent  physician,  bom  in  Montpe- 
licr  in  Languedoc,  1507.  He  wrote  several  books,  and  a  treatise, 
"  De  Piscibus  Marinis,"  where  all  that  Walton  has  taken  from  him 
is  to  be  found.  He  died,  very  poor,  of  a  surfeit  occasioned  by 
eating  figs  to  excess,  in  1666. — H. 

^  Decius  Ausonius,  a  native  of  Bordeaux;  was  a  Latin  poet, 
Consul  of  Rome,  and  preceptor  to  the  Emperor  Gratian.  He  died 
about  390. — H. 

*  Guillaume  de  Saluste,  Sleur  du  Bartas,  was  a  poet  of  great 
reputation  in  Walton's  time.  He  wrote,  in  French,  a  poem  called 
"  Divine  Weeks  and  Works  "  (a  commentary  on  the  creation  of  the 
world),  whence  the  passage  in  the  text,  and  many  others  cited  in 
this  work,  are  extracted.  This,  with  his  other  delightful  works,  was 
translated  into  English  by  Joshua  Sylvester,  in  folio,  which  is  illus- 
trated with  numerous  fiue  woodcuts.  He  is  facetiously  quoted  in 
"Hudibras,"  in  1605,  and  is  supposed  to  have  given  Milton  the 
idea  of  his  "  Paradise  Lost." — H. 

'  Claudius  ^Elianus  was  born  in  Prgeneste  in  Italy,  in  the  reign 
of  the  Emperor  Adrian.    He  wrote  "  De  Animalium  Natura." — H. 

**  Of  swans^  it  is  also  said,  that  if  either  of  a  pair  die,  or  be 


78  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


otherwise  separated  from  its  mate,  the  other  does  not  long  survive ; 
and  it  is  chiefly  for  this  reason  that  the  steaHng  of  swans  is  by  our 
law  made  penal ;  so  as  that  "  he  who  stealeth  a  swan,  in  an  open 
and  common  river,  lawfully  marked,  the  same  swan  shall  be  hung 
in  a  house  by  the  beak ;  and  he  who  stole  it  shall,  in  recompense 
thereof,  give  to  the  owner  so  much  wheat  as  may  cover  all  the 
swan,  by  putting  and  turning  the  wheat  upon  the  head  of  the 
swan,  until  the  head  of  the  swan  be  covered  with  wheat." — Cope's 
"  Reports,"  Part  VII.     The  case  of  Swans.— H. 

'  Walton  was  a  good  Scrip turist,  and  therefore  can  hardly  haVc 
been  ignorant  of  the  passage  in  Isaiah,  chap,  xix.,  ver.  8  :  "The 
fishers  shall  mourn,  and  all  they  that  cast  angle  upon  the  brooks 
shall  lament,  and  they  that  spread  nets  upon  the  waters  shall 
languish." — which  words,  as  they  do  but  imply  the  use  oi fish-hooks^ 
he  might  think  not  directly  to  his  purpose ;  but  in  the  translation 
of  the  above  prophet  by  the  learned  Bishop  Louth,  who  himself 
assures  me  that  the  word  hook  is  truly  rendered,  the  passage?  stands 
thus : 

"  And  the  fishers  shall  mourn  and  lament ; 
All  those  that  cast  the  hook  in  the  river ; 
And  those  that  spread  nets  upon  the  face  of  the  waters  shall 
languish." 

The  following  passage  Walton  seems  likewise  to  have  forgotten 
when  he  wrote  the  above,  unless  the  reason  before  assigned  induced 
him  to  reject  it :  "  They  take  up  all  of  them  with  the  angle^  they 
catch  them  in  their  net,  and  gather  them  in  their  drag ;  therefore 
they  rejoice  and  are  glad." — Hahbakkuk  i.  15. — H. 

*  A  traveller  whose  veracity  is  much  questioned. — H. 

*  The  account  given  by  Plutarch  is  as  follows :  "  It  would  be 
very  tedious  and  trifling  to  recount  all  his  follies,  but  his  fishing 
must  not  be  forgot.    He  went  out  one  day  to  angle  with  Cleopalr.i, 


HISTORICAL  AOTES.  79 


and  being  so  unfortunate  as  to  catch  nothing  in  the  presence  of 
his  mistress,  he  was  very  much  vexed,  and  gave  secret  orders  to  the 
fishermen  to  dive  under  the  water,  and  put  fishes  that  had  been 
fresh  taken  upon  his  hook.  After  he  had  dra^^^l  up  two  or  three, 
Cleopatra  perceived  the  trick ;  she  pretended,  however,  to  be  sur- 
prised at  his  good  fortune  and  dexterity ;  told  it  to  all  her  friends, 
and  invited  them  to  come  and  see  him  fish  the  next  day.  Accord- 
ingly, a  very  large  company  went  out  in  the  fishing-vessels,  and  as 
soon  as  Antony  had  let  down  his  line,  she  commanded  one  of 
her  servants  to  be  beforehand  with  Antony's,  and  diving  into  the 
water,  to  fix  upon  his  hook  a  salted  fish,  one  of  those  which  were 
brought  from  the  Euxine  Sea." — H. 


"  William  Perkins  was  a  learned  divine,  and  a  pious  and  painful 
preacher.  Dr.  William  Whittaker,  an  able  writer  in  the  Romish 
controversy,  and  Regius  Professor  of  Divinity  in  the  University  of 
Cambridge.  They  both  flourished  at  the  latter  end  of  the  six- 
teenth century.  I  remark  the  extreme  caution  of  our  author  in 
this  passage ;  foi  he  says  not  of  Perkins,  as  he  does  of  Whittaker, 
that  he  was  a  practiser  of,  but  only  that  he  bestows  (in  some  of 
his  writings,  we  must  conclude)  great  commendations  on  angling. 
Perkins  had  the  misfortune  to  want  the  use  of  his  right  hand,  as 
we  find  intimated  in  this  distich  on  him : 

Dextera  quantiumis  fuerat  tibi  manca,  docendi 
Pollcbas  mira  dexteritate  tamen 

(Though  nature  hath  thee  of  thy  right  hand  bereft, 
Right  well  thou  writest  with  thy  hand  that 's  left) 

— and  therefore  can  hardly  be  supposed  capable  of  even  baiting 
his  hook. 

The  fact  respecting  Whittaker  is  thus  attested  by  Dr.  Fuller,  in 
his  "Holy  State,"  book  iii.,  chap.  13:  "Fishing  with  an  angle  is  to 
some  rather  a  torture  tlian  a  pleasure,  to  stand  an  h-»ur  as  mute  as 


8o  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


the  fish  they  mean  to  take — yet  herewithal  Dr.  Whittaker  was  much 
delighted."— H. 

^  Dr.  Alexander  Nowel,  a  learned  divine  and  a  famous  preacher 
in  the  reign  of  King  Edward  VI. ;  upon  whose  death  he,  with 
many  other  Protestants,  fled  to  Germany,  where  he  lived  many 
years.  In  1561  he  was  made  Dean  of  St.  Paul's,  and  in  1601  died. 
The  monument  mentioned  in  the  text  was  consumed  in  the  Fire 
of  London,  but  the  inscription  thereon  is  preserved  in  Stowe's 
"  Survey."  An  engraving  of  the  monument  itself  is  in  Dugdale's 
"History  of  St.  Paul's  Cathedral."— H. 

Fuller,  in  his  "Worthies"  (Lancashire,  page  115),  has  thought 
it  worth  recording  of  this  pious  and  learned  divine  that  he  was 
accustomed  to  fish  in  the  Thames;  and  having  one  day  left  his 
bottle  of  ale  in  the  grass  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  he  found  it 
some  days  after  no  bottle  hut  a  gun,  such  the  sound  at  the  opening 
thereof.  And  hence  he  seems  to  derive  the  origin  of  bottled  ale 
in  England. — H. 


General  Notes. 


»  "  Mews  a  hawk," — from  the  French.  The  moulting  of  hawks 
is  termed  "  mewing,"  and  particular  care  must  be  taken  of  them  at 
this  time.  The  enclosure  of  the  country  into  fields  has,  amongst 
other  things,  put  an  end  to  the  noble  practice  of  hawking  or 
falcomy,  although  several  attempts  have  been  made  of  late  years 
to  revive  it. 

*  Otter -hunting  is  now  confined  to  Wales  and  the  northern 


GENERAL  NOTES.  8 1 

counties  and  Scotland,  where  otters  are  still  plentiful.  Fishermen 
dislike  the  otter  because  he  is  a  wasteful  animal;  he  kills  many 
more  fish  than  he  can  eat,  merely  taking  a  tit-bit  out  of  the 
shoulder — the  "  otter's  bite  " — and  leaving  the  rest  of  the  carcase. 
He  is  nocturnal  in  his  habits,  and  is  hunted  in  the  summer  at 
earliest  dawn  by  hounds  of  a  particular  breed.  The  men  are,  of 
course,  on  foot.  The  excitement  of  running,  wading,  and  swim- 
ming makes  otter-hunting  a  sport  to  which  I  am  very  partial 

5  This  is  "  poetical  licence." 

*  It  is  very  rarely  that  fish  die  because  the  surface  is  covered 
with  ice,  even  though  it  be  so  for  many  weeks,  unless  the  water  be 
very  shallow  and  of  limited  extent.  Fish  have  been  known  to  live 
after  being  positively  embedded  in  ice  for  some  time. 

*  No  birds  will  carry  to  and  fro.  The  ordinary  carrier-pigeon, 
when  taken  from  a  place  to  which  it  has  been  accustomed  to  a 
distance,  and  let  loose,  will  fly  back  to  such  place,  and  of  course 
carry  any  letter  which  may  be  tied  to  it.  When  a  pigeon  is  cast 
off  in  a  strange  place,  it  soars  high,  wheeling  in  circles,  and  then 
makes  straight  off  for  its  home. 

"  The  hawks  used  in  falconry  are : 

1.  The  gyr-falcon ;  the  best  and  largest  are  obtained  from 

Norway  and  Iceland. 

2.  The  peregrine,  very  rare  in  England  now. 

3.  The  hobby,  a  plucky  and  elegant  little  bird. 

4.  The  merlin,  a  small  but  bold  hawk. 

5.  The  goshawk,  and 

6.  The  sparrowhawk. 

Both  the  latter  are  "  short-winged  "  hawks,  and  very  Httle  used. 
The  raven,  the  blood-red  rook,  and  the  French  pye,  are,  of  course, 
not  hawks  at  all. 

6 


82  7'HE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

^  "  Fitchet "  and  "  fulimart "  (foul  mart  or  smell)  are  two  names 
for  the  polecat,  an  animal  of  the  weasel  tribe,  very  destructive  to 
game,  and  still  common.  By  "  ferret"  Walton  probably  means  the 
weasel ;  the  mould-warp  is  the  mole.  The  other  "  vermin  "  of  this 
tribe  common  in  England  are  the  martens  and  the  stoat. 

8  Moses's  directions  are  simply  permtssory,  not  directory :  *'  These 
shall  ye  eat :  whatsoever  hath  fins  and  scales,"  and  not  those  fish 
without  (Leviticus  xi.  9,  10). 

•  Some  of  Walton's  editors  have  laughed  at  him  for  his  credulity; 
but  there  are  wonders  as  great  as  those  which  he  mentions,  which 
are  undoubted  facts — witness  the  geysers,  petrifying  springs,  &c. 

^^  "Ephemera,"  in  his  edition  of  Walton,  says  that  the  state- 
ments with  respect  to  the  cuttle-fish,  and  others  which  follow,  have 
no  foundation  in  fact.  He  apparently  was  not  aware  of  the  exist- 
ence of  the  "  fishing  frog "  {Lophius  piscatorius)^  which  has  two 
long  thin  rays  proceeding  from  the  top  of  its  head,  which  look  like 
long  silvery  worms.  This  fish  "  lying  on  the  bottom,  stirs  up  the 
mud  with  its  fins,  and,  thus  concealed,  elevates  its  bait-like  appen- 
dages, moving  them  temptingly  to  and  fro,  until  a  sufficient  number 
of  curious  spectators  or  intending  diners  have  collected,  when  it 
opens  its  immense  mouth  and  swallows  them  all." — Pennell. 

So  does  the  Silums  glanis  and  the  "  star-gazer."  The  hermit  or 
"  soldier-crab  "  lives  in  the  cast-off  shells  of  other  fish,  changing  his 
house  for  a  bigger  one  as  he  grows  in  size. 

11  It  is  a  very  common  thing  when  a  pair  of  birds  are  kept  in 
captivity,  and  one  of  them  dies,  for  the  other  to  refuse  food  and 
pine  away. 

12  As  a  rule,  when  fish  have  deposited  their  spawn,  they  take  no 
further  care  of  it.  but  leave  it  to  its  fate.    The  Silurus  glaftis,  which 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY.  83 

is  a  huge  loach-like  kind  of  fish  found  in  continental  waters,  is  a 
notable  exception  to  this  rule,  for  the  male  (not  the  female)  watches 
the  eggs  most  jealously  for  several  weeks.  The  stickleback  builds 
a  nest  for  its  eggs,  and  guards  it  well 


Practical  Essay. 


This  is  a  fit  place  for  a  few  observations  on  the  natural  histor/ 
of  fishes,  or  "  Ichthyology." 

Vertebrate  animals  (animals  with  a  backbone)  are  divided  into 
four  classes,  of  which  the  last  is  the  great  group  of  Fishes.  It  is 
undoubtedly  the  largest  group  of  all,  and  is  broadly  divided  into 
two  series:  the  bony  fishes — those  which  have  a  bony  skeleton; 
and  the  cartilaginous  fishes,  whose  skeletons  are  of  cartilage  or 
gristle. 

The  first  series  is  divided  into  six  orders : 
Order  I.  has  \^  families. 

II.        ,,  5  M 

HI.    ,,      3       » 

IV.    „      I       „ 

V.    „      I       „ 

VI.    „      2       „ 

Series  II.  is  divided  into  two  orders : 

Order  I.  has  2  families. 
II.    »    2       „ 
These  families  are  further  divided  into  genera  and  sj^ecies. 
Our  British  fresh-water  fishes  only  extend  over  a  small  section  of 
the  group  thus  classified.    The  annexed  table  will  show  at  a  glance 
the  names  and  number  of  such  fishes.     (See  pp.  84,  85.) 


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S6  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

It  will  be  seen  that  there  are  about  fifty  species  of  fresh -water 
fish  which  the  angler  may  catch  with  a  rod  and  line ;  many,  how- 
ever, are  rare,  and  need  only  be  mentioned  incidentally. 

It  is  needless  to  observe  that  fishes  live  in  water ;  but  there  are 
still  many  who  do  not  know  that  fishes  breathe  air^  as  will  be  seen 
by  the  following  sketch  of  their  structure  and  habits. 

On  each  side  of  the  neck  you  will  observe  bony  plates  of  an 
arch-like  shape,  to  which  pouch  fringes  are  attached :  these  are  the 
gillsy  by  which  fish  breathe.  The  water  passes  in  at  the  mouth  and 
out  at  the  gills  ;  but  in  its  passage  it  impinges  against  the  fringes, 
which  consist  of  innumerable  blood-vessels,  and  by  this  means  the 
oxygen  in  the  water  \%  filtered  and  conveyed  to  the  lungs  of  the  fish. 

Fishes  are  enabled  to  float  by  means  of  an  air-bladder  in  their 
interior.  Some  species,  however,  do  not  possess  this  apparatus; 
but  as  they  are  nearly  of  the  same  specific  gravity  as  the  water,  the 
want  of  this  air-bladder  may  be  no  great  inconvenience.  They  are 
propelled  through  the  water  by  means  of  the  tail,  and  assisted  and 
balanced  by  the  fins. 

The  fins  on  either  side  of  the  breast  are  called  the  pectoral  fins ; 
those  on  the  back  dorsal  fins ;  on  the  belly  ventral  fins ;  that  behind 
the  vent  the  aural  fin,  and  the  tail  the  caudal  fin. 

The  teeth  are  placed  in  various  portions  of  the  mouth  and  throat, 
according  to  the  necessities  of  the  species. 

The  scales,  with  which  fish  are  covered  as  with  armour,  are  very 
beautiful  objects  under  the  microscope. 

The  temperature  of  fishes  is,  as  a  rule,  very  little  above  that  of 
the  water  they  inhabit. 

Fishes  have  keen  sight,  fair  hearing  powers,  small  taste,  acute 
smell,  and  very  little  feeling  or  sensitiveness  to  pain.  There  are 
numerous  instances  on  record  of  the  indifference  fish  appear  to 
have  to  injuries  which  would  cause  great  pain  to  animals  of  a  higher 
organization. 

Finally,  fishes  lay  eggs  (spawn)  on  weeds,  or  in  furrows  in  the 
gravel,  which  are  covered  over,  and  remain  until  they  are  hatched 
in  due  course.     The  male  fish  has  the  milt,  or  soft  roe,  and  the 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY. 


^7 


female  the  hard  roe.  When  the  female  spawns,  the  male  fecundates 
the  spawn  with  his  milt.  The  productiveness  of  fishes  is  enormous : 
in  a  carp  of  ten  pounds  in  weight  Schneider  found  700,000  eggs. 


CHAPTER  II. 

OBSERVATIONS  OF  THE  OTTER  AND  CHUB. 


Ven.  My  friend  Piscator,  you  have  kept  time  with  my 
thoughts,  for  the  sun  is  just  rising,  and  I  myself  just  now 
come  to  this  place,  and  the  dogs  have  just  now  put  down 
an  otter.  Look  down  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill  there  in 
that  meadow,  chequered  with  water-lilies  and  lady- 
smocks  ;i  there  you  may  see  what  work  they  make  :  look  ! 
look !  you  may  see  all  busy,  men  and  dogs,  dogs  and  men, 
all  busy. 

PiSC.  Sir,  I  am  right  glad  to  meet  you,  and  glad  to  have 
so  fair  an  entrance  into  this  day's  sport,  and  glad  to  see  so 
many  dogs  and  more  men  all  in  pursuit  of  the  otter.     Let 

88 


THE   OTTER  AND   CHUB.  89 

us  compliment  no  longer,  but  join  unto  them.  Come,  honest 
Venator,  let  us  be  gone,  let  us  make  haste :  I  long  to  be 
doing ;  no  reasonable  hedge  or  ditch  shall  hold  me. 

Ven,  Gentleman-huntsman,  where  found  you  this  otter  1 

Hunt.  Marry,  Sir,  we  found  her  a  mile  from  this  place, 
a-fishing.  She  has  this  morning  eaten  the  greatest  part  of 
this  trout ;  she  has  only  left  thus  much  of  it  as  you  see,  and 
was  fishing  for  more :  when  we  came  we  found  her  just  at 
it ;  but  we  were  here  very  early,  we  were  here  an  hour  before 
sunrise,  and  have  given  her  no  rest  since  we  came ;  sure,  she 
will  hardly  escape  all  these  dogs  and  men.  I  am  to  have 
the  skin  if  we  kill  her. 

Ven.  Why,  Sir,  what  is  the  skin  worth } 

Hunt.  It  is  worth  ten  shillings  to  make  gloves :  the 
gloves  of  an  otter  are  the  best  fortification  for  your  hands 
that  can  be  thought  on  against  wet  weather. 

PiSC.  I  pray,  honest  huntsman,  let  me  ask  you  a  pleasant 
question  :  do  you  hunt  a  beast  or  a  fish  }  ^ 

Hunt.  Sir,  it  is  not  in  my  power  to  resolve  you;  I  leave 
it  to  be  resolved  by  the  college  of  Carthusians,  who  have 
made  vows  never  to  eat  flesh.  But  I  have  heard  the  ques- 
tion hath  been  debated  among  many  great  clerks,  and  they 
seem  to  differ  about  it ;  yet  most  agree  that  her  tail  is  fish ; 
and  if  her  body  be  fish  too,  then  I  may  say  that  a  fish  will 
walk  upon  land  ;  for  an  otter  does  so,  sometimes,  five  or  six 
or  ten  miles  in  a  night,  to  catch  for  her  young  ones,  or  to 
glut  herself  with  fish.  And  I  can  tell  you  that  pigeons  will 
fly  forty  miles  for  a  breakfast ;'  but,  Sir,  I  am  sure  the  otter 
devours  much  fish,  and  kills  and  spoils  much  more  than  he 
eats.  And  I  can  tell  you  that  this  dog-fisher,  for  so  the 
Latins  call  him,  can  smell  a  fish  in  the  water  a  hundred 


90  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

yards  from  him ;  Gesner  says  much  farther ;  and  that  his 
stones  are  good  against  the  falling  sickness  ;  and  that  there 
is  an  herb,  benione,  which  being  hung  in  a  linen  cloth  near 
a  fish-pond,  or  any  haunt  that  he  uses,  makes  him  to  avoid 
the  place ;  which  proves  he  smells  both  by  water  and  land. 
And  I  can  tell  you  there  is  brave  hunting  this  water-dog  in 
Cornwall,  where  there  have  been  so  many,  that  our  learned 
Camden  says,  there  is  a  river  called  Ottersey,  which  was  so 
named  by  reason  of  the  abundance  of  otters  that  bred  and 
fed  in  it. 

And  thus  much  for  my  knowledge  of  the  otter,  which  you 
may  now  see  above  water  at  vent,  and  the  dogs  close  with 
him.  I  now  see  he  will  not  last  long,  follow  therefore,  my 
masters,  follow,  for  Sweetlips  was  like  to  have  him  at  this 
last  vent.^ 

Ven.  Oh  me !  all  the  horse  are  got  over  the  river:  what 
shall  we  do  now  ?  shall  we  follow  them  over  the  water  ? 

Hunt.  No,  Sir,  no,  be  not  so  eager ;  stay  a  little  and 
follow  me,  for  both  they  and  the  dogs  will  be  suddenly  on 
this  side  again,  I  warrant  you ;  and  the  otter  too,  it  may  be. 
Now  have  at  him  with  Kilbuck,  for  he  vents  again. 

Ven.  Marry,  so  he  does,  for  look,  he  vents  in  that  corner. 
Now,  now  Ringwood  has  him !  now  he 's  gone  again,  and 
has  bit  the  poor  dog.  Now  Sweetlips  has  her ;  hold  her, 
Sweetlips  !  now  all  the  dogs  have  her,  some  above  and  some 
under  water ;  but  now,  now  she  's  tired,  and  past  losing : 
come,  bring  her  to  me,  Sweetlips.  Look,  't  is  a  bitch-otter, 
and  she  has  lately  whelped :  let 's  go  to  the  place  where  she 
was  put  down,  and  not  far  from  it  you  will  find  all  her  young 
ones,  I  dare  warrant  you,  and  kill  them  all  too. 

Hunt.  Come,  gentlemen,  come  all,  let's  go  to  the  place 


THE   OTTER  AND   CHUB.  91 

where  we  put  down  the  otter.  Look  you,  hereabout  it  was 
that  she  kennelled  ;  look  you,  here  it  was  indeed,  for  here's 
her  young  ones,  no  less  than  five  :  come,  let 's  kill  them  all. 

PiSC.  No,  I  pray.  Sir,  save  me  one,  and  I  '11  try  if  I  can 
make  her  tame,  as  I  know  an  ingenious  gentleman  in 
Leicestershire,  Mr.  Nicholas  Seagrave,  has  done ;  who  hath 
not  only  made  her  tame,  but  to  catch  fish,  and  do  many 
other  things  of  much  pleasure. 

Hunt.  Take  one  with  all  my  heart,  but  let  us  kill  the 
rest.  And  now  let 's  go  to  an  honest  alehouse,  where  we 
may  have  a  cup  of  good  barley-wine,  and  sing  "  Old  Rose," 
and  all  of  us  rejoice  together. 

Ven.  Come,  my  friend  Piscator,  let  me  invite  you  along 
with  us ;  I  '11  bear  your  charges  this  night,  and  you  shall 
bear  mine  to-morrow;  for  my  intention  is  to  accompany 
you  a  day  or  two  in  fishing. 

PiSC.  Sir,  your  request  is  granted,  and  I  shall  be  right 
glad  both  to  exchange  such  a  courtesy,  and  also  to  enjoy 
your  company. 


Ven.  Well,  now  let 's  go  to  your  sport  of  angling. 

PiSC.  Let 's  be  going  with  all  my  heart.  God  keep  you 
all,  gentlemen,  and  send  you  meet  this  day  with  another 
bitch-otter,  and  kill  her  merrily,  and  all  her  young  ones  too. 

Ven.  Now,  Piscator,  where  will  you  begin  to  fish } 

PiSC.  We  are  not  yet  come  to  a  likely  place,  I  must  walk 
a  mile  farther  yet  before  I  begin. 

Ven.  Well  then,  I  pray,  as  we  walk  tell  me  freely,  how 
do  you  like  your  lodging,  and  mine  host,  and  the  company  ? 
Is  not  mine  host  a  witty  man  ? 


92  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

PiSC.  Sir,  I  will  tell  you  presently  what  I  think  of  your 
host ;  but  first  I  will  tell  you,  I  am  glad  these  otters  were 
killed  ;  and  I  am  sorry  there  are  no  more  otter-killers  ;  for 
I  know  that  the  want  of  otter-killers,  and  the  not  keeping 
the  fence  months  for  the  preservation  of  fish,  will,  in  time, 
prove  the  destruction  of  all  rivers.^  And  those  very  few  that 
are  left,  that  make  conscience  of  the  laws  of  the  nation,  and 
of  keeping  days  of  abstinence,  will  be  forced  to  eat  flesh,  or 
suffer  more  inconveniences  than  are  yet  foreseen. 

Ven.  Why,  Sir,  what  be  those  that  you  call  the  fence 
months  ? 

PiSC.  Sir,  they  be  principally  three,  namely,  March,  April, 
and  May ;  for  these  be  the  usual  months  that  salmon  come 
out  of  the  sea  to  spawn  in  most  fresh  rivers.®  And  their  fry 
would,  about  a  certain  time,  return  back  to  the  salt  water,  if 
they  were  not  hindered  by  weirs  and  unlawful  gins,  which 
the  greedy  fishermen  set,  and  so  destroy  them  by  thousands ; 
as  they  would,  being  so  taught  by  nature,  change  the  fresh 
for  salt  water.  He  that  shall  view  the  wise  statutes  made 
in  the  13th  of  Edward  L,  and  the  like  in  Richard  IL,  may 
see  several  provisions  made  against  the  destruction  of  fish  ; 
and  though  I  profess  no  knowledge  of  the  law,  yet  I  am  sure 
the  regulation  of  these  defects  might  be  easily  mended.*^  But 
I  remember  that  a  wise  friend  of  mine  did  usually  say, "  that 
which  is  everybody's  business  is  nobody's  business."  If  it 
were  otherwise,  there  could  not  be  so  many  nets  and  fish, 
that  are  under  the  statute  size,  sold  daily  amongst  us  ;  and 
of  which  the  conservators  of  the  waters  should  be  ashamed. 

But,  above  all,  the  taking  fish  in  spawning-time  may  be 
said  to  be  against  nature  :  it  is  like  the  taking  the  dam  on 
the  nest   when  she  hatches  her  young ;   a  sin  so  against 


THE  OTTER  AND  CHUB.  93 

nature  that  Almighty  God  hath  in  the  Levitical  law  made 
a  law  against  it  (Deut.  xii.  6,  7). 

But  the  poor  fish  have  enemies  enough  besides  such  un- 
natural fishermen,  as  namely,  the  otters  that  I  spake  of,  the 
cormorant,  the  bittern,  the  osprey,  the  sea-gull,  the  heron, 
the  kingfisher,  the  gorara,  the  puet,  the  swan,  goose,  ducks, 
and  the  craber,  which  some  call  the  water-rat:'^  against  all 
which  any  honest  man  might  make  a  just  quarrel,  but  I  will 
not ;  I  will  leave  them  to  be  quarrelled  with  and  killed  by 
others ;  for  I  am  not  of  a  cruel  nature,  I  love  to  kill  no- 
thing but  fish. 

And  now  to  your  question  concerning  your  host :  to  speak 
truly,  he  is  not  to  me  a  good  companion ;  for  most  of  his 
conceits  were  either  Scripture  jests  or  lascivious  jests,  for 
which  I  count  no  man  witty,  for  the  Devil  will  help  a  man 
that  way  inclined,  to  the  first ;  and  his  own  corrupt  nature, 
which  he  always  carries  with  him,  to  the  latter :  but  a  com- 
panion that  feasts  the  company  with  wit  and  mirth,  and 
leaves  out  the  sin  which  is  usually  mixed  with  them,  he  is 
the  man  ;  and  indeed  such  a  man  should  have  his  charges 
borne,  and  to  such  company  I  hope  to  bring  you  this  night; 
for  at  Trout  Hall,  not  far  from  this  place,  where  I  purpose 
to  lodge  to-night,  there  is  usually  an  angler  that  proves 
good  company.  And  let  me  tell  you,  good  company  and 
good  discourse  are  the  very  sinews  of  virtue  :  but  for  such 
discourse  as  we  heard  last  night,  it  infects  others ;  the  very 
boys  will  learn  to  talk  and  swear,  as  they  heard  mine  host, 
and  another  of  the  company  that  shall  be  nameless  ; — I  am 
sorry  the  other  is  a  gentleman ;  for  less  religion  will  not 
save  their  souls  than  a  beggar's :  I  think  more  will  be  re- 
quired at  the  last  great  day.   Well !  you  know  what  example 


94  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

is  able  to  do ;  and  I  know  what  the  poet  says  in  the  like 
case, — which  is  worthy  to  be  noted  by  all  parents  and  people 
of  civility : 

Many  a  one 
Owes  to  his  country  his  religion ; 
And  in  another  would  as  strongly  grow, 
Had  but  his  nurse  or  mother  taught  him  so. 

This  is  reason  put  into  verse,  and  worthy  the  consider- 
ation of  a  wise  man.  But  of  this  no  more  ;  for  though  I  love 
civility,  yet  I  hate  severe  censures.  I  '11  to  my  own  art ; 
and  I  doubt  not  but  at  yonder  tree  I  shall  catch  a  chub : 
and  then  we'll  turn  to  an  honest  cleanly  hostess,  that  I 
know  right  well ;  rest  ourselves  there ;  and  dress  it  for  our 
dinner. 

Ven.  O,  Sir !  a  chub  is  the  worst  fish  that  swims ;  I 
hoped  for  a  trout  to  my  dinner. 

PiSC.  Trust  me.  Sir,  there  is  not  a  likely  place  for  a  trout 
hereabout ;  and  we  staid  so  long  to  take  leave  of  your  hunts- 
men this  morning,  that  the  sun  is  got  so  high,  and  shines 
so  clear,  that  I  will  not  undertake  the  catching  of  a  trout 
till  evening.  And  though  a  chub  be  by  you  and  many 
others  reckoned  the  worst  of  fish,  yet  you  shall  see  I  '11 
make  it  a  good  fish  by  dressing  it. 

Ven.  Why,  how  will  you  dress  him  } 

PiSC.  I  '11  tell  you  by-and-by,  when  I  have  caught  him. 
Look  you  here.  Sir,  do  you  see }  (but  you  must  stand  very 
close),  there  lie  upon  the  top  of  the  water,  in  this  very  hole, 
twenty  chubs.  I  '11  catch  only  one,  and  that  shall  be  the 
biggest  of  them  all :  and  that  I  will  do  so,  I  '11  hold  you 
twenty  to  one,  and  you  shall  see  it  done. 

Ven.  Ay,  marry.  Sir,  now  you  talk  like  an  artist,  and 


772^^   OTTER  AND   CHUB.  95 

I  '11  say  you  are  one  when  I  shall  see  you  perform  what  you 
say  you  can  do  ;  but  I  yet  doubt  it. 

PiSC.  You  shall  not  doubt  it  long,  for  you  shall  see  me 
do  it  presently :  look,  the  biggest  of  these  chubs  has  had 
some  bruise  upon  his  tail  by  a  pike,  or  some  other  accident, 
and  that  looks  like  a  white  spot ;  that  very  chub  I  mean  to 
put  into  your  hands  presently :  sit  you  but  down  in  the 
shade,  and  stay  but  a  little  while,  and  I  '11  warrant  you  I  '11 
bring  him  to  you. 

Ven.  I  '11  sit  down,  and  hope  well,  because  you  seem  to 
be  so  confident. 

PiSC.  Look  you,  Sir,  there  is  a  trial  of  my  skill,  there  he 
is,  that  very  chub  that  I  showed  you  with  the  white  spot  on 
his  tail ;  and  I  '11  be  as  certain  to  make  him  a  good  dish  of 
meat,  as  I  was  to  catch  him.  I  '11  now  lead  you  to  an  honest 
alehouse,  where  we  shall  find  a  cleanly  room,  lavender  in  the 
windows,  and  twenty  ballads  stuck  about  the  wall :  there 
my  hostess,  which,  I  may  tell  you,  is  both  cleanly  and  hand- 
some and  civil,  hath  dressed  many  a  one  for  me,  and  shall 
now  dress  it  after  my  fashion,  and  I  warrant  it  good  meat. 

Ven.  Come,  Sir,  with  all  my  heart,  for  I  begin  to  be 
hungry,  and  long  to  be  at  it,  and  indeed  to  rest  myself  too ; 
for  though  I  have  walked  but  four  miles  this  morning,  yet  I 
begin  to  be  weary;  yesterday's  hunting  hangs  still  upon  me. 

PiSC.  Well,  Sir,  you  shall  quickly  be  at  rest,  for  yonder 
is  the  house  I  mean  to  bring  you  to. 

Come,  hostess,  how  do  you  t  Will  you  first  give  me  a 
cup  of  your  best  drink,  and  then  dress  this  chub  as  you 
dressed  my  last,  when  I  and  my  friend  were  here  about 
eight  or  ten  days  ago  }  But  you  must  do  me  one  courtesy, 
it  must  be  done  instantly. 


q6  the  complete  angler. 

Hostess.  I  will  do  it,  Mr.  Piscator,  and  with  all  the 
speed  I  can. 

PiSC.  Now,  Sir,  has  not  my  hostess  made  haste?  and 
does  not  the  fish  look  lovely  ? 

Ven.  Both,  upon  my  word,  Sir,  and  therefore  let 's  say 
grace,  and  fall  to  eating  of  it. 

PiSC.  Well,  Sir,  how  do  you  like  it  t 

Ven.  Trust  me,  't  is  as  good  meat  as  I  ever  tasted  :  now 
let  me  thank  you  for  it,  drink  to  you,  and  beg  a  courtesy 
of  you  ;  but  it  must  not  be  denied  me. 

PiSC.  What  is  it,  I  pray,  Sir  t  You  are  so  modest  that 
methinks  I  may  promise  to  grant  it  before  it  is  asked. 

Ven.  Why,  Sir,  it  is,  that  from  henceforth  you  would 
allow  me  to  call  you  master,  and  that  really  I  may  be  your 
scholar  ;  for  you  are  such  a  companion,  and  have  so  quickly 
caught  and  so  excellently  cooked  this  fish,  as  makes  me 
ambitious  to  be  your  scholar. 

PiSC.  Give  me  your  hand  :  from  this  time  forward  I  will 
be  your  master,  and  teach  you  as  much  of  this  art  as  I  am 
able ;  and  will,  as  you  desire  me,  tell  you  somewhat  of  the 
nature  of  most  of  the  fish  that  we  are  to  angle  for ;  and  I 
am  sure  I  both  can  and  will  tell  you  more  than  any  common 
angler  yet  knows. 


APPENDIX  II. 


Historical  Note. 

»  About  the  year  1770 — upon  the  trial  of  an  mdictment,  before 
me,  at  Hick's  Hall — a  basket  was  produced  in  evidence,  contain- 
ing flounders  that  had  been  taken  with  unlawful  nets  in  the  river 
Thames,  so  small  that  scarce  any  one  of  them  would  cover  a  half- 
crown  piece.  The  indictment  was  for  an  affray,  and  an  assault  on 
a  person  authorized  to  seize  unstatutable  nets ;  and  the  sentence 
of  the  off"ender  was  a  year's  imprisonment  in  Newgate. — H. 


General  Notes. 


1  The  cardamine,  which  with  its  white  flowers  Is  so  lovely  an 
ornament  to  the  riverside  meads  in  spring. 

*  The  otter  is,  of  course,  a  beast  of  the  weasel  and  polecat 

family. 


'  Herons  fly  farther  for  their  meals  than  any  other  bird  I  know 


of. 


97 


98  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

*  The  otter  "vents"  when  he  rises  to  the  surface  to  breathe. 
He  cannot  remain  long  under  water  without  breathing. 

6  If  only  Walton's  warning  had  been  heeded,  many  a  happy 
hunting-ground  for  the  angler  would  have  been  spared  from  de- 
struction. Fishermen  have  selfishly  killed  the  goose  with  the 
golden  eggs.  The  fence  months  on  the  Thames  are — for  trout — 
from  the  loth  September  to  the  25th  January  on  the  lower  waters, 
and  until  the  ist  April  on  the  upper;  and  for  pike,  roach,  dace, 
chub,  barbel,  and  gudgeon,  the  months  of  March,  April,  and  May. 

Salmon  may  not  be  caught  with  the  net  between  ist  September 
and  ist  February,  or  with  the  rod  between  ist  November  and 
ist  February. 

^  Salmon  spawn  in  November  and  December.  See  note  on  the 
salmon,  post. 

7  The  water-rat — or  more  properly  speaking,  the  water-vole — is 
not  an  enemy  of  fish.  Its  diet  is  a  vegetable  one.  It  has  often, 
however,  to  bear  the  sins  of  the  common  rat,  which,  when  it 
establishes  itself  by  the  waterside,  is  destructive  enough,  I  ask  all 
anglers  to  spare  the  pretty  water-vole. 


Practical  Essay. 

Before  giving  instructions  how  to  angle  for  particular  fish,  it  will 
be  well  to  speak  of  angling  generally,  reserving  our  note  on  the 
chub  for  the  Appendix  to  the  next  chapter. 

Angling  may  be  broadly  divided  into  three  kinds : — Fishing  on 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY.  99 

or  near  the  bottom  with  a  bait ;  spinning  about  mid-water  or  near 
the  surface  with  a  small  fish,  natural  or  artificial,  as  bait ;  and  fly- 
fishing at  the  surface  with  real  or  artificial  flies.  Before  a  man  can 
fish  he  must  have  tackle,  and  the  first  essentials  are  the  rod,  reel, 
line,  and  hooks. 

Rods  vary  in  nature  according  to  the  kind  of  fishing  to  be  pur- 
sued with  them.  Fly-fishing  needs  a  flexible  and  pliant  rod; 
bottom-fishing,  one  stouter;  and  spinning  or  trolling  for  pike,  a 
very  stiff  and  strong  rod.  If  the  angler  has  a  limited  purse,  he 
had  better  consider  what  kind  of  fishing  he  must  go  in  for,  and 
buy  his  rod  accordingly.  If  he  lives  among  trout  streams,  a  fly 
rod  is  what  he  requires,  and  the  substitution  of  a  stiffer  top  will 
enable  him  to  fish  worm  with  it.  If  he  lives  among  slow  rivers 
or  lakes,  he  will  probably  want  a  bottom-fishing  rod  also,  and  the 
substitution  of  a  short  stiff  top  will  turn  it  into  a  fair  pike  rod. 
General  rods  which  seek  to  combine  all  requisites  in  one  rod  are 
in  general  a  delusion  and  a  snare. 

Many  woods  are  used  in  the  making  of  rods ;  the  principal  are 
hickory,  greenheart,  bamboo,  and  ash. 

For  a  fly  rod,  and  indeed  all  rods,  ash  for  the  butt,  hickory  for 
the  middle  joints,  and  greenheart  for  the  top  is  a  good  combination. 
For  bottom  rods,  bamboo  is  excellent. 

Unless  the  angler  is  poor,  he  will  find  it  better  to  go  to  a  good 
tackle  shop,  and,  stating  what  kind  of  fishing  he  wants  the  rod  for, 
trust  to  the  advice  of  the  tradesman,  and  his  own  perception  which 
rod  suits  his  hand  the  best.  Cheap  rods,  however,  are  a  mockery, 
certain  to  fail  their  owner  in  time  of  need ;  and  for  those  who  can- 
not afford  to  buy  good  ones,  why,  let  them  try  and  make  one. 

A  single-handed  trout  fly  rod  should  be  from  12  to  13  feet  long, 
according  to  the  length  and  strength  of  the  fisher :  a  double-handed 
rod  is  a  little  longer.  Salmon  rods  are  from  17  to  20  feet;  pike 
12  feet;  and  ordinary  bottom  rods  14  to  17  feet,  or  even  more. 
Except  on  pike  rods,  the  rings  are  made  to  fall  flat ;  but  it  is  safer  to 
have  them  always  fixed  upright,  even  on  fly  rods. 

The  reel  on  which  the  spare  line  is  wound  is  usually  of  brass; 

7 — 2 


lOO  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

but  in  the  Nottingham  style  of  fishing  the  reel  is  of  wood,  and  nms 
so  freely  on  its  axis  that  the  line  can  be  \kimym  front  the  reel,  which 
unrolls  as  the  line  passes  through  the  rings. 

Multiplying  reels  are  a  nuisance.  Check  reels,  in  which  the  reel 
is  prevented  from  overrunning  and  so  entangling  the  line,  by  con- 
cealed cog  wheels  which  act  as  a  check  or  break,  are  very  useful. 
The  check  system  has  lately  been  applied  to  wooden  reels  in  such 
a  way  that  by  simply  moving  a  pin  the  wheel  becomes  a  check  reel 
or  a  free-running  reel  at  the  angler's  pleasure.  These  reels,  how- 
ever, are  expensive,  and  the  same  result  can  be  obtained  by  fasten- 
ing an  india-rubber  brake  withaspring  on  to  the  ordinary  Nottingham 
reel  in  such  a  way  that  it  can  be  turned  off  or  on  the  revolving  rim 
as  desired. 

Lines  are  made  of  various  materials.  For  salmon  fishing  loo 
yards  of  dressed  silk  8 -plait  line  is  necessary.  For  trout  fly-fishing  a 
mixture  of  hair  and  silk  is  said  to  be  the  best  by  some ;  but  it  does 
not  run  freely  through  the  rings,  and  a  dressed  silk  line,  finer  than 
that  used  for  salmon,  is,  I  think,  the  best.  Cotton  lines,  undressed, 
and  made  by  the  Manchester  Twine  Spinning  Company,  2 1  Cor- 
poration Street,  Manchester,  are  very  much  cheaper  than  silk  line, 
and  answer  every  purpose  nearly  as  well.  I  use  their  make,  dressed 
or  undressed,  for  every  description  of  fishing  now,  and  I  am  well 
satisfied  with  them.  They  are  excellent  for  bottom-fishing,  except 
for  the  Nottingham  style,  when  a  very  fine,  light,  though  strong  line 
of  undressed  silk  is  used. 

"  Dressed  "  lines  are  lines  made  waterproof.  See  Appendix,  for 
directions  how  to  dress  lines. 

Hooks  are  of  various  makes.  The  two  best  for  striking  and 
holding  are  the  Sneck  bend  and  the  Pennell ;  but  for  worm-fishing 
the  "  round  "  is  the  best,  as  a  worm  can  be  more  easily  threaded 
upon  it. 

Hooks  are  numbered  according  to  their  sizes,  and  the  numbers 
run  different  ways,  according  to  the  fancy  of  the  various  makers. 
This  makes  it  diflicult  to  refer  to  them  by  the  numbers. 

Between  the  reel-line  and  the  hook  is  a  longer  or  shorter  piece 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY. 


lOl 


rynryrvnn 

/    1             /i             /  !  /  //  / 
-' 


KIRBr  LIMERICK 


PCNNCLL  5PR0AT 


of  guf,  a  fine  strong  substance  procured  from  the  silkworm :  the 
advantage  of  this  is  that  it  is  less  visible  than  the  finest  ordinary 
line,  and  the  fish  are  not  alarmed  by  it.  For  pike  fishing,  gimj>, 
which  is  silk  whipped  round  with  fine  wire,  is  used,  as  it  is  not  liable 
to  be  cut  by  the  fish's  teeth.  Gut  should  be  fine,  round,  even,  and 
translucent. 

Floats  are  used  to  buoy  the  bait  at  a  proper  distance  from  the 
bottom,  and  to  indicate  a  bite.   They  are  made  of  corks  and  quills. 


Split  shot  are  used  to  place  on  the  line,  about  a  foot  above  the 
hook,  in  order  to  sink  it.     Very  fine  lead  wire  is  also  used  by 


102 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 


wrapping  it  round  the  line,  and  it  is,  I  think,  an  improvement  on 
shot.  It  is  sold  by  the  Manchester  Twine  Spinning  Company, 
mentioned  above. 

A  landing-net  is  exceedmgly  useful  in  landing  large  fish,  for  fish 
often  break  away  with  a  last  desperate  effort,  just  as  the  angler  is 


DISGORGER,   LANDING-NET,   AND  FLY-RETRIEVER. 

about  to  seize  them,  or  the  bank  may  be  so  encumbered  with  weeds 
or  bushes  that  they  cannot  be  lifted  out ;  in  such  cases  the  landing- 
net  may  be  slipped  under  them,  and  they  may  be  lifted  out  with 
safety. 

A^<^^is  simply  a  large  hook  at  the  end  of  a  handle,  and  is  also 
used  for  landing  fish  by  inserting  the  hook  into  the  gills,  or  plung- 
ing it  into  the  shoulder  of  the  fish. 


DRAG-HOOK. 


CLEARING-RING. 


A  disgorgcr  is  a  piece  of  bone  or  metal  forked  at  one  end,  and 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY. 


103 


[ 


by  its  aid  hooks  which  are  fast  in  a  lish's  throat  may  be  more 
easily  extracted. 

A  cleari fig-ring  is  made  of  iron  or  brass,  and  is  used  to  slip  down 
the  line  if  the  hook  is  fast  in  some  obstruction  out  of  reach.  By 
pulling  on  the  cord  attached  to  the  ring,  the  line  may  be  freed. 

The  drag-hook  is  also  used  for  the  same  purpose. 

A  fishing-basket  or  a  waterproof  bag  is  necessary  to  carry  one's 


FISHING-BASKET. 


WATERrROOF   EAG. 


fish  in ;  and  for  fishing  with  live  bait,  a  bait-can  is  requisite  to  carry 
the  small  fish  or  minnows  in. 
Plummets  are  used  to  sound  the  depth  of  the  water  in  which  you 


104 


THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


are  fishing,  so  as  to  know  how  to  adjust  the  float.  They  are  sus- 
pended to  the  hook,  and  the  line  is  dropped  into  the  water — 
various  trials  being  made  with  the  position  of  the  float  until  it  is 
of  the  right  depth. 


A 


K  pocket-book^  in  which  to  carry  hooks,  &c.,  is  also  necessary. 

The  various  kinds  of  tackle  mil  be  more  particularly  described 
in  the  essays  on  the  various  fish. 

Next  to  tackle  come  baits.    The  following  is  a  table  of  those 
usually  used : 

Worms  are  the  bait  in  most  general  use  for  bottom-fishing. 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY. 


105 


POCKET-BOOK. 


Before  use  they  should  be  scoured  by  being  kept  in  clean  damp 
moss  for  several  days.  This  makes  them  brighter  and  tougher. 
The  varieties  of  worms  are  as  follows  : 

The  lob-worm  is  the  large  worm  common  in  garden  soils.  The 
easiest  method  of  obtaining  a  quantity  is  to  go  into  the  garden  after 
dark  with  a  light,  and  if  after  a  shower  of  rain  so  much  the  better. 
You  must  move  very  gently,  and  you  will  see  numbers  lying 
stretched  at  full  length  on  the  earth  or  grass.  Press  your  finger 
suddenly  on  their  tails,  and  then  you  can  pick  them  up  easily.  If 
you  attempt  to  catch  hold  of  any  other  part  of  them,  they  with- 
draw themselves  into  their  holes,  tails  first,  with  great  rapidity. 

The  red  worm  is  pink  in  colour,  and  is  smaller  than  the  lob- 
worm. It  is  found  in  heaps  of  manure  or  decaying  vegetable 
matter. 

The  brandling  is  a  yellow  worm  ringed  with  red,  and  is  found  in 
dung-heaps  and  tan-heaps.  It  is  a  nasty-smelling  worm  to  handle, 
but  a  very  killing  bait. 

If  moss  is  not  procurable  for  scouring  worms,  tea-leaves  are  an 
excellent  makeshift. 

Wasp  grubs  J  or  the  larvse  of  the  wasp  found  in  its  subterraneous 
nests,  are  a  most  excellent  bait,  especially  for  trout  and  chub.  They 
should  be  half  dried  or  baked  in  a  slow  oven  or  before  the  fire,  and 
kept  in  a  cool  place  on  dry  straw,  where  they  will  keep  good  for  a 
long  time. 


I06  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

Gentles  or  the  maggots  of  the  house-flies  are  a  capital  bait  for 
most  fish.  They  may  be  bought  at  the  tallow-chandler's,  or  picked 
up  for  nothing ;  but  the  best  way  is  to  breed  them  from  liver.  A 
piece  of  liver  is  hung  up  in  the  sun  for  a  few  days,  and  will  get 
well  fly-blown.  Then  put  it  in  a  pot  or  pan  in  a  cool  place,  and 
the  eggs  will  hatch,  and  in  a  few  days  the  gentles  will  be  full  grown. 
They  should  be  scoured  in  sand  or  bran  before  being  used.  They 
are  also  a  good  bait  when  they  turn  into  the  chrysalis  state,  but 


are  difficult  to  keep  on  the  hook.  Gentles  may  be  kept  for  winter 
use  by  burying  the  vessel  containing  them  and  their  food  in  the 
earth,  in  a  dry  place.  The  accompanying  illustration  shows  a  very 
good  form  of  box  to  carry  gentles  in.  They  can  be  shaken  on  to 
the  little  tray  for  selection. 

Caddis  is  the  larva  of  certain  water-flies.  It  inhabits  little 
cylindrical  cases  of  straw  or  small  gravel  glued  together,  and  crawls 
along  the  bottom  of  the  stream. 

Caterpillars,  snails,  and  slugs  are  used  with  success  at  times. 

The  creeper  or  larva  of  the  stone-fly,  found  under  stones  in  the 
water,  is  a  deadly  bait  for  trout  when  fresh. 

Cockchafers,  cockroaches,  and  beetles  of  all  kinds  are  also  good 
baits,  as  2xq  frogs,  large  and  small. 

Greaves  or  scratchings  is  the  refuse  from  the  tallow-chandler's 
made  into  hard  cakes,  which  must  be  broken  up  and  scalded  before 
being  used. 


PRACTICAL   ESSAY.  10/ 

Flies  of  all  kinds. 

Small  fish  for  pike,  minnows  for  trout  and  perch. 

Pearl  barley,  boiled  until  it  is  soft  enough  for  the  hook  to 
penetrate,  is  a  capital  bait  for  roach,  as  are  boiled  wheat  and  barley. 

Cheese  is  a  good  bait  for  chub,  barbel,  and  carp. 

Shrimps  (boiled)  are  good  for  salmon  and  perch. 

Paste  is  a  very  favourite  bait  for  roach,  dace,  carp,  and  other 
fish.  It  may  be  made  in  various  ways.  The  crumb  of  new  white 
bread,  worked  up,  with  clean  hands,  into  a  sticky  paste,  is  as  good 
as  any.  It  may  be  coloured  with  vermilion,  and  sweetened  or 
flavoured  with  honey  or  shrimp  paste,  or  anything  the  angler  fancies. 
Plain  white  paste  made  from  Huntley  and  Palmer's  biscuits  is  what 
a  successful  angler  of  my  acquaintance  swears  by. 

Artificial  flies,  minnows,  dXi^fish  are  after\vards  referred  to. 

Fish  spawn  of  any  kind  is  an  illegal  bait. 

For  the  purpose  of  attracting  fish  to  a  given  spot,  where  the 
angler  may  fish  for  them  with  greater  chances  of  success,  ground- 
bait  is  used.  This  is  thrown  in  the  day  before,  if  possible;  for  time 
should  be  allowed  the  fish  to  get  hungry  again  after  partaking  of 
it,  when  a  little  thrown  in  occasionally,  while  the  angler  is  fishing, 
will  keep  them  together. 

Grains,  soaked  bread,  broken  worms,  greaves,  anything  that  fish 
will  eat,  may  be  used  as  ground-bait,  so  that  it  is  inferior  in  quality 
to  the  bait  the  angler  is  fishing  with. 

Where  there  is  a  current  the  ground-bait  should  be  kneaded 
into  balls,  and  thrown  so  that  it  falls  to  the  bottom  and  breaks  up 
at  the  spot  where  you  mean  to  fish. 

And  now,  as  a  prelude  to  the  instruction  afterwards  conveyed, 
let  us  carefully  note  the  proceedings  of  a  bottom-fisher  at  work  by 
the  side  of  a  slow-nmning  stream,  where  most  bottom-feeding  fish 
may  be  met  with. 

He  has  not  had  the  time  or  the  opportunity  of  ground-baiting 
the  spot  the  day  before,  so  he  soaks  a  small  loaf  of  bread  in  a  little 
sand-pool  while  he  is  putting  his  tackle  together.  Then,  squeezing 
a  handful  of  it,  he  throws  it  in  the  river  a  little  higher  up  than  the 


io8 


THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


spot  he  means  to  fish,  so  that  it  reaches  the  bottom  opposite  to 
him.  His  rod  is  put  together  so  that  the  rings  are  all  in  a  line ; 
the  reel  is  on  the  under-side  of  the  rod,  with  the  handle  to  the  left. 
He  puts  the  line  through  the  rings,  and  draws  out  a  rod's  length.  He 
then  puts  the  float  on  the  line  with  the  cap  uppermost ;  to  the  line 
he  attaches  a  4-feet  length  of  gut  with  a  medium-sized  hook,  on  or 


just  above  which  are  three  or  four  shot.  He  baits  with  a  red  worm, 
and  having  found  the  depth  of  the  water,  he  adjusts  the  float  so 
that  the  worm  will  hang  about  four  inches  from  the  bottom.  Then 
he  casts  gently  in  at  the  upper  end  of  the  pool,  and  watches  the 
float  as  it  swims  gently  down  with  the  current.  Suddenly  it  dips 
a  little,  then  goes  under  with  a  dash.  He  strikes,  and  whisks  a 
small  perch  out.  At  the  next  swim  he  hooks  a  larger  fish,  which 
it  would  not  be  wise  to  jerk  out,  so  he  brings  it  within  reach  of  his 
landing-net,  and  sweeps  it  out  with  that. 

Perhaps,  however,  he  adopts  a  more  scientific  and  deadly  way 
of  fishing,  /.d,  with  a  Nottingham  reel  and  line,  and  a  slider  float. 

The  Nottingham  reel  runs  very  freely,  and  a  fine  undressed  silk 
line  is  used  with  it.  The  slider  float  is  made  after  this  fashion  :  it 
has  rings  at  both  ends,  and  slides  freely  up  and  down  the  line. 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY. 


109 


except  that  it  is  prevented  from  slipping  down  to  the  hook  by  the 
shots,  and  the  Hne  is  prevented  from  running  down  through  the  rings 
when  the  float  is  on  the  water  by  a  piece 
of  stick,  or  better,  elastic,  tied  on  to  the 
line  at  any  chosen  depth.  This  con- 
struction is  to  enable  the  angler  to  make 
a  long  throw,  and  in  deep  water  to  en- 
able him  to  wind  up  his  line  without  the 
float  being  stopped  against  the  Xo^  ring 
of  his  rod. 

Taking  the  rod  in  his  right  hand, 
with  as  much  line  out  as  he  can  throw, 
he  draws  more  line  out  from  the  reel 
above  the  first  ring,  the  float  resting  on 
the  shots ;  then  swinging  the  bait  out, 
he  lets  go  the  line,  and  the  bait  is  pitched  twice  as  far  as  it  would 
be  by  the  ordinary  method.  When  the  float  falls  on  the  water,  the 
line  nms  through  its  rings  until  stopped  by  the  piece  of  elastic,  and 
the  bait  sinks  a  corresponding  depth  in  the  water.  As  the  float 
travels  down  stream,  the  angler,  by  easing  the  line  off  the  reel,  can 
let  it  go  as  far  as  he  likes,  thus  having  a  longer  swim  than  he  can 
have  with  the  ordinary  float-fishing. 

So  much  for  the  general  principles  of  bottom-fishing.  In  the 
Appendix  to  the  next  chapter  we  will  give  particular  directions  as 
to  the  chub. 


NOTTINGHAM    REEL. 


DACE  AND  CHUC 


CHAPTER  III. 


HOW  TO  FISH  FOR,  AND  TO  DRESS,  THE  CHAVENDER, 
OR  CHUB. 


PiSC.  The  Chub,  though  lie  eat  well  thus  dressed,  yet  as 
he  is  usually  dressed,  he  does  not.  He  is  objected  against, 
not  only  for  being  full  of  small  forked  bones,  dispersed 
through  all  his  body,  but  that  he  eats  waterish,  and  that 
the  flesh  of  him  is  not  firm,  but  short  and  tasteless.  The 
French  esteem  him  so  mean  as  to  call  him  "  tm  vilain ; " 
nevertheless,  he  may  be  so  dressed  as  to  make  him  very 
good  meat — as,  namely,  if  he  be  a  large  chub,  then  dress 
him  thus : 

First,  scale  him,  and  then  wash  him  clean,  and  then  take 
out  his  guts ;  and  to  that  end  make  the  hole  as  little,  and 

110 


THE  CHUB.  Ill 


near  to  his  gills,  as  you  may  conveniently,  and  especially 
make  clean  his  throat  from  the  grass  and  weeds  that  are 
usually  in  it ;  for  if  that  be  not  very  clean,  it  will  make  him 
to  taste  very  sour.  Having  so  done,  put  some  sweet  herbs 
into  his  belly ;  and  then  tie  him  with  two  or  three  splinters 
to  a  spit,  and  roast  him,  basted  often  with  vinegar,  or  rather 
verjuice  and  butter,  with  good  store  of  salt  mixed  with  it. 
Being  thus  dressed,  you  will  find  him  a  much  better  dish  of 
meat  than  you,  or  most  folk,  even  than  anglers  themselves, 
do  imagine  ;  for  this  dries  up  the  fluid  watery  humour  with 
which  all  chubs  do  abound. 

But  take  this  rule  with  you,  that  a  chub  newly  taken  and 
newly  dressed  is  so  much  better  than  a  chub  of  a  day's 
keeping  after  he  is  dead,  that  I  can  compare  him  to  nothing 
so  fitly  as  to  cherries  newly  gathered  from  a  tree,  and  others 
that  have  been  bruised  and  lain  a  day  or  two  in  water.  But 
the  chub  being  thus  used,  and  dressed  presently,  and  not 
washed  after  he  is  gutted  (for  note,  that  lying  long  in  water, 
and  washing  the  blood  out  of  any  fish  after  they  be  gutted, 
abates  much  of  their  sweetness),  you  will  find  the  chub 
(being  dressed  in  the  blood,  and  quickly)  to  be  such  meat 
as  will  recompense  your  labour,  and  disabuse  your  opinion. 
Or  you  may  dress  the  chavender  or  chub  thus : 
When  you  have  scaled  him,  and  cut  off  his  tail  and  fins, 
and  washed  him  very  clean,  then  chine  or  slit  him  through 
the  middle,  as  a  salt  fish  is  usually  cut ;  then  give  him  three 
or  four  cuts  or  scotches  on  the  back  with  your  knife,  and 
broil  him  on  charcoal,  or  wood-coal  that  is  free  from  smoke, 
and  all  the  time  he  is  a-broiling  baste  him  with  the  best 
sweet  butter,  and  good  store  of  salt  mixed  with  it ;  and  to 
this  add  a  little  thyme  cut  exceeding  small,  or  bruised  into 


112  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

the  butter.  The  cheven  thus  dressed  hath  the  watery  taste 
taken  away,  for  which  so  many  except  against  him.  Thus 
was  the  cheven  dressed  that  you  now  Hked  so  well  and  com- 
mended so  much.  But  note  again,  that  if  this  chub  that 
you  ate  of  had  been  kept  till  to-morrow,  he  had  not  been 
worth  a  rush.  And  remember  that  his  throat  be  washed 
very  clean,  I  say  very  clean,  and  his  body  not  washed  after 
he  is  gutted,  as  indeed  no  fish  should  be. 

Well,  scholar,  you  see  what  pains  I  have  taken  to  recover 
the  lost  credit  of  the  poor  despised  chub.  And  now  I  will 
give  you  some  rules  how  to  catch  him  ;  and  I  am  glad  to 
enter  you  into  the  art  of  fishing  by  catching  a  chub,  for 
there  is  no  fish  better  to  enter  a  young  angler,  he  is  so 
easily  caught,  but  then  it  must  be  this  particular  way. 

Go  to  the  same  hole  in  which  I  caught  my  chub,  where  in 
most  hot  days  you  will  find  a  dozen  or  twenty  chevens  float- 
ing near  the  top  of  the  water :  get  two  or  three  grasshoppers 
as  you  go  over  the  meadow,  and  get  secretly  behind  the  tree, 
and  stand  as  free  from  motion  as  is  possible ;  then  put  a 
grasshopper  on  your  hook,  and  let  your  hook  hang  a  quarter 
of  a  yard  short  of  the  water,  to  which  end  you  must  rest 
your  rod  on  some  bough  of  the  tree.  But  it  is  likely  the 
chubs  will  sink  down  towards  the  bottom  of  the  water,  at 
the  first  shadow  of  your  rod  (for  chub  is  the  fearfullest  of 
fishes),  and  will  do  so  if  but  a  bird  flies  over  him  and  makes 
the  least  shadow  on  the  water.  But  they  will  presently  rise 
up  to  the  top  again,  and  there  lie  soaring  till  some  shadow 
affrights  them  again.  I  say,  when  they  lie  upon  the  top  of 
the  water,  look  out  the  best  chub  (which  you,  setting  your- 
self in  a  fit  place,  may  very  easily  see),  and  move  your  rod 
as  softly  as  a  snail  moves,  to  that  chub  you  intend  to  catch ; 


THE  CHUB.  113 


let  your  bait  fall  gently  upon  the  water  three  or  four  inches 
before  him,  and  he  will  infallibly  take  the  bait.  And  you  will 
be  as  sure  to  catch  him  ;  for  he  is  one  of  the  leather-mouthed 
fishes  of  which  a  hook  does  scarce  ever  lose  its  hold  ;  and 
therefore  give  him  play  enough  before  you  offer  to  take  him 
out  of  the  water.  Go  your  way  presently :  take  my  rod 
and  do  as  I  bid  you ;  and  I  will  sit  down  and  mend  my 
tackling  till  you  return  back. 

Ven.  Truly,  my  loving  master,  you  have  offered  me  as 
fair  as  I  could  wish.     I  '11  go,  and  observe  your  directions. 

Look  you,  master,  what  I  have  done,  that  which  joys  my 
heart, — caught  just  such  another  chub  as  yours  was. 

PiSC.  Marry,  and  I  am  glad  of  it :  I  am  like  to  have  a 
towardly  scholar  of  you.  I  now  see,  that  with  advice  and 
practice,  you  will  make  an  angler  in  a  short  time.  Have  but 
a  love  to  it,  and  I  '11  warrant  you. 

Ven.  But,  master,  what  if  I  could  not  have  found  a  grass- 
hopper } 

PiSC.  Then  I  may  tell  you,  that  a  black  snail,  with  his 
belly  slit  to  show  his  white,  or  a  piece  of  soft  cheese,  will 
usually  do  as  well.  Nay,  sometimes  a  worm,  or  any  kind 
of  fly,  as  the  ant-fly,  the  flesh-fly,  or  wall-fly ;  or  the  dor  or 
beetle,  which  you  may  find  under  cow-dung,  or  a  bob,  which 
you  will  find  in  the  same  place,  and  in  time  will  be  a  beetle: 
it  is  a  short  white  worm,  like  to  and  bigger  than  a  gentle  ; 
or  a  cod-worm,  or  a  case-worm,  any  of  these  will  do  very 
well  to  fish  in  such  a  manner.  And  after  this  manner  you 
may  catch  a  trout  in  a  hot  evening :  when  as  you  walk  by 
a  brook,  and  shall  see  or  hear  him  leap  at  flies,  then  if  you 
get  a  grasshopper,  put  it  on  your  hook,  with  your  line  about 
two  yards  long,  standing  behind  a  bush  or  tree  where  his 

8 


114  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

hole  is,  and  make  your  bait  stir  up  and  down  on  the  top  of 
the  water,  you  may,  if  you  stand  close,  be  sure  of  a  bite,  but 
not  sure  to  catch  him,  for  he  is  not  a  leather-mouthed  fish  ; 
and  after  this  manner  you  may  fish  for  him  with  almost  any 
kind  of  live  fly,  but  especially  with  a  grasshopper. 

Ven.  But  before  you  go  further,  I  pray,  good  master, 
what  mean  you  by  a  leather-mouthed  fish  ? 

PiSC.  By  a  leather-mouthed  fish  I  mean  such  as  have 
their  teeth  in  their  throat,  as  the  chub  or  cheven,  and  so  the 
barbel,  the  gudgeon,  and  carp,  and  divers  others  have  ;  and 
the  hook  being  stuck  into  the  leather  or  skin,  or  the  mouth 
of  such  fish,  does  very  seldom  or  never  lose  its  hold  ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  a  pike,  a  perch,  or  trout,  and  so  some  other 
fish,  which  have  not  their  teeth  in  their  throats,  but  in  their 
mouths,  which  you  shall  observe  to  be  very  full  of  bones, 
and  the  skin  very  thin,  and  little  of  it :  I  say,  of  these  fish 
the  hook  never  takes  so  sure  hold,  but  you  often  lose  your 
fish,  unless  he  have  gorged  it. 

Ven.  I  thank  you,  good  master,  for  this  observation ;  but 
now,  what  shall  be  done  with  my  chub  or  cheven  that  I 
have  caught  ? 

PiSC.  Marry,  Sir,  it  shall  be  given  away  to  some  poor 
body,  for  I  '11  warrant  you  I  '11  give  you  a  trout  for  your 
supper  :  and  it  is  a  good  beginning  of  your  art  to  ofi*er  your 
first-fruits  to  the  poor,  who  will  both  thank  you  and  God 
for  it,  which  I  see  by  your  silence  you  seem  to  consent  to. 
And  for  your  willingness  to  part  with  it  so  charitably,  I  will 
also  teach  you  more  concerning  chub  fishing.  You  are 
to  note  that  in  March  and  April  he  is  usually  taken  with 
worms  ;  in  May,  June,  and  July  he  will  bite  at  any  fly,  or  at 
cherries,  or  at  beetles  with  their  legs  and  wings  cut  off,  or 


THE  CHUB.  115 


at  any  kind  of  snail,  or  at  the  black  bee  that  breeds  In  clay 
walls.  And  he  never  refuses  a  grasshopper  on  the  top  of  a 
swift  stream,  nor,  at  the  bottom,  the  young  humble-bee  that 
breeds  in  long  grass,  and  is  ordinarily  found  by  the  mower 
of  it.  In  August  and  the  cooler  months,  a  yellow  paste, 
made  of  the  strongest  cheese,  and  pounded  in  a  mortar,  with 
a  little  butter  and  saffron,  so  much  of  it  as,  being  beaten 
small,  will  turn  it  to  a  lemon  colour.  And  some  make  a 
paste,  for  the  winter  months,  at  which  time  the  chub  is  ac- 
counted best  (for  then  it  is  observed  that  the  forked  bones 
are  lost,  or  turned  into  a  kind  of  gristle,  especially  if  he  be 
baked),  of  cheese  and  turpentine.  He  will  bite  also  at  a 
minnow,  or  penk,  as  a  trout  will :  of  which  I  shall  tell  you 
more  hereafter,  and  of  divers  other  baits.  But  take  this  for 
a  rule,  that,  in  hot  weather,  he  is  to  be  fished  for  towards 
the  mid-water,  or  near  the  top  ;  and  in  colder  weather 
nearer  the  bottom.  And  if  you  fish  for  him  on  the  top, 
with  a  beetle  or  any  fly,  then  be  sure  to  let  your  line  be 
very  long  and  to  keep  out  of  sight.  And  having  told  you 
that  his  spawn  is  excellent  meat,  and  that  the  head  of  a 
large  chcven,  the  throat  being  well  washed,  is  the  best  part 
of  him,  I  will  say  no  more  of  this  fish  at  the  present,  but 
wish  you  may  catch  the  next  you  fish  for. 

But,  lest  you  may  judge  me  too  nice  in  urging  to  have 
the  chub  dressed  so  presently  after  he  is  taken,  I  will  com- 
mend to  your  consideration  how  curious  former  times  have 
been  in  the  like  kind. 

You  shall  reud  in  Seneca  his  "  Natural  Questions,"  lib.  iii. 
cap.  17,  that  the  ancients  were  so  curious  in  the  newness 
of  their  fish,  that  that  seemed  not  new  enough  that  was  not 
put  alive  into  the  guest's  hand ;  and  he  says  that  to  that 

8 — 2 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


end  they  did  usually  keep  them  living  in  glass  bottles  in 
their  dining-rooms ;  and  they  did  glory  much  in  their  enter- 
taining of  friends,  to  have  that  fish  taken  from  under  their 
table  alive  that  was  instantly  to  be  fed  upon.  And  he  says, 
they  took  great  pleasure  to  see  their  mullets  change  to 
several  colours  when  they  were  dying.  But  enough  of  this, 
for  I  doubt  I  have  stayed  too  long  from  giving  you  some 
observations  of  the  trout,  and  how  to  fish  for  him,  which 
shall  take  up  the  next  of  my  spare  time. 


APPENDIX   III. 
Practical    Essay. 

THE   CHUB. 

Walton  was  a  good  chub  fisher,  and  his  directions  are  still  valu 
able. 

The  chub  is  a  fish  well  worth  the  catching  (though  not  the  eating), 

for  he  affords  good  sport.    It  is  common  in  most  rivers,  and  grows 

to  a  good  weight,  four  and  six  pounds  being  not  an  uncommon 

weight,  and  I  have  seen  a  chub  caught  in  the  Severn,  with  a  net, 

'which  was  said  to  weigh  nine  pounds,  and  looked  fully  that  weight. 

lit  spawns  in  April  and  May,  and  afterwards  selects  the  sharp  streams 

to  cleanse  itself  and  recruit,  where  it  may  be  easily  caught  by  fly- 

ifishing  with  largish  flies,  of  the  black  and  red  palmer  type,  having 

'plenty  of  bushy  hackle  upon  them,  but  almost  any  fair-sized  stout 

ly  will  do.   As  the  summer  advances  the  chub  takes  to  the  quietei 

-vaters,  and  a  very  favourite  place  is  the  deepest  water  by  a  bank, 

lilong  which  grows  a  fringe  of  bushes  or  trees.     Here  the  chub 

3asks  on  hot  days  in  great  numbers,  and  may  be  readily  caught 

ither  by  daping,  fly-fishing,  or  bait-fishing,  as  mentioned  afterwards. 

n  the  late  autumn  it  retires  for  the  winter  into  still  deeper  and 

[uieter  pools,  under  campsheeting,  near  piles,  lock-gates,  sunken 

oots,  and  similar  harbours.     In  open  weather,  through  the  winter, 

may  be  readily  caught  by  bottom-fishing. 

Once  a  chub-hole  always  a  chub-hole  is  a  true  saying,  and  as  the 

Kts  of  the  fish  are  well  known  in  each  river,  ground-baiting  over- 
117 


Il8  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


night  is  superfluous.  A  little  ground-bait  thrown  in  now  and  then 
while  fishing  will  be  sufficient  to  keep  the  fish  together.  The  chub 
is  a  very  shy  and  timid  fish,  and  great  quiet  is  advisable  when 
angling  for  it. 

In  bottom-fishing  for  the  chub  you  will  require  a  stiffish  rod,  a 
few  feet  of  strong  though  fine  gut,  a  moderate-sized  hook,  and  a 
buoyant  float :  the  line  should  be  shotted  well,  so  as  to  sink  at  once 
to  its  proper  depth,  which  is  just  to  clear  the  bottom.  Your  line 
had  best  be  the  undressed  silk  line,  with  the  wooden  reel  used  in 
the  Nottingham  style  ot  fishing.  Your  bait  may  be  worms,  wasp 
grubs,  cheese,  slugs,  snails,  greaves — anything,  in  fact,  so  that  there 
is  plenty  of  it,  for  the  chub  likes  a  rich  mouthful.  Pith  is  a  very 
killing  bait,  in  winter-time  especially.  It  is  the  spinal  marrow  of  a 
bullock  or  cow,  and  is  prepared  for  use  by  boiling  for  three  or  four 
minutes.  Its  accompanying  ground-bait  is  the  brains  of  any  animal 
which  the  butcher  kills,  well  washed,  and  boiled  for  about  a  quarter 
of  an  hour.  Whatever  the  bait  is,  let  it  travel  with  the  current, 
easing  the  line  off"  the  reel  until  it  has  travelled  as  far  as  you  can 
see  the  float  well,  or  to  the  end  of  the  hole.  If  you  see  it  dip, 
strike,  and  strike  at  the  end  of  a  swim  whether  it  dips  or  no. 

The  ledger-bait,  as  described  in  the  Appendix  relating  to  the 
barbelf  may  sometimes  be  used  with  advantage.  Chub  will  often 
take  a  minnow,  spinning  or  alive,  but  it  is  not  a  generally  success- 
ful bait  for  them. 

In  the  hot  summer  months,  when  the  chub  are  lying  under  the 
bushes,  fly-fishing  for  them  is  excellent  sport.  You  must  have  a 
boat  and  an  attendant  to  pull  it,  keep  as  far  from  the  side  where 
the  chub  are  as  you  can  throw  your  line,  and  drop  quietly  down 
stream,  casting  your  fly,  which  should  be  a  large,  dark,  and  rough- 
bodied  one,  right  to  the  edge  of  the  boughs — if  you  can  manage 
so  that  it  touches  the  leaves,  and  falls  on  to  the  water  from  them, 
like  a  caterpillar,  so  much  the  better — and  if  the  chub  are  there 
and  on  the  feed,  you  should  catch  great  nunabers  of  them.  I  have 
seen  this  mode  of  fishing  practised  on  the  Severn  from  a  coracle, 
and  I  commend  this  conveyance  to  the  luxurious  Thames  fishermen. 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY.  1 19 

I  hate  having  an  attendant  with  me,  and  always  like  to  "  paddle 
my  o\vn  canoe,"  and  the  coracle  is  perfection  for  this  kind  of  work. 

You  can  dape  or  dib  for  chub  with  a  cockchafer,  bee,  grasshop- 
per, or  any  large  fly,  and  with  a  small  frog.  Stick  your  hook  side- 
ways through  the  bee,  or  if  you  are  afraid  of  his  sting,  try  a  cock- 
roach ;  roll  the  line  round  the  front  of  your  rod,  poke  the  latter 
through  the  bushes  over  where  the  chub  are  lying,  and  unroll  the 
line  by  twisting  the  rod  round  until  the  fly  touches  the  water,  when 
the  biggest  chub  will  probably  suck  it  in  with  his  fat  white  lips,  and 
then  mind  that  he  doesn't  get  you  fast  in  the  roots.  In  this  way 
you  may  proceed  dowTi  the  river,  picking  out  the  biggest  fish.  A 
very  good  plan  is  to  bait  with  a  tiny  frog  who  has  not  long  before 
cast  off  his  tail  and  ceased  to  be  a  tadpole ;  hook  him  gently  (as 
if  you  loved  him)  through  the  skin  of  the  back,  have  a  small  bullet 
on  your  line,  about  a  foot  above  the  hook,  reel  up  your  line  until 
the  bullet  touches  the  top  ring,  push  the  rod  through  the  branches 
as  before,  and  let  the  bullet  draw  your  line  through  the  rings  until 
the  frog  touches  the  water,  where  his  efforts  to  swim  away  will  pro- 
bably bring  the  biggest  chub  up  to  see  what  is  the  matter.  For  fly- 
fishing or  daping  for  chub,  select  the  calmest  and  hottest  weather. 

Blow-line  fishing,  as  described  in  the  Appendix  on  trout  fishing, 
is  also  very  killing. 

Chub  make  rapid  headway  in  a  river  when  once  introduced,  and 
many  of  our  best  trout  streams  are  being  spoiled  by  their  presence, 
for  they  take  the  place  and  the  food  from  the  nobler  fish. 


^c^ 


CHAPTER    IV. 

observations  of  the  nature  and  breeding  of  the 
trout,  and  how  to  fish  for  him;  and  the 
milkmaid's  song. 


The  Trout  is  a  fish  highly  valued  both  in  this  and  foreign 
nations  :  he  may  be  justly  said,  as  the  old  poet  said  of  wine, 
and  we  English  say  of  venison,  to  be  a  generous  fish  :  a  fish 
that  is  so  like  the  buck  that  he  also  has  his  seasons ;  for  it 
is  observed,  that  he  comes  in  and  goes  out  of  season  with 
the  stag  and  buck.  Gesner  says  his  name  is  of  a  German 
offspring,  and  says  he  is  a  fish  that  feeds  clean  and  purely, 
in  the  swiftest  streams,  and  on  the  hardest  gravel ;  and  that 
he  may  justly  contend  with  all  fresh-water  fish,  as  the  mullet 
may  with  all  sea-fish,  for  precedency  and  daintiness  of  taste, 
and  that  being  in  right  season,  the  most  dainty  palates  have 
allowed  precedency  to  him. 

120 


THE   TROUT.  121 


P  And  before  I  go  further  in  my  discourse,  let  me  tell  you, 
that  you  are  to  observe,  that  as  there  be  some  barren  does 
that  are  good  in  summer,  so  there  be  some  barren  trouts  that 
are  good  in  winter ;  but  there  are  not  many  that  are  so,  for 
usually  they  be  in  their  perfection  in  the  month  of  May,  and 
decline  with  the  buck.  Now  you  are  to  take  notice,  that  in 
several  countries,  as  in  Germany  and  in  other  parts,  com- 
pared to  ours,  fish  differ  much  in  their  bigness  and  shape, 
and  other  ways,  and  so  do  trouts :  it  is  well  known  that  in 
the  Lake  Leman,  the  Lake  of  Geneva,  there  are  trouts  taken 
of  three  cubits  long,  as  is  affirmed  by  Gesner,  a  writer  of 
good  credit ;  and  Mercator*  says,  the  trouts  that  are  taken 
in  the  Lake  of  Geneva  are  a  great  part  of  the  merchandise 
of  that  famous  city.  And  you  are  further  to  know,  that 
there  be  certain  waters,  that  breed  trouts  remarkable  both 
for  their  number  and  smallncss.  I  know  a  little  brook  in 
Kent  that  breeds  them  to  a  number  incredible,  and  you  may 
take  them  twenty  or  forty  in  an  hour,  but  none  greater  than 
about  the  size  of  a  gudgeon  :  there  are  also  in  divers  rivers, 
especially  that  relate  to  or  be  near  to  the  sea,  as  Winchester, 
or  the  Thames  about  Windsor,  a  little  trout  called  samlet, 
or  skeggcr  trout^  (in  both  which  places  I  have  caught  twenty 
or  forty  at  a  standing),  that  will  bite  as  fast  and  as  freely  as 
minnows  :  these  be  by  some  taken  to  be  young  salmon  ;  but 
in  those  waters  they  never  grow  to  be  bigger  than  a  herring. 
There  is  also  in  Kent,  near  to  Canterbury,  a  trout  called 
there  a  Fordidge  trout,  a  trout  that  bears  the  name  of  the 
town  where  it  is  usually  caught,  that  is  accounted  the  rarest 
of  fish ;  many  of  them  near  the  bigness  of  a  salmon,  but 
known  by  their  different  colour ;  and  in  their  best  season 
they  cut  very  white  ;  and  none  of  these  have  been  known  to 


122  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

be  caught  with  an  angle,  unless  it  were  one  that  was  caught 
by  Sir  George  Hastings,  an  excellent  angler,  and  now  with 
God  :  and  he  hath  told  me,  he  thought  that  trout  bit  not  for 
hunger  but  wantonness  ;  and  it  is  rather  to  be  believed,  be- 
cause both  he,  then,  and  many  others  before  him,  have  been 
curious  to  search  into  their  bellies,  what  the  food  was  by 
which  they  lived,  and  have  found  out  nothing  by  which  they 
might  satisfy  their  curiosity. 

^Concerning  which  you  are  to  take  notice,  that  it  is  re- 
ported by  good  authors,  that  grasshoppers,  and  some  fish, 
have  no  mouths,  but  are  nourished  and  take  breath  by  the 
porousness  of  their  gills,  man  knows  not  how  :  and  this  may 
be  believed,  if  we  consider  that  when  the  raven  hath  hatched 
her  eggs,  she  takes  no  further  care,  but  leaves  her  young 
ones  to  the  care  of  the  God  of  nature,  who  is  said,  in  the 
Psalms,  "to  feed  the  young  ravens  that  call  upon  Him." 
And  they  be  kept  alive  and  fed  by  dew,  or  worms  that  breed 
in  their  nests,  or  some  other  ways  that  we  mortals  know 
not ;  and  this  may  be  believed  of  the  Fordidge  trout,  which, 
as  it  is  said  of  the  stork  (Jerem.  viii.  7),  that  "he  knows  his 
season,"  so  he  knows  his  times,  I  think  almost  his  day  of 
coming  into  that  river  out  of  the  sea,  where  he  lives,  and,  it 
is  like,  feeds  nine  months  of  the  year,  and  fasts  three  in  the 
river  of  Fordidge.  And  you  are  to  note  that  those  towns- 
men are  very  punctual  in  observing  the  time  of  beginning 
to  fish  for  them,  and  boast  much  that  their  river  affords  a 
trout  that  exceeds  all  others.  And  just  so  does  Sussex 
boast  of  several  fish ;  as  namely,  a  Shelsey  cockle,  a 
Chichester  lobster,  an  Arundel  mullet,  and  an  Amerly  trout. 

And  now  for  some  confirmation  of  the  Fordidge  trout : 
you  are  to  know  that  this  trout  is  thought  to  eat  nothing  in 


THE    TROUT.  123 


the  fresh  water  ;  and  it  may  be  better  believed,  because  it  is 
well  known,  that  swallows  and  bats  and  wagtails,  which  are 
called  half-year  birds,  and  not  seen  to  fly  in  England  for  six 
months  in  the  year,  but  about  Michaelmas  leave  us  for  a 
better  climate  than  this ;  yet  some  of  them  that  have  been 
left  behind  their  fellows,  have  been  found  many  thousands 
at  a  time,  in  hollow  trees,  or  clay  caves ;  where  they  have 
been  observed  to  live  and  sleep  out  the  whole  winter  without 
meat ;  and  so  Albertus^  observes,  that  there  is  one  kind  of 
frog  that  hath  her  mouth  naturally  shut  up  about  the  end 
of  August,  and  that  she  lives  so  all  the  winter ;  and  though 
it  be  strange  to  some,  yet  it  is  known  to  too  many  among 
us  to  be  doubted." 

And  so  much  for  these  Fordidge  trouts,  which  never  afford 
an  angler  sport,  but  either  live  their  time  of  being  in  the 
fresh  water,  by  their  meat  formerly  got  in  the  sea  (not  unlike 
the  swallow  or  frog),  or  by  the  virtue  of  the  fresh  water  only; 
or,  as  the  birds  of  Paradise  and  the  chamelion  are  said  to 
live,  by  the  sun  and  the  air. 

There  is  also  in  Northumberland  a  trout  called  a  bull 
trout,  of  a  much  greater  length  and  bigness  than  any  in  the 
southern  parts.  And  there  are,  in  many  rivers  that  relate 
to  the  sea,  salmon  trouts,  as  much  different  from  others,  both 
in  shape  and  in  their  spots,  as  we  see  sheep  in  some  countries 
differ  one  from  another  in  their  shape  and  bigness,  and  in 
the  fineness  of  their  wool.  And  certainly,  as  some  pastures 
breed  larger  sheep,  so  do  some  rivers,  by  reason  of  the  ground 
over  which  they  run,  breed  larger  trouts. 

Now  the  next  thing  that  I  will  commend  to  your  con- 
sideration is,  that  the  trout  is  of  a  more  sudden  growth  than 
other  fish.     Concerning  which,  you  are  also  to  take  notice. 


124  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

that  he  Hves  not  so  long  as  the  perch  and  divers  other  fishes 
do,  as  Sir  Francis  Bacon  hath  observed  in  his  "  History  of 
Life  and  Death." 

And  now  you  are  to  take  notice,  that  he  is  not  Hke  the 
crocodile,  which  if  he  lives  never  so  long,  yet  always  thrives 
till  his  death.  And  you  are  to  know,  that  he  will  about, 
especially  before,  the  time  of  his  spawning,  get  almost 
miraculously  through  weirs  and  flood-gates  against  the 
streams ;  even  through  such  high  and  swift  places  as  is 
almost  incredible.  Next,  that  the  trout  usually  spawns  about 
October  or  November,  but  in  some  rivers  a  little  sooner  or 
later  ;  which  is  the  more  observable,  because  most  other  fish 
spawn  in  the  spring  or  summer,  when  the  sun  hath  warmed 
both  the  earth  and  the  water,  and  made  it  fit  for  generation. 
And  you  are  to  note,  that  he  continues  many  months  out  of 
season  ;  for  it  may  be  observed  of  the  trout,  that  he  is  like 
the  buck  or  the  ox,  that  he  will  not  be  fat  in  many  months, 
though  he  go  in  the  very  same  pasture  that  horses  do,  which 
will  be  fat  in  one  month :  and  so  you  may  observe,  that 
most  other  fishes  recover  strength,  and  grow  sooner  fat  and 
in  season,  than  the  trout  doth. 

And  next  you  are  to  note,  that  till  the  sun  gets  to  such  a 
height  as  to  warm  the  earth  and  the  water,  the  trout  is  sick 
and  lean,  and  lousy,  and  unwholesome ;  for  you  shall  in 
winter  find  him  to  have  a  big  head,  and  then  to  be  lank, 
and  thin,  and  lean  :  at  which  time  many  of  them  have 
sticking  on  them  sugs,  or  trout- lice,  which  is  a  kind  of 
worm,  in  shape  like  a  clove  or  pin,  with  a  big  head,  and 
sticks  close  to  him  and  sucks  his  moisture :  those  I  think 
the  trout  breeds  himself,  and  never  thrives  till  he  free  him* 
self  from  them,  which  is  when  warm  weather  comes ;  and 


THE   TROUT.  12$ 


then,  as  he  grows  stronger,  he  gets  from  the  dead,  still 
water,  into  the  sharp  streams,  and  the  gravel,  and  there 
rubs  off  these  worms  or  lice  ;  and  then  as  he  grows  stronger, 
so  he  gets  him  into  swifter  and  swifter  streams,  and  there 
lies  at  the  watch  for  any  fly  or  minnow  that  comes  near  to 
him  ;  and  he  especially  loves  the  May-fly,^  which  is  bred  of 
the  cod-worm  or  caddis ;  and  these  make  the  trout  bold  and 
lusty,  and  he  is  usually  fatter  and  better  meat  at  that  end 
of  that  month  [May]  than  at  any  time  of  the  year. 

Now,  you  are  to  know  that  it  is  observed,  that  usually 
the  best  trouts  are  either  red  or  yellow ;  though  some  (as 
the  Fordidge  trout)  be  white  and  yet  good ;  but  that  is  not 
usual :  and  it  is  a  note  observable,  that  the  female  trout 
hath  usually  a  less  head  and  a  deeper  body  than  the  male 
trout,  and  is  usually  the  better  meat.  And  note,  that  a  hog- 
back and  a  little  head  to  either  trout,  salmon,  or  any  other 
fish,  is  a  sign  that  that  fish  is  in  season. 

But  yet  you  are  to  note,  that  as  you  see  some  willows  or 
palm-trees  bud  and  blossom  sooner  than  others  do,  so  some 
trouts  be,  in  rivers,  sooner  in  season  ;  and  as  some  hollies 
or  oaks  are  longer  before  they  cast  their  leaves,  so  are  some 
trouts  in  rivers  longer  before  they  go  out  of  season. 

And  you  are  to  note,  that  there  are  several  kinds  of 
trouts ;  but  these  several  kinds  are  not  considered  but  by 
very  few  men  ;  for  they  go  under  the  general  name  of 
trouts :  just  as  pigeons  do,  in  most  places ;  though,  it  is 
certain,  there  are  tame  and  wild  pigeons  ;  and  of  the  tame, 
there  be  helmets  and  runts,  and  carriers  and  cropers,  and 
indeed  too  many  to  name.  Nay,  the  Royal  Society  have 
found  and  published  lately,  that  there  be  thirty  and  three 
kinds  of  spiders ;  and  yet  all,  for  aught  I  know,  go  under 


126  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


that  one  general  name  of  spider.  And  it  is  so  with  many 
kinds  of  fish,  and  of  trouts  especially,  which  differ  in  their 
bigness  and  shape  and  spots  and  colour.  The  great  Kentish 
hens  may  be  an  instance,  compared  to  other  hens.  And, 
doubtless,  there  is  a  kind  of  small  trout,  which  will  never 
thrive  to  be  big  ;  that  breeds  very  many  more  than  others 
do,  that  be  of  a  larger  size  ;  which  you  may  rather  believe, 
if  you  consider  that  the  little  wren  and  titmouse  will  have 
twenty  young  ones  at  a  time,^  when  usually  the  noble  hawk, 
or  the  musical  thrassel  or  blackbird,  exceed  not  four  or  five. 

And  now  you  shall  see  me  try  my  skill  to  catch  a  trout ; 
and  at  my  next  walking,  either  this  evening  or  to-morrow 
morning,  I  will  give  you  direction  how  you  yourself  shall 
fish  for  him. 

Ven.  Trust  me,  master,  I  see  now  it  is  a  harder  matter 
to  catch  a  trout  than  a  chub  ;  for  I  have  put  on  patience, 
and  followed  you  these  two  hours,  and  not  seen  a  fish  stir, 
neither  at  your  minnow  nor  your  worm. 

PiSC.  Well,  scholar,  you  must  endure  worse  luck  some 
time,  or  you  will  never  make  a  good  angler.  But  what  say 
you  now }  There  is  a  trout  now,  and  a  good  one  too,  if  I 
can  but  hold  him,  and  two  or  three  more  turns  more  will  tire 
him.  Now  you  see  he  lies  still,  and  the  sleight  is  to  land 
him.  Reach  me  that  landing-net ;  so,  Sir,  now  he  is  mine 
own.  What  say  you  now  ?  is  not  this  worth  all  my  labour 
and  your  patience  t 

Ven.  On  my  word,  master,  this  is  a  gallant  trout :  what 
shall  we  do  with  him  t 

PiSC.  Marry,  e'en  eat  him  to  supper:  we'll  go  to  my 
hostess,  from  whence  we  came ;  she  told  me,  as  I  was  going 
out  of  door,  that  my  brother  Peter,  a  good  angler  and  a 


THE   TROUT.  127 


cheerful  companion,  had  sent  word  that  he  would  lodge 
there  to-night,  and  bring  a  friend  with  him.  My  hostess  has 
two  beds,  and  I  know  you  and  I  may  have  the  best :  we  '11 
rejoice  with  my  brother  Peter  and  his  friend,  tell  tales,  or 
sing  ballads,  or  make  a  catch,  or  find  some  harmless  sport 
to  content  us  and  pass  away  a  little  time,  without  offence  to 
God  or  man. 

Ven.  a  match,  good  master,  let 's  go  to  that  house ;  for 
the  linen  looks  white  and  smells  of  lavender,  and  I  long  to 
lie  in  a  pair  of  sheets  that  smells  so.  Let 's  be  going,  good 
master,  for  I  am  hungry  again  with  fishing. 

PiSC.  Nay,  stay  a  little,  good  scholar.  I  caught  my  last 
trout  with  a  worm  ;  now  I  will  put  on  a  minnow,  and  try  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  about  yonder  trees  for  another ;  and  so 
walk  towards  our  lodging.  Look  you,  scholar,  thereabout 
we  shall  have  a  bite  presently  or  not  at  all.  Have  with  you, 
Sir !  o'  my  word  I  have  hold  of  him.  Oh !  it  is  a  great 
logger-headed  chub ;  come  hang  him  upon  that  willow  twig, 
and  let 's  be  going.  But  turn  out  of  the  way  a  little,  good 
scholar,  towards  yonder  high  honeysuckle  hedge  ;  there 
we  '11  sit  and  sing,  whilst  this  shower  falls  so  gently  upon 
the  teeming  earth,  and  gives  yet  a  sweeter  smell  to  the  lovely 
flowers  that  adorn  these  verdant  meadows. 

Look !  under  that  broad  beech-tree  I  sat  down,  when  I 
was  last  this  way  a-fishing.  And  the  birds  in  the  adjoining 
grove  seemed  to  have  a  friendly  contention  with  an  echo, 
whose  dead  voice  seemed  to  live  in  a  hollow  tree,  near  to 
the  brow  of  that  primrose  hill.  There  I  sat  viewing  the 
silver  streams  glide  silently  towards  their  centre,  the  tem- 
pestuous sea ;  yet  sometimes  opposed  by  rugged  roots  and 
pcbblc-stoncs,  which  broke  their  waves,  and  turned  them 


128  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

into  foam.  And  sometimes  I  beguiled  time  by  viewing  the 
harmless  lambs  ;  some  leaping  securely  in  the  cool  shade, 
whilst  others  sported  themselves  in  the  cheerful  sun ;  and 
saw  others  craving  comfort  from  the  swollen  udders  of  their 
bleating  dams.  As  I  thus  sat,  these  and  other  sights  had 
so  fully  possessed  my  soul  with  content,  that  I  thought,  as 
the  poet  hath  happily  expressed  it, 

"  I  was  for  that  time  lifted  above  earth, 
And  possess'd  joys  not  promised  in  my  birth." 

As  I  left  this  place,  and  entered  into  the  next  field,  a 
second  pleasure  entertained  me ;  't  was  a  handsome  milk- 
maid, that  had  not  yet  attained  so  much  age  and  wisdom 
as  to  load  her  mind  with  any  fears  of  many  things  that  will 
never  be,  as  too  many  men  too  often  do;  but  she  cast  away 
all  care,  and  sang  like  a  nightingale :  her  voice  was  good, 
and  the  ditty  fitted  for  it :  it  was  that  smooth  song  which 
was  made  by  Kit  Marlow,^  now  at  least  fifty  years  ago ;  and 
the  milkmaid's  mother  sang  an  answer  to  it,  which  was 
made  by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  in  his  younger  days. 

They  were  old-fashioned  poetry,  but  choicely  good,  I 
think  much  better  than  the  strong  lines  that  are  now  in 
fashion  in  this  critical  age.  Look  yonder!  on  my  word, 
yonder  they  both  be  a-milking  again.  I  will  give  her  the 
chub,  and  persuade  them  to  sing  those  two  songs  to  us. 

God  speed  you,  good  woman  !  I  have  been  a-fishing,  and 
am  going  to  Bleak  Hall  to  my  bed,  and  having  caught  more 
fish  than  will  sup  myself  and  friend,  I  will  bestow  this  upon 
you  and  your  daughter,  for  I  use  to  sell  none. 

MiLK-W.  Marry,  God  requite  you,  Sir,  and  we  '11  eat  it 
cheerfully  ;  and  if  you  come  this  way  a-fishing  two  months 


THE   TROUT.  1 29 


hence,  a  grace  of  God,  I  *11  give  you  a  syllabub  of  new  ver- 
juice in  a  new-made  hay-cock  for  it,  and  my  Maudlin  shall 
sing  you  one  of  her  best  ballads;  for  she  and  I  both  love  all 
anglers,  they  be  such  honest,  civil,  quiet  men :  in  the  mean- 
time will  you  drink  a  draught  of  red  cow's  milk  ?  you  shall 
have  it  freely. 

PiSC.  No,  I  thank  you ;  but,  I  pray,  do  us  a  courtesy  that 
shall  stand  you  and  your  daughter  in  nothing,  and  yet  we 
will  think  ourselves  still  something  in  your  debt ;  it  is  but 
to  sing  us  a  song  that  was  sung  by  your  daughter  when  I 
last  passed  over  this  meadow  about  eight  or  nine  days  since. 

MiLK-W.  What  song  was  it,  I  pray?  Was  it  "Come, 
Shepherds,  deck  your  heads"?  or,  "As  at  noon  Dulcina 
rested  "  ?  or,  "  Phillida  flouts  me  "  ?  or,  "  Chevy  Chace  "  ?  or, 
"Johnny  Armstrong  "  ?  or,  "  Troy  Town  "  ? 

PiSC.  No,  it  is  none  of  those ;  it  is  a  song  that  your 
daughter  sang  the  first  part,  and  you  sang  the  answer  to  it. 

MiLK-W.  O,  I  know  it  now.  I  learned  the  first  part  in 
my  golden  age,  when  I  was  about  the  age  of  my  poor  daugh- 
ter ;  and  the  latter  part,  which  indeed  fits  me  best  now,  but 
two  or  three  years  ago,  when  the  cares  of  the  world  began 
to  take  hold  of  me :  but  you  shall,  God  willing,  hear  them 
both,  and  sung  as  well  as  we  can,  for  we  both  love  anglers. 
Come,  Maudlin,  sing  the  first  part  to  the  gentlemen  with  a 
merry  heart,  and  I  '11  sing  the  second,  when  you  have  done. 

THE   MILKMAID'S   SONG.* 

Come,  live  with  me,  and  be  my  love, 
And  we  will  all  the  pleasures  prove 
That  valleys,  groves,  or  hills,  or  field, 
Or  woods  and  steepy  mountains  yield ; 


130  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

Where  we  will  sit  upon  the  rocks, 
And  see  the  shepherds  feed  our  flocks 
By  shallow  rivers,  to  whose  falls 
Melodious  birds  sing  madrigals. 

And  I  will  make  thee  beds  of  roses, 
And  then  a  thousand  fragrant  posies, 
A  cap  of  flowers,  and  a  kirtle 
Embroider'd  all  with  leaves  of  myrtle ; 

A  gown  made  of  the  finest  wool 
Which  from  our  pretty  lambs  we  pull ; 
Slippers  lined  choicely  for  the  cold, 
With  buckles  of  the  purest  gold  ; 

A  belt  of  straw  and  ivy-buds, 
With  coral  clasps  and  amber  studs  : 
And  if  these  pleasures  may  thee  move 
^    Come,  live  with  me,  and  be  my  love. 

Thy  silver  dishes  for  my  meat, 
As  precious  as  the  gods  do  eat, 
Shall,  on  an  ivory  table,  be 
Prepared  each  day  for  thee  and  me. 

The  shepherd  swains  shall  dance  and  sing, 
For  thy  delight,  each  May  morning. 
If  these  delights  thy  mind  may  move. 
Then  live  with  me,  and  be  my  love. 


Ven.  Trust  me,  master,  it  is  a  choice  song,  and  sweetly 
sung  by  honest  Maudlin.  I  now  see  it  was  not  without  cause 
that  our  good  Queen  Elizabeth  did  so  often  wish  herself  a 
milkmaid  all  the  month  of  May,  because  they  are  not 
troubled  with  fears  and  cares,  and  sing  sweetly  all  the  day, 
and  sleep  securely  all  the  night ;  and  without  doubt,  honest, 
innocent,  pretty  Maudlin  does  so.     I  '11  bestow  Sir  Thomas 


THE   TROUT.  131 


Overbury's  milkmaid's  wish  upon  her,  "  That  she  may  die 
in  the  spring,  and  being  dead,  may  have  good  store  of 
flowers  stuck  round  about  her  winding-sheet." 

THE   MILKMAID'S   MOTHER'S  ANSWER. 

If  all  the  world  and  love  were  young, 
And  truth  in  every  shepherd's  tongue. 
These  pretty  pleasures  might  we  move 
To  live  with  thee,  and  be  thy  love. 

But  Time  drives  flocks  from  field  to  fold, 
When  rivers  rage  and  rocks  grow  cold  ; 
Then  Philomel  bccometh  dumb. 
And  age  complains  of  care  to  come. 


To  wayward  winter  reckoning  yields. 
A  honey  tongue,  a  heart  of  gal), 
Is  fancy's  spring,  but  sorrow's  fall. 

Thy  gowns,  thy  shoes,  thy  beds  of  roses. 
Thy  cap,  thy  kirtle,  and  thy  posies, 
Soon  break,  soon  wither,  soon  forgotten  ; 
In  folly  ripe,  in  reason  rotten. 

Thy  belt  of  straw  and  ivy-buds, 
Thy  coral  clasps  and  amber  studs, 
All  these  in  me  no  means  can  move     , 
To  come  to  thee,  and  be  thy  love. 

What  should  we  talk  of  dainties,  then, 
Of  better  meat  than 's  fit  for  men  ? 
These  are  but  vain  :  that 's  only  good 
W^hich  God  hath  bless'd,  and  sent  for  food. 

But  could  youth  last  and  love  still  breed — 
Had  joys  no  date,  or  age  no  need — 
Then  those  delights  my  mind  might  move 
To  live  with  thee,  and  be  thy  love. 


132  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

Mother.  Well !  I  have  done  my  song.  But  stay,  honest 
anglers ;  for  I  will  make  Maudlin  to  sing  you  one  short 
song  more.  Maudlin  !  sing  that  song  that  you  sang  last 
night,  when  young  Coridon  the  shepherd  played  so  purely 
on  his  oaten  pipe  to  you  and  your  cousin  Betty. 

Maud.  I  will,  mother. 

I  married  a  wife  of  late, 
The  more 's  my  unhappy  fate ; 

I  married  her  for  love, 

As  my  fancy  did  me  move, 
And  not  for  a  worldly  estate ; 

But,  oh  !  the  green  sickness 
Soon  changed  her  likeness, 
And  all  her  beauty  did  fail. 
But 't  is  not  so 
With  those  that  go 
Through  frost  and  snow, 
As  all  men  know. 
And  carry  the  milking-pail. 

PiSC.  Well  sung,  good  woman  ;  I  thank  you.  I  '11  give 
you  another  dish  of  fish  one  of  these  days,  and  then  beg 
another  song  of  you.  Come,  scholar,  let  Maudlin  alone ; 
do  not  you  offer  to  spoil  her  voice.  Look,  yonder  comes 
mine  hostess,  to  call  us  to  supper.  How  now  "i  Is  my 
brother  Peter  come } 

Host.  Yes,  and  a  friend  with  him :  they  are  both  glad 
to  hear  that  you  are  in  these  parts,  and  long  to  see  you,  and 
long  to  be  at  supper,  for  they  be  very  hungry. 


APPENDIX   IV. 


Historical  Notes. 

a  Gerard  Mercator,  of  Ruremond,  in  Flanders,  a  man  of  so 
intense  application  to  mathematical  studies,  that  he  neglected  the 
necessary  refreshments  of  nature.  He  engraved  with  his  own  hand 
and  coloured  the  maps  to  his  geographical  atlas.  He  wrote  several 
books  of  theology,  and  died  1594. — H. 

^  Albertus  Magnus,  a  German  Dominican,  and  a  very  learned 
man.  Urban  IV.  compelled  him  to  accept  of  the  bishopric  of 
Ratisbon.  He  wrote  a  treatise  "  On  the  Secrets  of  Nature,"  and 
twenty  other  volumes  in  folio,  and  died  at  Cologne,  1280. — H. 

^  See  Topsel  on  "  Frogs."  Edward  Topsel  was  the  author  of  a 
"  History  of  Four-footed  Beasts  and  Serpents,"  collected  out  of  the 
works  of  Gesner  and  other  authors,  folio,  Lond.,  1658.  In  this 
history  he  describes  the  several  kinds  of  frogs,  and,  in  page  721 
thereof,  cites  from  Albertus  the  fact  here  related. — H. 

^  Christopher  Mario w  was  a  poet  of  no  small  eminence  in  his 
day,  as  may  be  inferred  from  the  frequent  mention  of  him  in  the 
writings  of  his  contemporaries.  He  was  some  time  a  student  at 
Cambridge,  and  after  that  an  actor  on,  and  a  writer  for,  the  stage. 
There  are  extant  of  his  writings  five  tragedies,  and  a  poem  that 
bears  his  name,  entitled  "  Hero  and  Ixander,"  possibly  a  transla- 
tion from  Musaeus,  which  he  not  living  to  complete,  it  was  finished 

133 


134  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

by  Chapman.  The  song  here  mentioned  is  printed,  with  his  name 
to  it,  in  a  collection  entitled  "England's  Helicon,"  4to.,  1600,  as 
is  also  the  Answer,  here  said  to  be  written  by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh, 
but  there  subscribed  "  Ignoto."  Of  Marlow  it  is  said  that  he  was 
the  author  of  divers  atheistical  and  blasphemous  discourses  ;  and 
that  in  a  quarrel  mth  a  servingman,  his  rival  in  a  connection  with 
a  lewd  woman,  he  received  a  stab  with  a  dagger,  and  shortly  after 
died  of  the  stroke.  See  Wood's  "  Athen.  Oxon.,"  vol.  i.  338,  and 
also  Beard's  "  Theatre  of  God's  Judgments."— H. 

*  Dr.  Warburton,  in  his  notes  on  "  The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor," 
ascribes  this  song  to  Shakspeare.  It  is  true  that  Sir  Hugh  Evans, 
in  the  third  act  of  that  play,  sings  four  lines  of  it ;  and  it  occurs  in 
a  collection  of  poems  said  to  be  Shakspeare's,  printed  by  Thomas 
Cotes  for  John  Benson,  i2mo.,  1640,  with  some  variations.  On 
the  contrary,  it  is  to  be  found  with  the  name  of  Christopher  Marlow 
to  it  in  "England's  Helicon;"  and  Walton  has  just  said  (p.  128) 
it  was  made  by  Kit  Marlow.  The  reader  will  judge  of  these 
evidences  as  he  pleases.  As  to  the  song  itself,  though  a  beautiful 
one,  it  is  not  so  purely  pastoral  as  it  is  generally  thought  to  be ; 
buckles  oigoldy  coral  clasps  and  a^nber  studs,  stiver  dishes  and  ivory 
tables,  are  luxuries,  and  consist  not  with  the  parsimony  and  sim- 
plicity of  rural  life  and  manners. — H. 


General  Notes. 


*  The  samlet  is  now  proved  to  be  the  young  of  salmon. — See 
essay  on  salmon,  post, 

*  In  the  following  paragraphs  Walton  is  greatly  mistaken  in  his 


GENERAL  NOTES.  135 

natural  history.  All  that  he  says  about  grasshoppers  and  some 
fish  having  no  mouths  is  totally  wrong.  So  is  his  assertion  anent 
the  raven.     No  fish  fasts  entirely  when  in  fresh  water. 

Bats  are  not  birds,  and  are  not  migratory  like  swallows,  but  lie 
dormant  all  the  winter,  in  holes,  in  trees,  and  caves.  Swallows 
migrate,  leaving  us  for  a  warmer  clime  in  the  autumn.  Yet  many 
instances  have  been  known  of  swallows  and  martins  hybernating 
through  the  winter,  they  being  discovered  alive  packed  away  in 
dark  holes.  Probably  these  are  late  bred  or  weakly  birds  which 
are  not  equal  to  the  fatigue  of  a  long  journey. 

Frogs  will  live  an  incredible  time  without  food  or  even  air,  but 
their  mouths  are  not  naturally  "  shut  up." 

Birds  of  Paradise  live,  as  do  other  birds,  and  chameleons  live 
upon  insects,  which  they  very  cleverly  shoot  with  their  long  tongues. 

^  The  caddis  is  a  plump  white  or  yellow  grub,  which  lives  in  a 
sheath  or  case  made  of  bits  of  stick,  sand,  or  fine  gravel,  and  creeps 
about  the  bottom  of  the  river.  It  is  a  capital  bait  for  trout  and 
gudgeon.  In  Wales  it  is  called  "  corbet."  The  fly  proceeding 
from  this  grub  is,  however,  not  the  May-fly,  but  some  species  of 
the  Fhryganidce,  which  class  includes  the  sand,  sedge,  and  other 
flies  of  similar  shape.  The  EphemercBy  of  which  the  May-fly  is  the 
best  English  representative,  come  from  larvaj  which  are  in  shape 
something  like  the  perfect  fly,  with  a  fringe  down  each  side,  six 
legs,  and  strong  curved  jaws.  This  larva  lives  at  the  bottom  of 
the  river  in  holes  and  under  stones.  It  turns  into  the  pupa  state, 
and  then  into  a  fly,  which  in  a  short  time  throws  off"  a  complete 
outer  skin,  and  becomes  the  perfect  May-fly  or  grey  drake.  It 
enjoys  its  brief  dance  in  the  sunshine,  lays  its  eggs  on  the  surface  of 
the  water,  and  dies. 

*  The  long-tailed  tit  will  lay  nineteen  or  twenty  eggs,  but  the 
wrens  and  other  kinds  of  tits  rarely  more  than  a  dozen.  Out  of 
the  whole  batch,  too,  there  will  often  be  three  or  four  addled. 


Practical  Essay. 

THE   TROUT. 

There  is  scarcely  a  river  in  England  in  which  the  trout  is  not  to 
oe  found.  It  is  in  greatest  abundance  in  the  mountain  streams  of 
the  north  and  west,  and  of  the  largest  size  in  the  streams  of  the 
south  of  England.  While  a  half-pound  fish  is  considered  a  good 
one  in  the  north,  fish  under  that  weight  are  turned  back  again  in 
some  southern  streams;  and  while  the  angler  in  Coquet  baskets  six 
or  seven  dozen  of  fish  in  a  day,  three  or  four  brace  are  accounted 
sufficient  in  the  south.  The  Thames  trout  is  caught  up  to  twelve 
and  fourteen  pounds  in  weight,  but  there  are  not  many  of  them. 

Trout  spawn  in  late  autumn,  and  come  into  season  about  March, 
being  best  about  June. 

More  has  been  written  about  trout  fishing  than  any  other  kind ; 
and,  indeed,  there  is  so  much  to  be  said,  that  I  find  it  difficult  to 
compress  into  the  short  space  at  my  command  sufficient  to  give  an 
adequate  idea  of  this  fine  sport. 

The  commonest  and  most  successful  way  of  fishing  for  this  beau- 
tiful fish  is  by  fly-fishing.  For  this  purpose  your  rod  should  be 
light,  pliant,  and  springy ;  your  line  either  consisting  of  silk  and 
horsehair,  or  fine  dressed  silk :  the  former  is  stiffer  and  better  when 
out,  but  the  latter  runs  better  through  the  rings.  Their  advantages 
seem  to  me  to  be  about  equal.  To  the  end  of  the  running-line  is 
attached  a  "  cast "  or  "  collar  "  of  fine  gut,  about  7  feet  long.  To 
this  are  attached  three  artificial  flies,  one  at  the  end  called  the 
"  stretcher,"  and  the  others  called  "  droppers,"  at  invervals  of  2  feet, 
suspended  from  the  cast  by  short  links  of  gut. 

Of  rods :  there  are  double-handed  rods  about  16  feet  in  length, 
and  single-handed  rods  for  which  1 2  feet  is  a  good  length.  A  single- 
handed  rod  will  suit  most  men  best,  and  is  more  convenient  for 
narrow  streams. 

136 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY.  1 3/ 

Before  gut  can  be  knotted  with  safety,  it  should  be  well  moist- 
ened, otherwise  it  will  crack.  The  cut  shows  some  of  the  ways  in 
which  knots  can  be  made,  and  the  tyro  can  try  which  he  can  tie 
the  neatest.  To  attach  the  droppers,  make  a  knot  at  the  end  of 
the  link,  and  if  the  cast  is  tied  by  the  knot  sho\vn  in  Fig.  i,  you 
have  only  to  push  the  knots  apart  and  insert  the  knot  of  the  dropper 
between  them,  and  then  draw  them  together  again. 

Fig.  I,  Fig.  2. 


I 


Fig.  3- 

You  now  have  to  throw  your  line  on  the  river  where  the  trout 
are.  I  quote  from  a  little  handbook  of  mine  on  fishing  as  under : 
"  Make  your  first  trials  with  a  short  line,  gradually  increasing  the 
length  as  you  become  more  proficient.  First  wet  the  cast  in  the 
water  to  take  out  the  curls,  then  taking  the  rod  in  the  right  hand, 
just  above  the  reel,  wave  it  gently  backwards  towards  the  left  or 
right  shoulder  (both  ways  should  be  practised)  until  the  line  is  well 
stretched  out  behind,  then  bringing  it  back,  describing  somewhat 
of  a  circle  in  the  air  with  the  point  of  the  rod,  switch  it  rapidly 
forward,  checking  the  motion  before  it  becomes  horizontal.  This 
ought  to  pitch  the  line  straight  out  over  the  water,  and  the  motion 
being  suddenly  (but  not  foo  suddenly)  checked,  the  flies  should  fall 
on  the  stream  de/ore  the  rest  of  the  line.  This  latter  perfection 
cannot  always  be  attained ;  but  it  is  well  to  try  for  it,  as  the  slight 
splash  made  by  the  line  will,  in  clear  water,  startle  the  fish  before 
the  flies  fall.  Every  motion  should  be  made  quickly,  but  not 
harshly,  or  you  may  jerk  your  flies  off.  Nothing  but  practice  can 
make  you  perfect  in  fly-fishing.  A  single  day  in  the  company  of  an 
expert  will  teach  you  more  than  the  most  diligent  reading.     When 


138  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

the  flies  are  on  the  water  let  them  float  down  stream,  keeping  the 
line  on  the  stretch,  and  imparting  to  it  a  quivering  kind  of  motion, 
so  as  to  aid  the  deceptive  appearance  of  the  flies.  A  dimple  on 
the  water  and  a  galvanic  twitch  will  warn  you  of  a  rise,  at  which 
strike  with  a  sharp  jerk  of  the  wrist  upwards.  If  hooked,  keep  an 
even  and  steady  strain  on  the  fish,  letting  go  no  more  line  than  is 
absolutely  necessary.  Wind  up  slowly,  and,  if  possible,  walk  back- 
wards until  your  fish  is  landed.  If  small,  he  may  be  whipped  out 
at  once,  but  if  large,  a  landing-net  will  be  advisable. 

"  Opinions  are  divided  as  to  whether  it  is  best  to  fish  up  or  down 
the  stream.  In  fishing  down  stream  the  line  is  kept  well  stretched, 
and  not  an  inch  of  water  is  wasted,  which  is  not  always  the  case 
when  you  fish  up  stream.  In  the  latter  case  the  line  is  sometimes 
doubled  upon  itself,  and  has  to  be  cast  more  frequently  to  cover 
the  same  extent  of  water;  but  then,  when  you  do  strike,  you  do  so 
in  the  proper  direction,  and  there  is  no  chance  of  pulling  the  fly 
away  from  the  fish,  for  they  always  lie  with  their  noses  pointing  up 
stream.  On  the  whole,  perhaps,  it  is  most  convenient  to  fish 
do\\Tiwards ;  but  that  is  impossible  when  you  are  fishing  a  small 
burn  or  mountain  stream,  where  you  must  approach  the  fish  from 
behind,  if  you  do  not  wish  to  be  at  once  seen  and  fled  from. 

"  Where  possible,  have  the  sun  in  your  face  and  the  wind  at  your 
back ;  but  if  you  cannot  have  this,  avoid,  at  all  events,  letting  your 
shadow  fall  across  the  water,  for  nothing  frightens  fish  so  much.  It 
is  better  to  use  a  shorter  line,  and  cast  right  in  the  teeth  of  the 
wind." 

Fly-fishing  is  best  up  to  the  end  of  June,  and  then  again  in  Sep- 
tember, just  before  the  season  closes.  Trout  will  not  rise  at  a  fly 
when  the  water  is  much  coloured  after  rain,  and  only  very  shyly 
when  it  is  prematurely  bright  and  clear  on  a  hot  day :  worm-fishing 
is  then  the  most  successful.  Between  these  extremes,  however, 
sport  may  be  had  in  all  sorts  of  waters  and  in  all  sorts  of  weathers. 
A  "  southerly  wind  and  cloudy  sky  "  are  held  to  be  the  best,  but  do 
not  be  afraid  of  an  east  wind  and  a  bright  sky,  although  one  would 
not  choose  such  a  combination.    You  may  have  sport  in  the  worst 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY. 


139 


weather,  and  you  may  have  none  in  a  day  that,  as  far  as  appearance 
goes,  you  would  have  picked  out  of  all  the  year. 

With  respect  to  flies,  opinions  differ  most  dreadfully.  Every 
angler  seems  to  have  his  own  fancies  on  the  subject.  Until  the 
tyro  learns  to  have  them  also,  he  may  be  satisfied  with  the  follow- 
ing: 


Figs.  T,  2,  3,  and  4  are  red  or  black  hackles,  and  are  very  general 
favourites. 


140 


THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


Fig.  5.  Black  gnat,  very  good 
for  clear  water. 

6.  Hare-leg. 

7.  Yellow  Sally. 

8.  Oak-fly. 

9.  The  caperer. 
10.  The  winged  palmer. 

Mr.  Francis  Francis  gives  the  following  list  of  flies  as  sufficient 
for  general  purposes : 


1 1.  Green  drake  or  May-fly. 

1 2.  Another  pattern  of  same. 

13.  The  stone-fly. 

14.  March  brown. 

15.  Red  spinner. 

16.  The  winged  larva. 


Duns  and  spinners  of  various 

shades. 
The  March  brown. 
The  cow-dung. 

The  black  gnat  and  quill  gnat. 
The  alder. 
Green  drake. 
Coch  y  bonddu. 
Sedge-fly. 

Red  and  black  ants. 
The  whirling  dun. 


The  cinnamon. 
The  willow-fly. 
White  moth. 
The  Francis. 
Whickham's  fancy. 
The  governor. 
The  coachman. 
Hofland's  fancy. 
The  soldier  palmer. 
The     grouse     and 
hackles. 


partridge 


Mr.  Cholmondeley-Pennell,  who  is  well  known  as  a  successful 
angler  and  writer  upon  angling,  asserts  that  three  flies  of  certain 
fancy  patterns  of  his  own  invention  are  sufficient  for  all  times  and 
seasons.  I  have  never  tried  his  flies,  but  I  mean  to  do  so  next 
year  on  the  clear  waters  of  Coquet ;  but  his  theory  that  trout  only 
look  at  the  general  resemblance  in  colours  of  the  artificial  fly  to 
the  prevailing  insect,  is  borne  out  in  my  mind  by  the  fact  that, 
when  I  was  a  youngster,  I  used  to  fish  in  the  Welsh  streams  all 
the  season  with  only  three  flies — the  March  brown,  blue  dun,  and 
coch  y  bonddu — and  I  was  at  least  as  successful  as  other  fishermen^ 
Mr.  Pennell's  flies  are  respectively  green,  brown,  and  yelloH 
hackles.    These  flies  may  be  obtained  at  the  principal  tackle  shops. 

In  fishing  with  the  dry  fly,  the  angler  waves  his  fly  in  the  air  ^ 
few  times  until  it  is  dry  and  will  float  (the  fly  being  specially  c< 
structed),  and  casts  where  he  sees  the  large  fish  rising. 


1 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY. 


141 


Floating  May-flies  are  also  very  killing. 

Daping  with  the  natural  fly  is  also  very  successful,  and  the  best 
way  is  to  attach  a  long  line  of  floss  silk  to  your  running  line,  and 
a  short  cast  of  finest  gut  armed  with  a  small  hook  to  that.  You 
stand  at  the  windward  side  of  a  river  or  lake,  or  in  a  boat,  and  let 
the  light  line  belly  out  in  the  breeze,  so  that  the  fly  just  touches 
the  water  here  and  there.  This  is  a  very  artistic  and  killing 
method,  and  is  called  blow-line  fishing. 


Min7iow-fishi)ig  is  very  deadly  to  the  trout,  and  the  largest  fish 
are  generally  killed  by  its  means.  The  accompanying  cuts  will 
show  the  methods  of  baiting.  The  object  of  bending  the  body  of 
the  minnow  is  that  it  shall  spin  while  it  is  being  drawn  through 
tbc  water,  so  hiding  the  hooks  and  increasing  the  brilliancy  and 


142 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


attractiveness  of  the  bait.  Close  by  the  bait,  and  also  i8  inches 
above  it,  you  should  have  a  swivel,  and  above  the  top  swivel  a  lead 
of  the  shape  shown  in  the  following  cut. 


The  object  of  the  swivels  (which  should  be  oiled  after  using)  is 
to  permit  the  bait  to  turn  without  twisting  the  line,  and  the  lead  is 
of  the  shape  shown,  in  order  that  it  may  always  remain  with  the 
heavier  side  downwards,  and  so  force  the  swivels  to  act.  Above 
the  lead  should  be  at  least  a  yard  of  gut.  The  bait  is  cast  in  the 
streams  and  eddies  as  far  as  it  can  be  thrown,  and  worked  home  J 
again  with  short  "  lifts,"  and  you  strike  directly  you  feel  a  touch.     " 

When  fresh  minnows  cannot  be  procured,  salted  ones  will  do. 

Another  form  of  minnow  tackle  is  the  "  plodge,"  or  drop-minnow, 
shown  in  the  following  cut.  It  is  baited  by  means  of  a  baiting- 
needle  thrust  in  at  the  mouth  and  out  at  the  tail,  so  that  the  lead 


B 

IS  hidden  in  the  fish.  It  is  used  after  the  fashion  of  a  gorge  bait 
(see  pike  fishing),  but  you  strike  at  once.  It  is  most  useful  in  small 
streams  where  there  are  many  obstructions. 

When  the  natural  bait  cannot  be  procured,  artificial  minnows 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY.  I43 

may  be  used :  Hearder's  plano-convex  minnows,  and  the  "  phan- 
tom," are  the  best. 

Worm-fishing,  when  the  water  is  thick  with  rain,  needs  no  parti- 
cular skill,  for  the  fish  are  usually  well  on  the  feed  and  cannot  see 
the  angler ;  but  in  clear  water  it  requires  more  skill  than  fly-fishing, 
and  is  often  more  deadly  though  not  so  pleasant.  You  require  a 
long  and  stiffish  rod,  a  cast  of  about  6  feet  in  length,  and  a  medium- 
sized  hook,  very  fine  in  the  wire,  and  dressed  on  the  finest  drawn 
gut,  with  one  or  two  shots  a  foot  above  the  hook.  Bait  with  a 
small  red  worm  or  brandling,  fish  up  stream,  either  wading  or  from 
the  bank,  moving  cautiously  and  quietly,  taking  extreme  care  not  to 
be  seen  by  the  fish,  and  casting  your  worm  something  like  a  fly, 
and  with  a  longish  line,  well  in  front  of  you.  It  should  fafl  lightly  in 
the  likely  streams  and  eddies,  just  above  the  spot  where  the  fish 
are  likely  to  be,  and  then  be  allowed  to  run  do^vn  with  the  current, 
you  keeping  a  taut  line  until  it  comes  close  to  you,  when  you  cast 
it  again.  Strike  at  any  suspicious  stoppage,  and  get  your  fish  out 
as  fast  as  possible. 

I  am  aware  that  some  authors  do  not  like  the  single  hook  of  fine 
wire ;  but  it  is  the  best,  as  it  has  better  penetrating  qualities.  A 
hook,  fine  from  the  point  nearly  to  the  bend,  and  stouter  in  the 
bend  and  shank,  would  be  better  if  it  could  be  procured.  Look 
often  at  your  hook,  and  replace  it  if  it  is  bent  or  blunted. 

The  Sieivart  tackle  (see  cut)  is  a  favourite  with  many.     I  took 


strongly  to  it  for  a  time,  but  I  missed  so  many  fish  which  dropped 
off  while  swinging  them  out  of  the  water,  that  I  gave  it  up.  Mr. 
Pennell's  improvement  is  having  two  hooks  instead  of  three,  and 
those  rather  larger. 


144 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


The  hooks  are  just  stuck  through  the  worm,  and  ^t  hangs  from 
them  in  a  very  natural  manner. 

The  large  trout  of  the  Thames  are  caught  by  spinning  with  a 
gudgeon  or  bleak.  The  tackle  described  as  suitable  for  pike,  but 
finer  and  dressed  on  gut,  may  be  used ;  but  as  this  branch  of  fish- 
ing, as  also  that  for  the  great  lake  trout,  will  not  come  within  the 
reach  of  the  ordinary  angler,  I  will  not  dilate  upon  it. 

Trout  may  also  be  caught  with  gentles,  caddis,  and  many  other 
baits. 


I 


CHAPTER  V. 

MORE    DIRECTIONS    HOW    TO    FISH    FOR,    AND    HOW    TO 
MAKE    FOR    THE    TROUT    AN    ARTIFICIAL    MINNOW 
L         AND  FLTES;    WITH  SOME  MERRIMENT. 

[©Ijirlr  gag.] 

PiSC.  Well  met,  brother  Peter.  I  heard  you  and  a  friend 
would  lodge  here  to-night,  and  that  hath  made  me  to  bring 
my  friend  to  lodge  here  too.  My  friend  is  one  that  would 
fain  be  a  brother  of  the  angle  :  he  hath  been  an  angler  but 
this  day,  and  I  have  taught  him  how  to  catch  a  chub  by 
daping  with  a  grasshopper,  and  the  chub  that  he  caught 
was  a  lusty  one  of  nineteen  inches  long.  But  pray,  brother 
Peter,  who  is  your  companion  ? 

Peter.  Brother  Piscator,  my  friend  is  an  honest  country- 
man, and  his  name  is  Coridon,  and  he  is  a  downright  witty 
companion,  that  met  me  here  purposely  to  be  pleasant  and 
eat  a  trout,  and  I  have  not  yet  wetted  my  line  since  we  met 

145  10 


14^  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


together ;  but  I  hope  to  fit  him  with  a  trout  for  his  break- 
fast, for  I  '11  be  early  up. 

PiSC.  Nay,  brother,  you  shall  not  stay  so  long ;  for,  look 
you,  here  is  a  trout  will  fill  six  reasonable  bellies. 

Come,  hostess,  dress  it  presently,  and  get  us  what  other 
meat  the  house  will  afford,  and  give  us  some  of  your  best 
barley-wine,  the  good  liquor  that  our  honest  forefathers  did 
use  to  drink  of ;  the  drink  which  preserved  their  health,  and 
made  them  live  so  long,  and  do  so  many  good  deeds. 

Peter.  O'  my  word,  this  trout  is  perfect  in  season.  Come, 
I  thank  you,  and  here  is  a  hearty  draught  to  you,  and  to 
all  the  brothers  of  the  angle  wheresoever  they  be,  and  to 
my  young  brother's  good  fortune  to-morrow.  I  will  furnish 
him  with  a  rod,  if  you  will  furnish  him  with  the  rest  of  the 
tackling ;  we  will  set  him  up  and  make  him  a  fisher.  And 
I  will  tell  him  one  thing  for  his  encouragement,  that  his 
fortune  hath  made  him  happy  to  be  scholar  to  such  a  mast 
— a  master  that  knows  as  much,  both  of  the  nature  an 
breeding  of  fish,  as  any  man  ;  and  can  also  tell  him  as 
well  how  to  catch  and  cook  them,  from  the  minnow  to  th^ 
salmon,  as  any  that  I  ever  met  withal. 

PiSC.  Trust  me,  brother  Peter,  I  find  my  scholar  to  be 
suitable  to  my  own  humour,  which  is,  to  be  free  and  pie 
sant  and  civilly  merry,  that  my  resolution  is  to  hide  nothi 
that  I  know  from  him.     Believe  me,  scholar,  this  is  my  r 
solution  ;  and  so  here 's  to  you  a  hearty  draught,  and  to  a 
that  love  us  and  the  honest  art  of  angling. 

Ven.  Trust  me,  good  master,  you  shall  not  sow  you 
seed  in  barren  ground,  for  I  hope  to  return  you  an  increas 
answerable  to  your  hopes  ;  but,  however,  you  shall  find  m 
obedient  and  thankful  and  serviceable  to  my  best  ability 


lib 

I 


i 


HOW  TO  FISH  FOR   TROUT.  147 

PiSC.  'T  is  enough,  honest  scholar !  come,  let 's  to  supper. 
Come,  my  friend  Coridon,  this  trout  looks  lovely :  it  was 
twenty-two  inches  when  it  was  taken !  and  the  belly  of  it 
looked,  some  part  of  it,  as  yellow  as  a  marigold,  and  part  of 
it  as  white  as  a  lily ;  and  yet,  methinks,  it  looks  better  in 
this  good  sauce. 

Coridon.  Indeed,  honest  friend,  it  looks  well  and  tastes 
well :  I  thank  you  for  it,  and  so  doth  my  friend  Peter,  or 
else  he  is  to  blame. 

Peter.  Yes,  and  so  do  I,  we  all  thank  you ;  and  when 
we  have  supped,  I  will  get  my  friend  Coridon  to  sing  you  a 
song  for  requital. 

Cor.  I  will  sing  a  song,  if  anybody  will  sing  another ; 
else,  to  be  plain  with  you,  I  will  sing  none :  I  am  none  of 
those  that  sing  for  meat,  but  for  company :  I  say,  "  'T  is 
merry  in  hall  when  men  sing  all." 

PiSC.  I  '11  promise  you  I  '11  sing  a  song  that  was  lately 
made  at  my  request  by  Mr.  William  Basse — one  that  hath 
made  the  choice  songs  of  the  "  Hunter  in  his  Career,"  and 
of  "  Tom  of  Bedlam,"*  and  many  others  of  note  ;  and  this 
that  I  will  sing  is  in  praise  of  angling. 

Cor.  And  then  mine  shall  be  the  praise  of  a  country- 
man's life  :  what  will  the  rest  sing  of.-* 

Peter.  I  will  promise  you  I  will  sing  another  song  in 
praise  of  angling  to-morrow  night ;  for  we  will  not  part 
till  then,  but  fish  to-morrow,  and  sup  together,  and  the  next 
day  every  man  leave  fishing,  and  fall  to  his  business. 

Ven.  'T  is  a  match  ;  and  I  will  provide  you  a  song  or  a 
catch  against  then,  too,  which  shall  give  some  addition  of 
mirth  to  the  company  ;  for  we  will  be  civil  and  as  merry  as 
beggars. 

10 — 2 


148  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

PiSC.  'T  is  a  match,  my  masters  :  let 's  e'en  say  grace,  and 
turn  to  the  fire,  drink  the  other  cup  to  wet  our  whistles,  and 
so  sing  away  all  sad  thoughts. 

Come  on,  my  masters,  who  begins  ?  I  think  it  is  best  to 
draw  cuts,  and  avoid  contention. 

Peter.  It  is  a  match. — Look,  the  shortest  cut  falls  to 
Coridon. 

Cor.  Well,  then,  I  will  begin,  for  I  hate  contention. 

CORIDON'S   SONG. 

Oh,  the  sweet  contentment  j 

The  countryman  doth  find  !  ' 

Heigh  trololHe  loUie  loe, 

Heigh  trololhe  lolHe  lee. 
That  quiet  contemplation 
Possesseth  all  my  mind  ; 

Then  care  away, 

And  wend  along  with  me. 

For  Courts  are  full  of  flattery, 
As  hath  too  oft  been  tried  ; 

Heigh  trolollie  lollie  loe,  &c. 
The  city  full  of  wantonness. 
And  both  are  full  of  pride  : 

Then  care  away,  &c. 

But  oh  !  the  honest  countryman 
Speaks  truly  from  his  heart ; 

Heigh  trolollie  lollie  loe,  &c. 
His  pride  is  in  his  tillage. 
His  horses  and  his  cart : 

Then  care  away,  &c. 

Our  clothing  is  good  sheep-skins, 
Grey  russet  for  our  wives  ; 

Heigh  trolollie  lollie  loe,  &c. 


HO IV  TO  FISH  FOR   TROUT.  149 

'T  is  warmth,  and  not  gay  clothing, 
That  doth  prolong  our  lives : 
Then  care  away,  &c. 

The  ploughman,  though  he  labour  hard, 
Yet  on  the  holiday. 

Heigh  trolollie  loUie  be,  &c. 
No  emperor  so  merrily 
Doth  pass  his  time  away  : 

Then  care  away,  &c. 

To  recompense  our  tillage, 
The  heavens  afford  us  showers  ; 

Heigh  trolollie  lollie  loe,  &c. 
And  for  our  sweet  refreshments 
The  earth  affords  us  bowers  : 

Then  care  away,  &c. 

The  cuckoo  and  the  nightingale 
Full  merrily  do  sing, 

Heigh  trolollie  lollie  loe,  &c. 
And  with  their  pleasant  roundelays 
Bid  welcome  to  the  spring  : 

Then  care  away,  &c. 

This  is  not  half  the  happiness 
The  countryman  enjoys  ; 

Heigh  trolollie  lollie  loe,  &c. 
Though  others  think  they  have  as  much, 
Yet  he  that  says  so  lies  ; 

Then  come  away,  turn 

Countryman  with  me.  — JO.  Chalkhill. 

PiSC.  Well  sung,  Coridon !  this  song  was  sung  with 
mettle,  and  it  was  choicely  fitted  to  the  occasion  ;  I  shall 
love  you  for  it  as  long  as  I  know  you.  I  would  you  were  a 
brother  of  the  angle  ;  for  a  companion  that  is  cheerful,  and 
free  from  swearing  and  scurrilous  discourse,  is  worth  gold. 


I50  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

I  love  such  mirth  as  does  not  make  friends  ashamed  to  look 
upon  one  another  next  morning  ;  nor  men  that  cannot  well 
bear  it,  to  repent  the  money  they  spend  when  they  be 
warmed  with  drink :  and  take  this  for  a  rule,  you  may  pick 
out  such  times  and  such  companions,  that  you  may  make 
yourselves  merrier  for  a  little  than  a  great  deal  of  money  ; 
for  "  'T  is  the  company  and  not  the  charge  that  makes  the 
feast : "  and  such  a  companion  you  prove,  I  thank  you  for 
it.  I 

But  I  will  not  compliment  you  out  of  the  debt  that  I  owe 
you  ;  and  therefore  I  will  begin  my  song,  and  wish  it  may 
be  so  well  liked. 

THE  ANGLER'S  SONG. 

As  inward  love  breeds  outward  talk, 
The  hound  some  praise,  and  some  the  hawk  ; 
Some,  better  pleased  with  private  sport, 
Use  tennis  ;  some  a  mistress  court : 

But  these  delights  I  neither  wish 

Nor  envy,  while  I  freely  fish. 

Who  hunts,  doth  oft  in  danger  ride  ; 
Who  hawks,  lures  oft  both  far  and  wide  ; 
Who  uses  games,  shall  often  prove 
A  loser  ;  but  who  falls  in  love 

Is  fetter'd  in  fond  Cupid's  snare  : 

My  angle  breeds  me  no  such  care. 

Of  recreation  there  is  none 
So  free  as  fishing  is  alone ; 
All  other  pastimes  do  no  less 
Than  mind  and  body  both  possess ; 

My  hand  alone  my  work  can  do, 

So  I  can  fish  and  study  too. 

I  care  not,  I,  to  fish  in  seas — 
Fresh  rivers  best  my  mind  do  please, 


HOW   TO  FISH  FOR   TROUT.  151 

Whose  sweet  calm  course  I  contemplate, 
And  seek  in  life  to  imitate  : 

In  civil  bounds  I  fain  would  keep, 

And  for  my  past  offences  weep. 

And  when  the  timorous  trout  I  wait 

To  take,  and  he  devours  my  bait. 

How  poor  a  thing,  sometimes  I  find, 

Will  captivate  a  greedy  mind ; 
And  when  none  bite,  I  praise  the  wise, 
Whom  vain  allurements  ne'er  surprise. 

But  yet,  though  while  I  fish  I  fast, 
I  make  good  fortune  my  repast ; 
And  thereunto  my  friend  invite. 
In  whom  I  more  than  that  delight : 

Who  is  more  welcome  to  my  dish 

Than  to  my  angle  was  my  fish. 

As  well  content  no  prize  to  take, 

As  use  of  taken  prize  to  make : 

For  so  our  Lord  was  pleased,  when 

He  fishers  made  fishers  of  men  : 
Where  (which  is  in  no  other  game) 
A  man  may  fish  and  praise  His  name. 

The  first  men  that  our  Saviour  dear 
Did  choose  to  wait  upon  Him  here, 
Bless'd  fishers  were,  and  fish  the  last 
Food  was  that  He  on  earth  did  taste : 
I  therefore  strive  to  follow  those 
Whom  He  to  follow  Him  hath  chose. 

Cor.  Well  sung,  bi other!  you  have  paid  your  debt  in 
good  coin.  We  anglers  are  all  beholden  to  the  good  man 
that  made  this  song :  come,  hostess,  give  us  more  ale,  and 
let 's  drink  to  him. 

And  now  let 's  every  one  go  to  bed,  that  we  may  rise  early: 


152  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

but  first  let 's  pay  our  reckoning,  for  I  will  have  nothing  to 
hinder  me  in  the  morning,  for  my  purpose  is  to  prevent  the 
sunrising, 

Peter.  A  match.  Come,  Coridon,  you  are  to  be  my  bed- 
fellow. 1  know,  brother,  you  and  your  scholar  will  lie 
together.  But  where  shall  we  meet  to-morrow  night }  for 
my  friend  Coridon  and  I  will  go  up  the  water  towards  Ware. 

PiSC.  And  my  scholar  and  I  will  go  down  towards 
Waltham. 

Cor.  Then  let 's  meet  here,  for  here  are  fresh  sheets  that 
smell  of  lavender ;  and  I  am  sure  we  cannot  expect  better 
meat  or  better  usage  in  any  place. 

Peter  'T  is  a  match.     Good  night  to  everybody  I 

PlSC.  And  so  say  I. 

Ven.  And  so  say  I. 


PiSC.  Good  morrow,  good  hostess.  I  see  my  brother 
Peter  is  still  in  bed  :  come,  give  my  scholar  and  me  a  morn- 
ing drink,  and  a  bit  of  meat  to  breakfast ;  and  be  sure  to 
get  a  good  dish  of  meat  or  two  against  supper,  for  we  shall 
come  home  as  hungry  as  hawks.  Come,  scholar,  let's  be 
going. 

Ven.  Well,  now,  good  master,  as  we  walk  towards  the 
river,  give  me  direction,  according  to  your  promise,  how  I 
shall  fish  for  a  trout. 

PlSC.  My  honest  scholar,  I  will  take  this  very  convenient 
opportunity  to  do  it. 


JIOIV  TO  FISH  FOR   TROUT.  153 

The  trout  is  usually  caught  with  a  worm  or  a  minnow, 
which  some  call  a  penk,  or  with  a  fly,  viz.,  either  a  natural  or 
an  artificial  fly,  concerning  which  three  I  will  give  you  some 
observations  and  directions. 

And,  first,  for  worms  :  of  these  there  be  very  many  sorts  : 
some  breed  only  in  the  earth,  as  the  earth-worm  ;  others  of 
or  amongst  plants,  as  the  dug- worm  ;  and  others  breed  either 
out  of  excrements,  or  in  the  bodies  of  living  creatures,  as  in 
the  horns  of  sheep  or  deer ;  or  some  of  dead  flesh,  as  the 
maggot  or  gentle,  and  others. 

Now  these  be  most  of  them  particularly  good  for  par- 
ticular fishes  ;  but  for  the  trout,  the  dew-worm,  which  some 
also  call  the  lob-worm,  and  the  brandling,  are  the  chief; 
and  especially  the  first  for  a  great  trout,  and  the  latter  for 
a  less.  There  be  also  of  lob-worm.s  some  called  squirrel- 
tails,  a  worm  that  has  a  red  head,  a  streak  down  the  back, 
and  a  broad  tail,  which  are  noted  to  be  the  best,  because 
they  are  the  toughest  and  most  lively,  and  live  longest  in 
the  water ;  for  you  are  to  know  that  a  dead  worm  is  but  a 
dead  bait,  and  like  to  catch  nothing,  compared  to  a  lively, 
quick,  stirring  worm  ;  and  for  a  brandling,  he  is  usually 
found  in  an  old  dunghill,  or  some  very  rotten  place  near  to 
it ;  but  most  usually  in  cow-dung,  or  hog's-dung,  rather 
tlian  horse-dung,  which  is  somewhat  too  hot  and  dry  for 
that  worm.  But  the  best  of  them  are  to  be  found  in  the 
bark  of  the  tanners,  which  they  cast  up  in  heaps  after  they 
have  used  it  about  their  leather. 

There  are  also  divers  other  kinds  of  worms,  which  for 
colour  and  shape  alter  even  as  the  ground  out  of  which  they 
are  got ;  as  the  marsh  worm,  the  tag-tail,  the  flag-worm,  the 
dock-worm,  the  oak-worm,  the  gilt-tail,  the  twachel  or  lob- 


154  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

worm,  which  of  all  others  is  the  most  excellent  bait  for  a 
salmon,  and  too  many  to  name,  even  as  many  sorts  as  some 
think  there  be  of  several  herbs  or  shrubs,  or  of  several  kinds 
of  birds  in  the  air ;  of  which  I  shall  say  no  more,  but  tell 
you  that  what  worms  soever  you  fish  with  are  the  better  for 
being  well  scoured,  that  is,  long  kept  before  they  be  used  ; 
and  in  case  you  have  not  been  so  provident,  then  the  way 
to  cleanse  and  scour  them  quickly  is  to  put  them  all  night 
in  water,  if  they  be  lob-worms,  and  then  put  them  into  your 
bag  with  fennel.  But  you  must  not  put  your  brandlings 
above  an  hour  in  water,  and  then  put  them  into  fennel,  for 
sudden  use  ;  but  if  you  have  time,  and  purpose  to  keep 
them  long,  then  they  be  best  preserved  in  an  earthern  pot, 
with  good  store  of  moss,  which  is  to  be  fresh  every  three  or 
four  days  in  summer,  and  every  week  or  eight  days  in 
winter ;  or,  at  least,  the  moss  taken  from  them,  and  clean 
washed,  and  wrung  betwixt  your  hands  till  it  be  dry,  and 
then  put  it  to  them  again.  And  when  your  worms,  espe- 
cially the  brandling,  begins  to  be  sick  and  lose  of  his  bigness, 
then  you  may  recover  him  by  putting  a  little  milk  or  cream, 
about  a  spoonful  in  a  day,  into  them,  by  drops  on  the 
moss ;  and  if  there  be  added  to  the  cream  an  ^gg  beaten 
and  boiled  in  it,  then  it  will  both  fatten  and  preserve  them 
long.  And  note,  that  when  the  knot,  which  is  near  to  the 
middle  of  the  brandling,  begins  to  swell,  then  he  is  sick  ; 
and,  if  he  be  not  well  looked  to,  is  near  dying.  And  for 
moss,  you  are  to  note,  that  there  be  divers  kinds  of  it,  which 
I  could  name  to  you,  but  I  will  only  tell  you  that  that 
which  is  likest  a  buck's  horn  is  the  best,  except  it  be  soft 
white  moss,  which  grows  on  some  heaths,  and  is  hard  to  be 
found.     And  note,  that  in  a  very  dry  time,  when  you  are 


HOW   TO  FISH  FOR   TROUT.  1 55 

put  to  an  extremity  for  worms,  walnut-tree  leaves  squeezed 
into  water,  or  salt  in  water,  to  make  it  bitter  or  salt,  and 
then  that  water  poured  on  the  ground  where  you  shall  see 
worms  are  used  to  rise  in  the  night,  will  make  them  to 
appear  aboveground  presently.  Arid  you  may  take  notice, 
some  say  that  camphor,  put  into  your  bag  with  your  moss 
and  worms,  gives  them  a  strong  and  so  tempting  a  smell, 
that  the  fish  fare  the  worse  and  you  the  better  for  it. 

And  now  I  shall  shew  you  how  to  bait  your  hook  with  a 
worm,  so  as  shall  prevent  you  from  much  trouble,  and  the 
loss  of  many  a  hook  too,  when  you  fish  for  a  trout  with  a 
running  line,  that  is  to  say,  when  you  fish  for  him  by  hand 
at  the  ground  :  I  will  direct  you  in  this  as  plainly  as  I  can, 
that  you  may  not  mistake. 

Suppose  it  be  a  big  lob-worm,  put  your  hook  into  him 
somewhat  above  the  middle,  and  out  again  a  little  below  the 
middle  ;  having  so  done,  draw  your  worm  above  the  arming 
of  your  hook  :  but  note  that  at  the  entering  of  your  hook  it 
must  not  be  at  the  head-end  of  the  worm,  but  at  the  tail-end 
of  him,  that  the  point  of  your  hook  may  come  out  toward 
the  head-end  ;  and  having  drawn  him  above  the  arming  of 
your  hook,  then  put  the  point  of  your  hook  again  into  the 
very  head  of  the  worm,  till  it  come  near  to  the  place  where 
the  point  of  the  hook  first  came  out ;  and  then  draw  back 
that  part  of  the  worm  that  was  above  the  shank  or  arming 
of  your  hook,  and  so  fish  with  it.  And  if  you  mean  to  fish 
with  two  worms,  then  put  the  second  on  before  you  turn 
back  the  hook's  head  of  the  first  worm  :  you  cannot  lose 
above  two  or  three  worms  before  you  attain  to  what  I  direct 
you  ;  and  having  attained  it,  you  will  find  it  very  useful,  and 
thank  me  for  it,  for  you  will  run  on  the  ground  without 
tangling. 


156  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

Now  for  the  minnow  or  penk  :  he  is  not  easily  found  and 
caught  till  March,  or  in  April,  for  then  he  appears  first  in  the 
river  ;  nature  having  taught  him  to  shelter  and  hide  himself, 
in  the  winter,  in  ditches  that  be  near  to  the  river ;  and  there 
both  to  hide  and  keep  himself  warm,  in  the  mud,  or  in  the 
weeds,  which  rot  not  so  soon  as  in  a  running  river,  in  which 
place  if  he  were  in  winter,  the  distempered  floods  that  are 
usually  in  that  season  would  suffer  him  to  take  no  rest,  but 
carry  him  headlong  to  mills  and  weirs,  to  his  confusion.  And 
of  these  minnows :  first  you  are  to  know  that  the  biggest 
size  is  not  the  best ;  and  next,  that  the  middle  size  and 
the  whitest  are  the  best ;  and  then  you  are  to  know  that  your 
minnow  must  be  so  put  on  your  hook,  that  it  must  turn 
round  when  it  is  drawn  against  the  stream  ;  and,  that  it  may 
turn  nimbly,  you  must  put  it  on  a  big-sized  hook,  as  I  shall 
now  direct  you,  which  is  thus  :  put  your  hook  in  at  his  mouth 
and  out  at  his  gill ;  then,  having  drawn  your  hook  two  or 
three  inches  beyond  or  through  his  gill,  put  it  again  into  his 
mouth,  and  the  point  and  beard  out  at  his  tail ;  and  then 
tie  the  hook  and  his  tail  about,  very  neatly,  with  a  white 
thread,  which  will  make  it  the  apter  to  turn  quick  in  the 
water :  that  done,  pull  back  that  part  of  your  line  which  was 
slack  when  you  did  put  your  hook  into  the  minnow  the 
second  time  ;  I  say,  pull  that  part  of  your  line  back,  so  that 
it  shall  fasten  the  head,  so  that  the  body  of  the  minnow 
shall  be  almost  straight  on  your  hook  :  this  done,  try  how  it 
will  turn,  by  drawing  it  across  the  water  or  against  a  stream ; 
and  if  it  do  not  turn  nimbly,  then  turn  the  tail  a  little  to  the 
right  or  left  hand,  and  try  again,  till  it  turn  quick  ;  for  if  not, 
you  are  in  danger  to  catch  nothing :  for  know,  it  is  impos- 
sible that  it  should  turn  too  quick  ;  and  you  are  yet  to  know 


I 


HOW  TO  FISH  FOR   TROUT.  1 57 

that  in  case  you  want  a  minnow,  then  a  small  loach  or  a 
stickle-bag,  or  any  other  small  fish  that  will  turn  quick,  will 
serve  as  well ;  and  you  are  yet  to  know,  that  you  may  salt 
them,  and  by  that  means  keep  them  ready  and  fit  for  use 
three  or  four  days  or  longer  ;  and  that  of  salt,  bay-salt  is  the 
best. 

And  here  let  me  tell  you,  what  many  old  anglers  know 
right  well,  that  at  some  times,  and  in  some  waters,  a  minnow 
is  not  to  be  got ;  and  therefore  let  me  tell  you,  I  have — which 
I  will  shew  to  you — an  artificial  minnow,  that  will  catch  a 
trout  as  well  as  an  artificial  fly,  and  it  was  made  by  a  hand- 
some woman  that  had  a  fine  hand,  and  a  live  minnow  lying 
by  her :  the  mould  or  body  of  the  minnow  was  cloth,  and 
wrought  upon  or  over  it  thus  with  a  needle  :  the  back  of  it 
with  very  sad  French  green  silk,  and  paler  green  silk  towards 
the  belly,  shadowed  as  perfectly  as  you  can  imagine,  just  as 
you  see  a  minnow ;  the  belly  was  wrought  also  with  a  needle, 
and  it  was  a  part  of  it  white  silk,  and  another  part  of  it  with 
silver  thread  ;  the  tail  and  fins  were  of  a  quill,  which  was 
shaven  thin  ;  the  eyes  were  of  two  little  black  beads,  and  the 
head  was  so  shadowed,  and  all  of  it  so  curiously  wrought, 
and  so  exactly  dissembled,  that  it  would  beguile  any  sharp- 
sighted  trout  in  a  swift  stream.  And  this  minnow  I  will  now 
shew  you  :  look,  here  it  is,  and,  if  you  like  it,  lend  it  you,  to 
lave  two  or  three  made  by  it ;  for  they  be  easily  carried 
ibout  an  angler,  and  be  of  excellent  use ;  for  note,  that  a 
jlarge  trout  will  come  as  fiercely  at  a  minnow  as  the  highest 
lettled  hawk  doth  seize  on  a  partridge,  or  a  greyhound  on 
[a  hare.  I  have  been  told  that  a  hundred  and  sixty  minnows 
[have  been  found  in  a  trout's  belly :  either  the  trout  had  de- 
voured so  many,  or  the  miller  that  gave  it  a  friend  of  mine 


158  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

had   forced    them    down   his   throat   after  he   had   taken 
him. 

Now  for  flies,  which  is  the  third  bait  wherewith  trouts 
are  usually  taken.  You  are  to  know  that  there  are  so  many 
sort  of  flies  as  there  be  of  fruits :  I  will  name  you  but  some 
of  them  ;  as  the  dun-fly,  the  stone-fly,  the  red  fly,  the  moor- 
fly,  the  tawny  fly,  the  shell-fly,  the  cloudy  or  blackish  fly, 
the  flag-fly,  the  vine-fly :  there  be  of  flies,  caterpillars,  and 
canker-flies,  and  bear-flies ;  and  indeed  too  many  either  for 
me  to  name  or  for  you  to  remember.  And  their  breeding 
is  so  various  and  wonderful,  that  I  might  easily  amaze  my- 
self and  tire  you  in  a  relation  of  them. 

And  yet  I  will  exercise  your  promised  patience  by  saying 
a  little  of  the  caterpillar,  or  the  palmer-fly  or  worm ;  that 
by  them  you  may  guess  what  a  work  it  were,  in  a  discourse, 
but  to  run  over  those  very  many  flies,  worms,  and  little  living 
creatures,  with  which  the  sun  and  summer  adorn  and  beautify 
the  river-banks  and  meadows,  both  for  the  recreation  and 
contemplation  of  us  anglers ;  pleasures  which,  I  think,  I 
myself  enjoy  more  than  any  other  man  that  is  not  of  my 
profession. 

Pliny  holds  an  opinion,  that  many  have  their  birth  or  being 
from  a  dew  that  in  the  spring  falls  upon  the  leaves  of  trees; 
and  that  som^e  kinds  of  them  are  from  a  dew  left  upon  herbs 
or  flowers ;  and  others,  from  a  dew  left  upon  coleworts  or 
cabbages;  all  which  kinds  of  dews  being  thickened  and 
condensed,  are  by  the  sun's  generative  heat  most  of  them 
hatched,  and  in  three  days  made  living  creatures  :  and  these 
of  several  shapes  and  colours ;  some  being  hard  and  tough, 
some  smooth  and  soft ;  some  are  horned  in  their  head,  some 
in  their  tail,  some  have  none ;  some  have  hair,  some  none ; 


HOIV  TO  FISH  FOR   TROUT.  159 

some  have  sixteen  feet,  some  less,  and  some  have  none  ;  but 
as  our  Topsel  hath  with  great  diHgence  observed,  those  which 
have  none  move  upon  the  earth,  or  upon  broad  leaves,  their 
motion  being  not  unlike  to  the  waves  of  the  sea.  Some  of 
them,  he  also  observes  to  be  bred  of  the  eggs  of  other  cater- 
pillars, and  that  those  in  their  time  turn  to  be  butterflies ; 
and  again,  that  their  eggs  turn  the  following  year  to  be 
caterpillars.  And  some  affirm,  that  every  plant  has  his  par- 
ticular fly  or  caterpillar,  which  it  breeds  and  feeds.  I  have 
seen,  and  may  therefore  affirm  it,  a  green  caterpillar  or  worm, 
as  big  as  a  small  peascod,  which  had  fourteen  legs,  eight  on 
the  belly,  four  under  the  neck,  and  two  near  the  tail.  It  was 
found  on  a  hedge  of  privet,  and  was  taken  thence,  and  put 
into  a  large  box,  and  a  little  branch  or  two  of  privet  put  to 
it,  on  which  I  saw  it  feed  as  sharply  as  a  dog  gnaws  a  bone: 
it  lived  thus  five  or  six  days,  and  thrived,  and  changed  the 
colour  two  or  three  times ;  but,  by  some  neglect  in  the 
keeper  of  it,  it  then  died,  and  did  not  turn  to  a  fly ;  but  if 
it  had  lived,  it  had  doubtless  turned  to  one  of  those  flies 
that  some  call  flies  of  prey,  which  those  that  walk  by  the 
rivers  may,  in  summer,  see  fasten  on  smaller  flies,  and,  I 
think,  make  them  their  food.  And  *t  is  observable,  that  as 
there  be  these  flies  of  prey,  which  be  very  large,  so  there  be 
others  very  little,  created,  I  think,  only  to  feed  them,  and 
breed  out  of  I  know  not  what ;  whose  life,  they  say,  nature 
intended  not  to  exceed  an  hour ;  and  yet  that  life  is  thus 
made  shorter  by  other  flies,  or  by  accident.^ 

It  is  endless  to  tell  you  what  the  curious  searchers  into 
nature's  productions  have  observed  of  these  worms  and 
flies ;  but  yet  I  shall  tell  you  what  Aldrovandus,^  our  Topsel, 
and  others  say  of  the  palmer-worm,  or  caterpillar,  that 


l6o  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

whereas  others  content  themselves  to  feed  on  particular 
herbs  or  leaves, — for  most  think  those  very  leaves  that  gave 
them  life  and  shape,  give  them  a  particular  feeding  and 
nourishment,  and  that  upon  them  they  usually  abide ;  yet 
he  observes  that  this  is  called  a  pilgrim,  or  palmer-worm, 
for  his  very  wandering  life,  and  various  food  ;  not  content- 
ing himself,  as  others  do,  with  any  one  certain  place  for  his 
abode,  nor  any  certain  kind  of  herb  or  flower  for  his  feeding, 
but  will  boldly  and  disorderly  wander  up  and  down,  and 
not  endure  to  be  kept  to  a  diet,  or  fixed  to  a  particular 
place.^ 

Nay,  the  very  colours  of  caterpillars  are,  as  one  has  ob- 
served, very  elegant  and  beautiful.  I  shall,  for  a  taste  of 
the  rest,  describe  one  of  them  ;  which  I  will,  some  time  the 
next  month,  shew  you  feeding  on  a  willow-tree ;  and  you 
shall  find  him  punctually  to  answer  this  very  description : 
his  lips  and  mouth  somewhat  yellow  ;  his  eyes  black  as  jet; 
his  forehead  purple ;  his  feet  and  hinder  parts  green ;  his 
tail  two-forked  and  black  ;  the  whole  body  stained  with  a 
kind  of  red  spots,  which  run  along  the  neck  and  shoulder- 
blade,  not  unlike  the  form  of  St.  Andrew's  Cross,  or  the 
letter  X,  made  thus  cross-wise,  and  a  white  line  drawn 
down  his  back  to  his  tail ;  all  which  add  much  beauty  to 
his  whole  body.  And  it  is  to  me  observable,  that  at  a  fixed 
age  this  caterpillar  gives  over  to  eat,  and  towards  winter 
comes  to  be  covered  over  with  a  strange  shell  or  crust,  callec 
an  aurelia  ;  and  so  lives  a  kind  of  dead  life,  without  eating,] 
all  the  winter ;  and,  as  others  of  several  kinds  turn  to  b( 
several  kinds  of  flies  and  vermin  the  spring  following,  sc 
this  caterpillar  then  turns  to  be  a  painted  butterfly.^ 

Come,  come,  my  scholar,  you  see   the  river  stops  oui 


HOW  TO  FISH  FOR   TROUT.  l6l 

morning  walk,  and  I  will  also  here  stop  my  discourse  ;  only 
as  we  sit  down  under  this  honeysuckle  hedge,  whilst  I  look 
a  line  to  fit  the  rod  that  our  brother  Peter  hath  lent  you,  I 
shall,  for  a  little  confirmation  of  what  I  have  said,  repeat 
the  observation  of  Du  Bartas. 

God,  not  contented  to  each  kind  to  give 
And  to  infuse  the  virtue  generative, 
By  His  wise  power  made  many  creatures  breed 
Of  lifeless  bodies,  without  Venus'  deed. 

So  the  cold  humour  breeds  the  salamander, 
Who,  in  effect,  Hke  to  her  birth's  commander, 
With  child  with  hundred  winters,  with  her  touch 
Quencheth  the  fire,  though  glowing  ne'er  so  much. 

So  in  the  fire,  in  burning  furnace,  springs 

The  fly  Perausta,  with  the  flaming  wings  ;  , 

Without  the  fire  it  dies,  in  it  it  joys. 

Living  in  that  which  all  things  else  destroys. 

So  slow  Bootes  underneath  him  sees, 
In  th'  icy  islands,  goslings  hatch'd  of  trees. 
Whose  fruitful  leaves,  falling  into  the  water. 
Are  turn'd,  'tis  known,  to  living  fowls  soon  after. 

So  rotten  planks  of  broken  ships  do  change 
To  barnacles.     O  transformation  strange  ! 
'T  was  first  a  green  tree,  then  a  broken  hull, 
Lately  a  mushroom,  now  a  flying  gull.* 

Ven.  O  my  good  master,  this  morning  walk  has  been 

spent  to  my  great  pleasure  and  wonder :  but  I  pray,  when 

shall  I  have  your  direction  how  to  make  artificial  flies,  like 

I  to  those  that  the  trout  loves  best,  and  also  how  to  use  them? 

]     PiSC.  My  honest  scholar,  it  is  now  past  five  of  the  clock, 

1  11 


(02  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

ive  will  fish  till  nine,  and  then  go  to  breakfast.  Go  you  to 
yon  sycamore-tree,  and  hide  your  bottle  of  drink  under  the 
hollow  root  of  it ;  for  about  that  time,  and  in  that  place, 
we  will  make  a  brave  breakfast  with  a  piece  of  powdered 
beef,  and  a  radish  or  two  that  I  have  in  my  fish-bag :  we 
shall,  I  warrant  you,  make  a  good,  honest,  wholesome, 
hungry  breakfast,  and  I  will  then  give  you  direction  for  the 
making  and  using  of  your  flies  ;  and  in  the  meantime  there 
is  your  rod  and  line,  and  my  advice  is,  that  you  fish  as  you 
see  me  do,  and  let 's  try  which  can  catch  the  first  fish. 

Ven.  I  thank  you,  master :  I  v/ill  observe  and  practise 
your  direction  as  far  as  I  am  able. 

PiSC.  Look  you,  scholar,  you  see  I  have  hold  of  a  good 
fish:  I  now  see  it  is  a  trout.  I  pray  put  that  net  under  him, 
and  touch  not  my  line,  for  if  you  do,  then  we  break  all. 
Well  done,  scholar !  I  thank  you. 

Now  for  another.  Trust  me,  I  have  another  bite  :  come, 
scholar,  come,  lay  down  your  rod,  and  help  me  to  land  this 
as  you  did  the  other.  So  now  we  shall  be  sure  to  have  a 
good  dish  for  supper. 

Ven.  I  am  glad  of  that ;  but  I  have  no  fortune :  sure, 
master,  yours  is  a  better  rod  and  better  tackling. 

PiSC.  Nay,  then,  take  mine ;  and  I  will  fish  with  yours. 
Look  you,  scholar,  I  have  another.  Come,  do  as  you  did 
before.  And  now  I  have  a  bite  at  another.  Oh  me !  he 
has  broke  all :  there 's  half  a  line  and  a  good  hook  lost 

Ven.  Ay,  and  a  good  trout  too. 

PiSC.  Nay,  the  trout  is  not  lost ;  for  pray  take  notice,  n 
man  can  lose  what  he  never  had. 

Ven.  Master,  I  can  neither  catch  with  the  first  nor  second 
angle :  I  have  no  fortune. 


e 

I 


I 


now  TO  FISH  FOR   TROUT.  1 63 

PiSC.  Look  you,  scholar,  I  have  yet  another.  And  now, 
having  caught  three  [two]  brace  of  trouts,  I  will  tell  you  a 
short  tale  as  we  walk  towards  our  breakfast.  A  scholar,  a 
preacher  I  should  say,  that  was  to  preach  to  procure  the 
approbation  of  a  parish  that  he  might  be  their  lecturer,  had 
got  from  his  fellow-pupil  the  copy  of  a  sermon  that  was 
first  preached  with  great  commendation  by  him  that  com- 
posed it ;  and  though  the  borrower  of  it  preached  it,  word 
for  word,  as  it  was  at  first,  yet  it  was  utterly  disliked  as  it 
was  preached  by  the  second  to  his  congregation ;  which  the 
sermon  borrower  complained  of  to  the  lender  of  it;  and  thus 
was  answered  :  "  I  lent  you,  indeed,  my  fiddle,  but  not  my 
fiddle-stick ;  for  you  are  to  know,  that  every  one  cannot 
make  music  with  my  words,  which  are  fitted  to  my  own 
mouth."  And  so,  my  scholar,  you  are  to  know,  that  as  the 
ill  pronunciation  or  ill  accenting  of  words  in  a  sermon 
spoils  it,  so  the  ill  carriage  of  your  line,  or  not  fishing  even 
to  a  foot  in  a  right  place,  makes  you  lose  your  labour ; 
and  you  are  to  know,  that  though  you  have  my  fiddle,  that 
is,  my  very  rod  and  tacklings  with  which  you  see  I  catch 
fish,  yet  you  have  not  my  fiddle-stick,  that  is,  you  yet  have 
not  skill  to  know  how  to  carry  your  hand  and  line,  nor  how 
to  guide  it  to  a  right  place ;  and  this  must  be  taught  you  ; 
for  you  are  to  remember,  I  told  you  angling  is  an  art,  either 
by  practice  or  a  long  observation,  or  both.  But  take  this 
for  a  rule  :  when  you  fish  for  a  trout  with  a  worm,  let  your 
line  have  so  much  and  not  more  lead  than  will  fit  the  stream 
in  which  you  fish ;  that  is  to  say,  more  in  a  great  trouble- 
some stream  than  in  a  smaller  that  is  quieter ;  as  near  as 
may  be,  so  much  as  will  sink  the  bait  to  the  bottom,  and 
keep  it  still  in  motion,  and  not  more, 

11 — 2 


I64  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

But  now  let 's  say  grace  and  fall  to  breakfast.  What  say 
you,  scholar,  to  the  providence  of  an  old  angler  ?  does  not 
this  meat  taste  well  ?  and  was  not  this  place  well  chosen  to 
eat  it  ?  for  this  sycamore-tree  will  shade  us  from  the  sun's 
heat. 

Ven.  All  excellent  good,  and  my  stomach  excellent  good 
too.  And  now  I  remember  and  find  that  true  which  devout 
Lesslus"  says :  "  That  poor  men,  and  those  that  fast  often, 
have  much  more  pleasure  in  eating  than  rich  men  and  glut- 
tons, that  always  feed  before  their  stomachs  are  empty  of 
their  last  meat,  and  call  for  more  ;  for  by  that  means  they 
rob  themselves  of  that  pleasure  that  hunger  brings  to  poor 
men."  And  I  do  seriously  approve  of  that  saying  of  yours, 
"that  you  would  rather  be  a  civil,  well-governed,  well- 
grounded,  temperate,  poor  angler,  than  a  drunken  lord." 
But  I  hope  there  is  none  such :  however,  I  am  certain  of 
this,  that  I  have  been  at  many  very  costly  dinners  that  have 
not  afforded  me  half  the  content  that  this  has  done,  for 
which  I  thank  God  and  you. 

And  now,  good  master,  proceed  to  your  promised  direc- 
tion for  making  and  ordering  my  artificial  fly. 

PiSC.  My  honest  scholar,  I  will  do  it ;  for  it  is  a  debt 
due  unto  you  by  my  promise.  And  because  you  shall  not 
think  yourself  more  engaged  to  me  than  indeed  you  really 
are,  I  will  freely  give  you  such  directions  as  were  lately 
given  to  me  by  an  ingenious  brother  of  the  angle,  an  honest 
man,  and  a  most  excellent  fly-fisher. 

You  are  to  note,  that  there  are  twelve  kinds  of  artificij 
made  flies  to  angle  with  upon  the  top  of  the  water.     Not( 
by  the  way,  that    the  fittest   season  of  using  these  is 
blustering  windy  day,  when  the  waters  are  so  troubled  tha< 


irOlV  TO  FISH  FOR   TROUT.  1 65 

the  natural  fly  cannot  be  seen,  or  rest  upon  them.  The 
first  is  the  dun-fly,  in  March :  the  body  is  made  of  dun 
wool ;  the  wings  of  the  partridge's  feathers.  The  second  is 
another  dun-fly :  the  body  of  black  wool,  and  the  wings 
made  of  the  black  drake's  feathers,  and  of  the  feathers 
under  his  tail.  The  third  is  the  stone-fly,  in  April :  the 
body  is  made  of  black  wool  ;  made  yellow  under  the  wings 
and  under  the  tail,  and  so  made  with  wings  of  the  drake. 
The  fourth  is  the  ruddy  fly,  in  the  beginning  of  May  :  the 
body  made  of  red  wool,  wrapt  about  with  black  silk ;  and 
the  feathers  are  the  wings  of  the  drake  ;  with  the  feathers 
of  a  red  capon  also,  which  hangs  dangling  on  his  sides  next 
to  the  tail.  The  fifth  is  the  yellow  or  greenish  fly,  in  May 
likewise :  the  body  made  of  yellow  wool,  and  the  wings 
made  of  the  red  cock's  hackle  or  tail.  The  sixth  is  the 
black  fly,  in  May  also :  the  body  made  of  black  wool,  and 
lapped  about  with  the  herlc  of  a  peacock's  tail ;  the  wings 
arc  made  of  the  wings  of  a  brown  capon,  with  his  blue 
feathers  in  his  head.  The  seventh  is  the  sad  yellow  fly,  in 
June  :  the  body  is  made  of  black  wool,  with  a  yellow  list  on 
either  side,  and  the  wings  taken  off  the  wings  of  a  buzzard, 
bound  with  black  braked  hemp.  The  eighth  is  the  Moorish 
fly :  made  with  the  body  of  duskish  wool,  and  the  wings 
made  of  the  blackish  mail  of  the  drake.  The  ninth  is  the 
tawny  fly,  good  until  the  middle  of  June  :  the  body  made 
of  tawny  wool;  the  wings  made  contrary,  one  against  the 
other,  made  of  the  whitish  mail  of  the  wild  drake.  The 
tenth  is  the  wasp-fly,  in  July  :  the  body  made  of  black  wool, 
lapped  about  with  yellow  silk  ;  the  wings  made  of  the 
feathers  of  the  drake  or  of  the  buzzard.  The  eleventh  is 
the  shell-fly,  good  in  mid-July  :  the  body  made  of  greenish 


l66  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

wool,  lapped  about  with  the  herle  of  a  peacock's  tail,  and 
the  wings  made  of  the  wings  of  the  buzzard.  The  twelfth 
is  the  dark  drake-fly,  good  in  August :  the  body  made  of 
black  wool,  lapped  about  with  black  silk  ;  his  wings  are 
made  with  the  mail  of  the  black  drake,  with  a  black  head. 
Thus  have  you  a  jury  of  flies,  likely  to  betray  and  condemn 
all  the  trouts  in  the  river.^ 

I  shall  next  give  you  some  other  directions  for  fly-flshing, 
such  as  are  given  by  Mr.  Thomas  Barker,  a  gentleman  that 
hath  spent  much  time  in  fishing ;  but  I  shall  do  it  with  a 
little  variation. 

First,  let  your  rod  be  light,  and  very  gentle  ;  I  take  the 
best  to  be  of  two  pieces :  and  let  not  your  line  exceed — 
especially  for  three  or  four  links  next  to  the  hook — I  say, 
not  exceed  three  or  four  hairs  at  the  most,  though  you  may 
fish  a  little  stronger  above,  in  the  upper  part  of  your  line ; 
but  if  you  can  attain  to  angle  with  one  hair,  you  shall  have 
more  rises,  and  catch  more  fish.  Now  you  must  be  sure 
not  to  cumber  yourself  with  too  long  a  line,  as  most  do. 
And  before  you  begin  to  angle,  cast  to  have  the  wind  on 
your  back,  and  the  sun,  if  it  shines,  to  be  before  you  ;  and 
to  fish  down  the  stream  ;  and  carry  the  point  or  top  of  your 
rod  downward,  by  which  means  the  shadow  of  yourself  and 
rod  too  will  be  least  ofl'ensive  to  the  fish ;  for  the  sight  of 
any  shade  amazes  the  fish,  and  spoils  your  sport — of  which 
you  must  take  a  great  care. 

In  the  middle  of  March — till  which  time  a  man  should 
not,  in  honesty,  catch  a  trout — or  in  April,  if  the  weather 
be  dark,  or  a  little  windy  or  cloudy,  the  best  fishing  is  with 
the  palmer-worm,  of  which  I  last  spoke  to  you  ;  but  of  these 
there  be  divers  kinds,  or  at  least  of  divers  colours :  th 


ca| 


HOW   TO  FISH  FOR   TROUT.  1 67 

and  the  May-fly  are  the  ground  of  all  fly-angling,  which  are 
to  be  thus  made  : 

First,  you  must  arm  your  hook  with  the  line  in  the  inside 
of  it,  then  take  your  scissors  and  cut  so  much  of  a  brown 
mallard's  feather  as  in  your  own  reason  will  make  the  wings 
of  it,  you  having  withal  regard  to  the  bigness  or  littleness 
of  your  hook ;  then  lay  the  outmost  part  of  your  feather 
next  to  your  hook,  then  the  point  of  your  feather  next  the 
shank  of  your  hook  ;  and  having  so  done,  whip  it  three  or 
four  times  about  the  hook  with  the  same  silk  with  which 
your  hook  v/as  armed  ;  and  having  made  the  silk  fast,  take 
the  hackle  of  a  cock  or  capon's  neck,  or  a  plover's  top, 
which  is  usually  better  ;  take  ofl"  the  one  side  of  the  feather, 
and  then  take  the  hackle,  silk,  or  crewel,  gold  or  silver 
thread,  make  these  fast  at  the  bent  of  the  hook,  that  is  to 
say,  below  your  arming ;  then  you  must  take  the  hackle, 
the  silver  or  gold  thread,  and  work  it  up  to  the  wings, 
shifting  or  still  removing  your  finger  as  you  turn  the  silk 
about  the  hook  ;  and  still  looking  at  every  stop  or  turn  that 
your  gold,  or  what  materials  soever  you  make  your  fly  of, 
do  lie  right  and  neatly ;  and  if  you  find  they  do  so,  then, 
when  you  have  made  the  head,  make  all  fast ;  and  then 
work  your  hackle  up  to  the  head,  and  make  that  fast ;  and 
then  with  a  needle  or  pin  divide  the  wing  into  two,  and  then 
with  the  arming  silk  whip  it  about  crossways  betwixt  the 
wings,  and  then  with  your  thumb  you  must  turn  the  point 
of  the  feather  towards  the  bent  of  the  hook,  and  then  work 
three  or  four  times  about  the  shank  of  the  hook  ;  and  then 
view  the  proportion,  and  if  all  be  neat  and  to  your  liking, 
fasten. 

I  confess,  no  direction  can  be  given  to  make  a  man  of  a 


1 68  THE  CO  Mr  LET E  ANGLER. 

dull  capacity  able  to  make  a  fly  well ;  and  yet  I  know  this, 
with  a  little  practice,  will  help  an  ingenious  angler  in  a 
good  degree;  but  to  see  a  fly  made  by  an  artist  in  that 
kind,  is  the  best  teaching  to  make  it.  And  then  an  ingeni- 
ous angler  may  walk  by  the  river  and  mark  what  flies  fall 
on  the  water  that  day,  and  catch  one  of  them,  if  he  see  the 
trouts  leap  at  a  fly  of  that  kind  ;  and  then  having  always 
hooks  ready  hung  with  him,  and  having  a  bag  also  always 
with  him,  with  bear's  hair,  or  the  hair  of  a  brown  or  sad- 
coloured  heifer,  hackles  of  a  cock  or  capon,  several  coloured 
silk  and  crewel  to  make  the  body  of  the  fly,  the  feathers  of 
a  drake's  head,  black  or  brown  sheep's  wool,  or  hog's  wool 
or  hair,  thread  of  gold  and  of  silver ;  silk  of  several  colours 
(especially  sad-coloured),  to  make  the  fly's  head  ;  and  there 
be  also  other  coloured  feathers,  both  of  little  birds  and  of 
speckled  fowl :  I  say,  having  those  with  him  in  a  bag,  and 
trying  to  make  a  fly,  though  he  miss  at  first,  yet  shall  he  at 
last  hit  it  better,  even  to  such  a  perfection  as  none  can  well 
teach  him  ;  and  if  he  hit  to  make  his  fly  right,  and  have  the 
luck  to  hit  also  where  there  is  store  of  trouts,  a  dark  day, 
and  a  right  wind,  he  will  catch  such  store  of  them  as  will 
encourage  him  to  grow  more  and  more  in  love  with  the  art 
of  fly-making. 

Ven.  But,  my  loving  master,  if  any  wind  will  not  serve, 
then  I  wish  I  were  in  Lapland,  to  buy  a  good  wind  of  one 
of  the  honest  witches  that  sell  so  many  winds  there,  and  so 
cheap. 

PiSC.  Marry,  scholar,  but  I  would  not  be  there,  nor  indeed 
from  under  this  tree  ;  for  look  how  it  begins  to  rain  ! — and 
by  the  clouds,  if  I  mistake  not,  we  shall  presently  have  a 
smoking  shower,  and  therefore  sit  close  :  this  sycamore-tree 


HOW  TO  FISH  FOR   TROUT.  1 69 

will  shelter  us ;  and  I  will  tell  you,  as  they  shall  come  into 

my  mind,  more  observations  of  fly-fishing  for  a  trout. 

But  first,  for  the  wind.     You  are  to  take  notice,  that  of 

the  winds,  the  south  wind  is  said  to  be  the  best.     One 

observes  that 

When  the  wind  is  south. 
It  blows  your  bait  into  a  fish's  mouth. 

Next  to  that,  the  west  wind  is  believed  to  be  the  best;  and 
liaving  told  you  that  the  east  wind  is  the  worst,  I  need  not 
tell  you  which  wind  is  the  best  in  the  third  degree  ;  and  yet 
(as  Solomon  observes)  that  "he  that  considers  the  wind 
shall  never  sow,"  so  he  that  busies  his  head  too  much 
about  them,  if  the  weather  be  not  made  extreme  cold  by 
an  east  wind,  shall  be  a  little  superstitious ;  for  as  it  is  ob- 
sci-vcd  by  some,  that  "  there  is  no  good  horse  of  a  bad 
colour,"  so  I  have  observed,  that  if  it  be  a  cloudy  day,  and 
not  extreme  cold,  let  the  wind  set  in  what  corner  it  will 
and  do  its  worst,  I  heed  it  not.  And  yet  take  this  for  a 
rule,  that  I  would  willingly  fish,  standing  on  the  lee-shore  ; 
and  you  are  to  take  notice,  that  the  fish  lies  or  swims  nearer 
the  bottom,  and  in  deeper  water,  in  winter  than  in  summer ; 
and  also  nearer  the  bottom  in  any  cold  day,  and  then  gets 
nearest  the  lee-side  of  the  water. 

But  I  promised  to  tell  you  more  of  the  fly-fishing  for  a 
trout,  which  I  may  have  time  enough  to  do,  for  you  see  it 
rains  May-butter.  First,  for  a  May-fly,  you  may  make  his 
body  with  the  greenish  coloured  crewel  or  willowish  colour  ; 
darkening  it  in  most  places  with  waxed  silk,  or  ribbed  with 
black  hair,  or  some  of  them  ribbed  with  silver  thread ;  and 
such  wings  for  the  colour  as  you  see  the  fly  to  have  at  that 
season — nay,  at  that  very  day,  on  the  water.     Or  you  may 


70  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


make  the  oak-fly,  with  an  orange  tawny  and  black  ground, 
and  the  brown  of  a  mallard's  feather  for  the  whigs;  and  you 
are  to  know  that  these  two  are  most  excellent  flies — that  is, 
the  May- fly  and  the  oak-fly.  And  let  me  again  tell  you  that 
you  keep  as  far  from  the  water  as  you  can  possibly,  whether 
you  fish  with  a  fly  or  worm,  and  fish  down  the  stream  ;  and 
when  you  fish  with  a  fly,  if  it  be  possible,  let  no  part  of  your 
line  touch  the  water,  but  your  fly  only  ;  and  be  still  moving 
your  fly  upon  the  water,  or  casting  it  into  the  water,  you 
yourself  being  also  always  moving  down  the  stream. 

Mr.  Barker  commends  several  sorts  of  the  palmer-flies, 
not  only. those  ribbed  with  silver  and  gold,  but  others  that 
have  their  bodies  all  made  of  black,  or  some  with  red,  and  a 
red  hackle.  You  may  also  make  the  hawthorn-fly,  which  is 
all  black,  and  not  big,  but  very  small,  the  smaller  the  better ; 
or  the  oak-fly,  the  body  of  which  is  orange  colour  and  black 
crewel,  with  a  brown  wing  ;  or  a  fly  made  with  a  peacock's 
feather  is  excellent  in  a  bright  day.  You  must  be  sure  you 
want  not  in  your  magazine-bag  the  peacock's  feather,  and 
grounds  of  such  wool  and  crev/el  as  will  make  the  grass- 
hopper ;  and  note,  that  usually  the  smallest  flies  are  the 
best ;  and  note  also  that  the  light  fly  does  usually  make 
most  sport  in  a  dark  day,  and  the  darkest  and  least  fly  in 
bright  or  clear  day ;  and,  lastly,  note  that  you  are  to  repaii 
upon  any  occasion  to  your  magazine-bag,  and  upon  an) 
occasion  vary  and  make  them  lighter  or  sadder,  according 
to  your  fancy  or  the  day. 

And  now  I  shall  tell  you  that  the  fishing  with  a  natura 
fly  is  excellent,  and  afifords  much  pleasure.  They  may  b( 
found  thus :  the  May-fly,  usually  in  and  about  that  month 
near  to  the  river-side,  especially  against  rain  ;  the  oak-fly 


HOW  TO  FISH  FOR  TROUT.  171 


on  the  butt  or  body  of  an  oak  or  ash,  from  the  beginning  of 
May  to  ths  end  of  August :  it  is  a  brownish  fly,  and  easy  to 
be  found,  and  stands  usually  with  his  head  downward,  that 
is  to  say,  towards  the  root  of  the  tree  ;  the  small  black  fly, 
or  hawthorn-fly,  is  to  be  had  on  any  hawthorn-bush  after 
the  leaves  be  come  forth.  With  these  and  a  short  line  (as 
I  shewed  to  angle  for  a  chub),  you  may  dape  or  dop,  and 
also  with  a  grasshopper  behind  a  tree  or  in  any  deep  hole : 
still  making  it  to  move  on  the  top  of  the  water  as  if  it  were 
alive,  and  still  keeping  yourself  out  of  sight,  you  shall  cer- 
tainly have  sport  if  there  be  trouts — yea,  in  a  hot  day,  but 
especially  in  the  evening  of  a  hot  day,  you  will  have  sport. 
And  now,  scholar,  my  direction  for  fly-fishing  is  ended 
with  this  shower,  for  it  has  done  raining :  and  now  look 
about  you,  and  see  how  pleasantly  that  meadow  looks  ;  nay, 
and  the  earth  smells  as  sweetly  too.  Come,  let  me  tell  you 
what  holy  Mr.  Herbert  says  of  such  days  and  flowers  as 
these  ;  and  then  we  will  thank  God  that  we  enjoy  them,  and 
walk  to  the  river  and  sit  down  quietly,  and  try  to  catch  the 
other  brace  of  trouts. 

Sweet  day  so  cool,  so  calm,  so  bright, 
The  bridal  of  the  earth  and  sky, 
Sweet  dews  shall  weep  thy  fall  to-night— 
For  thou  must  die. 

Sweet  rose,  whose  hue,  angry  and  brave, 
Bids  the  rash  gazer  wipe  his  eye, 
Thy  root  is  ever  in  its  grave — 

And  thou  must  die. 

Sweet  Spring,  full  of  sweet  days  and  roses, 
A  box  where  sweets  compacted  lie  ; 
My  music  shows  you  have  your  closes — 
And  all  must  die. 


1/2  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

Only  a  sweet  and  virtuous  soul, 
Like  season'd  timber,  never  gives ; 
But  when  the  whole  world  turns  to  coal, 
Then  chiefly  lives. 

Ven.  I  thank  you,  good  master,  for  your  good  direction 
for  fly-fishing,  and  for  the  sweet  enjoyment  of  the  pleasant 
day,  which  is  so  far  spent  without  offence  to  God  or  man  ; 
and  I  thank  you  for  the  sweet  close  of  your  discourse  with 
Mr.  Herbert's  verses,  who,  I  have  heard,  loved  angling  ;  and 
I  do  the  rather  believe  it,  because  he  had  a  spirit  suitable 
to  anglers,  and  to  those  primitive  Christians  that  you  love 
and  have  so  much  commended. 

PiSC.  Well,  my  loving  scholar,  and  I  am  pleased  to  know 
that  you  are  so  well  pleased  with  my  direction  and  discourse. 

And  since  you  like  these  verses  of  Mr.  Herbert's  so  well, 
let  me  tell  you  what  a  reverend  and  learned  divine  that  pro- 
fesses to  imitate  him  (and  has  indeed  done  so  most  ex- 
cellently), hath  writ  of  our  Book  of  Common  Prayer ;  which 
I  know  you  will  like  the  better,  because  he  is  a  friend  of 
mine,  and  I  am  sure  no  enemy  to  angling. 

What,  Prayer  by  the  Book  f  and  Common  f    Yes  !  why  not  ? 
The  spirit  of  grace 
And  supplication 
Is  not  left  free  alone 
For  time  and  place, 
But  manner  too  :  to  read,  or  speak,  by  rote, 
Is  all  alike  to  him  that  prays 
In 's  heart,  what  with  his  mouth  he  says. 

They  that  in  private,  by  themselves  alone, 
Do  pray,  may  take 
What  liberty  they  please, 
V  In  choosing  of  the  ways 


HOIV  TO  FISH  FOR   TROUT.  173 

Wherein  to  make 
Their  soul's  most  intimate  affections  known 
To  Him  that  sees  in  secret,  when 
They  're  most  conceal'd  from  other  men. 

But  he  that  unto  others  leads  the  way 
In  public  prayer, 
Should  do  it  so 
As  all  that  hear  may  know 
They  need  not  fear 
To  tune  their  hearts  unto  his  tongue,  and  say, 
Amen  ;  not  doubt  they  were  betray'd 
To  blaspheme,  when  they  meant  to  have  pray'd. 

Devotion  will  add  life  unto  the  letter; 
And  why  should  not 
That  which  authority 
Prescribes,  esteemtid  be 
Advantage  got  ? 
If  the  prayer  be  good,  the  commoner  the  better; 
Prayer  in  the  Church's  words  as  well 
As  sense  J  of  all  prayers  bears  the  bell.— Ch.  Harvie.* 

And  now,  scholar,  I  think  it  will  be  time  to  repair  to  our 
angle-rods,  which  we  left  in  the  water  to  fish  for  themselves: 
and  you  shall  choose  which  shall  be  yours  ;  and  it  is  an  even 
lay,  one  of  them  catches. 

And,  let  me  tell  you,  this  kind  of  fishing  with  a  dead  rod, 
and  laying  night-hooks,  are  like  putting  money  to  use  ;  for 
they  both  work  for  the  owners,  when  they  do  nothing  but 
sleep,  or  eat,  or  rejoice  ;  as  you  know  we  have  done  this  last 
hour,  and  sat  as  quietly  and  as  free  from  cares  under  this 
sycamore,  as  Virgil's  Tityrus  and  his  Meliboeus  did  under 
their  broad  beech-tree.  No  life,  my  honest  scholar,  no  life 
so  happy  and  so  pleasant,  as  the  life  of  a  well-governed 


174  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

angler;  for  when  the  lawyer  is  swallowed  up  with  business, 
and  the  statesman  is  preventing  or  contriving  plots,  then  we 
sit  on  cowslip  banks,  hear  the  birds  sing,  and  possess  our- 
selves in  as  much  quietness  as  these  silent  silver  streams, 
which  we  now  see  glide  so  quietly  by  us.  Indeed,  my  good 
scholar,  we  may  say  of  angling,  as  Dr.  Boteler*  said  of  straw- 
berries, "Doubtless  God  could  have  made  a  better  berry, 
but  doubtless  God  never  did  ; "  and  so,  if  I  might  be  judge, 
*'  God  never  did  make  a  more  calm,  quiet,  innocent  recrea- 
tion than  angling." 

I  '11  tell  you,  scholar,  when  I  sat  last  on  this  primrose 
bank,  and  looked  down  these  meadows,  I  thought  of  them, 
as  Charles  the  Emperor  did  of  the  city  of  Florence,  "  that 
they  were  too  pleasant  to  be  looked  on,  but  only  on  holi- 
days." As  I  then  sat  on  this  very  grass,  I  turned  my  pre- 
sent thoughts  into  verse  :  'twas  a  wish,  which  I  '11  repeat  to 

you. 

THE  ANGLER'S   WISH. 

I  in  these  flowery  meads  would  be  : 

These  crystal  streams  should  solace  me ; 

To  whose  harmonious  bubbling  noise 

I  with  my  angle  would  rejoice, 
Sit  here,  and  see  the  turtle-dove 
Court  his  chaste  mate  to  acts  of  love ; 

Or,  on  that  bank,  feel  the  west  wind 
Breathe  health  and  plenty  :  please  my  mind, 
To  see  sweet  dewdrops  kiss  these  flowei's. 
And  then  wash'd  off  by  April  showers ; 

Here,  hear  my  Kenna  sing  a  song ; 

There,  see  a  blackbird  feed  her  young, 

Or  a  leverock  build  her  nest ; 
Here,  give  my  weary  spirits  rest, 


HOW  TO  FISH  FOR   TROUT.  I/S 

And  raise  my  low-pitch'd  thoughts  above 
Earth,  or  what  poor  mortals  love  : 

Thus,  free  from  lawsuits  and  the  noise 

Of  princes'  Courts,  I  would  rejoice ; 

Or,  with  my  Bryan  and  a  book, 
Loiter  long  days  near  Shawford  brook  ; 
There  sit  by  him,  and  eat  my  meat ; 
There  see  the  sun  both  rise  and  set ; 
There  bid  good  morning  to  next  day ; 
There  meditate  my  time  away  ; 

And  angle  on,  and  beg  to  have 

A  quiet  passage  to  a  welcome  grave. 


When  I  had  ended  this  composure,  I  left  this  place,  and 
saw  a  brother  of  the  angle  sit  under  that  honeysuckle  hedge, 
one  that  will  prove  worth  your  acquaintance :  I  sat  down 
by  him,  and  presently  we  met  with  an  accidental  piece  of 
merriment,  which  I  will  relate  to  you  ;  for  it  rains  still. 

On  the  other  side  of  this  very  hedge  sat  a  gang  of  gipsies, 
and  near  to  them  sat  a  gang  of  beggars.  The  gipsies  were 
then  to  divide  all  the  money  that  had  been  got  that  week, 
either  by  stealing  linen  or  poultry,  or  by  fortune-telling,  or 
legerdemain,  or  indeed  by  any  other  sleights  and  secrets 
belonging  to  their  mysterious  government.  And  the  sum 
that  was  got  that  week  proved  to  be  but  twenty  and  some 
odd  shillings.  The  odd  money  was  agreed  to  be  distributed 
amongst  the  poor  of  their  own  corporation  ;  and  for  the 
remaining  twenty  shillings,  that  was  to  be  divided  unto  four 
gentlemen  gipsies,  according  to  their  several  degrees  in  their 
commonwealth. 

And  the  first  or  chiefest  gipsy  was,  by  consent,  to  have  a 
third  part  of  the  20s.,  which  all  men  know  is  6s.  Sd. 


i;^  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

The  second  was  to  have  a  fourth  part  of  the  2Qs.^  wJiich 
all  men  know  to  be  5^. 

The  third  was  to  have  a  fifth  part  of  the  2os.^  which  all 
men  know  to  be  4^. 

The  fourth  and  last  gipsy  was  to  have  a  sixth  part  of 
the  205".,  which  all  men  know  to  be  3^.  /\d. 
As  for  example, — 

3  times  6j.  Zd.  is     20s, 

And  so  is  4  times  5^-.      .     .     20s, 

And  so  is  5  times  /\s.      .     .     2Qs. 

And  so  is  6  times  3^-.  4^.     .     20s. 

And  yet  he  that  divided  the  money  was  so  very  a  gipsy, 

that  though  he  gave  to  eveiy  one  these  said  sums,  yet  he 

kept  IS.  of  it  for  himself 

As  for  example, 


s. 

,     6 

d. 

8 

5 

0 

4 

0 

3 

4 

make  but  .  19  o 
But  now  you  shall  know,  that  when  the  four  gipsies  saw 
that  he  had  got  \s.  by  dividing  the  money,  though  not  one 
of  them  knew  any  reason  to  demand  more,  yet,  like  lords 
and  courtiers,  every  gipsy  envied  him  that  was  the  gainer, 
and  wrangled  with  him,  and  every  one  said  the  remaining 
shilling  belonged  to  him  ;  and  so  they  fell  to  so  high  a  con- 
test about  it,  as  none  that  knows  the  faithfulness  of  one 
gipsy  to  another  will  easily  believe  :  only  we  that  have 
lived  these  last  twenty  years,  are  certain  that  money  has 
been  able  to  do  much  mischief.  However,  the  gipsies  were 
too  wise  to  go  to  law,  and  did  therefore  choose  their  choice 


I/OJV  TO  FiSH  FOR  TROUT.  177 

friends  Rook  and  Shark,  and  our  late  English  Gusman/  to 
be  their  arbitrators  and  umpires ;  and  so  they  left  this  honey- 
suckle hedge,  and  went  to  tell  fortunes,  and  cheat,  and  get 
more  money  and  lodging  in  the  next  village. 

When  these  were  gone,  we  heard  a  high  contention 
amongst  the  beggars,  whether  it  was  easiest  to  rip  a  cloak, 
or  to  unrip  a  cloak.  One  beggar  affirmed  it  was  all  one. 
But  that  was  denied  by  asking  her  if  doing  and  undoing 
were  all  one.  Then  another  said  'twas  easiest  to  unrip  a 
cloak,  for  that  was  to  let  it  alone.  But  she  was  answered, 
by  asking  her  how  she  unripped  it  if  she  let  it  alone ;  and 
she  confessed  herself  mistaken.  These  and  twenty  suchlike 
questions  were  proposed,  and  answered  with  as  much  beg- 
garly logic  and  earnestness,  as  was  ever  heard  to  proceed 
from  the  mouth  of  the  most  pertinacious  schismatic :  and 
sometimes  all  the  beggars,  whose  number  was  neither  more 
nor  less  than  the  poet's  nine  Muses,  talked  together  about 
this  ripping  and  unripping,  and  so  loud  that  not  one  heard 
what  the  other  said ;  but  at  last  one  beggar  craved  audience, 
and  told  them  that  old  father  Clause,  whom  Ben  Jonson 
in  his  "Beggar's  Bush,"^  created  king  of  their  corporation, 
was  to  lodge  at  an  alehouse  called  "  Catch-her-by-the-way," 
not  far  from  Waltham  Cross,  and  in  the  high  road  towards 
London  ;  and  he  therefore  desired  them  to  spend  no  more 
time  about  that  and  suchlike  questions,  but  refer  all  to  father 
Clause  at  night,  for  he  was  an  upright  judge,  and  in  the 
meantime  draw  cuts,  what  song  should  be  next  sung,  and 
who  should  sing  it.  They  all  agreed  to  the  motion ;  and  the 
lot  fell  to  her  that  was  the  youngest  and  veriest  virgin  of 
the  company.  And  she  sang  Frank  Ddvison's  song,  which 
jhe  made  forty  years  ago;  and  all  the  others  of  the  company 


178  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

joined  to  sing  the  burthen  with  her.  The  ditty  was  this;  but 
first  the  burthen : 

Bright  shines  the  sun  ;  play,  beggars,  play ! 
Mere's  scraps  enough  to  serve  to-day. 

What  noise  of  viols  is  so  sweet, 

As  when  our  merry  clappers  ring  ? 
What  mirth  doth  want  when  beggars  meet  ? 

A  beggar's  life  is  for  a  king. 
Eat,  drink,  and  play,  sleep  when  we  list, 
Go  where  we  will — so  stocks  be  miss'd. 

Bright  shines  the  sun  ;  play,  beggars,  play  ! 

Here 's  scraps  enough  to  serve  to-day. 

The  world  is  ours,  and  ours  alone ; 

For  we  alone  have  world  at  will. 
We  purchase  not — all  is  our  own  ; 

Both  fields  and  streets  we  beggars  fill. 

Bright  shines  the  sun  ;  play,  beggars,  play  I 

Here 's  scraps  enough  to  serve  to-day. 

A  hundred  herds  of  black  and  white 

Upon  our  gowns  securely  feed  ; 
And  yet  if  any  dare  us  bite. 

He  dies  therefor,  as  sure  as  creed. 
Thus  beggars  lord  it  as  they  please, 
And  only  beggars  live  at  ease. 

Bright  shines  the  sun  ;  play,  beggars,  play  I 

Here's  scraps  enough  to  serve  to-day. 

Ven.  I  thank  you,  good  master,  for  this  piece  of  merri- 
ment, and  this  song,  which  was  well  humoured  by  the 
maker,  and  well  remembered  by  you. 

PiSC.  But,  I  pray,  forget  not  the  catch  which  you  pro- 
mised to  make  against  night ;  for  our  countryman,  honest 
Coridon,  will  expect  your  catch,  and  my  song,  which  I  must 


I 


I/O IV   TO  FISH  FOR   TROUT,  179 

be  forced  to  patch  up,  for  it  is  so  long  since  I  learnt  it,  that 
I  have  forgotten  a  part  of  it.  But,  come,  now  it  hath  done 
raining,  let 's  stretch  our  legs  a  little  in  a  gentle  walk  to  the 
river,  and  try  what  interest  our  angles  will  pay  us  for  lend- 
ing them  so  long  to  be  used  by  the  trouts  :  lent  them, 
indeed,  like  usurers,  for  our  profit  and  their  destruction. 

Ven.  Oh  me !  look  you,  master,  a  fish  !  a  fish  !  Oh,  alas, 
master,  I  have  lost  her ! 

Pisc.  Ay,  marry,  Sir,  that  was  a  good  fish  indeed !  If  I 
had  had  the  luck  to  have  taken  up  that  rod,  then  't  is  twenty 
to  one  he  should  not  have  broke  my  line  by  running  to  the 
rod's  end,  as  you  suffered  him.  I  would  have  held  him 
within  the  bent  of  my  rod  (unless  he  had  been  fellow  to  the 
great  trout  that  is  near  an  ell  long,  which  was  of  such  a 
length  and  depth  that  he  had  his  picture  drawn,  and  now  is 
to  be  seen  at  mine  host  Rickabie's,  at  the  George,  in  Ware)  ; 
and  it  may  be  by  giving  that  very  great  trout  the  rod,  that 
is,  by  casting  it  to  him  into  the  water,  I  might  have  caught 
him  at  the  long  run  ;  for  so  I  use  always  to  do  when  I  meet 
with  an  overgrown  fish,  and  you  will  learn  to  do  so  too  here- 
after ;  for  I  tell  you,  scholar,  fishing  is  an  art — or,  at  least, 
it  is  an  art  to  catch  fish. 

Ven.  But,  master,  I  have  heard  that  the  great  trout  you 
speak  of  is  a  salmon. 

PiSC.  Trust  me,  scholar,  I  know  not  what  to  say  to  it. 
There  are  many  country  people  that  believe  hares  change 
sexes  every  year  f  and  there  be  very  many  learned  men 
think  so  too,  for  in  their  dissecting  them,  they  find  many 
reasons  to  incline  them  to  that  belief  And  to  make  the 
wonder  seem  yet  less  that  hares  change  sexes,  note  that 
Doctor  Mer.  Casaubon  affirms  in  his  book  of  credible  and 

12 — 2 


l8o  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

incredible  things,  that  Caspar  Peucerus,  a  learned  physician, 
tells  us  of  a  people  that  once  a  year  turn  wolves,  partly  in 
shape  and  partly  in  conditions.  And  so,  whether  this  were 
a  salmon  when  he  came  into  the  fresh  water,  and  his  not 
returning  into  the  sea  hath  altered  him  to  another  colour  or 
kind,  I  am  not  able  to  say ;  but  I  am  certain  he  hath  all 
the  signs  of  being  a  trout,  both  for  his  shape,  colour,  and 
spots  ;  and  yet  many  think  he  is  not. 

Ven.  But,  master,  will  this  trout  which  I  had  hold  of 
die  }  for  it  is  like  he  hath  the  hook  in  his  belly. 

PiSC.  I  will  tell  you,  scholar,  that  unless  the  hook  be  fast 
in  his  very  gorge,  't  is  more  than  probable  he  will  live  ;  and 
a  little  time,  with  the  help  of  the  water,  will  rust  the  hook, 
and  it  will  in  time  wear  away — as  the  gravel  doth  in  the 
horse  hoof,  which  only  leaves  a  false  quarter. 

And  now,  scholar,  let 's  go  to  my  rod.  Look  you,  scholar, 
I  have  a  fish  too,  but  it  proves  a  logger-headed  chub ;  and 
this  is  not  amiss,  for  this  will  pleasure  some  poor  body,  as 
we  go  to  our  lodging  to  meet  our  brother  Peter  and  honest 
Coridon.  Come,  now  bait  your  hook  again,  and  lay  it  into 
the  water,  for  it  rains  again  ;  and  we  will  even  retire  to  the 
sycamore-tree,  and  there  I  will  give  you  more  directions 
concerning  fishing,  for  I  would  fain  make  you  an  artist. 

Ven.  Yes,  good  master,  I  pray  let  it  be  so. 

PisC.  Well,  scholar,  now  we  are  sat  down  and  are  at  ease, 
I  shall  tell  you  a  little  more  of  trout  fishing,  before  I  speak 
of  salmon,  which  I  purpose  shall  be  next,  and  then  of  the 
pike  or  luce. 

You  are  to  know  there  is  night  as  well  as  day  fishing  for  a 
trout,  and  that  in  the  night  the  best  trouts  come  out  of  their 
holes ;  and  the  manner  of  taking  them  is  on  the  top  of  the 


HOW  TO  FISH  FOR   TROUT.  l8l 


water,  with  a  great  lob  or  garden  worm,  or  rather  two,  which 
you  are  to  fish  with  in  a  place  where  the  waters  run  somewhat 
quietly,  for  in  a  stream  the  bait  will  not  be  so  well  discerned. 
I  say,  in  a  quiet  or  dead  place,  near  to  some  swift :  there 
draw  your  bait  over  the  top  of  the  water,  to  and  fro  ;  and  if 
there  be  a  good  trout  in  the  hole,  he  will  take  it,  especially 
if  the  night  be  dark,  for  then  he  is  bold,  and  lies  near  the 
top  of  the  water,  watching  the  motion  of  any  frog,  or  water- 
rat,  or  mouse,  that  swims  between  him  and  the  sky ;  these 
he  hunts  after  if  he  sees  the  water  but  wrinkle  or  move  in 
one  of  these  dead  holes,  where  these  great  old  trouts  usually 
lie  near  to  their  holds ;  for  you  are  to  note  that  the  great 
old  trout  is  both  subtle  and  fearful,  and  lies  close  all  day, 
and  does  not  usually  stir  out  of  his  hold,  but  lies  in  it  as 
close  in  the  day  as  the  timorous  hare  does  in  her  form,  for 
the  chief  feeding  of  either  is  seldom  in  the  day,  but  usually 
in  the  night,  and  then  the  great  trout  feeds  very  boldly. 

And  you  must  fish  for  him  with  a  strong  line,  and  not  a 
little  hook  ;  and  let  him  have  time  to  gorge  your  hook,  for 
he  docs  not  usually  forsake  it,  as  he  oft  will  in  the  day 
fishing.  And  if  the  night  be  not  dark,  then  fish  so  with  an 
artificial  fly  of  a  light  colour,  and  at  the  snap  :  nay,  he  will 
sometimes  rise  at  a  dead  mouse,  or  a  piece  of  cloth,  or  any- 
thing that  seems  to  swim  across  the  water,  or  to  be  in 
motion.  This  is  a  choice  way,  but  I  have  not  often  used 
it,  because  it  is  void  of  the  pleasures  that  such  days  as 
these,  that  we  two  now  enjoy,  afford  an  angler. 

And  you  are  to  know,  that  in  Hampshire,  which  I  think 
exceeds  all  England  for  swift,  shallow,  clear,  pleasant 
brooks,  and  store  of  trouts,  they  used  to  catch  trouts  in  the 
night  by  the  light  of  a  torch  or  straw,  which,  when  they 


1 82  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

have  discovered,  they  strike  with  a  trout-spear,  or  other 
ways.  This  kind  of  way  they  catch  very  many ;  but  I 
would  not  beheve  it  till  I  was  an  eye-witness  of  it,  nor  do  I 
like  it  now  I  have  seen  it/ 

Ven.  But,  master,  do  not  trouts  see  us  in  the  night  ? 

PiSC.  Yes,  and  hear  and  smell  too,  both  then  and  in  the 
day-time ;  for  Gesner  observes,  the  otter  smells  a  fish  forty 
furlongs  off  him  in  the  water :  and  that  it  may  be  true 
seems  to  be  affirmed  by  Sir  Francis  Bacon,  in  the  eighth 
century  of  his  "  Natural  History,"  who  there  proves  that 
waters  may  be  the  medium  of  sounds,  by  demonstrating  it 
thus :  "  That  if  you  knock  two  stones  together  very  deep 
under  the  water,  those  that  stand  on  a  bank  near  to  that 
place  may  hear  the  noise  without  any  diminution  of  it  by 
the  water."  He  also  offers  the  like  experiment  concerning 
the  letting  an  anchor  fall,  by  a  very  long  cable  or  rope,  on 
a  rock,  or  the  sand  within  the  sea.  And  this  being  so  well 
observed  and  demonstrated  as  it  is  by  that  learned  man, 
has  made  me  to  believe  that  eels  unbed  themselves  and  stir 
at  the  noise  of  thunder ;  and  not  only,  as  some  think,  by 
the  motion  or  stirring  of  the  earth,  which  is  occasioned  by 
that  thunder. 

And  this  reason  of  Sir  Francis  Bacon  (Exper.  792)  has 
made  me  crave  pardon  of  one  that  I  laughed  at,  for  affirm- 
ing that  he  knew  carps  come  to  a  certain  place  in  a  pond 
to  be  fed,  at  the  ringing  of  a  bell  or  the  beating  of  a  drum  ; 
and,  however,  it  shall  be  a  rule  for  me  to  make  as  littk 
noise  as  I  can  when  I  am  fishing,  until  Sir  Francis  Bacoi 
be  confuted,  which  I  shall  give  any  man  leave  to  do.^ 

And,  lest  you  may  think  him  singular  in  his  opinion, 
will  tell  you  this  seems  to  be  believed  by  our  learned  Doctol 


HOW   TO  FISH  FOR   TROUT.  1^3 

Hakewill,  who,  in  his  apology  of  God's  power  and  pro- 
vidence, fol.  360,  quotes  Pliny  to  report,  that  one  of  the 
emperors  had  particular  fish-ponds,  and  in  them  several 
fish  that  appeared  and  came  when  they  were  called  by  their 
particular  names ;  and  St.  James  tells  us  (chap.  iii.  7)  that 
all  things  in  the  sea  have  been  tamed  by  mankind.  And 
Pliny  tells  us  (lib.  ix.  35)  that  Antonia,  the  wife  of  Drusus, 
had  a  lamprey,  at  whose  gills  she  hung  jewels  or  ear-rings ; 
and  that  others  have  been  so  tender-hearted  as  to  shed 
tears  at  the  death  of  fishes  which  they  have  kept  and  loved. 
And  these  observations,  which  will  to  most  hearers  seem 
wonderful,  seem  to  have  a  further  confirmation  from  Martial 
(lib.  iv.,  Epigr.  30),  who  writes  thus ; 

riscaior^fugej  ne  nocens^  etc. 

Angler  !  wouldst  thou  be  guiltless  ?  then  forbear  ; 
For  these  are  sacred  fishes  that  swim  here, 
Who  know  their  sovereign,  and  will  lick  his  hand  ; 
Than  which  none 's  greater  in  the  world's  command : 
Nay  more,  they  Ve  names,  and,  when  they  called  are, 
Do  to  their  several  owners'  call  repair. 

All  the  further  use  that  I  shall  make  of  this  shall  be,  to 
advise  anglers  to  be  patient  and  forbear  swearing,  lest  they 
be  heard,  and  catch  no  fish. 

And  so  I  shall  proceed  next  to  tell  you,  it  is  certain,  that 
certain  fields  near  Leominster,  a  town  in  Herefordshire,  are 
observed  to  make  the  sheep  that  graze  upon  them  more  fat 
than  the  next,  and  also  to  bear  finer  wool ;  that  is  to  say,  that 
that  year  in  which  they  feed  in  a  such  particular  pasture, 
they  shall  yield  finer  wool  than  they  did  that  year  before 
they  came  to  feed   in  it,  and  coarser  again  if  they  sliall 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


return  to  their  former  pasture ;  and  again  return  to  a  finer 
wool,  being  fed  in  the  fine-wool  ground.  Which  I  tell  you, 
that  you  may  the  better  believe,  that  I  am  certain,  if  I 
catch  a  trout  in  one  meadow,  he  shall  be  white  and  faint, 
and  very  like  to  be  lousy ;  and  as  certainly,  if  I  catch  a 
trout  in  the  next  meadow,  he  shall  be  strong,  and  red,  and 
lusty,  and  much  better  meat.  Trust  me,  scholar,  I  have 
caught  many  a  trout  in  a  particular  meadow,  that  the  very 
shape  and  the  enamelled  colour  of  him  hath  been  such  as 
have  joyed  me  to  look  on  him  ;  and  I  have  then  with  much 
pleasure  concluded  with  Solomon,  "  Everything  is  beautiful 
in  his  season." 

I  should  by  promise  speak  next  of  the  salmon ;  but  I  will 
by  your  favour  say  a  little  of  the  umber  or  grayling,  which 
is  so  like  a  trout  for  his  shape  and  feeding,  that  I  desire  I 
may  exercise  your  patience  with  a  short  discourse  of  him, 
and  then  the  next  shall  be  of  the  salmon. 


APPENDIX  V. 


Historical  Notes. 

a  This  song  beginning,  "  Forth  from  my  dark  and  dismal  cell," 
with  the  music  to  it,  set  by  Henry  Lawes,  is  printed  in  a  book  en- 
titled "  Choice  Ayres,  Songs,  and  Dialogues,  to  sing  to  the  Theorbo, 
Lute,  and  Bass  Viol,"  foHo,  1675;  ^^^  i^  Playford's  "Antidote 
against  Melancholy,"  8vo.,  1669;  and  also  in  Percy's  "Reliques 
of  Ancient  English  Poetry." — H. 

**  Ulysses  Aldrovandus,  a  great  physician  and  naturalist  of  Bo- 
logna. He  wrote  thirteen  volumes  folio  on  subjects  of  natural 
histor}',  including  one,  "  De  Piscibus,"  published  at  Frankfort,  1640. 
— H. 

°  Leonard  Lessius,  a  learned  Jesuit,  professor  of  divinity  in  the 
College  of  Jesuits  at  Louvain.  He  was  born  at  Antwerp,  1554, 
and  became  famous  in  divinity,  civil  law,  mathematics,  physic,  and 
history ;  he  wrote  several  theological  tracts,  and  a  book  entitled 
"  Hygiasticon,  seu  vera  ratio  valetudinis  bonae,  et  vita3  ad  extremam 
senectutem  conservandae."  From  this  tract  of  Lessius  it  is  probable 
the  text  in  the  passage  is  cited.  He  died  1623.  His  "  Hygiasticon  " 
was  translated  by  Timothy  Smith,  Camb.,  1634. — H. 


^  These  verses  were  written  at  or  near  the  time  when  the  liturgy 
was  abolished  by  an  ordinance  of  Parliament,  and  while  it  was 
agitating,  as  a  theological  question,  whether  of  the  two,  prccojueivcd 

186 


1 86  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

or  extemporary  prayer  is  most  agreeable  to  the  sense  of  Scripture. 
In  favour  of  the  former  I  have  heard  it  asserted  by  a  very  eloquent 
person,  and  one  of  the  ablest  writers  both  in  prose  and  verse  now 
living,  that  he  never,  without  premeditation,  could  address  his 
Maker  in  terms  suited  to  his  conceptions ;  and  that  of  all  written 
composition,  he  had  found  that  of  prayer  to  be  the  most  difficult. 
Of  the  same  opinion  is  a  very  eminent  prelate  of  this  day,  who 
(being  himself  an  excellent  judge  of  literature),  in  a  conversation 
on  the  subject  declared  it  to  me;  at  the  same  time  saying  that, 
excepting  those  in  the  liturgy,  he  looked  on  the  prayers  of  Dr. 
Jeremy  Taylor,  that  occur  in  the  course  of  his  work,  as  by  far  the 
most  eloquent  and  energetic  of  any  in  our  language. — H. 

•  The  person  here  mentioned  I  take  to  be  Dr.  William  Butler, 
an  eminent  physician  of  our  author's  time,  styled  by  Fuller  in  his 
"Worthies"  (Suffolk,  p.  67),  the  ^sculapius  of  the  age.  He  in- 
vented a  medical  drink  called  "  Dr.  Butler's  Ale,"  which  was  a  few 
years  ago  sold  at  certain  houses  in  London,  that  had  his  head  for 
a  sign.  One  of  these  was  in  Ivy  Lane,  and  another  in  an  alley 
leading  from  Coleman  Street  to  Basinghall  Street.  He  was  a  great 
humourist,  a  circumstance  in  his  character  which,  joined  to  his- 
reputation  for  skill  in  his  profession,  might  contribute  to  render  him 
popular. — H. 

'  Alluding  to  a  work  that  appeared  a  few  years  before,  entitled 
"  The  English  Gusman ;  or,  the  History  of  that  unparalleled  Thief, 
James  Hind.'^ 

s  The  comedy  of  the  "  Royal  Merchant,  or  Beggar's  Bush,"  was 
written  by  Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  and  not  by  Ben  Jonson. — H. 


General  Notes. 

'  Nearly  all  kinds  of  grubs,  worms,  or  caterpillars  which  feed  on 
plants  are  bred  from  eggs  laid  by  butterflies,  moths,  beetles,  or  other 
insects.  These  when  full  grown  turn  into  the  chrysalis  or  pupa 
state,  and  then  into  the  perfect  insect.  The  caterpillar  which  Walton 
found  on  the  privet  would  be  the  larva  of  the  privet  hawk-moth,  a 
moth  of  great  size  and  beauty.  I  presume  that  by  "  flies  of  prey  " 
dragon-flies  are  meant.  The  larvce  of  these  are  very  ferocious- 
looking  creatures,  which  live  in  the  water. 

2  The  palmer-worm  is  probably  the  caterpillar  of  the  tiger-moth 
— "  woolly  bears "  the  children  of  Shropshire  used  to  call  them. 
They  arc  very  restless  in  their  habits,  and  are  constantly  found 
while  wandering  about. 

'  I  cannot  decide  from  Walton's  description  what  caterpillar  this 
would  be.     I  should  like  to  know. 

"*  Du  Bartas'  assertions  are  purely  apocryphal.  There  is  no  such 
thing  as  spontaneous  generation,  and  "the  goslings  hatched  of 
trees  "  are  very  rarcR  aves. 

^  All  these  flies  are  obsolete.     See  Essay,  post 

^  This  is,  of  course,  erroneous,  as  is  also  the  statement  which 
follows,  that  certain  people  turn  wolves,  although  there  is  a  country, 
"  not  a  hundred  miles  away,"  where  certain  of  the  people  frequently 
become  beasts. 

^  "  Leistering,"  or  spearing  salmon  at  night  by  torchlight,  used 
to  be  a  very  common  amusement  in  the  Welsh  and  Scottish  rivers. 
The  fish  are  easily  seen,  and  seem  to  be  dazzled  by  the  flare  of  the 
burning  torch,  or  fire  of  straw. 

187 


1 88 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


^  Fish  have  a  very  long  and  keen  sight,  and  hear  well,  particu- 
larly those  sounds  which  cause  the  greatest  vibration  of  the  earth 
and  water.  It  would  also  appear,  from  the  construction  of  the 
organs  of  smell,  that  that  sense  is  equally  acute.  Fish  are  often 
so  tamed  that  they  will  come  to  be  fed  when  summoned  by  a  call 
or  noise. 


I 


CHAPTER  VI. 

OBSERVATIONS    OF  THE    UMBER  OR  GRAYLING,  AND 
DIRECTIONS  HOW  TO  FISH  FOR  HIM. 

[|0urtlr  ing.] 

PiSC.  The  Umber  and  Grayling  are  thought  by  some  to 
differ,  as  the  herring  and  pilchard  do.  But  though  they 
may  do  so  in  other  nations,  I  think  those  in  England  differ 
in  nothing  but  their  names.  Aldrovandus  says  they  be  of 
a  trout  kind ;  and  Gesner  says  that  in  his  country,  which 
is  in  Switzerland,  he  is  accounted  the  choicest  of  all  fish. 
And  in  Italy  he  is,  in  the  month  of  May,  so  highly  valued, 
that  he  is  sold  at  a  much  higher  rate  than  any  other  fish. 
The  French,  which  call  the  chub  //;/  vilain,  call  the  umber 
of  the  lake  Leman  tin  umble  chevalier ;  and  they  value  the 
umber  or  grayling  so  highly  that  they  say  he  feeds  on  gold 
— and  say  that  many  have  been  caught  out  of  their  famous 
river  Loire,  out  of  whose  bellies  grains  of  gold  have  been 
often  taken.  And  some  think  that  he  feeds  on  water-thyme, 
and  smells  of  it  at  his  first  taking  out  of  the  water;  and 

189 


IQO  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

they  may  think  so  with  as  good  reason  as  we  do  that  our 
smelts  smell  like  violets  at  their  first  being  caught,  which 
I  think  is  a  truth.i  Aldrovandus  says,  the  salmon,  the 
grayling,  and  trout,  and  all  fish  that  live  in  clear  and  sharp 
streams,  are  made  by  their  mother  Nature  of  such  exact 
shape  and  pleasant  colours  purposely  to  invite  us  to  a  joy 
and  contentedness  in  feasting  with  her.  Whether  this  is  a 
truth  or  not  it  is  not  my  purpose  to  dispute  ;  but  't  is  certain, 
all  that  write  of  the  umber  declare  him  to  be  very  medicin- 
able.  And  Gesner  says  that  the  fat  of  an  umber  or  gray- 
ling, being  set,  with  a  little  honey,  a  day  or  two  in  the  sun, 
in  a  little  glass,  is  very  excellent  against  redness,  or  swarthi- 
ness,  or  anything  that  breeds  in  the  eyes.  Salvian  takes 
him  to  be  called  umber  from  his  swift  swimming,  or  gliding 
out  of  sight  more  like  a  shadow  or  a  ghost  than  a  fish. 
Much  more  might  be  said  both  of  his  smell  and  taste ;  but 
I  shall  only  tell  you  that  St.  Ambrose,  the  glorious  Bishop 
of  Milan,  who  lived  when  the  Church  kept  fasting  days, 
calls  him  the  flower-fish,  or  flower  of  fishes ;  and  that  he 
was  so  far  in  love  with  him  that  he  would  not  let  him  pass 
without  the  honour  of  a  long  discourse ;  but  I  must,  and 
pass  on  to  tell  you  how  to  take  this  dainty  fish. 

First,  note  that  he  grows  not  to  the  bigness  of  a  trout ; 
for  the  biggest  of  them  do  not  usually  exceed  eighteen 
inches.  He  lives  in  such  rivers  as  the  trout  does,  and  is 
usually  taken  with  the  same  baits  as  the  trout  is,  and  after 
the  same  manner ;  for  he  will  bite  both  at  the  minnow,  or 
worm,  or  fly  :  though  he  bites  not  often  at  the  minnow,  and 
is  very  gamesome  at  the  fly,  and  much  simpler,  and  there- 
fore bolder  than  a  trout ;  for  he  will  rise  twenty  times  at  a 
fly,  if  you  miss  him,  and  yet  rise  again.    He  has  been  taken 


THE   UMBER  OR   GRAYLING,  IQI 

with  a  fly  made  of  the  red  feathers  of  a  parakita,  a  strange 
outlandish  bird  ;  and  he  will  rise  at  a  fly  not  unlike  a  gnat 
or  a  small  moth,  or  indeed  at  most  flies  that  are  not  too 
big.  He  is  a  fish  that  lurks  close  all  winter,  but  is  very 
pleasant  and  jolly  after  mid-April,  and  in  May,  and  in  the 
hot  months :  he  is  of  a  very  fine  shape,  his  flesh  is  white ; 
his  teeth,  those  little  ones  that  he  has,  are  in  his  throat,  yet 
he  has  so  tender  a  mouth,  that  he  is  oftener  lost  after  an 
angler  has  hooked  him  than  any  other  fish.  Though  there 
be  many  of  these  fishes  in  the  delicate  river  Dove  and 
Trent,  and  some  other  small  rivers,  as  that  which  runs  by 
Salisbury,  yet  he  is  not  so  general  a  fish  as  the  trout,  nor 
to  me  so  good  to  eat  or  to  angle  for.  And  so  I  shall  take 
my  leave  of  him,  and  now  come  to  some  observations  of 
the  salmon,  and  how  to  catch  him. 


APPENDIX  VI. 


Historical  Note. 

*  Ilippolito  Salviani,  an  Italian  physician  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury ;  he  wrote  a  treatise  "  De  Piscibus,  cum  sorum  figuris,"  and 
died  at  Rome,  1572,  aged  59. — H. 


General  Notes. 


Smelts  have  a  decided  cucumbery  smell,  which  is  so  strong  that 
persons  have  asserted  that  when  the  shoals  of  them  come  up  the 
Yare,  the  smell  can  be  detected  by  a  keen-nosed  person  on  the 
bank. 


Practical  Essay. 


THE   GRAYLING. 


Grayling  fishing  comes   in  when  trout  fishing  leaves  off. 
autumn  and  winter  this  handsome  fish  is  in  its  best  condition. 

192 


J 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY.  193 


is  a  local  fish,  only  occurring  in  a  limited  number  of  rivers  in 
England  and  Wales,  and  not  at  all  in  Scotland  (except  a  few  in  the 
Clyde  and  Tweed)  or  Ireland.  It  likes  streams  not  too  swift, 
alternating  with  long  and  deep  pools,  flowing  over  a  gravelly  and 
loamy  soil. 

The  grayling  may  be  caught  by  fly,  worm,  or  gentle,  just  like 
the  trout ;  but  there  is  a  special  lure  for  it,  and  that  is  the  artificial 
grasshopper.  A  very  small  pipe  lead  is  slipped  over  the  shank  of 
a  trout-womi  hook,  and  pinched  tight,  or  a  thin  piece  of  lead  may 
be  rolled  round  it.  Over  this  light  green  Berlin  wool  or  worsted 
is  wrapped,  with  a  few  rings  of  red  or  yellow.  (See  cut.)  This  is 
baited  with  a  bunch  of  gentles,  and  allowed  to  sink  to  the  bottom 
of  the  eddy  or  pool,  and  then  worked  about  all  over,  something 
like  trolling,  or  sinking  and  drawing.  The  best  and  largest  fish  are 
caught  in  this  manner.  It  needs  a  sharp  frost  or  two  to  bring  the 
grayling  well  on  the  feed. 


I. 


la 


CHAPTER  VIl. 

OBSERVATIONS  ON   THE  SALMON;  WITH  DIRECTIONS 
HOW   TO   FISH   FOR   HIM. 


[I^wrtfe  iag.] 


PiSC.  The  Salmon  is  accounted  the  king  of  fresh-water 
fish ;  and  is  ever  bred  in  rivers  relating  to  the  sea,  yet  so 
high  or  far  from  it,  as  admits  of  no  tincture  of  salt  or 
brackishness.  He  is  said  to  breed  or  cast  his  spawn,  in 
most  rivers,  in  the  month  of  August  :^  some  say,  that  then 
they  dig  a  hole  or  grave  in  a  safe  place  in  the  gravel,  and 
there  place  their  eggs  or  spawn,  after  the  melter  has  don 

104 


THE  SALMON.  1 95 


his  natural  office,  and  then  hide  it  most  cunningly,  and  cover 
it  over  with  gravel  and  stones,  and  then  leave  it  to  that 
Creator's  protection,  who,  by  a  gentle  heat  which  He  infuses 
into  that  cold  element,  makes  it  brood  and  beget  life  in  the 
spawn,  and  to  become  samlets  early  in  the  spring  next  fol- 
lowing. 

The  salmons  having  spent  their  appointed  time,  and  done 
this  natural  duty  in  the  fresh  waters,  they  then  haste  to  the 
sea  before  winter,  both  the  melter  and  spawner ;  but  if  they 
be  stopped  by  flood-gates  or  weirs  or  lost  in  the  fresh  waters, 
then  those  so  left  behind  by  degrees  grow  sick,  and  lean,  and 
unseasonable,  and  kipper;  that  is  to  say,  have  bony  gristles 
grow  out  of  their  lower  chaps,  not  unlike  a  hawk's  beak, 
which  hinders  their  feeding;  and  in  time  such  fish,  so  left 
behind,  pine  away  and  die.  It  is  observed,  that  he  may  live 
thus  one  year  from  the  sea ;  but  he  then  grows  insipid  and 
tasteless,  and  loses  both  his  blood  and  strength,  and  pines 
and  dies  the  second  year.  And  it  is  noted,  that  those  little 
salmons  called  skeggers,  which  abound  in  many  rivers  relat- 
ing to  the  sea,  are  bred  by  such  sick  salmons  that  might  not 
go  to  the  sea ;  and  that  though  they  abound,  yet  they  never 
thrive  to  any  considerable  bigness. 

But  if  the  old  salmon  gets  to  the  sea,  then  that  gristle, 
which  shews  him  to  be  kipper,  wears  away,  or  is  cast  off,  as 
the  eagle  is  said  to  cast  his  bill ;  and  he  recovers  his  strength, 
and  comes  next  summer  to  the  same  river,  if  it  be  possible, 
to  enjoy  the  former  pleasures  that  there  possessed  him  ;  for, 
as  one  has  wittily  observed,  he  has,  like  some  persons  of 
honour  and  riches,  which  have  both  their  winter  and  summer 
houses,  the  fresh  rivers  for  summer,  and  the  salt  water  for 

B""*"ter,  to  spend  his  life  in ;  which  is  not,  as  Sir  Francis 
13—2 


I9<5  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

Bacon  hath  observed  in  his  "  History  of  Life  and  Death," 
above  ten  years.  And  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  though  the 
salmon  does  grow  big  in  the  sea,  yet  he  grows  not  fat  but 
in  fresh  rivers ;  and  it  is  observed,  that  the  farther  they  get 
from  the  sea,  they  be  both  the  fatter  and  better. 

Next  I  shall  tell  you,  that  though  they  make  very  hard 
shift  to  get  out  of  the  fresh  rivers  into  the  sea,  yet  they  will 
make  a  harder  shift  to  get  out  of  the  salt  into  the  fresh 
rivers,  to  spawn  or  possess  the  pleasures  that  they  have 
formerly  found  in  them ;  to  which  end,  they  will  force  them- 
selves through  flood-gates,  or  over  weirs  or  hedges,  or  stops 
in  the  water,  even  to  a  height  beyond  common  belief.   Gesner 
speaks  of  such  places  as  are  known  to  be  above  eight  feet 
high   above   water.     And   our    Camden   mentions,  in   his 
"Britannia,"  the  like  wonder  to  be  in  Pembrokeshire,  where 
the  river  Tivy  falls  into  the  sea ;  and  that  the  fall  is  so  down- 
right, and  so  high,  that  the  people  stand  and  wonder  at  the 
strength  and  sleight  by  which  they  see  the  salmon  use  t< 
get  out  of  the  sea  into  the  said  river ;  and  the  manner  an< 
height  of  the  place  is  so  notable,  that  it  is  known,  far,  by  th^ 
name  of  the  "  Salmon-leap."     Concerning  which,  take  thi^ 
also  out  of  Michael  Drayton,"^  my  honest  old  friend ;  as  h< 
tells  it  you  in  his  "  Polyolbion  : " 


And  when  the  salmon  seeks  a  fresher  stream  to  find, 
Which  hither  from  the  sea  comes  yearly  by  his  kind  ; 
As  he  tow'rds  season  grows,  and  stems  the  wat'ry  tract 
Where  Tivy  falHng  down,  makes  a  high  cataract, 
Forced  by  the  rising  rocks  that  there  her  course  oppose, 
As  though  within  her  bounds  they  meant  her  to  inclose  ; 
Here,  when  the  labouring  fish  does  at  the  foot  arrive, 
And  finds  that  by  his  strength  he  docs  but  vainly  strive, 


THE  SALMON.  197 


i    SU 


His  tail  takes  in  his  mouth,  and,  bending  like  a  bow 
That 's  to  full  compass  drawn,  aloft  himself  doth  throw ; 
Then  springing  at  his  height,  as  doth  a  httle  wand 
That,  bended  end  to  end,  and  started  from  man's  hand, 
Far  off  itself  doth  cast ;  so  does  the  salmon  vault ; 
And  if  at  first  he  fail,  his  second  summersault 
He  instantly  essays  ;  and  from  his  nimble  ring. 
Still  yerking,  never  leaves  until  himself  he  fling 
Above  the  opposing  stream. 

This  Michael  Drayton  tells  you  of  this  leap  or  summer- 
sault of  the  salmon. 

And  next  I  shall  tell  you,  that  it  is  observed  by  Gesner 
and  others,  that  there  is  no  better  salmon  than  in  England; 
and  that  though  some  of  our  northern  counties  have  as  fat 
and  as  large  as  the  river  Thames,  yet  none  are  of  so  excel- 
lent a  taste.2 

And  as  I  have  told  you  that  Sir  Francis  Bacon  observes, 
the  age  of  a  salmon  exceeds  not  ten  years ;  so  let  me  next 
tell  you,  that  his  growth  is  very  sudden :  it  is  said  that 
after  he  is  got  into  the  sea  he  becomes  from  a  samlet,  not 
so  big  as  a  gudgeon,  to  be  a  salmon,  in  as  short  a  time  as  a 
gosling  becomes  to  be  a  goose.  Much  of  this  has  been 
observed  by  tying  a  ribbon,  or  some  known  tape  or  thread, 
in  the  tail  of  some  young  salmons,  which  have  been  taken 
in  weirs  as  they  have  swimmed  towards  the  salt  water,  and 
then  by  taking  a  part  of  them  again  with  the  known  mark 
at  the  same  place  at  their  return '  from  the  sea,  which  is 
usually  about  six  months  after ;  and  the  like  experiment 
hath  been  tried  upon  young  swallows,  who  have,  after  six 
months'  absence,  been  observed  to  return  to  the  same 
chimney,  there  to  make  their  nests  and  habitations  for  the 
summer  following ;  which  has  inclined  many  to  think  that 


198  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

every  salmon  usually  returns  to  the  same  river  in  which  it 
was  bred,  as  young  pigeons  taken  out  of  the  same  dove-cote 
have  also  been  observed  to  do. 

And  you  are  yet  to  observe  further,  that  the  he-salmon 
is  usually  bigger  than  the  spawner ;  and  that  he  is  more 
kipper,  and  less  able  to  endure  a  winter  in  the  fresh  water 
than  she  is  ;  yet  she  is,  at  that  time  of  looking  less  kipper 
and  better,  as  watery,  and  as  bad  meat. 

And  yet  you  are  to  observe,  that  as  that  there  is  no 
general  rule  without  an  exception,  so  there  are  some  few 
rivers  in  this  nation,  that  have  trouts  and  salmons  in  season 
in  winter,  as  it  is  certain  there  be  in  the  river  Wye,  in 
Monmouthshire,  where  they  be  in  season,  as  Camden 
observes,  from  September  till  April.^  But,  my  scholar,  th< 
observation  of  this  and  many  other  things,  I  must  in 
manners  omit,  because  they  will  prove  too  large  for  oui 
narrow  compass  of  time,  and  therefore  I  shall  next  fal 
upon  my  directions  how  to  fish  for  this  salmon. 

And  for  that,  first  you  shall  observe,  that  usually  he  stayj 
not  long  in  a  place,  as  trouts  will,  but,  as  I  said,  covets  stil 
to  go  nearer  the  spring-head ;  and  that  he  does  not,  as  th( 
trout  and  many  other  fish,  lie  near  the  water-side,  or  bank 
or  roots  of  trees,  but  swims  in  the  deep  and  broad  parts  o: 
the  water,  and  usually  in  the  middle,  and  near  the  ground 
and  that  there  you  are  to  fish  for  him,  and  that  he  is  to  b( 
caught  as  the  trout  is,  with  a  worm,  a  minnow,  which  some 
call  a  penk,  or  with  a  fly. 

And  you  are  to  observe,  that  he  is  very  seldom  observec 
to  bite  at  a  minnow,  yet  sometimes  he  will,  and  not  usuallj 
at  a  fly  ;  but  more  usually  at  a  worm,  and  then  mos 
usually  at  a  lob  or  garden  worm,  which  should    be  wel 


THE  SALMON.  199 


scoured,  that  is  to  say,  kept  seven  or  eight  days  in  moss 
before  you  fish  with  them  ;  and  if  you  double  your  time  of 
eiglit  into  sixteen,  twenty,  or  more  days,  it  is  still  the 
better;  for  the  worms  will  still  be  clearer,  tougher,  and 
more  lively,  and  continue  so  longer  upon  your  hook ;  and 
they  may  be  kept  longer  by  keeping  them  cool  and  in  fresh 
moss,  and  some  advise  to  put  camphor  into  it. 

Note  also,  that  many  used  to  fish  for  a  salmon  with  a 
ring  of  wire  on  the  top  of  their  rod,  through  which  the  line 
may  run  to  as  great  a  length  as  is  needful  when  he  is  hooked. 
And  to  that  end,  some  use  a  wheel  about  the  middle  of 
their  rod,  or  near  their  hand,  which  is  to  be  observed  better 
by  seeing  one  of  them  than  by  a  large  demonstration  of 
words. 

And  now  I  shall  tell  you  that  which  may  be  called  a 
secret :  I  have  been  a-fishing  with  old  Oliver  Henley,  now 
with  God,  a  noted  fisher  both  for  trout  and  salmon,  and 
have  observed  that  he  would  usually  take  three  or  four 
worms  out  of  his  bag,  and  put  them  into  a  little  box  in  his 
pocket,  where  he  would  usually  let  them  continue  half  an 
hour  or  more,  before  he  would  bait  his  hook  with  them  I 
have  asked  him  his  reason,  and  he  has  replied :  "  He  did 
but  pick  the  best  out  to  be  in  readiness  against  he  baited 
his  hook  the  next  time ; "  but  he  has  been  observed,  both 
by  others  and  myself,  to  catch  more  fish  than  I  or  any 
other  body  that  has  ever  gone  a-fishing  with  him  could  do, 
and  especially  salmons ;  and  I  have  been  told  lately  by  one 
of  his  most  intimate  and  secret  friends,  that  the  box  in 
which  he  put  those  worms  was  anointed  with  a  drop,  or 
two  or  three,  of  the  oil  of  ivy-berries,  made  by  expression 
or  infusion ;  and  told,  that  by  the  worms  remaining  in  that 


^06  Ti/£  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

box  an  hour,  or  a  like  time,  they  had  incorporated  a  kind  of 
smell  that  was  irresistibly  attractive,  enough  to  force  any 
fish  within  the  smell  of  them,  to  bite.  This  I  heard  not 
long  since  from  a  friend,  but  have  not  tried  it ;  yet  I  grant 
it  probable,  and  refer  my  reader  to  Sir  Francis  Bacon's 
"  Natural  History,"  where  he  proves  fishes  may  hear,  and 
doubtless  can  more  probably  smell :  and  I  am  certain 
Gesner  says  the  otter  can  smell  in  the  water,  and  I  know 
not  but  that  fish  may  do  so  too :  it  is  left  for  a  lover  of 
angling,  or  any  that  desires  to  improve  that  art,  to  try  this 
conclusion.* 

I  shall  also  impart  two  other  experiments  (but  not  tried 
by  myself),  which  I  will  deliver  in  the  same  words  that  they 
were  given  me,  by  an  excellent  angler,  and  a  very  friend, 
in  writing :  he  told  me  the  latter  was  too  good  to  be  told, 
but  in  a  learned  language,  lest  it  should  be  made  common. 

"  Take  the  stinking  oil  drawn  out  of  the  polypody  of  the 
oak  by  a  retort,  mixed  with  turpentine  and  hive-honey, 
and  anoint  your  bait  therewith,  and  it  will  doubtless  draw 
the  fish  to  it." 

The  other  is  this  :  "  Vtdnera  hedercB  grandissimce  infiicta 
Sudani  balsanium  oleo  gelaio,  albicantique  persimile,  odoris 
vero  long^  suavissimi." 

It  is  supremely  sweet  to  any  fish,  and  yet  assafoetida  may 
do  the  like. 

But  in  these  things  I  have  no  great  faith,  yet  grant  it  pro- 
bable, and  have  had  from  some  chymical  men,  namely,  from 
Sir  George  Hastings  and  others,  an  affirmation  of  them  to 
be  very  advantageous.  But  no  more  of  these,  especially] 
not  in  this  place. 

I  might  here,  before  I  take  my  leave  of  the  salmon,  tcUj 


THE  SALMON. 


201 


you  that  there  is  more  than  one  sort  of  them  ;  as,  namely, 
a  tecon,  and  another  called  in  some  places  a  samlet,  or  by 
some  a  skegger ;  but  these  and  others,  which  I  forbear  to 
name,  may  be  fish  of  another  kind,  and  differ  as  we  know  a 
herring  and  a  pilchard  do,  which,  I  think,  are  as  different  as 
the  rivers  in  which  they  breed,  and  must  by  me  be  left  to 
the  disquisitions  of  men  of  more  leisure,  and  of  greater 
abilities,  than  I  profess  myself  to  have. 

And  lastly  I  am  to  borrow  so  much  of  your  promised 
patience  as  to  tell  you,  that  the  trout  or  salmon,  being  in 
season,  have  at  their  first  taking  out  of  the  water,  which 
continues  during  life,  their  bodies  adorned,  the  one  with 
such  red  spots,  and  the  other  with  such  black  or  blackish 
spots,  as  give  them  such  an  addition  of  natural  beauty,  as  I 
think  was  never  given  to  any  woman  by  the  artificial  paint 
or  patches  in  which  they  so  much  pride  themselves  in  this 
age.  And  so  I  shall  leave  them  both,  and  proceed  to  some 
observations  on  the  pike. 


i 


APPENDIX  VII. 


Historical  Note. 

a  An  excellent  poet,  bom  in  Warwickshire,  1563.  Among  his 
works,  which  are  very  numerous,  is  the  "  Polyolbion,"  a  choro- 
graphical  description  of  the  rivers,  mountains,  forests,  castles,  &c., 
in  this  island.  Though  this  poem  has  great  merit,  it  is  rendered 
much  more  valuable  by  the  learned  notes  of  Mr.  Selden.  The 
author  died  in  1631,  and  lies  buried  among  the  poets  in  West- 
minister Abbey. — PI. 


General  Notes. 


^  This  is  not  so.   A  great  deal  of  this  chapter  is  erroneous.   See 
Essay. 

^  It  is  a  long  time  since  any  salmon  have  been  seen  in  the 
Thames. 

^  Trout  are  never  in  season  in  the  winter.     Of  salmon,  late 
spawncrs  may  sometimes  be  in  season  in  December.     See  Essay. 

*  Scented  oils,  or  other  ointments  wherewith  to  anoint  baits,  used 

202 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY.  203 

to  be  somewhat  in  fashion  among  the  old  race  of  anglers ;  the  gum 
obtained  from  ivy  by  making  an  incision  in  the  stem,  was  a  favourite 
for  this  purpose.  Nearly  all  fishermen  are  now  of  the  opinion  that 
such  inducements  are  valueless,  however. 


Practical  Essay. 


THE    SALMON. 


It  is  difficult  with  the  space  at  command  to  give  a  comprehensive 
account  of  this  noble  fish  and  its  wonderful  life-history.  The  ap- 
pearance of  the  fish  is  well  known  to  all.  Its  habits  have  been  the 
study  of  angler-naturalists  for  years,  and  although  much  is  now 
positively  known  concerning  it,  yet  there  is  undoubtedly  much  to 
be  learned.  Mr.  Pennell,  in  his  delightful  book,  "The  Angler- 
Naturalist,"  enumerates  "  proved  facts  in  the  history  of  the  salmon," 
which  he  will,  doubtless,  permit  me  to  quote. 

"  I.  Salmon  and  grilse  invariably  spawn  in  fresh  water  if  possible, 
both  the  eggs  and  the  young  fry,  whilst  in  the  parr  state,  being 
destroyed  by  contact  with  salt  water. 

"  2.  The  eggs  are  usually  deposited  on  gravelly  shallows  [the  fish 
make  shallow  trenches  in  which  the  spawn  is  deposited,  and  then 
lightly  covered  over  with  gravel. — Ed.]  where  they  hatch  in  from 
eighty  to  one  hundred  and  forty  days,  according  to  the  temperature 
of  the  water.  Eggs  remaining  unhatched  beyond  the  latter  period 
will  seldom  hatch  at  all,  possibly  from  having  been  destroyed  by  the 
low  temperature. 

"  3.  The  eggs  deposited  by  the  female  will  not  hatch  under  any 
circumstances  unless  vivified  after  exclusion  by  the  milt  of  the  male; 
and,  at  least  up  to  the  period  of  migration,  there  is  no  difference 


204  THE   COMPLETE   ANGLER. 

whatever  in  fry  bred  between  salmon  only,  between  salmon  and 
grilse,  or  between  grilse  and  parr. 

''Note. — The  female  parr  cannot  spawn;  but  the  male  parr 
possesses  and  constantly  exercises  the  power  of  vivifying  salmon 
and  grilse  eggs. 

"  4.  The  fry  remain  one,  two,  and  in  some  cases  three  years  in 
the  rivers  as  parr  before  going  down  to  the  sea,  about  half  taking 
their  departure  at  one  year,  nearly  all  the  others  at  two  years,  and 
the  remainder  (which  are  exceptional)  at  three  years  old. 

"  5.  All  young  salmon  fry  are  marked  with  bluish  bars  on  their 
sides  until  shortly  before  their  migration,  up  to  which  period  they 
are  parrs ;  they  then  invariably  assume  a  more  or  less  complete 
coating  of  silvery  scales  and  become  smolts,  the  bars  or  parr  marks, 
however,  being  still  clearly  discernible  on  rubbing  off  the  new  scales. 

"  6.  The  young  of  all  the  species  here  included  in  the  genus 
Salmo  have  at  some  period  of  their  existence  these  bluish  bars,  and 
consequently  such  marks  are  not  by  themselves  proofs  that  fry 
bearing  them  are  the  young  of  the  true  salmon  {Salmo  salar). 

"  7.  Unless  the  young  fish  put  on  their  smolt  dress  in  May  or 
early  in  June,  and  thereupon  go  down  to  the  sea,  they  remain  as 
parrs  another  year,  and  without  smolt  scales  they  will  not  migrate, 
and  cannot  exist  in  salt  water. 

"  8.  The  length  of  the  parr  at  six  weeks  old  is  about  an  inch  and 
a  half  or  tw^o  inches,  and  the  weight  of  the  smolt  before  reaching 
the  tidal  wave  from  one  to  two  ounces. 

"  9.  In  at  least  many  cases,  smolts  thus  migrating  to  the  sea  in 
May  and  June,  return  as  grilse,  sometimes  within  five,  generally 
within  ten  weeks,  the  increase  in  weight  during  that  period  varying 
from  two  to  ten  pounds,  the  average  being  from  four  to  six  pounds ; 
and  these  grilse  spawn  about  November  or  December,  go  back  to 
the  sea,  and  (in  many  cases)  re-ascend  the  rivers  the  next  spring  as 
salmon,  with  a  further  increase  of  from  four  to  twelve  pounds. 
Thus  a  fish  hatched  in  April,  1854,  and  marked  when  migrating  in 
May,  1855,  was  caught  as  a  salmon  of  twenty-two  pounds  weight 
in  March,  1S56. 


I 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY.  205 


"lo.  It  appears  certain,  however,  that  smolts  do  not  always 
return  during  the  same  year  as  grilse,  but  frequently  remain  nine 
or  ten  months  in  the  sea,  returning  in  the  following  spring  as  small- 
sized  salmon. 

"  II.  It  has  also  been  clearly  proved  that,  in  general,  salmon  and 
grilse  find  their  way  back  to  spawn  to  the  rivers  in  which  they  were 
bred — sometimes  to  the  identical  spots ;  spawn  about  November  or 
December,  and  go  down  again  to  the  sea  as  '■  spent  fish,'  or  '  kelts,' 
in  February  or  March,  returning,  in  at  least  many  cases,  during  the 
following  four  or  five  months  as  '  clean  fish,'  and  with  an  increase  in 
weight  of  from  seven  to  ten  pounds. 

"  Note. — Shortly  before  spawning,  and  whilst  returning  to  the 
sea  as  kelts  or  spent  fish,  salmon  are  unfit  for  food,  and  their  cap- 
ture is  then  illegal.  '  Foul  fish '  before  spawning  are,  if  males, 
termed  '  red  fish,'  from  the  orange-coloured  stripes  with  which  their 
cheeks  are  marked,  and  the  golden-orange  tint  of  the  body ;  the 
females  are  darker  in  colour,  and  are  called  'black  fish.'  After 
spawning,  the  males  are  called '  kippers,'  and  the  females  '  shedders,' 
or  *  baggits.' " 

Such  is  a  summary  of  the  habits  of  the  salmon,  to  which  little  can 
be  added  in  the  space  at  my  disposal. 

It  is  an  interesting  sight  to  watch  the  salmon  ascending  a  weir, 
as  I  have  done  scores  of  times.  I  lived  for  three  years  in  a  house 
abutting  on  a  salmon-leap,  and  my  bed-room  window  commanded 
an  excellent  and  close  view  of  a  large  weir,  up  which,  at  certain 
times,  the  salmon  used  to  pass.  They  do  not,  as  the  old  story 
goes,  put  their  tails  in  their  mouths  and  spring  up  by  suddenly  un- 
bending, but,  "  taking  a  run,"  they  scurry  up  the  part  over  which 
there  is  the  deepest  flow  of  water,  hanging  for  an  instant  on  the 
edge,  and  then  shoot  away  into  the  deep  water  above. 

Salmon  lie  in  the  pools  at  the  foot  of  a  rapid,  often  where  the 
current  is  strongest,  lying  under  the  lee  of  a  submerged  rock,  and 
in  such  places  they  should  be  fished  for.  The  salmon-casts  on 
every  river  are  so  well  known  to  the  local  anglers,  and  are  often  in 
apparently  unlikely  places,  while  as  often  the  most  likely  pools 


206  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


never  contain  uny  fish ;  so  that  inquiries  should  be  made  in  the 
locaHty  before  the  angler  fishes  a  river  unknown  to  him. 

The  salmon  is  usually  fished  for  with  a  fly.  The  rod  may  be 
from  17  to  20  feet  in  length,  but  18  feet  is  an  average  length. 
Greenheart  is  perhaps  the  best  wood.  A  large  check-reel  holding 
100  yards  of  dressed  silk  line  is  required.  The  casting-line  should 
be  about  4  yards  long,  of  treble  gut  for  the  upper  part,  double  gut 
for  the  middle,  and  stout  single  gut  for  the  lower  part.  One  fly  is 
generally  sufficient.  Salmon-flies  are  legion,  and  every  river  has  its 
favourites,  resembling  nothing  living  on  the  earth  or  in  the  water. 

The  accompanying  figures,  i  to  6,  will  give  an  idea  of  the  form 
and  size  of  some  salmon-flies,  though  not  of  the  colour.  Mr.  Pennell 
says  that  three  flies — of  which  he  gives  illustrations — are  sufficient 
foi  any  stream  and  all  weathers.  He  calls  them  the  "  silver,"  the 
''gold,''  and  the  "rainbow."  They  cannot  be  described  without 
the  aid  of  a  coloured  plate. 

The  rod  must  of  course  be  worked  with  both  hands,  and  beyond 
saying  this,  1  do  not  propose  to  give  any  lengthy  instruction  how  to 
cast  and  work  the  fly,  because  any  salmon  fisher  will  have  been,  or 
should  have  been,  a  trout  fisher  first ;  and  I  maintain  that  if  a  man 
who  knows  how  to  throw  a  trout-fly  gets  hold  of  a  salmon  rod,  he 
only  needs  practice,  and  if  he  has  any  nous  at  all,  will  soon  find 
out  the  proper  way.  He  is  already  beyond  the  reach  of  written 
instructions,  which,  in  the  best  of  cases,  are  only  vanity  and  vexa- 
tion of  spirit. 

Salmon  fishing  is  trout  fishing  on  a  magnified  scale,  and  those 
who  can  afford  to  indulge  in  it  will  endeavour  to  learn  its  mi7iuti(j& 
from  some  more  pretentious  and  expensive  handbook  of  the  gentle 
art. 

While  trout  will  rarely  rise  a  second  time  at  the  fly,  a  salmon  will 
rise  again  and  again  at  intervals.  Salmon  may  also  be  caught  with 
the  worm  and  by  spinning. 

There  are  two  other  species  of  the  salmon  family  which  are 
migratory,  and  similar  to  the  salmon  in  their  habits,  and  these  are 
the  Bull  Trout  and  the  Sea  Trout  or  Salmon  Trout.     The  former 


I 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY. 


207 


is  a  local  fisli,  being  found  in  comparatively  few  rivers.     On  the 


208 


THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


Coquet  it  goes  by  the  nnme  of  the  salmon,  there  being  no  ti 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY. 


209 


salmon  in  that  river.  The  small  grilse  sometimes  take  the  fly  freely, 
but  the  full-grown  bull  trout  very  rarely  takes  fly  or  bait  of  any  kind, 
except  when  it  is  in  the  kelt  state,  when  it  is  ravenous.  It  reaches 
fifteen  and  twenty  pounds  in  weight. 

The  salmon  trout  does  not  usually  grow  to  be  more  than  six 
pounds  in  weight,  and  is  very  abundant  in  some  of  the  northern 
rivers.  Pennell  says  it  is  the  "  *  Fordwich  trout '  of  Izaac  Walton, 
so  named  from  a  village  on  the  Stour  near  Canterbury,  where  it 
still  maintains  its  reputation  for  being  'rare  good  meat.'" 


Vk 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

OBSERVATIONS   ON   THE  LUCE  OR   PIKE;    WITH 
DIRECTIONS    HOW   TO   FISH   FOR   HIM. 


[|0urt|r  DairJ 

PiSC.  The  mighty  Luce  or  Pike  is  taken  to  be  the  tyrant, 
as  the  salmon  is  the  king,  of  the  fresh  waters.  It  is  not  to 
be  doubted  but  that  they  are  bred,  some  by  generation,  and 
some  not,  as  namely,  of  a  weed  called  pickerel- weed,*  unless 
learned  Gesner  be  much  mistaken,  for  he  says,  this  weed 
and  other  glutinous  matter,  with  the  help  of  the  sun's  heat, 
in  some  particular  months,  and  some  ponds  apted  for  it  by 
nature,  do  become  pikes.  But,  doubtless,  divers  pikes  ai 
bred  after  this  manner,  or  are  brought  into  some  pone 
some  such  other  ways  as  is  past  man's  finding  out,  of  whic 
we  have  daily  testimonies.^ 

210 


THE  PIKE.  211 


Sir  Francis  Bacon,  in  his  "  History  of  Life  and  Death," 
observes  the  pike  to  be  the  longest  lived  of  any  fresh-water 
fish ;  and  yet  he  computes  it  to  be  not  usually  above  forty 
years ;  and  others  think  it  to  be  not  above  ten  years  ;  and 
yet  Gesner  mentions  a  pike  taken  in  Swedeland,  in  the  year 
1449,  with  a  ring  about  his  neck,  declaring  he  was  put  into 
that  pond  by  Frederick  II.,  more  than  two  hundred  years 
before  he  was  last  taken,  as  by  the  inscription  in  that 
ring,  being  Greek,  was  interpreted  by  the  then  Bishop  of 
Worms.'^  But  of  this  no  more,  but  that  it  is  observed,  that 
the  old  or  very  great  pikes  have  in  them  more  of  state  than 
goodness ;  the  smaller  or  middle-sized  pikes  being,  by  the 
most  and  choicest  palates,  observed  to  be  the  best  meat ; 
and,  contrary,  the  eel  is  observed  to  be  the  better  for  age 
and  bigness. 

All  pikes  that  live  long  prove  chargeable  to  their  keepers, 
because  their  life  is  maintained  by  the  death  of  so  many 
other  fish,  even  those. of  their  own  kind;  which  has  made 
him  by  some  writers  to  be  called  the  tyrant  of  the  rivers, 
or  the  fresh-water  wolf,  by  reason  of  his  bold,  greedy,  de- 
vouring disposition ;  which  is  so  keen,  as  Gesner  relates  a 
man  going  to  a  pond,  where  it  seems  a  pike  had  devoured 
all  the  fish,  to  water  his  mule,  had  a  pike  bit  his  mule  by 
the  lips,  to  which  the  pike  hung  so  fast,  that  the  mule  drew 
him  out  of  the  water,  and  by  that  accident  the  owner  of  the 
mule  angled  out  the  pike.  And  the  same  Gesner  observes, 
that  a  maid  in  Poland  had  a  pike  bit  her  by  the  foot,  as  she 
was  washing  clothes  in  a  pond.  And  I  have  heard  the  like 
of  a  woman  in  Killingworth  pond,  not  far  from  Coventry. 
But  I  have  been  assured  by  my  friend  Mr.  Seagrave,  oi 
whom  I  spake  to  you  formerly,  that  keeps  tame  otters,  that 


212  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

he  hath  known  a  pike  in  extreme  hunger  fight  with  one  of 
his  otters  for  a  carp  that  the  otter  had  caught,  and  was  then 
bringing  out  of  the  water.  I  have  told  you  who  relate  these 
things,  and  tell  you  they  are  persons  of  credit ;  and  shall 
conclude  this  observation,  by  telling  you  what  a  wise  man 
has  observed,  "It  is  a  hard  thing  to  persuade  the  belly, 
because  it  has  no  ears."^ 

But  if  these  relations  be  disbelieved,  it  is  too  evident  to  be 
doubted,  that  a  pike  will  devour  a  fish  of  his  own  kind  that 
shall  be  bigger  than  his  belly  or  throat  will  receive,  and 
swallow  a  part  of  him,  and  let  the  other  part  remain  in  his 
mouth  till  the  swallowed  part  be  digested,  and  then  swallow 
that  other  part,  that  was  in  his  mouth,  and  so  put  it  over  by 
degrees  ;  which  is  not  unlike  the  ox,  and  some  other  beasts, 
taking  their  meat,  not  out  of  their  mouth  immediately  into 
their  belly,  but  first  into  some  place  betwixt,  and  then  chew 
it,  or  digest  it  by  degrees  after,  which  is  called  chewing  the 
cud.  And,  doubtless,  pikes  will  bite  when  they  are  not 
hungry  ;  but,  as  some  think,  even  for  very  anger,  when  a 
tempting  bait  comes  near  to  them. 

And  it  is  observed,  that  the  pike  will  eat  venomous  things, 
as  some  kind  of  frogs^  are,  and  yet  live  without  being  harmed 
by  them  ;  for,  as  some  say,  he  has  in  him  a  natural  balsam, 
or  antidote  against  all  poison.  And  he  has  a  strange  heat, 
that  though  it  appears  to  us  to  be  cold,  can  yet  digest  or  put 
over  any  fish-flesh,  by  degrees,  Vvithout  being  sick.  And 
others  observe  that  he  never  eats  the  venomous  frog  till  he 
have  first  killed  her,  and  then,  as  ducks  are  observed  to  do 
to  frogs  in  spawning -time,  at  which  time  some  frogs  are 
observed  to  be  venomous,  so  thoroughly  washed  her,  by 
tumbling  her  up  and  down  in  the  water,  that  he  may  devour  ^ 


I 


THE  PIKE.  213 


her  without  danger.  And  Gesner  affirms  that  a  Polonian 
gentleman  did  faithfully  assure  him,  he  had  seen  two  young 
geese  at  one  time  in  the  belly  of  a  pike.  And  doubtless  a 
pike,  in  his  height  of  hunger,  will  bite  at  and  devour  a  dog 
that  swims  in  a  pond ;  and  there  have  been  examples  of  it, 
or  the  like  ;  for,  as  I  told  you,  "  The  belly  has  no  ears  when 
hunger  comes  upon  it." 

The  pike  is  also  observed  to  be  a  solitary,  melancholy,  and 
a  bold  fish :  melancholy,  because  he  always  swims  or  rests 
himself  alone,  and  never  swims  in  shoals  or  with  company, 
as  roach  and  dace  and  most  other  fish  do  ;  and  bold,  because 
he  fears  not  a  shadow,  or  to  see  or  be  seen  of  anybody,  as 
the  trout  and  chub  and  all  other  fish  do. 

And  it  is  observed  by  Gesner,  that  the  jaw-bones  and 
hearts  and  galls  of  pikes  are  very  medicinable  for  several 
diseases  ;  or  to  stop  blood,  to  abate  fevers,  to  cure  agues,  to 
oppose  or  expel  the  infection  of  the  plague,  and  to  be  many 
ways  medicinable  and  useful  for  the  good  of  mankind  ;  but 
he  observes,  that  the  biting  of  the  pike  is  venomous,  and 
hard  to  be  cured. 

And  it  is  observed,  that  the  pike  is  a  fish  that  breeds  but 
once  a  year ;  and  that  other  fish,  as  namely  loaches,  do  breed 
oftener,  as  we  are  certain  tame  pigeons  do  almost  every 
month ;  and  yet  the  hawk,  a  bird  of  prey,  as  the  pike  is  of 
fish,  breeds  but  once  in  twelve  months.  And  you  are  to 
note,  that  his  time  of  breeding,  or  spawning,  is  usually  about 
the  end  of  February,  or  somewhat  later,  in  March,  as  the 
weather  proves  colder  or  warmer;  and  to  note,  that  his 
manner  of  breeding  is  thus  :  a  he  and  a  she-pike  will  usually 
go  together  out  of  a  river  into  some  ditch  or  creek,  and  that 
there  the  spawner  casts  her  ^ggs^  and  the  melter  hovers  over 


214  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


her  all  that  time  that  she  is  casting  her  spawn,  but  touches 
her  not.^ 

I  might  say  more  of  this,  but  it  might  be  thought  curiosity 
or  worse,  and  shall  therefore  forbear  it ;  and  take  up  so 
much  of  your  attention  as  to  tell  you,  that  the  best  of  pikes 
are  noted  to  be  in  rivers ;  next,  those  in  great  ponds  or 
meres  ;  and  the  worst,  in  small  ponds. 

But  before  I  proceed  further,  I  am  to  tell  you  that  there 
is  a  great  antipathy  betwixt  the  pike  and  some  frogs ;  and 
this  may  appear  to  the  reader  of  Dubravius,°  a  bishop  in 
Bohemia,  who,  in  his  book  "Of  Fish  and  Fish-ponds,"  relates 
what  he  says  he  saw  with  his  own  eyes,  and  could  not  for- 
bear to  tell  the  reader ;  which  was  : 

"  As  he  and  the  Bishop  Thurzo  were  walking  by  a  large 
pond  in  Bohemia,  they  saw  a  frog,  when  the  pike  lay  very 
sleepily  and  quiet  by  the  shore-side,  leap  upon  his  head ; 
and  the  frog  having  expressed  malice  or  anger  by  his 
swollen  cheeks  and  staring  eyes,  did  stretch  out  his  legs 
and  embraced  the  pike's  head,  and  presently  reached  them 
to  his  eyes,  tearing  with  them  and  his  teeth  those  tender 
parts :  the  pike,  moved  with  anguish,  moves  up  and  down 
the  water,  and  rubs  himself  against  weeds  and  whatever  he 
thought  might  quit  him  of  his  enemy ;  but  all  in  vain,  for 
the  frog  did  continue  to  ride  triumphantly,  and  to  bite  and 
torment  the  pike,  till  his  strength  failed,  and  then  the  frog 
sunk  with  the  pike  to  the  bottom  of  the  water ;  then 
presently  the  frog  appeared  again  at  the  top  and  croaked, 
and  seemed  to  rejoice  like  a  conqueror;  after  which  he 
presently  retired  to  his  secret  hole.  The  bishop,  that  had 
beheld  the  battle,  called  his  fishermen  to  fetch  his  nets,  and 
by  all  means  to  get  the  pike,  that  they  might  declare  what 


THE  PIKE.  215 


had  happened ;  and  the  pike  was  drawn  forth,  and  both 
his  eyes  eaten  out ;  at  which,  when  they  began  to  wonder, 
the  fisherman  wished  them  to  forbear,  and  assured  them  he 
was  certain  that  pikes  were  often  so  served." 

I  told  this,  which  is  to  be  read  in  the  sixth  chapter  of  the 
first  book  of  Dubravius,  unto  a  friend,  who  replied,  "  It  was 
as  improbable  as  to  have  the  mouse  scratch  out  the  cat's 
eyes."  But  he  did  not  consider  that  there  be  fishing-frogs, 
which  the  Dalmatians  call  the  water-devil,  of  which  I  might 
tell  you  as  wonderful  a  story ;  but  I  shall  tell  you,  that  't  is 
not  to  be  doubted  but  that  there  be  some  frogs  so  fearful 
of  the  water-snake,  that,  wlien  they  swim  in  a  place  in 
which  they  fear  to  meet  with  him,  they  then  get  a  reed 
across  into  their  mouths,  which,  if  they  two  meet  by 
accident,  secures  the  frog  from  the  strength  and  malice  of 
the  snake  ;  and  note,  that  the  frog  usually  swims  the  fastest 
of  the  two. 

And  let  me  tell  you,  that  as  there  be  water  and  land- 
frogs,  so  there  be  land  and  water- snakes.  Concerning 
which,  take  this  observation :  that  the  land-snake  breeds 
and  hatches  her  eggs,  which  become  young  snakes,  in  some 
old  dunghill,  or  a  like  hot  place  ;  but  the  water-snake, 
which  is  not  venomous,  and,  as  I  have  been  assured  by  a 
great  observer  of  such  secrets,  does  not  hatch,  but  breed 
her  young  alive,  which  she  does  not  then  forsake,  but  bides 
with  them,  and  in  case  of  danger  will  take  them  all  into  her 
mouth  and  swim  away  from  any  apprehended  danger,  and 
then  let  them  out  again  when  she  thinks  all  danger  to  be 
past;  these  be  accidents  that  we  anglers  sometimes  see, 
and  often  talk  of.^ 

But  whither  am  I  going }     I  had  almost  lost  myself,  by 


2l5  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

remembering  the  discourse  of  Dubravius.  I  will  therefore 
stop  here,  and  tell  you,  according  to  my  promise,  how  to 
catch  the  pike. 

His  feeding  is  usually  of  fish  or  frogs,  and  sometimes  a 
weed  of  his  own  called  pickerel-weed,  of  which  I  told  you 
some  think  pikes  are  bred ;  for  they  have  observed  that 
where  none  have  been  put  into  ponds,  yet  they  have  there 
found  many,  and  that  there  has  been  plenty  of  that  weed 
in  those  ponds,  and  [they  think]  that  that  weed  both  breeds 
and  feeds  them ;  but  whether  those  pikes  so  bred  will  ever 
breed  by  generation  as  the  others  do,  I  shall  leave  to  the 
disquisitions  of  men  of  more  curiosity  and  leisure  than  I 
profess  myself  to  have,  and  shall  proceed  to  tell  you,  that 
you  may  fish  for  a  pike,  either  with  a  ledger  or  a  walking- 
bait  ;  and  you  are  to  note,  that  I  call  that  a  ledger-bait 
which  is  fixed  or  made  to  rest  in  one  certain  place  when 
you  shall  be  absent  from  it ;  and  I  call  that  a  walking- 
bait  which  you  take  with  you,  and  have  ever  in  motion. 
Concerning  which  two  I  shall  give  you  this  direction,  that 
your  ledger-bait  is  best  to  be  a  living  bait  (though  a  dead 
one  may  catch),  whether  it  be  a  fish  or  a  frog ;  and  that 
you  may  make  them  live  the  longer,  you  may,  or  indeed 
you  must,  take  this  course  : 

First,  for  your  live  bait.  Of  fish,  a  roach  or  dace  is,  I 
think,  best  and  most  tempting  (and  a  perch  is  the  longest 
lived  on  a  hook),  and  having  cut  off  his  fin  on  his  back,  which 
may  be  done  without  hurting  him,  you  must  take  your  knife, 
which  cannot  be  too  sharp,  and  between  the  head  and  the 
fin  on  the  back,  cut  or  make  an  incision,  or  such  a  scar  as 
you  may  put  the  arming- wire  of  your  hook  into  it,  with  a: 
little  bruising  or  hurting  the  fish  as  art  and  diligence  wi 


THE  PIKE.  217 


enable  you  to  do ;  and  so  carrying  your  arming-wire  along 
his  back,  unto  or  near  the  tail  of  your  fish,  between  the  skin 
and  the  body  of  it,  draw  out  that  wire  or  arming  of  your 
hook  at  another  scar  near  to  his  tail ;  then  tie  him  about  it 
with  thread,  but  no  harder  than  of  necessity  to  prevent 
hurting  the  fish ;  and  the  better  to  avoid  hurting  the  fish, 
some  have  a  kind  of  probe  to  open  the  way,  for  the  more 
easy  entrance  and  passage  of  your  wire  or  arming :  but  as 
for  these,  time  and  a  little  experience  will  teach  you  better 
than  I  can  by  words  ;  therefore  I  will  for  the  present  say  no 
more  of  this,  but  come  next  to  give  you  some  directions  how 
to  bait  your  hook  with  a  frog. 

Ven.  But,  good  master,  did  you  not  say  even  now,  that 
some  frogs  are  venomous,  and  is  it  not  dangerous  to  touch 
them  ? 

PiSC.  Yes ;  but  I  will  give  you  some  rules  or  cautions 
concerning  them.  And  first,  you  are  to  note,  that  there  are 
two  kinds  of  frogs  ;  that  is  to  say,  if  I  may  so  express  my- 
self, a  flesh  and  a  fish-frog  :  by  flesh-frogs,  I  mean  frogs  that 
breed  and  live  on  the  land;  and  of  these  there  be  several 
sorts  also,  and  of  several  colours,  some  being  speckled,  some 
greenish,  some  blackish  or  brown  :  the  green  frog,  which  is 
a  small  one,  is  by  Topsell  taken  to  be  venomous,  and  so  is 
the  padock  or  frog-padock,  which  usually  keeps  or  breeds 
on  the  land,  and  is  very  large  and  bony  and  big,  especially 
the  she-frog  of  that  kind  ;  yet  these  will  sometimes  come 
into  the  water,  but  it  is  not  often :  and  the  land-frogs  are 
some  of  them  observed  by  him  to  breed  by  laying  eggs,  and 
others  to  breed  of  the  slime  and  dust  of  the  earth,  and  that 
in  winter  they  turn  to  slime  again,  and  that  the  next  summer 
that  very  slime  returns  to  be  a  living  creature ;  this  is  the 


2l8  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

opinion  of  Pliny,  and  Cardanus*^  (in  his  tenth  book  "De  Sub- 
tilitate")  undertakes  to  give  a  reason  for  the  raining  of  frogs  ; 
but  if  it  were  in  my  power,  it  should  rain  none  but  water- 
frogs,  for  those  I  think  are  not  venomous,  especially  the  right 
water-frog,  which  about  February  or  March  breeds  in  ditches 
by  slime,  and  blackish  eggs  in  that  slime,  about  which  time 
of  breeding  the  he  and  she-frogs  are  observed  to  use  divers 
summersaults,  and  to  croak  and  make  a  noise,  which  the 
land-frog,  or  padock-frog,  never  docs.°  Now  of  these  water- 
frogs,  if  you  intend  to  fish  with  a  frog  for  a  pike,  you  are  to 
choose  the  yellowest  that  you  can  get,  for  that  the  pike  ever 
likes  best.  And  thus  use  your  frog,  that  he  may  continue 
long  alive : 

Put  your  hook  into  his  mouth,  which  you  may  easily  do 
from  the  middle  of  April  till  August;  and  then  the  frog's 
mouth  grows  up,  and  he  continues  so  for  at  least  six  months 
without  eating,  but  is  sustained  none  but  He  whose  name  is 
Wonderful  knows  how:  I  say,  put  your  hook,  I  mean  the 
arming-wire,  through  his  mouth,  and  out  at  his  gills  ;  and 
then  with  a  fine  needle  and  silk  sew  the  upper  part  of  his 
leg,  with  only  one  stitch,  to  the  arming-wire  of  your  hook ; 
or  tie  the  frog's  leg,  above  the  upper  joint,  to  the  arming- 
wire  ;  and,  in  so  doing,  use  him  as  though  you  loved  him, 
that  is,  harm  him  as  little  as  you  may  possibly,  that  he  may 
live  the  longer. 

And  now,  having  given  you  this  direction  for  the  baiting 
your  ledger-hook  with  a  live  fish  or  frog,  my  next  must  be 
to  tell  you  how  your  hook  thus  baited  must  or  may  be 
used,  and  it  is  thus  :  Having  fastened  your  hook  to  a  line, 
which,  if  it  be  not  fourteen  yards  long,  should  not  be  less 
than  twelve,  you  are  to  fasten  that  line  to  any  bough  near 


J 


THE  PIKE.  219 


to  a  hole  where  a  pike  is,  or  is  likely  to  lie,  or  to  have  a 
haunt,  and  then  wind  your  line  on  any  forked  stick,  all  your 
line,  except  half  a  yard  of  it,  or  rather  more,  and  split  that 
forked  stick  with  such  a  nick  or  notch  at  one  end  of  it  as 
may  keep  the  line  from  any  more  of  it  ravelling  from  about 
the  stick  than  so  much  of  it  as  you  intend ;  and  choose 
your  forked  stick  to  be  of  that  bigness  as  may  keep  the 
fish  or  frog  from  pulling  the  forked  stick  under  the  water 
till  the  pike  bites ;  and  then  the  pike  having  pulled  the 
line  forth  of  the  cleft  or  nick  of  that  stick  in  which  it  was 
gently  fastened,  he  will  have  line  enough  to  go  to  his  hold 
and  pouch  the  bait ;  and  if  you  would  have  this  ledger-bait 
to  keep  at  a  fixed  place,  undisturbed  by  wind  or  other 
accidents,  which  may  drive  it  to  the  shore-side  (for  you  are 
to  note,  that  it  is  likeliest  to  catch  a  pike  in  the  midst  of 
the  water),  then  hang  a  small  plummet  of  lead,  a  stone,  or 
piece  of  tile,  or  a  turf  in  a  string,  and  cast  it  into  the  water 
with  the  forked  stick,  to  hang  upon  the  ground,  to  be  a  kind 
of  anchor  to  keep  the  forked  stick  from  moving  out  of  your 
intended  place  till  the  pike  come.  This  I  take  to  be  a  very 
good  way,  to  use  so  many  ledger-baits  as  you  intend  to 
make  trial  of. 

Or  if  you  bait  your  hooks  thus  with  live  fish  or  frogs,  and 
in  a  windy  day,  fasten  them  thus  to  a  bough  or  bundle  of 
straw,  and  by  the  help  of  that  wind  can  get  them  to  move 
across  a  pond  or  mere,  you  are  like  to  stand  still  on  the 
shore  and  see  sport  presently  if  there  be  any  store  of  pikes  ; 
or  these  live  baits  may  make  sport,  being  tied  about  the 
body  or  wings  of  a  goose  or  duck,  and  she  chased  over  a 
pond  ;  and  the  like  may  be  done  with  turning  three  or  four 
live  baits  thus  fastened  to  bladders,  or  boughs,  or  bottles  of 


220  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

hay  or  flags,  to  swim  down  a  river,  whilst  you  walk  quietly 
alone  on  the  shore,  and  are  still  in  expectation  of  sport. 
The  rest  must  be  taught  you  by  practice,  for  time  will  not 
allow  me  to  say  more  of  this  kind  of  fishing  with  live  baits. 

And  for  your  dead  bait  for  a  pike,  for  that  you  may  be 
taught  by  one  day's  going  a-fishing  with  me,  or  any  other 
body  that  fishes  for  him,  for  the  baiting  your  hook  with  a 
dead  gudgeon  or  a  roach,  and  moving  it  up  and  down  the 
water,  is  too  easy  a  thing  to  take  up  any  time  to  direct  you 
to  do  it ;  and  yet,  because  I  cut  you  short  in  that,  I  will 
commute  for  it  by  telling  you  that  that  was  told  me  for  a 
secret :  it  is  this  : 

Dissolve  gum  of  ivy  in  oil  of  spike,  and  therewith  anoint 
your  dead  bait  for  a  pike,  and  then  cast  it  into  a  likely 
place,  and  when  it  has  lain  a  short  time  at  the  bottom, 
draw  it  towards  the  top  of  the  water,  and  so  up  the  stream, 
and  it  is  more  than  likely  that  you  have  a  pike  follow  with 
more  than  common  eagerness. 

And  some  afifirm,  that  any  bait  anointed  with  the  marrow 
of  the  thigh-bone  of  an  hern  is  a  great  temptation  to  any 
fish. 

These  have  not  been  tried  by  me,  but  told  me  by  a  friend 
of  note,  that  pretended  to  do  me  a  courtesy;  but  if  this 
direction  to  catch  a  pike  thus  do  you  no  good,  yet  I  am 
certain  this  direction  how  to  roast  him  when  he  is  caught 
is  choicely  good,  for  I  have  tried  it,  and  it  is  somewhat  the 
better  for  not  being  common ;  but  with  my  direction  you 
must  take  this  caution,  that  your  pike  must  not  be  a  small 
one,  that  is,  it  must  be  more  than  half  a  yard,  and  should 
be  bigger. 

First,  open  your  pike  at  the  gills,  and,  if  need  be,  cut  also  I 


THE  PIKE.  221 


a  little  slit  towards  the  belly ;  out  of  these  take  his  guts, 
and  keep  his  liver,  which  you  are  to  shred  very  small  with 
thyme,  sweet  marjoram,  and  a  little  winter  savory  ;  to  these 
put  some  pickled  oysters,  and  some  anchovies,  two  or  three, 
both  these  last  whole  ;  for  the  anchovies  will  melt,  and  the 
oysters  should  not :  to  these  you  must  add  also  a  pound  of 
sweet  butter,  which  you  are  to  mix  with  the  herbs  that  are 
shred,  and  let  them  all  be  well  salted :  if  the  pike  be  more 
than  a  yard  long,  then  you  may  put  into  these  herbs  more 
than  a  pound,  or  if  he  be  less,  then  less  butter  will  suffice : 
these  being  thus  mixed  with  a  blade  or  two  of  mace,  must 
be  put  into  the  pike's  belly,  and  then  his  belly  so  sewed  up 
as  to  keep  all  the  butter  in  his  belly,  if  it  be  possible ;  if 
not,  then  as  much  of  it  as  you  possibly  can  ;  but  take  not 
off  the  scales :  then  you  are  to  thrust  the  spit  through  his 
mouth  out  at  his  tail ;  and  then  take  four,  or  five,  or  six 
split  sticks  or  very  thin  laths,  and  a  convenient  quantity  of 
tape  or  filleting :  these  laths  are  to  be  tied  round  about  the 
pike's  body  from  his  head  to  his  tail,  and  the  tape  tied 
somewhat  thick  to  prevent  his  breaking  or  falling  off  from 
the  spit :  let  him  be  roasted  very  leisurely,  and  often  basted 
with  claret  wine  and  anchovies  and  butter  mixed  together, 
and  also  with  what  moisture  falls  from  him  into  the  pan  : 
when  you  have  roasted  him  sufficiently,  you  are  to  hold 
under  him,  when  you  unwind  or  cut  the  tape  that  ties  him, 
such  a  dish  as  you  purpose  to  eat  him  out  of;  and  let  him 
fall  into  it  with  the  sauce  that  is  roasted  in  his  belly ;  and 
by  this  means  the  pike  will  be  kept  unbroken  and  com- 
plete :  then,  to  the  sauce  which  was  within,  and  also  that 
sauce  in  the  pan,  you  are  to  add  a  fit  quantity  of  the  best 
butter,  and  to  squeeze  the  juice  of  three  or  four  oranges : 


222 


THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


lastly,  you  may  either  put  into  the  pike  with  the  oysters 
two  cloves  of  garlick,  and  take  it  whole  out,  when  the  pike 
is  cut  off  the  spit ;  or  to  give  the  sauce  a  haut-gout,  let  the 
dish  into  which  you  let  the  pike  fall  be  rubbed  with  it :  the 
using  or  not  using  of  this  garlick  is  left  to  your  discretion. 
— M.  B. 

This  dish  of  meat  is  too  good  for  any  but  anglers,  or  very 
honest  men  ;  and  I  trust  you  will  prove  both,  and  therefore 
I  have  trusted  you  with  this  secret. 

Let  me  next  tell  you,  that  Gesner  tells  us  there  are  no 
pikes  in  Spain  ;  and  that  the  largest  are  in  the  lake  Thrasy- 
mene  in  Italy ;  and  the  next,  if  not  equal  to  them,  are 
the  pikes  of  England ;  and  that  in  England,  Lincolnshire 
boasteth  to  have  the  biggest.  Just  so  doth  Sussex  boast 
of  four  sorts  of  fish ;  namely, — an  Arundel  mullet,  a  Chi- 
chester lobster,  a  Shelsey  cockle,  and  an  Amerley  trout. 

But  I  will  take  up  no  more  of  your  time  with  this  relation, 
but  proceed  to  give  you  some  observations  of  the  carp,  and 
how  to  angle  for  him,  and  to  dress  him,  but  not  till  he  is 
caught. 


APPENDIX   VIII. 


11 1  s  T  o  III  c  A  L    Notes. 


»  Richard  Franks,  in  his  "  Northern  Memoirs,"  attacks  Walton 
for  what  he  has  said  of  the  pickerel- weed,  in  the  following  terms  : 
"When  I  met  him  (Izaac  Walton)  at  Stafford,  I  urged  his  own 
argument  upon  him,  that  pickerel-weed  of  itself  breeds  pickerel ; 
which  question  was  no  sooner  stated,  but  he  transmits  himself  to 
his  authority,  viz.,  Gesner,  Dubravius,  and  Aldrovandus,  which  I 
readily  opposed,  and  offered  my  reasons  to  prove  the  contrary ; 
asserting  that  pickerels  have  been  fished  out  of  ponds  where  that 
weed  (for  aught  I  know)  never  grew  since  the  nonage  of  time,  nor 
pickerel  ever  known  to  have  shed  their  spawn  there.  This  I  pro- 
pounded from  a  rational  conjecture  of  the  heronshaw,  who,  to 
commode  herself  with  the  fry  of  fish,  because  in  a  great  measure 
part  of  her  maintenance,  probably  might  lap  some  spawn  about  her 
legs,  in  regard  to  adhering  to  the  segs  and  bullrushes,  near  the 
shallows,  wliere  the  fish  shed  their  spawn,  as  myself  and  others, 
without  curiosity,  have  observed.  And  this  slimy  substance  adher- 
ing to  her  legs,  &c.,  and  she  mounting  the  air  for  another  station, 
in  all  probability  mounts  with  her.  Where  note,  the  next  pond  she 
haply  arrives  at,  possibly  she  may  leave  the  spawn  behind  her ; 
which  my  Compleat  Angler  no  longer  deliberated,  but  drops  his 
argument,  and  leaves  Gesner  to  defend  it ;  so  huffed  away,  whicli 
rendered  him  rather  a  formal  opinionist  than  a  reformed  and  prac- 
tical  artist,  because  to  celebrate  such  antiquated  records,  whercl.)y 
to  maintain  such  an  improbable  assertion." — H. 

223 


224  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


*»  Walton  appears  to  have  quoted  from  memory,  from  "  Hake- 
will's  Apology,"  where  Gesner  is  cited  as  the  authority.  It  is  there 
stated  that  the  fish  was  put  into  the  pond  in  1 230.  The  like  account 
differs,  however,  three  years  in  the  date,  from  that  given  in  a  well- 
known  book  entitled  the  "  Gentleman's  Recreation,"  which  is  :  "In 
the  year  1497,  a  fish  was  caught  in  a  pond  near  Heilbron,  in  Suabia, 
with  a  brass  ring  at  his  gills,  in  which  were  engraved  these  words : 
I  am  the  first  fish  which  Frederick  11.^  governor  of  the  worlds  put 
into  this  pond  the  ^th  of  October,  1233."  By  which  it  appears  that 
this  fish  had  then  lived  two  hundred  and  sixty  odd  years.~H. 

°  Janus  Dubravius  Scala,  Bishop  of  Olmutz,  in  Moravia,  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  was  born  at  Pilsen,  in  Bohemia  j  was  sent  am- 
bassador into  Sicily,  and  made  President  of  the  Chamber  which 
tried  the  rebels  of  Smalcald.  Besides  the  above  book  (the  Latin 
title  whereof  is  "  De  Piscinis,  et  Piscum  qui  in  eis  alunter,  naturis,") 
he  wrote  in  Latin  a  "  History  of  Bohemia ; "  and  an  oration  to 
Sigismund,  King  of  Poland,  exorting  him  to  make  war  on  the  Turks. 
He  seems  to  have  practised  the  ordering  of  fish-ponds,  and  the 
breeding  of  fish,  both  for  delight  and  profit.  His  book  "  On  Fish 
and  Fish-ponds,"  in  which  are  many  pleasant  relations,  was,  in 
1599,  translated  into  English,  and  published  in  quarto,  by  George 
Churchey,  Fellow  of  Lion's  Inn,  with  the  title  of  "  A  New  Book  of 
Good  Husbandry,  very  pleasant  and  of  great  profit,  both  for  Gentle- 
men and  Yeomen,  containing  the  order  and  manner  of  Making  of 
Fish-ponds,"  &c.— H. 

^  In  his  nineteenth  book,  "  De  Subtilitate."  Hieronymus  Car- 
danus  was  an  Italian  physician,  naturalist,  and  astrologer,  well  kno\Mi 
by  his  numerous  writings.  He  died  at  Rome,  1576.  He  is  said 
to  have  foretold  the  day  of  his  death,  and  that,  when  it  apprr^ched, 
he  suffered  himself  to  die  of  hunger  to  preserve  his  reputation. 
He  had  been  in  England,  and  wrote  a  character  of  our  Edward  VI. 
— H. 


I 


General  Notes. 

1  Neither  pike  nor  eels  are  bred  in  any  way  but  through  the 
natural  intercourse  of  the  sexes,  although  the  appearance  of  both 
in  ponds  where  they  were  not  placed  by  man  has  seemed  to  many 
to  be  very  marvellous.  The  explanation  of  this  probably  is,  that 
herons  and  other  birds,  feeding  on  fish-spawn  in  other  pools,  void 
some  of  it  in  an  undigested  state  into  the  water,  and  it  is  vivified. 
Eels  will  make  their  way  over  the  grass  of  a  meadow,  when  it  is 
wet  with  rain  or  heavy  dews. 

2  The  instances  of  the  daring  and  voracity  of  the  pike  are  num- 
berless. A  keeper  told  me  that  he  had  seen  a  pike  seize  the  feet 
of  a  swan  that  was  skimming  along  the  surface  of  the  water  while 
flying,  and  that  the  pike  was  lifted  into  the  air  some  distance  before 
it  let  go  its  hold. 

2  Frogs  are  not  venomous.  The  toad  exudes  a  juice  from  its 
body,  which  is  irritating  if  it  gets  into  a  scratch,  and  dogs  do  not 
like  to  mouth  it.  Ducks  macerate  frogs  in  the  water,  apparently  to 
make  them  more  easy  to  swallow. 

*  The  process  of  spawning  is  the  same  with  all  fish.  The  female 
deposits  her  spawn,  and  the  male  fecundates  it,  or  makes  it  fruitful, 
by  depositing  his  viilt  upon  it. 

5  There  are  no  water-snakes  in  England.  The  common  ringed 
snake,  however,  very  frequently  takes  a  swim.  I  used  to  fish  in  a 
pool  in  a  wood,  on  the  top  of  a  lonely  hill,  where  we  often  saw 
snakes  swimming  with  the  head  and  neck  raised  above  the  water. 
They  would  dive  if  we  went  close  to  them ;  and  although  we  knew 
that  they  were  harmless,  yet  it  was  not  a  nice  idea  that  they  might 
tickle  our  legs  while  we  were  wading,  a  thing  which,  of  course,  they 

225  15 


226  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

never  did.  The  common  snake  lays  her  eggs  in  a  dunghill,  where 
they  are  hatched  by  the  heat ;  but  the  young  of  the  viper,  which  is 
the  only  venomous  English  snake,  are  either  brought  forth  alive,  or 
come  from  the  membranes  of  the  eggs  very  soon  after  the  latter  are 
laid.  The  matter  is  shrouded  in  some  little  mystery.  It  is  a  story 
very  continually  asserted,  and  very  widely  believed,  that  the  young 
vipers  will  rush  into  the  mouth  of  their  dam  for  safety  when  alarmed, 
but  no  satisfactory  evidence  has  ever  been  produced  in  proof  of 
this  assertion. 

®  There  is  but  one  species  of  frog  in  England,  and  two  species 
of  toads.  All  lay  their  eggs  in  the  water,  and  pass  through  the  tad- 
pole state,  before  becoming  perfect  reptiles.  Every  country  boy  is 
familiar  with  the  masses  of  frogs'  spawn  in  the  ditches,  and  the 
swarm  of  tadpoles  which  issue  thereout.  Any  one  who  has  been 
kept  awake  by  the  croaking  of  frogs  in  a  marsh  at  night,  as  I  have 
been,  will  never  forget  it.  A  disturbed  rookery  is  nothing  to  it. 
The  frog's  mouth  does  not  grow  up,  as  stated  by  Walton  in  his  next 
paragraph. 


Practical  Essay. 

THE    PIKE. 


Much  has  been  written  about  the  pike,  but  I  have  read  nothing 
of  late  years  which  described  its  habits  and  habitats  so  well  as  the 
ancient  treatise  of  Robert  Nobbs,  Esq.,  A.M.,  who  wrote  "The  Art 
of  Trolling"  in  the  year  1682.     He  says  : 

"  The  harbour  of  a  pike  is  generally  amongst  or  near  a  bank 
weeds,  for  they  are  his  chief  refuge  ;  and  if  he  be  frightened  by 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY.  22; 

net,  or  the  sudden  disturbance  of  his  approaching  enemy,  he  strikes 
to  his  harbour,  and  there  keeps  his  garrison.  The  weeds  which  he 
most  dehghts  in  are  flags  and  bullrushes,  candocks,  reeds,  green 
fog,  and  a  weed  with  a  small  leaf,  which  he  often  frequents,  espe- 
cially about  October,  when  they  begin  to  rot.  If  a  place  is  very 
thick  and  weedy,  you  can  easily  guess  exactly  where  his  lodgings 
are ;  but  if  the  river  is  free  from  weeds,  only  here  or  there  a  bank 
or  bed  of  bullrushes,  you  may  safely  conclude  those  are  his  retire- 
ments and  baiting-places.  If  the  river  is  broad,  deep,  and  straight, 
like  a  scour,  it  will  be  the  more  difficult  to  find  his  recess  j  and  if 
there  are  but  few  fish,  it  will  be  next  to  seeking  a  needle  in  a  bottle 
of  hay ;  for  in  such  false  rivers  you  may  troll  perhaps  from  morn- 
ing till  night,  and  scarcely  get  a  run.  But  if  such  a  place  be  little 
beaten,  and  have  plenty  of  fish,  you  may  have  sport  enough  :  then 
you  must  arm  yourself  with  patience,  and  fish  it  very  true  and  slow. 
There  is  not  much  variety  and  delight  in  trolling  such  a  river,  be- 
cause it  is  all  along  even  and  alike,  and  you  cannot  conceive  where 
your  prey  lies :  this  you  may  call  haphazard,  and  expect  a  run 
every  throw,  though  you  go  three  or  four  hours,  and  neither  see 
nor  feel  any  fish  but  your  oun  bait. 

"  The  best  and  securest  way  of  fishing  these  wide  reaches  is  by 
drawing  the  bait  along  the  sides  next  to  you,  unless  you  can  search 
the  breadtli  of  it,  and  throw  over  to  the  farther  side ;  but  that  is 
but  dull  and  slow  sport :  it  will  take  much  time  to  troll  the  length 
of  a  furlong.  If  your  river  consists  of  pits,  which  is  the  quickest 
and  most  delightful  way  of  trolling,  you  must  have  a  special  regard 
to  the  top  and  bottom  of  the  pit.  A  pike  may  be  taken  sometimes 
in  the  middle,  but  his  chief  seat  and  habitation  is  at  the  bottom  of 
the  pit ;  and  this  I  have  often  observed,  that  where  one  pike  has 
I  been  taken  at  the  mouth,  another  has  been  found  at  the  foot  or 
bottom  of  the  pit. 

"  These  are  the  ordinary  places ;  yet,  according  to  the  variety  of 
weather  and  seasons  of  the  year,  a  pike  will  alter  and  change  his 
dwelling.  In  the  winter  he  usually  couches  very  nigh  the  ground, 
and  gets  into  the  deepest  and  obscurest  places.     About  the  latter 

15—2 


228  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

end  of  February,  or  the  beginning  of  March,  he  begins  to  be  weary 
of  his  melancholy  repose,  and  to  raise  himself  a  little  from  the 
bottom,  and  is  more  active  in  seeking  his  food ;  at  the  latter  end 
of  March,  or  sometimes  the  middle,  he  shoots  into  the  scours,  and 
there  leaves  the  spawn  to  multiply  according  to  its  kind.  In  April 
or  May  he  still  gets  higher,  and  advances  himself  into  the  shallows, 
and  if  unmolested  there,  he  will  so  continue  most  of  the  summer. 
In  September  he  begins  to  retreat  again,  and  removes  himself  from 
hi?  harbour  to  visit  his  winter  quarters,  which  v.dll  be  much  the 
same  as  before  if  no  floods  disorder  him.  This  is  his  yearly 
course,  to  change  according  to  heat  or  cold,  so  that  a  pike,  like  a 
person  of  quality,  hath  both  a  winter  and  a  summer  house. 

"  As  to  his  daily  transaction,  he  thus  disposes  of  himself :  in  a 
hot  gloomy  day,  he  gets  to  the  surface  of  the  water,  as  if  he  had  a 
desire  to  exchange  his  elem.ent  tO' enjoy  the  comfortable  influence 
of  the  airy  region ;  he  then  scorns  to  be  tempted  with  a  bait,  and 
can  live  all  day  with  a  little  more  nourishment  than  the  motes  in 
the  sun ;  for  you  no  sooner  offer  him  the  kindness  of  a  deceitful 
bait,  than  he  is  gone  as  swift  as  lightning. 

"  A  ford  that  is  clear  and  gravelly  at  the  bottom,  especially  if  it 
have  a  pit  adjoining  to  it  that  is  deep  and  weedy,  is  looked  upon 
as  a  probable  place ;  for  though  they  generally  affect  a  deep  water, 
yet  they  will  get  as  near  as  they  can  to  a  ford  or  shallow ;  there 
they  delight  themselves  and  sport  with  the  little  fry.  Thus,  scours 
and  pits  that  are  near  mills,  either  above  or  below  them,  are  com- 
monly well  stored  with  fish  :  a  mill-dam  that  is  deep  and  weedy  is 
an  approved  receptacle  for  them.  Rivers  that  are  straight  and 
level  are  not  so  good  as  those  that  are  crooked  and  have  many 
corners  and  turnings ;  for  the  fish  will  get  into  those  creeks  and 
channels,  and  hide  themselves  in  private  apartments.  If  the  water 
is  narrow,  it  is  more  pleasing  for  the  troller,  for  you  may  fish  both 
sides,  and  the  sooner  find  them ;  you  will  then  go  on  the  faster  and 
with  more  courage,  and  drive  forward  to  your  journey's  end ;  but 
this  is  chiefly  as  every  one  fancies,  for  some  desire  the  widest  pla( 
they  can  find,  and  fix  themselves  two  or  three  hours  without 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY,  229 

considerable  motion.  I  never  approved  of  that  dull  way,  because 
a  pike,  if  he  bites,  commonly  rises  at  it  the  first  throw,  though  he 
may  sometimes  snap  at  it  when  you  have  the  least  thought  of  him. 
"  As  to  the  nature  or  constitution  of  the  river,  the  deeper  is  gene- 
rally the  better  and  the  safest  harbour,  although  they  delight  in  a 
middle  retirement.  About  four  feet  in  depth  is  a  right  proportion, 
and  the  best  pitch  for  the  troller ;  for  if  it  be  much  deeper,  they  are 
the  more  difficult  to  stir  and  harder  to  find ;  and  if  shallower,  they 
will  be  apt  to  sec  you.  Small  Jack  will  often  lie  within  two,  or 
sometimes  one  foot  in  water :  it  is  the  wisest  course  in  such  places 
to  keep  at  a  distance,  and  not  come  near  the  river  till  the  bait  is  in. 

"the  best  seasons  for  trolling. 

"Though  the  depth  of  winter  cannot  be  recommended  for  ang- 
ling, yet  there  are  some  days  in  December  or  January  that  a  man 
may  pick  out  to  stand  two  or  thee  hours  by  the  river-side ;  but  the 
weather  must  be  open  and  temperate  :  the  great  fish  will  be  soonest 
enticed  with  the  bait  at  that  time  of  the  year,  because  they  lie  deep, 
and  are  not  so  careful  of  their  own  preservation.  There  is'  another 
great  advantage  for  the  winter  troller:  the  weeds  are  then  down  and 
rotten,  which  are  a  great  hindrance,  both  for  throwing  the  bait,  and 
in  keeping  the  fish  from  the  sight  of  it.  Though  a  pike  delights 
much  among  the  weeds,  and  usually  takes  his  abode  there,  yet  it  is 
very  difficult  to  take  him  there,  except  it  be  with  the  snap ;  for  if 
you  give  him  the  liberty  of  running  and  playing  with  your  bait,  he 
winds  himself  so  fast  about  the  weeds  that  you  may  be  in  some 
danger  of  losing  both  your  fish  and  your  hook,  if  your  line  is  not 
very  strong  :  if  you  take  a  snap,  you  will  be  troubled  with  them, 
for  they  are  great  enemies  to  that. 

"To  begin  the  year,  February  is  the  first  and  not  the  worst 
month  the  troller  can  pitch  upon  for  his  sport,  after  Candlemas,  if 
the  season  is  moderate,  and  the  water  in  tune,  which  is  very  rare ; 
jfor  if  it  is  not  a  flood,  as  it  is  often  at  that  time,  yet  the  ditches  and 
brooks  are  commonly  so  rank  and  full,  that  it  is  but  indifferent 


230  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

fishing ;  but  if  it  chance  to  be  a  dry  season  and  open,  it  is  one  of 
the  best  months.  March,  too,  is  very  seasonable  to  the  troller, 
excepting  the  time  of  spawning,  which  usually  begins  about  the 
middle,  unless  the  spring  is  very  forward ;  and  then  they  will  be 
sick  sooner.  The  snap  is  then  the  only  way.  If  you  fish  at  pouch, 
you  may  have  many  runs,  but  scarcely  take  one  except  it  be  a  male 
fish.  These  two  months  will  try  the  fisherman's  patience,  even  if 
he  is  wind  and  weatherproof;  but  April  will  make  him  amends  for 
his  former  sufferings.  This  month  he  will  find  most  propitious  to 
his  pastime,  because  the  weeds  which  have  couched  all  winter  have 
not  yet  erected  their  heads  to  annoy  the  bait,  or  frustrate  the  hopes 
of  an  impatient  fisherman.  The  river  is  now  clear  of  fog  and  filth; 
and  the  fish  having  lately  cast  their  spawn,  are  now  more  hungry 
and  ready  for  their  prey ;  and  there  is  now  little  fear  of  their  for- 
saking the  bait,  as  they  did  in  March. 

"  The  beginning  of  May  is  likewise  seasonable,  especially  if  it 
hits  with  the  proverb,  cold  and  windy.  Towards  the  latter  end  of 
it  the  weeds  spring  up,  and  are  very  offensive  to  the  hook ;  then 
begins  the  troller's  vacation,  which  continues  till  the  latter  end  of 
August  or  the  beginning  of  September. 

"In  the  autumnal  season,  October  is  the  principal  month,  the 
weather  being  then  temperate,  and  the  weeds,  which  were  strong 
and  high  before,  dying  and  falling  to  the  bottom.  The  rivers  are 
generally  low,  which  is  a  great  advantage,  because  the  fish  are  more 
easily  found  in  their  harbours;  they  leave  the  shallows  and  the 
scours,  and  lodge  themselves  in  pits  and  the  deepest  places.  A 
pike  is  now  very  firm  and  fat,  having  had  the  benefit  of  the  summer's 
food;  and  if  the  weather  continues  dry,  and  not  extraordinarily  cole 
you  may  take  in  part  of  November,  which  will  add  much  to  yoi 
sport,  because  the  weeds  will  be  more  wasted  and  rotten ;  but  if . 
flood  comes  in  October,  or  the  beginning  of  November,  you  maj 
lay  aside  your  tackling  for  that  season ;  for  great  rivers  (like  grej 
vessels),  being  long  in  filling,  and  slowly  mounting  to  their  ful 
height,  are  again  long  in  falling  and  settling ;  so  that  the  water  wil 
be  thick  and  out  of  order  unless  frost  or  fair  weather  comes  tc 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY.  23 1 

clear  it.     In  small  brooks  and  rivulets  it  is  not  so ;  you  may  fish 
there  again  within  a  week  or  less  after  the  flood.     If  such  incon 
veniences  put  off  your  designed  sport,  you  must  desist  until  the 
following  spring,  when  the  days  will  be  longer,  though  the  weather 
colder.    As  to  the  time  of  day,  the  morning  and  evening  is  best  in 
summer,  because  towards  noon  the  fish  get  to  the  top  of  the  water, 
and  are  more  mindful  of  their  play  than  their  meat.    If  the  day  be 
clear  and  calm,  a  snare  is  more  proper  than  a  bait ;  for  the  least 
motion  you  can  make  with  your  line  will  affright  a  fish  that  lies  high ; 
and  if  he  is  once  moved  and  put  to  the  flight,  all  the  art  you  can 
use  will  not  entice  him  to  your  bait  again.    Beside,  it  will  then  be 
too  hot  for  sport ;  for  heat  creates  no  appetite  in  anything,  much 
less  in  fish.     It  is  the  wind  and  the  cooler  clouds,  when  Zephyrus 
curls  the  waves  with  a  brisk  gale,  that  invites  a  fish  to  repast :  those 
hot  and  sultry  days  are  fittest  for  the  float,  when  the  fish  are  for 
some  light  diet,  and  the  angler  has  the  best  time  with  flies,  bees,  &c. 
At  such  a  time  of  the  year,  early  or  late  is  the  best  fishing,  if  it  is 
in  the  night.     As  to  the  winter  or  spring  quarter,  one  part  of  the 
day  is  as  favourable  as  the  other,  for  then  the  sun  being  not  so  hot, 
it  neither  molests  the  fisher,  nor  takes  away  the  fishes'  stomachs. 
The  south  and  the  south-west  winds  are  the  most  pleasing  to  the 
troller ;  and  it  is  granted  that  the  fish  are  more  brisk  and  quicker 
at  the  bait,  and  perhaps  they  may  then  have  more  sport  than  when 
the  wind  is  contrary ;  yet  this  is  certain,  that  the  colder  the  wind  is, 
the  closer  the  fish  lie  to  the  bottom,  and  farther  in  their  harbour, 
which  may  hinder  you  from  having  so  many  bites  as  when  they  lie 
out  and  more  open  in  a  warmer  day ;  yet  the  air  being  cold  and 
sharp,  it  makes  them  hungry,  and  if  you  are  careful  you  may  have 
as  many  fish  as  bites.     A  pike,  in  general,  takes  so  much  pleasure 
and  delight  in  eating,  that  he  never  cares  to   stint   himself,  or 
physically,  for  his  health's  sake,  to  be  content  with  moderate  diet ; 
for  I  have  often  taken  him  so  soon  after  his  feeding  that  he  has  had 
part  of  his  meat  in  his  mouth ;  having  newly  swallowed  so  large  a 
fish,  that  his  ventricle  was  neither  capable  to  receive  or  digest  it 
quickly;  sometimes  I  have  taken  him  with  two  or  three  baits  in 


232  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

his  maw  \  sometimes  with  a  great  roach  or  dace ;  sometimes  with 
one  of  his  own  species,  very  seldom  with  a  frog  in  his  belly.  A 
frog  is  accounted  a  good  bait  once  a  year,  that  is  about  hay-time, 
when  it  looks  bright  and  yellow,  though  then  it  is  something  diffi- 
cult to  find.  A  pike  will  feed  to  such  excess  and  fulness,  that  he 
cannot  gorge  your  bait,  yet  will  rise  and  show  himself,  and  make 
many  offers,  having  a  good-will  to  do  it,  that  you  may  often  catch 
him  with  the  snap." 

The  pike  spawns  in  March  and  April,  making  its  way  up  the 
narrow  streams  and  ditches  which  run  into  the  river,  or  to  the 
shallow  parts  of  the  lake  :  from  the  ist  of  March  to  the  ist  of  June 
the  pike  should  not  be  angled  for. 

Pike  grow  to  a  great  size.  The  largest  I  ever  saw  caught  was 
thirty-three  pounds;  but  I  have  seen  stuffed  specimens  of  pike, 
taken  in  the  Thames,  which  weighed  forty  pounds  and  more, 
and  larger  fish  are  caught  occasionally  in  the  Irish  lakes.  Under 
three  or  four  pounds  a  pike  is  called  a  Jack,  and  indeed  the  latter 
term  is  often  applied  to  fish  of  all  sizes. 

The  autumn  and  winter  months  are  best  for  Jack  fishing,  and  a 
good  breeze  is  always  desirable.  The  water  should  not  be  thick 
or  impregnated  with  snow,  but  otherwise  any  state  of  water  or  any 
sort  of  weather  will  do  for  pike  fishing.  There  are  three  ways  in 
which  this  game  fish  is  usually  fished  for — />.,  trolling,  spinning, 
and  live-baiting.  The  rod  for  all  three  purposes  may  be  the  same, 
only  if  the  angler  has  a  choice  it  is  better  to  have  a  longer  rod  for 


Fig.  z.  Fig. 


live-baiting,  as  you  can  reach  farther  with  less  injury  to  the  bait. 
Twelve  feet  is  a  good  length.   The  rod  should  be  springy,  yet  stiff, 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY,  233 

third  joints,  and  greenheart  for  the  top,  is  an  excellent  mixture. 
The  rings  should  be  large  and  upright,  in  order  to  let  the  line  run 
freely  through  them,  and  the  bottom  ring  should  be  of  the  form 
shown  in  the  cut,  while  the  top  ring  should  be  like  that  shown  in 
the  next  cut.  The  rings  are  of  this  form  in  order  to  throw  off  the 
coils  of  the  line,  and  prevent  them  catching.  A  large  check-reel 
with  about  60  yards  of  strong  dressed  silk,  8-plait  line,  is  requisite.' 
The  Manchester  Cotton  Twine  Spinning  Company  make  some  very 
cheap  and  strong  cotton  lines,  which  harden  in  the  water  and  will 
do  without  dressing.  They  also  make  dressed  lines,  which  are 
cheap,  but  the  dressing  is  hard  and  wears  off  soon. 

Trolling  with  the  dead  gorge-bait  is  most  useful  in  holes  which 
are  weedy  or  abounding  in  stumps  or  tree-roots.  The  hooks  do 
not  catch  in  anything,  and  every  hole  and  corner  can  be  searched. 
The  objection  to  it  is  that  you  must  give  the  pike  five  or  ten 
minutes  to  swallow  or  gorge  the  bait,  otherwise  the  hooks  will  not 
catch  in  him,  and  it  often  happens  that  the  pike  rejects  the  bait 
before  swallowing  it,  and  your  labour  is  in  vain. 

I  should  have  said  that  the  pike  preys  chiefly  upon  small  fish, 
and  tlicse  are  the  staple  bait  for  him.  The  engraving  shows  the 
form  of  gorge  tackle,  and  how  it  is  baited. 

Fig.  3  is  the  tackle  :  a  the  hooks,  b  the  lead,  d  the  gimp  trace 
looped  on — (gimp  is  silk  covered  with  brass  or  white  metal  wire 
lapped  closely  around  it,  to  prevent  the  pike's  teeth  from  cutting 
the  trace.    It  is  made  of  different  degrees  of  strength  and  fineness). 

Fig.  4  is  a  baiting-needle.  Fix  the  loop  of  the  trace  on  the 
needle,  and  draw  it  through  the  fish  from  the  mouth  to  the  centre 
of  the  tail,  the  tail  fin  having  first  been  cut  off.  The  lead  will  then 
lie  in  the  body  of  the  fish,  and  the  hooks  close  against  its  cheeks 
or  gills.  If  the  gimp  be  passed  again  laterally  through  the  tail,  as 
at  H,  it  will  keep  the  bait  secure  and  prevent  it  doubling  up.  The 
needle  is  unliooked,  and  the  trace  looped  to  the  running-line.  The 
bait  is  cast  into  the  water  and  allowed  to  sink  to  the  bottom,  then 
drawn  up  nearly  to  the  top,  and  allowed  to  sink  again.  In  this  way 
every  part  of  the  pool  is  thoroughly  probed  and  searched. 


34 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


It  is  a  good  plan  to  cut  off  a  ventral  fin  on  one  side,  and  a  pec- 
toral fin  on  the  other,  in  order  to  make  the  bait  glance  and  sail 
about  in  a  more  eccentric  and  attractive  manner.  In  order  to 
throw  any  distance,  the  line  must  be  drawn  off  the  reel  and  allowed 
to  rest  in  coils  on  the  ground.  Then  with  the  bait  hanging  about 
a  yard  and  a  half  firom  the  top  of  the  rod,  the  butt  of  the  latter  on 
the  groin,  supported  by  the  right  hand  half-way  up  the  butt,  give 
the  rod  a  swing,  and  as  the  bait  is  impelled  forward,  loose  the  line 
from  the  left  hand,  which  has  previously  held  it,  and  the  bait  will 
shoot  out,  drawing  the  line  through  the  rings  until  it  reaches  the 
spot  to  which  you  have  directed  it.     I  have  often  thrown  forty 


PRACTICAL  kSSAY.  235 

yards  with  a  gorge-bait,  and  five-and-thirty  with  a  lighter  spinning 
bait.  No  great  advantage  is  gained  by  long  throws,  however,  as  in 
rivers  the  fish  generally  lie  under  the  shelter  of  the  bank  or  ad- 
jacent weeds.  You  then  pull  the  line  in  with  the  left  hand  a  yard 
at  a  time  as  you  lift  the  bait  up,  until  the  latter  is  close  to  the  side, 
when  it  is  ready  for  a  fresh  throw.  Take  it  out  slowly,  as  a  pike 
often  seizes  it  at  the  last  moment.  If  you  see  a  pike  take  it  or 
feel  a  check,  give  the  fish  free  line,  and  let  him  take  the  bait  where 
he  likes.  When  he  comes  to  a  stop,  give  him  about  seven  minutes 
to  gorge,  and  then  tighten  your  line,  and  if  he  has  not  rejected  the 
bait  upon  a  closer  examination  of  it,  you  will  hook  him. 

A  pike  seizes  the  bait  across  the  middle,  and  then  turns  it  head 
do^^^lwards  to  swallow  it.  If  he  is  hungry  and  your  bait  is  not 
stale,  he  will  in  seven  or  eight  minutes'  time  have  got  it  sufficiently 
far  down  his  gullet  to  be  hooked.  If  he  is  not  hungry  he  will  hold 
it  between  his  jaws  as  long  as  you  like  to  let  him  do  so,  and  longer 
tlian  you  will  care  to  wait.  If  he  moves  away  a  little  before  the 
time  is  up,  he  will  most  probably  be  hooked ;  but  if  he  moves 
about  uneasily  from  the  beginning,  you  must  give  him  more  time. 
He  will  not  swallow  while  he  is  moving  about.  If  he  is  hooked, 
he  is  generally  safely  hooked,  for  the  steel  is  fleshed  in  his  gullet 
or  his  stomach.  Get  him  out  as  quickly  as  you  can,  and  knock 
him  on  the  head.  To  extract  your  hook,  unloose  the  trace  from 
the  line,  open  the  gills,  or  make  an  incision  in  the  belly,  where  the 
bait  appears  to  be,  and  draw  it  out  that  way.  Meddle  with  his 
mouth  as  little  as  possible,  for  his  teeth  will  inflict  very  nasty 
scratches. 

A  fish  often  takes  the  bait  very  quietly,  and  you  may  think  that 
you  have  only  fouled  a  weed.  In  such  a  case,  just  keep  a  light 
strain  on  your  line  for  a  few  seconds,  and  if  it  is  a  fish,  you  will 
feel  a  jerk  or  two. 

Spinning  is  a  more  artistic  method  of  fishing  than  trolling.  There 
are  many  kinds  of  flights  of  hooks  used,  but  I  shall  briefly  describe 
three.  The  first  is  that  brought  out  by  Mr.  Pennell,  and  is  shown, 
together  with  the  mode  of  baiting  it,  in  the  illustration. 


236 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


Fig.  6. 


Fig.  7. 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY,  237 

The  lijo-hook,  c,  slides  up  and  down  the  gimp  to  suit  the  length 
of  the  bait.  The  triangle,  a,  is  what  is  called  a  "flying"  one,  />., 
it  hangs  loose.  An  additional  one,  b,  can  be  added  if  the  angler 
chooses.  Mr.  Pennell  says  that  one  large  triangle  is  sufficient,  and 
claims  that  fewer  fish  are  missed  with  it  than  with  any  other  form 
of  tackle.  This  is  not  in  accord  with  my  experience,  for  I  have 
missed  more  with  it  than  with  any  other,  and  I  have  given  up 
using  it.  The  object  of  crooking  the  tail  is  to  make  the  bait  spin 
round  while  it  is  being  drawn  through  the  water,  so  as  to  conceal 
the  hook  and  make  its  movement  more  attractive.  The  lip-hook 
is  put  through  the  under  lip  first,  unless  the  bait  be  a  gudgeon, 
when  it  should  be  put  through  the  upper  lip  first. 

The  next  illustration  shows  the  Francis  tackle  and  the  method 
of  baiting  it.  This  is  a  neater  and  better  tackle  than  the  other,  and 
is  very  good  for  fine  fishing,  but  it  is  not  so  good  as  the  third. 
This  is  a  tackle  which  I  used  when  a  boy  on  the  Shropshire  meres, 
but  I  did  not  know  that  it  had  any  specific  name  until  I  saw  in 
Mr.  Francis's  book  that  it  was  called  the  Chapman  Spinner. 

It  has  a  brass  needle  with  a  pair  of  bent  fans  at  the  top :  these 
are  to  give  the  spinning  motion.  One  triangle  on  one  side,  and 
two  on  the  other,  constitute  its  armament.  The  gimp  from  both 
sets  of  triangles  passes  through  the  loop  of  the  wire.  To  bait  it 
the  needle  is  thrust  down  the  bait  until  its  cheeks  lie  close  against 
the  fans.  The  top  triangles  are  hooked  in  on  both  sides,  and  the 
bait  is  ready  with  little  trouble.  In  the  old  tackles  the  triangles 
used  to  be  fastened  by  the  gimp  to  the  loop  at  the  head  of  the 
wire,  and  the  bait  often  worked  loose ;  but  by  the  gimp  passing 
through  the  loop  (an  improvement  by  a  Mr.  Wood),  the  fish  is  kept 
tight  up  to  the  fans.  I  do  not  like  single  triangled  flights.  It  is 
said  by  their  advocates  that  a  pike  will  generally  take  the  single 
set  into  its  mouth ;  all  that  I  can  say  is  that  I  generally  meet  with 
the  exceptions.  With  three  triangles  kept  sharp  I  do  not  often 
miss  a  fish  which  runs  fairly.  Feel  the  points  of  your  hooks  often, 
and  if  they  are  turned  or  blunted,  touch  them  up  with  a  fine  polish- 
ing file.    Keeping  the  hooks  sharp,  and  hard  striking  to  drive  them 


238 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 


Fig.  8. 


Fig.  9. 


into  the  hard  and  bony  mouth  of  the  pike,  are  the  two  things  to 
remember  in  spinning. 

Above  the  flight  is  the  trace,  which  should  be  a  yard  of  gimp  of 
strength  suited  to  the  tackle  and  expected  fish.  A  foot  above  the 
flight  should  be  a  loop,  which  can  be  taken  off"  and  put  on  a  hook 
swivel,  which  comes  next,  thus  permitting  the  flight  to  be  changed 
without  taking  the  rest  of  the  trace  off.  A  foot  above  that  should 
be  another  swivel,  and  then  the  lead.  The  lead  should  have  all 
its  weight  on  one  side  so  as  to  prevent  its  turning  over,  and  to  force 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY. 


239 


the  swivels  to  act.  The  use  of  such  leads,  and  the  keeping  the 
swivels  well  oiled,  will  prevent  the  "kinking"  of  the  line,  which 
many  a  time  has  driven  an  angler  to  the  verge  of  distraction.  The 
''  Field "  lead,  shown  in  the  cut  in  the  chapter  on  spinning  for 
trout,  is  the  best  of  leads.  At  the  end  of  the  trace  is  a  loop  by 
which  the  trace  can  be  fastened  to  the  nmning-line. 


Now  supposing  your  flight  baited  and  attached  to  the  trace,  and 
the  trace  to  the  line,  take  your  stand  by  the  water's-side,  with  the 
butt  of  the  rod  resting  against  your  right  groin,  and  the  right  hand 
grasping  it  about  a  foot  above  the  ferule.  Uncoil  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  line  on  the  ground  at  your  feet,  draw  the  line  in  through 
the  rings  with  your  left  hand  until  the  bait  hangs  about  a  yard  and 
a  half  from  the  point  of  the  rod ;  swing  the  rod  gently  backwards 
and  sideways  to  the  left,  and  then  more  sharply  forwards  and  with 


240  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

a  slight  lift,  letting  go  the  line  with  the  left  hand,  and  away  the 
bait  will  go.  Point  the  rod  towards  the  spot  you  wish  the  bait  to 
go,  and  at  such  an  angle  with  the  water  as  will  make  a  straight 
line,  or  rather  a  gentle  curve,  from  the  butt  of  the  rod  along  the 
line,  thus  avoiding  that  friction  on  the  top  ring  which  would  ensue 
if  the  point  were  held  higher,  and  forming  an  angle  with  the  line. 
When  the  bait  touches  the  water,  lower  the  point  of  your  rod  until 
it  is  within  a  yard  of  the  water,  and  let  the  bait  sink  to  about  mid- 
water  ;  then  pull  the  line  home  with  the  rod  for  a  yard,  then  let 
the  rod-point  fall  back,  but  pull  in  a  yard  or  so  of  line  with  the 
left  hand,  letting  it  fall  in  coils  at  your  feet ;  then  a  pull  with  the 
rod-point,  then  with  the  hand,  so  that  the  bait  is  pulled  home  by 
irregular  shoots,  spinning  brightly  all  the  while. 

Take  it  out  of  the  water  with  a  short  line  and  slowly,  and  repeat 
the  throw.  If  a  pike  seizes  it,  strike,  and  strike  hard,  as  hard  as 
your  tackle  will  bear ;  and  if  you  see  him  at  any  time  and  his  mouth 
is  shut,  strike  again  until  he  opens  it,  as  he  always  does  when  he  is 
hooked.  If  he  jumps  out  of  the  water,  as  pike,  especially  river- 
pike,  often  will,  lower  the  point  of  your  rod,  or  he  may  break  free. 
If  he  comes  to  the  top  of  the  water,  and  shakes  his  head  with  his 
jaws  open,  there  is  an  even  chance  you  will  lose  him,  and  the  only 
thing  to  do  is  to  slack  your  line  and  let  him  sink  again.  If  he  is 
of  any  size,  do  not  attempt  to  land  him  until  he  is  blown  and  lies 
on  his  side,  when,  if  you  have  a  gaff,  you  can  stick  it  into  him,  or 
scoop  him  out  with  your  landing-net ;  or  if  you  have  neither,  lead 
him  to  a  shelving  spot,  go  quietly  up  to  him,  and  seize  him  behind 
the  head,  pushing  your  fingers  and  thumb  into  his  gills. 

Keep  your  hooks  sharp,  and  strike  hard. 

For  spinning  in  this  fashion  a  well-dressed  line  is  required,  which 
should  neither  be  too  stiff  nor  too  sticky.  The  undressed  cotton 
lines  are  very  good  and  cheap. 

For  fine  fishing,  gut,  either  single  or  twisted,  is  used  instead  of 
gimp  j  but  is  very  liable  to  be  cut  by  the  pike's  teeth. 

In  the  Nottingham  style  of  fishing  a  large  free-running  woode^ 
reel  is  used,  with  a  light  undressed  silk  line,  and  instead  of  the  lii 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY.  241 

being  coiled  on  the  ground,  it  is  thrown  off  the  reely  the  weight  of 
the  bait  causing  the  reel  to  revolve  and  the  line  to  unwind.  It  is 
then  wound  in  again,  and  as  the  circumference  of  the  reel  is  large, 
it  winds  in  rapidly  enough  to  make  the  bait  spin,  though  not  so 
brilliantly  as  in  the  other  way.  This  style  has  its  advantages  where 
the  ground  is  scrubby,  and  the  line  is  apt  to  catch;  but  where  there 
are  such  disadvantages,  I  coil  the  line  in  my  left  hand,  like  a  sailor 
coils  a  rope,  and  I  can  throw  very  well  that  way;  but  you  must  take 
care  that  the  line  slips  off  your  hand  coil  by  coil,  and  not  all  at  once, 
or  there  will  be  a  pretty  scrawl. 

Artificial  baits  are  often  used  in  spinning,  and  are  made  of  every 
imaginable  shape  and  material. 

The  spoon  bait  is  a  general  favourite,  but  Hearder's  plano-convex 
bait  is  the  most  killing  that  I  have  ever  tried.  If  the  water  is  at 
all  clouded  I  prefer  it  to  the  natural  bait. 

Live  baitfishijig  is  the  next  branch  of  the  subject.  The  tackle 
consists  of  one  large  triangle,  with  a  smaller  single  hook  whipped 
on  to  the  gimp,  two  inches  above  it.  A  foot  above  this  is  a  pipe 
lead  and  a  swivel,  and  on  the  line  is  a  large  float.  The  small  hook 
is  hooked  through  the  flesh  of  the  back,  just  under  the  back  fin,  and 
the  float  adjusted  so  that  the  bait  swims  at  mid-water.  "When  the 
float  goes  under  with  the  run  of  a  pike,  count  three,  and  then  strike 
hard.  Live-baiting  is  best  when  the  water  is  clouded,  as  the  pike 
has  more  time  to  see  the  bait.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  baits 
should  be  as  lively  and  fresh  as  possible. 

The  pike  is  also  sometimes  fished  for  with  a  large  and  gaudy  fly, 
which  occasionally  takes  well. 

Gudgeon  and  dace  are  the  best  pike  baits,  but  all  small  fish  will 
do ;  even  the  spiny  perch,  with  his  back  fins  cut  off,  may  be  used 
in  default  of  others.  In  the  winter-time  baits  are  very  diflftcult  to 
I  procure ;  but  they  may  be  preserved  for  that  time  by  placing  them 
in  a  large-mouthed  jar  of  methylated  spirits  of  wine.  They  will  keep 
bright  and  tough  for  a  considerable  time.  Smelts  may  be  obtained 
through  the  winter  in  all  large  towns,  and  are  a  very  brilliant  and 
killing  bait,  but  very  tender.     Small  eels,  or  the  tail  part  of  large 

16 


242 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


ones,  are  also  capital,  and  very  tough  and  lasting.  Cut  about  nine 
inches  of  the  tail  of  an  eel  off,  skin  two  inches  more  of  it,  cut  off 
the  flesh,  tie  the  skin  tight  and  turn  it  down  over  the  rest  of  the  eel 
as  far  as  it  will  go,  fasten  it  securely  to  any  of  your  flights,  and  you 
will  have  a  bait  that  will  last  you  all  day,  and  be  as  killing  as  any- 
thing. Put  in  salt,  and  it  will  keep  several  weeks,  and  be  all  the 
better  for  it. 

The  experienced  pike  fisher  will  know  that  the  above  is  but  an 
outline  of  the  art  as  far  as  regards  pike  fishing.  I  could  fill  a 
volume  with  lore  upon  the  subject,  but  this  is  all  the  space  I  have 
at  command. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  CARP;    WITH  DIRECTIONS  HOW 
TO  FISH  FOR  HIM. 

[I^rtfe  Sag  J 

PiSC.  The  Carp  is  the  queen  of  rivers  ;  a  stately,  a  good, 
and  a  very  subtle  fish;  that  was  not  at  first  bred,  nor  hath 
been  long  in  England,  but  is  now  naturalized.  It  is  said 
they  were  brought  hither  by  one  Mr.  Mascal,  a  gentleman 
that  then  lived  at  Plumstead  in  Sussex,  a  county  that 
abounds  more  with  fish  than  any  in  this  nation. 

It  You  may  remember  that  I  told  you  Gesner  says  there 
are  no  pikes  in  Spain ;  and  doubtless  there  was  a  time, 
about  a  hundred  or  a  few  more  years  ago,  when  there  were 
no  carps  in  England,  as  may  seem  to  be  affirmed  by  Sir 

I    Richard  Baker,  in  whose  "  Chronicle  "  you  may  find  these 

verses : 

Hops  and  turkeys,  carps  and  beer,* 
Came  into  England  all  in  a  year. 

And  doubtless,  as  of  sea-fish  the  herring  dies  soonest  out 

248  16—2 


244  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

of  water,  and  of  fresh-water  fish  the  trout,  so,  except  the 
eel,  the  carp  endures  most  hardness,  and  lives  longest  out 
of  his  own  proper  element.^  And  therefore,  the  report  of 
the  carp's  being  brought  out  of  a  foreign  country  into  this 
nation  is  the  more  probable. 

Carps  and  loaches  are  observed  to  breed  several  months 
in  one  year,  which  pikes  and  most  other  fish  do  not.^  And 
this  is  partly  proved  by  tame  and  wild  rabbits;  and  also  by 
some  ducks,  which  will  lay  eggs  nine  of  the  twelve  months ; 
and  yet  there  be  other  ducks  that  lay  not  longer  than  about 
one  month.  And  it  is  the  rather  to  be  believed,  because 
you  shall  scarce  or  never  take  a  male  carp  without  a  melt, 
and  a  female  without  a  roe  or  spawn,  and  for  the  most  part 
very  much,  and  especially  all  the  summer  season.  And  it 
is  observed  that  they  breed  more  naturally  in  ponds  than 
in  running  waters,  if  they  breed  there  at  all;  and  that  those 
that  live  in  rivers  are  taken  by  men  of  the  best  palates  to 
be  much  the  better  meat. 

And  it  is  observed,  that  in  some  ponds  carps  will  not 
breed,  especially  in  cold  ponds ;  but  where  they  will  breed 
they  breed  innumerably ;  Aristotle  and  Pliny  say  six  times 
in  a  year,  if  there  be  no  pikes  or  perch  to  devour  their 
spawn,  when  it  is  cast  upon  grass,  or  flags,  or  weeds,  where 
it  lies  ten  or  twelve  days  before  it  be  enlivened. 

The  carp,  if  he  have  water  room  and  good  feed,  will  grow 
to  a  very  great  bigness  and  length  ;  I  have  heard,  to  be 
much  above  a  yard  long.  It  is  said  by  Jovius,°  who  hath 
writ  of  fishes,  that  in  the  lake  Lurian  in  Italy,  carps  have 
thriven  to  be  more  than  fifty  pounds  weight ;  which  is  the 
more  probable,  for  as  the  bear  is  conceived  and  born  sud- 
denly, and  being  born  is  but  short-lived,  so,  on  the  contrary, 


I 


THE  CARP,  245 


the  elephant  is  said  to  be  two  years  in  his  dam'3  belly,  some 
think  he  is  ten  years  in  it,  and  being  born,  grows  in  bigness 
twenty  years ;  and  it  is  observed  too,  that  he  lives  to  the 
age  of  a  hundred  years.*  And  it  is  also  observed,  that  the 
crocodile  is  very  long-lived,  and  more  than  that,  that  all 
that  long  life  he  thrives  in  bigness ;  and  so  I  think  some 
carps  do,  especially  in  some  places ;  though  I  never  saw  one 
above  twenty-three  inches,  which  was  a  great  and  a  goodly 
fish ;  but  have  been  assured  there  are  of  a  far  greater  size, 
and  in  England  too. 

Now,  as  the  increase  of  carps  is  wonderful  for  their  num- 
ber, so  there  is  not  a  reason  found  out,  I  think  by  any,  why 
they  should  breed  in  some  ponds,  and  not  in  others  of  the 
same  nature  for  soil  and  all  other  circumstances.  And  as 
their  breeding,  so  are  their  decays  also  very  mysterious :  I 
have  both  read  it,  and  been  told  by  a  gentleman  of  tried 
honesty,  that  he  has  known  sixty  or  more  large  carps  put 
into  several  ponds  near  to  a  house,  where,  by  reason  of  the 
stakes  in  the  ponds,  and  the  owner's  constant  being  near  to 
them,  it  was  impossible  they  should  be  stole  away  from  him; 
and  that  when  he  has,  after  three  or  four  years,  emptied  the 
pond,  and  expected  an  increase  from  them  by  breeding 
young  ones  (for  that  they  might  do  so,  he  had,  as  the  rule 
is,  put  in  three  melters  for  one  spawner),  he  has,  I  say,  after 
three  or  four  years,  found  neither  a  young  nor  old  carp 
remaining.  And  the  like  I  have  known  of  one  that  had 
almost  watched  the  pond,  and  at  a  like  distance  of  time,  at 
the  fishing  of  the  pond,  found,  of  seventy  or  eighty  large 
carps,  not  above  five  or  six ;  and  that  he  had  forborne 
longer  to  fish  the  said  pond,  but  that  he  saw,  in  a  hot  day 
in  summer,  a  large  carp  swim  near  the  top  of  the  water  with 


246f  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

a  frog  upon  his  head;  and  that  he,  upon  that  occasion, 
caused  his  pond  to  be  let  dry :  and  I  say,  of  seventy  or 
eighty  carps,  only  found  five  or  six  in  the  said  pond,  and 
those  very  sick  and  lean,  and  with  every  one  a  frog  sticking 
so  fast  on  the  head  of  the  said  carps,  that  the  frog  would 
not  be  got  off  without  extreme  force  or  killing.  And  the 
gentleman  that  did  affirm  this  to  me,  told  me  he  saw  it ; 
and  did  declare  his  belief  to  be,  and  I  also  believe  the  same, 
that  he  thought  the  other  carps,  that  were  so  strangely  lost, 
were  so  killed  by  the  frogs,  and  then  devoured. 

And  a  person  of  honour,  now  living  in  Worcestershire,^ 
assured  me  he  had  seen  a  necklace  or  collar  of  tadpoles, 
hang  like  a  chain  or  necklace  of  beads  about  a  pike's  neck, 
and  to  kill  him ;  whether  it  were  for  meat  or  malice,  must 
be  to  me  a  question. 

But  I  am  fallen  into  this  discourse  by  accident,  of  which 
I  might  say  more,  but  it  has  proved  longer  than  I  intended, 
and  possibly  may  not  to  you  be  considerable  :  I  shall  there- 
fore give  you  three  or  four  more  observations  of  the  carp,  and 
then  fall  upon  some  directions  how  you  shall  fish  for  him. 

The  age  of  carps  is  by  Sir  Francis  Bacon,  in  his  "  History 
of  Life  and  Death,"  observed  to  be  but  ten  years;  yet  others 
think  they  live  longer.  Gesner  says,  a  carp  has  been  known 
to  live  in  the  Palatinate  above  a  hundred  years ;  but  most 
conclude  that,  contrary  to  the  pike  or  luce,  all  carps  are  the 
better  for  age  and  bigness.  The  tongues  of  carps  are  noted 
to  be  choice  and  costly  meat,  especially  to  them  that  buy 
them ;  but  Gesner  says,  carps  have  no  tongue  like  other  fish, 
but  a  piece  of  flesh-like  fish  in  their  mouth  like  to  a  tongue, 
and  should  be  called  a  palate :  but  it  is  certain  it  is  choicely 
good ;  and  that  the  carp  is  to  be  reckoned  amongst  those 


J 


THE   CARP.  247 


leather-mouthed  fish,  which  I  told  you  have  their  teeth  in 
their  throat,  and  for  that  reason  he  is  very  seldom  lost  by 
breaking  his  hold  if  your  hook  be  once  stuck  into  his  chaps. 

I  told  you  that  Sir  Francis  Bacon  thinks  that  the  carp 
lives  but  ten  years  ;  but  Janus  Dubravius  has  writ  a  book 
"  Of  Fish  and  Fish-ponds,"  in  which  he  says  that  carps  begin 
to  spawn  at  the  age  of  three  years,  and  continue  to  do  so 
till  thirty :  he  says  also,  that  in  the  time  of  their  breeding, 
which  is  in  summer,  when  the  sun  hath  warmed  both  the 
earth  and  water,  and  so  apted  them  also  for  generation, 
that  then  three  or  four  male  carps  will  follow  a  female ;  and 
that  then,  she  putting  on  a  seeming  coyness,  they  force  her 
through  weeds  and  flags,  where  she  lets  fall  her  eggs  or 
spawn,  which  sticks  fast  to  the  weeds ;  and  then  they  let 
fall  their  melt  upon  it,  and  so  it  becomes  in  a  short  time  to 
be  a  living  fish :  and,  as  I  told  you,  it  is  thought  that  the 
carp  does  this  several  months  in  the  year.  And  most  be- 
lieve that  most  fish  breed  after  this  manner,  except  the  eel. 
And  it  has  been  observed,  that  when  the  spawner  has 
weakened  herself  by  doing  that  natural  office,  that  two  or 
three  melters  have  helped  her  from  off  the  weeds,  by  bear- 
ing her  up  on  both  sides,  and  guarding  her  into  the  deep. 
And  you  may  note,  that  though  this  may  seem  a  curiosity 
not  worth  observing,  yet  others  have  judged  it  worth  their 
time  and  cost  to  make  glass  hives,  and  order  them  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  see  how  bees  have  bred  and  made  their 
honeycombs,  and  how  they  have  obeyed  their  king,  and 
governed  their  commonwealth.  But  it  is  thought  that  all 
carps  are  not  bred  by  generation;  but  that  some  breed 
other  ways,  as  some  pikes  do. 

The  physicians  make  the  galls  and  stones  in  the  heads  of 


248  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

carps  to  be  very  medicinable.  But  it  is  not  to  be  doubted 
but  that  in  Italy  they  make  great  profit  of  the  spawn  of 
carps,  by  selling  it  to  the  Jews,  who  make  it  into  red  caviare; 
the  Jews  not  being  by  their  law  admitted  to  eat  of  caviare 
made  of  the  sturgeon,  that  being  a  fish  that  wants  scales,  and, 
as  may  appear  in  Lev.  xi.  10,  by  them  reputed  to  be  unclean. 

Much  more  might  be  said  out  of  him,  and  out  of 
Aristotle,  which  Dubravius  often  quotes  in  his  Discourse  of 
Fishes  ;  but  it  might  rather  perplex  than  satisfy  you  ;  and 
therefore  I  shall  rather  choose  to  direct  you  how  to  catch, 
than  spend  more  time  in  discoursing  either  of  the  nature  or 
the  breeding  of  this  carp,  or  of  any  more  circumstances  con- 
cerning him ;  but  yet  I  shall  remember  you  of  what  I  told 
you  before,  that  he  is  a  very  subtle  fish,  and  hard  to  be  caught. 

And  my  first  direction  is,  that  if  you  will  fish  for  a  carp, 
you  must  put  on  a  very  large  measure  of  patience ;  especially 
to  fish  for  a  river-carp.  I  have  known  a  very  good  fisher 
angle  diligently  four  or  six  hours  in  a  day,  for  three  or  four 
days  together,  for  a  river-carp,  and  not  have  a  bite.  And 
you  are  to  note,  that  in  some  ponds  it  is  as  hard  to  catch  a 
carp  as  in  a  river ;  that  is  to  say,  where  they  have  store  of 
feed,  and  the  water  is  of  a  clayish  colour ;  but  you  are  to 
remember  I  have  told  you  there  is  no  rule  without  an  ex- 
ception ;  and  therefore  being  possessed  with  that  hope  and 
patience  which  I  wish  to  all  fishers,  especially  to  the  carp 
angler,  I  shall  tell  you  with  what  bait  to  fish  for  him.  But 
first  you  are  to  know,  that  it  must  be  either  early  or  late ; 
and  let  me  tell  you,  that  in  hot  weather,  for  he  will  seldom 
bite  in  cold,  you  cannot  be  too  early  or  too  late  at  it.  And 
some  have  been  so  curious  as  to  say,  the  Tenth  of  April  is  a 
fatal  day  for  carps. 


THE   CARP.  249 


The  carp  bites  either  at  worms  or  at  paste  ;  and  of  worms 
I  think  the  bluish  marsh  or  meadow  worm  is  best ;  but 
possibly  another  worm  not  too  big  may  do  as  well,  and  so 
may  a  green  gentle ;  and  as  for  pastes,  there  are  almost  as 
many  sorts  as  there  are  medicines  for  the  toothache ;  but 
doubtless  sweet  pastes  are  best ;  I  mean  pastes  made  with 
honey  or  with  sugar ;  which,  that  you  may  the  better  beguile 
this  crafty  fish,  should  be  thrown  in  the  pond  or  place  in 
which  you  fish  for  him,  some  hours,  or  longer,  before  you 
undertake  your  trial  of  skill  with  the  angle-rod  ;  and  doubt- 
less, if  it  be  thrown  into  the  water  a  day  or  two  before,  at 
several  times,  and  in  small  pellets,  you  are  the  likelier,  when 
you  fish  for  the  carp,  to  obtain  your  desired  sport.  Or,  in  a 
large  pond,  to  draw  them  to  a  certain  place,  that  they  may 
the  better  and  with  more  hope  be  fished  for,  you  are  to  throw 
into  it,  in  some  certain  place,  either  grains  or  blood  mixed 
with  cow-dung  or  with  bran,  or  any  garbage,  as  chickens' 
guts,  or  the  like ;  and  then  some  of  your  small  sweet  pellets 
with  which  you  purpose  to  angle ;  and  these  small  pellets 
being  a  few  of  them  also  thrown  in  as  you  are  angling,  will 
be  the  better. 

And  your  paste  must  be  thus  made  :  take  the  flesh  of  a 
rabbit  or  cat  cut  small ;  and  bean-flour ;  and  if  that  may  not 
be  easily  got,  get  other  flour ;  and  then  mix  these  together, 
and  put  to  them  either  sugar,  or  honey  (which  I  think 
better) ;  and  then  beat  these  together  in  a  mortar,  or  some- 
times work  them  in  your  hands,  your  hands  being  very 
clean  ;  and  then  make  it  into  a  ball,  or  two,  or  three,  as  you 
like  best,  for  your  use  :  but  you  must  work  or  pound  it  so 
long  in  the  mortar,  as  to  make  it  so  tough  as  to  hang  upon 
your  hook  without  washing  from  it,  yet  not  too  hard ;  or, 


250  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

that  you  may  the  better  keep  it  on  your  hook,  you  may 
knead  with  your  paste  a  little,  and  not  much,  white  or 
yellowish  wool. 

And  if  you  would  have  this  paste  keep  all  the  year,  for 
any  other  fish,  then  mix  with  it  virgin  wax  and  clarified 
honey,  and  work  them  together  with  your  hands  before  the 
fire  ;  then  make  these  into  balls,  and  they  will  keep  all  the 
year. 

And  if  you  fish  for  a  carp  with  gentles,  then  put  upon 
your  hook  a  little  piece  of  scarlet,  about  this  bigness  •  it 
being  soaked  in  or  anointed  with  oil  of  peter,  called  by  some 
oil  of  the  rock  ;  and  if  your  gentles  be  put  two  or  three  days 
before  into  a  box  or  horn  anointed  with  honey,  and  so  put 
upon  your  hook  as  to  preserve  them  to  be  living,  you  are  as 
like  to  kill  this  crafty  fish  this  way  as  any  other ;  but  still, 
as  you  are  fishing,  chew  a  little  white  or  brown  bread  in 
your  mouth,  and  cast  it  into  the  pond  about  the  place  where 
your  float  swims.  Other  baits  there  be ;  but  these,  with 
diligence  and  patient  watchfulness,  will  do  it  better  than  any 
that  I  have  ever  practised  or  heard  of:  and  yet  I  shall  tell 
you,  that  the  crumbs  of  white  bread  and  honey,  made  into 
a  paste,  is  a  good  bait  for  a  carp ;  and  you  know  it  is  more^ 
easily  made.  And  having  said  thus  much  of  the  carp,  mj 
next  discourse  shall  be  of  the  bream  ;  which  shall  not  prov< 
so  tedious,  and  therefore  I  desire  the  continuance  of  youi 
attention. 

But,  first,  I  will  tell  you  how  to  make  this  carp,  that  is  soj 
curious  to  be  caught,  so  curious  a  dish  of  meat,  as  shall  make 
him  worth  all  your  labour  and  patience ;  and  though  it  is] 
not  without  some  trouble  and  charges,  yet  it  will  recompense] 
both. 


THE  CARP.  251 


Take  a  carp,  alive  if  possible,  scour  him,  and  rub  him 
:lean  with  water  and  salt,  but  scale  him  not;  then  open  him, 
and  put  him,  with  his  blood  and  his  liver,  which  you  must 
save  when  you  open  him,  into  a  small  pot  or  kettle ;  then 
take  sweet  marjoram,  thyme,  and  parsley,  of  each  half  a 
handful,  a  sprig  of  rosemary,  and  another  of  savory,  bind 
them  into  two  or  three  small  bundles,  and  put  them  to  your 
carp,  with  four  or  five  whole  onions,  twenty  pickled  oysters, 
and  three  anchovies.  Then  pour  upon  your  carp  as  much 
claret  wine  as  will  only  cover  him,  and  season  your  claret 
well  with  salt,  cloves,  and  mace,  and  the  rinds  of  oranges 
and  lemons;  that  done,  cover  your  pot  and  set  it  on  a  quick 
fire,  till  it  be  suflficiently  boiled;  then  take  out  the  carp,  and 
lay  it  with  the  broth  in  the  dish,  and  pour  upon  it  a  quarter 
of  a  pound  of  the  best  fresh  butter,  melted  and  beaten  with 
half  a  dozen  spoonfuls  of  the  broth,  the  yolks  of  two  or  three 
eggs,  and  some  of  the  herbs  shred  ;  garnish  your  dish  with 
lemons,  and  so  serve  it  up,  and  much  good  do  you. — Dr.  T. 


APPENDIX  IX. 


Historical  Notes. 

»  From  a  passage  in  the  book  of  Dame  Juliana  Bemers,  it 
appears  that  in  her  time  there  were  carps,  though  but  few,  in 
England.  It  seems,  therefore,  that  Mr.  Mascall,  of  Plumstead, 
did  not  first  bring  hither  carps ;  but,  as  the  curious  in  gardening 
do  by  exotic  plants,  he  naturalized  this  species  of  fish ;  and  that 
about  the  era  mentioned  in  the  above  distich,  "  Hops  and  turkeys," 
&c.,  which  is  elsewhere  read  thus : 

"  Hops,  reformation,  turkeys,  carps,  and  beer, 
Came  into  England  all  in  one  year." 

— H. 

^  Carps  live  longest  out  of  water  of  any  fish.  It  is  a  common 
practice  in  Holland  to  keep  them  alive  for  three  weeks  or  a  montli 
by  hanging  them  in  a  cool  place  with  wet  moss  in  a  net,  and  feed- 
ing them  with  bread  steeped  in  milk,  taking  care  to  refresh  the 
animal  now  and  then  by  throwing  fresh  water  over  the  net  in  which 
it  is  suspended. — H. 

"  Paulus  Jovius,  an  Italian  historian,  of  very  doubtful  authority ; 
he  lived  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  wrote  a  small  tract,  "  De 
Romanis  Piscibus."     He  died  at  Florence,  1552. — H. 

d  Mr.  JFr.  Ru. — This  memorandum  occurs  for  the  first  time  on 
the  margin  of  the  fifth  edition.    It  refers,  no  doubt,  to  Mr.  Francis 

252 


GENERAL  NOTES.  253 

Rufford,  of  Sapy,  Worcestershire,  who  died,  at  the  age  of  82,  about 
1678. — Nicolas. 


General  Notes. 

*  "  The  carp  spawns  towards  the  end  of  May,  or  the  beginning 
of  June,  according  to  the  temperature  of  the  water  and  the  season ; 
and  it  is  supposed  to  continue  spa^vning  occasionally  for  four  or 
five  months,  and  always  for  a  longer  period  than  most  other  fish." 
— Pennell. 

The  spawn  of  a  large  carp  contains  from  six  to  seven  hundred 
thousand  eggs. 

*  The  period  of  gestation  in  the  elephant  is  twenty  months. 


Practical  Essay. 

''^  CARP. 

Carp  fishing  was  a  favourite  amusement  of  mine  in  more  youth- 
ful days.  There  were  two  pools  full  of  very  large  carp,  and  I  used 
to  bring  home,  after  an  afternoon's  fishing,  a  dozen  carp,  from  two 
to  six  pounds  in  weight  each.  On©  pool  was  on  the  top  of  aWelsh 
hill,  and  nobody  fished  there  but  ourselves  until  I  wrote  about  it, 


254  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

and  now  it  is  often  fished,  and  the  carp  are  wary.    The  other  pool 
has  been  drained. 

Carp  are  usually  found  in  ponds,  but  often  also  in  slow  deep 
rivers.  It  is  an  exceedingly  wary  fish,  and  a  very  little  fishing  for 
it  makes  it  hard  to  catch.  It  spawns  in  April  and  May,  but 
may  be  considered  in  season  all  the  year  round.  It  grows  up  to 
fifteen  pounds  in  weight,  and  is  marvellously  long-lived  and  prolific. 
On  warm,  dull,  and  showery  days,  carp  will  bite  all  day ;  but  in 
the  summer,  from  dawn  to  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning  is  the  best 
time  for  the  large  ones.  After  that  the  little  ones  come  on  the 
feed.  Although  paste  and  many  other  baits  are  recommended  for 
carp,  a  red  worm  is  undoubtedly  the  best  of  all.  A  small  hook, 
fine  gut,  no  shot  if  you  are  fishing  in  a  pond,  and  a  small  float, 
will  form  your  tackle.  Let  a  foot  of  the  line  be  on  the  ground,  as 
otherwise  the  carp  will  be  startled  at  the  sight  or  feel  of  the  upright 
gut  line.  Throw  in  quietly,  keep  well  out  of  sight,  and  as  quiet  as 
possible,  and  have  patience.  The  carp  has  a  very  small  mouth, 
and  is  a  slow  biter.  He  will  play  with  and  carry  the  bait  about  for 
a  considerable  time  before  he  makes  up  his  mind  to  swallow  it, 
and  during  this  time  it  is  not  safe  to  strike,  although  the  float  will 
be  moving  all  the  time.  If  your  float  moves  and  then  is  still  for  a 
considerable  time,  do  not  suppose  that  the  fish  has  left  it :  in  all 
probability  he  has  it  just  within  his  lips,  considering,  or  cruising 
round  it,  debating  whether  he  shall  taste  it  again  or  not.  When  it 
moves  steadily  away,  you  may  strike,  and,  as  the  carp  has  a  leather 
mouth,  the  hook  is  likely  to  be  well  held,  and  you  are  safe  to  land 
him. 

Carp  often  keep  a  provokingly  long  distance  from  the  side,  and 
in  such  cases  I  have  done  much  execution  with  the  ledger  tackle. 
No  float  is  used,  but  the  fine  passes  through  a  perforated  bullet, 
which  is  kept  from  slipping  down  to  the  hook  by  a  split  shot  fast^ 
ened  to  the  line  about  a  foot  above  it.  This  bullet  can  be  thro™ 
a  long  way  out,  and  the  rod  laid  down  with  the  top  slightly  elevated. 
When  the  carp  bites,  he  pulls  the  line  through  the  bullet,  and  jeri 
the  top  of  the  rod,  when  you  strike. 


ki 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY. 


255 


Ground-baiting  beforehand  is  advisable  when  practicable ;  and 
if  you  can  bait  two  or  three  places,  so  that  when  the  fish  leave  off 
biting  at  one,  you  can  throw  in  a  little  fresh  ground-bait  and  go  to 
another,  by  alternating  between  them  you  have  a  better  chance  of 
sport  than  by  sticking  to  one. 

On  hot  days  carp  swim  about  at  the  surface  of  the  water,  their 
great  tails  and  back  fins  sticking  out  above  it.  At  such  time  I 
have  dropped  a  worm  on  to  their  very  noses — ay,  and  even  into 
their  mouths — and  they  have  just  shook  their  heads  disdainfully, 
and  waddled  off.  Carp  seem  to  feed  in  twos  and  threes,  those  of  a 
size  keeping  together ;  and  when  a  companion  and  myself  have 
been  fishing  at  the  same  time,  we  have  had  bites  at  the  same  time, 
and  often  landed  our  fish  at  the  same  time.  This  occurred  five  or 
six  times  one  afternoon,  and  with  long  intervals  between  the  bites. 

Green  peas,  potatoes,  beans,  pastes,  large  flies,  and  many  other 
baits,  are  used  for  carp,  but  none  are  so  sure  as  a  bright  red  worm. 

Carp  can  be  tamed  so  as  to  come  to  the  side  when  called,  and 
fed  from  the  hand.  They  are  very  hard  to  kill,  and  will  live  a  long 
time  out  of  water,  bearing  transport  for  a  great  distance  if  packed 
in  wet  moss.     They  are  of  very  slow  growth. 


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CHAPTER  X. 

OBSERVATIONS  OF  THE  BREAM,  AND  DIRECTIONS  TO 
CATCH  HIM. 


Pisc.  The  Bream,  being  at  a  full  growth,  is  a  large  and 
stately  fish :  he  will  breed  both  in  rivers  and  ponds ;  but 
loves  best  to  live  in  ponds,  and  where,  if  he  likes  the  water 
and  air,  he  will  grow  not  only  to  be  very  large,  but  as  fat 
as  a  hog :  he  is  by  Gesner  taken  to  be  more  pleasant  or 
sweet  than  wholesome.  This  fish  is  long  in  growing,  but 
breeds  exceedingly  in  a  water  that  pleases  him ;  yea,  in 
many  ponds  so  fast  as  to  over-store  them,  and  starve  the 
other  fish. 

He  is  very  broad,  with  a  forked  tail,  and  his  scales  set  in 
excellent  order ;  he  hath  large  eyes,  and  a  narrow  sucking 
mouth ;  he  hath  two  sets  of  teeth,  and  a  lozenge-like  bone, 
a  bone  to  help  his  grinding.  The  melter  is  observed  to 
have  two  large  melts ;  and  the  female,  two  large  bags  of 
eggs  or  spawn. 


256 


THE  BREAM.  257 


Gesner  reports,  that  in  Poland  a  certain  and  a  great 
number  of  large  breams  were  put  into  a  pond,  which  in  the 
next  following  winter  were  frozen  up  into  one  entire  ice, 
and  not  one  drop  of  water  remaining,  nor  one  of  these  fish 
to  be  found,  though  they  were  diligently  searched  for ;  and 
yet  the  next  spring,  when  the  ice  was  thawed,  and  the 
weather  warm,  and  fresh  water  got  into  the  pond,  he  affirms 
they  all  appeared  again.  This  Gesner  affirms,  and  I  quote 
my  author  because  it  seems  almost  as  incredible  as  the  re- 
surrection to  an  atheist;  but  it  may  win  something,  in 
point  of  believing  it,  to  him  that  considers  the  breeding  or 
renovation  of  the  silk-worm,  and  of  many  insects.  And 
that  is  considerable,  which  Sir  Francis  Bacon  observes  in 
his  "  History  of  Life  and  Death,"  fol.  20,  that  there  be  some 
herbs  that  die  and  spring  every  year,  and  some  endure 
longer.^ 

But  though  some  do  not,  yet  the  French  esteem  this  fish 
highly,  and  to  that  end  have  this  proverb,  **  He  that  hath 
breams  in  his  pond  is  able  to  bid  his  friend  welcome."  And 
it  is  noted,  that  the  best  part  of  a  bream  is  his  belly  and  head. 

Some  say  that  breams  and  roaches  will  mix  their  eggs 
and  melt  together,  and  so  there  is  in  many  places  a  bastard 
breed  of  breams,  that  never  come  to  be  .either  large  or 
good,  but  very  numerous.^ 

The  baits  good  to  catch  this  bream  are  many.  i.  Paste 
made  of  brown  bread  and  honey,  gentles,  or  the  brood  of 
wasps  that  be  young,  and  then  not  unlike  gentles,  and 
should  be  hardened  in  an  oven,  or  dried  on  a  tile  before  the 
fire  to  make  them  tough  ;  or  there  is  at  the  root  of  docks 
or  flags  or  rushes,  in  watery  places,  a  worm  not  unlike  a 
maggot,  at  which  tench  will  bite  freely.     Or  he  will  bite  at 

17 


25 3  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

a  grasshopper  with  his  legs  nipped  off,  in  June  or  July,  or 
at  several  flies  under  water,  which  may  be  found  on  flags 
that  grow  near  to  the  water-side.  I  doubt  not  but  that 
there  be  many  other  baits  that  are  good ;  but  I  will  turn 
them  all  into  this  most  excellent  one,  either  for  a  carp  or 
bream,  in  any  river  or  mere :  it  was  given  to  me  by  a  most 
honest  and  excellent  angler;  and  hoping  you  will  prove 
both,  I  will  impart  it  to  you. 

1.  Let  your  bait  be  as  big  a  red  worm  as  you  can  find, 
without  a  knot :  get  a  pint  or  quart  of  them  in  an  evening 
in  garden  walks  or  chalky  common,  after  a  shower  of  rain, 
and  put  them  with  clean  moss  well  washed  and  picked,  and 
the  water  squeezed  out  of  the  moss  as  dry  as  you  can,  into 
an  earthern  pot  or  pipkin  set  dry,  and  change  the  moss 
fresh  every  three  or  four  days,  for  three  weeks  or  a  month 
together ;  then  your  bait  will  be  at  the  best,  for  it  will  be 
clear  and  lively. 

2.  Having  thus  prepared  your  baits,  get  your  tackling 
ready  and  fitted  for  this  sport.  Take  three  long  angling 
rods,  and  as  many  and  more  silk  or  silk  and  hair  lines,  and 
as  many  large  swan  or  goose-quill  floats.      Then  take  a 

piece  of  lead  made  after  this  manner,  and  fasten 

^y       them  to  the  low  ends  of  your  lines ;  then  fasten 

^^^    your   link-hook  also  to  the  lead,  and   let   there 

be  about  a  foot  or  ten  inches  between  the  lead 
and  the  hook ;  but  be  sure  the  lead  be  heavy  enough  to 
sink  the  float  or  quill  a  little  under  the  water,  and  not  the 
quill  to  bear  up  the  lead,  for  the  lead  must  lie  on  the 
ground.  Note,  that  your  link  next  the  hook  may  be 
smaller  than  the  rest  of  your  line,  if  you  dare  adventure, 
for  fear  of  taking  the  pike  or  perch,  who  will  assuredly 


J 


THE  BREAM.  259 


visit  your  hooks,  till  they  be  taken  out,  as  I  will  shew  you 
afterward,  before  either  carp  or  bream  will  come  near  to  bite. 
Note  also,  that  when  the  worm  is  well  baited,  it  will  crawl 
up  and  down  as  far  as  the  lead  will  give  leave,  which  much 
enticeth  the  fish  to  bite  without  suspicion. 

3.  Having  thus  prepared  your  baits  and  fitted  your  tack- 
ling, repair  to  the  river,  where  you  have  seen  them  swim  in 
skulls  or  shoals,  in  the  summer-time,  in  a  hot  afternoon, 
about  three  or  four  of  the  clock,  and  watch  their  going  forth 
of  their  deep  holes  and  returning,  which  you  may  well  dis- 
cern, for  they  return  about  four  of  the  clock,  most  of  them 
seeking  food  at  the  bottom,  yet  one  or  two  will  lie  on  the 
top  of  the  water,  rolling  and  tumbling  themselves  whilst  the 
rest  are  under  him  at  the  bottom,  and  so  you  shall  perceive 
him  to  keep  sentinel ;  then  mark  where  he  plays  most  and 
stays  longest,  which  commonly  is  in  the  broadest  and 
deepest  place  of  the  river,  and  there,  or  near  thereabouts, 
at  a  clear  bottom  and  a  convenient  landing-place,  take  one 
of  your  angles  ready  fitted  as  aforesaid,  and  sound  the 
bottom,  which  should  be  about  eight  or  ten  feet  deep,  two 
yards  from  the  bank  is  the  best.  Then  consider  with  your- 
self whether  that  water  will  rise  or  fall  by  the  next  morning, 
by  reason  of  any  water-mills  near,  and  according  to  your 
discretion  take  the  depth  of  the  place,  where  you  mean 
after  to  cast  your  ground-bait,  and  to  fish,  to  half  an  inch, 
that  the  lead  lying  on  or  near  the  ground-bait,  the  top  of 
the  float  may  only  appear  upright  half  an  inch  above  the 
water. 

Thus  you  having  found  and  fitted  for  the  place  and  depth 
thereof,  then  go  home  and  prepare  your  ground-bait,  which 
is,  next  to  the  fruit  of  your  labours,  to  be  regarded. 

17 — ^2 


26o  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 


THE  GROUND-BAIT. 

You  shall  take  a  peck,  or  a  peck  and  a  half,  according  to 
the  greatness  of  the  stream  and  deepness  of  the  water 
where  you  mean  to  angle,  of  sweet  gross-ground  barley 
malt,  and  boil  it  in  a  kettle ;  one  or  two  warms  is  enough, 
then  strain  it  through  a  bag  into  a  tub,  the  liquor  whereof 
hath  often  done  my  horse  much  good ;  and  when  the  bag 
and  malt  is  near  cold,  take  it  down  to  the  water-side  about 
eight  or  nine  of  the  clock  in  the  evening,  and  not  before ; 
cast  in  two  parts  of  your  ground-bait,  squeezed  hard  between 
both  your  hands  :  it  will  sink  presently  to  the  bottom,  and 
be  sure  it  may  rest  in  the  very  place  where  you  mean  to 
angle :  if  the  stream  run  hard  or  move  a  little,  cast  your 
malt  in  handfuls  a  little  the  higher  upwards  the  stream. 
You  may,  between  your  hands,  close  the  malt  so  fast  in 
handfuls,  that  the  water  will  hardly  part  it  with  the  fall. 

Your  ground  thus  baited  and  tackling  fitted,  leave  your 
bag  with  the  rest  of  your  tackling  and  ground-bait  near  the 
sporting-place  all  night,  and  in  the  morning,  about  three  or 
four  of  the  clock,  visit  the  water-side,  but  not  too  near,  for 
they  have  a  cunning  watchman,  and  are  watchful  themselves 
too. 

Then  gently  take  one  of  your  three  rods,  and  bait  your 
hook ;  casting  it  over  your  ground -bait,  and  gently  and 
secretly  draw  it  to  you  till  the  lead  rests  about  the  middle 
of  the  ground-bait. 

Then  take  a  second  rod,  and  cast  in  about  a  yard  above, 
and  your  third  a  yard  below  the  first  rod  ;  and  stay  the  rods 
in  the  ground  ;  but  go  yourself  so  far  from  the  water-side, 


J 


THE  BREAM.  26 1 


that  you  perceive  nothing  but  the  top  of  the  floats,  which 
you  must  watch  most  diligently.  Then  when  you  have  a 
bite,  you  shall  perceive  the  top  of  your  float  to  sink  sud- 
denly into  the  water :  yet,  nevertheless,  be  not  too  hasty  to 
run  to  your  rods,  until  you  see  that  the  line  goes  clear  away, 
then  creep  to  the  water-side,  and  give  as  much  line  as  you 
possibly  can  :  if  it  be  a  good  carp  or  bream,  they  will  go  to 
the  farther  side  of  the  river :  then  strike  gently,  and  hold 
your  rod  at  a  bent  a  little  while ;  but  if  you  both  pull  to- 
gether, you  are  sure  to  lose  your  game,  for  either  your  line, 
or  hook,  or  hold  will  break ;  and  after  you  have  overcome 
them,  they  will  make  noble  sport,  and  are  very  shy  to  be 
landed.  The  carp  is  far  stronger  and  more  mettlesome 
than  the  bream. 

Much  more  is  to  be  observed  in  this  kind  of  fish  and  fish- 
ing, but  it  is  far  better  for  experience  and  discourse  than 
paper.  Only  thus  much  is  necessary  for  you  to  know,  and 
to  be  mindful  and  careful  of,  that  if  the  pike  or  perch  do 
breed  in  that  river,  they  will  be  sure  to  bite  first,  and  must 
first  be  taken.  And  for  the  most  part  they  are  very  large ; 
and  will  repair  to  your  ground-bait,  not  that  they  will  eat 
of  it,  but  will  feed  and  sport  themselves  among  the  young 
fry  that  gather  about  and  hover  over  the  bait. 

The  way  to  discern  the  pike  and  to  take  him,  if  you  mis- 
trust your  bream-hook, — for  I  have  taken  a  pike  a  yard 
long  several  times  at  my  bream-hooks,  and  sometimes  he 
hath  had  the  luck  to  share  my  line, — may  be  thus : 

Take  a  small  bleak,  or  roach,  or  gudgeon,  and  bait  it,  and 
set  it  alive  among  your  rods  two  feet  deep  from  the  cork, 
with  a  little  red  worm  on  the  point  of  the  hook ;  then  take 
a  few  crumbs  of  white  bread,  or  some  of  the  ground-bait, 


262  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

and  sprinkle  it  gently  amongst  your  rods.  If  Mr.  Pike  be 
there,  then  the  little  fish  will  skip  out  of  the  water  at  his 
appearance,  but  the  live-set  bait  is  sure  to  be  taken. 

Thus  continue  your  sport  from  four  in  the  morning  till 
eight,  and  if  it  be  a  gloomy  windy  day,  they  will  bite  all 
day  long.  But  this  is  too  long  to  stand  to  your  rods  at  one 
place,  and  it  will  spoil  your  evening  sport  that  day,  which 
is  this : 

About  four  of  the  clock  in  the  afternoon  repair  to  your 
baited  place ;  and  as  soon  as  you  come  to  the  water-side, 
cast  in  one-half  of  the  rest  of  your  ground-bait,  and  stand 
off;  then  whilst  the  fish  are  gathering  together,  for  there 
they  will  most  certainly  come  for  their  supper,  you  may 
take  a  pipe  of  tobacco ;  and  then  in  with  your  three  rods, 
as  in  the  morning:  you  will  find  excellent  sport  that  evening 
till  eight  of  the  clock ;  then  cast  in  the  residue  of  your 
ground-bait,  and  next  morning  by  four  of  the  clock  visit 
them  again  for  four  hours,  which  is  the  best  sport  of  all ; 
and  after  that,  let  them  rest  till  you  and  your  friends  have 
a  mind  to  more  sport. 

From  St.  James's-tide  until  Bartholomew-tide  is  the  best; 
when  they  have  had  all  the  summer's  food,  they  are  the 
fattest. 

Observe  lastly,  that  after  three  or  four  days'  fishing  to- 
gether, your  game  will  be  very  shy  and  wary,  and  you  shall 
hardly  get  above  a  bite  or  two  at  a  baiting;  then  your  only 
way  is  to  desist  from  your  sport  about  two  or  three  days ; 
and  in  the  meantime,  on  the  place  you  late  baited,  and  again 
intend  to  bait,  you  shall  take  a  tuft  of  green  but  short  grass, 
as  big  or  bigger  than  a  round  trencher ;  to  the  top  of  thi 
turf,  on  the  green  side,  you  shall,  with  a  needle  and  gree; 


THE  BREAM. 


263 


thread,  fasten  one  by  one  as  many  little  red  worms  as  will 
near  cover  all  the  turf;  then  take  a  round  board  or  trencher, 
make  a  hole  in  the  middle  thereof,  and  through  the  turf, 
placed  on  the  board  or  trencher,  with  a  string  or  cord  as 
long  as  is  fitting,  tied  to  a  pole,  let  it  down  to  the  bottom 
of  the  water,  for  the  fish  to  feed  upon  without  disturbance 
about  two  or  three  days ;  and  after  that  you  have  drawn  it 
away,  you  may  fall  to  and  enjoy  your  former  recreation. — 
B.A. 


APPENDIX  X. 


General   Notes. 

^  Fish  will  get  into  the  mud  so  that  they  are  not  visible,  and 
ponds  have  been  known  to  dry  completely  up,  yet  when  they  were 
full  again,  the  fish  have  reappeared  from  their  bed  of  moist  mud, 
alive  and  well. 

2  Walton  means  the  bream-flat,  a  fish,  if  possible,  nastier  and 
slimier  than  the  bream.  It  is  very  common  in  the  Norfolk  waters. 
I  do  not  think  it  is  a  hybrid. 


Practical  Essay. 
the  bream. 


There  are  two  species  of  bream,  the  bream-flat,  which  is  com- 
paratively small,  silvery,  and  worthless  for  sport ;  and  the  common 
carp  bream,  which  is  a  better  and  larger  ftsh,  of  a  more  golden 
colour,  and  affording  more  sport.  The  bream  affects  slow  muddy 
rivers  and  lakes,  and  in  the  Norfolk  rivers  and  broads  it  is  found  in 
countless  numbers,  and  catches  of  it  are  counted  by  the  stone 

864 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY.  265 

weight,  and  not  by  the  pound.  They  grow  to  a  good  size,  from 
four  to  five  pounds  being  not  a  rare  weight  to  see  them  of,  if  not  to 
catch  them.  In  the  clear  waters  of  the  "  pulks,"  or  small  pools 
off  the  Norfolk  rivers,  I  have  seen  them  of  enormous  size  and  in 
prodigious  numbers.  They  swim  in  vast  shoals,  and  plenty  of 
ground-bait  is  advisable  :  it  would  be  difficult  to  surfeit  so  many  of 
them.  This  fish  is  covered  with  a  thick  nasty  slime,  and  the  Nor- 
folk anglers  take  a  cloth  in  which  to  hold  them  while  disengaging 
the  hook.  Worms  are  the  best  bait,  and  the  hooks  should  be  No. 
6  or  7. 

Bream  spawn  in  May,  and  the  large  ones  do  not  come  well 
on  the  feed  till  autumn.  All  the  modes  of  fishing  for  carp  or 
barbel  will  do  for  the  bream.  The  bait  should  swim  about  an  inch 
from  the  bottom,  unless  the  ledger-bait  is  used.  After  the  first  rush 
or  two  the  bream  gives  in,  and  can  be  towed  into  the  landing-net. 
The  best  bream  are  found  in  the  brackish  water. 

The  brandling  is  said  to  be  an  especial  favourite  with  the  breanj. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

OBSERVATIONS  ON   THE  TENCH,  AND  ADVICE  HOW 
TO  ANGLE   FOR   HIM. 

[IrrtirtI  i^SJ 

PiSC.  The  Tench,  the  physician  of  fishes,  is  observed  to 
love  ponds  better  than  rivers,  and  to  love  pits  better  than 
either ;  yet  Camden  observes,  there  is  a  river  in  Dorsetshire 
that  abounds  with  tenches,  but  doubtless  they  retire  to  the 
most  deep  and  quiet  places  in  it. 

This  fish  hath  very  large  fins,  very  small  and  smooth 
scales,  a  red  circle  about  his  eyes,  which  are  big  and  of  a 
gold  colour,  and  from  either  angle  of  his  mouth  there  hangs 
down  a  little  barb.  In  every  tench's  head  there  are  two 
little  stones,  which  foreign  physicians  make  great  use  of, 
but  he  is  not  commended  for  wholesome  meat,  though  there 
be  very  much  use  made  of  them  for  outward  applications. 
Rondeletius  says,  that  at  his  being  at  Rome,  he  saw  a  great 
cure  done  by  applying  a  tench  to  the  feet  of  a  very  sick 

266 


THE   TENCH.  26y 


man.  This,  he  says,  was  done  after  an  unusual  manner,  by 
certain  Jews.  And  it  is  observed,  that  many  of  those 
people  have  many  secrets  yet  unknown  to  Christians; 
secrets  that  have  never  yet  been  written,  but  have  been 
(since  the  days  of  their  Solomon,  who  knew  the  nature  of 
all  things,  even  from  the  cedar  to  the  shrub)  delivered  by 
tradition,  from  the  father  to  the  son,  and  so  from  generation 
to  generation,  without  writing  ;  or  (unless  it  were  casually) 
without  the  least  communicating  them  to  any  other  nation 
or  tribe  ;  for  to  do  that  they  account  a  profanation.  And 
yet  it  is  thought  that  they,  or  some  spirit  worse  than  they, 
first  told  us  that  lice  swallowed  alive  were  a  certain  cure 
for  the  yellow  jaundice.  This,  and  many  other  medicines* 
were  discovered  by  them,  or  by  revelation ;  for,  doubtless, 
we  attained  them  not  by  study. 

Well,  this  fish,  besides  his  eating,  is  very  useful  both  dead 
and  alive  for  the  good  of  mankind.  But  I  will  meddle  no 
more  with  that ;  my  honest  humble  art  teaches  no  such 
boldness ;  there  are  too  many  foolish  meddlers  in  physic 
and  divinity,  that  think  themselves  fit  to  meddle  with 
hidden  secrets,  and  so  bring  destruction  to  their  followers. 
But  I  '11  not  meddle  with  them  any  further  than  to  wish 
them  wiser ;  and  shall  tell  you  next,  for  I  hope  I  may  be 
so  bold,  that  the  tench  is  the  physician  of  fishes,  for  the 
pike  especially ;  and  that  the  pike,  being  either  sick  or 
hurt,  is  cured  by  the  touch  of  the  Tench.  And  it  is  ob- 
served, that  the  tyrant  pike  will  not  be  a  wolf  to  his 
physician,  but  forbears  to  devour  him,  though  he  be  never 
so  hungry. 

This  fish,  that  carries  a  natural  balsam  in  him  to  cure 
himself  and  others,  loves  yet  to  feed  in  very  foul  water,  and 


268  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

amongst  weeds.  And  yet  I  am  sure  he  eats  pleasantly,  and 
doubtless  you  will  think  so  too,  if  you  taste  him.  And  I 
shall  therefore  proceed  to  give  you  some  few,  and  but  a  few, 
directions  how  to  catch  this  tench,  of  which  I  have  given  you 
these  observations. 

He  will  bite  a  paste  made  of  brown  bread  and  honey,  or 
at  a  marsh  worm,  or  a  lob-worm ;  he  inclines  very  much  to 
any  paste  with  which  tar  is  mixed ;  and  he  will  bite  also  at 
a  smaller  worm,  with  his  head  nipped  off,  and  a  cod-worm 
put  on  the  hook  before  that  worm ;  and  I  doubt  not  but 
that  he  will  also  in  the  three  hot  months, — for  in  the  nine 
colder  he  stirs  not  much, — bite  at  a  flag-worm,  or  at  a  green 
gentle ;  but  I  can  positively  say  no  more  of  the  tench,  he 
being  a  fish  I  have  not  often  angled  for;  but  I  wish  my 
honest  scholar  may,  and  be  ever  fortunate  when  he  fishes. 


APPENDIX   XI. 


General    Note. 

1  The  statement  that  the  tench  has  healing  power  among  his 
brother  fishes  has  never  been  satisfactorily  proved,  yet  it  is  widely 
believed  that  he  has  some  such  power.  It  is  not  a  thing  that  I 
should  dogmatically  contradict.  The  skin  of  a  freshly  caught  tench 
from  clear  waters,  always  seems  to  me  to  have  a  peculiarly  cool, 
soft,  and  pleasant  feel.  It  has  been  ascertained  by  experiment  that 
pike  will  not  feed  upon  tench,  but  one  can  scarcely  imagine  such 
abstention  to  be  caused  by  gratitude. 


Practical  Essay, 
the  tench. 


In  his  habits  the  tench  is  like  the  carp,  but  in  appearance  it  is 
very  different.  It  is  very  thickset  and  muscular  in  shape,  golden 
greenish  or  olive  green  in  hue,  and  covered  with  a  cool  soft  slime. 
Tench  grow  to  four  or  five  pounds  in  weight,  and  frequent  still, 
weedy  waters.  Many  a  small  pool,  apparently  choked  up  with 
weeds,  is  yet  full  of  fine  tench.    The  ventral  fins  of  the  male  tench 


2/0  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

are  curiously  curved  like  a  shell.  Tench  spawn  in  May  and  June, 
and  are  said  to  be  in  best  season  in  August  Worms  are  the  best 
baits,  and  should  just  touch  the  ground.  The  remarks  as  to  bottom- 
fishing  for  carp  will  apply  equally  well  to  the  tench.  Like  the  carp, 
it  is  a  slow  and  cautious  biter ;  but  if  the  float  rises  so  as  to  lie  flat 
on  the  surface,  you  may  safely  strike.  This  rising  of  the  float  is 
peculiar  to  tench  fishing,  and  is  undoubtedly  caused  by  the  fish 
pushing  the  bait  upwards.  Another  peculiarity  of  tench  fishing  is, 
that  if  a  bite  is  not  decisive,  and  you  move  the  float  away  a  little, 
the  fish  will  seize  the  bait  with  greater  eagerness.  Tench  are  more 
long  lived  than  carp,  and  almost  as  much  so  as  eels.  Ground-bait- 
ing is  desirable  to  attract  them  to  one  spot,  and  a  little  chewed 
bread  thrown  in  will  keep  them  together.  On  hot  days  tench  will 
be  found  among  the  weeds,  and  it  pays  to  fish  the  minutest  holes 
between  the  leaves,  letting  the  bait  fall  first  on  a  leaf,  and  roll  off 
in  a  natural  manner  into  the  water.  On  very  hot  days,  when  tench 
are  basking  and  making  strange  sucking  noises  among  the  weeds, 
they  may  be  approached  in  a  boat  and  taken  out  with  the  hand. 
I  have  before  written  of  this  fish  :  "  Early  in  the  morning  and  late 
in  the  evening  tench  usually  bite  well.  On  mild  drizzling  days  they 
will  bite  well  all  day ;  but  even  then  you  will  obtain  better  sport 
towards  dusk.  It  is  a  good  plan  at  such  times  to  afiix  a  white 
feather  or  piece  of  paper  to  the  cap  of  the  float,  and  when  this 
cannot  be  seen,  you  must  shorten  your  line  and  fish  by  feel.  The 
biting  will  continue  on  dark  nights  as  long  as  you  like  to  stay ;  but 
on  bright  moonlight  nights,  when  a  few  hours  by  the  water-side 
would  be  pleasant,  tench  are  seldom  caught.  Indeed,  this  is  true 
of  most  fish." 

When  the  tench  is  hooked,  keep  a  tight  line  on  him  or  he  will 
bore  into  the  mud. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

OBSERVATIONS  ON   THE  PEARCH,  AND  DIRECTIONS 
HOW  TO  FISH   FOR   HIM. 

PiSC.  The  Pearch  is  a  very  good  and  a  very  bold-biting 
fish.  He  is  one  of  the  fishes  of  prey  that,  like  the  pike  and 
trout,  carries  his  teeth  in  his  mouth,  which  is  very  large ; 
and  he  dare  venture  to  kill  and  devour  several  other  kinds 
of  fish.  He  has  a  hooked  or  hog-back,  which  is  armed  with 
sharp  and  stiff  bristles,  and  all  his  skin  armed  or  covered 
over  with  thick  dry  hard  scales,  and  hath,  which  few  other 
fish  have,  two  fins  on  his  back.  He  is  so  bold  that  he  will 
invade  one  of  his  own  kind,  which  the  pike  will  not  do  will- 
ingly, and  you  may  therefore  easily  believe  him  to  be  a  bold 
biter. 

The  pearch  is  of  great  esteem  in  Italy,  saith  Aldrovandus, 

271 


2/2  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

and  especially  the  least  are  there  esteemed  a  dainty  dish. 
And  Gesner  prefers  the  pearch  and  pike  above  the  trout,  or 
any  fresh-water  fish :  he  says  the  Germans  have  this  pro- 
verb, "  More  wholesome  than  a  pearch  of  Rhine ; "  and  he 
says  the  river-pearch  is  so  wholesome  that  physicians  allow 
him  to  be  eaten  by  wounded  men,  or  by  men  in  fevers,  or 
by  women  in  childbed. 

He  spawns  but  once  a  year,  and  is,  by  physicians,  held 
very  nutritive ;  yet,  by  many,  to  be  hard  of  digestion. 
They  abound  more  in  the  river  Po,  and  in  England,  says 
Rondeletius,  than  other  parts,  and  have  in  their  brain  a  stone 
which  is  in  foreign  parts  sold  by  apothecaries,  being  there 
noted  to  be  very  medicinable  against  the  stone  in  the  reins. 
These  be  a  part  of  the  commendations  which  some  philoso- 
phical brains  have  bestowed  upon  the  fresh-water  pearch ; 
yet  they  commend  the  sea-pearch,  which  is  known  by  having 
but  one  fin  on  his  back, — of  which,  they  say,  we  English  see 
but  a  few, — to  be  a  much  better  fish. 

The  pearch  grows  slowly,  yet  will  grow,  as  I  have  been 
credibly  informed,  to  be  almost  two  foot  long;  for  an  honest 
informer  told  me  such  a  one  was  not  long  since  taken  by 
Sir  Abraham  Williams,  a  gentleman  of  worth,  and  a  brother] 
of  the  angle,  that  yet  lives,  and  I  wish  he  may :  this  was 
deep-bodied  fish,  and  doubtless  durst  have  devoured  a  pik< 
of  half  his  own  length ;  for  I  have  told  you  he  is  a  bole 
fish,  such  a  one  as,  but  for  extreme  hunger,  the  pike  will  not 
devour;  for  to  affright  the  pike  and  save  himself,  the  pearch] 
will  set  up  his  fins,  much  like  as  a  turkey-cock  will  some-j 
times  set  up  his  tail. 

But,  my  scholar,  the  pearch  is  not  only  valiant  to  defenc 
himself,  but  he  is,  as  I  said,  a  bold-biting  fish,  yet  he  will] 


THE  PERCH.  273 


not  bite  at  all  seasons  of  the  year;  he  is  very  abstemious  in 
winter,  yet  will  bite  then  in  the  midst  of  the  day,  if  it  be 
warm:  and  note,  that  all  fish  bite  best  about  the  midst  of  a 
warm  day  in  winter ;  and  he  hath  been  observed  by  some 
not  usually  to  bite  till  the  mulberry-tree  buds,  that  is  to  say, 
till  extreme  frosts  be  past  the  spring,  for  when  the  mulberry- 
tree  blossoms,  many  gardeners  observe  their  forward  fruit 
to  be  past  the  danger  of  frosts,  and  some  have  made  the 
like  observation  of  the  pearch's  biting. 

But  bite  the  pearch  will,  and  that  very  boldly ;  and  as 
one  has  wittily  observed,  if  there  be  twenty  or  forty  in  a 
hole,  they  may  be  at  one  standing  all  catched  one  after  an- 
other, they  being,  as  he  says,  like  the  wicked  of  the  world, 
not  afraid,  though  their  fellows  and  companions  perish  in 
their  sight.  And  you  may  observe,  that  they  are  not  like 
the  solitary  pike,  but  love  to  accompany  one  another,  and 
march  together  in  troops. 

And  the  baits  for  this  bold  fish  are  not  many :  I  mean, 
he  will  bite  as  well  at  some  or  at  any  of  these  three,  as  at 
any,  or  all  others  whatsoever, — a  worm,  a  minnow,  or  a  little 
frog,  of  which  you  may  find  many  in  hay-time ;  and  of 
worms,  the  dunghill  worm,  called  a  brandling,  I  take  to  be 
best,  being  well  scoured  in  moss  or  fennel;  or  he  will  bite 
at  a  worm  that  lies  under  cow-dung,  with  a  bluish  head. 
And  if  you  rove  for  a  pearch  with  a  minnow,  then  it  is  best 
to  be  alive,  you  sticking  your  hook  through  his  back  fin,  or 
a  minnow  with  the  hook  in  his  upper  lip,  and  letting  him 
swim  up  and  down  about  mid-water,  or  a  little  lower,  and 
you  still  keeping  him  to  about  that  depth  by  a  cork,  which 
ought  not  to  be  a  very  little  one ;  and  the  like  way  you  are 
to  fish  for  the  pearch  with  a  small  frog,  your  hook  being 

18 


274  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

fastened  through  the  skin  of  his  leg,  towards  the  upper  part 
of  it ;  and  lastly,  I  will  give  you  but  this  advice,  that  you 
give  the  pearch  time  enough  when  he  bites,  for  there  was 
scarce  ever  any  angler  that  has  given  him  too  much.  And 
now  I  think  best  to  rest  myself,  for  I  have  almost  spent  my 
spirits  with  talking  so  long. 

Ven.  Nay,  good  master,  one  fish  more,  for  you  see  it  rains 
still,  and  you  know  our  angles  are  like  money  put  to  usury, 
they  may  thrive,  though  we  sit  still,  and  do  nothing  but  talk 
and  enjoy  one  another.  Come,  come,  the  other  fish,  good 
master. 

PiSC.  But,  scholar,  have  you  nothing  to  mix  with  this 
discourse,  which  now  grows  both  tedious  and  tiresome  t 
shall  I  have  nothing  from  you,  that  seem  to  have  both  a 
good  memory  and  a  cheerful  spirit  .-* 

Ven.  Yes,  master,  I  will  speak  you  a  copy  of  verses  that 
were  made  by  Doctor  Donne,  and  made  to  shew  the  world 
that  he  could  make  soft  and  smooth  verses  when  he  thought 
smoothness  worth  his  labour ;  and  I  love  them  the  better 
because  they  allude  to  rivers,  and  fish  and  fishing.  They  be 
these : — 

Come,  live  with  me,  and  be  my  love, 
,  And  we  will  some  new  pleasures  prove, 
'^  Of  golden  sands  and  crystal  brooks, 

With  silken  lines  and  silver  hooks. 

There  will  the  river  whisp'ring  run, 
Warm'd  by  thy  eyes  more  than  the  sun ; 
And  there  th'  enamell'd  fish  will  stay, 
Bccging  themselves  they  may  betray. 

V/hen  thou  wilt  swim  in  that  live  batli, 
£a'jh  fish^  which  every  channel  hath, 


THE  PERCH.  275 


Most  amorously  to  thee  will  swim, 
Gladder  to  catch  thee,  than  thou  him. 

If  thou  to  be  so  seen  be'st  loth, 
By  sun  or  moon,  thou  darkenest  both; 
And  if  mine  eyes  have  leave  to  see, 
I  need  not  their  light,  having  thee. 

Let  others  freeze  with  angling-reeds, 
And  cut  their  legs  with  shells  and  weeds, 
Or  treacherously  poor  fish  beset 
With  strangling  snares,  or  windowy  net : 

Let  coarse  bold  hands,  from  slimy  nest. 
The  bedded  fish  in  banks  outwrest; 
Let  curious  traitors  sleave  silk  flies, 
To  'witch  poor  wandering  fishes'  eyes : 

For  thee,  thou  need'st  no  such  deceit. 
For  thou  thyself  art  thine  own  bait  : 
That  fish  that  is  not  catch'd  thereby 
Is  wiser  far,  alas  !  than  I. 

PiSC.  Well  remembered,  honest  scholar !  I  thank  you 
for  these  choice  verses,  which  I  have  heard  formerly,  but 
had  quite  forgot,  till  they  were  recovered  by  your  happy 
memory.  Well,  being  I  have  now  rested  myself  a  little,  I 
will  make  you  some  requital,  by  telling  you  some  observa- 
tions of  the  eel,  for  it  rains  still,  and  because,  as  you  say, 
our  angles  arc  as  money  put  to  use,  that  thrives  when  we 
play,  therefore  we'll  sit  still  and  enjoy  ourselves  a  httle 
longer  under  this  honeysuckle  hedge. 


<^m 


n— 2 


^^ 

8^ 

^^ 

p- — ^ 

APPENDIX  XII. 


Practical    Essay. 


THE    PERCH. 


The  perch  Is  a  very  plucky  and  game  fish.  It  swims  in  large 
shoals,  and  the  small  ones  may  be  caught  In  great  numbers  by  the 
most  youthful  hand  with  a  worm-baited  hook.  It  frequents  slow 
rivers,  lakes,  and  ponds.  The  small  "  pits  "  in  Cheshire  are  often 
full  of  perch,  although  they  may  be  no  larger  than  a  fair-sized  room. 
I  was  once  coming  home  from  fishing,  and  had  not  taken  my  tackle 
to  pieces,  and  while  I  took  a  rest  I  threw  my  line,  a  remnant  of  a 
worm  being  on  the  hook,  into  a  tiny  pond  by  the  side  of  the  road. 
The  float  instantly  dipped,  and  I  pulled  out  a  nice  perch.  In  a 
short  time  I  caught  nine  perch  averaging  half  a  pound  each. 

The  perch  spawns  in  March,  April,  or  May,  according  to  the 
warmth  or  coldness  of  the  season,  and  is  in  condition  from  June. 
It  grows  to  four  or  five  pounds  in  weight  in  England,  but  a  two- 
pound  fish  may  be  considered  as  above  the  average.  It  affords 
good  winter  fishing,  and  at  that  season  of  the  year  It  may  be  found 
in  hundreds  in  some  eddy  or  deep  backwater. 

Worms  and  minnows  are  the  most  common  baits  for  perch,  and 
may  be  used  with  a  good-sized  hook,  and  a  cork  float,  the  bait 
swimming  midway  In  the  water  In  the  warmer  months,  and  near 
the  bottom  in  the  colder  ones.  If  the  bait  Is  a  minnow,  it  should 
be  hooked  through  the  upper  lip.  It  Is  well  to  have  a  second  hook 
a  couple  of  feet  above  the  lower  one,  and  one  can  be  baited  with 
a  worm,  and  one  with  a  minnow.     Let  the  float  be  taken  well 

276 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY,  277 

away  or  under  before  you  strike.  The  minnow  should  be  as  fresh 
and  lively  as  possible. 

Paternostering  is  a  specialty  of  perch  fishing.  The  paternoster 
is  thus  made :  the  gut  bottom  should  be  a  yard  long,  weighted  at 
the  end  with  a  bullet ;  links  of  gut  6  inches  long  are  fastened  to 
this,  one  just  above  the  bullet  and  the  others  at  intervals  of  10 
inches  above.  Two,  three,  or  four  hooks  may  be  thus  suspended 
and  baited  with  minnows  and  worms.  No  float  is  used,  but  the 
paternoster  is  cast  into  the  eddies  and  other  spots  where  perch  are 
likely  to  be,  and  allowed  to  sink  until  the  lead  touches  the  bottom. 
It  is  then  moved  about,  a  foot  or  so  at  a  time,  until  every  part  of 
the  hole  is  well  fished.  When  a  bite  is  felt,  the  line  must  be 
slackened  for  a  second  or  two,  and  when  you  feel  a  more  vigorous 
tugging,  strike  firmly  but  not  violently,  or  you  may  jerk  the  other 
baits  off. 

You  may  also  troll  with  a  minnow  baited  on  a  miniature  gorge- 
hook,  like  that  described  in  the  article  on  pike  fishing,  or  with  a 
drop  minnow,  as  described  in  that  on  trout  fishing,  or  you  may 
spin  with  a  natural  or  artificial  minnow,  or  a  small  spoon-bait.  In 
Norfolk  the  pattern  of  spoon  with  a  red  tassel  behind  is  rightly 
accounted  most  killing,  and  Hearder's  plano-convex  minnow  is 
good  at  all  times.  I  used  to  catch  numbers  of  large  perch  in  the 
Shropshire  meres  while  spinning  for  pike,  with  a  good-sized  roach 
for  bait,  and  I  have  caught  them  with  a  very  large  spoon.  A  friend 
assures  me  that  the  most  killing  bait  of  all  for  perch  is  that  known 
as  the  "  baby  spinner,"  made  for  sea-fishing.  It  is  a  long-shanked 
hook,  with  a  small  Archimedean  spinner  on  the  shank  of  it.  A 
red  worm  should  be  placed  on  the  hook,  and  the  bait,  weighted 
with  lead  about  a  foot  above  the  hook,  is  worked  up  and  down  in 
the  perch  haunts.  My  friend  says  its  effect  was  perfectly  marvellous 
on  the  occasions  on  which  he  tried  it. 

The  ordinary  bottom -fishing  rod  will  do  very  well  for  perch 
fishing,  but  if  the  angler  has  a  choice,  one  a  little  longer  will  be 
better  for  paternostering,  as  it  is  of  advantage  to  be  able  to  reach 
a  distance,  and  yet  have  a  short  line. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

OBSERVATIONS  OF  THE  EEL,  AND  OTHER  FISH  THAT 
WANT  SCALES;  AND   HOW  TO  FISH   FOR  THEM. 

Umxxt])  gag.] 

PiSC.  It  is  agreed  by  most  men,  that  the  Eel  is  a  mosj 
dainty  fish :  the  Romans  have  esteemed  her  the  Helena 
their  feasts,  and  some  the  queen  of  palate  pleasure.  Buj 
most  men  differ  about  their  breeding  :  some  say  they  breec 
by  generation  as  other  fish  do,  and  others,  that  they  bree( 
as  some  worms  do,  of  mud ;  as  rats  and  mice,  and  man] 
other  living  creatures  are  bred  in  Egypt,  by  the  sun's  heal 
when  it  shines  upon  the  overflowing  of  the  river  Nilus ;  o^ 

278 


THE  EEL.  279 


out  of  the  putrefaction  of  the  earth,  and  divers  other  ways. 
Those  that  deny  them  to  breed  by  generation  as  other  fish 
do,  ask  if  any  man  ever  saw  an  eel  to  have  a  spawn  or 
melt  ?  and  they  are  answered,  that  they  may  be  as  certain 
of  their  breeding  as  if  they  had  seen  spawn  ;  for  they  say, 
that  they  are  certain  that  eels  have  all  parts  fit  for  genera- 
tion, like  other  fish,  but  so  small  as  not  to  be  easily  dis- 
cerned, by  reason  of  their  fatness  ;  but  that  discerned  they 
may  be ;  and  that  the  he  and  the  she-eel  may  be  distin- 
guished by  their  fins.  And  Rondeletius  says  he  has  seen 
eels  cling  together  like  dew-worms.^ 

And  others  say  that  eels,  growing  old,  breed  other  eels 
out  of  the  corruption  of  their  own  age ;  which.  Sir  Francis 
Bacon  says,  exceeds  not  ten  years.  And  others  say,  that 
as  worms  are  made  of  glutinous  dew-drops,  which  are  con- 
densed by  the  sun's  heat  in  those  countries,  so  eels  are  bred 
of  a  particular  dew,  falling  in  the  months  of  May  or  June 
on  the  banks  of  some  particular  ponds  or  rivers,  apted  by 
nature  for  that  end ;  which  in  a  few  days  are,  by  the  sun's 
heat,  turned  into  eels ;  and  some  of  the  ancients  have  called 
the  eels  that  are  thus  bred  the  offspring  of  Jov^e.  I  have 
seen,  in  the  beginning  of  July,  in  a  river  not  far  from  Can- 
terbury, some  parts  of  it  covered  over  with  young  eels, 
about  the  thickness  of  a  straw ;  and  these  eels  did  lie  on 
the  top  of  that  water,  as  thick  as  motes  are  said  to  be  in 
the  sun  ;  and  I  have  heard  the  like  of  other  rivers,  as 
namely,  in  Severn,  where  they  are  called  yelvers ;  and  in  a 
pond,  or  mere,  near  unto  Staffordshire,  where,  about  a  set 
time  in  summer,  such  small  eels  abound  so  much  that  many 
of  the  poorer  sort  of  people  that  inhabit  near  to  it,  take 
such  eels  out  of  this  mere  with  sieves  or  sheets ;  and  make 


28o  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

a  kind  of  eel-cake  of  them,  and  eat  it  like  as  bread.  And 
Gesner  quotes  Venerable  Bede*  to  say,  that  in  England 
there  is  an  island  called  Ely,  by  reason  of  the  innumerable 
number  of  eels  that  breed  in  it.  But  that  eels  may  be  bred 
as  some  worms  and  some  kind  of  bees  and  wasps  are,  either 
of  dew  or  out  of  the  corruption  of  the  earth,  seems  to  be 
made  probable  by  the  barnacles  and  young  goslings  bred 
by  the  sun's  heat  and  the  rotten  planks  of  an  old  ship,  and 
hatched  of  trees ;  both  which  are  related  for  truths  by  Du 
Bartas  and  Lobel,^  and  also  by  our  learned  Camden,  and 
laborious  Gerard,*"  in  his  "  Herbal." 

It  is  said  by  Rondeletius,  that  those  eels  that  are  bred  in 
rivers  that  relate  to  or  be  nearer  to  the  sea,  never  return  to 
the  fresh  waters  (as  the  salmon  does  always  desire  to  do), 
when  they  have  once  tasted  the  salt  water;  and  I  do  the 
more  easily  believe  this,  because  I  am  certain  that  powdered 
beef  is  a  most  excellent  bait  to  catch  an  eel.  And  though 
Sir  Francis  Bacon  will  allow  the  eel's  life  to  be  but  ten 
years,  yet  he.  In  his  "  History  of  Life  and  Death,"  mentions 
a  lamprey  belonging  to  the  Roman  emperor,  to  be  made 
tame,  and  so  kept  for  almost  threescore  years;  and  that 
such  useful  and  pleasant  observations  were  made  of  this 
lamprey,  that  Crassus  the  orator,  who  kept  her,  lamented 
her  death.  And  we  read  in  Doctor  Hakewill,  that  Hortensius 
was  seen  to  weep  at  the  death  of  a  lamprey  that  he  had 
kept  long  and  loved  exceedingly. 

It  is  granted  by  all,  or  most  men,  that  eels,  for  about  six 
months,  that  is  to  say,  the  six  cold  months  of  the  year,  stir] 
not  up  and  down,  neither  in  the  rivers,  nor  in  the  pools  inj 
which  they  usually  are,  but  get  into  the  soft  earth  or  mud 
and  there  many  of  them  together  bed  themselves,  and  live! 


THE  EEL.  281 


without  feeding  upon  anything,  as  I  have  told  you  some 
swallows  have  been  observed  to  do  in  hollow  trees,  for  those 
cold  six  months ;  and  this  the  eel  and  swallow  do,  as  not 
being  able  to  endure  winter  weather:  for  Gesner  quotes 
Albertus  to  say,  that  in  the  year  1125,  that  year's  winter 
being  more  cold  than  usually,  eels  did  by  nature's  instinct 
get  out  of  the  water  into  a  stack  of  hay  in  a  meadow  upon 
dry  ground,  and  there  bedded  themselves,  but  yet  at  last  a 
frost  killed  them.*^  And  our  Camden  relates,®  that  in  Lan- 
cashire fishes  were  digged  out  of  the  earth  with  spades, 
where  no  water  was  near  to  the  place.  I  shall  say  little 
more  of  the  eel,  but  that,  as  it  is  observed,  he  is  impatient 
of  cold  ;  so  it  hath  been  observed,  that  in  warm  weather  an 
eel  has  been  known  to  live  five  days  out  of  the  water. 

And  lastly,  let  me  tell  you  that  some  curious  searchers 
into  the  natures  of  fish  observe,  that  there  be  several  sorts 
or  kinds  of  eels,  as  the  silver  eel,  and  green  or  greenish  eel, 
with  which  the  river  of  Thames  abounds,  and  those  are 
called  grigs ;  and  a  blackish  eel,  whose  head  is  more  flat 
and  bigger  than  ordinary  eels ;  and  also  an  eel  whose  fins 
are  reddish,  and  but  seldom  taken  in  this  nation,  and  yet 
taken  sometimes  :  these  several  kinds  of  eels  are,  say  some, 
diversely  bred ;  as  namely,  out  of  the  corruption  of  the  earth, 
and  some  by  dew,  and  other  ways,  as  I  have  said  to  you ; 
and  yet  it  is  affirmed  by  some  for  certain,  that  the  silver 
eel  is  bred  by  generation,  but  not  by  spawning  as  other  fish 
do,  but  that  her  brood  come  alive  from  her,  being  then  little 
live  cols,  no  bigger  nor  longer  than  a  pin ;  and  I  have  had 
too  many  testimonies  of  this  to  doubt  the  truth  of  It  myself; 
and  if  I  thought  it  needful  I  might  prove  it,  but  I  think  it 
is  needless. 


282  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

And  this  eel,  of  which  I  have  said  so  much  to  you,  may 
be  caught  with  divers  kinds  of  baits ;  as  namely,  with 
powdered  beef,  with  a  lob  or  garden  worm,  with  a  minnow, 
or  gut  of  a  hen,  chicken,  or  the  guts  of  any  fish,  or  with 
almost  anything,  for  he  is  a  greedy  fish :'  but  the  eel  may 
be  caught  especially  with  a  little,  a  very  little  lamprey,  which 
some  call  a  pride,  and  may  in  the  hot  months  be  found 
many  of  them  in  the  river  Thames,  and  in  many  mud-heaps 
in  other  rivers,  yea,  almost  as  usually  as  one  finds  worms  in 
a  dunghill. 

Next  note,  that  the  eel  seldom  stirs  in  the  day,  but  then 
hides  himself;  and  therefore  he  is  usually  caught  by  night, 
with  one  of  these  baits  of  which  I  have  spoken ;  and  may 
be  then  caught  by  laying  hooks,  which  you  are  to  fasten  to 
the  bank,  or  twigs  of  a  tree  ;  or  by  throwing  a  string  across 
the  stream  with  many  hooks  at  it,  and  those  baited  with  the 
aforesaid  baits,  and  a  clod,  or  plummet,  or  stone,  throvv^n 
into  the  river  with  this  line,  that  so  you  may  in  the  morning 
find  it  near  to  some  fixed  place ;  and  then  take  it  up  with 
a  drag-hook,  or  otherwise.  But  these  things  are  indeed  too 
common  to  be  spoken  of;  and  an  hour's  fishing  with  an 
angler  will  teach  you  better,  both  for  these  and  many  other 
common  things  in  the  practical  part  of  angling,  than  a  week's 
discourse.  I  shall  therefore  conclude  this  direction  for 
taking  the  eel,  by  telling  you,  that  in  a  warm  day  in  summer 
I  have  taken  many  a  good  eel  by  snigling,  and  have  been 
much  pleased  with  that  sport. 

And  because  you,  that  are  but  a  young  angler,  know  not 
what  snigling  is,  I  will  now  teach  it  to  you.  You  remembe^ 
I  told  you,  that  eels  do  not  usually  stir  in  the  day-time ;  for 
then  they  hide  themselves  under  some  covert;   or  unde 


THE  EEL,  283 


boards  or  planks  about  flood-gates  or  weirs  or  mills ;  or  in 
holes  on  the  river  banks  :  so  that  you,  observing  your  time 
in  a  warm  day,  when  the  water  is  lowest,  may  take  a  strong 
small  hook,  tied  to  a  strong  line,  or  to  a  string  about  a  yard 
long ;  and  then  into  one  of  these  holes  or  between  any 
boards  about  a  mill  or  under  any  great  stone  or  plank,  or 
any  place  where  you  think  an  eel  may  hide  or  shelter  her- 
self, you  may,  with  the  help  of  a  short  stick,  put  in  your  bait, 
but  leisurely,  and  as  far  as  you  may  conveniently ;  and  it 
is  scarce  to  be  doubted,  but  if  there  be  an  eel  within  the 
sight  of  it,  the  eel  will  bite  instantly,  and  as  certainly  gorge 
it ;  and  you  need  not  doubt  to  have  him  if  you  pull  him  not 
out  of  the  hole  too  quickly,  but  pull  him  out  by  degrees ; 
for  he,  laying  folded  double  in  his  hole,  will,  with  the  help 
of  his  tail,  break  all,  unless  you  give  him  time  to  be  wearied 
with  pulling ;  and  so  get  him  out  by  degrees,  not  pulling 
too  hard. 

And  to  commute  for  your  patient  hearing  this  long 
direction,  I  shall  next  tell  you  how  to  make  this  eel  a  most 
excellent  dish  of  meat. 

First,  wash  him  in  water  and  salt,  then  pull  off  his  skin 
below  his  vent  or  navel,  and  not  much  further ;  having  done 
that,  take  out  his  guts  as  clean  as  you  can,  but  wash  him 
not ;  then  give  him  three  or  four  scotches  with  a  knife,  and 
then  put  into  his  belly  and  those  scotches,  sweet  herbs,  an 
anchovy,  and  a  little  nutmeg,  grated  or  cut  very  small ;  and 
your  herbs  and  anchovies  must  also  be  cut  very  small,  and 
mixed  with  good  butter  and  salt :  having  done  this,  then 
pull  his  skin  over  him  all  but  his  head,  which  you  are  to  cut 
off,  to  the  end  you  may  tie  his  skin  about  that  part  where 
his  head  grew;  and  it  must  be  so  tied  as  to  keep  all  his 


284  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

moisture  within  his  skin :  and  having  done  this,  tie  him  with 
tape  or  packthread  to  a  spit,  and  roast  him  leisurely,  and 
baste  him  with  water  and  salt  till  his  skin  breaks,  and  then 
with  butter ;  and  having  roasted  him  enough,  let  what  was 
put  into  his  belly  and  what  he  drips,  be  his  sauce. — S.  F. 

When  I  go  to  dress  an  eel  thus,  I  wish  he  were  as  long 
and  big  as  that  which  was  caught  in  Peterborough  river  in 
the  year  1667,  which  was  a  yard  and  three-quarters  long. 
If  you  will  not  believe  me,  then  go  and  see  at  one  of  the 
coffee-houses  in  King  Street,  in  Westminster. 

But  now  let  me  tell  you,  that  though  the  eel  thus  dressed 
be  not  only  excellent  good,  but  more  harmless  than  any 
other  way,  yet  it  is  certain,  that  physicians  account  the  eel 
dangerous  meat :  I  will  advise  you,  therefore,  as  Solomon 
says  of  honey,  "  Hast  thou  found  it,  eat  no  more  than  is 
sufficient,  lest  thou  surfeit ;  for  it  is  not  good  to  eat  much 
honey."  And  let  me  add  this,  that  the  uncharitable  Italian 
bids  us  "  give  eels  and  no  wine  to  our  enemies." 

And  I  will  beg  a  little  more  of  your  attention  to  tell  you, 
Aldrovandus,  and  divers  physicians,  commend  the  eel  very 
much  for  medicine,  though  not  for  meat.  But  let  me  tell 
you  one  observation,  that  the  eel  is  never  out  of  season,  as 
trouts,  and  most  other  fish  are  at  set  times ;  at  least,  most 
eels  are  not. 

I  might  here  speak  of  many  other  fish,  whose  shape  and 
nature  are  much  like  the  eel,  and  frequent  both  the  sea  and 
fresh  rivers ;  as,  namely,  the  lamprel,  the  lamprey,  and  the 
lamperne ;  ^  as  also  of  the  mighty  conger,  taken  often  in 
Severn,  about  Gloucester  j  and  might  also  tell  in  what  high 
esteem  many  of  them  are  for  the  curiosity  of  their  taste. 
But  these  are  not  so  proper  to  be  talked  of  by  me,  becaus 


THE  EEL,  285 


they  make  us  anglers  no  sport;  therefore  I  will  let  them 
alone,  as  the  Jews  do,  to  whom  they  are  forbidden  by  their 
law. 

And,  scholar,  there  is  also  a  Flounder,  a  sea-fish,  which 
will  wander  very  far  into  fresh  rivers,  and  there  lose  himself 
and  dwell ;  and  thrive  to  a  hand's  breadth,  and  almost  twice 
so  long :  a  fish  without  scales,  and  most  excellent  meat ; 
and  a  fish  that  affords  much  sport  to  the  angler,  with  any 
small  worm,  but  especially  a  little  bluish  worm  gotten  out 
of  marsh  ground  or  meadows,  which  should  be  well  scoured. 
But  this,  though  it  be  most  excellent  meat,  yet  it  wants 
scales,  and  is,  as  I  told  you,  therefore  an  abomination  to 
the  Jews. 

But,  scholar,  there  is  a  fish  that  they  in  Lancashire  boast 
very  much  of,  called  a  Char ;  taken  there  (and  I  think 
there  only)  in  a  mere  called  Winander  Mere ;  a  mere,  says 
Camden,  that  is  the  largest  in  this  nation,  being  ten  miles 
in  length,  and  (some  say)  as  smooth  in  the  bottom  as  if  it 
were  paved  with  polished  marble.  This  fish  never  exceeds 
fifteen  or  sixteen  inches  in  length,  and  is  spotted  like  a 
trout ;  and  has  scarce  a  bone,  but  on  the  back.  But  this, 
though  I  do  not  know  whether  it  make  the  angler  sport, 
yet  I  would  have  you  take  notice  of  it,  because  it  is  a  rarity, 
and  of  so  high  esteem  with  persons  of  great  note. 

Nor  would  I  have  you  ignorant  of  a  rare  fish  called  a 
Guiniad,  of  which  I  shall  tell  you  what  Camden  and  others 
speak.  The  river  Dee  (which  runs  by  Chester)  springs  in 
Merionethshire  ;  and,  as  it  runs  toward  Chester,  it  runs 
through  Pemble  Mere  [Bala  Lake],  which  is  a  large  water ; 
and  it  is  observed,  that  though  the  river  Dee  abounds  with 
salmon,  and  .  Pomble  Mere  with  the  guiniad,  yet  there  is 


286 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


never  any  salmon  caught  in  the  mere,  nor  a  guiniad  in  the 
river.  And  now  my  next  observation  shall  be  of  the 
barbel. 


APPENDIX  XIII. 


Historical   Notes. 


»  The  most  universal  scholar  of  his  time ;  he  was  bom  at  Durham 
about  671,  and  bred  under  St.  John  of  Beverley.  He  was  a  man 
of  great  virtue,  and  remarkable  for  a  most  sweet  and  engaging  dis- 
position. He  died  in  734,  and  lies  buried  at  Durham.  His  works 
make  eight  volumes  folio,  of  which  the  most  valuable  and  best 
known  is  his  "  Ecclesiastical  History." — H. 

^  Matthias  de  Lobcl,  or  L'Obel,  an  eminent  physician  and 
botanist  of  the  sixteenth  century,  was  a  native  of  Lisle,  in  Flanders. 
He  was  a  disciple  of  Rondcletius ;  and  being  invited  to  London  by 
King  James  I.,  published  there  his  "  Historia  Plantarum,"  and  died 
in  the  year  16 16.  The  work  is  entitled  "Plantarum  sen  Stirpium 
Historia,"  and  was  first  published  at  Antwerp  in  1576,  and  repub- 
lished at  London  in  1605.  He  was  author  likewise  of  two  other 
works,  the  former  of  which  has  for  its  title  "  Balsami,  Opobalsami, 
Carpobalsami,  ct  Xylobalsami,  cum  suo  cortice  explanatio  "  (Lond., 
1598);  and  the  latter,  "Stirpium  Illustrationes"  (Lond.,  1655). — H. 

«  John  Gerard  was  one  of  the  first  of  our  English  botanists,  was 
by  profession  a  surgeon,  and  published,  in  1597,  an  "Herbal"  in  a 
large  folio,  dedicated  to  the  Lord  Treasurer  Burleigh;  and,  two 
years  after,  "  A  Catalogue  of  Plants,  Herbs,  &c.,"  to  the  number 
of  eleven  hundred,  raised  and  naturalized  by  himself  in  a  large 
garden  near  his  house  in  Holborn.  The  latter  is  dedicated  to  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh.— H. 

^7 


288  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

d  Dr.  Plot,  in  his  "  History  of  Staffordshire,"  p.  242,  mentions 
certain  waters  and  a  pool  that  were  stocked  by  eels  that  had,  from 
waters  they  liked  not,  travelled  "  in  arido"  or  over  dry  land,  to 
these  other. — H. 

®  Camden's  relation  is  to  this  effect,  viz.,  "  That  at  a  place  called 
Sefton,  in  the  above  county,  upon  turning  up  the  turf,  men  find  a 
black  deadish  water,  with  small  fishes  therein." — "  Britannia,"  Lan- 
cashire. Fuller,  who  also  reports  this  strange  fact,  humorously 
says,  "  That  the  men  of  this  place  go  a-fishing  with  spades  and 
mattocks;"  adding,  that  fishes  are  thus  found  in  the  country  about 
Heraclea  and  Suis,  in  Pontus. — H. 

'  To  this  truth  I  myself  can  bear  witness.  When  I  dwelt  at 
Twickenham,  a  large  canal  adjoined  to  my  house,  which  I  stocked 
with  fish.  I  had  from  time  to  time  broods  of  ducks,  which,  with 
their  young  ones,  took  to  the  water.  One  dry  summer,  when  the 
canal  was  very  low,  we  missed  many  young  ducks,  but  could  not 
find  out  how  they  went.  Resolving  to  take  advantage  of  the  low- 
ness  of  the  water  to  clean  the  canal,  a  work  which  had  not  been 
done  for  thirty  years,  I  drained  and  emptied  it,  and  found  in  the 
mud  a  great  number  of  large  eels.  Some  of  them  I  reserved  for 
the  use  of  my  family,  which,  being  opened  by  the  cook,  surprised 
us  all ;  for  in  the  stomachs  of  many  of  them  were  found,  undigested, 
the  necks  and  heads  of  young  ducks,  which  doubtless  were  those 
of  the  ducks  we  had  missed.  The  fact  seems  to  have  been  that, 
the  ^/ater  being  shallow,  they  became  an  easy  prey,  and  were  pulled 
under  by  the  eels,  or,  if  you  will,  by  the  heels, — H. 


General  Notes. 

*  "  Ephemera  "  says :  "  Eels  have  ova  and  milt  like  other  fresh- 
water fish.  .  .  .  They  are  migratory  in  rivers  running  into  the 
sea.  They  migrate  to  deposit  their  spawn  in  salt  water,  and  im- 
migrate to  fresh  water  to  grow  in  it.  .  .  .  I  am  of  opinion  that 
eels  are  oviparous,  and  I  know,  of  my  own  knowledge,  that  Mr. 
Andrew  Young,  of  Invershin,  Sutherlandshire,  has  bred  them  arti- 
ficially from  impregnated  spawn,  procured  from  living  male  and 
female  specimens."     See  Essay  as  to  the  general  habits  of  eels. 

*  There  are  three  sorts  of  lampreys  which  inhabit  British  waters : 
the  common  or  sea-lamprey,  which  grows  to  a  great  size  in  the 
Severn ;  the  lampem  or  river-lamprey,  of  which,  when  I  was  a  boy, 
we  used  to  catch  great  numbers  in  the  Welsh  Dee ;  and  the  fringe- 
lipped  lampern.  The  peculiar  characteristics  of  the  lampreys  are 
their  circular  mouths,  which  act  as  suckers,  by  means  of  which  they 
can  hold  on  to  stones  or  other  objects  with  surprising  tenacity,  and 
the  seven  apertures  on  each  side  of  the  neck  which  act  as  gills. 


Practical  Essay. 

THE   EEL 


is  more  useful  as  an  article  of  food  than  of  sport.  There  are  three 
British  species :  the  broad-nosed  eel,  the  sharp-nosed  eel,  and  the 
snig. 

289  13 


290  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

The  natural  history  of  the  eel  is  still  shrouded  in  consider- 
able mystery.  It  is  not  clearly  known  where,  when,  or  how  they 
spawn.  In  October  and  November  the  eels  descend  the  rivers  in 
vast  shoals  to  the  brackish  waters  or  the  sea,  and  are  caught  in 
eel  nets  or  basket  traps.  In  the  spring,  in  some  rivers,  young  eels, 
three  or  four  inches  long,  ascend  the  rivers  in  myriads,  surmounting 
the  weirs,  &c.,  by  crawling  up  through  the  wet  grass  at  the  edge  oi 
over  the  moist  rock. 

Every  one  is  familiar  with  the  appearance  of  the  eel,  but  every- 
one does  not  know  that  in  spite  of  their  smooth  slimy  skin,  they 
have  scales,  which  are  very  small  and  beneath  the  outer  skin. 

The  reader  will,  of  course,  understand  that  eels  cannot  be  gene- 
rated from  horsehairs  thrown  into  the  water,  as  some  people  even 
yet  believe. 

As  few  fish  for  the  eel  for  sport,  it  is  not  necessary  for  me  to  add 
anything  to  Walton's  directions  for  fishing  for  it. 

Eels  will  go  out  on  the  grass  on  damp  warm  nights,  and  deep 
into  the  mud  in  cold  weather. 

THE    FLOUNDER 

is  not  a  sporting  fish,  but  it  is  caught  in  great  numbers  m  the 
Welsh  Dee,  twenty  miles  from  the  sea,  the  bait  being  a  worm. 

THE   CHARR, 

of  which  there  seem  to  be  several  species,  is  of  the  salmon  family, 
and  is  only  locally  distributed.  It  is  very  rarely  caught,  and,  except 
during  the  few  days  on  which  it  spawns,  it  inhabits  the  deepest 
parts  of  the  lakes. 

THE   GUINIAD, 

which  is  of  the  same  family,  only  inhabits  a  few  lakes,  and  is 
caught  by  the  net. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

OBSERVATIONS  OF  THE  BARBEL,  AND  DIRECTIONS 
HOW  TO  FISH  FOR  HIM. 

[|0urtlr  iajj 

Pisc.  The  Barbel  is  so  called,  says  Gesner,  by  reason  of 
his  barb  or  wattles  at  his  mouth,  which  are  under  his  nose 
or  chaps.  He  is  one  of  those  leather-mouthed  fishes  that 
I  told  you  of,  that  does  very  seldom  break  his  hold  if  he 
be  once  hooked;  but  he  is  so  strong  that  he  will  often 
break  both  rod  and  line,  if  he  proves  to  be  a  big  one. 

But  the  barbel,  though  he  be  of  a  fine  shape,  and  looks 
big,  yet  he  is  not  accounted  the  best  fish  to  eat,  neither  for 
his  wholesomeness  nor  his  taste ;  but  the  male  is  reputed 
much  better  than  the  female,  whose  spawn  is  very  hurtful, 
as  I  will  presently  declare  to  you. 

They  flock  together,  like  sheep,  and  are  at  the  worst  in 
April,  about  which  time  they  spawn,  but  quickly  grow  to 
be  in  season.     He  is  able  to  live  in  the  strongest  swifts  of 

291  19—2 


292  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

the  water,  and  in  summer  they  love  the  shallowest  and 
sharpest  streams ;  and  love  to  lurk  under  weeds,  and  to  feed 
on  gravel  against  a  rising  ground,  and  will  root  and  dig  in 
the  sands  with  his  nose  like  a  hog,  and  there  nest  himself; 
yet  sometimes  he  retires  to  deep  and  swift  bridges,  or  flood- 
gates, or  weirs,  where  he  will  nest  himself  amongst  piles  or 
in  hollow  places,  and  take  such  hold  of  moss  or  weeds,  that 
be  the  water  never  so  swift,  it  is  not  able  to  force  him  from 
the  place  that  he  contends  for.  This  is  his  constant  custom 
in  summer,  when  he  and  most  living  creatures  sport  them- 
selves in  the  sun  ;  but  at  the  approach  of  winter,  then  he 
forsakes  the  swift  streams  and  shallow  waters,  and  by 
degrees  retires  to  those  parts  of  the  river  that  are  quiet  and 
deeper;  in  which  places,  and  I  think  about  that  time,  he 
spawns,  and,  as  I  have  formerly  told  you,  with  the  help  of 
the  melter,  hides  his  spawn  or  eggs  in  holes,  which  they 
both  dig  in  the  gravel,  and  then  they  mutually  labour  to 
cover  it  with  the  same  sand,  to  prevent  it  from  being 
devoured  by  other  fish. 

There  be  such  store  of  this  fish  in  the  river  Danube  that, 
Rondeletius  says,  they  may  in  some  places  of  it,  and  in 
some  months  of  the  year,  be  taken  by  those  that  dwell  near 
to  the  river,  with  their  hands,  eight  or  ten  load  at  a  time : 
he  says,  they  begin  to  be  good  in  May,  and  that  they  cease 
to  be  so  in  August ;  but  it  is  found  to  be  otherwise  in  this 
nation ;  but  thus  far  we  agree  with  him,  that  the  spawn  of 
a  barbel,  if  it  be  not  poison,  as  he  says,  yet  that  it  is  dan- 
gerous meat,  and  especially  in  the  month  of  May  ;  which  is 
go  certain,  that  Gesner  and  Gasius  declare  it  had  an  ill 
effect  upon  them,  even  to  the  endangering  of  their  lives. 

This  fish  is  of  a  fine  cast  and  handsome  shape,  with  small 


I 


THE  BARBEL.  293 


scales,  which  are  placed  after  a  most  exact  and  curious 
manner,  and,  as  I  told  you,  may  be  rather  said  not  to  be  ill 
than  to  be  good  meat :  the  chub  and  he  have,  I  think,  both 
lost  part  of  their  credit  by  ill  cookery,  they  being  reputed 
the  worst  or  coarsest  of  fresh-water  fish.  But  the  barbel 
affords  an  angler  choice  sport,  being  a  lusty  and  a  cunning 
fish ;  so  lusty  and  cunning  as  to  endanger  the  breaking  of 
the  angler's  line,  by  running  his  head  forcibly  towards  any 
covert  or  hole  or  bank,  and  then  striking  at  the  line,  to  break 
it  off,  with  his  tail,  as  is  observed  by  Plutarch  in  his  book 
"  De  Industrie,  Animalium  ; "  and  also  so  cunning,  to  nibble 
and  suck  off  your  worm  close  to  the  hook,  and  yet  avoid 
the  letting  the  hook  come  into  his  mouth. 

The  barbel  is  also  curious  for  his  baits ;  that  is  to  say, 
that  they  be  clean  and  sweet ;  that  is  to  say,  to  have  your 
worms  well  scoured,  and  not  kept  in  sour  and  musty  moss, 
for  he  is  a  curious  feeder ;  but  at  a  well-scoured  lob-worm 
he  will  bite  as  boldly  as  at  any  bait,  and  especially  if,  the 
night  or  two  before  you  fish  for  him,  you  shall  bait  the 
places  where  you  intend  to  fish  for  him  with  big  worms  cut 
into  pieces  ;  and  note,  that  none  did  ever  overbait  the  place, 
nor  fish  too  early  or  too  late  for  a  barbel.  And  the  barbel 
will  bite  also  at  gentles,  which  not  being  too  much  scoured, 
but  green,  are  a  choice  bait  for  him  ;  and  so  is  cheese,  which 
is  not  to  be  too  hard,  but  kept  a  day  or  two  in  a  wet  linen 
cloth  to  make  it  tough :  with  this  you  may  also  bait  the 
water  a  day  or  two  before  you  fish  for  the  barbel,  and  be 
much  the  likelier  to  catch  store  ;  and  if  the  cheese  were  laid 
in  clarified  honey  a  short  time  before,  as  namely,  an  hour 
or  two,  you  are  still  the  likelier  to  catch  fish :  some  have 
directed  to  cut  the  cheese  into  thin  pieces,  and  toast  it,  and 


294  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

then  tie  it  on  the  hook  with  fine  silk ;  and  some  advise  to 
fish  for  the  barbel  with  sheep's  tallow  and  soft  cheese  beaten 
or  worked  into  a  paste,  and  that  it  is  choicely  good  in 
August,  and  I  believe  it ;  but  doubtless  the  lob-worm  well 
scoured,  and  the  gentle  not  too  much  scoured,  and  cheese 
ordered  as  I  have  directed,  are  baits  enough,  and  I  think 
will  serve  in  any  month,  though  1  shall  commend  any  angler 
that  tries  conclusions,  and  is  industrious  to  improve  the  art. 
And  now,  my  honest  scholar,  the  long  shower  and  m'y 
tedious  discourse  are  both  ended  together ;  and  I  shall  give 
you  but  this  observation,  that  when  you  fish  for  barbel,  your 
rod  and  line  be  both  long  and  of  good  strength,  for,  as  I  told 
you,  you  will  find  him  a  heavy  and  a  dogged  fish  to  be  dealt 
withal,  yet  he  seldom  or  never  breaks  his  hold  if  he  be  once 
strucken.  And  if  you  would  know  more  of  fishing  for  the 
umber  or  barbel,  get  into  favour  with  Doctor  Sheldon,* 
whose  skill  is  above  others  ;  and  of  that  the  poor  that  dwell 
about  him  have  a  comfortable  experience. 

And  now  let  us  go  and  see  what  interest  the  trouts  will 
pay  us  for  letting  our  angle-rods  lie  so  long  and  so  quietly 
in  the  water,  for  their  use.  Come,  «^  .holar,  which  will  you 
take  up } 

Ven.  Which  you  think  fit,  master. 

PiSC.  Why,  you  shall  take  up  that,  for  I  am  certain,  by 
viewing  the  line,  it  has  a  fish  at  it.  Look  you,  scholar  !  well 
done  !  Come,  now  take  up  the  other  too :  well !  now  you 
may  tell  my  brother  Peter,  at  night,  that  you  have  caught 
a  leash  of  trouts  this  day.  And  now  let 's  move  towards 
our  lodging,  and  drink  a  draught  of  red  cow's  milk  as  we 
go ;  and  give  pretty  Maudlin  and  her  honest  mother  a  brace 
of  trouts  for  their  supper. 


THE  BARBEL.  295 


Ven.  Master,  I  like  your  motion  very  well ;  and  I  think 
it  is  now  about  milking-time ;  and  yonder  they  be  at  it. 

PiSC.  God  speed  you,  good  woman  !  I  thank  you  both 
for  our  songs  last  night.  I  and  my  companion  have  had 
such  fortune  a-fishing  this  day,  that  we  resolve  to  give  you 
and  Maudlin  a  brace  of  trouts  for  supper ;  and  we  will  now 
taste  a  draught  of  your  red  cow's  milk. 

MiLK-W.  Marry,  and  that  you  shall  with  all  my  heart ; 
and  I  will  still  be  your  debtor  when  you  come  this  way.  If 
you  will  but  speak  the  word,  I  will  make  you  a  good 
syllabub  of  new  verjuice  ;  and  then  you  may  sit  down  in  a 
haycock  and  eat  it ;  and  Maudlin  shall  sit  by  and  sing  you 
the  good  old  song  of  the  "  Hunting  in  Chevy  Chace,"  or 
some  other  good  ballad,  for  she  hath  store  of  them : 
Maudlin,  my  honest  Maudlin,  hath  a  notable  memory,  and 
she  thinks  nothing  too  good  for  you,  because  you  be  such 
honest  men. 

Ven.  We  thank  you,  and  intend,  once  in  a  month,  to 
call  upon  you  again,  and  give  you  a  little  warning ;  and  so, 
good  night ;  good  night,  Maudlin.  And  now,  good  master, 
let 's  lose  no  time  :  but  tell  me  somewhat  more  of  fishing ; 
and,  if  you  please,  first,  something  of  fishing  for  a  gudgeon. 

PiSC.  I  will,  honest  scliolar. 


APPENDIX  XIV. 


Historical  Note. 

•  Dr.  Gilbert  Sheldon,  Warden  of  All  Souls'  College,  chaplain  to 
King  Charles  I.,  and,  after  the  Restoration,  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury. He  founded  the  theatre  at  Oxford,  died  in  1677,  and  lies 
buried  under  a  stately  monument  at  Croydon,  in  Surrey. 


Practical  Essay, 
the  barbel. 


Barbel  fishing  is  one  of  the  sciences.  The  fish  itself  is  not 
widely  distributed,  and  is  most  common  in  the  Thames  and  the 
Trent,  where  barbel  fishing  is  a  specialty.  It  is  a  wary  fish  and 
difficult  to  catch,  yet  worth  catching — not  for  its  edible  qualities, 
which  are  low,  but  for  the  sport  it  affords,  as  it  runs  in  general  from 
two  to  ten  pounds  in  weight,  and  is  a  strong  fish.  Its  haunts  are 
in  strong  and  swift  currents,  flowing  by  "campshots,"  piles,  tree- 
roots,  and  other  strongholds.  It  spawns  in  May  and  June,  and 
from  July  to  October  is  in  best  condition.     It  "  roots  "  along  the 

296 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY.  297 


gravel  just  like  a  porker  on  dry  land.  Worms,  greaves,  and  gentles 
are  the  best  baits  for  it,  and  the  best  of  all  is  the  tail  of  a  lob-worm, 
which  should  cover  the  hook,  but  not  leave  much  dangling.  As  the 
barbel  is  fished  for  in  strong  currents,  the  line  must  be  well  shotted 
and  the  float  well  able  to  bear  the  weight,  and  not  be  overwhelmed 
with  the  stream.  The  Nottingham  style  of  fishing  with  a  slider- 
float  is  the  best,  and  the  worm  should  just  trip  along  the  bottom. 
Ground-baiting  for  one  or  two  nights  before  is  very  advisable,  and 
the  best  ground-bait  is  worms  enclosed  in  clay  balls,  which  break 
and  dissolve  away,  freeing  the  worms  gradually.  If  fishing  with 
gentles,  ground-bait  with  carrion  gentles.  If  you  cannot  ground- 
bait  beforehand,  throw  in  broken  worms,  or  hollow  clay  balls  with 
worms  inside  :  the  balls  should  be  lightly  made,  so  as  to  break 
soon. 

The  ledger-bait,  as  described  in  the  chapter  on  carp  fishing,  is  a 
killing  way  in  those  streams  which  are  too  strong  and  turbulent  for 
float-fishing.  The  bullet  should  be  flattened,  so  that  it  does  not 
roll  with  the  stream ;  or  you  may  fish  with  a  smaller  bullet,  and  let 
it  move  down  with  the  stream,  striking  when  you  feel  a  tug,  but  not 
in  too  much  haste.  A  Jack  rod  and  stout  tackle  is  best  for  ledg- 
ing  for  barbel,  as  a  strong  stroke  is  necessary. 

Another  very  killing  way,  but  which  I  have  never  tried,  is 
with  the  clay  hall  tackle.  The  hook  is  baited  with  half  a  dozen 
gentles  or  a  piece  of  greaves.  "  A  foot  above  the  hook  a  little  bit 
of  stick  is  fastened  crosswise,"  says  Mr.  Francis  Francis ;  "  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  gentles  showing  just  outside  the  ball  in  the  most  attrac- 
tive way.  Soon  the  gentles  in  the  clay  force  their  way  out,  and 
the  fish  taking  them  from  the  ball,  almost  inevitably  take  those  on 


298 


THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


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.  .  . 
A  stoutish  rod  and  tackle  are  required." 

"  Tight  corking  "  is  simply  fishing  with  the  line  so  well  shotted 
that  the  bait  does  not  drag,  the  shots  resting  on  the  ground,  and 
also  holding  the  float  in  its  place. 


CiUDGEON. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  GUDGEON,  THE  RUFFE,  AND 
THE  BLEAK;    AND  HOW  TO   FISH  FOR  THEM. 

[latirtlj  iaiiJ 

t  Pisc.  The  Gudgeon  is  reputed  a  fish  of  excellent  taste, 
and  to  be  very  wholesome :  he  is  of  a  fine  shape,  of  a  silver 
colour,  and  beautified  with  black  spots  both  on  his  body 
and  tail.  He  breeds  two  or  three  times  in  the  year,  and 
always  in  summer.  He  is  commended  for  a  fish  of  excellent 
nourishment :  the  Germans  call  him  Groundling,  by  reason 
of  his  feeding  on  the  ground  ;  and  he  there  feasts  himself 
in  sharp  streams,  and  on  the  gravel.  He  and  the  barbel 
both  feed  so,  and  do  not  hunt  for  flies  at  any  time,  as  most 
other  fishes  do  :  he  is  a  most  excellent  fish  to  enter  a  young 
angler,  being  easy  to  be  taken  with  a  small  red  worm,  on 
or  near  to  the  ground.  He  is  one  of  those  leather-mouthed 
fish  that  has  his  teeth  in  his  throat,  and  will  hardly  be  lost 
off  from  the  hook  if  he  be  once  strucken. 

They  be  usually  scattered  up  and  down  every  river  in 
the  shallows,  in  the  heat  of  summer;  but  in  autumn,  when 
the  weeds  begin  to  grow  sour  and  rot,  and  the  weather 
colder,  then  they  gather  together  and  get  into  the  deep 


I 


300  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

parts  of  the  water,  and  are  to  be  fished  for  there,  with  your 
hook  always  touching  the  ground,  if  you  fish  for  him  with 
a  float  or  with  a  cork ;  but  many  will  fish  for  the  gudgeon 
by  hand,  with  a  running-line  upon  the  ground,  without  a 
cork,  as  a  trout  is  fished  for  ;  and  it  is  an  excellent  way,  i^ 
you  have  a  gentle  rod  and  as  gentle  a  hand. 


There  is  also  another  fish  called  a  Pope,  and  by  some  a 
Ruffe,  a  fish  that  is  not  known  to  be  in  some  rivers :  he  is 
much  like  the  perch  for  his  shape,  and  taken  to  be  better 
than  the  perch,  but  will  not  grow  to  be  bigger  than  a 
gudgeon.  He  is  an  excellent  fish,  no  fish  that  swims  is  of 
a  pleasanter  taste  ;  and  he  is  also  excellent  to  enter  a  young 
angler,  for  he  is  a  greedy  biter ;  and  they  will  usually  lie 
abundance  of  them  together,  in  one  reserved  place,  where 
the  water  is  deep  and  runs  quietly ;  and  an  easy  angler,  if 
he  has  found  where  they  lie,  may  catch  forty  or  fifty,  or 
sometimes  twice  as  many,  at  a  standing. 

You  must  fish  for  him  with  a  small  red  worm ;  and  if 
you  bait  the  ground  with  earth,  it  is  excellent. 

There  is  also  a  Bleak,  or  fresh-water  Sprat,  a  fish  that  ij 
ever  in  motion,  and  therefore  called  by  some  the  rivei 
swallow ;  for  just  as  you  shall  observe  the  swallow  to 
most  evenings  in  summer  ever  in  motion,  making  short  an( 


GUDGEON,  RUFFE,  AND  BLEAK.  lO\ 

quick  turns  when  he  flies  to  catch  flies  in  the  air,  by  which 
he  hVes,  so  does  the  bleak  at  the  top  of  the  water.  Ausonius 
would  have  him  called  bleak  from  his  whitish  colour :  his 
back  is  of  a  pleasant  sad  or  sea-water  green,  his  belly  white 
and  shining  as  the  mountain  snow ;  and  doubtless,  though 
he  have  the  fortune,  which  virtue  has  in  poor  people,  to  be 
neglected,  yet  the  bleak  ought  to  be  much  valued,  though 


we  want  Allamot  salt  and  the  skill  that  the  Italians  have 
to  turn  them  into  anchovies.  This  fish  may  be  caught  with 
a  Paternoster  line;  that  is,  six  or  eight  very  small  hooks 
tied  along  the  line,  one  half  a  foot  above  the  other.  I  have 
seen  five  caught  thus  at  one  time,  and  the  bait  has  been 
gentles,  than  which  none  is  better. 

Or  this  fish  may  be  caught  with  a  fine  small  artificial  fly, 
which  is  to  be  of  a  very  sad  brown  colour,  and  very  small, 
and  the  hook  answerable.  There  is  no  better  sport  than 
whipping  for  bleaks  in  a  boat,  or  on  a  bank,  in  the  swift 
water  in  a  summer's  evening,  with  a  hazel  top  about  five  or 
six  foot  long,  and  a  line  twice  the  length  of  the  rod.  I  have 
heard  Sir  Henry  Wotton  say,  that  there  be  many  that  in 
I  Italy  will  catch  swallows  so,  or  especially  martins  ;  this 
I  bird-angler  standing  on  the  top  of  a  steeple  to  do  it,  and 


302 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 


tell  you,  scholar,  that  both  martins  and  bleaks  be  most 
excellent  meat. 

And  let  me  tell  you,  that  I  have  known  a  hern  that  did 
constantly  frequent  one  place,  caught  with  a  hook  baited 
with  a  big  minnow  or  small  gudgeon.  The  line  and  hook 
must  be  strong,  and  tied  to  some  loose  stafif,  so  big  as  she 
cannot  fly  away  with  it,  a  line  not  exceeding  two  yards. 


APPENDIX  XV. 


Practical   Essay. 


THE   GUDGEON 


is  a  pretty  little  fish  which  noses  along  the  gravel  in  thousands  on 
those  gravelly  shallows  which  it  affects.  It  is  excellent  fun  fishing 
for  it  in  the  summer.  The  hook  should  be  small,  and  just  fitted, 
like  with  a  glove,  with  a  piece  of  red  worm  or  brandling ;  there 
must  be  none  left  to  dangle.  A  small  quill  float  will  be  necessary, 
and  the  bait  should  just  touch  the  bottom  as  it  drifts  down  stream. 
Strike  at  the  least  dip.  Gudgeon  are  kept  in  one  spot  by  raking 
the  bottom  with  a  heavy  rake ;  this  stirs  up  the  gravel,  and  the 
gudgeon  crowd  to  seek  for  water-insects,  &a 

THE   RUFF 

is  something  like  a  cross  between  the  perch  and  the  gudgeon, 
having  the  spiny  fins  and  general  appearance  of  the  former,  and 
the  habits  of  the  latter.     It  is  generally  caught  while  gudgeon  fish- 


THE   BLEAK 


!   . 


is  a  slender,  active,  brilliant  little  fish,  and  may  be  caught,  as  Walton 
says,  with  gentles,  or  by  fly-fishing  with  very  small  dark  flies. 


CO? 


CHAPTER   XVI. 
IS  OF  NOTHING,   OR  THAT  WHICH  IS   NOTHING  WORTH 

[laurtfe  iag.] 

PiSC.  My  purpose  was  to  give  you  some  directions  con- 
cerning roach  and  dace,  and  some  other  inferior  fish,  which 
make  the  angler  excellent  sport,  for  you  know  there  is  more 
pleasure  in  hunting  the  hare  than  in  eating  her ;  but  I  will 
forbear  at  this  time  to  say  any  more,  because  you  see  yon- 
der come  our  brother  Peter  and  honest  Coridon :  but  I 
will  promise  you,  that  as  you  and  I  fish,  and  walk  to-morrow 
towards  London,  if  I  have  now  forgotten  anything  that  I 
can  then  remember,  I  will  not  keep  it  from  you. 

Well  met,  gentlemen  :  this  is  lucky  that  we  meet  so  just 
together  at  this  very  door.  Come,  hostess,  where  are  you  ? 
Is  supper  ready.?  Come,  first  give  us  drink,  and  be  as 
quick  as  you  can,  for  I  believe  we  are  all  very  hungry.  Well, 
brother  Peter,  and  Coridon,  to  you  both :  come,  drink,  and 

804 


i 


OF  NOTHING.  305 


then  tell  me  what  luck  of  fish  :  we  two  have  caught  but  ten 
trouts,  of  which  my  scholar  caught  three;  look,  here's  eight, 
and  a  brace  we  gave  away :  we  have  had  a  most  pleasant 
day  for  fishing  and  talking,  and  are  returned  home  both 
weary  and  hungry,  and  now  meat  and  rest  will  be  pleasant. 

Pet.  And  Coridon  and  I  have  had  not  an  unpleasant  day, 
and  yet  I  have  caught  but  five  trouts  ;  for  indeed  we  went 
to  a  good  honest  alehouse,  and  there  we  played  at  shovel- 
board  half  the  day :  all  the  time  that  it  rained  we  were 
there,  and  as  merry  as  they  that  fished  ;  and  I  am  glad  we 
are  now  with  a  dry  house  over  our  heads,  for  hark  how  it 
rains  and  blows.  Come,  hostess,  give  us  more  ale,  and  our 
supper  with  what  haste  you  may ;  and  when  we  have  supped 
let  us  have  your  song,  Piscator,  and  the  catch  that  your 
scholar  promised  us  ;  or  else  Coridon  will  be  dogged. 

PiSC.  Nay,  I  will  not  be  worse  than  my  word ;  you  shall 
not  want  my  song,  and  I  hope  I  shall  be  perfect  in  it. 

Ven.  And  I  hope  the  like  for  my  catch,  which  I  have 
ready  too ;  and  therefore  let  *s  go  merrily  to  supper,  and 
then  have  a  gentle  touch  at  singing  and  drinking ;  but  the 
last  with  moderation. 

Cor.  Come,  now  for  your  song;  for  we  have  fed  heartily. 
Come,  hostess,  lay  a  few  more  sticks  on  the  fire.  And  now 
sing  when  you  will. 

PiSC.  Well  then,  here's  to  you,  Coridon;  and  now  for  my 

song. 

O  the  gallant  fisher's  life, 

It  is  the  best  of  any! 
'T  is  full  of  pleasure,  void  of  strife, 
And  't  is  beloved  by  many  ; 
Other  joys 
Are  but  toys ; 

20 


306  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

Only  this 
Lawful  is  ; 
For  our  skill 
Breeds  no  ill, 
But  content  and  pleasure. 

In  a  morning  up  we  rise, 
Ere  Aurora's  peeping ; 
Drink  a  cup  to  wash  our  eyes  ; 
Leave  the  sluggard  sleeping 
Then  we  go 
To  and  fro 
With  our  knacks 
At  our  backs, 
To  such  streams 
As  the  Thames, 
If  we  have  the  leisure. 

When  we  please  to  walk  abroad 

For  our  recreation. 
In  the  fields  is  our  abode. 
Full  of  delectation : 
Where  in  a  brook, 
With  a  hook. 
Or  a  lake. 
Fish  we  take  ; 
-  There  we  sit 

For  a  bit, 
Till  we  fish  entangle. 

We  have  gentles  in  a  horn. 

We  have  paste  and  worms  too  ; 
We  can  watch  both  night  and  mom, 
Suffer  rain  and  storms  too. 
None  do  here 
Use  to  swear ; 
Oaths  do  fray 
Fish  away  : 
We  sit  still 
And  watch  our  quill ; 
Fishers  must  not  wrangle; 


OF  NOTHING.  307 


If  the  sun's  excessive  heat 
Make  our  bodies  swelter, 
To  an  osier  hedge  we  get 
For  a  friendly  shelter  ; 

Where  in  a  dike, 

Perch  or  pike, 

Roach  or  dace. 

We  do  chase ; 

Bleak  or  gudgeon, 

Without  grudging ; 
We  are  still  contented. 

Or  we  sometimes  pass  an  hour 

Under  a  green  willow. 
That  defends  us  from  a  shower  — 
Making  earth  our  pillow  : 
Where  we  may 
Think  and  pray. 
Before  death 
Stops  our  breath : 
Other  joys 
Are  but  toys, 
And  to  be  lamented. — Jo.  Chalkhill. 

Ven.  Well  sung,  master:  this  day's  fortune  and  pleasure, 
and  this  nij^^ht's  company  and  song,  do  all  make  me  more 
and  more  in  love  with  angling.  Gentlemen,  my  master  left 
me  alone  for  an  hour  this  day ;  and  I  verily  believe  he 
retired  himself  from  talking  with  me,  that  he  might  be  so 
perfect  in  this  song  :  was  it  not,  master } 

PiSC.  Yes  indeed  ;  for  it  is  many  years  since  I  learned  it, 
and  having  forgotten  a  part  of  it,  I  was  forced  to  patch  it 
up  by  the  help  of  mine  own  invention,  who  am  not  excellent 
at  poetry,  as  my  part  of  the  song  may  testify :  but  of  that 
I  will  say  no  more,  lest  you  should  think  I  mean  by  discom- 
mending it  to  beg  your  commendations  of  it.  And  therefore, 

20-- 2 


308  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

without  replications,  let  us  hear  your  catch,  scholar,  which 
I  hope  will  be  a  good  one ;  for  you  are  both  musical  and 
have  a  good  fancy  to  boot. 

Ven.  Marry,  and  that  you  shall ;  and  as  freely  as  I  would 
have  my  honest  master  tell  me  some  more  secrets  of  fish 
and  fishing  as  we  walk  and  fish  towards  London  to-morrow. 
But,  master,  first  let  me  tell  you,  that  very  hour  which  you 
were  absent  from  me,  I  sat  down  under  a  willow-tree  by  the 
water-side,  and  considered  what  you  had  told  me  of  the 
owner  of  that  pleasant  meadow  in  which  you  had  then  left 
me  :  that  he  had  a  plentiful  estate,  and  not  a  heart  to  think- 
so  ;  that  he  had  at  this  time  many  law-suits  depending,  and 
that  they  both  damped  his  mirth  and  took  up  so  much  of 
his  time  and  thoughts,  that  he  himself  had  not  leisure  to 
take  the  sweet  content  that  I,  who  pretended  no  title  to 
them,  took  in  his  fields :  for  I  could  sit  there  quietly,  and, 
looking  on  the  water,  see  some  fishes  sport  themselves  in 
the  silver  streams,  others  leaping  at  flies  of  several  shapes 
and  colours;  looking  on  the  hills,  I  could  behold  them 
spotted  with  woods  and  groves ;  looking  down  the  meadows, 
could  see,  here  a  boy  gathering  lilies  and  lady-smocks,  and 
there  a  girl  cropping  culverkeys  and  cowslips,  all  to  make 
garlands  suitable  to  this  present  month  of  May ;  these,  and 
many  other  field-flowers,  so  perfumed  the  air,  that  I  thought 
that  very  meadow  like  that  field  in  Sicily  of  which  Diodorus 
speaks,  where  the  perfumes  arising  from  the  place  make  all 
dogs  that  hunt  in  it  to  fall  off",  and  to  lose  their  hottest 
scent.  I  say,  as  I  thus  sat,  joying  in  my  own  happy 
condition,  and  pitying  this  poor  rich  man  that  owned  this 
and  many  other  pleasant  groves  and  meadows  about  mc,  I 
did  thankfully  remember  what  my  Saviour  said,  that  the 


OF  NOTHING.  309 


meek  possess  the  earth ;  or  rather,  they  enjoy  what  the 
others  possess  and  enjoy  not ;  for  anglers  and  meek  quiet- 
spirited  men  are  free  from  those  high,  those  restless  thoughts, 
which  corrode  the  sweets  of  life ;  and  they,  and  they  only, 
can  say,  as  the  poet  has  happily  expressed  it : 

Hail,  blest  estate  of  lowliness  ! 

Happy  enjoyments  of  such  minds 
As,  rich  in  self-contentedness, 

Can,  Hke  the  reeds  in  roughest  winds, 
By  yielding,  make  that  blow  but  small 
At  which  proud  oaks  and  cedars  fall. 

There  came  also  into  my  mind,  at  that  time,  certain 
verses  in  praise  of  a  mean  estate  and  an  humble  mind  ;  they 
were  written  by  Phineas  Fletcher,  an  excellent  divine,  and 
an  excellent  angler,  and  the  author  of  excellent  piscatory 
eclogues,  in  which  you  shall  see  the  picture  of  this  good 
man's  mind,  and  I  wish  mine  to  be  like  it. 

No  empty  hopes,  no  courtly  fears  him  fright ; 
No  begging  wants  his  middle  fortune  bite  ; 
But  sweet  content  exiles  botli  misery  and  spite. 

His  certain  life,  that  never  can  deceive  him, 
Is  full  of  thousand  sweets  and  rich  content ; 

The  smooth-leaved  beeches  in  the  field  receive  him, 
With  coolest  shade,  till  noontide's  heat  be  spent. 

His  life  is  neither  toss'd  in  boisterous  seas 

Or  the  vexatious  world,  or  lost  in  slothful  ease  : 
Pleased  and  full  bless'd  he  lives,  when  he  his  God  can  please. 

His  bed,  more  safe  than  soft,  yields  quiet  sleeps. 
While  by  his  side  his  faithful  spouse  hath  place ; 

His  little  son  into  his  bosom  creeps, 
The  lively  picture  of  his  father's  face ; 


310  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


His  humble  house  or  poor  state  ne'er  torment  him — 
Less  he  could  like,  if  less  his  God  had  lent  him  ; 
And  when  he  dies,  green  turfs  do  for  a  tomb  content  him. 

Gentlemen,  these  were  a  part  of  the  thoughts  that  then 
possessed  me.  And  I  here  made  a  conversion  of  a  piece  of 
an  old  catch,  and  added  more  to  it,  fitting  them  to  be  sung 
by  anglers.  Come,  master,  you  can  sing  well;  you  must 
sing  a  part  of  it  as  it  is  in  this  paper. 

Man's  life  is  but  vain, 

For  't  is  subject  to  pain 

And  sorrow,  and  short  as  a  bubble  ; 

'T  is  a  hodgepodge  of  business, 

And  money,  and  care ; 

But  we  '11  take  no  care 

When  the  weather  proves  fair, 

Nor  will  we  vex 

Now,  though  it  rain, 
We  '11  banish  all  sorrow. 
And  sing  till  to-morrow. 

And  angle  and  angle  again. 

Peter.  Ay,  marry,  Sir,  this  is  music  indeed ;  this  has 
cheered  my  heart,  and  made  me  to  remember  six  verses  in 
praise  of  music,  which  I  will  speak  to  you  instantly. 

Music  !  miraculous  rhetoric,  that  speakest  sense 

Without  a  tongue,  excelling  eloquence  ; 

With  what  ease  might  thy  errors  be  excused, 

Wert  thou  as  truly  loved  as  thou  'rt  abused  ! 

But  though  dull  souls  neglect,  and  some  reprove  thee, 

I  cannot  hate  thee,  'cause  the  angels  love  thee. 

Ven.  And  the  repetition  of  these  last  verses  of  musi< 
has  called  to  my  memory  what  Mr.  Ed.  Waller,  a  lover  ol| 
the  angle,  says  of  love  and  music. 


OF  NOTHING.  3  r  I 


Whilst  I  listen  to  thy  voice, 

Chloris,  I  feel  my  heart  decay: 
That  powerful  noise 

Calls  my  fleeting  soul  away  ; 
O  suppress  that  magic  sound, 
Which  destroys  without  a  wound  I 

Peace,  Chloris,  peace,  or  singing  die, 
That  together  you  and  I 

To  heaven  may  go ; 

For  all  we  know 
Of  what  the  blessed  do  above 
Is — that  they  sing,  and  that  they  love. 

PiSC.  Well  remembered,  brother  Peter :  these  verses 
came  seasonably,  and  we  thank  you  heartily.  Come,  we 
will  all  join  together,  my  host  and  all,  and  sing  my  scholar's 
catch  over  again,  and  then  each  man  drink  the  other  cup, 
and  to  bed,  and  thank  God  we  have  a  dry  house  over  our 
heads. 

PiSC.  Well  now,  good  night  to  everybody. 

Peter.  And  so  say  I. 

Ven.  And  so  say  I. 

Cor.  Good  night  to  you  all,  and  I  thank  you. 


PiSC.  Good  morrow,  brother  Peter,  and  the  like  to  you, 
honest  Coridon :  come,  my  hostess  says  there  is  seven  shil- 
lings to  pay ;  let  us  each  man  drink  a  pot  for  his  morning's 
draught,  and  lay  down  his  two  shillings ;  that  so  my  hostess 


312 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


may  not  have  occasion  to  repent  herself  of  being  so  diligent, 
and  using  us  so  kindly. 

Peter.  The  motion  is  liked  by  everybody;  and  so, 
hostess,  here  's  your  money :  we  anglers  are  all  beholding 
to  you ;  it  will  not  be  long  ere  I  '11  see  you  again.  And 
now,  brother  Piscator,  I  wish  you  and  my  brother,  your 
scholar,  a  fair  day  and  good  fortune.  Come,  Coridon,  this 
is  our  way. 


CHAPTER  XVIL 

OF  ROACH  AND  DACE,  AND   HOW  TO  FISH  FOR 

them;  and  of  caddis. 

Ven.  Good  master,  as  we  go  now  towards  London,  be 
still  so  courteous  as  to  give  me  more  instructions ;  for  I 
have  several  boxes  in  my  memory,  in  which  I  will  keep 
them  all  very  safe,  there  shall  not  one  of  them  be  lost. 

Pisc.  Well,  scholar,  that  I  will ;  and  I  will  hide  nothing 
from  you  that  I  can  remember,  and  can  think  may  help 
you  forward  towards  a  perfection  in  this  art.  And  because 
we  have  so  much  time,  and  I  have  said  so  little  of  Roach 
and  Dace,  I  will  give  you  some  directions  concerning  them. 

Some  say  the  roach  is  so  called  from  riitilns^  which  they 
say  signifies  red  fins.  He  is  a  fish  of  no  great  reputation 
for  his  dainty  taste;  and  his  spawn  is  accounted  much 
better  than  any  part  of  him.  And  you  may  take  notice, 
that  as  the  carp  is  accounted  the  water-fox  for  his  cunning, 
so  the  roach  is  accounted  the  water-sheep  for  his  simplicity 

B foolishness.    It  is  noted,  that  the  roach  and  dace  recover 


314  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

strength,  and  grow  in  season  a  fortnight  after  spawning ; 
the  barbel  and  chub  in  a  month  ;  the  trout  in  four  months  ; 
and  the  salmon  in  the  like  time,  if  he  gets  into  the  sea,  and 
after  into  fresh  water. 

Roaches  be  accounted  much  better  in  the  river  than  in  a 
pond,  though  ponds  usually  breed  the  biggest.  But  there 
is  a  kind  of  bastard  small  roach,^  that  breeds  in  ponds,  with 
a  very  forked  tail,  and  of  a  very  small  size,  which  some  say 
is  bred  by  the  bream  and  right  roach ;  and  some  ponds  are 
stored  with  these  beyond  belief;  and  knowing  men,  that 
know  their  difference,  call  them  ruds :  they  differ  from  the 
true  roach  as  much  as  a  herring  from  a  pilchard.  And 
these  bastard  breed  of  roach  are  now  scattered  in  many 
rivers ;  but  I  think  not  in  the  Thames,  which,  I  believe, 
affords  the  largest  and  fattest  in  this  nation,  especially  below 
London  Bridge.  The  roach  is  a  leather-mouthed  fish,  and 
has  a  kind  of  saw-like  teeth  in  his  throat.  And  lastly,  let 
me  tell  you,  the  roach  makes  an  angler  capital  sport,  espe- 
cially the  great  roaches  about  London,  where  I  think  there 
be  the  best  roach  anglers.  And  I  think  the  best  trout 
anglers  be  in  Derbyshire  ;  for  the  waters  there  are  clear  to 
an  extremity. 

Next,  let  me  tell  you,  you  shall  fish  for  this  roach  in 
winter  with  paste  or  gentles  ;  in  April  with  worms  or  caddis ; 
in  the  very  hot  months  with  little  white  snails,  or  with  flies 
under  water,  for  he  seldom  takes  them  at  the  top,  though 
the  dace  will.  In  many  of  the  hot  months,  roaches  may 
also  be  caught  thus :  Take  a  May-fly  or  ant-fly,  sink  him 
with  a  little  lead  to  the  bottom,  near  to  the  piles  or  post 
of  a  bridge,  or  near  to  any  posts  of  a  weir,  I  mean  any  deej 
place  where  roaches  lie  quietly,  and  then  pull  your  fly  uj 


ROACH  AND  DACE.  315 

very  leisurely,  and  usually  a  roach  will  follow  your  bait  to 
the  very  top  of  the  water,  and  gaze  on  it  there,  and  run  at 
it  and  take  it,  lest  the  fly  should  fly  away  from  him. 

I  have  seen  this  done  at  Windsor  and  Henley  Bridge, 
and  great  store  of  roach  taken,  and  sometimes  a  dace  or 
chub ;  and  in  August  you  may  fish  for  them  with  a  paste 
made  only  of  the  crumbs  of  bread,  which  should  be  of  pure 
fine  manchet ;  ^  and  that  paste  must  be  so  tempered  betwixt 
your  hands,  till  it  be  both  soft  and  tough  too  :  a  very  little 
water,  and  time  and  labour,  and  clean  hands,  will  make  it 
a  most  excellent  paste ;  but  when  you  fish  with  it,  you 
must  have  a  small  hook,  a  quick  eye,  and  a  nimble  hand, 
or  the  bait  is  lost  and  the  fish  too ;  if  one  may  lose  that 
which  he  never  had.  With  this  paste  you  may,  as  I  said, 
take  both  the  roach  and  dace  or  dare,  for  they  be  much  of 
a  kind,  in  matter  of  feeding,  cunning,  goodness,  and  usually 
in  size.  And  therefore  take  this  general  direction  for  some 
other  baits  which  may  concern  you  to  take  notice  of.  They 
will  bite  almost  at  any  fly,  but  especially  at  ant-flies  ;  con- 
cerning which,  take  this  direction,  for  it  is  very  good : 

Take  the  blackish  gnt-fly  out  of  the  mole-hill  or  ant-hill, 
in  which  place  you  shall  find  them  in  the  month  of  June,  or 
if  that  be  too  early  in  the  year,  then  doubtless  you  may 
find  them  in  July,  August,  and  most  of  September;  gather 
them  alive  with  both  their  wings,  and  then  put  them  into  a 
glass  that  will  hold  a  quart  or  a  pottle ;  but  first  put  into 
the  glass  a  handful  or  more  of  the  moist  earth  out  of  which 
you  gather  them,  and  as  much  of  the  roots  of  the  grass  of 
the  said  hillock,  and  then  put  in  the  flies  gently,  that  they 
lose  not  their  wings  :  lay  a  clod  of  earth  over  it,  and  then 
so  many  as  are  put  into  the  glass  without  bruising  will  live 


I  so 

k 


3l6  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

there  a  month  or  more,  and  be  always  in  a  readiness  for 
you  to  fish  with ;  but  if  you  would  have  them  keep  longer, 
then  get  any  great  earthen  pot,  or  barrel  of  three  or  four 
gallons,  which  is  better,  then  wash  your  barrel  with  water 
and  honey,  and  having  put  into  it  a  quantity  of  earth  and 
grass-roots,  then  put  in  your  flies,  and  cover  it,  and  they 
will  live  a  quarter  of  a  year :  these,  in  any  stream  and  clear 
water,  are  a  deadly  bait  for  roach  or  dace,  or  for  a  chub ; 
and  your  rule  is,  to  fish  not  less  than  a  handful  from  the 
bottom. 

I  shall  next  tell  you  a  winter  bait  for  a  roach,  a  dace,  or 
chub,  and  it  is  choicely  good.  About  AU-hallontide  and  so 
till  frost  comes,  when  you  see  men  ploughing  up  heath 
ground,  or  sandy  ground,  or  greenswards,  then  follow  the 
plough,  and  you  shall  find  a  white  worm  as  big  as  two 
maggots,  and  it  hath  a  red  head  :  you  may  observe  in  what 
ground  most  are,  for  there  the  crows  will  be  very  watchful 
and  follow  the  plough  very  close :  it  is  all  soft,  and  full  of 
whitish  guts ;  a  worm  that  is,  in  Norfolk  and  some  other 
counties,  called  a  grub,  and  is  bred  of  the  spawn  or  eggs 
of  a  beetle,  which  she  leaves  in  holes  that  she  digs  in  the 
ground  under  cow  or  horse-dung,  and  there  rests  all  winter, 
and  in  March  or  April  comes  to  be  first  a  red,  and  then  a 
black  beetle.  Gather  a  thousand  or  two  of  these,  and  put 
them  with  a  peck  or  two  of  their  own  earth  into  some  tub 
or  firkin,  and  cover  and  keep  them  so  warm  that  the  frost 
or  cold  air  or  winds  kill  them  not :  these  you  may  keep  all 
winter,  and  kill  fish  with  them  at  any  time ;  and  if  you  put 
some  of  them  into  a  little  earth  and  honey,  a  day  before 
you  use  them,  you  will  find  them  an  excellent  bait  for  brea: 
carp,  or  indeed  for  almost  any  fish. 


ROACH  AND  DACE.  317 

And  after  this  manner  you  may  also  keep  gentles  all 
winter ;  which  are  a  good  bait  then,  and  much  the  better 
for  being  lively  and  tough.  Or  you  may  breed  and  keep 
gentles  thus :  take  a  piece  of  beast's  liver,  and  with  a  cross 
stick  hang  it  in  some  corner,  over  a  pot  or  barrel  half  full 
of  dry  clay ;  and  as  the  gentles  grow  big,  they  will  fall  into 
the  barrel  and  scour  themselves,  and  be  always  ready  for 
use  whensoever  you  incline  to  fish ;  and  these  gentles  may 
be  thus  created  till  after  Michaelmas.  But  if  you  desire  to 
keep  gentles  to  fish  with  all  the  year,  then  get  a  dead  cat, 
or  a  kite,  and  let  it  be  fly-blown ;  and  when  the  gentles 
begin  to  be  alive  and  to  stir,  then  bury  it  and  them  in  soft 
moist  earth,  but  as  free  from  frost  as  you  can ;  and  these 
you  may  dig  up  at  any  time  when  you  intend  to  use  them  : 
these  will  last  till  March,  and  about  that  time  turn  to  be  flies. 
But  if  you  will  be  nice  to  foul  your  fingers,  which  good 
anglers  seldom  are,  then  take  this  bait :  get  a  handful  of 
well-made  malt,  and  put  into  a  dish  of  water ;  and  then 
wash  and  rub  it  betwixt  your  hands  till  you  make  it  clean, 
and  as  free  from  husks  as  you  can ;  then  put  that  water 
from  it,  and  put  a  small  quantity  of  fresh  water  to  it,  and 
set  it  in  something  that  is  fit  for  that  purpose,  over  the  fire, 
where  it  is  not  to  boil  apace,  but  leisurely  and  very  softly, 
until  it  become  somewhat  soft,  which  you  may  try  by  feel- 
ing it  betwixt  your  finger  and  thumb  ;  and  when  it  is  soft, 
then  put  your  water  from  it,  and  then  take  a  sharp  knife, 
;  and  turning  the  sprout  end  of  the  corn  upward,  with  the 
I  point  of  your  knife  take  the  back  part  of  the  husk  off  from 
it,  and  yet  leaving  a  kind  of  inward  husk  on  the  corn,  or 
else  it  is  marr'd ;  and  then  cut  off  that  sprouted  end,  I 
mean  a  little  of  it,  that  the  white  may  appear,  and  so  pull 


3l8  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

off  the  husk  on  the  cloven  side,  as  I  directed  you,  and  then 
cutting  off  a  very  little  of  the  other  end,  that  so  your  hook 
may  enter ;  and  if  your  hook  be  small  and  good,  you  will 
find  this  to  be  a  very  choice  bait  either  for  winter  or  sum- 
mer, you  sometimes  casting  a  little  of  it  into  the  place  where 
your  float  swims. 

And  to  take  the  roach  and  dace,  a  good  bait  is  the  young 
brood  of  wasps  or  bees,  if  you  dip  their  heads  in  blood ;  es- 
pecially good  for  bream,  if  they  be  baked  or  hardened  in 
their  husks  in  an  oven,  after  the  bread  is  taken  out  of  it,  or 
hardened  on  a  fire-shovel ;  and  so  also  is  the  thick  blood  of 
sheep,  being  half  dried  on  a  trencher,  that  so  you  may  cut 
it  into  such  pieces  as  may  best  fit  the  size  of  your  hook,  and 
a  little  salt  keeps  it  from  growing  black,  and  makes  it  not  the 
worse  but  better :  this  is  taken  to  be  a  choice  bait  if  rightly 
ordered. 

There  be  several  oils  of  a  strong  smell  that  I  have  been 
told  of,  and  to  be  excellent  to  tempt  fish  to  bite,  of  which  I 
could  say  much ;  but  I  remember  I  once  carried  a  small 
bottle  from  Sir  George  Hastings  to  Sir  Henry  Wotton,  they 
were  both  chymical  men,  as  a  great  present :  it  was  sent 
and  received,  and  used  with  great  confidence ;  and  yet  upon 
enquiry,  I  found  it  did  not  answer  the  expectation  of  Sir 
Henry,  which,  with  the  help  of  this  and  other  circumstances, 
makes  me  have  little  belief  in  such  things  as  many  men  talk 
of:  not  but  that  I  think  fishes  both  smell  and  hear,  as  I 
have  expressed  in  my  former  discourse;  but  there  is  a 
mysterious  knack,  which,  though  it  be  much  easier  than  tn 
philosopher's  stone,  yet  it  is  not  attainable  by  common 
capacities,  or  else  lies  locked  up  in  the  brain  or  breast 
some  chyn>'cal  man,  that,  like  the  Rosicrucians,  will  not  y 


1 


ROACH  AND  DACE.  3^9 

reveal  it.  But  let  me  nevertheless  tell  you,  that  camphor, 
put  with  moss  into  your  worm-bag,  with  your  worms,  makes 
them,  if  many  anglers  be  not  very  much  mistaken,  a  tempt- 
ing bait,  and  the  angler  more  fortunate.  But  I  stepped  by 
chance  into  this  discourse  of  oils  and  fishes  smelling ;  and 
though  there  might  be  more  said,  both  of  it  and  of  baits  for 
roach  and  dace  and  other  float  fish,  yet  I  will  forbear  it  at 
this  time,  and  tell  you  in  the  next  place  how  you  are  to 
prepare  your  tackling  ;  concerning  which  I  will,  for  sport 
sake,  give  you  an  old  rhyme  out  of  an  old^  fish-book,  which 
will  prove  a  part,  and  but  a  part,  of  what  you  are  to  provide. 


My  rod  and  my  line,  my  float  and  my  lead, 

My  hook  and  my  plummet,  my  whetstone  and  knife, 

My  basket,  my  baits  both  living  and  dead. 
My  net,  and  my  meat  (for  that  is  the  chief) : 

Then  I  must  have  thread,  and  hairs  green  and  small, 

With  mine  angling-purse— and  so  you  have  all. 


But  you  must  have  all  these  tackling,  and  twice  so  many 
more,  with  which,  if  you  mean  to  be  a  fisher,  you  must 
store  yourself;  and  to  that  purpose  I  will  go  with  you 
either  to  Mr.  Margrave,  who  dwells  amongst  the  book- 
sellers in  St.  Paul's  Churchyard,  or  to  Mr.  John  Stubs,  near 
to  the  Swan  in  Golden  Lane  ;  they  be  both  honest  men, 
and  will  fit  an  angler  with  what  tackling  he  lacks. 

Ven.  Then,  good  master,  let  it  be  at for  he  is 

nearest  to  my  dwelling ;  and  I  pray  let  us  meet  there  the 
Ninth  of  May  next,  about  two  of  the  clock,  and  I  '11  want 
nothing  that  a  fisher  should  be  furnished  with. 

PiSC.  Well,  and  I  '11  not  fail  you  (God  willing)  at  the 
time  and  place  appointed. 


320  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

Ven.  I  thank  you,  good  master,  and  I  will  not  fail  you ; 
and,  good  master,  tell  me  what  baits  more  you  remember, 
for  it  will  not  now  be  long  ere  we  shall  be  at  Tottenham 
High  Cross,  and  when  we  come  thither  I  will  make  you 
some  requital  of  your  pains,  by  repeating  as  choice  a  copy 
of  verses  as  any  we  have  heard  since  we  met  together ;  and 
that  is  a  proud  word,  for  we  have  heard  very  good  ones. 

PiSC.  Well,  scholar,  and  I  shall  be  then  right  glad  to 
hear  them ;  and  I  will,  as  we  walk,  tell  you  whatsoever 
comes  in  my  mind,  that  I  think  may  be  worth  your  hear- 
ing. You  may  make  another  choice  bait  thus :  Take  a 
handful  or  two  of  the  best  and  biggest  wheat  you  can  get, 
boil  it  in  a  little  milk,  like  as  frumity  is  boiled ;  boil  it  so 
till  it  be  soft,  and  then  fry  it  very  leisurely  with  honey,  and 
a  little  beaten  saffron  dissolved  in  milk  ;  and  you  will  find 
this  a  choice  bait,  and  good,  I  think,  for  any  fish,  especially 
for  roach,  dace,  chub,  or  grayling :  I  know  not  but  that  it 
may  be  as  good  for  a  river-carp,  and  especially  if  the 
ground  be  a  little  baited  with  it. 

And  you  may  also  note,  that  the  spawn  of  most  fish  is  a 
very  tempting  bait,  being  a  little  hardened  on  a  warm  tile, 
and  cut  into  fit  pieces.  Nay,  mulberries,  and  those  black- 
berries which  grow  upon  briars,  be  good  baits  for  chubs  or 
carps ;  with  these  many  have  been  taken  in  ponds,  and  in 
some  rivers  where  such  trees  have  grown  near  the  water, 
and  the  fruits  customarily  dropped  in  it.  And  there  be  a 
hundred  other  baits,  more  than  can  be  well  named,  which, 
by  constant  baiting  the  water,  will  become  a  tempting  bait 
for  any  fish  in  it. 

You  are  also  to  know,  that  there  be  divers  kinds  of  caddis 
or  case-worms,  that  are  to  be  found  in  this  nation,  in  several 


ROACH  AND  DACE.  321 

distinct  counties,  and  in  several  little  brooks  that  relate  to 
bigger  rivers ;  as,  namely,  one  caddis  called  a  piper,  whose 
husk  or  case  is  a  piece  of  reed  about  an  inch  long,  or  longer, 
and  as  big  about  as  the  compass  of  a  two-pence.  These 
worms  being  kept  three  or  four  days  in  a  woollen  bag,  with 
sand  at  the  bottom  of  it,  and  the  bag  wet  once  a  day,  will 
in  three  or  four  days  turn  to  be  yellow ;  and  these  be  a 
choice  bait  for  the  chub  or  chavender,  or  indeed  for  any 
great  fish,  for  it  is  a  large  bait. 

There  is  also  a  lesser  caddis-worm,  called  a  cock-spur, 
being  in  fashion  like  the  spur  of  a  cock,  sharp  at  one  end ; 
and  the  case  or  house,  in  which  this  dwells,  is  made  of  small 
husks  and  gravel  and  slime,  most  curiously  made  of  these, 
even  so  as  to  be  wondered  at,  but  not  to  be  made  by  man, 
no  more  than  a  kingfisher's  nest  can,  which  is  made  of  little 
fishes'  bones,  and  have  such  a  geometrical  interweaving  and 
connection,  as  the  like  is  not  to  be  done  by  the  art  of  man  *? 
this  kind  of  caddis  is  a  choice  bait  for  any  float-fish  ;  it  is 
much  less  than  the  piper-caddis,  and  to  be  so  ordered;  and 
these  may  be  so  preserved,  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty  days,  or 
it  may  be  longer. 

There  is  also  another  caddis,  called  by  some  a  straw- 
worm,  and  by  some  a  rufi*-coat,  whose  house  or  case  is  made 
of  little  pieces  of  bents,  and  rushes,  and  straws,  and  water- 
weeds,  and  I  know  not  what,  which  are  so  knit  together  with 
condensed  slime,  that  they  stick  about  her  husk  or  case,  not 
unlike  the  bristles  of  a  hedgehog :  these  three  caddises  are 
commonly  taken  in  the  beginning  of  summer,  and  are  good 
indeed  to  take  any  kind  of  fish,  with  float  or  otherwise.  I 
might  tell  you  of  many  more,  which  as  these  do  early,  so 
those  have  their  time  also  of  turning  to  be  flies  later  in 

21 


322  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

summer ;  but  I  might  lose  myself  and  tire  you  by  such  a 
discourse  :  I  shall  therefore  but  remember  you,  that  to 
know  these  and  their  several  kinds,  and  to  what  flies  every 
particular  caddis  turns,  and  then  how  to  use  them,  first  as 
they  be  caddis,  and  after  as  they  be  flies,  is  an  art,  and  an 
art  that  every  one  that  professes  to  be  an  angler  has  not 
leisure  to  search  after,  and,  if  he  had,  is  not  capable  of 
learning. 

I  will  tell  you,  scholar,  several  countries  have  several 
kinds  of  caddises,  that  indeed  differ  as  much  as  dogs  do ; 
that  is  to  say,  as  much  as  a  very  cur  and  a  greyhound  do. 
These  be  usually  bred  in  the  very  little  rills,  or  ditches,  that 
run  into  bigger  rivers ;  and,  I  think,  a  more  proper  bait  for 
those  very  rivers  than  any  other.  I  know  not  how,  or  of 
what,  this  caddis  receives  life,  or  what  coloured  fly  it  turns 
to  ;  but  doubtless  they  are  the  death  of  many  trouts ;  and 
this  is  one  killing  way : 

Take  one,  or  more  if  need  be,  of  these  large  yellow  caddis ; 
pull  off  his  head,  and  with  it  pull  out  his  black  gut ;  put 
the  body,  as  little  bruised  as  is  possible,  on  a  very  little 
hook,  armed  on  with  a  red  hair,  which  will  show  like  the 
caddis  head ;  and  a  very  little  thin  lead,  so  put  upon  the 
shank  of  the  hook  that  it  may  sink  presently.     Throw  this 
bait,  thus  ordered,  which  will  look  very  yellow,  into  any] 
great   still   hole  where  a  trout  is,  and   he  will   presently] 
venture  his  life  for  it,  it  is  not  to  be  doubted,  if  you  be  not! 
espied ;  and  that  the  bait  first  touch  the  water  before  the] 
line.     And  this  will  do  best  in  the  deepest  water. 

Next  let  me  tell  you,  I  have  been  much  pleased  to  wall 
quietly  by  a  brook  with  a  little  stick  in  my  hand,  with 
which  I  might  easily  take  these,  and  consider  the  curiosity 


ROACH  AND  DACE. 


323 


of  their  composure ;  and  if  you  shall  ever  like  to  do  so,  then 
note,  that  your  stick  must  be  a  little  hazel  or  willow,  cleft, 
or  have  a  nick  at  one  end  of  it ;  by  which  means  you  may 
with  ease  take  many  of  them  in  that  nick  out  of  the  water, 
before  you  have  any  occasion  to  use  them.  These,  my 
honest  scholar,  are  some  observations  told  to  you  as  they 
now  come  suddenly  into  my  memory,  of  which  you  may 
make  some  use ;  but  for  the  practical  part,  it  is  that  that 
makes  an  angler:  it  is  diligence,  and  observation,  and 
practice,  and  an  ambition  to  be  the  best  in  the  art,  that 
must  do  it.  Iwill  tell  you,  scholar,  I  once  heard  one  say, 
"  I  envy  not  him  that  eats  better  meat  than  I  do,  nor  him 
that  is  richer,  or  that  wears  better  clothes  than  I  do ;  I 
envy  nobody  but  him,  and  him  only,  that  catches  more  fish 
than  I  do."  And  such  a  man  is  like  to  prove  an  angler ; 
and  this  noble  emulation  I  wish  to  you  and  all  young 
anglers. 


APPENDIX  XVII. 


General   Notes, 


1  The  rudd  is  a  game  little  fish,  found  in  great  abundance  in  the 
"  broads  "  and  rivers  of  Norfolk,  where  it  is  called  "  roud."  In 
Cambridgeshire  it  is  called  "  shallow."  I  am  inclined  to  think  it 
is  not  a  hybrid,  but  a  distinct  species.  It  is  a  brilliantly  coloured 
fish,  with  scales  inclining  to  a  gold  colour,  belly  and  gill-covers 
yellow,  eyes  and  fins  bright  red.  It  may  be  fished  for  in  the  same 
way  as  the  roach. 

Once  while  yachting  on  the  Norfolk  broads,  we  were  lying  at 
anchor  close  to  the  shore.  About  a  yard  from  our  bows  was  a  clear 
pool  amid  the  weeds,  about  6  feet  in  diameter  and  3  feet  deep. 
This  was  literally  as  full  as  it  could  be  of  small  roach  and  rudd 
swimming  slowly  to  and  fro  :  the  brilliant  sunshine  lit  up  the  red, 
and  silver,  and  gold  of  the  little  fishes  as  they  hovered  over  the 
bright  green  weed,  and  the  whole  made  as  pretty  a  sight  as  I  have 
ever  seen  of  the  kind. 

^  A  manchet  is  a  small  delicate  loaf. 


3  It  is  an  old  idea  that  the  nest  of  the  kingfisher  is  curiousl 
made  of  fish-bones  intenvoven.  This,  however,  is  a  mistake.  Tl 
kingfisher  either  makes  a  hole  in  some  soft  bank  near  the  water, 
adapts  a  rat-hole,  and  lays  its  eggs  on  the  dry  earth  at  the  en( 
which  is  made  larger,  like  a  chamber.  The  same  kingfishers  us 
the  same  nest  year  after  year;  and  as  the  voidings  and  excremei 

321 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY.  325 


of  the  old  and  young  birds,  which  contain  a  vast  quantity  of  the 
bones  of  minnows  and  other  small  fry,  are  deposited  in  this  chamber, 
a  considerable  quantity  is  accumulated  in  the  course  of  two  or  three 
years.  The  eggs  are  laid  on  the  top  of  this  each  year,  and  it  is  in 
this  manner  that  the  "nest"  is  formed  of  fish-bones  and  soil, 
emitting  anything  but  a  savoury  smell.  Most  anglers  by  the  river- 
side know  the  blue,  and  green,  and  orange  form  of  the  kingfisher, 
but  few  have  found  its  nest.  The  hole  is  often  3  feet  long,  and 
takes  a  twist  which  is  awkward  for  any  intruding  ami.  The  eggs 
are  seven  in  number,  pure  white,  with  a  most  delicate  pearly  shell, 
and  are  more  round  than  oval.  The  kingfisher  and  the  water-ouzel 
are  my  favourite  birds. 


Practical  Essay. 


THE    ROACH. 


The  roach  is  a  very  well-known  fish,  abounding  in  most  ponds 
and  gently-flowing  rivers.  It  has  been  greatly  educated  since 
Walton's  day,  and  it  requires  no  little  skill  to  catch  a  basketful  of 
fair-sized  roach;  the  small  fry  may  generally  be  caught  in  any 
number.  The  roach  spawns  in  May  and  June,  ascending  the  rivers 
from  the  lower  portions  for  that  purpose,  and  in  ponds  seeking  the 
shallow  portions,  where  it  deposits  its  spawn  in  the  weeds.  After 
spawning  they  scour  themselves  in  the  swifter  streams,  and  then 
for  the  rest  of  the  summer  haunt  the  slow  but  not  deep  streams, 
retiring  in  the  autumn  to  deeper  holes  and  quiet  eddies. 

The  roach  anglers  on  the  Thames  and  Lea  make  a  specialty  of 
the  art,  and  are  the  best  in  the  kingdom. 

Although  the  usual  bottom-fishing  rod  will  do  very  well  for  roach 


326  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

fishing,  yet  it  is  advisable  to  have  a  longer  and  lighter  weapon. 
One  of  East  India  cane,  20  feet  and  more  in  length,  is  generally 
used  for  the  purpose.  Quick  striking  is  necessary  in  roach  fishing, 
and  for  this  purpose  it  is  necessary  to  have  the  line  above  the  float 
as  short  and  "  taut "  as  possible,  hence  the  necessity  of  a  long  rod 
to  reach  over  the  weeds  and  fish  long  swims.  Fine  tackle  is  very 
requisite ;  indeed,  many  roach  fishers  use  single  hair  for  their  foot- 
links,  but  fine-drawn  gut  is  perhaps  as  invisible,  and  certainly 
stronger.  The  hooks  should  be  Nos.  9,  10,  or  11 ;  the  float  a  fine 
porcupine  quill,  or  where  the  fish  are  shy,  a  half-inch  of  quill 
plugged  up  at  both  ends,  or  even  a  bit  of  straw.  Roach  are  gre- 
garious, and  ground-baiting  a  day  before  fishing  is  desirable  in 
order  to  secure  the  shoal  being  where  you  want  them  to  be.  Bran 
mixed  with  carrion  gentles  or  bread,  meal  or  boiled  rice,  or  a  judi- 
cious mixture  made  into  balls,  and  if  there  is  a  stream,  weighted 
with  small  stones  or  clay,  and  thrown  in  so  as  to  find  the  bottom  at 
the  proper  place,  should  be  used  as  ground-bait.  When  you  are 
fishing,  small  balls  of  soaked  bread  or  of  your  ground-bait  should 
be  thrown  in  at  not  too  frequent  intervals,  to  keep  the  fish  together. 
In  some  places,  however,  where  the  space  is  confined,  such  as  by 
a  lock-gate  in  a  small  river  or  canal,  the  roach  must  be  there  within 
reach,  and  ground-bait  is  unnecessary. 

The  best  general  hook  bait  for  a  roach  is  a  gentle,  of  which  two 
or  three  may  be  put  on  the  hook ;  the  addition  of  the  red  chrysalis 
of  the  gentle  on  the  point  of  the  hook  is  an  inducement  when  the 
fish  are  biting  shyly.  A  small  red  worm  is  excellent  for  the  large 
roach  in  the  winter.  Paste  is  a  universal  bait,  and  though  many 
flavour  it  with  honey,  or  other  things  sweet  or  tasty,  or  colour  it 
with  vermilion,  plain  white  paste,  made  of  the  crumb  of  a  new 
loaf  or  flour  and  water,  kneaded  into  consistency  with  dean  hands, 
is  best.  A  litde  cotton-wool  mixed  up  with  it  will  make  it  keep 
longer  on  the  hook :  a  piece  about  the  size  of  a  pea  should  be 
pressed  on  to  the  hook.  An  acquaintance  of  mine  says  that  the 
best  paste  is  made  of  Huntley  and  Palmer's  biscuits.  Pearl  barley 
boiled  for  two  hours,  until  it  has  swelled  its  utmost  and  is  soft,  is 


I 


PRACTICAL  ESSAY.  327 

as  good  as  paste.  Boiled  wheat  and  dried  malt  have  each  their 
votaries,  and  the  silk-weed  is  also  stated  to  be  a  good  bait  when 
wrapped  around  the  hook,  but  I  have  never  had  sufficient  faith  to 
try  it.     Wasp-grubs  are  also  good  for  the  large  roach. 

If  you  can  see  the  roach,  let  your  bait  hang  at  the  depth  they 
appear  to  be  swimming ;  but  if  you  cannot  see  them,  three  or  four 
inches  from  the  bottom  will  be  about  right.  Strike  the  moment 
the  float  dips,  and  always  at  the  end  of  the  swim  if  in  a  stream. 

Sinking  and  drawing  without  a  float,  and  with  a  fly  or  gentle,  or 
both  on  the  hook,  is  very  deadly.  You  cast  your  line  into  the 
stream,  and  work  it  gently  up  and  down  while  it  floats  do^^^l  stream, 
striking  when  you  feel  a  bite.  Daping  with  a  fly  is  also  kifling,  and 
fly-fishing  with  a  small  black  gnat  or  other  small  dark  fly,  tipped 
with  a  gentle  or  bit  of  white  kid  glove,  is  a  capital  way.  The  pit- 
men on  the  banks  of  the  Wear  use  a  casting-line  of  single  hair  well 
oiled.  A  fly  is  put  on  the  hook,  there  is  of  course  no  shot,  and  the 
fly  and  line  float  on  the  surface  till  the  former  is  seized  by  the  fish. 
This  is  said  to  be  a  most  deadly  method.  The  roach  bites  well  on 
open  days  during  the  winter. 

]Mr.  Francis  says  that  "  there  are  few  of  the  ordinary  fresh-waler 
fish  so  good  for  the  table  as  a  roach  out  of  a  gravelly  stream,  from 
Christmas  to  the  end  of  March." 

The  rudd  referred  to  in  the  note  may  be  fished  for  in  precisely 
the  same  way  as  the  roach. 

THE  DACE. 

The  same  tackle,  baits,  and  mode  of  fishing  that  are  applicable 
to  roach  fishing  are  also  applicable  to  dace  fishing,  except  that 
vegetable  food  is  not  so  much  to  their  mind  as  animal.  The  small 
red  worm  is  perhaps  the  best  general  bait. 

The  dace  is  a  brighter  and  more  active  fish  than  the  roach,  and 
is  a  river  fish  only.  It  rises  well  at  the  fly,  and  whipping  for  dace 
on  summer  evenings  is  a  capital  amusement,  and  a  good  introduc- 
tion to  fly-fishing  for  trout.  The  dace  is  gregarious,  and  in  favour- 
al;le  situations  is  found  in  large  shoals.    I  have  seen  some  parts  of 


328 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


the  little  Ouse  fairly  black  with  them,  with  occasional  sheen  of 
silver  as  a  fish  would  dart  aside  at  some  bit  of  food.  It  spawns  in 
May  or  June,  and  in  July  and  August  goes  in  shoals  to  the  shallows. 
Any  small  fly  may  be  used,  and  is  made  more  killing  by  the  addi- 
tion of  a  gentle,  or,  less  troublesome,  a  bit  of  white  kid  glove  on 
the  hook.  Mr.  Francis  Francis  says  :  "  I  have  found  the  inner  rind 
of  a  scrap  of  stringy  bacon  answer  the  purpose  better,  perhaps, 
than  f^Uher,  being  a  kind  of  compromise  between  the  two ;  that  is, 
something  tu  taste  and  not  liable  to  be  whipped  off." 

You  must  strike  quickly  when  fly-fishing  for  dace,  and  if  you  can 
see  the  rise,  do  not  wait  until  you  feel  it,  for  dace  detect  the  deceit 
at  once,  and  no  sooner  have  they  taken  the  fly  within  their  mouths 
they  blow  it  out  again,  apparently  before  it  has  had  time  even  to 
tickle  their  lips.  The  dace  scarcely  reaches  a  pound  in  weight.  I 
have  seen  and  caught  very  large  ones  in  the  Severn,  when  trout 
fishing  in  the  streams ;  but  I  have  never  seen  any  over  a  pound. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


OF  TPIE  MINNOW  OR  PENK,  OF  THE  LOACH,  AND  OF 
THE  BULL-HEAD  OR  MILLER'S  THUMB. 


[liftjiiag.] 


PiSC.  There  be  also  three  or  four  other  little  fish  that  I 
had  almost  forgot,  that  are  all  without  scales,  and  may  for 
excellency  of  meat  be  compared  to  any  fish  of  greatest 
value  and  largest  size.  They  be  usually  full  of  eggs  or 
spawn  all  the  months  ot  summer ;  for  they  breed  often,  as 
it  is  observed  mice,  and  many  of  the  smaller  four-footed 
creatures  of  the  earth,  do;  and  as  those,  so  these,  come 
quickly  to  their  full  growth  and  perfection.  And  it  is  need- 
ful that  they  breed  both  often  and  numerously,  for  they  be, 
besides  other  accidents  of  ruin,  both  a  prey  and  baits  for 
other  fish.  And  first,  I  shall  tell  you  of  the  Minnow  or 
Penk. 

829 


330  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

The  minnow  hjsth,  when  he  is  in  perfect  season,  and  not 
sick,  which  is  orily  presently  after  spawning,  a  kind  of 
dappled  or  waved  colour,  like  to  a  panther,  on  his  sides,  in- 
dining  to  a  greenish  and  sky-colour,  his  belly  being  milk 
white,  and  his  back  almost  black  or  blackish.  He  is  a  sharp 
biter  at  a  small  worm,  and  in  hot  weather  makes  excellent 
sport  for  young  anglers,  or  boys,  or  women  that  love  that 
recreation,  and  in  the  spring  they  make  of  them  excellent 
minnow-tansies ;  for  being  washed  well  in  salt,  and  their 
heads  and  tails  cut  off,  and  their  guts  taken  out,  and  not 
washed  after,  they  prove  excellent  for  that  use ;  that  is, 
being  fried  with  yolks  of  eggs,  the  flowers  of  cowslips,  and 
of  primroses,  and  a  little  tansy :  thus  used,  they  make  a 
dainty  dish  of  meat. 

The  Loach  is,  as  I  told  you,  a  most  dainty  fish:  he  breeds 
and  feeds  in  little  and  clear  swift  brooks  or  rills,  and  lives 
there  upon  the  gravel,  and  in  the  sharpest  streams ;  he  grows 
not  to  be  above  a  finger  long,  and  no  thicker  than  is  suitable 
to  that  length.  This  loach  is  not  unlike  the  shape  of  the 
eel ;  he  has  a  beard  or  wattles  like  a  barbel.  He  has  two 
fins  at  his  sides,  four  at  his  belly,  and  one  at  his  tail;  he  is 
dappled  with  many  black  or  brown  spots ;  his  mouth  is 
barbel-like  under  his  nose.  This  fish  is  usually  full  of  eggs 
or  spawn  ;  and  is  by  Gesner,  and  other  learned  physicians, 
commended  for  great  nourishment,  and  to  be  very  grateful 
both  to  the  palate  and  stomach  of  sick  persons:  he  is  to  be 
fished  for  with  a  very  small  worm  at  the  bottom,  for  he  very 
seldom  or  never  rises  above  the  gravel,  on  which  I  told  you 
he  usually  gets  his  living. 

The  Miller's  Thumb,  or  Bull-head,  is  a  fish  of  no  pleasing 
shape.     He  is  by  Gesner  compared  to  the  sea-toad  fish,  for 


MINNOW,  LOACH,  AND  BULL-HEAD.  33 1 

his  similitude  and  shape.  It  has  a  head  big  and  flat,  much 
greater  than  suitable  to  his  body ;  a  mouth  very  wide,  and 
usually  gaping ;  he  is  without  teeth,  but  his  lips  are  very 
Tough,  much  like  to  a  file.  He  hath  two  fins  near  to  his 
gills,  which  be  roundish  or  crested  ;  two  fins  also  under  the 
belly;  two  on  the  back;  one  below  the  vent;  and  the  fin 
of  his  tail  is  round.  Nature  hath  painted  the  body  of  this 
fish  with  whitish,  blackish,  and  brownish  spots.  They  be 
usually  full  of  eggs  or  spawn  all  the  summer,  I  mean  the 
females ;  and  those  eggs  swell  their  vents  almost  into  the 
form  of  a  dug  [teat].  They  begin  to  spawn  about  April, 
and,  as  I  told  you,  spawn  several  months  in  the  summer. 
And  in  the  winter,  the  minnow,  and  loach,  and  bull-head 
dwell  in  the  mud,  as  the  eel  doth ;  or  we  know  not  where, 
no  more  than  we  know  where  the  cuckoo  and  swallow,  and 
other  half-year  birds,  which  first  appear  to  us  in  April,  spend 
their  six  cold,  winter,  melancholy  months.  This  fish  does 
usually  dwell  and  hide  himself  in  holes,  or  amongst  stones 
in  clear  water ;  and  in  very  hot  days  will  lie  a  long  time 
very  still  and  sun  himself,  and  will  be  easy  to  be  seen  upon 
any  flat  stone  or  any  gravel ;  at  which  time  he  will  sufl'er 
an  angler  to  put  a  hook,  baited  with  a  small  worm,  very 
near  unto  his  mouth ;  and  he  never  refuses  to  bite,  nor  in- 
deed to  be  caught  with  the  worst  of  anglers.  Matthioliis" 
commends  him  much  more  for  his  taste  and  nourishment, 
than  for  his  shape  or  beauty. 

There  is  also  a  fish  called  a  Sticklebag,  a  fish  without 
scales,  but  hath  his  body  fenced  with  several  prickles.  I 
know  not  where  he  dwells  in  winter,  nor  what  he  is  good 
for  in  summer,  but  only  to  make  sport  for  boys  and  women 
anglers,  and  to  feed  other  fish  that  be  fish  of  prey,  as  trout 


332  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

in  particular,  who  will  bite  at  him  as  at  a  pcnk,  and  better, 
if  your  hook  be  rightly  baited  with  him ;  for  he  may  be  so 
baited  as,  his  tail  turning  like  the  sail  of  a  windmill,  will 
make  him  turn  more  quick  than  any  penk  or  minnow  can. 
For  note,  that  the  nimble  turning  of  that,  or  the  minnow,  is 
the  perfection  of  minnow  fishing.  To  which  end,  if  you  put 
your  hook  into  his  mouth,  and  out  at  his  tail,  and  then, 
having  first  tied  him  with  white  thread  a  little  above  his 
tail,  and  placed  him  after  such  a  manner  on  your  hook  as 
he  is  like  to  turn,  then  sew  up  his  mouth  to  your  line,  and 
he  is  like  to  turn  quick,  and  tempt  any  trout ;  but  if  he  do 
not  turn  quick,  then  turn  his  tail  a  little  more  or  less  towards 
the  inner  part,  or  towards  the  side  of  the  hook,  or  put  the 
minnow  or  sticklebag  a  little  more  crooked  or  more  strait 
on  your  hook,  until  it  will  turn  both  true  and  fast,  and  then 
doubt  not  but  to  tempt  any  great  trout  that  lies  in  a  swift 
stream.  And  the  loach  that  I  told  you  of  will  do  the  like; 
no  bait  is  more  tempting,  provided  the  loach  be  not  too  big. 

And  now,  scholar,  with  the  help  of  this  fine  morning,  and 
your  patient  attention,  I  have  said  all  that  my  present 
memory  will  afford  me,  concerning  most  of  the  several  fish 
that  are  usually  fished  for  in  fresh  waters. 

VeN.  But,  master,  you  have,  by  your  former  civility,  made 
me  hope  that  you  will  make  good  your  promise,  and  say 
something  of  the  several  rivers  that  be  of  most  note  in  this 
nation ;  and  also  of  fish-ponds,  and  the  ordering  of  them ; 
and  do  it,  I  pray,  good  master,  for  I  love  any  discourse  of 
rivers,  and  fish,  and  fishing:  the  time  spent  in  such  discourse 
passes  away  very  pleasantly, 


APPENDIX  XVIII. 


General  Note. 

^  Petrus  Andreas  Matthiolus,  of  Sienna,  an  eminent  pliysician 
of  the  sixteenth  century. 


Practical  Essay, 


MINNOWS 


are  not  without  scales,  as  Walton  asserts,  although  the  scales  are 
of  course  very  minute.  To  catch  them  for  bait,  a  clear  glass  bottle 
of  this  shape — 


£ 


'^ 


Miift^ 


with  a  piece  of  muslin  tied  over  the  neck,  and  a  few  crumbs  of 
bread  inside,  may  be  placed  in  the  water  with  its  neck  up  stream. 
The  minnows  get  in  through  the  hole  at  the  bottom,  and  cannot 
find  the  way  out  again,  when  you  haul  it  up  with  a  string. 

S33 


334 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


THE  LOACH 

is  a  capital  bait  for  trout  and  eels. 

THE   STICKLEBACK 

is  too  well  known,  as  far  as  appearance  goes,  to  need  description, 
though  its  habits,  particularly  its  habit  of  building  a  nest  like  a  bird, 
in  which  it  lays  its  eggs,  and  by  which  it  watches  with  great  courage, 
arc  worth  more  space  to  describe  than  I  can  afford  here. 

THE   miller's   thumb 

will  do  as  a  bait  for  eels,  but  for  nothing  else- 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

OF  SEVERAL  RIVERS,  AND  SOME  OBSERVATIONS  OF  FISH. 

[liftlr  iaiiJ 

Pisc.  Well,  scholar,  since  the  ways  and  weather  do  both 
favour  us,  and  that  we  yet  see  not  Tottenham  Cross,  you 
shall  see  my  willingness  to  satisfy  your  desire.  And  first, 
for  the  rivers  of  this  nation,  there  be,  as  you  may  note  out 
of  Doctor  Heylin's  Geography,  and  others,  in  number  325, 
but  those  of  chiefest  note  he  reckons  and  describes  as 
foUoweth : 

I.  The  chief  is  Thamesis,  compounded  of  two  rivers, 
Thame  and  Isis,  whereof  the  former,  rising  somewhat 
beyond  Thame  in  Buckinghamshire,  and  the  latter  near 
Cirencester  in  Gloucestershire,  meet  together  about  Dor- 
chester in  Oxfordshire  ;  the  issue  of  which  happy  conjunc- 
tion is  the  Thamesis,  or  Thames ;  hence  it  flieth  between 

335 


33^  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

Berks,  Buckinghamshire,  Middlesex,  Surrey,  Kent,  and 
Essex ;  and  so  weddeth  himself  to  the  Kentish  Medway,  in 
the  very  jaws  of  the  ocean.  This  glorious  river  feeleth  the 
violence  and  benefit  of  the  sea  more  than  any  river  in 
Europe,  ebbing  and  flowing  twice  a  day,  more  than  sixty 
miles ;  about  whose  banks  are  so  many  fair  towns  and 
princely  palaces,  that  a  German  poet  thus  truly  spake : 

Tot  campos,  etc. 

We  saw  so  many  woods  and  princely  bowers, 
Sweet  fields,  brave  palaces,  and  stately  towers, 
So  many  gardens  dress'd  with  curious  care. 
That  Thames  with  royal  Tiber  may  compare. 

2.  The  second  river  of  note  is  Sabrlna,  or  Severn  :  it  hath 
its  beginning  in  Plynlimmon  Hill,  in  Montgomeryshire,  and 
his  end  seven  miles  from  Bristol,  washing,  in  the  mean  space, 
the  walls  of  Shrewsbury,  Worcester,  and  Gloucester,  and 
divers  other  places  and  palaces  of  note. 

3.  Trent,  so  called  from  thirty  kind  of  fishes  that  are 
found  in  it,  or  for  that  it  receiveth  thirty  lesser  rivers  ;  who, 
having  its  fountain  in  Staffordshire,  and  gliding  through  the 
counties  of  Nottingham,  Lincoln,  Leicester,  and  York,  aug- 
menteth  the  turbulent  current  of  Humber,  the  most  violent 
stream  of  all  the  isle.  This  Humber  is  not,  to  say  truth,  a 
distinct  river,  having  a  spring-head  of  his  own,  but  it  is  rather 
the  mouth  or  aestuarium  of  divers  rivers  here  confluent  and 
meeting  together,  namely,  your  Derwent,  and  especially  of 
Ouse  and  Trent ;  and  (as  the  Danow,  having  received  into 
its  channel  the  river  Dravus,  Savus,  Tibiscus,  and  divers 
others)  changeth  his  name  into  this  of  Humberabus,  as  th 
old  geographers  call  it. 


OF  SEVERAL  RIVERS.  337 

4.  Medway,  a  Kentish  river,  famous  for  harbouring  the 
royal  navy. 

5.  Tweed,  the  north-east  bound  of  England ;  on  whose 
northern  banks  is  seated  the  strong  and  impregnable  town 
of  Berwick. 

6.  Tyne,  famous  for  Newcastle,  and  her  inexhaustible 
coal-pits.  These,  and  the  rest  of  principal  note,  are  thus 
comprehended  in  one  of  Mr.  Drayton's  sonnets  : 

Our  floods'  queen,  Thames,  for  ships  and  swans  is  crown'd ; 

And  stately  Severn  for  her  shore  is  praised  ; 
The  crystal  Trent,  for  fords  and  fish  renown'd  ; 

And  Avon's  fame  to  Albion's  cliffs  is  raised. 

Carlegion  Chester  vaunts  her  holy  Dee ; 

York  many  wonders  of  her  Ouse  can  tell ; 
The  Peak,  her  Dove,  whose  banks  so  fertile  be  ; 

And  Kent  will  say,  her  Medway  doth  excel. 

Cotswold  commends  her  I  sis  to  the  Thame  ; 

Our  northern  borders  boast  of  Tweed's  fair  flood  ; 
Our  western  parts  extol  their  Willy's  fame  ; 

And  the  old  Lea  brags  of  the  Danish  blood. 

These  observations  are  out  of  learned  Dr.  Heylin,  and 
my  old  deceased  friend,  Michael  Drayton ;  and  because  you 
say  you  love  such  discourses  as  these,  of  rivers  and  fish  and 
fishing,  I  love  you  the  better,  and  love  the  more  to  impart 
them  to  you.  Nevertheless,  scholar,  if  I  should  begin  but 
to  name  the  several  sorts  of  strange  fish  that  are  usually 
taken  in  many  of  those  rivers  that  run  into  the  sea,  I  might 
beget  wonder  in  you,  or  unbelief,  or  both ;  and  yet  I  will 
venture  to  tell  you  a  real  truth  concerning  one  lately  dis- 
sected by  Dr.  Wharton,  a  man  of  great  learning  and  ex- 

22 


338  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

perience,  and  of  equal  freedom  to  communicate  it ;  one  that 
loves  me  and  my  art ;  one  to  whom  I  have  been  beholden 
for  many  of  the  choicest  observations  that  I  have  imparted 
to  you.  This  good  man,  that  dares  do  anything  rather  than 
tell  an  untruth,  did,  I  say,  tell  me  he  had  lately  dissected 
one  strange  fish,  and  he  thus  described  it  to  me : 

"  The  fish  was  almost  a  yard  broad,  and  twice  that  length ; 
his  mouth  wide  enough  to  receive,  or  take  into  it,  the  head 
of  a  man  ;  his  stomach,  seven  or  eight  inches  broad.  He  is 
of  a  slow  motion,  and  usually  lies  or  lurks  close  in  the  mud, 
and  has  a  movable  string  on  his  head,  about  a  span  or  near 
unto  a  quarter  of  a  yard  long,  by  the  moving  of  which,  with 
his  natural  bait,  when  he  lies  close  and  unseen  in  the  mud, 
he  draws  other  fish  so  close  to  him  tl  at  he  can  suck  them 
into  his  mouth,  and  so  devours  and  digests  them."^ 

And,  scholar,  do  not  wonder  at  this,  for  besides  the  credit 
of  the  relator,  you  are  to  note,  many  of  these,  and  fishes 
that  are  of  the  like  and  more  unusual  shapes,  are  very  often 
taken  on  the  mouths  of  our  sea-rivers,  and  on  the  sea-shore. 
And  this  will  be  no  wonder  to  any  that  have  travelled  Egypt ; 
where  't  is  known  the  famous  river  Nilus  does  not  only  breed 
fishes  that  yet  want  names,  but  by  the  overflowing  of  that 
river,  and  the  help  of  the  sun's  heat  on  the  fat  slime  which 
that  river  leaves  on  the  banks  when  it  falls  back  into  its 
natural  channel,  such  strange  fish  and  beasts  are  also  bred, 
that  no  man  can  give  a  name  to,  as  Grotius,  in  his  "Sophom," 
and  others,  have  observed.^ 

But  whither  am  I  strayed  in  this  discourse  ?   I  will  end  it 
by  telling  you,  that  at  the  mouth  of  some  of  these  rivers  o( 
ours  herrings  are  so  plentiful,  as  namely,  near  to  Yarmoutl 
in  Norfolk,  and  in  the  west  country  pilchers  so  very  plenti- 


OF  SEVERAL  RIVERS. 


339 


ful,  as  you  will  wonder  to  read  what  our  learned  Camden 
relates  of  them  in  his  "Britannia,"  pp.  178,  186. 

Well,  scholar,  I  will  stop  here,  and  tell  you  what  by  read- 
ing and  conference  I  have  observed  concerning  fish-ponds. 


APPENDIX   XIX. 


General   Notes. 

^  This  fish  will  be  the  fishing-frog.     See  notes  to  Chapter  I. 

2  Of  course,  there  is  no  such  thing  as  this  spontaneous  genera- 
tion in  which  ^Valton  believed.  Nevertheless,  some  very  interest- 
ing experiments  have  lately  been  carried  on  with  reference  to  the 
appearance  of  animal culse  in  water  and  other  fluijs,  which  have 
been  boiled  and  then  hermetically  sealed  up.  This  is,  however, 
too  abstruse  a  subject  to  enlarge  on  here. 


i 


CHAPTER  XX. 

OF  FISH-PONDS,  AND   HOW  TO  ORDER  THEM. 

PiSC.  Doctor  Lebault,  the  learned  Frenchman,  in  his 
large  discourse  of  "Maison  Rustique,"  gives  this  direction  for 
making  of  fish-.ponds  ;  I  shall  refer  you  to  him  to  read  it  at 
large,  but  I  think  I  shall  contract  it,  and  yet  make  it  as  useful. 

He  adviseth,  that  when  you  have  drained  the  ground,  and 
made  the  earth  firm  where  the  head  of  the  pond  must  be 
that  you  must  then,  in  that  place,  drive  in  two  or  three  rows 
of  oak  or  elm  piles,  which  should  be  scorched  in  the  fire,  or 
half  burnt,  before  they  be  driven  into  the  earth  ;  for  being 
thus  used,  it  preserves  them  much  longer  from  rotting :  and 
having  done  so,  lay  faggots  or  bavins  of  smaller  wood  be- 
twixt them,  and  then  earth  betwixt  and  above  them,  and 
then  having  first  very  well  rammed  them  and  the  earth,  use 
another  pile  in  like  manner  as  the  first  were :  and  note, 
that  the  second  pile  is  to  be  of  or  about  the  height  that  you 
intend  to  make  your  sluice  or  flood-gate,  or  the  vent  that 

841 


342  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

you  intend  shall  convey  the  overflowings  of  your  pond  in 
any  flood  that  shall  endanger  the  breaking  of  the  pond-dam. 

Then  he  advises,  that  you  plant  willows  or  owlers  [pop- 
lars] about  it,  or  both,  and  then  cast  in  bavins  in  some 
places,  not  far  from  the  side,  and  in  the  most  sandy  places, 
for  fish  both  to  spawn  upon,  and  to  defend  them  and  the 
young  fry  from  the  many  fish,  and  also  from  vermin,  tliat 
lie  at  watch  to  destroy  them,  especially  the  spawn  of  the 
carp  and  tench,  when  't  is  left  to  the  mercy  of  ducks  or 
vermin. 

He  and  Dubravius,  and  all  others,  advise  that  you  make 
choice  of  such  a  place  for  your  pond,  that  it  may  be  refreshed 
with  a  little  rill,  or  with  rain-water,  running  or  falling  into 
it ;  by  which  fish  are  more  inclined  both  to  breed,  and  are 
also  refreshed  and  fed  the  better,  and  do  prove  to  be  of  a 
much  sweeter  and  more  pleasant  taste. 

To  which  end  it  is  observed,  that  such  pools  as  be  large, 
and  have  most  gravel  and  shallows  where  fish  may  sport 
themselves,  do  afford  fish  of  the  purest  taste.  And  note,  that 
in  all  pools  it  is  best  for  fish  to  have  some  retiring-place ; 
as  namely,  hollow  banks,  or  shelves,  or  roots  of  trees,  to  keep 
them  from  danger ;  and,  when  they  think  fit,  from  the  ex- 
treme heat  of  the  summer,  as  also  from  the  extremity  of 
cold  in  winter.  And  note,  that  if  many  trees  be  growing 
about  your  pond,  the  leaves  thereof,  falling  into  the  water, 
make  it  nauseous  to  the  fish,  and  the  fish  to  be  so  to  the 
eater  of  it. 

'T  is  noted  that  the  tench  and  eel  love  mud,  and  the  carp 
loves  gravelly  ground,  and  in  the  hot  months  to  feed  on 
grass.  You  are  to  cleanse  your  pond,  if  you  intend  either 
profit  or  pleasure,  once  every  three  or  four  years  (especially 


OF  FISH-PONDS.  343 


some  ponds),  and  then  let  it  lie  dry  six  or  twelve  months, 
both  to  kill  the  water-weeds,  as  water-lilies,  candocks,  reate 
[sedge],  and  buUrushes,  that  breed  there  ;  and  also  that  as 
these  die  for  want  of  water,  so  grass  may  grow  in  the  pond's 
bottom,  which  carps  will  eat  greedily  in  all  the  hot  months, 
if  the  pond  be  clean.  The  letting  your  pond  dry,  and  sowing 
oats  in  the  bottom,  is  also  good,  for  the  fish  feed  the  faster ; 
and  being  sometimes  let  dry,  you  may  observe  what  kind  of 
fish  either  increases  or  thrives  best  in  that  water ;  for  they 
differ  much,  both  in  their  breeding  and  feeding. 

Lebault  also  advises,  that  if  your  ponds  be  not  very  large 
and  roomy,  that  you  often  feed  your  fish,  by  throwing  into 
them  chippings  of  bread,  curds,  grains,  or  the  entrails  of 
chickens  or  of  any  fowl  or  beast  that  you  kill  to  feed 
yourselves ;  for  these  afford  fish  a  great  relief.  He  says, 
that  frogs  and  ducks  do  much  harm,  and  devour  both  the 
spawn  and  the  young  fry  of  all  fish,  especially  of  the  carp ; 
and  I  have,  besides  experience,  many  testimonies  of  it.  But 
Lebault  allows  water-frogs  to  be  good  meat,  especially  in 
some  months,  if  they  be  fat :  but  you  are  to  note,  that  he  is 
a  Frenchman  ;  and  we  English  will  hardly  believe  him, 
though  we  know  frogs  are  usually  eaten  in  his  country:  how- 
ever, he  advises  to  destroy  them  and  kingfishers  out  of 
your  ponds.  And  he  advises  not  to  suffer  much  shooting 
at  wild  fowl ;  for  that,  he  says,  affrightens  and  harms  and 
destroys  the  fish. 

Note,  that  carps  and  tench  thrive  and  breed  best  when  no 
other  fish  is  put  with  them  into  the  same  pond  ;  for  all  other 
fish  devour  their  spawn,  or  at  least  the  greatest  part  of  it. 
And  note,  that  clods  of  grass  thrown  into  any  pond,  feed  any 
carps  in  summer;  and  that  garden  earth  and  parsley  thrown 


344 


THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


into  a  pond  recovers  and  refreshes  the  sick  fish.  And  note, 
that  when  you  store  your  pond,  you  are  to  put  into  it  two 
or  three  melters  for  one  spawner,  if  you  put  them  into  a 
breeding-pond ;  but  if  into  a  nurse-pond  or  feeding-pond, 
in  which  they  will  not  breed,  then  no  care  is  to  be  taken 
whether  there  be  most  male  or  female  carps. 

It  is  observed,  that  the  best  ponds  to  breed  carps  are  those 
that  be  stony  or  sandy,  and  are  warm  and  free  from  wind, 
and  that  are  not  deep,  but  have  willow-trees  and  grass  on 
their  sides,  over  which  the  water  sometimes  flows  :  and  note, 
that  carps  do  more  usually  breed  in  marle-pits,  or  pits  that 
have  clean  clay  bottoms,  or  in  new  ponds,  or  ponds  that  lie 
dry  a  winter  season,  than  in  old  ponds  that  be  full  of  mud 
and  weeds. 

Well,  scholar,  I  have  told  you  the  substance  of  all  that 
either  observation,  or  discourse,  or  a  diligent  survey  of 
Dubravius  and  Lebault  hath  told  me  :  not  that  they  in  their 
long  discourses  have  not  said  more  ;  but  the  most  of  the  rest 
are  so  common  observations,  as  if  a  man  should  tell  a  good 
arithmetician  that  twice  two  is  four.  I  will  therefore  put 
an  end  to  this  discourse,  and  we  will  here  sit  down  and 
rest  us. 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

DIRECTIONS  FOR   MAKING   OF  A  LINE,  AND  FOR  THE 
COLOURING  OF  BOTH   ROD  AND  LINE. 


[liftlr  [last)  gag.] 

PiSC.  Well,  scholar,  I  have  held  you  too  long  about  these 
caddis,  and  smaller  fish,  and  rivers,  and  fish-ponds  ;  and  my 
spirits  are  almost  spent,  and  so  I  doubt  is  your  patience : 
but  being  we  are  now  almost  at  Tottenham,  where  I  first 
met  you,  and  where  we  are  to  part,  I  will  lose  no  time,  but 
give  you  a  little  direction  how  to  make  and  order  your  lines, 
and  to  colour  the  hair  of  which  you  make  your  lines,  for  that 
is  very  needful  to  be  known  of  an  angler ;  and  also  how  to 
paint  your  rod,  especially  your  top  ;  for  a  right  grown  top 
is  a  choice  commodity,  and  should  be  preserved  from  the 
water  soaking  into  it,  which  makes  it  in  wet  weather  to  be 
heavy  and  fish  ill-favouredly,  and  not  true ;  and  also  it  rots 
quickly  for  want  of  painting ;  and  I  think  a  good  top  is 
worth  preserving,  or  I  had  not  taken  care  to  keep  a  top 
^bove  twenty  years. 

But  first  for  your  line.     First,  note,  that  you  are  to  take 

345 


34^  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

care  that  your  hair  be  round  and  clear,  and  free  from  galls 
or  scabs  or  frets,  for  a  well-chosen,  even,  clear,  round  hair, 
of  a  kind  of  glass  colour,  will  prove  as  strong  as  three  uneven 
scabby  hairs,  that  are  ill  chosen,  and  full  of  galls  or  uneven- 
ness.  You  shall  seldom  find  a  black  hair  but  it  is  round, 
but  many  white  are  flat  and  uneven  ;  therefore,  if  you  get  a 
lock  of  right,  round,  clear,  glass-colour  hair,  make  much  of  it. 

And  for  making  your  line,  observe  this  rule  :  first  let  your 
hair  be  clean  washed  ere  you  go  about  to  twist  it ;  and  then 
choose  not  only  the  clearest  hair  for  it,  but  hairs  that  be  of 
an  equal  bigness,  for  such  do  usually  stretch  all  together,  and 
break  all  together,  which  hairs  of  an  unequal  bigness  never 
do,  but  break  singly,  and  so  deceive  the  angler  that  trusts 
to  them. 

When  you  have  twisted  your  links,  lay  them  in  water  for 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  at  least,  and  then  twist  them  over  again, 
before  you  tie  them  into  a  line ;  for  those  that  do  not  so 
shall  usually  find  their  line  to  have  a  hair  or  two  shrink,  and 
be  shorter  than  the  rest  at  the  first  fishing  with  it,  which  is 
so  much  of  the  strength  of  the  line  lost  for  want  of  first 
watering  it  and  then  re-twisting  it ;  and  this  is  most  visible 
in  a  seven-hair  line,  one  of  those  which  hath  always  a  black 
hair  in  the  middle. 

And  for  dyeing  of  your  hairs,  do  it  thus  :  take  a  pint  of 
strong  ale,  half  a  pound  of  soot,  and  a  little  quantity  of  the 
juice  of  walnut-tree  leaves,  and  an  equal  quantity  of  alum ; 
put  these  together  in  a  pot,  pan,  or  pipkin,  and  boil  them 
half  an  hour ;  and  having  so  done,  let  it  cool ;  and  being 
cold,  put  your  hair  into  it,  and  there  let  it  lie ;  it  will  tun 
your  hair  to  be  a  kind  of  water  or  glass  colour,  or  greenish] 
and  the  longer  you  let  it  lie,  the  deeper  it  will  be.     Yoj 


DIRECTIONS  FOR  MAKING  A  LINE.  347 

might  be  taught  to  make  many  other  colours,  but  it  is  to 
littLe  purpose  ;  for  doubtless  the  water-colour  or  glass- 
coloured  hair  is  the  most  choice  and  most  useful  for  an 
angler,  but  let  it  not  be  too  green. 

But  if  you  desire  to  colour  hair  greener,  then  do  it  thus  • 
take  a  quart  of  small  ale,  half  a  pound  of  alum ;  then  put 
these  into  a  pan  or  pipkin,  and  your  hair  into  it  with  them; 
then  put  it  upon  a  fire,  and  let  it  boil  softly  for  half  an  hour  ; 
and  then  take  out  your  hair,  and  let  it  dry ;  and  having  so 
done,  then  take  a  pottle  of  water,  and  put  into  it  two  hand- 
fuls  of  marigolds,  and  cover  it  with  a  tile  or  what  you  think 
fit,  and  set  it  again  on  the  fire,  where  it  is  to  boil  again  softly 
for  half  an  hour,  about  which  time  the  scum  will  turn  yellow; 
then  put  into  it  half  a  pound  of  copperas,  beaten  small,  and 
with  it  the  hair  that  you  intend  to  colour  ;  then  let  the  hair 
be  boiled  softly  till  half  the  liquor  be  wasted,  and  then  let 
it  cool  three  or  four  hours  with  your  hair  in  it ;  and  you  are 
to  observe,  that  the  more  copperas  you  put  into  it,  the  greener 
it  will  be;  but  doubtless  the  pale  green  is  best;  but  if  you 
desire  yellow  hair,  which  is  only  good  when  the  weeds  rot, 
then  put  in  the  more  marigolds,  and  abate  most  of  the 
copperas,  or  leave  it  quite  out,  and  take  a  little  verdigrease 
instead  of  it. 

This  for  colouring  your  hair.  And  as  for  painting  your 
rod,  which  must  be  in  oil,  you  must  first  make  a  size  with 
glue  and  water,  boiled  together  until  the  glue  be  dissolved, 
and  the  size  of  a  lye  colour  ;  then  strike  your  size  upon  the 
wood  with  a  bristle,  or  a  brush,  or  pencil,  whilst  it  is  hot ; 
that  being  quite  dry,  take  white  lead,  and  a  little  red  lead, 
and  a  little  coal  black,  so  much  as  altogether  will  make  an 
ash  colour ;  grind  these  all  together  with  linseed  oil ;  let  it 


34^  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

be  thick,  and  lay  it  thin  upon  the  wood  with  a  brush  or  pen- 
cil ;  this  do  for  the  ground  of  any  colour  to  lie  upon  wood. 

For  a  green,  take  pink  and  verdigrease,  and  grind  them 
together  in  linseed  oil,  as  thin  as  you  can  well  grind  it ;  then 
lay  it  smoothly  on  with  your  brush,  and  driv^e  it  thin  :  once 
doing  for  the  most  part  will  serve,  if  you  lay  it  well ;  and 
if  twice,  be  sure  your  first  colour  be  thoroughly  dry  before 
you  lay  on  a  second. 

Well,  scholar,  having  now  taught  you  to  paint  your  rod, 
and  we  having  still  a  mile  to  Tottenham  High  Cross,  I  will, 
as  we  walk  towards  it,  in  the  cool  shade  of  this  sweet  honey- 
suckle hedge,  mention  to  you  some  of  the  thoughts  and  joys 
that  have  possest  my  soul  since  we  two  met  together.  And 
these  thoughts  shall  be  told  you,  that  you  also  may  join 
with  me  in  thankfulness  to  the  Giver  of  every  good  and 
perfect  gift,  for  our  happiness.  And  that  our  present  hap- 
piness may  appear  to  be  the  greater,  and  we  the  more 
thankful  for  it,  I  will  beg  you  to  consider  with  me,  how 
many  do,  even  at  this  very  time,  lie  under  the  torment  of 
the  stone,  the  gout,  and  toothache ;  and  this  we  are  free 
from.  And  every  misery  that  I  miss  is  a  new  mercy,  and 
therefore  let  us  be  thankful.  There  have  been,  since  we 
met,  others  that  have  met  disasters  of  broken  limbs ;  some 
have  been  blasted,  others  thunderstrucken ;  and  we  have 
been  freed  from  these,  and  all  those  many  other  miseries 
that  threaten  human  nature ;  let  us  therefore  rejoice  and 
be  thankful.  Nay,  which  is  a  far  greater  mercy,  we  are  free 
from  the  unsupportable  burthen  of  an  accusing  tormenting 
conscience,  a  misery  that  none  can  bear;  and  therefore  let 
us  praise  Him  for  His  preventing  grace,  and  say,  every 
misery  that  I  miss  is  a  new  mercy.     Nay,  let  me  tell  you 


DIRECTIONS  FOR  MAKING  A  LINE.  349 

there  be  many  that  have  forty  times  our  estates,  that  would 
give  the  greatest  part  of  it  to  be  healthful  and  cheerful  like 
us ;  who,  with  the  expense  of  a  little  money,  have  eat  and 
drank,  and  laught,  and  angled,  and  sung,  and  slept  securely; 
and  rose  next  day,  and  cast  away  care,  and  sung,  and  laught, 
and  angled  again ;  which  are  blessings  rich  men  cannot 
purchase  with  all  their  money.  Let  me  tell  you,  scholar, 
I  have  a  rich  neighbour  that  is  always  so  busy  that  he  has 
no  leisure  to  laugh ;  the  whole  business  of  his  life  is  to  get 
money,  and  more  money,  that  he  may  still  get  more  and 
more  money  ;  he  is  still  drudging  on,  and  says  that  Solomon 
says  "  The  diligent  hand  maketh  rich  : "  and  it  is  true 
indeed  ;  but  he  considers  not  that  it  is  not  in  the  power  of 
riches  to  make  a  man  happy ;  for  it  was  wisely  said,  by  a 
man  of  great  observation,  "That  there  be  as  many  miseries 
beyond  riches  as  on  this  side  them ; "  and  yet  God  deliver 
us  from  pinching  poverty ;  and  grant,  that  having  a  com- 
petency, we  may  be  content  and  thankful.  Let  not  us 
repine,  or  so  much  as  think  the  gifts  of  God  unequally 
dealt,  if  we  see  another  abound  with  riches,  when,  as  God 
knows,  the  cares  that  are  the  keys  that  keep  those  riches 
hang  often  so  heavily  at  the  rich  man's  girdle,  that  they 
clog  him  with  weary  days  and  restless  nights,  even  when 
others  sleep  quietly.  We  see  but  the  outside  of  the  rich 
man's  happiness  ;  few  consider  him  to  be  like  the  silkworm, 
that,  when  she  seems  to  play,  is,  at  the  very  same  time, 
spinning  her  own  bowels,  and  consuming  herself;  and  this 
many  rich  men  do,  loading  themselves  with  corroding  cares, 
to  keep  what  they  have,  probably,  unconscionably  got.  Let 
us,  therefore,  be  thankful  for  health  and  a  competence,  and 
above  all,  for  a  quiet  conscience. 


350  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

Let  me  tell  you,  scholar,  that  Diogenes  walked  on  a  day, 
with  his  friend,  to  see  a  country  fair;  where  he  saw  ribbons 
and  looking-glasses,  and  nut-crackers,  and  fiddles,  and 
hobby-horses,  and  many  other  gimcracks ;  and,  having  ob- 
served them,  and  all  the  other  finnimbruns  that  make  a 
complete  country  fair,  he  said  to  his  friend,  "Lord,  how 
many  things  are  there  in  this  world  of  which  Diogenes  hath 
no  need !  "  And  truly  it  is  so,  or  might  be  so,  with  very 
many  who  vex  and  toil  themselves  to  get  what  they  have 
no  need  of.  Can  any  man  charge  God  that  He  hath  not 
given  him  enough  to  make  his  life  happy  ?  No,  doubtless ; 
for  nature  is  content  with  a  little.  And  yet  you  shall  hardly 
meet  with  a  man  that  complains  not  of  some  want ;  though 
he,  indeed,  wants  nothing  but  his  will ;  it  may  be,  nothing 
but  his  will  of  his  poor  neighbour,  for  not  worshipping  or 
not  flattering  him  :  and  thus,  when  we  might  be  happy  and 
quiet,  we  create  trouble  to  ourselves.  I  have  heard  of  a 
man  that  was  angry  with  himself  because  he  was  no  taller ; 
and  of  a  woman  that  broke  her  looking-glass  because  it 
would  not  shew  her  face  to  be  as  young  and  handsome  as 
her  next  neighbour's  was.  And  I  knew  another  to  whom 
God  had  given  health  and  plenty,  but  a  wife  that  nature 
had  made  peevish,  and  her  husband's  riches  had  made 
purse-proud  ;  and  must,  because  she  was  rich,  and  for  no 
other  virtue,  sit  in  the  highest  pew  in  the  church ;  which 
being  denied  her,  she  engaged  her  husband  into  a  contention 
for  it,  and  at  last  into  a  law-suit  with  a  dogged  neighbour 
who  was  as  rich  as  he,  and  had  a  wife  as  peevish  and  purse- 
proud  as  the  other ;  and  this  law-suit  begot  higher  opposi-| 
tions,  and  actionable  words,  and  more  vexations  and  law-} 
suits ;  for  you  must  remember  that  both  were  rich,  anc 


DIRECTIONS  FOR  MAKING  A  LINE,  351 

must  therefore  have  their  will.  Well,  this  wilful,  purse- 
proud  law-suit,  lasted  during  the  life  of  the  first  husband  ; 
after  which  his  wife  vext  and  chid,  and  chid  and  vext  till 
she  also  chid  and  vext  herself  into  her  grave ;  and  so  the 
wealth  of  these  poor  rich  people  was  curst  into  a  punish- 
ment, because  they  wanted  meek  and  thankful  hearts  ;  for 
those  only  can  make  us  happy.  I  knew  a  man  that  had 
health  and  riches,  and  several  houses,  all  beautiful,  and 
ready  furnished,  and  would  often  trouble  himself  and  family 
to  be  removing  from  one  house  to  another ;  and  bein^ 
asked  by  a  friend  why  he  removed  so  often  from  one  house 
to  another,  repHed,  "  It  was  to  find  content  in  some  one  of 
them."  But  his  friend,  knowing  his  temper,  told  him,  if  he 
would  find  content  in  any  of  his  houses,  he  must  leave 
himself  behind  him ;  for  content  will  never  dwell  but  in  a 
meek  and  quiet  soul.  And  this  may  appear,  if  we  read  and 
consider  what  our  Saviour  says  in  St.  Matthew's  Gospel ; 
for  He  there  says  :  "  Blessed  be  the  merciful,  for  they  shall 
obtain  mercy. — Blessed  be  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall 
see  God. — Blessed  be  the  poor  in  spirit,  for  theirs  is  the 
kingdom  of  heaven."  And,  "  Blessed  be  the  meek,  for  they 
shall  possess  the  earth."  Not  that  the  meek  shall  not  also 
obtain  mercy,  and  see  God,  and  be  comforted,  and  at  last 
come  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;  but  in  the  meantime  he,  and 
he  only,  possesses  the  earth  as  he  goes  towards  that  kingdom 
of  heaven,  by  being  humble  and  cheerful,  and  content  with 
what  his  good  God  has  allotted  him.  He  has  no  turbulent, 
repining,  vexatious  thoughts  that  he  deserves  better ;  nor 
is  vext  when  he  sees  others  possest  of  more  honour  or  more 
riches  than  his  wise  God  has  allotted  for  his  share ;  but  he 
possesses  what  he  has  with  a  meek  and  contented  quietness, 


352  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


such  a  quietness  as  makes  his  very  dreams  pleasing,  both 
to  God  and  himself. 

My  honest  scholar,  all  this  is  told  to  incline  you  to  thank- 
fulness; and  to  incline  you  the  more,  let  me  tell  you,  that 
though  the  prophet  David  was  guilty  of  murder  and  adultery, 
and  many  other  of  the  most  deadly  sins,  yet  he  was  said  to 
be  a  man  after  God's  own  heart,  because  he  abounded  more 
with  thankfulness  than  any  other  that  is  mentioned  in  holy 
Scripture,  as  may  appear  in  his  book  of  Psalms ;  where 
there  is  such  a  commixture  of  his  confessing  of  his  sins  and 
unworthiness,  and  such  thankfulness  for  God's  pardon  and 
mercies,  as  did  make  him  to  be  accounted,  even  by  God 
Himself,  to  be  a  man  after  His  own  heart.  And  let  us,  in 
that,  labour  to  be  as  like  him  as  we  can ;  let  not  the  bless- 
ings we  receive  daily  from  God  make  us  not  to  value  or  not 
praise  Him  because  they  be  common ;  let  us  not  forget  to 
praise  Him  for  the  innocent  mirth  and  pleasure  we  have 
met  with  since  we  met  together.  What  would  a  blind  man 
give  to  see  the  pleasant  rivers,  and  meadows,  and  flowers, 
and  fountains,  that  we  have  met  with  since  we  met  together? 
I  have  been  told,  that  if  a  man  that  was  born  blind  could 
obtain  to  have  his  sight  for  but  only  one  hour  during  his 
whole  life,  and  should,  at  the  first  opening  of  his  eyes,  fix 
his  sight  upon  the  sun  when  it  was  in  its  full  glory,  either 
at  the  rising  or  setting  of  it,  he  would  be  so  transported 
and  amazed,  and  so  admire  the  glory  of  it,  tliat  he  would 
not  willingly  turn  his  eyes  from  that  first  ravishing  object, 
to  behold  all  the  other  various  beauties  this  world  could 
present  to  him.  And  this,  and  many  other  like  blessings, 
we  enjoy  daily.  And  for  most  of  them,  because  they  be  so 
conimon,  most  men  forget  to  pay  their  praises;  but  let  n 


DIRECTIONS  FOR  MAKING  A  LINE.  353 

us,  because  it  is  a  sacrifice  so  pleasing  to  Him  that  made 
that  sun  and  us,  and  still  protects  us,  and  gives  us  flowers 
and  showers,  and  stomachs  and  meat,  and  content  and 
leisure  to  go  a-fishing. 

Well,  scholar,  I  have  almost  tired  myself,  and,  I  fear,  more 
than  almost  tired  you ;  but  I  now  see  Tottenham  High  Cross, 
and  our  short  walk  thither  shall  put  a  period  to  my  too  long 
discourse,  in  which  my  meaning  was  and  is,  to  plant  that  in 
your  mind,  with  which  I  labour  to  possess  my  own  soul ;  that 
is,  a  meek  and  thankful  heart.  And  to  that  end,  I  have 
shewed  you  that  riches,  without  them,  do  not  make  any  man 
happy.  But  let  me  tell  you,  that  riches,  with  them,  remove 
many  fears  and  cares ;  and  therefore  my  advice  is,  that  you 
endeavour  to  be  honestly  rich  or  contentedly  poor  ;  but  be 
sure  that  your  riches  be  justly  got,  or  you  spoil  all.  For  it 
is  well  said  by  Caussin,*  "  he  that  loses  his  conscience,  has 
nothing  left  that  is  worth  keeping."  Therefore  be  sure  you 
look  to  that.  And,  in  the  next  place,  look  to  your  health ; 
and  if  you  have  it,  praise  God,  and  value  it  next  to  a  good 
conscience  ;  for  health  is  the  second  blessing  that  we  mortals 
are  capable  of ;  a  blessing  that  money  cannot  buy,  and  there- 
fore value  it,  and  be  thankful  for  it.  As  for  money,  which 
may  be  said  to  be  the  third  blessing,  neglect  it  not ;  but 
note,  that  there  is  no  necessity  of  being  rich ;  for  I  told 
you  there  be  as  many  miseries  beyond  riches  as  on  this 
side  them ;  and  if  you  have  a  competence,  enjoy  it  with  a 
meek,  cheerful,  thankful  heart.  I  will  tell  you,  scholar,  I 
have  heard  a  grave  divine^  say  that  God  has  two  dwellings, 
one  in  heaven,  and  the  other  in  a  meek  and  thankful  heart. 
Which  Almighty  God  grant  to  me  and  to  my  honest  scholar. 
And  so  you  are  welcome  to  Tottenham  High  Cross. 

23 


354  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

Ven.  Well,  master,  I  thank  you  for  all  your  good  direc- 
tions, but  for  none  more  than  this  last,  of  thankfulness, 
which  I  hope  I  shall  never  forget.  And  pray  let 's  now  rest 
ourselves  in  this  sweet  shady  arbour,  which  nature  herself 
has  woven  with  her  own  fine  finger ;  't  is  such  a  contexture 
of  woodbines,  sweetbriar,  jessamine,  and  myrtle,  and  so 
interwoven,  as  will  secure  us  both  from  the  sun's  violent 
heat  and  from  the  approaching  shower.  And  being  sat  down, 
I  will  requite  a  part  of  your  courtesies  with  a  bottle  of  sack, 
milk,  oranges,  and  sugar,  which,  all  put  together,  make  a 
drink  like  nectar ;  indeed,  too  good  for  any  but  us  anglers. 
And  so,  master,  here  is  a  full  glass  to  you  of  that  liquor ; 
and  when  you  have  pledged  me,  I  will  repeat  the  verses 
which  I  promised  you  :  it  is  a  copy  printed  among  some  of 
Sir  Henry  Wotton's,  and  doubtless  made  either  by  him  or 
by  a  lover  of  angling.  Come,  master,  now  drink  a  glass  to 
me,  and  then  I  will  pledge  you,  and  fall  to  my  repetition : 
it  is  a  descriptior  of  such  country  recreations  as  I  have  en- 
joyed since  I  had  the  happiness  to  fall  into  your  company. 


Quivering  fears,  heart-tearing  cares. 
Anxious  sighs,  untimely  tears, 

Fly,  fly  to  Courts, 

Fly  to  fond  worldlings'  sports, 
Where  strain'd  Sardonic  smiles  are  glosing  still, 
And  grief  is  forced  to  laugh  against  her  will  \ 

Where  mirth 's  but  mummery, 

And  sorrows  only  real  be. 

Fly  from  our  country  pastimes,  fly, 
Sad  troops  of  human  misery; 

Come,  serene  looks. 

Clear  as  the  crystal  brooks, 


DIRECTIONS  FOR  MAKING  A  LINE.  1^:^ 


Or  the  pure  azured  heaven  that  smiles  to  see 
The  rich  attendance  on  our  poverty ; 

Peace  and  a  secure  mind, 

Which  all  men  seek,  we  only  find. 

Abused  mortals !  did  you  know 

Where  joy,  heart's  ease,  and  comforts  grow, 

You  'd  scorn  proud  towers. 

And  seek  them  in  these  bowers  ; 
Where  winds,  sometimes,  our  woods  perhaps  may  ?jl:ake. 
But  blustering  care  could  never  tempest  make, 

Nor  murmurs  e'er  come  nigh  us. 

Saving  of  fountains  that  glide  by  us. 

Here  *s  no  fantastic  mask  nor  dance, 
But  of  our  kids  that  frisk  and  prance ; 

Nor  wars  are  seen. 

Unless  upon  the  green 
Two  harmless  lambs  are  butting  one  the  other — 
Which  done,  both  bleating  run,  each  to  his  mother; 

And  wounds  are  never  found. 

Save  what  the  ploughshare  gives  the  ground. 

Here  are  no  entrapping  baits, 
To  hasten  to  too  hasty  fates. 

Unless  it  be 

The  fond  credulity 
Of  silly  fish,  which  (worldling-like)  still  look 
Upon  the  bait,  but  never  on  the  hook; 

Nor  envy,  less  among 

The  birds,  for  prize  of  their  sweet  song. 

Go,  let  the  diving  negro  seek 

For  gems,  hid  in  some  forlorn  creek : 

We  all  pearls  scorn, 

Save  what  the  dewy  mom 
Ccngeals  upon  each  little  spire  of  grass, 
Which  careless  shepherds  beat  down  as  they  pass; 

And  gold  ne'er  here  appears. 

Save  what  the  yellow  Ceres  bears. 


35^  THE    COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

Bless'd  silent  groves,  O  may  you  be. 
For  ever,  mirth's  best  nursery ! 

May  pure  contents 

For  ever  pitch  their  tents 
Upon  these  downs,  these  meads,  these  rocks,  these  mountains, 
And  peace  still  slumber  by  these  purling  fountains ; 

Which  we  may  every  year 

Meet,  when  we  come  a-fishing  here ! 

PiSC.  Trust  me,  scholar,  I  thank  you  heartily  for  these 
verses :  they  be  choicely  good,  and  doubtless  made  by  a 
lover  of  angling.  Come,  now,  drink  a  glass  with  me,  and  I 
will  requite  you  with  another  very  good  copy :  it  is  a  fare- 
well to  the  vanities  of  the  world,  and  some  say  written  by 
Sir  Harry  Wotton,  who  I  told  you  was  an  excellent  angler. 
But  let  them  be  writ  by  whom  they  will,  he  that  writ  them 
had  a  brave  soul,  and  must  needs  be  possessed  with  happy 
thoughts  at  the  time  of  their  composure. 

Farewell,  ye  gilded  follies,  pleasing  troubles ! 
Farewell,  ye  honour'd  rags,  ye  glorious  bubbles ! 
Fame 's  but  a  hollow  echo — gold,  pure  clay — ■ 
Honour,  the  darling  but  of  one  short  day- 
Beauty,  th'  eye's  idol,  but  a  damask'd  skin — 
State,  but  a  golden  prison  to  live  in. 
And  torture  free-born  minds— embroider'd  trains, 
Merely  but  pageants  for  proud  swelling  veins — 
And  blood  allied  to  greatness  is  alone 
Inherited,  not  purchased,  nor  our  own. 

Fame,  honour,  beauty,  state,  train,  blood,  and  birtl> 

Are  but  the  fading  blossoms  of  the  earth. 

I  would  be  great,  but  that  the  sun  doth  still 
Level  his  rays  against  the  rising  hill — 
I  would  be  high,  but  see  the  proudest  oak 
Most  subject  to  the  rending  thunder- stroke— * 


DIRECTIONS  FOR  MAKING  A  LINE.  Z^7 

I  would  be  rich,  but  see  men  (too  unkind) 

Dig  in  the  bowels  of  the  richest  mind — 

I  would  be  wise,  but  that  I  often  see 

The  fox  suspected,  whilst  the  ass  goes  free — 

I  would  be  fair,  but  see  the  fair  and  proud, 

Like  the  bright  sun,  oft  setting  in  a  cloud —  » 

I  would  be  poor,  but  know  the  humble  grass 

Still  trampled  on  by  each  unworthy  ass — 

Rich,  hated — wise,  suspected — scorn'd,  if  poor — 

Great,  fear'd — fair,  tempted — high,  still  envied  more : 
I  have  wish'd  all ;  but  now  I  wish  for  neither, 
Great,  high,  rich,  wise,  nor  fair — poor  I  '11  be  rather. 

Would  the  world  now  adopt  me  for  her  heir — 

Would  beauty's  queen  entitle  me  the  fair — 

Fame  speak  me  Fortune's  minion — could  I  vie 

Angels  with  India^ — with  a  speaking  eye 

Command  bare  heads,  bow'd  knees,  strike  justice  dumb, 

As  well  as  blind  and  lame,  or  give  a  tongue 

To  stones  by  epitaphs — be  call'd  "  great  master," 

In  the  loose  rhymes  of  every  poetaster — 

Could  I  be  more  than  any  man  that  lives, 

Great,  fair,  rich,  wise,  all  in  superlatives — 

Yet  I  more  freely  would  these  gifts  resign, 

Than  ever  Fortune  would  have  made  them  mine ; 

And  hold  one  minute  of  this  holy  leisure 

Beyond  the  riches  of  this  empty  pleasure  ! 

Welcome,  pure  thoughts  !  welcome,  ye  silent  groves  ! 
These  guests,  these  courts,  my  soul  most  dearly  loves  ! 
Now  the  wing'd  people  of  the  sky  shall  sing 
My  cheerful  anthems  to  the  gladsome  spring : 
A  prayer-book,  now,  shall  be  my  looking-glass, 
In  which  I  will  adore  sweet  Virtue's  face. 
Here  dwell  no  hateful  looks,  no  palace  cares, 
No  broken  vows  dwell  here,  nor  pale-faced  fears  ; 
Then  here  I  '11  sit,  and  sigh  my  hot  love's  folly, 
And  learn  t'  affect  a  holy  melancholy : 

And  if  contentment  be  a  stranger, — then 

I  '11  ne'er  look  for  it,  but  in  heaven,  again. 


35S  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

Ven.  Well,  master,  these  verses  be  worthy  to  keep  a 
room  in  every  man's  memory.  I  thank  you  for  them ;  and 
I  thank  you  for  your  many  instructions,  which  (God  willing) 
I  will  not  forget.  And  as  St.  Austin,  in  his  "  Confessions" 
(book  iv.,  chap.  3),  commemorates  the  kindness  of  his  friend 
Verecundus,  for  lending  him  and  his  companion  a  country 
house ;  because  there  they  rested  and  enjoyed  themselves, 
free  from  the  troubles  of  the  world  ;  so,  having  had  the  like 
advantage,  both  by  your  conversation  and  the  art  you  have 
taught  me,  I  ought  ever  to  do  the  like  ;  for,  indeed,  your 
company  and  discourse  have  been  so  useful  and  pleasant, 
that,  I  may  truly  say,  I  have  only  lived  since  I  enjoyed  them 
and  turned  angler,  and  not  before.  Nevertheless,  here  I 
must  part  with  you,  here  in  this  now  sad  place  where  I  was 
so  happy  as  first  to  meet  you  :  but  I  shall  long  for  the  Ninth 
of  May ;  for  then  I  hope  again  to  enjoy  your  beloved  com- 
pany, at  the  appointed  time  and  place.  And  now  I  wish 
for  some  somniferous  potion,  that  might  force  me  to  sleep 
away  the  intermitted  time,  which  will  pass  away  with  me 
as  tediously  as  it  does  with  men  in  sorrow  ;  nevertheless,  I 
will  make  it  as  short  as  I  can  by  my  hopes  and  wishes. 
And,  my  good  master,  I  will  not  forget  the  doctrine  which 
you  told  me  Socrates  taught  his  scholars,  that  they  should 
not  think  to  be  honoured  so  much  for  being  philosophers,  as 
to  honour  philosophy  by  their  virtuous  lives.  You  advised 
me  to  the  like  concerning  angling,  and  I  will  endeavour  to 
do  so ;  and  to  live  like  those  many  worthy  men,  of  which 
you  made  mention  in  the  former  part  of  your  discourse. 
This  is  my  firm  resolution ;  and  as  a  pious  man  advised 
his  friend,  that  to  beget  mortification  he  should  frequent 
churches,  and  view  monuments  and  charnel-houses,  and 


DIRECTIONS  FOR  MAKING  A  LINE. 


359 


then  and  there  consider  how  many  dead  bodies  time  had 
piled  up  at  the  gates  of  death  ;  so  when  I  would  beget  con* 
tent,  and  increase  confidence  in  the  power,  and  wisdom,  and 
providence  of  Almighty  God,  I  will  walk  the  meadows  by 
some  gliding  stream,  and  there  contemplate  the  lilies  that 
take  no  care,  and  those  very  many  other  various  little  living 
creatures,  that  are  not  only  created  but  fed,  man  knows  not 
how,  by  the  goodness  of  the  God  of  nature,  and  therefore 
trust  in  Him.  This  is  my  purpose*  and  so  let  everything 
that  hath  breath  praise  the  Lord ;  and  let  the  blessing  of 
St.  Peter's  Master  be  with  mine. 

PiSC.  And  upon  all  that  are  lovers  of  virtue,  and  dare 
trust  in  His  providence,  and  be  quiet,  and  go  a-angling. 

Study  to  be  quiet.— I.  Thess,  iv.  ii, 


APPENDIX  XXI. 


General   Notes. 

»  Nicholas  Caussin,  a  Jesuit  and  confessor  to  Louis  XIII.,  was 
born  at  Troyes  in  Champagne,  in  1580.  He  was  esteemed  a  per- 
son of  great  probity,  and  of  such  a  spirit,  that  he  attempted  to  dis- 
place Cardinal  Richelieu,  but  that  minister  proved  too  powerful  for 
him,  and  procured  his  banishment  to  a  city  of  Lower  Bretagne.  He 
returned  to  Paris  after  the  Cardinal's  death,  and  died  in  the  Jesuits' 
Convent  there  in  July,  165 1. — H. 

^  Dr.  Donne,  Dean  of  St.  Paul's,  in  his  sermons. — H. 


«  Angel,  a  coin  of  the  value  of  ten  shillings.  The  words  "  to  vie 
angels,"  are  a  metonomy,  and  signify  "  to  compare  wealth."  In 
the  old  ballad  of  "  The  Beggar  of  Bethnal  Green,"  a  competition 
of  this  kind  is  introduced :  a  young  knight,  about  to  marry  the 
beggar's  daughter,  is  dissuaded  from  so  unequal  a  match  by  some 
relations,  who  urge  the  poverty  of  her  father ;  the  beggar  challenges 
them  to  "  drop  angels  "  with  him,  and  fairly  empties  the  purses  of 
them  all. 

The  neighbourhood  of  Bethnal  Green  is  seldom  without  a  public 
house  with  a  sign  representing  the  beggar,  and  the  dissuaders  of  the 
match,  dropping  gold ;  the  young  woman  and  the  knight  her  lover 
standing  between  them. 


END   OF    PART   I. 


I 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


PART   II. 


THE  LIFE  OF  CHARLES  COTTON. 


{Abridged  from  that  written  by  Sir  John  Hawkins.) 


H ARLES  COTTON,  ESQ.,  was  descended  from 
an  honourable  family  of  the  town  and  county  of 
Southampton.  His  grandfather  was  Sir  George 
Cotton,  Knt.,  and  his  grandmother  Cassandra, 
the  heiress  of  a  family  named  Mac  Williams  ;  the  issue  of 
their  marriage  were  a  daughter  named  Cassandra,  who  died 
unmarried,  and  a  son  named  Charles,  who  settling  at  Oving- 
den  in  the  county  of  Sussex,  married  Olive,  the  daughter  of 
Sir  John  Stanhope,  of  Elvaston  in  the  county  of  Derby, 
Knt.,  half-brother  to  Philip,  the  first  Earl  of  Chesterfield, 
and  ancestor  of  the  present  Earl  of  Harrington,  and  by  her 
had  issue,  Charles,  the  author  of  the  ensuing  Dialogues. 
He  was  born  on  the  28th  day  of  April,  1630,  and  having, 

363 


364  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

as  we  must  suppose,  received  such  a  school  education  as 
quahfied  him  for  an  university,  he  was  sent  to  Cambridge. 
He  had  for  his  tutor  Mr.  Ralph  Rawson,  once  a  fellow  of 
Brazenose  College,  Oxford,  but  who  had  been  ejected  from 
his  fellowship  by  the  Parliament  visitors  in  1648.  This 
person  he  has  gratefully  celebrated  in  a  translation  of  an 
ode  of  Johannes  Secundus. 

But  whatever  were  the  views  of  his  father  in  placing  him 
at  Cambridge,  we  find  not  that  he  betook  himself  in  earnest 
to  the  pursuit  of  any  lucrative  profession.  It  is  true  that  in 
a  poem  of  his  writing  he  hints  that  he  had  a  smattering  of 
the  law,  which  he  had  gotten 


More  by  practice  than  reading, 
By  sitting  0'  th'  bench  while  others  were  pleading. 


But  it  is  rather  probable  that,  returning  from  the  University 
to  his  father's,  he  addicted  himself  to  the  lighter  kinds  of 
study,  and  the  improvement  of  a  talent  in  poetry  of  which 
he  found  himself  possessed,  and  also  that  he  might  travel 
abroad  ;  for  in  one  of  his  poems,  he  says  he  had  been  at 
Roan. 

His  father  having  married  a  lady  of  a  Derbyshire  family, 
and  she  being  the  daughter  and  heiress  of  Edward  Beres- 
ford,  of  Beresford  and  Enson  in  Staffordshire,  and  of  Bently 
in  the  county  of  Derby,  it  may  be  presumed  that  the  de- 
scent of  the  family  seat  at  Beresford  to  her  might  have  been^ 
the  inducement  with  her  husband  to  remove  with  his  familj 
from  their  first  settlement  at  Ovingden  to  Beresford,  a  villag^ 
near  the  Peak  in  Derbyshire,  and  in  the  neighbourhood 
the  Dove,  a  river  that  divides  the  counties  of  Derby  an( 


LIFE   OF   CHARLES  COTTON,  3^5 

Stafford,  and  of  which  the  reader  will  be  told  so  much  here- 
after. 

In  1656,  being  then  twenty-six  years  of  age,  and  before 
any  patrimony  had  descended  to  him,  or  he  had  any  visible 
means  of  subsisting  a  family,  he  married  a  distant  relation, 
Isabella,  daughter  of  Sir  Thomas  Hutchinson,  of  Owthorp 
in  the  county  of  Nottingham,  Knt.  The  distress  in  which 
this  step  might  have  involved  him  was  averted  by  the  death 
of  his  father  in  1658 — an  event  that  put  him  into  the  pos- 
session of  the  family  estate  ;  but,  from  the  character  of  his 
father,  as  given  by  Lord  Clarendon,  it  cannot  be  supposed 
but  that  it  was  struggling  with  lawsuits  and  laden  with 
incumbrances. 

The  great  Lord  Falkland  was  wont  to  say  that  he  pitied 
unlearned  gentlemen  in  rainy  weather :  Mr.  Cotton  might 
possibly  entertain  the  same  sentiment,  for  in  this  situation 
we  find  that  his  employments  were  study,  for  his  delight 
and  improvement,  and  fishing,  for  his  recreation  and  health 
— for  each  of  which  several  employments  we  may  suppose 
he  chose  the  fittest  times  and  seasons. 

In  1663  he  published  the  "Moral  Philosophy  of  the 
Stoics,"  translated  from  the  French  of  Monsieur  de  Vaix, 
President  of  the  Parliament  of  Provence,  in  obedience,  as  the 
preface  informs  us,  to  a  command  of  his  father,  doubtless 
with  a  view  to  his  improvement  in  the  science  of  morality ; 
and  this  notwithstanding  the  book  had  been  translated  by 
Dr.  James,  the  first  keeper  of  the  Bodleian  Library,  above 
threescore  years  before. 

His  next  publication  was  "Scarronides;  or,  Virgil  Traves- 
tie,"  being  the  first  book  of  Virgil's  "  ^neid  "  in  English 
burlesque,  8vo.,  166/j,  concerning  which  (and  also  the  fourth 


366  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

book  translated  by  him,  and  afterwards  published)  it  may- 
be sufficient  to  say,  that  for  degrading  sublime  poetry  into 
doggerel,  Scarron's  example  is  no  authority  ;  and  that  were 
the  merit  of  this  practice  greater  than  many  men  think  it, 
those  who  admire  the  wit,  the  humour,  and  the  learning  of 
"  Hudibras,"  cannot  but  be  disgusted  at  the  low  buffoonery, 
the  forced  wit,  and  coarseness  and  obscenity  of  the  "  Virgil 
Travestie ;"  and  yet  the  poem  has  its  admirers,  is  commended 
by  Sir  John  Suckling  in  his  "  Session  of  the  Poets,"  and  has 
passed  fourteen  editions. 

Soon  after  he  engaged  in  a  more  commendable  employ- 
ment, a  translation  of  the  "  History  of  the  Life  of  the  Duke 
d'Espernon,"  from  1598,  where  D'Avila's  History  ends,  to 
1642,  in  twelve  books  ;  in  which  undertaking  he  was  inter- 
rupted by  an  appointment  to  some  place  or  post,  which  he 
hints  at  in  the  preface,  but  did  not  hold  long  ;  as  also  by  a 
sickness  that  delayed  the  publication  until  1670,  when  the 
book  came  out  in  a  folio  volume,  with  a  handsome  dedica- 
tion to  Dr.  Gilbert  Sheldon,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury. 

In  the  same  year,  being  the  fortieth  of  his  age,  and  having 
been  honoured  with  a  captain's  commission  in  the  army,  he 
was  drawn  by  some  occasion  of  business  or  interest  to  visit 
Ireland  ;  which  event  he  has  recorded,  with  some  particular 
circumstances  touching  the  course  of  his  life,  in  a  burlesque 
poem,  called  "  A  Voyage  to  Ireland,"  carelessly  written,  but 
abounding  in  humorous  description,  as  will  appear  by  th( 
following  extract  therefrom : 

A  guide  I  had  got,  who  demanded  great  vails 
For  conducting  me  over  the  mountains  of  Wales  ; 
Twenty  good  shillings,  which  sure  very  large  is, 
Yet  that  would  not  serve,  but  I  must  bear  his  charges ; 


LIFE  OF  CHARLES  COTTON.  367 

And  yet  for  all  that  rode  astride  on  a  beast, 

The  worst  that  e'er  went  on  three  legs,  I  protest : 

It  certainly  was  the  most  ugly  of  jades, — 

His  hips  and  his  rump  made  a  right  ace  of  spades  ; 

His  sides  were  two  ladders,  well  spur-gall'd  withal ; 

His  neck  was  a  helve,  and  his  head  was  a  mall  j 

For  his  colour  my  pains  and  your  trouble  I  '11  spare, 

For  the  creature  was  wholly  denuded  of  hair ! 

And  except  for  two  things  as  bare  as  my  nail, 

A  tuft  of  a  mane,  and  a  sprig  of  a  tail. 

Now,  such  as  the  beast  was,  even  such  was  the  rider, 

With  a  head  like  a  nutmeg,  and  legs  like  a  spider ; 

A  voice  like  a  cricket,  a  look  like  a  rat, 

The  brains  of  a  goose,  and  the  heart  of  a  cat ; — 

Even  such  was  my  guide  and  his  beast — let  them  pass, 

The  one  for  an  horse,  and  the  other  an  ass. 


In  this  poem  he  relates,  with  singular  pleasantry,  that  at 
Chester,  coming  out  of  church,  he  was  taken  notice  of  by 
the  mayor  of  the  city  for  his  rich  garb,  and  particularly  a 
gold  belt  that  he  then  wore,  and  by  him  invited  home  to 
supper,  and  very  hospitably  entertained. 

In  the  same  year,  and  also  the  year  after  more  correctly, 
he  published  a  translation  of  the  tragedy  entited  "Les 
Horaces,  i.e.,  the  Horatii,  from  the  French  of  Pierre  Cor- 
neille;"  and  in  1674  the  "Fair  One  of  Tunis,"  a  novel, 
translated  also  from  the  French,  as  also  a  translation  of  the 
"  Commentaries  of  Blaise  de  Montluc,  Marshal  of  France," 
a  thrasonical  Gascon,  as  Lord  Herbert  has  shown  in  his 
"History  of  Henry  VIIL,"  far  better  skilled  in  the  arts  of 
flight  than  of  battle. 

In  1675,  Mr.  Cotton  published  two  little  books,  "The 
Planter's  Manual,  being  Instructions  for  Cultivating  all  sorts 
pf  Fruit-trees,"  8vo. ;  and  a  burlesque  of  sundry  select  Dia- 


368  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

logues  of  Lucian,  with  the  title  of  "  Burlesque  upon  Bur- 
lesque;  or,  the  Scoffer  Scoffed,"  i2mo.,  which  has  much 
the  same  merit  as  the  "  Virgil  Travestie." 

Angling  having  been  the  favourite  recreation  of  Mr.  Cot- 
ton for  many  years  before  this,  we  cannot  but  suppose  that 
the  publication  of  such  a  book  as  the  "  Complete  Angler  " 
of  Mr.  Walton  had  attracted  his  notice,  and  probably  excited 
in  him  a  desire  to  become  acquainted  with  the  author ;  and 
that,  setting  aside  other  circumstances,  the  advantageous 
situation  of  Mr.  Cotton  near  the  finest  trout  river  in  the 
kingdom  might  conduce  to  beget  a  great  intimacy  between 
them ;  for  certain  it  is,  that  by  the  year  1676  they  were 
united  by  the  closest  ties  of  friendship  :  Walton,  as  also  his 
son,  had  been  frequent  visitors  to  Mr.  Cotton  at  Beresford, 
who,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  former  no  less  than  of 
himself,  had  erected  a  fishing-house  on  the  bank  of  the  river, 
with  a  stone  in  the  front  thereof,  containing  a  cypher  that 
incorporated  the  initials  of  both  their  names. 

These  circumstances,  with  a  formal  adoption  by  Walton 
of  Mr.  Cotton  for  his  son,  were  doubtless  the  inducements 
with  the  latter  to  the  writing  of  the  Second  Part  of  the 
"Complete  Angler."  Afterwards  he  published  a  poem, 
written,  as  it  is  said,  in  emulation  of  Hobbes's  "  De  Mira- 
bilibus  Pecci,"  entitled  "  The  Wonders  of  the  Peak."  This 
he  first  published  in  168 1,  and  afterwards  with  a  new  edition 
of  the  "  Virgil  Travestie  "  and  the  burlesque  of  Lucian. 

The  only  praise  of  this  poem  is  the  truth  of  the  repre- 
sentations therein  contained  ;  for  it  is  a  mean  composition, 
inharmonious  in  the  versification,  and  abounding  in  exple- 
tives. Of  the  spirit  in  which  it  is  written,  a  judgment  may 
be  formed  from  the  following  lines,  part  of  the  exordium : 


LIFE   OF  CHARLES  COTTON.  3^9 

Durst  I  expostulate  with  Providence, 

I  then  should  ask  wherein  the  innocence 

Of  my  poor  undesigning  infancy 

Could  Heav'n  offend  to  such  a  black  degree, 

As  for  th'  offence  to  damn  me  to  a  place 

Where  nature  only  suffers  in  disgrace. 

And  these  other  equally  splenetic : 

Environ'd  round  with  nature's  shames  and  ills, 
Black  heaths,  wild  rocks,  black  crags,  and  naked  hills. 

So  far  was  Mr.  Cotton  from  thinking,  with  the  Psalmist, 
"  that  his  lot  was  fallen  in  a  fair  ground,  or  that  he  had  a 
goodly  heritage." 

But  a  greater  and,  to  the  world,  a  more  beneficial  employ- 
ment at  this  time  solicited  his  attention.  The  old  trans- 
lation of  Montaigne's  "  Essays,"  by  the  resolute  John  Florio, 
as  he  styled  himself,  was  become  obsolete,  and  the  world 
were  impatient  for  a  new  one.  Mr.  Cotton  not  only  under- 
stood French  with  a  critical  exactness,  but  was  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  almost  barbarous  dialect  in  which  that 
book  is  written  ;  and  the  freedom  of  opinion,  and  general 
notions  of  men  and  things  which  the  author  discovers,  per- 
haps falling  in  with  Mr.  Cotton's  sentiments  of  human  life 
and  manners,  he  undertook,  and  in  1685  gave  to  the  world 
in  a  translation  of  that  author  in  three  volumes  8vo.,  one  of 
the  most  valuable  books  in  the  English  language  ;  in  short, 
a  translation  that  if  it  does  not,  and  many  think  it  does  in 
some  respects,  transcend,  is  yet  nothing  inferior  to  the 
original ;  and,  indeed,  little  less  than  this  is  to  be  inferred 
from  the  testimony  of  the  noble  marquis  to  whom  it  is 
dedicated,  who  concludes  a  letter  of  his  to  Mr.  Cotton  with 
this  elegant  encomium : "  Pray  believe  that  he  who  can  trans- 

24 


3/0  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

late  such  an  author  without  doing  him  wrong,  must  not 
only  make  me  glad,  but  proud  of  being  his  very  humble 
servant,  Halifax." 

These  are  the  whole  of  Mr.  Cotton's  writings  published 
in  his  lifetime ;  those  that  came  abroad  after  his  decease 
were  "Poems  on  Several  Occasions,"  8vo.,  1689;  ^  book- 
sellers publication,  tumbled  into  the  world  without  preface, 
apology,  or  even  correction ;  and  a  translation  from  the 
French  of  the  "  Memoirs  of  the  Sieur  de  Pontis,"  published 
in  1694  by  his  son,  Mr.  Beresford  Cotton,  and  by  him  dedi- 
cated to  the  then  Duke  of  Ormond,  as  having  been  under- 
taken and  completed  at  the  request  of  the  old  duke,  his 
Grace's  grandfather. 

It  is  much  to  be  feared  that  the  difficulties  he  laboured 
under,  and,  in  short,  the  straitness  of  his  circumstances,  were 
the  reasons  that  induced  Mr.  Cotton  to  employ  himself  in 
writing,  and  in  that,  so  much  more  in  translation  than 
original  composition  ;  for  first,  by  the  way,  they  are  greatly 
mistaken  who  think  that  the  business  of  writing  for  book- 
sellers is  a  new  occupation.  It  is  known  that  Greene, 
Peacham,  and  Howel  for  a  great  part  of  their  lives  subsisted 
almost  wholly  by  it ;  though  perhaps  Mr.  Cotton  is  the  first 
instance  of  a  gentleman  by  descent,  and  the  inheritor  of  a 
fair  estate,  being  reduced  by  a  sad  necessity  to  write  for  sub- 
sistence. But,  secondly,  whether  through  misfortune,  or  the 
want  of  economy,  or  both,  it  may  be  collected  from  number- 
less passages  in  his  writings  that  Mr.  Cotton's  circumstances 
were  narrow,  his  estates  encumbered  with  mortgages,  and 
his  income  less  than  sufficient  for  his  maintenance  in  the 
port  and  character  of  a  gentleman  ;  why  else  those  querulou 
exclamations  against  the  clamours  of  creditors,  the  hig] 


LIFE   OF  CHARLES  COTTON,  371 

rate  of  interest,  and  the  extortions  of  usurers,  that  so  fre- 
quently occur  in  his  poems  ?  From  which  several  particulars 
it  seems  a  natural  and  at  the  same  time  a  melancholy  infe- 
rence, that  he  was,  not  to  say  an  author,  a  translator,  pro- 
bably for  hire,  but  certainly  by  profession. 

It  is,  of  all  employments,  one  of  the  most  painful  to 
enumerate  the  misfortunes  and  sufferings  of  worthy  and 
deserving  men,  and  most  so  of  such  as  have  been  distin- 
guished for  either  their  natural  or  acquired  endowments ; 
but  truth  and  the  laws  of  biographic  history  oblige  all  that 
undertake  that  kind  of  writing  to  relate  as  well  the  adverse 
as  the  prosperous  events  in  the  lives  of  those  v/hom  they 
mean  to  celebrate,  else  we  would  gladly  omit  to  say  that 
Mr.  Cotton  was,  during  the  whole  of  his  life,  involved  in 
difficulties :  Lord  Clarendon  says  of  his  father  that  he  was 
engaged  in  lawsuits,  and  had  wasted  his  fortune ;  and  it 
cannot  be  supposed  but  that  his  son  inherited,  in  some 
degree,  the  vexation  and  expense  of  uncertain  litigation, 
together  with  the  paternal  estate,  and  might  finally  be 
divested  of  great  part  of  it ;  further,  we  may  suppose  that 
the  easiness  of  his  nature,  and  a  disposition  to  oblige  others 
amounting  even  to  imbecility,  laid  him  open  to  the  arts  of 
designing  men,  and  gave  occasion  to  those  complaints  of  in- 
gratitude and  neglect  which  we  meet  with  in  his  eclogues, 
odes,  and  other  of  his  writings. 

It  is  true  that  he  was  never  reduced  by  necessity  to 
alienate  the  family  estate,  nor  were  his  distresses  uniformly 
extreme,  but  they  were  at  times  severely  pungent.  It  is 
said  that  the  numerous  pecuniary  engagements  into  which 
he  had  entered  drew  upon  him  the  misfortune  of  personal 
restraint ;  and  that  during  his  confinement  in  one  of  the 

24— a 


372  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


city  prisons,  he  inscribed  on  the  wall  of  his  apartment 
therein  these  affecting  lines  : 

A  prison  is  a  place  of  care, 
Wherein  no  one  can  thrive  ; 
A  touchstone  sure  to  try  a  friend, 
A  grave  for  men  alive. 

And  to  aggravate  these  his  afflictions,  he  had  a  wife,  whom 
he  appears  to  have  tenderly  loved,  and  of  whom,  in  an  ironi- 
cal poem,  entitled  "  The  Joys  of  Marriage,"  he  speaks  thus 

handsomely : 

Yet  with  me  't  is  out  of  season 
To  complain  thus  without  reason, 
Since  the  best  and  sweetest  fair 
Is  allotted  to  my  share. 
But  alas !  I  love  her  so. 
That  my  love  creates  my  woe  ; 
For  if  she  be  out  of  humour, 
Straight  displeased  I  do  presume  her, 
And  would  give  the  world  to  know 
What  it  is  offends  her  so  ; 
Or  if  she  be  discontented, 
Lord,  how  am  I  then  tormented  ! 
And  am  ready  to  persuade  her, 
That  I  have  unhappy  made  her  ; 
But  if  sick,  then  I  am  dying, 
Meat  and  med'cine  both  defying. 

This  lady,  the  delight  of  his  heart  and  the  partner  of  his 
sorrows,  he  had  the  misfortune  to  lose,  but  at  what  period 
of  his  life  is  not  certain. 

We  might  flatter  ourselves  that  his  sun  set  brighter  than 
it  rose,  for  his  second  marriage,  which  was  with  the  Countess 
Dowager  of  Ardglas,  who  possessed  a  jointure  of  fifteei 
hundred  a  year,  and  survived  him,  might  suggest  a  hope 


LIFE   OF  CHARLES  COTTON.  373 

that  he  might  have  been  thereby  enabled  to  extricate  him- 
self out  of  the  greatest  of  his  difficulties,  and  in  reality  to 
enjoy  that  tranquillity  of  mind  which  he  describes  with  so 
much  feeling  in  the  "  Stanzes  Irreguliers ; "  but  this  sup- 
position seems  to  be  contradicted  by  a  fact,  which  the  act 
of  administration  of  his  effects  upon  his  decease  discloses, 
viz.,  that  the  same  was  granted  "  to  Elizabeth  Blud worth, 
his  principal  creditrix ;  the  Honourable  Mary,  Countess 
Dowager  of  Ardglas,  his  widow ;  Beresford  Cotton,  Esq., 
Olive  Cotton,  Catherine  Cotton,  Jane  Cotton,  and  Mary 
Cotton,  his  natural  and  lawful  children,  first  renouncing." 

The  above  act,  bearing  date  the  12th  day  of  September, 
1687,  fixes,  perhaps,  within  a  few  days,  the  day  of  his  death, 
and  describes  him  as  having  lived  in  the  parish  of  St.  James, 
Westminster ;  it  also  ascertains  his  issue,  which  were  all  by 
his  first  lady. 


[Note. — The  part  written  by  Cotton  is  far  more  practical  than  that 
written  by  Walton,  and  it  does  not  call  for  the  editorial  notes  and  com- 
ments which  Walton's  does.  All  Cotton's  directions,  however,  should 
be  read  subject  to  the  Practical  Essays  in  the  First  Part.  His  flies  are 
all  good  working  flies  ;  but  the  angler  will  find  it  more  to  his  profit  to 
adopt  the  directions  already  given.— Ed.] 


k 


^J^?r^^ 


r 


THE 

COMPLETE    ANGLER. 


PART  THE   SECOND. 


INSTRUCTIONS 

HOW  TO  ANGLE  FOR  A  TROUT  OR  GRAYLING 

IN  A  CLEAR  STREAM. 


«i= 


Qui  mihi  non  credit,  facial  licet  ipse  periclum ; 
Et  fuerit  scriptis  gequior  ille  meis. 


TO 

MY   MOST   WORTHY    FATHER   AND    FRIEND, 

MR.  IZAAK  WALTON,  THE  ELDER. 


Sir, — Being  you  were  pleased,  some  years  past,  to  grant  me  your 
free  leave  to  do  what  I  have  here  attempted ;  and  observing  you 
never  retract  any  promise  when  made  in  favour  of  your  meanest 
friends;  I  accordingly  expect  to  see  these  following  particular 
directions  for  the  taking  of  a  trout,  to  wait  upon  your  better  and 
more  general  rules  for  all  sorts  of  angling.  And  though  mine  be 
neither  so  perfect,  so  well  digested,  nor  indeed  so  handsomely 
couch'd  as  they  might  have  been,  in  so  long  a  time  as  since  your 
leave  was  granted,  yet  I  dare  affirm  them  to  be  generally  true ;  and 
they  had  appeared  too  in  something  a  neater  dress,  but  that  I  was 
surprised  with  the  sudden  news  of  a  sudden  new  edition  of  your 
''Complete  Angler;"  so  that,  having  little  more  than  ten  days' 
time  to  turn  me  in,  and  rub  up  my  memory  (for,  in  truth,  I  have 
not,  in  all  this  long  time,  though  I  have  often  thought  on 't,  and 
almost  as  often  resolved  to  go  presently  about  it),  I  was  forced, 
upon  the  instant,  to  scribble  what  I  here  present  you ;  which  I 
have  also  endeavoured  to  accommodate  to  your  own  method.  And, 
if  mine  be  clear  enough  for  the  honest  brothers  of  the  angle  readily 
to  understand,  which  is  the  only  thing  I  aim  at,  then  I  have  my 
end,  and  shall  need  to  make  no  further  apology ;  a  writing  of  this 
kind  not  requiring,  if  I  were  master  of  any  such  thing,  any 
eloquence  to  set  it  off  and  recommend  it ;  so  that  if  you,  in  your 
better  judgment,  or  kindness  rather,  can  allow  it  passable  for  a 
thing  of  this  nature,  you  will  then  do  me  the  honour  if  the  cypher 
fixed  and  carved  in  the  front  of  my  little  fishing-house,  may  be 
here  explained ;  and  to  permit  me  to  attend  you  in  public,  who,  in 
private,  have  ever  been,  am,  and  ever  resolve  to  be, 

Sir, 
Your  most  affectionate  son  and  servant, 


Bcrcsfordy 
1  oth  of  March^  1676. 


/ 


TO 

MY   MOST   HONOURED    FRIEND, 

CHARLES    COTTON,    Esq. 


Sir,— You  now  see  I  have  returned  you  your  very  pleasant  and 
useful  discourse  of  "  The  Art  of  Fly-fishing,"  printed  just  as  it  was 
sent  me  ;  for  I  have  been  so  obedient  to  your  desires,  as  to  endure 
all  the  praises  you  have  ventured  to  fix  upon  me  in  it.  And  when 
I  have  thanked  you  for  them,  as  the  effects  of  an  undissembled 
love,  then  let  me  tell  you.  Sir,  that  I  will  readily  endeavour  to  live 
up  to  the  character  you  have  given  of  me,  if  there  were  no  other 
reason,  yet  for  this  alone,  that  you,  that  love  me  so  well,  and  always 
think  what  you  speak,  may  not,  for  my  sake,  suffer  by  a  mistake  in 
your  judgment. 

And,  Sir,  I  have  ventured  to  fill  a  part  of  your  margin,  by  way 
of  paraphrase,  for  the  reader's  clearer  understanding  the  situation 
both  of  your  fishing-house,  and  the  pleasantness  of  that  you  dwell 
in.  And  I  have  ventured  also  to  give  him  a  "  Copy  of  Verses  " 
that  you  were  pleased  to  send  me,  now  some  years  past,  in  which 
he  may  see  a  good  picture  of  both  ;  and  so  much  of  your  own  mind 
too,  as  will  make  any  reader,  tliat  is  blessed  with  a  generous  soul, 
to  love  you  the  better.  I  confess,  that  for  doing  this  you  may 
justly  judge  me  too  bold ;  if  you  do,  I  will  say  so  too ;  and  so  far 
commute  for  my  offence,  that,  though  I  be  more  than  a  hundred 
miles  from  you,  and  in  the  eighty-third  year  of  my  age,  yet  I  will 
forget  both,  and  next  month  begin  a  pilgrimage  to  beg  your  pardon ; 
for  I  would  die  in  your  favour,  and  till  then  will  live. 

Sir, 
Your  most  affectionate  father  and  friend, 

IzAAK  Walton. 
London^ 
April  29,  1676. 


«r8 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


PART   THE  SECOND. 
CHAPTER  I. 

PiSCATOR  JUNIOR  AND  VlATOR. 
PiSCATOR. 

OU  are  happily  overtaken,  Sir ;  may  a 
man  be  so  bold  as  to  inquire  how  far 
you  travel  this  way  ? 

VlAT.    Yes,   sure,   Sir,  very   freely  ; 
though  it  be  a  question  I  cannot  very 
well  resolve  you,  as  not  knowing  myself 
how  far  it  is  to  Ashborn,  where  I  intend 
to-night  to  take  up  my  inn. 

PiSC.  Why  then,  Sir,  seeing  I  perceive  you  to  be  a  stranger 


i 


879 


38o  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

in  these  parts,  I  shall  take  upon  me  to  inform  you,  that  from 
the  town  you  last  came  through,  called  Brclsford,  it  is  five 
miles  ;  and  you  are  not  yet  above  half  a  mile  on  this  side. 

VlAT.  So  much  ?  I  was  told  it  was  but  ten  miles  from 
Derby  ;  and  methinks  I  have  rode  almost  so  far  already. 

PiSC.  O  Sir,  find  no  fault  with  large  measure  of  good 
land,  which  Derbyshire  abounds  in,  as  much  as  most  coun- 
ties of  England. 

VlAT.  It  may  be  so  ;  and  good  land,  I  confess,  affords  a 
pleasant  prospect ;  but,  by  your  good  leave.  Sir,  large  mea- 
sure of  foul  way  is  not  altogether  so  acceptable. 

PiSC.  True,  Sir ;  but  the  foul  way  serves  to  justify  the 
fertility  of  the  soil,  according  to  the  proverb,  "There  is 
good  land  where  there  is  foul  way  ; "  and  is  of  good  use  to 
inform  you  of  the  riches  of  the  country  you  are  come  into, 
and  of  its  continual  travel  and  traffic  to  the  country  town 
you  came  from  ;  which  is  also  very  observable  by  the  fulness 
of  its  road,  and  the  loaden  horses  you  meet  everywhere  upon 
the  way. 

ViAT.  Well,  Sir,  I  will  be  content  to  think  as  well  of  your 
country  as  you  would  desire ;  and  I  shall  have  a  great  deal 
of  reason  both  to  think  and  to  speak  very  well  of  you,  if  I 
may  obtain  the  happiness  of  your  company  to  the  fore- 
mentioned  place,  provided  your  affairs  lead  you  that  wa} 
and  that  they  will  permit  you  to  slack  your  pace,  out 
complacency  to  a  traveller  utterly  a  stranger  in  these  part 
and  who  am  still  to  wander  further  out  of  my  own  kno^ 
ledge. 

PiSC.  Sir,  you  invite  me  to  my  own  advantage,  and  I  ai 
ready  to  attend  you,  my  way  lying  through  that  town  ;  bi 
my  business,  that  is,  my  home,  some  miles  beyond  it :  ho 


FIRST  DAY.  381 


ever,  I  shall  have  time  enough  to  lodge  you  in  your  quarters, 
and  afterward  to  perform  my  own  journey.  In  the  mean- 
time, may  I  be  so  bold  as  to  inquire  the  end  of  your  journey? 

VlAT.  'T  is  into  Lancashire,  Sir ;  and  about  some  busi- 
ness of  concern  to  a  relation  of  mine ;  for  I  assure  you,  I 
do  not  use  to  take  such  long  journeys  as  from  Essex  upon 
the  single  account  of  pleasure. 

PiSC.  From  thence,  Sir !  I  do  not  then  wonder  you  should 
appear  dissatisfied  with  the  length  of  the  miles  and  the 
foulness  of  the  way :  though  I  am  sorry  you  should  begin 
to  quarrel  with  them  so  soon ;  for  believe  me,  sir,  you  will 
find  the  miles  much  longer,  and  the  way  much  worse,  before 
you  come  to  your  journey's  end. 

VlAT.  Why,  truly.  Sir,  for  that  I  am  prepared  to  expect 
the  worst ;  but  methinks  the  way  is  mended  since  I  had  the 
good  fortune  to  fall  into  your  good  company. 

PiSC.  You  are  not  obliged  to  my  company  for  that,  but 
because  you  are  already  past  the  worst,  and  the  greatest 
part  of  your  way  to  your  lodging. 

VlAT.  I  am  very  glad  to  hear  it,  both  for  the  ease  of 
myself  and  my  horse ;  but  especially  because  I  may  then 
expect  a  freer  enjoyment  of  your  conversation  ;  though  the 
shortness  of  the  way  will,  I  fear,  make  me  lose  it  the  sooner. 
%  PiSC.  That,  Sir,  is  not  worth  your  care ;  and  I  am  sure 
you  deserve  much  better  for  being  content  with  so  ill  com- 
pany. But  we  have  already  talked  away  two  miles  of  your 
journey ;  for,  from  the  brook  before  us,  that  runs  at  the  foot 
of  this  sandy  hill,  you  have  but  three  miles  to  Ashborn. 

VlAT.  I  meet,  everywhere  in  this  country,  with  these  little 
brooks ;  and  they  look  as  if  they  were  full  of  fish  :  have 
they  not  trouts  in  them  ? 


383  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

PiSC.  That  is  a  question  which  is  to  be  excused  in  a 
stranger,  as  you  are ;  otherwise,  give  me  leave  to  tell  you, 
it  would  seem  a  kind  of  affront  to  our  country,  to  make  a 
doubt  of  what  we  pretend  to  be  famous  for,  next,  if  not 
before,  our  malt,  wool,  lead,  and  coal ;  for  you  are  to  under- 
stand, that  we  think  we  have  as  many  fine  rivers,  rivulets, 
and  brooks,  as  any  country  whatever  ;  and  they  are  all  full 
of  trouts,  and  some  of  them  the  best,  it  is  said,  by  many 
degrees,  in  England. 

ViAT.  I  was  first.  Sir,  in  love  with  you  ;  and  now  shall 
be  so  enamoured  of  your  country  by  this  account  you  give 
me  of  it,  as  to  wish  myself  a  Derbyshire  man,  or  at  least 
that  I  might  live  in  it ;  for  you  must  know  that  I  am  a  pre- 
tender to  the  angle,  and  doubtless  a  trout  affords  the  most 
pleasure  to  the  angler  of  any  sort  of  fish  whatever  ;  and  the 
best  trouts  must  needs  make  the  best  sport ;  but  this  brook, 
and  some  others  I  have  met  with  upon  this  way,  are  too 
full  of  wood  for  that  recreation. 

PiSC.  This,  Sir !  why,  this,  and  several  others  like  it, 
which  you  have  passed,  and  some  that  you  are  like  to  pass, 
have  scarce  any  name  amongst  us  ;  but  we  can  shew  you 
as  fine  rivers,  and  as  clear  from  wood,  or  any  other  incum- 
brance to  hinder  an  angler,  as  any  you  ever  saw ;  and  for 
clear  beautiful  streams,  Hantshire  itself,  by  Mr.  Izaak 
Walton's  good  leave,  can  shew  none  such  ;  nor  I  think  anyj 
country  in  Europe. 

VlAT.  You  go  far.  Sir,  in  the  praise  of  your  counti 
rivers,  and  I  perceive  have  read  Mr.  Walton's  "  Complet< 
Angler,"  by  your  naming  of  Hantshire ;  and  I  pray  what 
is  your  opinion  of  that  book  ? 

Pisc.  My  opinion  of  Mr.  Walton's  book  is  the  same  wit 


FIRST  DAY.  383 


every  man's  that  understands  anything  of  the  art  of  anghng^, 
that  it  is  an  excellent  good  one,  and  that  the  fore-mentioned 
gentleman  understands  as  much  of  fish  and  fishing  as  any 
man  living ;  but  I  must  tell  you  further,  that  I  have  the 
happiness  to  know  his  person,  and  to  be  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  him,  and  in  him  to  know  the  worthiest  man, 
and  to  enjoy  the  best  and  the  truest  friend  any  man  ever 
had ;  nay,  I  shall  yet  acquaint  you  further,  that  he  gives 
me  leave  to  call  him  father,  and  I  hope  is  not  yet  ashamed 
to  own  me  for  his  adopted  son. 

ViAT.  In  earnest.  Sir,  I  am  ravished  to  meet  with  a  friend 
of  Mr.  Izaak  Walton's,  and  one  that  does  him  so  much  right 
in  so  good  and  true  a  character ;  for  I  must  boast  to  you 
that  I  have  the  good  fortune  to  know  him  too,  and  came 
acquainted  with  him  much  after  the  same  manner  I  do  with 
you ;  that  he  was  my  master,  who  first  taught  me  to  love 
angling,  and  then  to  become  an  angler ;  and  to  be  plain 
with  you,  I  am  the  very  man  deciphered  in  his  book  under 
the  name  of  Venator ;  for  I  was  wholly  addicted  to  the 
chase,  till  he  taught  me  as  good,  a  more  quiet,  innocent,  and 
less  dangerous  diversion. 

PiSC.  Sir,  I  think  myself  happy  in  your  acquaintance,  and 

before  we  part  shall  entreat  leave  to  embrace  you :  you 

have  said  enough  to  recommend  you  to  my  best  opinion  ; 

for  my  father  Walton  will  be  seen  twice  in  no  man's  com- 

,,     pany  he  does  not  like,  and  likes  none  but  such  as  he  be- 

Ilieves  to  be  very  honest  men  ;  which  is  one  of  the  best 
;arguments,  or  at  least  of  the  best  testimonies  I  have,  that 
I  either  am,  or  that  he  thinks  me,  one  of  those,  seeing  I 
have  not  yet  found  him  weary  of  me. 


I 


384  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

render  yourself  worthy  of  his  friendship.  May  I  be  so  bold 
as  to  ask  your  name  ? 

PiSC.  Yes  surely,  Sir,  and  if  you  please  a  much  nicer  ques- 
tion :  my  name  is ,  and  I  intend  to  stay  long  enough 

in  your  company,  if  I  find  you  do  not  dislike  mine,  to  ask 
yours  too.  In  the  meantime,  because  we  are  now  almost 
at  Ashborn,  I  shall  freely  and  bluntly  tell  you,  that  I  am  a 
brother  of  the  angle  too,  and,  peradventure,  can  give  you 
some  instructions  how  to  angle  for  a  trout  in  a  clear  river, 
that  my  father  Walton  himself  will  not  disapprove,  though 
he  did  either  purposely  omit,  or  did  not  remember  them, 
when  you  and  he  sat  discoursing  under  the  sycamore-tree. 
And  being  you  have  already  told  me  whither  your  journey 
is  intended,  and  that  I  am  better  acquainted  with  the 
country  than  you  are,  I  will  heartily  and  earnestly  entreat 
you  will  not  think  of  staying  at  this  town,  but  go  on  with 
me  six  miles  farther  to  my  house,  where  you  shall  be  ex- 
tremely welcome :  it  is  directly  in  your  way,  we  have  day 
enough  to  perform  our  journey,  and,  as  you  like  your  enter- 
tainment, you  may  there  repose  yourself  a  day  or  two,  or  as 
many  more  as  your  occasions  will  permit,  to  recompense 
the  trouble  of  so  much  a  longer  journey. 

VlAT.  Sir,  you  suprise  me  with  so  friendly  an  invitation 
upon  so  short  acquaintance  ;  but  how  advantageous  soever 
it  would  be  to  me,  and  that  my  haste,  perhaps,  is  not  so 
great  but  it  might  dispense  with  such  a  divertisement  as  I 
promise  myself  in  your  company,  yet  I  cannot,  in  modesty, 
accept  your  offer,  and  must  therefore  beg  your  pardon :  I 
could  otherwise,  I  confess,  be  glad  to  wait  upon  you,  if  upon 
no  other  account  but  to  talk  of  Mr.  L  Walton,  and  to  receive 
these  instructions  you  say  you  are  able  to  give  me  for  the 


FIRST  DAY.  3S5 


deceiving  a  trout ;  in  which  art  I  will  not  deny  but  that  I 
have  an  ambition  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  deceivers :  though 
I  cannot  forbear  freely  to  tell  you,  that  I  think  it  hard  to 
say  much  more  than  has  been  read  to  me  upon  that  subject. 

PiSC.  Well,  Sir,  I  grant  that,  too ;  but  you  must  know 
that  the  variety  of  rivers  require  different  ways  of  angling  : 
however,  you  shall  have  the  best  rules  I  am  able  to  give, 
and  I  will  tell  you  nothing  I  have  not  made  myself  as  cer- 
tain of,  as  any  man  can  be  in  a  thirty  years'  experience  (for 
so  long  I  have  been  a  dabbler  in  that  art) ;  and  that,  if  you 
please  to  stay  a  few  days,  you  shall,  in  a  very  great  measure, 
see  made  good  to  you ;  but  of  that  hereafter.  And  now.  Sir, 
if  I  am  not  mistaken,  I  have  half  overcome  you  ;  and  that 
I  may  wholly  conquer  that  modesty  of  yours,  I  will  take 
upon  me  to  be  so  familiar  as  to  say,  you  must  accept  my 
invitation,  which,  that  you  may  the  more  easily  be  persuaded 
to  do,  I  will  tell  you  that  my  house  stands  upon  the  margin 
of  one  of  the  finest  rivers  for  trout  and  grayling  in  England ; 
that  I  have  lately  built  a  little  fishing-house  upon  it,  dedicated 
to  anglers,  over  the  door  of  which  you  will  see  the  two  first 
letters  of  my  father  Walton's  name  and  mine  twisted  in 
cypher;  that  you  shall  lie  in  the  same  bed  he  has  sometimes 
been  contented  with,  and  have  such  country  entertainment 
as  my  friends  sometimes  accept,  and  be  as  welcome,  too,  as 
the  best  friend  of  them  all. 

VlAT.  No  doubt.  Sir,  but  my  master  Walton  found  good 
reason  to  be  satisfied  with  his  entertainment  in  your  house; 
for  you  who  are  so  friendly  to  a  mere  stranger,  who  deserves 
so  little,  must  needs  be  exceeding  kind  and  free  to  him  who 
deserves  so  much. 

PiSC.    Believe  me,  no  ;   and  such  as  are  intimately  ac- 


386  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

quainted  with  that  gentleman  know  him  to  be  a  man  who 
will  not  endure  to  be  treated  like  a  stranger.  So  that  his 
acceptation  of  my  poor  entertainment  has  ever  been  a  pure 
effect  of  his  own  humility  and  good-nature,  and  nothing 
else.  But,  Sir,  we  are  now  going  down  the  Spittle  Hill  into 
the  town  ;  and  therefore  let  me  importune  you  suddenly  to 
resolve,  and  (most  earnestly)  not  to  deny  me. 

VlAT.  In  truth,  Sir,  I  am  so  overcome  by  your  bounty, 
that  I  find  I  cannot,  but  must  render  myself  wholly  to  be 
disposed  of  by  you. 

PiSC.  Why,  that 's  heartily  and  kindly  spoken,  and  I  as 
heartily  thank  you.  And  being  you  have  abandoned  your- 
self to  my  conduct,  we  will  only  call  and  drink  a  glass  on 
horseback  at  the  Talbot,  and  away. 

VlAT.  I  attend  you.  But  what  pretty  river  is  this,  that 
runs  under  this  stone  bridge  }     Has  it  a  name  } 

PiSC.  Yes,  it  is  called  Henmore,  and  has  in  it  both  trout 
and  grayling ;  but  you  will  meet  with  one  or  two  better 
anon.  And  so  soon  as  we  are  past  through  the  town,  I  will 
endeavour  by  such  discourse  as  best  likes  you,  to  f  ass  away 
the  time  till  you  come  to  your  ill  quarters. 

VlAT.  We  can  talk  of  nothing  with  which  I  shall  be  more 
delighted  than  of  rivers  and  angling. 

PiSC.  Let  those  be  the  subjects,  then;  but  we  are  now 
come  to  the  Talbot.   What  will  you  drink.  Sir,  ale  or  wine } 

VlAT.  Nay,  I  am  for  the  country  liquor,  Derbyshire  ale, 
if  you  please ;  for  a  man  should  not,  methinks,  come  from 
London  to  drink  wine  in  the  Peak. 

PisC.  You  are  in  the  right ;  and  yet  let  me  tell  you,  you 
may  drink  worse  French  wine  in  many  taverns  in  London, 
than  they  have  sometimes  at  this  house.     What  ho  !  bring 


FIRST  DAY. 


387 


us  a  flagon  of  your  best  ale.  And  now,  Sir,  my  service  to 
you,  a  good  health  to  the  honest  gentleman  you  know  of, 
and  you  are  welcome  into  the  Peak. 

VlAT.  I  thank  you.  Sir,  and  present  you  my  service  again, 
and  to  all  the  honest  brothers  of  the  angle. 

PiSC.  I  '11  pledge  you.  Sir :  so,  there 's  for  your  ale,  and 
farewell.  Come,  Sir,  let  us  be  going,  for  the  sun  grows  low, 
and  I  would  have  you  look  about  you  as  you  ride ;  for  you 
will  see  an  odd  country,  and  sights  that  will  seem  strange 
to  you. 


CHAPTER    11. 


[lirst  iEg.] 


PiSC.  So,  Sir,  now  we  have  got  to  the  top  of  the  hill  out 
of  town,  look  about  you,  and  tell  me  how  you  like  the 
country. 

ViAT.  Bless  me,  what  mountains  are  here  !  Are  we  not 
in  Wales  ? 

PiSC.  No,  but  in  almost  as  mountainous  a  country  ;  and 
yet  these  hills,  though  high,  bleak,  and  craggy,  breed  and 
feed  good  beef  and  mutton  aboveground,  and  afford  good 
store  of  lead  within. 

ViAT.  They  had  need  of  all  those  commodities  to  make 
amends  for  the  ill  landskip  :  but  I  hope  our  way  does  notj 
lie  over  any  of  these,  for  I  dread  a  precipice. 

PiSC.  Believe  me,  but  it  does,  and  down  one  especially," 
that  will  appear  a  little  terrible  to  a  stranger ;  though  the 
way  is  passable  enough,  and  so  passible,  that  we  who  are! 


FIPST  DAY.  389 


natives  of  these  mountains,  and  acquainted  with  them,  dis- 
dain to  alight. 

VlAT.  I  hope,  though,  that  a  foreigner  is  privileged  to 
use  his  own  discretion,  and  that  I  may  have  the  liberty  to 
entrust  my  neck  to  the  fidelity  of  my  own  feet,  rather  than 
to  those  of  my  horse,  for  I  have  no  more  at  home. 

PiSC.  'Twere  hard  else.  But  in  the  meantime,  I  think 
't  were  best,  while  this  way  is  pretty  even,  to  mend  our  pace, 
that  we  may  be  past  that  hill  I  speak  of;  to  the  end  your 
apprehension  may  not  be  doubled  for  want  of  light  to  dis- 
cern the  easiness  of  the  descent. 

VlAT.  I  am  willing  to  put  forward  as  fast  as  my  beast 
will  give  me  leave,  though  I  fear  nothing  in  your  company. 
But  what  pretty  river  is  this  we  are  going  into  } 

PiSC.  Why,  this,  Sir,  is  called  Bently  Brook,  and  is  full 
of  very  good  trout  and  grayling;  but  so  encumbered  with 
wood  in  many  places,  as  is  troublesome  to  an  angler. 

VlAT.  Here  are  the  prettiest  rivers,  and  the  most  of  them 
in  this  country  that  ever  I  saw :  do  you  know  how  many 
you  have  in  the  country } 

PiSC.  I  know  them  all,  and  they  were  not  hard  to  reckon, 
were  it  worth  the  trouble,  but  the  most  considerable  of  them 
I  will  presently  name  you.  And  to  begin  where  we  now 
are,  for  you  must  know  we  are  now  upon  the  very  skirts  of 
Derbyshire  :  we  have  first  the  river  Dove,  that  we  shall  come 
to  by-and-by,  which  divides  the  two  counties  of  Derby  and 
Stafford  for  many  miles  together  ;  and  is  so  called  from  the 
swiftness  of  its  current,  and  that  swiftness  occasioned  by  the 
declivity  of  its  course,  and  by  being  so  straitened  in  that 
course  betwixt  the  rocks ;  by  which,  and  those  very  high 
ones,  it  is,  hereabout,  for  four  or  five  miles,  confined  into  a 


390  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

very  narrow  stream  ;  a  river  that  from  a  contemptible  foun- 
tain, which  I  can  cover  with  my  hat,  by  the  confluence  of 
other  rivers,  rivulets,  brooks,  and  rills,  is  swelled,  before  it 
falls  into  Trent,  a  little  below  Eggington,  where  it  loses  the 
name,  to  such  a  breadth  and  depth  as  to  be  in  most  places 
navigable,  were  not  the  passage  frequently  interrupted  with 
fords  and  weirs ;  and  has  as  fertile  banks  as  any  river  in 
England,  none  excepted.  And  this  river,  from  its  head  for  a 
mile  or  two,  is  a  black  water,  as  all  the  rest  of  the  Derby- 
shire rivers  of  note  originally  are,  for  they  all  spring  from 
the  mosses ;  but  is  in  a  few  miles'  travel  so  clarified  by  the 
addition  of  several  clear  and  very  great  springs,  bigger  than 
itself,  which  gush  out  of  the  limestone  rocks,  that  before  it 
comes  to  my  house,  which  is  but  six  or  seven  miles  from  its 
source,  you  will  find  it  one  of  the  purest  crystalline  streams 
you  have  seen. 

VlAT.  Does  Trent  spring  in  these  parts  ? 

PiSC.  Yes,  in  these  parts  ;  not  in  this  county,  but  some- 
where towards  the  upper  end  of  Stafibrdshire,  I  think  not 
far  from  a  place  called  Trentham  ;  and  thence  runs  down, 
not  far  from  Stafford,  to  Wolsly  Bridge,  and  washing  the 
skirts  and  purlieus  of  the  forest  of  Needwood,  runs  down  to 
Burton  in  the  same  county  ;  thence  it  comes  into  this,  where 
we  now  are,  and  running  by  Swarkston  and  Dunnington, 
receives  Derwent  at  Wildon,  and  so  to  Nottingham  ;  thence 
to  Newark,  and,  by  Gainsborough,  to  Kingston-upon-Hull, 
diere  it  takes  the  name  of  H umber,  and  thence  falls  into 
the  sea ;  but  that  the  map  will  best  inform  you. 

VlAT.  Know  you  whence  this  river  Trent  derives  its 
name } 

Pisc.  No,  indeed  ;  and  yet  I  have  heard  it  often  discoursed 


J 


FIRST  DAY,  391 


upon,  when  some  have  given  its  denomination  from  the  fore- 
named  Trentham,  though  that  seems  rather  a  derivative 
from  it ;  others  have  said  it  is  so  called  from  thirty  rivers 
that  fall  into  it  and  there  lose  their  names,  which  cannot  be 
neither,  because  it  -carries  that  name  from  its  very  fountain, 
before  any  other  rivers  fall  into  it ;  others  derive  it  from 
thirty  several  sorts  of  fish  that  breed  there  ;  and  that  is  the 
most  likely  derivation.  But  be  it  how  it  will,  it  is  doubtless 
one  of  the  finest  rivers  in  the  world,  and  the  most  abound- 
ing with  excellent  salmon,  and  all  sorts  of  delicate  fish. 

VlAT.  Pardon  me,  Sir,  for  tempting  you  into  this  digres- 
sion, and  then  proceed  to  your  other  rivers,  for  I  am  mightily 
delighted  with  this  discourse. 

PiSC.  It  was  no  interruption,  but  a  very  seasonable  ques- 
tion ;  for  Trent  is  not  only  one  of  our  Derbyshire  rivers,  but 
the  chief  of  them,  and  into  which  all  the  rest  pay  the  tribute 
of  their  names,  which  I  had,  perhaps,  forgot  to  insist  upon, 
being  got  to  the  other  end  of  the  county,  had  you  not  awoke 
my  memory.  But  I  will  now  proceed.  And  the  next  river 
of  note,  for  I  will  take  them  as  they  lie  eastward  from  us,  is 
the  river  Wye  ;  I  say  of  note,  for  we  have  two  lesser  betwixt 
us  and  it,  namely  Lathkin  and  Bradford,  of  which  Lathkin 
is,  by  many  degrees,  the  purest  and  most  transparent  stream 
that  I  ever  yet  saw,  either  at  home  or  abroad,  and  breeds, 
it  is  said,  the  reddest  and  the  best  trouts  in  England  ;  but 
neither  of  these  are  to  be  reputed  rivers,  being  no  better  than 
great  springs.  The  river  Wye,  then,  has  its  source  near  unto 
Buxton,  a  town  some  ten  miles  hence,  famous  for  a  warm 
bath,  and  which  you  are  to  ride  through  in  your  way  to  Man- 
chester ;  a  black  water  too,  at  the  fountain,  but,  by  the  same 
reason  with  Dove,  becomes  very  soon  a  most  delicate  clear 


392  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

river,  and  breeds  admirable  trout  and  grayling,  reputed  by 
those  who,  by  living  upon  its  banks,  are  partial  to  it,  the 
best  of  any ;  and  this,  running  down  by  Ashford,  Bakewell, 
and  H addon,  at  a  town  a  little  lower,  called  Rowesly,  falls 
into  Derwent,  and  there  loses  its  name.  The  next  in  order 
is  Derwent,  a  black  water  too,  and  that  not  only  from  its 
fountain,  but  quite  through  its  progress,  not  having  these 
crystal  springs  to  wash  and  cleanse  it,  which  the  two  fore- 
mentioned  have  ;  but  abounds  with  trout  and  grayling,  such 
as  they  are,  towards  its  source,  and  with  salmon  below ;  and 
this  river,  from  the  upper  and  utmost  part  of  the  county, 
where  it  springs,  taking  its  course  by  Chatsworth,  Darley, 
Matlock,  Derby,  Burrow-Ash,  and  Awberson,  falls  into  Trent 
at  a  place  called  Wildon,  and  there  loses  its  name.  The 
east  side  of  this  county  of  Derby  is  bounded  by  little  in- 
considerable rivers,  as  Awber,  Eroways,  and  the  like,  scarce 
worth  naming,  but  trouty  too ;  and  further  we  are  not  to 
inquire.  But,  Sir,  I  have  carried  you,  as  a  man  may  say, 
by  water,  till  we  are  now  come  to  the  descent  of  the  for- 
midable hill  I  told  you  of,  at  the  foot  of  which  runs  the  river 
Dove,  which  I  cannot  but  love  above  all  the  rest ;  and  there- 
fore prepare  yourself  to  be  a  little  frighted. 

VlAT.  Sir,  I  see  you  would  fortify  me,  that  I  should  not 
shame  myself ;  but  I  dare  follow  where  you  please  to  lead 
me  ;  and  I  see  no  danger  yet ;  for  the  descent,  methinks,  is 
thus  far  green,  even,  and  easy. 

PiSC.  You  will  like  it  worse  presently,  when  you  come  to 
the  brow  of  the  hill ;  and  now  we  are  there,  what  think  you } 

VlAT.  What  do  I  think }  Why,  I  think  it  the  strangest 
place  that  ever,  sure,  men  and  horses  went  down  ;  and  that, 
if  there  be  any  safety  at  all,  the  safest  way  is  to  alight. 


FIRST  DAY.  393 


PiSC.  I  think  so  too  for  you,  who  are  mounted  upon  a 
beast  not  acquainted  with  these  sh'ppery  stones  ;  and  though 
I  frequently  ride  down,  I  will  alight  too  to  bear  you  com- 
pany, and  to  lead  you  the  way ;  and,  if  you  please,  my  man 
shall  lead  your  horse. 

VlAT.  Marry,  Sir,  and  thank  you  too ;  for  I  am  afraid  I 
shall  have  enough  to  do  to  look  to  myself;  and,  with  my 
horse  in  my  hand,  should  be  in  a  double  fear,  both  of 
breaking  my  neck,  and  my  horse's  falling  on  me ;  for  it  is 
as  steep  as  a  penthouse. 

PiSC.  To  look  down  from  hence  it  appears  so,  I  confess ; 
but  the  path  winds  and  turns,  and  will  not  be  found  so 
troublesome. 

VlAT.  Would  I  were  well  down,  though  !  Hoist  thee ! 
there 's  one  fair  'scape  !  these  stones  are  so  slippery  I  cannot 
stand  !  yet  again  !  I  think  I  were  best  lay  my  heels  in  my 
neck,  and  tumble  down. 

PiSC.  If  you  think  your  heels  will  defend  your  neck,  that 
is  the  way  to  be  soon  at  the  bottom  ;  but  give  me  your 
hand  at  this  broad  stone,  and  then  the  worst  is  past. 

VlAT.  I  thank  you.  Sir,  I  am  now  past  it,  I  can  go 
myself.  What 's  here  the  sign  of  a  bridge }  Do  you  use 
to  travel  with  wheelbarrows  in  this  country .? 

PiSC.  Not  that  I  ever  saw,  Sir.  Why  do  you  ask  that 
question } 

VlAT.  Because  this  bridge  certainly  was  made  for  nothing 
else  ;  why,  a  mouse  can  hardly  go  over  it ;  't  is  not  two 
fingers  broad. 

PiSC.  You  are  pleasant,  and  I  am  glad  to  see  you  so  ; 
but  I  have  rid  over  the  bridge  many  a  dark  night. 

VlAT.  Why,  according  to  the  French  proverb,  and  't  is  a 


394  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER 

good  one  among  a  great  many  of  worse  sense  and  sound 
that  language  abounds  in,  Ce  que  Dieu  garde,  est  bie7t  garde. 
"They  whom  God  takes  care  of  are  in  safe  protection;" 
but,  let  me  tell  you,  I  would  not  ride  over  it  for  a  thousand 
pounds,  nor  fall  off  it  for  two  ;  and  yet  I  think  I  dare 
venture  on  foot,  though  if  you  were  not  by  to  laugh  at  me, 
I  should  do  it  on  all  four. 

PiSC.  Well,  Sir,  your  mirth  becomes  you,  and  I  am  glad 
to  see  you  safe  over,  and  now  you  are  welcome  into  Staf- 
fordshire. 

ViAT.  How,  Staffordshire  !  What  do  I  there,  trow  } 
There  is  not  a  word  of  Staffordshire  in  all  my  direction. 

PiSC.  You  see  you  are  betrayed  into  it,  but  it  shall  be  in 
order  to  something  that  will  make  amends  ;  and  't  is  but 
an  ill  mile  or  two  out  of  your  way. 

VlAT.  I  believe  all  things.  Sir,  and  doubt  nothing.  Is 
this  your  beloved  river  Dove  1  'T  is  clear  and  swift  indeed, 
but  a  very  little  one. 

PiSC.  You  see  it,  here,  at  the  worst ;  we  shall  come  to  it 
anon  again,  after  two  miles'  riding,  and  so  near  as  to  lie 
upon  the  very  banks. 

VlAT.  Would  we  were  there  once !  but  I  hope  we  have 
no  more  of  these  Alps  to  pass  over. 

PiSC.  No,  no.  Sir,  only  this  ascent  before  you,  which  you 
sec  is  not  very  uneasy,  and  then  you  will  no  more  quarrel 
with  your  way. 

VlAT.  Well,  if  ever  I  come  to  London,  of  which  many  a 
man  there,  if  he  were  in  my  place,  would  make  a  question, 
I  will  sit  down  and  write  my  travels  ;  and,  like  Tom  Coriate, 
print  them  at  my  own  charge.  Pray  what  do  you  call  this 
hill  we  came  down  t 


FIRST  DAY.  395 


PiSC.  We  call  it  Hanson  Toot. 

VlAT.  Why,  farewell,  Hanson  Toot !  I  '11  no  more  on 
thee  ;  I  '11  go  twenty  miles  about  first.  Puh !  I  sweat  that 
my  shirt  sticks  to  my  back. 

PiSC.  Come,  Sir,  now  we  are  up  the  hill ;  and  now  how 
do  you  ? 

VlAT.  Why,  very  well,  I  humbly  thank  you,  Sir,  and 
warm  enough,  I  assure  you.  What  have  we  here,  a  church  } 
As  I  'm  an  honest  man,  a  very  pretty  church  !  Have  you 
churches  in  this  country.  Sir  } 

PiSC.  You  see  we  have  ;  but  had  you  seen  none,  why 
should  you  make  that  doubt.  Sir } 

VlAT.  Why,  if  you  will  not  be  angry,  I  '11  tell  you.  I 
thought  myself  a  stage  or  two  beyond  Christendom. 

PiSC.  Come,  come,  we  '11  reconcile  you  to  our  country 
before  we  part  with  you,  if  showing  you  good  sport  with 
angling  will  do  it. 

ViAT.  My  respect  to  you,  and  that  together,  may  do 
much.  Sir;  otherwise,  to  be  plain  with  you,  I  do  not  find 
myself  much  inclined  that  way. 

PisC.  Well,  Sir,  your  raillery  upon  our  mountains  has 
brought  us  almost  home ;  and  look  you  where  the  same 
river  of  Dove  has  again  met  us  to  bid  you  welcome,  and  to 
invite  you  to  a  dish  of  trouts  to-morrow. 

VlAT.  Is  this  the  same  we  saw  at  the  foot  of  Penmen- 
Maure  .-*     It  is  a  much  finer  river  here. 

PiSC.  It  will  appear  yet  much  finer  to-morrow.  But  look 
you.  Sir,  here  appears  the  house,  that  is  now  like  to  be  your 
inn,  for  want  of  a  better. 

VlAT.  It  appears  on  a  sudden,  but  not  before 't  was  looked 


39^  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

for ;  it  stands  prettily,  and  here 's  wood  about  it  too,  but  so 
young,  as  appears  to  be  of  your  own  planting. 

PiSC.  It  is  so.  Will  it  please  you  to  alight.  Sir }  And 
now  permit  me,  after  all  your  pains  and  dangers,  to  take 
you  in  my  arms,  and  to  assure  you,  that  you  are  infinitely 
welcome. 

ViAT.  I  thank  you,  Sir,  and  am  glad  with  all  my  heart  I 
am  here ;  for,  in  downright  truth,  I  am  exceeding  weary. 

PiSC.  You  will  sleep  so  much  the  better ;  you  shall  pre- 
sently have  a  light  supper,  and  to  bed.  Come,  Sirs,  lay  the 
cloth,  and  bring  what  you  have  presently,  and  let  the  gen- 
tleman's bed  be  made  ready  in  the  meantime,  in  my  father 
Walton's  chamber.  And  now,  Sir,  here  is  my  service  to 
you,  and  once  more  welcome. 

VlAT.  Ay  marry,  Sir,  this  glass  of  good  sack  has  refreshed 
me,  and  I  '11  make  as  bold  with  your  meat,  for  the  trot  has 
got  me  a  good  stomach. 

PiSC.  Come,  Sir,  fall  to  then  :  you  see  my  little  supper  is 
always  ready  when  I  come  home  ;  and  I  '11  make  no  stranger 
of  you. 

VlAT.  That  your  meal  is  so  soon  ready  is  a  sign  your 
servants  know  your  certain  hours.  Sir.  I  confess  I  did  not 
expect  it  so  soon  ;  but  now  't  is  here,  you  shall  see  I  will 
make  myself  no  stranger. 

PiSC.  Much  good  do  your  heart,  and  I  thank  you  for  that 
friendly  word.  And  now.  Sir,  my  service  to  you  in  a  cup  ol 
More-Lands  ale ;  for  you  are  now  in  the  More-Lands,  but 
within  a  spit  and  a  stride  of  the  Peak.  Fill  my  friend  his 
glass. 

VlAT.  Believe  me,  you  have  good  ale  in  the  More-Lands, 
far  better  than  that  at  Ashborn. 


FIRST  DAY.  397 


PiSC.  That  it  may  soon  be ;  for  Ashborn  has,  which  is  a 
kind  of  a  riddle,  always  in  it  the  best  malt,  and  the  worst 
ale  in  England.  Come,  take  away,  and  bring  us  some  pipes, 
and  a  bottle  of  ale,  and  go  to  your  own  suppers.  Are  you 
for  this  diet.  Sir  ? 

VlAT.  Yes,  Sir,  I  am  for  one  pipe  of  tobacco  ;  and  I  per- 
ceive yours  is  very  good  by  the  smell. 

PiSC.  The  best  I  can  get  in  London,  I  assure  you.  But, 
Sir,  now  you  have  thus  far  complied  with  my  designs  as  to 
take  a  troublesome  journey  into  an  ill  country,  only  to  satisfy 
me,  how  long  may  I  hope  to  enjoy  you  .-* 

VlAT.  Why,  truly.  Sir,  as  long  as  I  conveniently  can  ;  and 
longer,  I  think,  you  would  not  have  me. 

PiSC.  Not  to  your  inconvenience  by  any  means.  Sir :  but 
I  see  you  are  weary,  and  therefore  I  will  presently  wait  on 
you  to  your  chamber,  where  take  counsel  of  your  pillow, 
and  to-morrow  resolve  me.  Here,  take  the  lights  ;  and  pra)' 
follow  them.  Sir.  Here  you  are  like  to  lie  ;  and  now  I  have 
showed  you  your  lodging,  I  beseech  you,  command  anything 
you  want,  and  so  I  wish  you  good  rest. 

VlAT.  Good  night,  Sir. 


CHAPTER    III. 


[^^anlr  iag.] 


PiSC.  Good  morrow,  Sir  ;  what !  up  and  drest  so  early  ? 

VlAT.  Yes,  Sir,  I  have  been  drest  this  half-hour ;  for  I 
rested  so  well,  and  have  so  great  a  mind  either  to  take  or  to 
see  a  trout  taken  in  your  fine  river,  that  I  could  no  longer 
lie  a-bed. 

PiSC.  I  am  so  glad  to  see  you  so  brisk  this  morning,  and 
so  eager  of  sport ;  though  I  must  tell  you,  this  day  proves 
so  calm,  and  the  sun  rises  so  bright,  as  promises  no  great 
success  to  the  angler  ;  but,  however,  we  '11  try,  and,  one  way 
or  other,  we  shall  sure  do  something.  What  will  you  have 
to  your  breakfast,  or  what  will  you  drink  this  morning  ? 

VlAT.  For  breakfast,  I  never  eat  any,  and  for  drink  am 
very  indifferent ;  but  if  you  please  to  call  for  a  glass  of  ale, 
I  'm  for  you  ;  and  let  it  be  quickly,  if  you  please,  for  I  long 


Second  day.  399 


to  see  the  little  fishing-house  you  spoke  of,  and  to  be  at  my 
lesson. 

PiSC.  Well,  Sir,  you  see  the  ale  is  come  without  calling ; 
for  though  I  do  not  know  yours,  my  people  know  my  diet, 
which  is  always  one  glass  so  soon  as  I  am  drest,  and  no 
more  till  dinner ;  and  so  my  servants  have  served  you. 

ViAT.  My  thanks !  And  now,  if  you  please,  let  us  look 
out  this  fine  morning. 

PiSC.  With  all  my  heart.  Boy,  take  the  key  of  my  fish- 
ing-house, and  carry  down  those  two  angle-rods  in  the  hall 
window,  thither,  with  my  fish-pannier,  pouch,  and  landing- 
net  ;  and  stay  you  there  till  we  come.  Come,  Sir,  we  '11 
walk  after,  where,  by  the  way,  I  expect  you  should  raise  all 
the  exceptions  against  our  country  you  can. 

ViAT.  Nay,  Sir,  do  not  think  me  so  ill-natured  nor  so 
uncivil :  I  only  made  a  little  bold  with  it  last  night  to  divert 
you,  and  was  only  in  jest. 

Pisc.  You  were  then  in  as  good  earnest  as  I  am  now 
with  you  :  but  had  you  been  really  angry  at  it,  I  could  not 
blame  you  ;  for,  to  say  the  truth,  it  is  not  very  taking  at 
first  sight.  But  look  you,  Sir,  now  you  are  abroad,  docs 
not  the  sun  shine  as  bright  here  as  in  Essex,  Middlesex,  or 
Kent,  or  any  of  your  southern  counties  .-* 

VlAT.  It  is  a  delicate  morning  indeed ;  and  I  now  think 
this  a  marvellous  pretty  place. 

PiSC.  Whether  you  think  so  or  no,  you  cannot  oblige  me 
more  than  to  say  so ;  and  those  of  my  friends  who  know 
my  humour,  and  are  so  kind  as  to  comply  with  it,  usually 
flatter  me  that  way.  But  look  you.  Sir,  now  you  are  at  the 
brink  of  the  hill,  how  do  you  like  my  river,  the  vale  it  winds 
through  like  a  snake,  and  the  situation  of  my  little  fishing- 
house  ^. 


400  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 


VlAT.  Trust  me,  't  is  all  very  fine,  and  the  house  seems 
at  this  distance  a  neat  building. 

PiSC.  Good  enough  for  that  purpose  :  and  here  is  a 
bowling-green  too,  close  by  it ;  so,  though  I  am  myself  no 
very  good  bowler,  I  am  not  totally  devoted  to  my  own 
pleasure,  but  that  I  have  also  some  regard  to  other  men's. 
And  now,  Sir,  you  are  come  to  the  door,  pray  walk  in,  and 
there  we  will  sit  and  talk  as  long  as  you  please. 

VlAT.  Stay,  what 's  here  over  the  door }  PiSCATORIBUS 
Sacrum.  Why,  then,  I  perceive  I  have  some  title  here  ;  for 
I  am  one  of  them,  though  one  of  the  worst ;  and  here 
below  it  is  the  cypher  too  you  spoke  of,  and  't  is  prettily 
contrived.  Has  my  master  Walton  ever  been  here  to  see 
it,  for  it  seems  new  built } 

PiSC.  Yes,  he  saw  it  cut  in  the  stone  before  it  was  set 
up  ;  but  never  in  the  posture  it  now  stands ;  for  the  house 
was  but  building  when  he  was  last  here,  and  not  raised  so 
high  as  the  arch  of  the  door.  And  I  am  afraid  he  will  not 
see  it  yet ;  for  he  has  lately  writ  me  word,  he  doubts  his 
coming  down  this  summer  ;  which,  I  do  assure  you,  was  the 
worst  news  he  could  possibly  have  sent  me. 

VlAT.  Men  must  sometimes  mind  their  affairs  to  make 
more  room  for  their  pleasures  ;  and  't  is  odds  he  is  as  much 
displeased  with  the  business  that  keeps  him  from  you,  as 
you  are  that  he  comes  not.  But  I  am  most  pleased  with 
this  little  house  of  anything  I  ever  saw :  it  stands  in  a  kind 
of  peninsula  too,  with  a  delicate  clear  river  about  it.  I  dare 
hardly  go  in,  lest  I  should  not  like  it  so  well  within  as 
without ;  but,  by  your  leave,  I  '11  try.  Why,  this  is  better 
and  better, — fine  lights,  fine  wainscoted,  and  all  exceeding 
neat,  with  a  marble  table  and  all  in  the  middle. 


r 


SECOND  DAY.  401 


PiSC.  Enough,  Sir,  enough ;  I  have  laid  open  to  you  the 
part  where  I  can  worst  defend  myself,  and  now  you  attack 
me  there.  Come,  boy,  set  two  chairs ;  and  whilst  I  am 
taking  a  pipe  of  tobacco,  which  is  always  my  breakfast,  we 
will,  if  you  please,  talk  of  some  other  subject. 

ViAT.  None  fitter,  then.  Sir,  for  the  time  and  place,  than 
those  instructions  you  promised. 

PiSC.  I  begin  to  doubt,  by  something  I  discover  in  you, 
whether  I  am  able  to  instruct  you  or  no  ;  though,  if  you 
are  really  a  stranger  to  our  clear  northern  rivers,  I  still  think 
I  can ;  and  therefore,  since  it  is  yet  too  early  in  the  morn- 
ing at  this  time  of  the  year,  to-day  being  but  the  Seventh 
of  March,  to  cast  a  fly  upon  the  water,  if  you  will  direct  me 
what  kind  of  fishing  for  a  trout  I  shall  read  you  a  lecture 
on,  I  am  willing  and  ready  to  obey  you. 

VlAT.  Why,  Sir,  if  you  will  so  far  oblige  me,  and  that  it 
may  not  be  too  troublesome  to  you,  I  would  entreat  you 
would  run  through  the  whole  body  of  it ;  and  I  will  not 
conceal  from  you  that  I  am  so  far  in  love  with  you,  your 
courtesy,  and  pretty  More-Land  seat,  as  to  resolve  to  stay 
with  you  long  enough  by  intervals,  for  I  will  not  oppress 
you  to  hear  all  you  can  say  upon  that  subject. 

PiSC.  You  cannot  oblige  me  more  than  by  such  a  pro- 
mise ;  and  therefore,  without  more  ceremony,  I  will  begin 
to  tell  you,  that  my  father  Walton  having  read  to  you 
before,  it  would  look  like  a  presumption  in  me  (and,  per- 
adventure,  would  do  so  in  any  other  man)  to  pretend  to 
give  lessons  for  angling  after  him,  who,  I  do  really  believe, 
understands  as  much  of  it  at  least  as  any  man  in  England, 
did  I  not  pre-acquaint  you,  that  I  am  not  tempted  to  it  by 
any  vain  opinion  of  myself,  that  I  am  able  to  give  you 

26 


402  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


better  directions  ;  but  having,  from  my  childhood,  pursued 
the  recreation  of  angHng  in  very  clear  rivers,  truly  I  think 
by  much,  some  of  them  at  least,  the  clearest  in  this  kingdom, 
and  the  manner  of  angling  here  with  us,  by  reason  of  that 
exceeding  clearness, — being  something  different  from  the 
method  commonly  used  in  others,  which  by  being  not  near 
so  bright,  admit  of  stronger  tackle,  and  allow  a  nearer  ap- 
proach to  the  stream, — I  may  peradventure  give  you  some 
instructions  that  may  be  of  use,  even  in  your  own  rivers, 
and  shall  bring  you  acquainted  with  more  flies,  and  shew 
you  how  to  make  them,  and  with  what  dubbing  too,  than 
he  has  taken  notice  of  in  his  "  Complete  Angler." 

VlAT.  I  beseech  you,  Sir,  do  ;  and  if  you  will  lend  me 
your  steel,  I  will  light  a  pipe  the  while  ;  for  that  is  com« 
monly  my  breakfast  in  a  morning  too. 


COTTON  S  FISHING-HOUSE. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

[S^r0nJr  iag.] 

Pisc.  Why,  then,  Sir,  to  begin  methodically,  as  a  master 
in  any  art  should  do — and  I  will  not  deny  but  that  I  think 
myself  a  master  in  this — I  shall  divide  angling  for  trout  or 
grayling  into  these  three  ways :  at  the  top,  at  the  bottom, 
and  in  the  middle.  Which  thi  ee  ways,  though  they  are  all 
of  them,  as  I  shall  hereafter  endeavour  to  make  it  appear, 
in  some  sort  common  to  both  those  kinds  of  fish,  yet  are 
they  not  so  generally  and  absolutely  so  but  that  they  will 
necessarily  require  a  distinction,  which,  in  due  place,  I  will 
also  give  you. 

That  which  we  call  angling  at  the  top,  is  with  a  fly ;  at 

403 


404  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

the  bottom,  with  a  ground-bait ;  in  the  middle,  with  a 
minnow  or  ground-bait. 

AngHng  at  the  top  is  of  two  sorts ;  ^A\\\  a  quick  [live] 
fly,  or  with  an  artificial  fly. 

That  we  call  angling  at  the  bottom  is  also  of  two  sorts  ; 
by  the  hand,  or  with  a  cork  or  float.  i 

That  we  call  angling  in  the  middle  is  also  of  two  sorts ; 
with  a  minnow  for  a  trout,  or  with  a  ground -bait  for  a 
grayling. 

Of  all  which  several  sorts  of  angling,  I  will,  if  you  can 
have  the  patience  to  hear  me,  give  you  the  best  account  I 
can. 

VlAT.  The  trouble  will  be  yours,  and  mine  the  pleasure 
and  the  obligation  ;  I  beseech  you,  therefore,  to  proceed. 

PiSC.  Why,  then,  first  of  fly-fishing. 


CHAPTER  V. 

OF    FLY-FISHING. 

PiSC.  Fly-fishing,  or  fishing  at  the  top,  is,  as  I  said  before, 
of  two  sorts  ;  with  a  natural  and  living  {\y,  or  with  an 
artificial  and  made  fly. 

First,  then,  of  the  natural  fly ;  of  which  we  generally  use 
but  two  sorts  ;  and  those  but  in  the  two  months  of  May  and 
June  only ;  namely,  the  green  drake  and  the  stone-fly ; 
though  I  have  made  use  of  a  third  that  way,  called  the 
camlet-fly,  with  very  good  success,  for  grayling,  but  never 
saw  it  angled  with  by  any  other  after  this  manner,  my 
master  only  excepted,  who  died  many  years  ago,  and  was 
one  of  the  best  anglers  that  ever  I  knew. 

These  arc  to  be  angled  with,  with  a  short  line,  not  much 
more  than  half  the  length  of  your  rod,  if  the  air  be  still ;  or 
with  a  longer  very  near,  or  all  out,  as  long  as  your  rod,  if 

405 


406  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

you  have  any  wind  to  carry  it  from  you.  And  this  way  of 
fishing  we  call  daping,  dabbing,  or  dibbing ;  wherein  you 
are  always  to  have  your  line  flying  before  you  up  or  down 
the  river,  as  the  wind  serves,  and  to  angle  as  near  as  you 
can  to  the  bank  of  the  same  side  whereon  you  stand,  though 
where  you  see  a  fish  rise  near  you,  you  may  guide  your 
quick  fly  over  him,  whether  in  the  middle  or  on  the  contrary 
side  ;  and  if  you  are  pretty  well  out  of  sight,  either  by 
kneeling  or  the  interposition  of  a  bank  or  bush,  you  may 
almost  be  sure  to  raise,  and  take  him  too,  if  it  be  presently 
done :  the  fish  will  otherwise,  peradventure,  be  removed  to 
some  other  place,  if  it  be  in  the  still  deeps,  where  he  is 
always  in  motion,  and  roving  up  and  down  to  look  for  prey, 
though,  in  a  stream,  you  may  always  almost,  especially  if 
there  be  a  good  stone  near,  find  him  in  the  same  place. 
Your  line  ought  in  this  case  to  be  three  good  hairs  next  the 
hook,  both  by  reason  you  are  in  this  kind  of  angling  to 
expect  the  biggest  fish,  and  also  that  wanting  length  to 
give  him  line  after  he  is  struck,  you  must "  be  forced  to  tug 
for  it ;  to  which  I  will  also  add,  that  not  an  inch  of  your 
line  being  to  be  suffered  to  touch  the  water  in  dibbing,  it 
may  be  allowed  to  be  the  stronger.  I  should  now  give  you 
a  description  of  those  flies,  their  shape  and  colour,  and  then 
give  you  an  account  of  their  breeding,  and  withal  shew  you 
how  to  keep  and  use  them  ;  but  shall  defer  them  to  their 
proper  place  and  season. 

ViAT.  In  earnest.  Sir,  you  discourse  very  rationally  of 
this  aff'air,  and  I  am  glad  to  find  myself  mistaken  in  you  ; 
for  in  truth  I  did  not  expect  so  much  from  you. 

PiSC.  Nay,  Sir,  I  can  tell  you  a  great  deal  more  than  this, 
and  will  conceal  nothing  from  you.     But  I  must  now  come 


SECOND  DAY.  407 


to  the  second  way  of  angling  at  the  top,  which  is  with  an 
artificial  fly,  which  also  I  will  shew  you  how  to  make  before 
I  have  done ;  but  first  shall  acquaint  you,  that  with  this 
you  are  to  angle  with  a  line  longer  by  a  yard  and  a  half,  or 
sometimes  two  yards,  than  your  rod  ;  and  with  both  this 
and  the  other,  in  a  still  day  in  the  streams,  in  a  breeze  that 
curls  the  water  in  the  still  deeps,  where  (excepting  in  May 
and  June,  that  the  best  trouts  will  lie  in  shallow  streams  to 
watch  for  prey,  and  even  then  too)  you  are  like  to  hit  the 
best  fish. 

For  the  length  of  your  rod,  you  are  always  to  be  governed 
by  the  breadth  of  the  river  you  shall  choose  to  angle  at ; 
and  for  a  trout  river,  one  of  five  or  six  yards  long  is  com- 
monly enough  ;  and  longer,  though  never  so  neatly  and 
artificially  made,  it  ought  not  to  be,  if  you  intend  to  fish  at 
ease  ;  and  if  otherwise,  where  lies  the  sport  ? 

Of  these,  the  best  that  ever  I  saw  are  made  in  Yorkshire, 
which  are  all  of  one  piece ;  that  is  to  say,  of  several,  six, 
eight,  ten,  or  twelve  pieces,  so  neatly  pieced,  and  tied 
together  with  fine  thread  below,  and  silk  above,  as  to  make 
it  taper  like  a  switch,  and  to  ply  with  a  true  bent  to  your 
hand  ;  and  these  too  are  light,  being  made  of  fir  wood  for 
two  or  three  lengths  nearest  to  the  hand,  and  of  other  wood 
nearer  to  the  top,  that  a  man  might  very  easily  manage  the 
longest  of  them  that  ever  I  saw  with  one  hand  ;  and  these, 
when  you  have  given  over  angling  for  a  season,  being  taken 
to  pieces  and  laid  up  in  some  dry  place,  may  afterwards  be 
set  together  again  in  their  former  postures,  and  will  be  as 
straight,  sound,  and  good  as  the  first  hour  they  were  made; 
and  being  laid  in  oil  and  colour,  according  to  your  master 
Walton's  direction,  will  last  many  years. 


4o8  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


The  length  of  your  line,  to  a  man  that  knows  how  to 
handle  his  rod,  and  to  cast  it,  is  no  manner  of  incumbrance, 
excepting  in  woody  places,  and  in  landing  of  a  fish,  which 
every  one  that  can  afford  to  angle  for  pleasure  has  some- 
body to  do  for  him  ;  and  the  length  of  line  is  a  mighty 
advantage  to  the  fishing  at  a  distance  ;  and  to  fish  fine,  and 
far  off,  is  the  first  and  principal  rule  for  trout  angling. 

Your  line  in  this  case  should  never  be  less,  nor  ever  exceed 
two  hairs  next  to  the  hook ;  for  one  (though  some,  I  know, 
will  pretend  to  more  art  than  their  fellows)  is  indeed  too 
few,  the  least  accident,  with  the  finest  hand,  being  sufficient 
to  break  it :  but  he  that  cannot  kill  a  trout  of  twenty  inches 
long  with  two,  in  a  river  clear  of  wood  and  weeds,  as  this 
and  some  others  of  ours  are,  deserves  not  the  name  of  an 
angler. 

Now,  to  have  your  whole  line  as  it  ought  to  be,  two  of 
the  first  lengths  nearest  the  hook  should  be  of  two  hairs 
apiece ;  the  next  three  lengths  above  them  of  three ;  the 
next  three  above  them  of  four  ;  and  so  of  five,  and  six,  and 
seven,  to  the  very  top  ;  by  which  means  your  rod  and 
tackle  will,  in  a  manner,  be  taper  from  your  very  hand  to 
your  hook ;  your  line  will  fall  much  better  and  straighter, 
and  cast  your  fly  to  any  certain  place  to  which  the  hand 
and  eye  shall  direct  it,  with  less  weight  and  violence,  that 
would  otherwise  circle  the  water,  and  fright  away  the  fish. 

In  casting  your  line,  do  it  always  before  you,  and  so  that 
your  fly  may  first  fall  upon  the  water,  and  as  little  of  your 
line  with  it  as  is  possible ;  though  if  the  wind  be  stiff",  you 
will  then  of  necessity  be  compelled  to  drown  a  good  part  of 
your  line  to  keep  your  fly  in  the  water  ;  and  in  casting  your 
fly,  you  must  aim  at  the  farther  or  nearer  bank  as  the  wind 


SECOND  DAY.  4^ 


serves  your  turn,  which  also  will  be  with  and  against  you, 
on  the  same  side,  several  times  in  an  hour,  as  the  river  winds 
in  its  course,  and  you  will  be  forced  to  angle  up  and  down 
by  turns  accordingly ;  but  endeavour  as  much  as  you  can 
to  have  the  wind  evermore  on  your  back.  And  always  be 
sure  to  stand  as  far  off  the  bank  as  your  length  will  give 
you  leave  when  you  throw  to  the  contrary  side  ;  though 
when  the  wind  will  not  permit  you  so  to  do,  and  that  you 
are  constrained  to  angle  on  the  same  side  whereon  you 
stand,  you  must  then  stand  on  the  very  brink  of  the  river, 
and  cast  your  fly  to  the  utmost  length  of  your  rod  and  line, 
up  or  down  the  river,  as  the  gale  serves. 

It  only  remains,  touching  your  line,  to  inquire  whether 
your  two  hairs  next  to  the  hook  are  better  twisted  or  open  .-* 
And  for  that  I  should  declare  that  I  think  the  open  way 
the  better,  because  it  makes  less  show  in  the  water,  but  that 
I  have  found  an  inconvenience,  or  two,  or  three,  that  have 
made  me  almost  weary  of  that  way  ;  of  which,  one  is,  that, 
without  dispute,  they  are  not  so  strong  open  as  twisted ; 
another,  that  they  are  not  so  easily  to  be  fastened  of  so 
exact  an  equal  length  in  the  arming  that  the  one  will  not 
cause  the  other  to  bag,  by  which  means  a  man  has  but  one 
hair  upon  the  matter  to  trust  to ;  and  the  last  is  that  these 
loose  flying  hairs  are  not  only  more  apt  to  catch  upon  every 
twig  or  bent  they  meet  with,  but  moreover,  the  hook,  in 
falling  upon  the  water,  will,  very  often,  rebound  and  fly 
back  betwixt  the  hairs,  and  there  stick  (which,  in  a  rough 
v/ater  especially,  is  not  presently  to  be  discerned  by  the 
angler),  so  as  the  point  of  the  hook  shall  stand  reversed  ; 
by  which  means  your  fly  swims  backward,  makes  a  much 
greater  circle  in  the  water,  and,  till  taken  home  to  you  and 


410  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

set  right,  will  never  raise  any  fish,  or,  if  it  should,  I  am  sure, 
but  by  a  very  extraordinary  chance,  can  hit  none. 

Having  done  with  both  these  ways  of  fishing  at  the  top, 
the  length  of  your  rod  and  line,  and  all,  I  am  next  to  teach 
you  how  to  make  a  fly ;  and  afterwards  of  what  dubbing 
you  are  to  make  the  several  flies  I  shall  hereafter  name  to 
you. 

In  making  a  fly,  then,  which  is  not  a  hackle  or  palmer-fly 
(for  of  those,  and  their  several  kinds,  we  shall  have  occasion 
to  speak  every  month  in  the  year),  you  are  first  to  hold 
your  hook  fast  betwixt  the  forefinger  and  thumb  of  your 
left  hand,  with  the  back  of  the  shank  upwards,  and  the 
point  towards  your  fingers'  ends ;  then  take  a  strong  small 
silk,  of  the  colour  of  the  fly  you  intend  to  make,  wax  it 
well  with  wax  of  the  same  colour  too  (to  which  end,  you 
are  always,  by  the  way,  to  have  wax  of  all  colours  about 
you),  and  draw  it  betwixt  your  finger  and  thumb  to  the 
head  of  the  shank,  and  then  whip  it  twice  or  thrice  about 
the  bare  hook,  which  you  must  know  is  done  both  to  pre- 
vent slipping,  and  also  that  the  shank  of  the  hook  may  not 
cut  the  hairs  of  your  towght,  which  sometimes  it  will  other- 
wise do  ;  which  being  done,  take  your  line,  and  draw  it  like- 
wise betwixt  your  finger  and  thumb,  holding  the  hook  so 
fast  as  only  to  suffer  it  to  pass  by,  until  you  have  the  knot 
of  your  towght  almost  to  the  middle  of  the  shank  of  your 
hook,  on  the  inside  of  it ;  then  whip  your  silk  twice  or  thrice 
about  both  hook  and  line,  as  hard  as  the  strength  of  the 
silk  will  permit ;  which  being  done,  strip  the  feather  for  the 
wings  proportionable  to  the  bigness  of  your  fly,  placing  that 
side  downwards  which  grew  uppermost  before,  upon  the 
back  of  the  hook,  leaving  so  much  only  as  to  serve  for  the 


SECOND  DAY.  4' I 


length  of  the  wing  of  the  point  of  the  plume,  lying  reversed 
from  the  end  of  the  shank  upwards ;  then  whip  your  silk 
twice  or  thrice  about  the  root-end  of  the  feather,  hook  and 
towght ;  which  being  done,  clip  off  the  root-end  of  the 
feather  close  by  the  arming,  and  then  whip  the  silk  fast  and 
firm  about  the  hook  and  towght,  until  you  come  to  the  bend 
of  the  hook,  but  not  further,  as  you  do  at  London,  and  so 
make  a  very  unhandsome,  and,  in  plain  English,  a  very  un- 
natural and  shapeless  fly ;  which  being  done,  cut  away  the 
end  of  your  towght,  and  fasten  it,  and  then  take  your  dub- 
bing which  is  to  make  the  body  of  your  fly,  as  much  as  you 
think  convenient,  and  holding  it  lightly  with  your  hook  be- 
twixt the  finger  and  thumb  of  your  left  hand,  take  your  silk 
with  the  right,  and  twisting  it  betwixt  the  finger  and  thumb 
of  that  hand,  the  dubbing  will  spin  itself  about  the  silk,  which 
when  it  has  done,  whip  it  about  the  armed  hook  backward, 
till  you  come  to  the  setting  on  of  the  wings  ;  and  then  take 
the  feather  for  the  wings,  and  divide  it  equally  into  two 
parts,  and  turn  them  back  towards  the  bend  of  the  hook, 
the  one  on  the  one  side  and  the  other  on  the  other  of  the 
shank,  holding  them  fast  in  that  posture  betwixt  the  fore- 
finger and  thumb  of  your  left  hand  ;  which  done,  warp  them 
so  down  as  to  stand  and  slope  towards  the  bend  of  the 
hook  ;  and  having  warped  up  to  the  end  of  the  shank,  hold 
the  fly  fast  betwixt  the  finger  and  thumb  of  your  left  hand, 
and  then  take  the  silk  betwixt  the  finger  and  thumb  of  your 
right  hand,  and  where  the  warping  ends,  pinch  or  nip  it 
with  your  thumb-nail  against  your  finger,  and  strip  away 
the  remainder  of  your  dubbing  from  the  silk,  and  then  with 
the  bare  silk  whip  it  once  or  twice  about,  make  the  wings  to 
stand  in  due  order,  fasten,  and  cut  it  off;  after  which,  with 


412  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


the  point  of  a  needle,  raise  up  the  dubbing  gently  from  the 
warp,  twitch  off  the  superfluous  hairs  of  your  dubbing;  leave 
the  wings  of  an  equal  length,  your  fly  will  never  else  swim 
true,  and  the  work  is  done.  And  this  way  of  making  a  fly, 
which  is  certainly  the  best  of  all  other,  was  taught  me  by  a 
kinsman  of  mine,  one  Captain  Henry  Jackson,  a  near  neigh- 
bour, an  admirable  fly-angler,  by  many  degrees  the  best  fly- 
maker  that  ever  I  yet  met  with.  An  i  now  that  I  have  told 
you  how  a  fly  is  to  be  made,  you  shall  v^esently  see  me  make 
one,  with  which  you  may  peradventure  take  a  trout  this 
morning,  notwithstanding  the  unlikeliness  of  the  day  ;  for 
it  is  now  nine  of  the  clock,  and  fish  will  begin  to  rise,  if  they 
will  rise  to-day  :  I  will  walk  along  by  you,  and  look  on,  and 
after  dinner  I  will  proceed  in  my  lecture  of  fly-fishing. 

VlAT.  I  confess  I  long  to  be  at  the  river,  and  yet  I  could 
sit  here  all  day  to  hear  you  ;  but  some  of  the  one,  and  some 
of  the  other,  will  do  well ;  and  I  have  a  mighty  ambition  to 
trout  in  your  river  Dove. 

PiSC.  I  warrant  you  shall :  I  would  not  for  more  than  I 
will  speak  of  but  you  should,  seeing  I  have  so  extolled  my 
river  to  you  ;  nay,  I  will  keep  you  here  a  month  but  you 
shall  have  one  good  day  of  sport  before  you  go. 

VlAT.  You  will  find  me,  1  doubt,  too  tractable  that  way ; 
for  in  good  earnest,  if  business  would  give  me  leave,  and 
that  it  were  fit,  I  could  find  in  my  heart  to  stay  with  you 
for  ever. 

PiSC.  I  thank  you,  Sir, /or  that  kind  expression.  And 
now  let  me  look  out  my  things  to  make  this  fly. 


'=^^^^'m. 


CHAPTER    VI. 


[<^mnb'  iag.J 


PiSC.  Boy,  come,  give  me  my  dubbing-bag  here  presently. 
And  now.  Sir,  since  I  find  you  so  honest  a  man,  I  will  make 
no  scruple  to  lay  open  my  treasure  before  you. 

ViAT.  Did  ever  any  one  see  the  like !  What  a  heap  of 
trumpery  is  here !  Certainly  never  an  angler  in  Europe  has 
Lis  shop  half  so  well  furnished  as  you  have. 

PiSC.  You,  perhaps,  may  think  now,  that  I  rake  together 
this  trumpery,  as  you  call  it,  for  show  only,  to  the  end  that 
such  as  see  it,  which  are  not  many,  I  assure  you,  may  think 
me  a  great  master  in  the  art  of  angling  ;  but,  let  me  tell  you, 
here  arc  some  colours,  as  contemptible  as  they  seem  here, 
that  arc  very  hard  to  be  got ;  and  scarce  any  one  of  them 
which,  if  it  should  be  lost,  I  should  not  miss,  and  be  con- 
cerned about  the  loss  of  it  too,  once  in  the  year.     But  look 

413 


414  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

you,  Sir,  amongst  all  these  I  will  choose  out  these  two 
colours  only,  of  which  this  is  bear's  hair ;  this  darker,  no 
great  matter  what ;  but  I  am  sure  I  have  killed  a  great  deal 
of  fish  with  it ;  and  with  one  or  both  of  these  you  shall  take 
trout  or  grayling  this  very  day,  notwithstanding  all  dis- 
advantages, or  my  art  shall  fail  me. 

VlAT.  You  promise  comfortably,  and  I  have  a  great  deal 
of  reason  to  believe  everything  you  say ;  but  I  wish  the  fly 
were  made,  that  we  were  at  it. 

PlSC.  That  will  not  be  long  in  doing ;  and  pray  observe 
then.  You  see  first  how  I  hold  my  hook,  and  thus  I  begin  : 
look  you,  here  are  my  first  two  or  three  whips  about  the 
bare  hook ;  thus  I  join  hook  and  line ;  thus  I  put  on  my 
wings  ;  thus  I  twirl  and  lap  on  my  dubbing ;  thus  I  work  it 
up  towards  the  head  ;  thus  I  part  my  wings  ;  thus  I  nip  my 
superfluous  dubbing  from  my  silk ;  thus  fasten  ;  thus  trim 
and  adjust  my  fly  ;  and  there 's  a  fly  made.  And  now  how 
do  you  like  it  .•* 

VlAT.  In  earnest,  admirably  well,  and  it  resembles  a  fly ; 
but  we  about  London  make  the  bodies  of  our  flies  both 
much  bigger  and  longer,  so  long  as  even  almost  to  the  very 
beard  of  the  hook. 

PiSC.  I  know  it  very  well,  and  had  one  of  those  flies  given 
me  by  an  honest  gentleman,  who  came  with  my  father 
Walton  to  give  me  a  visit,  which  (to  tell  you  the  truth)  I 
hung  in  my  parlour  window  to  laugh  at ;  but.  Sir,  you  know 
the  proverb,  "  They  who  go  to  Rome  must  do  as  they  at 
Rome  do  ; "  and  believe  me,  you  must  here  make  your  flies 
after  this  fashion,  or  you  will  take  no  fish.  Come,  I  will  look 
you  out  a  line,  and  you  shall  put  it  on,  and  try  it.  There, 
Sir,  now  I  think  you  are  fitted,  and  now  beyond  the  farther 


SECOND  DAY.  4^5 


end  of  the  walk  you  shall  begin :  I  see,  at  that  bend  of  the 
water  above,  the  air  crisps  the  water  a  little :  knit  your  line 
first  here,  and  then  go  up  thither  and  see  what  you  can  do. 

VlAT.  Did  you  see  that.  Sir  ? 

PiSC.  Yes,  I  saw  the  fish,  and  he  saw  you  too,  which  made 
him  turn  short.  You  must  fish  farther  off  if  you  intend  to 
have  any  sport  here :  this  is  no  New  River,  let  me  tell  you. 
That  was  a  good  trout,  believe  me.     Did  you  touch  him  .-* 

VlAT.  No,  I  would  I  had,  we  would  not  have  parted  so. 
Look  you,  there  is  another :  this  is  an  excellent  fly. 

PiSC.  That  fly,  I  am  sure,  would  kill  fish  if  the  day  were 
right ;  but  they  only  chew  at  it,  I  see,  and  will  not  take  it. 
Come,  Sir,  let  us  return  back  to  the  fishing-house  :  this  still 
water,  I  see,  will  not  do  our  business  to-day.  You  shall  now, 
if  you  please,  make  a  fly  yourself,  and  try  what  you  can  do 
in  the  streams  with  that ;  and  I  know  a  trout  taken  with  a 
fly  of  your  own  making  will  please  you  better  than  twenty 
with  one  of  mine.  Give  me  that  bag  again,  sirrah.  Look 
you.  Sir,  there  is  a  hook,  towght,  silk,  and  a  feather  for  the 
wings ;  be  doing  with  those,  and  I  will  look  you  out  a 
dubbing  that  I  think  will  do. 

VlAT.  This  is  a  very  little  hook. 

PiSC.  That  may  serve  to  inform  you  that  it  is  for  a  very 
little  fly,  and  you  must  make  your  wings  accordingly ;  for 
as  the  case  stands,  it  must  be  a  little  fly,  and  a  very  little  one 
too,  that  must  do  your  business.  Well  said  !  beheve  me  you 
shift  your  fingers  very  handsomely ;  I  doubt  I  have  taken 
upon  me  to  teach  my  master.    So,  here 's  your  dubbing  now. 

ViAT.  This  dubbing  is  very  black. 

PiSC.  It  appears  so  in  hand,  t)ut  step  to  the  door  and  hold 
it  up  betwixt  your  eye  and  the  sun,  and  it  will  appear  a 


4l6  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

shining  red  :  let  me  tell  you,  never  a  man  in  England  can 
discern  the  true  colour  of  a  dubbing  any  way  but  that,  and 
therefore  choose  always  to  make  your  flies  on  such  a  bright 
sunshine  day  as  this,  which  also  you  may  the  better  do,  be- 
cause it  is  worth  nothing  to  fish  in.  Here,  put  it  on,  and  be 
sure  to  make  the  body  of  your  fly  as  tender  as  you  can. 
Very  good !  upon  my  word,  you  have  made  a  marvellous 
handsome  fly. 

ViAT.  I  am  very  glad  to  hear  it ;  it  is  the  first  that  ever 
I  made  of  this  kind  in  my  life. 

PiSC.  Away,  away !  you  are  a  doctor  at  it ;  but  I  will  not 
commend  you  too  much,  lest  I  make  you  proud.  Come,  put 
it  on,  and  you  shall  now  go  downward  to  some  streams 
betwixt  the  rocks  below  the  little  foot-bridge  you  see  there, 
and  try  your  fortune.  Take  heed  of  slipping  into  the  water 
as  you  follow  me  under  this  rock  :  so,  now  you  are  oyer,  and 
now  throw  in. 

ViAT.  This  is  a  fine  stream  indeed — there  *s  one !  I  have 
him! 

PiSC.  And  a  precious  catch  you  have  of  him  :  pull  him 
out !  I  see  you  have  a  tender  hand.  This  is  a  diminutive 
gentleman,  e'en  throw  him  in  again,  and  let  him  grow  till 
he  be  more  worthy  your  anger. 

ViAT.  Pardon  me.  Sir,  all 's  fish  that  comes  to  the  hook 
with  me  now. — Another ! 

PiSC.  And  of  the  same  standing. 

VlAT.  I  see  I  shall  have  good  sport  now — another !  and 
a  grayling.     Why,  you  have  fish  here  at  will. 

PiSC.  Come,  come,  cross  the  bridge,  and  go  down  the 
other  side  lower,  where  you  will  find  finer  streams  and  better 
sport,  I  hope,  than  this.   Look  you.  Sir,  here  is  a  fine  stream 


SECOND  DAY.  417 


now :  you  have  length  enough,  stand  a  Httle  farther  off,  let 
me  entreat  you,  and  do  but  fish  this  stream  like  an  artist, 
and  peradventure  a  good  fish  may  fall  to  your  share.  How 
now  ?  what !  is  all  gone  ? 

VlAT.  No,  I  but  touched  him  ;  but  that  was  a  fish  worth 
taking. 

PiSC.  Why,  now  let  me  tell  you,  you  lost  that  fish  by  your 
own  fault,  and  through  your  own  eagerness  and  haste ;  for 
you  are  never  to  offer  to  strike  a  good  fish  if  he  do  not  strike 
himself,  till  first  you  see  him  turn  his  head  after  he  has  taken 
your  fly,  and  then  you  can  never  strain  your  tackle  in  the 
striking,  if  you  strike  with  any  manner  of  moderation. 
Come,  throw  in  once  again,  and  fish  me  this  stream  by  inches, 
for  I  assure  you  here  are  very  good  fish ;  both  trout  and 
grayling  lie  here ;  and  at  that  great  stone  on  the  other  side, 
it  is  ten  to  one  a  good  trout  gives  you  the  meeting. 

VlAT.  I  have  him  now,  but  he  is  gone  down  towards  the 
bottom  :  I  cannot  see  what  he  is,  yet  he  should  be  a  good 
fish  by  his  weight ;  but  he  makes  no  great  stir. 

PiSC.  Why,  then,  by  what  you  say,  I  dare  venture  to  as- 
sure you  it  is  a  grayling,  who  is  one  of  the  deadest-hearted 
fishes  in  the  world,  and  the  bigger  he  is,  the  more  easily 
taken.  Look  you,  now  you  see  him  plain :  I  told  you  what 
he  was.  Bring  hither  that  landing-net,  boy ;  and  now,  Sir, 
he  is  your  own  ;  and  believe  me  a  good  one,  sixteen  inches 
long  I  warrant  him  :  I  have  taken  none  such  this  year. 

VlAT.  I  never  saw  a  grayling  before  look  so  black. 

PiSC.  Did  you  not  t  Why,  then  let  me  tell  you,  that  you 
never  saw  one  before  in  right  season  ;  for  then  a  grayling  is 
very  black  about  his  head,  gills,  and  down  his  back ;  and 
has  his  belly  of  a  dark  grey,  dappled  with  black  spots,  as 

27 


41 8  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

you  see  this  is  ;  and  I  am  apt  to  conclude  that  from  thence 
he  derives  his  name  of  umber.  Though  I  must  tell  you  this 
fish  is  past  his  prime,  and  begins  to  decline,  and  was  in 
better  season  at  Christmas  than  he  is  now.  But  move  on, 
for  it  grows  towards  dinner-time  ;  and  there  is  a  very  great 
and  fine  stream  below,  under  that  rock  that  fills  the  deepest 
pool  in  all  the  river,  where  you  are  almost  sure  of  a  good  fish. 

VlAT.  Let  him  come,  I  '11  try  a  fall  with  him.  But  I  had 
thought  that  the  grayling  had  been  always  in  season  with 
the  trout,  and  had  come  in  and  gone  out  with  him. 

PiSC.  Oh  no  !  assure  yourself  a  grayling  is  a  winter  fish  ; 
but  such  a  one  as  would  deceive  any  but  such  as  know  him 
very  well  indeed  ;  for  his  flesh,  even  in  his  worst  season,  is 
so  firm,  and  will  so  easily  calver,  that  in  plain  truth  he  is 
very  good  meat  at  all  times ;  but  in  his  perfect  season — 
which,  by  the  way,  none  but  an  overgrown  grayling  will  ever 
be — I  think  him  so  good  a  fish  as  to  be  little  inferior  to  the 
best  trout  that  ever  I  tasted  in  my  life. 

VlAT.  Here's  another  skipjack ;  and  I  have  raised  five 
or  six  more  at  least  while  you  were  speaking.  Well,  go  thy 
way,  little  Dove !  thou  art  the  finest  river  that  ever  I  saw, 
and  the  fullest  of  fish.  Indeed,  Sir,  I  like  it  so  well,  that  I 
am  afraid  you  will  be  troubled  with  me  once  a  year,  so  long 
as  we  two  live. 

PiSC.    I  am  afraid  I  shall  not.  Sir ;  but  were  you  once 
here  a  May  or  a  June,  if  good  sport  would  tempt  you,  I 
should  then  expect  you  would  sometimes  see  me ;  for  you  I 
would  then  say  it  were  a  fine  river  indeed,  if  you  had  once 
seen  the  sport  at  the  height. 

VlAT.  Which  I  will  do,  if  I  live,  and  that  you  please  to 
give  me  leave. — There  was  one,  and  there  another ! 


SECOND  DAY.  419 


PiSC.  And  air  this  in  a  strange  river,  and  with  a  fly  of 
your  own  making !  why,  what  a  dangerous  man  are  you ! 

VlAT.  I,  Sir :  but  who  taught  me  ?  and  as  Damaetas  says 
by  his  man  Dorus,  so  you  may  say  by  me — 

If  any  man  such  praises  have, 

What  then  have  I,  that  taught  the  knave  ? 

But  what  have  we  got  here  ?  a  rock  springing  up  in  the 
middle  of  the  river !  this  is  one  of  the  oddest  sights  that 
ever  I  saw. 

PiSC.  Why,  Sir,  from  that  pike  that  you  see  standing  up 
there  distant  from  the  rock,  this  is  called  Pike  Pool.  And 
young  Mr.  Izaac  Walton  was  so  pleased  with  it,  as  to  draw 
it  in  landscape,  in  black  and  white,  in  a  blank  book  I  have 
at  home,  as  he  has  done  several  prospects  of  my  house  also, 
which  I  keep  for  a  memorial  of  his  favour,  and  will  shew 
you  when  we  come  up  to  dinner. 

VlAT.  Has  young  Master  Izaak  Walton  been  here  too  ? 

PiSC.  Yes,  marry  has  he.  Sir,  and  that  again  and  again 
too,  and  in  France  since,  and  at  Rome,  and  at  Venice,  and 
I  can't  tell  where ;  but  I  intend  to  ask  him  a  great  many 
hard  questions  so  soon  as  I  can  see  him,  which  will  be,  God 
willing,  next  month.  In  the  meantime,  Sir,  to  come  to  this 
fine  stream  at  the  head  of  this  great  pool,  you  must  venture 
over  these  slippery,  cobbling  stones  :  believe  me.  Sir,  there 
you  were  nimble,  or  else  you  had  been  down  ;  but  now  you 
are  got  over,  look  to  yourself;  for,  on  my  word,  if  a  fish 
rise  here,  he  is  like  to  be  such  a  one  as  will  endanger  your 
tackle. — How  now  } 

VlAT.  I  think  you  have  such  command  here  over  the 
fishes,  that  you  can  raise  them  by  your  word,  as  they  say 


420  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


conjurors  can  do  spirits,  and  afterward  make  them  do  what 
you  bid  them  ;  for  here 's  a  trout  has  taken  my  fly,  I  had 
rather  have  lost  a  crown.  What  luck 's  this  !  he  was  a  lovely 
fish,  and  turned  up  a  side  like  a  salmon. 

PiSC.  O  Sir,  this  is  a  war  Avhere  you  sometimes  win,  and 
must  sometimes  expect  to  lose.  Never  concern  yourself  for 
the  loss  of  your  fly,  for  ten  to  one  I  teach  you  to  make  a 
better.     Who 's  that  calls  } 

Serv.  Sir,  will  it  please  you  to  come  to  dinner } 

PiSC.  We  come.  You  hear,  Sir,  we  are  called  ;  and  now 
take  your  choice,  whether  you  will  climb  this  steep  hill  be- 
fore you,  from  the  top  of  which  you  will  go  directly  into  the 
house,  or  back  again  over  these  stepping-stones,  and  about 
by  the  bridge. 

ViAT.  Nay,  sure,  the  nearest  way  is  best ;  at  least  my 
stomach  tells  me  so  ;  and  I  am  now  so  well  acquainted  with 
your  rocks,  that  I  fear  them  not. 

PiSC.  Come,  then,  follow  me  ;  and  so  soon  as  we  have 
dined,  we  will  down  again  to  the  little  house,  where  I  will 
begin  at  the  place  I  left  off  about  fly-fishing,  and  read  you 
another  lecture ;  for  I  have  a  great  deal  more  to  say  upon 
that  subject. 

VlAT.  The  more  the  better.  I  could  never  have  met  with 
a  more  obliging  master,  my  first  excepted  ;  nor  such  sport 
can  all  the  rivers  about  London  ever  afford,  as  is  to  be 
found  in  this  pretty  river. 

PiSC.  You  deserve  to  have  better,  both  because  I  see  you 
are  willing  to  take  pains,  and  for  liking  this  little  so  well ; 
and  better  I  hope  to  shew  you  before  we  part. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


[^cconb  gair.] 


VlAT.  Come,  Sir,  having  now  well  dined,  and  being  again 
set  in  your  little  house,  I  will  now  challenge  your  promise, 
and  intreat  you  to  proceed  in  your  instruction  for  fly-fishing; 
which  that  you  may  be  the  better  encouraged  to  do,  I  will 
assure  you  that  I  have  not  lost,  I  think,  one  syllable  of  what 
you  have  told  me ;  but  very  well  retain  all  your  directions, 
both  for  the  rod,  line,  and  making  a  fly,  and  now  desire  an 
account  of  the  flies  themselves. 

PiSC.  Wliy,  Sir,  I  am  ready  to  give  it  you,  and  shall  have 
the  whole  afternoon  to  do  it  in,  if  nobody  come  in  to  inter- 
rupt us ;  for  you  must  know  (besides  the  unfitness  of  the 
day),  that  the  afternoons,  so  early  in  March,  signify  very 
little  to  angling  with  a  fly,  though  with  a  minnow,  or  a  worm, 
something  might  (I  confess)  be  done. 

To  begin,  then,  where  I  left  off,  my  father  Walton  tells 

421 


422  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

us  of  but  twelve  artificial  flies  only,  to  angle  with  at  the  top, 
and  gives  their  names  ;  of  which  some  are  common  with  us 
here  ;  and  I  think  I  guess  at  most  of  them  by  his  description, 
and  I  believe  they  all  breed  and  are  taken  in  our  rivers, 
though  we  do  not  make  them  either  of  the  same  dubbing 
or  fashion.  And  it  may  be  in  the  rivers  about  London, 
which  I  presume  he  has  most  frequented,  and  where  it  is 
Hkely  he  has  done  most  execution,  there  is  not  much  notice 
taken  of  many  more  ;  but  we  are  acquainted  with  several 
others  here,  though  perhaps  I  may  reckon  some  of  his  by 
other  names  too  ;  but  if  I  do,  I  shall  make  you  amends  by 
an  addition  to  his  catalogue.  And  although  the  fore-named 
great  master  in  the  art  of  angling,  for  so  in  truth  he  is,  tells 
you  that  no  man  should,  in  honesty,  catch  a  trout  till  the 
middle  of  March,  yet  I  hope  he  will  give  a  man  leave  sooner 
to  take  a  grayling,  which,  as  I  told  you,  is  in  the  dead 
months  in  his  best  season,  and  do  assure  you  (which  I  re- 
member by  a  very  remarkable  token)  I  did  once  take  upon 
the  Sixth  day  of  December  one,  and  only  one,  of  the  biggest 
graylings,  and  the  best  in  season,  that  ever  I  yet  saw  or 
tasted  ;  and  do  usually  take  trouts  too,  and  with  a  fly,  not 
only  before  the  middle  of  this  month,  but  almost  every  year 
in  February,  unless  it  be  a  very  ill  spring  indeed  ;  and  have 
sometimes  in  January,  so  early  as  New  Year's-tide,  and  in 
frost  and  snow,  taken  grayling  in  a  warm  sunshine  day  for 
an  hour  or  two  about  noon ;  and  to  fish  for  him  with  a  grub, 
it  is  then  the  best  time  of  all. 

I  shall  therefore  begin  my  fly-fishing  with  that  month, 
though  I  confess  very  few  begin  so  soon,  and  that  such  as 
are  so  fond  of  the  sport  as  to  embrace  all  opportunities  can 
rarely  in  that  month  find  a  day  fit  for  their  purpose ;  and 


. 


SECOND  DAY.  423 

tell  you,  that  upon  my  knowledge  these  flies  in  a  warm  sun, 
for  an  hour  or  two  in  the  day,  are  certainly  taken. 

JANUARY. 

1.  A  Red  Brown,  with  wings  of  the  male  of  a  mallard 
almost  white  :  the  dubbing  of  the  tail  of  a  black  long-coated 
cur,  such  as  they  commonly  make  muffs  of ;  for  the  hair  on 
the  tail  of  such  a  dog  dies  and  turns  to  a  red  brown,  but  the 
hair  of  a  smooth-coated  dog  of  the  same  colour  will  not  do, 
because  it  will  not  die,  but  retains  its  natural  colour  ;  and 
this  fly  is  taken  in  a  warm  sun,  this  whole  month  through. 

2.  There  is  also  a  very  little  Bright  Dun  Gnat,  as  little  as 
can  possibly  be  made,  so  little  as  never  to  be  fished  with 
with  above  one  hair  next  the  hook  ;  and  this  is  to  be  made 
of  a  mixed  dubbing  of  marten's  fur,  and  the  white  of  a  hare's 
scut,  with  a  very  white  and  small  wing ;  and  it  is  no  great 
matter  how  fine  you  fish,  for  nothing  will  rise  in  this  month 
but  a  grayling  ;  and  of  them  I  never,  at  this  season,  saw 
any  taken  with  a  fly  of  above  a  foot  long  in  my  life ;  but 
of  little  ones  about  the  bigness  of  a  smelt,  in  a  warm  day 
and  a  glowing  sun,  you  may  take  enough  with  these  two 
flies,  and  they  are  both  taken  the  whole  month  through. 

FEBRUARY. 

I.  Where  the  red  brown  of  the  last  month  ends,  another 
almost  of  the  same  colour  begins,  with  this  saving,  that  the 
dubbing  of  this  must  be  of  something  a  blacker  colour,  and 
both  of  them  wrapt  on  with  red  silk.  The  dubbing  that 
should  make  this  fly,  and  that  is  the  truest  colour,  is  to  be 
got  off  the  black  spot  of  a  hog's  ear  :  not  that  a  black  spot 
in  any  part  of  the  hog  will  not  afford  the  same  colour,  but 


424  IHE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

that  the  hair  in  that  place  is,  by  many  degrees,  softer,  and 
more  fit  for  the  purpose.  His  wing  must  be  as  the  other 
[i.  in  January]  ;  and  this  kills  all  this  month,  and  is  called 
the  Lesser  Red  Brown. 

2.  This  month,  also,  a  plain  hackle,  or  palmer-fly,  made 
with  a  rough  black  body,  either  of  black  spaniel's  fur,  or  the 
whirl  of  an  ostrich  feather,  and  the  red  hackle  of  a  capon 
over  all,  will  kill,  and,  if  the  weather  be  right,  make  very 
good  sport. 

3.  Also  a  lesser  hackle,  with  a  black  body,  also  silver  twist 
over  that,  and  a  red  feather  over  all,  will  fill  your  pannier,  if 
the  month  be  open,  and  not  bound  up  in  ice  and  snow,  with 
veiy  good  fish  ;  but,  in  case  of  a  frost  and  snow,  you  are  to 
angle  only  with  the  smallest  gnats,  browns,  and  duns  you 
can  make  ;  and  with  those  are  only  to  expect  graylings  no 
bigger  than  sprats. 

4.  In  this  month,  upon  a  whirling  round  water,  we  have 
a  great  hackle,  the  body  black,  and  wrapped  with  a  red 
feather  of  a  capon  untrimmed  ;  that  is,  the  whole  length  of 
the  hackle  staring  out  (for  we  sometimes  barb  the  hackle- 
feather  short  all  over  ;  sometimes  barb  it  only  a  little  ;  and 
sometimes  barb  it  close  underneath),  leaving  the  whole 
length  of  the  feather  on  the  top  or  back  of  the  fly,  which 
makes  it  swim  better,  and,  as  occasion  serves,  kills  very 
great  fish. 

5.  We  make  use  also,  in  this  month,  of  another  great 
hackle,  the  body  black,  and  ribbed  over  with  gold  twist,  and 
a  red  feather  over  all ;  which  also  does  great  execution. 

6.  Also  a  Great  Dun,  made  with  dun  bear's  hair,  and  the 
wings  of  the  grey  feather  of  a  mallard  near  unto  his  tail ; 
which  is  absolutely  the  best  fly  can  be  thrown  upon  a  river 


SECOND  DAY.  4^5 


this  month,  and  with  which  an  angler  shall  have  admirable 
sport. 

7.  We  have  also  this  month  the  Great  Blue  Dun ;  the 
dubbing  of  the  bottom  of  bear's  hair  next  the  roots,  mixed 
with  a  little  blue  camlet,  the  wings  of  the  dark  grey  feather 
of  a  mallard. 

8.  We  have  also  this  month  a  dark  brown,  the  dubbing  of 
the  brown  hair  off  the  flank  of  a  brended  cow,  and  the  wings 
of  the  grey  drake's  feather. 

And  note,  that  these  several  hackles,  or  palmer-flies,  are 
some  for  one  water  and  one  sky,  and  some  for  another;  and, 
according  to  the  change  of  those,  we  alter  their  size  and 
colour;  and  note  also,  that  both  in  this  and  all  other  months 
of  the  year,  when  you  do  not  certainly  know  what  fly  is 
taken,  or  cannot  see  any  fish  to  rise,  you  are  then  to  put  on 
a  small  hackle  if  the  water  be  clear,  or  a  bigger  if  something 
dark,  until  you  have  taken  one ;  and  then  thrusting  your 
fingers  through  his  gills,  to  pull  out  his  gorge,  which  being 
opened  with  your  knife,  you  will  then  discover  what  fly  is 
taken,  and  may  fit  yourself  accordingly. 

For  the  making  of  a  hackle,  or  palmer-fly,  my  father 
Walton  has  already  given  you  sufficient  direction. 

MARCH. 

For  this  month  you  are  to  use  all  the  same  hackles  and 
flies  with  the  other ;  but  you  are  to  make  them  less. 

I.  We  have,  besides,  for  this  month  a  little  dun,  called  a 
Whirling  Dun  (though  it  is  not  the  whirling  dun  indeed, 
which  is  one  of  the  best  flies  we  have) ;  and  for  this  the 
dubbing  must  be  of  the  bottom  fur  of  a  squirrel's  tail,  and 
tlic  wing  of  the  grey  feather  of  a  drake. 


426  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

2.  Also  a  bright  brown  ;  the  dubbing  either  of  the  brown 
of  a  spaniel,  or  that  of  a  red  cow's  flank,  with  a  grey  wing. 

3.  Also  a  whitish  dun  ;  made  of  the  roots  of  camel's  hair, 
and  the  wings  of  the  grey  feather  of  a  mallard. 

4.  There  is  also  for  this  month  a  fly  called  the  Thorn-tree 
Fly;  the  dubbing  an  absolute  black,  mixed  with  eight  or  ten 
hairs  of  Isabella-coloured  mohair  ;  the  body  as  little  as  can 
be  made,  of  a  bright  mallard's  feather.  An  admirable  fly, 
and  in  great  repute  amongst  us  for  a  killer. 

5.  There  is,  besides  this,  another  blue  dun,  the  dubbing  of 
which  it  is  made  being  thus  to  be  got :  Take  a  small-tooth 
comb,  and  with  it  comb  the  neck  of  a  black  greyhound,  and 
the  down  that  sticks  in  the  teeth  will  hz  the  finest  blue  that 
you  ever  saw.  The  wings  of  this  fly  can  hardly  be  too  white, 
and  he  is  taken  about  the  tenth  of  this  month,  and  lasteth 
till  the  four-and-twentieth. 

6.  From  the  tenth  of  this  month  also,  till  towards  the  end, 
is  taken  a  little  black  gnat ;  the  dubbing  either  of  the  fur  of 
a  black  water-dog,  or  the  down  of  a  young  black  water-coot, 
the  wings  of  the  mals  of  a  mallard  as  white  as  may  be,  the 
body  as  little  as  you  can  possibly  make  it,  and  the  wings  as 
short  as  his  body. 

7.  From  the  sixteenth  of  this  month  also  to  the  end  of  it, 
we  use  a  bright  brown  ;  the  dubbing  for  which  is  to  be  had 
out  of  a  skinner's  Hme-pits,  and  of  the  hair  of  an  abortive 
calf,  which  the  lime  will  turn  to  be  so  bright  as  to  shine  like 
gold  ;  for  the  wings  of  this  fly  the  feather  of  a  brown  hen  is 
best,  which  fly  is  taken  till  the  tenth  of  April. 

APRIL. 
All  the  same  hackles  and  flies  that  were  taken  in  March 


SECOND  DAY.  427 


will  be  taken  in  this  month  also,  with  this  distinction  only 
concerning  the  flies,  that  all  the  browns  be  lapped  with  red 
silk,  and  the  duns  with  yellow. 

1.  To  these  a  small  bright  brown,  made  of  spaniel's  fur, 
with  a  light  grey  wing,  in  a  bright  day  and  a  clear  water,  is 
very  well  taken. 

2.  We  have  too  a  little  dark  brown,  the  dubbing  of  that 
colour  and  some  violet  camlet  mixed,  and  the  wing  of  the 
grey  feather  of  a  mallard. 

3.  From  the  sixth  of  this  month  to  the  tenth,  we  have 
also  a  fly  called  the  Violet  Fly,  made  of  a  dark  violet  stuff", 
with  the  wings  of  the  grey  feather  of  a  mallard. 

4.  About  the  twelfth  of  this  month  comes  in  the  fly  called 
the  Whirling  Dun,  which  is  taken  every  day,  about  the  mid- 
time  of  day,  all  this  month  through,  and,  by  fits,  from  thence 
to  the  end  of  June,  and  is  commonly  made  of  the  down  of 
the  fox  cub,  which  is  of  an  ash  colour  at  the  roots  next  the 
skin,  and  ribbed  about  with  yellow  silk ;  the  wings  of  the 
pale  grey  feather  of  a  mallard. 

5.  There  is  also  a  yellow  dun ;  the  dubbing  of  camel's 
hair,  and  yellow  camlet  or  wool,  mixed,  and  a  white-grey 
wing. 

6.  There  is  also  this  month  another  little  brown,  besides 
that  mentioned  before,  made  with  a  very  slender  body,  the 
dubbing  of  dark  brown  and  violet  camlet  mixed,  and  a  grey 
wing,  which,  though  the  direction  for  the  making  be  near 
the  other,  is  yet  another  fly,  and  will  take  when  the  other 
will  not,  especially  in  a  bright  day  and  a  clear  water. 

7.  About  the  twentieth  of  this  month  comes  in  a  fly  called 
Horseflesh  Fly,  the  dubbing  of  which  is  a  blue  mohair,  with 
pink  coloured  and  red  tammy  mixed,  a  light  coloured  wing, 


428  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

and  a  dark  brown  head.  This  fly  is  taken  best  in  an  even- 
ing, and  kills  from  two  hours  before  sunset  till  twilight,  and 
is  taken  the  month  through. 

MAY. 

And  now,  Sir,  that  we  are  entering  into  the  month  of  May, 
I  think  it  requisite  to  beg  not  only  your  attention,  but  also 
your  best  patience  ;  for  I  must  now  be  a  little  tedious  with 
you,  and  dwell  upon  this  month  longer  than  ordinary,  which 
that  you  may  the  better  endure,  I  must  tell  you,  this  month 
deserves  and  requires  to  be  insisted  on ;  forasmuch  as  it 
alone,  and  the  next  following,  afford  more  pleasure  to  the 
fly-angler  than  all  the  rest ;  and  here  it  is  that  you  are  to 
expect  an  account  of  the  green  drake  and  stone-fly,  pro- 
mised you  so  long  ago,  and  some  others  that  are  peculiar  to 
this  month,  and  part  of  the  month  following ;  and  that, 
though  not  so  great  either  in  bulk  or  name,  do  yet  stand  in 
competition  with  the  two  before-named ;  and  so  that  it  is 
yet  undecided  amongst  the  anglers  to  which  of  the  pre- 
tenders to  the  title  of  the  May-fly  it  does  properly  and 
duly  belong ;  neither  dare  I,  where  so  many  of  the  learned 
in  this  art  of  angling  are  got  in  dispute  about  the  contro- 
versy, take  upon  me  to  determine ;  but  I  think  I  ought  to 
have  a  vote  amongst  them,  and  according  to  that  privilege, 
shall  give  you  my  free  opinion  ;  and,  peradventure,  when  I 
have  told  you  all,  you  may  incline  to  think  me  in  the  right. 

VlAT.  I  have  so  great  a  deference  to  your  judgment  in 
these  matters,  that  I  must  always  be  of  your  opinion  ;  and 
the  more  you  speak,  the  faster  I  grow  to  my  attention,  for  I 
can  never  be  weary  of  hearing  you  upon  this  subject. 

PiSC.  Why, that's  encouragement  enough;  and  now  pre- 


I 


J 


SECOND  DAY.  4^9 


pare  yourself  for  a  tedious  lecture ;  but  I  will  first  begin 
with  the  flies  of  less  esteem,  though  almost  anything  will 
take  a  trout  in  May,  that  I  may  afterwards  insist  the  longer 
upon  those  of  greater  note  and  reputation.  Know,  therefore, 
that  the  first  fly  we  take  notice  of  in  this  month  is  called 

1.  The  Turkey-Fly;  the  dubbing  ravelled  out  of  some  blue 
stuff,  and  lapt  about  with  yellow  silk  ;  the  wings  of  a  grey 
mallard's  feather. 

2.  Next,  a  Great  Hackle  or  Palmer-Fly,  with  a  yellow 
body  ribbed  with  gold  twist,  and  large  wings  of  a  mallard's 
feather  dyed  yellow,  with  a  red  capon's  hackle  over  all. 

3.  Then  a  Black  Fly;  the  dubbing  of  a  black  spaniel's  fur, 
and  the  wings  of  a  grey  mallard's  feather. 

4.  After  that,  a  light  brown  with  a  slender  body  ;  the 
dubbing  twirled  upon  small  red  silk,  and  raised  with  the 
point  of  a  needle,  that  the  ribs  or  rows  of  silk  may  appear 
through  ;  the  wings  of  the  grey  feather  of  the  mallard. 

5.  Next,  a  little  dun  ;  the  dubbing  of  a  bear's  dun  whirled 
upon  yellow  silk ;  the  wings  of  the  grey  feather  of  a  mallard. 

6.  Then,  a  White  Gnat,  with  a  pale  wing  and  a  black  head. 

7.  There  is  also  in  this  month  a  fly  called  the  Peacock- 
Fly  ;  the  body  made  of  a  whirl  of  a  peacock's  feather,  with 
a  red  head  ;  and  wings  of  a  mallard's  feather. 

8.  We  have  then  another  very  killing  fly,  known  by  the 
name  of  the  Dun-Cut,  the  dubbing  of  which  is  a  bear's  dun, 
with  a  little  blue  and  yellow  mixed  with  it ;  a  large  dun 
wing ;  and  two  horns  at  the  head,  made  of  the  hairs  of  a 
squirrel's  tail. 

9.  The  next  is  a  Cow-Lady,  a  little  fly ;  the  body  of  a 
peacock's  feather  ;  the  wing  of  a  red  feather,  or  strips  of  the 
red  hackle  of  a  cock. 


430  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

10.  We  have  then  the  Cow-dung-Fly ;  the  dubbing  h'ght 
brown  and  yellow  mixed  ;  the  wing  the  dark  grey  feather  of 
a  mallard.  And  note,  that  besides  these  above  mentioned, 
all  the  same  hackles  and  flies,  the  hackles  only  brighter  and 
the  flies  smaller,  that  are  taken  in  April,  will  also  be  taken 
this  month,  as  all  browns  and  duns.  And  now  I  come  to  my 
Stone-Fly  and  Green  Drake,  which  are  the  matadores  for 
trout  and  grayHng,  and  in  their  season  kill  more  fish  in  our 
Derbyshire  rivers  than  all  the  rest,  past  and  to  come,  in  the 
whole  year  besides. 

But  first  I  am  to  tell  you  that  we  have  four  several  flies 
which  contend  for  the  title  of  the  May- Fly  ;  namely, 

The  Green  Drake, 

The  Stone-Fly, 

The  Black  Fly,  and 

The  little  yellow  May-Fly. 
And  all  these  have  their  champions  and  advocates  to  dispute 
and  plead  their  priority ;  though  I  do  not  understand  why 
the  two  last  named  should,  the  first  two  having  so  manifestly 
the  advantage,  both  in  their  beauty  and  the  wonderful  exe- 
cution they  do  in  their  season. 

11.  Of  these  the  Green  Drake  comes  in  about  the  twen- 
tieth of  this  month,  or  betwixt  that  and  the  latter  end,  for 
they  are  sometimes  sooner  and  sometimes  later,  according 
to  the  quality  of  the  year  ;  but  never  well  taken  till  towards 
the  end  of  this  month  and  the  beginning  of  June.  The 
Stone-Fly  comes  much  sooner,  so  early  as  the  middle  of 
April,  but  is  never  well  taken  till  towards  the  middle  of 
May,  and  continues  to  kill  much  longer  than  the  green 
drake  stays  with  us,  so  long  as  the  end  almost  of  June  ;  and 
indeed,  so  long  as  there  are  any  of  them  to  be  seen  upon 


SECOND  DAY,  431 


the  water ;  and  sometimes  in  an  artificial  fly,  and  late  at 
night  or  before  sunrise  in  a  morning,  longer. 

Now  both  these  flies,  and  I  believe  many  others,  though 
I  think  not  all,  are  certainly  and  demonstratively  bred  in 
the  very  rivers  where  they  are  taken .  our  caddis  or  cod- 
bait,  which  lie  under  stones  in  the  bottom  of  the  water,  most 
of  them  turning  into  those  two  flies,  and  being  gathered  in 
the  husk,  or  crust,  near  the  time  of  their  maturity,  are  very 
easily  known  and  distinguished,  and  are  of  all  other  the 
most  remarkable,  both  for  their  size,  as  being  of  all  other 
the  biggest,  the  shortest  of  them  being  a  full  inch  long  or 
more  ;  and  for  the  execution  they  do,  the  trout  and  grayling 
being  much  more  greedy  of  them  than  of  any  others ;  and 
indeed  the  trout  never  feeds  fat,  nor  comes  into  his  perfect 
season,  till  these  flies  come  in. 

Of  these  the  green  drake  never  discloses  from  his  husk 
till  he  be  first  there  grown  to  full  maturity,  body,  wings,  and 
all ;  and  then  he  creeps  out  of  his  cell,  but  with  his  wings 
so  crimpt  and  ruffled,  by  being  prest  together  in  that  narrow 
room,  that  they  are  for  some  hours  totally  useless  to  him  ; 
by  which  means  he  is  compelled  either  to  creep  upon  the 
flags,  sedges,  and  blades  of  grass,  if  his  first  rising  from  the 
bottom  of  the  water  be  near  the  banks  of  the  river,  till  the 
air  and  sun  stiffen  and  smooth  them  ;  or,  if  his  first  appear- 
ance above  water  happen  to  be  in  the  middle,  he  then  lies 
upon  the  surface  of  the  water  like  a  ship  at  hull ;  for  his 
feet  are  totally  useless  to  him  there,  and  he  cannot  creep 
upon  the  water  as  the  stone-fly  can,  until  his  wings  have 
got  stiffness  to  fly  with  (if  by  some  trout  or  grayling  he  be 
not  taken  in  the  interim,  which  ten  to  one  he  is),  and  then 
his  wings  stand  high,  and  closed  exact  upon  his  back,  like 


432  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

the  butterfly,  and  his  motion  in  flying  is  the  same.  His 
body  is,  in  some,  of  a  paler,  in  others,  of  a  darker  yellow ; 
for  they  are  not  all  exactly  of  a  colour,  ribbed  with  rows  of 
green,  long,  slender,  and  growing  sharp  towards  the  tail,  at 
the  end  of  which  he  has  three  long  small  whisks  of  a  very 
dark  colour,  almost  black,  and  his  tail  turns  up  towards  his 
back  like  a  mallard  ;  from  whence,  questionless,  he  has  his 
name  of  the  green  drake.  These,  as  I  think  I  told  you  be- 
fore, we  commonly  dape  or  dibble  with,  and  having  gathered 
great  store  of  them  into  a  long  draw-box,  with  holes  in  the 
cover  to  give  them  air  (where  also  they  will  continue  fresh 
and  vigorous  a  night  or  more),  we  take  them  out  thence  by 
the  wings,  and  bait  them  thus  upon  the  hook  :  We  first  take 
one  (for  we  commonly  fish  with  two  of  them  at  a  time),  and 
putting  the  point  of  the  hook  into  the  thickest  part  of  his 
body,  under  one  of  his  wings,  run  it  directly  through,  and 
out  at  the  other  side,  leaving  him  spitted  cross  upon  the 
hook  ;  and  then  taking  the  other,  put  him  on  after  the  same 
manner,  but  with  his  head  the  contrary  way ;  in  which 
posture  they  will  live  upon  the  hook,  and  play  with  their 
wings,  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  or  more  ;  but  you  must  have 
a  care  to  keep  their  wings  dry,  both  from  the  water,  and 
also  that  your  fingers  be  not  wet  when  you  take  them  out 
to  bait  them,  for  then  your  bait  is  spoiled. 

Having  now  told  you  how  to  angle  with  this  fly  alive,  I 
am  now  to  tell  you  next  how  to  make  an  artificial  fly,  that 
will  so  perfectly  resemble  him,  as  to  be  taken  in  a  rough 
windy  day,  when  no  flies  can  lie  upon  the  water,  nor  are  to  J 
be  found  about  the  banks  and  sides  of  the  river,  to  a  wonder; 
and  with  which  you  shall  certainly  kill  the  best  trout  and 
grayling  in  the  river. 


SECOND  DAY,  433 


The  artificial  green  drake,  then,  is  made  upon  a  large 
hook ;  the  dubbing,  camel's  hair,  bright  bear's  hair,  the  soft 
down  that  is  combed  from  a  hog's  bristles,  and  yellow 
camlet,  well  mixed  together;  the  body  long,  and  ribbed 
about  with  green  silk,  or  rather  yellow,  waxed  with  green 
wax ;  the  whisks  of  the  tail  of  the  long  hairs  of  sables,  or 
fitchet ;  and  the  wings  of  a  white-grey  feather  of  a  mallard, 
dyed  yellow,  which  also  is  to  be  dyed  thus  : 

Take  the  root  of  a  barbary-tree,  and  shave  it,  and  put  to 
it  woody  viss,  with  as  much  alum  as  a  walnut,  and  boil  your 
feathers  in  it  with  rain-water,  and  they  will  be  of  a  very  fine 
yellow. 

I  have  now  done  with  the  green  drake,  excepting  to  tell 
you  that  he  is  taken  at  all  hours  during  his  season,  whilst 
there  is  any  day  upon  the  sky ;  and  with  a  made  fly  I  once 
took,  ten  days  after  he  was  absolutely  gone,  in  a  cloudy  day, 
after  a  shower,  and  in  a  whistling  wind,  five-and-thirty  very 
great  trouts  and  graylings,  betwixt  five  and  eight  of  the 
clock  in  the  evening,  and  had  no  less  than  five  or  six  flies, 
with  three  good  hairs  apiece,  taken  from  me  in  despite  of 
my  art,  besides. 

12.  I  should  now  come  next  to  the  Stone-Fly,  but  there 
is  another  gentleman  in  my  way,  that  must  of  necessity 
come  in  between,  and  that  is  the  Grey  Drake,  which  in  all 
shapes  and  dimensions  is  perfectly  the  same  with  the  other, 
but  quite  almost  of  another  colour,  being  of  a  paler  and 
more  livid  yellow  and  green,  and  ribbed  with  black  quite 
down  his  body,  with  black  shining  wings,  and  so  diaphanous 
and  tender,  cobweb-like,  that  they  are  of  no  manner  of  use 
for  daping ;  but  come  in,  and  are  taken  after  the  green 
drake,  and  in  an  artificial  fly  kill  very  well ;  which  fly  is 

23 


434 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


thus  made  :  the  dubbing  of  the  down  of  a  hog's  bristles,  and 
black  spaniel's  fur,  mixed,  and  ribbed  down  the  body  with 
black  silk  ;  the  whisks  of  the  hairs  of  the  beard  of  a  black 
cat,  and  the  wings  of  the  black-grey  feather  of  a  mallard. 

And  now  I  come  to  the  Stone-Fly ;  but  am  afraid  I  have 
already  wearied  your  patience ;  which,  if  I  have,  I  beseech 
you  freely  tell  me  so,  and  I  will  defer  the  remaining  instruc- 
tions for  fly-angling  till  some  other  time. 

ViAT.  No,  truly.  Sir,  I  can  never  be  weary  of  hearing  you. 
But  if  you  think  fit,  because  I  am  afraid  I  am  too  trouble- 
some, to  refresh  yourself  with  a  glass  and  a  pipe,  you  may 
afterwards  proceed,  and  I  shall  be  exceedingly  pleased  to 
hear  you. 

Pisc.  I  thank  you.  Sir,  for  that  motion  ;  for,  believe  me, 
I  am  dry  with  talking.  Here,  boy,  give  us  here  a  bottle  and 
a  glass ;  and,  Sir,  my  service  to  you,  and  to  all  our  friends 
in  the  south. 

VlAT.  Your  servant,  Sir  ;  and  I  '11  pledge  you  as  heartily; 
for  the  good  powdered  beef  I  eat  at  dinner,  or  something 
else,  has  made  me  thirsty. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 


[^^anb  fug.] 


VlAT.  So,  Sir,  I  am  nov/  ready  for  another  lesson,  so  soon 
as  you  please  to  give  it  me. 

PiSC.  And  I,  Sir,  as  ready  to  give  you  the  best  I  can. 
Having  told  you  the  time  of  the  stone-fly's  coming  in,  and 
that  he  is  bred  of  a  caddis  in  the  very  river  where  he  is 
taken,  I  am  next  to  tell  you  that, 

1 3.  This  same  Stone-Fly  has  not  the  patience  to  continue 
in  his  crust,  or  husk,  till  his  wings  be  full  grown  ;  but  so  soon 
as  ever  they  begin  to  put  out,  that  he  feels  himself  strong 
(at  which  time  we  call  him  a  Jack),  squeezes  himself  out  of 
prison,  and  crawk  to  the  top  of  some  stone,  where  if  he  can 
find  a  chink  that  will  receive  him,  or  can  creep  betwixt  two 
stones,  the  one  lying  hollow  upon  the  other, — which,  by  the 
way,  we  also  lay  so  purposely  to  find  them, — he  there  lurks, 
till  his  wings  be  full  grown,  and  there  is  your  only  place  to 

435 


436  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

find  him,  and  from  thence  doubtless  he  derives  his  name ; 
though,  for  want  of  such  convenience,  he  will  make  shift 
with  the  hollow  of  a  bank,  or  any  other  place  where  the 
wind  cannot  come  to  fetch  him  off.  His  body  is  long,  and 
pretty  thick,  and  as  broad  at  the  tail  almost  as  in  the 
middle ;  his  colour  a  very  fine  brown,  ribbed  with  yellow, 
and  much  yellower  on  the  belly  than  the  back  ;  he  has  two 
or  three  whisks  also  at  the  tag  of  his  tail,  and  two  little 
horns  upon  his  head  ;  his  wings,  when  full  grown,  are  double, 
and  flat  down  his  back,  of  the  same  colour,  but  rather  darker 
than  his  body,  and  longer  than  it,  though  he  makes  but  Httle 
use  of  them  ;  for  you  shall  rarely  see  him  flying,  though 
often  swimming  and  paddling  with  several  feet  he  has  under 
his  belly,  upon  the  water,  without  stirring  a  wing ;  but  the 
drake  will  mount  steeple-high  into  the  air,  though  he  is  to 
be  found  upon  flags  and  grass  too,  and  indeed  everywhere, 
high  and  low,  near  the  river  ;  there  being  so  many  of  them 
in  their  season  as,  were  they  not  a  very  inofl*ensive  insect, 
would  look  like  a  plague ;  and  these  drakes,  since  I  forgot 
to  tell  you  before,  I  will  tell  you  here,  are  taken  by  the  fish 
to  that  incredible  degree  that,  upon  a  calm  day,  you  shall 
see  the  still  deeps  continually  all  over  circles  by  the  fishes 
rising,  who  will  gorge  themselves  with  those  flics,  till  they 
purge  again  out  of  their  gills ;  and  the  trouts  are  at  that 
time  so  lusty  and  strong,  that  one  of  eight  or  ten  inches 
long  will  then  more  struggle  and  tug,  and  more  endanger 
your  tackle,  than  one  twice  as  big  in  winter.  But  pardon 
this  digression. 

This  stone-fly,  then,  we  dape  or  dibble  with,  as  with  the 
drake ;  but  with  this  difl"erence,  that  whereas  the  green 
drake  is  common  both  to  stream  and  still,  and  to  all  hours 


SECOND  DAY.  437 


of  the  day,  we  seldom  dape  with  this  but  in  the  streams 
(for  in  a  whistHng  wind  a  made  fly  in  the  deep  is  better), 
and  rarely  but  early  and  late,  it  not  being  so  proper  for  the 
mid-time  of  the  day  ;  though  a  great  grayling  will  then  take 
it  very  well  in  a  sharp  stream,  and  here  and  there  a  trout 
too ;  but  much  better  toward  eight,  nine,  ten,  or  eleven  of 
the  clock  at  night,  at  which  time  also  the  best  fish  rise,  and 
the  later  the  better,  provided  you  can  see  your  fly ;  and 
when  you  cannot,  a  made  fly  will  murder,  which  is  to  be 
made  thus  :  The  dubbing  of  bear's  dun,  with  a  little  brown 
and  yellow  camlet  very  well  mixed,  but  so  placed  that  your 
fly  may  be  more  yellow  on  the  belly  and  towards  the  tail, 
underneath,  than  in  any  other  part ;  and  you  are  to  place 
two  or  three  hairs  of  a  black  cat's  beard  on  the  top  of  the 
hook,  in  your  arming,  so  as  to  be  turned  up  when  you  warp 
on  your  dubbing,  and  to  stand  almost  upright,  and  staring 
one  from  another ;  and  note,  that  your  fly  is  to  be  ribbed 
with  yellow  silk  ;  and  the  wings  long,  and  very  large,  of  the 
dark  grey  feather  of  a  mallard. 

14.  The  next  May-fly  is  the  Black-Fly  ;  made  with  a 
black  body,  of  the  whirl  of  an  ostrich  feather,  ribbed  with 
silver  twist,  and  the  black  hackle  of  a  cock  over  all ;  and  is 
a  killing  fly,  but  not  to  be  named  with  either  of  the  other. 

15.  The  last  May-fly  (that  is,  of  the  four  pretenders)  is 
the  little  Yellow  May-fly ;  in  shape  exactly  the  same  with 
the  green  drake,  but  a  veiy  little  one,  and  of  as  bright  a 
yellow  as  can  be  seen  ;  which  is  made  of  a  bright  yellow 
camlet,  and  the  wings  of  a  white-grey  feather  dyed  yellow. 

16.  The  last  fly  for  this  month  (and  which  continues  all 
June,  though  it  comes  in  the  middle  of  May),  is  the  fly 
called   the  Camlet-Fly,  in  shape   like  a  moth,  with  fine 


43^  THE   COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

diapered  or  water  wings^  and  with  which,  as  I  told  you 
before,  I  sometimes  used  to  dibble ;  and  grayling  will  rise 
mightily  at  it.  But  the  artificial  fly, — which  is  only  in  use 
amongst  our  anglers, — is  made  of  a  dark  brown  shining 
camlet,  ribbed  over  with  a  very  small  light  green  silk,  the 
wings  of  the  double  grey  feather  of  a  mallard  ;  and  it  is  a 
killing  fly  for  small  fish.    And  so  much  for  May. 

JUNE. 

From  the  first  to  the  four-and-twentleth,  the  green  drake 
and  stone-fly  are  taken,  as  T  told  you  before. 

1.  From  the  twelfth  to  the  four-and-twentieth,  late  at 
night,  is  taken  a  fly  called  the  Owl-Fly ;  the  dubbing  of  a 
white  weasel's  tail,  and  a  white-grey  wing. 

2.  We  have  then  another  dun,  called  the  Barm-Fly,  from 
its  yeasty  colour  ;  the  dubbing  of  the  fur  of  a  yellow-dun  cat, 
and  a  grey  wing  of  a  mallard's  feather. 

3.  We  have  also  a  hackle  with  a  purple  body,  whipt 
about  with  a  red  capon's  feather. 

4.  As  also  a  gold  twist  hackle  with  a  purple  body,  whipt 
about  with  a  red  capon's  feather. 

5.  To  these  we  have  this  month  a  Flesh-Fly ;  the  dubbing 
of  a  black  spaniel's  fur,  and  blue  wool  mixed,  and  a  grey 
wing. 

6.  Also  another  little  flesh-fly,  the  body  made  of  the 
whirl  of  a  peacock's  feather,  and  the  wings  of  the  grey 
feather  of  a  drake. 

7.  We  have  then  the  Peacock-Fly,  the  body  and  wing 
both  made  of  the  feather  of  that  bird. 

8.  There  is  also  the  Flying  Ant  or  Ant-Fly ;  the  dubbing 
of  brown  and  red  camlet  mixed,  with  a  light  grey  wing. 


SECOND  DAY.  439 


9.  We  have  likewise  a  Brown  Gnat,  with  a  very  slender 
body  of  brown  and  violet  camlet  well  mixed,  and  a  light 
grey  wing. 

10.  And  another  little  Black  Gnat;  the  dubbing  of  black 
mohair,  and  a  white-grey  wing. 

11.  As  also  a  Green  Grasshopper  ;  the  dubbing  of  green 
and  yellow  wool  mixed,  ribbed  over  with  green  silk,  and  a 
red  capon's  feather  over  all. 

12.  And,  lastly,  a  little  Dun  Grasshopper  ;  the  body 
slender,  made  of  a  dun  camlet,  and  a  dun  hackle  at  the  top. 

JULY. 

First,  all  the  small  flies  that  were  taken  in  June  are  also 
taken  in  this  month. 

1.  We  have  then  the  Orange  Fly  ;  the  dubbing  of  orange 
wool,  and  the  wing  of  a  black  feather. 

2.  Also  a  little  white-dun  ;  the  body  made  of  white  mo- 
hair, and  the  wings,  blue,  of  a  heron's  feather. 

3.  We  have  likewise  this  month  a  Wasp-Fly ;  made  either 
of  a  dark  brown  dubbing,  or  else  the  fur  of  a  black  cat's 
tail,  ribbed  about  with  yellow  silk  ;  and  the  wing  of  the 
grey  feather  of  a  mallard. 

4.  Another  fly  taken  this  month  is  a  black  hackle ;  the 
body  made  of  the  whirl  of  a  peacock's  feather,  and  a  black 
hackle  feather  on  the  top. 

5.  We  have  also  another,  made  of  a  peacock's  whirl  with- 
out wings. 

6.  Another  fly  also  is  taken  this  month,  called  the  Shell- 
Fly;  the  dubbing  of  yellow-green  Jersey  wool,  and  a  little 
white  hog's  hair  mixed,  which  I  call  the  Palm-Fly,  and  do 
believe  it  is  taken  for  a  palm  that  drops  off  the  willows  into 


440  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

the  water ;  for  this  fly  I  have  seen  trouts  take  little  pieces 
of  moss,  as  they  have  swum  down  the  river ;  by  which  I 
conclude  that  the  best  way  to  hit  the  right  colour  is  to  com- 
pare your  dubbing  with  the  moss,  and  mix  the  colours  as 
near  as  you  can. 

7.  There  is  also  taken,  this  month,  a  black -blue  dun  ; 
the  dubbing  of  the  fur  of  a  black  rabbit  mixed  with  a  little 
yellow;  the  wings  of  the  feather  of  a  blue  pigeon's  wing. 

AUGUST. 

The  same  flies  with  July. 

1.  Then  another  Ant-Fly ;  the  dubbing  of  the  black-brown 
hair  of  a  cow,  some  red  wrapt  in  for  the  tag  of  his  tail,  and 
a  dark  wing  ;  a  killing  fly. 

2.  Next  a  fly  called  the  Fern-Fly;  the  dubbing  of  the  fur 
of  a  hare's  neck,  that  is  of  the  colour  of  fern  or  bracken, 
with  a  darkish  grey  wing  of  a  mallard's  feather ;  a  killer 
too. 

3.  Besides  these  we  have  a  white  hackle  ;  the  body  of 
white  mohair,  and  wrapt  about  with  a  white  hackle  feather, 
and  this  is  assuredly  taken  for  thistle-down. 

4.  We  have  also  this  month  a  Harry  Long-Legs ;  the 
body  made  of  bear's  dun  and  blue  wool  mixed,  and  a  brown 
hackle  feather  over  all. 

Lastly.  In  this  month  all  the  same  browns  and  duns  are 
taken  that  were  taken  in  May. 

SEPTEMBER. 

This  month  the  same  flies  are  taken  that  are  taken  in 
April. 

I.  To  which  I  shall  only  add  a  Camel-brown  Fly ;  the 


SECOND  DAY.  44 1 


dubbing  pulled  out  of  the  lime  of  a  wall,  whipped  about 
with  red  silk,  and  a  darkish  grey  mallard's  feather  for  the 
wing. 

2.  And  one  other  for  which  we  have  no  name ;  but  it  is 
made  of  the  black  hair  of  a  badger's  skin,  mixed  with  the 
yellow  softest  down  of  a  sanded  hog. 

OCTOBER. 

The  same  flies  are  taken  this  month  that  were  taken  in 

March. 

NOVEMBER. 

The  same  flies  that  were  taken  in  February  are  taken 

this  month  also. 

DECEMBER. 

Few  men  angle  with  the  fly  this  month,  no  more  than 
they  do  in  January ;  but  yet,  if  the  weather  be  warm  (as  I 
have  known  it  sometimes  in  my  life  to  be,  even  in  this  cold 
country,  where  it  is  least  expected),  then  a  brown,  that 
looks  rod  in  the  hand,  and  yellowish  betwixt  your  eye  and 
the  sun,  will  both  raise  and  kill  in  a  clear  water  and  free 
from  snow-broth  ;  but,  at  the  best,  it  is  hardly  worth  a 
man's  labour. 

And  now.  Sir,  I  have  done  with  fly-fishing,  or  angling  at 
the  top,  excepting  once  more  to  tell  you,  that  of  all  these 
(and  I  have  named  you  a  great  many  very  killing  flies)  none 
are  fit  to  be  compared  with  the  drake  and  stone-fly,  both 
for  many  and  for  very  great  fish  ;  and  yet  there  are  some 
days  that  arc  by  no  means  proper  for  the  sport.  And  in  a 
calm  you  shall  not  have  near  so  much  sport,  even  with  dap- 
ing,  as  in  a  whistling  gale  of  wind,  for  two  reasons :  both 
because  you  are  not  then  so  easily  discovered  by  the  fish, 


442  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

and  also  because  there  are  then  but  few  flies  that  can  lie 
upon  the  water ;  for  where  they  have  so  much  choice,  you 
may  easily  imagine  they  will  not  be  so  eager  and  forward 
to  rise  at  a  bait,  that  both  the  shadow  of  your  body,  and 
that  of  your  rod,  nay,  of  your  very  line,  in  a  hot  calm  day, 
will,  in  spite  of  your  best  caution,  render  suspected  to  them ; 
but  even  then,  in  swift  streams,  or  by  sitting  down  patiently 
behind  a  willow-bush,  you  shall  do  more  execution  than  at 
almost  any  other  time  of  the  year  with  any  other  fly ; 
though  one  may  sometimes  hit  of  a  day,  when  he  shall  come 
home  very  well  satisfied  with  sport  with  several  other  flies ; 
but  with  these  two,  the  green  drake  and  the  stone-fly,  I 
do  verily  believe  I  could,  some  days  in  my  life,  had  I  not 
been  weary  of  slaughter,  have  loaden  a  lusty  boy  ;  and  have 
sometimes,  I  do  honestly  assure  you,  given  over  upon  the 
mere  account  of  satiety  of  sport ;  which  will  be  no  hard 
matter  to  believe,  when  I  likewise  assure  you,  that  with  this 
very  fly  I  have  in  this  very  river  that  runs  by  us,  in  three 
or  four  hours,  taken  thirty,  five-and -thirty,  and  forty  of  the 
best  trouts  in  the  river.  What  shame  and  pity  it  is,  then, 
that  such  a  river  should  be  destroyed  by  the  basest  sort  of 
people,  by  those  unlawful  ways  of  fire  and  netting  in  the 
night,  and  of  damming,  groping,  spearing,  hanging,  and 
hooking  by  day,  which  are  now  grown  so  common,  that, 
though  we  have  very  good  laws  to  punish  such  offenders, 
every  rascal  does  it,  for  aught  I  see,  impiink. 

To  conclude,  I  cannot  now  in  honesty  but  frankly  tell 
you,  that  many  of  these  flies  I  have  named,  at  least  so  made 
as  we  make  them  here,  will  peradventure  do  you  no  great 
service  in  your  southern  rivers ;  and  will  not  conceal  from 
you,  but  that  I  have  sent  flies  to  several  friends  in  London, 


SECOND  DAY. 


443 


that,  for  aught  I  could  ever  hear,  never  did  any  great  feats 
Avith  them ;  and  therefore,  if  you  intend  to  profit  by  my 
instructions,  you  must  come  to  angle  with  me  here  in  the 
Peak.  And  so,  if  you  please,  let  us  walk  up  to  supper,  and 
to-morrow,  if  the  day  be  windy,  as  our  days  here  commonly 
are,  't  is  ten  to  one  but  we  shall  take  a  good  dish  of  fish  for 
dinner. 


CHAPTER     IX. 


[©|u-l>Sitg.] 


PiSC.  A  good  day  to  you,  Sir ;  I  see  you  will  always  be 
stirring  before  me. 

ViAT.  Why,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  am  so  allured  wjth 
the  sport  I  had  yesterday,  that  I  long  to  be  at  the  river 
again ;  and  when  I  heard  the  wind  sing  in  my  chamber- 
window,  could  forbear  no  longer,  but  leap  out  of  bed,  and 
had  just  made  an  end  of  dressing  myself  as  you  came  in. 

PiSC.  Well,  I  am  both  glad  you  are  so  ready  for  the  day, 
and  that  the  day  is  so  fit  for  you  ;  and  look  you,  I  have 
made  you  three  or  four  flies  this  morning ;  this  silver  twist 
hackle,  this  bear's  dun,  this  light  brown,  and  this  dark  brown, 
any  of  which  I  dare  say  will  do  ;  but  you  may  try  them  all, 
and  see  which  does  best ;  only  I  must  ask  your  pardon  that 
I  cannot  wait  upon  you  this  morning,  a  little  business  being 


THIRD  DAY.  445 


fallen  out,  that  for  two  or  three  hours  will  deprive  me  of 
your  company ;  but  I  '11  come  and  call  you  home  to  dinner, 
and  my  man  shall  attend  you. 

VlAT.  O  Sir,  mind  your  affairs  by  all  means.  Do  but 
lend  me  a  little  of  your  skill  to  these  fine  flies,  and,  unless 
it  have  forsaken  me  since  yesterday,  I  shall  find  luck  of  my 
own,  I  hope,  to  do  something. 

PiSC.  The  best  instruction  I  can  give  you,  is,  that  seeing 
the  wind  curls  the  water,  and  blows  the  right  way,  you 
Avould  now  angle  up  the  still  deep  to-day ;  for  betwixt  the 
rocks  where  the  streams  are,  you  will  find  it  now  too  brisk  ; 
and  besides,  I  would  have  you  take  fish  in  both  waters. 

VlAT.  I  '11  obey  your  direction,  and  so  good  morning  to 
you.  Come,  young  man,  let  you  and  I  walk  together.  But 
mark  you.  Sir,  I  have  not  done  with  you  yet ;  I  expect  an- 
other lesson  for  angling  at  the  bottom,  in  the  afternoon. 

PiSC.  Well,  Sir,  I  '11  be  ready  for  you. 


CHAPTER    X. 


[StIjirJr  iagj 


PiSC.  O  Sir,  are  you  returned  ?  you  have  but  just  pre- 
vented me.     I  was  coming  to  call  you. 

ViAT.  I  am  glad,  then,  I  have  saved  you  the  labour. 

PiSC.  And  how  have  you  sped  ? 

VlAT.  You  shall  see  that,  Sir,  presently :  look  you.  Sir, 
here  are  three  brace  of  trouts,  one  of  them  the  biggest  but 
one  that  ever  I  killed  with  a  fly  in  my  life  ;  and  yet  I  lost 
a  bigger  than  that,  with  my  fly  to  boot ;  and  here  are  three 
graylings,  and  one  of  them  longer  by  some  inches  than  that 
I  took  yesterday,  and  yet  I  thought  that  a  good  one  too. 

PiSC.  Why,  you  have  made  a  pretty  good  morning's  work 
on 't.    And  now.  Sir,  what  think  you  of  our  river  Dove  ? 

VlAT.  I  think  it  to  be  the  best  trout  river  in  England,  and 
am  so  far  in  love  with  it,  that  if  it  were  mine,  and  that  I 

446 


THIRD  DAY.  447 


could  keep  it  to  myself,  I  would  not  exchange  that  water 
for  all  the  land  it  runs  over,  to  be  totally  debarred  from  it. 

PiSC.  That  compliment  to  the  river  speaks  you  a  true 
lover  of  the  art  of  angling.  And  now,  Sir,  to  make  part  of 
amends  for  sending  you  so  uncivilly  out  alone  this  morning, 
I  will  myself  dress  you  this  dish  of  fish  for  your  dinner : 
walk  but  into  the  parlour,  you  will  find  one  book  or  other 
in  the  window  to  entertain  you  the  while,  and  you  shall 
have  it  presently, 

VlAT.  Well,  Sir,  I  obey  you. 

PisC.  Look  you,  Sir,  have  I  not  made  haste  ? 

VlAT.  Believe  me,  Sir,  that  you  have ;  and  it  looks  so 
well,  I  long  to  be  at  it.   ■ 

PiSC.  Fall  to,  then.  Now,  Sir,  what  say  you,  am  I  a  to- 
lerable cook  or  no } 

VlAT.  So  good  a  one,  that  I  did  never  eat  so  good  fish 
in  my  life.  This  fish  is  infinitely  better  than  any  I  ever 
tasted  of  the  kind  in  my  life  :  't  is  quite  another  thing  than 
our  trouts  about  London. 

PiSC.  You  would  say  so,  if  that  trout  you  eat  of  were  in 
right  season.  But  pray  eat  of  the  grayling,  which,  upon  my 
word,  at  this  season  is  by  far  the  better  fish. 

VlAT.  In  earnest  and  so  it  is  ;  and  I  have  one  request  to 
make  to  you,  which  is,  that  as  you  have  taught  me  to  catch 
trout  and  grayling,  you  will  now  teach  me  how  to  dress 
them  as  these  are  drest,  which  questionless  is  of  all  other 
the  best  way. 

PiSC.  That  I  will.  Sir,  with  all  my  heart,  and  am  glad 
you  like  them  so  well  as  to  make  that  request.  And  they 
are  drest  thus : 

Take  your  trout,  wash,  and  dry  him  with  a  clean  napkin ; 


448  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

then  open  him,  and  having  taken  out  his  guts  and  all  the 
blood,  wipe  him  very  clean  within,  but  wash  him  not,  and 
give  him  three  scotches  with  a  knife  to  the  bone,  on  one 
side  only.  After  which  take  a  clean  kettle,  and  put  in  as 
much  hard  stale  beer  (but  it  must  not  be  dead),  vinegar,  and 
a  little  white  wine  and  water,  as  will  cover  the  fish  you  in- 
tend to  boil ;  then  throw  into  the  liquor  a  good  quantity  of 
salt,  the  rind  of  a  lemon,  a  handful  of  sliced  horse-radish 
root,  with  a  handsome  light  faggot  of  rosemary,  thyme,  and 
winter  savory.  Then  set  your  kettle  upon  a  quick  fire  of 
wood,  and  let  your  liquor  boil  up  to  the  height  before  you 
put  in  your  fish  ;  and  then^  if  there  be  many,  put  them  in 
one  by  one,  that  they  may  not  so  cool  the  liquor  as  to  make 
it  fall.  And  whilst  your  fish  is  boiling,  beat  up  the  butter 
for  your  sauce  with  a  ladleful  or  two  of  the  liquor  it  is  boil- 
ing in.  And  being  boiled  enough,  immediately  pour  the 
liquor  from  the  fish ;  and  being  laid  in  a  dish,  pour  your 
butter  upon  it ;  and  strewing  it  plentifully  over  with  shaved 
horse-radish  and  a  little  pounded  ginger,  garnish  the  sides 
of  your  dish,  and  the  fish  itself,  with  a  sliced  lemon  or  two, 
and  serve  it  up. 

A  grayling  is  also  to  be  dressed  exactly  after  the  same 
manner,  saving  that  he  is  to  be  scaled,  which  a  trout  never 
is ;  and  that  must  be  done  either  with  one's  nails,  or  very 
lightly  and  carefully  with  a  knife,  for  fear  of  bruising  the 
fish.  And  note,  that  these  kinds  of  fish,  a  trout  especially, 
if  he  is  not  eaten  within  four  or  five  hours  after  he  be  taken, 
is  worth  nothing. 

But  come.  Sir,  I  see  you  have  dined  ;  and  therefore,  if 
you  please,  we  will  walk  down  again  to  the  little  house,  and 
there  I  will  read  you  a  lecture  of  angling  at  the  bottom. 


CHAPTER    XL 


[®|irl»  iag.] 


VlAT.  So,  Sir,  now  we  are  here,  and  set,  let  me  have  my 
instructions  for  angling  for  trout  and  grayling  at  the  bot- 
tom ;  which  though  not  so  easy,  so  cleanly,  nor  (as  't  is  said) 
so  genteel  a  way  of  fishing  as  with  a  fly,  is  yet,  if  I  mistake 
not,  a  good  holding  way,  and  takes  fish  when  nothing  else 
will. 

PiSC.  You  are  in  the  right,  it  does  so ;  and  a  worm  is  so 
sure  a  bait  at  all  times,  that,  excepting  in  a  flood,  I  would  I 
had  laid  a  thousand  pounds  that  I  killed  fish  more  or  less 
with  it,  winter  or  summer,  every  day  throughout  the  year ; 
those  days  always  excepted,  that  upon  a  more  serious  ac* 
count  always  ought  so  to  be.  But  not  longer  to  delay  you,  I 
will  begin,  and  tell  you,  that  angling  at  the  bottom  is  also 
commonly  of  two  sorts  ;  and  yet  there  is  a  third  way  of 
angling  with  a  ground-bait,  and  to  very  great  effect  too,  as 
shall  be  said  hereafter  ;  namely,  by  hand,  or  with  a  cork  or 
float.     That  we  call  angling  by  hand  is  of  three  sorts. 

UO  29 


450  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

The  first  with  a  Hne  about  half  the  length  of  the  rod,  a 
good  weighty  plumb,  and  three  hairs  next  the  hook,  which 
we  call  a  running-line,  and  with  one  large  brandling,  or  a 
dew-worm  of  a  moderate  size,  or  two  small  ones  of  the  first 
or  any  other  sort,  proper  for  a  trout,  of  which  my  father 
Walton  has  already  given  you  the  names,  and  saved  me  a 
labour;  or,  indeed,  almost  any  worm  whatever;  for  if  a  trout 
be  in  the  humour  to  bite,  it  must  be  such  a  worm  as  I  never 
yet  saw  that  he  will  refuse ;  and  if  you  fish  with  two,  you 
are  then  to  bait  your  hook  thus :  You  are  first  to  run  the 
point  of  your  hook  in  at  the  very  head  of  your  first  worm,  and 
so  down  through  his  body,  till  he  be  past  the  knot,  and  then 
let  it  out,  and  strip  the  worm  above  the  arming,  that  you 
may  not  bruise  it  with  your  fingers  till  you  have  put  on  the 
other,  by  running  the  point  of  the  hook  in  below  the  knot, 
upwards  through  his  body  towards  his  head,  till  it  be  but 
just  covered  with  the  head;  which  being  done,  you  are  then 
to  slip  the  first  worm  down  over  the  arming  again,  till  the 
knots  of  both  worms  meet  together. 

The  second  way  of  angling  by  hand,  and  with  a  running- 
line,  is  with  a  line  something  longer  than  the  former,  and 
with  tackle  made  after  this  same  manner.  At  the  utmost 
extremity  of  your  line,  where  the  hook  is  always  placed  in 
all  other  ways  of  angling,  you  are  to  have  a  large  pistol  or 
carabine  bullet,  into  which  the  end  of  your  line  is  to  be 
fastened  with  a  peg  or  pin,  even  and  close  with  the  bullet ; 
and,  about  half  a  foot  above  that,  a  branch  of  line,  of  two 
or  three  handfuls  long,  or  more  for  a  swift  stream,  with  a 
hook  at  the  end  thereof,  baited  with  some  of  the  fore-named 
worms,  and,  another  half  a  foot  above  that,  another  armed 
and  baited  after  the  same  manner,  but  with  another  sort  of 


I 


THIRD  DAY,  451 


worm,  without  any  lead  at  all  above  :  by  which  means  you 
will  always  certainly  find  the  true  bottom  in  all  depths ; 
which  with  the  plumbs  upon  your  line  above  you  can  never 
do,  but  that  your  bait  must  always  drag  whilst  you  are 
sounding  (which  in  this  way  of  angling  must  be  continually), 
by  which  means  you  are  like  to  have  more  trouble,  and 
peradventure  worse  success.  And  both  these  ways  of  ang- 
ling at  the  bottom  are  most  proper  for  a  dark  and  muddy 
water,  by  reason  that  in  such  a  condition  of  the  stream,  a 
man  may  stand  as  near  as  he  will,  and  neither  his  own 
shadow  nor  the  roundness  of  his  tackle  will  hinder  his  sport. 
The  third  way  of  angling  by  hand  with  a  ground-bait, 
and  by  much  the  best  of  all  other,  is  with  a  line  full  as  long, 
or  a  yard  and  a  half  longer  than  your  rod ;  with  no  more 
than  one  hair  next  the  hook,  and  for  two  or  three  lengths 
above  it ;  and  no  more  than  one  small  pellet  or  shot  for 
your  plumb  ;  your  hook,  little  ;  your  worms,  of  the  smaller 
brandlings,  veiy  well  scoured,  and  only  one  upon  your  hook 
at  a  time ;  which  is  thus  to  be  baited :  The  point  of  your 
hook  is  to  be  put  in  at  every  tag  of  his  tail,  and  run  up  his 
body  quite  over  all  the  arming,  and  still  stripped  on  an  inch 
at  least  upon  the  hair,  the  head  and  remaining  part  hanging 
downward ;  and  with  this  line  and  hook  thus  baited  you  are 
evermore  to  angle  in  the  streams,  always  in  a  clear  rather 
than  a  troubled  water,  and  always  up  the  river,  still  casting 
out  your  worm  before  you  with  a  light  one-handed  rod,  like 
an  artificial  fly;  where  it  will  be  taken  sometimes  at  the 
top,  or  within  a  very  little  of  the  superficies  of  the  water, 
and  almost  always  before  that  light  plumb  can  sink  it  to  the 
bottom,  both  by  reason  of  the  stream,  and  also,  that  you 
must  always  keep  your  worm  in  motion  by  drawing  still 

29 — 2 


452  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

back  towards  you,  as  if  you  were  angling  with  a  fly ;  and 
believe  me,  whoever  will  try  it,  shall  find  this  the  best  way 
of  all  other  to  angle  with  a  worm,  in  a  bright  water  espe- 
cially ;  but  then  his  rod  must  be  very  light  and  pliant,  and 
very  true  and  finely  made,  which,  with  a  skilful  hand,  will 
do  wonders,  and  in  a  clear  stream  is  undoubtedly  the  best 
way  of  angling  for  a  trout  or  grayling  with  a  worm,  by  many 
degrees,  that  any  man  can  make  choice  of,  and  of  most  ease 
and  delight  to  the  angler.  To  which  let  me  add,  that  if 
the  angler  be  of  a  constitution  that  will  suffer  him  to  wade, 
and  will  slip  into  the  tail  of  a  shallow  stream,  to  the  calf  of 
the  leg  or  the  knee,  and  so  keep  off  the  bank,  he  shall  almost 
take  what  fish  he  pleases. 

The  second  way  of  angling  at  the  bottom  is  with  a  cork 
or  float ;  and  that  is  also  of  two  sorts, — with  a  worm,  or 
with  a  grub  or  caddis. 

With  a  worm,  you  are  to  have  your  line  within  a  foot  or 
a  foot  and  a  half  as  long  as  your  rod ;  in  a  dark  water,  with 
two,  or  if  you  will  with  three,  but  in  a  clear  water,  never 
with  above  one  hair  next  the  hook,  and  two  or  three  for 
four  or  five  lengths  above  it,  and  a  worm  of  what  size  you 
please ;  your  plumbs  fitted  to  your  cork,  your  cork  to  the 
condition  of  the  river,  that  is,  to  the  swiftness  or  slowness 
of  it ;  and  both,  when  the  water  is  very  clear,  as  fine  as  you 
can  ;  and  then  you  are  never  to  bait  with  above  one  of  the 
lesser  sort  of  brandlings ;  or,  if  they  are  very  little  ones 
indeed,  you  may  then  bait  with  two,  after  the  manner  before 
directed. 

When  you  angle  for  a  trout,  you  are  to  do  it  as  deep,  that 
is,  as  near  the  bottom,  as  you  can,  provided  your  bait  do  not 
drag;  or  if  it  do,  a  trout  ^\\\  sometimes  take  it  in  that 


THIRD  DAY.  453 


posture  ;  if  for  a  grayling,  you  are  then  to  fish  farther  from 
the  bottom,  he  being  a  fish  that  usually  swims  nearer  to  the 
middle  of  the  water,  and  lies  always  loose ;  or,  however,  is 
more  apt  to  rise  than  a  trout,  and  more  inclined  to  rise  than 
to  descend  even  to  a  ground-bait. 

With  a  grub  or  caddis  you  are  to  angle  with  the  same 
length  of  line,  or  if  it  be  all  out  as  long  as  your  rod  it  is 
not  the  worse,  with  never  above  one  hair  for  two  or  three 
lengths  next  the  hook,  and  with  the  smallest  cork  or  float, 
and  the  least  weight  of  plumb  you  can  that  will  but  sink, 
and  that  the  swiftness  of  your  stream  will  allow  ;  which  also 
you  may  help,  and  avoid  the  violence  of  the  current,  by 
angling  in  the  returns  of  a  stream,  or  the  eddies  betwixt 
two  streams,  which  also  are  the  most  likely  places  wherein 
to  kill  a  fish  in  a  stream,  either  at  the  top  or  bottom. 

Of  grubs  for  a  grayling,  the  ash-grub,  which  is  plump, 
milk-white,  bent  round  from  head  to  tail,  and  exceeding 
tender,  with  a  red  head,  or  the  dock-worm,  or  grub  of  a  pale 
yellow,  longer,  lanker,  and  tougher  than  the  other,  with 
rows  of  feet  all  down  his  belly,  and  a  red  head  also,  are  the 
best ;  I  say,  for  a  grayling,  because  although  a  trout  will 
take  both  these,  the  ash-grub  especially,  yet  he  does  not  do 
it  so  freely  as  the  other,  and  I  have  usually  taken  ten  gray- 
lings for  one  trout  with  that  bait ;  though  if  a  trout  come, 
I  have  observed  that  he  is  commonly  a  very  good  one. 

These  baits  we  usually  keep  in  bran,  in  which  an  ash- 
grub  commonly  grows  tougher,  and  will  better  endure  bait- 
ing ;  though  he  is  yet  so  tender,  that  it  will  be  necessary 
to  warp  in  a  piece  of  a  stiff  hair  with  your  arming,  leaving 
it  standing  out  about  a  straw-breadth  at  the  head  of  your 
hook,  so  as  to  keep  the  grub  either  from  slipping  totally  off 


454  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 

when  baited,  or  at  least  down  to  the  point  of  the  hook  ;  by 
which  means  your  arming  will  be  left  wholly  naked  and 
bare,  which  is  neither  so  sightly  nor  so  like  to  be  taken ; 
though  to  help  that,  which  will  however  very  oft  fall  out,  I 
always  arm  the  hook  I  design  for  this  bait  with  the  whitest 
horse-hair  I  can  choose,  which  itself  will  resemble  and  shine 
like  that  bait,  and  consequently  will  do  more  good,  or  less 
harm,  than  an  arming  of  any  other  colour.  These  grubs 
are  to  be  baited  thus  :  The  hook  is  to  be  put  under  the  head 
or  chaps  of  the  bait,  and  guided  down  the  middle  of  the 
belly, — without  suffering  it  to  peep  out  by  the  way,  for  then 
the  ash-grub  especially  will  issue  out  water  and  milk,  till 
nothing  but  the  skin  shall  remain,  and  the  bend  of  the  hook 
will  appear  black  through  it, — till  the  point  of  your  hook 
come  so  low,  that  the  head  of  your  bait  may  rest  and  stick 
upon  the  hair  that  stands  out  to  hold  it ;  by  which  means 
it  can  neither  slip  of  itself,  neither  will  the  force  of  the 
stream,  nor  quick  pulling  out  upon  any  mistake,  strip  it  off. 

Now  the  caddis,  or  cod-bait,  which  is  a  sure  killing  bait, 
and,  for  the  most  part,  by  much  surer  than  either  of  the 
other,  may  be  put  upon  the"  hook,  two  or  three  together, 
and  is  sometimes,  to  very  great  effect,  joined  to  a  worm,  and 
sometimes  to  an  artificial  fly  to  cover  the  joint  of  your  hook  ; 
but  is  always  to  be  angled  with  at  the  bottom,  when  by 
itself  especially,  with  the  finest  tackle  ;  and  is  for  all  times 
of  the  year  the  most  holding  bait  of  all  other  whatever, 
both  for  trout  and  grayling. 

There  are  several  other  baits  besides  these  few  I  have 
named  you,  which  also  do  very  great  execution  at  the 
bottom,  and  some  that  are  peculiar  to  certain  countries  and 
rivers,  of  which  every  angler  may  in  his  own  place  make  his 


THIRD  DAY.  455 


own  observation  ;  and  some  others  that  I  do  not  think  fit 
to  put  you  in  mind  of,  because  I  would  not  corrupt  you, 
and  woiild  have  you,  as  in  all  things  else  I  observe  you  to 
be  a  very  honest  gentleman,  a  fair  angler.  And  so  much 
for  the  second  sort  of  angling  for  a  trout  at  the  bottom. 

VlAT.  But,  Sir,  I  beseech  you  give  me  leave  to  ask  you 
one  question :  is  there  no  art  to  be  used  to  worms,  to  make 
them  allure  the  fish,  and  in  a  manner  compel  them  to  bite 
at  the  bait  ? 

PiSC.  Not  that  I  know  of ;  or  did  I  know  any  such  secret, 
I  would  not  use  it  myself,  and  therefore  would  not  teach  it 
you.  Though  I  will  not  deny  to  you  that,  in  my  younger 
days,  I  have  made  trial  of  oil  of  osprcy,  oil  of  ivy,  camphire, 
assafoetida,  juice  of  nettles,  and  several  other  devices  that  I 
was  taught  by  several  anglers  I  met  with  ;  but  could  never 
find  any  advantage  by  them  ;  and  can  scarce  believe  there 
is  anything  to  be  done  that  way ;  though  I  must  tell  you,  I 
have  seen  some  men  who  I  thought  went  to  work  no  more 
artificially  than  I,  and  have  yet,  with  the  same  kind  of 
worms  I  had,  in  my  own  sight,  taken  five  and  sometimes 
ten  to  one.  But  we  '11  let  business  alone,  if  you  please  ;  and 
because  we  have  time  enough,  and  that  I  would  deliver  you 
from  the  trouble  of  any  more  lectures,  I  will,  if  you  please, 
proceed  to  the  last  way  of  angling  for  a  trout  or  grayling, 
which  is  in  the  middle ;  after  which  I  shall  have  no  more 
to  trouble  you  with. 

VlAT.  'T  is  no  trouble,  Sir,  but  the  greatest  satisfaction 
that  can  be ;  and  I  attend  you. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

mixi  iag.J 

PiSC.  Angling  in  the  middle,  then,  for  a  trout  or  grayling, 
is  of  two  sorts  :  with  a  penk  or  minnow  for  a  trout ;  or  with 
a  worm,  grub,  or  caddis  for  a  grayling. 

For  the  first.  It  is  with  a  minnow,  half  a  foot  or  a  foot 
within  the  superficies  of  the  water.  And  as  to  the  rest  that 
concerns  this  sort  of  angling,  I  shall  wholly  refer  you  to 
Mr.  Walton's  directions,  who  is  undoubtedly  the  best  angler 
with  a  minnow  in  England ;  only,  in  plain  truth,  I  do  not 
approve  of  those  baits  he  keeps  in  salt,  unless  where  the 
living  ones  are  not  possibly  to  be  had  (though  I  know  he 
frequently  kills  with  them,  and,  peradventure,  more  than 
with  any  other ;  nay,  I  have  see  him  refuse  a  living  one  for 
one  of  them),  and  much  less  of  his  artificial  one  ;  for  though 
we  do  it  with  a  counterfeit  fly,  methinks  it  should  hardly  be 

456 


THIRD  DAY,  4S7 


expected  that  a  man  should  deceive  a  fish  with  a  counterfeit 
fish.  Which  having  said,  I  shall  only  add  (and  that  out  of 
my  own  experience),  that  I  do  believe  a  bull-head,  with  his 
gill-fins  cut  off  (at  some  times  of  the  year  especially),  to  be 
a  much  better  bait  for  a  trout  than  a  minnow,  and  a  loach 
much  better  than  that ;  to  prove  which  I  shall  only  tell  you, 
that  I  have  much  oftener  taken  trouts  with  a  bull-head  or 
a  loach  in  their  throats,  for  there  a  trout  has  questionless 
his  first  digestion,  than  a  minnow ;  and  that  one  day 
especially,  having  angled  a  good  part  of  the  day  with  a 
minnow,  and  that  in  as  hopeful  a  day,  and  as  fit  a  water,  as 
could  be  wished  for  that  purpose,  without  raising  any  one 
fish,  I  at  last  fell  to  it  with  the  worm,  and  with  that  took 
fourteen  in  a  very  short  space  ;  amongst  all  which,  there 
was  not,  to  my  remembrance,  so  much  as  one  that  had  not 
a  loach  or  two,  and  some  of  them  three,  four,  five,  and  six 
loaches,  in  his  throat  and  stomach ;  from  whence  I  con- 
cluded that  had  I  angled  with  that  bait,  I  had  made  a 
notable  day's  work  of  it. 

But,  after  all,  there  is  a  better  way  of  angling  with  a 
minnow  than  perhaps  .is  fit  either  to  teach  or  to  practise  ; 
to  which  I  shall  only  add,  that  a  grayling  will  certainly  rise 
at  and  sometimes  take  a  minnow,  though  it  will  be  hard  to 
be  believed  by  any  one,  who  shall  consider  the  littleness  of 
that  fish's  mouth,  very  unfit  to  take  so  great  a  bait ;  but  it 
is  affirmed  by  many  that  he  will  sometimes  do  it ;  and  I 
myself  know  it  to  be  true  ;  for  though  I  never  took  a  gray- 
ling so,  yet  a  man  of  mine  once  did,  and  within  so  few  paces 
of  me,  that  I  am  as  certain  of  it  as  I  can  be  of  anything  I 
did  not  see,  and,  which  made  it  appear  the  more  strange, 
the  grayling  was  not  above  eleven  inches  long. 


458  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

I  must  here  also  beg  leave  of  your  master,  and  mine,  not 
to  controvert,  but  to  tell  him,  that  I  cannot  consent  to  his 
way  of  throwing  in  his  rod  to  an  overgrown  trout,  and  after- 
wards recovering  his  fish  with  his  tackle.  For  though  I  am 
satisfied  he  has  sometimes  done  it,  because  he  says  so,  yet 
I  have  found  it  quite  otherwise ;  and  though  I  have  taken 
with  the  angle,  I  may  safely  say,  some  thousands  of  trouts 
in  my  life,  my  top  never  snapt  (though  my  line  still  con- 
tinued fast  to  the  remaining  part  of  my  rod  by  some  lengths 
of  line  curled  round  about  my  top,  and  there  fastened,  with 
waxed  silk,  against  such  an  accident),  nor  my  hand  never 
slacked  or  slipped  by  any  other  chance,  but  I  almost  always 
infallibly  lost  my  fish,  whether  great  or  little,  though  my 
hook  came  home  again.  And  I  have  often  wondered  how 
a  trout  should  so  suddenly  disengage  himself  from  so  great 
a  hook  as  that  we  bait  with  a  minnow,  and  so  deep  bearded 
as  those  hooks  commonly  are,  when  I  have  seen  by  the 
forenamed  accidents,  or  the  slipping  of  a  knot  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  line,  by  sudden  and  hard  striking,  that  though 
the  line  has  immediately  been  recovered,  almost  before  it 
could  be  all  drawn  into  the  water,  the  fish  cleared  and  gone 
in  a  moment.  And  yet,  to  justify  what  he  says,  I  have 
sometimes  known  a  trout,  having  carried  away  a  whole  lire, 
found  dead  three  or  four  days  after,  with  the  hook  fast  stick- 
ing in  him  ;  and  then  it  is  to  be  supposed  he  had  gorged  it, 
which  a  trout  will  do,  if  you  be  not  too  quick  with  him  when 
he  comes  at  a  minnow,  as  sure  and  much  sooner  than  a 
pike;  and  I  myself  have  also,  once  or  twice  in  my  life, 
taken  the  same  fish,  with  my  own  fly  sticking  in  his  chaps, 
that  he  had  taken  from  me  the  day  before,  by  the  slipping 
of  a  hook  in  the  arming.     But  I  am  very  confident  a  trout 


THIRD  DAY,  459 


will  not  be  troubled  two  hours  with  any  hook  that  has  so 
much  as  one  handful  of  line  left  behind  with  it,  or  that  is 
not  struck  through  a  bone,  if  it  be  in  any  part  of  his  mouth 
only :  nay,  I  do  certainly  know,  that  a  trout,  so  soon  as 
ever  he  feels  himself  pricked,  if  he  carries  away  the  hook, 
goes  immediately  to  the  bottom,  and  will  there  root  like  a 
hog  upon  the  gravel,  till  he  either  rub  out  or  break  the 
hook  in  the  middle.  And  so  much  for  this  sort  of  angling 
in  the  middle  for  a  trout. 

The  second  way  of  angling  in  the  middle  is  with  a  worm, 
grub,  caddis,  or  any  other  ground-bait  for  a  grayling ;  and 
that  is  with  a  cork,  and  a  foot  from  the  bottom,  a  grayling 
taking  it  much  better  there  than  at  the  bottom,  as  has  been 
said  before  ;  and  this  always  in  a  clear  water,  and  with  the 
finest  tackle. 

To  which  we  may  also,  and  with  very  good  reason,  add 
the  third  way  of  angling  by  hand  with  a  ground-bait,  as  a 
third  way  of  fishing  in  the  middle,  which  is  common  to  both 
trout  and  grayling,  and,  as  I  said  before,  the  best  way  of 
angling  with  a  worm  of  all  other  I  ever  tried  whatever. 

And  now,  Sir,  I  have  said  all  I  can  at  present  think  of 
concerning  angling  for  a  trout  and  grayling,  and  I  doubt 
not  have  tired  you  sufficiently  ;  but  I  will  give  you  no  more 
trouble  of  this  kind  whilst  you  stay,  which  I  hope  will  be  a 
good  while  longer. 

VlAT.  That  will  not  be  above  a  day  longer  ;  but  if  I  live 
till  May  come  twelvemonth,  you  are  sure  of  me  again,  either 
with  my  master  Walton,  or  without  him  ;  and  in  the  mean- 
time shall  acquaint  him  how  much  you  have  made  of  me 
for  his  sake,  and  I  hope  he  loves  me  well  enough  to  thank 
you  for  it. 


46o 


THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER. 


PiSC.  I  shall  be  glad,  Sir-,  of  your  good  company  at  the 
time  you  speak  of,  and  shall  be  loth  to  part  with  you  now ; 
but  when  you  tell  me  you  must  go,  I  will  then  wait  upon 
you  more  miles  on  your  way  than  I  have  tempted  you  out 
of  it,  and  heartily  wish  you  a  good  journey. 


J 


APPENDIX  THE  LASX 


N  ro-a-o  '^  o\  -^  m  rn  I 


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tnvo  >0   txOO   On  O   H   N   •<*•  tOVO  00   O  m   O  ■ 


■*NO    0>  M     *  M  >0    O    "TO    "N    •>*•  N    lO  lO 


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0   O  O   O   O   M   M 


CO  fO  ■*  ■*  m^O    tvOO  00    ON  O 


I 


Useful  Recipes  for  Anglers. 

To  keep  moth  from  feathers  and  tackle, — Pepper  them  profusely 
and  keep  them  from  the  damp.  Tobacco-leaf  cut  small  and  dis- 
persed among  the  feathers  and  tackle  is  very  useful.  Put  no  faith 
in  camphor,  as  it  evaporates.  Turn  the  tackle  and  feathers  out,  and 
expose  them  to  the  air  once  or  twice  in  the  winter. 

Varnish  for  hooks  and  tackle. — Dissolve  shellac,  or  even  -jealing- 
wax,  in  double  the  bulk  of  spirits  of  wine ;  allow  it  to  dry  before 
using.     One  application  is  sufficient. 

Varnish  for  rods. — The  best  coachmakers'  varnish.  Two  coats, 
each  thoroughly  dried,  is  requisite. 

White  wax. — 2  oz.  of  best  resin,  \  oz.  of  bees-wax,  simmer  for 
ten  minutes  in  a  pipkin ;  add  \  oz.  of  tallow,  and  simmer  for  a 
quarter  of  an  hour ;  pour  the  whole  into  a  basin  of  water,  and  work 
it  about  with  the  fingers  till  it  is  tough  and  pliable. 

Liquid  7uax. — Dissolve  some  cobblers'  wax  in  spirits  of  wine; 
shake  up  before  using,  and  lay  it  on  the  silk  with  a  feather.  It  is 
capital  for  weak  or  frayed  silk,  as  the  spirit  evaporates  and  leaves 
the  wax  behind. 


Directions  for  Staining  Gimp. 


Soak  brass  gimp  in  a  solution  of  bichlorate  of  platinum,  mixed 
in  about  the  proportion  of  one  part  of  platinum  to  eight  or  ten  of 
water,  until  it  has  assumed  the  colour  desired.  This  will  take  from 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  to  two  or  three  hours,  according  to  the  strength 

463 


4^4  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 


of  the  solution,  then  dry  the  gimp  before  the  fire,  and,  whilst  wanu, 
with  a  brush,  give  it  a  coat  of  "lacquer." 

The  above  process  is  only  applicable  to  brass  gimp ;  copper  and 
silver  gimp  do  not  take  the  stain  properly. 


To  Stain  Gut  the  Colour  of  Weeds,  Water,  &c. 

Make  a  strong  infusion  of  onion  coatings,  and  when  quite  cold 
put  the  gut  into  it,  and  let  it  remain  until  the  hue  becomes  as  dark 
as  required.  A  strong  infusion  of  green  tea  will  dye  gut  a  useful 
colour. 

So  will  warmed  writing  ink ;  the  gut  to  be  steeped  in  it  a  few 
minutes,  and  immediately  afterwards  to  be  washed  clean  in  spring 
water.  You  will  obtain  another  good  colour  by  steeping  gut  for 
three  or  four  minutes  in  a  pint  of  boiling  water,  in  which  you  have 
put  a  teaspoonful  of  alum,  a  bit  of  logwood  the  size  of  a  hazel  nut, 
and  a  piece  of  copperas  the  size  of  a  pea.  To  make  your  gut  a 
water-colour,  take  a  teaspoonful  of  common  red  ink,  add  to  it  as 
much  soot,  and  about  a  third  of  a  teacupful  of  water ;  let  them 
simmer  for  about  ten  minutes ;  when  cool,  steep  your  line  until  it 
be  stained  to  your  fancy. 

This  is  a  very  good  colour  for  the  purpose,  but  should  be  applied 
gradually,  taking  out  your  gut  frequently  to  examine  the  depth  of 
the  tint,  lest  it  should  become  too  dark. 


Laws  and  Regulations  relating  to  Fishing. 


Any  person  being  armed  and  disguised,  and  who  shall  steal  or 
unlawfully  take  away  any  fish  out  of  a  river  or  pond,  or  maliciously 
break  down  and  destroy  the  mound  or  head  of  any  river,  whereby 
the  fish  shall  be  lost  or  destroyed,  or  shall  rescue  any  person  in 


•^ 


APPENDIX.  465 

custody  for  such  offence,  or  procure  another  to  assist  him  therein, 
shall  be  found  guilty  of  felony,  without  benefit  of  clergy. 

For  destroying  or  killing  fish  in  enclosed  ground,  being  private 
property,  a  penalty  of  five  pounds,  or  imprisonment  in  the  House 
of  Correction  for  not  exceeding  six  months. 

For  breaking  into  an  enclosed  or  private  ground,  and  stealing  or 
destroying  the  fish,  transportation  for  seven  years,  and  receivers  the 
same  punishment. 

No  persons  may  have  in  possession  or  keep  any  net,  angle  piche, 
or  other  engine  for  taking  fish,  but  the  makers  and  sellers  thereof, 
and  the  owner  or  renter  of  a  river  fishery,  except  fishermen  and 
their  apprentices,  legally  authorized,  in  navigable  rivers  ;  and  the 
owner  or  occupier  of  the  said  river  may  seize,  and  keep,  and  convert 
to  his  own  use,  every  net,  &c.,  which  he  shall  discover  laid  or  used 
or  in  the  possession  of  any  person  thus  fishing  without  his  consent. 

Damaging  or  intmding,  by  using  nettrices,  fish-hooks,  or  other 
engines  to  catch  fish,  w^ithout  consent  of  the  owner  or  occupier, 
subjects  the  party  thus  trespassing  to  any  amount  of  fine  the  magis- 
trate or  justice  orders,  provided  it  exceeds  not  treble  the  damages, 
and  to  a  further  fine,  not  exceeding  ten  shillings,  for  ihe  use  of  the 
poor  of  the  parish,  or  imprisonment  in  the  House  of  Correction, 
not  exceeding  one  calendar  month,  unless  he  enters  into  a  bond, 
with  one  surety,  in  a  sum  not  exceeding  ten  pounds,  not  to  offend 
again ;  and  the  justice  may  cut  or  destroy  the  net,  &:c. 

If  any  person  unlawfully  or  maliciously  cut,  break  down,  or  de- 
stroy any  head  or  dam  of  a  fish-pond,  or  unlawfully  fish  therein,  he 
shall,  at  the  prosecution  of  the  king  or  the  owner,  be  imprisoned 
three  months,  or  pay  treble  damages,  and  after  such  imprisonment, 
shall  find  sureties  for  seven  years'  good  behaviour,  or  remain  in 
prison  till  he  doth. 

To  prevent  the  fish  in  the  Thames  from  being  improperly  de- 
stroyed, the  30th  of  George  11.  enacts  that  no  person  shall  fish, 
or  endeavour  to  take  fish,  in  the  said  river  between  London  Bridge 
and  Richmond  Bridge,  with  other  than  lawful  nets  : — 

For  salmon,  not  less  than  6  inches  in  the  mesh. 

80 


466  THE  COMPLETE  ANGLER, 

For  pike,  Jack,  perch,  roach,  chub,  and  barbel,  with  a  flew  or 
stream  net,  of  not  less  than  3  inches  in  the  mesh  throughout,  with 
a  facing  of  7  incht  s  and  not  more  than  16  fathoms  long. 

For  shads,  not  less  than  2\  inches  in  the  mesh. 

For  flounders,  not  less  than  2\  inches  in  the  mesh,  and  not  more 
than  1 6  fathoms  long. 

For  dace,  with  a  single  play  net,  of  not  less  than  2  inches  in  the 
mesh,  and  not  more  than  13  fathoms  long,  to  be  worked  by  floating 
only,  with  a  boat  and  a  buoy. 

For  smelts,  with  a  net  of  not  less  than  \\  inches  in  the  mesh, 
and  not  of  greater  length  than  16  fathoms,  to  be  worked  by  float- 
ing only,  with  a  boat  and  a  buoy ; 

Under  the  penalty  of  paying  and  forfeiting  the  sum  of  five  pounds 
for  every  such  offence. 

No  fish  of  any  of  the  sort  hereinafter  mentioned  may  be  caught 
in  the  Thames  or  Medway,  or  sold,  or  exposed  to  or  for  sale,  if 
caught  in  the  Thames  or  Medway  : — 

No  salmon  of  less  weight  than  six  pounds. 

No  trout  of  less  weight  than  one  pound. 

No  pike  or  Jack  under  12  inches  long  from  the  eye  to  the  length 
of  the  tail. 

No  perch  under  8  inches  long. 

No  flounder  under  7  inches  long. 

No  sole  under  7  inches  long. 

No  plaice  or  dab  under  7  inches  long. 

No  roach  under  8  inches  long. 

No  dace  under  6  inches  long. 

No  smelt  under  6  inches  long. 

No  gudgeon  under  5  inches  long. 

No  whiting  under  8  inches  long. 

No  barbel  under  12  inches  long. 

No  chub  under  9  inches  long ; 

Under  pain  to  forfeit  five  pounds  for  every  such  offence. 

Salmon  and  trout  may  be  taken  only  from  25  th  January  to  loth 
September, 


APPENDIX.  4^7 


Pike,  Jack,  perch,  roach,  dace,  chub,  barbel,  and  gudgeon  may 
be  taken  between  ist  July  and  ist  March. 

Bottom-fishing  is  prohibited  in  the  river  Thames,  as  far  as  the 
Corporation  of  London  has  jurisdiction,  from  the  ist  March  to  the 
ist  June. 

The  right  of  fishing  in  the  sea,  and  in  all  rivers  where  the  tide 
ebbs  and  flows,  is  a  right  common  to  all  the  king's  subjects. 

Any  person  or  persons  considering  themselves  wronged  or  ag- 
grieved by  any  decision  against  them  by  the  magistrate  or  justice, 
may  appeal  against  it  at  the  quarter  sessions. 


Protection  of  Preserves. 

"  That  no  person  shall  fish  with  any  sort  of  well,  reel,  night-hook, 
any  other  device,  except  by  angling  in,  or  make  use  of  any  net, 
engine,  or  device  to  drive  the  fish  out  of  any  place  which  shall  be 
staked  by  order  of  the  Lord  Mayor  of  the  City  of  London  for  the 
time  being,  as  conservator  aforesaid,  for  the  preservation  of  the 
fishery,  and  whereof  notice  shall  be  stuck  up  in  some  public  place 
of  the  town  or  village  next  adjoining  to  the  place  or  places  so 
ordered  to  be  staked ;  and  that  no  person  shall  take  up  or  remove 
any  stake,  burr,  boat,  or  anything  which  shall  have  been  driven 
down  or  sunk  in  any  such  place  as  aforesaid,  upon  pain  to  forfeit 
and  pay  from  time  to  time  the  sum  of  five  pounds  for  every  offence 
or  breach  of  any  part  of  this  order  " — City  Ordinance,  Mem.  44. 


PRINTED   BY  DAI.ZIEL   BROTHERS,   CAMDEN   PRESS,    LONDON,  N.W. 


14  DAY  USE 

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