Encyclopaedia Britannica > Volume 3, Anatomy-Astronomy

160 ANGLING.
Angling, as that used in snap-fishing is of the largest and strongest
kind. “ This hurried and unsportsman-like way of taking
fish,” it is observed in the Trailer s Guide, “ can only
please those who value the game more than the sport af¬
forded by killing a jack or pike with tackle which gives
the fish a chance of escaping, and excites the angler’s
skill and patience, mixed with a certain pleasing anxiety,
and the reward of his hopes. Neither has the snap-fisher
so good a chance of success, unless he angles in a pond or
piece of water where the jack or pike are very numerous
or half starved, and will hazard their lives for almost any
thing that comes in their way. But in rivers where they
are well fed, worth killing, and rather scarce, the coarse
snap-tackle, large hooks, &c. generally alarm them. On
the whole, I think it is two to one against the snap in most
rivers; and if there are many weeds in the water, the
large hooks of the snap, by standing rank, are continu¬
ally getting foul, damaging the bait, and causing much
trouble and loss of time.”
Pike sometimes rise at an artificial fly, especially in
dark, windy days. The fly ought to be dressed upon
a double hook, and composed of very gaudy materials.
The head is formed of a little fur, some gold twist, and
(if the angler’s taste inclines that way, for it is probably
a matter of indifference to the fish) two small black or
blue beads for eyes. The body is framed rough, full, and
round, the wings not parted, but made to stand upright
on the back, with some small feathers continued down
the back to the end of the tail, so that when finished they
may exceed the length of the hook. The whole should
be about the bulk of a wren. The largest pike ever killed
in Britain was taken with a peacock-feather fly in Loch
Ken, near New Galloway. It weighed 72 pounds.1
During clear and calm weather in summer and autumn,
pike take most freely about three in the afternoon: in
winter they may be angled for with equal chances of suc¬
cess during the whole day: early in the morning and late
in the evening are the periods best adapted for the spring.
The Carp. (Cyprinus Carpio.)
This fish, like the preceding, is asserted to have been
introduced into England by Leonard Mascal, a gentleman
of Sussex, early in the 16th century; and in good com¬
pany, if there is truth in the old distich,
Turkies, carps, hops, pickerell, and beer.
Came into England all in one year.
The carp is, however, mentioned as a dayntous fysshe,
though scarce, by Juliana Barnes, in the year 1496. It
attains to a prodigious size in the waters of the south of
Europe, and in the Lake of Como is said sometimes to
weigh 200 pounds. It breeds more freely in ponds than
in rivers, although those of the latter are more esteemed.
Angling for carp requires, according to Walton, “ a very
large measure of patience.” The haunts of this fish in
the winter months are the broadest and least disturbed
parts of rivers, where the bottom is soft and muddy; but
in summer it usually lies in deep holes, near some scour,
under roots of trees, and beneath hollow banks, or in the
neighbourhood of beds of aquatic weeds. In ponds they
thrive best in a rich marl or clayey soil, where they have
the benefit of shade from an overhanging grove of trees.
Small carp bite eagerly, but the larger and more experi¬
enced fish are deceived with difficulty. The rod should
be of good length, the line strong, furnished with a quill
float, and ending in a few lengths of the best silk-worm
gut. The hook is proportioned to the size of the bait, and
a single shot is fixed about 12 inches above it. “ Three
rods,” says Daniel, “ may be employed; one with the bait Anglinu
at mid-water, another a foot or less from the bottom, and^"v~v_
the third to lie upon it when the line and lead are not
discovered, as in the two former; the places intended to
be fished in should, the night before, be ground-baited with
grains, blood, and broken worms, incorporated together
with clay, the hook baits should be red worms taken out
of tan, flag or marsh-worms, green peas so boiled as to
soften, but not to break the skin, and throwing some in now
and then. When this bait is used (which should be with
one on the hook to swim a foot from the ground), in case
of a bite, strike immediately; a large carp, upon taking
the bait, directly steers for the opposite side of the river
or pond.”2 During hot weather, when these fish are about
to spawn, and whilst lying among the weeds near the sur¬
face, they may be angled for with a fine line, without
either sink or float. The hook may be baited with a red
worm, a pair of gentles, a caterpillar, or a cad bait, and
thrown lightly as in fly-fishing, and then drawn towards
the angler. If it can be made to fall first upon the leaf of
some water plant, and then dropped upon the surface, the
chance of success will be increased. The best months are
May, June, and July, and the most advisable times of the
day are from sunrise to eight in the morning, and from
sunset during the continuance of twilight, and onwards
through the night. It is the opinion of many, though we
cannot trace the origin of the idea, no doubt an erroneous
one, that the 10th of April is a fatal day for carp.
The Bream. {Cyprinus Brama.)
This fish breeds both in deep, slow-running rivers, and
in ponds. It prefers the latter. The most enticing bait
is a well-conditioned earthworm, although the angler also
uses paste made of bread and honey, wasp grubs, grass¬
hoppers, Ac. Boiled wheat serves well for ground-baiting
the spot on the preceding nights, and some fasten a num¬
ber of worms to a piece of turf, and sink it to the bottom.
When the ground has been thus prepared, and the tackle
put in order, the angler should commence his labours by
three or four in the morning. Let him approach the
place with caution, so as not to be perceived by the
fish, and cast his hook neatly baited with a live and mov¬
ing worm, in such manner that the lead may lie about
the centre of the prepared ground. The bream is a strong
fish, and runs smartly when first struck; but after a few
turns he falls over on his side, and allows the angler to
land him without much trouble. He is by no means so
lively as the carp. The best hours for bream are from
four till eight in the morning, and from four in the after¬
noon till eight in the evening. In the river Trent, near
Newark, there are two kinds of bream. The common
species is that called the carp bream, from its yellow
colour; and it sometimes attains the weight of eight pounds.
The other species or variety, regarded by Mr Revett
Shepherd as a nondescript, never exceeds a pound in
weight. It is of a silvery hue, and is known by the name
of white bream.3 The bream, though rare in Scotland,
occurs in Loch Maben.
The Tench. {Cyprinus Tinea.')
This species is a lover of still waters, and his haunts
in rivers are among weeds, or pools well screened by
bushes. Tench are found spawning from June till Septem¬
ber, and they are in the best condition from the latter
month till the end of May. The tackle should be strong,
with a swan or goose-quill float for ponds, and a piece of
cork for rivers. The hook (in size from No. 4 to 6) should
1 Daniel’s Rural Sports, vol. ii. p. 275.
* Ibid. p. 257.
J Linn. Trans, vol. xiv. p. 587-