THE THIRD DAY.

(Continued.)

CHAPTER XII.

OF ANGLING IN THE MIDDLE FOR TROUT OR GRAYLING.

Pisc. Angling in the middle, then, for trout or grayling, is of two sorts; with a penk or minnow for a trout; or with a worm, grub, or cadis, 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 direction,' 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 seen 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 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 bullhead, 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

1 See Part I. Chap. V. page 135. 2 Ib. page 136.

3 Ib. page 137.

3

4 Artificial fish are now so well made, that in spinning they are by many preferred, especially in slightly discoloured water. They spin better, and will take a great many fish before they are injured, which is a great convenience.-ED.

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 concluded, that had I angled with that bait, I had made a notable day's work of 't.

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 'tis affirmed by many, that he will sometimes do it, and I myself know it to be true: for though I never took a grayling 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 any thing I did not see; and, which made it appear the more strange, the grayling was not above eleven inches long.

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 afterwards 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 snapped (though my line still continued 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

1 See Part I. Chap. V. page 166.

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 fore-named 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 was gone in a moment. And yet, to justify what he says, I have sometimes known a trout, having carried away a whole line, found dead three or four days after, with the hook fast sticking in him: but 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 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, cadis, 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

1 The grass-hopper is an excellent bait for grayling.-ED.

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.

Viat. 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 meantime 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.

Pisc. I shall be glad, sir, of your good company at the time you speak of, and shall be loath 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.