CHAP. V.
OF ALL SORTS OF BAITS FOR EACH KIND OF FISH, AND HOW TO FIND AND KEEP THEM.
SALMON
The Salmontakes the artificial fly very well; but you must use a troll, as for the Pike, or he, being a strong fish, will hazard your line, except you give him length: his flies must be much larger than you use for other fish, the wings very long, two or four, behind one another, with very long tails; his chiefest ground-bait a great garden or lob-worm.
TROUT
2. TheTrouttakes all sorts of worms, especially brandlings; all sorts of flies, the minnow, young frogs, marsh-worm, dock-worm, flag-worm, all sorts of cad-bait,bob, palmers, caterpillars, gentles, wasps, hornets, dores, bees, grasshoppers, cankers, and bark-worm; he is a ravenous, greedy fish, and loveth a large bait at ground, and you must fit him accordingly.
GRAYLING
3. TheUmber, orGrayling, is generally taken with the same baits as the Trout; he is an eager fish, biteth freely, and will rise often at the same fly, if you prick him not.
BARBEL
TheBarbelbites best at great red worms, well scoured in moss; gentles, cheese, or paste, made of cheese with suet, maggots, and red worms; feed much for this fish.
CARP
4.CarpandTenchlove the largest red worms, the
TENCH
especially if they smell much of tar; to which end you may, some small time before you use them, take so many as you will use at that time, and put them by themselves in a little tar, but let them not lie long lest it kill them; paste also of all sorts, made with strong-scented oils, tar, bread, grain boiled soft, maggots, gentles, marsh-worm, flag-worm, especially; feed much and often for these fish.
PIKE
ThePiketakes all sorts of baits, save the Fly, Gudgeon, Roach, Dace,
LOACH
and young frogs in Summer. You may halter him thus: fasten a strong line with a snare at the end of it to a pole, which if you go circumspectly to work, he will permit you to put it over his head, and then you must by strength, hoist him to land.
EEL
Eelstake great red worms, beef, wasps, guts of fowls, and the minnow. Bait night-hooks for him with small Roach, the hook must lie in the mouth of the fish, as for the Pike; this way takes the greatest Eels.
GUDGEON
7. TheGudgeon,Ruff, andBleak, take the smallest red worms, cad-bait, gentles, and wasps. TheBleaktakes the natural or artificial fly, especially in the evening.
8. TheRufftaketh the same baits as thePearch, save that you must have lesser worms, he being a smaller fish.
ROACH
9. ForRoachandDacetake small worms, cad-bait, flies, bobs, sheep’s blood, small white snails, all sorts of worms bred on herbs or trees, paste, wasps, and gnats.
TheBleakis an eager fish, and takes the same baits as theRoach, only they must be less. You may angle for him with as many hooks on your line at once, as you can conveniently fasten on it.
10. TheChevinorChub, all sorts of earth-worms, bob, the minnow, flies of all sorts, cad-bait, all sorts of worms bred on herbs and trees, especially oak-worms, young frogs, wasps, bees, or grasshoppers, on the top of the water; cheese, grain, beetles, a great brown fly that lives on the oak, black snails, their bellies slit that the white appear; he loves a large bait, as a wasp, colwort-worm, and then a wasp altogether.
BREAM
11. TheBreamtakes red worms, especially those that are got at the root of a great Dock, it lies wrapped up in a knot, or round clue; paste, flag-worms, wasps, green-flies, butter-flies, or a grasshopper, his legs being cut off.
12.Flounder,Shad, andMullet, love red worms of all sorts, wasps, and gentles.
As for theMinnow,Loach,Bull-head, or
MILLER’S THUMB
being usually children’s recreation, I once purposed to have omitted them wholly, but considering they often are baits for better fish, as Trout, Pike, Eel, &c. Neither could this discourse be general, if they were omitted; and though I should wave mentioning them, yet I cannot forget them, who have so often vexed me with their unwelcome eagerness; for the
MINNOW
will have a part in the play, if you come where he is; which is almost every where, you need not seek him: I find him much oftener than I desire, it is only in deep still places which he least frequents, and is not over curious in his baits; any thing will serve that he can swallow, and he will strain hard for what he cannot gorge: but chiefly likes small red worms, cad-bait, worms bred on trees, and wasps.
TheLoachandBull-headare much of the same diet; but their principal bait is small red worms.
Having spoken before of pastes, I shall now shew how you may make the same; and though there be as many kinds as men have fancies, yet I esteem these best.
1. Take the tenderest part of the leg of a young rabbit, virgin wax, and sheep’s-suet; beat them in a mortar till they be perfectly incorporated, then with alittle clarified honey, temper them before the fire into a paste.
2. Sheep’s-kidney suet, as much cheese, fine flower or manchet, make it into a paste; soften it with clarified honey.
3. Sheep’s blood, cheese, fine manchet, clarified honey; make all into a paste.
4. Sheep’s blood, saffron, and fine manchet; make all into a paste.
You may add to any paste, coculus-indiæ, assa-fœtida, oil of polipody of the oak, of lignum vitæ, of ivy, or the gum of ivy dissolved: I judge there is virtue in these oils, and gum especially, which I would add to all pastes I make, as also a little flax to keep the paste, that it wash not off the hook.