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ANGLING OR HOW TO ANGLE, AND WHERE TO GO BY ROBERT ,BLAKEY L- - AUTHOR OF 'THE HISTORY OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE MIND," "SHOOTING," ETC. ETC. '^ ^£&j ®iritbtr foxt^ IlIustrHtimts BOWNESS & BOWNESS, GEORG dTisfitng UdH ^ Cacfele SONS MAKERS, NEW 230, STRAND, LONDON. From BELL YARD. BOOKS FOR THE COUNTRY PIGEONS, and RABBITS. By E. S. Del.-im«r. THE SHEEP. By W. C. L. Martin. THE HORSE. By Cecil. BEES. By the Rev. J. G. Woods. CAGE SINGING BIRDS. By H. G. Adami THE PIG. By Samuel Sidney. •'CONTENTS. PART I.-HOW TO ANGLE. 'CAr. PAOB I.—INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS 1 II.—ON TACKLE AND BAIT FOR ANGLING .... 6 III.—OF THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF FISH—THE SALMON . 27 IV.—THE TROUT 37 v.—THE PIKE 63 YL—THE GRETLINQ 66 VII.—THE PERCH 68 VIIL—THE CARP 71 IX.—THE TENCH AND BARBEL 75 X.—THE CHUB, BREAM, AND ROACH 79 XL—THE GUDGEON, DACE, AND EEL 85 XII.—THE CHAR, BLEAK, LAMPREY, LOACH, MINNOW, RDFF, ETC. 90 XIII.—LAWS AND REGULATIONS FOR TAKING FISH . .91 PART II.-WHERE TO GO. CnAP. JfAfiB I.—ENGLAND AND WALES 95 II.—SCOTLAND 140 [II.—IRELAND 156 [V.—CONTINENTAL STATES 172 ANQLING REGISTER FOKM ...«.• 188 .4 N G L I N G. PART L—HOW TO ANGLE. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. THI, art of angling is one of tte most ancient amusements and practices of which we have any record ia the history of the human lamiLy. We read of it in the Old Testament; and in the records of ancient Egypt, Assyria, and the whole of the eastern section of the globe, once the seat of powerful empires, and of a civilized people, we have innumerablp testimonies in their several sepulchral and architectural remains, that angling—as we angle at this day— was an art well known, and generally practised, both as an amuse­ ment, and as a means of support. In the polished aud literary states of Greece and Rome we have stUl more pointed and irre­ fragable testimony of the high antiquity of the art. The bucolic writers of Greek poetry descant upon the subject in a variety of forms ; while graver tiistorians among that singular and enlightened people dwell upon the art as one firrmy embedded in the permanent customs and habits of the nation. The literature of Rome like­ wise porti'ays the existence of the gentle art among the warlike conquerors of the world. Not only formal works were composed on the subject, but we find that the classic poets, both serious and comic, mate many direct allusions to the amusement of the rod fisher, and to the fish he was in the habit of catching. Erom the Christian era, and during the first centuries of the decline of Roman power and conquest, we find that angling con­ tinued to be one of the common pursuits of many nations, then in a state of transition from barbarism to refinement and knowledge. Phny wrote on fish; and Ausonius, between the third and fourth century, expatiates ^vith rapture on the abundance of fine sahnon that were caught in the " blue MoseUe;" a river in France, that AitGLDJG. flows into the Rhine on the northern frontier of the country. The old chroniclers and scholastic writers often mention the piscatory art; and the Church, then in fuU power, took the subject of fish generaUv under its own guidance, and regulated both the sport in taking them, and the using of them for food. In every country in Europe^ where any degree of progress had been made in learning and civilization during the middle ages, we find numerous traces of fishermen and their labours, even long before the art of piinting became known and practised. It is now an established fact, admitted Ly aU writers, that the English nation has been, from the earliest days of its history, the most distinguished and zealous propagators of the art of rod- fishing. And it is interesting to remark, in passing, that the historical memorials we possess, of the state oi the angling art among the Anglo-Saxon tribes who first settled in this country, throw a great hght on the origin of this striking predilection for the sport. The Anglo-Saxons, we are told, ate various kinds of fish, but the eel was a decided favourite. Ihey used these fish as abundantly as swine. Grants and charters are sometimes regulated by payments made in these fish. Eour thousand eels were a yearly present from the monks of Ramsay to those of Peterborough. We read of two places purchased for twenty-one pounds, wherein sixteen thousand of these fish were caught every jear; and, in one charter, twenty fishermen are stated, who furmshed, during the same period, sixty thousand eels to the monastery. Eel dykes are often mentioned m the boundaries of their lands.* In the dialogues of Elfric, composed for the use of the Anglo- Saxon youth in the learning of the Latin tongue, we find frequent mention made of fishermen, and matters relating to their craft. In one dialogue the fisherman is asked, "What gettest thou by thine art ? " " Big loaves, clothing, and money." " How do you take them ?" "I ascend a ship, and cast my net into the river; I also throw in a hook, a bait, and a rod." " Suppose the fishes are unclean?" "I throw the unclean out, and take the clean for food." " Where do you sell your fish ? " "In the city." " "VVho buys them?" "The citizens; I cannot take so many as I can sell." " "What fishes do you take ? " " Eels, haddocks, minnows, and eel-pouts, skate, and lampreys, and whatever swims in the rivers." " "VVhy do you not fish in the sea ?" " Sometimes I do; but rarely, because a great ship is necessary here."t The historian Bede teUs us^ that Wilfrid rescued the people o£ Sussex from famine in the eighth century, by teaching them to «!atch fish: " for though the sea and their rivers abounded with fish, they had no more skill in the art than to take eels.