Trout and Perch Fishing Techniques

gut-trace mentioned in Chapter II., with the hanging ** Field" lead; but for smaller rivers a trace as given in the annexed drawing, with the ** Field" lead on the gut, will be found very useful. In small, clear rivers, such as the Colne, none but the very finest gut should be used for the flights of hooks and traces, which should have less shots in proportion ; in such streams three or four will be quite sufficient. The flights of hooks used for Trout and Perch are precisely the same as those men- tioned in Chapter 11. for Jack ; the only differ- ence being, that they must be made very small, and on fine gut, to suit the baits, which vary from two and a half to three and a half inches in length. And here I may mention that it is no uncommon occurrence to take at the Thames weirs Chub of three to five or six 72 . HAWKER'S TACKLE. pounds weight, with the spinning-bait. Large Barbel will also occasionally take a spinning- bait beneath the foam, and the eddies and corners of the weirs should be carefully spun for Perch. The Water-witch, mentioned on page 20, mounted on gut, to carry a minnow or small gudgeon, will be found a first-rate Trout tackle. There is another spinning tackle, known as ** Hawker's Tackle," it is in this form : a large and fine minnow trolling hook, No. i size, is whipped to a length of gut ; about half an inch, or rather more, from the end of the shank of this is whipped a lip-hook, size No. 8 ; and to the lip-hook and length of gut is also fastened a short piece of gut of sufficient length A to reach to the end of the large hook. small triangle is now whipped to the end of the short piece, and the tackle is completed by looping the long gut. To bait it, the point of the large hook is in- serted in the mouth of a large, bright minnow, which is now to be threaded up the hook, the point of which is to be brought out at the centre of the tail. The minnow is now to be pressed into natural form on the hook with the thumb and finger ; the small lip-hook is run through both lips, and the bait is com- pleted for use by sliding down the gut a small hollow lead cap, of a sugarloaf shape, which fits close on the nose of the minnow. FRANCIS' TACKLE FRANCIS TACKLE. 73 The triangle on the short gut flies loose over the tail. The only fault of this tackle is that the young angler will find some little difficulty at first in placing the bait neatly on it ; otherwise it is excellent, as no weight is required on the trace. An improvement on this is the old pattern ** Francis " tackle, a drawing of which is annexed. The large hook is attached to a baiting-needle, which is then entered in the centre of the tail of a minnow or other small fish, and brought out again at the mouth ; the gut being brought through till the large hook is entirely inside the minnow, the tail of which thus receives its proper curve. Remove the needle, and pass the long gut through the small loops on the lip-hook, which being run through both lips will cause the bait to appear much the same as ** Hawker's," but without the lead cap. No. 8, at page 22, is baited thus : the lead is pushed down the throat of the minnow, the lip-hook is passed through both lips, and the first triangle is fixed in the back, just beyond the dorsal fin, so as to make the bait spin. The baits for small streams may be either minnows, or small, bright gudgeons. I prefer the latter, as they spin better and last longer, whereas the minnows soon tear, and become useless. For larger streams I prefer a small bleak, which has, when properly placed on the hooks. " 74 ARTIFICIAL BAITS, ETC. a very bright and star-like appearance in the water, although, like the minnow, it soon wears out, unless used with great care. The bait should be placed on the hooks with a scrupulous regard to its spinning truly, as I have always found that the better the bait spins, the better the Trout likes it, and, as a matter of course, the greater the chance of success. All the artificial baits mentioned in Chapter III. may be used for Trout and Perch, when made on a small scale, and mounted on gut. The artificial minnow, spinning by means of the pectoral fin, and mounted on gut in a similar manner to the one described at page 24, I have found the most successful, killing with it large Trout and Perch, when they had decidedly refused the natural bait. The ''Devon," '' Angel,'' or ' Totness minnow is a metal bait, sometimes used en- tirely bright for coloured water, or with the back painted brown for bright streams. It WHERE TO FIND TROUT. 75 will be noticed that the bait is divided lengthways in the hinder half, the two flying- triangles projecting on either side through the division. The bait being loose on the mounting, when a fish is struck it will often be found that the bait is blown up the line, leaving the hooks alone in the mouth of the Trout. They are made in various sizes, some being half the size of the drawing, for use in small brooks. The swivel is just inside the mouth of the bait, but it is better to have two or three more on the regular gut trace. Trout delight in swift clear streams running over gravelly bottoms, but are more frequently found by the side of the stream, in the eddies, than in the midst of it. Tumbling bays and mill tails are also their favourite haunts. The larger Trout often lay beneath hollow banks in the deepest parts of the river. The junction of rapids, caused by the water washing round an obstruction in the midst of the stream, is a likely place to run a Trout ; the largest Perch also are found in eddies near a rapid current. All Trout have their own haunt or place of retreat, generally some large stone or root of a tree ; each fish appearing to possess its own special portion of the stream, and rarely tres- passing on that belonging to a neighbour. When one of these sections becomes vacant, a fresh occupant soon takes possession, and thus it is that an angler knowing a river, and aware 76 TROUT FISHING. of the position of these haunts, has such a decided advantage over another without such knowledge, however skilful he may be in other respects. The colours of Trout will vary in the same waters ; those that lie hidden under cover of the trees, or beneath overhanging banks and bushes, are much darker and yellower than those that are found in the unshaded stream with clear sandy bottom, which are altogether as silvery and bright. In some rivers they rarely exceed a couple of pounds in weight, but in some of the Welsh and Irish lakes they grow to a great size. A distinguished member of another branch of the Trout family, Salmo /erox, which weighed thirty-nine pounds and a half, was taken in the River Awe in 1866; in many of the Scotch lochs they run very large, and are principally taken with the spinning-bait. The Thames still contains splendid Trout of great weight, but these are getting every year more and more scarce and shy ; the old weirs with their plank aprons, under which they used to live, are being exchanged for concrete and stone, and the want of these old covers and hiding-places, together with the clearance of many old stumps and roots, has considerably injured the Thames as a home for large Trout; and although the stock of small ones is constantly receiving additions in the shape of importations from High Wycombe and else- where, still these are not the old veritable ; TROUT FISHING. 77 Thames Trout, our friends of years gone by. My largest weighed nearly thirteen pounds, but they are occasionally taken of much greater weight. One was taken in May 1863, in Marlow Weirpool, weighing fifteen pounds another, of fourteen pounds, at Teddington Weir, in 1869. If the water should be clear, and you should be able to see a Trout come at the bait, do not hurry, but continue to spin steadily, so as not to check the pace at which the bait is travelling, or the Trout may suspect something wrong, and stop short. Observe not to strike until you feel that he has taken the bait, and then you will probably do so instinctively ; so that it is somewhat superfluous to tell you, as one writer does, to strike a second time to make sure ; the first strike will generally hook your fish, but the second strike will, in all probability, either break the gut or your hooks, if these be fine. When hooked, keep a steady gentle strain on your fish, giving line only when necessary ; but be prepared for a rush if the Trout is a large one and the stream sharp. Get below your fish if possible, as nothing is so likely to cause you to lose a fish as to allow him to pull away from you down-stream with his head up and towards you. As he rushes away, hold him gently but firmly, not straining on him too much ; after checking him a few times when you find his struggles becoming weaker, guide him within reach of 78 TROUT FISHING. the landing-net, and be careful to use this gently, so as not to frighten your fish at the last moment when you might possibly not be prepared for a violent plunge ; but sinking your net, bring him quietly over it, then lift it steadily and secure your prize. Before closing this chapter on Trout-fishing, I must remark that there is a great deal more necessity for attention to the colour of one's clothes when angling than many people seem to imagine. Of all the senses of a Trout, that of sight is I am quite sure the most acute. I have noticed this continually ; once, I remember, when fishing in the Lea with a friend, we observed a nice fish of about four pounds weight lying close to the wall on the apron of a weir, over which very little water was running, but there he lay waiting for insects dropping from the overhanging bushes or stray minnows wandering from home. Telling my friend to watch his movements, I crossed the weir bridge, crouching so that I could not see him ; but still he saw me, owing to the refraction of the rays of light, and, slipping back almost imperceptibly, he gradually reached the edge of the apron and slowly sank into the deep. Another time, I was using an artificial minnow in a mill-tail, standing behind a low fence and fishing over. Knowing what an extremely likely hiding-place for a good fish is formed by the long wooden apron, with ; TROUT FISHING. 79 its partially decayed planking under which the Trout lie perdues, I dropped my minnow lightly in close to a pile at the end of the sill, and drawing it rather sharply past, out came a spotted beauty of over five pounds weight, who at the same moment caught sight of either me or my rod. Back he darted; but leaving him a short time to recover his equanimity, I tried him again, with the same result, no less than five times ; at the sixth time, either his hunger had increased, or he was becoming used to the occasional sight of the rod, for he forgot his prudence, and gave a thoroughly ferocious snap at my poor little minnow, but, much to his disgust, instead of taking the minnow, the minnow took him, and his happy hunting-grounds knew him no more. Never wear any clothes for fishing that are -- of a decidedly striking colour, a tall black or white hat is certainly not to be recommended a suit of dark grey or neutral tint is preferable. If you are fishing a small stream, take advantage of every bush at the side of the water which will afford you any cover; or if there is nothing of the kind, stoop or crawl as well as you can, so as to keep out of range of the Trout's vision. A friend of mine who used to fish a small Welsh stream which in parts was not much -- wider than a ditch, could catch more Trout and -- those of far larger size than any one else who fished the same water, simply through paying 8o TROUT FISHING. attention to this rule. He used a rather long, light, and stiff rod, with fine line, and a small Totnes minnow. Instead of walking direct up to the river, knowing where the holes were, he would crawl up on his hands and knees till within reach of the water ; then, dropping the bait gently above the hole, he would draw it sufficiently sharp down-stream to spin it properly, and used to catch Trout from parts of the brook that many others would have passed. For the same reason of keeping out of sight as much as possible, practise throwing your spinning bait, if fishing from a punt, whilst -- sitting down, not on a chair like a Roach- -- fisher, but seat yourself on the well, and spin carefully, right and left, over every likely bit of ripple or eddy where a fish might be expected to be waiting for food. If you have a punt- man with you who is up to his work, he will manage the punt without splashing and disturbing your fish, but will drop you down a yard or two at a time, by means of the weight and line, whilst you spin on either side, till you reach within a convenient distance of any spot where you know a fish is usually to be found, or has been seen to feed : then wait for your fish, trying for him steadily and carefully. Be on the watch for any other stray fish that may be about, and take notice of his haunts and times of feeding, for use on another occasion, so as to know how to approach with- ; TROUT FISHING. 8l out being too much exposed to the sight of the Trout. On the last day of the Trout season in the Thames 1877, I was landing a Pike on one side of the river, when I saw the rise of a Trout under the opposite bank some distance down. Punting across, we dropped quietly under the bank till we got immediately above where my spotted friend had just been chasing We the small fry. kept there perfectly still for about half an hour, till he fed again and then over he rolled within three yards of the punt, a bright little beauty of about five pounds. Again he came up a little further off, driving a fish ; but although I threw at him with a spinning-bait, hitting him on two occa- sions, he was too intent on his own fish, and eventually secured it ; so after devoting close upon two hours to him, I was reluctantly obliged to forego the pleasure of landing what would have formed a very good wind-up to the Trout season of 1877. The Dace [Leuciscus vulgaris). Live-baiting for Trout is occasionally practised with some amount of success in the 6 ; 82 LIVE-BAITING FOR TROUT. A Thames and other large rivers. small lively dace or bleak is used, on a propor- tionately small ** Otter" snap mounted on gut ; this is used according to circumstances, either with or without a float. If a float is -- used, it must be very small just sufficiently large to keep the bait at about the requisite depth; one of the ** Pilot" floats mentioned at page 38 will be large enough for the pur- pose. The running-line must be very fine, so as to sink as little as possible; and the bait should be allowed to work down-stream to where a Trout has been noticed feeding. It is then manipulated about the place in as attrac- tive and skilful a manner as possible. On hooking the Trout, keep your line clear, in readiness for a rush, and do not hold him too tightly. I must confess, however, that I do not admire the idea of live-baiting for Trout years ago such a style of fishing was only practised sub rosd. But times have altered since then, and it is now considered almost as legitimate as spinning. I cannot even now forget a remark I heard nearly thirty years since, from one of the old school of Thames puntmen : speaking in a disparaging manner of a confrere, he said, ^'Why, sir, he takes " most of his Trout with a live-bait ! The Perch is such a well-known fish as hardly to need a description. He is a thick broad fish with a hog-back, head rather small in proportion, and a large mouth well furnished SPINNING FOR PERCH. 83 With small teeth in addition to those in the throat. The tail and ventral fins are a bright vermilion in colour; the pectoral and dorsal fins are brown. There are two fins on the back, the one nearer the head being armed with strong spikes, extremely sharp at the points, which it erects when alarmed or attacked. The angler, therefore, should be careful not to have his hands pricked by any of these points when unhooking a Perch : I have known it to have, occasionally, extremely unpleasant, not to say rather dangerous results. The Perch is covered with strong scales, and is of a bronzy green on the back and sides, down which are several dark stripes reaching from the back nearly to the belly. As regards his habits, he is socially gregarious, and remarkably imitative in the matter of taking a bait. Perch are to be found in the eddies of weirs and mill-tails, also in deep holes about bridges. Close to the camp-sheeting at the side of a weir, or in the backwater at the foot of the spurs of it, will be found good places to use the spinning-bait .taking care, however, not to ; let the undercurrent carry the bait under the sill of the weir. As regards artificial baits, a very small spoon is often successful, but I prefer a minnow, or small artificial parr. For catching minnows for bait, the minnow-trap will be found very useful ; consisting of a very clear wide-mouthed glass bottle, over the mouth of which is fitted a movable cap of 84 MINNOW TRAP. perforated zinc, through which the stream runs, agitating- a small bunch of scarlet worsted suspended inside. The minnows being thus attracted, collect about the end of the bottle, working their way into the interior through a small opening in the centre of the bottom of the bottle. Bearing in mind the inquisitive nature of minnows, and how they usually swim in shoals, you will in a very short time, if in a favourable position, have a few dozens in the trap. Remove the zinc cap, take out the minnows, refix the cap, and it is A again ready for work. description of the minnow-trap is also given in the Rev. J. J. Manley's capital work ** Fish and Fishing," and a drawing of it in use will be found in my ** Modern Angler." 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