Live Fly Bait

You must for this kind of Angling, have a tolerably strong Rod and tackle, you may begin trolling about the middle of March, and continue to the end of October.

The very best of fish are taken with the Minnow, it is an active bait to fish with. When the water is in order, that is, after it is a little swollen and discoloured by recent rain, it frequently proves a most destructive bait, and will take Salmon as well as Trout.

Those Anglers who are desirous of a few good fish, will find it their interest to use it on every suitable occasion, independent of the good fish to be had with it, it is next to fly fishing, the most animating and exciting method of angling.

To make your Minnow spin well, one or two swivels should be used, attached to the gut, which should be about a yard in length and of fine and good quality. In fishing the Natural Minnow with two hooks, one of them must be large enough to pass through the body of the bait, going in at the mouth, and passing out at the tail; the other, rather larger than a May-fly hook, should go through the under, and pass out at the upper lip.

In trolling with only two hooks, be careful to give your fish time to gorge, otherwise by striking too quickly, you will miss your prize by pulling the bait out of his mouth. With three or more hooks, which is termed fishing at snap, you cannot strike too soon as the fish is generally caught by one of the loose hooks.

If the fish you have hooked be not too heavy, the best plan is to land him at once by a quick and sudden jerk. In fishing the Minnow, if in still, deep water, let it sink a little at first, then draw it quickly towards you, making the bait spin well and briskly, which is effected by the swivel.

MAGGOTS

Maggots make a very efficient bait; when sufficiently large they are an excellent bait for Trout; preserve them in tin case (with holes to admit air,) filled with bran, where they will scour a trifle and keep alive some days; when you fish with them, use a Palmer sized hook, and a single No. 5 shot corn, and when the water is as low or almost as much so as it well can be, your gut need not be leaded at all.

The best for Spring fishing are the Marl or Meadow worms, the Gilt Tail, the Squirrel Tail and the Brandling, are excellent in Summer. A Lob Worm well scoured is a good bait early in the morning, either in Spring or Summer.

When you fish with the Brandling, it is a killing way to have two on your hook, letting the head of the second Brandling hang a little way over the tail of the first, or you may put heads and tails together; always procure your worms, and put them to some good moss, some time before you want them; after three or four days, by adopting this method, they will be clean, bright and tough; a glazed earthen jar is the best thing to keep them in, and in Summer set your jar in as cool a place as possible; by attention in changing your moss every fourth day, or so, you may preserve and keep your worms a long time.

Moss from heaths and waste lands, is the best you can get; always be careful to pick from the moss all blades of grass, leaves, or adhering dirt. Put your worms into water if you want them scoured quickly, and let them remain in it for twenty minutes or half an hour, they come out in an exhausted state, but soon recover on being put into good clean moss.

As I have observed elsewhere, it is the eye and not the sense of smell (if they have any) which guides, influences, and directs fish in their choice of food.

You may breed worms in abundance by the aid of decayed vegetables and leaves, mixed with marl or any kind of soil; the Brandling or Red Worm are found in Pig's and other dung, also in Tanner's bark.

Salmon Roe fish bait is such a destructive bait for nearly all kinds of fish, and Trout in particular, that I know nothing comparable to it. It is moreover a bait requiring but little skill in the use of it. After a flood, and before the water clears, is the best time for fishing with Roe. Log, or still water having a gravelly, or sandy bottom, is the place to be selected, and you may use three or four stiff rods, placed at convenient distances from each other. You can also have floats if you like, by doing so you will immediately perceive when you have a bite.

It is a good plan previous to casting in your lines, to sound the depth of the water, which you may do easily enough with a string leaded for the purpose; because, it is of material consequence that your Roe should lie at, or very near the bottom of the water. A hook about the size of a Limerick May fly hook, is quite large enough to put your roe on, which should be in regard to size about that of a French Bean or marrow fat Pea.

Salmon Roe is cured and preserved by spreading it upon thin layers of cotton wool, pack the layers on each other and cover them tightly up, so as to exclude air; glazed jars covered with bladder over the tops of them are the best to keep your Roe in.

When you want to use it, mix the Roe with a little wheaten flour and gum water, to cause adhesion to the hook.

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