among sportsmen, the art of fishing with a rod, to which are fitted a line, hook, and bait. See **FISHING-Rod**, **FISHING-Hook**, **FISHING-Fly**.

The angler's first business is to attract the fish to the place intended for angling. The method of doing this, in standing waters, by throwing in grains, chopped worms, and the like, is well known; but the chief difficulty is in running rivers and brooks. The method, in this case, is to prepare a tin box capable of holding some hundreds of worms, bored on all sides, and full of holes of such a size as they may be just able to crawl out at; there must be a plummet fastened to this box to sink it, and a line to draw it back at pleasure; in this case it is to be thrown into the water in a proper place, above which the angler may stand under cover. The worms will slowly and gradually crawl out of this box, and the fish will be gathered about to feed on them; the baited hook is to be thrown in higher up and carried down by the stream. If this method do not bring the fish about the place in a little time, there is reason to suspect that some pike lies lurking thereabout, and deters them: in this case, it is proper to throw out a baited hook, and he will generally be taken; after this the attempt will succeed.

When the angler takes his stand, he is to shelter himself under some tree or bush, or stand so far from the brink of the water that he can only discern his float; as the fish are timorous and easily frightened away. The angling rod must be kept in a moderate state, neither too dry nor too moist: in the first case, it will be brittle; in the other, rotten. When pastes are used, it is proper to mix a little tow with them, and rub them over with honey; finally, a small anointing with butter is of great use to keep them from washing off the hook. The eyes of any fish that is taken are an excellent bait for almost any other kind of fish. The best way of angling with the fly is down the river, and not up; neither need the angler ever make above half a dozen of trials in one place, either with fly or ground bait, when he angles for trout: by that time the fish will either offer to take, or refuse the bait and not stir at all.

In a pond, the best place for the angler to take his stand is usually that where the cattle go up into water: in rivers, if brems are fished for, it should be in the deepest and most quiet places; if eels, under the banks of rivers that hang over; perch are to be expected in clean places, where the stream is swift; and chub in deep shaded holes: roach are mostly found where the perch are, and trout only in swift and clear streams. Places where there are many weeds, or old stumps of trees, harbour fish in great numbers, and they usually bite freely there; but there is danger of entangling the line, or fastening the hook to the weeds. In case of this accident, recourse is to be had to a ring of lead, of about six inches round, fastened to a small pack-thread: this ring is to be thrust over the rod, and let fall into the water. It will descend to the place where the hook is entangled; and then, by pulling the pack-thread gently, the hook will be soon disengaged; or at the worst it can only be broke off near the end of the line; whereas, when this is not employed, the rod itself is sometimes broken, or the line nearer its upper end.

Deep waters are best for angling in, for the fish do not love to be disturbed by wind and weather.

The openings of sluices and mill dams always bring fish up the current to seek for the food which is brought with the stream; and angling in these places is usually successful.

The best season is from April to October; for, in very cold stormy weather, the fish will not bite; the best times of the day are from three till nine in the morning, and from three in the afternoon till sunset. In an easterly wind, there is never much sport for the angler; the southerly winds are the best for his purpose, and a warm but lowering day is most of all to be chosen; a gentle wind, after a sudden shower, to disturb the water, makes a very good opportunity for the angler: the cooler the weather in the hottest months, the better; but in winter, on the contrary, the warmer the day the better. A cloudy day, after a bright moonlight night, is always a good day for sport; for the fish do not care for going after prey in the bright moonshine, and are therefore hungry the next morning.

Those who are fond of angling might save themselves some fruitless trouble, by observing when small fish in a jar take or refuse food. See Fish.

The several methods of angling for salmon, trout, carp, tench, perch, pike, dace, gudgeon, roach, flounder, &c., may be seen under the article Fishing.