The Field Book: or, Sports and pastimes of the United Kingdom: compiled from the best authorities, ancient and modernMaxwell, W. H. (William Hamilton)
History
The Field Book: or, Sports and pastimes of the United Kingdom: compiled from the best authorities, ancient and modern
Maxwell, W. H. (William Hamilton)
Amusements -- Great Britain; Sports -- Dictionaries; Sports -- Great Britain
The chub does not afford the angler so much diversion as the trout, from
being so dull a fish on the hook, and when once struck becoming soon
tired; but he bites so eagerly, that, when he takes the bait, his jaws
are heard to chop like those of the dog, and having a very wide leather
mouth, and his teeth in his throat, there is little danger of his
breaking hold; to fish for him, the angler should have a stout long rod,
a strong line (if he uses a reel he will be enabled the better to fish
under bushes) with a yard or more of the best silk-worm-gut at bottom, a
hook proportioned to the bait used, a swan-quill float, and the line so
shotted, eight or ten inches from the hook, as to sink the float to a
quarter of an inch above the surface; the same ground-bait to be used as
for the carp, and the hook baited with a sufficient quantity of salmon’s
roe (boiled a little) to fill up the bend properly; this rightly done is
a tempting bait. The large ones are to be caught by dibbing, very early
in the morning, with the brown beetle or cockchafer: by day-break the
angler should be at the river, and after baiting his hook, let him move
it two or three times near the surface, as in the act of flying; then
let it softly drop on the water, shaking the rod gently, which will
cause the appearance of its struggling to escape: this attracts the
chub, who are so fond of this bait that they will rise two or three at a
time to seize it; the landing-net in this fishing should never be
forgotten, as the places most likely for success in taking chub, are
those where the angler cannot get to the water-side to land them with
his hands.
Another way of dibbing is in a hot summer day with a grasshopper. In any
hole where they haunt, many of them will be seen basking themselves near
the surface; the rod must be both long and of considerable strength; the
line strong, and in length about a yard. Bait the hook with a
grasshopper, and the angler must conceal himself behind some bush or
tree, and remain as motionless as possible, for the chub is so fearful,
that the smallest shadow of a bird flying over, or of the rod, makes him
sink to the bottom, but he will soon rise again. Having selected the
largest chub, let him move the rod with great slowness and caution, and
drop the bait gently upon the water, three or four inches before it, and
he will infallibly take it: there is no danger of securing the chub, if
allowed play enough before it is attempted to be taken out, being one of
the leather-mouthed fishes, wherein a hook seldom loses its hold.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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