The chief addition to the angling portion deals with "the way to take a Salmon": : I will now shew you the way to take a Salmon. The first thing you must gain must be a rod of some ten foot in the stock, that will carry a top of six foot pretty stiffe and strong, the reason is, because there must be a little wire ring at the upper end of the top for the line to run through, that you may take up and loose the line at your pleasure; you must have your winder within two foot of the bottom to goe on your rod made in this manner, with a spring, that you may put it on as low as you please. The Salmon swimmeth most commonly in the midst of the river. In all his travells his desire is to see the uppermost part of the river, travelling on his journey in the heat of the day he may take a bush; if the fisherman espy him, he goeth at him with a speare, so shortneth his journey. The angler that goeth to catch him with a line and hook, must angle for him as nigh the middle of the water as he can with one of these baits: He must take two lobworms baited as handsomely as he can, that the four ends may hang meet of a length, and so angle as nigh the bottom as he can, feeling your plummet run on the ground some twelve inches from the hook: if you angle for him with a flie (which he will rise at like a Trout) the flie must be made of a large hook, which hook must carry six wings, or four at least; there is judgement in making those flies. The Salmon will come at a Gudgeon in the manner of a trouling, and cometh at it bravely, which is fine angling for him and good. You must be sure that you have your line of twenty six yards of length that you may have your convenient time to turne him, or else you are in danger to lose him: but if you turn him you are very like to have the fish with small tackles: the danger is all in the running out both of Salmon and Trout, you must forecast to turn the fish as you do a wild horse, either upon the right or the left hand, & wind up your line as you finde occasion in the guiding the fish to the shore, having a good large landing hook to take him up. The fish being killed, if it be not boyled well, then all your labour and pains is lost. At the time at which I am writing, a correspondence is being carried on in the columns of The Fishing Gazette, under the heading, "When was the Dry Fly First Described"; it might appear from the following lines that the merits of the floating fly were not unknown to Barker : Once more, my good brother, Ile speak in thy eare, But alwayes remember make two and make all. I think, however, that Barker here refers to the fly floating in the water, and not upon the surface of the water. Appended to the book is the following epistle to his "Noble Lord," in which for the first time in angling literature the so-called "Heresy of the Salmon Roe" is described :- NOBLE LORD,-I have found an experience of late, which you may angle with, and take great store of this kind of fish: first it is the best bait for a Trout that I have seen in all my time, and will take great store, and not faile, if they be there. Secondly, it is a speciall bait for Dace, or Dare, good for Chub, or Bottlin, or Grayling. The bait is a roe of a Salmon, or Trout, if it be a large Trout, that the spawnes be any thing great. You must angle for the Trout with this bait as you angle with the brandlin, taking a paire of cisers and cut so much as a large Hasel nut, and bait your hook, so fall to your sport, there is no doubt of pleasure. If I had known it but twenty years agoe I would have gained a hundred pounds onely with that bait. I am bound in duty to your Honour, and not to carry it to my grave with me. I do desire that men of quality should have it that delight in that pleasure: The greedy Angler will murmur at me, but for that I care not. For the angling for the scale-fish, they must angle either with cork or quill, plumming their ground, and with feeding with the same bait, taking them asunder that they may spread abroad that the fish may feed and come to your place, there is no doubt of pleasure angling with fine Tackles, as single haire lines at least five or six length long, a small hook with two or three spawns, the bait will hold one week. If you keep it on any longer, you must hang it up to dry a little: when you go for your pleasure again, put the bait in a little water it will come in kind again. Sic vale feliciter THOMAS BARKER. |