Robert Venables

“ Give all fish time to gorge the bait, and be not over hasty, except you angle with such tender baits as will not endure nibbling at, but must upon every touch be struck at, as sheep’s blood and flies, which are taken away at the first pull of the fish, and therefore enforce you, at the first touch, to try your fortune. ”

“ The cheapness of the recreation abates not its pleasure, but with rational persons heightens it; and if it be delightful the charge of melancholy falls upon that score, and if example, which is the best proof, may sway any thing, I know no sort of men less subject to melancholy than anglers; many have cast off other recreations and embraced it, but I never knew any angler wholly cast off, though occasions might interrupt, their affections to their beloved recreation ”

“ These weary spent men, drawn on by their eagerness to this skirmish, forgot that thirst, which, so soon as the pursuit was over, they fainted under; many, both men and horse, dying on the place for very thirst. Venables, being much endangered at this action in the route of the forlorn, was earnestly entreated and pressed by the officers not to hazard himself so again, but to march with the body. ”

“ But here I must premise, that it is much better to learn how to make a fly by sight, than by any written direction that can possibly be expressed, in regard the terms of art do in most parts of England differ, and also several sorts of flies are called by different [13] names; some call the fly bred of the water cricket or creeper a May-fly, and some a stone-fly; some call the cad-bait fly a May, and some call a short fly, of a sad golden green colour, with short brown wings, a May-fly: and I see no reason but all flies bred in May, are properly enough called May-flies. ”

“ You may also in the night angle for the Trout with two great garden worms, hanging as equally in length as you can place them on your hook; cast them from you as you would cast the fly, and draw them to you again upon the top of the water, and not suffer them to sink; therefore you must use no lead this way of angling; when you hear the fish rise, give some time for him to gorge your bait, as at the ground, then strike gently. If he will not take them at the top, add some lead, and try at the ground, as in the day time; when you feel him bite, order yourself as in day angling at the ground. ”

“ In general, all sorts of flies are very good in their season, for such fish as will rise at the fly, viz. Salmon, Trout, Umber, Grayling, Bleak, Chevin, Roach, Dace, &c. Though some of these fish do love some flies better than other, except the fish named, I know not any sort or kind that will ordinarily and freely rise at [10] the fly, though I know some who angle for Bream and Pike with artificial flies, but I judge the labour lost, and the knowledge a needless curiosity; those fish being taken much easier, especially the Pike, by other ways. ”

“ Keep the sun, and moon, if night, before you, if your eyes will endure, which I much question, at least be sure to have those planets on your side, for if they be on your back, your rod will with its shadow offend much, and the fish see further and clearer, when they look towards those lights, than the contrary; as you may experiment thus in a dark night, if a man come betwixt you and any light, you see him clearly, but not at all if the light come betwixt you and him. ”

“ Let me add this only, that some flies have forked tails, and some have horns, both which you must imitate with a slender hair fastened to the head or tail of your fly, when you first set on your hook, and in all things, as length, colour, as like the natural fly as possibly you can: the head is made after all the rest of the body, of silk or hair, as being of a more shining glossy colour than the other materials, as usually the head of the fly is more bright than the body, and is usually of a different colour from the body. ”

“ There are two ways of fishing for Eels, proper and peculiar to that fish alone; the first is termed by some, angling for Eels, which is thus: take a short strong rod, and exceeding strong line, with a little compassed, but strong hook, which you must bait with a large well-scoured red worm, then place the end of the hook very easily in a cleft of a stick, that it may very easily slip out; with this stick and hook thus baited, search for holes under stones, timbers, roots, or about flood-gates; if there be a good Eel, give her time, and she will take it ”

“ The spawn of some fish is a good bait, to be used at such time as that fish is spawning: some days before they spawn they will bite eagerly; if you take one that is full-bellied, take out the spawn, boil it so hard as to stick on your hook, and so use it; or not boil it at all, the spawn of Salmon is the best of all sorts of spawn. ”

“ This part of our discourse being a discovery of the several places or rivers each kind of fish do most haunt or covet, and in which they are ordinarily found.
The several sorts of rivers, streams, soils, and waters they most frequent, is a matter, in this under-valued art, of no small importance; for if you come with baits for the Trout, or Umber, and angle for them in slow muddy rivers or places, you will have little, if any sport at all: and to seek for Carp or Tench in stony swift rivers, is equally preposterous ”

“ I would persuade all that love angling, and desire to be complete Anglers, to spend some time in all sorts of waters, ponds, rivers, swift and slow, stony, gravely, muddy and slimy; and to observe all the differences in the nature of the fish, the waters and baits, and by this means he will be able to take fish where ever he angles; otherwise, through want of experience, he will be like [47] the man that could read in no book but his own: besides, a man, his occasions or desires drawing him from home, must only stand as an idle spectator, whilst others kill fish, but he none ”

“ Further, these delights are often prejudicial to the husbandman in his corn, grass and fences; but in this pleasant and harmless Art of Angling a man hath none to quarrel with but himself, and we are usually so entirely our own friends, as not to retain an irreconcilable hatred against ourselves, but can in short time easily compose the enmity ”

“ When you angle for Chevin, Roach, or Dace, with the fly, you must not move your fly swiftly; when you see the fish coming towards it, but rather after one [12] or two short and slow removes, suffer the fly to glide gently with the stream towards the fish; or if in a standing or very slow water, draw the fly slowly, and not directly upon him, but sloping and sidewise by him, which will make him more eager lest it escape him; for, should you move it nimbly and quick, they will not, being fish of slow motion, follow as the Trout will. ”

“ When rivers after rain do rise, yet so as that they keep within their banks, in swift rivers the violence of the stream forces the fish to seek shelter and quiet ease; in the little and milder currents of small brooks, where they fall into larger rivers, and behind the ends of bridges that are longer than the breadth of the river, making a low vacancy, where the bridge defends a small spot of ground from the violence of the stream, or in any low place near the river’s side, where the fish may lie at rest, and secure from the disturbance of the rapid stream ”

“ The Salmon takes the artificial fly very well; but you must use a troll, as for the Pike, or he, being a strong fish, will hazard your line, except you give him length: his flies must be much larger than you use for other fish, the wings very long, two or four, behind one another, with very long tails; his chiefest ground-bait a great garden or lob-worm. ”

“ Commissioner Winslow came ashore to press for a third attempt, which the officers of the army would not be persuaded to undertake; for they all, with one consent, declared they would not lead on their men, saying, they would never be got to march up to that place again; or if they did, they would not follow them to a charge, but they freely offered to regiment themselves, and to live and die together. ”

“ The Chevin or Chub, all sorts of earth-worms, bob, the minnow, flies of all sorts, cad-bait, all sorts of worms bred on herbs and trees, especially oak-worms, young frogs, wasps, bees, or grasshoppers, on the top of the water; cheese, grain, beetles, a great brown fly that lives on the oak, black snails, their bellies slit that the white appear; he loves a large bait, as a wasp, colwort-worm, and then a wasp altogether. ”

“ A little before any fish spawn, your own observation will inform you of the time, by the fulness of their bellies, they come into the gravely, sandy fords, to rub and loosen their bellies, and then they bite very freely. ”

“ Fish are frightened with any the least sight or motion, therefore by all means keep out of sight, either by sheltering yourself behind some bush or tree, or by standing so far off the river’s side, that you can see nothing but your fly or float; to effect this, a long rod at ground, and a long line with the artificial fly, may be of use to you. And here I meet with two different opinions and practises, some will always cast their fly and bait up the water, and so they say nothing occurs to the fish’s sight but the line ”

“ A Chevin loves to have several flies, and of divers sorts, on the hook at once, and several baits also at once on the hook, as a wasp and colwort-worm, or an old wasp, and young dore, or humble, when his wings and legs are grown forth, or a fly and cad-worm, or oak-worm. ”

“ I expect not that this under-valued subject, though it propound delight at an easy rate, will meet with any other entertainment than neglect, if not contempt, it being an art which few take pleasure in, nothing passing for noble or delightful which is not costly; as though men could not gratify their senses, but with the consumption of their fortunes. ”

“ Fish rise best at the fly, after a shower that has not mudded the water, yet has beaten the gnats and flies into the rivers; you may in such a shower observe them rise much, if you will endure the rain; also the best months for the fly, are March, April, May, and part of June; in the cooler months, in the warmest time of the day; or in warm weather, about nine in the morning, [52] three in the afternoon, if any gentle gale blow; sometimes in a warm evening, when the gnats play much. ”

“ When any clouds arise, that will certainly bring a shower or storm, though in the midst of Summer, they will not bite: I have observed, that though the fish bite most eagerly, and to your heart’s content, yet upon the first appearing of any clouds, that will certainly bring rain, though my own judgment could not then apprehend, or in the least conjecture, that a storm was arising, they have immediately left off biting ”

“ I apprehend that to be the cause, as in great droughts fish bite but little in any river, but not at all in slimy rivers, in regard the mud is not cooled by the constant and swift motion of the river, as in gravelly or sandy rivers, where, in fit [19] seasons, they rise most freely, and bite most eagerly, save as before in droughts, notwithstanding at that season some sport may be had, though not with the fly, whereas nothing at all will be done in muddy slow rivers. ”

“ Let the Angler’s apparel be sad dark colours, as sad grey’s, tawny, purple, hair, or musk colour.
2. Use shoe-maker’s wax to your silk or thread, with which you make or mend either rod or fly; it holds firmer, and sticks better than any other.
3. Into such places as you use to angle at, once a week at least, cast in all sorts of corn boiled soft, grains washed in blood, blood dried and cut into pieces, snails, worms chopped small, pieces of fowl, or beast’s guts, beast’s livers; for Carp and Tench you cannot feed too often, or too much; this course draweth the fish to the place you desire. ”

“ For the attaining of such ends which our desires propose to themselves, of necessity we must make use of such common mediums as have a natural tendency to the producing of such effects as are in our eye, and at which we aim; and as in any work, if one principal material be wanting, the whole is at a stand, neither can the same be perfected: so in Angling, the end being recreation, which consisteth in drawing the fish to bite, that we may take them ”

“ Sometimes they change their fly; though not very usual, twice or thrice in one day; but ordinarily they do not seek another sort of fly till they have for some days even glutted themselves with a former kind, which is commonly when those flies die and go out. Directly contrary to our London gallants, who must have the first of every thing, when hardly to be got, but scorn the same when kindly ripe, healthful, common, and cheap; but the fish despise the first, and covet when plenty, and when that sort grow old and decay, and another cometh in plentifully, then they change ”