Title: A Treatyse of Fysshynge wyth an Angle - Being a facsimile reproduction of the first book on the - subject of fishing printed in England by Wynkyn de Worde - at Westminster in 1496
Author: Berners, Juliana
Language: English
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A Treatyse of Fysshynge wyth an Angle, by Dame Juliana Berners



_COMPANION VOLUME TO THE “TREATYSE OF FYSSHYNGE WYTH AN ANGLE.”_

In the Press, and shortly will be Published, uniform with “The
Treatyse of Fysshynge wyth an Angle,”

_A FACSIMILE OF_

THE BOOK OF SAINT ALBANS,

BY DAME JULIANA BERNERS.

CONTAINING THE

_TREATISES ON HAWKING, HUNTING, AND HERALDRY_.

PRINTED AT ST. ALBANS BY THE SCHOOLMASTER-PRINTER IN 1486.

_With an Introduction by_ WILLIAM BLADES, _Author of the “Life and
Typography of Caxton.”_


printed on rough hand-made paper similar to that of the original,
and will be bound in handsome contemporary binding. The interest and
value of this reproduction will be greatly enhanced by Mr. BLADES’
Preface, which treats at length, in separate chapters, of the
AUTHORSHIP, TYPOGRAPHY, BIBLIOGRAPHY, SUBJECT-MATTER, and PHILOLOGY
of the Work.

As THE BOOK OF SAINT ALBANS is the Work in which THE TREATYSE OF
FYSSHYNGE WYTH AN ANGLE was incorporated on its first publication,
its possession by the Subscribers to the latter should be secured, in
order to complete the set of “dyuerse bokys concernynge to gentyll
and noble men.”

A full Prospectus concerning the publication of “The Book of Saint
Albans” will be sent on application to

ELLIOT STOCK, 62 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON, E.C.



[Illustration]

A Treatyse of Fysshynge wyth an Angle.

[Illustration]



 A TREATYSE OF FYSSHYNGE WYTH AN ANGLE

 BY

 DAME JULIANA BERNERS:

 BEING A _FACSIMILE_ REPRODUCTION OF THE FIRST BOOK ON THE
 SUBJECT OF FISHING PRINTED IN ENGLAND BY

 WYNKYN DE WORDE

 AT WESTMINSTER IN 1496.

 With an Introduction by
 REV. M. G. WATKINS, M.A.

 [Illustration]

 ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW,
 LONDON, E.C.
 1880


[Illustration]



 Preface to
 Dame Juliana Berners’ Treatyse on Fysshynge
 wyth an Angle.


The scholarly angler is here presented with an exact _facsimile_
of the first English treatise on fishing. The book is of extreme
interest for several reasons, not the least curious being that it
has served as a literary quarry to so many succeeding writers on
fishing, who have not disdained to adapt the authoress’s sentiments
to their own use, and even to borrow them word for word without
acknowledgment. Walton himself was evidently familiar with it, and
has clearly taken his “jury of flies” from its “xij flyes wyth
whyche ye shall angle to y^e trought & grayllyng;” while Burton,
that universal plunderer, has extracted her eloquent eulogy on the
secondary pleasures of angling for incorporation with the patchwork
structure of his “Anatomy of Melancholy.” Besides giving the earliest
account of the art of fishing, the estimate which the authoress forms
of the moral value of the craft is not only very high, but has served
to strike the keynote for all subsequent followers of the art both
in their praises and their practice of it. To this little treatise
more than to any other belongs the credit of having assigned in
popular estimation to the angler his meditative and gentle nature.
Many pure and noble intellects have kindled into lasting devotion
to angling on reading her eloquent commendation of it. Such men as
Donne, Wotton, and Herbert, Paley, Bell, and Davy, together with many
another excellent and simple disposition, have caught enthusiasm
from her lofty sentiments, and found that not their bodily health
only, but also their morals, were improved by angling. It became a
school of virtues, a quiet pastime in which, while looking into their
own hearts, they learnt lessons of the highest wisdom, reverence,
resignation, and love—love of their fellow-men, of the lower
creatures, and of their Creator.

Nothing definite is known of the reputed authoress, Dame Juliana
Barnes or Berners. She is said to have been a daughter of Sir James
Berners of Roding Berners in the county of Essex, a favourite of King
Richard the Second, who was beheaded in 1388 as an evil counsellor
to the king and an enemy to the public weal. She was celebrated
for her extreme beauty and great learning, and is reported to have
held the office of prioress of the Benedictine Nunnery of Sopwell
in Hertfordshire, a cell to the Abbey of St. Alban, but of this
no documentary evidence exists. The first edition of her “Book of
St. Alban’s,” printed by the schoolmaster-printer of St. Alban’s
in 1486, treats of hawking, hunting, and coat-armour. In the next
edition, “Enprynted at Westmestre by Wynkyn the Worde the yere
of thyncarnacōn of our lorde. M . CCCC . lxxxxvi,” among the other
“treatyfes perteynynge to hawkynge & huntynge with other dyuers
playsaunt materes belongynge vnto noblesse,” appeared the present
treatise on angling. The aristocratic instincts of the authoress
prompted this mode of publication, as she herself explains in the
concluding paragraph—“by cause that this present treatyse sholde not
come to the hondys of eche ydle persone whyche wolde desire it yf it
were enprynted allone by itself & put in a lytyll plaunflet, therfore
I haue compylyd it in a greter volume of dyuerse bokys concernynge
to gentyll & noble men to the entent that the forsayd ydle persones
whyche sholde haue but lytyll mesure in the sayd dysporte of
fysshyng sholde not by this meane vtterly dystroye it.” The present
publication is the “little pamphlet” which was enclosed in this
“greater volume.” An edition of it as a distinct treatise appears to
have been issued by Wynkyn de Worde soon after that of 1496, with the
title, “Here begynnyth a treatyse of fysshynge wyth an Angle” over
the curious woodcut of the man fishing which is on the first page
of the present _facsimile_, but only one copy of it is known to be
in existence. At least ten more editions appeared before the year
1600. This shows the great popularity of the book at the time of its
publication, and considering how human nature remains the same, and
the charms of angling are equally grateful to every fresh generation
of anglers, affords a sufficient reason for the strong antiquarian
delight which all literary anglers of the present century have felt
in the book. It is worth while briefly to trace the bibliography of
angling onwards until the appearance in 1653 of Walton’s _Compleat
Angler_, when the reader will be on familiar ground. In the interval
of more than a hundred and fifty years between these two names of
Berners and Walton, so deeply reverenced by every true scholar of
the craft, there occur but four books on angling, though each one
of these possesses a fame peculiar to itself. First came Leonard
Mascall’s _Booke of Fishing with Hooke and Line_, published in 1590.
Taverner’s Certaine _Experiments concerning Fish and Fruite_ followed
in 1600. Then came in 1613 the _Secrets of Angling_ of the celebrated
angling poet, J. D. [John Dennys], whose verses have perhaps never
yet been surpassed; and finally, in 1651, appeared Barker’s _Art of
Angling_. With this fisherman and “ambassador’s cook,” as he calls
himself, Walton must often have conversed.

It is a further testimony to the attractions which angling has
always possessed for contemplative natures that the art appears here
systematised, so to speak, as early as the middle of the fifteenth
century in England, where it has been practised ever since with more
enthusiasm and skill than in other countries. There is a sad gap in
angling literature from the days of Ausonius, at the commencement of
the fourth century, to those of Dame Juliana Berners. Fly-fishing,
indeed, is not named between the time of Ælian and that of the
Treatyse. It is clearly described by the former writer, who alone
among the ancients mentions it, but in the present book it is spoken
of under the term “angling with a dubbe,” as if it were well-known
and practised. Not only so, but it is clear that the writer had books
of angling lore before her, perhaps monkish manuscripts, as Hawkins
suggests, which would be of inestimable interest could they now be
recovered. Thus in speaking of the carp, the reader will find she
writes—“as touchynge his baytes I haue but lytyll knowlege of it. And
me were loth to wryte more than I knowe & haue prouyd. But well I
wote that the redde worme & the menow ben good baytys for hym at all
tymes as I haue herde saye of persones credyble & also founde wryten
in bokes of credence.” No better rules can be given for fly-fishing
at present than the two which she prescribes for angling—“for the
fyrste and pryncypall poynt in anglynge : kepe y^e euer fro the water
fro the sighte of the fysshe,” and “also loke that ye shadow not the
water as moche as ye may.” The “troughte” is to be angled for “wyth a
dubbe” [artificial fly] “in lepynge time;” but as for the salmon, “ye
may take hym : but it is seldom seen with a dubbe at suche tyme as
whan he lepith in lyke fourme & manere as ye doo take a troughte or a
gryalynge.” With the imperfect tackle and clumsy rod of those days,
it is no wonder that the capture of salmon with a fly, which is still
the crowning achievement of the craft, could seldom be effected.

After the eloquent pleading for angling with which the treatise
opens, the lady at once proceeds to teach the making of the “harnays”
of it. The rod she orders to be constructed somewhat resembles, save
in its larger size, the modern walking-stick rod. A hazel wand, or
failing it, one of willow or mountain ash, is to be procured, as
thick as the arm and nine feet in length. This is to form the butt,
and is to be hollowed out by means of divers red-hot irons into a
tapering hole, which is to receive the “croppe,” or top, as we now
call it, when not in use. This “croppe” is to be made of a yard of
hazel, joined to a length of blackthorn, crab, medlar, or “jenypre.”
All these are to be cut between Michaelmas and Candlemas, the lady
giving very particular directions as to their drying and the like.
When the two portions of the “crop” are “fretted together,” the whole
rod is to be shaved into a shapely taper form; the staff encircled
with long hoops of iron or latten at both ends, and finished with a
“pyke in the nether ende fastnyd wyth a rennynge vyce : to take in
& oute youre croppe.” The line is then to be wound round the crop
and tied fast with a bow at the top. The reader will note that there
is no mention of a reel; it was only used, seemingly until the
beginning of this century, for large salmon and pike. An angler who
hooked a fish when armed with this ponderous rod (which must from
its description have been nearly eighteen feet long, as large as a
modern salmon rod), would act as Izaak Walton would have done in the
like predicament,—throw the rod in to the fish and recover it when he
could. But the lady is wonderfully pleased with this mighty rod, and
thus concludes—“Thus shall ye make you a rodde soo preuy that ye maye
walke therwyth : and there shall noo man wyte where abowte ye goo.
It woll be lyghte & full nymbyll to fysshe wyth at your luste. And
for the more redynesse loo here a fygure,” and she adds the curious
woodcut which the reader may see reproduced at page 5.

Then follow directions how to dye and make lines and hooks. There
were evidently no manufacturers of hooks in the fifteenth century:
each angler made his own. The casting of plummets and forming of
floats succeed. The six methods of angling and the mode of playing a
fish are next treated, and the latter alone shows that Dame Juliana
must herself have been a proficient in the craft. No one but a
thoroughly good fisher could have summed up the art of playing a
fish in the words—“kepe hym euer vnder the rodde, and euermore holde
hym streyghte : soo that your lyne may susteyne and beere his lepys
and his plungys wyth the helpe of your croppe & of your honde.” The
place, the time of day, and the weather in which to fish, are next
particularly described after the exactitude peculiar to fishing
manuals of the olden time. These paragraphs are well worth the
consideration of a modern angler, especially the charge, “yf the
wynde be in the Eest, that is worste For comynly neyther wynter nor
somer y^e fysshe woll not byte thenne.”

The following part of the treatise, with what baits and how to angle
for each kind of fish, together with a brief description of each,
certainly furnished Walton with a model for some of his chapters.
This portion of her book is regarded by the authoress as most
necessary to be known and proficiency in carrying out her rules “is
all the effecte of the crafte.” She adds amusingly, “for ye can
not brynge an hoke in to a fyssh mouth wythout a bayte.” A few of
the quaint receipts of her age succeed; how to keep live baits, to
make pastes and the like, ending with a rule which is often given
to flyfishers for trout at the present day: “Whan ye haue take a
grete fysshe : vndo the mawe, & what ye fynde therin make that your
bayte : for it is beste.”

Just as the authoress rises to eloquence at the beginning of the
treatise when comparing the fisher’s happy life with the toils and
troubles which too often fall to the lot of the hunter, hawker, and
fowler, so the end of these rules once more recalls her enthusiasm.
The last two pages of the book give us a portrait of her conception
of the perfect angler, and it is no presumption to say that a nobler
and truer picture has never been limned. Simplicity of disposition,
forbearance to our neighbours’ rights, and consideration for the
poor, are strongly inculcated. All covetousness in fishing or
employment of its gentle art to increase worldly gain and fill the
larder is equally condemned. She holds the highest view of angling;
that it is to serve a man for solace, and to cause the health of his
body, but especially of his soul. So she would have him pursue his
craft alone for the most part, when his mind can rise to high and
holy things, and he may serve God devoutly by saying from his heart
his customary prayer. Nor should a man ever carry his amusement to
excess, and catch too much at one time; this is to destroy his
future pleasure and to interfere with that of his neighbours. A good
sportsman too, she adds, will busy himself in nourishing the game
and destroying all vermin. So will what Walton calls “the civil,
well-governed angler” escape the vices which spring from idleness,
and enjoy the full delights of an elevating and noble recreation.
“And all those that done after this rule shall haue the blessynge of
god & saynt Petyr, whyche he theym graunte that wyth his precyous
blood vs boughte.”

“And therefore to al you that ben vertuous : gentyll : and free borne
I wryte & make this symple treatyse folowynge : by whyche ye may haue
the full crafte of anglynge to dysport you at your luste : to the
entent that your aege maye the more floure and the more lenger to
endure.”

M. G. W.

[Illustration]


{1}



¶ Here begynnyth the treatyse of fysshynge wyth an Angle.


[Illustration]

++SAlamon in his parablys sayth that a good spyryte makyth a
flourynge aege / that is a fayre aege & a longe. And syth it is
soo : I aske this questyon / . whi | che ben the meanes & the
causes that enduce a man in to a mery spyryte. : Truly to my beste
dyscrecōn it semeth good dysportes & honest gamys in whom a man
Ioy | eth wythout ony repentannce after. Thenne folowyth it y^t gode
dysportes & honest games ben cause of mannys fayr aege & longe life.
And therfore now woll I chose of foure good dispor | tes & honeste
gamys / that is to wyte : of huntynge : hawkynge : fysshynge : &
foulynge. The beste to my symple dyscrecōn why | che is
fysshynge : callyd Anglynge wyth a rodde : and a lyne {2} and an
hoke / And therof to treate as my symple wytte may suffyce : both for
the sayd reason of Salamon and also for the reason that phisyk makyth
in this wyse (¶ Si tibi deficiant medici medici tibi fiant : hec
tria mens leta labor & moderata dieta.
¶ Ye shall vnderstonde that this is for to saye / Yf a man
lacke leche or medicyne he shall make thre thynges his leche &
medycyne : and he shall nede neuer no moo. The fyrste of theym is
a mery thought. The seconde is labour not outrageoꝰ. The thyr | de
is dyete mesurable. Fyrste that yf a man wyll euer more be in mery
thoughtes and haue a gladde spyryte : he must eschewe all contraryous
company & all places of debate where he myghte haue ony occasyons of
malencoly. And yf he woll haue a labour not outrageous he must thenne
ordeyne him to his her | tys ease and pleasaunce wythout studye
pensyfnesse or trauey | le a mery occupacyon whyche maye reioyce his
herte : & in why | che his spyrytes may haue a mery delyte. And yf
he woll be dy | etyd mesurably he must eschewe all places of ryotte
whyche is cause of surfette and of syknesse / And he must drawe him
to pla | ces of swete ayre and hungry : And ete nourishable meetes
and dyffyable also.

++NOw thenne woll I dyscryue the sayd dysportes and ga | mys to
fynde the beste of theym as veryly as I can̄ / alle be it that the
ryght noble and full worthy prynce the du | ke of Yorke late callid
mayster of game hath discryued the myr | thes of huntynge lyke as
I thynke to dyscryue of it and of alle the other. For huntynge as
to myn entent is to laboryous / For the hunter must alwaye renne &
folowe his houndes : traueyllynge & swetynge full sore. He blowyth
tyll his lyppes blyster And whan he wenyth it be an hare full oft
it is an hegge hogge Thus he chasyth and wote not what. He comyth
home at euyn rayn beten pryckyd : and his clothes torne wete shode
all myry Some hounde loste : some surbat. Suche greues & many other
hapyth vnto the hunter / whyche for dyspleysaunce of theym y^t loue
it I dare not reporte. Thus truly me semyth that this is not the
beste dysporte and game of the sayd foure. The dyspor | te and game
of hawkynge is laboryous & noyouse also as me semyth. For often the
fawkener leseth his hawkes as the {3} hunter his hoūdes. Thenne
is his game & his dysporte goon. Full often cryeth he & whystelyth
tyll that he be ryght euyll a thur | ste. His hawke taketh a bowe
and lyste not ones on hym rewar | de. whan he wolde haue her for to
flee : thenne woll she bathe. with mys fedynge she shall haue the
Fronse : the Rye : the Cray and many other syknesses that brynge
theym to the Sowse. Thus by prouff this is not the beste dysporte &
game of the sa | yd foure. The dysporte & game of fowlynge me semyth
moost symple For in the wynter season the fowler spedyth not but in
the moost hardest and coldest weder : whyche is greuous. For whan
he wolde goo to his gynnes he maye not for colde. Many a gynne &
many a snare he makyth. Yet soryly dooth he fare. At morn tyde in
the dewe he is weete shode vnto his taylle. Many other suche I cowde
tell : but drede of magre makith me for to leue. Thus me semyth that
huntynge & hawkynge & also fowlynge ben so laborous and greuous that
none of theym maye perfourme nor bi very meane that enduce a man to
a me | ry spyryte : whyche is cause of his longe lyfe acordynge vnto
y^t sayd parable of Salamon. ¶ Dowteles then̄e folowyth it that it
must nedes be the dysporte of fysshynge wyth an angle. For all other
manere of fysshyng is also laborous and greuous : often makynge
folkes ful wete & colde / whyche many tymes hath be seen cause of
grete Infirmytees. But the angler maye haue no colde nor no dysease
nor angre / but yf he be causer hymself. For he maye not lese at the
moost but a lyne or an hoke : of whyche he maye haue store plentee of
his owne makynge / as this sym | ple treatyse shall teche hym. Soo
thenne his losse is not greuo | us. and other greyffes maye he not
haue / sauynge but yf ony fisshe breke away after that he is take on
the hoke / or elles that he catche nought : whyche ben not greuous.
For yf he faylle of one he maye not faylle of a nother / yf he dooth
as this treatyse techyth : but yf there be nonght in the water. And
yet atte the leest he hath his holsom walke and mery at his ease. a
swete ay | re of the swete sauoure of the meede floures : that makyth
hym hungry. He hereth the melodyous armony of fowles. He seeth the
yonge swannes : heerons : duckes : cotes and many other fou | les
wyth theyr brodes. / whyche me semyth better than alle the {4}
noyse of honndys : the blastes of hornys and the scrye of foulis
that hunters : fawkeners & foulers can make. And yf the angler take
fysshe : surely thenne is there noo man merier than he is in his
spyryte. ¶ Also who soo woll vse the game of anglynge : he must ryse
erly. whiche thyng is prouffytable to man in this wy | se / That
is to wyte : moost to the heele of his soule. For it shall cause
hym to be holy. and to the heele of his body / For it shall cause
hym to be hole. Also to the encrease of his goodys. For it shall
make hym ryche. As the olde englysshe prouerbe sayth in this wyse.
¶ who soo woll ryse erly shall be holy helthy & zely.
¶ Thus haue I prouyd in myn entent that the dysporte & game of
anglynge is the very meane & cause that enducith a man in to a mery
spyryte : Whyche after the sayde parable of Salomon & the sayd
doctryne of phisyk makyth a flourynge aege & a longe. And therfore
to al you that ben vertuous : gentyll : and free borne I wryte &
make this symple treatyse folowynge : by whyche ye may haue the full
crafte of anglynge to dysport you at your luste : to the entent that
your aege maye the more flou | re and the more lenger to endure.

++YF ye woll be crafty in anglynge : ye must fyrste lerne to make
your harnays / That is to wyte your rodde : your lynes of dyuers
colours. After that ye must know how ye shall angle in what place
of the water : how depe : and what ti | me of day. For what manere
of fysshe : in what wedyr How ma | ny impedymentes there ben in
fysshynge y^t is callyd anglynge And in specyall wyth what baytys
to euery dyuers fysshe in e | che moneth of the yere. How ye shall
make your baytes brede where ye shall fynde theym : and how ye shall
kepe theym. And for the moost crafty thynge how ye shall make youre
hokes of stele & of osmonde / Some for the dubbe : and some for
the flote : & the grounde. as ye shall here after al thyse fynde
expressed o | penly vnto your knowlege.
¶ And how ye shall make your rodde craftly here I shall teche you.
Ye shall kytte betwene Myghelmas & Candylmas a fayr staffe of a
fadom and an halfe longe : & arme grete of hasyll : wy | lowe : or
aspe. And bethe hym in an hote ouyn : & sette hym euyn Thenne lete
hym cole & drye a moneth. Take thenne & frette {5} hym faste wyth a
cockeshotecorde : and bynde hym to a fourme or an euyn square grete
tree. Take thenne a plūmers wire that is euyn and streyte & sharpe
at the one ende. And hete the shar | pe end in a charcole fyre tyll
it be whyte : and brenne the staffe therwyth thorugh : euer streyte
in the pythe at bothe endes tyll they mete. And after that brenne
hym in the nether ende wyth a byrde broche / & wyth other broches
eche gretter than other. & euer the grettest the laste : so that ye
make your hole aye tapre wexe. Thenne lete hym lye styll and kele
two dayes. Unfrette hym then̄e and lete hym drye in an hous roof in
the smoke tyll he be thrugh drye ¶ In the same season take a fayr
yerde of gre | ne hasyll & beth hym euyn & streyghte. and lete it
drye with the staffe. And whan they ben drye make the yerde mete vnto
the hole in the staffe : vnto halfe the length of the staffe. And
to per | fourme that other halfe of the croppe. Take a fayr shote
of blac | ke thorn̄ : crabbe tree : medeler. or of Ienypre kytte in
the same se | ason : and well bethyd & streyghte. And frette theym
togyder fe | tely : soo that the croppe maye iustly entre all in
to the sayd hole. Thenne shaue your staffe & make hym tapre wexe.
Thenne vyrell the staffe at bothe endes wyth longe hopis of yren or
la | ton in the clennest wise wyth a pyke in the nether ende fastnyd
wyth a rennynge vyce : to take in & oute youre croppe. Thenne set
your croppe an handfull within the ouer ende of your staffe in suche
wise that it be as bigge there as in ony other place abo | ue. Then̄e
arme your croppe at thouer ende downe to y^e frette wyth a lyne of
.vj. heeres. And dubbe the lyne and frette it fast in y^e toppe wyth
a bowe to fasten on your lyne. And thus shall ye make you a rodde
soo preuy that ye maye walke therwyth : and there shall noo man wyte
where abowte ye goo. It woll be lyghte & full nymbyll to fysshe wyth
at your luste. And for the more redynesse loo here a fygure therof in
example. :

[Illustration]

++AFter that ye haue made thus your rodde : ye must lerne to coloure
your lynes of here in this wyse. ¶ Fyrste ye must take of a whyte
horse taylle the lengest heere and {6} fayrest that ye can fynde.
And euer the rounder it be the better it is. Departe it in to .vj.
partes : and euery parte ye shall colour by hymselfe in dyuers
colours. As yelowe : grene : browne : tawney : russet. and duske
colours. And for to make a good grene co | lour on your heer ye
shall doo thus. ¶ Take smalle ale a quar | te and put it in a lytyll
panne : and put therto halfe a pounde of alym. And put therto your
heer : and lete it boylle softly half an houre. Thenne take out your
heer and lete it drye. Thenne ta | ke a potell of water and put it
in a panne. And put therin two handfull of ooldys or of wyxen. And
presse it wyth a tyle stone : and lete it boylle softly half an
houre. And whan it is yelow on the scume put therin your heer wyth
halfe a pounde of copo | rose betyn in powdre and lete it boylle
halfe a myle waye : and thenne sette it downe : and lete it kele
fyue or syxe houres. Then̄ take out the heer and drye it. And it is
thenne the fynest grene that is for the water. And euer the more ye
put therto of copo | rose the better it is. or elles in stede of it
vertgrees.
¶ A nother wyse ye maye make more brighter grene / as thus Lete woode
your heer in an woodefatte a lyght plunket colour And thenne sethe
hym in olde or wyxin lyke as I haue sayd : sauynge ye shall not put
therto neyther coporose ue vertgrees. ¶ For to make your heer yelow
dyght it wyth alym as I haue sayd before. And after that wyth oldys
or wyxin wythout copo | rose or vertgrees.  ¶ A nother yelow ye shal
make thns. Ta | ke smalle ale a potell : and stampe thre handful of
walnot leues and put togider : And put in your heer tyll that it be
as depe as ye woll haue it.  ¶ For to make russet heer. Take stronge
lye a pynt and halfe a pounde of sote and a lytyll iuce of walnot
le | uys & a quarte of alym : and put theym alle togyder in a panne
and boylle theym well. And whan it is colde put in youre heer tyll it
be as derke as ye woll haue it.  ¶ For to make a brow | ne colour.
Take a pounde of sote and a quarte of ale : and seth it wyth as many
walnot leuys as ye maye. And whan they wexe blacke sette it from the
fire. And put therin your heer and lete it lye styll tyll it be as
browne as ye woll haue it.
¶ For to make a nother browne. Take strong ale and sote and tempre
them togyder. and put therin your heer two dayes and two nyghtes and
it shall be ryght a good colour. {7}
¶ For to make a tawney coloure. Take lyme and water & put theym
togyder : and also put your heer therin foure or fyue hou | res.
Thenne take it out and put it in a Tanners ose a day : and it shall
be also fyne a tawney colour as nedyth to our purpoos
¶ The syxte parte of your heer ye shall kepe styll whyte for ly | nes
for the dubbyd hoke to fysshe for the trought and graylyn | ge and
for smalle lynes for to rye for the roche and the darse.

++WHan your heer is thus colourid : ye must knowe for whi | che
waters and for whyche seasons they shall serue. ¶ The grene colour in
all clere water from Apryll tyll Septembre. ¶ The yelowe coloure in
euery clere water from Septembre tyll Nouembre : For it is lyke y^e
wedys and other manere grasse whiche growyth in the waters and ryuers
whan they ben broken. ¶ The russet colour seruyth all the wynter
vnto the ende of Apryll as well in ryuers as in poles or lakys ¶ The
browne colour seruyth for that water that is blacke de | disshe in
ryuers or in other waters. ¶ The tawney colour for those waters that
ben hethy or morysshe.

++NOw must ye make youre lynes in this wyse. Fyrste loke that ye haue
an Instrument lyke vnto this fygure portrayed folowynge. Thenne take
your heer & kytte of the smalle ende an hondfull large or more / For
it is neyther stronge nor yet sure. Thenne torne the toppe to the
taylle eue | ryche ylyke moche. And departe it in to thre partyes.
Thenne knytte euery part at the one ende by hymself. And at the
other ende knytte all thre togyder : and put y^e same ende in that
other ende of your Instrument that hath but one clyft. And sett that
other ende faste wyth the wegge foure fyngers in alle shorter than
your heer. Thenne twyne euery warpe one waye & ylyke moche : and
fasten theym in thre clyftes ylyke streyghte. Take thenne out that
other ende and twyne it that waye that it woll desyre ynough.
Thenne streyne it a lytyll : and knytte it for vn | doynge : and
that is good. And for to knowe to make your Instrument : loo here
it is in fygure. And it shall be made of tree sauynge the bolte
vnderneth : whiche shall be of yren. {8}

[Illustration]

++WHan ye haue as many of the lynkys as ye suppose wol suffyse for
the length of a lyne : thenne must ye knytte theym togyder wyth
a water knotte or elles a duchys knotte. And whan your knotte is
knytte : kytte of y^e voyde shor | te endes a strawe brede for the
knotte. Thus shal ye make you | re lynes fayr & fyne : and also ryght
sure for ony manere fysshe. ¶ And by cause that ye sholde knowe bothe
the water knotte & also the duchys knotte : loo theym here in fygure
caste vnto the lyknesse of the draughte.

++YE shall vnderstonde that the moost subtyll & hardyste crafte in
makynge of your harnays is for to make your hokis. For whoos makyng
ye must haue fetefyles. thyn̄ and sharpe & smalle beten : A semy
clam̄ of yren : a bender : a payr of longe & smalle tongys : an harde
knyfe somdeale thycke : an anuelde : & a lytyll hamour. ¶ And for
smalle fysshe ye shall make your hokes of the smalest quarell nedlys
that ye can fyn | de of stele / & in this wyse. ¶ Ye shall put the
quarell in a redde charkcole fyre tyll that it be of the same colour
that the fyre is. Thenne take hym out and lete hym kele : and ye shal
fynde him well alayd for to fyle. Thenne reyse the berde wyth your
knyfe / and make the poynt sharpe. Thenne alaye hym agayn : for elles
he woll breke in the bendyng. Thenne bende hym lyke to the bende
fyguryd herafter in example. And gretter hokes ye shall mabe in the
same wyse of gretter nedles : as broderers nedlis : or taylers : or
shomakers nedlis spere poyntes / & {9} of shomakers nalles in
especyall the beste for grete fysshe. and that they bende atte the
poynt whan they ben assayed / for elles they ben not good ¶ Whan the
hoke is bendyd bete the hynder ende abrode : & fyle it smothe for
fretynge of thy lyne. Thenne put it in the fyre agayn : and yeue
it an easy redde hete. Thenne sodaynly quenche it in water : and
it woll be harde and stronge. And for to haue knowlege of your
Instrumentes : lo theym here in fygure portrayd.

 [Illustration :

 ¶ Hamour.   Knyfe.   Pynsons.   Clam̄

 Wegge.   Fyle.   Wreste.    & Anuelde.]

++WHan ye haue made thus your hokis : thenne must ye set theym on
your lynes acordynge in gretnesse & strength in this wyse. ¶ Ye shall
take smalle redde silke. & yf it be for a grete hoke then̄e double
it : not twynyd. And elles for sma | le hokys lete it be syngle : &
therwyth frette thycke the lyne the | re as the one ende of your hoke
shal sytte a strawe brede. Then̄ sette there your hoke : & frette
hym wyth the same threde y^e two partes of the lengthe that shall be
frette in all. And whan ye co | me to the thyrde parte thenne torne
the ende of your lyne aga | yn vpon the frette dowble. & frette it
so dowble that other thyr | de parte. Thenne put your threde in at
the hose twys or thries & lete it goo at eche tyme rounde abowte the
yerde of your hoke. Thenne wete the hose & and drawe it tyll that
it be faste. And lo | ke that your lyne lye euermore wythin your
hokys : & not with | out. Thenne kytte of the lynys ende & the threde
as nyghe as ye maye : sauynge the frette.

++NOw ye knowe wyth how grete hokys ye shall angle to euery
fysshe : now I woll tell you wyth how many heeres ye shall to euery
manere of fisshe. ¶ For the menow wyth a lyne of one heere. For the
waxyng roche the bleke & the {10} gogyn & the ruffe wy^t a lyne
of two heeris. For the darse & the grete roche wyth a lyne of thre
heeres. For the perche : the floū | der & bremet with foure heeres.
For the cheuen chubbe : the bre | me : the tenche & the ele wyth .vj.
heeres. For the troughte : gray | lynge : barbyll & the grete cheuyn
with .ix. heeres. For the grete troughte wyth .xij. heeres : For the
samon with .xv. heeres. And for the pyke wyth a chalke lyne made
browne with your brow | ne colour aforsayd : armyd with a wyre. as ye
shal here herafter whan I speke of the pyke.
¶ Your lynes must be plumbid wyth lede. And ye shall wyte y^t
the nexte pūbe vnto the hoke shall be therfro a large fote &
mo | re / And euery plumbe of a quantyte to the gretnes of the lyne.
There be thre manere of plūbis for a grounde lyne rennynge. And
for the flote set vpon the grounde lyne lyenge .x. plumbes Ioynynge
all togider. On the grounde lyne rennynge .ix. or .x. smalle. The
flote plūbe shall be so heuy y^t the leest plucke of ony fysshe
maye pull it downe in to y^e water. And make your plū | bis rounde
& smothe y^t they stycke not on stonys or on wedys. And for the more
vnderstondynge lo theym here in fygure.

[Illustration : The grounde lyne rennynge]

[Illustration : The grounde lyne lyenge.]

[Illustration : The flote lyne]

[Illustration : The lyne for perche or tenche.]

[Illustration : The lyne for a pyke : ¶ Pln̄be : Corke armyd wyth
wyre]

++THenne shall ye make your flotys in this wyse. Take a fayr corke
that is clene without many holes. and bore it {11} thrugh wyth a
smalle hote yren : And putt therin a penne iuste and streyghte. Euer
the more flote the gretter penne & the gre | ter hole. Thenne shape
it grete in the myddis and smalle at bo | the endys. and specyally
sharpe in the nether ende / and lyke vn | to the fygures folowynge.
And make theym smothe on a gryn | dyng stone : or on a tyle stone.
¶ And loke that the flote for one heer be nomore than a pese. For
two heeres : as a beene. for twel | ue heeres : as a walnot. And soo
euery lyne after the proporcōn. ¶ All manere lynes that ben not for
the groūde must haue flo | tes. And the rennynge grounde lyne must
haue a flote. The ly | enge grounde lyne wythout flote.

[Illustration]

++NOw I haue lernyd you to make all your harnays. Here I woll tell
you how ye shall angle. ¶ Ye shall angle : vnderstonde that there is
.vi. manere of anglyng. That one is at the grounde for the troughte
and other fisshe. A nother is at y^e grounde at an arche / or at a
stange where it ebbyth and flowyth : for bleke : roche. and darse.
The thyrde is wyth a flote for all manere of fysshe. The fourth
wyth a menow for y^e troughte wythout plumbe or flote. The fyfth is
rennynge in y^t same wyse for roche and darse wyth one or two heeres
& a flye. The syxte is wyth a dubbyd hoke for the troughte & graylyng
¶ And for the fyrste and pryncypall poynt in anglynge : kepe y^e
euer fro the water fro the sighte of the fysshe : other ferre on the
londe : or ellys behynde a busshe that the fysshe se you not. For yf
they doo they wol not byte. ¶ Also loke that ye shadow not the water
as moche as ye may. For it is that thynge that woll soone fraye the
fysshe. And yf a fysshe be afrayed he woll not bi | te longe after.
For alle manere fysshe that fede by the grounde ye shall angle for
theim to the botom. soo that your hokys shall renne or lye on the
grounde. And for alle other fysshe that fede {12} aboue ye shall
angle to theym in the myddes of the water or somdeale byneth or
somdeale aboue. For euer the gretter fisshe the nerer he lyeth the
botom of the water. And euer the smaller fysshe the more he smymmyth
aboue. ¶ The thyrde good poynt is whan the fysshe bytyth that ye be
not to hasty to smyte nor to late / For ye must abide tyll ye suppose
that the bayte be ferre in the mouth of the fysshe / and thenne abyde
noo longer. And this is for the groūde. ¶ And for the flote whan ye
se it pul | lyd softly vnder the water : or elles caryed vpon the
water softly : thenne smyte. And loke that ye neuer ouersmyte the
strengthe of your lyne for brekynge. ¶ And yf it fortune you to smyte
a grete fysshe wyth a smalle harnays : thenne ye must lede hym in the
water and labour him there tyll he be drownyd and ouercome. Thenne
take hym as well as ye can or maye. and euer bewaar that ye holde not
ouer the strengthe of your lyne. And as moche as ye may lete hym not
come out of your lynes ende streyghte from you : But kepe hym euer
vnder the rodde / and euermore holde hym streyghte : soo that your
lyne may sus | teyne and beere his lepys and his plungys wyth the
helpe of your croppe & of your honde.

++HEre I woll declare vnto you in what place of the water ye shall
angle. Ye shall angle in a pole or in a stondinge water in euery
place where it is ony thynge depe. The | re is not grete choyse of
ony places where it is ony thynge de | pe in a pole. For it is but
a pryson to fysshe. and they lyue for y^e more parte in hungre lyke
prisoners : and therfore it is the lesse maystry to take theym.
But in a ryuer ye shall angle in euery place where it is depe and
clere by the grounde : as grauell or claye wythout mudde or wedys.
And in especyall yf that there be a manere whyrlynge of water or a
couert. As an holow ban | ke : or grete rotys of trees : or longe
wedes fletyng aboue in the water where the fysshe maye couere and
hyde theymself at certayn tymes whan they lyste Also it is good for
to angle in depe styffe stremys and also in fallys of waters and
weares : and in floode gatys and mylle pyttes. And it is good for to
angle where as the water restyth by the banke : and where the streme
rennyth nyghe there by : and is depe and clere by the grounde {13}
and in ony other placys where ye may se ony fyssh houe or ha | ne ony
fedynge.

++NOw ye shall wyte what tyme of the daye ye shall angle ¶ From
the begynnynge of May vntyll it be Septem | bre the bytynge tyme
is erly by the morowe from foure of y^e clocke vnto eyghte of the
clocke. And at after none from foure of the clocke vnto eyghte of
the clocke : but not soo good as is in the mornynge. And yf it be a
colde whystelyng wynde and a derke lowrynge daye. For a derke daye is
moche better to angle in than a clere daye. ¶ From the begynnynge of
Sep | tembre vnto the ende of Apryll spare noo tyme of the daye :
¶ Also many pole fysshes woll byte beste in the none tyde.
¶ And yf ye se ony tyme of the daye the trought or graylynge
lepe : angle to hym wyth a dubbe acordynge to the same month And
where the water ebbyth and flowyth the fysshe woll byte in some
place at the ebbe : and in some place at the flood. After y^t they
haue restynge behynde stangnys and archys of brydgys and other suche
manere places.

++HEre ye shall wyte in what weder ye shall angle. as I sa | yd
before in a derke lowrynge daye whanne the wynde blowyth softly. And
in somer season whan it is brennyn | ge hote thenne it is nought.
¶ From Septembre vnto Apryll in a fayr sonny daye is ryght good
to angle. And yf the wynde in that season haue ony parte of the
Oryent : the wedyr thenne is nought. And whan it is a grete wynde.
And whan it snowith reynyth or hayllyth. or is a grete tempeste / as
thondyr or ligh | tenynge : or a swoly hote weder : thenne it is
noughte for to angle.

++NOw shall ye wyte that there ben twelue manere of ympedymentes
whyche cause a man to take noo fysshe. w^t | out other comyn that
maye casuelly happe. ¶ The fyrst is yf your harnays be not mete nor
fetly made. The seconde is yf your baytes be not good nor fyne. The
thyrde is yf that ye angle not in bytynge tyme. The fourth is yf that
the fysshe be frayed w^t the syghte of a man. The fyfth yf the water
be very thycke : whyte or redde of ony floode late fallen. The syxte
yf the fysshe styre not for colde. The seuenth yf that the wedyr
{14} be hote. The eyght yf it rayne. The nynthe yf it hayll or snow
falle. The tenth is yf it be a tempeste. The enleuenth is yf it be a
grete wynde. The twelfyfth yf the wynde be in the Eest / and that is
worste For comynly neyther wynter nor somer y^e fysshe woll not byte
thenne. The weste and northe wyndes ben good but the south is beste.

++ANd now I haue tolde you how to make your harnays : and how ye
shall fysshe therwyth in al poyntes Reason woll that ye knowe wyth
what baytes ye shall angle to euery manere of fysshe in euery moneth
of the yere / whyche is all the effecte of the crafte. And wythout
whyche baytes know | en well by you all your other crafte here toforn
auayllyth you not to purpose. For ye can not brynge an hoke in to a
fyssh mo | uth wythout a bayte. Whiche baytes for euery manere of
fyssh and for euery moneth here folowyth in this wyse.

++FOr by cause that the Samon is the moost stately fyssh that ony
man maye angle to in fresshe water. Therfore I purpose to begyn̄ at
hym. ¶ The samon is a gentyll fysshe : but he is comborous for to
take. For comynly he is but in depe places of grete ryuers. And for
the more parte he holdyth the myddys of it : that a man maye not
come at hym. And he is in season from Marche vnto Myghelmas. ¶ In
whyche season ye shall angle to hym wyth thyse baytes whan ye maye
gete theym. Fyrste wyth a redde worme in the begynnynge & endynge
of the season. And also wyth a bobbe that bredyth in a dunghyll.
And specyally wyth a souerayn bayte that bredyth on a water docke.
¶ And he bytith not at the grounde : but at y^e flote. Also ye may
take hym : but it is seldom seen with a dubbe at suche tyme as whan
he lepith in lyke fourme & manere as ye doo take a troughte or a
gryalynge. And thyse baytes ben well prouyd baytes for the samon.

++THe Troughte for by cause he is a right deyntous fyssh and also a
ryght feruente byter we shall speke nexte of hym. He is in season fro
Marche vnto Myghelmas. He is on clene grauely groūde & in a streme.
Ye may angle to hym {15} all tymes wyth a grounde lyne lyenge or
rennynge : sauyng in lepynge tyme. and thenne wyth a dubbe. And erly
wyth a rennynge grounde lyne. and forth in the daye wyth a flote
lyne.
¶ Ye shall angle to hym in Marche wyth a menew hangyd on your hoke by
the nether nesse wythout flote or plumbe : drawynge vp & downe in the
streme tyll ye fele hym taste. ¶ In the same tyme angle to hym wyth
a groūde lyne with a redde wor | me for the moost sure. ¶ In Aprill
take the same baytes : & also Inneba other wyse namyd .vij. eyes.
Also the canker that bredyth in a grete tree and the redde snayll.
¶ In May take y^e sto | ne flye and the bobbe vnder the cowe torde
and the sylke worme : and the bayte that bredyth on a fern̄ leyf.
¶ In Iuyn take a redde worme & nyppe of the heed : and put on thyn
hoke a codworme byforn. ¶ In Iuyll take the grete redde worme and the
codworme togyder. ¶ In August take a flesshe flye & the grete redde
worme and the fatte of the bakon : and bynde abowte thy hoke. ¶ In
Septembre take the redde worme and the menew. ¶ In Octobre take the
same : for they ben specyall for the trought all tymes of the yere.
From Aprill tyll Septembre y^e trough lepyth. thenne angle to hym
wyth a dubbyd hoke acordyn | ge to the moneth / whyche dubbyd hokys
ye shall fynde in then | de of this treatyse; and the monethys wyth
theym :

++THe grayllynge by a nother name callyd vmbre ia a delycyous fysshe
to mannys mouthe. And ye maye take hym lyke as ye doo the trought.
And thyse ben his bay | tes. ¶ In Marche & in Apryll the redde
worme. ¶ In May the grene worme : a lytyll breyled worme : the docke
canker. and the hawthorn worme. ¶ In Iune the bayte that bredyth
betwene the tree & the barke of an oke. ¶ In Iuyll a bayte that
bredyth on a fern̄ leyf : and the grete redde worme. And nyppe of the
he | de : and put on your hoke a codworme before. ¶ In August the
redde worme : and a docke worme. And al the yere after a reddde worme.

++THe barbyll is a swete fysshe / but it is a quasy meete & a
peryllous for mannys body. For comynly he yeuyth an introduxion to
y^e Febres. And yf he be eten rawe : he maye be cause of mannys
dethe : whyche hath oft be seen Thyse {16} be his baytes. ¶ In
Marche & in Apryll take fayr fresshe che | se : and laye it on a
borde & kytte it in small square pecys of the lengthe of your hoke.
Take thenne a candyl & brenne it on the ende at the poynt of your
hoke tyll it be yelow. And then̄e byn | de it on your hoke with
fletchers sylke : and make it rough lyke a welbede. This bayte is
good all the somer season. ¶ In May & Iune take y^e hawthorn̄ worme
& the grete redde worme. and nyppe of the heed. And put on your hoke
a codworme before. & that is a good bayte. In Iuyll take the redde
worme for cheyf & the hawthorn̄ worme togyd^r. Also the water docke
leyf wor | me & the hornet worme togyder. ¶ In August & for all
the yere take the talowe of a shepe & softe chese : of eche ylyke
moche : and a lytyll hony & grynde or stampe theym togyd^r longe. and
tempre it tyll it be tough. And put therto floure a lytyll & make it
on smalle pellettys. And y^t is a good bayte to angle wyth at the
grounde And loke that it synke in the water. or ellys it is not good
to this purpoos.

++THe carpe is a deyntous fysshe : but there ben but fewe in
Englonde. And therfore I wryte the lasse of hym. He is an euyll
fysshe to take. For he is soo stronge enarmyd in the mouthe that
there maye noo weke harnays holde hym. And as touchynge his baytes I
haue but lytyll knowlege of it And me were loth to wryte more than I
knowe & haue prouyd But well I wote that the redde worme & the menow
ben good baytys for hym at all tymes as I haue herde saye of persones
credyble & also founde wryten in bokes of credence.

++THe cheuyn is a stately fysshe & his heed is a deyty morsell. There
is noo fysshe soo strongly enarmyd wyth sca | lys on the body. And
bi cause he is a stronge byter he ha | the the more baytes / whiche
ben thyse. ¶ In Marche the redde worme at the grounde : For comynly
thenne he woll byte there at all tymes of y^e yere yf he be ony
thinge hungry. ¶ In Apryll the dyche canker that bredith in the
tree. A worme that bredith betwene the rynde & the tree of an oke
The redde worme : and the yonge frosshys whan the fete ben kyt of.
Also the stone flye the bobbe vnder the cowe torde : the redde
snaylle. ¶ In May y^e {17} bayte that bredyth on the osyer leyf &
the docke canker togyd^r vpon your hoke. Also a bayte that bredyth
on a fern̄ leyf : y^e cod | worme. and a bayte that bredyth on an
hawthorn̄. And a bayte that bredyth on an oke leyf & a sylke worme
& a codworme togyder. ¶ In̄ Iune take the creket & the dorre & also
a red worme : the heed kytte of & a codworme before : and put theym
on y^e hoke. Also a bayte in the osyer leyf : yonge frosshys the
thre-fete kitte of by the body : & the fourth by the knee. The bayte
on the hawthorn̄ & the codworme togyder & a grubbe that bredyth
in a dunghyll : and a grete greshop. ¶ In Iuyll the greshop & the
humbylbee in the medow. Also yonge bees & yonge hornettes. Also a
grete brended flye that bredith in pathes of medowes & the flye that
is amonge pysmeers hyllys. ¶ In August take wortwormes & magotes vnto
Myghelmas. ¶ In Septembre the redde worme : & also take the baytes
whan ye may gete the | ym : that is to wyte / Cheryes : yonge myce
not heeryd : & the hon | ie combe.

++THe breeme is a noble fysshe & a deyntous. And ye shall angle for
hym from Marche vnto August wyth a redde worme : & then̄e wyth a
butter flye & a grene flye. & with a bayte that bredyth amonge grene
rede : and a bayte that bre | dyth in the barke of a deed tree. ¶ And
for bremettis : take mag | gotes. ¶ And fro that tyme forth all the
yere after take the red worme : and in the ryuer browne breede. Moo
baytes there ben but they ben not easy & therfore I lete theym passe
ouer.

++A Tenche is a good fyssh : and heelith all manere of other fysshe
that ben hurte yf they maye come to hym. He is the most parte of
the yere in the mudde. And he styryth moost in Iune & Iuly : and in
other seasons but lytyll. He is an euyll byter. his baytes ben thyse.
For all the yere browne bree | de tostyd wyth hony in lyknesse of
a butteryd loof : and the gre | te redde worme. And as for cheyf
take the blacke blood in y^e her | te of a shepe & floure and hony.
And tempre theym all togyder somdeale softer than paast : & anoynt
therwyth the redde worme : bothe for this fysshe & for other. And
they woll byte moche the better therat at all tymes.
¶ The perche is a daynteuous fysshe & passynge holsom and {18} a
free bytyng. Thise ben his baytes. In Marche the redde wor | me. In
Aprill the bobbe vnder the cowe torde. In May the slo | thorn̄ worme
& the codworme. In Iune the bayte that bredith in an olde fallen oke
& the grete canker. In Iuyll the bayte that bredyth on the osyer leyf
& the bobbe that bredeth on the dung | hyll : and the hawthorn̄ worme
& the codworme. In August the redde worme & maggotes. All the yere
after the red worme as for the beste.
¶ The roche is an easy fysshe to take : And yf he be fatte &
pen | nyd thenne is he good meete. & thyse ben his baytes. In Marche
the most redy bayte is the red worme. In Apryll the bobbe vnder the
cowe torde. In May the bayte y^t bredyth on the oke leyf & the bobbe
in the dunghyll. In Iune the bayte that bredith on the osyer & the
codworme. In Iuyll hous flyes. & the bayte that bredith on an oke.
and the notworme & mathewes & maggotes tyll Myghelmas. And after y^t
the fatte of bakon.
¶ The dace is a gentyll fysshe to take. & yf it be well refet then̄
is it good meete. In Marche his bayte is a redde worme. In Apryll the
bobbe vnder the cowe torde. In May the docke can | ker & the bayte on
y^e slothorn̄ and on the oken leyf. In Iune the codworme & the bayte
on the osyer and the whyte grubbe in y^e dunghyll. In Iuyll take hous
flyes & flyes that brede in pysmer hylles : the codworme & maggotes
vnto Mighelmas. And yf the water be clere ye shall take fysshe whan
other take none And fro that tyme forth doo as ye do for the roche.
For comyn | ly theyr bytynge & theyr baytes ben lyke. ¶ The bleke
is but a feble fysshe. yet he is holsom His baytes from Marche to
Myghelmas be the same that I haue wryten before. For the roche &
darse sauynge all the somer season asmo | che as ye maye angle for
hym wyth an house flye : & in wynter season w^t bakon & other bayte
made as ye herafter may know.
¶ The ruf is ryght an holsom fysshe : And ye shall angle to him wyth
the same baytes in al seasons of the yere & in the same wi | se
as I haue tolde you of the perche : for they ben lyke in fysshe &
fedinge / sauynge the ruf is lesse. And therfore he must haue y^e
smaller bayte.
¶ The flounder is an holsom fisshe & a free. and a subtyll byter in
his manere : For comynly whan he soukyth his meete he {19} fedyth
at grounde. & therfore ye must angle to hym wyth a gro | unde lyne
lyenge. And he hath but one manere of bayte. & that is a red worme.
whiche is moost cheyf for all manere of fysshe.
¶ The gogen is a good fisshe of the mochenes : & he byteth wel at
the grounde. And his baytes for all the yere ben thyse. y^e red
worme : codworme : & maggotes. And ye must angle to him w^t a flote.
& lete your bayte be nere y^e botom or ellis on y^e gron̄de.
¶ The menow whan he shynith in the water then̄ is he byttyr And
though his body be lytyll yet he is a rauenous biter & an egre.
And ye shall angle to hym wyth the same baytes that ye doo for the
gogyn : sauynge they must be smalle.
¶ The ele is a quasy fysshe a rauenour & a deuourer of the bro | de
of fysshe. And for the pyke also is a deuourer of fysshe I put them
bothe behynde all other to angle. For this ele ye shall fyn | de an
hole in the grounde of the water. & it is blewe blackysshe there put
in your hoke tyll that it be a fote wythin y^e hole. and your bayte
shall be a grete angyll twytch or a menow.
¶ The pyke is a good fysshe : but for he deuouryth so many as well of
his owne kynde as of other : I loue hym the lesse. & for to take hym
ye shall doo thus. Take a codlynge hoke : & take a roche or a fresshe
heering & a wyre wyth an hole in the ende : & put it in at the mouth
& out at the taylle downe by the ridge of the fresshe heeryng. And
thenne put the lyne of your hoke in af | ter. & drawe the hoke in
to the cheke of y^e fresshe heeryng. Then̄ put a plumbe of lede
vpon your lyne a yerde longe from youre hoke & a flote in mydwaye
betwene : & caste it in a pytte where the pyke vsyth. And this is the
beste & moost surest crafte of ta | kynge the pyke. ¶ A nother manere
takynge of him there is. Take a frosshe & put it on your hoke at the
necke bytwene the skynne & body on y^e backe half : & put on a flote
a yerde ther | fro : & caste it where the pyke hauntyth and ye shall
haue hym. ¶ A nother manere. Take the same bayte & put it in Asa
fetida & cast it in the water wyth a corde & a corke : & ye shall not
fayll of hym. And yf ye lyst to haue a good sporte : thenne tye the
co | rde to a gose fote : & ye shall se god halynge whether the gose
or the pyke shall haue the better.

++NOw ye wote with what baytes & how ye shall angle to euery manere
fysshe. Now I woll tell you how ye shall {20} kepe and fede your
quycke baytes. Ye shall fede and kepe them all in generall : but
euery manere by hymself wyth suche thyngꝭ in and on whiche they
brede. And as longe as they ben quycke & newe they ben fyne. But
whan they ben in a slough or elles deed thenne ben they nought.
Oute of thyse ben excepted thre brodes : That is to wyte of
hornettys : humbylbees. & waspys. whom ye shall bake in breede &
after dyppe theyr heedes in blo | de & lete them drye. Also excepte
maggotes : whyche whan thei ben bredde grete wyth theyr naturell
fedynge : ye shall fede the | ym ferthermore wyth shepes talow &
wyth a cake made of flou | re & hony. thenne woll they be more
grete. And whan ye haue clensyd theym wyth sonde in a bagge of
blanket kepte hote vn | der your gowne or other warm̄ thyng two
houres or thre. then̄ ben they beste & redy to angle wyth. And of
the frosshe kytte y^e legge by the knee. of the grasshop the leggys
& wynges by the body.
¶ Thyse ben baytes made to laste all the yere. Fyrste been flou | re
& lene flesshe of the hepis of a cony or of a catte : virgyn wexe &
shepys talowe : and braye theym in a morter : And thenne tem | pre it
at the fyre wyth a lytyll puryfyed hony : & soo make it vp in lytyll
ballys & bayte therwyth your hokys after theyr quan | tyte. & this is
a good bayte for all manere fresshe fysshe.
¶ A nother take the sewet of a shepe & chese in lyke quantyte : &
braye theim togider longe in a mortere : And take thenne floure &
tempre it therwyth. and after that alaye it wyth hony & make ballys
therof. and that is for the barbyll in especyall.
¶ A nother for darse. & roche & bleke. take whete & sethe it well &
thenne put it in blood all a daye & a nyghte. and it is a good bayte.
¶ For baytes for grete fyssh kepe specyally this rule. Whan ye haue
take a grete fysshe : vndo the mawe. & what ye fynde therin make that
your bayte : for it is beste.

¶ Thyse ben the .xij. flyes wyth whyche ye shall angle to y^e
tro | ught & grayllyng / and dubbe lyke as ye shall now here me tell.


¶ Marche.

{21}

++THe donne flye the body of the donne woll & the wyngis of the
pertryche. A nother doone flye. the body of blacke woll : the wynges
of the blackyst drake : and the Iay vnd^r the wynge & vnder the
tayle.      ¶ Apryll.
¶ The stone flye. the body of blacke wull : & yelowe vnder the wynge.
and vnder the tayle & the wynges of the drake. In the begynnynge
of May a good flye. the body of roddyd wull and lappid abowte
wyth blacke sylke : the wynges of the drake & of the redde capons
hakyll.      ¶ May.
¶ The yelow flye. the body of yelow wull : the wynges of the redde
cocke hakyll & of the drake lyttyd yelow. The blacke lou | per. the
body of blacke wull & lappyd abowte wyth the herle of y^e pecok
tayle : & the wynges of y^e redde capon w^t a blewe heed.
¶ Iune.      ¶ The donne cutte : the body of blacke wull & a yelow
lyste after eyther syde : the wynges of the bosarde bounde on with
barkyd hempe. The maure flye. the body of doske wull the wynges of
the blackest mayle of the wylde drake. The tan | dy flye at saynt
Wyllyams daye. the body of tandy wull & the wynges contrary eyther
ayenst other of the whitest mayle of y^e wylde drake.      ¶ Iuyll.
¶ The waspe flye. the body of blacke wull & lappid abowte w^t yelow
threde : the winges of the bosarde. The shell flye at saynt Thomas
daye. the body of grene wull & lappyd abowte wyth the herle of the
pecoks tayle : wynges of the bosarde.
¶ August.      ¶ The drake flye. the body of blacke wull & lappyd
abowte wyth blacke sylke : wynges of the mayle of the blac | ke drake
wyth a blacke heed.

[Illustration : ¶ Thyse fygures are put here in ensample of your
hokes.]

{22}

¶ Here folowyth the order made to all those whiche shall haue the
vnderstondynge of this forsayde treatyse & vse it for theyr pleasures.

++Ye that can angle & take fysshe to your plesures as this forsayd
treatyse techyth & shewyth you : I charge & requyre you in the name
of alle noble men that ye fysshe not in noo poore mannes seuerall
water : as his ponde : stewe : or other necessary thynges to kepe
fysshe in wythout his lycence & good wyll. ¶ Nor that ye vse not to
breke noo mannys gynnys lyenge in theyr weares & in other places due
vnto theym. Ne to take the fysshe awaye that is taken in theym. For
after a fysshe is taken in a mannys gynne yf the gynne be layed in
the comyn waters : or elles in suche waters as he hireth / it is his
ow | ne propre goodes. And yf ye take it awaye ye robbe hym : whyche
is a ryght shamfull dede to ony noble man to do y^t that the | uys
& brybours done : whyche are punysshed for theyr euyll de | des by
the necke & otherwyse whan they maye be aspyed & taken. And also yf
ye doo in lyke manere as this treatise shewyth you : ye shal haue no
nede to take of other men̄ys : whiles ye shal haue ynough of your
owne takyng yf ye lyste to labour therfo | re. whyche shall be to
you a very pleasure to se the fayr bryght shynynge scalyd fysshes
dysceyued by your crafty meanes and drawen vpon londe. ¶ Also that ye
breke noo mannys heggys in goynge abowte your dysportes : ne opyn noo
mannes gates but that ye shytte theym agayn. ¶ Also ye shall not vse
this for | sayd crafty dysporte for no couetysenes to thencreasynge
& spa | rynge of your money oonly / but pryncypally for your solace
& to cause the helthe of your body. and specyally of your soule. For
whanne ye purpoos to goo on your disportes in fysshyng ye woll not
desyre gretly many persones wyth you. whiche my | ghte lette you
of your game. And thenne ye maye serue god de | uowtly in sayenge
affectuously youre custumable prayer. And thus doynge ye shall
eschewe & voyde many vices. as ydylnes whyche is pryncypall cause to
enduce man to many other vyces. as it is ryght well knowen. ¶ Also ye
shall not be to raueno | us in takyng of your sayd game as to moche
at one tyme : whi | che ye maye lyghtly doo yf ye doo in euery poynt
as this present treatyse shewyth you in euery poynt. whyche sholde
{23} lyght | ly be occasyon to dystroye your owne dysportes & other
mennys also. As whan ye haue a suffycyent mese ye sholde coueyte
nomore as at that tyme. ¶ Also ye shall besye yourselfe to nouryssh
the game in all that ye maye : & to dystroye all suche thyn | ges as
ben deuourers of it. ¶ And all those that done after this rule shall
haue the blessynge of god & saynt Petyr / whyche he theym graunte
that wyth his precyous blood vs boughte.

¶ And for by cause that this present treatyse sholde not come to
the hondys of eche ydle persone whyche wolde desire it yf it were
enpryntyd allone by itself & put in a lytyll plaunflet ther | fore I
haue compylyd it in a greter volume of dyuerse bokys concernynge to
gentyll & noble men to the entent that the for | sayd ydle persones
whyche sholde haue but lytyll mesure in the sayd dysporte of fysshyng
sholde not by this meane vtterly dys | troye it.



TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE :

Original spelling and grammar have been generally retained, with
some exceptions noted here. Long s (“ſ”, Unicode character u+017f)
have been replaced by “s”. Words that were broken at the end of a
line using a word continuation mark, either hyphen or double oblique
hyphen (u+2e17), have been rejoined. Supposed words that were broken
at the end of a line, but without a word continuation mark, have been
rejoined by inserting a vertical line (u+7c) with thin spaces between
the two parts of the supposed word. For example, the word “whiche”
was often broken after the _i_, and would then be transcribed as
“whi | che”. I produced the cover image and hereby assign it to
the public domain. In the text edition, italic text is marked with
low lines (“_”, u+5f); small capitals text is made uppercase;
superscripted text is marked with “^” (u+5e). Original page images
are available from archive.org—search for “treatyseoffysshy00bern”.

The blackletter pages of the original book had no printed page
numbers. Page numbers have been inserted into these ebook editions.
If a page number would properly lie within a broken word or a
supposed broken word, then the whole word was moved just below the
page number.

There were throughout the blackletter part of the printed book
instances of a symbol that resembled a y with a smudge over it. These
are likely variously e over y or t over y, i.e. abbreviations for
_the_ and _that_. These symbols have been transcribed according to
context as y^e or y^t. On page 16 there was what looks like a “d”
with a smudge over it, which has been transcribed as “d^r”. Other
abbreviations that include a smudged small letter include “wy^t”,
“w^t”, “togyd^r”, etc. In all these instances, the superscripted mark
is a guess based on context.

Paragraphs or sections in the blackletter part were variously marked.
Sections were indicated by either _capitulum_ or else drop cap.
Sparsely supported capitulum (u+2e3f) is replaced by pilcrow (u+b6)
in all editions. The text was justified, and sometimes a capitulum
would be preceded by white space on the right end of a line of
text and a line-break, sometimes by only a single space. Sometimes
vertical white space preceded a capitulum or drop cap; sometimes not.
There are three instances (see pages 3 and 9) of white space on the
right end of a line of text followed by a new sentence on a new line,
but without either capitulum or drop cap. In these ebook editions,
either printed vertical space or a drop cap is transcribed as the
beginning of a new paragraph, i.e. as a new _< p >_ element in the
html edition. Drop caps are indicated in the text edition by “++”
preceding the letter.

The colon (u+3a) is used liberally throughout the blackletter part of
the book. It was usually printed with no space on either side; less
often with a space only on the right side; and rarely with a space
only on the left side. Examples of the latter occur at page 4 line 4
and at page 8 line 2. In this transcription, the colon spacing has
been standardized in the blackletter part of the book to narrow space
on both sides.

Likewise, the glyph we would call _period_ or _full stop_ (u+2e) was
variously printed with no space on either side, or space on one or
both sides. These have been standardized to modern usage: space on
right side only. This glyph seems to have been used variously in the
ways we would use full stop or comma. In addition, roman numerals
are transcribed with the full stop as in, for instance, “wyth .xij.
heeres” (example is from page 10). In many places full stops seem to
be missing from the end of a sentence; these have not been corrected.

In the following sentence from page 1, “Salamon in his parablys sayth
that a good spyryte makyth a flourynge aege / that is a fayre aege &
a longe.”, the “ / ” is our transcription of a glyph shaped somewhat
like an abundantly distorted “3”, compressed horizontally. This glyph
has been interpreted herein as punctuation, similar to our modern
comma or virgule. The glyph was variously printed with no space on
either side, or with space on both sides, or with space on the right
side. In this ebook, the glyph has been transcribed as solidus (u+2f)
with thin space on both sides.

There is one exception. On page 20, line 1, the following sentence
appears: “Ye shall fede and kepe them all in generall : but euery
manere by hymself wyth suche thyngꝭ in and on whiche they brede”.
In the html/epub/mobi editions, the mark after _thyng_ is shown
as an image of the original mark. This mark strongly resembles the
glyphs that have been elsewhere transcribed as solidus, but is bolder
and more angular. The text edition transcribes this instance as “ꝭ”
(u+a76d, Latin small letter IS)


Page 2. The following sentence appears: “The seconde is labour not
outrageoꝰ.” In the text edition, the mark following _outrageo_ has
been transcribed as “ꝰ” (u+a770, modifier letter US). This character
occurs only once in the text.

Page 7. The phrase “For is is lyke y^e wedys” was changed to “For
it is lyke y^e wedys”. In the phrase rendered herein as “that it
woll desyre ynough”, it has been suggested that the penultimate word
should perhaps be “befyxe” instead.

Page 8. In “And gretter hokes ye shall mabe in the same wyse”, “mabe”
should perhaps be “make”?

Page 10. In the illustration caption, “Pln̄be : Corke” should perhaps
be “Plūbe : Corke”.

Page 12. In “the more he smymmyth aboue”, the word should perhaps be
“swymmyth”.

Page 13. In “in ony other placys where ye may se ony fyssh houe or
ha | ne ony fedynge”, “ha | ne” should perhaps be “ha | ue”?

Page 17. In the phrase rendered herein “heeryd : & the hon | ie
combe.”, “hon | ie” was originally printed as “hou | ie”.

Page 18. A smudge after the ampersand was ignored in the phrase “on
the osyer & the codworme”.

Page 19. In “cast it in the water wyth a corde & a corke ”, the
illegible mark ahead of “cord” has been transcribed “a ”. Also, the
phrase “or ellis on y^e gron̄de” possibly should be “or ellis on y^e
groūde”.

Page 20. In “But whan they ben in a slough”, the original print
looked like “ben|in”, with a thick black line between “ben” and “in”.
In the phrase “¶ A nother take the sewet”, there was a smudge after
“nother” that might be taken for a comma, removed from this ebook
edition. There were no other commas in the blackletter section of the
book.





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