Fishing  Book III, Chapter 16, Section 5
 
Section V.
The next and last thing for the recreation of the body, is fishing. now the skill therein is diuersely exercised some tyme with netts, sometymes with hookes, sometymes with salmon speares, or Eele speares, and ginnes, otherwise with Puttes and Weeles.


Fishers pannier
 78. He beareth a Fishers pannier, or paunder.


Pouch
  79. He beareth a Pouch, or a Pouge, or a bob; this is an other kind of thing which fishers put either their baite, or the fish they take into, though some terme it a Palmers scrip, tassells and buckled.


Eel spear
 80. He beareth the head of an Eele speare. With this at the end of a long pole, or halfe a speare, Eeles are take out of deep mudds.


Salmon spear
 81. He beareth a salmon speare.
Either this, or the eele speare when it is in its full shape, are to be set on the tops of speares, thereby to strike the deeper into the water, or mud.


Eel spear
 82. This is the old way of makeing the head of an Eele speare but I should rather take it for an old fashioned yelve or dung Forke: but aboue all for a Tridente or Neptunes Mace. Se lib.2 cha.2 numb.65[correctly book III].
A cheueron betweene 3 such (which Mr. Gwilliams calls Eeles speares) is borne by the name of Stratele.


Double fish hook
 83. He beareth a double fish hooke, fixed into a peece of woode, or corke. This is by some termed a cod fish hooke, but by Fishers and Anglers it is termed a Snapper being made with a loop at the top.


Fish hook
Proof plate Image from proof plate
In the base of this quarter is a fish hooke, by which Anglers catch small fish, as trouts, and such like: the tongue of the hooke, is that little tang or slip on the inside of it, which being stricken into any part of the fish hinders the hooke from comeing out. Some call it the barbe of the hooke.


Fish wheel
 84. He beareth a Weele with its hoope vpward. This is also termed a Fishard, or a Ware, These kind of Weeles, if made of nets, and hoopes: are of most fishers called, Hoop-nets, the hoopes only Keeping them open for the fish to goe in, and being in cannot come out againe: else generally weeles, are made of strong hoopes, and Osiers interwoven.


Double fish wheel
 85. He beareth a double weele ( or a weele double hooped: between a fish hooke double tongued (or tongued on each side) and a Hooke. This weele is termed a weele with two ends, or holes: for fish to get in at; which when in, there is no getting out againe, from whence came the proverbe, I catched him with a weele: that is, I got him in so, that he could not get out.



Wheels
 86. He beareth two weeles with chaines conioned to an Annulet.



Frett or net
Proof plate Image from proof plate
87. He beareth a Frett, or Nett, quartered.


Network
Proof plate Image from proof plate
88. He beareth the feild wrought throw out with nett worke.



Fishers basket
 89. He beareth a fishers Baskett. This is a kind of cage, or Bottle Baskett in which fish is kept, and transported from place to place by fishers, or fish-mongers. It is made of Twiggs round, with a flat bottome, and at the top is drawne In narrow after the shap of a neck and shoulders of a bottle.


Land net
 90. He beareth a Land nett hung at an Annulett in cheife.
This is by Piscators termed a land nett, from it use: for the Angler haueing taken a large fish, which cannot get out of the water without endangering the lose of his hooke and line, or breaking of his rod. It is then his policy to let the fish play with his hook and line, and let him goe at pleasure, then giue him a little check, so by little and little he will be drawne neere the shoare; where haueing one of these netts, ready fixed to the end of a long pole, or staffe, they put it under the fish, and so beare it out of the water to land.
The nett hath also an other use and then it is termed an Eele nett, or a flood nett, and then the pole or staffe is fixed to the ring (whereas in the use of it for a Land nett, it was fixed to the hoope, which is no other then a larg brasse wire) and so lett downe and taken vp againe, by which kind of action (in the ebbing and flowing of the water) all kind of fish that swim ouer it, are sure to be taken in it.


Labyrinth
  91. He beareth a Laborinth.
Some terme this the Maze, or runing of the Mazes. This is an Intricate goeing in and out of a walke, which hath many turnings and windings: or a building that hath so many doores in it, that there could be no certaine goeing in, and when in, could not well gett out againe. Such a place as this, was Woodstock Bower, which had so many hundred doore it it, that noe could goe right in and out, but by a clew of thrid.


Stilts
 [Identified on the drawing but not included on the plate.]

Related text(s)   Country games

Previous section   Next section

 

 
icon  Back to Main Text and Picture index  

[Table of Contents] [Picture Index] [Image List]
[Table of Subjects] [Text Index]   [Ms Pages]
[Introduction: Randle Holme and The Academy of Armory] [Introduction: Editing the CD-ROM]
[Copyright details] [Site map] [Guided Tour]



icon  © 2000 The British Library Board