Paul Bullinger
Senior Member & Supporter
I posted an item recently "What is fishing" (thanks for responses) That item came about due to a visit to a second-hand bookshop where I was on the hunt for books on fishing. I collect older books as am fascinated as to how fishing techniques have changed over the years.
I purchased a few volumes one of which is titled "This Fishing or Angling Arts & Artifices" by Captain L.A. Parker. First edition 1948.
There is a chapter called "Clay-ball Fishing for Barbel". The author first tells you to "procure your clay" and then, basically, make up several golf ball sized balls and make a hole in the ball into which you put in "broken worms and maggots" and then seal up the balls with a weaker solution of clay. Then you get a treble hook (YES, A TREBLE HOOK! Barbed no doubt!) and put worms and maggots on each hook and then enclose it in a clay ball. The idea is to throw the clay balls into a tight area in the swim and then cast the baited clay ball in amongst them!! As the river flow breaks down the weaker area of the clay ball the worms and maggots are released as is the baited treble hook.
I shudder to think what condition the poor barbel were in after chomping down on a set of trebles. Just hope not many anglers copied his advice.
Thank goodness fish welfare is now the number one priority!!
I purchased a few volumes one of which is titled "This Fishing or Angling Arts & Artifices" by Captain L.A. Parker. First edition 1948.
There is a chapter called "Clay-ball Fishing for Barbel". The author first tells you to "procure your clay" and then, basically, make up several golf ball sized balls and make a hole in the ball into which you put in "broken worms and maggots" and then seal up the balls with a weaker solution of clay. Then you get a treble hook (YES, A TREBLE HOOK! Barbed no doubt!) and put worms and maggots on each hook and then enclose it in a clay ball. The idea is to throw the clay balls into a tight area in the swim and then cast the baited clay ball in amongst them!! As the river flow breaks down the weaker area of the clay ball the worms and maggots are released as is the baited treble hook.
I shudder to think what condition the poor barbel were in after chomping down on a set of trebles. Just hope not many anglers copied his advice.
Thank goodness fish welfare is now the number one priority!!
