or
fish baits on the bottom. The burbot of America has similar
characteristics.

_Sturgeon_.--The sturgeons, of which there are a good many species in
Europe and America, are of no use to the angler. They are anadromous
fishes of which little more can be said than that a specimen might
take a bottom bait once in a way. In Russia they are sometimes caught
on long lines armed with baited hooks, and occasionally an angler
hooks one. Such a case was reported from California in _The Field_ of
the 19th of August 1905.

_Shad_.--Two other anadromous fish deserve notice. The first is the
shad, a herring-like fish of which two species, allice and twaite
(_Clupea alosa_ and _C. finta_), ascend one or two British and several
continental rivers in the spring. The twaite is the more common, and
in the Severn, Wye and Teme it sometimes gives very fair sport to
anglers, taking worm and occasionally fly or small spinning bait. It
is a good fighter, and reaches a weight of about 3 lb. Its sheen when
first caught is particularly beautiful. America also has shads.

_Flounder_.--The other is the flounder (_Pleuronectes flesus_), the
only flat-fish which ascends British rivers. It is common a long way
up such rivers as the Severn, far above tidal influence, and it will
take almost any flesh-bait used on the bottom. A flounder of 1 lb is,
in a river, a large one, but heavier examples are sometimes caught.

_Eel_.--The eel (_Anguilla vulgaris_) is regarded by the angler more
as a nuisance than a sporting fish, but when of considerable size (and
it often reaches a weight of 8 lb or more) it is a splendid fighter
and stronger than almost any fish that swims. Its life history has
long been disputed, but it is now accepted that it breeds in the sea
and ascends rivers in its youth. It is found practically everywhere,
and its occurrence in isolated ponds to which it has never been
introduced by human agency has given rise to a theory that it travels
overland as well as by water. The best baits for eels are worms and
small fish, and the best time to use them is at night or in thundery
or very wet weather.

_Sea Angling._

Sea angling is attended by almost as many refinements of tackle and
method as fresh-water angling. The chief differences are differences
of locality and the habits of the fish. To a certain extent sea
angling may also be divided into three classes--fishing on the surface
with the fly, at mid-water with spinning or other b