When the fish is discovered the hook
is quietly dropped into the water and allowed to float, in seeming,
along, till close under it. The rod is then jerked up, and the barb
enters the body of the fish and drags it out.
This plan requires, of course, that the fish should be visible, and if
stationary is more easily practised; but it is also effective even
against small fish that swim together in large shoals, for if the hook
misses one it strikes another. The most fatal time for fish is when they
spawn: roach, jack, and trout alike are then within reach, and if the
poacher dares to visit the water he is certain of a haul.
Even in the present day and in the south a fawn is now and then stolen
from parks and forests where deer are kept. Being small, it is not much
more difficult to hide than a couple of hares; and once in the carrier's
cart and at a little distance no one asks any questions. Such game
always finds a ready sale; and when a savoury dish is on the table those
who are about to eat it do not inquire whence it came any more than the
old folk did centuries ago. A nod and a wink are the best sauce. As the
keepers are allowed to sell a certain number of fawns (or say they are),
it is not possible for any one at a distance to know whether the game
was poached or not. An ordinary single-barrel muzzle-loader of the
commonest kind with a charge of common shot will kill a fawn.
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