shakespeare thee angler

An interesting historical read sifting thru the whats and wherefors of thee bard's angling references. Yep, somebody counted.
Money Quote:

But Shakespeare also refers to freshwater fish — to salmon, trout, pike, dace, carp, tench, loach, gudgeon, eels and minnows, fish which he may once have caught. Moreover, he often uses "angling" and "bait" to describe how his characters behave and, as an angler might, he portrays streams and rivers with fondness. As Dr Johnson argued two centuries ago, a man who wants to understand Shakespeare mustn't only study him indoors, so to speak — "he must look for his meaning sometimes among the sports of the field."

Via farreaches.org