TENCH 389 



Before they begin to cast their greenish spawn, which is 

 ■early in May — for tench do not spawn in shoals, but spawn 

 here and there in parties from May till July ; indeed, all the 

 tench have spawned by the time the wheat is in flower 

 — the Broadsmen are on their track with landing-nets and 

 poles, darts, their fingers (by tickling), and bush-nets ; and, 

 later on, once they begin to spawn, with bow-nets. 



At this season, on a fine warm April day, the Broadsman 

 goes down to the broad, and sets his bush-net round a reed- 

 bush on the channel side of the reed. The net is several 

 yards long and three feet deep, weighted with leads and 

 floated by corks. The old tench-catcher gets into the thin 

 jungle of reed, sere bolder, and rising lily-leaves — a jungle 

 alive with midges in the still hot air — and " plounces " 

 his quant, driving the fish before him towards the channel 

 and the net. And you may distinguish the fish as they fly 

 startled, before the old fisherman in his marsh-boat — the 

 pike fly like lightning through the water, rattling the sere 

 reed-stalks, but do not run so far ; the bream go farther 

 than the pike, but move more slowly; whilst the tench run 

 and bubble, going " any way," and not in a straight path, as 

 do the bream and pike. In fleet water, of course, you can 

 see the fish themselves, but in deep water you know where 

 they bring up by the shaking gladen or reed-leaves. A 

 tench does not like too much of this treatment, and if 

 flushed three or four times, he grows sulky, and will not 

 stir till prodded with a pole. Sometimes a stamp of the 

 foot on the boat may do it, however. Perhaps the old 

 fisherman will fish for tench in three ways in the same place. 

 He has his bush-net spread, and he takes his landing-net 

 and drives sulky tench into it with his quant, or else he 

 may bare his arm, and feel for the fish (taking care not to 

 touch its tail), and the fish must not see him. Of course he 

 knows the fish's whereabouts by the moving reed or gladen, 

 for he watches him when he runs, and softly works his low 

 marsh-boat up to the fish. But this method is practised 



