36 THE ANGLER S GUIDE. 



CHAP. VI. 



BOTTOM FISHING. 



THE PINK OR MINNOW. 



Minnows are very numerous in the Thames, Lea> 

 and New Rivers. They are very small Fish, and little 

 valued by the Angler, excepting as bait for Trout, 

 Perch, or Chub ; the Minnow bites very freely at a 

 blood worm, a small piece of red worm, gentles, or 

 paste — the tackle should be very light, and a No. 13 

 hook, baited with a small worm, or rather say a piece of 

 worm ', they are taken all day, from March till winter, 

 on the gravelly shallows or swims ; also at the mouth 

 of ditches that fall into rivers, and at mill-tails : strike 

 the moment you see a bite. 



REMARKS ON MINNOWS. 



In size, the Minnows are the smallest of the Carp spe- 

 cies, and seldom exceed three inches ; being a hand- 

 some fish in shape and colour, when quite in season. 

 The back is of a dark colour, the sides of a golden 

 hue, much like the Tench, and the belly white ; some 

 are spotted on the body with red spots, and variegated 

 with blue and yellow. Minnows differ a good deal 

 in point of colour in different waters, and are generally 

 called pinks, in the north, when they have red spots on 



