66 THK ANGLERS GUIDE. 



and very strong ; with this sharp -pointed ray the Bar- 

 bel is enabled to defend itself, break the Angler" s 

 tackle, &c. The back, or dorsal fin has also a sharp 

 strong ray, which, doubtless, the Fish uses for its pro- 

 tection. The Barbel, when well grown and in sea- 

 son, I think, is a very handsome, noble looking Fish. 



Very large Barbel are taken in the river Lea, all the 

 way from Hackney Marshes as far up this river as 

 Waltham-abbey, particularly in the subscription water 

 at Bleak-hall, Edmonton, formerly called Cook's 

 ferry, and at Shury's water, called ' Flander's Weir, 

 and so on to Waltham-abbey. Barbel are very rarely 

 taken as high up as Broxbourn and Hoddesdon, on the 

 Lea. In the river Thames, as far as the City of Lon- 

 don claims the right of Fishery, the heaviest are 

 taken at Staines, Chertsey-bridge, Shepperton, Wal- 

 ton, and Hampton-deeps. They are also taken at 

 Thames Ditton, Kingston, Twickenham, and Rich- 

 mond 3 but seldom so large as at the first-mentioned 

 places. Barbel are also numerous in Germany, 

 France, Spain, and Portugal. 



Barbel grow to very large size in the river Thames. 

 I knew of one, in Hampton-deeps, in the year 1816, 

 which had been hooked by several Anglers, but al- 

 ways broke their tackle. The boatmen, at Hampton, 

 thought this must weigh near thirty pounds, and 

 from its bold and piratical practices, they named him 

 '^ Paul Jones." The largest in the river Lea, that I 

 know of, was taken at Mr. Basset's Mills, Seward- 

 stone, weighing eighteen pounds. 



