Chap. 14. 0/tbeGUDGEOlS^. 2^1 



CHAP. XIV. 

 Of the GUDGEON. 



TH E Gudgeon is a Fifli of excellent Tafle,. 

 and reputed to be very wholfome ; has 

 a fine Shape, is of a filver Colour, and beau- 

 tified with black Spots both on his Body and 

 Tail, The whiter he is, the better ; and, when 

 in Perfedtion, he well deferves the Name 

 of the River- Smelt, He breeds in March 

 or April % fome fay two or three Times in the 

 Year, and always in the Summer. He is com- 

 mended for a Fifh of excellent Nourifhment, 

 eafy of Digeftion, and increafing good Blood. 

 He delights in fandy gravelly Bottoms, gentle 

 Streams, and fmall Rivers. He feeds on the 

 Ground, and there feafts himfelf in fharp 

 Streams, and on the Gravel. He and the Bar- 

 bel refemble each other in this, neither of which 

 hunt for Flies at any Time, as mod other 

 Fifhes do. He is an excellent Filh to enter a 

 young Angler, being eafy to be taken with a 

 fmall Red-worm^ on, or very near to, the 

 Ground. 



When you angle for him in Shallows, ftir 

 the Ground or Sand with a Pole, to make them 

 come together. He bites all Day from the 

 End of March till Michaelmas^ but feldom in 

 cold Weather, after a Flood, or the Dark. 

 Gilt' tails and Brandlings are his chief Baits. 

 He is one of thofe leather- mouthed Filh that 



has 



