BARBEL AND GUDGEON 
the eggs are covered over by the parent fish. The 
Barbel is a tenacious species, and affords good sport to 
the angler, but its habits must be well known to lure it 
successfully. Care should be taken in eating this fish 
as, if it contains roe, this should be removed to guard 
against poison contained therein. 
Barbel Fig AS 
Gudgeon._-Gobio fluviatilis (Fig. 44). This happy- 
go-lucky little fish is indelibly linked. up with one’s 
boyhood days, when either big fish or little were con- 
sidered “ great game.’ It is a most sociable species, 
and loves to congregate on gravel or mud where the water 
is fast-flowing. It keeps very low in the water, but is so 
fastidious in its taste that it will allow most tempting 
baits to pass right over the shoal without effect. If, 
however, the fish are on the feed, a large number may be 
caught in a very short time. A small red worm, or the 
larva of a caddis fly, are the best baits to use. It may 
be looked upon as a small edition of the Barbel, but it is 
relegated to another genus because of the arrangement 
of the teeth. It has one barbel only on each side of the 
mouth. ‘The general colour is brownish or greenish on 
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