ART OF ANGLING FOR ROACH. 205 



decisive in his conclusions. Sometimes he will bite, 

 sometimes he will not bite; one never knows the reason 

 why. To catch him the fisherman must have a subtle 

 eye and a steady hand. One should take all sorts of 

 precautions, for if he is curious he is also at the same 

 time excessively suspicious. He is afraid of every float 

 that is the least bit too big, so that to catch him one 

 must use the finest possible tackle." 



It is for this reason that roach fishing is such a fa- 

 vourite sport among anglers. When Assistant- Surgeon 

 in the 2nd Life Guards at Windsor, I was taught the 

 art of roach fishing by Mr. Pace, then Kegimental Mess- 

 master, than whom a better roach fisherman never 

 existed. Our best sport was obtained in the autumn 

 months, from September to Christmas. 



There is a science in everything connected with roach 

 fishing, from the making of the "ground bait" to the 

 cooking the fish. The best ground bait was prepared 

 for us by the mess cook ; it was made of bread and 

 bran, well mixed together, pounded in a mortar, and 

 then boiled to a certain consistency. Sand was then 

 mixed up with it, the quantity requisite being adjusted 

 to the rapidity of the water in the " swim" we were 

 about to fish. It was necessary the ground bait should 

 collect the fish at an exact distance from the top of the 

 rod, for if it was too near or too far from this point the 

 " swim " would be spoilt. 



Gentles are without exception the best bait for roach, 

 but any kind of gentle will not do, it must be the gentle 

 of the butcher's blue-bottle fly, and must be grown and 

 fattened upon sheep's liver, nothing else will do. It is 

 very difficult to keep these gentles throughout the 

 winter, when they are most wanted, as they are very 

 apt to convert themselves, if kept too warm, into 



