!32 BRITISH FRESH-WATER FISHES 



will certainly carry away the tackle, unless there be means of 

 giving him line. 



It is for this and other reasons that Mr. Wheeley recom- 

 mends a ten-foot rod with deal butt, cane centre, and solid 

 heavy top of lancewood or greenheart. The significance of 

 the last provision arises out of the peculiar style of Nottingham 

 fishing, which, indeed, is a beautiful craft. It consists of 

 allowing a light quill float to carry the bait a great distance 

 down-stream, by means of a light-running winch and fine, 

 greased running line. He who would " hit " a roach thirty 

 yards away, must be equipped with a rod powerful enough in 

 the top to strike that length of line instantaneously off the 

 water. Some anglers insist upon using single horsehair next 

 the hook ; but there are master hands who reckon this an 

 unnecessary refinement, and are satisfied with fine drawn, or 

 even the finest undrawn, gut. 



The favourite baits are gentles, paste, or boiled wheat ; 

 worms are effective at times ; at others, roach may be taken 

 by dapping on the surface with a grasshopper or large fly. 



The Rudd (Leuciscus erythroghthalmus} 



FINS. 



Dorsal : 10 to 12 rays. 

 Anal : 13 to 15 rays. 

 Pectoral : 15 or 16 rays. 

 Ventral : 9 or 10 rays. 

 Caudal : 17 rays. 



TEETH. 



Pharyngeal, distinctly 

 serrated. None on 

 vomer or tongue. 



The rudd is so like the roach in general appearance, size, 

 and habits, that it often gets that name ; but, besides a dif- 

 ference in coloration, there is one constant feature which 

 distinguishes the two species. In the roach, a vertical line 

 dropped from the front of the dorsal fin will intersect the 

 ventral fin, or, at any rate, fall close behind it ; whereas in 

 the rudd a line so drawn will pass a considerable distance 



