ROACH 



free from weeds. It is a good ruse to throw in soaked 

 bread, or boiled wheat, to bring the fish on the feed, and 

 thus get them to assemble in the vicinity. For bait, use 

 bread crust, maggots, gentles, grubs, or larvas as they are 

 variously called, and in season the larva of the caddis 

 fly is a very killing lure. Always plumb the accurate 

 depth of the water, and fish just clear of the bottom. Fine 

 tackle is essential. This species deposits its greenish 

 eggs (which turn red when boiled), in April or May, 



and it then visits a tributary of the main stream, or 



resorts to shallow water where there is a good supply of 



weeds. They congregate in large numbers at spawning 



time, and are said, like the Gudgeon, to make a noise by 



the movements they carry out. As with the Barbel and 



Gudgeon, the male Roach acquires small tubercles on 



the head and other parts during the breeding season. 



The natural food is made up of insects and their larvse, 



molluscs, weeds, etc. Although not a shy fish, the 



Roach is very wary, and at times it is most aggravating to 



see a shoal of big fish in clear water which simply refuse 



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