THE BEST BAITS FOR ROACH. 299 



with the meal ground-bait, recommended in the 

 chapter on baits, particularly if you are angling 

 with paste. With whatever bait you angle, 

 ground-bait with a similar substance. Captain 

 Williamson says, ( You will find it proper to bait 

 the place where you fish, with oatmeal a little 

 browned over the fire, and then made up into 

 balls with a small quantity of treacle. This draws 

 them together far better than any other ground- 

 bait I ever heard of. Throw a piece of it about 

 the size of a marble, now and then, where your 

 hook lies. It will gradually be dissolved, and 

 attract numbers.' 



Eoach will take artificial flies, but not so well 

 as the dace. They like them best when tipped 

 with a gentle, and sunk a few inches beneath the 

 surface of the water. Salmon-roe is a capital 

 bait for roach in still waters. In the spring 

 months small red worms are the best baits. Then, 

 on the approach of summer and during it, caddies, 

 larvae, and bobs and grubs of all sorts. In autumn 

 and winter, gentles and pastes. I will conclude 

 with an excellent extract from Captain William- 

 son : ' When the roach lie in the tide-way, you 

 must only expect them to bite when the flood 

 comes in ; especially at the first of it, when they 

 commonly are very keen. If there are fish in 

 the water, they will bite during the latter part of 

 the ebb. At such times they lie chiefly on the 



