DAYS STOLEN FOR SPORT 73 



for piscatorial success. It was a delight to him to 

 think he had the best of fishing tackle, and I have 

 seen him beam with delight when a professional 

 fisherman, little likety to be surprised by any ordinary 

 display, has said, 'Never seen such a splendid lot of 

 useful tackle. Cost a heap of money, I'm thinking. 

 Does one's eyes good to look at it. You should see the 

 rotten stuff some of 'em brings into this punt and you 

 wouldn't be disbelieving the big fish they loses.' 



My method of bank fishing for roach is not definable 

 by a naine, as Jack's and Ted's are, as it does not 

 conform to either the Thames, Lea, or Trent style, 

 and yet it has, so I think, some of the advantages of 

 each. I use a sixteen-foot, light, cane rod, and a hne 

 that is only a trifle shorter; thus, while obviating the 

 necessity of disjointing to land my fish, I am enabled 

 to cast well beyond my threatening pole. I can also, 

 without moving, fish well down towards the shallowing 

 end of the swim where the roach are apt to gather if 

 at all alarmed by such disturbance as the capture of 

 one of their number or, as may well be, by a sight of 

 the ever-moving and overstretching rod. When the 

 float is nearing the limit of its journey I check it to 

 give the stream time to raise the bait and take it 

 forw^ard beyond the attachment as it is then, and also 

 when the drawing back commences, that fish are 

 tempted most. 



Jack's beat that day included several deep slow 

 runs that suited well his style of fishing. He was 

 seated almost hidden amongst tall rushes with his 

 roach pole, a twenty-foot bamboo, which reached 

 beyond the belt of weeds that extended to near the 

 centre of the stream. His hair-Hne was of just sufli- 

 cient length to leave twelve inches between the float 

 — a small porcupine — and the tip of the rod. The 

 float was weighted wdth four small shot that sunk it 

 to within a quarter of an inch of the surface, and, as 

 it glided along the sparingly baited swim, the rod 



