FLAT-SIDED AND FLAT-BACKED FISHES 407 



At one time there were great quantities living in the lower 

 reaches of the Thames, and attempts have been made of late 

 years to reintroduce them, but so far without much success. 



But, though natural history, this is not exactly the natural 

 history of the flounder, to which let us return. Our fish is found 

 principally at the mouths of rivers and muddy creeks ; and 

 that he ascends fresh water for a considerable distance, more 

 particularly in times of flood, is unquestionable. According to 

 Yarrell, flounders pushed up the Thames as far as Sunbury. 

 They abound all round the British coasts in suitable places, 

 and are particularly plentiful in the north. Their number is no 

 marvel, for in a fish of 24} ounces 1,357,400 eggs have been 

 counted. The breeding season is during the spring. 



In some parts of Europe flounders are fattened for the t#ble. 

 A water souchee of them is a celebrated dish, but sometimes 

 they are not worth eating, their condition depending on their 

 food. Thames flounders are, or were, celebrated, and their 

 principal food would be shrimps, baby crabs, and the refuse 

 of a big city. As to size, one of six pounds has been 

 recorded, but half a pound to a pound and a half is the 

 more common weight. In shallow waters, near their spawning 

 grounds, and where they pass the early portions of their exist- 

 ence, the general run of fish caught is even smaller. 



There are very few of the ordinary sea-fish baits which 

 flounders will not take, among the best being soft crab, lug- 

 worms, tail of hermit crab, mussels, pieces of mackerel, and, in 

 fresh or brackish water, earthworms. I have, indeed, used 

 earthworms in the sea for both flounders and sand dabs, 

 but they soon die in salt water. Perhaps the best tackle is 

 that shown on p. 243, but personally I prefer to fish with a 

 two-hook paternoster, with one hook just resting on the bottom ; 

 then the bite can be felt at once, and one is not so much troubled 

 with the fish gorging the hook as in those tackles in which two 



