THE ROACH. 83 



absolutely necessary in fishing- for bream, as bis bite is extremely 

 delicate, and he must be attacked on the instant. 



THE ROACH 



is. supposed to be so called on account of the redness of his fins, 

 He is a poor mean fish so far as eating goes, but he is handsome 

 and strong, and will afford the angler capital sport when he rises at 

 the fly, which he commonly does about the months of August and 

 September, both boldly and freely. 



jfeoach are gregarious. They love limpid and clear waters, and 

 yet are to be found in still and muddy rivers, ponds, and lakes. 

 They frequent almost all the rivers and lakes in Europe, and in 

 places are inconceivably numerous. Many of the rivers and ponds of 

 England are full of them ; and in France they are abundant every- 

 where, particularly in the neighbourhood of Paris. In the mar ait* 

 of the Pas-de-Calais, and about Peronne, there are millions of 

 them. In some countries of the North of Europe, and especially on 

 the banks of the Oder, they are so plentiful that they are com- 

 monly used for manuring the land ; and Bloch assures us that, 

 before the marais on the Oder were drained, such enormous quan- 

 tities were constantly caught that they supplied the neighbouring 

 villages with abundance of provender on which to fatten their 

 " 



spawn about June, and they may be fished for two or 

 three weeks after this process is consummated. They cast their 

 spawn in narrow, weedy, grassy places, and are very prolific. In 

 the ovarium of an ordinary sized roach were counted 125,000 eggs. 



At a certain season the spawning season roach have been 

 observed to migrate like the salmon, tie trout, &c. &c. " In the 

 spring," says a French author, "the roach mount up the rivers 

 in a very smgular order. The males and females separate them- 

 selves so as to form distinct troops. One troop of males takes the 

 lead, a troop of females follows without mingling with the other, 

 and at last a second troop of males closes the march. They go 

 very close together ; and if any accident separates them on their 

 route, they quickly form their battalions, and resume their march 

 when the danger is passed." "We never noticed this habit ourselves ; 

 we never heard of any sportsman who did ; and we never before saw 

 any account of it in any book ; it may, however, be true, although 

 it savours something of the fanciful. 



t The ^ roach attains a large size. They are said to have been 

 killed in England of the weight of two pounds ; but in many con- 

 tinental waters they reach a larger size than this, and give the 

 angler a good deal of trouble, as they require delicate tackle to 

 deceive them. The roach is by no means the stupid reckless fish 

 some represent him to be; on the contrary, he demands a fair 



