THE GUDGEON. 85 



Morning' and evening are the best parts of the day for roach- 

 fishing in the ordinary way ; but the angler who uses flies, alive, or 

 dead, or artificial, will find all hours of the day pretty much alike. 

 The Londoners angle for this fish with tackle of the finest possible 

 description even with lines made of a single horsehair - f and many of 

 them are very clever and successful performers with this frail 

 material. But where is the good of it ? Gut is fine enough, and 

 the roach that breaks it, when in the hands of a skilful rod-fisher, 

 must be of extraordinary dimensions. 



Ground bait is recommended for this fish ; but when fishing for 

 him with flies or insects of any kind, this is entirely unnecessary. 



There is a fish of the roach species called in England the RUDD, 

 which is very numerous in many continental waters. It is called 

 in France the KOACH-CAIIP. Walton is inclined to think the rudd 

 lies between the roach and the bream. Other writers consider it 

 to be a distinct fish altogether ; but the probability is, that it is a 

 true cross between the roach and the carp. In France, this fish 

 attains to a great size. He is mostly found in the fosses round 

 fortified towns. He may be angled for in precisely the same 

 manner as for the roach. 



CHAPTER XL 



THE GUDGEON, THE DACE, AND THE EEL. 

 THE GUDGEON. 



THIS is a very handsome, active, and well -shaped little fish; 

 most delicious in flavour, when properly cooked, and deservedly 

 considered very recherche by most continental gastronomers. 



This fish is to be found in almost all the livers of England, and, 

 indeed, of Europe. He prefers running waters and rapid curling 

 streams, which flow over a pebbly and sandy bottom, although he 

 will live and thrive in lakes and ponds through which a gentle 

 draw of water continually passes. 



The gudgeon is supposed to spawn about the month of May. 

 Walton maintains that they breed two or three times a year. This 

 does not appear to be very clearly established ; but the prodigious 

 rate at which these fish increase, would seem to lend a certain 

 degree of probability to the notion. A French writer says, " They 

 pass their winter in the lakes and large ponds, and in the spring 

 remount the rivers, where they deposit their spawn on pebbles and 

 stones. This operation is with the gudgeon a very laborious affair, 



