222 WOODLAND, MOOR, AND STREAM 



heard, and Ike called out, ' They're up to summut 

 now, master, with they tench ! ' A tearing and 

 scuffling of feet sounded for a moment, and then the 

 two figures vanished into the night again. 



On hauling up the old grate next day the remains 

 of a good casting-net were found, hopelessly entangled 

 in the jagged iron-work, a net which no one ever 

 claimed. 



The chub is a well-made and powerful fish ; his 

 upper part brownish-black, darker at the edges of the 

 scales ; bluish-white the sides are, and the belly is 

 white. If you once hook him there is small chance 

 of escape for him, his mouth being tough as leather. 

 He will take natural or artificial flies, live bait and 

 worms. As a fish for the table he is worthless ; the 

 fight he shows before he can be landed is his chief 

 attraction for the angler. Dace and roach haunt the 

 same waters as the chub, and one can say little in 

 favour of any one of the three. Quality of water and 

 difference in food may make a great difference in 

 some. The bream I have no admiration for, either ; 

 but I must say something about that bright and 

 delicious fish the gudgeon, which is known to every 

 youngster who is capable of fixing a bent pin on a 

 piece of packthread. Gudgeon are so plentiful that 

 one can see the yellow sand on the bottom of a clear 



