247 



your hook to trip along the bottom with the current ; 

 drawing up whenever your float begins to lean towards 

 you. 



This, done very gently, will generally attract the gud- 

 geons especially if the water be not so deep but that you 

 can stir up the gravel smartly, now and then, with a 

 long-handled rake : this will occasion them to crowd to 

 the disturbed part, at the same time that it conceals your 

 line, which should be very fine, and rather shorter than 

 your rod : your hook about No. 8, or Q. 



The gudgeon is extremely greedy, and having a very 

 broad mouth, can take a good sized bait :' do not spare 

 your worm-bag ; but when a worm has been in the lea^t 

 injured, change it for a fresh lively one j thereby you 

 will not fail to have excellent sport during the whole of 

 the day, especially in hot weather, from the end of 

 March till the end of October. Observe, that gudgeons 

 very rarely feed but when the sun is up. 



I am much inclined to believe, that the gudgeon 

 spawns both in the middle of spring, and about Michael- 

 mas ; especially at the latter time, when the young fry- 

 may be seen in shoals that darken the shallow sandy, 

 or fine gravelly, bottoms, in which they greatly delight. 



I have generally found the best mode of taking them 

 was by means of my minnow-line, letting my baits all 

 lay on the bottom j but when on the eve of spawning, 

 and -for a few weeks after, they do not shew much dispo- 

 sition to feed. In cold weather they leave the shallows, 

 returning to the deeps, and do not bite freely. 



When you are angling for them, throw in some pieces 



of coarse biscuit, also a few shreds of unsoaked greaves, 



M 4 cut 



