18 



The Gentle Art of Angling. 



no apparent reason but exuber- 

 ance of robust life. 



In a river like the Thames there 

 is no chance of a good day's 

 barbel fishing, except by copious 

 ground baiting over night. The 

 traffic, especially in the bright, 

 sunny weather, when they are 

 chiefly caught, scares them into 

 the deepest beds of the river, or 

 the weirs, where they are beyond 

 the angler's reach. Boatmen are 

 not always to be trusted to ground 

 bait to the extent necessary for 

 their capture. A few years ago 

 a great slaughter was effected at 

 Bourne End, but the swim was 

 baited with five thousand worms 

 and other food previously. One 

 must personally attend to these 

 preliminaries if he is to have 

 sport. Bread, bran, greaves, 

 gentles, and worms must be 

 thrown in in large quantities, and 

 the fishing start at daybreak. 

 Then in the quiet of the morning, 

 before the river traffic begins, 

 sport may at least be expected. 



Sound but light tackle must be 

 the order of equipment, whatever 

 method of angling be employed. 

 Put your trust in an easy-running 

 check reel, rather than strong gut 

 and large hooks. One can bring 

 a salmon to the net on a light 

 cast and careful management, and 

 formidable and dogged as the 

 barbel is, he is no match in 

 strength for Salmo salar. It is 

 all done from the reel, and bottom 

 fishers, pur et simple, in my judg- 

 ment, do not trust it enough. If 

 a barbel gets round a snag or 

 other fastening there will be a 

 smash up, however strong the 

 tackle, but far more fish are lost 

 by holding too tight a line than 

 by running foul of a post or stone. 

 The strain on the gut by the bor- 

 ing habits of the fish is relieved 

 by the reel, and the object of the 

 angler is to get as much sport out 

 of his quarry as possible ; the 



harder he fights the sooner he 

 comes to the net. The rod for 

 barbel should be light, of sound 

 material, and sufficiently stiff for 

 legering or for float fishing. 

 Eleven feet is a good length ; 

 whole cane is a favourite with 

 most anglers, being light and 

 pliable ; a greenheart of carefully- 

 selected wood, particularly the 

 top joint, which has to bear a 

 heavy strain, is another good 

 make. The rings should be large 

 enough to allow the line to run 

 freely, and the winch fittings 

 strong. 



There are several methods of 

 angling for barbel. Legering is 

 alone possible in swift water and 

 foaming currents. The tackle 

 has been already described under 

 the bream section. The leger 

 bullet must be heavy enough to 

 resist the strength of the water 

 and remain in its place when 

 thrown in. A swivel below the 

 shot on the gut keeps it from 

 twisting. Having selected the 

 swim, mount a lob-worm on a 

 No. 10 hook (new scale) to com- 

 mence with. Worms are the best 

 bait, but the changes may be 

 rung on gentles, paste and cheese, 

 if the sport is slow. The slack is 

 rolled in, so that the line is taut, 

 and the least movement can be 

 felt. The bite of a fish comes in 

 a palpable knock, which cannot 

 be mistaken, sometimes singly, to 

 be followed by a double tug, and 

 a lateral movement of the line, 

 when the strike should be made. 

 It should be hard, and followed 

 up by raising the rod, and not 

 giving an inch of law until the 

 hook goes fast. Some anglers 

 give two or three tugs, but this is 

 rough on the tackle, and there is 

 a slight slacking of the line in be- 

 tween, which may serve the fish's 

 purpose better than the angler's. 

 The epidermis of a barbel's 

 mouth is tough as wash-leather, 



