Bream and Barbel. 



19 



and when the hook gets home, 

 it holds fast as a rule. The issue 

 afterwards depends on sound 

 tackle and good management. 

 In quiet flowing streams, the 

 float fishing method is adopted. 

 The object of the float is achieved 

 as long as it can be seen, and is 

 heavy enough to keep the bait 

 tripping along the bottom. The 

 small porcupine make is the best. 

 In stronger currents, a quill en- 

 cased in cork should be used, 

 and in the mist of the early 

 morning or late in the evening a 

 red - painted top will assist the 

 eyesight. When the float is 

 pulled under, the strike should 

 follow immediately, holding tight 

 until the fish is well hooked. 

 Barbel play doggedly to the end 

 of the chapter, the struggle some- 

 times ending in one long plunge 

 to the bottom, and then coming 

 to the net. 



When changing to gentle or 

 paste bait, a No. 5-sized hook 

 should be substituted. What is 

 known as tight corking is another 

 good method. Having plumbed 

 the depth, the float is placed a 

 couple of feet higher up the line, 

 so that a spare length of gut lies 

 on the bottom. The shotting of 

 the line must be sufficient to 

 keep it from moving. Slider, or 

 traveller floating, is a further 

 modification. By this means, 

 places of uncertain depth may 



be negotiated. The float is free 

 to travel up and down the line, 

 and adapts itself automatically 

 to the height of the water. There 

 is a large ring at the base of the 

 float, and another near the top. 

 A stop is placed above the float 

 by inserting a piece of double 

 stout gut in a half hitch, and is 

 sufficiently pliable to pass through 

 the rod rings when the line is 

 winched in. 



A lump of ground bait, with 

 dry bran in the centre, should be 

 occasionally squeezed on the gut 

 a couple of feet from the hook. 

 This sprinkles the swim, and 

 attracts barbel. When they 

 begin to feed, one may get an 

 hour's fishing not to be forgotten 

 in a lifetime. A good-sized land- 

 ing net must be in readiness for 

 bream and barbel. The hoop 

 should be large and the net deep 

 and strong. A jointed make that 

 can be carried by a leather cord 

 on the shoulder is very con- 

 venient. In moving up and 

 down the banks of the river, it 

 is not unusual to forget this im- 

 portant part of an angler's outfit, 

 perhaps to find oneself fast in a 

 fish, and the net a hundred yards 

 away. Such a mishap is not 

 likely to occur if one makes a 

 practice of carrying the net on a 

 shoulder strap and ring. I give 

 illustrations of an excellent make 

 that I use habitually. 



