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CHAPTER IV. 

 TENCH, CARP AND RUDD. 



TENCH (Tinea vulgaris) stand 

 high in the estimation of bot- 

 tom fishers, not only for their 

 dogged fighting qualities, but 

 as a contribution to the larder. 

 Much spoil of the angler's craft 

 never find an honoured place 

 there, and are dubbed " dry-eating 

 things, only fit for the cat," by the 

 practical housewife. The boy 

 who, having graduated in the 

 school of gudgeon and roach, 

 adds, for the first time, a 2 Ib. 

 tench to his creel, gains distinc- 

 tion in his own eyes and that 

 of his less fortunate companions 

 that spoils his interest in school 

 preparation for one day at least. 

 He had probably gone in quest of 

 eels to a sluggish pond and found 

 himself battling with something 

 that had swallowed his brandling 

 and pulled under his float with a 

 vigour not given to eels. What 

 a fascinating object the tench 

 seemed as it lay gasping at the 

 youth's feet ! I should not be far 

 off the mark in saying that the 

 captor, judging by his flushed 

 face and trembling hands, was 

 gasping too. The prevalent tint 

 is a golden bronze, in which olive 

 and dusky shadings blend. Be- 

 neath the slimy coating that 

 covers the body, small, closely-set 

 scales flash forth in rose-coloured 

 hues. The eyes not large com- 

 pared with the size of the fish 

 gain intensity and depth from the 

 brilliant golden iris setting. The 

 fins, standing boldly out from the 

 body, suggest strength and vigour 

 in keeping with the hog-back 

 neck and broad sides. The pec- 

 toral is large and the ventrals 

 concave, which aid the captive in 



the stubborn resistance it shows 

 in fight. A pair of barbels 

 assist the tench in quest of food, 

 which it seeks in the muddy 

 bottoms of rivers and ponds. 

 Like the eel, which lives under 

 similar conditions, its gills are 

 protected with a slimy mucous 

 coating, which adds to its vitality 

 and prolongs its life out of water 

 for an indefinite time. The pecu- 

 liarity of the tench in this particu- 

 lar is remarkable. An instance 

 comes within my own knowledge, 

 which is worth narrating. My 

 son, in his boyhood, fished a pond 

 in which he caught three or four 

 tench, averaging about i Ib. in 

 weight. They were knocked on 

 the head and thrown on the bank 

 for dead. In the evening I joined 

 him and we rode home together 

 with the spoil dangling from the 

 bars of my son's cycle, secured by 

 a piece of string passed through 

 the gills and mouth of the fish. 

 We rode over nine miles on a 

 road extremely bumpy in many 

 places. On reaching our destin- 

 ation one of the fish showed 

 signs of life. We put it in a bath 

 filled with water, but it turned 

 over and appeared quite dead. 

 The youth, who had a penchant for 

 experiments and was deep in pis- 

 catorial lore, suggested brandy as 

 a restorative, and half a teaspoon- 

 ful was poured down the fish's 

 throat. The effect was shown in 

 a kick, followed by a movement in 

 the gills. In a few moments it 

 was swimming about vigorously, 

 and lived for three days. It re- 

 fused all food, however, and 

 gradually languished. Had it 

 been placed in a pond there is 



