22 



The Gentle Art of Angling. 



and causes a heavy bank wash 

 has a similar effect. This brings 

 tench to the margin of the pond 

 in quest of food that is washed off. 

 One is sure to find them in the 

 discoloured water on the windward 

 side, ready to seize the brandling 

 the moment it is offered. I have 

 known the worm to be taken 

 before the float had time to touch 

 the water. They hug the bank 

 where the water is deep, and 

 anglers will be well advised to 

 follow their example. Eels will 



Anglers to be successful must use 

 brains off the hook as well as on it. 

 Tench grow to a large size ; 

 specimens up to u Ib. have been 

 taken, but not with a rod. Four, 

 five, and six pounders are by no 

 means uncommon. To grapple 

 with one of these dimensions is no 

 light undertaking, and demands 

 the angler's greatest skill to bring 

 him to grass. There is a tradition 

 that this fish has medicinal pro- 

 perties that appeal to the pike's 

 respect, and that the latter will 



WHERE TENCH FEED. 



probably be on the war-path and 

 give trouble, but tench can hold 

 their own when they set their 

 minds to it, and rise from the 

 bottom to seize the prey with an 

 agility that outwits their rivals. 



In clear water the most likely 

 place to find them is close to 

 weedy patches. If they are rout- 

 ing, air bubbles will be seen rising 

 to the surface, as in the case of 

 bream. A preliminary survey of 

 the river will help to " fix their loca- 

 tion," as our Transatlantic cousins 

 say. Time will be savedin this way. 



not molest his benefactor. This 

 sense of gratitude on the part of 

 Esox Indus must be accepted with 

 reservation. It is more probable 

 that there is something in the 

 slime of the tench not palatable 

 to jack, and they are eschewed for 

 this reason. The slime is very 

 similar to that of the eel. Last 

 summer I got sight of an otter in 

 the Itchen. The next morning 

 I found a 2 Ib. eel on the bank, 

 with the head eaten off. The 

 passage of the otter through the 

 sedges was unmistakable, and 



