Gudgeon and Roach. 



bait can be dropped in swims 

 beyond weed patches. Many 

 anglers use a fixed line, with long 

 rods, and run the risk of being 

 smashed up with chub and other 

 large species, but some of the 

 best authorities on coarse fishing 

 advise the running line method. 



The longer the rod is, the heavier 

 must be the make, and two dis- 

 advantages have to be faced. A 

 stiff breeze of wind makes a long 



their caution. The gut must be 

 very fine, especially the links next 

 the hook. Before the manufac- 

 ture of drawn gut horse-hair was 

 used, but silk material, finer 

 and stronger, may be now ob- 

 tained. Unless the water is a 

 little discoloured, the nearest 

 point to invisibility in this part of 

 the tackle the better. Shot the 

 line as described under gudgeon 

 fishing. 



A. 



B. 



C. 



D. 



E. 



PLATE II. 



FLOATS FOR BOTTOM FISHING. 

 (Hardy Bros. Patterns.) 



A Porcupine Cork. B. Sneck Head. C The Fishing Gazette. 



E Porcupine Quill. 



D. The Nottingham. 



rod unwieldy, and adds to the 

 difficulty of rapid striking, a sine 

 qua non in roach fishing. It further 

 detracts from the pleasure of play- 

 ing a fish, and play is always in 

 inverse proportion to the rod's 

 weight and stiffness. This point 

 will have weight with most 

 anglers. 



Next, bear in mind that you are 

 about to try for very wary fish, and 

 you have to pit your wit against 



Having mounted the rod and 

 cast, plumb for depth ; this is done 

 with a cone-shaped lead, flat in the 

 bottom, into which a piece of cork 

 is let. The hook is passed through 

 the ring in the apex of the plummet, 

 and -fixed in the cork. Several 

 soundings should be taken, and 

 ultimately the float fixed so that 

 the bait swims about three inches 

 from the bottom. A light porcu- 

 pine quill float, a variety of which 



