ROACH AND RUDD. 25/ 



broads, In which the Rudd are known to abound. The 

 most remarkable water for Rudd with which I am per- 

 sonally acquainted, is Slapton Ley, in Devonshire, 

 where these fish not only breed in vast numbers, but 

 attain an unusual size, from i to 2 pounds being a 

 weight of common occurrence. 



The Rudd spawns in April, or early in May, according 

 to the forwardness of the spring, and the Roach about 

 a month later, when they usually ascend from the lower 

 parts of the rivers, fighting their way up intervening 

 rapids with persistent energy, until they find a suitable 

 spot — usually a weedy shallow — in the higher reaches. 



After spawning they repair to the nearest swift 

 gravelly shallows to scour, and subsequently into quieter 

 currents, where they should be fished for until September 

 or October, when they begin to retire for the winter into 

 deep and still waters, preferring usually a gravelly or 

 sandy bottom. 



Roach and Rudd will occasionally take most of the 

 baits already described for Bream ; paste and gentles, 

 however, are the two best, and of these I have found 

 from experience that gentles are usually both the most 

 killing and the most reliable, taking all waters and 

 weathers throughout the year. They are also much 

 more convenient for use because requiring to be seldom 

 renewed. Many anglers, in fact, go to the opposite 

 extreme, and acting on this circumstance, do not renew 

 the bait nearly often enough. Whenever the gentles 



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