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CHAPTER XXIV. 



ON SMALL FISH, PRINCIPALLY USED AS BAITS. 



Bleak — How to fish for, with the fly, gentle, and cast-net — How to cooko. 

 Gudgeon and Gudgeon-fishing. Stone Loach — Different species^ 

 and how to be distinguished and caught. Miller s Thumb. Min- 

 nows and Sticklebacks, All anglers should be Ichthyologists, 



Bleak and Gudgeon. 



The Bleak, though I think properly included under this 

 division of my subject, is, in fact, rarely caught by 

 bottom-fishing, properly so called. It is essentially what 

 is termed a ** surface-swimmer," and as such should be 

 fished for exclusively at the top. The Gudgeon, on the 

 contrary, is perhaps the most remarkable example 

 amongst sporting fish, of a species haunting and feeding 

 exclusively at the bottom ; and I have bracketed the 

 two together because they illustrate in a marked manner 

 the importance to the angler of studying accurately the 

 habits of the fish angled for. It is probable that if a 

 man were to fish for the Bleak from the beginning to the 

 end of the season in the manner described for the 

 Gudgeon, he would not take a single specimen, and vice 

 versa. 



