THE ROACH. 39 



that I described so fully in the chapter on chub fishing the 

 most comfortable to use, that is after he has once mastered 

 its little peculiarities. The remarks I then used can be 

 applied with equal force to roach fishing down a stream; ; 

 the bait must travel without jerk or catch, so in my opinion 

 this reel stands at the head of all Nottingham reels. Just 

 lately, a new centre pin reel, called the " Coxon," has been 

 invented to fish down the streams in the Nottingham, style. 

 It is made on the spider principle, like a bicycle wheel. 

 The revolving barrel of this reel is remarkably light, and 

 runs nearly at a breath of wind. It looks a likely tool for 

 roach and dace fishing with a very fine line and tackle ; but 

 whether it will stand the heavier streams, when used in bar- 

 bel fishing, remains to be seen. But if 

 the angler fishes only in the quiet drains or cuts, where 

 there is no current at all, it does not matter so much about 

 his reel ; a cheap three-inch one, pro\'ided it runs fairly free, 

 and is light, will meet his requirements ; but if he is in the 

 habit of fishing, both classes of water he must more particu- 

 larly select his reel for the stream work, and then with care 

 he can easily operate on both. The novice will see, after 

 reading miy foregoing remarks, that I am decidedly in 

 favour of using running tackle for any class of water, and 

 any class of roach fishing. 



The running line should consist of forty yards of good 

 plaited silk, of the same quality as recommended for barbel 

 and chub fishing, except that it need not be so stout — ^the 

 finer it is the better, consistent with strength. A stream 

 especially can be fished much easier with a fine line than it 

 can with a stout one ; the float can be cast out much fur- 

 ther, and the accuracy of the cast is greatly improved ; but 

 don't go to extremes and use a line too extra fine and \veak, 

 or you may " strike off," as it is known among fishermen, and 

 lose not only the fish, but the tackle and float. Personally 

 1 should not dream of using a line for this work any finer 

 than what will lift three pounds dead weight. In fishing a 

 quiet dram where the water is perfectly still the tyro will 

 sometimes wish the line would float upon the surface ; per- 

 haps his float is six or eight feet away from his rod point, 

 and the line between the rod end and the quill sinks deep 



