8 THE ROACH. 



the fish must attack the bait somewhat quickly, and if the 

 float is a correct one and properly weighted some idea of 

 this bite is communicated to the angler. 



But by far the larger number of these roach fishermen ply 

 their craft in very deep and sluggish water, ranging fromi ten 

 to fifteen feet in depth, with a streami so quiet that the float 

 scarcely travels down it at all. For successfully fishing this 

 class of water it is necessary to have a rod somewhat different 

 to those already mentioned. Bank anglers will find that 

 the majority of these slow running and deep rivers are 

 fringed with reeds, and generally have a weed bed all alon^ 

 the margin stretching some four or five feet into the stream. 

 A judicious application of the plummet will in many cases 

 tell our roach fishermen that just over these weeds the bottom 

 is level and clear with an uniform depth of say ten feet. Id 

 order to fish these places properly the rod should be four- 

 teen feet in length, stifle and light ; this length of rod is re- 

 quired in order to reach comfortably over the weeds, and 

 more especially is it required if the water should chance to 

 be, as I have found in scores of good swims, nearer fourteen 

 or fifteen feet deep than ten. This rod should also be one 

 that is prompt and sharp in its action, because in this class 

 of swim the roach are as sly as can be, and the bigger the 

 fish the slyer they are. In biting, the float only moves the 

 very slightest, and as quick as can be ; the strike must be 

 on the very instant or it will be too late. I have seen rods 

 in the hands of certain fen anglers that would not hook two 

 roach out of every dozen bites ; they wobbled down to the 

 very hand, and in striking, instead of switching the point 

 upwards, the point would even, if held a yard above the sur- 

 face, duck downwards and strike the water before the stroke 

 could take effect and the fish be hooked. This action on 

 the part of your rod would be fatal to your success as a 

 roacher in these very deep and quiet waters. Any angler who 

 feels a httle doubt as to the truth of this statement should 

 try a little experiment at home. If he has a fourteen foot 

 roach rod which might be described as moderately stiff" and 

 not very wobbly, let him put it together and take hold of 

 the butt as if he were fishing ; hold the point eighteen inches 

 above a table and strike gently, as though responding to a 



