THE RUDD. 67 



shoals. There is no mistaking the bite of a large rudd. 

 We ^\ill suppose the angler is fixed in midstream, fifteen to 

 twenty yards from the edge of the weeds, and he aims his 

 bait so accurately that it drops into one of the clear spaces 

 among those weeds, and then slowly sinks. The float has 

 hardly time to steady itself upright before it disappears 

 sideways with a rush, as Mr. Rudd makes off for his favour- 

 ite weed-bed. As soon as the float goes under, strike very 

 gently, and put on as much strain as you feel the tackle mil 

 stand, and get him into the clear water in front of the boat 

 as speedily as possible. Don't let himi rush headlong among 

 the weeds if you can anyhow prevent it, or you will certainly 

 lose both fish and tackle, besides scaring away the remainder 

 of the shoal. And don't forget the little dodge I gave 

 awhile ago — to find the fish by means of the bits of dry 

 bread floatmg among the weeds. 



The main points for the rudd fisherman to observe are : 

 choose a warm,, breezy day in preference to a hot, calna 

 one, always remembering that the less wind there is, and 

 the brighter water, the more necessity is there to fish " far 

 off" and fine; always fish as near the surface as you can, 

 and where the jungle of w^eeds is the thickest ; don't trouble 

 with groundbait, except a good supply of dry bread ; throw 

 the bait lightly and accurately towards the rising fish if you 

 succeed in enticing them to the top by the surface - bait- 

 ing of bread ; a well - scoured, red worm is the best bait ; 

 keep the rod point well up ; let no more loose line than can 

 possibly be helped rest on the water, so that an instant 

 strike as soon as the float disappears is practicable; and, 

 lastly, when you have hooked a large fish, be ever on the 

 alert, and prevent him from rushing among the weeds at all 

 hazards. 



Dr. Norman, writing to " Land and Water," some years 

 ago, gives the following as his experiences of rudd fishing in 

 Norfolk : — " The best bait is a nice red worm, but the finest 

 fish are taken with a salmon gut foot line and three hooks, a 

 large float, and at least forty yards of strong light line. I 

 have had a brace weighing nearly five pounds several times 

 on my paternoster, and many years ago caught twenty-nine 

 in a few hours, scaling over four stone. The ground should 



