82 THE BREAM. 



dark blue, and as for hooks, nothing can beat a No. S 

 Crystal bend, on a length of 2x drawn gut. The shots 

 can be put on the tackle the same way as described in the 

 chapter on roach fishing in still water, in fact, the modus 

 operandi for both fish is somewhat similar. For groundbait 

 I prefer a pail full of brewer's grains, a peck of bran, and a 

 bowl full of old bread crusts that have been soaked in cold 

 water for a few hours. This mixture requires kneading to- 

 gether in stiff lumps, the same as described in roach fishing, 

 and dropping in the swimi if possible the night before it is 

 fished. A half-peck of ordinary farm-yard barley costing 

 about sixpence, should also be procured, and this should be 

 boiled for several hours in a furnace or copper, until the 

 barley swells out to its fullest extent, and increases in bulk 

 three or four fold. This is for use during fishing, a handful 

 or two being sprinkled all over the swim from, time to time 

 as occasion requires. If the angler is unable to procure any 

 barley, he will make shift with a few balls of the ground-bait 

 already described. Brandling worms nicely scoured is as 

 good a bait as can possibly be tried for bream. If there is 

 a very slight stream, I prefer tO' fish stret pegging; arrange 

 the float about six inches deeper than the water, so- that the 

 bait lays well on the bottomi. A bream, bite in these still 

 waters is very often of rather a peculiar character ; all at once 

 you will notice your porcupine quill rising upwards in the 

 water, as if something was pushing it from underneath, and 

 then lay flat upon the surface, immediately after\vards it 

 would glide underneath again, this is a breami bite and 

 should be responded to on the instant, or at least as soon 

 as this gliding away process begins. I suppose it is the 

 extraordmary shape of the bream, when he picks the bait 

 from the bottomi, and then rises in his natural position, that 

 causes this movement of the float. In bream fishing the 

 hook and crutch mentioned some time ago are very useful ; 

 this fish being rather a slow biter there is plenty of time to 

 pick up the rod after the bite is first perceived. Some odd 

 times when a little stream, goes crawling down the river, the 

 bream prefer a moving bait, that is, fix the float at the exact 

 depth, and swim down stream, fromi one end tO' the other of 

 the swimi, and at these times, particularly if the water is 



