SPAWNING TIME. 3 



sentations of them. The remaining twelve fish of the class, 

 though some of them wiU occasionally rise to the artificial 

 fly, are usually captured by what is known as bottom fishing, 

 i.e., fishing with a bait on or near the bottom. Most of these 

 twelve fish require to be fished for in different ways: the 

 methods often vary with the season; and not only with the 

 season, but also with the place; and the position of the fish 

 varies according to the season of the year, the colour and 

 volume of the water, and the temperature of the water and 

 air. It does not, therefore, require a large amount of intel- 

 ligence to understand that, to angle successfully for these 

 twelve fish in any river or lake of the United Kingdom, at 

 any time of the year, involves the possession of a considerable 

 amount of knowledge of the subject. 



Before dealing with each fish specifically, I will endeavour 

 to give some general ideas of their haunts in rivers, in spring, 

 summer, autumn, and winter respectively, dealing with ponds 

 and lakes later on. 



In the spring months most coarse fish* are engaged in 

 depositing their spawn among weeds, sedge, or on the bottom 

 where the water is shallow. After spawning they are in an 

 exhausted condition, desperately lean, desperately hungry, and 

 therefore very easy to catch. Fortunately the law has pro- 

 hibited their capture between March 14)th and June 1 6th in 

 most public waters in England, and I trust that any readers 

 of this book who have an opportunity of angling in early 

 spring during the fence months will not avail themselves of 

 it. The fish at that time of the year give very little play, 

 are absolutely worthless when caught, and their capture when 

 out of condition is, by all sportsmanlike anglers, considered 

 next door to poaching. 



As after a certain interesting domestic event a visit to the 

 seaside is often undertaken, so do roach, dace, chub, perch, 

 barbel, and gudgeon after spawning visit clean, gravelly 

 shallows where the current is swift, and the sparkling water 



* All fish except salmon, trout, char, and grayling are usually so termed, 

 though as a matter of fact some of them (e.g., gudgeon and perch) are very delicate 

 eating, and quite comparable with brown trout. 



c 2 



