GROTJND-BAIT. 9 



in other lakes of similar size and depth, bnt I cannot speak from 

 experience as to that. 



In bottom fishing, the judicious use of ground-bait is very 

 important. The old idea about ground-bait was that it col- 

 lected vast numbers of fish together at one spot; but it is 

 now known that in rivers it does not have that effect to 

 any considerable extent (unless continued regularly for a 

 week or more), but induces the fish to feed on certain food 

 to which they were previously unused, and lulls their sus- 

 picions. For instance, a roach in the month of July is 

 feeding on water-weed and the minute animal life which is 

 found among weeds; a lump of paste is put before his nose, 

 and he, naturally, if a well-informed roach, views it with 

 suspicion, and probably refuses to take it. But if a quantity 

 of bread and bran is cast into the water, he and his friends 

 begin to feed, and look upon the lump of bread-paste as only a 

 fragment of the rest. When fish are very shy, they will 

 only take the bait on the hook during about two minutes 

 after the ground-bait is thrown in; in such cases only small 

 quantities should be used at a time. This peculiar property 

 of ground-bait causing fish to feed, was forcibly brought to 

 my mind only a few days ago. I was fishing under a bridge 

 where I knew were some fine chub; the water was coloured, 

 and my bait was a worm. At first the fish would not bite; 

 after waiting a few minutes I threw in a few worms; just 

 as these must have floated by my hook I had a bite, and 

 caught a fine chub. Then came no more bites until I threw 

 in more worms. I have known similar instances occur on 

 many occasions. 



As there is a limit to what fish can eat, it is very easy to 

 throw in too much ground- bait ; and it follows that, in waters 

 where the fish are few, less ground-bait should be thrown in 

 than where they are plentiful, and there are more to eat it. 

 Another very important point — perhaps the most important 

 of all — is to throw in the ground- bait at such a spot that it 

 will reach the bottom just where your hook-bait is waiting 

 for a fish to come and take it. There are ways of making 

 ground-bait sink fast or slowly, which I will refer to later 



