PLAYING ROACH AND STRAIGHTENING GUT. 41 



Well, I have hooked my first fish, so now proceed to play 

 him. He is of some size, for he makes for the centre of the 

 river, and forces me to allow him to run several yards of line off 

 my reel. I have to keep an even strain on his mouth, never 

 slacking the line an instant, and to play him without disturbing 

 the other fish, and I endeavour to keep him near the top of the 

 water without breaking the surface. If he played near the 

 bottom, the shoal of roach might take warning by the fate of 

 their brother, and if he kicked about on the surface they would 

 also be startled. In trout-fishing it is usual to play the fish 

 down stream, and with good reason ; but seated on my creel, I 

 am obliged to bring this roach up stream, as far away from 

 the swim as I can reach. As soon as he appears exhausted 

 with his struggles, I raise the point of the rod, letting out 

 some line* off the reel, and, holding the rod in my left hand, and 

 my landing-net in my right hand, bring him close under 

 the bank. Then I sinh my landing-net, bring the fish over 

 it, raise the net, and fish JSTo. 1 is caught. During the next 

 quarter of an hour I catch five fish, but as they run small I 

 determine to try 



Wheat as a Bait, and failing that, paste, for I have noticed 

 that in some rivers very few large roach take gentles, while 

 dozens of small fish may be caught on that bait. The first 

 thing to do is to change my hook for an ordinary No. 11 

 Round Bend one, the shank of which has been painted white. 

 The gut on which the new hook is whipped is curly, and I 

 first moisten it in my mouth, and then draw it out straight. 

 Persons — and there are a few — who never acquire the knack 

 of straightening gut should carry a fragment of pure india- 

 rubber in their pocket. Gut rubbed with indiarubber quickly 

 loses its curly properties. Cobbler's heelball is useful for 

 the same purpose. Well, the hook is on, and before putting, 



* Thames and Lea roach-flshers usually angle with what is termed a tight line — 

 i.e., without running tackle. When landing fish, they have simply to remove 

 the butt of the rod, or, if the swim is shallow, the second joint, when they 

 can easily bring the fish to the landing-net. The only objection I can see to using 

 running tackle with a long, roach rod, is that to land the fish without being able to 

 shorten the rod is a little inconvenient. I have, however, sometimes seen bank- 

 anglers, when they were using running tackle, remove their butts when landing fish, 

 and I have occasionally done the same thing after playing the fish nearly dead. 



