44 ANGLING FOE COARSE FISH. 



gentles — the hook point covered— to the top of the swim. The 

 float cocks, goes on its way down stream for a few feet, then 

 bobs several times, and finally goes under. From this I know 

 that my bait is touching the bottom, bat that my shots are 

 off the bottom ; for if they touched the ground, the float would 

 not cock, but would lie in a horizontal position on the water. 

 I am therefore not more on the bottom than the distance 

 between the shot and the hook, so I lower my float about 4in., and 

 try another swim. This time the float goes serenely to its 

 journey's end. I may now be too far off the bottom, so I 

 heighten the float 2in. Again the tackle passes down the swim 

 without incident, and I know that I am within 2in. of the right 

 depth, which is near enough. I hope I have made this plumbing- 

 without-a-plummet matter quite clear. It is, though trouble- 

 some, a very simple operation, and one which must be under- 

 stood and practised. Success in bottom fishing depends a great 

 deal on having the bait at the proper depth. 



I have said " cast out the tackle," but I may very properly be 

 asked, how. "With heavy floats and many shot the line runs 

 off the reel as the tackle is cast out, but with this light roach- 

 tackle a different plan must be adopted. Face the swim ; look 

 rather up stream than down; hold the rod in the right hand, 

 with that hand above the reel and the little finger touching 

 the rim of the reel, to act as a check.* Point the rod up 

 stream, pull some line off the reel, and catch the loop on a finger 

 of the left hand (Fig. 20, 1). From the point of the rod to the 

 hook, the length should be from 6ft. to 8ft., according to the 

 depth of the swim. At greater depths a slider float (see page 26) 

 is used. These details so far carried out, move the right hand 

 backwards, bringing the point of the rod away from the river ; 

 then move it quickly forward, and swing the tackle out in 

 the direction of the swim. As the tackle reaches the end of 

 its swing, just before it is checked, let the line off the finger 



* A great many Nottingham anglers check the reel with the firj<t finger, the hand 

 being, of course, below the reel. Casting from the right shoulder, they place the 

 right hand above the reel and the left hand below it, and check the reel with the 

 first finger of the left hand ; casting from the left shoulder, the hands are reversed, 

 and the reel is checked with the first finger of the right hand. Personally, I prefer 

 to always have my right hand above the reel, and to keep the little finger of that 

 hand on the rim of the reel. 



