56 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 



to answer, throw tliem a few yards towards tlie middle of the 

 eddy. 



The foregoing remarks apply chiefly to those eddies which 

 run shallow close to the bank. Now and again we come across 

 an eddy the bank by which is almost perpendicular, and the 

 water under it fairly deep. In such an eddy, the fish will be 

 found more often lying close to the bank than along the dotted 

 line. 



As I have already stated — and I can hardly state it too often — 

 the position of the fish depends in a very great measure on 

 the colour of the water. One day we may visit the river and 

 find the fish on the outside of the eddy, where the water is 

 5ft. deep. During the night it rains; the following day the 

 water is much more coloured, and we find no fish where we 

 caught them the previous day, but take several about 

 4yds. nearer the bank, where the water is only 2ft. deep. 

 To be very successful in fishing eddies requires a good deal of 

 experience; but fish feed so well when the water is clearing 

 after a freshet {i.e., a push of fresh water or flood), that the 

 veriest tyro ought not at such times to go home with his basket 

 empty, and that same basket will probably contain something 

 more than roach — to wit, perch, eels, chub, tench, &c. 



The leger for use in eddies should be the same as that 

 already described (see page 27), as light a lead being used as 

 will hold the bottom. The angler should keep his rod very still, 

 and if using the treble hook arrangement — i.e., Stewart tackle 

 (see page 54) — he should strike at the slightest touch from 

 a fish. If a single hook is used, a couple of slight pulls, or one 

 considerable one, should be felt before striking. That is as 

 near as I can put it on paper; a good deal of experience is 

 necessary before the angler can acquire the art of striking 

 just at the right moment. It is as well to hold the rod in the 

 right hand, and bring the line over the first finger and under the 

 other fingers. The slightest bite will then be felt on the back 

 of the first finger, provided the line is a fine one, and the 

 rod-rings I have recommended are used. "When I feel a slight 

 touch — the worm being on a single hook — I generally lower the 

 point of the rod a little, so that the fish shall not feel any 



