THAMES METHOD OP BARBEL-FISHING. 75 



depth considerable. In the weir-pools, barbel are best fislied 

 for with the leger; but wherever the bottom runs fairly even, 

 and the current is not too strong, float tackle has the advantage. 

 The best hook-bait at the very commencement of the season 

 is two caddis ; but later on there is nothing so good as a well- 

 scoured lobworm (see page 57). Gentles and greaves are also 

 good, and occasionally cheese is killing. In autumn, a 

 small lampern is said to be a deadly bait for large barbel, 

 but of it I cannot speak from experience. In early spring, 

 just after spawning, barbel will frequently run at a spinning 

 bait, and sometimes a live-bait, and often cause grievous dis- 

 appointment to the patient fishers for Thames trout. The 

 best months for barbel-fishing are August, September, and 

 October. 



Barbel are both shy and capricious, going off the feed for 

 days together. Like salmon, there are some pools in which 

 they never will take a bait, though known to be present in large 

 numbers. The tackle for barbel should be fine but strong, 

 and should always be tested most carefuUy before being used. 

 Very few fish will be caught unless the angler goes to consider- 

 able trouble and expense in the way of baiting-up swims for 

 one or more days in advance; and as a general rule, the fishing 

 for the day is over at 10 a.m., or sooner. One can hardly fish 

 too early or too late for barbel. When the water gets coloured, 

 barbel shift out of their holes into the shallower streams to 

 search for food, and the first day of a rise in the water is the 

 golden opportunity of the barbel-fisher. Baits for these fish 

 cannot be too clean and sweet. 



Legering for Barbel. — This is the usual Thames method, 

 and is best suited for weir-pools and uneven bottoms generally. 

 The leger is the same as that described on page 27 ; but the gut 

 should be a trifle stouter, and the lead — which it is well to paint 

 the colour of gravel — will have to be heavier to keep the bottom in 

 the heavy water. The best hook for the usual bait — a lobworm — 

 is sliced No. 1 (see pages 19 and 21). In Fig. 30 is shown a typical 

 weirpool, with the set of the currents and the position of the punt. 

 The dotted line represents the fishing-line. The punt should be 

 about 30yds. (more if the water is at all bright and shallow) oft* 



