94 ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 



baits will take dace, but I have already mentioned tbe best. 

 Both roach and dace are very variable in their feeding. One 

 day, in the Loddon, I found the roach take wheat, and the dace 

 gentles. The following day I could only catch dace on wheat, 

 and roach on gentles. 



Dace can very often be caught without the use of ground- 

 bait, but when fished for from a punt in the Thames fashion 

 (see page 49), a ground-bait consisting of balls of clay, bran, 

 and a few carrion gentles, is nearly always used. The clay is 

 very useful, as it sinks the balls of ground-bait right in the 

 swim, which is usually rather a rapid one. The more feeding 

 ground-bait recommended for roach (see page 35) also answers 

 for dace, provided it is made stiff enough to withstand the 

 stream, and contains a small pebble to make it sink quickly; 

 but it should be thrown in very sparingly, as dace are small 

 feeders. If the angler is fishing after the ^Nottingham fashion 

 (see page 43), he should occasionally throw in a few of the baits 

 he is fishing with, be they gentles or redworms, care being 

 taken that they are thrown high enough above the swim, so that 

 they reach the fish in the swim. It is no use ground-baiting the 

 fish 20yds. down the river when your float and tackle only 

 travel 15yds. Raking the bottom in lieu of ground-bait is often 

 practised with success on the Lower Thames. A gudgeon-rake 

 (see Chap. YIII.) is used, and the raking is usually done behind 

 the punt. 



Fly-fishing for Dace is very pretty sport, and certainly not 

 inferior to the trout-fishing which is obtained in some waters I 

 could name. Dace rise best to a fly during August, September, 

 and October, and in June, while the May-fly is on, in rivers 

 visited by that lovely insect. They will often rise freely all 

 day, but the evening is the best time. The tackle is similar to 

 that used for Welsh or Devonshire trout : A light, 10ft. fly-rod 

 — ^hexagonal split cane for preference — striking well from the 

 point, a dressed tapered silk line to suit the rod (the stifCer the 

 rod, the heavier the line), and a length of gut, called a " collar," 

 of 8ft. or 9ft., tapered down to the very finest-drawn gut. Two 

 or three flies may be used — one, of course, at the fine end of 

 the collar; another, called a dropper, on a piece of very 



