232 THE TENCH. 



and perfectly clear ; added to which, I was one of a party of five, 

 the majority of whom certainly were the clumsiest fishermen that 

 ever cast aline into the water, who were not long whilst the wat- 

 ers remained clear in putting every fish to the rout : but no 

 sooner did we disturb the bottom, so as to thicken the water 

 around our fishing ground, than the tench began to resort there 

 from all quarters, so that in spite of all the splashing made by oar 

 party, both in casting in and pulling out, by keeping the water con- 

 stantly puddled a great number of tench were hooked, and several 

 of them safely landed ; and although many of them not only walk- 

 ed of with hooks almost without number, and several yards of line, 

 floats, and all to boot and, if my memory deceives me not, one 

 of mine was among the number still their companions continued 

 to bite away as merrily as ever, which is rarely the case with gre- 

 garious fishes, who, as I have before had occasion to remark, 

 when one of them happens to be hooked and escapes, so alarms his 

 fellows that they either desert the spot or leave off biting. 



I have also found it to be an excellent plan to fish in the inter- 

 stices or small open spaces, which are sometimes to be met 

 with between thick weeds, or the plant of the water lily. Where 

 a pond is thickly overspread with the latter plant, a float may be 

 dispensed with, and the following plan resorted to, which though 

 laid down generally as a certain mode of catching carps, I have 

 ever found it tetter adapted to tench fishing. The plan is as fol- 

 lows : Fix a good sized cleft shot on your line, so far from your 

 hook as that when you raise the shot to the surface, your bait shall 

 rest on the bottom, or not very far above it. Having cast 

 into some convenient aperture, let the bait sink down, and then rest 

 the shot on one of the broad leaves of the lily, upon which you 

 must constantly keep your eye, till you see the shot drawn 

 gradually away, which will disclose a bite as well as any float 

 will do, and in a very clear water is less apt to scare the 

 fish. 



In my ordinary fishing for tench, I have found it the best plan 

 when I have fished with a worm, to allow the bait to rest on the 

 ground, unless where the bottom was foul with weeds or the like, 

 when 1 have altered the depth so as to let the bait hang just clear 

 of the foul part of the bottom, I have commonly used a small 

 float as being less likely to check the fish when he bites. When 

 the ground has been clear so that I could safely let my bait go to 



