82 THE PRACTICAL FISHERMAN. 



the worm skipping over each stone right into their waiting mouths. Tour 

 success in such case is sure. 



The tackle should be of the lightest description compatible with 

 strength; for, notwithstanding that, a 3 the "Book of St. Albans" says, 

 <; the barbyl is an evil fysshe to take, for he is so strong enarmyed in the 

 mouthe that there may be no weake harnesse holde him ;" he, neverthe- 

 less, is a wily customer, and requires very choice " tools and baytes " for 

 his destruction. The running Nottingham tackle is, in my opinion, 

 incomparable, such, for example, as Bailey uses. Always, let it also be 

 said, fish from the bank if possible. 



This Nottingham tackle, of which the reader cannot fail to see I am 

 deeply enamoured, is easily obtainable and very cheap. I shall, in the 

 chapters on tackle making, hereafter describe it minutely. For the 

 present it is sufficient to say that it consists of a light rod, light running 

 wheel, the finest silk line compatible with strength, and fine drawn gut, 

 with a superior make of hook attached, all to be got of Wells, 1, Sussex- 

 street, Nottingham ; or James Bailey, of the same place. The "leger" 

 style is also much liked by the ' ' Quietist ' ' sort of anglers, who prefer 

 sitting and waiting for the "knocks " of the fish to searching for them 

 -with the travelling float. In very swift streams it is, however, sometimes 

 impossible to use the float ; in such case, of course, the leger is the only 

 style admissible. 



That I may not rest tinder the imputation of insufficient explicity, I 

 may here fitly explain the old-fashioned "leger" referred to. Briefly, 

 it consists of a length of stoutish gut and a bullet or leger (leger, Anglo- 

 Saxon, lying ; from licgun, to lie) which is ordinarily a cylindrical drilled 

 flat lead a largish sized hook, and a shot^or other stay to retain the leger 

 in its place on the gut. The best form of this tackle consists of the 

 leger painted a dirty brown to resemble the ground on which it is destined 

 to lie ; the bullet or leger is also placed on a piece of gimp, it being found 

 that the friction causes the gut to soon wear out, and two shots are 

 found useful to confine the leger to the space occupied by the gimp. For 

 my own part I prefer a bullet, finding that I can the more readily by 

 letting out a little slack line shift the position of the bait without making 

 an additional cast. A modification of the leger tackle, which is a true 

 hybrid between float fishing and the leger, is termed " tight corking." In 

 this method the ordinary weight is used as with the former, and a float is 

 .attached, which is not stayed on the line as in the case of the Nottingham 

 style referred to. It runs loose, and consequently rises to the surface at an 

 obtuse angle to the bottom, the surface, and the angler. The float also 

 lies almost horizontally on the water, and assumes a perpendicular position 

 when the fish bites. As will be seen in the chapter on Eoach, it is also 



