THE GUDGEON. 93 



by John Dennys (or " I. D."), a writer of the seventeenth century, who, in 

 my opinion, yet stands amongst the highest of angler-poets. He writes : 



Loe, in little boat whene one doth stand. 



That to a willow boush the while is tied, 

 And with a pole doth stir and raise the sard, 



Whereat the gentle streame doth softly glide ; 

 And then with slender line and rod in hand, 



The eager bite not lonsr he doth abide. 

 Well loaded is his line, his hooke but small, 

 A good big cork to bear the stream with all. 



His bait the least red worm that may be found, 

 And at the bottome it doth always lie ; 



Wuereat the greedy gudgeon bites so sound, 

 That hooke and all he swalloweth by and by. 



See how he strikes, and pulls them up as round, 

 As if new store the place did still supply ; 



And when th bit doth die or bad doth prove, 



Then to another place he doth remove. 



The appurtenances of the punt for gudgeon fishing, besides the rods 

 and necessary creature comforts, includes an indispensable requisite, 

 namely the gudgeon rake. This is an ordinary heavy ash or spruce pole, 

 to which is affixed a heavy rake. After fixing the punt crosswise securely, 

 the fisherman proceeds to rake. 



Considerable dexterity is necessary, and the disturbance of the ground 

 should be from the angler. This should not be resorted to too frequently, 

 or it defeats its own end by exhausting its attractiveness. 



The operation of raking the ground is obviously to disturb the tiny 

 worms and other food on which the little gobio feeds. The fact suffi- 

 ciently declares the character of the tackle to be employed viz., of 

 the lightest. For my own part, I prefer hair for the " link," and a No. 

 10 hook. The worm should be threaded, not looped on, the hook, and 

 the float of some size to carry a considerable quantity of shot, that the 

 bait might the more readily sink at the commencement of the swim. 

 The gudgeon being a bold biter when " on," the fisher may strike at 

 once, and one need not be ashamed to acknowledge the sport the pigmy 

 fish gives, for, size for size, there is no stronger fish that swims. 



When gudgeon fishing on the Thames it is as well to have a perch- 

 jack paternoster on board. By this I mean a paternoster fitted up as 

 described for perch, except that one hook of the two should be whipped 

 on stout gimp, and be itself large. On the appearance of a slackening 

 of sport, or possibly a sudden cessation, a small gudgeon may be impaled 

 on the perch hook, and a large gudgeon or dace on the jack hook, for the 

 cause is infallibly a perch or jack, attracted by the shoal of moving 

 and excited gudgeon into active curiosity and desire. Having so done, 

 fish all round in your gudgeon swim and on each side of the boat, and 

 continue to do so for some time, for you may be certain that a marauding 

 visitor is present. Many a good perch is also got whilst gudgeon 

 fishing. 



