CHAPTER XIV. 



THE ROACH. 



WHO does not know this beautiful member of the carp family, and 

 who is there amongst the angling brotherhood who has not derived 

 sport from his capture ? Leuciscus rutilus, the roach, is plentiful, game, 

 not bad eating, and may be caught in a vast variety of ways hence his 

 popularity. Next to the "game" fishes, there is probably no other 

 species which affords so much sport to so great a number of anglers in 

 our fresh waters, nor is there one evoking so much ingenuity and 

 mechanical skill in its capture. I have said the roach is plentiful. 

 There is no need of proving this assertion. Every stream in England, 

 and nearly every lake, afford them in great quantities, notwithstanding 

 inveterate enemies of nearly every nationality flesh, fowl, and fish. If, 

 however, their plenitude is noticeable in this country, what will be said 

 of the statement of Bloch, the German ichthyologist, that before the 

 marias on the Oder were drained such enormous quantities were fre- 

 quently caught that they supplied amongst the adjoining villages sufficient 

 provender on which to fatten pigs. In various other countries in the North 

 of Europe also it was common to manure the land with them. That it is 

 a " game ' ' fish is also indisputable. A pound roach is no mean antagonist 

 in a strong stream and on fine hair or gut tackle, notwithstanding 

 the opprobrious epithet bestowed on him by Walton of "water-sheep," 

 and the dictum of Dame Julyana Berners, that " The roche is an easy 

 fysshe to take ; " howbeit, her prioress-ship confirms the statement that 

 he is fair eating by adding to the foregoing, "Yf he be fatte and 

 pennyd thenne is he good meete." 



A description of this handsome fish is not easy, and it varies so much 

 in its tints with the season, depth and quality of water from which it 

 has been taken, that I have thought it better to have it represented by a 

 pen and ink sketch (which has been ably done by my friend, Mr. Percy 



