THE JOLLY ANGLER. 21 



THE BULL-HEAD, OR MILLER'S THUMB. 



V 



This curious little fish in colour is darker than the Gud- 

 geon, but in shape I can compare it to no animal in existence 

 unless a Tadpole ; it grows to three or four inches in length, 

 and is to be caught in the same manner, and in the same 

 places as the Loach ; it is occasionally used as a bait for 

 night lines. Salter says, " they are fine eating after the 

 heads are cut off," but unfortunately for the epicure they 

 are nearly all head. This fish, like the last, is hardly worth 

 the trouble of describing, and is mostly caught when angling 

 for other fish. The few that I have taken were among 

 the rough stones, on the shallows near mill tails, &c. 



THE RUFF, OR POPE, 



is precisely the same shape as a small Perch, covered with 

 similar hard scales, but differs much in colour, being of 

 a light brown on the back, approaching to white on the 

 belly, not having the black bars or red fins like a Perch, 

 but has many irregular small dark spots on the back, tail, 

 and back fin; it has also two rows of cavities under the jaws, 

 different from any other fish I am acquainted with; they 

 are found in some parts of the Mole, and I have taken 

 many of them in the river Wey close to Weybridge. They 

 lie in the same parts as Gudgeons, and are caught by the 

 same means, but are not sufficiently numerous to be worth 

 angling expressly for. I have also taken them in deep 



