THE JOLLY ANGLER. 25 



titles as far as the different Docks *, &c. They are angled 

 for with 8 or 10 hooks, about 10 or 12 inches above each 

 other, on the line, in the paternoster fashion, as described in 

 "Dock Fishing." They will take gentles, &c. or a piece of 

 a small Eel, but the best way is to cut the first Smelt you 

 take into small pieces, and bait with a bit of the fish ; 

 you should strike the moment they bite. Observe in Smelt 

 fishing your float will often rise and lie on the top when 

 they bite; the Bream will occasionally produce the same 

 effect. When Smelt fishing, use a moderately large bait, 

 as they have large mouths ; the size of your hooks should 

 be about No. 9. 



THE ROACH 



Is a broad, handsome- formed fish, with a dark green back 

 inclining to brown, the belly of a bright silvery appear- 

 ance, the under fins a fine red ; the tail is likewise tinged 

 with the same colour ; it commonly grows to a pound + 

 in weight, and is very prolific ; they are found in all the 

 rivers in England, with few exceptions, consequently 

 it will be necessary to give a minute description of the 



* A friend of mine remarks, and I think justly, that the Docks, 

 have not near so many fish in them now, as they had soon after they 

 were first made ; he accounts for it by the slime and other sediment 

 collected at the bottom from the copper bottoms of the ships, bilge 

 water, &c. I know the water in the homeward-bound East India 

 Dock is as well preserved from netting as any water can be, and yet 

 the fish get less numerous. I am convinced the putrefied water from 

 the Gas Works killed or drove away all the fish from their vicinity. 

 Why should not the bilge water have the same effect ? more par- 

 ticularly so when it is enclosed, and cannot purify itself like the 

 Thames. 



+ In some rivers affected by the salt water, on the Kent and 

 Essex coasts, they grow considerably larger. 



c 



