THE JOLLY ANGLER. 33 



havie never caught one in any other water, though I be- 

 lieve most rivers immediately connected with the sea con- 

 tain great numbers of them, particularly in the River 

 Tagus ; there they do not grow so large as in this country, 

 seldom weighing above 31bs. while here they grow four 

 times the size ; they feed in great numbers together, rout- 

 ing up the gravel with their noses like swine, and are 

 generally found round piles, under banks of the river 

 that project out, as well as at weirs, flood-gates, and the 

 deeper parts of the river, though in hot weather you may 

 see them basking in the sun on shallows where weeds grow ; 

 there are immense numbers of them taken from punts in 

 the Thames during the season, which lasts from June 

 until the frosts set in, when they retire for the winter, 

 during which they seldom feed. For the usual means of 

 catching them, see " Ledger Fishing," and " Bottom 

 Fishing." They are so tough about the mouth that it re- 

 quires you to strike sharp, or the hook will not enter; but 

 when once in it is sure to hold. In colour they resemble 

 the Carp, and have four wattles under the jaw; the Carp 

 has but two : they spawn about the end of April. There 

 are more Barbel caught foul* than any other fish, for this 

 reason: when you fish where Barbel are, your bait should 

 drag two or three inches on the ground ; consequently the 

 fish being continually grubbing up and turning over the 

 ground bait, are apt to touch your bait with some part of 

 their body, which affects your float similar to a bite, and 

 causes you to strike, by which means you often catch them ; 

 owing to their head, lower fins, and under part of the 

 throat being soft and tough, it suffers your hook to enter, 

 and hold better than it would in many other fish : when 

 once hooked, you must look sharp after them, as they are 

 wholesale dealers in Fishing-tackle. They are coarse eat- 

 ing, something like the so-much-praised Carp; the roe is 

 said to be unwholesome, but I have eaten it without any 

 ill effects, though it may act differently on other people. 

 In Barbel Fishing the ground bait should be thrown in 

 plentifully, (see "Ground Bait, No. 1,") and made into 



* Foul, means when they are hooked by any other part than the 

 mouth. 



