INTRODUCTION 55 



they hunt by sight and are then in the 

 position of a greyhound having to catch 

 a hare in a thick fog. On lakes and still 

 reaches, wind decidedly helps the angler. 

 For coarse fish generally, the weather 

 which gives abundance of water in a river 

 without it being too thick is usually 

 good, provided that fishing is bad, as a 

 rule, during storms. Nothing seems to 

 bring the fish more steadily on the feed 

 than a long spell of settled weather if the 

 water is not too low. Roach, however, 

 always bite best after rain, as do perch. 

 In summer, chub and gudgeon take best 

 in fine sunny weather. Modern perch, 

 though generally hungry, are shy and 

 cautious to a degree. Like pike, they 

 take best after a thick flood and probably 

 for the same reason. 



" Sea -fish do not seem to me to be 

 influenced by weather as much as by the 

 state of the tide, and by the abundance or 

 scarcity of food on their feeding-ground. 

 Storms seem to drive them away from 

 the coast ; but bass are to be caught in- 



