122 



THE ANGLER'S SOUVENIR. 



\ 



an ounce of two pounds, therefore we may call him 

 a very good roach indeed. 



In the course of the next half-hour we catch 

 three or four more, and all good ones. Then, as 

 we pull out a small one about six inches long, we 

 see a shadow dart out from under the bank, and 

 a gleam and twist in the water. That was a jack 

 of four or five pounds in weight, and evidently on 

 the feed. In spite of the fineness of our tackle, we 

 will try for him, so we tie three or four hooks to 

 the end of the line, and, with the small roach for 

 bait, we improvise a spinning tackle. Casting it 

 into the water, we work it close to the bank. In 

 an instant there is a swirl in the water, and a flash 

 of green and gold for jacks have now a bravely 

 mottled flank ; and as the jaws of Esox Lucius close 

 upon the bait with a savage tug, our thin gut line 

 is severed, and flies back in the air in glistening 

 coils, and the jack retires to his den oh ! with 

 toothpicks gratis, while we repair our tackle and 

 meditate upon the folly of too vast an ambition. 



Yet a little lower down-stream, and we come to 

 a spot where it flows broad and shallow, with lanes 

 of clear water between long quivering tresses of 

 weeds, which are being slowly combed by the 

 sunken leaves and twigs which the current forces 

 through them. In these lanes of water the roach 

 are well on the feed, and every swim we get a bite. 

 In two hours we have caught a goodly number, many 

 of them half a pound in weight, and two of them 





