97 



Then, I ask, what is the use of throwing in worms, or any other 

 sort of bait, if they prefer gentles to all the rest. I cannot tell 

 what purpose this mixed medley serves. The very person who 

 recommends it, tells the angler to see that no one cross bait the 

 place after him, while the mess of itself is a cross baiting. I 

 am certain, if any angler ever did catch fish after a baiting of 

 of this sort, that he would kill ten times as many if he baited 

 and fished with one kind of bait. I have not made these remarks 

 with an ill feeling towards any one, and I should be sorry if it 

 would be taken in that light. The sole purpose I have in view 

 in writing this book, is to give the result of my own long 

 experience on fishing, so as to benefit the angling fraternity. 



In fishing with creed malt and wheat, the same tackle may be 

 used as that recommended for gentles, but the hook should be 

 No. 12, instead of No. 10. Ifc is a grand point, not only in 

 Roach fishing, but also in every description of angling, to tell 

 the likeliest places in which to find the fish at different times of 

 the year. For these baits the water must be clear, and a gentle 

 swim from three to five feet deep. Let your hook be short in 

 the shank, and lapped on with silk, so that you may bury it in 

 the bait. Gret the right depth, allowing your bait to swim two 

 or three inches from the bottom. Sit down and be very still. 

 Take a few grains in your hand and pick the whole ones out, 

 throwing the remainder in two or three yards above where you 

 sit. Now put on a bait and make a cast. Keep your line 

 behind the float, so that the bait may swim first, and allow the 

 float to swim as steady aa possible, for if it goes tottering along 

 the bait will go through the same movements, making it more 

 difficult to catch this shy fish when the water is clear. If they 

 come on to bite, give them a few more grains every ten minutes. 

 "When you hook a good fish, keep it under the water, and get 

 it out of the place where they are biting as quickly as possible, 

 landing the fish above where you sit without getting up, 

 for your success depends much on your being quiet and still on 

 the bank. 



The same rod and line will suit fishing with red and white 



