CHUB AND BARBEL. 5 



best sport is generally to be had in warm cloudy 

 days. The Thames anglers generally use a short 

 rod and line, with fine tackle, a No. 8 hook, and 

 a quill float. The bait should be gentles, and 

 allowed just to touch the ground as the stream car- 

 ries the float along. The ground should be fre- 

 quently raked, as this attracts shoals of gudgeons 

 to the spot, and a few gentles should be thrown 

 into the water now and then in order to keep the 

 fish at the desired spot. The Thames fishermen, 

 however, who generally attend the gudgeon anglers, 

 are acquainted with the best places and the best 

 methods for taking these fish. 



Another class of Thames fishermen I meet with, 

 are dabbers for chub with cockchaffers. These 

 have more retired habits than your punters, and 

 cause themselves to be landed on some ait, or small 

 island in the river, from the banks of which, under 

 the shelter of the willows, with a long rod, a short 

 line, and a lively cockchafFer, they often have good 

 sport. The chub is a shy fish, but is readily taken 

 with the bait I have mentioned, if proper caution 

 is used. 



Next comes the barbel fisherman : his arrival is 

 previously announced ; a punt pole is driven into 

 a certain spot in the river, where, perhaps, he has 

 had good sport the year before, and the ground is 

 properly baited by one of the resident fishermen of 

 the place, ready for the arrival of his customer. 



