THE PLEASURES OF COARSE-FISHING 165 



further off than in the old days, if I He must know, too, that bread crust 



wish to carry home three or four as bait is superseding the paste made 



brace of decent sized roach from this from crumb, and that failing the cube 



academy of fish. of bread crust, the fish must be tempted 



All this access of knowledge among with paste of a red or yellow hue. 



those creatures which our earlier In quick-flowing streams, where the 



writers on angling named " the finny biggest roach and dace of ten breed, you 



denizens of the mere " has not lessened will only scare the fish to panic if 



the pleasure of fishing, but, perhaps you throw in a cork float. A tiny quill 



on the contrary, heightened it by the is all that you dare to place on your 



stronger element of uncertainty. For almost invisible gut, and the cleverest 



that which is perfectly easy ceases to anglers will dispense altogether with 



be interesting from the point of view a float. Others again will carefully 



of the sportsman. Upon those infre- entice these cautious fish with a small 



quent occasions when I have filled a artificial fly, floated naturally on the 



creel with fish, I have experienced water. 



the satiety which almost depresses. I think that perhaps the angler 



The glory of success is absent when for coarse fish comes into nearer inti- 



fish come recklessly to the hook and niacy with Nature than the fisher for 



remain " on the feed " throughout trout. For that shy and watchful 



the day. Yet against this facile dame is apt to hide her most secret 



triumph one sets philosophically those charms from the fisherman who strides 



long blank hours of east wind in winter, the rocks of a tumbling river, with 



and dazzling days in summer, when his eyes upon the water for a " rise," 



fish are torpid with the cold, or par- and his right arm in constant motion, 



boiled with the high temperature of The beasts and the birds retreat to 



the water, and refuse to even nibble hiding as he scrambles, waving his 



at the daintiest brandling or freshest eleven feet of greenheart in the air ; 



gentle. Truly, your patient fanatic and in his heed to his footsteps and his 



of the angle deserves now and again flies, he is absorbed and deeply pre- 



a taste of surfeit. occupied. But bait fishing is placid. 



Nowadays single hair casts and the It allows a freer use of the eyes, and 



finest of gut, known as " gossamer," conduces greatly to tranquil reflection, 



must be employed by the roach fisher. You can at the same time watch a 



