66 ELEMENTS OF ANGLING. 



angler casts his float and baited hook into the 

 middle of the turmoil (the line being greased in the 

 manner before described), and the fun should begin. 

 The float must be a heavy one,, carrying at least 

 two bullets rather larger than peas, or it will be 

 difficult to cast it so far, and the hook should not 

 be more than eighteen inches below it. The bait 

 may be a bunch of gentles or a good big piece of 

 bread paste, or sometimes a worm. 



The rudd is a bold biter and the float goes well 

 under on its attack. The angler strikes sharply 

 when it does so and on hooking his fish holds it 

 pretty hard so that it may not bolt straight into the 

 rushes. It is impossible to use very fine gut for 

 this style of fishing, owing to the weight of the 

 tackle and the force required to hook the fish so far 

 off. Fortunately the rudd is not shy and does not 

 seem to mind. What is known as a self-cocking 

 float is useful for this kind of fishing ; it is weighted 

 at the lower end by lead inside, or lead wire 

 wrapped round it. No weight is required on the 

 cast with this float, and it does not make quite so 

 much splash when it falls into the water. Sometimes 

 rudd may be found away from the rushes out in 

 the open water and then one casts out one's bread 

 and follows it and the fish about. 



The rudd is not very widely distributed in 



