FISHING AT A DISTANCE. 77 



be better than bread, but I have not yet had an 

 opportunity of trying it. It would be tough enough 

 to throw with a dry-fly rod, which would be a 

 decided recommendation. 



Of tench it is not necessary to say very much. 

 They resemble carp in their habitat, the two fish 

 being usually found in the same waters, and to 

 some extent in their mode of biting and unwilling- 

 ness to be caught, except that they are purely 

 bottom feeders, and never take on the surface. In 

 shape they are not unlike a short fat trout, but 

 their colouring is olive with a dusky gold tint, 

 their coat-armour is composed of very small scales, 

 and their eyes are a glowing red. Their feeding is 

 extremely erratic, and the angler may fish for days 

 without getting a bite, or he may catch them 

 almost as fast as he can bait his hook. The last 

 event is a rare one. Worms are best both for 

 ground-bait and the hook, either lobworms, marsh- 

 worms or brandlings, and the methods adopted for 

 bream will suffice in using them. It is well to 

 conceal the hook in the worm as much as possible. 

 Sometimes tench will take roach baits. Unlike 

 carp, which practically feed only in the hot months, 

 tench occasionally bite well in the early spring if 

 the weather is mild. A five-pounder may be con- 

 sidered a trophy, and a four-pounder a big one. 



