FEBRUARY 55 



any intermission, we packed up, got into the punt, and 

 poled back up stream to a gravelly shallow below the 

 railway bridge above. Here we caught roach and dace 

 of the bait-can size, nothing exceeding half a pound. 

 This exciting sport was interrupted by the arrival of the 

 man who was to punt us back and help to carry up the 

 tackle. So at five we packed up and returned to the inn 

 for a hurried dinner and home by the evening train, tired 

 and disappointed, but all the better for the fresh air, the 

 biting breezes, and the exercise. The total bag of the 

 day was three roach of over a pound and a dozen small 

 ones. 



Having narrated such an unfavourable experience it 

 is perhaps as well that I should give a short account of 

 the next expedition to the same water during the 

 following February. On this occasion owing to a week's 

 heavy rain, the river was in flood, and although it had 

 commenced to fine down rapidly, was still running bank- 

 high and somewhat coloured. We drove down the river 

 about three miles to the bridge across the road, hoping 

 to get a quiet spot in one or other of the backwaters. 



When we arrived at the bridge the water was all over 

 the meadows and it did not look as if we could get about 

 anywhere. My friend, however, started off in his knee- 

 boots, across lots, for the corner where he had been 

 fishing during our last trip. I decided to stick to the 

 immediate neighbourhood of a ditch, which, as the 

 river was in flood, afforded a quiet corner with a deep 

 eddy at the entrance. The water was about six inches 

 deep over the bank at this place but already beginning 

 to clear. Rigging up my roach pole I put out a light 

 float ledger baited with worms and managed during the 

 morning to get hold of one or two nice fish, over a 

 pound a-piece. However, the roach seemed not there 

 at present ; so ground-baiting the swim well with bread 

 and bran, I decided to rig the Nottingham rod and stroll 

 along the flooded meadows and see if I could find my 

 friend. I came upon him at his old spot, well occupied 

 in smoking the pipe of peace and pulling out small jack, 

 one of about 3Jlbs. to 41bs. weight and several smaller. 



