146 AN ANGLER'S YEAR 



Strike hard, because you have got a long line out sunk 

 in the water ; and play lightly, because if the fish comes 

 to the top and splashes amongst the shoal the others 

 will make off. Get him into the net, in case he should 

 break away and go and alarm the others. The least 

 accident an oar falling, a fish breaking away, or even 

 missing a fish and the retreating row of bubbles will 

 mark the flight of the shoal, even if the most enticing 

 ground-bait be put down for their delectation. So easily 

 scared are these fish that it is as well not to moor the 

 boat up-wind, as the fish seem somehow to make out its 

 presence. Better get the wind abeam for casting,and moor 

 the boat with her bow up-wind. This is the reason the line 

 ought to sink, as if it floats the wind bellies it out, and 

 drags on the float continually. The probable reason of 

 the fish being alarmed by a boat moored up-wind is that, 

 being fastened with her broadside towards the fish, the 

 wavelets keep splashing against her sides, and these fish 

 are most susceptible to sound. 



This is a slight sketch of ordinary Broad bream- 

 fishing, and certainly bears little resemblance to the 

 quoted account, save and except that frequently a boat 

 will take in this way a hundredweight of fish, all 

 obtained by skill, patience, and hard work, without 

 which fishing becomes fish-slaughter and not sport. Any 

 angler therefore who, misled by erroneous impressions 

 produced by reading books, has gone down to the Broads 

 and had no sport, has only to engage one of the clever 

 local professionals in order to see that, though not so 

 simple as the authors state, still bream fishing is a good 

 sport, and productive of good fish, if you go the right way 

 to work with the right knowledge and tools. Fishing 

 Barton Broad I have taken on single days catches of 26 

 bream, 581bs. ; 22 bream, 641bs., and 14 rudd, 221bs. ; 

 and one evening with five lob-worms 12 bream, 411bs. 

 But this is only one method of catching these fish ; each 

 river and district has its own, which usually is success- 

 ful, and is peculiarly suited to the local circumstances. 



Another system, pursued at Wimbledon Lake and the 

 Welsh Harp, is long casting with ground-bait. The 



