54 BOTTOM OR FLOAT-FISHING. 



freely will do. As, however, a long line cannot be 

 used in paternostering without loss of efficiency, 

 danger of fouling, &c., a longish rod, not too 

 heavy, is certainly a desideratum. In deep holes, 

 under steep banks, and under weirs, are the haunts 

 in which the greatest execution will generally be 

 done with the paternoster; and from October to 

 January large deep eddies, or back-waters, into 

 which, especially after a flood, the Perch are swept. 

 Such spots abound on the Thames and most large 

 rivers. In the Thames, the best Perch water I 

 know is just below the paper-mills at Temple, near 

 Marlowe. Here, after the first heavy flood, the 

 Perch collect in astonishing numbers ; and I re- 

 member on one occasion, when fishing this pool 

 with Mr. H. R. Francis, attended by the famous 

 Tom Rosewell, killing some twelve dozen Perch 

 with the paternoster in a few hours. The water 

 was then still slightly clouded from floods. 



The Weirs are the great places for the pater- 

 noster in summer, as the Perch then collect in the 

 rapids and rushes of water to scour and brace 

 themselves after spawning. The modus operandi is 

 as follows : The rod and tackle being arranged as 



