86 TENACITY OP LIFE IN TENCH. 



nibble at the bait, and will leave it after all. When the 

 biting has been going on in this fashion I have found it a 

 capital plan to expedite matters by very gently drawing 

 the worm away a few inches, when Dr. Tench, thinking 

 that he is going to lose his fee, usually comes after it and 

 takes it well. This is a peculiar speciality in tench-fish- 

 ing, which the angler will do well to remember, as it will 

 often stand him in good stead. Two or three shots will 

 be quite enough to sink the bait, and the hook should be 

 about No. 7, not larger. Tench will feed on gentles and 

 grubs, but the best bait by far is the red worm ; broken 

 worms to be used for ground-bait, and a handful or two 

 thrown in for one or two days before fishing, will no doubt 

 serve as an aid to sport. Tench are fonder of weedy ponds 

 than carp, and a space of a few square yards in the middle 

 of banks of weeds is often a favourite find for them. When 

 once hooked, there is little fear of losing your tench, 

 though he makes a strong fight for his life. Tench 

 are not unfrequently seen up to 5 and 6 Ibs. weight. I 

 have seen many of that size in the water belonging to 

 Sir J. Gibbons, near Staines, and I have heard of them 

 reaching even a larger size. 



The tenacity of life in the tench is very remarkable. I 

 once carried one in the midst of a basket of other fish 

 100 miles it was five hours at least out of the water. It 

 was at Christmas time, and though, at the end of the 

 journey all the other fish were dead and stiff, the tench 

 was alive; I put him into a bucket of water, and he swam 

 about as if he had only just been taken out of the punt's 

 well. My friends thought him uncanny and would not eat 

 him, so I determined the next day to make my supper 

 off him. I took him out of his bucket, gave" him a tap 

 on the head, rolled him up in a handkerchief, and put 

 him into my portmanteau amidst coats, trousers, &c. I 

 journeyed home again, and about five hours after I took 



