THE BRITISH ANGLER'S LEXICON. 41 



considerable weight. Some have been caught in the 

 Thames and Trent weighing over eighteen pounds and fully 

 a yard long. Barbel spawn in May and June. 



Barbel Fishing 1 . As these fish are gross feeding, 

 they are only angled for with bait of some sort, and the 

 modes of doing so are varied. They can be fished for 

 with the ledger line ; with a float, in the Nottingham 

 mode ; also with the clay ball, and with paste made of 

 cheese, as in roach fishing. This latter is the most 

 sportsmanlike, and with the fine tackle used, a good 

 deal of sport is obtained, as playing and killing a fish 

 of say seven or eight pounds weight, with light roach 

 tackle, requires some skill and patience on the part of 

 the angler. Generally, the places where the barbel is 

 to be found, contain some deep quiet holes, and although 

 this fish is sufficiently powerful to swim against a heavy 

 stream, yet it prefers to ensconce itself in a quiet spot, and 

 watch for its prey from there. In consequence of the 

 stationary habit of the fish, it is almost a necessity to ground 

 bait the u swim," and this is generally done some hours 

 before the angler proceeds to fish ; the ground bait may be 

 maggots or red worms cut up into little pieces. These are 

 either thrown in above the swim, and allowed to be carried 

 down to it by the current, or they are enclosed in balls of 

 soft clay, which gradually washes away in the water, and 

 permits the w r orms enclosed therein to float out in the 

 spot where the fish are supposed to be. This is done to 

 entice the fish to leave their quiet quarters and to forage 

 about in search of the bait, and once they get accustomed 

 to meet with food so easily, it is only a matter of a little 

 arrangement to give them cold steel, encased by a worm. 

 Sometimes the hook is concealed in the clay ball, properly 



