THE BRITISH ANGLER'.S LEXICON. 113 



large, and there are barbules at the angles of the mouth. 

 The common gudgeon is found in many of the streams 

 of the British Isles, especially those having gravelly 

 bottoms. It seldom attains more than eight inches in 

 length. The tail is forked, the eyes set high up in the 

 head ; colour, an olive-brown on the back, spotted with 

 black, and the belly and sides white. They swim in shoals, 

 and feed on worms, molluscs, and other larvae that they 

 rake up from the sand and gravel. They are very good 

 eating, and one of the best baits that can be used for 

 large trout or pike. 



Gudgeon Fishing? is the amusement of the young 

 angler, and often the first lesson he learns in the art of 

 angling. The tackle cannot be too fine. Bait a No. i hook 

 with a portion of a small red worm, a maggot or gentle. 

 Let this trip along the bottom of the gravelly stream where 

 the gudgeons are, and very soon they will attack it. They 

 bite boldly, and can be thrown out at the first indication of 

 a nibble. It is usual to rake up the sand at the bottom of 

 the stream to muddy the water, when the particles floating 

 about will attract the fish in numbers, and sometimes as 

 many as ten dozen can be caught in a very short time in the 

 one spot. 



Gut 9 Silkworm, is an indispensable portion of an 

 angler's outfit, and great care should be taken to have it as 

 perfect as possible. It should be transparent not a dull 

 white and perfectly round. If it is not so it will glitter in 

 the sun and be useless for the angler's purpose. Although 

 every angler uses it, yet few really know anything of its 

 origin. The name is rather misleading ; it is not the gut of 

 the worm, although it comes from its inside. It is formed 

 from a viscid matter contained in two sacs lying side by 



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