THE BRITISH ANGLER'S LEXICON. 195 



are several other ways of angling for this fish, such as by 

 means of long lines let off down the stream with two or 

 three droppers attached, baited with different lures, but 

 there is not so much sport in these modes. The best of 

 all is fly fishing, and next to it the paste. When roach 

 will not take the one they will the other, and the same 

 tackle, except the change from fly to bait hook, will suit both 

 practices. With a horse hair casting line the sport is more 

 exciting; but, of course, it takes longer to land, as they 

 give good play. There is another method of angling for this 

 fish practised in southern districts, a description of which 

 may prove interesting. The rod used is from eighteen to 

 twenty feet long, with no rings or reel fittings. The line, 

 of single horse hair or finest drawn gut, is fastened to the 

 top of the rod ; the float should be as light as possible, and 

 the hook No. 5 or 6 crystal. When a fish is hooked, the 

 angler, who is generally seated on a box or basket (specially 

 made for this style of fishing), disjoints his butt or middle 

 piece, and plays the fish with the remainder of the rod. In 

 this mode :>f fishing, which is known as the Lea style, 

 anglers often get from ten to twenty pounds of roach in 

 a day. Another method of roach fishing is with a No. 5 

 crystal hook, two or three yards of hair or drawn gut, a 

 shot fixed fourteen inches from hook, and a drilled bullet 

 above the small split shot (arranged so as not to allow 

 the drilled bullet to run down on the hook). This is 

 permitted to lie on the bottom, and you fish by feel. In 

 a stream, of course the bullet rolls, and the best fish are 

 caught this way. The bait is generally gentles or paste. 

 In dead water the angler covers the gentles with ground 

 bait, about the size of a large marble. The roach keep 

 nibbling at the ground bait, and getting confident they 



