TRENT FISHING. 23 



this were not so the line would cut it, to say nothing of the 

 Hne being chafed in turn through the ring being worn rough. 

 The rod I have just described weighs eighteen ounces. Not- 

 tingham rods are made in two, three, four, five, or six pieces, 

 according to fancy ; but I prefer a three-piece one. I can 

 most cordially recommend this rod as the bottom fisher's rod 

 par excellence; and as I am more particularly writing to 

 working-men anglers, to whom money is an object, the price 

 will just suit them : it is only 85. 6cZ., partition-bag and all, 

 and will be found just the kind for barbel, chub, bream, 

 roach, and dace, &c. For those anglers who fish for roach 

 and dace only, a rod a little lighter than the one just de- 

 scribed would do. I have recently had a sweet roach rod 

 made; it only weighs* ten ounces, and is beautifully finished 

 and balanced, and the price the same as the other. 



I shall probably touch upon this question again in the 

 chapter on roach ; but one thing I will say to the young 

 angler, don't buy a common, cheap rod ; they are a delusion 

 and a snare, for you may be in the midst of a good day's 

 fishing, and the fish biting nicely, when suddenly, from some 

 cause or other, your cheap rod snaps under the ferrule or 

 elsewhere. You then have to sit down on the bank, and 

 spoil your pocket-knife in trying to extract the piece of 

 wood out of the ferrule, and find after an hour's work that 

 this is impossible, only thereafter to have to pack up and go 

 home in a not very amiable frame of mind at your fine bar- 

 gain of a rod The best plan in such a case would be to 

 throw the pieces in the river, and go to the tackle-maker, 

 and buy a good one. These are the cheapest in the end ; 

 tell him what you want, pay a fair price, and leave the 

 matter in his hands, and ten to one you will be suited 

 nicely. 



Nottingham reels are usually made of wood, and are in 

 two pieces ; the barrel of the reel upon which the Hne is 



