52 BOTTOM FISHING IN THE NOTTINGHAM STYLE. 



will be sure to lose them. I have tried triangle hooks, 

 double hooks, and single hooks of the sizes of 6, 7, or 8's, 

 but I find I lose the least fish with a single No. 4, and what 

 I find to be the best myself, I shall in all cases recommend 

 to others. This is a clinking bait to use in the depth of 

 winter, when the snow lies deep on the ground, and when the 

 thermometer indicates a few degrees below freezing point. 

 Indeed, I think it is nearly useless to try it unless there is a 

 little frost. I have taken fish with it from ISTovember round 

 to March, but if you want a change of bait during the winter 

 you can try the flat wriggling tail of a nicely scoured lob- 

 worm. Chub do not, as a rule, bite freely at a worm during 

 a frost, however, and therefore the angler will find the pith 

 the best. Let him bear in mind that the clearer and finer 

 the water is the better for pith, but if the water is discoloured 

 let him try the worm, also let the angler remember that the 

 finer he fishes the greater is his chance of success with this 

 fish. When the angler has a bite the next thing is to hook 

 his fish, and this operation should be done as neatly as pos- 

 sible, a single turn of the wrist will be quite sufficient, for a 

 heavy tug and rough usage will result in the loss of both 

 fish and tackle. I don't like to see an angler strike his fish 

 as though he were trying to drive a whole flight of hooks 

 into a bony old pike, with a mouth like a carding machine. 

 When first hooked, Mr. Chub makes a desperate efi'ort to 

 escape and bolts for his hold ; he must be kept away at all 

 hazards, if it be under old roots, a steady pressure will 

 accomplish this. He fights well for a minute or two, but 

 soon gives up ; and when you have drawn him to you, and he 

 lies on his side, he can be run up on a shelving bank, or the 

 net slipped under him. I think I have said as much as 

 I need say about float fishing for chub, and I will now turn 

 to another branch of chub fishing, namely, fishing on the 

 surface with live and dead insects, &c. This is a very im- 

 portant branch of angling, and is commonly called dibbing or 



