62 BOTTOM risHiNa I^' the Nottingham style. 



take them. N'ow this is not necessary, for the tackle that 

 will kill the chub will, in skilful hands, kill the barbel, and 

 as the fish have become more and more educated, the angler's 

 chance of success is all the greater if he fishes with fine 

 tackle. What I have said in this respect with regard to the 

 chub, holds equally good with the barbel. The rod, reel, 

 and line described in Chapter II. page 22, will be just the 

 things for barbel fishing, and your bottom tackle should be as 

 line as you like, providing it is good, sound, and strong. It 

 should be stained as recommended in chub fishing. When 

 you make your tackle, it would perhaps be as well to pick out 

 the strongest lengths, and leave the very finest for chub or 

 roach tackle, but always remember and have the thinnest 

 length of gut at the bottom for the hook or hooks to be 

 whipped to. Your tackle should be about four or five feet 

 long ; I like a long tackle because you can have all your split 

 shots on the gut without having to pinch any on the line. 

 There are several sizes of these split shots, and the angler 

 ought to have a supply of different sorts in his bag. For a 

 float he should have a pelican or swan quill when fishing a 

 light stream, and a cork float for a heavier one. A No. 5 or 

 6 hook will be the best for the bottom one, and about an inch 

 above this there is a No. 8, called a liphook. The angler 

 when he whips these hooks on should use the pink silk 

 mentioned in Chapter II. This is a worm tackle (the tackle 

 required for other baits will be described further on) ; and 

 there should not be a split shot less than fifteen inches from 

 the bait. Some anglers for float fishing put a long lead on 

 the line close to the loop of the tackle, but I like the split 

 shots on the tackle, the larger ones nearer the top and 

 the smaller ones lower down. Enthusiastic anglers, or ty7'os 

 in the art wo aid perhaps be the best name for them, would, 

 perhaps, on receiving information that the barbel were biting, 

 get a lot of ground bait in a hurry and dash ofi" to the river 



