202 FISHES I HAVE KNOWN 



and again dropped from the trees were doubtless 

 a great attraction. 



I think in one day we caught six dozen fish, 

 none under I lb., several of 2 Ibs., and one of 3 Ibs. 

 weight. This huge chap made a splendid fight 

 for his liberty. We had no need for ground-bait, 

 the grubs were sufficient, and every day there was 

 always an assemblage of perch, though often we 

 must have caught the entire shoal. 



We had a small charcoal stove, with a supply 

 of fuel, hidden away near the place, and we used 

 to cook some of the perch on the bars for many 

 a pleasant al fresco lunch. 



As to bream ! Though only too common in 

 East Anglia, this fish is not very well known to 

 Londoners. In London and in the Midlands, 

 however, there is a considerable demand for this 

 tasteless fish during the Jewish Passover. Izaak 

 Walton describes the bream as " very broad, with 

 a forked tail, and his scales set in excellent order ; 

 he hath large eyes, and a narrow sucking mouth ; 

 he hath two sets of teeth, and a lozenge-like bone, 

 a bone to help his grinding." Walton devotes two 

 chapters to bream and the catching of them, and 

 his advice regarding them is pretty closely followed 

 at the present day, except that instead of boiled 

 malt as a ground-bait, a horrible compound of 



