50 BOTTOM FISHING IN THE NOTTINGHAM STYLE. 



him " Cheven," " Chevin," and " Chevender," and by some 

 of these names he is still known in certain districts. Michael 

 Drayton, writing nearly three centuries ago on the Trent and 

 its fish, says, " The chub (whose neater name which some 

 a chevin call), food to the tyrant pike (most being in his 

 power), who for their numerous store he most doth them 

 devour." The chub seems to be set upon by more than one 

 writer ; even the good and gentle Izaak Walton says of him, 

 " Oh, it is a great loggerheaded chub," and this name has 

 crept down to more modern times. One writer, in a recent 

 article in a daily paper, has actually the impertinence to call 

 him " chuckle-headed ;" where he got the term from I don't 

 know. In some districts the chub is called " the large- 

 headed dace," the Scotch call him " Skelly," the Welsh 

 "Penci," and the Swedes "Kubb," which latter means "a 

 lump of wood." Now, if we look at these names, we can 

 see that they are most of them alluding to the head of the 

 chub ; but why he should be called big-headed, &c., &c., I 

 cannot imagine ; for if we take a splendid, well-fed specimen 

 of three pounds or so, and lay him broadside on the grass, 

 really his head does not look at all out of proportion to his 

 body. The shoulders a.re broad and vast, belly deep and 

 rounding off, back a trifle hollow, and ending in a fairly 

 broad spread of tail ; look at him from that standpoint, and 

 his head is not out of proportion. If you stare him in the 

 face, perhaps he does look a little full-faced, and he has 

 rather a large mouth, but he does not deserve the names of 

 " loggerhead," " chuckle-head," &c., that are so often applied 

 to him. I maintain that he is a handsome fish, and as a 

 sporting fish in all weathers, he has not his equal amongst 

 the coarse fishes. True, when you come to cook him he is 

 not worth much, for he is woolly and watery, and has such 

 a plentitude of small bones, that to eat him is almost to run 

 the risk of being choked. As some anglers, however, will 

 persist in eating their spoil, the best plan is to clean them as 

 soon as possible, split them open, and rub the inside with salt 

 or lemon ; some put stuffing in them, something like veal 

 stuffing ; but one thing must be remembered if they are kept 

 all night without being cleaned they are absolutely uneatable. 



