74 BOTTOM FISHING IN THE NOTTINGHAM STYLE. 



You have not been at home above half an hour when your 

 friend drops in and says that Smith has got such a glorious 

 catch of barbel, " as many as he could carry home," that is 

 the last feather that breaks the camel's back. You then, 

 perhaps, go to look at Smith's fish, and a finer lot you never 

 saw. " Smith, old fellow, how did you catch them 1 " Ah, 

 there is the rub, by simply using a little judgment in putting 

 in his ground bait where the fish were, and not throwing it 

 anywhere, as you did. If you know a place that abounds 

 with barbel, of course it is different ; but if you don't, keep 

 your eyes open, and you will most probably see them jump 

 out of the water, or go through a gymnastic exercise locally 

 known as " pitching." They are troubled with parasites, and 

 1 suppose it is in order to try to rid themselves of these pests 

 that they " pitch." As they generally run in shoals, where 

 you see one jump there are probably many more. During 

 the months of August, September, and October, which, by- 

 the-bye, are the very best months to take them, you can 

 scarcely take a walk by the river side without seeing them 

 jump very frequently. Having selected a swim, the next 

 proceeding is to bait it, and there are various methods of 

 doing this. In order to suit the bottom, you should know 

 how the current is. It may, perhaps, be different under the 

 surface to what it is at the top, and you must bait accord- 

 ingly ; a little practice will make you judge this to a nicety. 

 If you fail to see any barbel jump, then you must choose a 

 swim where there is an eddy by the side of a swift stream, a 

 ledge, or a deep hole where some old posts stick up, &c., as 

 these afford shelter for the fish. The big fellows like a lazy 

 eddy by the side of a swift stream, the curl of the water 

 bringing the food round to them as it is swept down the 

 stream. A good place to find barbel is at an abrupt bend of 

 the river, where the stream rushes hard against the opposite 

 bank. At the inside of this stream a big curl or eddy is 

 generally formed, and in this the fish are wont to congregate. 

 If, when you carefully try such places as these, you find a 

 tolerably level bottom with about eight or ten feet of water, 

 you are almost certain to find barbel, and then you must 

 mind and throw your ground bait in so that it glides into the 



