84 BOTTOM FISHING IN THE NOTTINGHAM STYLE. 



"barbel fishing and used that sort of tackle, and at nearly 

 every swim he was fast in a barbel till he had landed a very 

 good catch, whilst his companions could scarcely show a 

 single fin. Fishing for barbel with this extra fine gut is 

 perhaps not a very safe plan. I find the ordinary fine gut 

 as recommended for chub, and stained as directed in Chapter 

 II., to be all that is required. Some anglers like round bent 

 hooks, and some like sneck bent ones. I think a round 

 bent Carlisle hook is the best, for you can put a worm on 

 it so much nicer than you can on a sneck bent one. An 

 old friend of mine, when barbel fishing, after the first mad 

 rush or two of the fish and when he once begins to wind on him 

 and gets the float above water, hardly ever allows the float 

 to disappear again, but holds him tight and lets the spring 

 of the rod kill him. I don't recommend this, but still it is 

 done by that old friend of mine, and he is a very good and 

 successful angler. If your barbel is only a small one, it is 

 perhaps as well to hold him tight, but if he feels heavy 

 don't risk losing fish and tackle by not allowing him to have 

 a little of his own way. The mouth of a barbel being 

 situated very much underneath, and as he has some very 

 hard leathery jaws, it is certain if you hook him firmly you 

 need not fear the hook cutting through. A moderately 

 sharp stroke is necessary to fix the hook well, and when he 

 is once well hooked, the hold very seldom gives way. 



" Tight corking " is a plan that is adopted by many barbel 

 fishers on the Trent. For this style a cork float a trifle larger 

 than the one in use for "traveller" fishing is the best, except 

 that it must be adjusted so that the bait lies well on the 

 bottom, say about two feet deeper than the distance between 

 the float and the ground. The bait is thrown in and allowed 

 to swim down as far away from you as you think requisite ; 

 it is then held stationary, and you can tell at once by the 

 bobbing of the float when a barbel attacks the bait. This 

 plan is chiefly used if the swim be a deep hole or eddy not 

 far from the bank. I like the plan under these circumstances, 

 but as a general rule I prefer to fish with a traveller float, so 

 as to let the bait be always moving about over the swim, or in 

 other words, wherever the ground bait may be. (I have given 



