90 BOTTOM FISHING IN THE NOTTINGHAM STYLE. 



had very good catches, and strange as it may appear, that my 

 fish were roach and his were dace, the conclusions I arrived 

 at then backed up my former observation, viz. that roach are 

 for the most part, a ground-feeding fish ; I know that they 

 will take an artificial or a natural fly on the surface ; it is the 

 formation, therefore, of the mouth that allows them to take 

 a bait at all depths. (The above will be found a good plan 

 to fish a swim that you know contains both roach and dace. ) 

 I have been rather particular in my description of a roach, 

 because the would-be roach anglers ought to know the pecu- 

 liarities and habits of these fish, and also because during 

 certain stages of their growth, they may be confounded with 

 fish of an apparently similar character, but which on closer 

 observation, side by side, are widely different. Eoach 

 spawn about the latter end of May, and are very prolific 

 fish. They are then very slimy, and have a lot of rough pim- 

 ples on their scales. When they have done spawning they 

 retire into deep holes, or among the thick weeds, and live 

 upon the weeds and the insects found among them. About 

 the latter end of July or so they come out of the weeds, and 

 take more to the open water ; and they may be found some- 

 times in considerable quantities by the side of rushes, flags, 

 or weed beds, especially if the water is from five to eight 

 feet deep. About this time, when as old roach fishers say, 

 " The weed is out of them," and the slimy coat they wore 

 among the weeds has worn off, their scales are smooth and 

 bright, and their fins nice and clear. They are in very good 

 condition, and are very shy ; and it is now that it requires an 

 artist in the business to take them. Roach prefer a sandy 

 bottom, do not like a muddy one ; in fact, a river roach, I may 

 say, is a very clean fish. His baits have to be clean and sweet. 

 If there be any suspicion of dirt or sourness about them, he 

 will have none of them. 



The roach fisher should be able to find out what sort of a 

 bottom the river has before he fishes it. I know a very good 

 roach fisher, who, when he is on the look-out for a new 

 swini, has a lump of lead with a flat bottom, on which he 

 sticks a piece of soap, and by letting this down to the bot- 

 tom, generally manages to bring up enough of the sand or 



