44 THE SCIENTIFIC ANGLEK. 



abounds, it being readily taken with the coarsest tackle. 

 Ruffe spawn in April, and, like perch, multiply rapidly. 

 Pike and other large fish feed upon them. Both the form 

 and the hahits of this fish are similar to those of the 

 perch. Its average length is four inches, and it very 

 seldom exceeds six. For live bait for pike it is often in 

 great request, on account of its hardiness and attractive 

 color. 



CHAPTER III. 



BOTTOM FISHING (GENERAL). 



POND-FISHING FOR PERCH, ETC., GUDGEON, DACE, AND ROACH 

 FISHING. 



Under this heading we purpose dealing with each indi- 

 vidual fish sought after by the bottom fisher. The con- 

 stant increase in this class of anglers has of late become 

 so noteworthy that any work on modern methods of 

 angling would be signally incomplete were this important 

 branch ignored. Still-water or pond fishing is associated 

 with the earliest recollections of the majority of fisher- 

 men, whether fly, mid-water, or bottom fishers. We 

 shall, therefore, commence with this simple phase of the 

 gentle art. Worm fishing may be practised successfully 

 for almost every variety of fish in fresh water, not ex- 

 cluding even the trout and salmon. We have devoted a 

 separate chapter to worm fishing for the first-named, 

 The usual objects of the bottom fisher in still water are 

 what are known as coarse fish, ranging from the pike 

 down to the perch and gudgeon, and the arrangement of 

 the tackle employed varies both according to the kind of 

 fish it is desired to take, and the lay of the water. Float 



