COARSE-FISHING MEMORIES 



neous to describe as water. In that queer place I angled a whole 

 afternoon, because I was told that it contained carp. I baited 

 with worm and paste, and sat regarding the place incredulously. 

 Nothing happened. The float was reluctant to cock, and 

 indeed the thinner part of the mud at the top was only four 

 or five inches deep, so one could not expect much of it. The 

 baits remained immovable, and after a time I got bored. Now 

 and again there was a sort of oscillation of the liquid, which I 

 put down to marsh gas in the act of escape, but presently 

 I thought I saw something more tangible than that, something 

 that seemed to wriggle near the shore. I investigated with 

 a landing-net, and behold a veritable fish, a small carp of 

 the oddest shape and colour, and to all appearance blind. So 

 there were fish there after all, living the sort of amphibious 

 life that creatures must have lived in the primeval ooze. Per- 

 haps they were all blind like the one I caught. At any rate 

 I did not get a bite, and, as I returned the netted fish, I did not 

 disturb the status quo. It was a queer fishing. 



Barbel have never interested me very much. The formid- 

 able ground-baiting which they require has deterred me from 

 taking them too seriously, except for an occasional day at long 

 intervals. But I have had great fun with chance fish hooked 

 on roach tackle. On one occasion, fishing from a punt on the 

 Thames for roach with very light tackle, a friend and I landed 

 five or six barbel between 3 lb. and 5 lb., and hooked and lost 

 others. They naturally gave splendid sport, and I remember 

 them more vividly than any that I have had on orthodox 

 leger tackle. A barbel of 4 lb. hooked on fine-drawn roach 



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