92 A BOOK OF THE RUNNING BROOK: 



which would make about the very best possible 

 bait for either perch or eels. 



Though a gudgeon is good enough to be 

 proof against being spoiled by even an amateur 

 cook, opinions differ somewhat as to the 

 best ways of treating him. Frank Buckland 

 earnestly recommends : " When out gudgeon- 

 fishing on the Thames, be sure and take a 

 frying-pan, as gudgeons taken out of the water 

 and immediately fried are delicious. Clean, 

 wipe, and flour, then well fry in boiling fat, or 

 better, in oil, till they are crisp and of a light- 

 brown colour. Such a fish-dinner is always a 

 great feature in a picnic on a fine day." Mr. 

 Manley, who, though he abuses all other fresh- 

 water fish from a culinary point of view, is enthu- 

 siastic over fried gudgeon, says that " the chief 

 secret, as with the cooking of all coarse fresh- 

 water fish, is to allow the gudgeon, after being 

 cleaned, to become dry and almost hard by 

 exposure to sun and wind." In France gudgeon 

 are simply fried in butter after having been 

 well washed externally, though not cleaned 

 out. But, though opinions may differ as to 



