448 PRACTICAL LESSONS IN TH GENTLE CRAFT. 



followed, and imitated also, by a host of other makers, until 

 in the present day, and amongst such traders as Carter 

 and Sons of St. John Street Road, Alfred of Moorgate 

 Street, and last, but not least, a little maker I have known 

 something about lately, named Gold, of Waterloo Road, and 

 who I think makes as good a class of rod as it is possible 

 to obtain for this particular branch of fishing, there is 

 small appreciable difference to be found in the quality of 

 their manufactured goods. Generally, then, a rod for roach- 

 fishing should be lengthy yet full of equable spring 

 tapered beautifully from the broad butt, built of the very 

 lightest white pine, to the slender cane and lance-wood top, 

 as light as possible in the hand, with no superfluous weight 

 attached in the shape of rings, or heavy metal fittings, and 

 altogether a perfect weapon suited for a very perfect 

 branch of the art of angling. I have no belief in general 

 all-round rods. A salmon rod should be a salmon rod and 

 nothing else, and a roach rod ought to be equally distinct. 



I may now, perhaps, properly discuss the question of 

 roach lines, and I may also at this point premise that a 

 really good and skilful roach fisherman almost invariably 

 uses tight tackle. He seldom or never condescends to the 

 use of running tackle, save, it may be, by operators upon 

 the Trent. There has been a considerable controversy 

 during the last few years in the columns of the ' Fishing 

 Gazette,' and other sporting journals, with regard to the 

 advantages of gut over hair. For my own part I never 

 could see that there was any strikingly great advantage 

 derived from the use of hair in roach-fishing, and par- 

 ticularly when the chances were that one was likely to get 

 hold of a heavy chub or barbel in the same swim save it 

 might be from the sportsmanlike desire to kill one's fish 

 with the lightest possible tackle. Therefore, I think a 



