A HISTORY OF SUSSEX 



occasionally shot ; fish up to 9^ Ib. in weight 

 have been killed in this way. 



The Arun, the principal river of the county, 

 rises near Horsham in St. Leonard's Forest. It 

 was formerly connected by canal with Chichester ' 

 Harbour, and by the Guildford Canal with the 

 Thames ; also through the Rother with the 

 Wye. The railways have made an end of the 

 barge traffic and the Portsmouth and the Guild- 

 ford canals are closed and filled in. Some portions 

 of the old Guildford Canal on the Lee Farm 

 fisheries hold coarse fish, and in the portions not 

 filled in carp and tench are taken. A few trout 

 are to be found in the upper waters, and the river 

 is noted for good roach and bream. Tench are 

 seldom taken, but a few good pike are recorded. 

 This season at Timberley, near Pulborough, pike 

 of 22 Ib. 8 oz. and iglb. at Amberley were 

 killed. Pulborough is a noted angling resort ; 

 carp of 1 1 Ib., bream 6 Ib. 8 oz., roach of over 

 2 Ib. are numerous. The river near Pulborough 

 is joined by the Western Rother, and flows on 

 through Hard ham. Salmon trout and bass up to 

 8 Ib. ascend the river and have been captured 

 with dace. Roach of 2 Ib. are frequently taken 

 at Amberley, and pike up to 19 Ib. have been 

 killed in the present season (1907). Running 

 on through Stoke, noted for good roach, the 

 river passes the west and south of Arundel 

 Park. The Blackrabbit is a favourite swim for 

 big roach. Passing through Arundel, with the 

 cnstle, lordly in its magnificence dwarfing the 

 red tiled houses at its base, the Arundel Bridge 

 is passed, and flowing on through Ford the river 

 enters the harbour at Littlehampton. From 

 these four miles of water heavy roach are taken 

 near the culverts, which discharge refuse into the 

 river ; flat fish, codling, and bass are numerous 

 in the season ; mullet, for which Arundel is 

 famous, are taken by the netsmen in great 

 numbers. Heavy bass ascend the river as far as 

 Pulborough and are taken with rod and line, nets 

 hand-lines, and trimmers. Sea trout are to be 

 found at Amberley and Pulborough. A few 

 mullet are captured with rod and line under the 

 railway bridge at Ford, but the pier at the 

 harbour affords the best sport, baiting with boiled 

 cabbage, silk weed, or ragworm. Experts make 

 good bags on the morning tide, but the landing 

 is difficult, fish of over 3 Ib. invariably breaking 

 away. 



We now come to Chichester Canal, a branch 

 of the old Portsmouth connexion with the Arun. 

 The greater portion from Hunston Bridge to the 

 Arun at Ford has been filled in, but the branch 

 from Chichester Harbour at Birdham Locks to 

 the Basin, within a few yards of the Chichester 

 railway station, is still open for barges. The 

 four miles of its course is considered one of the 

 best stocked waters in the county. The basin is 

 fed by a number of springs and culverts running 

 from the Lavant stream. It has wharves on all 



466 



sides, with a depth of from 6 to 8 ft., and in the 

 later months is a resort of the heaviest fish ; carp 

 up to 14 Ib., bream up to 4^ Ib., some fine perch 

 and roach, a few tench and eels up to 4 Ib. are 

 to be caught. A pike of i8 Ib. was taken here 

 some years since while roach fishing, on single 

 gut and a roach hook, having taken the captured 

 roach ; and after a long struggle the angler took 

 a boat and the fish was netted out. The canal 

 is fishable from the basin on the towpath side and 

 is free to all. There are swims innumerable all 

 down the water, the banks are fringed with 

 rushes and reeds, and with the even current a 

 swim cleared and baited will provide sport for 

 several days. A few years since when carp were 

 feeding ravenously heavy takes of fish weighing 

 from 4 to 5 Ib. were made. Then bream came 

 on ; eleven fish taken before breakfast weighed 

 34 Ib. ; takes of 45 Ib. have been secured, the 

 fish weighing 3 to 5^ Ib. each. The heaviest 

 perch from this water weighed 4^ Ib. Tench up 

 to 3 Jib. have been taken in the Donnington 

 stretch. Over 200 pike, varying from 2 to 

 1 1 Ib. in weight were taken three years since. 

 Lower down the canal is the celebrated Ash-tree 

 swim, which holds good bream and roach. 

 Further on is Hunston Bridge, and in the bend 

 heavy carp, bream, roach, and pike are caught. 

 On the eastern side across the bridge beyond 

 numerous beds of reeds, rushes, and water lilies, 

 is Donnington. There are good swims all down 

 the reach, indicated as a rule by the parted and 

 trampled rushes. At Donnington heavy tench 

 are to be found as well as pike and bream. The 

 roach in this water have deteriorated in weight ; a 

 fish of 14 oz. is now a rarity, but smaller fish 

 are taken in scores. From Birdham Bridge on 

 the opposite bank to the first locks is a nice 

 stretch of water with a broad bed of rushes on 

 the south side ; the holes under the banks on the 

 towing path are noted as the haunts of pike ; 

 four brace have been taken in a few hours by 

 dropping the bait over the bank or spinning 

 alongside the rushes. At the lock gate there is 

 a deep hole with from 12 to 14 ft. of water 

 where lie big carp and bream. The perch here 

 are large and numerous, and in this reach between 

 locks good tench occur. Pike up to i y Ib. have 

 been captured. Down the four miles of water, 

 when clear, myriads of fish of all sizes and 

 descriptions may be seen. In fact, it is over- 

 stocked. The city council hold the right over 

 the water-way, but little is done to improve the 

 water for the benefit of anglers. 



The West Rother rises in the parish of Priors 

 Dean in Hampshire, and enters Sussex at West 

 Harting. Down to Midhurst the angling is not 

 particularly good excepting in private water. 

 Trout and coarse fish are to be found, but below 

 Midhurst on to Selham good trout are more 

 numerous. A nice fish of 5 Ib. was taken a few 

 years since on roach tackle just above the 



