4 COARSE FISH. 



are then in their prime, and the angler will do far 

 better to try for these fish and let barbel alone. As 

 an experiment, winter barbelling may be interesting, 

 and that is all. I have heard of large barbel being 

 taken in winter, but they may have been foul-hooked 

 in some way, i.e., hooked outside the mouth, and 

 not in seizing a bait. Even when they are by 

 chance caught in the winter, I should think they 

 would give little or no sport. 



Although barbel play down heavily when hooked, 

 they may frequently be seen leaping, especially very 

 early in the season. It is strange that, being a 

 ground-feeding, routing fish, very large barbel should 

 take the spinning bait in weirs, chiefly in May, 

 more especially when the trout fisherman is using a 

 heavy lead. Molesey Weir has attained notoriety 

 for the large barbel landed there in the trout season ; 

 and for specimen fish of all sorts, indeed, this weir 

 is difficult to beat, though nowadays terribly over- 

 fished, as is the case with many of the weirs near 

 London. For good barbel-fishing, commend me 

 to a Kennet pool, with its beautiful sparkling water, 

 little fished, as most of these pools are private. 



I always select a gravelly swim for barbel-fishing, 

 Leger- though on one occasion an angler came 



in from town to the Weybridge water and had 

 a good catch by fishing on the mud with fine, light 

 tackle. As barbel frequent deep, heavy runs of 

 water, a powerful rod, able to lift a large lead and 

 kill a weighty fish, is chiefly used on the Thames 

 when legering, which is the style or method most 

 practised. A leger-line is one that rests on the 

 bottom ; a shot is placed two or three feet above 

 the hook ; above this, a perforated bullet is slipped 

 on the line ; the bullet cannot get below the shot, 



