THE BLEAK. 



THIS fish, which grows to the size of a large 

 In the sprat or small smelt, is a silvery, lively, 

 Thames delicate fish, being perhaps the best bait 

 for Thames trout. The Thames swarms with 

 bleak, and it is partly owing to this supply of 

 suitable food that trout grow to such a size when 

 introduced into the river. Bleak delight in bright 

 sunshine ; the hotter the sun, the less trouble it is 

 to catch them ; on a dull, cold, windy day, on the 

 other hand, it may take hours to get a single one. 

 They seldom show themselves much in the winter, 

 but when spring begins, they flock into the weirs 

 and around the lock gates, and into the lock itself, 

 where they find a good living among all the stray 

 pieces of bread thrown from launches and other craft. 

 Bleak like playing about in the trickles of water 

 that spurt into the locks when the water is lowered, 

 and pay little heed to the boats and punts that 

 pass through. They are exasperating little fish to 

 the angler ; when particularly wanted for trout-baits 

 you may not succeed in catching one. In cold 

 weather they disappear from the surface and seek 

 the deep water, while, when the sun shines, a dozen 

 may be caught in as many casts of the line. They 



