THE BLEAK. 29 



caught at least half-a-dozen bleak. This " bread 

 and thread " dodge is a really good one. 



Fishing with gentle or fly 1 on the surface in 

 sunny weather is profitable enough ; but in Float- 

 cold weather, with strong winds, it will fishin s 

 frequently be found extremely difficult to catch 

 a single bleak. Travelling a long way to a distant 

 weir intent on getting a trout, the angler finds 

 the day slipping away while he is vainly en- 

 deavouring to catch baits. Whip the water as 

 he may with gentle or fly, artificial or natural, not 

 a bleak shows himself near the surface ; the only 

 plan to adopt is to put up light float-tackle and fish 

 deep in the eddy below lock-gates, or in the lock 

 itself, squeezing a little bread with water for an 

 attractive groundbait. Three hooks may be 

 knotted on the line as before. In very stormy 

 weather, I have taken bleak quite six feet below 

 the surface, fishing as for roach. Strike at the 

 very slightest nibble, get the bleak off the hook as 

 gently as possible, and put him in the bait-kettle 

 or punt-well without any unnecessary delay, as 

 they are very tender and die quickly, and a bleak 

 that bleeds when the hook is extracted seldom 

 lives long afterwards. Although bleak mostly 

 take a single gentle well, there are occasions when 

 they want three on a hook to bite at. For single 

 gentles I use a very small hook, to avoid damaging 

 the fish much ; the hook for three gentles must 

 be a little larger. I find bleak prefer a live gentle 

 to a dead one, the wriggling gentle is taken in 

 preference to one just about to assume the chrysalis 

 state, when they become stiff. Another peculiarity 



1 When bleak are on the surface, almost any small artificial 

 fly, gnats, duns, c., will take them. 



