30 COARSE FISH. 



is that bleak will now and then refuse gentles, but 

 will take tiny pellets of bread-paste. This bait is 

 difficult to throw far, as it whips off; and bleak 

 also know how to suck it off. There is a gentle 

 nibble, you strike, and see the bait leave the 

 hook, when three or four bleak will fight for it 

 at once. 



Even the professional, using the cast-net, may 

 occasionally fail to get a bleak for a customer, 

 for I have offered a man a shilling for a single 

 bleak and he has been unable to get me one. 

 It is good education for a young angler to be 

 taught how to catch bleak, either with fly or 

 float-tackle ; quickness in striking is acquired, and 

 great quickness of sight also. When they are 

 feeding freely, bleak may be whipped out with a 

 willow rod and a hcfok tied on thread, and a child 

 will catch them ; but in unfavourable weather, the 

 most experienced angler, who wants a trout bait 

 more than anything under the sun, may find his 

 efforts quite fruitless. 



However light any float-tackle may be, bleak 

 caught with this are frequently hooked too deeply 

 to be of use for live-baiting ; it is therefore best 

 to fish without float or shot whenever possible. 

 They do not thrive in punt-wells, quickly getting 

 covered in places with " fur," and rubbing their 

 tails badly. They also go off colour, more 

 especially in punt-wells where there is little light 

 or ventilation. Diamond-shaped holes should, 

 therefore, be cut in the top of the punt-well and 

 will be found useful to slip a bleak through into 

 the well, besides affording extra light. See that 

 the punt- well gets as much trickle of water through 

 it as possible ; when the punt is left at night, peg 



