THE BREAM. 39 



to top ends. The second rod is in three pieces, and 

 measures eleven feet ; it has upright rings, cane 

 butt and centre-joint, and greenheart top. This 

 is one of Slater's, and I can speak well of it, though^ 

 it is now pulled about a bit by rough wear and 

 heavy fish, for it only weighs three quarters of a 

 pound. I use this rod for bream, when I can find 

 a swim that can be properly fished with it. When 

 fishing for bream, I always use a ringed rod ; the 

 long roach-rods will kill bream, but, sooner or later, 

 you will get " smashed up " by a heavy bream if 

 you do not use running line, breaking either your 

 rod or your line. These long, unringed rods are 

 excellent for roach in certain swims, but I do not 

 like them for bream. In one of my walks I came 

 upon a fisherman in great distress. While roaching 

 with a long, light rod, without running line, he 

 hooked a really large bream, seeing the fish for an 

 instant. Not being able to follow his fish, and the 

 fish plunging down stream, half broadside on, the 

 rod top broke, causing the loss of all the line as 

 well. I cannot, therefore, advise bream -fishing 

 without running line, especially as it is no rare 

 occurrence to pick up a barbel or two, when these 

 fish are found in the same stream. For legering in 

 very deep water, with stronger tackle, the green- 

 heart rod, more often used for chub, does very 

 well. 



Particular care about a winch is not absolutely 

 necessary, as it is seldom requisite to throw 

 far. So long as the winch has a good-sized 

 barrel, to wind in fast, and a check, you will get on 

 all right. 



I use fine, plaited lines for bream, little thicker 

 than roach line, or the thickness of stout packing- 



