THE ROACH. 155 



unison with the piece of match would keep the 

 line taut and straight. I venture to suggest this 

 for the consideration of Lea fishermen, and to show 

 that it is quite possible to keep a taut line on a 

 ringed rod. I think the comfort of running tackle 

 would amply repay the slight trouble of fixing and 

 untying the rings. In windy weather a twenty- foot 

 rod is almost unmanageable ; I have found a 

 sixteen-foot rod beyond proper control in a high 

 wind ; while fishing may be continued in a full 

 gale with a light ten-foot rod and heavily shotted 

 tackle, of which I had a striking example last 

 September (1896). Having waited with the utmost 

 impatience for really good roach-fishing weather 

 for some time, a favourable day came at last ; but, 

 soon after we started fishing, it commenced to blow 

 heavily, and the long rods were quite beyond our 

 control, the gusts sweeping them about and rendering 

 it quite impossible to strike with any certainty. 

 We therefore abandoned them in disgust ; and, 

 putting up our short rods, and fishing long swims, we 

 caught roach all day long, the three largest going 

 a pound and a half each, all the fish being caught 

 in a gale of wind and from the bank. In still, calm 

 weather, in slow streams and deep swims, or in 

 places where you can get near your fish without 

 alarming them, the long Lea rods will occasionally 

 prove more effective than the short. As length 

 is frequently required to reach an eddy from an 

 obstructed part of the bank, or for fishing a long 

 way out from a place whence a sweeping throw 

 cannot be made, the outfit of the roach-fisher should 

 include both styles of rod. It is hard work using 

 the long rod, and for a long day's fishing I prefer 

 the short, light rod ; I have one that I have fished 



