224 COARSE FISH. 



cnrysalis form for some time, but too much damp will 

 make them flabby. A gentle in good " form " is tough, 

 and wriggles ; and bleak and roach take the live gentle 

 with avidity when they entirely refuse dead ones. 

 Gentles stiffen and turn straw colour when they are 

 about to assume the chrysalis form, afterwards changing 

 to a deep brown or reddish hue. A chrysalis on the 

 shank of a hook, with a gentle on its point, will 

 sometimes tempt, roach when they refuse the gentle 

 ungarnished. 



Fishing with two rods at the same time cannot be 

 Two recommen ded from a sportsmanlike point of 

 rods v i ew ; an d, except when carp-fishing, I never 

 employ more than one rod at once. When roach- 

 ing, it is advisable to have a jack-rod at hand, in case 

 you get worried by roach being seized by some hungry 

 or spiteful pike. Even then, drop your livebait in, and 

 try for a few moments only ; for if the struggling bait be 

 left in the swim, it will possibly scare the roach away. 

 Some anglers like to use two rods ; "it gives them some- 

 thing to do ! " Well, it certainly may, as regards fitting 

 up tackle and providing extra weight to carry about ; but 

 two rods will not make the fish feed better, and if they 

 are " on," a second rod is not wanted, and only causes 

 confusion, fish being lost, rather than gained. Two rods 

 at once rather savour of fishing for the pot, not for sport. 

 The use of two rods at once on the weirs under the con- 

 trol of the Thames Conservancy is illegal. 



A handy bag can be made from plain sailcloth, it will 



only cost about half-a-crown, and will carry a 



Bag for thirty-pound fish with ease. A yard of sailcloth, 



^fish^ twenty-four inches wide, should be hemmed at 



the edges to prevent fraying. Next, insert brass 



eyelets along the edges of the canvas about five inches 



apart, and opposite each other. The bag, with fish in it, 



can be lashed with stout string to a stick or the gaff-handle 



when you have done fishing, stretching the ends of the 



bag tightly out, thus keeping the bag and fish straight. 



The stick or gaff is grasped over the middle of the bag, 



the string being lapped over the stick and passed through 



the eyelets from one end to the other. The ends can be 



