BREAM. ROACH AND RUDD 



741 



fish could live in its water ; but the 

 capture of more than one variety of fish 

 from among the piles of Blackfriars Bridge, 

 during the rebuilding in 1908, proves that 

 the Thames is becoming a purer stream. 

 Two or three of the London d(jcks seem 

 to have been free from the poison of 

 Thames water until about i860, for Roach 

 were caught in the Surrey Canal Dock, 



the surface. They are not so common 

 as Roach, though they abound in some of 

 the Broads and in several meres in various 

 parts of the kingdom. In Ireland the 

 Roach is said to be unknown, but the Rudd 

 inhabits Irish waters. Slapton Ley, in 

 Devonshire, is famous for Rudd, and 

 many are caught from Barton Broad 

 in Norfolk. In Coombes Reservoir, in 



A CATCH OF RUDD. 



Photograph by J. FratikUn J'tke. 



at Rotherhithe, and in the East and 

 West India Docks. 



The Rudd, sometimes called the Red 

 Eye, was formerly looked upon as a 

 hybrid, but is now regarded as a distinct 

 species. In Wales, where Rudd are very 

 local, the fish is known as the Rhudcl- 

 goch, meaning crimson-red, which well 

 describes the hue of the fins. Rudd are 

 of the Carp family, and the near relations 

 of Roach. They can be distinguished 

 from Roach by the depth of their sides, 

 the nearness of the dorsal fin to the tail, 

 and the brighter colour of the fins. Rudd 

 differ somewhat in their habits from their 

 allies the Roach, for they swim liigher in 

 the water, and come more frequently to 



94 



Derbj^shire, in Tecton Reservoir, North- 

 ampton, and in Whinfell Tarn, in the 

 Lake District — three dissimilar waters — 

 Rudd are found, but they are most 

 plentiful in the eastern counties. 



The "occurrence " of Rudd in Whinfell 

 Tarn, recorded by Mr. John Watson, in 

 "The English Lake District Fisheries," 

 is highly interesting, as this is an upland 

 lake and unlike the mud-bedded Broads 

 of Norfolk. Mr. Watson relates that 

 Dr. Giinther has identified the fish as 

 Rudd {Lcitcisciis cyythrofhlhalmus). and 

 that they apjK^ar to be mostly a pound in 

 weight. In Teeton Reservoir Rudd are 

 the companions of introduced Trout, and 

 no doubt the fine and ra]-)id growth of 



