86 



He is said to live upon weeds and mud ; however, 

 it is certain that he abstains from fish. 



These fish are bold feeders, and are to be caught 

 with most flies that entice the trout. Within two 

 feet of the bottom, they will take the lob-worm, or 

 the marsh-worm ; but your tackle must be strong, 

 for they struggle hard for their lives. 



Bleak. 



The bleak is a small, fat, pleasant fish, called 

 by some the fresh-water sprat, and by others the 

 river swallow, on account of its continual motion. 

 It will rise, like the dace, at a common house-fly 

 upon the surface of the water, or it will take a gen- 

 tle, or white paste, about a foot and a half under 

 water. The smallest hooks are the most proper for 

 them, and a paternoster line, that is, a single hair 

 line with six or seven hooks, each three or four 

 inches above the other, baited with gentles, or cadis, 

 well scoured. The paste recommended for bream 

 forms a good bait for the bleak. It frequents deep 

 rivers, sandy bottoms, in eddies, and at the stern 

 of ships. 



The bleak may be caught with a very fine arti- 

 ficial fly, of a sad brown colour, and very small, 

 and the hook of a proportionate size. In angling for 

 bleak in the Thames, the bait must be laid deeper than 

 in other rivers ; and it is to be observed, that gene- 

 rally in rivers the bleak continues sound and health- 

 ful during the whole of the summer. There is not 

 any better sport than whipping for bleaks in a boat 

 or on a bank in swift waters on a summer's even- 

 ing, with a hazle top about five or six inches long, 

 and a line twice the length of the rod. The bleak 

 is an excellent fish to initiate a young angler in 

 fly-fishing. It forms a capital bait for pike. 



