ROACH. 127 



bait, will be struck with more certainty than it other- 

 wise could be. 



Except in the coldest months, you should angle in 

 six or seven feet depth of water; in the colder season, 

 the roach get into deeper water. 



Having selected a still and shaded spot, which in 

 running water should be where the bank has been worn 

 from the set of a gentle eddy, or the curve of the stream, 

 plumb the depth, and fix your float so that the bait 

 may just touch the bottom. Next, measure your swim 

 from your standing-place, so that you may not be over- 

 reached in distance, and that your bait may always 

 pass over the same ground, or as nearly so as possible. 

 Having done this, let your line fall into the water, and 

 remain there for a few minutes, or till you are ready 

 for it. If the place has not been previously baited, (it 

 would be better to bait it at least two hours before you 

 begin to angle,) you may now cast in your ground- 

 bait, which should be formed of bran, bread, and 

 pollard, made up together into pellets of about the size 

 of a walnut, for still water, and increasing in size in 

 proportion to the strength of the stream.* Chewed 

 bread may be used, if you are without the other 

 materials. This should also be occasionally cast in 

 whilst angling, but care must be taken not to disturb 

 the swim, by casting the pellets in too frequently or 

 with too much force. Everything should be managed 

 as quietly as possible. 



The best bait for the hook consists of white-bread 

 paste, made as directed in page 92, and made up into a 

 good sized pill, perfectly round. The point of the hook 

 must be thrust into its centre, and the paste be carried 



* See page 93, for making this ground-bait. 



