THE ANGLER'S GUIDE. 9 



factured in great perfection. The size of your 

 float should vary according to the depth of the 

 water in which you are fishing. If the water 

 be ten or twelve feet deep you will require a 

 float that takes a good number of shots, or 

 your bait will be too long in sinking to the 

 bottom. And, beside this, the longer your 

 line is, the more shots are necessary to keep it 

 in proper trim. And the water being deep, 

 the large float will not be objectionable at the 

 top of the water. But never use a large float 

 and a great number of shots in four or five 

 feet of water, for if you do you will be sure 

 not to take many roach : I have seen scores 

 of instances of it. I always use a float as 

 small as I can conveniently, and I always find 

 that it answers best ; and it must be seen at 

 a glance that it must be so, because the 

 appearances in the water are the finer. Let 

 your float be so shotted that, when it is in the 

 water, only about a quarter of an inch is seen, 

 for if there be much of it out of the water you 

 will not be able to see the bite so well. I always 

 use a float that is rather thick at the top, and 

 have my cap to fit about three-eighths of an 

 inch from the tip, so that when it is in the 

 water the cap just catches the water. I always 



