54 THE ANGLER'S GUIDE. 



before dark have taken my fine one off, and 

 looped that on, and have found it answer well, 

 for I have been able to kill my fish without 

 fear; that is, when I have been so fortunate 

 as to get one. I have also, in the summer, 

 taken very good barbel just before sunrise in 

 the morning, and an hour or two after that 

 time; but early and late fishing for them is 

 only successful in really warm weather, and as 

 the season becomes advanced, one time of the 

 day is as good as another. Like all the other 

 finny race, barbel feed best during soft, genial, 

 damp weather, when the wind is in the south, 

 or south-west. Sometimes, after a heavy 

 shower, they will feed very freely. 



THE WAY TO KILL BARBEL. 



As we have already said, you must let your 

 bait drag on the ground several inches, when 

 fishing for barbel, consequently, your float 

 will often go under a little when there is no 

 bite. You must, therefore, learn to distinguish 

 between a bite, and a stop made by the 

 ground. Generally speaking, a bite affects 

 your float more suddenly, and it goes under 

 more quickly than when it is pulled under by 

 the ground. But the best plan is, to strike 



