66 THE ANGLER'S GUIDE. 



the water runs briskly : and your bait must 

 just touch the ground. You do not coax them 

 around you with ground-bait, as you do other 

 fish, but make the ground itself answer that 

 purpose by stirring it up with a rake, made 

 expressly for gudgeon fishing. This rake is 

 put into the water, and having a handle longer 

 than your rod, you place it at the head of your 

 swim, just above where you put in your baited 

 hook. Before you begin to fish, you rake up 

 the ground with it, and the fine particles of 

 gravel, or sand, thicken that part of the water 

 in which your bait passes along the gudgeon 

 are drawn to the spot by the thick water, and 

 are hunting in it for whatever food it may 

 contain, and they generally find your baited 

 hook among the rest, and pick it up. 



Having taken a number of swims, you rake 

 your ground again, and so you go on all the 

 while you are fishing for them. Many dozens 

 of gudgeons are often taken in this way ini 

 a few hours. They are a very sweet and 

 delicate little fish, and are much prized by 

 some persons ; but they require much care in 

 keeping them, or they are all spoiled before 

 you get them home. A very good plan is, to 

 have a good sized bag, with about a quarter of 



