THE SPORTING QUALITIES OF ROACH. 349 



triumph when landed. We have seen a roach of 

 a pound in weight in a strong current in the 

 Thames, raise the blood in the face of an angler of 

 fair fame. They also, when in condition, bite 

 freely ; but we consider the principal hold they 

 have, or ought to have, on the angler, is their great 

 plenty, the numerous methods that may be em- 

 ployed to take them, to which may be added the 

 time of the year that sport may be obtained with 

 them, which is when few other fish yield any. 

 From the very bottom of the water, every inch of 

 the way up to the surface, they may be fished for 

 in various manners ; and when they are sunning 

 themselves at the top they will take a fly with the 

 best. No fish whatever exerts the capabilities of 

 the angler so extensively as this ; even the gray- 

 ling (whose versatility in yielding sport is great 

 also) must nevertheless give place to the roach, a 

 precedence which we think will always rank him 

 as a distinguished member in the piscatory list." 

 For my own part, I think that if the roach could 

 be caught with stout tackle, there would be an 

 end to the rage for fishing for him. To be obliged 

 to catch him with a single hair line is the chief 

 cause of all the excitement felt by the roach- 

 fisher. 



In the autumn and winter months you should 

 use a very small hook, and very short in the shank. 

 A line very lightly shotted, and the shots to be 



