THE CAEP FAMILY. 147 



petitors in Roach-fishing a department of angling, be it 

 said, demanding by no means a small amount of quickness 

 of hand and eye. Mr. Jesse, who has amusingly classified 

 the several orders and genera of Thames anglers, gives 

 the Roach and Dace fishers a very high rank for skill and 

 patience, and believes that they very seldom attempt, or 

 understand, any other branch of the gentle craft. 



The largest shoals of Roach appear in the Thames about 

 the middle of May or early in June, when they ascend 

 from the lower parts of the river to deposit their spawn in 

 the higher reaches, fighting their way up the strong rapids 

 with persistent energy, until they find a suitable spot. This 

 migration, it has been thought by some authors*, takes 

 place from the sea ; but the opinion seems to be erroneous, 

 as all experiments have tended to prove that the Roach will 

 not live in salt water f- A similar annual exodus of this 

 fish has been noticed in Loch Lomond and elsewhere. 

 The Roach deposit their spawn on the surface of weeds in 

 shallow water, and whilst in the act of spawning may some- 

 times be observed by hundreds together, with their back- 

 fins out of water : a very few days suffice to complete the 

 reproductive process, and the fish then seek swift gravelly 

 shallows on which to scour themselves. These they soon 

 quit, however, for quieter currents, where they remain 

 several months, retiring about October into the deeps and 

 still waters for the winter, and always selecting a gravelly 

 or sandy bottom in preference to a muddy one. 

 * Donovan's History of British Fishes. f Montagu, MS. 



H 2 



