114 ANGLING 



Bargee, Mr. Hopper pulled on up stream under the friendly 

 shelter of the drooping willows there fringing the river bank. 



Mr. Hopper has not much more to add in the matter of this 

 year's experiences on the river, but as usual he learnt several 

 little wrinkles, amongst others that when there was a rise in the 

 river of a few inches only from rainfall the carp bream would 

 leave the deeper swims of 16, 20, and 30 feet and seek 

 comparatively shallow swims of 9 and 10 feet deep. One 

 morning Mr. Hopper was fishing a swim known as " Marshall's 

 Parlour," about 9 feet deep, and there being a few inches rise 

 on, all at once carp bream began to roll over at the top of the 

 water disclosing their broad sides. It had just started raining 

 like " Billy ho," as they say, and Mr. Hopper went to his bag 

 of worms and flung cocoanut after cocoanut full of broken-up 

 worms at them, and got them (the bream as well as the worms) 

 down below, and then commenced operations. Mr. Hopper 

 had with him only his dace rod, five pieces weighing 7^ ounces, 

 and the finest drawn gut and dace hooks, and the very first 

 swim down just as his float reached " Marshall's Parlour," 

 about 12 or 15 yards away, he struck and landed a fish which 

 weighed rather over a pound. It positively siled with rain, 

 which not only percolated through Mr. Hopper's garments to 

 his august skin, but ran off his cap down his neck and back in 

 various channels, until Mr. Hopper was well nigh deluged. 

 The chief difficulty was to get the wet line to work ; it clung to 

 the rod side and made it quite a business to swim the float 

 down to where the bream were feeding. However, Mr. 

 Hopper, notwithstanding the discouraging and adverse state of 

 the elements, managed to " float " the swim down 14 times 

 12 swims down he had a bite, and he managed to land 9 bream, 

 largest 3lbs., which, needless to say, taxed his 73 ounce rod 

 and his fine line and tackle to the utmost. Mr. Hopper's 

 boots being nearly full of water, and the boat also, he 

 baled out and then pulled up his stone anchor, put in the row- 

 lock irons, got his oars and pulled to the ferry. Just previously 

 to the bream putting in an appearance Mr. Hopper, in the 

 generosity of his heart, offered three Nottingham anglers who 



