160 ANGLING 



brace to the river to furnish sport for another angler, thus 

 retaining 14 brace. At half-past six, Mr. Hopper having given 

 the river a three hours' rest, visited the same 80 yards stretch 

 of water again, and flogged it for two hours and never had a 

 rise. Such is the perversity of fish at times but then, the wind 

 had dropped and the surface of the water was like glass. 

 Mr. Hopper wants another day on that river next year. 



Some very good catches of roach have been made on the 

 Louth Canal at Thoresby, Firebeacon and Fulstow Bridge. 

 Catchwater Drain has not fished well this year. A' few 

 good roach have been brought to bank, but no bream of 

 any size or in any quantity, and tench have also been " off." 

 Hob Hole has, however, fished better than it has done for 

 several years, bream, roach, and tench giving good sport on 

 several occasions. McNab landed six stones of bream in two 

 days a few weeks ago at the fence end above the "Wellington " 

 Inn. Mr. Hopper caught some fine roach nearer old Leake 

 one day last week. They were in perfect condition, and fought 

 grandly, creed wheat was the " killing " bait. Some Boltonians 

 had been having very fair sport a little distance away from the 

 Leake pumping station. They were on a visit of a week or ten 

 days, so were able to bait the ground well. Many anglers go 

 to the Hob Hole Drain and complain that they cannot find the 

 bream that is due to this cause bream work in shoals, and 

 when feeding soon eat up what natural food there is. When 

 feeding they move slowly, gradually working in one direction, 

 going as much as 22 miles in that respect. They will take 

 days and days to cover this extent of ground. They will then 

 probably find themselves in the Lock-pit at the pumping 

 station, and there they will remain for two or even three days 

 feeding upon what food they are able to find there. They do 

 not then slowly work back to where they had started from. They 

 go with a rush, and are soon back at the place 2.\ miles away 

 from where they started on their feeding expedition. They 

 have the instinct to know that ground they have lately fed over 

 will not have recuperated itself in the short space of time since 

 they left it. This will explain to some angling novices 



