56 MAKING A FISHERY. 



reach will very possibly show on or above the 

 surface of the water, and look untidy. This, 

 however, need not affect the fisherman, as 

 during the hot weather it will improve his pros- 

 pect of sport, not only because the level of the 

 water is better kept up, but also because the fish 

 will be less shy and rise more freely than they 

 would if all the weeds had been mowed down 

 after the fashion most approved by the old 

 school of keepers. 

 Trimming As to the shallows, each has to be considered 



shallows. by itself. In every case, however, it is well for 



the keepers to go in and cut out all those parts 

 of the gravel bars, as made in the spring 

 cutting, which have become overgrown with 

 weeds, and, if at all fouled by mud, to give the 

 gravel a good raking. On a narrow shallow 

 where the water is not very thin, the plan of 

 cutting out a run under each bank is, perhaps, 

 most efficacious, but where there is a very 

 sharp fall, or where the water requires backing 

 up, a run on one bank only, or runs through 

 the weed beds on alternate sides, should be cut. 

 Occasionally an extra dense bed should be 

 raked out by the roots, so as to leave a clear, 

 sharp gravel patch, which will certainly be taken 

 as a favourable feeding place by a good fish. 

 Sometimes the weed is so high as to require 

 generally topping with the hand scythe. A 



