134 ANGLING 



cold weather. He can then bear transporting alive to 

 a great distance, providing he be carefully wrapped up 

 in snow, with a morsel of bread steeped in alcohol 

 placed in his mouth. This is a plan successfully 

 adopted in many parts of the Continent. 



There are said to be three or four varieties of the 

 bream in some of the rivers in France, particularly in 

 the Seine. The fishermen in this river give the name 

 of " Henriots " to the young fry, and that of " Bremotes " 

 to the middle-sized fish. 



Eloch says : " The bream is little esteemed ; and still 

 less when he has been taken out of muddy waters, 

 which give him a most detestable flavour." 



This fish when large will afi'ord the angler some 

 sport ; but his gastronomic imperfections are a great bar 

 to him. Carp-tackle and carp-baits are all good for him, 

 and will kill him as well or better than any other. 



The best season of the year for bream-fishing is from 

 June till October, when he often disappoints the perch- 

 fisher by nibbling at his clear, tough dew-worm — a sort 

 of bite which- is often mistaken for the gentle suckings 

 of a small eel. The bream will perhaps take this bait 

 in preference to any other, although the gentle has a 

 powerful effect upon his fancy. 



The bait should be very near the bottom ; in fact, it 

 should just touch the ground. As soon as the fish 

 nibbles he must be dealt with on the instant; for, 

 singular as it may seem, the larger he is, the more hght 

 and delicate his bite. If of large size — something like a 

 big pair of bellows — he will require some care and 

 dexterity, as the moment he is hooked he makes away 

 for the weeds at once, and if he succeed in getting into 

 them you are done for, and it will prove a very difficult 

 matter to dislodge him. 



When you have succeeded in getting him out of the 

 water, be careful not to handle him, as he possesses a 

 most filthy hide ; but get the hook out of his mouth in 

 the quickest and best way you can. 



The bream requires ground-bait ; or at least it seems 

 to be the custom to use it in his case. The recipe 



