240 PIKE AND OTHER COARSE FISH. 



quarts, or more, of solid worms are employed — often for several 

 days consecutively — for this purpose. ' The stream gradually 

 washes away the clay balls and releases their contents. 



Some good fishermen recommend that the worms for this 

 purpose should be broken into two or three pieces ; I cannot 

 say that I think the expedient one of any real advantage, whilst 

 the prepairatory process is disagreeable to say the least of it. 

 In ponds, where small whole worms form one of the best ground 

 baits for bream, perch, carp and tench, they do not, of course, 

 require to be mixed with clay or any other substance. 



Greaves, or ' scratchings,' are often employed in very much 

 the same way as lob-worms, being mixed up with a certain 

 proportion of clay to carry them to, arid keep them at the 

 bottom. 



When carrion gentles are used and have to be kept any time 

 beforehand, they should be mixed with moist sand, as in the 

 mass, 'undiluted,' they are apt to 'scald,' as the expression is, 

 that is they become hot so that a large proportion die. In 

 combination either with bran and bread or with greaves, or all 

 three, they form one of the best ground baits all the year 

 round for dace, roach, and bleak, and are also very fairly good 

 bait for bream or barbel. In ponds or still waters I know no 

 better ground bait without any admixture whatever. It is 

 not always, however, that carrion gentles can be procured, 

 and under these circumstances bran and bread mixed (soaked, 

 of course), squeezed into balls with the hand, and flung in 

 round the float or where it is intended to fish, form the best; 

 substitute. 



The tendency of fish to become satiated indicates a fact 

 well worth remembering, namely, that in river ' swims ' it is 

 generally better tp fish rather below than actually over or abovq 

 the ground-bait, because by so doing, there is a greater chance 

 of the unsatiated fish, which are working up stream to thq 

 ground-bait, coming into contact with the bait; on the hook. : . 



Brewer's Grains, or malt, that is the grain from which the 

 beer has been made, is often recommended fpr purpose? of 



