SOME BRITISH FRESH-WATER FISHES 213 



although there are plenty of fish, the vibration of 

 the steam-tug's propeller disturbs them. One 

 week-day I watched the anglers for a good hour, 

 and not one out of the score assembled got even 

 a faint nibble. But Sunday is the favourite day 

 for fishing in the Bridgewater, there being then less 

 traffic. 



These Lancashire anglers are a philosophic race, 

 and, in spite of interruption and failures, work 

 steadily on. The daylight gone, they fish on in 

 the gloaming, and only when it is too dark to see 

 do they depart, all the better for the fresh air they 

 have imbibed. It is a capital way of spending 

 their leisure, and keeps hundreds of men from 

 the beershops and the attendant evils of football 

 matches. 



At intervals special excursions are arranged for 

 these anglers from Warrington to Chester, their 

 objective being the Dee ; and then the railway 

 platform is a sight indeed — packed from end to 

 end with men burdened with fishing paraphernalia, 

 until the " special " draws up, when they swarm 

 into it. 



My fishing experiences in Warrington were 

 unsatisfactory. At first, bait was difficult to 

 obtain, as under the name of "gentles" those 

 necessary attractions for roach were not known. 



