38 COARSE FISH. 



bream. The first is a long, eighteen-and-a-half 

 foot cane rod, with a long, solid top. I have 

 had this rod for many years ; it was specially 

 made by Gowland, of Crooked Lane, a firm of tackle- 

 makers no longer in existence. By accident, I 

 broke one of the joints, which had to be shortened 

 in the mending, so the rod looks a queer one, but it 

 is still quite capable of killing fish. I have two sets 

 of winch fittings on it/ on the butt and next joint ; 

 The fourteen-and-a-half foot length, given by taking 

 the butt off, is quite long enough for some swims. 

 The rod has large upright rings throughout, to 

 allow the line to run very easily to a biting fish. 

 The top is solid, to give weight in the strike, but 

 pliable enough to avoid breakages of tackle. Bream 

 are tough-mouthed, and a very different strike is 

 required from that suitable for roach-fishing ; be- 

 sides, the hook is of good size, and, in the tough 

 mouth, requires more force to make it penetrate. 

 This rod is a heavy one, the full length weighing 

 exactly two pounds. To convert it into a still 

 shorter rod, I have another top, the lower part 

 of which is cane, the upper, a piece of whale- 

 bone, fourteen inches in length, carefully tapered 

 down by scraping, the combination giving a most 

 excellent strike. This top I made myself, and 

 am proud of it. Whalebone is now very scarce 

 and very expensive, costing something like ;^2,5co 

 per ton ; I believe this figure is under, rather 

 than over, the mark. If you possess one of the 

 old carriage umbrellas, see if the ribs are whale- 

 bone ; if so, you have a treasure indeed, for a whale- 

 bone-tipped top is a delight. I scraped the 

 whalebone down with broken glass, and found 

 what a peculiar fibre it contained, admirabl)- suited 



