212 COARSE FISH. 



can be kept alive and at hand if the kettle be 

 suspended in a gentle run of water. 



Nothing beats a bright, medium-sized bleak as a 

 bait, though I have killed trout on dace, 



^' ^ gudgeon and minnows. Dace make good 

 livebaits, as they work strongly, but gudgeon spin 

 best. A very small roach, about the size of a sprat, 

 will kill Thames trout. I have not used loach. 

 Natural baits are far the best, and freshly caught 

 baits are better than those that have been even a 

 short time in a punt-well. So greedy are trout at 

 times, that I know of cases in which a bait that 

 has rubbed itself till hardly any tail-fin was left, 

 has secured a large fish ; this was, however, in 

 quick water. Any of the small or medium-sized 

 artificial baits, Phantoms, Devons, Wagtails, &c., 

 will occasionally kill fish. Thames trouting with 

 a worm is looked upon as arrant poaching. Fly- 

 spoons may possibly kill fish in shallow 

 water. I have already spoken of fly-fishing ; 

 if the angler must fish with fly, I recommend gaudy 

 flies with plenty of tinsel, or peacock, Alexandras 

 and the like, worked wet. Trout are queer fish, 

 and a friend lately gave me an account of an 

 excellent day's sport (not on the Thames) in which 

 the fish took a dry Alexandra freely ! I have tried 

 salmon-flies of different patterns and sizes ; but, 

 as I have not had any sport, I have, most 

 reluctantly, ceased to fl\'-fish for Thames trout. 



Legeringwith a bleak or gudgeon will sometimes 

 Leger- take a fish ; it is a killing method in weirs, 



i"S keeping the bait close to the fall edge with 

 heavy lead, and hooking it through the lip as in 

 livebaiting. Trout frequently lie right under the 

 fall in the slacker water, keeping close to the 



