NOTES. 241 



down so easily. Large floats, fixed on the line, drag 

 considerably against the water when the angler strikes, 

 and their weight is an obstacle to successful striking. 

 With the slider, the line slips up through the float-rings 

 on striking, and nearly all this drag is obviated. You 

 thus strike almost dead on your fish, even if the float be 

 thirty or more yards away. Again, in reeling in, the 

 hook and shots are drawn up until the top shot rests 

 under the lower ring of the float ; and much disturbance 

 of the lower water, where your fish are feeding, is 

 avoided. In shallow, gentle runs, the slider need not be 

 employed ; but take care to use thin floats in these runs, 

 and, in selecting quills, pick out the thin ones. Big 

 floats, for use in turbulent, rough water, should have the 

 quill sticking up well above the cork, as the float is then 

 more easily seen. Fish caught in rough water are mostly 

 large, and you need not fear they will fail to pull the 

 float under ; from the very nature of the swim, too, a fish 

 is compelled to feed boldly. The " stop " is a small 

 piece of double gut, string, match, or similar substance, 

 knotted on the line above the float. A small stop, of 

 soft material, will pass through the rings of a chub- or 

 barbel-rod, provided the rings on the rod are not ridicu- 

 lously small, and can be wound down on the winch 

 before throwing out, or in playing a fish to the rod-top ; 

 thus, a deep swim can be fished with a short rod. The 

 stop regulates the depth ; the weight on the line falling 

 until the stop is checked in the float. I do not like a 

 piece of rubber-band for a stop ; the line cuts into it, and 

 the knot is most difficult to untie. A much better stop 

 is made from a short fibre of Manila hemp ; or, in swims 

 up to ten feet in depth,- a piece of wax match makes an 

 excellent stop, which, however, will not run through the 

 rod-rings. 



It is possible to judge somewhat as to the depth, except 

 in very deep water. Millpools and weirpools ^^ - . 

 are deceptive, and the depth may be either d°pj|j 

 greater or less than is expected. South country 

 anglers mostly use the plummet to determine the depth ; 

 and in roach-fishing with a travelling bait it is generally 

 very important that the bait should be almost on the 

 bottom, and a great nicety of plumbing is necessary. 



R 



