246 COARSE FISH. 



and does not strip away in shreds so quickly as _ a pole 

 grown on other soil. The pole should be of a weight the 

 angler can easily manage, and should be fitted with a 

 U-shaped iron ; the V shape picks up stones continually. 

 Plain board treads are better than gratings in the angler's 

 punt, for shot, plummets, and other small articles are 

 continually falling through gratings, and causing annoy- 

 ance ; moreover, hooks do not catch, to any extent, in 

 board gratings. Mats are of little use ; they collect dirt 

 and fragments of paste, bits of worms, groundbait, &c. 

 A good mopping now and then is necessary to keep the 

 punt clean and sweet : a day's chubbing with cheese 

 scents everything on board that is touched, particularly 

 the lines to the weights. These lines should be kept 

 out of the way of rats, or they will be nibbled to pieces 

 when they smell of cheese. 



For roach-fishing, the punt is generally placed directly 

 athwart the stream ; if the wind be down stream, con- 

 siderable shelter is thus afforded to the float. For chub- 

 bing, the punt should be kept lengthwise in the stream, 

 unless two anglers are fishing at once, that is, not taking 

 swim and swim. In weir-fishing, also, the punt is usually 

 kept end on to the stream ; and in very strong water she 

 cannot be in any other position with safety. Most barbel- 

 swims are fished with the punt parallel to the stream, par- 

 ticularly in leger-fishing. When two anglers are long- 

 corking at the same time for chub, a broad swim should 

 be selected, and they should keep as far apart as possible ; 

 if they fish close together, they will only spoil each other's 

 sport in winding in, striking, and playing fish. I prefer 

 weights and ropes to rypecks, though rypecks must be 

 used in some swims to keep the punt as steady as possible, 

 particularly in roach-fishing or legering. My great objec- 

 tion to the use of the rypeck is the disturbance caused by 

 jamming the iron in the bed of the river ; this is particu- 

 larly fatal to sport when chub-fishing, and I therefore 

 employ weights whenever possible. A weight at the head 

 of the punt and one rypeck near the well will often keep 

 the punt very steady when she is end on to the stream. 

 For gudgeon-fishing two rypecks should be employed, as 

 the disturbance of the gravel does good in this case. Four 

 cleats of strong galvanised iron should be fixed near the 

 ends of the punt, two on each side, a tight turn of the rope 



