40 
THE PISHING GAZETTE 
' I 
[January 21, 1893 
"ON THE CONWAY, N. WALES.” 
The photogravure -which we give this week is 
one of a beautiful bit of scenery on the Conway, 
North Wales, and is from a photograph by Mr. 
A. A. Chancellor, Ashburton House, The Terrace, 
Richmond. Surrey. It is a good many years 
since we fished on the Conway, and the view 
given reminds us more of that very charming 
tributary of the Conway, the Llugwy. 
THE BOOK OF THE ROACH. 
By the Late John Gbeville Fennell. 
Edited and Revised by John Bickerdyke. 
{^Continued from page 25.) 
CHAPTER Yll.—continued. 
Tidal Waters. —When angling in tidal rivers 
it is essentially necessary to alter the depth at 
which the bait floats, according to the variation 
in the depth of water, and it is sometimes ex¬ 
pedient to try farther from the bottom than usual, 
as fish in these waters often travel for miles up 
coarse fish on the Broads.) The best fish, even in 
summer, are found in the deepest water, and 
should not be sought for in the Yare at a 
less depth than nine or ten feet. The tide affects 
the feeding of the fish variously, sometimes all 
fish being taken on the flood, at other times on 
the ebb. Ground-bait: bread, bran, and boiled 
wheat. Best baits in summer, wheat and pastes. 
White paste best in the Yare, the red always 
killing the best fish. In autumn, gentles, and 
later, redwornis or brandlings. For deep running 
waters, about twenty medium-sized shot should 
be used placed a yard from the hook, one solitary 
shot being nipped on the gut a few inches above 
the hook. The local method of attaching the 
float to the line is by the lower end only. When 
too rough for float fishing, a light leger should 
be used. In float fishing the bait should just 
touch the bottom. 
[In the Fishing Gazette of Jan. 7, 1888, was 
published an interesting letter written by 
“ J. C.,” of Norwich. After noticing the various 
kinds of swims met with in his district, he went 
on to say that in July and August local anglers 
make pastes of bread coloured with red lead or 
chrome yellow, and that these baits were very 
is apt to get blown about. — J. B.] Running 
tackle may be used or not, at the discretion 
of the angler. But unless carp interfere with 
the bait, pond roach a'^e generally to be killed 
with a tight line. The ground-bait, a little 
chewed bread, or a few refuse gentles; or, if 
paste be used, minute pellets of the dough made 
for the hook are generally sufficient. [I have 
used a little bran and meal, wetted and thrown 
in loose, with much success in still waters. The 
meal clouds the water, and the bran sinks very 
slowly.—J. B.] The precautions necessary being 
extreme quiet, and keeping out of sight of the 
fish. The depth of the water is not of the 
slightest consequence, if the conditions named 
can be enforced. Should the locality be good, 
and the weather favourable, they may be taken 
in any depth of water, from one foot to twenty. 
But in every water—and this rule extends not 
only to ponds, but to rivers—there are always 
spots particularly affected by the fish. These 
spots are found either by experience, tradition, 
or in many instances what appears to be the 
unfailing sagacity of some anglers. 
There is a slight variation from this fishing 
in the dykes of the fenny parts of Cambridge- 
ON THE CONWAY, N. WALES. 
(From a Photo, by Mr. A. A. Chancellor, Richmond, Surrey.) 
and down with the tide. The habits of the roach 
vary much in different rivers. We believe, as a 
general rule, they bite best when the tide is flow¬ 
ing, but this is by no means the case universally. 
In the tidal part of the Thames, for instance, they 
are caught during the ebb, and all sport ceases 
during the flow. 
In some of the deep, slow-running Norfolk 
rivers, fish bite equally well during the flow and 
ebb. They cease to bite during slack water, 
whether after flood or ebb. This rule appears to 
be almost without exception. 
In mill streams they generally bite only when 
the mills are going. 
[Mr. G. Christopher Davies, in his “Handbook 
to the Norfolk Broads,” gives a number of hints 
respecting roach fishing in these remarkable 
water-ways. The roach, he says, seem, in the 
Broads, and rivers connected with them, to be 
ubiquitous, except when the water is salt or 
brackish. The finest fish are found in the Yare, 
between Cantley and Coldham Hall. In winter they 
may be sought for in the deeper waters of Thorpe 
Broad and the Bure. July to October is the best 
season, but good catches are sometimes made in 
winter and spring. (There is no close season for 
killing in deep, sharp running streams. He used 
worms in autumn and winter, when the water 
was highly coloured. On having a bite, he 
seldom struck unless the float was pulled 
decidedly under, and never struck at a “ jigging ” 
bite. In June, July, and August, he thought 
anglers could hardly fish too deep for roach in 
that district, except at mid-day in very hot 
weather, when the fish got on the shallows among 
the weeds. “ J. C.” went on to advise swims of 
3ft. to 10ft. in depth, from October to February, 
the colder the weather and the thicker the 
water the shallower the swim. Shallow swims 
in very cold weather does not seem sound advice. 
But thick water certainly sends the fish on to 
the shallows.—J. B.] 
Pond Fishing. —The rod for pond fishing, 
unless there are carp, should bs light cane, of 
such a length as the angler could comfortably 
use. A float formed of half a small porcupine 
quill, with one or two small shot not nearer than 
twelve or fifteen inches to the hook, the upper 
part of the line being formed of two horsehairs 
twisted, and the lower of one. [In windy weather, 
it may be necessary to use a slightly larger 
float with half-a-doaen shots. The light tackle 
i shire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, &c., where the fish, 
although somewhat under the same influences, 
are less nice in their habits, and more free in 
their feeding, than in the ponds of which we have 
been speaking. Still, those who want to succeed 
here, should take the precautions above recom¬ 
mended. 
The baited hook in ponds should be as near as 
j possible to the bottom, but great care must ba 
j taken not to fish over a weedy bottom, although 
a clear space in the immediate vicinity of weeds 
I is the best locality that can be selected. The fish 
frequent the weeds for shelter, but generally feed 
I in the open, being mostly bolder in proportion to 
the nearness of their retreat. 
The hook should be very small, even as small as 
Nos. II to 14. 
The baits generally found to answer best for 
roach in ponds, are paste and gentles; particu¬ 
larly the latter in the winter. The gentles should 
I be fine, and only one used on the hook. 
I [Fishing once for pike baits in an artificial lake 
in Hampshire, I caught small roach only, and was 
I assured by the keeper that there were no large ones 
! in that water. 1 was using a very small pellet of 
paste, and it occurred to me to try what a large bait 
