130 
THE EISHING GAZETTE 
[Febrtjaet 25, 1893 
THE BOOK OF THE ROACH. 
By the Late John Gbeville Fennell. 
Edited and Revised by John Biceebdyke. 
{Continued from page 41.) 
CHAPTER VIII. 
THAMES PUNT FUSHINH TAC KLE, ETC.—THAMES HANK 
AXGLINfi — NOTTINGHAM STYLE — SCTENTIITC 
GROUND-HAITING IN ALL ITS BRANCHES. 
Fishing in Sharp and Heavy "Waters, as 
the Thames. —Here the conditions are very dif¬ 
ferent to those previously described. We have 
swims ranging from four to ten feet in depth, of a 
sharp and sometimes turbulent character, which 
require a style of tackle and method of fishing 
peculiar to themselves. [ It should be understood 
that swims of every kind and character can be 
found in the Thames, and that our author refers 
to the general character of those in the lower 
reaches of the river.—J. B.] 
This fishing will be divided into punt fishing 
and bank fishing. 
Fuut FisMug. —In this, as in all other 
angling, light tackle is a sine qua non, and who¬ 
ever employs the best, finest, and most appropriate 
appear to be a speciality of Nottingham, those 
made at other places seldom equalling them in the 
(juality of silk or regularity of twist, great care 
being necessary to regulate exactly the tension of 
the forward and back twists, the reverse of this 
being the cause of kinks and snarls, particularly in 
very fine lines. 
The bottom line commonly employed is usually 
a three-yard length of gut, tapering a little, and 
fine drawn towards the bottom. 
The float is made of a long, thin stratum of 
cork, covering a large porcupine (juill, with a 
quill cap near the top, and a second, or small loop I 
of brass wire, near the bottom. This is what is ' 
generally known by the name of the Thames float, , 
and is well adapted for roach and barbie fishing in 
strong streams. 
The hooks used are generally Nos. 9 to 10 in 
size, tied upon gut, and a sufficient ([uantity of 
large split shot are nipped on to the line a foot to 
fifteen inches above the hook. [A shot often has 
to be placed within about four inches of the hook. 
—J. B.] 
The all but universal bait is the gentle, which, 
when well scoured, stands the wear and tear 
better than anything else. Paste baits are useless 
for float fishing, from the strong current. [If 
at about the rod’s length from the hook. Every¬ 
one knows that in the ordinary way of striking 
with a fixed float at the end of a swim, the oblique 
direction in which the float is forced to travel 
causes considerable resistance, and consequently 
great disturbance of the water; while in the 
travelling float we are now describing, the line 
passes easily through the wire loops without 
altering the position of the float, however sharp 
the strike may be. At the bottom of the running 
line is fixed about three feet of human hair, of 
about fifteen to eighteen hairs in thickness ; this 
is sufficiently elastic to allow fish to be struck so 
sharply as would inevitably carry away any light 
tackle fitted in the ordinary manner. Below the 
human hair is about a yard of strong single horse¬ 
hair, doubled at the lower part for a few inches, 
where the weights used to sink the lines are placed. 
These are of cast lead, nearly in the shape of 
grains of oats. They are of two sizes, weighing 
respectively fourteen and twenty-eight grains. 
[These shot are no doubt excellent, as they make 
less disturbance than those ordinarily used when 
the fish is struck, but I have never been able to 
procure them at any tackle-makers.—J. B.] The 
hook length of fine cinnamon-coloured horsehair 
a foot long, comes of course below this, and 
THE THAMES. 
implements, will—all things being alike—bo most 
successful. 
The rod w’e prefer for this work should be light 
and handy, but rather more elastic than the tra¬ 
ditional roach rods, and should spring regularly 
nearly down to the butt. [They are mostly made 
of bamboo, with wooden tops.—J. B.] 
The running line should be of very fine silk, 
either twisted or plaited. 
The reel must be moderately large, and free 
running. We prefer the Nottingham line and 
reel for this jmrpose, but they are objected to by 
many anglers, on account of their sometimes over 
running, a circumstance arising not from any 
initial fault of the contrivance—which is cheap, 
simple, and ingenious—but from the inexperience 
of the man attempting to use it.* 
The weight of a line fit for roach, dace, and any 
fish up to two or three pounds in weight, need not 
exceed two and a-half or three drachms per hun¬ 
dred yards. One fit for barbel, perch, or chub 
would be from six to twelve drachms. The 
drachm here mentioned is the avoirdupois drachm, 
used only in the silk trade, and of which there are 
sixteen to the ounce. These lines w’e speak of 
• These reels are now made with optional checks, 
but no check is so good as the gentle pressure of the 
finger on the rim of the reel. 
made up according to directions in the chapter on 
baits they can be used in a very considerable 
current.—J.B.] 
The following description has been given to me 
by Mr. Marriott of the tackle used by him, and 
which has never been beaten when tried against 
that ordinarily used, and although it has been 
glanced at before, we think may be repeated here 
with advantage. The running line, reel, and float 
are similar to those mentioned, except that the float 
is made with a larger top than usual, cut off square, 
and the line runs through two very small brass 
; loops, whipped near the upper and lower extremities 
■ of the float. To prevent the line slipping, a small 
piece of india-rubber is inserted in the running 
line with two half hitches, and this india-rubber 
must be thin and flexible enough to pass through 
the rings of the rod, but not through the small 
ring of the float on which it rests. A float fitted 
in this manner may he used in water much deeper 
than the rod. This is one of its recommendations, 
I but others are, the great ease and comfort of the 
I style, and the facility of striking quickly and 
sharply at the end of a long swim. When used 
in water the depth of wdiich does not exceed the 
depth of the rod, a similar stop is fixed on the 
line, about three feet below the float, but when 
the water is much deeper, the lower stop is placed 
carries one small shot about four inches above 
the hook. 
The latter is of a very small size. No. 13 or 14, 
with short shank, and sneck or round bend. The 
bait used is a single gentle, hooked as lightly as 
possible through the thick end, the whole of the 
shank and barb being exposed. Carrion gentles 
may be used, and at times the fish seem to prefer 
their high flavour to those that have been scoured 
in bran or sand. The great tenderness of the 
unscoured gentles being no impediment to this 
method of baiting. The point of the hook should 
be kept as sharp as possible; a fine flat watch¬ 
maker’s file being a very convenient implement 
for the purpose. With this tackle barbel of two 
or three pounds’ weight may easily be killed in 
the heaviest water, as it is possible to get the 
hook through the tough leather of their mouths; 
a very difficult matter when using single hair 
under other circumstances. [ I repeat here that 
in many waters, the single gentle will kill few- 
large fish. Where so small a bait is used, the 
bleak and minnow-s often do not give the roach a 
chance of being killed.—J. B.] 
Punt fishing is almost entirely confined to the 
Thames, where it is in many parts a necessity. 
It is either fish from a punt, or not at all; most 
of the best waters being inaccessible from the 
