Page:British Reptiles, Amphibians, and Fresh-water Fishes.djvu/107

ROACH free from weeds. It is a good ruse to throw in soaked bread, or boiled wheat, to bring the fish on the feed, and thus get them to assemble in the vicinity. For bait, use bread crust, maggots, gentles, grubs, or larvae as they are variouslv called, and in season the larva of the caddis fly is a very killing lure. Always plumb the accurate depth of the water, and fish just clear of the bottom. Fine tackle is essential. This species deposits its greenish eggs (which turn red when boiled), in April or May,

and n then visits a tributary of the main stream, or resorts to shallow water where there is a good supply of weeds. They congregate in large numbers at spawning time, and are said, like the Gudgeon, to make a noise by the movements they carry out. As with the Barbel and Gudgeon, the male Roach acquires small tubercles on the head and other parts during the breeding season. The natural food is made up of insects and their larvae, molluscs, weeds, etc. Although not a shy fish, the Roach is very wary, and at times it is most aggravating to see a shoal of big fish in clear water which simply refuse 89