HOOKS. ^ 291 



on accoimt of the small wire, which is not so apt to injure 

 the minnow, but I might say here, that if a minnow is put 

 on with care, it need not be injured to a greater extent, 

 even with the Forged Dublin Bend hook, than with the 

 Carlisle. The round-bend Carlisle, or Aberdeen hook, has 

 a perfectly round bend, and a long straight shank ; the 

 barb is long, with the point curving outward. 



The "Hollow Point Limerick" is the last hook that I 

 will mention, favorably ; it is a very old form of hook, 

 and is still a great favorite with many, notably the veter- 

 ans of the angle, whose experience with this hook dates 

 back to the heyday of youth. The form of the Limerick 

 is well known ; it has a straight shank, and a very abrupt 

 bend, with a long, straight, and hollow point: 



The Kirby Carlisle, the Kirby Limerick, and, in fact, 

 all hooks with the " Kirby " or side-bend I can not rec- 

 ommend for any kind of angling. It is the worst possible 

 crook that can be given to a fish-hook, being both unsci- 

 entific and impracticable. 



The needle-pointed, or hook without a beard or barb, 

 has been recommended for fly-fishing, but it will not an- 

 swer for the Black Bass. So long as the fish remains in 

 the water, and a proper tension of line is maintained by the 

 angler, it holds as well as any other hook, l)ut when the 

 fish leaps from the water in its struggles to free itself, like 

 the Black Bass, there is a great liability of its shaking out 

 such a hook. 



Artificial flies, tied on extremely small barbless and 

 needle-pointed hooks with a circular bend, have been used 

 in Japan for centuries, and Avhile such hooks may do for 

 the Brook Trout, and fishes closely allied to it in habits, 

 they are totally unsuitable for the Black Bass, or any fish 



