274 FLY-FISHING. 



hooks near the head and another at the tail, which 

 is of tin, and the whole is attached to double gut. 

 A modification of the same article is made by fasten- 

 ing two tin flanges at the head of the same minnow 

 and leading the body straight, but by the change 

 more is added to the weight than to its effectiveness. 

 This invention is extremely light, being hollow, 

 can be cast even with the fly-rod, and has been 

 known to do great execution. In its present per- 

 fected form, it is a foreign production, but the origi- 

 nal discovery was American. It is especially success- 

 ful with lake-trout, even more so than with brook- 

 trout, but is too delicate to trust in the hungry jaws 

 of a savage pickerel. When the snapping mackerel 

 first appear, and before their increasing appetites 

 have made them as ravenous as they subsequently 

 become, and when they will not condescend to the 

 leaden squid, they will readily take this gutta-percha 

 artificial minnow. One of its great recommendations 

 is its lightness ; no imitation bait that falls with a loud 

 splash into the w^ater can do other than terrify the 

 timid trout ; and to make casting a pleasure, the rod 

 must be delicate, which cannot be if the bait is heavy. 

 The squid is usually supposed to be the original 

 imitation of a minnow, and has held a prominent 

 place among the angler's delusions for many years ; 

 in bass-fishing, in trolling for blue-fish, and even for 

 lake trout, it is worthy of all praise. For bass, it is 

 true, the natural squid is far more tempting, but 

 this queer monstrosity is difiicult to obtain, and its 

 substitute has often captured enormous fish ; for blue- 



