- FLY-FISHIKG. 275 



fish no other bait is ordinarily used, and for lake- 

 trout the ivory squid can hardly be surpassed. The 

 ordinary kinds are of lead, pewter, bone, which 

 are often hollow, and admit the insertion of a large 

 hook; and of pearl, the latter in its most killing 

 shape having flanges and spinning like the minnow. 

 For blue-fish and their young — the snapping macke- 

 rel, lead is the favorite, while for lake-trout and 

 pickerel, ivory is preferable, although this rule is 

 not invariable ; and on dark days the light-colored 

 material will be occasionally preferred by all these 

 varieties. 



As the trolling-spoons resemble no known crea- 

 ture, they also are supposed to be intended and 

 accepted for the minnow, although it is difficult to 

 conceive why fish with their sharp sight, that can 

 distinguish an almost microscopic midge upon the 

 surface of the water twenty feet above their heads, 

 should mistake a piece of revolving tin for a living 

 fish. The first of these contrivances w^ere manufac- 

 tured and named from the bowl of a pewter spoon, 

 the handle being broken ofl^and holes drilled in each 

 end, so that the line and hooks could be attached ; 

 this bait was found to revolve and glitter in the 

 water in an attractive way. It is now almost super- 

 seded by other modifications ; but still, when made 

 of bright tin and painted of a dark color on the con- 

 vex side, and rather more elongated than the ordi- 

 nary pattern, it is successful wdth lake-trout and 

 Mackinaw salmon. The first alteration in shape was 

 by fitting two flanges or wings on a long, hollow^ 



