72 ANGLERS' EVENINGS. 



remarks may be addressed to some who have never 

 "spun," I will tell them my own way of putting on a 

 sand launce as a spinning bait. A single hook properly 

 baited is, to my mind, much more convenient than the 

 most elaborately got up triple-hook, with lip-hook, tail- 

 hook, and all the usual paraphernalia of spinning baits, and 

 equally killing. Of course it must be remembered that 

 I am speaking of trolling for sea fish ; but having tried 

 all sorts of arrangement of hooks, I may add that I now 

 never use anything but a single hook, and I find that 

 with it, properly dressed, I seldom miss striking, or 

 landing, Tay fish. The hook should be passed through the 

 sand launce from right to left just behind the eye, and 

 then a turn should be taken and the bend of the hook 

 passed through the back of the bait from left to right 

 about an inch below the eye, so as to leave merely about 

 half an inch of the barbed end of the hook projecting from 

 the side of the bait. Before passing the hook through the 

 back of the bait, the sand launce must be "gathered up," 

 so as to give it the least possible curve. If these instruc- 

 tions are carefully followed the bait will spin so as to look 

 like a bar of burnished silver, and will prove most 

 attractive to nearly all sea fish. 



If sand launces cannot be obtained a very good 

 substitute is a scar about four inches long cut from the 

 side of a mackarel, and if this bait is used it is an advan- 

 tage to have a small lip-hook wrapped on the gut about 

 two inches above the ordinary hook. This plan may also 

 be adopted if any difficulty is experienced in mounting 

 the sand launce in the manner I have explained above. 



