HOOKS. 289 



is another advantage. The latter hook has a long and 

 somewhat hollow point, which is curved outward. 



The Sproat Bend I regard as the very best hook manu- 

 factured. I first commenced its use ten or twelve years 

 ago, and have since used no other. Its appearance is 

 somewhat against it, but it is like "a singed cat." By 

 the side of a delicate, blued, gracefully-shaped Aberdeen, 

 it looks black, and rather clumsy, with its short barb and 

 peculiar bend, but it means " business." Its temper is 

 just right, and when you strike a fish it goes right 

 through any part of the mouth, never springing out, and 

 never disappointing you. I have had the Aberdeen so 

 soft as to completely straighten and pull out, and so brittle 

 as to i)reak like a pipe stem, but the Sproat Bend has yet 

 to fail me. For staying qualities it is perfection itself. 



The "Dublin Bend," or Dublin Limerick, as it is some- 

 times called, and the " Dublin Limerick Forged," are ex- 

 cellent hooks, and are identical in form and bend with 

 the O'Shaughnessy hook, the only difference consisting in 

 the caliber of the wire, which, in the latter, is a trifl© 

 heavier. The Forged Dublin Limerick has the wire 

 flattened by hammering or forging; it is a remarkably 

 strong hook. 



The " Cork-Shape Limerick," has an almost round bend, 

 with a straight shank, and a long straight point, which is 

 parallel with the shank in its direction, and a very good 

 hook, being of rather smaller wire than the Sproat, 



The " Carlisle " hooks are made of very small wire, and 



are very delicate and attractive to the eye, but for Black 



Bass fishing I do not admire them, though, until I came 



across the Sproat hook, I used the round bend Carlisle 



(Aberdeen) altogether. Still, manv anglers prefer them 

 25 



