PIKE-FISHING 177 
are less likely to be taken in this manner than with the 
live bait, or, at least, the dead bait on snap-tackle ;_ big 
fish being not so nimble as smaller ones, and less inclined 
for the exertion of pursuing a rapidly passing lure. 
Spinning is always done with a dead bait, fixed upon 
flights of triangle hooks so as to revolve rapidly in the 
water. It is difficult to explain why it is found profitable 
to give the fish used as bait a movement such as it could 
not possibly perform if alive, but undoubtedly it has an 
attraction for fish of prey. There is no better or simpler 
tackle than the Archer spinner, whereof there are many 
modifications under different names; and jars of beautiful 
baits—dace, gudgeon, sprats, and minnows preserved in 
formaline—may be had from any good fishing-tackle maker. 
Artificial baits of every conceivable design have been designed 
also—spoons, phantoms, fish of horn, of metal, of glass, 
of leather, of quill—all of which prove successful at times ; 
but most anglers of experience prefer the natural bait. 
Pike are often caught on the artificial fly when salmon- 
fishing, but generally of small size. The chances of landing 
a twenty-pounder on single gut are against the angler ; for 
even if such a large fish be securely hooked, his serried rows 
of teeth, especially those on the vomer, are pretty sure to 
wear through the gut before he can be landed. Flies specially 
tied for pike are huge agglomerations of feathers, fur, and 
tinsel, but there can be no doubt that success is more 
probable with the spinning bait than with surface lures. 
