68 The North Country Angler. 



engine, and neatly wrapped with ,vhite silk, a 

 yard shorter than my rod ; the uppermost plait 

 is twelve hairs, the lowest nine : I make a neat 

 loop an inch long, at each end : to the smaller 

 end I fix a swivel, the box swivel the hest ; to 

 this I loop a link of a yard and an half long, with 

 six hairs at the lower end ; which makes the 

 whole line about half a yard longer than the 

 rod. I have a gilse hook at the end of the 

 line; but wrapped no further on the end of the 

 shank, than to make it secure, and to leave more 

 room to bait: an inch or very little more from 

 the shank end of the gilse hook, I wrap on a 

 strong hook about half the size of the other. 

 I put the point of the large hook in at the mouth 

 of the minnow and out at the tail, on the right 

 side of the minnow, bending it half round as I 

 put it on ; then I put the other hook in below the 

 under chap, and out at the upper part of the upper 

 chap, which keeps the minnow's mouth quite 

 close. When I am in no hurry, I tie the tail 

 and hook together, with a very small white thread. 

 Before I enter the little hook, I draw up the 

 minnow to its full length, and make it fit the 

 bending of the great hook, to make it twirl 

 round when it is drawn in the water. The use 

 of the swivel is, that the line may not untwist, 

 by the minnow's turning round, as it must do 

 without it. 



When all is in order, I take the line in my 

 left hand, a little above the bait, and throw it 

 under hand, lifting up my right and the rod, 

 that the bait may fall gently into the water. I 

 stand at the very top of the stream, as far off as 



