The North Country Angler. 83 



spawn in them, I lay them in a wooden dish or 

 earthern platter, and throw a little salt on them, 

 having first baited them; then I put the loops 

 of the snoods on the root of a fishing-rod, or a 

 long stiek, and tastes i the end of it into a wall, or 

 prop it at both ends where the sun and wind may 

 dry them a little: The benefit of salting and 

 drying them you will perceive in the morning 

 when you draw your lines ; the baits that have 

 not been touehed by the fish will be fresh, and 

 their fins will stand out as if they were alive. I 

 tie a handkerchief about the dish, or whatever I 

 have to lay the baits in, with the snoods hanging 

 all one way, and carry them carefully in my hand 

 to the water side. Sometime before 1 lay my 

 lines, I take notice of the likeliest places, and 

 get two stones, the largest about the size and 

 shape of h If a brick, that the line may not slip 

 from it, as it sometimes will, if it is not carefully 

 looped on, especially when dragged from its 

 place by great fish : the lesser stone is only half 

 as big as the other, of the same shape : these I 

 hide near the place where I design to use them, 

 that I may not have them to seek when I am in 

 haste to lay my lines. 



When I come to a fit place, I set down my 

 dish, take a line out of my bag, loop it well on 

 to the bigger stone, and a snood about a yard or 

 four feet from it, and throw in the stone, two or 

 three yards, according to the place! lay in ; then 

 I loop on five, six or seven more snoods at a yard 

 and an half distance from each other, laying 

 them down orderly in a row on the sand or bank 

 side, with the heads of the baits next to the 



