MINNOW-FISHING. 49 



to the bait ; secondly, to hook securely any fish 

 that may dash at it. 



To attain the former of these objects the tail 

 of the bait must be well curved and the body 

 perfectly straight. If the fore-part of the body 

 is at all bent the result will be not a spin, but a 

 wobble. Now a minnow when stunned does 

 often spin, but it never wobbles. At the same 

 time all fishes in swimming bend the tail from 

 one side to the other, hence a curved bait is 

 actually more natural than a straight one. 



Our second object secure hooking is more 

 likely to be attained by a single large hook with 

 its point projecting at the tail (which, in our 

 experience, is the part aimed at by trout), than 

 by several smaller ones not in the right place. 

 At the same time in coloured or large open waters 

 fish often turn abruptly from the bait just when 

 on the point of striking at it ; hence the use of 

 the flying triangle in such cases. Of artificial 

 spinners and artificial baits we have but a poor 

 opinion, the only artificial minnow with which we 

 have done fairly well being the quill minnow, 

 and next to this we would place a small Devon. 

 Phantoms, though good in lochs, do not seem to 

 have the ghost of a chance in rivers : this state- 

 ment is a severe combination of joke and earnest. 



TIMES AND SEASONS. Fish take minnow best 

 in the early part of the day ; but often good fish 



