48 Spinning for Mahseer. Chapt. v. 



You must not follow this same plan with the dace-like fisli, 

 however, for if you do, the silvery scales will all come off, and it 

 will at once look dreadfully dishevelled. Moreover it is not 

 necessary, for the dace-like fish have as thin a cranium as a snipe, 

 and a flip on the head soon does for them, and with them it is that 

 you must he careful not to be too rough. 



Your bait being dead, then insert the baiting needle, point 

 foremost, at the anus, and bring it out at the open mouth. Before 

 pulling it through, hook the loop of the gut on to the eye of the 

 baiting needle. Then pull the baiting needle out at the mouth, 

 drawing the gut after it through the fish till the hook conies home 

 to the anus. In doing this, humour the baiting needle by giving 

 it a turn, as a doctor does an instrument, so as to tear the vent 

 hole as little as possible in getting the loop through it. I prefer a 

 single treble hook of the sort described in the chapter on tackle, 

 and about the size shown in Plate VI, figure 2, which is No. 1 in 

 Plate VII of the scale of treble hooks. I used to use No. 7, but 

 1 find the hook is so well concealed in this mode of baiting that 

 one can afford to use a larger hook, and the larger hook gives of 

 course greater chances of hooking, and a larger hook hold. When 

 the hook is home to the vent, embed one of the three thoroughly 

 in the fish, so that the two remaining hooks of the treble shall be 

 lying close against the fish. In this position they are scarcely 

 perceptible, whereas if one hook is carelessly only half embedded, 

 the other two stick out and show unnecessarily. It is always 

 worth while to bait very carefully and neatly, because all your 

 subsequent efforts centre on the nicety of your baiting. Then you 

 must have a sinker, also described in the chapter on tackle, Pass 

 the baiting needle through the loop or ring attached to the sinker, 



and run the sinker down the line, and push it, thin point fore st, 



down the fish's throat, so that it is entirely concealed within the 

 mouth of the bait. Then remove your baiting needle, and hold 

 the line so as to come out of the bait's mouth exactly in the 

 centre ; and so as to keep it in the centre, and make the bail spin 

 true, as well as keep the lead from Coming out, sew the b 

 mouth up as follows witli a common needle and thread. Close 

 the bait's mouth, pass the threaded needle through both lips so as 

 to bring it out at one of the nostrils in the upper lip, insert it at 

 the other nostril, and pass it through both lips again, keeping the 



