RAITS 



109 



upper part of the bait with white silk or thread. This operation 

 should be neatly performed, and takes some time in the doing ; 

 so it is well to be prepared with half a dozen baits before fishing 

 begins. I have sometimes made a very successful spinning bait 

 by cutting a long strip of mackerel-skin a quarter of an inch or 

 a little more in thickness, binding one end of it on to the head 

 of the Chapman spinner, and 

 winding the rest of it round 

 the spike, fixing it firmly 

 at the lower end with thread 

 or silk. This bait spins bril- 

 liantly, but is not to be made 

 by those who have not the 

 complete use of their fingers. 



On or near the bottom, 

 pieces of mackerel are ex- 

 cellent baits. The mackerel 

 should be split down the 

 back, in the manner de- 

 scribed for herring, but the 

 diagonal slices cut from each 

 side are as a rule too large 

 for any except fish of consid- 

 erable size. There are very 

 few fish which will not take 

 mackerel bait ; congers, in 

 particular, are very fond of it. 



Mudworm is the same thing as ragworm, which has a 

 paragraph to itself later on. 



Mussels. The welfare of some thousands of people depends 

 on these shell fish. There is no fish in the sea which will not 

 take them, and they are particularly valuable for haddock and 

 cod fishing. There are mussels and mussels. The smaller 



ARCHER SPINNER 



