RIVER FISH AND FISHING. 



391 



be cut off, and the head and shoulders to be then obliquely 

 sliced off with a sharp knife. When this is done, the tail- 

 end is to be used forward that is, nearest the rod, and is 

 then made to appear as the head of a fish. In this mode 

 the shiner, bream, or other small fish may be prepared, when 

 the parr is not to be found ; and they answer well for 

 large trout or pike. But nothing takes so completely and 

 generally as a good minnow of the proper size, requiring 

 no paring, and fitting the hooks exactly, so as to allow the 

 one to project slightly through the tail, while the other 

 closes the mouth. Some other modes are described as 

 useful variations in adapting dead fish-baits, but I believe 

 the double or treble hook, as above, will suit all purposes 

 where the bait is required to spin rapidly, whether it be 

 the entire fish, or part, as already mentioned. The 

 shiner, bream, or roach may be divided in the same way as 

 the parr, and will spin remarkably well when used as he 

 recommends that little fish to be employed ; as will also 

 the perch itself when deprived of its back fin, or any of 

 the smaller fish which are attractive to the pike. All 

 these various hooks require swivel-traces, single or double, 

 which will be found described under the head of pike- 

 fishing. 



