Pike. 



33 



are limited to pirouetting round 

 the trace. Any open space 

 amongst the weeds can be fished 

 with it. It is just on these 

 open spaces that the jack keeps 

 his eye, ready to appropriate any- 

 thing that comes his way. The 

 anchored bait soon attracts him. 

 The tackle consists of i^ yards 

 of strong salmon gut, which is 

 attached to yard of light, best 

 quality trout gut. To the end 

 of the trout gut a lead plummet, 

 \ oz. weight, is added. We 

 have now a trace of 2 yards in 

 length. A swivel is placed be- 



PUNJAUB WIRE PATERNOSTER. 



tween the heavy and the light 

 gut. To the swivel is attached 

 12 inches of fine gimp, on which 

 the live bait is hooked. The 

 object of the lighter gut is in case 

 of entanglement. The plummet 

 is in danger of becoming fast in 

 roots or other obstructions, and 

 in the event of a break the fine 

 gut gives way, and the main part 

 of the paternoster is saved. A 

 4-inch dace is a good size for 



paternostering. It should be 

 hooked through both lips, insert- 

 ing the hook through the lower 

 first; it lives longer so attached. 

 Messrs. Hardy Brothers make a 

 "Punjaub" wire trace, which is 

 as fine as salmon gut, and ex- 

 tremely strong and durable. For 

 paternostering the danger of 

 kinking, which is one of the ob- 

 jections to all wire tackle, is not 

 so likely to arise. The flexibility 

 of the "Punjaub" is very great, 

 and it seems almost impossible 

 to break it. 



Now let us look for places by 

 the riverside, where the pater- 

 noster may be used to advantage. 

 Close to the bank there is a 

 fringe of weeds, and further out 

 a similar bed. Between these a 

 clear stream runs. Begin at the 

 top, and drop the plummet gently 

 in, until it touches bottom. Roll 

 up the spare line until everything 

 is taut between the top of the rod 

 and the plummet. A slight vibra- 

 tion will be felt, which shows thai 

 the dace is working all right in 

 the water. Remain in that posi- 

 tion for five minutes, and if there 

 is no sign of a jack, which is 

 generally indicated by a more 

 vigorous drag on the tackle, lift 

 the bait out, and drop it in a few 

 yards lower down. In thick weed 

 cover pike cannot see much that 

 is not quite in front of them, 

 and half a rod's length lower 

 down one may be out of sight 

 of the wriggling lure. He dis- 

 covers it in the new position in 

 the stream, and makes his atten- 

 tions felt by a vigorous knock on 

 the line. One must not expect 

 this to be repeated for a moment 

 or two, and the wisest course is 

 to immediately drop the top of 

 the rod, and let the line go slack. 

 It is probable that the dace is 

 caught crosswise in the pike's 

 mouth, and to strike whilst in 

 that position is not advisable. 



