SPINNING. 193 



employed whole or in part only. A whole Eel 8 or 9 

 inches long makes a capital bait, and it can be used on 

 the tackle shown in figure 4 of plate. Owing, how- 

 ever, to the giving way of the lips after a few runs, the 

 whole Eel is a less convenient bait than the tail part 

 only, out of which an artificial head can be formed that 

 never wears out. Indeed I have fished with a bait so 

 jnade for two days consecutively, taking a good many 

 fish on both, and the bait was still fit for work at the 

 end. This is owing to the extraordinary toughness of the 

 Eel skin, on which the teeth of the Pike make little or 

 no impression. 



The eel-tail bait and tackle when used for Pike spin- 

 ning is, with two exceptions, dressed and baited exactly 

 in the same manner as that described for spinning for 

 Salmon (p. 167). The exceptions are : first, that the bait 

 and hook are commonly about double the size ; and 

 secondly, that this greater size renders the addition of a 

 flying triangle necessary to insure hooking a fish run. 

 The best sized eel for making the bait is from 11 to 14 

 inches in length, but one a little longer or shorter will 

 I serve the purpose. For a large sized bait, about 7 inches 

 I (when the bait is complete) is the best length. The 

 I hook used should be a No. 20 of my pattern {^oide p. 

 I 10), which is 3 J inches long in the shank, or one-half 

 the length of the bait. In smaller baits somewhat 

 smaller hooks should be used — the same proportion be- 

 tween the length of the hook and bait being always pre- 



o 



