196 MODERN PRACTICAL ANGLER. 



Another way of making the Eel-bait is to cut out from 

 just below the neck of the Eel 3 or 4 inches of the 

 thickest part of the body, the head and tail being then 

 sewn together with strong silk or hoUand thread. This 

 bait can be used on the same flight as the whole eel ; 

 but it does not wear nearly so long as the tail bait above 

 mentioned. 



When fresh-water bait cannot be procured, either of 

 the following sea-fish can be used — zvhcn quite fresh — as 

 substitutes : — Basse, Grey Mullet, Herring, Sprat, and 

 large Whitebait. 



Artificial Baits. 



So far as my experience goes, artificial baits — and I 

 have tried not a few — are entirely inferior to natural 

 baits for Pike fishing : they should only be used when 

 the latter cannot be obtained. The " spoon-bait" was 

 tolerably killing when it first came out, but it seems to 

 have gradually lost its attractiveness, at any rate on 

 waters where it has been much used, and is now generally 

 inferior even to the ordinary run of artificial baits. 



When, and where to Spin. 



In some respects the discussion of the first part of this 

 subject may be considered unnecessary, as, practically, 

 men who have once taken to spinning rarely care much for 

 any other method of Pike fishing, and with slight excep- 

 tions the spinning bait may be used with advantage from 





