38 



THE PIKE. 



shipped on the longest length of gimp, and one on the 

 shortest length, the two hooks being on one side of the 

 bait, and the odd one on the opposite side, one hook of each 

 treble being stuck in the bait in such a manner that the odd 

 treble is about midway between the other two, only, of 

 course, on opposite sides. I have had my attention drawn 

 to lots of these spinning tackles that are known by various 

 names, and brought out by various makers, but the whole 

 of them seem to take the old-fashioned Chapman as a 

 model, and are only imitations and improvements of that 



Fig. 9. The Archer Spinner, Standard Pattern. 



good old spinner. There is the Bedford spinner, the Archer 

 spinner, Gregory's Archimedean spinner, the Angler's spin- 

 ner, and a whole host of others, some differing in the shape 

 of the hook, others differing slightly in the blade that is 

 thrust down the belly ; while others again have the contri- 

 vance that fastens the bait firmly, slightly different to other 

 makers. But look at them all, you will find the method of 

 mounting to be nearly similar in every respect, and the old- 

 fashioned Chapman to be strongly in evidence in nearly 

 -everyone of them. The Coxon spinner is about the simplest 

 of the lot ; but it is not an unqualified success in any and 

 all conditions of streams and waters. It is a capital spinner 

 when tried down the heavy waters of the Trent, and kills a 

 fair percentage of the pike it hooks ; but when used in very 

 quiet waters, where the jack take a spinning bait in a much 

 more quiet and deliberate manner than they do in a rapid 

 stream, the percentage of losses is very great indeed, and 

 its action as a spinner is not so good as might be desired. I 

 fancy it would be better if instead of having only two trebles 

 both on one side of the bait, it had an extra one high up 

 near the shoulder on the opposite side. Several friends 



