THE PIKE. 



59 



have tried this spinner at my earnest request in various 

 waters of the kingdom, and the majority of them say that 

 the idea is a good one. It wants improving in one or two 

 particulars to make it suitable for still-water spinning, and 

 then it would be about as perfect as it is possible to get a 

 spinning tackle. My own opinion is that the two trebles are 

 fixed too far apart ; they should be nearly close together at 

 the tail end of the bait, with a reversed single hook near the 

 shoulder to keep the gimp in its position close to the bait, 

 and an additional treble on the opposite side nearer the head 

 than tail. Anyhow my experience with spinning tackles has 

 shown me very plainly that the best results have been ob- 

 tained by having the trebles distributed over the bait in this 

 manner. And even now, on looking at the improved Coxon 

 as just suggested we again find that the old-fashioned Chap- 

 man-like method of mounting has become strongly in evid- 

 ence, the only difference being that the unsightly fans that 

 are close to the head of the bait in the Chapman are absent 

 in the Coxon, the blade of the latter that goes down the 

 belly of the bait, being bent by the fingers after baiting to 



Fig. lo. The Coxon Spinner. 

 give the rotary or spinning movement. I personally do not 

 care very much for any of these elaborately-made spinners, 

 preferring to mount my bait on a simple flight of hooks and 

 trusting to these hooks and the shape of the bait to secure 

 the most attractive spin. There is, however, one thing to 

 be said in favour of these spinners, ajid that is, a bait will 

 last longer on them than it will when mounted on an 

 ordinary flight. I know some very good men of the 

 old-fashioned school of Trent anglers who to this day 

 spin that river with only one large sized treble hook fixed 



