96 BROOK AND RIVER TROUTING 



to two inches in length, and they are perhaps better 

 used fresh than in any other condition. If they are 

 put into a bottle three parts full of water, corked, 

 and carried in the pocket, they may be kept alive the 

 whole day, if the water be changed occasionally. 



If the angler is anxious to keep the weight of his 

 impedimenta down to a minimum, salted minnows 

 take up far less room than live ones and are naturally 

 much lighter, and it is doubtful whether they are 

 appreciably inferior to fresh ones. But preserved 

 minnows, which have been kept in a solution of formalin, 

 are certainly not so good as fresh or salted ones, as 

 trout never seem to want to try a second bite, when 

 they have been missed the first time. 



Minnow fishing as practised in a coloured water 

 is comparatively easy, and does not call for any great 

 amount of dexterity. That branch of the sport, there- 

 fore, may be dealt with first, with the prefatory remark 

 that the minnow at such times should be used 

 judiciously and sparingly and with a view to removing 

 the cannibals from the river. 



When a fresh is running, the minnow is used to best 

 advantage when the river begins to rise and again as 

 it subsides, that is when it wears the complexion known 

 as " porter colour." If on such occasions the angler 

 sees an odd fish or two rise in some eddy or back wash, 

 he may count the risers his if he spins with any skill at all. 



If the angler knows of the stronghold of some 



