bo ANGLING FOR COARSE FISH. 



without being fine drawn, and tlie hook links should be 

 a trifle finer, and must therefore be fine drawn. I never use 

 more than two hooks myself, but many anglers use three. If 

 the water is very clear, the day sunny, and the fish shy, it is 

 better to use only one. The position of the hooks on the main 

 length of gut should depend on the size of the river and colour 

 of the water. In a small stream where the perch holes run 

 about 5ft. in depth, one hook should be close to the lead, and 

 the other about 14in. or 15in. above it ; but in a large river like 

 the Thames, the lowest hook should, for use in clear, deep water, 

 be placed 6in. above the lead, and the second hook 18in. 

 higher. When the water is more coloured than usual, the gut 

 link of the lowest hook should always be looped on to the loop 

 by which the lead is attached ; for in coloured water fish feed 

 close to the bottom, and where the fish are there should the 

 hook -bait be. 



The size and bend of hooks should depend on the bait used 

 and the sized fish expected. For a minnow in summer, I like a 

 No. 8 Kendal, Sneck, or Crystal hook ; for a gudgeon, the same, 

 three sizes larger. For a redworm, a No. 9 Round Bend ; for a 

 lobworm, a No. 3 Round Bend ; and for shrimps, large roach- 

 hooks. Where the perch run very large, as in the Kennet, hooks 

 a size or two larger should be used. 



With regard to the length of the hook-link, that should vary 

 according to circumstances. When fishing among the weeds 

 in summer, it should be short — 4in. In winter, when the river 

 is clear of weeds, it may be 2in. longer. For paternostering there 

 is no better rod than the light one described on page 13, with- 

 out the extra butt. For summer fishing, and for use at any 

 time in small streams, I prefer a Nottingham undressed silk line, 

 which passes so smoothly through the rings that, by keeping the 

 line over the first finger of the hand holding the rod, bites can 

 be felt before even the rod point is shaken. For winter fishing, 

 when the paternoster has sometimes to be cast out a long dis- 

 tance, I use a very fine, dressed, plaited line ; but a Nottingham 

 line can even then be used if the angler can cast off the reel. I 

 will explain the two methods of casting later on. 



To work the paternoster in summer, the angler is either taken 



