36 ANGLING FOE PIKE. 



spill a little water occasionally, by tipping the can to one side. 

 The evaporation of the water from the flannel will lower the 

 temperature of the water in the can considerably. 



Landing-net and Gaff. — As small pike can be easily 

 landed with the hand, and as large pike cannot be wheedled 

 by any means whatever into nets of ordinary dimensions, it 

 follows, as a logical conclusion, that the landing-net is not 

 much use to the pike-fishennan. If one is carried, it should 

 be large and strong, the meshes big, and the net dressed with 

 a waterproof mixture— e.^r., boiled oil and varnish (equal parts), 

 or tar and turpentine. The gaff, on the other hand, will land 

 any pike over 21b. in weight. One of the most simple and 

 strong forms of gaff is a simple hook, lashed on to a handle, 

 such as the one illustrated in " Angling in Salt Water." Those 



that screw in are apt to turn 

 round at the wrong moment. The 

 next strongest, and, perhaps, on 

 the whole, most satisfactory, gaff 

 is one which fits into a square 

 socket (see Fig. 14), and is kept 

 there by means of a spring. The 

 manufacturers of this gaff are 

 Messrs. AUcock & Sons, of K-ed- 

 ditch. The one defect in this in- 

 vention is the spring, which, being 

 of steel, if not kept well oiled, 

 ^■«- »-Gf.r?o" H°N/if ™''"'" ™«t8 very quickly. Ab excellent 



and almost everlasting spring 

 might be made of phosphor-bronze or hardened brass, the 

 former for preference. Indeed, the whole gaff might be made 

 of the bronze with advantage, as that metal can be made 

 very hard. 



There are several methods of carrying a gaff. The handle 

 may be stuck through a belt round the angler's waist, as if it 

 were an axe, or it may be passed through a large ring, attached 

 to a sling passing over the angler's right shoulder, like a creel- 

 strap. Another plan is to have a sling on the handle similar 

 to those used on rifles. The gaff then lies across the back 



