THE SPINNING TACKLE OF THE MIDLANDS. 63 



commencement of the curve in its tail, and the principal 

 strain should be on the lip-hook ; from the lip-hook, therefore, 

 to the tail-hook, the gimp should be rather loose than tight. 

 When baiting, the tail-hook is adjusted first, and the lip-hook 

 last. 



Of the two flights mentioned, the angler can choose which 

 pleaseth him best, unless, indeed, he prefers one of the con- 

 trivances which spin the bait by fans or some such means. 

 But there is a simple piece of spinning tackle, a great favourite 

 in the Midlands and Eastern Counties, which I advise him 

 never to be without, for it will spin any bait without difficulty, 

 and requires no skill in its adjustment. It is shown on a bait 

 in Fig. 34, and it will be seen that it is nothing more than two 



Fig. 54. A Simple Spinning Tackle. 



triangles at the end of a piece of gimp. To bait it in the way 

 shown, it is necessary to attach the gimp to a baiting-needle,* 

 and thread the fish from vent to mouth. The bait spins in a 

 different manner to one mounted on a Pennell or Francis flight ; 

 but it is an attractive spin all the same, and the tackle hooks 

 well. After the gimp is through the bait you can, if you 

 please, slip a pipe-lead (A) down the gimp, and so into the belly of 

 the bait, and follow with a lip-hook (B), the eyes of which must 

 be large, to pass over the loop in the gimp. 



Another way of using this tackle is to put the end of the 

 gimp through a gill of the fish, and out of its mouth, and fix 

 the triangles in the back of the bait, or put the end triangle on 



* If the needle is lost, the gimp can be pushed through the bait by means of a 

 piece of stick notched at the end, or an extempore needle can be made out of a 

 piece of soda-water-bottle wire— facts worth remembering. 



