THE TACKLE OF THE FUTTTRE. 87 



It is obvious tliat the leaded spike must be just the right 

 length for the bait, and that, unless it can be lengthened or 

 shortened at will, spikes of various lengths must be kept. 

 Mr. Marston has got over this difficulty by having the spike 

 made to screw into the lead. It can thus be adjusted to any 

 bait of ordinary dimensions. This is a great improvement 

 on my idea; but Mr. Marston connects his end triangle with 

 the blunt end of the lead by means of a hook- swivel, 

 which I can safely say, from the experiments I have made, 

 is unnecessary, and possibly disadvantageous, inasmuch as it 

 keeps the bait close to the triangles after the jack is hooked. 

 There is always, both in spinning and trolling, more chance 

 of landing a jack when the bait has slipped out of his mouth, 

 the hooks, of course, remaining in. 



In Mr. Marston's tackle, the lead, when separated from the 

 spike, can be used, if desired, on a spinning trace, or be put 

 in the belly of the spinning bait. The spike by itself is 

 available as a rough-and-ready baiting-needle. 



I am inclined to think that in time this tackle will be 

 more generally used than any other. Its advantages are 

 manifold: It hooks well, can be worked at any depth 

 and in any spot, except where the weeds are very dense. 

 It is not so fatiguing to work as a spinning bait, and, 

 as no swivels or lead are used on the line, it shows less 

 than any other tackle, trolling gorge-tackle excepted. It 

 requires no great amount of skill, and involves no trouble in 

 the baiting, and is equally killing in winter and summer. 

 Moreover, when small fish are hooked, they can be returned 

 almost uninjured. 



The snap trolling tackle can be used in a variety of ways, 

 which is still another advantage. For instance, the two 

 triangles can be arranged so as to make the bait spin, as 

 illustrated in Figs. 34 and 35; or they can be used in float- 

 fishing, if placed on the bait as shown in Fig. 24. They also 

 form a capital hook for a paternoster (see page 54) if the 

 end triangle is placed on the side or back of the bait, and 

 a hook of the other triangle is placed through both its lips. 

 In very truth, this is the multum in parvo of pike-tackles. 



