A TRXTSTWOETHT GAFF. 



11 



n 



Fig. 4. Gaff-hook. 



IS 



or 



all 

 the 



the 

 tar 



Fig. 4. The end of the shank is hammered into a good ash 



stick, and a lashing put round it (Fig. 



5). It makes the most satisfactory gafE 



with which I am acquainted, and any 



one who can splice a rod can put this 



gaff on its handle in three or four 



minutes. When on fishing excursions I 



usually bind the hook to the stick, and 



keep it there. The binding — a piece of 



hemp, old fishing line, in fact anything 



that comes first which is strong and not 



too thick — should be waxed, and, if in- 

 tended for a permanency, 

 better for a coat of paint, 

 and turpentine mixture used for dressing 

 lines. The point of the gaff should be 

 kept very sharp, by means of an occa- 

 sional file, and it is as well to stick it 

 in a wine-cork when not in use. The 

 best gaffs are now made with bayonet- 

 shaped points, invented by Dr. Brunton. 



Some of the foregoing remarks apply 

 to landing-nets; for the screw arrange- 

 ment by which they are ordinarily fixed 

 into their heads either rusts or wears 

 loose, particularly under the influence of 

 salt water, in an incredibly short space 

 of time. A great improvement on the 

 screw was a square head fixed into a 

 square socket, and held in place by a 

 spring-catch, introduced some years ago. 

 It would be better suited for sea work 

 with a brass or bronze spring. The Hi 

 Regan* net has the best form of screw 



Fig. 5. Gaff-hook on 

 Handle. 



* Captain Dunne (" Hi Regan ") invented this screw, 

 and I must take the credit— or discredit, as the case 

 may be— of the fastening at the top of the bow. This 

 net is illustrated in " Angling for Game Fish."— J. B. 



