270 THE PRACTICAL FISHERMAN. 



bringing home the bait, for it must be patent to everybody that a strike 

 is better made, when the fish is at a distance, with a long rod than a 

 short. An ordinary long roach rod I have found to answer admirably. 



The reel may be similar to that used for fly-fishing, and so may the 

 line ; the choice of such may be, however, left in some degree to the 

 angler's taste. Personally, I like a hard-dressed eight-plait silk line of 

 Nottingham manufacture and one of Well's spring reels ; however, the 

 tyro can use the reel and line of his fly rod if he chooses. 



The casting line cannot be too fine. The upper part may, truly, be of 

 thicker gut than the lower, and, like a fly cast, the whole may be taper. 

 I advocate this on two counts: one, the greater facility afforded of getting 

 the line out ; the other, the desirability, because of the clearness of the 

 water, when worm-fishing is practised. Drawn gut is better than whole 

 gut, because the former has, by the process of drawing, been deprived of 

 its reflective powers, and is, therefore, not nearly so visible in the water 

 as the latter. 



Now, as to hooks. Stewart and Pennell advocate more than one hook 

 in fact, the former advocates four, tied one above the other. The 

 worm is looped on. It is known as "Stewart's" tackle, and these are 

 the advantages the maker claims for it : (1) That the trout can hardly 

 take hold of the worm at all without having one of the hooks in its 

 mouth ; (2) that the worm lives much longer, and, being free to wriggle 

 itself into any shape, is more natural looking, and, consequently, 

 enticing ; and, lastly, (3) that it is much more easily baited, especially 

 if the worms are fresh. Very candidly does Mr. Stewart enumerate its 

 disadvantages. He says it is " more difficult to extricate from the fish's 

 mouth [that it is, indeed, especially if the worm be, by chance, swallowed, 

 and the whole four hooks are safely attached] ; that it requires to be 

 baited afresh every bite [a nuisance which becomes intolerable when the 

 angler is learning the style, and, in consequence, misses a large number 

 of bites] ; and that the exposure of so many hooks is calculated to scare 

 away some of the trout that would otherwise take the bait." 



For my part (and Mr. Francis coincides), I think the objections to the 

 tackle far outweigh its usefulness. Another detraction may be added, 

 that is, that the hooks are continually catching in something, whereas 

 the single hook, being unobtrusive and unexposed, does not do so. 

 Besides this, I have found that the worm often breaks itself, no matter 

 how skilfully it is put on or how well it has been scoured. The 

 originator, or, more properly, the adapter, thinks otherwise, of course, 

 and certainly advances strong evidence of the plausibilty of his convic- 

 tion. He first tried using one and then the four, the trial lasting over 

 three days. The result was that the four hook tackle proved triumphant 



