382 THE PRACTICAL FISHEEMAN. 



Mr. Pennell' s improvement is as follows (Fig. 5). Now let us consider 

 what is required of a hook, and then it will be apparent why I prefer 

 the make of Messrs. Hutchinson and Sons, Kendal, which 

 goes by Mr. PennelTs name. 



The question first arises, What is the ultimatum aimed at 

 in a perfect hook ? This may be answered by the following : 

 Penetration, perfection of holding power, strength, lightness, 

 and finish. First as to penetration. It is obvious that in 

 the ordinary wide open hooks, and this may be tested by 

 taking a gut-hook and drawing it against a hard object, 

 semi-circular, or side-twisted hooks, that the coincidence 

 PENNELL between the angle of impact and the direction of the force 

 HOOK. applied is very small, and hence, instead of the barb enter- 

 ing the fish in a line with the gut and the top of the rod, it enters 

 obliquely, thus requiring much more force for the accomplishment 

 of hooking the fish ; this extra force as the ordinary hooks are far 

 from being well tempered in the shank and bend very often either 

 breaks off the barb, or causes the hook to fly at the bend, or, in some 

 cases, to straighten outwards. The consequence, of course, is that 

 the fish is lost. The requisites are, therefore, that the penetration of a 

 A hook when the angler strikes be per- 



fect, and that the line of the direction 

 of the force applied shall correspond 

 with the point of impact. The follow- 

 ing (Fig. 6) shows the superiority of 

 Mr. Pennell' s pattern in this direction 

 i\ over that of other makers. It will be 

 // seen that the line of impact that is 

 / / the line running in the direction of the 

 / / hook's point very widely differs in 



f the "Bound" hook from the line of 



force applied, that is the dotted line 



' passing between the shank and the 



(Bound). (Pennell.) ., , ,. 



FIG. 6. ADVANTAGE OF THE PENNELL eternity of the point of the hook. 

 PATTERN. In the " Pennell " pattern this differ- 



ence is greatly reduced hence its superiority. 



Holding power consists chiefly, of course, in the barb being rank 

 enough. The barb must not, however, be very rank, as it interferes with 

 the penetration. This is an appreciated fact in the Pennell, wherein the 

 barb is light and long. There are objections, however, to a long 

 barb, in the fact that it often happens that the part into which the 

 hook enters is bony, and therefore the point, without an extraordinary 



ri/ 



/-v/ 

 ' )' 



