CHAP. v. The Spoon. 61 



A spoon has this further advantage that it is much lighter than a 

 dead fish, and if you use a springy fly top, as I do, in preference to a 

 stiff spinning top, as used in trolling for pike, you will find that its com- 

 parative lightness will allow of your throwing a spoon of ample size, 

 whereas with a natural fish bait you are restricted in size by the weight 

 which your top joint will lift and swing out without being strained or 

 broken. 



With a pliable i.6-ft. salmon rod you may safely use a spoon of any 

 size up to 2 1 inches in length, while a 2-inch spoon is as much as ever 

 you should throw on a pliable i4-ft. double-handed trout rod, if these 

 rods are as light and pliable as they should be, and, unless you are 

 careful, you had better make it il inch. 



This fear of straining is probably the reason why stiff spinning rods 

 have lamentably come to be thought the right rods for Mahseer. But 

 more of them anon. 



There is something very slippery about a flying spoon ; you cannot 

 catch hold of it without coming well on to the hook, and I think that 

 you lose less runs at a spoon than at any other bait. A fish cannot lay 

 hold of it anywhere without slipping off it straight on to the hooks. 



The spoon is also as clean fishing as the fly. As soon as you have 

 killed a fish and removed it from the hook, your lure is ready again, 

 whereas with a dead fish as bait your bait has probably been spoilt, and 

 time and trouble must be spent in re-baiting. 



Moreover, you may not always be able to procure bait ; at any rate 

 not immediately on your arrival at your fishing quarters, and the first 

 evening's or morning's sport may be lost if you are not prepared with a 

 spoon or an artificial fish. 



With so many considerations to commend it the spoon is in practice 

 more used than any other lure, and in consequence more fish are killed 

 with it than with any other bait. 



I have used a phantom minnow too, but it is too light for fishing 

 deep, and other artificial minnows, and any salmon minnow will kill, 

 but it should be specially dressed for this country, as will be seen in 

 the chapter on tackle, or it will be quickly demoralized. There are 

 fishermen, also, who have used an artificial dace or roach, such as are 

 made at home for pike fishing, and had sport with them. But they are 

 not fitted for all waters, only for the larger rivers containing much heavier 

 fish than do the smaller ones, and a spoon is preferable to them. 



