484 WILD SCENES AND WILD HUNTERS. 



unsteadying the boat too muck by giving him two things to 

 do at a time. Our tackle, however, agreed precisely with 

 their formula, which we give. 



,The tackle is of the most delicate kind; a leader of 

 from six to nine feet of single gut, with snell having five 

 hooks, arranged with two at the end placed back to back, 

 two more one inch above, and a fifth, or slip hook, one inch 

 above, which passes through and secures the upper and 

 lower jaw of the minnow, which serves for bait ; one of the 

 middle hooks is placed in the back of the bait, and one of 

 the lower hooks in the tail. These hooks are so small that 

 they will scarcely allow the barrel of a quill to rest in them. 



Thus far we were "conformists;" and George, after a few 

 strokes of the oars, paused, and taking a shiner from the 

 bucket in which they swam, placed one upon each of our 

 lines. The operation is a very nice one as the object is 

 to retain the fish in the position of swimming, and keep it 

 alive, too, as long as possible, by closing its jaws with the slip 

 hook, which prevents it from drowning ; the two other hooks 

 on the same side are so carefully placed under the back fin 

 and through the tail, that I have seen them swim briskly 

 off after an hour's trolling. George then cast them off, and 

 struck out for the deep water with powerful strokes which 

 made the boat fairly leap again. 



The shores of Lake Ploasant on this side slope beautifully 

 over a fair sand bottom for several hundred yards to the 

 deep water. Before we reached this dark transparency, our 

 lines had been reeled off to over a hundred and fifty feet, 

 and were trailing a few feet below the surface, far in our 

 rear. Our oarsman then altered his stroke to a slow and 

 noiseless dip, which scarcely rippled the calm surface. Now 

 a "strike," if we were to get one at all, might be expected 

 and with this skillful rowing, our wake closed far enough this 

 side the bait to leave it floating in calm water, where the 

 trout might see the flash of the shiner's side gleam slant 



