CASTING LURES 95 



reduce the trebles, two being the usual number and 

 often two double hooks. 



I am not altogether sure that a mere screw-eye 

 screwed into the wooden body is a sufficiently secure 

 method of attachment; I prefer to have the hooks 

 attached to a center wire where that is possible 

 running through the body of the lure. Naturally 

 such an arrangement is somewhat more expensive 

 but it is worth all it costs. The hook attachment 

 should be secure, the hooks themselves of the best. 

 Some anglers prefer a hook that will break before 

 the line, then a snag loses part of its terrors for the 

 lure itself is safe. Always the wise caster carries a 

 spare treble, if he employs that style of lure, single 

 or double hooks if they appeal to him. Ofttimes 

 makers furnish their lures with both kinds of hooks, 

 singles and trebles, sometimes with the weed- 

 guarded, too. 



The finish of the lure is of utmost importance, a 

 cheaply made, half baked lure is a delusion and a 

 snare ; do not invest in them. Over and over again 

 in this volume and through my department in 

 Outdoor Life I have urged the importance of good 

 tackle, and nowhere is the matter of greater moment 

 than in the selection of lures. A good, well-finished 

 lure can not be secured for a song, whether you sing 

 rag time or oratorio. You must be willing and able 

 to pay the price. Something for nothing can not be 

 secured outside the advertising pages of a second 



