The Creeper. 157 



Some anglers, however, fish the creeper down- 

 stream. The tackle they use consists of two No. 2 

 hooks tied in much the same way as in the Stewart 

 tackle, but with the barbs only half an inch apart. 

 Baiting with one creeper only, they pass the end 

 or lower hook through the second segment in the 

 back of the insect, and the upper hook through 

 the body near the tail and at right angles to the 

 lower hook. The hooks are thus almost entirely 

 concealed, but great care is required to fix them 

 without destroying the bait altogether. A small 

 sinker-shot No. 3 or No. 4 is placed on the line 

 about nine inches from the hooks, to maintain the 

 bait at a proper depth in the roughish streams, in 

 which it is most successful. The experienced 

 angler, indeed, selects this kind of water only, and 

 passes over the heavier currents as well as the 

 quiet unruffled pools. With a sinker, however, 

 the hook is apt to get fixed on stones in the bed 

 of the river; and the angler who uses one, must 

 raise the point of his rod now and again to secure 

 that his bait moves slowly down with the stream. 

 Prompt striking, on the slightest interruption to 

 the course of the line, is as necessary in this case 

 as in the former. 



The creeper may be fished with more or less 

 success till about the end of May; but only in 

 low clear water, and in bright sunshine, will it ever 



