A rtificial Baits. 2 1 5 



or down. The swivels I fix twenty-eight inches 

 apart, but find no place for sinkers on this, any 

 more than on the other spinning-tackle. Indeed, 

 if there was little necessity for them on the natural 

 minnow-line, there is even less for them on this ; 

 for most of the materials employed in its manu- 

 facture are in themselves heavy enough to sink 

 it farther than is desirable ; and even where it is 

 lighter than the natural, it wants the animal buoy- 

 ancy of the latter, and so of itself tends to maintain 

 a lower level. Thus it is that, in fishing with any 

 kind of artificial minnow, we must work the bait 

 more rapidly than with the natural, in order to 

 prevent it from sinking too low ; and those anglers 

 who shot the line must just exert themselves more 

 than those who don't : and after all, the results will 

 be much in favour of the slow spinner. In other 

 respects the artificial minnow is fished very much 

 in the same way as in up-stream fishing with its 

 prototype, the only difference being that with it a 

 greater variety of movement, up, down, or across 

 stream, is admissible in spinning the bait. In up- 

 stream fishing, the smaller the imitation the better. 

 Trout, when hooked by it, do not hold so well ; and 

 the larger fish are not so easily deceived by any 

 imitation, however perfect, which may have all the 

 show without "the seal of nature's truth." For 

 myself, I never use the artificial when I can get 



