128 THE PRACTICAL ANGLER 



No. 3 or 4, tied to one thread of gut, will be found 

 much more effective than a single hook. 



The accompanying illustration shows the tackle 

 and the method of baiting it, which requires no 

 explanation. 



The advantages of this tackle are that a trout 

 can hardly take hold of the worm at all without 

 having one of the hooks in its mouth; that the 

 worm lives much longer, and being free to wriggle 

 itself into any shape, is more natural-looking and 

 consequently enticing; and lastly, that it is much 

 more easily baited, particularly if the worms are 

 fresh. Its disadvantages are that it is more diffi- 

 cult to extricate from the trout's mouth ; that it 

 requires to be baited afresh every bite ; and that 

 the exposure of so many hooks is calculated to scare 

 away some trout that would otherwise take the 

 bait. But, upon the whole, the advantages pre- 

 ponderate considerably over the disadvantages, par- 

 ticularly when trout are biting shy. 



From using this tackle occasionally and finding 

 it answer, we were led to think that by using it 

 continually more trout might be captured than 

 with the common bait-hook. We resolved to devote 

 three successive days in order to test this, and to 



