130 THE PRACTICAL ANGLER 



A brother of the writer made the same trial, 

 with the same result. He also observed that with 

 the tackle he got fewer trout, but larger ones, 

 which seems surprising, but may be accounted for 

 by supposing that though some trout had been 

 alarmed by the exposure of the hooks, the lively 

 and natural appearance of the worm had been more 

 attractive to large trout. Whether or not every 

 angler will meet with the same result, entirely depends 

 upon his capabilities for baiting 1 and managing' the 

 respective tackles; but probably all really good 

 anglers will catch more weight of trout with the 

 three or four small hooks than with the one large 

 one ; and since we first introduced it to the attention 

 of anglers four years ago, it has come into very 

 general use. 



Whatever kind of hooks the angler is using, he 

 should pay great attention to the state of his worm , 

 and if it has become maimed or waterlogged, change 

 it, as a lively worm is more enticing than a dead 

 one. 



Split shot to regulate the rate of the worm down 

 stream are usually considered indispensable by the 

 angler ; but, except on rare occasions, impeding 

 the motion of the worm is objectionable, and for 

 the following reasons : A worm thrown into a 

 stream would be carried down by the current and 

 turned round in every eddy; and as this is the 

 way in which trout are accustomed to see worms 

 coming down stream, every deviation from it is 

 calculated to excite their suspicion. When there 



