134 



ON MINNOW AND PARR-TAIL FISHING. 



inhabited by pike and the salmoferox. The cutting of 

 the parr-tail for stream fishing is an operation which 

 requires some nicety and attention. It is one also, very 

 imperfectly understood away from Tweedside ; indeed, 

 even there, I have encountered anglers, (whose experi- 

 ence in the other branches of the art was beyond chal- 

 lenge) bungling it most effectually . The main error of 

 all such lies in the notion, that because it is natural for 

 fish to swim head-foremost, or with their tails in the 

 rear, they only act with discretion, when they allot the 

 same position to their bait, that is, when appending it 

 to the tackle with the tail lowermost, whereas in the 

 proper, economical, and killing method of fishing, it is 

 attached quite the reverse way. Accordingly, in shaping 

 and cutting out the bait, let the following instructions 

 be strictly attended to. 



Divide the parr or smolt with a sharp pen-knife, in 

 the direction A. B. Cut off all the fins, closely and 

 carefully, not excepting the caudal or tail ones. These, 

 indeed, should be neatly rounded oft , 



and caution used not to break the contiguous skin. 

 This process of shaping the parr-tail may be performed, 



