]38 ON MINNOW AND PARR-TAIL FISHING. 



or put him on his guard, by altering the course of the 

 spinning, checking the line, or jerking away the min- 

 now. It is very true, notwithstanding, that with 

 tackle barely weighted, you can always, on throwing, 

 command a greater stretch of water, yet the advan- 

 tage of doing so in minnow or parr-tail fishing is 

 exceedingly doubtful, and if desired, for the purpose of 

 escaping detection from the trout, perfectly unnecessary; 

 for when rivers are in trim for these sorts of angling, 

 that is, either large and discoloured or perfectly clear 

 and small, in both cases, the fish, in their appropriate 

 haunts, are eager and fearless, not readily deterred 

 from their purpose, even within arm's length of the 

 angler himself. 



And as to heavy leading, it is, in salmon-fishing, with 

 the minnow or parr-tail, quite indispensable, for the fish 

 in question, when inclined to take the spinning line do 

 not, like trout, change ground on the rove or feed, but 

 lie close to the bottom, in their favourite places of re- 

 sort, and are only roused to seize it, by the bait, in a 

 particular temperature and state of water, passing near 

 or before them. 



For trouting, the ordinary number of leads of the 

 sizes mentioned, which a minnow or parr-tail tackle 

 requires, ranges from two to four. In heavy water, 

 more, if necessary, can readily be added ; but I would 

 avoid deep leading, over a weedy or rocky bottom. 

 Some anglers, instead of attaching the shot a short 

 way above the tackle and all at one spot, distribute it, 

 at different intervals, along the gut-lengths and casting- 

 line itself, a practice I do not think commendable. 



The box-swivel is a very necessary part of the min- 

 now tackle. Its material use is not so much to assist 

 the spinning of the lure, which it does to an ample 



