THE ANCIENT ART OF TROLLING 105 



The process was simple enough. The gimp at- 

 tachment to the wire of the gorge hook was caught up 

 by the eye of the baiting needle, which was passed 

 through the body of the fish and out at the tail. It 

 was of importance that the two outstanding hooks at 

 the end of the lead should be pulled home between 

 the lips of the fish, and the workmanlike method was 

 to stitch the latter together and tie the tail fin close 

 to the wire, which should just protrude at the end. 

 All the fins, including any fragment of the tail that had 

 not been tied close, would be cut off with the scissors. 

 These precautions were to prevent the bait from 

 catching in weeds, always a hindrance to be guarded 

 against in trolling. The body of the bait would be 

 kept rigid by the twisted wire and lump of lead in 

 its inside, and it was possible that the pike, seizing 

 the bait across the middle according to its custom, 

 would become conscious of the presence of a hard 

 and unnatural body in the inside, and therefore 

 reject the lure. In order to escape this chance of a 

 loss, a form of tackle was invented in which the lead, 

 which was the sinking power, consisted of a number 

 of large shot. These, however, had the effect of 

 doubling the bait up too quickly without altogether 

 obviating the effect of the pike's teeth touching it. 

 The baits thus ready for use were placed in the 



