THE SPINNING BAIT AND ITS TACKLE 147 



5 or even 2 per cent, will do. The stronger it is the 

 more the fish are toughened, and the harder and 

 stiffer they get. After having been in formalin for 

 some time they may be taken out and kept for a day 

 or two out of the liquid, which is a great convenience, 

 obviating the necessity of carrying a glass bottle when 

 out fishing. Any baits that are not used can be 

 returned to the bottle in the evening, at the close of 

 the expedition. 



Those who use ordinary spinning flights without 

 fans flights in which the spin is obtained by curving 

 the tail of the bait will be well advised to add a 

 little glycerine to their formalin solution, about a 

 tablespoonful or a little more to the pint. This not 

 only helps to preserve the baits, but softens them 

 considerably. Where formalin is not obtainable, 

 methylated spirit answers extremely well ; and though 

 the baits smell vilely of naphtha the fish do not 

 seem to mind it. As I have said on an earlier page, 

 I caught the largest pike of my life on a Thames 

 bleak which had been some years in methylated 

 spirit; and with a companion bait whose duration 

 of pickledom had been as great, I caught a 5-lb. 

 trout. At the same time, I certainly do not recom- 

 mend baits which have been in methylated spirit for 

 trout fishing. Baits can, of course, be preserved in 



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