148 THE PIKE 



any spirit (e.g. whisky), but methylated alcohol is 

 usually chosen as being cheap. It is made from 

 pure alcohol by the addition of wood-naphtha to 

 make it taste nasty and prevent people drinking it, 

 and thus mixed it is free of duty and is used in 

 the arts. 



Another method of preserving baits is to place 

 them in a bottle of glycerine, and still another is to 

 salt them ; but pickling makes them soft and un- 

 suitable for spinning. A salted minnow, by the way, 

 is believed to be great medicine for big trout by 

 some fishermen. Boracic acid, which, like formalin, is 

 used for preserving various foodstuffs and poisoning 

 the community, can also be utilised as a preservative 

 for baits. 



With regard to the art of using all these excellent 

 tackles and carefully prepared baits, while the best 

 methods can certainly be described in writing, skill . 

 can only be acquired by practice. The particular 

 points to be aimed at, especially in summer, are to 

 cast the bait with a reasonable amount of accuracy, 

 and to exercise judgment as to the depth at which it 

 spins. It must be confessed that spinning is some- 

 what wearying work when the fish are not inclined to 

 feed. It is, in fact, more trying to the back than 

 salmon fishing. When the knack has been acquired, 



