MODERN METHODS OF SPINNING 157 



then the strike must be heavy indeed ; and it is 

 in that case no use to have fine gimp, for it would 

 most certainly get broken before those big hooks 

 could be driven into the fish's mouth. It should be 

 borne in mind that it takes exactly double as much 

 force to make two hooks penetrate as it does to 

 get one in. If there are three triangles in a pike's 

 mouth, and the points of three or more hooks are 

 sticking against his flesh, then at least three times as 

 much force is requisite as if the point of one hook only 

 were pressing against his jaw. Moreover, it requires 

 more force to make a big hook penetrate than a small 

 one. 



With the small baits and triangle that I frequently 

 use in rivers, I do not find that a very heavy strike is 

 necessary ; but with the old-fashioned Thames flights, 

 made up of three or four triangles, one used con- 

 stantly to lose fish by not striking hard enough. In 

 short, the strike is a matter of judgment. The 

 angler must be guided by the tackle he is using, and 

 also by the length of line he has out ; for a silk line 

 is more or less elastic and yielding, so that one has to 

 strike much harder if the bait is twenty or thirty yards 

 from the end of the rod, than if it is close at hand. 



Spinning in its details varies a good deal accord- 

 ing to the time of year and the water. On rivers in 



