PATERNOSTERING AND LEDGE RING 179 



hook is used, unless there is a good deal of line out, 

 in which case the elasticity of the line has to be 

 overcome before any considerable pressure is felt on 

 the mouth of the jack. One need not, as a general 

 rule, strike more than half as hard as when spinning; 

 but it is a good plan to put rather heavy pressure on 

 the fish during the first second or two, which insures 

 the hook penetrating well over the barb unless it has 

 unfortunately caught against a hard bone, when 

 no amount of pressure will cause it to penetrate. It 

 is because the strike need not be particularly hard 

 that a finer line can be used when paternostering than 

 when fishing with either float or spinning tackle. I 

 have, by the way, sometimes found it a convenience 

 to place a float on the line above the paternoster, and 

 send it down stream. This is an advantage where 

 the bottom for some distance is thickly coated with 

 lily leaves and no proper float-tackle is at hand, and 

 may be regarded as a little makeshift. For this and 

 similar purposes, the float with a slot in the side, 

 designed by Mr. R. B. -Marston, is very convenient. 



It is remarkable how gently pike sometimes take 

 paternoster baits. There are days when the angler 

 feels nothing but a vicious tug, or a succession of 

 tugs. On other occasions there will be a gentle and 

 hardly perceptible shaking of the rod point, which 



