PATERNOSTERING AND LEDGERING 183 



fine object lesson in the use of fine tackle. It was 

 summer-time ; the water was low, and from the loss of 

 several sets of tackle when spinning for trout earlier 

 in the season he had concluded that a number of pike 

 were collected in a certain backwater. With me in 

 the punt was a friend who had ordinary, gimp, float- 

 tackle of medium thickness. The old fisherman 

 provided me with a rather large roach float, fine gut, 

 and a small bait, not very much larger than a minnow, 

 on a No. 7 hook mounted on three inches of the 

 finest gimp. . With this delicate tackle I caught 

 several brace of pike, while my friend took nothing, 

 though he was a skilful fisherman. 



On another occasion (but this was in winter) I 

 went to^fish a noted hole for perch, a big eddy caused 

 by a considerable widening of the river, where there 

 was water enough to fish all through the day. While I 

 paternostered for perch near the punt, I threw out 

 some fairly fine pike tackle baited with a dace. 

 The water was very clear, and the perch were 

 absolutely off the feed ; but on my fine gut perch 

 paternoster I kept catching pike in all, several 

 brace but none would take the dace which was 

 expressly intended for them. The next day I went 

 to the spot and exactly the same thing occurred. 



A very expert pike fisher of my acquaintance once 



