58 THE PIKE. 



wire a great improvement on the old-fashioned 

 brass gimps, now seldom used, being too bright 

 and so easily seen by the fish. Next to platinum is 

 copper gimp ; it does not show much in the water ; 

 it is also strong and flexible. If nothing else than 

 brass can be got, it can be coloured or stained by 

 soaking it in a solution of bichlorate of platinum 

 mixed with water (one part of platinum to six or 

 eight of water), then dried before the fire ; but the 

 solution must be very weak, as it is so powerful 

 that it destroys gimp quickly. I find a good plan 

 is to hang brass gimp in the fumes of burning 

 brimstone, i.e., flour of sulphur ; this will stain it a 

 deep copper colour and not rot the gimp. An 

 iron stove-pipe placed on end, the gimp coiled 

 loosely and hung inside at the top, covered with a 

 slate, and the burning sulphur introduced at the 

 bottom, the gimp remaining in the fumes a few 

 minutes, this answers capitally. 



Personally I much prefer pike-traces made of 

 stout salmon-gut, or of twisted trout-gut, three 

 strands, tapered, and stained blue or grey (i.e., the 

 tint of water with a weak solution of indigo, or 

 Stcphens's blue-black ink and water, or "water- 

 weed " colour, i.e., light olive-green), by first 

 soaking the gut or trace in an alum mordant, and 

 then in a solution of indigo mixed with sufficient 

 turmeric to produce the shade required. 

 "Red-Spinner" (Wm. Senior) says: 

 " It is always best when pike-fishing to use a 

 trace of twisted gut ; the use of coarse gimp is now 

 generally acknowledged to be a mistake, and the 

 deterioration of gimp some little time ago led to a 

 more general adoption of the twisted or double-gut 

 trace. Gimp, however, is essential for the hooks 



