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fish in a small stream, or brook, where you know the fish are 

 small, I should recommend you to fish with finer gut; you 

 might have one or two tackles made especially for brook fishing. 

 There are two ways of baiting this tackle ; one way is to put the 

 Minnow on as you would a worm, in at the mouth and out at 

 the tail, and then bending the Minnow in what form you like ; 

 but the other is the neatest way. It is to bait with a fine 

 needle, unloop the bottom gut from the bottom swivel, allow- 

 ing the noose to be large enough to admit of the hook and 

 the Minnow to pass through ; take your baiting needle and put 

 it in at the tail of the Minnow on one side and out at the 

 mouth, drawing the shank of the hook inside the bait, and the 

 bend of the hook to bend the tail ; stitch the mouth up with a 

 needle and thread, lapping the thread once or twice round the 

 gut, to keep the Minnow in the position you want it; thus 

 baited take the loop and put it through the swivel, and the 

 Minnow through the loop, and then draw it up. There are 

 several ways of making spinning tackle, but in my opinion this 

 is the neatest and best. If you are spinning the Minnow for 

 Trout in a river, fish under weirs, in the rapid water by the 

 side of stone walls, or broken banks where the river comes 

 dashing and boiling furiously, at mill tails, and all such places . 

 But only fish these places when the water is clear. When you 

 do fish in such parts, put an extra lead on your line, at the top 

 of the tackle, to keep your bait down better, and to enable you to 

 cast from the reel to what distance you choose. When there is 

 a rise of water, and when it is a little discoloured, do not select 

 places so deep and rapid, but fish in steady shallow streams, 

 and work your bait much slower, or the fish will not be able to 

 see it. When you see a likely spot for a Trout keep as 

 much out of sight as you can, as Trout when feeding on 

 small fry often lie within a foot of the surface, so that they can 

 easily see you, and if a Trout gets but a glimpse of either you or 

 the rod he is off in a moment. When fishing a shallow stream 

 one lead will be sufficient. Spin the Minnow against the 

 stream, and if the stream is deep allow the Minnow to sink 



