72 LIVE-BAIT FISHING. 



floating free four inches below it. The single 

 hook is passed either through the lip of the bait 

 or under the back-fin. As in trimmering, a small 

 bullet counteracts the bait's propensity to swim 

 on the surface of the water. 



Standing at the head of the punt, which for the 

 time is stationary, your boatman hanging on to 

 the rushes, or the willow, or the bank, you drop 

 your bait quietly a few feet in advance, or laterally 

 according to the current, and work the line in 

 such a manner that the float, though pulled in a 

 different direction, shall drag the bait willy-nilly 

 into all sorts of odd corners and casual openings 

 in the weeds near which the pike may be supposed 

 to lurk. 



A large roach is your best bait, and if there be 

 a pike within a reasonable distance of your swim, 

 he is almost certain to take. His presence is 

 intimated by the violent agitation and partial 

 immersion of the float caused by the poor roach's 

 vain efforts to escape his enemy. Another moment, 

 and your bait is seized, and the float disappears 

 beneath the surface, travelling rapidly towards the 

 pike's headquarters. Strike, but not too quickly 

 nor too hard ; your fish is almost certainly hooked, 

 and if of large size, will show capital sport. 



I am aware that many fishermen look upon this 



