76 SPINNING. 



thirty yards of line ; but distant throwing is not 

 all that is required. To spin well, you must throw 

 to exactly the spot you intend. A punctual 

 man is not one who gets to his train ten minutes 

 before it starts, neither is a good spinner one who 

 throws ten yards beyond the mark; he must know 

 to a foot where he intends his bait to drop, and if 

 he mean to throw twenty-five yards of line, he 

 must neither cast twenty-four nor twenty-six. 



There are many accomplished fishermen who, in 

 anticipation of a kink or stoppage in the running 

 of the line, will twist it round their little finger and 

 thumb, and allow it to run off in the most artistic 

 manner. This is the poetry of the art, and I com- 

 mend its exercise to those who would excel in it, 

 but I confess it is beyond my powers ; and as a 

 rule, you will do well enough with a well-prepared 

 line, if you coil it as you draw it in, foot by foot, 

 at your feet. 



Fish down-stream ; keep your punt within a few 

 yards of the weedy side, the head at an acute 

 angle from it ; make your cast across, and well 

 in advance ; work the bait towards you, so as to 

 cover the whole stream, and finish by a few strokes 

 from the top of the rod in the space between the 

 head of the punt and the bank of rushes or weeds 

 alongside. If a fish strike, return the blow as 



