THE ART OF SPINNING. 203 



way in which an " overrun " line can entangle itself 

 is amazing), but in the end I got an inkling as to 

 how it should be done. If the novice could get a 

 friend to give him a first lesson, he would very likely 

 escape some of my sufferings. I do not think it is 

 possible to instruct adequately on paper, but three 

 hints are legitimate first, to swing the rod gently 

 and steadily, any suspicion of jerk being fatal ; 

 second, not to let the point of the rod travel far 

 round, otherwise one loses all power of direction ; 

 third, to keep the finger, whichever one uses (I 

 generally use the forefinger of the left hand, which 

 holds the rod behind the reel), always ready for 

 braking purposes, so that one can check the reel 

 slightly at any time ; it is sometimes necessary at 

 the very beginning when one uses a heavy lead and 

 bait. But all this will be more applicable when the 

 novice comes to spin for pike. 



The method of casting which is known as the 

 "Thames " style, and which is more suited to the 

 present purpose, is that which the novice has 

 already practised to some extent when float fishing 

 for chub ; the line is simply pulled off the reel and 

 left in loose coils on the ground, whence it is picked 

 up coil by coil as the bait flies out. With a steady 

 swing it is possible to throw quite a light bait a 

 matter of twenty yards, and with a ^oz. lead and 



