212 ELEMENTS OF ANGLING. 



the bait, whereas the two points of the old gorge- 

 hook were almost buried. The trace for pater- 

 nostering can quite well be made of strong single 

 gut, and no swivel is required. The loop to which 

 the loop of the hook is attached should be at least 

 i Sin. from the lead. Most anglers have a few 

 inches of finer gut between the trace and the lead, 

 so that if this gets caught up in a snag or in stones 

 the loss incurred is not serious. When fishing 

 with the paternoster it is sometimes wise to move 

 the bait about a good deal, drawing it slowly up to- 

 wards the surface and then letting it sink again. A 

 pike will frequently be roused from lethargy by a 

 bait which seems to be gradually disappearing from 

 his sphere of influence. 



For float fishing I do not care about a gut trace, 

 as I have more than once been broken in the strike, 

 owing, I think, to the extra strain added by the big 

 float. Single or twisted wire is here the material, 

 with the two swivels, one at each end, and the lead 

 above the lower one, and i8in. from the bait, or a 

 little less. Mr. Jardine's snap-tackle is my 

 favourite for float fishing. It consists of two 

 triangles, each with the third point specially bent 

 to hold the bait. The upper triangle is adjustable, 

 like a lip-hook, and its third point is inserted under 

 the back fin of the bait ; the third point of the 



