APRIL 59 



stands above the rush of water and allows his bait to be 

 worked hither and thither by the varying eddies. It is 

 not to be denied that fish and heavy fish are thus 

 taken, but such is not the art of Thames trouting, and 

 cannot indeed be practised unless from the weir heads. 

 As bait, there is little doubt that a natural bleak, or later 

 in the season, a minnow, is the most killing, either 

 fettled up on a Thames flight or on an Archer or similar 

 suitable spinner. Occasionally the Devon or other 

 artificial will kill, but mainly in the weirpools. 



The live bait is next best after the spinning bait, and 

 possesses the doubtful advantage of being easily worked 

 even in the open reaches of the river by anglers 

 possessed of only a moderate amount of skill. 



The gut required for either live-bait, or spinning-flight, 

 should be of picked lake-trout or sea-trout quality, and 

 the trace should be at least nine feet long, with one or 

 more swivels, if for live bait, and not less than three if 

 used for spinning. 



The Thames trout spinning-rod is of a type quite its 

 own, 12ft. long and with plenty of spring and power for 

 weir work, and a trifle shorter for casting from the punt. 



The winch ought to be free-running, large in the 

 drum, and should carry about 150 yards of line. If the 

 angler can cast accurately at least 40-50 yards Notting- 

 ham fashion, the line had better be of undressed square 

 solid-braided silk (No. 2, Theaker). If not, then 75 

 yards of dressed line about G gauge can be married to 

 100 yards of fine silk back-line. 



For live baiting it is usual to put on the running line 

 just above the trace, an ordinary bottle cork as a float 

 (no lead) ; one which has been knocking about in the 

 weirpool for a week or two is to be preferred. The best 

 live-bait flight consists of a liphook and a single triangle, 

 one hook of the latter being caught into the side of the 

 fish, just before the tail. A second flying triangle is 

 used by one very successful angler: this is much smaller 

 than the body size and projects at least an inch or even 

 two, behind the tail of the bait. The angler claims by 

 this tackle that he has taken fish which for some reason 



