FINE TACKLE REQUISITE. 25 



Let the angler take one, fix the point of the hook against 

 any substance, and then pull the gut, and see what ensues. 

 Let him note the angle formed by the hook and gut, and 

 the very indirect action of the point, and he will recog- 

 nise the justice of my remark. By lengthening the shank 

 slightly the evil is mitigated. 



In fishing with gentles, it is very common to find the 

 gentles blown by the fish up the shank of the hook, and 

 often an inch or two up the gut. Now, when you are 

 using very fine gut, to have to tear the gentle off it time 

 after time is calculated to wear and fray the gut, which, 

 as it is often drawn gut, is especially liable to such injury ; 

 and when one is using two gentles, the one blown up is 

 usually comparatively uninjured, and might be drawn 

 back on the hook with advantage, the gentle at the point 

 being the only one renewed. A good deal of trouble in 

 re-baiting is thus often saved, which in very cold weather, 

 and when the fish are biting rapidly, is very desirable, 

 To facilitate the return of the gentle, it is advisable to 

 have the shank of the hook reduced or filed down at the 

 top slightly, and to take two or three turns of the tying 

 silk on the gut above the shank, and this also preserves 

 the gut at the very point it is most liable to injury. The 

 constant wear and tear of the binding in roach-hooks, 

 renders it necessary that the tying should be well var- 

 nished, and that the hooks should be prepared some time 

 before use, that the varnish may be thoroughly dry, hard, 

 and impenetrable. Always use the very neatest tackle 

 which you can afford for roach. Let your gut be of the 

 finest, and delicately stained of a pale olive-green weed 

 colour, your shot be as unobtrusive, and the float as light 

 as possible. The best roach-fishers, however, prefer single 

 hair ; and for the best roach in a swim, where you only 

 expect roach, it certainly has an advantage. In slow eddies 

 or in bank fishing, where you can keep over the float and 



