THE DOUBLE-ARMED FLIGHT. 113 



was the first man who showed me how a bleak should be 

 put on, and when he put one on and spun it, you could 

 see nothing but one long even line of silver. I am parti- 

 cular in these directions, as it has been the fashion hither- 

 to with many authors to pretend that the putting on of a 

 bait cannot be explained, but the young hand is directed 

 to go to a Thames fisherman and to get him to show him 

 how to do it. This is all very well, and I by no means 

 disparage the advice, for the Thames fishermen are the 

 best spinners in the world ; but it is not everybody who 

 -can go to a Thames fisherman and take lessons. Practice 

 alone will enable the young hand to put a bait on with any 

 certainty of its spinning well, or (as even old hands can- 

 not always be quite sure of this) will enable him at once 

 to know how to rectify it if it does not. But I think by 

 following the above instructions and studying the cuts 

 given, that, if in time he is not able to succeed, he must 

 have less appreciation and readiness than a fisherman 

 ought to have. The same directions will answer to the 

 letter when I come to touch on spinning for large trout. 



If the angler chooses to have tackle with four triangles, 

 the only difference will be that the triangles will be 

 closer together, but in inserting the hooks the angler 

 must follow the instructions already given. He can also 

 have hooks on the reverse side as well ; but as these are 

 supplementary hooks, they have merely to be stuck loosely 

 into the bait so as not to interfere with the hang of it, 

 this depending entirely on the main set. I do not re- 

 commend them, however, unless the fish are very large 

 and hungry, the tackle very stout, and very heavy striking 

 be the order of the day. With these conditions they are 

 very deadly, for I once used a double set of this kind 

 made of large mackerel hooks (having no others), and 

 throughout one whole day I killed every fish I struck^ 



1 Only twice in my life have I ever achieved this feat when I have had 



I 



