EVIL OF DEEP BARBS. 33 l 



There is no earthly necessity for it. Not only is 

 the wire half cut through by the operation, but the 

 point of the hook is forced quite out of the straight 

 line; thus, not only requiring heavier striking to 

 properly hook a fish, but being more liable to snap 

 by the sudden strain. The very action of inserting 

 the bearding knife too deeply causes the point to 

 project outwards inadvertently (see diagram, fig. 2), 

 giving it a " scratch and let go " appearance, and no 

 less effect ; indeed, there are but two alternatives 

 for a hook of this description when a fish is caught 

 upon the gristly or bony part of the mouth (i) to 

 scratch as described, or (2) to break clean off at the 

 barb near the point of the hook. We have seen hooks 

 fitted with costly salmon flies, nine-tenths of them 

 being quite useless, having broken at this identical 

 point. A batch was shown to us by (the late) Mr. 

 Frank Buckland, H.M. Inspector of Inland Fisheries, 

 numbering one hundred and twenty-seven, all broken. 

 The original value ranged from five shillings to one 

 guinea each. Nine of these were broken at the 

 sharp bend of the Limerick hook, the whole of the 

 remainder at the barb. The loss incurred at this 

 rate is considerable, and when we take the fish into 

 account, it is simply monstrous. 



This defect is by no means confined to the 

 Limerick bend of hook ; it is frequently more 

 conspicuous in the Sneck or Kendal bent hooks, 

 so universally used in trout fishing : -vide the 

 experience of everybody. Another point of para- 

 mount importance is the tempering, as when this 



