24 THE ART OF FISHING. 



hooks of the middle set, pierce the bait near the 

 tail, turning the barb upwards, i.e. towards the 

 head of the bait: this will bend the fish's tail, 

 and cause it to resist the water as you draw it 

 up and down, or across the stream. This process 

 gives it a spinning motion, and the appearance 

 of a live bait; and so rapid will be this move- 

 ment if you have two swivels on your line, that 

 it will sparkle in the water, and probably attract 

 the pike from a far greater distance than a live 

 bait would. 



Unless the water should be very deep, let your 

 bait, when spinning, be about five or six inches 

 from the surface ; you wil 1 then see it, if the water 

 be tolerably clear, and it should be so if you 

 expect to catch fish in this way. Seeing the bait 

 is certainly an advantage, as you can then at once 

 distinguish between the obstruction of a weed and 

 a bite ; for the pike will be sure to show himself, 

 turning his white body upwards, which he must do 

 in order to seize the bait, from the shortness of his 

 under jaw. When you shall have hooked him, 

 should he be a small fish, say under two pounds 

 weight, do not unbuckle your landing net, but 

 drag him out at once, as it were by the hair of 

 his head (if he had any) ; for your snapping 

 tackle ought to be sufficiently strong to land a 



