138 ON ANGLING WITH THE WORM. 



angler may strike before it takes hold of the hook 

 at all, and consequently lose the trout. 



With every precaution, however, the angler will 

 sometimes miss three or four trout in succession, 

 because they have got the hook in their mouth, 

 but merely bite some part of the worm. In such 

 circumstances three or four small hooks about No. 

 9 or 10 of Bartlett's, or what are perhaps even 

 better, three of Hutchinson and Son's sneck-bent 

 hooks, No. 3 or 4, tied to one thread of gut, will be 

 found much more effective than a single hook. 



The accompanying illustration shows the tackle 

 and the method of baiting it, which requires no 

 explanation. 



The advantages of this tackle are that a trout 

 can hardly take hold of the worm at all without 

 having one of the hooks in its mouth; that the 

 worm lives much longer, and being free to wriggle 

 itself into any shape, is more natural-looking and 

 consequently enticing ; and lastly, that it is much 

 more easily baited, particularly if the worms are 

 fresh. Its disadvantages are that it is more diffi- 

 cult to extricate from the trout's mouth ; that it 



