SIZE OF MINNOW. 179 



can be strapped round the waist, and is so con- 

 structed that the shaking of the box does not spill 

 the water. Five or six dozen minnows may be 

 kept alive in one of them for a whole day by 

 changing the water occasionally. Those that die 

 should be allowed to remain in the water, as they 

 will keep fresher and firmer there than else- 

 where. 



A minnow measuring about an inch and three- 

 quarters, total length, tail inclusive, is the size we 

 prefer for trouting at all seasons ; and small min- 

 nows are now most commonly used by all able 

 minnow-fishers. A large trout will take a small 

 minnow as readily as a large one, a middle-sized 

 trout more so, and a small trout, which could not 

 take a large minnow, will take a small one readily. 

 In the spring of the year, before trout come into 

 condition, or in autumn, when they are again out 

 of it, a large minnow may answer; or even in 

 summer, when the waters are flooded, a middle- 

 sized minnow may prove inviting ; but in streams 

 inhabited by well-fed trout, when they are low 

 and clear, minnows cannot be used too small if 

 they will turn the swivels. A large minnow spins 

 in a clumsy, unsightly manner, very different 

 from the neat turning of a small one. Trout, also, 

 can get hold of a small minnow much more easily 

 than of a large one, and so the angler has a much 

 better chance of hooking them. The whitest and 

 most silvery minnows should always be selected ; 



