DRAG-HOOKS. l8r 



combination ; and two, or at most three, hooks are 

 now most commonly used by those whose opinion 

 is worth having. There are occasions when, from 

 the trout biting shy, the angler may raise ten 

 trout, and not secure one. On such occasions we 

 have found a drag, consisting of two No. 10 hooks 

 tied back to back, and left to play loose about 

 three inches behind the minnow, very effective. 

 Some anglers put a drag-hook about half-an-inch 

 behind the tail, in expectation of those trout that 

 bite short taking hold of this hook with their 

 mouth, but this rarely happens. The tail of the 

 minnow in spinning describes a considerable cir- 

 cumference, and the drag, being farther out, a still 

 greater one ; so that, if the trout misses the min- 

 now, there is little chance of its catching the drag. 

 The drag which we advise should be dressed on a 

 separate piece of gut, sufficiently long to keep it 

 at least three inches behind the minnow, and 

 attached to the upper hook of the minnow- tackle 

 by a loop, so that it may be taken off or put on at 

 pleasure. The object of having it so far behind 

 the minnow is to catch, by the outside of the 

 body, those trout which bite shy, or miss the 

 minnow. 



In order to test whether the two hooks by them- 

 selves, or with the addition of the drag, kill most, 

 we fished for several days, time about with each 

 having the drag on one half-hour and off the next. 

 We have, unfortunately, lost our notes on the 



