366 SALMON AND TROUT. 



the smaller the prawn and the finer the tackle the better the 

 chance of success. 1 



' The most suitable rod for prawn fishing is a light cane 

 trolling rod about 14 feet long, or a grilse rod with a short top 

 and upright rings. I prefer the latter, as there is a certain 

 amount of spring in it and it is pleasanter to fish with. Mai- 

 loch's new patent trolling reel is admirably adapted to this 

 style of bait fishing, as with it you can pitch your prawn out 

 with a very slight amount of lead on the line. This cannot 

 be done with the Nottingham reel, which requires a line to be 

 heavily weighted. 



' The line should be a very fine dressed one, not thicker than 

 a fine trout line. A stouter line would be useless, as it would 

 not pay out through the rings. The line should be constantly 

 tested, as it soon wears out from friction, &c. The rotary 

 motion given to the line when paid off the drum of a Malloch's 

 reel is apt to make the line kink ; to avoid this a small swivel 

 should be attached to it about a foot above where it is fastened 

 to the trace an ordinary single-gut casting-line, fine or stout 

 according to the state of the water, with a swivel in the middle, 

 and weighted according to the rapidity and depth of the stream. 

 The heavier the weight the farther of course the bait can be 

 thrown. With only one shot you could not expect to cast 

 far, but as the water must be very low when such a light weight 

 is advisable, the distance required can generally be made up 

 by wading. 



4 A certain amount of experience is required to judge the 

 proper quantity of lead to be used, and it should be borne in 

 mind that the prawn should not be allowed to drag the bottom 

 as in worm fishing. The line should be weighted so that the 

 prawn should work about midway between the surface of the 

 stream and the bottom. 



' There are several different methods of fishing with the 



1 Mr. W. Haynes, fishing-tackle maker, of 3 Patrick Street, Cork, has in- 

 vented a needle with a slit in it that saves much time in putting on a prawn, 

 and rendeis binding with silk unnecessary. ED. 



