BAITS AND BAIT-CATCHING. 61 



christened. Unfortunately my inventive genius was not des- 

 tined to be tried. Almost at the first cast I hooked a large 

 fish, which very inconsiderately left me and alas ! my fasci- 

 nating creation also in a stout bed of bulrushes. . . I have 

 never had energy enough to have another one made, though 

 stimulated by the passing success of having nearly caught a fish 

 I have often meditated doing so. 1 



On one occasion, being driven to extremities for baits small 

 enough to spin with, I concocted a sort of ' composite ' bait 

 with which, on several days, I had very good sport in the 

 Hampshire Avon. The bait was made thus : I cut off the 

 tail part of a dace (or even a roach would do) just at the vent, 

 leaving the flesh A. shaped, the apex to form a sort of holding- 

 on-point for the head. This latter was of tin, in the shape of 

 an extinguisher, having several holes close to the rim through 

 which I stitched it on to the bait, sewing it strongly through 

 and through. On each side of this 'head,' but longer, were 

 wings, to represent the pectoral fins, also of tin, soldered on, and 

 turned up at different angles on opposite sides, so as to give 

 the bait a brilliant spin. I caught, as I say, a great many fish 

 with this bait at first, and had a large stock of the head ' extin- 

 guishers ' made : but the second year that I tried it over the 

 same water, it did not do so well, and I seldom use it now 

 except when no small baits are procurable. I give the idea, 

 however, for what it is worth : it may be worth trying at a 

 pinch, and any tinsmith can make a ' head ' for it in ten minutes. 



1 Since writing the above, in looking over an old tackle box I have acciden- 

 tally come upon what seems to be a. duplicate, or very nearly FO, of what I may 

 christen my ' exact imitation bait.' I alwa\s thought I had the worst memory 

 in Europe ; I am beginning to think I have no memory at all. This bait must 

 have been made at the same time as the other, the only difference I see in it 

 being that it is a trifle less plump, and that the scalure is marked more coarsely ; 

 that it is not, in fact, ' drawn to scale.' I think the scales ought to be cut on 

 the mother-of-pearl much smaller to carry out the imitation idea, or, in fact, 

 as nearly as may be, the same size as those of actual fish. I have given this 

 bait to Mr. Farlow, of 191 Strand, as a model in case any of my brother trailers 

 might like to give it a trial as an experiment, observing that I do not in any 

 way vouch for its success, and that my experience is absolutely confined to the 

 one cast already described. 



