PIKE FISHING SPINNING. 67 



And I would remark here, in passing, that if, in spite of 

 the new lights, or, more accurately, leads, which have been 

 thrown on the subject, the trailer should from any cause find 

 his line beginning to ' kink,' the best and, indeed, only practical 

 remedy that I know of is either (i) to adopt the plan above 

 suggested, affixing to the lower end of the running line a small 

 cork ball to prevent its passing through the rod-rings, but not 

 sufficient to prevent its twisting in the grass upon the slightest 

 provocation ; or (2) where it is probable that the ' kinking ' 

 may be only accidental, to draw out twenty or thirty yards of 

 line from the top of the rod and trail it once or twice back- 

 wards and forwards over a grass-field. To return. 



The faulty construction, then, of the spinning-flight and the 

 inconveniences of ' kinking ' were, no doubt, the principal 

 obstacles in the way of spinning becoming the prevalent and 

 popular method of jack fishing. 



Such being the state of the art as regards the spinning- 

 flights, there was plenty of scope for the new tackle (to be de- 

 scribed presently) which I first brought to the notice of pike- 

 fishers through the columns of the Field (1861-2), and after- 

 wards in the form of a pamphlet. 1 



As regards spinning-flights, the great object to be attained 

 was clearly the getting rid, once for all, of the large number of 

 superfluous hooks and triangles the latter ranging from three 

 to five commonly employed on a good sized flight. 



In discussing the old objections and the remedies which I 

 proposed for their removal, I cannot, perhaps, put the argu- 

 ments better than I stated them in the little brochure above 

 referred to. 



' The great number of fish that escape with the ordinary 

 tackle after being once struck is undoubtedly one of the most 

 forcible objections which has been hitherto urged against 

 spinning. The average of such losses has been computed at 

 from fifty to sixty per cent., and that estimate is under rather 



1 Hew to Spin for Pike. Harrison and Sons, London. 



