8o PIKE AND OTHER COARSE FISH. 



much longer. For the largest sized flights to be used with 

 whole eels or other very large bait a varnish made of powdered 

 red sealing-wax and spirit of wine may be used over the lap- 

 pings to impart a sort of haut gotit. 



TO BAIT A SPINNING-FLIGHT. 



Lay the bait in the palm of the left hand, and, taking the 

 tail-hook by the upper or reverse part, pass the point of the 

 round end into the side of the bait about half an inch from the 

 origin of the tail fin, pressing the point through the end of the 

 fleshy part of the tail and again upwards as near the base of 

 the tail fin as practicable. Then insert the small reverse-hook 

 or (as the case may be) the 'straight-reverse,' the barb driven 

 quite through the bait so as to curve the tail nearly, but 

 not quite, to a right angle, and fix the shoulder-hook in its 

 position. 



Lastly, having adjusted the 'lip-hook' exactly to the length 

 of the bait, pass it through both its lips, always putting it 

 through the upper lip first when the bait is a gudgeon, and 

 through the lower one first with all other baits. This will be 

 found important in securing a really brilliant spin. 



The flying triangle should not be hooked into the bait in any 

 way, but be allowed to hang free in the actual position in which 

 it usually appears on the flight. The upper and ' shoulder por- 

 tion ' of the body of the bait should hang perfectly straight 

 when attached to the flight, for which purpose the nice adjust- 

 ment of the 'lip-hook' already adverted to is needful. 



When the bait is a small dace or gudgeon, or a bleak, do 

 not be satisfied with a wobble or anything less than a really 

 brilliant spin, which can always be obtained if the above direc- 

 tions are attended to, or by some slight shifting of the hooks as 

 at first fixed in the bait. 



In a former essay I have given some statistics as to the 

 actual results obtained with the flight described, as contrasted 



