PIKE FISHING SPINNING. 81 



with those obtained from flights of the antiquated patterns. I 

 find it is there stated that ' whilst with the best of the latter 

 flights the average of fish lost after being hooked was about 

 half ; with the former the proportion has been only one in six, 

 or about sixteen per cent, thus giving a clear gain to the 

 basket of four out of every twelve hooked. This immense dis- 

 parity, however, will appear less surprising when the conditions 

 before explained are borne in mind. The following is a regis- 

 ter of the number of runs and the number of pike lost with this 

 tackle when fishing on the Hampshire Avon during four con- 

 secutive days. 



No. Caught. No. Lost. 

 August 8 . .11 . 2 1 



,, 10 . . 6 . i I The five largest fish weighing 

 ,, ii . . 9 . of together 56 Ibs. 



13 . 6 . iJ 



32 4 



Total lost after being hooked = I in 8, or about 13 per cent. 



Mr. Frank Buckland, who was fishing at the same time, and 

 who used my tackle, did not miss a single run. 



When this flight was first made public I received a great 

 number of letters from sportsmen congratulating me on the 

 invention and testifying to the success with which they had 

 used the flight. In the sporting press also, and in nearly all 

 angling books and tackle catalogues which have been published 

 for the last ten years, this flight will be found figured and 

 referred to in encomiastic terms. The following letter, which 

 I happened to come across in the Fishing Gazette, I quote, 

 because the writer, whom I have not the pleasure of knowing, 

 gives statistics of losses as well as of runs which not only sub- 

 stantiate, but very greatly exceed those given above. 



' Has your correspondent, the " Bostorn Bittern," in his 

 search for an efficient flight for spinning the natural bait, never 

 heard of or seen the "Pennell" flight? If not, let me advise 

 him to give it a trial next season, as I am confident, after trying 



II. G 



