216 



PIKE AND OTHER COARSE FISH. 



a small piece of gut or line is knotted in the running line 

 above the float, with the result that, of course, when the line 

 is running downwards through the rings to this point, the float 

 remains stationary. It is thus that the Nottingham fisher is 

 enabled to make such long casts. As the line is drawn back 

 out of the water, the float naturally slips down the 

 line until it is stopped by the shot, and in this position 

 forms an additional weight at the point where weight 

 is most essential to enable a long cast to be made 

 with ease. Having drawn in his line up to the 'stick- 

 ing ' point, i.e. the transverse piece of gut or quill 

 which may be the length of his rod or even more 

 above the float he makes his cast to ten or twenty, 

 or, perhaps, even twenty-five yards, as the case may 

 be, and giving line freely, the shot carry the bait 

 down to the bottom of the river or pond to the depth 

 which has been already carefully plummed, leaving 

 the float as usual on the surface. This is, however 

 only one of the two great advantages of this kind of 

 float. The second is the fact that in striking the 

 fish from whatever distances, especially long ones, the 

 stroke has not to overcome the vis inertia of the float 

 before it can reach the mouth of the fish. This is a 

 point of great importance, and one without which 

 fishing in the Nottingham style, that is, covering long' 

 reaches of water at great distances from the fisher- 

 man, could not be successfully carried out. 



No. 6, the last float in the list, is probably still 

 more entitled to be called extraordinary. It is called 

 the 'electric-float,' and is supposed to be luminous 

 NO. 6. a t the top, so that in night fishing it is always readily 



perceptible. 



N.B. I don't assert that the float actually fulfils these con- 

 ditions, but they are the specialties claimed for it. What the 

 object of the circular notch round the upper part of the cork 

 may be, except to hold the little indiarubber ring now shown 



