CHAPTER XII 



BAITS 



SPINNING has a charm over other branches of the 

 piscatorial art, and the angler who is a practised 

 spinner usually prefers it to fly fishing". It owes its 

 attractiveness to the fact that a cast may be made in 

 a likely spot with the confidence that if there is a big 

 fish lurking there it will almost certainly be captured. 

 Also, the bait must be constantly watched while it is 

 in the water to prevent it from becoming caught on 

 the river bottom or entangled in weed. Spinning is 

 undoubtedly the best sport bringer for big fish. 



No other type of fishing gear offers such a wide 

 choice, for the name of spinning baits is legion. The 

 great majority, however, are fantastic and unsatis- 

 factory. There is no need for any angler to carry a 

 wide assortment of shapes and sizes in the form of 

 artificial minnows, spoons, baits, etc. 



All spinning tackles have one peculiarity in that 

 they require suitable swivelling to take out the twist 

 imparted to the line, with one exception, and that is 

 the New Turbine spinner, which has just been pro- 

 tected. It represents the last word in bait construc- 

 tion and imparts practically no twist to the line. Most 

 of the old-pattern spinners and spoons have fallen 

 into disuse. The appetite of certain fish certainly 

 seems to undergo a change, for it is an undoubted 

 fact, which perhaps applies particularly to pike, that 

 what will kill well on a certain lake or river one 



69 



