WORM-FISHING FOR TROUT. 69 



to their being consequently seen by the fish. This 

 was the principal drawback to the four-hook 

 tackle. As a minor inconvenience, Mr. Stewart 

 also mentions that, from the number of hooks 

 often fixed in the fish's mouth when landed, a 

 certain waste of time necessarily occurred. 



" These being the incidental disadvantages of 

 Mr. Stewart's plan, its advantages were, (i) that 

 the worm was more quickly baited than with the 

 single hook, (2) that it lived much longer with 

 the large single hook it dies almost directly (3) 

 that it presented a much more natural appearance 

 to the fish, and (4) that, owing to the superior 

 penetrating tendency of small over large hooks, 

 much fewer fish escaped after being once hooked, 

 whilst it became possible to use the finest gut, 

 which could not be safely done with large heavy 

 hooks. This of itself is an advantage the impor- 

 tance of which can hardly be over-estimated in 

 Trout fishing in clear streams. 



" As regards the other point the killing 

 powers my own experience of the tackle was 

 that when fishing properly up stream, and with a 

 shortish line, hardly any fish escaped at all, whilst 

 with the large single hook, I think the experience 

 of most of my brother anglers will bear me out 

 when I say that fully 50 per cent, of runs were 

 * missed.' On the other hand, I fully recognised 

 the practical force of the objections mentioned by 

 Mr. Stewart to his own four-hook tackle, and accord- 

 ingly I endeavoured to construct a tackle similar 

 in principle but different in detail, which should 



