BOTTOM FISHIKG. 67 



obtain them. Raw unbleached silks are infinitely stronger 

 than the ordinary bleached ones. The fine " dram " silks 

 are equal in strength, and occasionally superior, to the 

 coarser, more bulky, and heavier. With the extra fine- 

 ness of texture, it is needless for us to add the scarcity of 

 the article is found to range. 



Plaited lines should always be preferred to twist, cable- 

 laid though it be; the miseries of a line always twisting 

 and curling being only equalled by the constant breaking 

 of a tender one. A line of one-half the substance of an- 

 other, if dressed in a proper manner, will be found to be 

 much stiff er and less liable to "kink." With regard to 

 color, in habitually discolored waters, green or sandy- 

 brown should be used; in fine, clear, and open waters, a 

 pale gray or cloud color is the best tint. 



No more weights or sinkers must be employed than can 

 possibly be avoided. The same observation also applies 

 to the float. A cork should never be used when it may 

 be effectually substituted by a quill. Lastly, never use 

 even a quill when no float is really needed. We have 

 oftentimes made a first-rate float of a moderate-sized leaf; 

 a sycamore, chestnut, birch, or oak tree, when so situated 

 as to extend over the water, offers admirable facilities for 

 this. A worm, fly, maggot, or what-not is attached in 

 the usual way upon a slightly- weigh ted gut-line. A leaf 

 is then procured, the shank being split up the center 

 carefully until the middle of the leaf is reached. The 

 "tack" (just below a knot) is then inserted in the in- 

 cision, which is now closed, and occasionally it may be, 

 for better security, wrapped with a scrap of silk or waxed 

 thread. The leaf is fitted, and found not only to act well 

 as a float, but also in the midst of a bright sunlit water 

 to materially aid the guile, by shading the tackle. The 

 least possible stir or movement is made manifest by the 

 flat and flexible leaf. Porcupine quills are the best floats 

 for all-round work. For heavy water and large fish it is 



