138 



manner shown in the cut (marked A). By the gut or gimp loop 

 being thus attached the plane of the horizontal line is thrown 

 slightly higher (in other words, the centre of gravity is further 

 lowered), very greatly increasing the efficiency and twist-resisting 

 power of the lead, whilst offering no projection to disturb the 

 water- or catch in weeds. 



Let me urge upon any of my readers who intend trying this 

 lead to insist absolutely upon attention being paid to this 

 apparently most trivial, but really most important, point. 



If extra weight be required, it can be very conveniently and 

 expeditiously gained by the addition, above the fixed lead, of a 

 temporary coil of lead wire. To apply this I found the best plan 

 was to twist it first round a hair-pin, or a fine baiting-needle, laid 

 on the trace (and, of course, including the trace itself) ; then, 

 drawing out the pin, the lead wire can be tightened in easily in 

 regular coils by twisting with the finger and thumb. 



As regards the material of the trace itself, I generally use 

 below the lead 3 or 4 feet of salmon gut, and then a few inches of 

 fine gimp between that and the flight the actual flight itself, 

 except under special circumstances, being also dressed on fine 

 gimp. The gut links should be knotted together by the Buffer 

 Knot described at page 125. This is most important, as with a 

 stiff rod and the sudden sharp stroke necessary in spinning, the 

 gut, if tied in any other manner, is very likely to break. 



Several attempts have lately been made to adapt fine twisted 

 wire, specially annealed, to the purposes of spinning traces. I can 

 conceive that they might prove very successful for the portion of 

 the trace above the leads, but since, some years ago, I gave up 

 experimenting myself in this direction with twisted copper wire, 

 I have not had any practical experience on the subject, so that I 

 can offer no opinion worth having one way or the other. 



It must be said, however, that their appearance is all in their 

 favour. I have before me a spinning trace in thickness equal to 



