468 PRACTICAL LESSONS IN THE GENTLE CRAFT. 



the trout are in the habit of lying, what is the consequence ? 

 Away goes your fish. Thus I may perhaps, hint at the 

 best style to adopt under the circumstances. 



To my notion a man wants two rods, so as to make his 

 kit thoroughly complete, and so far as spinning pure and 

 simple is concerned, I propose to speak of that branch of 

 trout angling first, thus giving it the preference over live 

 baiting. Not because I have fallen into the hypocritical 

 groove which obtains in angling circles, and which enables 

 certain very virtuous gentlemen to denounce live-baiting 

 publicly, while they follow it up on every possible occasion 

 in private ; nor from the conviction that spinning is neces- 

 sarily the purest and most sportsmanlike method of angling 

 for large trout. 



But why two rods ? Well, I will give you my reasons. 

 In punt fishing, or spinning from a boat, a long rod is often 

 sadly in the way, and in the course of a day's casting to 

 either side while working down a likely-looking reach where 

 it is known fish lie, will tire and strain even a very stout 

 arm indeed, quite as much as in a day's salmon casting, 

 take my word for it. For such work, therefore, commend 

 me to a rod lightly yet strongly made of sound unblemished 

 mottled cane, 12 feet in length, with plenty of spring and 

 play in it from butt to point, and fitted with the very best 

 ring that ever was invented for casting or throwing purposes, 

 viz., that brought out by Gregory of Birmingham, and at 

 present fitted to most of the rods turned out by the 

 celebrated firm of Allcock of Redditch. It is a perfectly 

 simple appliance, being an arched wire whipped on at either 

 side. The ring itself is firmly soldered into the centre of 

 the arch ; but it is absolutely out of even a careless angler's 

 power to engender such an awful possibility as a kink, and 

 that alone should be a sufficient guarantee of its worth to 



