472 PRACTICAL LESSONS IN THE GENTLE CRAFT. 



mounted on an inch or two of very fine gimp, and next to 

 that is a very good one brought out by the editor of the 

 1 Fishing Gazette/ 



As to the flight, after trying them all, I come to the 

 conclusion that there is nothing better, perhaps, than the 

 simple old Thames flight, with four sets of small stout wire 

 triangles and a single liphook. The liphook is the main 

 trouble, because, do what one will, or act as carefully as 

 one will with it, there is always more or less charing. I 

 tried the liphook bound upon a short slip of starling's wing 

 quill, the gut passing through the interior of the quill, and 

 this answered well for a time. Afterwards, as the gut 

 and quill both swelled with the wet, it became simply 

 immovable, and necessitated each fresh bait being of pre- 

 cisely similar size to its predecessor. Then I went back to 

 the old-fashioned hook, with a single small loop of gut tied 

 on the tip of the shank. This loop permits the hook to fly 

 loose up and down the gut link, but when it is in use, and 

 the gut thoroughly wet, a very efficient "bite" is obtained 

 by simply lapping the gut carefully and systematically 

 round the shank, until the liphook fits accurately to its 

 place at the nose of the bait 



It is by no means easy to describe baiting theoretically. 

 More may be learned by watching the operations of a really 

 good Thames fisherman for an hour, than by all the pen- 

 and-ink teachings in the world. However, practice, based 

 upon a fairly good theory, may accomplish great things, so 

 that, having first selected a clean silvery bleak perhaps 

 the best of all bait for a big trout, and particularly for a 

 spinning flight wet your fingers and hands thoroughly 

 before handling the little fish, with a view to saving as 

 much as possible of his brilliant silvery armour. Then 

 nick one of the hooks of the bottom triangle exactly through 



