PRACTICAL LESSONS IN THE GENTLE CRAFT. 477 



and kill a big trout with this fairly and squarely, mind, 

 taking all the chances of submerged roots, boughs of 

 trees, weed-beds or sunken piles never mind anybody 

 growling, but tell them to go and do likewise. There is 

 not one in twenty who can, you bet. 



PIKE FISHING (SPINNING). 



I may now perhaps give you my ideas with reference to 

 pike-fishing, and in the first place I think that a pike- 

 fisher's equipment should, with regard to rods, consist of 

 two one being kept solely for spinning. This rod, being 

 not more than 12 to 14 feet in length, is built so as to 

 be more limber, and consequently has more " spring " in it 

 than the other, which may be kept for paternoster work, 

 trolling upon rare occasions, and live-baiting. A stiff rod 

 for spinning to my mind the most artistic method that 

 can be adopted is simply comparatively useless. The 

 top, and indeed the rod generally, should give freely to 

 the upward sweep of the arm when throwing, the rod 

 being held tightly and easily in the right hand, while the 

 butt is planted firmly in the hollow of the groin. Thus it 

 materially helps in the direction to be obtained, and the 

 length of the cast. Having a solid butt (which I prefer to 

 a hollow one), the rod may yet be obtained as light and 

 handy as is consistent with the work in hand ; and any of 

 the well-known London makers may be thoroughly de- 

 pended on for workmanship. Upright or standing rings, as 

 a matter of course, are a sine qua non; without them it is im- 

 possible to throw to any distance without the line " kinking " 

 and knotting up in a horrible tangle perhaps the most 

 annoying thing of all on a cold day, and when fish are 

 feeding. The line used for spinning should be 60 or 70 



