PRACTICAL LESSONS IN THE GENTLE CRAFT. 483 



loader on " the first," whilst every one else has their Boss or 

 Grant, with breech action, and modified choke, and all the 

 rest of it, and then he grumbles at being left behind ! while 

 the major, as he crams his cartridges in, mutters, politely 



muffling his tones, however, something about " D d old 



muff!" Given, then, a suitable rod, a plain check winch, 

 or, better still, a " Nottingham " holding plenty of line, from 

 70 to 100 yards at least, is the next desideratum. It will 

 be noticed that I advocate more line on the winch for live- 

 baiting than I do for spinning. Why ? I fancy one of my 

 readers' queries. For this simple reason a fish striking 

 at a spinning bait is hooked, or should be, there and then ; 

 and, unless he is a veritable mammoth, he will, by careful 

 management, succumb under 30 or 40 yards' run ; but in 

 live-baiting, unless one is using snap-tackle of which more 

 anon a fish may run fully that quantity off the reel, before 

 he reaches his sanctum sanctorum, and before absolutely 

 pouching the bait. A much finer line can be used in live- 

 baiting than when adopting spinning m Aures, because there 

 is far less friction, hence less wear and tear ; and my idea is 

 that tackle cannot be too fine. Half the fun consists in the " 

 satisfaction that ensues in knowing that you have settled a 

 " grouser " with a thread, as opposed to " the barge rope and 

 pully-hauly system." The next thing to consider, then, is the 

 " trace," which should consist of fine gimp, or better still, 

 stout gut, with three or four swivels in its length, to assist 

 the bait in its gyrations. These swivels, and their free 

 working, are important elements in jack-fishing, so that at 

 the end of a day it is worth while for a piscator to see that 

 they are dry, and indeed all metallic portions of his tackle, 

 before putting them aside. Care in this particular is never 

 thrown away. Touching live-baiting, and when adopting the 

 old-fashioned, and, I am glad to say, nearly played-out 



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