136 COARSE FISH. 



gross. Bayonet-pointed hooks have been tried, 

 and are certainly considered the best, but I under- 

 stand the hook-makers will not supply them. A 

 few hooks, far apart, on a spinning flight are much 

 better than a number all crowded together ; one 

 triangle, well driven home, is of more service than 

 two or three lightly struck in ; and, after playing a 

 pike for a considerable time, he will sometimes 

 open his mouth wide and shake his head, and the 

 hooks lose their hold, having never been driven 

 properly home. That is why I like a loose triangle 

 somewhere ; it is entirely free, and not smothered 

 in the bait ; a triangle, loose behind the bait, 

 generally fixes itself firmly in the root of a pike's 

 tongue, which is a good, tough holding-place. On 

 hooking a pike when spinning, there is usually a 

 fluster to start with ; he responds to the strike with 

 a tremendous wrench, and, in shallow water, makes 

 a great swirl on the surface, his mottled sides being 

 visible the while. Do your utmost to avoid slack 

 line ; casting from the reel will stop all this, and 

 with care you can follow or run from your fish 

 without any loose line trailing on the ground ; and 

 the fish is always under proper command. Strike 

 in a direct line in the way the bait is travelling, 

 keeping the line straight between rod and fish. To 

 avoid the trouble of putting on a spinning bait in a 

 correct position on the flight, the " fan " tackles, or 

 tackles with a strip of metal to push into the bait, 

 should be employed. Almost any of the tackle- 

 makers' lists will provide a selection fit for the 

 most fastidious, the difficulty lying rather in the 

 choice amongst so many. If you are livebaiting, 

 and find the fish are only playing with the bait 

 and not " pouching " it, change to spinning ; spin 



