2o8 COARSE FISH. 



when fishing with livebait ; when the water can 

 be worked without lead, the trace may be of fine 

 Li ve . undrawn gut, that is when you can let a 

 baiting hooked fish run without danger. A lip- 

 hook and one triangle make a good livebait tackle, 

 the triangle being about one to one and a half inches 

 from the lip-hook. I have found a second triangle, 

 three to three and a half inches from the lip-hook, 

 of great service when fish come short. In live- 

 baiting, it is often difficult to get the bait to swim 

 properly ; it should swim in the most natural 

 position, straight in the water, in the same way as 

 an unhooked fish. Some baits swim best when 

 hooked through the upper lip, others through the 

 lower ; they are of different shapes, and the 

 alteration of the lip-hook frequently makes a 

 difference. If the bait drags on its side, it is not 

 fishing well ; and some bleak will not fish properly, 

 something in their shape or weight causing them to 

 hang wrong, or the tackle not suiting them. Only 

 a single triangle should be used (with the lip-hook) 

 when live-baiting in the open stream, and the 

 triangle should rest loosely on the back of the 

 bleak between the dorsal fin and the head. If 

 the gut is very fine, the triangle should be tied 

 closer to the lip-hook than usual, and not dangle 

 alongside the bait. A small pear-shaped, or 

 conical, lead is placed on the gut, two to three feet 

 from the bait ; and to avoid chafing the gut, it is a 

 good plan to put the lead on a second strand of 

 gut, knotting this strand at each end of the lead to 

 the main line. For livebaiting in very quiet 

 water, or in shallows, do not employ lead at all. 

 The hook that holds the bait should always be run 

 through a lip, and not under or near the back-fin, as 



