80 ANGLING. 



goint downwards. ^ This wire must be attached to a strongish. 

 line of common twine about sixteen or twenty yards in length. 

 About three or four feet above the bait, the line should pass 

 through the centre of an ordinary-sized bung, a small moveable peg 

 being thrust in with it to keep it fast : this peg should be fastened 

 to the bung with a thin thread of twine, which should pass round 

 the rim of the bung to keep it from splitting. Eight or ten inches 

 further from the bait, a very small cork tied to the line will pre- 

 vent it from twisting. These floats are often painted of different 

 colours, which give them a showy appearance in the water. The 

 line thus prepared, must be fastenecl at the other end to a strong 

 peg, six or eight inches long, which must be driven into the 

 ground, on which, when the trimmer is taken up, the line can be 

 wrapped. When the bait is thrown into the water, a few yards of 

 the line should be coiled neatly against the peg, in order to allow 

 the fish to run off with a little more line if necessary. The trim- 

 mer is better without shot or weight of any kind. 



Another kind of trimmer, called the " floating trimmer," is also 

 a very killing affair, _ and is thus constructed. A small roll of 

 wood, seven or eight inches long, has a^mall groove cut round the 

 middle, and a small slit, about half an inch deep, sawn across one 

 of the ends. To the groove in the centre, a line of about fifteen 

 or sixteen yards in length is firmly tied; and when baited as 

 before described, is wound round the roll of wood, with the ex- 

 ception of three or four feet or more above the bait ; it is then 

 drawn through the slit, but not too tightly, so that when a fish 

 seizes the bait he may instantly release it, and run off the roll 

 without the slightest resistance. Some make these trimmers in a 

 fanciful style, using large round bungs, painted different colours 

 on the different sides, with the line so fixed that when the pike 

 takes the bait the trimmer may roll over, and betray the run by 

 the altered colour. This is said to be occasionally amusing ; for 

 our own part, we consider it but a very childish affair. 



The pike is angled for with a large float and a live bait, the 

 hook being thrust under the back fin, or through the nose of a 

 strong gudgeon or roach. A strong gimp hook must be used ; a 

 small bullet to keep down the bait ; a stiff rod, and a pretty strong 

 line. The bait should swim about mid-water if shallow, 1 and not 

 more than three or four feet under any circumstances. In weedy 

 waters, this mode of fishing is worse than useless. The float will 

 not allow the line to run freely through the weeds when the fish 

 bolts off to gorge, and the chances are, that in nine cases out of 

 ten you will not only lose your fish, but injure him also, and 

 damage your tackle as well. Even at the best, and under the 

 most favourable circumstances, it is but a bungling piece of busi- 

 ness, fit only for schoolboys and small amateur anglers. 



Huxing is done by fastening a live bait to a large distendec^ox 

 "bladder, and throwing them into the water as a sort of floating 

 trimmer. When the pike has swallowed the bait, it is capital fun 



