194 TROUT FISHING 



end triplet is useful to pick up stragglers ; and 

 many fish that have not pluck enough to go at 

 the minnow heartily, but keep following after it, 

 will be caught, which, without it, would escape 

 altogether. 



The tackle sold by Mr. Farlow, which has the 

 spinning part of the artificial minnow, with a lead 

 spill for insertion into the minnow itself, is another 

 excellent arrangement for spinning the natural bait. 



The minnow is decidedly a very killing bait, 

 and, as a rule, it will beat any other bait I am 

 acquainted with in point of size of trout. It 

 is, too, a pretty general bait from the biggest 

 and broadest stream to the smallest brook, the 

 minnow is destructive. The season of the year 

 extends from about the middle of April to the end 

 of the season. I think very early in the year the 

 minnow is not of much use : the fish at this time 

 being too sickly and feeble to be out in the feed- 

 ing spots, take their food in too quiet a manner 

 for the minnow, but a well-conditioned trout can 

 seldom resist the tempting presence of a spinning 

 minnow. Trout take the minnow well of a morn- 

 ing, and often continue to do so all day, eyen to 

 late of an evening : but it is by no means a bait 

 we can depend on to kill well, or better than 

 others throughout a day ; indeed it is a very 

 precarious and uncertain bait. If the trout are 

 taking it well, that is to say, if the trout are 

 taking it in the small feeding spots, and taking it 

 with a hearty and determined will, resolutely 

 making their dash and catching hold of it lustily 



