THE LINE AND FLOAT. 37 



in good order, although the line may be well 

 dried before putting away. 



A fisherman who, from a false notion of 

 economy, merely sports his thirty yards or so 

 of line, and breaks off now and then a yard or 

 two when the end has got tender from constant 

 wear, or has it broken off for him by a good 

 fish, finds that he has hardly enough left to 

 afford a Pike a fair run, especially in a wide 

 stream. Then to make his remaining line 

 serviceable he splices a piece on, and the first 

 time he runs a heavy fish, the chances are ten 

 to one that the splice will somehow or other 

 knot up or catch in the rings, and before it is 

 clear again, he makes the discovery that the 

 float has come up, and the fish, as soon as he 

 felt the check, has left the bait, ,most likely 

 bitten in half, or so crushed as to be useless. 

 Therefore, always have a line long enough at 

 first, of the best plaited silk, and prepared with 

 waterproof dressing. 



Proceeding in the order in which the tackle 

 would be put together, we come to the Live- 

 bait Float. I prefer one of this shape, with a 



