FRANCIS TACKLE. 73 



The triangle on the short gut flies loose over 

 the tail. The only fault of this tackle is that 

 the young angler will find some little difficulty 

 at first in placing the bait neatly on it ; other- 

 wise it is excellent, as no weight is required 

 on the trace. 



An improvement on this is the old pattern 

 " Francis " tackle, a drawing of which is 

 annexed. The large hook is attached to a 

 baiting-needle, which is then entered in the 

 centre of the tail of a minnow or other small 

 fish, and brought out again at the mouth ; the 

 gut being brought through till the large hook 

 is entirely inside the minnow, the tail of which 

 thus receives its proper curve. Remove the 

 needle, and pass the long gut through the 

 small loops on the lip-hook, which being run 

 through both lips will cause the bait to 

 appear much the same as " Hawker's," but 

 without the lead cap. 



No. 8, at page 22, is baited thus : the lead 

 is pushed down the throat of the minnow, the 

 lip-hook is passed through both lips, and the 

 first triangle is fixed in the back, just beyond 

 the dorsal fin, so as to make the bait spin. 



The baits for small streams may be either 

 minnows, or small, bright gudgeons. I prefer 

 the latter, as they spin better and last longer, 

 whereas the minnows soon tear, and become 

 useless. 



For larger streams I prefer a small bleak, 

 which has, when properly placed on the hooks, 



