THE COMPLETE ANGLER. 185 



in contact, and "being arrested by the upper shot or bullet on the foot 

 line. The angler immediately feels the check, and strikes smartly as he 

 does so. Indeed, it often happens that the result of this check is the 

 hooking of the fish, or at any rate the part hooking of him. The lower 

 shot, or knot, prevents the bullet from running down on the bait. In 

 fishing with the ledger-line, you cannot ground-bait too profusely for 

 three or four nights before you begin to fish, and whilst you are doing so 

 throw in, every half hour or so, a large ball of clay stuffed with wornas 5 

 letting it drop by the spot at which your hook-bait lies. The worms for 

 ground-bait should not be scoured, but those for hook-baits should be 

 perfectly so. If you fish with one worm, put it on your hook thus : 

 insert the point of the hook a little below the head into the throat of the 

 worm, and then work it carefully up and beyond the shank, until not 

 more than half an inch of the tail part projects at the point of the 

 hook. You must take care in threading the worm, not to perforate it 

 with the hook's point after the first perforation. When you use two 

 worms on the hook at the same time a practice I warmly advocate for 

 perch and trout fishing, as well as for barbel commence putting on the 

 first worm as before, but bring the hook out at its middle, and then draw 

 the worm above the shank of the hook : take then the second worm, and 

 entering the hook about an inch, or half an inch, according to size, above 

 the tail, work the worm up the hook until its head reaches within one- 

 eighth of an inch of the point. Draw down the upper worm, until the 

 tails of both come into close contact, and you will then have the best 

 vermicular bait that can be used for large fish. If you angle with gentles, 

 you must ground-bait with gentles, and you must fish with as many as 

 you can put on a triangle of number six, seven or eight hooks. Barbel like 

 a large bait, and in fishing for them with prepared cheese, greaves, 

 salmon-roe, or bullock's pith, you must put on your hook of each the size 

 of a large hazel nut. In worm fishing, the best hooks are those that are 

 smoothly round in the bend; in fishing with gentles, pastes, &c., the best 

 are Kirby or Carlisle's "sneck-bend." The latter keep on fragile or fran- 





TEDDINQTON 



