170 



When a fish runs off with the "bait and continues 

 quiet for eight or ten minutes, then let the angler 

 strike ; he will not he likely to gain any advantage 

 by giving more time; and "master jack," that he may 

 " swallow the bait safely and securely," as a learned 

 Theban says of the salmon, ought not to be allowed 

 less. In trolling, baits of different sizes may be 

 used, from a small gudgeon to a roach eight -or nine 

 inches long. A large bait is most tempting to large 

 fish, but a small one affords the best chance of 

 hooking them. 



In fishing for pike with live bait, roach and gud- 

 geon are generally preferred, the former as being the 

 most lively upon the hook and most durable, and the 

 latter as most tempting from September to Christmas. 

 Where roach or gudgeon cannot be obtained, any of 

 the fish mentioned as bait in trolling may be em- 

 ployed. In live-bait fishing, it is advisable to use 

 a longer rod than in trolling, in order that the 

 angler, when necessary, may drop or swing the bait to 

 a considerable distance into the water, since to cast 

 it as in trolling would be very likely to render the 

 term "live bait" a misnomer. The hooks, whether 

 single, No. 4, or double, No. 5, are to be whipped on 

 gimp ; the line is to be shotted, to keep the bait 

 down, and a float is to be used, large enough to sus- 

 pend the fish. The single hook is used in two ways ; 

 either by passing it through the lips of the fish 

 at the side of the mouth, or by passing it through 

 the back immediately under the fore part of the 



