SINKING THE LIVE BAIT. 165 



with a live minnow, the float need not be heavy ; 

 but if you angle with a large gudgeon, your float 

 must be sufficiently large to prevent either your 

 gudgeon, dace, or roach from lugging it beneath 

 the surface of the water. The float is chiefly 

 used to prevent whatever live bait you may use 

 from sinking deeper than you deem advisable, 

 but neither it, nor the lead on the line, should be 

 so heavy as to hinder your bait from swimming 

 horizontally on any side. You lead your line 

 also, but for a different object, viz. to keep down 

 your bait, and to prevent it from swimming up 

 to the surface of the water. Generally speaking, 

 you so place your float on the foot-line that the 

 length of the latter on the hook-side will equal 

 half the depth of the water you are fishing in. 

 Observe this ratio in somewhat shallow waters 

 three feet deep, a foot more or less. In deep 

 waters, where the largest fish roam, you ,must 

 sink your bait more deeply, about two thirds or 

 more of the whole depth. 



You must angle with strong, lively baits, and 

 put them on your hooks with as little injury as 

 possible, that they may swim about actively and 

 for a long time, and appear very unlike captives 

 to the fish you wish them to captivate. Gene- 

 rally speaking, you will find a single hook answer; 

 its size to be proportioned to the bait small for 

 the minnow, large for the gudgeon, and stil 



M 3 



