WORMS UNIVERSAL BAITS. 245 



tail of the first worm, so that no part of the hook 

 can be seen. Be sure to bring the second worm 

 well on, and before you throw in (which should 

 always be done as gently as possible, letting your 

 line down quietly into the water up to the float), 

 turn its tail in, so as to hang down between the 

 point and the shank." 



I have been minute in pointing out the best 

 angling worms, and how they are to be put upon 

 hooks, and I have quoted authorities partly for 

 and partly against my own judgment, in order 

 that the learner may have an opportunity of 

 " trying conclusions," as Papa Walton says, and 

 want no sort of information touching worm- 

 fishing, which upon the whole is the best and 

 most general way of angling at or near the 

 bottom, and frequently answers well at mid- 

 water, and at night even on the surface. Worms 

 of some kind or other are taken by fish in every 

 clime, in fresh water and in salt water, and they 

 afford the angler a never-failing resource. He 

 who knows how to angle with them has a sport- 

 ing relaxation ever at hand, and he who can bait a 

 hook with a worm for a gudgeon, can bait one 

 with other baits, be they pieces of fish, of meat, 

 small animals, or any other likely lure, for her- 

 rings, mackerel, whiting, cod, or monster shark. 

 By river or sea- side he can amuse himself, and 

 he can break in upon the monotony of an ocean 



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