248 BAITING WITH TWO GENTLES. 



your rod, by striking too hard. One gentle on a 

 No. 10 or 11 hook will often succeed when more 

 are refused, and the fish shy." 



In angling with two gentles, insert the point of 

 the hook by the head of one, and pass it out near 

 the tail. Insert the point of the hook near the 

 tail of the second gentle, and push it up the hook 

 to meet the tail of the other gentle. The hook 

 should be inserted as close inside the skins of the 

 gentles as possible. The point of the hook is to 

 meet the skin of the second gentle close inside its 

 head. Gentle hooks should be made of very fine 

 wire. 



Towards the middle of the day when fish are 

 rising at insects on the surface of the water, a 

 gentle placed on the point and bend of a hook on 

 which a red-winged artificial fly is dressed will be 

 found a killing bait, especially for chub, dace, and 

 roach. The straw-bait used in the same way will 

 kill trout and grayling well. Mr. Elaine observes, 

 " The angler will sometimes find, while he is 

 roach and dace fishing, that as the day advances 

 towards its meridian, the roach and dace he may 

 have been hitherto taking with success, will gra- 

 dually leave off biting, and from the bottom will 

 show themselves above, the dace at mid-water, 

 and the roach but a little below the surface. This 

 circumstance will afford him an amusing oppor- 

 tunity of varying his practice by mounting on a 



