78 BOTTOM FISHING. 



" tack" (just below a knot) is then inserted in the 

 incision, which is now closed, and occasionally it may 

 be, for better security, wrapped with a scrap of silk 

 or waxed thread. The leaf is fitted and found not 

 only to act well as a float, but also in the midst of a 

 bright sunlit water to materially aid the guile, by 

 shading the tackle. The least possible stir or move- 

 ment is made manifest by the flat and flexible leaf. 

 Porcupine quills are the best floats for all-round work. 

 For heavy water and large fish it is sometimes 

 necessary to have these mounted with a little cork, 

 but no conspicuously bright colouring matter should 

 be used in its finish. A speck of bright colour (say 

 vermilion) certainly aids the eye when placed upon the 

 tip of the quill, so as to project out of the water ; 

 indeed, this is a wrinkle that every float fisher is not 

 acquainted with. The new luminous floats are very 

 useful for special purposes, though we cannot say we 

 think it probable they will ever become generally 

 used, float fishing in the dark not being at present 

 a popular pastime. 



The runners appended to the float should be of 

 rubber ; these being flexible fit any ordinary-sized 

 quill. The non-flexible runners are a nuisance, and 

 should ever be avoided. They are always cracking 

 when dry, and are highly inconvenient in more- ways 

 than one. 



The best and strongest gut (silkworm for piscatorial 

 purposes) is round and smooth, clear as window- 

 glass, or as the limestone spring. The milky-white 

 glaring gut, so often met with, should be studiously 



