THE DARTMOUTH RIG. 



inch bar of iron, to receive the leather. The arms are from 6 

 to 10 inches long, and have eyes at their ends for the snood and 

 hooks, with the swivels. The angular bending of the wire makes 

 it hang true with the tide, and sometimes the wire is cast into' 



the lead and bent to the re- 

 quired angle afterwards. Fishing 

 for Whiting or for Pout with this 

 gear, raise the lead one to two 

 feet from the bottom after sound- 

 ing ; but for Dabs, Plaice, or 

 Flounders it should be just off 

 the ground. The length of the 

 snoods may be 2 or 2^ feet, and 

 the most useful weights for leads 

 one and two pounds. For offing- 

 fishing quite double are requisite, 

 and frequently heavier. I con- 

 sider this to be the best of all the 

 chopstick methods, and prefer 

 the wire to work on the leather 

 to being cast into the lead. For 

 beginners I recommend the snoods to be only a trifle longer 

 than one arm of the wire, but after a little use they may be 

 lengthened to 2 or 2^ feet. 



The Dartmouth Rig (fig. 4) consists of a conical dip-lead of 

 from two to five pounds' weight, slung by a piece of Cod-line 

 having an eye spliced at either end, to which is lashed a 

 spreader of either whalebone, brass, or galvanised iron wire, 

 the two latter to be preferred. For the heavier weight three- 

 eighths wire 1 8 inches long, for the smaller quarter-inch 

 i ft. in length. The illustration represents the gear in the 

 act of descending, and the use of the spreader or chopstick 

 will be rendered evident at a glance in keeping the snood and 

 hooks apart from the line. When the bottom is sounded the 

 lead is raised sufficiently to keep the hooks just off the ground, 

 the requisite height depending on the strength of the tide, 

 which accordingly streams out the snood and hooks more or 

 less as the case may be. If a good stream of tide is running, 



FIG. 3. The Kentish Rig. 



