LEADS FOR WEIGHTING THE LINES. 43 



lead ; this is a very speedy plan, saving the trouble 

 of using sand, &c. Holes are made at either end 

 in any direction with a gimlet much more easily 

 than they can be cast, but if wire loops are 

 wanted in the lead they must be cast in when 

 made. A good kind of lead for catching flat-fish 

 is made by fixing in a heavy conical lead (see Plate 

 III, No. 4) a piece of wire from two to three feet 

 long, with a hole at each end, to which a foot or 

 eighteen inches of gut arc attached, finishing with 

 a hook ; this, when lowered to the bottom, often 

 brings up a couple of fish. I have taken many 

 in this way from Southend Pier, on the flood- 

 tide, having at times a flounder and shad-herring 

 on either hook. Other forms of lead, when re- 

 quired smaller, arc easily made by taking sheet 

 lead, folding it up, and cutting off the requisite size 

 with a hammer and knife. When used it is only 

 necessary to open it and, inserting the line, close 

 it tightly on it (see Plate III, Nos. 2 and 3) . Some 

 people take a Bath-brick and scoop out the shape 

 required for the lead, but this gives much more 

 trouble than sand, and is not, therefore, advised 

 for general adoption. 



In making conger lines for deep-sea fishing it 



