74 A BOOK ON ANGLING 



quickly, or to draw the bait along so rapidly, that he will 

 not give the pike a fair chance of biting. Too swift spinning 

 is a great fault, and it is, indeed, too common a fault in these 

 fast days. The angler likes to be always throwing. " Swish ! " 

 out goes thirty or forty yards of line. " There's a throw, 

 Smith, my boy ! " He likes to see his bait spin like a humming 

 top. " Look at that, Smith, my boy ! can you make a bait 

 spin like that ? " Possibly Smith cannot make a bait spin 

 in that wonderful way, and cannot throw above twenty or 

 thirty yards of line, but somehow Smith, with a short line, 

 runs more fish than our fast friend. It has been the popular 

 myth that a bait travelling at railway pace, and spinning 

 like one long line of silver, is the correct thing, because it 

 imitates a fish in an agony of terror. This argument is sheer 

 nonsense, as fish do not conduct themselves like dancing 

 dervishes or ballet-masters, and perform pirouettes when in 

 a fright. They run away and turn, perhaps, from side to side, 

 as the swimmer does, to gain increased power by concen- 

 trating every effort now to one point, and then, as a relief, 

 to the other. The long, slow wobble of a badly spinning bait 

 is much more like the real thing no doubt, but it is necessary 

 to make the fish turn somewhat rapidly in order that the 

 pike may not have too much uninterrupted inspection of the 

 eight or ten hooks that encumber one side of the lure, and in 

 order to present the silver side, constantly changing and 

 flashing in the light, to attract the attention of the fish, which 

 a badly spinning bait will not do ; and it is to be borne in 

 mind, that unless the bait spins very well indeed when drawn 

 rapidly through the water, it will, when drawn only moderately 

 slowly, as is preferable, hardly spin at all ; therefore it is 

 desirable that the bait should spin well. 



The best kind of line for spinning, unless the angler be 

 fishing with Nottingham tackle, or casting from the reel, 

 is plaited silk dressed. In choosing the line, see that it be 

 neither too fine nor too bulky. If it be too fine it will be 

 constantly kinking in throwing, and it will not stand the 

 requisite amount of wear and tear attendant on jack-fishing. 

 If it be too bulky it does not go so freely through the rings, 

 and much shortens the cast, besides being too visible to the 

 fish. If very heavy baits be required and large fish be ex- 

 pected a stouter line must of course be used. Select a line 

 that is neither too dry nor too sticky as regards the dressing. 

 If it be too dry the dressing on the line cracks in places and 



