SPINNING AND BAIT FISHING. 405 



12 feet, I should select, in the absence of local guidance, for 

 my 'trial spin' over new water. The sea-trout is also very 

 partial to weeds. 



Regular lake spinning for brown trout is seldom worth 

 while unless they run large, say over a pound at any rate, as 

 otherwise more sport and better will be obtained by fly-fishing. 

 Moreover, spinning for brown trout in lakes is rarely, in my 

 experience, very deadly, unless in waters of considerable size, and 

 in rough windy weather. There are, however, exceptions to 

 this rule, and I have more than once made a good basket of 

 brown trout when the sun was at its brightest, and the surface 

 of the lake like a mill pond, with an ordinary Devon or hex- 

 agonal brass minnow substituted for the fly at the end of the 

 gut-cast, and an extemporised swivel arrangement, by cutting 

 the casting line and 'knotting in' a set of fine double swivels. 

 In this sort of trolling, or 'trailing,' where no weight beyond 

 the brass minnow is required, I found a bit of lead-wire 

 twisted round the gut above the swivels a very efficient prevent- 

 ative of kinking. (See engraving, p 383.) 



In judging of the ground over which it is best to spin, the 

 following additional hints may be of use. 



There is round the shores of almost all lakes a point on 

 the shelving bank under the water line at which light and dark 

 seem to meet ; in other words, where the rocky or gravelly 

 bottom becomes quite invisible, owing to the depth of water. 

 Just about this line, and rather a yard or two outside than 

 inside of it, is usually the best for spinning. The food of both 

 the Great Lake and brown trout consists, to a great extent, of 

 small fry. These usually, in nautical phraseology, more or less 

 < hug the shore,' up which, therefore, stopping short at the 

 shallows, the trout naturally comes in pursuit of them. This 

 question of locality is, as I pointed out in the ' Modern Prac- 

 tical Angler,' rather an important one, as thereupon it depends 

 mainly whether the bait is ever in a position to be seen by the 

 fish it is intended to catch. The observation has special refer- 

 ence also to the Great Lake trout, in regard to which I have 



