IRISH LOACH-TROLLING. 25 
should be avoided if possible. The single gut foot- 
line is made up precisely in the same way, except 
that here the double knot may be employed. We 
have then a foot-line, single or treble as the case may 
be, the upper end attachable to the fishing-line by 
the eye of the swivel there and a suitable knot of the 
line, in making which caution is required. To the 
other end of the foot-line is to be attached the single 
link of gut carrying the hook and bait, which is next 
to be described. This separate link should be in all 
cases of the very best gut, and always single. To one 
end of it was attached a single hook of lake-fly size, 
or smaller, used for salmon-flies. It was also some- 
times called a drake-hook, somewhat larger than those 
used for common lake-flies. At the other end was 
knotted a longish loop, by which it was readily united 
to, or disunited from, the lower swivel, One small 
but indispensable item was to be added to the finished 
foot-line—the weight. This was generally composed 
of a swan-drop or two, or a single buck-shot, cut 
nearly in half, atid squeezed fast on the upper third 
of the length of the foot-line. The shops sold an 
article made for the purposé, but it was apt to become 
entangled in weeds and stones on a foul bottom. 
The precise weight of the lead can of course be only 
determined by actual experiment—the quality of line, 
hook, swivels, etc., used, influencing the amount of 
weight required. It is of importance, however, that 
