68 AMERICAN ANGLER'S BOOK. 



right is a "hook" Swivel, and that on the left a "box" 

 Swivel. 



Sinkers. — In bottom or bait fishing, sinkers of various sizes 

 and shapes are used ; the weight proportioned to the tide or 

 current. Those in general use are split shot. The sliding- 

 sinker is oblong with a hole running longitudinally through 

 the centre. The advantage of this is, that the bait may drift 

 off with the tide while the sinker is comparatively at rest. 

 The swivel sinker is a combination of sinker and swivel, 

 which allows the snood and bait to revolve; it is seldom used. 



In bottom fishing or trolling deep, where the bottom is 

 rocky, the sinker is apt to be caught foul. To provide 

 against loss of leader and hooks, in such cases, it is better to 

 have the sinker attached, where the leader joins the line, by 

 a piece of weak gut or thread ; so that the angler, if he is 

 obliged to pull away at the risk of losing some of his bottom 

 tackle, may only lose his sinker. 



Swivels are necessary when the bait is required to spin 

 or revolve. The box-swivel is used by looping the leader or 

 bottom through one ring and the line through the other. When 

 it is necessary to disengage the bait and snood from the leader, 

 as in trolling for Pike, the hook-swivel is convenient, and in 

 many cases indispensable. All bottom fishers and trollers 

 should be well supplied with these useful little articles ; steel 

 swivels should be used for fresh-water, and brass swivels for 

 salt-water fishing. 



Floats are made of cork, hollow wood, or quills, of a great 

 variety of shapes and sizes. The quill is preferred for Eoach, 

 Chub, and other fish that bite delicately. The size of the 

 float should always be regulated by the weight of the sinker ; 

 the shape is a matter of fancy. I have whittled shapely floats 

 out of the bark of a pine tree. 



Gut Leaders, Snoods, Traces, &c. — Silk- worm gut, which 



