294 



Book of the Black Bass. 



Cleaeing-Eing. 

 The hook, in angling, often becomes fast or foul in 



snags, roots, rocks, or grass, and frequently is thereby 

 lost or broken, to the disgust of the 

 angler. By the employment of a clear- 

 ing-ring the hook can almost invariably 

 Ix! easily detached from these obstruc- 

 tions without damage. These are rings 

 made expressly for the purpose, com- 

 posed of brass or iron, with a hinge to 

 admit of their being readily adjusted to 

 the line. The method of using them is 

 as follows: 

 The ring is opened at the hinge and the line encircled, 



when the ring is again closed and allowed to run down 



the line to the point of obstruction ; the 



weight of the ring detaches the hook, 



when it is drawn up, a hand-line being 



attached to the ring for this purpose. 



If the hook is very firmly fastened to 



the root or snajr, the ring is raised a 



few feet by its cord and allowed to drop 



suddenly, when its weight will usually 



clear the hook. A very good substitiite 



for the clearing-ring, and one easily ob- 

 tained, is the ordinary bar of lead, used 



for maldng bullets. A hole is bored in 



the flat bar, through which the hand- 

 cord is fastened. When used, the bar 



is bent around the fishing-line, forming 



a ring, and is very easily attached or detached. 



