loo ANGLING 



best plan is to draw from the winch as much line as is 

 necessary, and let it lie in loose folds on the grass or 

 held ia loops in the left hand. The bait should hang 

 about a yard from the end of the rod, and when moving 

 freely with a swinging motion you are ready for your 

 first cast. 



It is sometimes advisable to bait a few gorge-hooks 

 previously to starting, as they will save trouble on an 

 emergency, and probably be sufficient for the day's sport. 

 Put them, when baited, into a little bran, and they will 

 keep stiff and fresh until you want them. 



There are various opinions about the sort of bait 

 which is best adapted for the pike. Some recommend 

 frogs, some roach, dace, gudgeon, bleak, miunows, and 

 even perch, with the back fin cut off. Some, again, main- 

 tain that mice, birds, bats, etc., are accepted as dainties ; 

 whilst others have affirmed that eels cut up into small 

 bits are perfectly irresistible. 



Though we have given the place of honour to trolling 

 proper, it is not because it represents the perfection of 

 pike-fishing, but because it can be practised in any 

 waters, not too full of weeds, where pike abound. The 

 favourite mode of fishing for pike is termed spinning. 



In waters tolerably free from weeds and other 

 obstructions, it is far superior to trolling. The rod and 

 reel line are the same. The gimp trace fitted with two 

 well-oiled swivels may also be used, but the mode of 

 attaching the bait to the hooks is essentially different. 

 Every person unacquainted with an angler's gear must 

 have wondered at a formidable combination of plain 

 and triangular hooks, which is termed a spinning-flight. 

 These flights are of numerous shapes and combinations, 

 and every angler fancies some pattern of his own. 

 Indeed, the pattern is not of so much consequence as 

 the spinning of the fish in the water when it is thrown 

 in, and moves to and fro like a splendid glittering fish, 

 wounded, and therefore to the pike a tempting morsel. 

 A movable lip-hook, and one loose triangle at least, is 

 essential. The bait must be so fixed on the remaining 

 hooks as to receive a slight twist on which the water can 



