88 PIKE AND OTHER COARSE FISH. 



I tried formerly a long series of experiments with wire, both 

 single and twisted, of different sorts. Although very strong 

 and fine, however, none of my experiments were sufficiently 

 encouraging to lead me' to adopt wire as a permanent substitute 

 for gut or gimp. The difficulty was always that with certain 

 particular sharp turns or hitches, the wire, whether single or 

 twisted, was apt to break, and generally was much less easy to 

 manipulate. Mr. Charles Farlow has lately, however, brought 

 out some twisted copper-wire specially intended for extra 

 strong traces for pike, or mahseer fishing. This wire is 

 annealed by some special process which makes it as tough and 

 impossible to break under any complication of twisting as gimp 

 itself. Indeed, its strength is enormously in excess of that of 

 gimp, and it is admirably stained of a dark neutral tint. Al- 

 though I have not had the opportunity of putting this invention 

 to the only real test — practice, I can feel no doubt whatever that 

 it would certainly form an admirable substitute for gut or gimp 

 in the portion of the trace above the lead, and very likely for 

 that below the lead also, though on this point I express no 

 decided opinion. The twisted wire is so exceedingly strong 

 and tough that there can be no advantage in using any but the 

 finest sizes, which would probably be at least equal in strength 

 to the running line itself The next point is 



THE SWIVELS, 



which should be double, and having for convenience of shifting 

 baits, &c, one of the hook-swivels figured at page 28. These 

 two swivels will be found all that are ever required upon the 

 spinning-trace. Immediately above the swivels comes 



THE LEAD, 



and this brings us to the question of the second great drawback 

 of spinning, namely, ' kinking,' and its cure. 



Vexatious as must, doubtless, be the loss of a fish owing to 

 the faulty construction of the flight, for sheer downright aggra- 

 vation and ' cussedness ' there is nothing equal to the ' kinking ' 



