BAITING THE HOOK. 45 



point of the hook, which must be left to wriggle abouj;. 

 Large worms as a rule should have a fourth of their length 

 left loose ; small worms should have "the barb of the hook 

 close to their tails. When dead, the worms should be 

 replaced immediately. It is a waste of time to attempt to 

 entice fish with a dead worm. Particular attention must 

 be paid to the worm in putting it on the hook, so that the 

 skin may not be perforated by the barb when once in the 

 body ; and the tail of the worm should incline inwards, so 

 as to prevent, as far as possible, the worm working the 

 point of the hook through the skin. Fish are quick in 

 detecting the fine point of the hook. 



If the worms are small, two maybe placed on the hook; and 

 this plan I prefer as a rule in practice, as it makes the bait 

 appear more natural, and of course more deadly. It may be 

 done in either of these two ways : the larger of the worms 

 may be threaded in the way above described to about half of 

 its length, the hook may then be brought through, and the 

 worm passed on to the gut. A smaller worm is then 

 chosen, and the hook inserted at such a distance from the 

 head as to bring the point of the hook within a quarter of 

 an inch of the head of the worm. The upper worm is then 

 brought down to meet the smaller worm, and the tails en- 

 twined within the bend of the hook. A second plan is 

 to insert the hook about midway down the worm, and 

 bring it out a little below the tail ; and the second worm 

 should have the hook inserted half an inch below the tail, 

 and brought close to the head. By this plan there are two 

 ends to wriggle and make the bait appear more lively. 

 I cannot too strongly impress the young angler with the 

 necessity of baiting his hook with care, for on it his suc- 

 cess will in a great measure depend. When I come to 



