; A. Worp on GAFFING. 57 
Fisu anp Tipe IrresisTIBLe. 
snapped the middle joint of my rod in two, when I threw the 
broken rod down at my feet and took hold of the line; the 
fish made but feeble resistance, and I towed him alongside 
the boat and shouted to Sile for the gaff, but he had thought- 
lessly placed it in the other boat. I then endeavored to put 
my hand in his mouth, and, while in the act, the fish turned 
over, breaking the hook and bleeding profusely as he settled 
off into the tide, leaving us astonished and almost desperate. 
On examination, I learned that a flaw in the hook had been 
the cause of our loss of the fish; but had we rowed ashore 
and towed the fish after the rod broke, we should probably 
have landed him. Thave never since been caught trolling or 
angling for large bass without a gaff and tried hooks; and as 
the gaff is an implement of such high importance, I have given 
the shape and description in another part of this book; but 
the one shaped like F among the “implements,” and from 3 
to 44 inches across the bend from point to shank, made with 
a screw to fit into the gaff handle, leaves little to be desired. 
In using it, drop it below the fish, point upward, and as it is 
raised to the fish, the fish settles against it, and a simple jerk 
impales it. Do not strike a fish with the gaff; insert the 
