88 Fisninc In AMERICAN WATERS. 
is preferred; and the fine but strong linen leader, or twist- 
ed or braided hair leader a yard long, is armed with a hook 
at each end, one to be baited with a whole soft-shell clam 
by inserting the hook between the shells, and the other 
with the clam taken out of the shell. 
No. 4. Tracing sinker of lead, with a hole through the centre 
longitudinally. All sinkers should be of lead, as one of the 
most ponderous metals. At the upper end of the leader— 
which is the same material as the line—three fourths of a 
yard above hook No. 1, the leader should be tied to a brass 
swivel, and, after running the end of the line through the 
sinker, the end of the line should be tied to the upper end of 
the swivel, to prevent the sinker from falling too near the 
hook, and still to permit the line to play freely through it 
when it rests on a mussel-bed at the bottom, so that the 
angler may feel the slightest nibble. ‘This is also a mark- 
ed point in still-baiting on the bottom for striped bass and 
squeteague. 
No. 5. Sinker for hand-line fishing. Tie the end of line to the 
sinker though the hole in the end. About ten or twelve 
inches above the sinker, tie to the main line a leader with 
a hook like No. 3 at each end. The leader should be near- 
ly a yard long, and if made of hair it will be lighter and 
play easier than if of linen; and when the sinker lies on 
the bed of mussels where sheepshead feed, it is well to have 
the leader so ght that the hooks will be moved about by 
the tide. One hook should be about a foot from the main 
line, and the other two feet. When thus rigged, and you 
have cast as far as you can astern of your anchored boat, 
take up all your slack line and your heavy sinker, which 
will permit you to draw the line straight without moving 
it, and this will enable even a member of the hand-line- 
committee to feel the slightest bite. 
J am thus particular in describing the rig for hand-line fish- 
ing because many good anglers consider the electric dips and 
dives of a “head” too quick for a line to render before break- 
