402 SALMON AND TROUT. 
the smaller the prawn and the finer the tackle the better the 
chance of success. 
‘The most suitable rod for prawn fishing is a light cane 
trolling rod about 14 feet long, or a grilse rod with a short top 
and upright rings. I prefer the latter, as there is a certain 
amount of spring in it and it is pleasanter to fish with. Mal- 
loch’s new patent trolling reel is admirably adapted to this 
style of bait fishing, as with it you can pitch your prawn out 
with a very slight amount of lead on the line. This cannot 
be done with the Nottingham reel, which requires a line to be 
heavily weighted. 
‘The line should be a very fine dressed one, not thicker than 
a fine trout line. A stouter line would be useless, as it would 
not pay out through the rings. The line should be constantly 
tested, as it soon wears out from friction, &c. The rotary 
motion given to the line when paid off the drum of a Malloch’s 
reel is apt to make the line kink ; to avoid this a small swivel 
should be attached to it about a foot above where it is fastened 
to the trace—an ordinary single-gut casting-line, fine or stout 
according to the state of the water, with a swivel in the middle, 
and weighted according to the rapidity and depth of the stream. 
The heavier the weight the farther of course the bait can be 
thrown. With only one shot you could not expect to cast 
far, but as the water must be very low when such a light weight 
is advisable, the distance required can generally be made up 
by wading. 
‘A certain amount of experience is required to judge the 
proper quantity of lead to be used, and it should be borne in 
mind that the prawn should not be allowed to drag the bottom 
as in worm fishing. The line should be weighted so that the 
prawn should work about midway between the surface of the 
stream and the bottom. 
‘There are several different methods of fishing with the 
1 Mr. W. Haynes, fishing-tackle maker, of 3 Patrick Street, Cork, has in- 
vented a needle with a slit in it that saves much time in putting on a prawn, 
and renders binding with silk unnecessary.—Ep, 
