SPINNING AND BAIT-FISHING. 421 
lead-wire is a capital substitute for shot, and is less liable tc 
get irremediably ‘stuck’ in rock-crevices, &c. The difficulty is 
to twist it round the soft gut in a satisfactory manner. This 
difficulty, however, I overcome by laying a pin alongside of the 
gut and winding the lead-wire closely over both, The pin 
being withdrawn, the coils can be tightened very readily by 
simply twisting them round with the finger and thumb until 
they grip the gut. This method of weighting is less likely to 
result in damaging the gut than a split shot, which is nipped 
together and jammed on to it with the teeth. 
In order to cast a light line of this sort, which, of course, 
cannot be done at all against the wind unless the line be cast 
as a fly-line, a 13 or 14 foot rod—or even longer—with small 
upright rings, and a fair amount of ‘play’ is desirable. The 
line should be of the very finest dressed silk, not thicker than 
stoutish sewing cotton. The length of cast that can be made 
depends, of course, very much upon the wind ; under ordinary 
circumstances, however, unless heavy sinkers are used, the 
line that can be effectively worked will not much exceed the 
length of the rod, Z/zs the gut cast of two or three yards. 
The best worms for this sort of fishing for trout, and I 
might say, indeed, for every sort of fishing that I am acquainted 
with where small worms are used, is the brandling, or dunghill 
worm, which may be known by its yellowish stripes and the 
pungent odour it emits. This strong smell is, no doubt, one 
cause of its attractiveness as a bait. If brandlings cannot be 
obtained any worm which is of the right size will do—the redder 
the better. It is very important that the worms should be 
thoroughly scoured before being used, as it diminishes the 
chances of their breaking on the hook, as well as improves their 
appearance. The readiest means for scouring is in a large jar 
or box filled with damp moss turned every day or two. 
The hooks figured in the illustration are of the correct size 
for a large brandling of the length shown. When smaller 
worms ave used the size of the hooks, and also the distance 
between them, should be reduced proportionately. 
