138 COARSE FISH. 



if not all, of this annoyance. In streams, the current 

 prevents any sunken line, and travellers need not 

 be used, except perhaps in some very quiet eddy. 

 Nowadays, in livebaiting, snap tackle is almost 

 universally employed ; the old system of threading 

 a bait under the skin from the shoulder to the tail 

 with a baiting-needle has gone out, and was, in 

 fact, only another gorge-bait. Livebait tackles are 

 now made with either a single hook and a triangle, 

 or simply with two triangles ; personally, I prefer 

 the latter. The triangle may be made with two 

 large hooks and one small hook each, or the upper 

 triangle only may have a small hook, the lower 

 being allowed to hang perfectly loose beside the 

 bait. Where two triangles are used, each should have 

 one small hook ; the upper triangle is hooked in the 

 bait, inserting the small hook behind, or just below, 

 the back fin ; the lower triangle is hooked (by the 

 small hook) near the side of the throat of the bait, 

 or, better still, in the horny gill-cover, without 

 damaging the bait more than can be helped. Live- 

 baiting must always be a more or less cruel prac- 

 tice, but by no means so barbarous as the old 

 .system of threading a bait. The double hold in a 

 bait frequently prevents it being thrown off in a 

 long throw. Another livebait tackle has one 

 single hook, a large sneck bend, for preference, to 

 enable the bait to breathe freely and to take well 

 hold of the pike ; this is passed through both lips 

 of the bait, and, in situations where little throwing 

 is required, is a good tackle. Hooking the second 

 triangle at the head of the bait is the best plan, as 

 jack pouch the bait head first, seizing the bait 

 crosswise, and turning it. The triangle thus goes 

 down towards the gullet, and gets a good hold in a 



