236 COARSE FISH. 



with a pair of pliers, bending the upper fan down and 

 the lower one up. This makes the bait spin the reverse 

 way, and soon takes any twists out of the line. If twists 

 appear again, the fans must again be reversed ; but this 

 twisting seldom occurs if the swivels on the trace are in 

 good order. The price of the bait is rather high, but 

 there is considerable work in it. It kills bass and 

 pollack, and I have used it with great success for pike, 

 perch, and chub ; I have also taken trout with it when 

 spinning for perch. The best pike I have had with it 

 went over i&^ lbs. ; this was in the Hampshire Stour, 

 and the "Wagtail" amply proved its value on three 

 successive days ; the pike were playing with livebait and 

 not taking the natural spinning bait well, but they were 

 greedy for the "Wagtail." The keeper, to whom I 

 showed the bait, had a very poor opinion of it at first 

 sight, but I think he changed his mind when he saw 

 what it would do. I get more pike in the Thames with 

 the " Wagtail " than with anything else ; it may be new 

 to them, and will perhaps not kill so well when they fret 

 used to it. 



This is a " clip " tackle, patented by Messrs. Hardy, 

 with fans to make the bait spin (see p. 129). 

 „ J^^^ A gudgeon, bleak, dace, or other fish is inserted 

 dile " " ^^ '^^ open tackle, which is then closed, driving 

 spinner the spikes into the bait, and a barbed, turned 

 over point goes right through the bait, clipping 

 in a notch in the other half of the tackle and fixing 

 the bait most firmly, and doing away with the discom- 

 fort of hooks pulling out of the bait. The tackle is 

 well armed with triangles, and I have used it with con- 

 siderable success. 



Spinning is the term given to the art of angling with a 



revolving bait. Swivels are necessary to prevent 



ninff" ^^^ ^^^^ twisting, especially when spinning in 



fast water. The line is generally leaded above 



the swivels or at the bait itself. Drop-leads,^ i.e., leads 



whose chief weight hangs below the line, greatly assist in 



keeping the line free of twists. The spinning action is 



imparted by curving the bait or by fans at its head. 



^ For illustration of drop-leads, see "Thames Trouting," p. 207. 



