TACKLE AND OUTFIT. 
125 
probably do it with your right thumb and fore¬ 
finger unaided, if you get a firm grip with the 
pliers in your left hand; but, if you cannot, you 
must twist with your other pair of pliers. You 
will get into it after a little practice. 
It has been necessary to deal at length with 
twisting. It is all-important; and steel piano 
wire is such hard, jerky, unaccommodating 
stuff to handle that it is not easy to do well. 
Now your trace is made : three sections of 
wire with a swivel at each end, and you have 
to fasten it to the line at the top and to a bait 
at the bottom. The top fastening is easy 
enough, for you loop the loop of the line through 
the eye of the top swivel. Be sure to remember 
to make this loop so large that the heaviest 
spoon can pass through it freely. The fasten¬ 
ing to your bait is more complicated. Suppose 
it is a spoon : you will see that there is a hole 
bored in the top or small end of the spoon 
through which is threaded a split ring and to 
this are fastened both the hooks and the trace. 
(There are, of course, many ways of arming 
spoons, but this is typical of all.) Split rings 
will not do : they are too highly tempered and 
fragile. The wild shakings of dorado will 
snap them. Do not use them. Throw them 
away, lest you be tempted. Make instead a 
ring of doubled piano wire. Nip off eight 
inches of wire : you do not want so much, but 
shorter lengths of such springy stuff are hard 
