[v.02 p.0025]

Spinning, &c.—­Mid-water fishing, as has been said, broadly consists in the use of a small fish, or something that simulates it, and its devices are aimed almost entirely at those fish which prey on their fellows.  Spinning, live-baiting and trolling[1] are these devices.  In the first a small dead fish or an imitation of it made in metal, india-rubber, or other substance, is caused to revolve rapidly as it is pulled through the water, so that it gives the idea of something in difficulties and trying to escape.  In the second a small fish is put on the angler’s hook alive and conveys the same idea by its own efforts.  In the third a small dead fish is caused to dart up and down in the water without revolving; it conveys the same idea as the spinning fish, though the manipulation is different.

[Footnote 1:  Trolling is very commonly confused in angling writing and talk with trailing, which simply means drawing a spinning-bait along behind a boat in motion.]

Bottom-Fishing.—­Bottom-fishing is the branch of angling which is the most general.  There is practically no fresh-water fish that will not take some one or more of the baits on the angler’s list if they are properly presented to it when it is hungry.  Usually the baited hook is on or near the bottom of the water, but the rule suggested by the name “bottom-fishing” is not invariable and often the bait is best used in mid-water; similarly, in “mid-water fishing” the bait must sometimes be used as close to the bottom as possible.  Bottom-fishing is roughly divisible into two kinds, float-fishing, in which a bite is detected by the aid of a float fastened to the line above the hook and so balanced that its tip is visible above the water, and hand-fishing, in which no float is used and the angler trusts to his hand to feel the bite of a fish.  In most cases either method can be adopted and it is a matter of taste, but broadly speaking the float-tackle is more suited to water which is not very deep and is either still or not rapid.  In great depths or strong streams a float is difficult to manage.

The Fish.

It is practically impossible to classify the fish an angler catches according to the methods which he employs, as most fish can be taken by at least two of these methods, while many of those most highly esteemed can be caught by all three.  Sporting fresh-water fish are therefore treated according to their families and merits from the angler’s point of view, and it is briefly indicated which method or methods best succeed in pursuit of them.