Home › Contents › Shooting the Line

Shooting the Line

The line must be shotted, that the float may partially sink in the water; and in putting on the shots, place them all together within three inches of the bottom loop of the line; to which loop fix the loop of the hair or gut to which the hook is tied. When you make a line of silk, gut, or hair, remember it must be always finest at the bottom, where the hook is fastened, very gradually increasing in thickness to the top.

THE FLOAT. There are various kinds of floats, each adapted for different kinds of fishing. The principal are : 1. Tip-capped floats; 2. Cork floats; 3. Plugged floats. The tip-capped floats are made of several pieces of quills, or of reed for the middle, and ivory or tortoiseshell for the top and bottom, and narrow at each end, gradually increasing in circumference to the middle. They are superior to all others for angling in waters which are not very rapid, particularly in roach fishing, as the least movement or fine bite sinks them below the water. The tip-capped float is also best for pond fishing for carp and tench, as it requires but few shot to sink it, and consequently disturbs the water but little when cast. The young angler should note that the caps which fix the lines to the float are not rough at the edge, as this roughness chafes and weakens a fine line; should this be the case, he should smooth them before use. The best caps are made of gutta-percha.

Cork Floats are generally made of quills at the top, with a piece of cork, which is burned or bored in the middle to admit the quill, and then filed or ground down smooth and painted. The bottom is plugged with wood, and has a ring to let the line pass through. Cork floats are well calculated to fish in heavy or rapid streams, as they require a great many shot to sink them, which weight of shot prevents the baited hook from passing too rapidly over the bottom. Cork floats are made of various sizes and forms; instead of common quills, some introduce the quills of the porcupine, which make an excellent strong float. Except for live-bait fishing a tapering cork float is preferable to a round one.

Plugged Floats.--These kind of floats are the cheapest, and made of indifferent quills, some of them of one goose quill with a wooden plug at the bottom, from which they take their name: they are very apt to loosen by the plug coming out. They are often used by the young angler, because they are cheap; but we may say in the words of the ancient Roman, "Bad is the best".