^Tn^Z^Ei*] - Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission

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Spinning In England
Some Worthwhile Tips from Across fhe Sea
By E. BURTON
9 Potuis Court, The Rutts, Bushey Heath, Herts, England
^Editor's Note; it may be interesting to know
B Mr. Burton is the co-author of "Fisherman's
Book" and that he also holds the English
?"Jning record on pike. Mr. Burton is a very
i°«flc writer and we are certain that our
^ders will enjoy his interesting dissertation.)
: U
Since last writing to the ANGLER, it has
furred to me that your readers would
* 6 to have details of how to make a lure
F spinning tackle that has proved to be
Mnner here.
These lures are easily made, cheap, and
can be changed at the waterside,
lost important point) and finally—THEY
°0 NOT TWIST THE LINE. I have fished
? e of these lures all day on one of the
^6st French nylon lines (monoplament
^'100°) made, this line has a breaking
*ain of only 0.65 kilogram (a kilogram is
bivalent to 2.2046 lbs.) and is as fine
* a hair. After a good day's fishing in fast
fitter the line showed no sign of twist.
§* making this lure one will require the
"lowing materials:
R. spoon blade
A- length of stiff fine wire
^ spit ring and barrel swivel
6 treble eyed hook
Two small wire springs
.Personally I never use a spoon larger than
/*', my favorite one has a spoon of 1"
By. This of course is a matter of the
t?ter to be fished and personal preference.
have found in practice that the old saying
I The larger the bait, the bigger the fish,"
,° 6 s not prove to be correct. A small bait,
; "-ed intelligently will catch big fish, when
^, ge lures and plugs are ignored.
SIDE VIEW
ER—194»
45
To get on with making the bait; take
the small split ring and put on the swivel,
then take the spoon and with a pair of
pliers bend the end to an angle of 45°.
Now place the spoon on the split ring. After
this, take the stiff wire and bend one end
into a spring loop, slip the small wire spring
over the long end, hook the loop into the
split ring, pinch together and slide the spring
over to grip the end tight. Let the spoon
lay on the wire, push on the other spring,
and make another spring loop in the wire
so that when the hook is placed in the loop
it swings freely just below the spoon. This
is most important.
This lure has a very lively action in the
water and can be retrieved very slowly
and still work well. If it is desired to fish
deep water a little lead wire can be wound
round the wire holding the hook. Without
this extra weight these lures cast about
SPRING SLIPPED OVER
60 to 80 feet, and sink about 3 feet per
second. If, in very fast water, they work
on the surface, this can be overcome by
placing a small lead bullet on the leader before
attaching the lure. Cast across a fairly
fast stream, and fished slowly, this lure
accounted for 67 lbs. of trout during a recent
holiday in Wales. This is good going from
English standards. Friends who have made
up larger sizes tell me they are good for
pike, but so far I have not used them pike
fishing. I should be glad to hear of results
should any of the readers of the PENN­
SYLVANIA ANGLER care to try out this lure.
It is essentially designed for threadline
however.
FRONT VIEW
BEND HERE
0
WIRE —
HOO
-SWIVEL
-SPLIT RING
—SPOON
George W. Forrest
in the York Gazette and Daily
During the past several years there have
been increasing violations recorded against
anglers who run afoul of the Fish code
with regard to the taking and possession
of minnows for bait fish. Increased fishing
pressure has taken a heavy toll of the minnows
in our small feeder streams. You have
only to try to get bait in your favorite run
these days to acknowledge the truth of this
situation.
Some years ago an angler could make a
couple of swipes with his net and have
enough fat minnows to start off on a fishing
trip. Today you work and work hard
to secure your allowed 35 and you'd better
count 'em and recount 'em because any
ever 35 cost you plenty in fines. In hot
weather there are many times you have
trouble keeping minnows alive. I've seen
fellows jam a bucket of bait into the trunk
of the car, drive 30 or 40 miles to a fishing
spot and wondered why their bait died on
the way. When this happens, there's nothing
to do but start all over again. This means
that 70 minnows have been cleaned out of
our streams which doesn't conserve our
dwindling supply at all.
There are many schemes and devices used
by anglers to keep minnows fresh and lively.
Water temperature is important. I've observed
anglers taking minnows from the
cold water of a spring run in the bucket
and plunk them direct into the warm water
of the river . . . that was all for the minnows!
The other day I saw a new outfit on
the market which looks like a regular floating
minnow pail with an aerator attached
operated with a "hot shot" dry battery from
your boat, your car battery or a small dry
cell unit attached. The rubber hose connection
leads into the bucket and virtually
throws oxygen into the water with a constant
stream of air. The entire outfit is
light, easy to handle and appears to be an
excellent method of conserving our bait
fish.
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