t of the
imitation theory, and has been evolved from the wet fly in course of
closer observation of the habits of flies and fish in certain waters.
Both wet and dry fly methods are really a substitute for the third and
oldest kind of surface-fishing, the use of a natural insect as a bait.
Each method is referred to incidentally below.

[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