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The free line has this further advantage, and a very important one: the fish strike against the rod, not against the bubble, which allows you to strike the fish before he can spit it out. Also, you have a better chance of hooking the fish because you do not have to move the bubble before the hook can be set. It comes under the heading of keeping in constant communication with the business end of your gear without having the information held up or sidetracked permanently by the intervening bubble. Although some fish have made my rod jump in taking Dan's juicy-looking Devil's Scratcher, particularly when it bulged the surface, usually the strikes are so imperceptible that they might well pass unnoticed by the beginner and he will go fishless while the experienced man, alongside, will fill his creel with big ones. It is always good operational procedure to lift the rod a little every time the bubble acts the least bit unnatural. If no fish is engaged, no damage has been done. The float has not been moved from its natural drift, thanks to the slip-attachment, and you can continue to fish out the cast uninterrupted. 15A Figure 15. The blood knot is the strongest knot for linking two pieces of almost the same diameter line. It tests 86 per cent. Twist one end of the joining lengths 3 1/2 times and turn the bend back (15A). 15B
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