260 FLY-FISHING. 



happened to my reel ; it seemed to be in perfect 

 order, but would not move ; I tried to drive the 

 shaft out of its bearing with the mallet — a heavy club 

 of wood used to Eill the fish after they are gaffed, 

 but only after a good hour's work did I succeed in 

 separating it, and found that for want of oil the two 

 surfaces had become almost solid. They were as 

 bright as burnished gold, and had evidently been 

 heated by the first desperate rush of the fish; after 

 being touched with a drop of oil and replaced, they 

 worked beautifully. 



It is curious to note how, in salmon-fishing, acci- 

 dents will happen when the fish is on the hook ; if 

 the line is weakened, or the leader fretted, or the rod 

 strained, the weight and power of the fish expose 

 the weakness ; if anything is aught but perfect, it 

 gives way at that critical moment. In trout-fishing 

 you are apt to discover the defects in time, and in 

 bass-fishing the tackle is coarse and strong ; but in 

 salmon-fishing you first learn their presence by their 

 parting. Never use a doubtful strand of gut, or a 

 second-quality hook; never tie a knot without 

 thoroughly testing it, and never use a leader that is in 

 the least worn. 



The best line by far, for both salmon and trout- 

 fishing, is the braided silk covered with a water- 

 proof preparation, and tapered to the fineness of the 

 gut-leader. If this can be obtained no other should 

 be thought of, but if it cannot, the others are about 

 on a disgraceful par of mediocrity ; the one that is 

 usually praised, that of silk and horse-hair mixed, 



