WINTER ANGLING. 253 



shrine of the good Saint Izaak, who casts aside his 

 panoply after the last bout of autumn and gives no 

 thought to it again till spring makes her annual jail- 

 delivery of imprisoned life. Constant care of the be- 

 longings of his art, be he fly or bait fisher, is character- 

 istic of the faithful angler, and only simple justice 

 to the tackle maker. There is nothing sadder or more 

 dejected-looking than a crippled rod and a neglected 

 "kit" full of snarled lines, rusty hooks, and moth- 

 eaten flies. 



In the matter of winter angling, the fly-fisherman 

 has a decided advantage over him who uses bait alone. 

 The art for him has more side issues. He may, if he 

 can, learn to tie flies or contrive and construct new- 

 fangled fly-books. The effort to learn will probably 

 ruin his temper and break up his domestic relations if 

 he has any, but it is not for me to say that "lejeu ne 

 vaut pas la chandelle" If no domestic ties trend him 

 toward caution as yet, and he dreads none in the 

 future, he may even venture the attempt to make his 

 own rods. 



Let me say a word here of amateur tackle-making 

 from the standpoint of personal experience. It is 

 agreeable — it is even fascinating, but it does not pay; 

 very few have the mechanical deftness, the patience, 

 taste, and judgment combined to really excel in any of 

 its branches. No young man with a career to make 

 for himself by dint of constant toil or close application 

 to a business or profession has any right to devote to 



