122 SALMON-FISHING. 



to sport " o'er the glad waters " like any other 

 ephemeral, must take our chance. Sharp prac- 

 tice might tear out the hook easily enough ; 

 where, then, is the advantage of such coarse 

 stuff? Fish are killed with it, I know ; and fish 

 are frightened with it too. 



I have found it a very useful general rule, to 

 adopt the finest possible tackle, consistent with 

 the size or kind of fish for which you angle, 

 and the place where you are angling. In spots 

 much embarrassed by bushes and roots, you must 

 take your chance of hooking a fish with strong 

 tackle ; and so hold on, like grim Death. But 

 in free places, you can hardly fish too fine ; I 

 mean as respects the line and the gut, — not 

 the fly; for a rough fly will frequently kill 

 fish, especially Trout, better than a very de- 

 licate-bodied one. 



The only reason I ever heard given in 

 favour of twisted gut for Salmon-fishing, that 

 had, even at first sight, the least possible pre- 

 tensions to practical utility, was this : — In a 

 rocky river the single gut would be sooner 

 frayed, and consequently broken, by being 



