SALMON FISHING. 161 
and on any sudden jerk, such as striking, acts as a sort 
of buffer to receive and distribute the strain. It is 
moreover simpler, much neater, and nearly twice as 
strong as the common double knot. Tied with the 
latter a couple of feet of very strong Salmon-gut will 
- break—almost always at the knot—on a steady strain 
of from 12 to 15 lb.; tied on my method it will break 
at any other part in preference. The gut-lapping has 
also the advantage of being transparent, whilst silk is of 
course opaque. 
All Salmon-flies should be dressed with gut-loops, not 
only with the double object of strength and durability, but 
for the purpose of making the fly swim straight when 
attached to the casting-line. This last object, however, 
is not accomplished with the ordinary mode of knotting 
on the fly—viz., by forming a half-knot at the extremity 
of the casting-line, and then “reeving” it in and out 
through the loop. When thus attached the fly presents 
a sort of broken-backed appearance, and must of neces- 
sity swim head downwards instead of horizontally. 
The following method will be found entirely to obviate 
this defect, whilst it is at the same time neater ot 
stronger and equally simple :— 
Pass the end of the casting-line 
through the fly-loop from above ; 
then over the loop; then up FiG.2 
again through it from below; = 
and finally tie with it a half-knot round the main line, 
M 
