ANGLING FOR TROUT. 65 



long, and wound on a small brass reel fixed to the butt- 

 end of the rod, and running through rings or staples 

 placed at suitable distances along the rod to the top, so 

 that it may be shortened or lengthened at pleasure, ac- 

 cording to the convenience of throwing. The line 

 should run taper from the top of the rod down to the 

 fly, that is, if the first link is composed of thirty-five 

 hairs, the next must be of thirty-four ; so leaving out 

 one hair in each link till the whole is completed ; then 

 comes the silk-worm gut, on which you should whip 

 all your hooks on to the bend. But the best lines for 

 artificial fly-angling are those that are wove, and are all 

 in one piece, and are to be bought at any of the shops 

 in London where fishing-tackle is sold, and run taper 

 like the lash of a coach-whip, and may be had of any 

 length from thirty to forty yards or more. These are 

 the only lines that can be used on a winch, because 

 they have no knots to prevent them running glibly 

 through the rings of the rod. By the line being made 

 taper, it may be thrown into any place with a greater 

 exactness, and it will fall much lighter on the water, 

 which will very much increase the sport. 



To make a fly-line by hand-twisting when a winch 

 is not used, horse hair from a young grey or white 

 stallion is the best, which must be round and not flat, 

 and sorted in sizes, free from blemishes, laid in clean 

 water for twelve hours, then dried and again sorted 

 with the root ends together. With a view of making the 

 line taper, begin with three hairs, put them level at top 

 and knot them, cut off the other ends so far as they 

 appear faint, leaving all of the same length ; then hold 



