CHAPTER XL 



TROUT FLY-FISHING. — OUTFIT AND TACKLE. 



Wading-Jacket. — Trousers. — Boots. — Creel or Basket. — Landing-Net. — 

 Rods. — Reels. — Lines. — Leaders. — Flies. — The Whip. 



Wading-Jacket. — This article of dress, though, it may not 

 contribute to the angler's success, will, when made with an 

 eye to convenience and comfort, add much to his satisfaction 

 in fishing. It should not reach lower than his hips, and 

 should be sufficiently loose for a top-coat in travelling. It 

 should have pockets on the inside and outside of the skirt, 

 also an inside and outside breast-pocket, the latter sufficiently 

 large to hold a fly-book. In the choice of his dress, the 

 angler should avoid any glaring color, emulating rather the 

 gray mists of the morning, or the " gloamin' " itself. 



Wading-Trousers should be of heavy, strong woollen 

 material, to stand the usual wear and tear in wading rough 

 streams. 



Wading-Boots. — Avoid, by all means, those abominable 

 long India-rubber boots that come up to the hips ; they are 

 cumbersome and slippery, and limit the depth of one's wading. 

 They are certainly water-proof, if they are not cut through 

 by sharp stones ; but in the event of a fall, which is likely to 

 occur to the wearer, or wading an inch deeper than the height 

 of his boots, their imperviousness to water becomes an 

 objection, and it is as hard to get the water out as it was for 

 it to get in. I have seen an angler, who insisted on using 

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