The North Country Angler. 1 3 



might, by an artist, be made a yard long without 

 any of these faults, whereas now, not one in 

 twenty of them is worth a rush* 



I must confess, there is a great deal of pains 

 and art requisite to make the bristles, I am now 

 recommending, very useful ; I shall tell my 

 angler how I do it : As they are the strongest of 

 all materials I ever met with yet, I made use of 

 them only where strong tackle was necessary : 

 And first, for strong fly fishing, I have made 

 links of two feet or a yard long, thus: I first choose 

 the smallest of them, to the root end of which 

 I dressed a large hackle fly on a gilse hook; the 

 other end of the bristle is generally jagged for 

 an inch or more ; that I always cut off, and as 

 much as is the least faulty ; and then split it in 

 two or three the length of half an inch, which 

 I dip in white wax, melted, and join it to the end 

 of another, divided in the same manner, as 

 sailors splice their ropes, and wrap them very 

 tight with white silk, waxed with white wax : 

 I split the root ends in the same way, till I think 

 it is long enough, always choosing the bristles 

 that the link may taper a little in strength and 

 thickness ; at the end of which I wrap a loop 

 half an inch long, through which I put the loop 

 at the end of my line, and then putting my fly 

 through that wider loop, draw it as it should be: 

 If I choose to have a drop fly, I loop it on to 

 either of these loops, which it will fit best. Five 

 bristles will make a link of a yard long, or some- 

 what more; for such a link the end of my line is 

 five good hairs ; with this I fish when the water 

 is a little discoloured after a flood $ or in strong 

 c 



