EYED HOOKS 47 



sees them, and even more seldom uses them. 

 On the whole, I am inclined to think that 

 3 inches will about meet the limit of size 

 required by 99 per cent, of salmon fishermen. 

 In group D the increment of variation is 

 ^ inch. These hooks will come into use for 

 low summer waters. 



Groups A and B are hammer hardened i.e., 

 the bends are flattened from side to side. 

 Groups C and D comprise the ordinary round- 

 sectioned hooks. All these hooks are, of 

 course, made of the very best tempered steel, 

 and the points are all as sharp as can be. 



Eyed hooks I do not like. To be perfectly 

 frank, I believe this is rather unjustifiable 

 prejudice, because there are advantages about 

 them undoubtedly. Flies dressed on them 

 last longer, for one thing. Then they require 

 no gut loop, and are therefore quicker to 

 dress. Moreover, it is possible to dress very 

 thin bodies on them, an undoubted advantage 

 in certain cases. But they are not satisfactory 

 in practice, especially in the larger sizes, though, 

 apart from the fact that they crack off very 

 readily in windy weather, it is not easy to 

 specify their disadvantages in so many words. 



