HOOKS. 3 



eyed hook there is nothing but a layer of tying 

 silk down the shank. Third, The bodies of flies 

 can be made much thinner (for some rivers very 

 necessary) ; the heads, too, can be kept smaller, 

 one of the most important points in a salmon fly. 

 The chief thing that a salmon fly-tyer has to look 

 to is, that his flies, when made and attached to 

 the cast, will swim perfectly steadily, without 

 swaying to one side or the other ; but however 

 well they may be made, they will not swim 



Fig. 2. 



straightly unless attached to the cast by a good 

 knot properly tied. By a good knot, I mean one 

 that is perfectly secure, is small and neat, is easily 

 tied and untied, and, last but not least, one that 

 will hold the fly securely, and not allow it to be- 

 come loose, or swing about at the knot or junc- 

 tion with the cast. The best that I know of, both 

 for hooks with gut loops, and eyed hooks, is the 

 one figured in the illustration, and called the 

 ' figure of 8 ' knot. Its advantages are, that when 

 complete, it is very small ; the gut has to be 

 passed only once through the loop or eye, and 



