ON ANGLING 169 



rod is a necessity; for without it many fish will 

 be lost. 



A good reel is of more importance than a good 

 rod. It should run easily, while at the same time 

 be stiff enough to prevent back-lashing. The 

 axle plates should be concave, otherwise a wet 

 line will cause them to bend and press on the 

 sides, jamming the reel, and making it useless. It 

 should be big enough to hold comfortably one 

 hundred yards of line and have no projections or 

 fancy notions to catch your line other than the 

 handle. A light line is pleasant to fish with, but 

 to cast against a strong wind requires a heavy 

 one. Good single gut is preferable to treble gut 

 and quite strong enough to kill the largest sal- 

 mon in Canada. A good plan is to have eight or 

 nine feet of tapering treble gut attached to the 

 silk line, and at the end of this two yards of a 

 single cast. This will answer for either rough 

 or smooth waters. 



jEbiu as to $lit%. Early in the season, or in 

 heavy waters, large flies are preferable, tied on 

 what is usually called a No. 1 hook. For clear or 

 low water, or late in the season, smaller sizes 

 may be used, but I never got much satisfaction 

 fishing with smaller hooks than No. 3. It is often 

 found interesting to have a large assortment 

 of flies, but practically half a dozen different 

 patterns suffice, such as Jock Scott, Silver Doc- 

 tor or Silver Grey I prefer the last Durham 



