310 FISHING IN AMERICAN WATERS. 



MOUNTING SALMON-HOOKS. 



Fig. 11. Wind on your silk-gut loop, and wind the end of your 

 duffing and antenna, fastening it all at the head, and form- 

 ing the head of hackle as shown by 14. The hackle should 

 be doubled, as represented by 7 ; and, after the duffing is 

 wound, the hackle should cover it like 13; or the hackle 

 may be heavy like 12. Some persons use a vice to hold 

 the hook, as 14; but the best artists at fly-tying do not 

 use them. After the duffing, the antennae, and hackle are 

 fastened, the body is usually wound with a cord of silver or 

 gold, as 13 and 15, when the wings are fastened like 12 and 

 15, the head and tail finished like the latter, and the ends 

 of threads covered and closed off with shellac. This also 

 fastens the tinsel at the head of the antennae ; but with all 

 your windings of hackle, duffing (the body), cord, or tinsel, 

 carry with each your thread of silk, well waxed with trans- 

 parent wax, and as nearly the color of the material you are 

 winding as possible. First fasten well your hook to the 

 snell, and then exercise taste and practice delicacy of ma- 

 nipulation. After all, an hour's instruction from an artist 

 is worth more than all the books in Christendom on in- 

 struction for making artificial flies. I prefer to purchase 

 flies from those who follow the art for a livelihood ; but 

 all anglers should be able to tie a fly when in a wilderness. 



THE PONDEKATING SINKER. 



This recent invention is not in general use, or known to 

 many anglers. I have tried it. It may do for river and fresh- 

 water fishings with a float, but for bottom fishing the hollow 

 tracing sinker is vastly superior. The object for thus in- 

 creasing the ponderosity of a sinker is to save the trouble of 

 carrying numerous sinkers of different weights when going 

 a-fishing, and to increase or decrease the weight without tak- 

 ing off the sinker. 



Explanation of the Cut. No. 1 is the smallest size of the 



