HOOKS. 17 



that the hook shank itself or rather that part of it on which 

 the fly is tied is very nearly straight, whilst in the Limerick 

 bend the shank is commonly slightly more curved, or, as it is 

 termed, hog-backed, which when exaggerated, as it frequently 

 is in the so-called Limerick hooks, supplied by the fly-tyers, 

 has the effect of preventing the fly swimming or floating 



DEFECTIVE HOG-BACKED-SHANKED HOOK. 



perfectly straight, and, indeed, when the stream is strong, 

 an excessive ' hog-backedness ' will not unfrequently cause it 

 actually to spin. 



An exaggerated example of this is shown in the cut. 

 The penetrating power in my bend is obtained by the angle 

 at which the point and short side of the hook stand in regard 

 to the hook shank, towards which, it will be observed, they are 

 very slightly inclined, so that when the point pricks the mouth 

 of a fish the probabilities of its penetrating are greatly increased. 

 Into the general question of fish-hooks, however, their vices 

 and virtues, and the mechanical principles on which they 

 should be (but unfortunately seldom are !) constructed, as also 

 as to what are the 'points' of a perfect hook, I have already 

 entered fully in the pages of the ' Modern Practical Angler ' * ; 

 and have since had the pleasure of finding the views there set 

 forth very generally endorsed by the thinking portion of the 

 angling public, and notably by several of the more recent 

 American writers on the subject. The general argument is 

 perhaps somewhat beyond the scope of this essay, and I will 

 merely observe here that, ' flotation ' apart, the three cardinal 

 principles to be borne in mind as governing the ' killing ' 

 (i.e. striking, penetrating, and holding power) of a fish-hook, 

 are (i) the length of the shank compared with the width of 



1 7^he Modern Practical Angler, 5th Edition. Routledge. 

 I. C 



