FLY FISHING FOR TROUT AND GRAYLING. 281 



The special danger here indicated is now, however, practically 

 a thing of the past. The eyed hook is now in the field, and will 

 render what is now the weakest point in the delicate gut re- 

 quired for trout fishing practically secure against irregular 

 friction. The lapping at the head of the fly &c., would thus 

 be quite unnecessary, while the shank of the hook would keep 

 a true line with the gut. 



Every knot, again, is a weak point in the cast ; especially if 

 tied in a hurry or not carefully soaked before use. A couple 

 of spare collars which have lain in the slop basin during your 

 breakfast may be carried round your hat with great advantage. 

 Apart from an utter smash by bough or root which is never 

 impossible if you are in a hurry it is often less troublesome to 

 change the whole collar than to repair a trifling damage. 



[Several ingenious inventions exist for obviating the difficulty 

 here suggested, the simplest being the carrying of the complete 

 casts in a box, which by means of wetted felt keeps them always 

 moist and ready for use. Several of these boxes are represented, 

 and more particularly described, at pages 35, 38 and 39. 



H. C.-P.] 



Having now dismissed the preliminary question of strength, 

 I find myself face to face with the extensive and complicated 

 subject of flies considered as lures ; of the best flies for use, and 

 the circumstances under which these or some of these will be 

 found most useful. 



To this subject no single essay can do justice, owing to the 

 number of flies which have a recognised value only within a 

 limited district. But in order to deal with it at all, one must 

 first encounter that quastio vexatissima Whether artificial flies, 

 generally speaking, are imitations of some particular insect, for 

 which they are taken by the fish, or nondescripts (to borrow 

 1 Ephemera's ' form of expression) which are seized only on 

 account of their general appearance of life. The former posi- 

 tion is generally maintained by English authors on fly fishing ; 

 the latter by brethren of the angle north of Tweed, or among 

 the mountains of North Wales. Now, that the artificial fly 



