SALMON FISHING. 59 



The use of two or more flies, when fishing for Salmon in a river, 

 would be an experiment, I think, dangerous in the extreme ; and even 

 in lakes I have never seen any man use even two flies, when fishing with 

 the rod. 



A true Salmon fisher should disdain and spurn the use of double 

 gut. A friend, instructed by the best fisherman during his day, states 

 that he never shall forget his direction, viz : " Let your tackle be 

 of the lightest kind, consistent with strength." He never used double 

 gut. I never have, and never will. The link on which the fly is tied 

 should be finer and more slender than the link to which it is looped or 

 knotted. The end of the casting-line, which is united to the reel-line, 

 should be the thickest and strongest portion of the gut, and the whole 

 should taper to the fly. Three yards and a half is the proper length 

 from fly to reel-line. This instruction is all-important, as I hope to 

 show, when speaking of Trout. 



THE CASTING-LINE. 



THE casting-line should be looped, for Salmon fishing, to the reel- 

 line. The loops on both should be securely whipped with strong and 

 well-waxed silk. The casting-line, without the addition of the fly 

 links, should be three yards, and no more ; and every knot on the 

 casting-line should be the water -knot, which is the simplest knot in the 

 world, being the common tie-knot, with two or three turns round 

 itself instead of one. For Salmon fishing three knots are necessary, 

 though two are sufficient for Trout. 



Each knot should be well secured by whipping with waxed silk ; and 

 at the end of the line a link should be made, and well secured as above. 



The link upon which the fly is tied, should be knotted with the wa- 

 ter-knot, as described, to another link, upon which a loop should be 

 made, also well secured by whipping. 



Thus, then, we have two links upon which the fly is tied. The loop 

 then upon the fly-link is looped to the casting-line, and thus the cast- 

 ing-line is about three yards and a half in length from reel-line to fly. 

 By this mode, the disadvantage arising from the double loop on the 

 casting-line is partly obviated by having the loop removed a consider- 

 able distance from the flv. 



