Tackle 71 



place, along with the Pennell, the O'Shaugh- 

 nessey and the Limerick. Of course, if a man 

 fastens a good proportion of the fish which rise to 

 him, he naturally ascribes it to his own skill or to 

 the hook he is then using, being liable to over- 

 look the fact that the salmon may be rising with 

 the determination to take the fly ; and, on the other 

 hand, a hook may be condemned because the fish 

 are rising at it more in sport than in earnest, and 

 consequently few are fastened. 



Hooks are known by sizes, and it is important 

 for the angler to keep these in mind when order- 

 ing flies. The turn-down-eyed hook is justly 

 gaining in popularity, and I think it safe to ven- 

 ture the prediction that ten years hence the 

 plain shanked hooks for fly fishing, especially for 

 salmon, will be as rare as hammer shotguns are 

 now. It will be a blow to fly tiers, as the gut loop 

 used to attach the casting line is in nineteen times 

 out of twenty the first part of the fly to give way, 

 and once broken or frayed, the fly is useless. This 

 is entirely obviated by the use of the eyed hook, 

 which will insure a double or treble average dura- 

 bility to the fly, a most important item to the 

 angler. Besides the advantage of durability, the 

 eyed hook can be fastened to the casting line 



