126 Fly-fishing for Mahseer. CHAP. vii. 



loop, between a quarter and an eighth of an inch in length. The 

 object of this is to give the gut stiffness, to prevent it from constantly 

 doubling under the weight of the hook, and thus fraying, and eventually 

 giving way, close up to the hook. The precaution is necessary in the 

 case of salmon flies because of their weight ; and when the fly is large, 

 treble gut also is thus looped instead of single gut. But it is simpler to 

 use eyed hooks. 



Hooks draw very much, however, in India, because the great heat 

 dries the wax and shrinks the gut, and as a consequence hooks not 

 freshly tied are very liable to draw. The precaution should therefore 

 be taken of tying a knot in the gut laid against the shank of the hook ; 

 when it is covered with dressing it will not show. 



Fishing with a good fisherman, the hooks bought by him from 

 Messrs. So and So all drew, and he thereon condemned all So and So's 

 tackle as cheap and nasty. But all my English flies bought of the best 

 tackle-makers in several directions in England for trout-fishing, and 

 taken out to India, all drew, dozen after dozen, at once. The moral is 

 that the best whipped flies and hooks will draw in India, and eyed 

 hooks only should be used. The aforesaid fisherman came to this 

 conclusion also on subsequent reflection. But when tying flies on eyed 

 hooks we found that the whole body of the fly turned on the hook and 

 slipped down. To prevent this put a little varnish the merest touch 

 on the shank of the hook before tying. 



Fish with the fly for Mahseer, just as you would for salmon ; that is 

 to say, that if you are a salmon-fisher I can give you no advice, you are 

 sure to follow your practice. But if you are not, I may as well mention 

 that the general idea is, that you should not draw your fly with a steady 

 pull through the water, but with a succession of little jerks, with slight 

 pauses between, so as to give it a shrimp-like motion, the theory being 

 that with every jerk the feathers will be compressed against the hook, 

 and with every pause they will spread out again, thus making a greater 

 show, and giving an appearance of life to the fly, an appearance of 

 kicking out for a swim. That is, I believe, the theory and the general 

 practice, but I may be allowed to add I do not believe in it. I believe 

 the constant twitching only disturbs the water, and tends to frighten the 

 fish, and the uneven motion of the fly increases the risks of the fish 

 missing your fly when he rises at it. My way is to be careful to throw 

 a perfectly straight line, and then to keep it just taut and no more, 



