280 



Rod and Tackle. 



CHAP. xx 



however good the fly tyer, and should never be neglected, or at least 

 the gut should be flattened between the teeth. 



For salmon flies for Indian use, the same precaution should be 

 taken ; or the simple one of tying a common knot in the gut. There is 

 so much thickness of body in a salmon fly that this knot is concealed 

 under it, and is not noticeable, as it would be in a small trout fly. 



With a treble hook, the obvious plan is to double the gut, and 

 bring it half way up the other side of the hook. It is impossible for it 

 to slip then. All flights of spinning tackle, and all minnows mounted 



with treble hooks, should invariably be tied with this care for a tropical 

 clime. Add a touch of varnish over the tying. 



Though I let the above remarks stand as they were in the second 

 edition as regards hooks drawing, I must be allowed to go still more to 

 the root of the matter, and say that longer experience of hooks and 

 their habits in an Indian clime, has made me more and more enamoured 

 of eyed hooks for the tropics. I can see no force in the objection some 

 few raise on the supposition that the stroke is not as parallel to the 

 point as in the whipped hook, and I know that some of the stoutest 



