94 SALMON FISHING 



Of course hooks are frail things, and there 

 is a point, at which they must either break or 

 bend under severe stress. If they bend out of 

 shape, it is argued that they are " too soft " ; 

 or if they snap, they are said to have been "too 

 hard." But under a breaking strain one thing 

 or the other must happen, and the meaning of 

 it is, that the hook has been tested beyond what 

 it may reasonably be expected to bear. 



Every angler should be able to mend his own 

 casts and to tie on his own flies. The ghillie will 

 do this for you, but it is better not to leave so im- 

 portant a matter to the ghillie. There are many 

 methods of tying on salmon flies and knotting 

 gut together, and an illustration of one or two 

 may be useful. These are given on opposite page. 



To tie on a salmon fly the figure 8 is the best 

 knot we know, and having always found it firm, 

 safe, and neat, we cannot do better than recom- 

 mend its constant use. Two methods are given, 

 the first of which we always employ for flies 

 with gut loops. The second is better, when 

 using steel-eyed hooks of the improved type. 



