114 Dry-Fly Fiskuty. 



the Itchen, my preparations were completed the 

 eleven-foot " Perfection" split cane rod overhauled 

 by its makers, and after many years' hard work 

 made to look like new (a trusty weapon as good as 

 any angler need possess), was more than once taken 

 from its case and within doors lovingly waved about 

 as if casting a fly. An ample supply of well -tied 

 flies was duly received, and on opening each small 

 box the contents made one smile to look at, because 

 they would certainly be killers, i.e., red quills with 

 gold tags ; olives in three shades of colour as to 

 wings ; Englefield's green quill-bodied flies with 

 silver tags ; gold-ribbed hare's ear, and Wickham's 

 fancy, all dressed on sharp, full barbed, sneck-bend 

 hooks in several sizes, and supplemented by old flies 

 left over from previous seasons, which, when trout 

 or grayling are well on the feed, are often accepted 

 as readily as new ones which would seem to prove 

 that the fly is not of so much consequence as some 

 people imagine. But beyond rod and flies, I 

 attribute my success to always using a fine dressed 

 running line, and the finest of gut collars, prepared 

 by myself thus : Four strands of 18in. picked 

 refina natural gut knotted smoothly together, and 

 pointed with two strands of 18in. 4x fine drawn gut, 

 forming a length of 2f yards finer all through than 

 usually supplied from shops, and yet strong enough 

 to hold and play to a finish any trout up to 41b. 



