TACKLE 217 



As there is sometimes a difficulty in identify- 

 ing flies, I have in this case referred to Messrs. 

 Hardy of Alnwick, and have adopted their names 

 or descriptions of the patterns which I submitted 

 to them. 



Gut is the most troublesome of all parts of an 

 angler's tackle, but less so in the case of salmon 

 and sea trout, than in trout fishing. I prefer in 

 salmon fishing to have a cast tapered with some 

 three feet of plain single gut next the fly, it is 

 more transparent than any twisted gut can be, 

 and it is not difficult to get it round, clear and 

 strong. The thickness of it must be propor- 

 tioned to the size of the fly, the size of the rod, 

 and the strength of the stream, rather than to the 

 size of the fish. Even a big salmon in easy- 

 going water can be landed on comparatively fine 

 gut with a light rod, but a heavy rod and a large 

 fly are not compatible with fine gut. No one 

 can play a fish so delicately with a big rod as 

 with a small one, and perpetual casting with a 

 large fly wears out the fine gut near its head. 



For sea trout in clear water, when a single- 

 handed rod is used, a tapered cast ending in the 

 finest undrawn gut should be strong enough ; be 



