404 HOW TO DRESS A SALMON FLY. 



useless for ever. Some lash a piece of stout single or 

 treble gut doubled on to the shank of the hook, leaving a 

 small eye just above the end of the shank, and through 

 this eye a strand of gut is passed and made fast by a knot, 

 hitch, or jamb ; the other end, having a loop, is looped on 

 to the casting line. This is, perhaps, the more clumsy 

 and coarse plan, as it thickens the shank of the hook and 

 adds bulk to the fly. Some, again, employ hooks which 

 have an eye already forged at the end of the shank ; and 

 though this in time is apt to fret and wear the gut some- 

 what, it is, if the tie be looked to now and then, not only 

 the neatest and safest way, but the fly is safe until it is 

 pulled to pieces or smashed against a stone. The fly tyer 

 can adopt any of these plans which he may think fit. The 

 gut loop is the most common plan, so I will briefly de- 

 scribe it. 



Take the best bit of salmon gut you have, round and 

 thick it is the best economy, one ordinary strand will 

 cut into about four loops double it, leaving one end 

 somewhat longer than the other, bite the gut that is to be 

 lashed to the shank well up and down between the teeth 

 to ensure its not drawing ; then lay it to the hook, and 

 with a fine strong doubled thread of glovers' silk or any 

 other silk that is fine and strong, well waxed, begin at the 

 head or shoulder and lash it firmly on, leaving a gut loop as 

 in the adjoining Plate XV. fig. 2. And here I may pause to 

 say, always get the best, newest, finest, and strongest silk 

 you can buy for money. It is not always easy to obtain. 

 Old silk is pretty sure to get rotten, and rotten silk is an 

 abomination. It always fails you when it should not 

 just as you are tying in or tying off a hackle, and want to 

 make an unusually strong and tight hitch. You must 

 have two or three colours ; the lighter ones are best, white 

 best of all, yellow next, and then red ; avoid gr^n or 

 black, as those dyes rot the silk, green especially. 



