A SPRUNG HOOK. 481 



more trustworthy lot, and I took three or four other fish 

 without an accident of any kind, when the fish left off 

 rising. 



The only means of guarding against such a loss is for 

 the angler always carefully to inspect his fly after losing 

 a fish. But he should always when at leisure try his 

 hooks, as above recommended, and throw into the fire all 

 such as are untrustworthy. Never keep them, but de- 

 stroy them utterly, or they are sure to turn up when they 

 should not, and do mischief in some way. Added to this, 

 let anglers have their tackle made of the very dearest 

 hooks they can buy in the market, and give particular 

 directions as to the sort and shape of their hooks, for 

 tackle- makers are mostly very careless on this point, and 

 as they are the only persons who can profit by cheap 

 hooks, they are more prone to use them than they ought 

 to be. The saving on the purchase of cheap hooks to the 

 angler will not amount to half-a-crown a year, while the 

 satisfaction of feeling confidence in your hook is worth any 

 money. Unfortunately, the use of inferior hooks makes 

 many half-crowns a year difference to the tackle- maker. 



One great reason for hooks springing is the utter 

 want of judgment displayed by hook-makers in not 

 graduating the stoutness of the wire to the size of the 

 bend. No hook would ever spring, supposing it to be fairly 

 well tempered, if proper attention were paid to this par- 

 ticular point; they want a light hook for floating, and there- 

 upon they select the finest wire (wire only fit for the 

 smallest sized hooks), to make a hook four or five or even 

 half-a-dozen sizes larger. How often, in May fly fishing 

 more particularly, have I had to curse this absurdity by the 

 loss of a good fish and the spoiling of a good fly. A hook 

 of No. 9 or 10 bend is large enough to kill any ordinary 

 trout with. If you want to dress a May fly particularly 

 for floating, all you need is a No. 9 or 10 hook with the 



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