46 THE ART OF FISHING. 



their being taken off conveniently, without every 

 now and then undoing the coils, in which they 

 are generally put up in dozens and half-dozens. 



Be very careful to select your flies, the hooks 

 of which have small gut attached to them (unless 

 you intend them for bob or side-flies), smaller 

 than the end of that part of the gut on which you 

 attach your fly gut, and the smaller the fly the 

 smaller should be your gut. If the master of 

 the fishing-tackle shop where you purchase your 

 tackle should happen to be a fly-fisherman him- 

 self (which is often the case), you may expect to 

 get your necessary apparatus in proper order and 

 trim. Some fly-fishermen have the corners of 

 the leaves of their books for flies headed with a 

 small piece of flat cork ; this, generally speaking, 

 I think perfectly unnecessary if the leaves have a 

 shallow woollen surface as I have described. The 

 flat cork method is intended to prevent the flies 

 from being pressed, but my plan is much better, 

 being neater and taking up less room, as the flies 

 when the book is closed will sink into the wool, and 

 avoid pressure. The cork plan may answer very 

 well for stout flies, such as the May or Drake fly, 

 so you may have one or two of the leaves of your 

 book furnished with cork fittings. The variety 

 in flies is so various, as also are the tastes of the 



