TRENT FISHING. 27 



should recommend him to buy the finest he can find, for he 

 will be surprised at the strength there is in fine, smooth, 

 round drawn gut. When he proceeds to make his tackle, he 

 draws from his hank of gut as many lengths as he requires, 

 and cuts off the waste or fag ends : steep it next in lukewarm 

 water, or it will be too brittle and will not tie ; half an hour 

 or so will be quite sufficient to steep it. If the gut presents 

 a bright and glossy appearance, it will be necessary to stain 

 it slightly, and for this purpose common writing ink mixed 

 with a little water and warmed will be one good thing, — a 

 little in a teacup will do. The gut should be moistened in 

 lukewarm water, and then put in the mixture for a few 

 minutes ; when you take it out, dip it in clean water a time 

 or two, and it is then ready for use : this will give it a bluish 

 tinge. Strong coffee lees, in which a bit of alum has been 

 dissolved, will give it a sort of brown or peat colour ; these 

 will be found to answer every purpose. Having steeped the 

 gut, and got it to the required pliability, the tyro next pro- 

 ceeds to tie it into lengths to suit his requirements, and there 

 are various ways of tying a knot, so that it should be firm 

 and strong, without any danger of the joints slipping asunder. 

 The best knot that I know of is called the "fisher's" knot ; 

 it is very easily made. At the end of the gut you, as it 

 were, tie a single knot without drawing it tight ; you then 

 take another length of gut, and put one end through the 

 small loop thus made on the other piece, and then the 

 straight piece that you have just put through you put round 

 the other, and tie a single knot the same as before, both 

 knots can then be drawn tight, and pulled together. The 

 short ends should then be clipped off, all except about the 

 eight of an inch or so. This is a capital knot, and will be 

 found to be all that is required in tackle-making, it cannot 

 pull asunder, it wiU break sooner than come undone. 



When you make your tackle be sure and have the stoutest 



