TACKLE AND FISHING GEAR. 5 



strong relief, inasmuch as the two great points on which the 

 eyed hooks claim superiority over lapped-on hooks namely, 

 strength, and durability of the fly are clearly more important 

 in ,the case of very heavy fish, and flies which sometimes 

 cost half a sovereign each. How annoying it is, again, when 

 salmon are rising freely at the fly on the cast to find that 

 the gut is so worn to the ' unsafe point ' by previous encounters 

 as to necessitate a change, whilst no other specimen of the 

 same pattern, or size, may be, is in the tackle box ! . . . And 

 it is almost always at the head of the fly that the fraying-away 

 of the gut first takes place. 



For these reasons the balance of argument appears to be 

 in favour of metal looped salmon hooks whether turned or 

 needle-eyed ; and of turned loops I very much prefer, for 

 the reasons hereinafter explained, loops turned down to loops 

 turned up. I shall, however, for the sake of completeness, and 

 to meet differing tastes, give representations of both, with the 

 best modes of attachment, as well as of the straight needle-eye 

 in which there is no turn whatever. 



FIG. I. NEEDLE-EYED GRILSE HOOK KNOTTED ON TO GUT. 



To take the latter first. The engraving (fig. i) is a facsimile 

 of a needle-eyed grilse or small salmon hook, Limerick bend, 

 with the casting line attached. 



This attachment (fig. 2) is of the simplest form, consisting merely 

 of threading the end, A, of the gut (previously well soaked], through 

 the eye, B, like thread through a needle, and then making round the 

 central link, c, a double ' half-hitch,' D. The latter, having been 

 first drawn quite tight, is then slipped downwards to its proper 

 place by a sort of compound process of pushing and pulling pushing 

 the knot downwards, that is, towards the hook shank with the one 

 hand, and at the same time with the other pulling the central link. 



