TACKLE AND FISHING GEAR. 21 



instructions and diagram (enlarged) are here repeated for the 

 convenience of the reader : 



FIG. 19. MR. HALL'S KNOT FCR TURNF.D-UP EYED TROUT HOOKS 



(MAGNIFIED). 



First take the hook in the left hand between the finger and thumb by the 

 hook end, the end of the shank pointing away, then tlie gut being first 

 thoroughly soaked pass a couple of inches of it upwards through the loop, A, 

 in the direction of the hook bend, B; then pass it under the shank of the hook 

 and again through the loop in a direction away from the hook. [The gut 

 end and the central link will now be lying parallel.] Make a ' single-hitch ' 

 knot with the gut end, c, round the central link, D, and pull the said knot 

 itself, E, perfectly tight ; then, by a sort of 'pushing-and-pullirg' movement 

 already described, and ' humouring ' the gut in the process, draw the knot, E, 

 as far down the central link as possible until, that is, it presses close under 

 and against the metal loop, A, and, when it is firmly fixed in this position, cut 

 the superfluous gut off close to the end. 



The above knot, however, though undoubtedly excellent 

 when once tied, is in my judgment too complex in practice to 

 be available for the ordinary trout fly fisher ; and this was the 

 most serious objection I found to the general introduction of 

 the turned- up eye for small trout hooks, at the time when I 

 first took a part in the controversy. The sort of ' in-and-out ' 

 process required to knot the hook to the line by the attachment 

 in question the only one (N.B.) then made public that pro- 

 duced a fairly correct set of the fly is difficult enough when 

 carried out on a bare hook or in the angler's sanctum after 

 dinner ; but the difficulty is increased tenfold beside the trout 

 stream, when, perhaps, a gale is blowing, or the half-thawed 

 frost and a March morning are reminding the fisherman of the 

 old saying about all his fingers being thumbs. 



I record this as my individual opinion. The experience of 

 others, who have, perhaps, had larger practice in attaching the 



