22 SALMON AND TROUT. 



flies, may be different, and as a matter of fact, I am aware 

 that many first-rate fly fishers who use Mr. Hall's eyed hooks 

 profess to experience no inconvenience whatever in connec- 

 tion with the above method of knotting-on of the gut. 



With all deference, however, to the skilful and practised fly 

 fishers who can tie the gut on thus to the turned-up eyed hook, 

 I cannot but feel, that my own essays in the matter more 

 nearly represent, in all probability, the difficulties of the 

 ordinary run of trout fishers in dealing for the first time with 

 eyed hooks ; and, following out a suggestion made to me by 

 Mr. H. R. Francis, the accomplished author of ' The Fly Fisher 

 and his Library,' I set to work to get some hooks made with 

 actual needle eyes that is, eyes drilled straight through the 

 point of the shank as in the case of the needle by which the 

 inconvenience in question would be overcome. After a good 

 deal of trouble I succeeded in obtaining, through the assist- 

 ance of Messrs. Warner & Son, of Redditch, specimens of 

 bonafide needle-eyed hooks of the desired bend and pattern. 



In these needle-eyed hooks which I may mention were 

 manufactured out of actual needles all the difficulties incident 

 to the complicated nature of the different processes of knot- 

 ting on the gut were, of course, entirely obviated ; the gut 

 being simply threaded straight through the eye of the hook 

 like a piece of cotton through the eye of a sewing needle, 

 and then being fastened with a double ' half hitch ' the same 

 fastening, in fact, described for needle- eyed grilse hooks, fig. 2, 

 in this chapter. 



By this mode of fastening it appeared first, that the fly 

 would swim perfectly straight, and, therefore, at least as well 

 as with the turned-up eye ; secondly, that the knot and hook 

 eye combined were on the whole smaller; and, thirdly, that 

 the casting line could be attached to the fly with facility and 

 rapidity even under the most unfavourable conditions of wind 

 and weather. 



The point of vital importance in the fastening is the double 

 hitch (D) over the central link. This double knot has sufficient 



