TACKLE AND FISHING GEAR. 23 



1 clasping ' power, when once pulled quite tight, to keep the fly 

 in its proper horizontal position. If, however, only a single 

 hitch knot were used, its clasping or holding tendency would 

 be ihadequate, and the knot would most likely slip round the 

 loop or eye, letting the fly hang or stand out at all sorts of 

 angles with the central link. This will often happen when the 

 gut is quite dry even with the double knot, but when once the 

 knot has been well wetted and pulled down by the finger-nails 

 close and tight against the hook-eye, I have never once found 

 it slip or change its position. The needle-eyes must, however, 

 be properly drilled, like those of needles, close to the end of 

 the hook-shank. I can quite imagine that if the eyes were 

 badly drilled, or drilled too far away from the end this result 

 would not be attained. The success of these and all other 

 forms of metal-eyed or looped hooks depends, in fact, very 

 much upon extreme care and nicety in the manufacture. 



It may be supposed that the experiments requisite to 

 establish the foregoing facts, remodellings of defective hooks, 

 c., were no small taxes upon time and patience. At last, 

 however, all seemed to be satisfactorily accomplished. And, 

 having received from the makers the first consignment of my 

 needle-eyed hooks neatly labelled and docketed for ready 

 reference, I fancied my troubles were over, and that I had 

 at length arrived at approximate perfection, in the one item, 

 at least, of metal-eyed trout-hooks. Alas ! for the vanity of 

 human hopes, or I should, perhaps, say inventor's anticipa- 

 tions : I found that, as regards the four smallest sizes, ooo, oo, 

 o, and i, I had only substituted one ' knotting-on ' difficulty 

 for another ; the eyes of these sizes were so minute that even 

 the finest gut could not be persuaded, without much difficulty 

 (and often not at all), to pass through them. There was 

 nothing for it but to make the eyes of these small sizes in the 

 form of horizontal loops, so that they might still be threaded 

 on to the gut ' needle-wise,' and if not quite so small and neat 

 as the veritable needle-eyes, they would be yet quite small 

 enough for practical efficiency, and would equally overcome 



