TACKLE AND FISHING GEAR. 



29 



makes any difference in its perfect 'horizontality.' In fact, the 

 last contact or pressure of the metal loop against the gut being 

 in an upward direction, it gives the gut precisely the support 

 requisite at this point ; it counteracts, that is, the natural 

 tendency of a comparatively heavy hook suspended by soft wet 

 gut to hang, however slightly, head dou>n. 



The only objection I can imagine being raised against the 

 turned-down eye is that it diminishes, as it were, the ' gape ' or 

 width of the bend for hooking purposes. This argument is, 

 however, at once negatived by a very simple consideration 

 viz. the position of the legs (hackles) of the fly. These ' protect,' 

 so to speak, the hook eye, and head of the fly whether tied 

 on looped hooks or eyed hooks, or the ordinary plain hook 

 from any probable contact with the actual lips of the rising 

 trout, so that the turn-up or turn-down of the loop cannot 

 affect the actual hooking result in any way ; and this theory I 

 find to be most fully borne out in practice. 



The method of attaching the gut to a turned-?^/ eye is 

 identical with that described (fig. 20), the position of the fly 

 being reversed held, that is, with the point side of the hook- 

 bend down instead of up, whilst tying the knot. 



UUU 



000 00 1 2 



u 



Uu 



1 00 000 000 00 U 1 23 4 5 6 



FIG. 22. ' PENNELL SXF.CK ' PATTERNS OF TROUT HOOKS. 



The patterns of the hooks referred to in the preceding 

 observations, both with loops turned up and loops turned 



