188 FISHING IN EDEN 



Their assembly is not a difficult matter, and gives 

 scope for the exercise of individuality. 



The satisfaction found in making my own nets 

 and panniers has not been confined merely to the 

 pleasure of making. Friends have admired them, 

 and work without profit has been plentiful, and with 

 much satisfaction to the soul. 



Once I started on the great adventure of making 

 a pair of brogues. My idea was to depart from the 

 style of the shops and have wooden soles, broad 

 and light, and good. Alas, they became clogged 

 up with snow on their very first outing to the river, 

 and, like the rods, never again saw the light of an 

 uncertain northern spring day. 



Minnow, creeper, stone-fly, and worming tackles 

 are all easy to make. The tying on of hooks, in 

 such-like operations, leads up to the finer art of fly 

 tying. " Bob's " apprentices learned how to 

 attach gut to shanked hooks long before touching 

 a fly. Neat and secure tying comes by practice. 

 In those days of long ago eyed hooks were 

 unknown. Everything had to be tied, splices of 

 rods, rings, nets, hooks, and all the various bait 

 tackles. ^Ve were like sailors, never at a loss when 

 tackle was broken. Mending the damage carried 

 with it the satisfactory feeling of self-reliance. 



There is such a thing as becoming attuned to the 



