68 FISHING KITS AND EQUIPMENT 



Size F is best for rods under ten feet and rather 

 light. 



It may seem to you that these lines are rather coarse 

 for small stream fishing where the water is very clear, 

 but the six-foot gut leader supplies the necessary term- 

 inal fineness. 



A good quality size E enameled line tests 28 pounds ; 

 size F 22 pounds. Manufacturers have a tendency to 

 make fly-lines in fancy colors. Select a line of subdued 

 color, one that will be inconspicuous in the water. 

 Some dealers list their lines by number instead of by 

 letter. The following shows the corresponding sizes 

 beginning with the smallest: No. 6=H, No. 5=G, 

 No. 4=F, No. 3=E, No. 2=D, No. i^C. 



These lines come usually in coils of 25 yards. For 

 ordinary occasions one coil is all that the angler need 

 purchase; but if the fishing is to be rather heavy, as 

 in some of the Maine streams and lakes, or for sea 

 trout or landlocked salmon, forty yards will be neces- 

 sary. A line twenty-five yards in length allows the 

 angler, as above noted, to use a core of cheaper line 

 when a 100- or Soyard reel is used. 



The taper line has its advantages and also its dis- 

 advantages. Chief among its claims to precedence 

 over the level line is the one that with 



Level vs. j t i onger casts are poss ibl e . It has fre- 

 Taper. , , V , 



quently, in theory, been conclusively 



proved that this is not so but it is. Taper 

 lines are used as a matter of course by all long- 



