66 FISHING TACKLE 



pairs. Nice tapers are obtained in this way, but 

 after soaking the twisted gut swells more than 

 the single gut, and is not so smooth and wiry, 

 though strong. 



In olden times horsehair leaders were much 

 used, and are still employed to some extent in 

 England. The hairs from the tail of a gray 

 stallion were said to be the best, while those 

 from a mare's tail were regarded as useless. 



In tournament fly-casting for distance the 

 finest grade leaders are used, mainly in salmon 

 sizes. In the salmon events combination 

 leaders are allowed, but for all single-hand rods 

 the leaders must be of single gut. The general 

 rule observed in the United States is that every 

 tournament leader must be at least six feet in 

 length, and it cannot exceed the length of the 

 rod used by more than two feet. In Australia, 

 where tournament casting is practiced by an 

 enthusiastic group of Sydney trout fishermen, 

 leaders of twenty and thirty feet are used, and 

 with their strong, dry winds, this in part ac- 

 counts for the great distances they have ac- 

 complished in casting with heavy single-hand 

 rods. 



Formerly leaders of fifteen and eighteen feet 

 were used here in distance casting, but since 

 the casters have all adopted lines with very long 



