GENERAL HINTS 83 



head upstream, and turning face down, so that 

 creel and landing net will drift behind you, stop 

 your progress with hands and feet, gain a foot- 

 hold, and rise slowly. If it is necessary to free 

 yourself of the creel, this is much more easily 

 done with one hand if the fastenings are snaps 

 instead of buckles. 



For use in dry-fly fishing I soldered a rather 

 large safety pin on one of the ten-cent oil tubes 

 sold everywhere by the trade. Filled with par- 

 affin oil, it is pinned on the creel shoulder strap 

 or secured on the leather strap that passes 

 through the back of the creel, where it cannot 

 be turned upside down. 



As the screw cap of this tube is a clumsy 

 thing to handle, I improved it, too. A small 

 hole was drilled into its top, then a larger one 

 was bored through it from side to side, tapping 

 the first hole. A piece of silk line was pushed 

 down the hole in the top and out at one side, 

 a knot tied in the end and pulled into the cap. 

 The other end of the cord was tied into the 

 safety pin. As the cord will swivel, the cap 

 may be unscrewed without snarling it, and it 

 cannot be lost. 



There are a number of handy devices to be 

 had in the trade for carrying paraffin oil and 

 other solutions intended to make flies float. 



