CHAPTER XI 



GUT AND GUT SUBSTITUTE 



HORSEHAIR was used in years gone by, but for a long 

 while silkworm gut has been in general use for fishing 

 purposes. It is mainly a product of Spain. Gut may 

 be either natural or drawn. The former retains its 

 skin, while the latter has been drawn through jewelled 

 plates, reducing its size to the finest proportions. The 

 thickness of the gut is graduated into sizes in 

 descending order of fineness ix, 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x, 6x. 

 Nothing finer than 4x is to be recommended except 

 in extraordinarily clear water for fine roach fishing. 

 The finest sizes are not to be obtained in natural gut. 

 The advantage of natural gut lies in its strength and 

 its ability to withstand wear and tear without fraying 

 out. But drawn gut is to be preferred for fine fishing 

 in clear water. Tapered trout casts, gut points, 

 hooks to gut and one-yard gut bottoms are usually 

 made of drawn gut. Spinning traces and tackles, 

 salmon and sea trout casts can all be made of natural 

 gut. Although natural gut is the stronger, not so 

 liable to fray, and better able to withstand wear and 

 tear, it must not be understood that drawn gut is 

 inferior. On the contrary, drawn gut is largely used 

 and is capable of landing very heavy fish even on the 

 finest drawn strands. 



To make a gut cast, either tapered or level, take 

 some long strands of either natural or drawn gut, and 

 examine each strand for any weak or flat places. The 

 best gut is clear and round, and no inferior pieces 



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