48 FLIES AND FLY FISHING. 



way, with sliding rings ; the Irish plan of a hole through 

 the butt and a knob screwing on is bad and never keeps 

 steady. 



THE LINE. 



THE plaited dressed silk line is much the best for all 

 kinds of fishing, when expense is an object, the next best 

 .are the cable twisted lines, made by the Manchester 

 Cotton Company, but the dressing on these last wears off 

 immediately ; however, they do very fairly without. All 

 hair lines, or hair and silk mixed, for fly fishing are utter 

 trash. It is surprising to me how fishermen could have 

 have gone on using them as long as they did when almost 

 anything would have answered the purpose better. I am 

 always of opinion that the generality of fishermen use 

 much too light lines for trout, and too heavy for salmon 

 fishing. A tolerable heavy trout line gives immense 

 advantage in a wind, and with it at any time you can 

 throw much better, neater, and a great deal more exactly 

 as to place ; and as to its making more splash in the water 

 a fisherman ought never to show his line at all to the fish. It 

 certainly does wear out the rods a trifle sooner than using 

 a very light one would do, but this disadvantage is very 

 slight, and is otherwise amply compensated for. But, 

 on the other hand, the enormous cables that are made 



