FLIES AND FLY FISHING. 89 



light yellow worsted, then fasten a small strip of straw 

 on each side with dark waxed silk. The lead ought to 

 be filed rough all over its surface which keeps the 

 worsted in its place. The grasshopper should be 

 of the size and form shown in cut, fig. 1. On 

 the gut line place a small float, or 

 rather mark, for it is not intended to 

 float. The simplest way is to cut an 

 inch, or an inch- and- a-half of quill, 

 and insert in it a piece of the white 

 pith of the stem after having passed the 

 line through it ; this keeps it in its place as in cut, fig. 2. 



When at the water side, bait the barb of the hook with 

 a live grasshopper, when this can be procured, by insert- 

 ing the hook between its shoulders ; and if you have no 

 grasshoppers, with two or three gentles or a cabbage 

 grub. The best way to carry grasshoppers is in a soda 

 water bottle with a little grass, then you can get them 

 out one at a time. 



Fix the quill mark on the line according to the depth 

 of water to be fished. Supposing the water to be four 

 feet deep, I should place the mark three feet from the 

 bait, or one foot less than the depth. With a line rather 

 shorter than the rod, throw the bait in near the bank, 



