FISHING AT HOME AND ABROAD 

 wire. Flies look much neater dressed on single hooks; but salmon are not 

 trained as art critics; and personally I never hesitate in preferring double 

 hooks in sizes from 8 up to 3/0 in the Limerick scale — that is, from f„ in. 

 up to 1^ in. long. Above that size there is no advantage to be had from 

 double irons, and much inconvenience in casting. I have come to the 

 further conclusion that the Pennel bend is better than the Limerick, 

 taking a wider grip and penetrating more readily. 



There remains the question, Which is best — a metal eye on the hook 

 or a gut loop lashed to it ? The advantage of a metal eye is that it will 

 outlast any combination of feathers, fur and silk, whereas the gut loop is 

 always the most perishable part of the fly. One boggles over burning 

 old flies, yet how bitterly one has sometimes to repent that the sacrifice 

 was not made in due time. During the spring of 1912 that lesson was 

 well rubbed in for me. When fishing the Gordon Castle water on the 

 Spey in February, I had brought two different fish under the gaff; on 

 each occasion the salmon was floundering in the shallow water and the 

 gillie was waiting till it was still to deliver his stroke; on each occasion 

 the gut loop drew out of the dressing and two good spring salmon went 

 free. Now these were large flies supplied by a firm second to none in the 

 land for excellence of material; one of them, I admit, had been six or 

 seven years in my box; but the other was a maiden Jock Scott, which I 

 had only kept a couple of years. An experience such as this inclines one 

 strongly to resort to metal eyes, and, on the whole, perhaps they are 

 best, but it behoves one to be very careful in fashioning the knot that 

 secures the fly to the casting -line. There is only one knot worthy of con- 

 fidence for that purpose — ^the figure-of-eight, to which I have had occa- 

 sion to refer so often that it is proper to give an enlarged plan thereof. 

 It is shown in Fig. 3 as viewed from above, and its whole security depends 

 upon the bight A resting above the loop of the fly, and not under it or out- 

 side it at B, when the knot is drawn tight. The free end C may be snipped 

 off pretty close after drawing it tight. 



Fishermen differ as to which is the best knot used for attaching the fly 

 to the cast. I have no hesitation in pronouncing this figure-of-eight knot to 

 be the only perfect — the only safe one. It has the subsidiary advantage 

 of being very easily undone when the fly has to be detached from the 

 cast. It is a little difficult to acquire the knack of making it with reason- 

 able rapidity, but once the knack is acquired the angler will never resort 

 to any other. 

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