388 Fly^rods and Fly-tackle. 



that at which the fly is first perceived and the fly itself, 

 the leader must come within the range of distinct vision, 

 the advisability of concealing it as much as possible can- 

 not be questioned. 



True, at times the desire to eat preponderates over the 

 fear of being eaten, and then anybody can catch trout in 

 almost any manner that appeals to their appetite. But 

 the art of fly-fishing is to outwit the fish when in their 

 ordinary mood of distrust, not for the angler to wait 

 until they are driven to desperation by the pangs of 

 hunger. To take one trout with the fly under adverse 

 circumstances, gives more pleasure to the true angler 

 than to derrick out a tubful at the rate of one every 

 ten seconds. 



The prudent man, when about to tempt fortune, pre- 

 pares himself to meet the worst, well knowing that re- 

 sources adequate to that will enable him to triumph over 

 lesser evils. So with the true angler. He takes it for 

 granted that the fish will be timid and disinclined to 

 feed, and prepares his tackle to meet such contingencies. 

 Then the color and thickness of the leader may be of 

 importance, and to determine if possible to what extent 

 the following experiments were tried. 



On reflection it seemed that while the leader should 

 be inspected from the same direction, and against the 

 same background as when viewed by the trout, that this 

 must be done with the eye without the water, and that 

 with properly constructed apparatus this could be accom- 

 plished and reliable results be obtained. A water-tight 

 box was therefore made, twenty- eight inches long, and 

 six inches wide, and four inches in the remaining direc- 

 tion, all inside measurements. One end was closed with 

 a thick glass plate, while the other was left open. It was 



