IDEAS ON FLY-FISHING. 241 



ly employed for their construction, but the newly- 

 invented aluminium bronze is infinitely to be pre- 

 ferred, for it does not corrode or discolor with the 

 action of the atmosphere, and it is less liable 

 to suffer from a blow or a fall ; mischances that 

 the fly-fisher's paraphernalia, more particularly in a 

 rocky mountainous country, are especially liable to 

 when following the course of a trout brook, for stones 

 will be slippery and of treacherous foundation. Who 

 among our expert salmon or trout fishermen can not 

 remember having obtained a frightful cropper when 

 precipitously following up or down stream a heavy 

 fish he was fast to ? I do not require to tax my mem- 

 ory greatly to recall half-a-dozen such casualties. 



There are various methods of attaching the reel to 

 the rod. Of none do I approve so highly as that by 

 which the reel is held fast in a shallow indentation 

 by a movable band. In those cases where the butt 

 is pierced, or the reel held on the rod by a brass 

 band attached to it, which closes with a screw, the 

 nuts are constantly getting lost or loose, through 

 the thread being worn out ; moreover, the hand not 

 unfrequently gets chafed by coming in contact with 

 them. 



On the subject of fly-lines there is great diversity 

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