ON EYED-HOOKS. 3 



at the point of juncture of the head of the fly and 

 gut (the point at which the maximum wear and 

 tear takes place) it is only necessary in the case of 

 the eyed-fly to break it off and tie on afresh, sacri- 

 ficing at most a couple of inches of the fine end of 

 the cast ; while in the case of the hook on gut, the 

 fly has become absolutely useless and beyond re- 

 pair. It must also be remembered that with eyed- 

 hooks the angler can use gut as coarse or fine as he 

 may fancy for the particular day, while with flies on 

 gut he would require to have each pattern dressed 

 on two or three different thicknesses. 



Some discussion has been raised lately in the 

 press, on the comparative advantages of turned-up 

 and turned-down eyes, and much stress laid by 

 some of our highest angling authorities on the 

 direction of the pull on the hook. In down-stream 

 fishing, with sunk fly, this point may certainly be 

 of importance, but to the dry-fly fisherman, for 

 whose perusal this work is intended, seeing that 

 the smallest drag is at once fatal, it cannot be 

 material. For attaching the flies, I am distinctly 

 of opinion that Mr. Hall's form of the eye, in- 

 clined upwards, is more convenient and therefore 

 preferable. 



As to the special knot to be used for fastening 

 the hook to the cast, Mr. Hall's original one is be- 

 yond doubt the most secure, and for the full infor- 

 mation of any not already cognizant of his method, 

 the full directions are appended in his own words, 



