KNOTS AND KNACKS 115 



eight " knot, as it is trusty and can be untied without 

 difficulty. There is, however, another knot suitable for 

 this purpose and that, in sea-fishing, is called the " com- 

 mon bend/' I invariably use it when fishing from the 

 shore as it can be tied quickly and is quite reliable, but 

 I do not care about the extra knot on the end of the line 

 when throwing a fly on fresh water : that is merely a 

 personal fad. 



There are several excellent methods of tying the tail 

 fly to a cast, but I think that the " half-hitch " knot is 

 sufficiently satisfactory to be described as being first- 

 class. When using gut substitute do not on any account 

 forget that knots in this article are liable to slip. 



" HALF-HITCH " KNOT 



If I am reduced to a gut substitute cast, I pass the gut 

 through the eye of the hook and then, at the extreme end 

 of the cast, I tie a simple knot very securely. Next I tie 

 the " half -hitch " knot as close as possible to the first 

 knot. This device prevents the " half-hitch " knot 

 from slipping. For very small flies I am not altogether 

 partial to the extra knot, but better a suspicion of clumsi- 

 ness than a lost fish. With the larger fly used for sea- 

 trout, the additional knot is not so much in evidence. 



Should you wish to mount a " dropper/' the necessary 

 point can be attached to the cast by first tying a simple 

 knot tightly and then tying another similar knot. See 

 that you effect the attachment immediately above a joint 



