32 THE SALMON FLY. 



Having discussed at some length the chief qualities which should be 

 looked for in a good fly, we come next to the subject of the materials. 



The Hook. Enough has already been said about the need of strength 

 in this item. The simplest method of testing strength and temper is, to 

 stick the point of the hook into a piece of soft deal and give two or three 

 short tugs in a direction at right angles with the shank, so as to make 

 the hook-curve gape, noting closely whether or not the hook, on release, 

 springs at once back to its original shape without bend or break of any 

 part. If the hook is over-tempered, it will break ; if too soft, remain 

 bent. No hook should be used for fly-tying until it has been tested and 

 its barb and point carefully examined. In the case* of blunt points let 

 not the file be used, but the waste basket instead. Economy here is a 

 mistake and is invariably attended with disappointment. 



With regard to its shape, our purpose being to hook and hold fish, I 

 have ground for preferring, for general purposes, the modern " Limerick " 

 to all other kinds. I had the original shape improved, because, in 

 practice, an alteration seemed to me to be urgently needed. A slight, 

 very slight, outward (not lateral) tendency of the point gives increase of 

 penetration and grip, and makes the hook work into the flesh deeper and 

 deeper during an " engagement." These particulars are put mildly, but 

 the reader may place implicit reliance on the fact that the hook in our 

 picture excels all others, as the moon outshines the minor stars, the truth 

 of which dictum, however, would be completely upset by the erroneous 

 theories which have crept, goodness knows on what grounds, into this 

 subject at one time or another. 



THE IMPROVED LIMERICK HOOK. 



When the point of the " Improved Limerick," which deviates verti- 

 cally from the shank, comes in contact with a fish's mouth, the " line of 



