SELECTION, CARE, AND RIGGING 



ing the leader and its attached flies as well as 

 the act of throwing out the line. Silkworm-gut 

 is the standard material for the leader (or cast- 

 ing-line, as distinguished from the reel-line), 

 and it is advantageous in every way to buy this 

 by the quantity in strands and to tie your 

 own leaders. This material is not the silk- 

 worm's entrails any more than "catgut" is 

 feline intestine (it is sheep gut) but it is the 

 unspun silk which ordinarily would go into the 

 building of the cocoon. When the creatures are 

 ready to spin they are torn apart and the silk- 

 sacs, held by the ends, are drawn out to the 

 length they will stand and the resultant strands 

 are dried in the air. These strands come in 

 various thicknesses, of different lengths, and in 

 widely varying quality. The best gut is im- 

 ported from Spain and is selected both for 

 uniformity in size and to be uniformly round and 

 not flattened. The natural color is usually a 

 bluish-yellow translucent white, the best hav- 

 ing no yellowish tinge and being clear and 

 wiry. That stained a "mist" or bluish-gray 

 color generally is preferred as being the least 

 visible in the water. You can stain the natural 

 to a color approximating this by immersion for 

 a time in a good ink, such as Arnold's, Carter's 

 or Stafford's writing fluid, clear or diluted. 

 First wipe it with alcohol, then soak thoroughly 

 in water and wipe dry, before dyeing. Some 

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