6 THE FLY-FISHER S WEAPONS. 



and delicate management of tackle that would, if 

 rudely handled, be bent and strained by the 

 strength and weight of a minnow. ? Tis wonder- 

 ful to see hooks of Lilliputian largeness, gut finer 

 than hair, and a rod, some of whose wooden joints 

 are little thicker than a crow's quill, employed in 

 the capture of the very strongest of river fish. 

 The marvel lies in the triumph of art over brute 

 force. If the sporting gear of the fly-fisher were 

 not managed with art on the mathematical 

 principle of leverage he could not by its means 

 lift from the ground more than a minute fraction 

 of the dead weight of that living, bounding, rush- 

 ing fish he tires unto death, nay, drowns in its 

 own element. The overcoming of difficulties by 

 the suaviter in modo forms one of the greatest 

 charms of fly-fishing, and to my fancy is the plea- 

 santest element of success that can be used in any 

 pursuit. Persuade, but never drive. 



The baits of the pure fly-fisher are imitations of 

 insects in one or other of their forms. He fishes 

 with imitations of the fly, the beetle, the grub, the 

 caterpillar and moth. These imitations are made 

 of divers materials, the chief whereof are feathers, 

 fur, mohair, wool, and silk. They are affixed 

 round hooks of various sizes, and by a process 

 requiring the most skilful and delicate manipula- 

 tion. The fly-dresser is a modeller of no mean 

 attributes. He has to represent, by means of 



