78 PRACTICAL FLY FISHING 



fly on your hands. Besides, they occupy too much 

 space and are bothersome. The eyed fly was revived 

 when dry fly fishing became popular abroad and most 

 fly fishers now use flies tied only on eyed or looped 

 hooks, which they fasten directly to the leader. A 

 large number of them can be carried in a comparatively 

 small space and they can be used with a modern spin- 

 ner often desirable in bass fishing. 



Some large bass flies and most salmon flies (the 

 smaller sizes of which are excellent for bass) are tied 

 on hooks with a twisted gut loop instead of an eye and 

 they possess the advantages of eyed flies except pos- 

 sibly they are not quite as durable. 



If the angler has flies tied on hooks with turned 

 down eyes he may find that they do not " ride " well 

 with a spinner. If such is the case he can straighten 

 the eye by heating it over a flame, straightening care- 

 fully with pliers, dipping in oil and permitting to cool 

 rapidly on a window sill with the window slightly 

 raised. This may not be a scientific way but it works. 



How MANY FLIES? 



Some fly fishers use as many as three flies and 

 not a few prefer two. Most of the time I use only 

 one fly but do not question the sportsmanship of those 

 who do not agree with me. In fact, my preference is 

 based on efficiency. In other words, I believe that a 

 single fly, properly and carefully fished, will produce 

 more rises and catch more fish, and certainly is easier 

 and simpler to handle, than a cast made up of two or 



