432 TROUT-GUT AND WHERE TO GET IT 



rivers which are over- weedy, a two-handed rod is more 

 useful, in order to swing the fish over the weeds ; by 

 which term I do not mean to imply that the fish is to be 

 swung out of the water, but to be turned down-stream 

 in order to drown it, and then gently dragged over the 

 weeds until safe in deep water, by which time it is 

 quite possible that it may recover itself sufficiently to 

 show some considerable fight. The tactics to be em- 

 ployed in drowning heavy trout are similar to those 

 which I have described for the drowning of salmon. 



The best gut for trout fishing is what is termed 'fine- 

 drawn,' which being of various thicknesses, allows of 

 the cast being gradually tapered off towards its tail- 

 end. The best tapered gut I ever obtained was from 

 Mr. Kelly, of Sackville Street, Dublin, and the best 

 salmon gut from Mr. George Little, 63, Haymarket. 

 This gut would almost pull a salmon out of the water, 

 very much like the Irishman, Nicholas Browne's 

 description of the gut he sold in Galway : ' Yer 

 honor, it would pull a dead harrse out of a bog.' 



Where two flies are used, whether for salmon or 

 trout, the tail fly should always be larger than the 

 'bob' fly, or else the casting cannot be done neatly 

 and effectively, since the heavier fly naturally falls first 

 on the water, and must double over the lighter one. I 

 have seen fish lost by a knot being thus formed in the 

 gut cast. 



The proportionate size of the flies to each other is not 

 the only thing which has to be considered, for the line 

 must be suitable to the rod. The stiffer the rod the 

 heavier the line must be, and vice versa ; nor can too 

 great attention be paid to this particular, if scientific 

 work is necessary in order to catch fish. But whatever 



