194 SALMON AND TROUT. 



have been selected, and have been allowed to soak in cold 

 water for some hours, take the two that are to form the first 

 link, and having made the loop that is to connect this with 

 the reel line, whip the strands tightly together (this need not 

 be done closely) with well-waxed silk, from the knot where the 

 loop has been made down to nearly the ends of the strands. 

 Knot to the next link and remove the whipping, when it will 

 be found that the strands will lie evenly together and any strain 

 that is put on will be equally shared by both. Commence 

 whipping from the last knot made in the manner above men- 

 tioned, and continue until the casting hne is complete. I my- 

 self never use anything but single gut, unless fishing in big 

 rivers, but I make up my own lines and take great care to use 

 only the strongest gut. 



Not long ago I discovered what I thought was a new method 

 of fastening strands of gut together without knots, but I have 

 since found that the invention was not a new one, and that 

 my plan had been adopted years ago by Mr. Cholmondeley- 

 Pennell, and described in his book 'The Modern Practical 

 Angler.' His principle and mine are identical, although some- 

 what differently carried out. The result, however, is that in 

 both cases the fastening together of the gut in a casting line is the 

 strongest part of it} 



On testing a line so constructed with strands of ordinary 

 salmon gut, dry, it broke at a strain of 15 lbs. in the middle of 

 one of the links and not at the fastening. 



Another line of apparently the same strength, the links of 

 which were fastened together by knots in the ordinary way, broke 

 at a knot at a strain of 7^ lbs. A third, again, made of two 

 strands of the strongest picked gut, untwisted, without knots, 

 pulled the index of my steelyard down to 20 lbs. without 

 breaking. I am certain it would have stood a strain of several 

 pounds more, but I was content with such a result, and I feel 

 satisfied that such a line would hold the biggest salmon that 



* See description of the knot, p. 45 (chapter on 'Tackle'). 



