Flies a/nd Hoohs. 113 



"Take the hook by the bend between the finger and 

 thumb of the left hand, and with the eye turned down- 

 ward in the position shown in the diagram ; then — the 

 gut being first thoroughly well soaked — push the end, 

 with a couple of inches or so, down through the eye {B) 

 toward the point of the hook ; then pass it round over 

 the shank of the hook, and again, from the opposite side, 

 downward through the eye in a direction away from the 

 hook's point (the gut-end and the central link will now 

 be lying parallel) ; make the double slip-knot {A) round 

 the central link (C), and pull the said knot itself per- 

 fectly tight ; then draw the loop of gut, together with 

 the knot {A), backward (toward the tail of the fly) 

 until the knot presses tightly into and against the metal 

 eye of the hook {B), where hold it firmly with the fore- 

 finger and thumb of the left hand, whilst with the right 

 hand — and ' humoring ' the gut in the process — the cen- 

 tral link is drawn tight, thus taking in the 'slack' of the 

 knot. When finished, cut the superfiuous gut-end off 

 close." 



" [To tie a double slip-knot : Make a single slip-knot 

 {A), and, before drawing it close, b 



pass the gut-end {B) a second time ^ .....-.(; 

 round the central link ( C), and then Fig- W- 



again through the loop {A), when the knot will be like 

 (A) in the larger diagram. To finish, pull the end of the 

 gut {B) — graduall;^, and at last very tightly — straight- 

 away : in a line, that is, with the central link (6').]" 



He who is accustomed to tie his own leaders, will rec- 

 ognize this knot as that which is generally termed in this 

 country " the double water-knot." 



I cannot but think this a very decided advance on the 



