40 ANGLING 



then you will stand a fair chance of getting hold of him 

 at the next attack. Many an excellent trout has been 

 caught in this manner, which would have been lost 

 altogether if the angler had persisted in thrashing 

 away at him after his first unsuccessful rise. 



We shall proceed no further with our general remarks 

 on the purely mechanical and prudential rules relative 

 to the art of angling at the present time. "We shall 

 have to state several matters of importance to the 

 practical fisherman when we come to treat of the various 

 kinds of fish contained in our list. 



Note to Chapter II 



It may be stated, once for all, that in his practical directions 

 for angling, Blakey is in the main to be relied upon, and the 

 majority of his directions may be followed with profit, even in 

 days when the art of angling is supposed to have reached its 

 highest mark. What may be termed his general philosophy on 

 matters connected with the sport is admirable. He had dis- 

 covered, as we are continually perceiving, that the angler is 

 absurdly prone to overload himself \i'ith impedimenta. Blakey 

 does not err in this respect, but even his moderate list of requisites 

 include things that have gone out of fashion. Such things as 

 Indian weed, and China grass, for example, are quite unknown 

 to the modern fisherman. Hair lines for fly-fishing held their 

 own to comparatively recent times. In my youth the line 

 ordinarily used for fly-fishing was a combination of silk and hair, 

 nicely tapered. It was excellent for casting, and had a certain 

 elasticity tliat its successor, the plaited dressed silk, will never 

 have ; but it absorbed a quantity of moisture, and with every 

 precaution too soon became rotten. In out-of-the-way places 

 in Scotland and the north of England you may still meet with 

 a veteran who has remained faithful to his stout hair line for 

 salmon and trout fishing ; there is, however, no such demand for 

 them now as will warrant their being manufactured for the 

 regular market. The Indian weed and China twist were experi- 

 mental fibres that were found wanting, and have long since been 

 forgotten, especially since the manufacture of silkworm gut has 

 become a gi-eat industry. The receptacles of tackle, according to 

 Blakey's catalogue, were parchment books, and here again there 

 is change, light japanned tin boxes being now in general use for 

 all kinds of tackle. 



The item, "length of white and sorrel hairs of stallions' tails," 

 was once a matter of real importance, and any information as to 



