42 ANGLING 



lines were some twenty years ago supposed to be the best in the 

 world ; but in the matter of lines, as in rods, our English makers 

 soon learned by experience, and now produce goods at least 

 equal to any in the world. 



In these days of "educated fish" and much fishing, it will 

 never do to go perch-fishing with a gimp paternoster. Not only 

 must gut be used, but gut of not more than medium thickness. 

 As to fish-hooks, Eedditeh not only retains its pre-eminence, but 

 has become the greatest seat of hook manufacture in the whole 

 world. The Limerick hooks are still made by the Irish manu- 

 facturers, but it is the name of a pattern rather than the descrip- 

 tion of a quality, and in this connection Kendal should be 

 substituted for Limerick, in association with Eedditeh, as a 

 leading place of hook manufacture. 



Blakey, I should say, was a fair fly -dresser. No angling 

 book, until within recent years, was considered complete without 

 its description of the methods of artificial fly-making ; but the art 

 as a regular business has become so thoroughly established, and 

 brought to such a pitch of perfection, that the practice of amateur 

 fly-dressing need only be followed for amusement. In the early 

 fifties it was often a matter of necessity; now the best of flies 

 can be bought at such low prices that the game, as a rule, is not 

 worth the candle. Blakey's remarks upon the subject in the text 

 appear without alteration, because his essay is that of a man who 

 is conversant with the general principles, and the rudiments are 

 clearly expounded. Should any modern angler, however, wish, 

 after reading Blakey's advice, to take up the charming occupation 

 of fly-dressing, he should study the many special works recently 

 written upon the subject. The remarks on pp. 24 and 25 should 

 be carefully read and laid to heart, for the whole argument as to 

 home-made tackle is admirably put, and the final paragraph is 

 golden wisdom for the young angler. Do not, however, fall into 

 the error of speaking of artificial flies as "baits." They are, of 

 course, in the strictest sense, as much baits as worms, frogs, or 

 dead fish ; but when anglers commonly speak about bait-fishing it 

 is tacitly understood that artificial flies are excluded. 



The list of thirty-six artificial flies comprise standard patterns 

 which have long been in use, and a considerable proportion of the 

 bewildering number of new patterns which have appeared since 

 that list was compiled are but variations in lesser or greater 

 degree of these well - known friends. It must be remembered, 

 however, that they are typical of the flies used for what we now 

 distinguish by the tei-m — wet-fly fishing. There was no talk 

 in Blakey's time of the dry-fly, which is a latter-day cult. 

 Blakey's flies and methods belong to the then prevailing custom 

 of fishing with a cast of two or three artificial flies allowed to sink 

 somewhat below the surface, and be carried down by the stream. 

 The majority of fly-fishers, probably, belong even now to that 

 class. The new method of the clear and difficult chalk streams 

 is — a single fly at the end of a very fine cast ; the art is to throw 



