i82 THE DRY-FLY MAN'S HANDBOOK 



washed in soap and water and well rinsed in plain 

 water, dried thoroughly and redressed with pure lin- 

 seed oil under the air pump. A line thus treated 

 improves each year." 



" I use Aspinall's Mucilin 

 Floatant. thick for both flies and lines, 



and find it excellent." 

 " The cast should be 6 ft. to 8 ft. in length, tapering 



from light salmon, or ' Marana,' 

 Cast. to ' Regular ' — not finer if the 



trout run large. When fishing 

 on hot bright days, the gut should be kept damp by 

 being constantly trailed overboard, either with the fly 

 on or off, as it becomes very dry and brittle, and in 

 this state is the cause of many good fish being lost. 

 A well-made fly mucilined and properly groomed will 

 not absorb moisture, and will lie on the surface if only 

 the gut cast is placed on the water, and will float well 

 when subsequently cast to a fish." 



" The landing net should be large and V-shaped for 



open waters where there is not 

 Landing net. much weed, not less than 1 8 in. 



across and about 22 in. in the 

 arms; it must be deep and roomy. In weedy waters 

 an oval or round wooden frame is better ; a strong 

 5 to 6 ft. handle for boat work is required ; if you are 

 wading or fishing from the shore a net you can carry 

 in a sling is necessary." 



" The boat I have found most suitable for single- 

 handed work was built from patterns supplied by the 



