FLY FISHING FOR TROUT AND GRAYLING. 279 
the breaking or bending of the hook for one that escapes by the 
gut giving way. It is mainly with sneck-bend hooks that 
breakages occur, and these are apt to give way either just above 
the barb, or at the angle nearest to it. With regard to the 
number of flies to be used on a cast—a vexata guestio amongst 
anglers—no really general rule can be laid down. In fishing a 
stream where the fish are large and the flies to be ‘used small, 
it will often be found the best policy to use one fly only and 
that tied on a Limerick hook of the best make. Indeed, what- 
ever the character of the stream, I prefer a hook of that class for 
my stretcher. It swims truer, and as it carries its point in the 
same vertical plane with the bend, seldom fails to hook your 
fish in the lower jaw. But on the other hand, there are many 
streams in which a second and even a third fly will greatly 
assist your basket. 
It is not merely that you may please the trout better by 
offering them a choice, though this is obviously true, and 
doubly so where the water often changes its character. The 
motion of a dropper cleverly worked, especially over an eddy, 
is essentially different from that of the tail fly, and imitates a 
phase of insect life with which fish are familiar, that in which 
the fly keeps dimpling the water in a series of short descents, 
probably dropping an egg every time it touches the stream. 
The nature of this motion is well recognised by the term ‘bob 
fly,’ so often applied to the dropper, and the young angler will 
do well to study it carefully till practice makes him perfect. 
If it wasna weel bobbit, we'll bob it again ! 
It is in this up-and-down play of the fly that the sneck-bend 
hook is so valuable, seldom failing to take hold somehow, 
somewhere. When it strikes on a bone, however good the 
temper, it is not unlikely to give way. But if care be taken to 
test each hook beforehand these mishaps will be very rare. If 
you have had a dozen flies dressed to your order, and cannot 
feel sure that the hooks have been carefully proved, try one or 
two by fixing the point in a board and giving a strong pull on 
