168 Hooks draw extraordinarily in India. Chapt. xiii. 



a tackle shop, and consequently it should he the hetter 

 provided against. Brass in steel, or vice versa, run hetter 

 than any other metals. 



Hooks draw dreadfully in India, from the 



Hooks draw- 

 ing, great heat drying up and shrinking the gut, 



as well as slackening the silk tying, and making the wax 

 as brittle as rosin. Every fisherman in India should be 

 ready to retie his hooks afresh after any length of time; 

 and every tackle maker should take precautions in mak- 

 ing up Indian tackle, which he does not condescend to do 

 with English tackle. Two hundred years ago, careful old 

 Izaak Walton advised one to singe the end of the gut be- 

 fore tying a fly, and this should always be done with trout 

 flies for Indian use. It is neglected because flies are tied 

 in the day light, when a candle is not at hand, and because 

 it is considered unnecessary. But for India it is neces- 

 sary, however good the fly tier, and should never be 

 neglected. 



For salmon flies for Indian use, the same precaution 

 should be taken; or the simpler one of tying a common 

 knot in the gut. There is so much thickness of body in 

 a salmon fly that this knot is concealed under it, and is 

 not noticeable, as it would be in a small trout fly. 



With a treble hook, the obvious plan is to double the 

 gut, and bring it half way up the other side of the hook. 

 It is impossible for it to slip then. All flights of spin- 

 ning tackle, and all minnows mounted with treble hooks, 

 should invariably be tied with this care for a tropical 

 clime. 



