i8 
A HANDY GUIDE TO 
before it has done this, vou will hear a crack — and 
your fly will be gone ! But these fines to fly-dressers 
will not he paid in vain, if they every time teach you 
the need of more care and less hurry. 
These crack-offs will be more likely to occur in hot, 
dry days ; for then, of course, the gut is mere brittle. 
Hence then the necessity of well soaking both cast 
and flies before you use them — unless you are a man 
of fortune and like to support tackle-makers. 
In actual fishing, the cast and fly should always 
be previously soaked. More fish are lost by the 
neglect of this precaution, perhaps, than in any other 
way. 
