Mat 27, 1893] 
over 
^ worth killing was gone. We threw 
to kill'w \ season these were big enough 
tL« I “ spawned in the mean- 
kS they were 
alivp^ in e. trout is taken 
live now and put into that river he rises 
PossihiSt 7). ® blank day becomes an im¬ 
possibility the presence of fish rapidly becomes 
e^er^thfe® ^^^t remains for 
his to fnp 1° and consolation of the man who 
has to face home with an empty basket. Thus 
bfgh parable, as the car reached the 
bis7if^^®7^^°* that Pat treated 
aid7tilT7 occasion, 
Ser bor^ m ^o^e that that gentleman evei^ 
re SnaMon commendable 
had know7V^* least in the opinion of those who 
flad known him in his unregenerated days before 
Pat took him to fish the Rising River. 
TOaltantana 
like I II have bought split cane rods are 
likely to find out their weak points during the 
t'-ies a rod more than 
a hard day s work with a May-fly. The eternal 
drying of the fly—at least it seems eternal when 
the day IS rather warm—is wearing both to the 
pm and to the rod, and brings about the loosen- 
ing of many a ferrule in hot weather. Cane is 
liable to shrink much more than wood, which is 
one reason why cane rods so often go wrong. 
I he whole cane rod, possibly because it is more 
or less hollow, shrinks more than a split cane 
rod, but split cane shrinks more than wood I 
rathp fancy that for May-fly work a greenheart 
rod in two pieces and spliced is about the best 
righf'it^^ 
When- trout are taking the fly on the surface 
and are not simply feeding on the larvce as they 
swim upwards, a brand new fly is more likely to 
catch a fish than one which has been a great deal 
used. I always use May-flies dressed on eyed 
hooks, have a goodly supply, and when one gets 
so wet as to necessitate a considerable amount 
of labour in the drying of it off it comes, and is 
stuck in my cap to dry at its leisure. Of course 
It IS rather wasting to the cast—this frequent 
changing flies, and no little trouble to those 
whose fingers are all thumbs and whose eyesight 
is becoming dim, but it is far less trouble to 
change the fly than to dry it when thoroucrhly 
soaked. I learnt this little dodge from°our 
editor, and am very thankful to him for having 
taught It me. _ ® 
some importance is to have 
the line well greased, especially the tapered por¬ 
tion of it. Nothing is more aggravating than to 
cast a nice new fly on the water, then see about 
two yards of line gradually sink, and, when you 
bring your rod back to make a fresh cast the 
sunken line draws the fly under the water, 
thoroughly soaks it, and disarranges the feathers. 
reminds me of a man I once saw fishing on 
the Kennet, on a very hot summer’s day. There 
was a glut of fly, and he was the only man on the 
water who had taken a fish. Need it be said that 
he was a beginner, and had never before used a 
May-fly, and had not the slightest idea how to do 
it. He was fishing with a Clarke May-fly, which 
he told nie he had read in the Fishing Gazette 
was a good pattern, and his method was to chuck 
the fly over to the opposite bank, let it sink, and 
then draw it towards him. Now the Clarke 
May-fly, when treated after this fashion, has a 
habit ot spinning, and it did spin, too, kinking 
up his cast in a most marvellous way. On that 
occasion, though the trout were taking the 
natural fly on the surface, no one—and there 
were some really good fly-fishers there—could 
catch a fish with a floating fly, but this man, 
hshing under water with his kinked-up cast and 
bedraggled spinning Clarke May-fly, caught a 
fine trout. 
THE PISHING GAZETTE 
Tu® Clarke May- 
spI 7 out, but they do not 
Eds* lbbeld their own against other 
brands, the reason, doubtless, being that owing 
If lb! being fixed close to the bend 
t the hook, they act as a sort of guard, and 
7hol!f one, and takes the 
whole fly into his mouth, he is very apt to hit 
lb! one of his jaws, and not got 
the hook in bis mouth. Then these flies, as 1 
have said, spin if they are allowed to sink, and 
sometimes they stand on their heads. But they 
do rise fish. I recommend all fly-fishers to have 
a few May-flies in their books, dressed rather 
small—smaller than the natural fly. A verv 
favourite pattern of mine, with which I have 
killed a great many trout, has a mackerel-marked 
wing-I forget the name of the 
ibt p supposed to be used when 
the grey drake is on, but I found it kill well at all 
times dressed on a very small hook. I have no 
hesitation in saying that the majority of May-flies 
sold in the shops are too large, bxt at times, and 
on certain waters (principally those where the 
hfrioTu *'u®opbisticated), a large fly will kill 
oetter than a small one. 
393 
ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Herbert Turner-— Friday, June 16th, will be 
our opening day,” when you may get to work 
among the roach. Thanks for good wishes ; but 
you must tell your friends to take in the Fishing 
Gazette now, as Angling is discontinued. 
I HAVE caught many a trout in the May-flv 
season with a wet fly when the floating imitation 
was quite useless, and this when the trout were 
taking the natural fly on the surface. Sometimes 
it IS best to fish with a fly neither wet nor dry— 
that is to say, half sunk—and at others with a fly 
specially dressed for wet fly-fishing without those 
butterfly-hke wings with which floating flies are 
adorned, worked an inch or two below the 
surface. An anglers’-hotel-acquaintance of mine 
who was a great enthusiast and considered it 
quite iw/ra dig-, to fish with anything except the 
dry fiy, had spotted a trout of goodly propor¬ 
tions, and, having devoted some hours in a vain 
endeavour to rise it, he had began to look upon it 
as his own particular property. It was in the 
May-fly season, and, I should say. he tried this 
fash with every variety of artificial May-fly known, 
i never saw a man with so many patterns. The 
fash rose steadily, and my friend, in the centre of 
the river, kept casting his fly over the nose of the 
trout as he kept breaking the water under the 
opposite bank. He came home in the evening, 
and told us how he meant to have that fish on the 
morrow. The morrow came and still he had not 
caught ifi but was still sanguine of ultimate 
success. On the morning of the third day, one 
who was stopping at the hotel rose early, and 
cast a long line down stream with a big alder, 
fished wet. He hooked the trout, and, after a 
gallant struggle during which it went under a 
bridge, got among weeds, and played various other 
antics, it was landed. It weighed nearly 5lb. He 
carried it to the hotel and made the landlady show 
it at breakfast time on a dish. “I told her to 
bring it in,” said he to the other man, “ because 
i telt sure you would like to see what a fine fish 
it was you were trying after yesterday.” 
Tehplar. 
Cormponir^jtcc 
[We do not hold ourselves responsible for the opinions 
(t n Correspondents ] 
.inf angling is that it presents an 
DO FISHERMEN INTENTIONALLY 
EXAGGERATE ? 
■ walking up the river a few days 
since with my rod, I was asked by a brother 
angler to come and try for a fish which he could 
not reach, and as an inducement he told me that 
It rose with such vigour, and was such a size, that 
it shook the bank. I went to the spot, but the 
rise was over so that I had no means of judging 
as to the weight of the fish. I felt at first grilved 
and inclined to question the accuracy of my 
friend, but on reflection I think he had an 
Australian bank in his mind’s eye. How often 
we may impute evil where none is really meant! 
I may add that on the same day, and within 1.50 
yards of the spot where the supposed monster? 
was said to have risen, a fish was taken with the 
May-fly, which the capturer told me weighed 41b 
i saw the fight, but did not see the fish when 
landed.—I am, sir, yours, &c., H G G 
May 22, 1896. ’ 
A HALIBUT, weighing upwards of 1501b., was 
caught recently by some fishermen at Donaghadee 
I he monster fish was on exhibition at a local 
salesman s, and attracted quite a number of 
sightseers. 
Poisoning a Flintshire River.— The Alwyn 
one of the best trout rivers in North Wales was 
recently poisoned by chloride of lime, ’ and 
although a reward of £5 was offered for informa¬ 
tion leading to the conviction of the culprits, the 
offence has again been perpetrated, this time on 
the stretch of water between Pentre and Llono' 
with disastrous results. 
Fish Poisoning in the Kent.— The Kent 
among other rivers, in addition to the absence 
ot angling in consequence of the drought, is 
suffering from_ wholesale poisoning close to 
Burnside, and in the river immediately below 
about 200 young trout and salmon were last 
week found floating on the surface dead. Upon 
examination the fish were found to have eyes 
white as when killed with lime. The river has 
recently been re-stocked with fish by the Kent 
Angling Association, who have held a conference 
on the matter, and an investigation is now pro¬ 
ceeding. ^ 
UNDRESSED TAPERED SILK PLY 
lines. 
Sir,— In reply to “ Afon Elwy,” who is quite 
right to dress his lines himself, as I have proved 
by irritating experience of so-called dressed lines 
purchasable, I got, a few weeks ago, a reallv 
made tapered line from Messrs. Poster 
of Ashbourne, Derbyshire. I dressed it and have 
used It, and I may say that it is the only properlv- 
woven line, of smooth surface necessarv for 
paying out through the rod-rings, of the tapered 
order, I have yet had to do with. Many lines 
have a single thread running round the main 
line, and standing out therefrom; this causes a 
paying out line—most 
abominable in fiy-fishing, 
I have no interest in puffiog the goods of any 
firm in particular, and I know that the press is 
tenacious on the point, but when, after repeated 
disappointment, a sportsman finds a really satis- 
A word as to dressing lines, which may be 
useiul to all your subscribers. Mere surface 
dressing is worse than useless. The dressine is 
more important inside the line than out. To 
this end act as follows: Gat a pint of the best 
raw linseed oil; heat in boiling water, i.e., dip an 
earthen pot of oil in boiling water, drop the 
temperature to 150 degrees Fahrenheit (this'thins 
the oil , immerse the line. If an air pump is 
availabl®, by placing the pot under the receiver 
^ process of incorporating the 
oil with the line, if not, work the line well about 
in the oil tor two days. Now comes the most 
important point. Takeout the line, unwind it, 
stretch at full tension between two trees (in drv 
weather, of course), then with a dry cloth remove 
all the oil possible by rubbing up and down from 
end to end. If the weather is sunny and windy 
the line will be tairly dry in a week. Next 
process, dip again, and restretch, remove super¬ 
fluous oil and remain until dry. Or, if preferred 
a rag saturated with oil may be rubbed up and 
do^wn tor a mere surface dressing, and allowed to 
Ihe grand point is the first interior dressing 
and I rather think that is enough. 
A mere surface-dressed line allows, by bend- 
ing, water to get under the dressing, which 
the dressing prevents the evaporation of, and rot 
IS the certain consequence.—I am, sir, vours 
obediently, Qeo. Thorne. 
Lroxbourue, Herts, May 24, 1896. 
