ease. For delicate fishing in waters where the cur-
rent is not too strong tapered lines are far the best.
These taper off towards the end in diameter, and
possess the great advantage that the light end (next
the leader) does not slap the water as a heavy line
is too apt to do, especially after a long cast, but falls
gently and thus allows the fly to settle softly over
the fish. This lightness of placing the fly is far
more important than length of cast in quiet waters,
208 The Way of the Woods
especially on a bright day. The best all-round tapered
fly-line is of the size E in the middle and tapers to F
and even G at the ends. The double taper enables
the line to be used from either end.
Oiled silk lines, not enamelled, are much cheaper
($.50 to $.75 for twenty-five yards), and do ex-
Cheap Lines cellent work > though, being lighter, they
are harder to cast from a trout-reel, and
are much more apt to foul and snarl.
When buying a line see that the coils do not stick
together to any extent, for, though the soft enamel-
ling is more flexible, stickiness will coun-
teract this advantage. Double the end
of the line between the finger and thumb and give
the loop thus formed a roll. If the spot shows a
whitish mark the enamel is too brittle and of bad
quality.
Every line, new or old, should be subjected, at the
beginning of each season, to a tension of at least
twelve pounds (some say sixteen pounds). The best
lines when new will stand far more than that. A test
in time saves many a disappointment. Soft-enamel
lines can be advantageously rubbed down with
deer-fat to keep them pliable and smooth ; graphitoleo
will do also, though the overnice fisherman might
soil his hands with it. 1
1 Never allow a good line to remain any length of time
wet on the reel, but remove it and wipe dry. There are
several good drying-reels for this purpose on the market
("Angler's Friend," $2; "Nichols," $i). The back of a chair
may also be used.
Fishing 209
Leaders
The gut from which all leaders (casting-lines) are
made is produced in the province of Murcia in
Spain from the fluid of the silk- worm,
which is drawn from the worm and hardens
upon exposure to the air. The strands, which are
between 10 and 18 inches long (the most expensive
up to 24), are sorted according to size and again
according to quality. Fishermen should Testing for
have to do only with good gut, and this Quality
is known by its hard, smooth, colourless quality,
and its absolute roundness. Rolling it between
the fingers will reveal any flatness, which means
weakness.
The finest (in diameter) natural gut is called
"Refina", and is used for the most delicate trout-
casts ( 10 7 QO to -nnnj- inch thick). Then follow "Fina,"
"Regular," "Padron" second and first, "Marana"
second and first, "Imperial," and "Royal," which
last is the very thickest salmon gut, produced only
in small quantities, and consequently very expensive.
Natural gut is called undrawn to distin- ~
Drawn Gut
guish it from "drawn gut," which is
produced in several sizes by drawing, or paring down,
the natural gut between diamond plates to great
fineness. Drawn gut is mostly used by British "dry-
fly" anglers (see Trout-Fishing), whose tackle, except
the rod, is of extreme delicacy. It is much
weaker than natural gut and is only recommended
for use in quiet water where there is plenty of room
to humour the fish.
(Reckoning probably on the general ignorance of the
average American angler, most of our dealers have adopted
210 The Way of the Woods
a nomenclature for the sizes of gut which is quite senseless,
since the term "trout-size," for example, may mean one
thing to one fisherman and something much heavier to
another. There is no advantage and much resulting con-
fusion in abandoning the terms by which the different sizes
are known in the British market, to which ninety per cent
of all gut goes and where the American dealers buy theirs.)
The reason that the British are addicted to much
more delicate leaders than we lies in the comparative
serenity of their waters, where they do not
have to fight both the fish and the rapids
as is often the case with us. Nevertheless Americans
generally use too heavy gut for trout, in most cases
strong enough to hold a salmon. On brawling streams,
especially when swollen in early spring, a strong
leader is a necessity, but one of " Regular" gut with
"Padron" upper half will hold the biggest trout
that swims, provided it be of good quality. For
my own part I confess to a leaning towards very
light leaders ("Fina" and "Refina"), the object
being to give the fish all the chance possible. (This
gut I have nearly always been obliged to get directly
from England, as our dealers do not commonly keep
it in stock.) The British make the mistake of using too
heavy rods with delicate tackle. Why should we go
to the opposite extreme and attach salmon leaders
to lines thrown by light rods? Mr. Wells says (Fly-
Rods and Fly-Tackle):
4 'The strain imposed upon a leader, even by the largest
trout, is generally greatly overestimated. A leader that
will endure five pounds steady strain with a spring-balance
will, when backed by the elasticity of a fair rod, resist the
utmost effort of the largest trout that swims the Rangeley
Lakes."
Fishing 211
In any case buy the lightest trout-leaders your
dealer keeps.
For stream work the leader should be six to seven
feet long. For fishing open, quiet water it may be
nine feet, except with a short rod, for the
leader should in no case be longer than
the rod, or the knot at the junction of line and leader
will for ever be getting caught in the tip-ring, to the
vexation of the angler. Nor, with too long a leader,
will you be able to get your fish near enough to net,
for the bend of the rod enables the victim to keep
at a greater distance. It follows that a nine r foot
rod should not be used with a leader more than
seven feet long.
Innumerable experiments have been made with a
view to ascertaining what colour of gut is the least
conspicuous to the eye of a fish, and the c j uf
discussion goes merrily on. Nowadays
most ready-made leaders are stained a "mist," or
pale grey, colour as being neutral, and this is perhaps
as good as anything; but, while it behooves the
modest man to keep an open mind on such subjects,
I confess that I have lately come to the conclusion
that it is best to leave the gut in its natural colourless
state, for the reason that, once in the water, it takes
on and reflects the colouring of the surrounding ele-
ment ; in other words it is apt to become practically
a part of the water in tint, while stained gut remains
constant to itself and hence is more conspicuous.
Neither does staining improve the quality of the gut.
Leaders in several tints may be had of dealers. Of
course if one fishes waters that are habitually slightly
212 The Way of the Woods
coloured, such, for example, as those of southern
Nova Scotia, the leader may be tinted to match ; in
this case a pale yellow by soaking in strong coffee.
Unless specially ordered, most American leaders,
if nine feet long, are furnished, at certain points be-
tween the two ends, with two loops to which
a second and a third fly may be knotted,
the general run of fishermen, especially the non-
expert class, using three flies together, a habit repre-
hensible in many eyes, since it approaches the use of
the drag-net. And it may be said that, though many
excellent anglers habitually use two flies, the " simon-
pure" sportsman, who has risen from the lower
forms of the fish-hog through the slightly higher
class of creel-fillers and record-boasters, finally to
become an alumnus of the " College of Pure Angling,"
uses one fly only and hence has no desire for loops
on his leaders. However let us not be Pharisaical,
but close an eye to the use of one dropper-fly, if
only for the pleasure (perhaps after a surfeit of
fishing) of hooking and landing a pair at one cast,
an experience which has its exciting and legitimate
joys. The loop for the dropper should be placed
at least thirty inches (better three feet) from the
tail-fly (stretcher-fly) loop. If you will persist in
using three flies but no, let us not contemplate
even the possibility of this!
To the stout end of the leader is tied a small loop for
attaching the line, and, if, as usual here, flies tied
on gut are used, a larger loop is provided at the
finer end for attaching the fly-loops. If small-eyed
flies (without gut) are used the leader end is left
without a loop, the fly being attached by some kind
Fishing
213
FIG. 35. Angler's Knot
of knot. (See under Flies.) One practical way to
make up tapered leaders is to buy a number of two
and three-foot leaders of different thicknesses and
loops at each end, and loop them together as desired.
Holding the leader-loop between the thumb and
forefinger of the left hand, pass the end of the line
up through the loop for an inch and a half, Attaching
cross it over itself with the end pointed Leader
from you, and then press the middle of the free
end round under and up
through itself, forming a knot
which is now drawn tight by
holding with the left fingers
and pulling the line with the
right hand. This is the usual
and a very good method.
(See Figure 35.)
Another way: Pass the end ,.,
FIG. 36. Another Leader
of the line through the loop, Knot.
then round it, and finally
under itself. Haul tight. In this case a knot in th j
end of the line ensures added security. (See Figure
36.)
In all cases the smaller the knot the neater and
better.
Leaders are kept coiled in boxes of metal, either
round or rounded oblong in shape, costing from $.25
to $1.00. They contain two or more Leader-
sheets of felt between which, moistened, boxes
the leaders lie. For storing purposes the boxes should
be of some strong material, but to carry a few extra
leaders in the pocket the little $.25 aluminum box
214 The Way of the Woods
is just the thing. When likely to be used the felt
should be kept well moistened, to soften the gut and
render it perfectly flexible, as insufficiently moistened
gut is very easily injured, with the result that it
frays or cracks and then breaks with a moderate pull.
Moistening gut does not render it stronger, on the
contrary its tensile strength is weakened by some
twenty per cent, by the process, but it does make it
pliable and less liable to injury. Always examine a
leader closely before using, and exchange it for another
if the slightest fraying or cracking is discovered. A
weak strand can be replaced at leisure by a fresh one.
Fishermen are for several reasons recommended
to make their own leaders, an easy and amusing
How to task after a little practice. Especially is it
Make profitable for those who do not care to be
bound by the stereotyped patterns offered by the
dealers. One can make any style and length to suit
one's taste. Gut, stained or unstained, can be had
from the dealers in the hank of one hundred strands.
Consult the catalogues of Abbey & Imbrie and Aber-
crombie & Fitch of New York (the former firm
preserves the original names of the several sizes).
Canadians can import directly from Hardy Brothers,
Alnwick, England, and save a portion of the cost.
Carefully select the strands for each leader according
to thickness and length, having decided upon the
length and style. The leader should taper gently
from thick to thin end, a fact to be kept in mind
while choosing the strands, which are coiled loosely
together and put to soak overnight in tepid soft
water (distilled is best), which will render them
Fishing 215
soft and pliable. A couple of hours in warm, not
hot, water will often be enough but overnight is
better, as the strands will then be softer and the knots
will prove closer and stronger. Begin by doubling back
on itself the thick end of the heaviest strand Single
far enough to tie a very small loop (common Water -knot
knot). It need only be large enough to allow the
line to pass through. Draw as taut as possible by
inserting a lead-pencil and pulling steadily on the
strand and the loose end, which need not be trimmed
off until the complete leader has been tied. Next
tie a single loose knot in the other end of the strand,
only about J of an inch in diameter and as near the
end as the quality of the gut will warrant, being care-
ful not to include any part that is flat or otherwise
imperfect. Take the second thickest strand, thrust
its thicker end through the loose knot just tied, and
tie with this end a second knot round the top strand.
The two strands will then appear like this :
Draw the two loops pretty tight and then pull them
together by drawing
on the two long ends,
so that they form one
compact knot, called
. . FIG. 37. Detail of Single Water-
the single water- Knot
knot." When joined
pull steadily and strongly on the strands and the
two untrimmed ends until the knot seems perfect.
This process is repeated with each new strand
until the leader has attained its destined length,
when all projecting ends are trimmed off with
the scissors as closely as possible to the knots.
For snelled flies a loop, large enough for the fly
to pass through, is tied at the end of the thinnest
2 1 6 The Way of the Woods
strand. For eyed flies the end is left without
a loop.
Instead of the single knot many prefer the "double
water-knot," especially for thin gut, which pulls
Double out more easily. It is made like the
Water -knot single knot, except that the short end is
passed twice round the other long part instead of
once, and then through
both loops thus formed.
Mr. Wells recommended
FIG. 38. Double Water-Knot tne single knot for or-
dinary gut, and I can
testify from long experience that, if the gut is well
soaked and closely tied, it is quite satisfactory.
For drawn gut the double knot is preferable, as
it is stronger and the bulk is not much increased.
The leader we have just made contains no loop for
a dropper-fly, which may be attached in two ways.
Dropper- i. Having determined at which knot
loop the dropper shall be placed, we do not make
a water-knot as above at this place, but tie in each
end a simple loop and then
join as in the cut. To put on
the fly, push the loops apart
and insert the snell of the fly
FIG. 39. Loop-Knot for
Dropper-Fly (with a knot at its end or its
regular loop to prevent slipping
through) ; then pull the loops together again. This
enables the angler to change his dropper with ease
and celerity. If he wishes to use an eyed fly for a
dropper he must attach to it a short snell of gut with
a knot in the end. (Fig. 39.)
Fishing 2 1 7
2 . At the place where we wish to place the dropper,
and before the water-knot is drawn taut, we insert
a short piece of gut with a common knot in one end
and a inch loop in the other. Then draw the water-
knot tight. The dropper-loop need not be over an
inch or so long, as the fly will be far enough from the
leader by reason of its own snell.
Having made our leader we now proceed to test
its strength. Soak well. Fasten the thick end to
some smooth projection, as a hook, and Testing
the other to a pocket balance scales, which
are held in the hand and strained steadily until the
leader either breaks or the scales register a satisfactory
strength. If the leader stands the test do not repeat
it, as the gut is weakened by the process. A five-
pound strain is enough to test any trout-leader, for
a trout pulls very little over its own weight in smooth
water, and in rapids he must be humoured to some
extent. For very light leaders a strain of 2^ pounds
is sufficient. If the leader breaks before it should,
repair and retest. When satisfactory coil loosely
and put away with a label pasted round it, containing
a record of the strain it can bear.
(To attach flies to leaders, see under Flies.)
Though not an advocate of coloured leaders, I
append the following hints for those who To Dye
are. All boiling is best done in earthenware pots.
Neutral Grey: Boil for five minutes or so a drachm of
ground logwood and six grains of powdered copperas. Re-
move from fire and immerse the gut for two or three minutes,
fishing it out every minute to see whether sufficiently dark.
2 i8 The Way of the Woods
When the required shade is obtained wash in cold water.
(Chitty-Norris-Wells.)
Grey: Immerse in pure black ink and cold water, half and
half, until the right shade is obtained. Ink corrodes gut
least.
Green: "Boil green baize in water, and when this is well
charged with colour, and still warm, immerse the gut therein
until sufficiently dyed." (F. Francis.)
Yellow: See above under Colour.
Flies
Artificial flies are generally supposed to be more
or less accurate imitations of natural winged insects,
for which they are taken by game fish; and this is
no doubt true of some waters and of some flies, par-
ticularly in regions which have been fished for many
years, where the kinds of food are few, and where the
trout have become "educated," as in England and
some parts of this continent. Here the flies are made
to imitate the natural flies on the water as closely
as possible, as, for example, those most used in
Pennsylvania and southern New York, and in a still
greater degree on the clear chalk streams of England,
where the brown trout (salmo jario) is lured with
the daintiest of flies made to imitate both sexes of the
insects common to those waters, for on the other side
of the water a knowledge of angling entomology is as
common as our general dense ignorance on the same
subject, not one American angler in fifty being able
to name correctly a single living fly found on trout
waters; in fact it is doubtful whether there are fifty
in the whole country who can do it, exception being
made of one or two of the commonest kinds. The
result is that there are no artificial flies tied in this
country that can rival British ' ' dry-flies ' ' in workman-
Fishing 219
ship. One reason for this is the ignorance just men-
tioned and the consequent lack of demand, but a
still more important one lies in the fact that our
beautiful brook-trout (salvelinus jontinalis) refuses
as a very general rule to take any lure which floats
as if dead on the surface of the water (May-flies
are about the only exception). The artificial fly
must therefore be kept in motion, and its workman-
ship is of less importance, since its details cannot be
so distinctly seen by the fish as if it floated motionless.
Volumes have been written on the question, "For
what do trout take the artificial fly?" and various
have been the answers, the majority inclining to the
belief that it is taken solely for the natural insect
which it purports to represent. Others say "minnows" ;
others still "both." To my mind all these opinions
are correct though in different places and at different
times. Usually in quiet, much fished waters they
do take the fly for the real insect; farther north,
especially when large and submerged, for a minnow,
and again for something else. But, in spite of the
"nature fakers," no American trout ever passed an
examination in entomology, and I am sure that
when a hungry trout rises to the fly he is not
in a comparative or analytic mood; he simply
sees something that looks good to eat and goes for it!
Especially is this the case in the north woods where
trout feed on a multiplicity of foods, and where their
habit, as any experienced angler knows, is to attack
anything that looks edible. Who has not seen a
trout take into his mouth innumerable small objects,
from artificial flies to maple-buds, and immediately
eject them after trial of their character?
That he cannot possibly recognise the natural
220 The Way of the Woods
insects upon which he feeds in the lures which are
generally cast over him is shown by a glance at such
favourite northern flies as the Silver-Doctor, Par-
machenee-Belle, or Jenny-Lind, mere fanciful com-
binations of colour bearing no resemblance to any
living creature. The English angler with the floating
" dry-fly" begins operations by observing upon what
insect the fish are feeding, selects then from his
dry-fly box the fly made in imitation of that insect,
casts it lightly just above a trout that has risen, and
allows it to float down over the fish. It is possible
that this method, which is a very fascinating and
scientific form of angling, would be crowned with
success in some parts of our country if we only
possessed flies tied in exact imitation of our native
Ephemera, which we have not, a fact not com-
plimentary to the enterprise of our tackle-makers.
In northern waters, and using English flies, I have
always found dry-fly fishing a failure compared with
the wet, lively fly method, undoubtedly for the
already mentioned reason that our brook-trout
ignores most dead baits, at least on the surface. Our
northern waters are generally somewhat discoloured
and mostly running, and the gaudiness of the highly
coloured flies enables them to be the more easily
seen.
Another ancient and classic dispute is that between
the "colourists" and the " formalists," as to whether
colour or shape is the more important in a fly. One
man, asserting that shape was quite secondary,
fished all day with a bunch of red worsted tied to a
hook and took a lot of fish, while in England a well-
known angler, Sir H. Maxwell, made just the op-
posite statement, and threw the dry-fly purists, to
Fishing 221
whom the slightest shades of colour are as important
as Magna Charta, into confusion by taking fish after
fish with flies of the regulation dry-fly pattern,
stained however a brilliant red and blue! One may
say in general that the rougher and more opaque
the water, the more important does colour become.
Most orthodox anglers may be described as "colour-
ist-formalists," believing in the importance of both
elements.
The books are by no means closed upon all these
interesting questions, and every one has aright to an
opinion, so long as it is founded on experience and
reason. In the matter of the choice of flies there is
but one sound rule: lay in a stock of those which
pass for the best in the region where you intend to
fish, adding to it then according to fancy.
Of the "dry," or exact imitation flies, mentioned
above, made with quill, straw, or cork bodies, so
that they w r ill float, none are tied in this
country. J. Harrington Keene (whose
death last year every angler will regret) used to tie,
assisted by Mrs. Keene, an exact imitation, scale-
wing, detached-body fly, but the ignorance of ento-
mology on the part of our fishermen prevented their
taking enough interest in it to make it pay, and the
dealers therefore dropped it, more 's the pity. Exact
imitations of several insects, as the stone-fly, bee,
etc., are made of soft rubber, but are indifferently
turned out and hardly worth trying for trout.
Of wet flies we have the winged, the hackles, and
palmers.
The ordinary pattern of winged fly is tied on an
222 The Way of the Woods
eyed or snelled hook, and consists of head, body, tag,
Winged wings, tail, and hackle, some flies being
Flies without one or more of these parts. The
hackle is supposed to represent the insect's legs
moving with the motion of the water and thus
rendering the fly attractive to the fish.
The wings of American flies are usually made
11 reversed," i.e., they are placed,
in making, on the hook pointing
towards the eye or snell, and
then, after the hackle has been
tied on, they are reversed, so
that they point back towards
FIG. 4 o.-Win g edFly, the "business end" of the hook,
with Helper nv. ,1 -, -,
This gives strength and makes
a head for the fly. The tag is a narrow binding of
herl, feather, or silk at the junction of body and tail.
"Double-winged flies" are provided with two pairs
of wings.
Hackles are wingless flies with the hackle secured
at the head. Palmers are similar, except that the
Hackles; hackle extends the whole length of the
Palmers body. Both are excellent lures, as they
keep their shape in the water better than ordinary
winged flies, the wings of which generally cling closely
to the body when drawn through the water, whereas
the natural insect more often spreads its wings when
shipwrecked and afloat.
The old method of securing the artificial fly to the
leader was by means of a snell of gut whipped to a
straight-shanked hook, and this is still universal
in this country, the best flies being tied with "help-
Fishing 223