JJ J J J J 4 Kirby, or Side-bend Hooks. 668 Edgar Patent Barbless Hooks. (Wm. Mills & Son.) that makes such desperate efforts to get away, when hooked. The Edgar patent barbless hook, manufactured by William Mills & Son, is made upon a very different principle, and is all that the inventor claims for it. This hook, while having no barb, has a "keeper" which securely holds the fish after it is hooked, rendering it impossible for it to escape, even with a slack line. It is the only patent" fish-hook that has any real merit, though it seems to me like taking too much advantage of a fish, and is likely to foster and encourage a careless and shiftless style of angling. Still it will no doubt become quite a favorite hook with many. To my mind the great charm of angling consists in using a proper judgment (born of a thorough knowledge of the fish and its habits) in presenting the bait, and the exercise of skill and science in hooking, playing, and landing it. The Edgar hook is hand-made, composed of good and reliable wire, and for fresh water fishing is made in several sizes, and numbered from 1 to 10, No. 1 being the smallest. For Black Bass, the proper sizes are Nos. 4, 5, and 6 for bait-fishing, and Nos. 2 and 3, for fly-fishing. CHAPTER XIV. ARTIFICIAL FLIES. "To frame the little animal, provide All the gay hues that wait on female pride; And every fur promote the fisher's art."-GAY. FLY-FISHING and the art of making artificial flies dates back at least to the ancient Greeks and Romans. During the palmy days of the Roman Empire, the rod, line, hook, and artificial fly were well known. Noël de la Moriniére tells us that the lines were generally made of horsehair, single, double, and plaited; and according to Elianus the hair was colored in different ways. The fishing-rod was chosen with reference to the supposed weight of the fish to be caught, and the resistance it could offer. The hooks were of copper or iron, and coated with tin. The art of making flies of feathers and other materials has, perhaps, never been carried further in our own time, even in England itself. It is possible that the national love for fly-fishing was introduced into Britain by the Romans. It is with some degree of trepidation that I approach the subject of artificial flies, for I am afraid that I hold some very heretical notions on the subject. But of one fact I am positively convinced, and that is, that there is a good deal of humbug in this matter, as evidenced in the many fine-spun theories and hair-splitting arguments that are advocated and advanced (pertaining to the construction and use of artificial flies) by some anglers, but which theories do not hold good in practice, In England, more especially, do anglers proceed to extremes as theorists in the matter of artificial flies for Trout fishing. They seem to be divided, principally, into "colorists," or those who think color of paramount importance to form, and "formalists," or "entomologists," who maintain that form is every thing, and profess to imitate the natural fly, in its proper season, in every particular of form and tinting. But there is no evidence that one class is more successful than the other, as anglers. On the other hand are the followers of Mr. Pennell's system, or plan, who confine themselves to, and advocate the employment of, but three "typical" flies-green, brown, and yellow palmers, or "hackles "—and claim that they are sufficient for all practical purposes, and can be made available for different waters and seasons, by increasing or diminishing the size of the flies, as circumstances seem to demand. While the adherents to this latter theory are fully as successful, from all accounts, as those who have a list of nearly a thousand named flies to choose from, and enjoy the satisfaction of having reduced the perplexing matter to a delightful simplicity, and of obviating the troubles of a repeated changing of the cast of flies as practiced by others -they must sometimes feel a regret deep in their hearts for casting down and sweeping away their idols and cherished traditions, and to a certain extent the poetry of fly fishing, by their iconoclastic though sensible opinions and practices. Where fish are plentiful and in a "biting mood," almost any fly, be it never so rudely tied, and of the least possible resemblance to any thing in the insect creation, will be successful, even if clumsily cast; on the contrary, there are times when the best made flies, cast by the most skillful artists, are necessary to induce a rise. Between these extremes must we look for rules for our general guidance, and without occupying further space with arguments, pro and con, it will be sufficient to say that there are certain general rules which apply to the character of the fly to be used at certain times, and which rules are the result of, and founded upon, the experience and observations of fly-fishers for many generations past. These rules, so far as they apply to Black Bass fly-fishing, are few and simple : 1. Flies should be small, rather than large, the average Trout-fly being usually large enough. 2. On bright days, and with clear, low, or fine water, flies should be quite small, and of subdued, dark, or neutral tints. 3. For cloudy days, and high, turbid, or rough water, larger and brighter flies should be used. 4. For very dark days, or from sunset until dark, or on moonlight evenings, gray or whitish flies, of good size, should be employed. I shall not go into an entomological description of flies and their counterfeits, for it is neither requisite nor advisable, so far as Bass flies are concerned. For those who feel an interest in this subject, however, I can recommend, cheerfully, the several fine works published in England on |