on account of the small wire, which is not so apt to injure the minnow, but I might say here, that if a minnow is put on with care, it need not be injured to a greater extent, even with the Forged Dublin Bend hook, than with the Carlisle. The round-bend Carlisle, or Aberdeen hook, has a perfectly round bend, and a long straight shank; the barb is long, with the point curving outward. The "Hollow Point Limerick" is the last hook that I will mention, favorably; it is a very old form of hook, and is still a great favorite with many, notably the veterans of the angle, whose experience with this hook dates back to the heyday of youth. The form of the Limerick is well known; it has a straight shank, and a very abrupt bend, with a long, straight, and hollow point. The Kirby Carlisle, the Kirby Limerick, and, in fact, any hook with the "Kirby" or side-bend I can not recommend for any kind of angling. It is the worst possible crook that can be given to a fish-hook, being both unscientific and impracticable. The needle-pointed, or hook without a beard or barb, has been recommended for fly-fishing, but it will not answer for the Black Bass. So long as the fish remains in the water, and a proper tension of line is maintained by the angler, it holds as well as any other hook, but when the fish leaps from the water in its struggles to free itself, like the Black Bass, there is a great liability of its shaking out such a hook. Artificial flies, tied on extremely small barbless and needle-pointed hooks with a circular bend, have been used in Japan for centuries, and while such hooks may do for the Brook Trout, and fishes closely allied to it in habits, they are totally unsuitable for the Black Bass, or any fish that makes such desperate efforts to get away, when hooked. 66 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 Ælianus 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 |