Untitled - RB-Flys

2 PIKE AND OTHER COARSE FISH.
called for and shown a c
fine art,' as my friend, Mr. Senior, ex-
presses it, which need not shrink from contrast with that de-
manded by any branch of angling whatever.
'
'
Coarse fishing
is as great a misnomer as coarse fish ; every kind of fishing
is capable of being brought to perfection, and of being carried
out scientifically as well as clumsily and ignorantly ; and 1
hope I need not appeal to the tenor of all my former writings
on the subject to assure my readers that I am a strenuous
advocate for the use of the very finest tackle compatible
with safety, not in fly-fishing only, but in every branch and
every department of the art of angling. Indeed I recall with,
I hope, some pardonable pride and pleasure that after the
publication of my earlier essays, commentators, more kindly
and indulgent, doubtless, than critical, were flattering enough
to give me the sobriquet of the 'Apostle of Fine Fishing.'
I shall not apologise, therefore, for the fact that in the fol-
lowing pages considerable space and attention are accorded to
matters, as some might consider them, of almost trivial detail.
The 'whole is made up of its parts,' however; and without
careful attention to details neither neatness nor strength can be
attained. The difference in killing power between one bend of
hook and another, slightly varied, is not less than 100 per cent.