A BOOK ON ANGLING BEING A COMPLETE TREATISE ON THE ART OF ANGLING IN EVERY BRANCH WITH EXPLANATORY PLATES, ETC. BY FRANCIS FRANCIS of The Field' AUTHOR OF FISH CULTURE' BY LAKE AND RIVER' ETC. PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION. THAT A FOURTH EDITION of this work should be required so soon is a sufficient proof, not only of its popularity, but that it supplies the want so long felt of an efficient and comprehensive work upon every branch of angling. In this edition I have made large alterations, and to it I have made considerable additions; one of the plates has been entirely recast, and between thirty and forty pages of fresh matter have been added. In bottom-fishing there have been valuable alterations and improvements, and in spinning, trout-fishing, &c., &c., also-but the largest changes have been made in the salmon-fly list. This being a point that nearly every salmon-fisher and every tackle-maker in the kingdom is interested in, I have thought it desirable to revise and renew the list of flies for all the principal rivers, so as to bring it up to the present date; this I have done by communication with all the local authorities, most of whom are old friends and acquaintances, who are always ready to assist me when they can, and to whom I here tender my warmest thanks. In some rivers wide alterations occur, in others the salmon seem to have resisted the more gaudy vi PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION. triumphs of progress, and to be as sober-minded in their tastes as heretofore. Besides this, nearly a dozen entirely new rivers in England, Ireland, Wales, and Scotland, have been added to the already extensive list, and the flies suitable for them have been carefully noted and described; and I trust that these additions and improvements may be recognised and appreciated by the public. 1876. |