BLACKER'S, ART OF FLY MAKING, &c.,

Transcriber's Notes:

Clicking on any of the plates but the first (FLY FISHING) will provide the reader with a larger version for more detail.

ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY GEO. NICHOLS, EARL'S COURT,
LEICESTER SQUARE.

PATRONISED BY H.R.H. PRINCE ALBERT.

BLACKER'S, ART OF FLY MAKING, &c.,

COMPRISING ANGLING,
& DYEING OF COLOURS,
WITH ENGRAVINGS
OF SALMON & TROUT FLIES
SHEWING THE PROCESS
OF THE GENTLE CRAFT
AS TAUGHT IN
THE PAGES.

WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF
FLIES FOR THE SEASON
OF THE YEAR
AS THEY COME OUT
ON THE WATER.
REWRITTEN & REVISED
BY THE AUTHOR
BLACKER, HIMSELF,
FISHING TACKLE MAKER
OF 54, DEAN ST, SOHO,
LONDON.
1855.

CONTENTS.

PREFACE.

I know not how to apologise for submitting a Second Edition of this little Book to the notice of the Angling few, after the appearance of so many by clever writers, except the many calls I had for it, and a sincere desire of improving farther upon a craft that has not hitherto been clearly promulgated by a real practitioner; consequently my great object is to benefit and amuse my readers, by giving them something practical, which at the present time may be particularly wanted by those who love to make their own flies, whose wants, without doubt, will be found sufficiently supplied in this book; the tyro will appreciate it as valuable to him, and the senior angler who may, perchance, be in possession of it, and who may be singularly fond of making his flies, and amusing himself dyeing the hackles and colours, &c., will, I am persuaded, consider it a treasure.

My endeavours have been unceasing for many years past, in striving to please the great Salmon Fishers and Trout Fishers of this Country, and I must confess that my labours have not been in vain; they have generously conferred upon me their very kind patronage and good will, benefits for which I hold them in very great estimation. Under these circumstances, I have taken much pains to write the book in a befitting manner to suit their tastes and purposes, although my inability in many instances has been an obstacle, nevertheless with all my faults I claim the title of Fisherman, an humble and unimportuned name which no reasonable dispensation can deprive me of.

From my boyhood, I took great delight in ranging along the banks of the beautiful and romantic streams of my native land, Ireland; and having also been for many years a skilful Fly Fisher of no little commendation, in both Great Britain and Hibernia, it is my desire to impart to the world, plainly and easily, the knowledge I have acquired, that all those who wish to become masters of the art, may, by patience and practice, and a close adherence to the instructions I shall lay down, derive the fullest benefit from my experience.

I have endeavoured in the following treatise on Fly-making, to divest the subject, as far as possible, of all technicalities and superfluities; at the same time, I have entered into such full details in the construction of the Fly, that by adopting the process I have pointed out, and following the instructions I have given, the aspirants to the art of Fly-making may speedily become proficients.

In this little book there will be found nothing imaginary, but it is purely written from the practice of angling, so that I may without scruple, justly entitle it The Art of Fly-making, Angling, and Dyeing of Colours. It is also interspersed with many useful remarks that will no doubt agreeably entertain my readers.

No man has taken such pains to improve upon the angler's craft as I; on every article in the whole range of fishing tackle I have made some improvement on rods, flies, lines, reels, and tackle of every sort; and in these pages have left a lasting memorial of my handicraft to the fly-fisher, from whom I have hidden nothing that might retard him in his progress, and who will appreciate it for the great deal of matter propounded in little compass to prevent incumbrance; that the lovers of fly fishing, which has superior claims, may have an opportunity of keeping it in their side pocket,—to be convenient and handy when on their piscatory excursions, the exercise and variety of which will be found advantageous to the health, and the calming of the mind—things not to be purchased; enjoying at the same time the harmonious notes of the warblers of the grove, and musing upon the diversity of the prospects around, while straying along the beautiful streams and vallies of this delightful country.

The list of flies I have given, will be found very valuable, and the tyro will take great delight in imitating these flies necessary for use, and suiting the colours exactly to each, keeping to their symmetrical forms as they appear with his light materials. This beautiful branch of fly-making, peculiarly my own, cannot fail to perfect the angler who is scientific and ingenious, the result of which will be never-failing success.

I have added to the art of fly-making full instructions, and the most approved receipts for dyeing mohair, pighair, feathers, and other materials most useful and appropriate for imitating the natural flies and stuffs the most killing for Trout and Salmon; and which will retain their brilliancy through all the vicissitudes to which they may be exposed.

To bring the Engravings of the flies to the greatest perfection, I have stood at the elbow of the artist who executed this part of the work, that they might be turned out exact to my own models, which renders them and the descriptions more intelligible, as the shade in the fibre of each feather is shown in the plate, in the clearest and finest manner imaginable, that it may be properly seen how these artificial flies are constructed,—the resemblance of those beautiful ones, the productions of the Great Author of Nature, that Trout and Salmon do love to feed upon.

I have also given the principal rivers of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, with the flies best adapted to each, which will enable the fisher to have all things in readiness on his arrival at their localities, and sally out on the finny tribe fearless of disappointment; and for the younger branch of anglers, I have shown the various sorts of fish, with the tackle and baits best adapted to catch them.

The catechism of fly making which I have introduced will be found very curious and instructive to the young beginner, and will afford him every opportunity of retaining the whole process, that when rehearsed in the mind, and perfectly understood, he may apply, with more certain facility, the hand to both material and hook.

Published by the Author,
WILLIAM BLACKER,

At 54, Dean Street, Soho,
1855.

List of Plates.

An Extract of a Review of William Blacker's Art of Fly Making, &c. &c. &c., taken from "Bell's Life in London," April 8th, 1855.

"The Art of Fly Making, Angling & Dyeing of Colours. By W. Blacker,—Mr. Blacker has been a celebrated trout and salmon angler from early boyhood, and he is known to be the best maker of trout and salmon flies alive. We have never seen such flies as his, for naturalness of shape, appropriateness of colour and for beauty and solidity of finish. In making flies he has "caught a grace beyond the reach of art," and this he exhibits in the Sanspareil work before us. It contains no fewer than seventeen engravings on steel and copper, of trout and salmon flies, in every stage of fabrication, from the whipping of hook and gut together to the finishing of the head. These engravings, every plate crowded with figures, are executed after his own models and under his own Surveillance, and carefully and beautifully coloured, he standing, as he says, "by the artist's elbow." They contain coloured representations of hackles, wing-feathers, fur, silk, tinsel, in their natural state, and prepared for forming the artificial insect. His profusely illustrated instructions for making salmon-flies are entirely original there being nothing at all like them in any work extant, and he must be a dull scholar indeed, who shall not, after brief study of them, become his own salmon fly dresser. Mr. Blacker withholds no secret and spares no pains in developing by the aid of pen and pencil his own method, and we consider it the best, of making artificial flies for every variety of trout and salmon. He gives numerous, well-tried recipes for dying feathers and all other materials, the colours necessary for the successful operations of the fly-maker. He points out how rods are best made, the best sort of winches, lines and hooks, and proves himself a safe guide to the purchaser. He teaches how the rod, and line and flies, are to be used—the art of casting with them, how a river is to be fished, and how a fish, whether trout or salmon, is to be struck, hooked and landed. He describes the best trout and salmon rivers in the empire, the right season for fishing them, and gives an illustrated list of the flies, stating the materials of what they are to be made, that kill best on them. On flies, favourites of his from experience, he dwells with pleased and pleasing minuteness, and for the first time discloses how the "winged larva," a deadly invention of his own, is to be constructed. Never, was a book more honestly and conscientiously written. It glows with deep-felt enthusiasm for his art, and with a generous desire of revealing everything that pertains to the perfect acquisition of it in all its branches. It is a work of great labour and long pains-taking, unique at all points, and no one could have written it but a practical angler of long, passionate, and devoted experience in the capture of salmon and salmonidæ, and of ne plus ultra perfection in the art of making artificial flies, and concomitant fishing tackle. The work is published by himself, at 54, Dean Street, Soho, and we recommend it more earnestly than we have ever done any other work of the sort."

An Extract from "Bell's Life," April 29th, 1855.

"I shall copy a few of Mr. Blacker's patterns as given in his recently-published and very valuable work, entitled Art of Fly Making, &c. He is by far the best flymaker I have ever known, and his opinions on flies and fly-fishing deserve the attention of us all. In the book just named he says of the Yellow Sally:—"This is the forerunner of the green drake or May-fly. The trout take this little fly freely if made after this description:—

"Body, buff-coloured fur and a small yellow hackle for legs round the head; wings of the buff-coloured feather inside the wing of the thrush. Hook, 13."

"Several ways of imitating the May-fly. First, Blacker's, as given in his Art of Fly Making:—The body of this beautiful fly is made of yellow green mohair, the colour of a gosling newly hatched, and ribbed with yellow-brown silk, a shade of light brown mohair at the tail, and a tuft of the same at the shoulder, picked out between the hackle, the whisks of the tail three black hairs, three-quarters of an inch long; the hackle to be dyed a greenish buff (dye, according to my recipe, a silver dun hackle with bars across it, called a cuckoo,) or a light ginger hackle bordering on yellow. The wings, which should be made full, and to stand upright, are made of mallard's feathers dyed of a greenish buff, or yellowish shade; a brown head of peacock harl tied neatly above the wings on a No. 6 hook. The wings may be made of the tops of two large dyed mallard's feathers, with fibres stripped off at the butts of the stems, tied back to back. These feathers stand up well and appear very naturally in the water. Large-sized ones kill well in lakes, with bright yellow mohair bodies ribbed with gold twist.

"Second way, from A Handbook of Angling.—Body, bright yellow mohair, or floss silk, ribbed sparingly with light bronze peacock harl; wings, mottled feather of the mallard dyed a pale yellow green. They are to stand nearly erect, and to be slightly divided. Legs, a couple of turns of a red-ginger hackle; tail, three hairs from the rabbit's whisker. Hook, 5, 6, and 7.—Another way: Body, yellow-brown mohair; wings, mallard's feather dyed yellow, and black head; legs, yellowish hackle; tail and hooks as before. During the season of the May-fly, should the weather be gloomy, with a strong warm wind, I would angle with three flies on the casting-line of different sizes, and of colours slightly differing, buff, yellow, and yellow-green, and one of them made buzz. The largest fly should be used as the stretcher; the smallest the upper bob."

An Extract from "Bell's Life," April 1st, 1855 "The Ondine" in the Book of the Salmon, by "Ephemera,"

"Gold tip; tail, small, brilliant topping, light blue tag; body, blue peacock harl, closely ribbed with fine gold twist; two joints of green trogan feather, and one of red orange hackle under the wings, and over their butts blue jay; wings, a careful mixture of fibres of bustard, silver pheasant, yellow and blue macaw teal, guinea-hen and golden pheasant tail and neck-feathers, surmounted by a topping; feelers, blue and yellow macaw, and bright peacock harl, head. Hook, No. 7 and 8. This waterwitch, sculptured originally by Blacker, is properly called "Ondine." The first time I saw it I nearly lost my senses, and was upon the point of becoming its victim.

"The May-fly and Phelim Rhu are best made by Blacker, of Dean Street, Soho; Phelim is one of his many good inventions. Dressed on the smallest sized grilse hook, it will on dark days and evenings, and in full water kill sea trout and large common trout in every locality. See a celebrated claret fly plate No. 4, page 108."

Prince Albert's Letter to the Author, enclosing £10.

Nearly eleven years have rolled by, since I sent a copy of the first edition of this work to His Royal Highness Prince Albert, who conferred upon me much honor by a favourable reply to it, at that time I took great pains to illustrate it with specimens of the most costly and beautifully executed salmon and trout flies imaginable, many of which were worth a guinea a piece. In this new edition for 1855 I have given numerous copperplates of these excellent killing flies superbly painted to suit the rivers of Ireland, Scotland, England, and Wales; such choice specimens are they that I think salmon and trout will not refuse them in any river in Britain, they are models of gracefulness, and will prove very attractive to the finny tribe, they are all general favourite flies of mine, and of the great salmon and trout fly fishers of the present day. The angler should never fail to try them wherever he roamed in rivers known or unknown to him, and succesful experience has given me an opportunity of recommending them with the greatest confidence, they have killed fish when they have been half gnawed away, and as a fisherman I look upon them with admiration although they are the work of my own fingers, I think I will not say amiss if I predestinate that the real enthusiastic fly fishers, nine out of ten, will be in love with them.

THE LETTER.

"Buckingham Palace, May 7th, 1844.

"Mr. Anson is commanded by His Royal Highness Prince Albert to enclose Mr. Blacker a cheque for ten pounds for the Work on Angling which accompanied his letter, the receipt of which he will have the goodness to acknowledge."

THE ART OF FLY-MAKING,
ETC., ETC.,

By WILLIAM BLACKER.

To give something that will convey a durable and correct idea of Fly-making, Angling, and Dyeing of Colours to my pupils, is what I aim at, and desire they should understand: for when they are inhaling the fresh breezes on the river's bank, observing with delight the varied tints and delicate forms of the winged insects skimming the surface, and the sportive trout, pitching over and over, taking them down, this is the time, no doubt, when far from the din of a busy town they will thank me for my trouble in directing their attention to the proper shades, which is the most essential of all things in the Art to be considered. The amusement and pleasing recollections of the Fly-fisher, (when studying the various colours and materials necessary for the formation of the artificial fly—those fanciful ones which salmon take so freely, and the imitating, if possible, by the aid of these materials, those beautiful ones in Nature), will be infinitely more pleasing than can be well comprehended by a careless observer of the craft. Many a pleasant hour may be spent, that otherwise would prove tedious, when confined to quarters of an unfavourable day, far from home, looking over your dubbing book and tying a fly. It gives relief to the uneasy mind by calming the disorders that disappointments may have caused, and by cheering the hearts of those who pursue it as a relaxation and enjoyment. The recommendations on Angling are without number, and there is nothing can delight the heart of the fly-fisher so much as to see the fish rise at the flies on the surface of the water, and their beautiful appearance when landed on the bank; this, with the varied scenery which the windings of the river presents to the imagination, as you roam along, are inducements that cannot fail to gratify the admirer of sportive fish and rushing streams.

I have seen, in days when the fish are not in the humour of taking, a fly tied neatly near the tint, somewhat gaudy, will unquestionably entice them to rise, and will decidedly be more advantageous than fishing without plan. In days when the natural flies are most numerous, the trout will not take the artificial fly so freely; on the contrary, when these insects are rarely to be seen, if the angler can find the colour that is then prevailing, and imitate it, his success will be considerably increased.

In these pages will be found descriptions of Flies that will kill well in every river and lake in the United Kingdom. And those in the "Hand Book of Angling," and the "Book of the Salmon," by the celebrated "Ephemera," will also be found excellent throughout the Kingdom.

AN EASY METHOD TO MAKE THE TROUT FLY.

([See Plate.])

The tyro will provide himself with a dubbing book, containing numerous compartments, to hold feathers, furs, pig hair, mohair, hackles, wing feathers, silk, tinsel, scissars, pliers, knife, and every other article necessary for fly-making—all of which may be procured at my Shop, 54, Dean Street, Soho, with Rods, Reels, Lines, Gut, Hooks, Artificial Baits, and every denomination of Fishing Tackle, of the most superior quality in London.

Having laid out your materials on the table, seat yourself by a good light, and proceed as follows:—Take a piece of fine silk, and pin one end of it on your knee, take the other end between your left fore-finger and thumb, and with the right, take a small piece of shoemaker's wax, well tempered, and rub it all over the silk, keeping it tight in your left till it is all covered with the wax, rub it well on the end you are about to tie on the hook with, to keep it firm, for it will be found a very great object to use the wax throughout the making of the fly, as with the working of the tying silk it rubs off with the hand. There is a very beautiful silk of all colours to be had on spools, which ribbons are made of, that works very finely on the hook; when you wax it, take two or three folds of it, and pin it evenly on your knee, as before (or hold it between your teeth and twist it), twist it gently between your fingers a little so that you can wax it well, provide a piece of leather about an inch wide and an inch and a half long, double it, and lay a piece of nicely tempered wax between the folds, flatten it, and when you wax the silk, take the leather between your fingers, open the edge of it, and rub the wax on the tying silk in the same way as before, and you will not break the silk so easily, or dirty your fingers with the wax. You now take the hook by the bend in the left fore-finger and thumb, give two or three turns of the silk round the shank, flatten the end of the gut a little, which keeps it from drawing off, and tie it on underneath about half way down the hook firmly, this done, lay on a little varnish with your pencil. Take a piece of finer silk to make the fly with, and fasten it near the end of the shank, do not bring the silk to the extreme end of the shank to leave room for the wings, as they are apt to slip over on the gut if tied on too near. You strip off two pieces from the woodcock or starling wing, and lay them together evenly at the points, that the wings may be double when tied on (see the Trout-fly wing cut out of the woodcock feather, in the Plate), see that you do not make the wings too long when tying them on, let them be a little longer than the bend; press them tightly with your nails on the hook where you tie them on, and do not clip the ends of the wings with your nails, which gives them an unnatural appearance, but whether you lay them on first, or tie them on the reverse way and turn them back, make a judgment of the proper length; you now tie the wings on the reverse way at the end of the shank, with two or three rolls of the silk, give a running knot over it, and clip off the refuse ends of the roots of the feather; now before you form the body or tie on the hackle, turn the wings up in their place with the thumb nail of the right, and divide them in equal parts with a needle, draw the silk in and out between them, take a turn or two over the roots to keep them firmly in their place, and fasten with a running knot behind them next your left; then tie on the hackle, to suit the size, by the root (the soft flue previously picked off), close to the wings on its back, and give a knot over it, take the hackle by the point in your pliers, and roll it over the shank close under the wings two or three times on its side, keeping the outside of it next the wings, then draw it (the hackle) right through them, let the pliers hang with the point of the hackle in them at the head, and take two turns of the tying silk over it, fasten on the end of the shank which was left a little bare, cut off the silk and hackle points, give another knot or so to secure it before so doing, and lay on a little varnish at the head; now tie on a piece of fine tying silk opposite the barb on the shank, take two fibres of a mallard feather and tie them on about three-eighths of an inch long for tail, to extend over the bend of the hook, and with one knot tie on a piece of fine floss silk about three inches long to rib the fly; mix a little of the hare fur with yellow mohair, and draw a small quantity of it out of the lump with the right hand, take the hook by the bend in your left, lay the silk and hair over the end of the third finger, the hook being held in, twist the silk and hair together and roll it finely to the shoulder, give a running knot or two with the silk close to the hackle, take care to have a little more of the fur next the shoulder to make the body nicely tapered; you may continue to make the body from where you rolled on the hackle first, and fasten at the tail, and roll the hackle over it if the fly is to be of a long description; tail your fly, and tip it with tinsel, and with two running knots finish opposite the barb, at this point before you finish, wax your silk well, and touch with your varnish pencil: if there are any fibres of the hackle or of the wing, or the hair standing in a wrong direction, clip it off with your scissars, and your fly is completed. You may tie on floss silk or peacock's harl for the body the same as the mohair; and you can perceive that you may finish at the tail or at the shoulder, according to fancy—do not lose sight of this plan.

AN EASY METHOD OF MAKING A PLAIN SALMON FLY.

([See Plate.])

Tie on the salmon hook to a length of twisted gut or loop (see the gut and hook tied on in the Plate of Salmon Hook, No. 1) firmly with strong marking silk well waxed, and lay on a little varnish; then take two pieces of turkey tail feather of equal size, or mallard feather, according to the colour of the wings you intend to make (see the turkey tail and mallard wings prepared, in the plate of feathers), tie them on the reverse way, a little longer than the bend of the hook where they are turned up (see the wings tied on the reverse way, Plate VII., on Salmon Hooks); these are tied on as the trout fly wings just described, and when turned up appear like the wings of plate No. 1, in an easy method of making a salmon fly—in this plate may be seen every thing necessary in making a plain salmon fly—these flies will be found good killers a great way up rivers from the sea. You hold the hook by the bend, and tie in the hackle at the head of the fly by the root end, and the tinsel to rib it in like manner (see the hackle tied on and the tinsel, Plate II.); about the same place where the hackle is tied on, tie three or four harls of the peacock's tail, twist them round the tying silk, and roll it down to the tail, and fasten with a running knot (see the body of Plate II.) the tying silk is now left hanging at the tail, where may be seen a small portion of the harl left cut, to shew where it was fastened; you roll the tinsel over the body to the same place and tie, three turns of the tinsel is sufficient; you then take the hackle by the end in your right hand, and roll it sideways in rotation with the tinsel, twisting it in your finger and thumb as you turn it over, to keep it slanting from the head, tie it in at the same place with a running knot, and clip off the ends of the hackle; you may tie in a short tail at this place, wax your silk, and finish with two or three running knots, cut off the tying silk, and touch them with a little varnish, to keep them from slipping—press down the hackle between your fingers which slants it to the tail—as the hackle is run over the body from the head to the tail of this fly, it will appear in the formation of the body (Plate III., on Salmon Hooks); when the fly is made with the hackle only struck round the shoulder, take two or three turns of it under the wings, and tie it in there (see Plate III., in an easy method of making a Salmon Fly). The body may be seen in this fly with the tinsel rolled over it, and tied in at the tail; a piece of the harl, tinsel and silk left to shew how it is done. The tinsel and harl are cut off, and with the tying silk, which is seen hanging, tie on a tail of topping, or mohair, feather of macaw, mallard, or any other to suit the taste or colour of the fly; you may tie on an ostrich harl, or peacock's harl, head like Plate I., where the tying silk may be seen hanging: the three flies on this plate, which are correctly engraved, will be found most valuable to the young beginner; and it is an expert method for the salmon fisher, when in a hurry, to make a fly or two for immediate use.

When you wish to mix plain wings without dividing, tie them on first at the end of the shank, and form the head like No. 1 in this plate, which I think is the neatest of any, and suits best in rivers not very full of water. If you notice this plate correctly, it will be seen to correspond with the shape of the natural dragon fly; and as this fly, of various hues, is reared at the bottom of the water, it must be an alluring bait for the salmon and large trout; for when it first leaves the element of its birth, and proceeds to the banks of the river in a very feeble state, directly it receives strength it commences skimming the surface, preying upon the insects flying in the air at this time, and, when it comes weakly out of the water, the fish, no doubt, take it freely.

There is another sort of fly that proceeds from the water, about the size of the flies on this plate, the body of which is of the colour of the blue feathers on the peacock's neck exactly, its legs are a dark brown colour, almost black, hanging long, and few of them; the wings, which stand upright on its back, or I may say, its head and shoulders, for the head and wings at the roots, and legs spring all out of the one lump which is very thick here in comparison to its beautiful slender body of many joints; the wings, I say, are a bronze brown with a moon in all the four like the peacock's tail feather, which in the artificial fly would be just the colour mixed with a little drake feather; there are some of them all brown, and some with bright green bodies, and blue green as above; all these beautiful insects must afford food for the fish. This of course accounts for the artificial representation in use, and it cannot be denied that they take them for natural ones, which the fly-fisher, according to fancy, forms most fantastically, varying on most of the rivers.

TO MAKE THE TROUT FLY, IN THE BEST AND
MOST APPROVED METHOD.

([See Plate with Picker]).

The reader will lay out his materials before him on the table, which consist of hook, gut, wings, hackle, feather for tail, body of fur, floss silk, or peacock harl, silk to rib it, wax, tying silk, &c., all things now ready, proceed as follows:—Wax a piece of fine China silk, about a foot in length; if it is spool or ribbon silk, twist two pieces together, and take one end between your teeth, twisting with your fingers and thumbs, not too much; take the other end in the left, and wax it up and down till it is covered with the wax all over; you may pin it on your knee as in the first plan, and wax it; take the hook by the bend in the left hand, say a No. 6 or 7 to begin with, placing your silk just waxed on the shank under your left thumb nail, and give two or three turns of the silk towards you, flatten the end of the gut a little, and tie it on to the hook about half way down the shank, at the same time hold the gut and hook tightly between your nails, and shift it as you go up or down, on the hook shank with the tying silk; the hook firmly tied on, take out one of the wing feathers of the hen pheasant, and cut out of the centre of it two equal pieces to compose the wings, (see the piece cut out for the trout fly wing in the plate of Feathers), you lay these two pieces together even at the points, take them between the nails of the right hand, place them on the end of the shank between the finger and thumb of the left, and give two or three turns of the silk over them tightly, winding the silk towards you, cut off the roots of the feather slantingly with your scissars, as this swells the fly at the shoulder when forming the body; the wings are now tied the reverse way, (see No. 7 Plate, at the sign of the "picker.") The three flies at top of this plate I will explain, when I show how the wings are turned back in their place. You now turn the hook in your fingers and hold it by the head, and of course you roll the tying silk from you; form the tail, body, and hackle, while holding your hook by the shank shift it in your hand till the nails are opposite the barb, where you tie on a tail (see Plate VII) You now draw a little mohair or fur out of the piece lying on the table, and lay it along the tying silk sparingly, twist it round the silk, and roll it up to the shoulder, or nearly so, and give a running knot; take a small hackle and cut it at the point (see hackle at the bottom of this plate), or, instead of cutting it, draw it back a little with the fingers, as you may see the grouse hackle prepared in the plate of feathers, or hackle cut at point in the plate of feathers; tie the hackle on at the centre of the body at the point where it is cut, and give a running knot, and to fill up the space between that and the shoulder, roll on a little more fur, and give a knot with the silk; wax your silk occasionally, as it wears off; you now turn the hook round in the fingers and hold it by the bend; this turning of the hook is the most curious and convenient part of it; the hackle appears standing on the fly, as in Plate II., or V. You take the hackle by the end in your right hand, and roll it up to the shoulder in a slanting direction, giving it an extra turn or two at the head, as you see Plate VII., tie it down, and cut off the stem of the hackle; take the fly between your finger and thumb, keeping the fibres of the hackle under them out of the way while you turn up the wings; you now divide them in two with a needle or "picker," turn up the off side one first and tie it down, then the one next you, and turn the silk in and out between them, to keep them asunder; you then draw all under your finger and thumb, and with the tying silk, give two turns over the ends, which forms a head, and finish on the small bit of hook left at the head, take a turn or two of the silk round the gut to guard it, and take two running knots; the fly now appears as Plate IV., press the fly between the fingers which slants the hackle towards the tail.

As this is a valuable plate of flies to work upon, I will here commence with Numbers 1, 2, 3, and then 5 and 4, these two latter flies are bodies of gaudy sea-trout ones, or grilse flies. The wings are tied on last of the three first flies—you hold the hook by the bend in the left, and tie on the hook, gut, and tail, as you see in Plate I.; you then place on a little mohair to form the body, as in Plate II.; before you reach the shoulder you tie in the hackle, as No. 2, and leave a little of the end of the hook to receive the wings, and let the silk hang at the head; you now take the hackle by the end in your right, and roll it slantingly on its side or partly on its back, placing the third finger of the hand, the fly being held in against the hackle at each roll till you come to the shoulder, take a turn of the silk over it cut off the stem, and give a knot; let the silk hang at the place you are about to tie on the wings, the fly now appears as Plate III., and in this plate you may perceive the right length the hackle ought to be for the size of the hook; you then cut off two pieces from the starling or woodcock wings, and lay them together to make the wings of the fly full, and to appear double when finished, or a piece of mallard feather, like the wings of Plate IV.; you now hold the fly between the fore-finger and thumb nails of the left hand, close to where you see the silk hanging (Plate III.), tie on the off side wing first, holding tight by the nails to keep it on the top of the shank so that it will not turn round with the silk, wax your silk here, keep the middle finger of the left against it while you take up the other wing, and tie it on in like manner on the near side; this plan makes a division in the wings. You must endeavour to keep them tight on the end of the shank, or they will fall over on the gut, but by holding tight with the nails, and drawing tightly with the tying silk, you may soon prevent mistakes, and use every thing sparingly to prevent clumsiness or you will never get on. Now cut off the ends of the wings closely, and finish with a turn or two, and a running knot or two at the very head, and the fly will appear like the finished fly, Plate IV., lay on a little spirit-varnish at the head, which keeps it firm—(this varnish you may procure at the oil and colour warehouses, or at doctor's shops, that which is used for rods is best.)

Now for the two Plates V. and VI.:—

When the hook and gut is neatly tied on, as Plate I., you take a hook, size of the above two, and a hackle to suit; you hold the hook by the bend in the left, and opposite the barb where you see the silk hanging at No. 1, you take a piece of tinsel, tie it on, and give two or three turns just immediately below where you tie in the tail (see the tip of tinsel below the tail, Plate V.), take an ostrich harl and roll it on for tag, which you will see just above the tip of tinsel, then tie on a topping above that, as you may see, then the piece of tinsel to rib the body, which you may see extending longer than the tail; you now take a piece of floss silk, fine, and form the body of it from the tail to the shoulder, as you see the taper body of Plate V., and during the interval tie in the hackle on the centre of the body, at the point where the silk is hanging to receive the wings; take the end of the hackle in your right (first roll the tinsel as the body of Plate VI.) finger and thumb, and roll it slantingly over the body in rotation with the tinsel, as you see in this latter plate, and tie it down at the end of the shank, leave the silk hanging as in this plate, touch it at this place with varnish; you may wing it with turkey or "glede" (kite's) tail feather, mallard, &c., like the plate of the plain fly, opposite No. 7, or like the wing of the gaudy Irish salmon fly immediately under that number at the bottom of the plate, (I mention these two flies in this manner to distinguish them from the plate on Salmon Hooks). These two are models of a plain, and gaudy Irish fly; the delicacy of the body of the gaudy one, as the silk and tinsel is so finely wrought between each joint of harl and hackles, is beyond compare; and the wing is finely mixed, although not so perfect as the beautiful engravings of the twelve salmon flies.

Before I begin the gaudy salmon fly, I will here show how the palmer is made, in two or three ways.

TO MAKE THE PALMER, OR DOUBLE-HACKLE FLY.

You tie on the hook firmly as before, and prepare two hackles for the fly, as you may see in the plate of Feathers, two hackles tied together at the roots, which keeps them on their sides evenly while rolling them on; you hold the hook by the shank in your left hand, tie in the hackles, the inside downwards, that when tied on and finished, the outside of the feathers appears to the eye (see the hackle tied in at the points, and the body and tinsel rolled on, at the bottom of the plates of Trout Flies for the season); tie in the tinsel to the body, and the peacock's harl, or mohair, or floss silk, to form it, at the same place—turn the hook in your fingers, and hold it by the bend; take the harls in your right hand, and roll them up to the head, or mohair, or your floss silk in the same way; take a turn of the tying silk over, with a running knot, clip off the ends of the harl, (leave a little of the end of the shank of the hook bare to finish on, or you will not be enabled to roll the two hackles neatly up to this place). Next, roll the tinsel over the harl, and tie, slope it as you go up; then take hold of the hackles in your right hand, and roll them over the body close beside the tinsel slopingly, taking care at the same time to keep the third or middle finger of the hand the fly is held in tight against them at each turn, and roll them closer as you go up to the shoulder, pull them tight here, and if there are any fibres left on the stem of the hackle that are superfluous, pull them off, still keeping your finger against them, and holding hard the hook; now take a roll or two of the tying silk over them and the knots, give the stem another pull to tighten them, and clip it off, tie down the head neatly with two running knots, and varnish it; press the fly between your fingers to slant the hackles downwards; and if any of the fibres of the hackles stand the wrong way cut them off, although, if they are rolled evenly together on their sides or back, you will turn the fly out correct,—see the beautiful Palmer in the plate, with the hook tied in on the back, which is a perfect model,—these hooks are tied together on the same piece of gut first, and then make the fly over them. It is difficult to perform this job until you know how to make a palmer on a single hook.

The foregoing is my favorite way of making a palmer, but you must be proficient before you can manage it well. I will here show how it can be made in a very easy manner, when you are able to handle the materials, and tie on nicely. When you have the hook and gut neatly tied on, take two hackles, and tie them in at the end of the shank by the roots on their back, tie in the peacock harl and tinsel to rib it at the same place; holding your hook of course by the bend in the left hand, take hold of the two hackles in your pliers by the points, and when the tinsel and body is rolled on, turn the hackles over the body close with the tinsel on their backs slopingly, till you reach the tail; here let go the pliers, and they will hang with the ends of the hackles still in them, till you take two turns of the silk over them, clip off the ends of the hackles, and tie it neatly with two running knots, lay on a little varnish; the fly will look rather rough in this method when finished, but with a little pain you will soon accomplish it; press down the fibres with your fingers, and cut away the superfluities. You should have a palmer ready made before you always while making this fly, which will facilitate you in your progress.

When you find it difficult to place on the hackles first while you are making a fly, pull off one side of the fibres, and lay two evenly together, and draw them back at the points where you tie them in, as the hackle in the plate of Feathers, and roll them always slopingly over the body to the shoulder, on their edge with the outside of them next the head; and, according as you come up to the end of the shank, roll them closer, which makes the fly appear full there, press them well down with your fingers, (see the three-hackle, or Palmer Flies for Trout, 7, 8, and 9). The hackles of these three flies are beautifully struck.

HOW TO MAKE THE SALMON FLY, AS SHOWN IN
THE BEAUTIFUL PLATE OF ENGRAVINGS
ON SALMON HOOKS.

Reader, you will have an idea of the sorts of materials you require for the different processes on each hook in the plates, as the models were tied by me in strict proportion, and are most exquisite engravings: You take a piece of twisted gut to form the loop on the fly, double it over a needle, or "picker," to form an eye, and pare off the ends slantingly to lie nice and even when tied, as you may see in Plate I. on Salmon Hooks; wind your waxed silk round the shank of the hook about four or five times, before placing on the gut; hold the hook in the left hand near the end of the shank, lay the gut-loop underneath, and hold on between your finger and thumb tightly, to prevent it turning round when you lap the tying silk over it, and keep shifting your fingers down the shank out of the way of the tying silk in its progress to the tail, which you will see in Plate I. You now draw out a small piece of yellow, or red mohair, keep it tight between the nails and tie it on, first tip the fly immediately under the tail, as in Plate I.; you make it even with your scissars at the point, as that tail is seen; you now take a piece of yellow or orange floss silk, and lap it from the tail about two-eighths of an inch up to where you see the hackle and tinsel tied in, Plate II.; after having tied the hackle and tinsel on as you see it there, (you may draw the point of the hackle back, as the hackle prepared in the plate of Feathers, instead of cutting it at the point, as you may see also the hackle cut, in the plate of Feathers). You now shift your finger and thumb up the body a little, and just where you finished the knot over the floss silk twist a little pig hair round the tying silk sparingly, and roll it over the shank to the head, or within the eighth of an inch of the head, as you may see in Plate II.; you now take the two pieces of tinsel in the right hand and roll them up slopingly to where the silk is hanging, Plate II., and whip it down; you next take the stem of the hackle in the right hand, and roll it evenly beside the tinsel on its side, or partly on its back (this is done by giving the stem a gentle twist in your fingers) till you bring it to the head where there may be two or three extra rolls of it given to make it full at the shoulder, or where you tie on the wings, (see the hackle, beautifully rolled on from tail to shoulder, Plate III). You now take a piece of mallard feather, stripped off with your nails, and press it small at the end of the roots where it is to be tied on, (see the Mallard Wing prepared in the plate of Feathers); you strip another piece like it, and lay them even together; you take the other two pieces in like manner and do the same, so that each wing, when tied on, will be double; you now take the fly, Plate III., in your hand between the nails close to the shoulder, and wax well the piece of silk that hangs here; you take up one wing and lay it on at the off side, and give two whips of the silk over it tightly, holding on at the shoulder well with the left hand, to keep the wing from turning round under the belly; you now take up the near side wing, and lay it on in like manner, whipping it twice over, and then a running knot, (see the Mallard Wings, tied beautifully on, Plate IV.); and in that plate you see the root ends projecting over the loop, cut them off, and finish it with three or four turns of the silk, and two knots, close to the root of the wings to make all even.

I will now proceed to show how the other three flies are formed—5, 6, and 7.

These may be termed middling gaudy, and are famous for the rivers in the north of Scotland, or the clear waters of Ireland. You perform the operation of tying on the hook as Plate I; tip the fly at the tail, and tie on a topping; take a piece of black ostrich or peacock harl, tie it in at the roots, and roll it evenly over the shank two or three times (see the harl tag, Plate V); tie in the hackle above the ostrich tag, leave it hanging, and roll the twist up the body, previously formed of floss silk nicely tapered (see the Body of Plate V); take the hackle in the right hand, and roll it evenly with the tinsel, and fasten it as Plate VI; leave the silk hanging here to tie on the wings and the head. The wings of Plate VII, may be seen tied on the reverse way, and the body and hackle formed afterwards; they are now ready to turn back in their proper place to hang over the body, this is done by turning them neatly up with the thumb nail of the right hand, and laying them evenly on each side of the fly, with the best side of the feather out. The spots and shades which are perceivable in the wings and hackles of all the engraved specimens of fly, are shown to great perfection—I have described the whole of them, to match the shades exactly, so that it is impossible to go astray when tying on each fibre of feather.

We will now return to Plate VI, and teach how it is to be winged—You cut off a strip from the turkey tail feather, which must be unbroken, as a whole wing; after measuring the proper length of it for the hook, you draw each piece small with the nails where it is to be tied on, as the strip is broader at the root, so that, take it on the whole, it must be narrow where this piece of feather is made small at the roots, as seen in the plate of Feathers, to keep it so whole, touch it with a little varnish, and let it dry a little on the table.

You take hold of the fly in your left hand, close to the head, draw the fibres of the hackle out of the way by placing them under your fingers; take the wing in your right hand and lay it on, catching it between the left finger and thumb on the top of the hook tightly, and give two rolls of the tying silk over it; take up the other wing, like the last, and lay it on the near side, and lap the silk over it in like manner (renew the silk with wax before the wings are tied on); you now may tie on a few fibres of golden pheasant neck, and tail feathers at each side of the wings just put on, and a piece of macaw feather at each side; head it with ostrich, or roll a little pig hair round the silk sparingly, lap it over twice, and finish by giving two running knots over it close to the root of the wings (see the wing of the middling plain Salmon Fly, Plate II, immediately above the Sea-Trout Fly and May Fly.)

The reader will perceive in this plate on salmon hooks, that I have just described a garden, as it were fully cultivated, there is hardly a space left waste, like the broad fields of industrious England, whose sons "never, never shall be slaves." All the other plates are likewise full of useful matter, which will prove my hard labour, and at the same time show that I have hid nothing from the Fly-Fisher in all the processes.

If the fly (Plate V., on salmon hooks) is winged with feathers, like the Irish gaudy wing, prepared in the plate of Feathers, it will be found to approach near the gaudy fly at the bottom of the plate, with "picker" at top.

I will now describe the process of making the Gaudy Salmon Fly, the plate of which is invaluable to the Salmon fisher:—

PROCESS OF MAKING THE GAUDY SALMON FLY.

([See Plate.])

You commence by tying the hook and gut firmly together, and that it may be more easy and convenient to the reader to accomplish this process of making the Gaudy Salmon Fly, I will tell how it is done in my own favourite way.—Take the hook in the left hand and hold by the shank immediately opposite the barb, here fasten on a piece of fine tying silk, finer than you tied the hook and gut on with, tie on a piece of tinsel, and roll it over the hook three or four times to tip the fly; place the nail of the left thumb on it, and tie with one knot (see the tip on the first fly in the plate, just below the ostrich tag); take a middling size golden pheasant topping, and tie it on just below the ostrich tag with a piece of tinsel, about a finger length, to rib the body (see the tinsel); take a hackle to suit the size of the hook, draw it a little back from the point, that is the fibres (see the hackle ready to tie in at tail in the first fly); take a fibre of ostrich, tie it on, and give two or three rolls of it from you, and as you turn it over keep the soft pile of the feather towards the tail, as this will make the tag appear even, and give a running knot, the less knots the better at this point to prevent clumsiness; now take a piece of pig hair, and twist it round the tying silk (see the pig hair round the silk, and the hackle tied on just above it), roll the pig hair over the body, giving it a turn or two between the ostrich tag and the hackle, that when the hackle is struck it may appear from the centre of the fly to the shoulder; the pig hair is now on, roll the tinsel over it slopingly till you come within the eighth of an inch of the loop; take hold of the end of the hackle in the right hand, and roll it up on its edge, or partly on its back, in rotation with the tinsel, and tie it down with two knots, clip off the end of the hackle and tinsel.

If the fly is to be made with the hackle struck only round the shoulder (see hackle tied in at shoulder, on the second fly in this plate. I have not numbered the three flies on this plate, to distinguish it from the plate of an easy method of making a salmon fly.) See pig hair body and tinsel rolled on; shift your hand up the hook in the left, and hold by the middle, take the hackle in the right, and roll it from you closely round the shoulder, (see hackle tied in at shoulder), leaving at the same time enough of the hook bare at the end of the shank to tie on the wings, and to roll on the jay feather (see jay hackle ready), the hackle supposed to be rolled round the shoulder, cut off the tinsel and pig hair which you see on the piece of silk, leaving another piece attached in the same place to tie on the wings (see the piece of tinsel and pig hair left at the head ready to be cut off, and the silk hanging to tie on the wings—second fly).

The first fly, which we made above, is now no other in appearance than the third fly at the bottom of the plate, which shows hook, body, and tinsel. We now come to the most critical part of tying on the gaudy wings firmly, (see mixed gaudy wing ready to tie on). You take a neck-feather of the golden pheasant with a piece of silver pheasant tail, a piece of peacock wing, a teal feather, and a piece of wood-duck, &c., lay them all evenly together, and break the fibres between your nails, when you tie them on the hook to make the whole small, as you may see done at the root of the wing in the plate; take another golden pheasant neck feather, and prepare it exactly like the last, that the wing may be the same at each side when tied on; you now take hold of the fly in the left, the fibres of the hackle remaining under your finger and thumb, cut away the bit of tinsel and hackle-stem first, take the wing in your right, and lay it on the best side next you, and hold it tight with the left finger and thumb nails; give two laps of the silk over it, press it down tightly with the thumb nail, and take another turn of the silk, place the third finger against it to keep it on, till you lay on the off side wing; take it up as you did the other, and tie it down at the small part of the end, on the off side, hold it tight between the left finger and thumb, pressing it at the same time well down with the thumb nail of the right, take two rolls of the silk firmly over it, hold on manfully with the left, and give it another nail or two with the right thumb, make a running knot, lay it down awhile to rest your fingers; clip off the roots left hanging or projecting at the head closely (be careful always to leave enough of the hook bare to receive the wings, or you cannot manage it easily), now take two or three turns more over the head to make it tighter and even, leaving a little bit of the point to stand out; you then take a strip of macaw, and tie it on each side, clip off the ends, take an ostrich harl and tie it on about the centre of the head, and roll it over from you two or three times, the downy part of the stem next the loop to keep it all the one way, and when up to the root of the wings, take the silk which hangs here lap it twice over, and give a running knot; clip off the silk and end of the harl, lay on a little varnish very lightly at the point, and where the silk has been just tied down, keep the varnish off the ostrich harl; you may take a little pig hair, and twist it round the silk, roll it over the head very sparingly, and finish at the root of the wings in the same manner, laying on a little varnish.

I will here repeat the tying on of the gaudy wing, with two or three fibres of various sorts of feathers, &c., which may be a little more easy to accomplish than the foregoing to the young beginner.

When you have the tail, tinsel, and hackle put together on the hook, and the eighth of an inch of the shank left bare to receive the wings; wax the silk well that it may make the head firm, and proceed thus.—First strip off two fibres of the peacock's wing feather, and place them with three or four fibres of brown mallard, and the same quantity of spotted turkey tail, add to it a piece of neck and tail feather of the golden pheasant, with a little guinea hen, teal, and red macaw feather, yellow, orange, and blue. Keep these all even together, and break them at the roots like the gaudy wing in the last plate, and divide them in equal parts; now having mixed both your wings alike, take up one wing in your right fore-finger and thumb nails and hold it tightly, take up your fly with the left hand, and with the right hand place the wing on at the off side, laying it under the fore-finger of the left hand, and with the right hand give two turns of the tying silk over it, at the same time holding on tight between the nails of the left hand, and press it down with the thumb nail of the right, which keeps the head firm; then in like manner take up the other wing and place it on the near side, keep the wings the same length, and to extend two eighths of an inch longer than the bend of the hook, having taken two laps over the near side wing, cut off the root ends at the head closely, holding tight with the left-hand nails, and press both wings down tightly with the right thumb nail; wax the silk well here, and lap it over the part where you cut off the ends evenly; bring the silk down on the gut and give three or four rolls of it just below the point of the shank to guard it from friction when throwing the fly; bring the silk up again close to the root of the wings, and tie on a fibre of blue and yellow macaw tail feather for horns, let them be the eighth of an inch longer than the wings, clip off the ends; take a jay feather and prepare it, tie it on at the off side of the head with the bare side next the belly of the fly, roll it with the right hand over the head, about three turns, and lap the silk over it while under the nail of the left; cut off the stem, lay on a blue kingfisher feather each side, tie on a black ostrich harl, give three or four rolls of it over the head, letting the stem be next to the root of the wings as you roll it, take it under the nail of the left thumb, and lap two turns of the silk over it close to the root of the wings, and with the finger and thumb press up the fibres of the ostrich towards the wings, to make it stand even in its proper place; cut off the silk, and lay on a little varnish at the point of the head, and your fly is completed.

As it is my intention to instruct the reader in every point necessary for his benefit, according to my own knowledge and experience, throughout the pages of this book, it affords me much pleasure to be enabled to do so, and to offer something to the fly-fisher worth having, there is scarcely a page he opens that he will not find something valuable to himself, if he is a real lover of the art. "There is a pleasure in angling that no one knows but the angler himself."

I will now show how the India-rubber Green Drake is made, with a cock-tail, like the beautiful engraving in the plate, (see Green Drake). The Grouse, and Golden Plover hackle may also be made in a similar manner, to suit fine evenings in the summer, without the tail.

To compose the fly, take a piece of gold tinsel, and cut a long strip of light india-rubber very thin, hackle, wings, tail, and all laid down ready,—tie the gut on the top of the hook, to project about three-sixteenths of an inch below the bend, or tie the gut underneath in the usual way, and lay a piece of gut on the top somewhat thicker, to work the tail upon, (see the tail in the engraving,—look often at the flies to refresh the memory); take three hairs of the mane of a black horse, and tie them on the end of the piece of gut, about an inch in length, let the silk be fine and well waxed, then tie in the end of the gold tinsel, and the finest end of the piece of india-rubber at the tail, that the thick end may be towards the shoulder to make it taper; after the body is made very even with a little yellow floss silk, hold the fly by the shank in the left hand, with the nails in close contact with each other, and roll the tinsel closely up, shifting your hand; this fastened down with the tying silk, take hold of the india-rubber in the right, and the extreme end of the gut tail in your left nails; warm the rubber a little in the fingers to soften it, draw it out to its full extent, and roll it over the end of the gut, and at every roll keep the third finger of the left hand tight against it to prevent it starting, move the nails up the hook as you proceed with the rubber to the shoulder; give two laps of the tying silk over it, and a running knot. The body now formed, take a very light brown grouse hackle (see the grouse hackle prepared in the plate of Feathers,—the partridge and the plover hackles are prepared in the same way, and all feathers of this shape for the throat, you may either draw them back at the end, or cut them like the wren tail feather), and tie it on at the shoulder, roll it about three times over on its back, keeping the fibres down towards the left under the fingers, tie the stem with a running knot, and do not give too many laps of the tying silk at the head to make it bulky, for it occasions the wings to turn round on the hook, as then there is no foundation for them, but when they are tied hard on the hook, they sit firm—you can not wing it neatly otherwise; to prevent a vacancy at the shoulder, lay on a little yellow-green mohair to fill it up, and roll the hackle over it, you may now guard the gut with the silk before you tie on the wings, do not allow the body of the fly to come too close up to the head, or as I said before, you cannot tie on the wings properly. Now take the dyed mallard feather for the wings, strip two pieces off, and lay them together for one wing, and two pieces for the other wing in like manner; hold the body by the left close to the head, and lay on the off side wing first, hold it tight under the nails of the left, and take a turn or two of the silk tightly over it, take up the other wing and lay it on, catching it under the nails of the left, taking two turns more over it in the same way, and press it tight down with the nails of the right thumb, give another turn or two of the silk, press back the roots of the wings with the thumb nail of the right, cut them close off, roll the silk evenly over it, and give two knots, now take a peacock's harl, tie it in by the root end, and roll it over the head two or three times towards the wing, and tie it firmly here with two knots of the tying silk, cut off silk and harl, lay on a little varnish, and your fly is completed; press up the head to make it look even, cut off all superfluous fibres that may stand uneven, so that all will appear like the plate.

There is another excellent way of making a body:—thus, take a piece or length of very flat gut, and soak it well in hot water till it becomes soft, tie it in at the end of the tail as you did the india-rubber, form a body nicely tapered of straw, roll some white floss silk over it at intervals, roll the soft gut closely over it to the head and tie it fast; then put a small partridge hackle round the throat, and wing it the same as before. Before you lay on the straw, cut it taper to suit the size of hook you are using, gold-beater's skin rolled over flat gold tinsel is also good.

I will here teach the making of the beautiful Winged Larva, specimens of which are shown in the plate with the May Fly. There is nothing can exceed the beauty of these flies, and as artificial specimens for killing fish during easterly winds they are invaluable.

It was in a strong east wind which lasted some weeks, five or six years ago, that I had such great success with this sort of fly in the river Tweed; grilse, sea-trout, and river-trout took it greedily. The two engravings in the plate of these flies are very beautiful. It would be a general killer in heavy running rivers under trees, or in rapid streams.

TO MAKE THE WINGED LARVA.

Tie on the hook and gut as before (say a hook about No. 8) and form a brown body of mohair on it, wing the fly with a portion of hen pheasant tail feather and woodcock wing; having the yellow brown body formed on the hook, and the wings ready to tie on, take a piece of the shrivelled larva you will find attached to the ends of the lengths of salmon gut, choose those that are nice and taper, and at the fine end tie on two fibres of golden pheasant neck feather for tail, clip off the end of the gut, lay on a little varnish at the end of the tail to keep it from coming off; now tie on the larva close to the shoulder, cut off the end of the gut, lay on a little varnish there, take some mohair of the same colour as the body, and roll it over the throat to cover the tying, leaving at the same time enough of the hook to receive the wings, you then take a light brown grouse hackle, off the neck of the bird, and roll it twice round the shoulder for the legs, or a woodcock feather, to be found at the root of the wings, outside, the latter I think is best. Now tie the wings on a little longer than the bend of the hook, clip off the ends at the head, and form a head with a piece of peacock harl, of a bronze colour as usual, fasten with the silk, and cut off all the superfluities. It would be well to draw out a little of the mohair at the shoulder to hang over the larva body, and to flatten the end of the gut a little where you tie on the tail, which keeps it on. Tie the larva at the side, so as it may appear like a double body to the fish in the water. It may be made by tying on the wings first, and let them remain until the body, the larva, and the hackle, are all tied in their proper places, and then turn back the wings over the body with your thumb nail, and tie them firmly down with the silk, taking two laps over the roots, and finish with two knots on the end of the shank immediately above the head.

Do not neglect to tie in the larva tightly below the wings at the shoulder, to prevent it drawing out from the mohair body. You must hold on tight and press it well down with the nail of the right thumb, as you do the wings when tying them on last. It is best to look at the larvas engraved in the plate occasionally, to give you an idea how it is done. When the wings are turned up last, and a head formed of the root of them with the tying silk, you next roll on a piece of brown peacock harl at the root of the wings, a harl with long pile or fibres is best, as you can press it up with your fingers to hang over the root of the wings.

The great nicety in making this fly to look well is, in tying on the two fibres of the golden pheasant feathers at the tail with fine silk, and the tying on of the larva itself at the shoulder of the fly, and then covering the silk that appeared bare with a little mohair twisted round the tying silk, and then rolled over it; it is over this bit of mohair the hackle should be rolled, and secured with two knots.

The wing of the small larva in the plate is tied on last, and a most curious and killing looking fly it is; the other one does best in deep water, or for grilse or sea-trout in July and August, particularly in the latter month.

The Salmon Fly, No. 11, in the centre of the plate, with the larvas, is a capital specimen for the light streams north of the Tweed, and would kill well in that splendid river at low water in summer, particularly at the "Throughs," three miles above the town of Kelso.

The above fly I will describe hereafter, with the other engravings in the plates.

To proceed regularly with the various methods of Fly Making, before touching on another subject, will be much more convenient to the tyro as he proceeds, so I will finish this branch of an "Angler's Education" with a Catechism, which will be found instructive and very curious to the beginner. It is accompanied with a copper-plate engraving of six flies, showing the whole process to the eye, which cannot fail to give a lasting idea to the fly maker who will properly study it.

In this last process, the reader should lay out every thing necessary for making a single fly in a piece of folded paper, so that he can look at the various articles as he rehearses them over in the book,—this will keep them more strongly in his mind.

Have each article to suit the size of the hook exactly, that when the fly is completed, it will appear in strict proportion: for instance, the hackle should be chosen small to suit the legs of the trout fly, and the large flies to have hackles off the saddle of the cock, that are old and stiff, to withstand the motion of the water; and fine silk, both floss and tying for the bodies of the small flies, and every thing in unison, as you read in the book; handling every thing sparingly, delicately, and nicely in the fingers. There is a good deal of the "battle fought" by letting the nails grow to a pretty fair length so as to hold on grimly.

A CATECHISM OF FLY-MAKING,

By WILLIAM BLACKER

Question.—What do you mean by Fly-making?

Answer.—I mean the artificial assimilation of those beautiful insects that appear on brooks and rivers during the summer season.

Q.—What are these artificial flies used for in general?

A.—They are principally used to afford gentlemen rural amusement and recreation, by their taking both trout and salmon with the rod, line, and fly.

Q.—Name the different materials requisite for making the Artificial Fly.

A.—The necessary materials for making the Artificial Fly are as follows:—various kinds of feathers, furs, mohair, pig hair, dyed hackles, silks, tinsel, &c., &c.

Q.—When the tyro has all the materials prepared, and seated at the table, how does he commence to make the fly?

A.—First, the hook is firmly tied on the gut, and one eighth of an inch of the end of the shank left bare to receive the wings (see plate, hook, gut, and tail, tied on).

Q.—How are the wings tied on?

A.—They may be tied on the reverse way first, at the extreme end of the shank, and after the tail, body, and legs are formed, turn up the wings, divide and tie them down, and form the head.

Q.—Is there any other way of placing on the wings of a trout fly?

A.—Yes, by forming the tail, body, and legs first, and tie on the wings last.

Q.—Having the wings the reverse way, to appear in strict proportion over the fly when turned, what is the next part to be performed?

A.—Next, I take hold of the shank opposite the barb in my left, and here tie on a short piece of tinsel for the tip, roll it over two or three times evenly, and secure it with a running knot, immediately above this tie on the tail.

Q.—When the wings are tied on reversed, the tip and tail secured, how do you form the body?

A.—I take hold of the hook in my left hand close to the tail, and with my right draw out a small quantity of mohair, twist it round the tying silk close to the hook, draw it gradually full under the fingers to taper it, I then roll it closely over the shank to the root of the wings and fasten it. Leave a vacancy to receive the hackle if rolled on at the shoulder.

Q.—If there is not sufficient mohair twisted on the silk to form the whole body, what must be done?

A.—When the mohair on the silk becomes short, I tie it down on the centre of the shank, and tie in the point of the hackle here (see the second and third flies in the plate of this process), and apply a little more stuff to fill the shoulder, leaving a little of the hook to receive the wings.

Q.—Having tied the hackle on towards the shoulder of the fly, how do you strike it in its proper place?

A.—I hold the hook in my left hand by the bend, and with the right take hold of the stem of the hackle and roll it round the shank on its back, and tie it down (the fly may be ribbed and hackled from the tail like the fourth fly in the plate).

Q.—The hackle, body, tail, and tinsel now neatly tied, how do you tie on the wings?

A.—I now hold the fly in my left hand by the body, drawing the fibres underneath my finger and thumb out of the way, lay on the wings double, catch them under the nails of the left and give two laps of the tying silk over them, press them down at this place with the right nail divide and let the fibres of the hackle spring up between them, cut off the roots, lap the silk closely over the head and fasten with two knots (see the cock tail at the bottom of this plate).

Note.—The wings of this fly were tied on first, as seen, and turned up last; the fuller the fly is at the shoulder the more the wings will stand upright on the back, and it often occurs that when the wings of the fly lie flat on the back, and it happens to be an end fly on the casting line, which is usually under the surface of the water, that the fish takes it for a drowned fly eagerly, and the wings much longer than the bend of the hook, this is not unnatural, as the wings of numbers of the brown and olive flies seen on the water have their wings much longer than the body, and when not on the wing lie flat on their backs.

I will here give a more easy way of making a Trout fly.

Q.—How do you commence to make the Fly in this way?

A.—I tie on the wings first, turn them up, tie down the head, and finish the fly at the tail.

Q.—When the wings are tied on first, and turned before you commence the body and legs, how do you proceed?

A.—I take a small hackle to suit the size of the hook, strip off the flue, and tie it on by the root at the head, and a piece of tinsel to rib the body.

Q.—Having tied on the hackle thus, what is the next thing to be done?

A.—I draw out a little mohair, twist it tightly round the tying silk, roll it down to the tail and fasten it, and roll the tinsel over in like manner.

Q.—The body and tinsel being formed, how is the hackle struck on?

A.—I take hold of the hackle in my right hand with either my fingers or pliers, and roll it over the body to the tail, fasten and cut off the ends, tie in a tail and the fly is complete. This is the style of the fifth fly in the plate.

Q.—When a fly is to be made in the above way without wings, called a hackle fly, how is it done?

A.—Having previously tied, I take two hackles of equal size, lay them even together, and tie them on by the roots at the end of the shank, and then the piece of tinsel to rib it.

Q.—How do you form the body and tinsel after tying on the hackles?

A.—I twist a very small quantity of mohair round the silk and roll it to the tail, or a peacock's harl, and fasten it there, over this I roll the tinsel.

Q.—As the hackles are a nice point to perform, how are they struck?

A.—I take hold of the hackles with the pliers at the points, both to stand the one way, give two rolls round the shoulder to make it full, and proceed with them slantingly on their backs to the tail, let the pliers hang with them and roll the tying silk twice over them, cut off the superfluous fibres of the hackles, take two running knots, and lay on a little varnish to harden the tying, press down the hackles with the fingers to slope them towards the tail, and the fly is completed.

Q.—When you wish to make a larger Salmon Fly, how do you undertake it?

A.—I tie on the hook and gut firmly together, as in Plate I, on salmon hooks, take hold of it by the shank opposite the barb, roll on a piece of broad tinsel to tip it, tie on a topping for tail, with a black ostrich tag.

Q.—Having gone thus far, how do you manage the pig hair body?

A.—Having laid before me two or three colours of pig hair, I roll a piece of fine floss silk on first next the tail, I then twist a piece of pig hair on the silk, roll it up towards the head, shifting up a little and tie, take another piece of hair, and another, and do in like manner (see the pig hair body of No. 2, on salmon hooks).

Q.—How is the hackle struck on over the body?

A.-Having held the fly by the shank to form the body, I now turn it and hold it by the bend, the hackle and tinsel previously tied in, as in Plate II, on salmon hooks, I roll the tinsel up first and the hackle next in rotation with it; Plate V. will show the tinsel rolled over the floss silk body, and the hackle ready to roll on.

Q.—Having rolled on the hackle, and turned a jay hackle over the shoulder, how do you proceed with the wing?

A.—I take two golden pheasant neck feathers and tie them on tightly first, then sprig them at each side with various fibres of feathers (see the wing in the plate prepared).

Q.—How do you cover the lump occasioned by the quantity of tying silk at the head?

A.—I draw out a small quantity of pig hair, twist it on the tying silk, and roll it over two or three times towards the root of the wings tightly, give three knots, lay on a little varnish, cut off the silk, and the fly is finished.

Note.—If you make a pike fly, use large double hooks and gymp, with broad tinsel, and make the body full with pig hair, large saddlecock hackles for legs, wing them with peacock moon feathers, and add two large blue beads over spangles for eyes, and green or red pig hair towards the head. Fasten on the beads with fine copper wire, rolling it over the head two or three times, and also three times through the eyes, and tie down the wire tightly with the silk; roll the pig hair round the silk and then over the head and between the beads, fasten it with three knots, and lay on the varnish.

These large artificial flies kill pike or jack best on windy days with rain; they will not rise at the fly on fine days, except there is a strong ripple on the water. You humour the fly on the surface as you would move a salmon one, using a strong rod, reel, and line. If he is a large fish, he will rush off with the fly when hooked; but, if a small one, lift him out when he makes a double quick shake on the top of the water. I would advise the fisher to strike a jack quickly, for he often throws the fly out of his mouth when he finds the deception.

THE TROUT FLIES FOR THE
SEASON.

I will now give a description of those flies which will be found most killing, as they are imitations of the natural ones that appear in each month, so that the fly-fisher may practice with them to very great advantage.

The numbers of each correspond with the engravings in the plates of the catalogue of flies.

The Trout is a game and sportive fish, and affords much amusement to the fly-fishers, as well as being generally esteemed the best of our fresh-water fishes for the table. The spawning time of the trout is much the same as that of the salmon, about October and November, and their haunts very similar; they fix upon some gravelly bottom to deposit their spawn, in either river or lake, and are never good when big with roe. After they have spawned they become lean and wasted, and their beautiful spots disappear; in this state they retire to the deep and still parts of the river during the winter months. As soon as the weather becomes open in February, they begin to leave the deeps and approach the rapid streams, where they soon obtain vigour for the summer sport. They delight in sandy and rocky beds and pools, into which sharp and swift streams run, and under shady banks, behind large stones and in eddies; in streams where there are sedges and weeds in the spring of the year. In the summer months they get strange, and haunt the deepest parts of swift running streams; they are found also at the upper ends of mill-pools and weirs, under bridges, and in the return of streams where the water boils in deep places. At the decline of the year they resort to the tails of streams and deep water.

They are in season from February till the end of September.

These few suggestions may benefit the young angler by giving him an idea of knowing where to cast his flies for them.

FLIES FOR MARCH.

No. 1. The March Brown.—The body is made of light brown mohair, mixed with a little fur of the hare's neck, and a little yellow mohair, ribbed with yellow silk; a small brown partridge hackle for legs (this feather is found on the back of the partridge), hen pheasant wing feather for the wings, and two fibres of the same bird's tail feather for the tail of the fly. No. 8 hook. This fly is well taken by the trout, and continues good till the end of April. The following flies appear before the March brown, but it being a great favorite, I have given it first.

No. 2. The Early Dark Dun.—The body is made of water-rat's fur, mixed with a little red mohair, the red more towards the head, an iron-blue dun hackle for legs, and the wings of water-hen or water-rail wing. No. 9 hook.

There is another variety or two of this fly that kill well in February and March, which are as follows: A black red hackle, with the above wings and body; a mallard wing, and the above body; a peacock harl body, a soot-coloured dun hackle, and a tip of gold. No. 10 hook.

There is a small fly, which I term the "heath fly," which is an excellent one in this month, and is made thus: The body is made of the fine fur of the belly of the hedgehog, or rat back fur (common rat), mixed with red squirrel fur, and a little orange mohair, rolled on thin and taper; a small silver grey hackle for legs, and winged with the grey tail feather of the partridge. A grey mallard and red squirrel fur makes another good fly. No. 10 hook.

No. 3. The Little Blue Dun.—The body is made of mole's fur, slightly mixed with bright yellow mohair, a light blue dun hackle for legs, and starling wings. No. 12 hook. This delicate little fly appears on cold days in March, and is well taken by the trout from ten till four in the evening, with the little red dun.

No. 4. The Orange Dun.—The body is made of orange and hare's fur, a honey dun hackle for legs, and grey mallard wings. No. 10 hook. Good on windy days in this month and the next. There should be but little hackle used on small flies in the early season, as the fur is sufficient or nearly so.

No. 5. The Marlow Buzz.—The body is made of peacock harl, a dun hackle over it from the tail, and two dark red ones round the shoulder, rib of silver. This fly does best where there are large trees growing over the river banks.

No. 6. The Brown Hackle.—The body is made of yellow brown mohair, a little orange fox fur, and two short fibred brown-red hackles rolled from the tail over the body, and ribbed with gold wire for evening fishing. It will be found a good one for large trout in river or lake, winged with hen pheasant tail, and forked with two fibres of the same feather, hook No. 10 for the small fly, and No. 6 for the larger size.

There is also a small red fly comes on in this month, very killing; the body is made of red squirrel's fur, a turn of a red hackle round the throat, and grey mallard wings mixed with partridge; hook No. 8.

FLIES FOR APRIL.

No. 7. The Soldier Fly.—The body is made of scarlet-colored mohair, ribbed with fine gold twist, and two black-red cock hackles run up over the body from the tail, (it is made also with orange floss silk body, ribbed with black silk), a small furnace hackle round the throat and a darkish starling wing. The dark red furnace hackle has a dark mark round the edges.

It may also be made to advantage with peacock harl and black-red hackles over it, and tipped with gold. The latter way makes it the "cochybonddu" of Wales. It kills best on windy days in general, with the cow-dung fly, and partridge hackle.

No. 8. The Cuckoo Hackle.—The body is made of peacock's harl, and two dark dun hackles, with darkish bars across them, rolled up to the throat; give it a tag of yellow green silk, at the end of the tail, silver.

The Granam fly may be made thus:—The wings are made of hen pheasant wing feather, hare's ear fur for body, and a grizzled cock hackle for legs. It is a four-winged fly, and when it flutters on the water it is very much like the engraving in the plate; but when it sails down the surface, the wings lie flat on its back, and as soon as it touches the water it drops its eggs; the trout take it freely for about a week in this month, with the gravel or spider fly,—dun body, black hackle, and woodcock wings; some use lead-coloured body.

No. 9. The Black Palmer, or Hackle.—The body is made of yellow floss silk, ribbed with silver tinsel, and two short fibred black hackles struck on from the tail to the shoulder. Hook No. 8.—Vary the body of this fly with peacock harl without the silver, and it will be a capital one for light clear water on No. 12 hook. Use the cow-dung fly on windy days, with the above-named one.

No. 10. The Dun Fox Fly.—The body is made of the fur found on the neck of the fox next the skin, mixed with golden yellow mohair. The wings are the wing feather of the starling or fieldfare, with two fibres of a stiff honey dun cock hackle for tail; pick out the fur a little at the shoulder for legs; hook No. 12. Never was there a better little fly than this thrown on the water, it will kill fish any day in the year. Put on the little black hackle, with peacock harl body with it as a drop fly; and when the dun fox is used as a drop fly, put on the March brown as a stretcher. There may be seen three shades of this fly on the water at the same time occasionally; the other two shades are the ash and blue fox,—the first is a very light dun colour of the fox cub's neck or face, the other is of a darker blue shade; they are great favorites with the trout, artificially; in mild weather throughout the summer, a small wren and grouse hackle may be used with them, the bodies made very thin and taper, and rather full at the shoulder—the wren with orange mohair body, and the grouse with golden yellow floss silk body.

No. 11. The Dun Drake.—The body is made of golden olive mohair, mixed with hare's ear fur, the light and dark, and forked with two short fibres of brown mallard. The wings are made of land-rail wing, and a little brown mallard, mixed nicely together. Hook, No. 9. There is a dark red, and a dark dun fly on the water at the same time as the dun-drake, all of which will be found good ones till the end of May. The Irish name for the dun drake, is "Coughlan,"[A] made thus:—The wings, grey partridge tail; the body, light brown bear's fur, with bright yellow mohair, hare's fur from the face, mixed altogether, forked with two stripes of a dark mallard's feather, and a partridge hackle. No. 8 hook. In Ireland they consider this the most useful fly they have in April and May, as a stretcher, used with the little dun fox, and black-red, (soldier fly).

No. 12. The Stone Fly.—The body is made of brown mohair ribbed with yellow silk, a tuft or tag of yellow mohair or silk at the tail, and a little yellow mohair worked in under the shoulder, over which roll the hackle, which should be of a brown-red colour; the wings are made of the hen pheasant tail mixed with copper brown mallard, made full, and larger than the body. No. 6 hook. If this fly is made of good colours, as above described, hardly any large trout, in humour of taking, can well refuse it. An odd one of them may be seen in March, when the weather is mild; but in April and May, when it becomes more congenial to them, they appear numerous towards the evening. Ribbed with gold twist, it makes a famous grilse fly.

No. 13. The Yellow Sally.—The body is made of buff-colored fur, and a small yellow hackle for legs round the head; the wings are made of the buff-coloured feather inside the wing of the thrush. No. 13 hook. This is the forerunner of the Green Drake or May fly. The trout take this little fly freely, and it is a most excellent killer on fine days, if made according to the description. It will be found on the water till the end of May. The partridge hackle is also good in this month.

FOOTNOTE:

[A] "Taylor's Angler."

FLIES FOR MAY.

No. 14. The Black Gnat.—The body is made of black hair from the spaniel's ear which is fine and soft, or a black ostrich feather clipped very close, and a small black hackle for legs; the wings are from the starling's wing feather. No. 13 hook. This is a good fly throughout a clear day, used as a dropper with the foregoing fly, and wren tail.

It floats on the surface of the water in numbers on sultry days with mild showers of rain. It may be varied to advantage with blue silk body.

No. 15. The Little Brown Midge.—The body is made of brown mohair with a shade of orange mohair at the shoulder, two turns of a small brown-red hackle for legs; the wings are made of brown mallard and a little strip of land-rail mixed. No. 13 hook, snick bend.

There appears to be a variety of small flies on the water with the above fly about the middle of the day, dark browns, pea-greens, and dun flies, all water insects, which the trout take very freely.

No. 16. The Little Iron Blue.—The body is made of a little light coloured water-rat's fur mixed with a few hairs of yellow, an iron blue coloured dun hackle for legs, and the wings from a blue dun feather to be found underneath the wing of a dun hen, or starling wing feather, tail it with a dun hackle, two fibres. No. 10 hook. It sails upright on its legs on the water, with both tail and wings cocked up, so that it would suit best as a bob fly. It will be found a useful fly throughout the season, varied a little in shade according to the weather, the darker ones on fine clear days.

The Coachman, Oral, and the Governor flies will be found good ones in this month towards night, when the beautiful White Moth may be also seen.

No. 17. Hare's Ear and Yellow.—The body is made of the light part of the fur from the hare's ear, ribbed with yellow silk; the wings are from the wing of the starling or fieldfare, and two stiff fibres of honey dun cock's hackle, from the rump for tail, to cock up, pick out the fur at the head for legs, No. 12 hook. It will kill fish every day in this month, and will be found good till the end of July. It may be also called the Little Cocktail.

No. 18. The Green Drake.—The body of this beautiful fly is made of yellow green mohair, the color of a gosling newly come out of the shell, and ribbed with yellow-brown silk, a shade of light brown mohair at the tail, and a tuft of the same color at the shoulder, picked out between the hackle, the whisks of the tail to be of three black hairs of the mane of a horse, about three-quarters of an inch long; the hackle to be a greenish buff dyed, (dye a silver dun hackle with bars across it called a cuckoo), or a light ginger hackle bordering on a yellow. The wings, which should be made full, and to stand upright, are made of dyed mallard feathers of a greenish buff, or yellowish shade: a brown head of peacock harl tied neatly above the wings, No. 6 hook. The wings may be made of the ends of two large dyed mallard feathers, with each side stripped off, and the beautiful long ends to form the wings, tie them on whole back to back, a little longer than the bend of the hook—these feathers stand up well and appear very natural in the water; large size ones kill well in lakes, with bright yellow mohair bodies and gold twist rolled up them; a long honey dun palmer kills well on windy days, allowed to sink near the bottom, ribbed with gold twist (see the palmer in the plate with double hook). The trout take it no doubt for the Creeper or "Cad Bait;" a very small swivel tied on at the head, would improve its life-like appearance in the water as you move it with the rod; and the larger size one would also do better with a swivel.

No. 19.—The Grey Drake.—The body is made of pale yellow mohair, or floss, three fibres of dark mallard for tail, ribbed with brown silk, a grizzled dun-cock's hackle for legs, or silver grey; grey mallard for wings, and a peacock harl head.

The body should be made taper, and full at the head, it is a capital fly on rough days in May and June, and used to advantage on warm evenings. The body may be also made of dun fox fur, grey at the ends, a silver grey hackle for legs, and forked with three hairs from a fitch's tail; the wings grey mallard and widgeon mixed. It is also made of straw body, grey cock's hackle, and mallard wings—these two methods are very good. They kill well in Scotland, and in Ireland are called the "Grey Cochlan." These flies may be seen in "Taylor's Angler."

Mr. Taylor was an angler of no small pretensions, he was very fond of the Irish coloured flies, and has adopted many of them as standards for Scotland, England, and many rivers in Wales.

FLIES FOR JUNE.

No. 20.—The Great Red Spinner.—The body is made of red mohair, ribbed with fine gold wire, and a red cock hackle for legs; the wings are made of brown and grey mallard, the grey underneath; two fibres of stiff cock's saddle hackle for tail, No. 6 or 7 hook. The Small Red Spinner is made as the above, but instead of mallard use starling wings. It is an excellent fly for a dark evening in June and July, with the furnace hackle.

No. 21.—The Alder Fly.—The body is made of brown coloured peacock harl, a black-red cock hackle for legs, the wings are made of hen pheasant tail feathers, hook No 6. There is another way or two of making this fly which cannot be beaten, they are mostly used in Ireland, and are known to be killers in England and Scotland. The body is made of bronze brown mohair, a very small brown grouse hackle round the head, and the wings from a brown spotted hen's wing, No. 8 hook. The other is made with grey and red partridge tail mixed for wings, a copper brown peacock harl body, and a dark brown red hackle off a cock's neck for legs. The legs may be also made of the wren's tail or woodcock hackle, this feather is found on the roots of the outside of the wings of the woodcock. These are good flies in lakes or rivers for large trout—rib with gold for lakes.

No. 22.—The Sand Fly.—The body is made of the sandy coloured fur from the hare's pole, mixed with orange mohair, and a small ginger coloured cock's hackle for legs; the wings are made of a sandy coloured brown hen's wing, No. 10 hook. An excellent little fly on fine days with a little wind and occasional showers.

There is another little fly that will be found equally good, made thus:—the wings are made of red and grey partridge tail feathers, orange body, and black-red hackle rolled up from the tail to the head, it will kill well on dark days, ribbed with gold, No. 8 hook.

No. 23.—The White Moth.—The body is made of white mohair, which is lively ribbed with orange floss, a white cock's hackle rolled round the shoulder; the wings from a white feather of the swan that grows over the back. It may be varied with cream coloured mohair, very light ginger hackle, and a buff wing from a hen of that colour; and a browner one may be made from a matted brown hen's wing, or light brown grouse tail, or large hackle off the rump of the same bird, brown-red cock's hackle, the whole to be made full, of good coloured and stiff materials, that they may not absorb the water, and alight heavy when thrown on the surface.

No. 24. The Oak Fly.—The body is made of orange silk, and a little hare's ear fur under the shoulder, rib it with a furnace hackle from the centre of the body up (if the hackles are tied on at the tail they are very apt to get cut with the teeth of the fish in a very short time). The wings may be made from the mottled brown hen, or the woodcock wings, of a red tinge. No. 8 hook. This fly cannot be too highly valued for its killing qualities. It will be found useful for large trout of a windy day with a grey cloud over head, and not likely to rain. "Mr. Bowlker," in his "Art of Angling," mentions the oak fly in this manner: "The oak, ash, woodcock, cannon, or down-hill fly, comes on about the sixteenth of May, and continues on till about a week in June; it is to be found on the butts of trees, with its head always downwards, which gives it the name of the down-hill fly. It is bred in oak-apples, and is the best of all flies for bobbing at the bush in the natural way, and a good fly for the dab-line, when made artificially." The wings are made from a feather out of the wing of the partridge or woodcock, the body with a bittern's feather, and the head with a little of the brown part of hare's fur. The hook, No. 6. Some dub it with an orange, tawny, and black ground, and with blackish wool and gold twist; the wings off the brown part of a mallard's feather.

FLIES FOR JULY.

No. 25.—The Great Whirling Dun.—The body is made of water-rat's fur, mixed with yellow mohair, and ribbed with yellow silk; a reddish blue dun hackle for legs; grey mallard wings, or starling—try both. No. 8 hook. There are two or three varieties of this fly, which make their appearance in this month, and are very killing on fine, mild days, with occasional showers; their colours run from a dark to a light sky-blue.

"Mr. Bowlker," in his "Art of Angling," an authority which I like, as he was himself a fisherman, speaks thus of one of these beautiful flies: "It comes on about the end of May, and continues till the middle of July. It is a neat, curious, and beautiful fly; its wings are transparent, stand upright on its back, and are of a fine blue colour, its body is of a pale yellow, its tail forked, and the colour of its wings. It is a fly that the fishes take extremely well from seven o'clock in the evening till sun-set. The wings are made from the light blue feather of a hen; the body is made with pale yellow mohair, mixed with light blue fur, and ribbed with a fine cock's hackle, dyed yellow, the hook, No. 8." This is taken from "Bowlker's" original work.

No. 26. The Little Peacock Fly.—The body is made of bright brown peacock's harl, with a tip of gold at the tail, or gold colour floss silk; a red hackle for legs, and a starling wing. This little fly comes on about the middle of July, and continues till the end of August. It may be used to advantage on fine days, with the blue dun, and cinnamon brown. I have seen this latter fly on the river "Mole," in August, of a fine brown colour, and plump in the body, about the size of the Great Whirling Dun. The body was red brown, the legs an amber brown, the wings were a mottled light brown, and the tail of the same colour as the wings. I have seen the above fly some time after on the "Bann," in the north of Ireland, a river six times the size of the Mole, not half the size, in August. This circumstance of the difference in size, must be the nature of the soil through which the rivers flow; the "Bann" is a gravelly bed, full of large stones, with a very fall strong running stream; the "Mole" not so. It is my opinion that in the summer months there is more sport to be had with flies as small as can be made, than with the general run, except late in the evening, then use a large fly—a brown, or white moth, where a large fish shows himself.

No. 27. The Blue Blow.—The body is made of mole's fur mixed with yellow mohair, run very taper from the tail up; the wings are made of a tom-tit's tail feather, or water hen; the tail is two hairs of a mouse's whisker, or fibres of dark dun hackle; the body is picked out a little at the head to imitate legs; the fly altogether to be made very small and delicate, hook No. 13. These little flies may be seen on good size rivers in hundreds, in the summer on sultry days; where there is a stone projecting out of the water they gather round it, and with the motion are carried up and down on the side of the stone, where large trout lie, like ant bears, sucking them in by the dozen; the wing of the water-rail is capital to imitate that of the fly. There is another excellent killing fly that may be used with the above, made thus;—body, gold colour mohair; tip of gold; woodcock or wren hackle for legs; grey partridge tail for wrings; and two fibres of the same for tail; No. 10 hook. They are good where the river is low, and are excellent till the end of August, used with the little brown fly, and ash fox.

There are also three little flies which are very good in this month and the next, and although they are not very well known by name, nevertheless they will be found killing. First, the "Orange Wren," with orange mohair body, and wren tail hackle. Second, the "Golden Wren," with golden yellow mohair body, and wren tail hackle for legs. Third, the "Green Wren," with green floss body, and wren tail for legs. The Brown Wren, and the little Peacock Wren, are also good. No. 13 hook. The latter little fly is called the "Shiner."

No. 28. The Yellow Dun.—The body is made of light buff-coloured fur, white sable far dyed yellow, and a honey dun cock's hackle for legs; two fibres of the same feather for tail; the wings are made of starling wing feather. No. 12 hook. This pretty little fly is a great favourite with the trout in the evenings of sultry days, till the end of August and September.

FLIES FOR AUGUST.

No. 29. The Red Dun.—The body is made of red orange hair, over which roll a small dun hackle; the wings are a dun grey, and are made of starling wing feather, mixed with a little mallard. No. 10 hook. It may be varied thus: Red legs and dun body; orange floss body, over which roll a black hackle, and starling wing. The size of hook to vary from No. 10 to No. 7.

This is an excellent fly in rapid streams where there are large trout; it is so attractive that they cannot refuse it when it moves over them. Trout that lie or haunt strong streams, are called, in Ireland, "Hunters." The cause is, no doubt, through their being thin and long in the body, and are possessed with enormous mouths to take in their prey. They take small trout freely.

No. 30. The Ant Fly.—The body is made of brown floss silk, and a small fibred peacock harl at tail; a brown red hackle for legs, and wings of starling feather. No. 10 hook.

There is a black ant the same size as the above, and a red and black one much larger; the black one is made of black floss for the body, small black hackle for legs, and a blackbird's wing for the wings of the fly. The small ones kill on fine days, and the larger ones when there is a strong wind, which blows them on the water, and causes a ripple.

No. 31. The Caperer.—The body is made of brown mohair, or floss silk of a copper colour, and tipped with gold at the tail; a brown red cock's hackle at the shoulder for legs, and winged with the woodcock wing feather. No. 8 hook. This fly may be seen on fine sultry days whirling up and down over the water, and occasionally dipping on the surface; the trout take them very freely. This fly will be found on the water till the end of September, with the paler dun, yellow dun, blue dun, and willow fly. The greyling also like these little flies.

The Winged Larva.—The body is made of brown mohair; the larva is attached to this body at the shoulder, and tailed with two fibres of golden pheasant neck feather, a woodcock hackle round the shoulder, and winged with hen pheasant tail, mixed with a little woodcock or partridge tail feather, and a bronze peacock head. No. 8 hook. It will be found a good fly on dark windy days in this month and the next, and during the prevalence of winds from the east; it will do best where a strong rapid stream runs into a deep pool.

A Substitute for the Winged Larva:—The body is made of bright golden yellow mohair, which looks very transparent; a woodcock wing, and a hackle off the same bird, with two fibres of golden pheasant neck feather for tail. No. 8 hook.

The Willow Flies.—The body of the first is made of blue squirrel's fur, mixed with a little yellow mohair; a blue dun cock's hackle round the shoulder, and a tomtit wing. No. 8 hook. The second fly is made of orange silk body, ribbed with fine black silk; a very dark furnace hackle round the head, and blackbird's wing. No. 10 hook. The third fly is made of the wings or blue feather of the sea-swallow, for the wing of the fly, and the lightest blue fur that can be got for body (the fine blue of the fox's neck, next to the skin; the fur of a very young water-rat, or the lightest blue fur of the squirrel); a light dun cock's hackle, and a tail of the same. No. 10 hook. These little flies will kill till the end of October, and are excellent fur greyling. There are hundreds of other flies that make their appearance on the water through the summer months, which come under the angler's notice when in pursuit of his pastime, that may be imitated to advantage, the varieties of which must fill the mind with admiration.

FISHING RODS AND FLY FISHING.

For a trout rod, to have a good balance from the butt to the extreme top, it is essentially necessary that the wood should be well-seasoned, straight in the grain, and free from knots and imperfections. It should consist of three or four joints, according to fancy. There is not the least occasion for a rod to be glued up in pieces first, and then cut into lengths and fitted with ferrules, for then you have the unnecessary trouble of lapping the splices, but it is best to clean each piece separately, and measure the exact taper each piece should be to one another with the ferrules to fit in the same proportion, the least thing wider at the lower end than at the top; the ends to be bored for the tongues to fit into tightly to prevent shaking, that when they are double brazed they may fit air-tight.

The ends must be bored previous to planing down the substance of the pieces, and tied round with waxed thread to prevent them from opening or cracking, so that these pieces may be pushed into each end of the boring whilst the rod is planed up to its proper substance or size, except the tops, which should be well glued-up pieces of bamboo cane, and filed down to their proper sizes to suit the other parts of the rod; this may be also done by fastening the tongue of the top in the bored joint next in size. The butt should be made of ash, the middle piece of hickory, and the top of bamboo, which is the lightest and toughest of all woods that can be brought to so fine a consistency. The length of the rod for single-hand fly fishing should be from twelve to thirteen feet long—a length which may be used with great facility without tiring the arm. The butt should be easy in the grasp and not a great deal of timber in it; the next piece to be nearly as stout as the butt above the ferrule for a foot and a half, this prevents its being weak at that particular part, which otherwise would cause the rod to be limber in the middle; the next or fourth piece to be stiffer and lighter in the wood to keep up the top; the whole rod to stand nearly straight up when held in the hand, and to have a smart spring above, which assists materially in getting out the line when throwing. The splices of the tops should be tightly bound over with the finest silk, well waxed, and over all three or four coats of good varnish that is not liable to crack. You cannot bind the splices tight enough with coarse three-cord silk, the top being so small it cannot be drawn together near so well as with fine silk, and when the varnish rubs off it opens and admits the water, which loosens the glued splice inside. The fine waxed silk is to be preferred by all means, as it lies closer on the wood, becomes harder, and makes the splice stiffer to work with the other parts.

When the whole is ringed, ferruled, and fitted for the reel complete, it should not (a twelve foot) exceed one pound; it will afford great comfort to the fly fisher in his innocent pursuit, and will not fatigue him during a long summer day. The reel should be light, in proportion to the rod, and to contain thirty yards of silk and hair line made fine and taper, and when the rod is grasped in the hand a little way above the reel, the balance should be the same above the hand as below it, so that it may be used with the greatest ease.

The beautiful rent and glued-up bamboo-cane fly rods, which I turn out to the greatest perfection, are very valuable, as they are both light and powerful, and throw the line with great facility. The cane for these rods must be of the very best description, or they will not last any time. They will last for years if properly made, and of course the fisher must take care of them; they are best when made into pocket rods, in eight joints, with all the knots cut out, and the good pieces between each knot rent and glued up; these may be had in my shop of as good a balance as a three-joint rod, most superbly made of the lightest brazings. They make capital perch and roach rods with a bait top added to the extra fly top, with bored butt to hold all. These rods can be made to suit a lady's hand for either boat or fly fishing.

The salmon rod should be made in four pieces or joints. The butt of the best long grained solid ash, the wood of which is not so heavy as hickory, and is not liable to break at the ferrule, that is, if the ferrule is put on "flush," without letting it into the wood by scoring it; the piece above the butt, and the joint next the top, should be of the very best well-seasoned hickory, without crack or flaw; the tops to be made of the best yellow bamboo cane, either rent and glued up in three pieces, or spliced in short lengths with the knots cut away; the first joint to be nearly as stout as the substance of the wood above the ferrule as the end of the butt for a foot and a half, to prevent the rod being limber in the middle; the next joint that holds the top should be very smart, and come up at a touch when bent with the hand, and the extreme lightness of the cane top prevents all appearance of its being top-heavy, which cannot be prevented with lance-wood, unless it is made very fine indeed, and then it becomes useless. The length of the rod should not exceed seventeen or eighteen feet long, and for light rivers, sixteen feet is quite long enough; if the angler fly fishes for salmon from a boat, fourteen feet will be sufficient, made, of course, very powerful throughout, as in some large rivers a salmon will take the fly close to the boat in strong and deep streams. The rings should be pretty large, to admit of the line running freely, and the joints double brazed, which prevents the bare wood of the tongues twisting off when the rod is taken to pieces after a day's fishing, particularly when they get wet. The reel fittings should be about a foot and a half, or say twenty inches from the extreme end, that there may be room for the left hand to grasp it easily below the reel, which prevents the rod hanging heavy on the arms, and will balance it much better than having the reel too near the end of the butt. When the salmon rod is bent after playing a fish, it can be easily straightened by turning it when the next fish is hooked, and allow the line to run through the rings on the top of the rod; by holding it in that position, you can see how you are winding up the line on the reel, and regulate it according as the fish runs towards you, for if the reel is held underneath when the fish is on, if he runs towards you, it cannot be seen whether the line runs on in a lump or not, which, if it does, often causes it to stop, and may occasion the loss of your fish.

The most essential and nicest point of all is in casting the line and trout flies neatly on the water, which, when properly accomplished in a masterly way, will be the greatest means towards the success of the fly fisher in hooking and catching his fish. In the first place, the fisher should keep as far off the water as possible when throwing next his own side, and make it a rule, whenever he can, to angle on the bank from which the wind blows, as it will enable him to throw the flies across to the opposite bank, and play them gently down the stream in a slanting direction towards him, moving backwards as they approach his side, drawing them up along the bank if the stream is any ways deep, as a trout of good size is often lying in such a place when undisturbed, as you fish cautiously down.

The line should not be let off the reel too fast when you begin to throw, that the stream may be carefully covered near you, and as you move along let it off so as to cover the whole of the water. Hold the rod firmly above the reel in the right hand, and take hold of the end of the casting line in the left, give it a motion towards your left shoulder, and over the head with a circle to the full length of the flies behind you, and with a spring of the rod and motion of the arm bring them right before you on to the stream, as straightly and lightly as possible, and by this method you will prevent them whipping off behind in a very short time; allow the line always to stretch to its full length behind, and keep them on the move, with the backward sweep of the rod round the head propel them forward to the place you desire they should fall, and I do not doubt that you will make neither splash nor ripple on the surface. And when a fish makes a rise, move the rod upwards with a gentle pull, which is better than striking hard, as the small hook is easily driven, and there is no occasion to break the hold or line. Never hold too hard on a large fish, but let him run if he will, a small one may be landed immediately. By no means attempt to go "an angling" without a landing net, as there may be danger in losing your fish, after having the trouble or sport of playing him a long time, and the bank high on your side. I have been always in the habit of fishing down the stream, throwing my flies slantingly to the opposite bank, and letting them fall gradually with the current, and walking slowly along lifting and throwing them at my leisure—it is all fancy whether up or down you go, so as it is well done—what you have habituated yourself to in fly fishing in general, that do. Keep your shadow as much as possible off the water, and when you land your fish let his head drop into the net first, and his whole weight will follow, lift him clean up on the bank with a pull of the net towards you, as this prevents him dropping out.

FLY-FISHING FOR SALMON.

When you begin fly-fishing for Salmon, you must be careful not to let out too much of the reel line first, but when you become accustomed to it, and are master of throwing a short one, let it out gradually till you are enabled to cover the pool over which you cast with ease.

If you practice throwing over a smooth wide part of the river, you will see how your line falls on the water, whether thrown in a lump, or light and straight without a splash; but at one time you may cast the line right out over the stream at its full length, and on giving another cast you may allow the line to fall on the water in the middle of it first, and the fly to fall last, which is not so good, but in either way the fish will rise and take it; by the last cast you may get the line farther off, and the fly alighting near the opposite bank, it is very apt to be taken by a fish lying close under it; and when throwing, keep the point of the rod up out of the water, and do not let it strike it; throw across in a rather slanting direction, allowing the fly to sweep down without a curve in the middle of the line, and at the same time move the rod playfully to give the fly a life-like appearance; drawing it in towards your side of the bank, moving it up and down gradually with the current, and when a fish takes the fly raise your hand, and fasten the hook without a jerk, holding up your rod at the same time with what is termed a "sweet fast," that it may not get slack at any time till you have killed him; when you poise the rod in your hands for a throw, the whole knack is in keeping the left hand steady, and with a turn of the right hand cause the line to make a circle round the left shoulder and over the head, propel it forward with the spring of the rod, keeping the fly going all the time till it falls on the water before you as straight as possible; when you lift the fly out of the water to throw again, you require to make use of the strength of the right arm, giving it the proper turn round with the wrist, making a sweep of the extent of the line behind you, and with the spring and power of the rod direct the fly on that part of the stream where you desire it should fall; letting the line out occasionally off the reel with your hand, which gives the fly a very natural motion on the water, moving it gradually down towards your side, when you lift the line out and make another throw as before a little lower down, and so on until you cover the whole stream.

You may change to the left hand when you are tired with the right, or according to the side you are fishing from, to facilitate and ease your exertion as much as possible when throwing a long line. When I have happened to be in a barn at a farm house on the river side, I have often thought when taking up the flail to thrash awhile, whilst the man was resting himself, that the exertion was remarkably like throwing the fly with the Salmon rod, the whole method appears to be in the turn of the wrist and arm, for when the flail is raised up and wound over the left shoulder, with a certain impulse known to one's self you propel it forward over the head, striking the sheaf on the ground with full force on any part you like, where you think there are any ears in it.

Many may not be acquainted with flail thrashing, but were they to understand the knack, it is easily done; so, also, is the using of the salmon rod, with a little practice, and observing a good thrower if you happen to meet one on the river, or an old fisherman you employ.