Produced by Chris Curnow, Emmy and the Online Distributed
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          ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HALL.

          LONDON:
          PRINTED BY GEO. NICHOLS, EARL'S COURT,
          LEICESTER SQUARE.

[Illustration: FLY FISHING]

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.

                                                               Page.
  Preface                                                          v
  The Art of Fly Making                                            1
  An Easy Method to make the Trout Fly                             3
  An Easy Method of making a Plain Salmon Fly                      8
  To make the Trout Fly, in the best and most approved method     13
  To make the Palmer, or Double-Hackle Fly                        20
  How to make the Salmon Fly, as shown in the Beautiful Plate
        of Engravings on Salmon Hooks                             23
  Process of making the Gaudy Salmon Fly                          30
  To make the Winged Larva                                        42
  A Catechism of Fly-Making                                       46
  The Trout Flies for the Season                                  55
  Flies for March                                                 57
  Flies for April                                                 60
  Flies for May                                                   64
  Flies for June                                                  69
  Flies for July                                                  72
  Flies for August                                                76
  Fishing Rods and Fly Fishing                                    80
  Fly Fishing for Salmon                                          88
  An Account of the Salmon, and its Varieties                     96
  The Salmon Fry                                                 100
  A Description of the Fifteen Salmon Flies Engraved in the
        Plates                                                   104
  Spring Flies                                                   117
  Salmon Rivers                                                  120
  The River Tweed                                                121
  The River Shannon                                              123
  The Lakes of Clare                                             124
  The Lakes of Killarney                                         126
  Lough Curran, Waterville                                       133
  Connamara and Ballynahinch                                     138
  Ballyna                                                        142
  Ballyshannon                                                   145
  The Rivers Bush and Bann                                       149
  The River Bann                                                 156
  Lakes of Westmeath                                             163
  The River Lee, at Cork                                         169
  Salmon Rivers in Scotland                                      170
  The River Tay                                                  171
  The Dee and Don                                                176
  The River Spey                                                 177
  The Findhorn                                                   179
  Rivers and Lakes adjacent to Fort William, on the
      Caledonian Canal                                           180
  Salmon Flies for Fort William, &c.                             186
  Salmon Flies for the Ness                                      187
  The River Shin                                                 189
  The River Thurso                                               191
  The River Esk                                                  194
  Loch Leven                                                     195
  The River Allan                                                196
  Loch Awe and River                                             200
  The Rivers Irvine, Girvan, and Stincher, in Ayrshire           203
  Rivers of Wales.--The Conway                                   205
  The River Dovey                                                205
  The River Tivey                                                206
  The Wye, Monmouth                                              207
  The River Severn                                               208
  The Trent                                                      209
  Rivers of York and Derby                                       210
  The Hodder                                                     211
  Rivers of Derby                                                211
  The Rivers Wandle and Coln                                     212
  Bait Fishing.--The River Thames                                216
  Perch                                                          218
  Barbel                                                         219
  Pike                                                           221
  Roach                                                          224
  Dace                                                           226
  Carp                                                           226
  Chub                                                           227
  Gudgeons and Minnows                                           228
  Baits                                                          229
  The Art of Dyeing Fishing Colours                              232
  To Dye Yellow                                                  234
  To Dye Brown                                                   236
  To Dye a Yellow-Brown                                          237
  To Dye Blue                                                    238
  To Dye Red                                                     239
  To Dye Orange                                                  240
  To Dye Purple or Violet                                        241
  To Dye Crimson                                                 241
  To Dye Scarlet.                                                242
  Crimson Red in Grain                                           243
  To Dye Green Drake Feathers and Fur                            243
  To Dye Claret                                                  244
  Another way to Dye Claret                                      245
  To Dye Black                                                   246
  To Dye Greens of various Shades                                246
  To Dye Lavender or Slate Dun, &c.                              247
  Blues                                                          248
  A Silver Grey                                                  248
  A Coffee or Chesnut                                            249
  To Dye Olives and a Mixture of Colours                         249
  A Concise way of Dyeing Colours                                250
  The Materials necessary for Artificial Fly Making              256

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.

  Plate                                                         Page
   1. Blacker Fly-fishing                              Frontispiece.
   2. Titlepage.
   3. An easy method to make the Trout-fly              _opposite_ 3
   4. An easy method of making a Salmon-fly                        8
   5. The best method of making a Trout-fly                       13
   6. To make the Palmer's                              _to face_ 20
   7. How to make the Salmon-fly                                  23
   8. Process of making the Gaudy Salmon-fly           _opposite_ 30
   9. The plate of Feathers                             _to face_ 34
  10. To make the Winged Larva                                    42
  11. Plate of Six Flies Catechism                                46
  12. Plate of 15 Trout-flies          _opposite flies for March_ 57
  13. Plate of 16 Flies                                _opposite_ 65
  14. Plate of Larvas and Green Drakes                 _opposite_ 78
  15. Plate of Gaudy Flies, Nos. 1, 2, 3,             _opposite_ 105
  16. Plate of three Salmon-flies, Nos. 4, 5, 6,      _opposite_ 108
  17. Plate of four Flies, Nos. 7, 8, 9, 10                      110
  18. Large Spring Salmon-fly                                    116
  19. Plate of 7 Flies and Salmon                      _to face_ 145
  20. Plate of Minnow tackle, &c.                      _to face_ 216
  21. Plate of Pike tackle, &c.                                  221
  22. Paternoster and Barbel tackle                              230

      _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.

[Illustration: AN EASY METHOD TO MAKE THE TROUT-FLY.]

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.

[Illustration: _An easy method of making a Salmon Fly._]

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.

[Illustration: The best method of making a Trout-fly]

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.

[Illustration: TO MAKE THE PALMER OR DOUBLE HACKLEFLY.]

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.

[Illustration: How to make the Salmon-Fly]

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:--

[Illustration: _Process of making the Gaudy Salmon-fly_]

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.

[Illustration: The plate of Feathers]

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.

[Illustration: TO MAKE THE WINGED LARVA.]

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.

[Illustration: _To make the Trout-fly as taught in the_ CATHECHISM.]

_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.

[Illustration: Plate of 15 Trout-flies.]

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.

[Illustration: Plate of 16 Flies]

FOOTNOTE:

[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.

[Illustration: Plate of Larvas and Green Drakes.]

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.

Keep yourself steady on your feet, and your body well up when casting,
as it gives more power to the muscles, and when a salmon is fairly
hooked it will prevent your being nervous or striking too quick, but as
I said before, rise your hand and keep the line taut; as the fish will
often rise several times out of the water in succession when first
pricked with the hook, on finding himself detained; when he runs keep
the rod nearly perpendicular, as the spring of it will soon tire him
out; if he is a good way off and makes a rush towards you, wind up your
line quickly, keeping it taut at the same time, and moving backwards
till he is near your own shore: if he rolls over in the water apply the
gaff and lift him out, but if he is not regularly beat he will rush off
again on seeing the gaff with great strength, give in he must at last
by the gentle strain of the rod that is always upon him. He often gets
sulky, and lies down on the bottom of the river, when it will be found
difficult to start him again: a clearing ring let down the line on his
nose will cause him to run, and when he does so, it is best to bear
stronger upon him, as in so doing you have the best chance of quickly
tiring and capturing him. I think it the best plan to lay the gaff under