CHAPTER XIV. 



ARTIFICIAL FLIES. 



" To frame the little animal, provide 

 All the gay hues that wait on female pride ; 

 Let nature guide thee. Sometimes golden wire 

 The shining bellies of the fly require ; 

 The peacock's plumes thy tackle must not fail, 

 Nor the dear purchase of the sable's tail. 

 Each gaudy bird some slender tribute brings, 

 And lends the growing insect proper wings: 

 Silks of all colors must their aid impart, 

 And every fur promote the fisher's art."— Gay. 



Fly-Fishing and the art of making artificial flies 

 dates back at least to the ancient Greeks and Romans. 

 During the palmy days of the Roman Empire, the rod, 

 line, hook, and artificial fly were well known. Noel de la 

 Moriniere tells us that the lines were generally made of 

 horsehair, single, double, and plaited; and according to 

 ..Elianus the hair was colored in different ways. The 

 fishing-rod was chosen with reference to the supposed weight 

 of the fish to be caught, and the resistance it could offer. 

 The hooks were of copper or iron, and coated with tin. 

 The art of making flies of feathers and other materials has, 

 perhaps, never been carried further in our own time, even 

 in England itself. It is possible that the national love 

 for fly-fishing was introduced into Britain by the Romans. 



It is with some degree of trepidation that I approach the 

 subject of artificial flies, for I am afraid that I hold some 

 (294) 



