CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



a little curved, so as to spin when drawn through 

 the water. The upper hook is then stuck through 

 the lips. Some use a triangle appended, as shewn 

 by the dotted line of the fig. The trace or cast- 

 ing line, intervening between the minnow tackle 

 and the reel-line, is of stout gut, and provided 

 with two or more swivels, to allow for the spinning 

 of the minnow. 



The tackle for parr-bait is of the same construc- 



Fig. 5- 



tion as that for minnow. Fig. 5 represents a 

 parr-bait on the hooks. 



The perfect insects used for baits are grass- 

 hoppers, crickets, day-flies, spring-flies, May-flies, 

 humble-bees, and various others. The ephemeras, 

 or those fragile creatures that live but for a day, or 

 even a few hours, and therefore called day-flies, 

 are found sporting by the low banks of rivers in 

 warm weather, and form a taking bait for trout 

 and some other fish. 



Artificial Flies. 



We cannot afford space to describe the making of 

 artificial flies in a way that would be of any practical 

 use. Let the tyro in angling, who wishes to learn to 

 dress flies, begin by taking lessons from a tackle- 

 maker. We will content ourselves with naming 

 a few of the most approved varieties, after having 

 said a few words on the theory of fly-fishing. The 

 prevailing system in England it may be said to 

 be universal is what is called the ' entomological,' 

 which goes on the principle ' that, in order to fish 

 successfully, the angler must use an imitation of 

 one or other of the natural insects on the water at 

 the time.' Anglers holding these views have a 

 great variety of flies made to resemble as closely 

 as possible so many real insects. ' They have a fly 

 for the morning, another for noon, and another for 

 the evening of every day in the year, and spend a 

 great deal of time in taking off one fly, because it 

 is a shade too dark, and a second because it is a 

 shade too light, and a third to give place to the 

 imitation of some insect which has just made its 

 appearance on the water.' 



From this view, notwithstanding its great 

 apparent reasonableness, many distinguished 

 Scottish anglers dissent both in theory and prac- 

 tice. Let the lure, they say, have a general re- 

 semblance to a fly or insect of some kind, either 

 dead or alive, and take care that nothing indicate 

 that it is not natural, and it will take as readily as 

 a more exact copy of a particular species. Fine 

 gut and a small fly are of more consequence than 

 close resemblance. The secret of a small fly is, 

 that the artificiality is less readily perceptible than 

 in a large fly. What Mr Stewart considers it 

 important to imitate is the general shape and the 

 lightness and neatness which characterise river 

 insects : he strongly objects to the ordinary run of 

 flies as too bushy. 



Artificial flies are of two kinds flies, properly 



700 



so called, with wings ; and palmers or hackles, 

 which have no wings, but only a body with fibres 

 projecting all round to represent bristles or legs. 

 They are supposed by some to imitate caterpillars ; 

 Mr Stewart thinks they are liker spiders, and gives 

 them that name. He holds that three spiders 

 the black, the red, and the dun, and three kinds of 

 winged fly, are quite sufficient variety for all pur- 

 poses of river trout-fishing. 



Mr Stoddart, one of our most experienced 

 anglers, says : ' The colours of water and sky are 

 the only indicators which can lead us to select the 

 most killing hook, and even these are often decep- 

 tive. We have fished in one stream where dark, 

 and in the next, red flies took the lead. There is 

 no trusting to the fancy in certain places. On 

 Tweed, we have seen it veer about like the wind, 

 in one moment, without a note of preparation. 

 Most rivers, however, are more steady ; and when 

 the water is of a moderate size, may be relied on 

 with at most two sorts of flies all the year round. 

 For ourselves, our maximum in every Scottish 

 stream is reduced to only four descriptions of 

 artificial flies, with one or other of which we 

 engage to catch trout over all the kingdom. 

 Knowledge and practice have convinced us of the 

 needlessness of storing up endless and perplexing 

 varieties, which some do, in order to appear 

 knowing and scientific.' 



The flies in most general use in river-fishing 

 are the blue dun, known also as the hare's ear or 

 hare's lug ; the March brown ; the May-fly or green 

 drake ; the stone-fly, which is the May-fly of Scot- 

 land ; the white moth (for evening fishing) ; and the 

 spiders above mentioned. For lake-fishing, the 

 flies are larger and of brighter colours ; the fish 

 lying deeper, require a larger object to attract their 

 attention. Almost every lake has one or more 

 flies peculiar to itself, which are believed to be 

 more effectual than any other. Irish anglers are 

 especially fond of fancy flies of the most gaudy 

 hues. 



Salmon Flies. 



Of salmon flies the name is legion ; Mr Francis 

 devotes nearly a hundred pages of his book to a 

 description of the various hooks used on the chief 

 salmon streams of the United Kingdom. Enthu- 

 siasts in the art have bookfuls of specimens, 

 labelled with their local names the Doctor, the 

 Parson, the Claret, the Blue Ranger, &c. It is a 

 curious fact that, while to be effective in river 

 trout-fishing the fly must be as natural as possible 

 in size and colour, the same rule does not hold 

 either in lake trout-fishing, or in salmon fishing. 

 In the latter especially, something as unnatural 

 as possible would often seem to be the most 

 tempting to the fish. The accompanying figures 

 and description will give a notion of their genera" 

 appearance and construction. 



'No. i. Tail crest-feather from golden phi 

 ant ; tip gold tinsel and orange silk, with two 

 turns of ostrich herl ; body composed of claret- 

 coloured pigs' wool and mohair mixed, with a 

 little pigs' wool at the head, of a light-blue shade ; 

 wound with silver tinsel and dark-red hackle, with 

 blue jay's feather for shoulders ; wings from the 

 teal-duck or widgeon, distinctly marked or barred ; 

 head of black ostrich herl. 



' No. 2. Tail crest feather from golden phea 

 ant ; body composed of pigs' wool and mot 



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