FLIES : NATTIMAL JJTD ARTIFICIAZ. 83 



the matter of expense, we should certainly recommend 

 anglers to tie their own, as it is interesting Avork, very 

 useful in out-of-the-way places, and gives additional 

 zest in catching fish. 



If a man have the opportunity of collecting skins at 

 home or abroad, or even should he, in the absence of 

 such facility, have to purchase feathers at home, he can 

 save much expense by dressing his own hooks; but, 

 apart from this consideration, it is rather pretty work, 

 and affords the ready means for working out individual 

 ideas. 



It is a mistake to dress many flies at a time for one's 

 own use, as they soon get dull and lose the freshness 

 they have when first turned out ; a box is better than a 

 book to keep them in, as the latter flattens them. 



It is well worth any angler's while to dress flies, 

 especially for salmon-fishing, as one frequently may 

 require a size or particular pattern other than those in 

 stock, or may lose the last of a pattern in a fish and 

 have no means of supplying the deficiency other than 

 one's own hands ; but it was the following incident 

 which determined us to learn to dress a hook : — 



At quite the commencement of our experiences of 

 salmon-fishing, a friend with whom we were staying 

 kindly offered the use of his book, but knowing how 

 jealous anglers are of their patterns, many of which 

 have killed fish and have histories attached to them, we 

 preferred to purchase a few at a stationer's shop in the 

 town, said to have been dressed by a small tackle-maker 



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