i 'hai'T. vii. Mahseer Flies, 97 



to make it shiny. In the smallest fly on No. 5 Kirby the almost 

 black blue from the wing of the mallard or magpie may be pre- 

 ferred to simple black. 



Fur Mahseer, I use '_' n and 2 of my Limerick scale, ami more 

 generally No. 2. Some use 6/0 and 7 0; and one excellent fisher- 

 man I know delights specially in Xo 3. But I think 2 and 2 

 are your host sizes, especially the latter, ami that if you want any- 

 thing bigger than 2/0 you should use a fish bait. For Carnatic 

 Car]' the same fly on No. 5 and 6, my limerick scale, hut more 

 generally No. 6, Eor the tail and first drop fly. For the second 

 drop, the same just a size smaller. It is convenient to have it 

 tied on a different sort of hook so that it may catch your eye quickly, 

 when selecting it for the drop fly, so, say Xo. 5 Kirby. This last 

 may be tied on a single salmon gut. All the others should be tied 

 on a gut eye, — treble gut eve for No 2 it and larger, single salmon 

 gut eye for No. 2 and smaller. 



For Mahseer I fish with a single fly as for salmon; for Carnatic 

 < larp with a collar of three flies as for trout, but a collar of single 

 salmon gut 



For the benefit of those who are newly compelled in India to 

 tie their own Hies, I may mention that the hook of all salmon or 

 Mahseer Hies will of course be tied, not on single gut, as in the 

 case of a trout fly, but on stout salmon gut doubled, so as to leave 

 at the head a -hurt loop, between a quarter and an eighth of an inch 

 in length. The object of this is to give the gut stiffness, to prevent 

 it from constantly doubling under the weight of the hook, and thus 

 fraying, and eventually giving way, close up to the hook. The 

 precaution is necessary in the case of salmon flies because of their 

 weight; and when the fly is large, treble gut also is thus looped 

 instead of single gut 



Hooks draw very much, however, in India, because the great 

 heal dries the was and shrinks the gut, and as a consequence hooks 

 not freshly tied are very liable to draw. The precaution should 

 therefore be taken of tying a knot in the gut laid against the 

 shank of the hunk; when it is covered with dressing it will not 



show. 



Fish with the fly for Mahseer, just as you would for salmon , 

 that is to say, that if you arc a salmon-fisher I can give you no 

 advice, yon are sure to follow your practice. But [fyou are not, 1 



THE BOD IX INDIA. H 



