THE ART OF FLY-MAKING. 6oi 



natural fly — are the two long fibres of macaw tail feather tied in on 

 each side of the head and extending back over the wings ; and an- 

 other stretch of imagination is to suppose that a natural fly carries 

 them thus. The third or fourth fly figured is much too large for 

 the rivers of Canada at an ordinary stage of water. The third 

 might do on very high water after it has gone down just enough 

 for the fish to commence noticing a fly. 



The second figure is a very plain fly, the " blue and brown," or 

 " Nicholson," named after an old salmon fisher, " a broth of a boy," 

 of St. Johns, New Brunswick. There are a few turns of flat gold 

 tinsel, or gold twist, then a tail of mallard and golden pheasant's 

 ruff; the body of reddish brown seal's or pig's wool, wrapped with 

 a blue and reddish brown hackle ; the wings are of mallard, and, 

 according to Mr. Nicholson's style of tying, stand well up. The 

 size of the hook given is for high water, when the dubbing and 

 hackles are of lighter shades. As the water falls the hackles and 

 dubbing should be darker. On low water and bright weather dark 

 brown and purplish blue are best ; the hook decreasing in size as 

 the water falls. In fact, trout hooks numbers 3 and 4 (Conroy's 

 O'Shaughnessy's numbers) are as a general rule large enough for 

 the rivers of Canada ; numbers i and 2 are full size for high water. 



One who has become somewhat proficient in tying trout flies, 

 can easily make one for salmon. But at the risk of repeating to 

 some extent the directions given for the former, let me describe the 

 tying of a plain salmon fly, and leave the ambitious amateur to his 

 own ingenuity in making an elaborate one. The blue and brown, 

 as described, has two hackles, one of each color. We will take a 

 fly with one : say the fiery brown. 



Lay all the materials before you — a short topping for tail, a bit 

 of gold twist (three inches or so), fiery brown dubbing of mohair, 

 or pig's or seal's wool, a hackle of redder shade than the dubbing, 

 the wing ready folded, a plumelet of ostrich herl, a bit of blue and 

 yellow macaw tail feather, and a gut loop. The latter is so cut 

 that when doubled it will be long enough to come about where the 

 tail is tied on, the ends to be beveled, and, bending it over a coarse 

 needle or an awl, an eye should be formed, as is not represented in 

 the illustration. The wings of a salmon fly, as a general rule, should 

 be double, or say two-ply, for mallard, of which most wings are 

 26 



