HOW TO DRESS A WET FLY. 79 



Fig. 41, and finally cut away as closely as possible 

 the loose end of the tying- silk. In fly dressing, 

 four turns of the tying silk are sufficient to form 

 the whip finish. When the fly is dressed to gut, 

 the last turn of the whip finish should not reach 

 the end of the shank. It will then be almost 

 impossible for it to come undone, and, when the 

 head of the fly is varnished, the abrupt ending of 

 the outermost layer of silk lapping will not be 

 noticeable. 



Our fly is now complete, save for the varnishing 

 of the head and the final adjustment of the fibres 

 of the hackle and wings. Coachbuilders" copal 

 varnish is the best kind to use, but it requires at 

 least twenty-four hours to harden properly. 

 Shellac varnish, made by dissolving orange shellac 

 in rectified spirits of wine, dries almost instan- 

 taneously, and is excellent when the fly is wanted 

 for immediate use. A tiny sable hair brush is 

 perhaps the best thing with which to apply the 

 varnish, but the dubbing needle or a wooden 

 match pointed at the end will do very well as a 

 makeshift. 



In giving the fly its finishing touches, whether 

 at the worktable or at the riverside, many 

 amateurs are inclined to forget that it is intended 

 to be a copy of a natural insect, rather than of a 

 shop-made artificial. They should not endeavour 

 to bring the hackle fibres into a compact bunch, 

 in the same plane with the hook, but should 

 rather spread them out, pointing fore and aft and 

 on either side, as do the legs of the natural fly. 



NOTE. I append sketches of a dun (the last state but 

 one of the up wing fly familiar to us all) and of a spinner 

 (the complete and reproductive state of the same 

 fly). The two sketches (A and B, Fig. 23) appearing on 

 page 66 are unsatisfactory, as they do not illustrate the 

 chief distinctive features, nor the correct proportions of 

 duns and spinners. 



