HACKLES, JOINTED BODIES, AND GRUBS. 71 



When stiff and thick-stemmed feathers, such 

 as golden pheasant tippets, are required as throat 

 hackles, it is a good plan to tie a bunch of fibres 

 in under the hook, as shown. They should be 

 spread slightly, and tied on with a couple of turns 



Fig. 48. 



of tying silk. The nearer these turns of silk are 

 to the last hackle, the more the fibres will stand 

 out from the hook, and the further away they 

 are the flatter will the fibres lie. 



Length of fibres and quantity of hackle at the 

 throat. On the first of these there is a great 

 difference of opinion. Some fishermen prefer 

 very short fibred hackles, others very long. 

 With the first I do not agree at all. The part of 

 a hackle on the hook is to give the appearance 

 of life to a fly by the movement of its fibres in 

 the water. The shorter the fibres the more stiff 

 they appear, and consequently they show less 



