232 Wet- Fly Fishing 



Glory." Many use the wing of the water- 

 hen instead of that of the blackbird. It 

 makes an excellent fly, and I have never 

 discovered that the trout are sufficiently 

 educated to notice the difference. 



Now let us examine the dressing of the 

 "Water-hen Bloa," that splendid hackled 



fly. 



I see that some angling authorities, 

 when describing the hackled varieties of 

 artificial flies, gravely put down the dress- 

 ing of each fly thus Wings, and here 

 the name of that particular hackled fly is 

 given. Body, so and so. Now, this is 

 ridiculous ! One might as well (in a Police 

 Court case) describe a prisoner who had 

 been caught red-handed in his shirt- 

 sleeves as "wearing a frock coat of gray" 

 (or blue). 



I propose to adopt another plan, the 

 plan of calling a spade a spade, and a hackle 

 a hackle. 



The body of the "Water-hen Bloa" is 

 made thus. 



It is tied with yellow tying silk, 

 waxed with colourless wax, dubbed very 

 sparingly with fur from the water-rat or 

 the water-mouse. Even the fur of the 

 mole may be used when the other is not 



