CHAPTER VIII. 



FLY-TYING. 



To know how to tie a fly ought 

 to be the ambition of every angler, 

 and by a master of the craft the 

 best results of river and lake are 

 achieved. From an economical 

 point of view, especially to the 

 salmon - fisher, considerable ex- 

 pense is saved, and in emergency 

 a knowledge of the art will save 

 both time and disappointment. 



Anglers not infrequently find 

 themselves a long cry from a 

 tackle-shop. A small box of furs, 

 feathers, and flosses does not 

 take up much space in one's kit. 

 Like the sportsman twenty miles 

 from anywhere and the wrong 

 cartridges, the Waltonian may 

 find his stock of flies neither the 

 right size nor pattern. The fly- 

 tier, under such circumstances, 

 will have an advantage over his 

 brother who is dependent upon 

 the professional for this part of 

 his outfit. On one occasion I 

 found myself in the wilds of 

 Donegal, five and twenty miles 

 from a railway station. A state 

 of consternation prevailed amongst 

 the anglers who, like myself, had 

 sought out this remote region in 

 quest of white trout. The loughs 

 had run very low, and the stock 

 of flies contained nothing small 

 enough to cope with the abnormal 

 state of the water. A rough- 

 bodied pattern, locally called " old 

 leather," was the favourite with 

 the trout. Letters had been sent 

 and telegrams despatched, but 

 none of the tackle-makers could 

 supply the desired article. For- 

 tunately I had both small hooks 

 and the right materials, and half 

 a day's work enabled me to supply 



myself and share with my brothers 

 in distress. 



An amateur fly-tier cultivates 

 simplicity. It is by no means 

 making a virtue out of necessity 

 to add that this is an advantage. 

 Elaborately dressed flies are by 

 no means the best killers. Over- 

 colouring is a common fault. It 

 is necessary to bring down the 

 mighty from his seat to make him 

 practical, and I have known many 

 a gaudy fly to be denuded of 

 much of its court dress before 

 proffering it to a salmon. The 

 artistic is not always the artful, 

 and in this, as in a great many 

 things, summa ays est celave artem. 



But the most stimulating con- 

 sideration to the would-be ama- 

 teur tier is the pleasure of 

 killing a salmon on his own fly. 

 We are all proud of our own 

 children, even when their consti- 

 tution consists of nothing more 

 than fur and feather. They are 

 to be trusted, too, for the gut 

 loops have been carefully selected 

 and tested, and tied to the shank 

 with the greatest care. Flies tied 

 by the gross contain many faulty 

 specimens, as most anglers have 

 learned to their cost ; the com- 

 monest of all is defective gut 

 loops, which the innate conserva- 

 tivism of local tiers prefer to the 

 eyed-hook pattern, which in small 

 flies at least is preferable. 



Most anglers eschew fly-tying 

 under the conviction that the art 

 is impossible to achieve. I do 

 not say that it is easy, but it is 

 by no means impossible. Given 

 ordinary deftness of fingers, and 

 the usual amount of patience with 



