Fly -tying. 



57 



now coiled upwards closely, bind- 

 ing on the gut until the point of 

 the hook obstructs the coiling. 

 This is the point to stop, and the 

 gut ends are cut off close to the 

 wrapping (Plate A, i). To keep 

 the thread tight, coil it four or 

 five times down the shank ; the 

 wax will keep it in this position 

 until it is needed for the next 

 element. (Plate A, 2, shows this 

 method of temporary fastening.) 



Tag. Take an inch or so of 

 fine round silver twist, lay it on 

 the near side of the hook where 

 the gut has been cut off, indenting 

 one end with the thumb-nail 

 where it is about to be fastened. 

 Leave sufficient space for it to be 

 coiled round three times. Now 

 unwind the thread from the tem- 

 porary fastening, and, holding it 

 tight, coil it twice round the twist 

 where it has been indented, get 

 the thread out of the way by 

 coiling it down the shank again, 

 catch the end of the twist and roll 

 it three times downwards as 

 closely as possible, place the third 

 finger of the left hand on it to 

 keep it from uncoiling, and with 

 the right hand catch the waste 

 end of the twist in the pliers and 

 let them swing loose, their weight 

 will keep the twist from uncoiling. 

 The right hand is now free to 

 bring back the thread and fasten 

 the twist on with a couple of 

 tight coils. Temporary fastening 

 again. Cut off the surplus twist 

 close to the fastening. It may 

 now be said once for all that, 

 whenever any part is attached by 

 the thread, the temporary fasten- 

 ing follows. This part of the 

 process it will be unnecessary to 

 repeat. 



Take about two inches of light 

 blue silk floss, straighten it out, 

 and divide it with the point of the 

 scissors. Take one of the parts 

 proportionate in thickness to the 

 size of the fly, and fasten it to 



the side of the hook where the 

 twist has been attached, coil it 

 two or three times below the 

 twist and refasten, taking care 

 that in this and all subsequent 

 processes the thread wrapping is 

 covered over. Cut off the surplus 

 floss. 



Butt. The butt is made of a 

 single black ostrich feather. By 

 holding it up it will be found that 

 the fibres branch from the central 

 rib in a V-shape. The feathers 

 must be placed so that they 

 branch away from the shank of 

 the hook, and lie upwards. Strip 

 off some of the fibres from the 

 butt of the feather and attach it 

 by the thread to the side of the 

 hook. Catch the feather by the 

 top in the pliers, and, passing the 

 first finger through the pliers-ring, 

 coil the feather on the hook a 

 few times by means of the pliers; 

 let the pliers swing, and fasten on 

 with the thread, cutting off the 

 waste portion. 



Tail. The tail consists of a 

 golden pheasant crest. The rudi- 

 mentary is torn off and part of 

 the white portion of the feather 

 near the butt. The crest is tied 

 on the top of the shank, not on 

 the side, as in the case of other 

 elements. It must be attached 

 close to " butt " so as to lean 

 against it, and curving upwards ; 

 a glance at the feather will show 

 the correct side by which it is to 

 be tied on (Plate B, i). 



Body. The body consists of a 

 piece of orange floss silk, about 

 three times the length of the hook. 

 Unless the fly is very large, the 

 silk must be divided, and one 

 portion used. Before attaching 

 it to the hook, preparation must 

 be made for the twist that is to 

 be coiled down the body, and also 

 the body hackle. The steps to 

 be taken are as follows : 



(i) Take a piece of broad, flat 

 silver twist, about twice the 



