THE MAKING OF AN ARTIFICIAL FLY 



ward, if you wish to copy beetles, spiders, palmers, 

 or caterpillars, with legs all along the body, try your 

 hand at it. And if you want to make a split-wing 

 fly, now widely used and by English experts con- 

 sidered best for floating flies, all you have to do is 

 to wind the silk between the wings instead of around 

 them. I do not think these split-wing flies are 

 good, because the natural up-wing drakes (com- 

 prising over forty species) all float on the water 

 with wings tightly closed and not flat. Another 

 thing, with the aid of oil, the tight-wing fly will float 

 upright just as well as the spread-wing. 



Halford's book is nearly twenty years old. 

 Leonard West is more true to nature; while the 

 drawings are amateurish, they do make a beginning 

 to lead the way to some progress in the art of fly- 

 making. Therefore it remains evident that three 

 ways of tying wings should be understood : the up- 

 right-wing flies to represent drakes; the down- or 

 side-wing flies for the duns; and spread-wings for 

 spinners. Spiders, beetles, and other insects less in 

 use are but a variation; and, after all, I doubt if 

 they are worth the trouble of making when drakes 

 and duns are on the wing. 



To make a fat body, you first wind a foundation. 

 For this I use mercerized cotton, which is soft and 

 silky, yet not bulky, and is much cheaper than silk. 

 Remember, all winding must be carefully done, 

 smooth and well laid, not lumpy or irregular. 



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