CHAP. V. THE COMPLETE ANGLER, 407 



weary of that way, of which one is, That, without 

 dispute, they are not so strong open as twisted* ; an- 

 other, That they are not, easily, to be fastened of so 

 exact an equal length in the arming, that the one will 

 not cause the other to bag, by which means a man has 

 but one hair upon the matter to trust to ; and the last 

 is ; That these loose flying hairs are not only more apt 

 to catch upon every twig, or bent, they meet with, but, 

 moreover, the hook, in falling upon the water, wili> 

 very often, rebound and fall back betwixt the hairs, 

 and there stick, (which, in a rough water especially, 

 is not presently to be discerned by the angler,) so as 

 the point of the hook shall stand reversed ; by which 

 means, your fly swims backward, makes a much greater 

 circle in the water, and till taken home to you, and 

 set right will never raise any fish, or, if it should, (I 

 am sure, but by a very extraordinary chance,) can hit 

 nonet. 



Having done with both these ways of fishing-at-the- 

 top, the length of your rod, and line, and all, I am, 

 next, to teach you, How to make a fly ; and, after- 

 wards, Of what dubbing you are to make the several 

 flies I shall hereafter name to you. 



In making a fly, then, which is not a hackle or 

 palmer-fly, (for of those, and their several kinds, we 

 shall have occasion to spoak every month in the 

 year, ) you are^ first, to hold your hook fast betwixt 

 the fore-finger and thumb of your left hand, with the 

 back of the shank upwards, and the point towards your 

 fingers' end; then take a strong small silk of the co- 

 lour of the fly jou intend to make, wax it well with 

 wax of the same colour too, to which end, you are al- 

 waysj by the way, to have wax of all colours about 



* In the copies, the words are tichteJ as of en ; contrary to what is 

 evidently, from the connection, the Author's meaning ; the Editor has* 

 therefore, transposed the words. 



f This, and the other inconveniences mentioned in this paragraph, 

 are effectually avoided by the use of a fine grass, or gut, of about half a 

 yard long, next the hook. See the notes on Chap. XXI. Part I. ante, 

 page 328, paragr. ult* 



A A 



