74 FLY-DRESSING. 



of Sprouston on Tweedside, father and son, especially 

 the latter, deserve mention. The flies dressed by 

 Younger, of St. Boswells, are, upon the whole, service- 

 able; still, it is plain, that this worthy angler is but 

 partially, or, if the term may be used with propriety, 

 locally versed in the mysteries of the art. There is too 

 much mannerism about them to render his winged 

 productions general favourites, and I cannot say, in 

 regard to his salmon flies, that they at all take my 

 fancy, or that I could employ them with any sanguine 

 expectation of success. 



As regards the salmon fly, one great improvement, of 

 recent date, consists in the substitution, as a mode of 

 attaching it to the line, of a small loop or eyehole of gut 

 at the head or shank-end of the hook, instead of a full 

 length of the same material. This loop, as in the case 

 of the length in question, may be formed either of 

 triple or of single gut, according to the size of the wire. 

 It is of advantage in two or three respects : first, its 

 adoption gives increased facilities to the dresser to finish 

 off his work in good style ; again, it renders an assort- 

 ment of salmon flies capable of being carried without 

 crushing or disarranging their plumage ; and lastly, 

 while hooks tied on the length or strand are apt to 

 become chafed or weakened at the neck, or to crack off 

 altogether, the adoption of the loop prevents this evil ; 

 for, should the strand it was originally fitted to appear 

 worn or damaged, one has only to remove it and attach 

 a new one in its stead. The loop in question ought, on 

 every occasion, to be made as small as possible, just 

 sufficient to admit the passing and repassing of a triple 

 or single gut length through the eyehole. 



In the dressing of Scottish salmon flies, there are 

 two modes of laying on the wings, before fastening. 



