278 A BOOK ON ANGLING 



No. i. Tag, silver twist and orange floss ; tail, one topping ; 

 butt, black ostrich ; body, three turns of orange floss, the rest 

 of medium brown pig's wool ; silver tinsel ; small black hackle, 

 grouse hackle on shoulder ; wing, a slice of tippet, strips of 

 bustard, pintail, gold pheasant tail, gallina, and yellow swan, 

 a topping over all ; blue macaw ribs ; black head. 



No. 2. Tag, silver twist ; tail, a topping ; butt, black ostrich 

 herl ; body, gold-coloured floss one-third, the rest pea-green 

 pig's wool (roughish and picked out) ; silver twist ; grouse 

 hackle (thickish) on shoulder ; wing, a bit of tippet, strips of 

 gold pheasant tail and teal, plenty of orange sprigs, a topping 

 over all ; two short jungle cock at cheeks. 



No. 3. Tag, silver tinsel and orange floss ; tail, a topping ; 

 butt, blue ostrich herl ; body, ruby floss three turns, olive and 

 then medium blue mohair in equal parts (roughish and picked 

 out), silver twist ; grouse hackle at shoulder ; wing as before, 

 with the addition of a slice of 'gallina (the round spotted)'; 

 head, black. 



Add to these the Butcher, Childers, and the Snow Fly, noted 

 above. The Helmsdale is not a large river, and the flies are 

 dressed on hooks from 7 to 10.* 



THE BEAULY 



Is a fine large river, and belongs chiefly to Lord Lovat. The 

 weir is a hard one to get up, and in the weir pool great numbers 

 of fish are often congregated. Here, two or three years since, 

 the Master of Lovat had in three days perhaps the most extra- 

 ordinary sport ever had in Great Britain. 



Patterns from Snowie. 



There is a singular fly used on the Beauly, which is there 

 termed the Snow Fly, and as long as there is any snow water 

 on the river that fly kills well ; far better indeed than any 

 other. It is dressed on a big long-shanked round-head hook 

 like the Tay flies. 



Beauly Snow Fly (Plate, XV, Fig. i). It boasts neither tag 

 nor tail ; the body is of lightish blue pig's wool, rather 

 sparely dressed ; silver tinsel and gold twist ; black heron's 

 hackle, as long in the fibre or longer than the hook ; wings, 

 a large bunch of bronze-coloured peacock herl ; round the 

 shoulder over this is tied hackle-wise a ruff of bright orange 

 mohair, which gives a brilliant and unusual look to the fly. 



* Early in the season I have killed fish in Helmsdale on a 3jin. fly. ED, 



