286 A BOOK ON ANGLING 



THE TUMMEL, GARRY, ISLA 



and all the other tributaries of the Tay, are fished with flies 

 of precisely the same pattern as those used for the Tay, regard 

 being had to the size of the water, and the fly being suitably 

 reduced thereto. 



THE SPEY 



The Spey is another magnificent river, which often gives 

 grand sport ; and as the river is large and the angling is 

 mostly from the bank,* and the banks are frequently high, 

 while the stream is not only heavy but often tremendously 

 rapid and rough as is the bottom, an indifferent fisherman 

 cannot expect much sport on the Spey. It is a very long 

 river, having many mountainous tributaries, and thus it often 

 keeps up and out of condition for fishing for a much longer 

 time than is agreeable to the angler. This is frequently the 

 case in spring, when the snows on the mountains are melting, 

 and when sport to any extent cannot well be relied on. After 

 the great bulk of the snow is gone, in the early summer, when 

 the river is settling steadily down and the grilse are beginning 

 to come up, is perhaps the best time for the Spey. 



The Spey flies are very curious productions to look at, 

 it being customary to dress them the reverse way of the 

 hackle, and to send the twist or tinsel the opposite way to 

 the hackle. 



The Spey Dog. This is usually dressed large for the 

 spring, the long shanked Dee hooks being preferred. Body, 

 black pig's wool ; up this is then wound some broad 

 silver tinsel in widish rings ; over the tinsel is laid on a 

 large black feather (it can hardly be called hackle) with a 

 lightish dun tip, taken from the side of a Scotch cock's tail. 

 The feather is dressed the wrong way, so that the hackle 

 stands out abruptly, and it is carried round the opposite 

 way to the tinsel, as some of the tinsel crosses it ; over this 

 hackle is wound some gold tinsel, not side by side with the 

 silver, but quite independent of it. This aids the glitter of the 

 fly, and strengthens and keeps the hackle secure. At the 

 shoulder a teal hackle ; wing, a good wad of gold pheasant 

 tail, with two long strips of grey mallard with brownish points 

 over it. The fly can be varied by using a brown hackle and 



* True, if " bank fishing " be held to include deep and difficult wading in 

 this swift river. ED. 



