224 GREEN DRAKE BODIES. 



in different waters, so muck so, that they might almost be 

 supposed to belong to different species. 



The bodies of May flies have been dressed of all kinds 

 of materials gutta-percha, crewel, silk, quill, gold- 

 beaters' skin, chenille, stained gut, cork, straw, &c. 

 There is a brown patch at the tail, and over a silk body 

 ribbed with brown silk Ephemera recommends a strip 

 of gold-beaters' skin to be tightly wound. This per- 

 mits the body colours to be seen distinctly through, 

 gives the glassy shine to the body, and also prevents the 

 body from becoming heavily saturated with water, of 

 course thereby increasing its buoyancy. I can quite 

 imagine that this is a good plan, and I therefore give it ; 

 I should make the ribbing silk go over the skin. I 

 have tried all sorts of bodies, and there are none to equal 

 straw or maize leaf. Now this is my pet fly. First get 

 ft suitable hook; this may seem a simple matter, but it is 

 not. To make a fly float well, you must have the smallest 

 amount of iron in the hook that you can possibly do with. 

 You must therefore have a very fine wire and a pretty 

 long shank. Now to long shanks hook-makers generally 

 put a big bend, No. 7 or 6 almost. This is their rule. 

 The result is, either that the bend being large and the 

 wire thin the hook springs and gives at the strike, or the 

 wire being stouter makes the iron too heavy, and it is 

 quite astonishing what a very little amount of extra iron 

 will spoil the floating ; but you don't want such a big bend, 

 though you must have a longish shank. An 8 or 9 hook will 

 kill a good trout just as well as a bigger one. A fine wire 

 8 or 9 with a prolonged shank is what you want, and you 

 may even file down the upper end of the shank, but you 

 must handle your fly carefully if you do. Having got 

 this hook, and it is worth a deal of trouble to get (I had 

 to send back one or two lots before I could get it), tie 

 on your gut ; let it be fine, but not too fine or it will go in 



