402 MR. S.'s PATTERN-. 



in Erris, but all over Ireland. Hooks from Nos. 6 to 10, 

 and in low summer water sea trout size. 



There are a great variety of these jointed bodies used 

 in Erris ; some have blue and yellow, or blue, yellow, and 

 black joints alternately, with black or coloured herls or 

 hackles at each joint. They are considered indispensable 

 enchantments by those who admire them ; and as they are 

 a peculiar class of fly, I have gone into them, though my 

 own faith is by no means implicit. My friend Mr. S. and 

 his cousin rented the Ballycroy river for some years, and 

 I wrote to him to ask for a cast from his experience, as, 

 although I fished the Owenmore several times, I only 

 fished the Ballycroy once. Herewith I give his letter to 

 me, from which it will be seen that he has no faith what- 

 ever in the jointed and maned flies which are supposed to 

 emanate from and flourish particularly in Erris : 



' DEAR F. The flies on the Owenmore and Owenduff 

 riven some years ago were always what is called ' jointed,' 

 and were made in two ways ; the first had the joints made 

 of hackles of divers colours, tied as in the pattern I send 

 you, but of course on a smaller hook. The enclosed is a 

 specimen from the Dee, in Aberdeenshire, to which river 

 it was transported by Mr. Gordon, from Ballycroy, and 

 has since been naturalised. 1 The other jointed fly is made 

 thus : topping for tail, then three different colours of floss 

 silk for body, with three rings of twist at the end of 

 each, and standing out from these joints three long tags 

 of different coloured mohair, ordinary mixed wing, and 

 hackle at shoulder. It is a very difficult fly to tie, and 

 not worth a rush when tied, except that in its ck*y state it 

 looks very pretty ; when in the water, on the contrary, it 



1 I never could understand how the Nicholson, a regular Em's notion 

 formerly got on to the Tay, but the course of its introduction becomes prettj 

 clear Vrom tho above. The fly referred to strongly resembles the Nicholson 



